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In this paper we develop a leap-frog-type finite element method for modeling the electromagnetic wave propagation in metamaterials. The metamaterial model equations are represented by integrodifferential Maxwell’s equations, which are quite challenging to analyze and solve in that we have to solve a coupled problem with different partial differential equations given in different material regions. Our method is based on a mixed finite element method using edge elements, which can easily handle the tangential continuity of the electric field. Stability analysis and optimal error estimate are carried out for the proposed scheme. The scheme is implemented and confirmed to obey the proved optimal convergence rate by using a smooth analytical solution. Then the scheme is extended to model wave propagation in heterogeneous media composed of metamaterials and free space, and extensive numerical results (using a rectangular edge element, a triangular edge element, and mixed edge elements) demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm for modeling the exotic backward wave propagation phenomenon in metamaterials. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper with an exhaustive simulation of backward wave propagation in metamaterials using time-domain finite element methods.

Over time, a population acquires neutral genetic substitutions as a consequence of random drift. A famous result in population genetics asserts that the rate, K, at which these substitutions accumulate in the population coincides with the mutation rate, u, at which they arise in individuals: K = u. This identity enables genetic sequence data to be used as a “molecular clock” to estimate the timing of evolutionary events. While the molecular clock is known to be perturbed by selection, it is thought that K = u holds very generally for neutral evolution. Here we show that asymmetric spatial population structure can alter the molecular clock rate for neutral mutations, leading to either K<u or K>u. Our results apply to a general class of haploid, asexually reproducing, spatially structured populations. Deviations from K = u occur because mutations arise unequally at different sites and have different probabilities of fixation depending on where they arise. If birth rates are uniform across sites, then K
u. In general, K can take any value between 0 and Nu. Our model can be applied to a variety of population structures. In one example, we investigate the accumulation of genetic mutations in the small intestine. In another application, we analyze over 900 Twitter networks to study the effect of network topology on the fixation of neutral innovations in social evolution.

We investigate mirror symmetry for toric Calabi-Yau manifolds from the perspective of the SYZ conjecture. Starting with a non-toric special Lagrangian torus fibration on a toric Calabi-Yau manifold $X$, we construct a complex manifold $\check{X}$ using T-duality modified by quantum corrections. These corrections are encoded by Fourier transforms of generating functions of certain open Gromov-Witten invariants. We conjecture that this complex manifold $\check{X}$, which belongs to the Hori-Iqbal-Vafa mirror family, is inherently written in canonical flat coordinates. In particular, we obtain an enumerative meaning for the (inverse) mirror maps, and this gives a geometric reason for why their Taylor series expansions in terms of the K\"ahler parameters of $X$ have integral coefficients. Applying the results in \cite{Chan10} and \cite{LLW10}, we compute the open Gromov-Witten invariants in terms of local BPS invariants and give evidences of our conjecture for several 3-dimensional examples including $K_{\proj^2}$ and $K_{\proj^1\times\proj^1}$.