Climate change communication on social media increasingly employs microtargeting strategies to effectively reach and influence specific demographic groups. This study presents a post-hoc analysis of microtargeting practices within climate campaigns by leveraging large language models (LLMs) to examine Facebook advertisements. Our analysis focuses on two key aspects: demographic targeting and fairness. We evaluate the ability of LLMs to accurately predict the intended demographic targets, such as gender and age group, achieving an overall accuracy of 88.55%. Furthermore, we instruct the LLMs to generate explanations for their classifications, providing transparent reasoning behind each decision. These explanations reveal the specific thematic elements used to engage different demographic segments, highlighting distinct strategies tailored to various audiences. Our findings show that young adults are primarily targeted through messages emphasizing activism and environmental consciousness, while women are engaged through themes related to caregiving roles and social advocacy. In addition to evaluating the effectiveness of LLMs in detecting microtargeted messaging, we conduct a comprehensive fairness analysis to identify potential biases in model predictions. Our findings indicate that while LLMs perform well overall, certain biases exist, particularly in the classification of senior citizens and male audiences. By showcasing the efficacy of LLMs in dissecting and explaining targeted communication strategies and by highlighting fairness concerns, this study provides a valuable framework for future research aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and inclusivity in social media-driven climate campaigns.

Spiking neural networks (SNNs) provide a low-power, energy-efficient solution by utilizing the spike-based and sparse nature of biological systems. Since the advent of Transformers, SNNs have struggled to compete with artificial networks on long sequential tasks, until the recent emergence of state space models (SSMs), which offer superior computational efficiency and modeling capability. However, applying the highly capable SSMs to SNNs for long sequences learning poses three major challenges: The membrane potential is determined by the past spiking history of the neuron, leading to reduced efficiency for sequence modeling in parallel computing scenarios. Complex dynamics of biological spiking neurons are crucial for functionality but challenging to simulate and exploit effectively in large networks. It is arduous to maintain high sparsity while achieving high accuracy for spiking neurons without resorting to dense computing, as utilized in artificial neuron-based SSMs. To address these challenges, we propose a sparse, precise and efficient spiking SSM framework, termed SPikE-SSM. For, we propose a boundary compression strategy (PMBC) to accelerate the inference of the spiking neuron model, enabling parallel processing for long sequence learning. For, we propose a novel and concise neuron model incorporating reset-refractory mechanism to leverage the inherent temporal dimension for dynamic computing with biological interpretability. For, we hierarchically integrate the proposed neuron model to the original SSM block, and enhance the dynamics of SPikE-SSM by incorporating trainable thresholds and refractory magnitudes to balance accuracy and sparsity. Extensive experiments illustrate the effectiveness and robustness of SPikE-SSM on the long range arena benchmarks and large language dataset WikiText-103, showing the potential of dynamic spiking neurons in efficient long sequence learning. The code will be publicly available.

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) has emerged as a significant contributor to global sea level rise, primarily due to increased meltwater runoff. Supraglacial lakes, which form on the ice sheet surface during the summer months, can impact ice sheet dynamics and mass loss; thus, better understanding these lakes' seasonal evolution and dynamics is an important task. This study presents a computationally efficient time series classification approach that uses Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) of the Reconstructed Phase Spaces (RPSs) to identify supraglacial lakes based on their seasonal evolution: 1) those that refreeze at the end of the melt season, 2) those that drain during the melt season, and 3) those that become buried, remaining liquid insulated a few meters beneath the surface. Our approach uses time series data from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites, which utilize microwave and visible radiation, respectively. Evaluated on a GrIS-wide dataset, the RPS-GMM model, trained on a single representative sample per class, achieves 85.46% accuracy with Sentinel-1 data alone and 89.70% with combined Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data. This performance significantly surpasses existing machine learning and deep learning models which require a large training data. The results demonstrate the robustness of the RPS-GMM model in capturing the complex temporal dynamics of supraglacial lakes with minimal training data.

As remote sensing imaging technology continues to advance and evolve, processing high-resolution and diversified satellite imagery to improve segmentation accuracy and enhance interpretation efficiency emerg as a pivotal area of investigation within the realm of remote sensing. Although segmentation algorithms based on CNNs and Transformers achieve significant progress in performance, balancing segmentation accuracy and computational complexity remains challenging, limiting their wide application in practical tasks. To address this, this paper introduces state space model (SSM) and proposes a novel hybrid semantic segmentation network based on vision Mamba (CVMH-UNet). This method designs a cross-scanning visual state space block (CVSSBlock) that uses cross 2D scanning (CS2D) to fully capture global information from multiple directions, while by incorporating convolutional neural network branches to overcome the constraints of Vision Mamba (VMamba) in acquiring local information, this approach facilitates a comprehensive analysis of both global and local features. Furthermore, to address the issue of limited discriminative power and the difficulty in achieving detailed fusion with direct skip connections, a multi-frequency multi-scale feature fusion block (MFMSBlock) is designed. This module introduces multi-frequency information through 2D discrete cosine transform (2D DCT) to enhance information utilization and provides additional scale local detail information through point-wise convolution branches. Finally, it aggregates multi-scale information along the channel dimension, achieving refined feature fusion. Findings from experiments conducted on renowned datasets of remote sensing imagery demonstrate that proposed CVMH-UNet achieves superior segmentation performance while maintaining low computational complexity, outperforming surpassing current leading-edge segmentation algorithms.

Finding Minimum Energy Configurations (MECs) is essential in fields such as physics, chemistry, and materials science, as they represent the most stable states of the systems. In particular, identifying such MECs in multi-component alloys considered candidate PFMs is key because it determines the most stable arrangement of atoms within the alloy, directly influencing its phase stability, structural integrity, and thermo-mechanical properties. However, since the search space grows exponentially with the number of atoms considered, obtaining such MECs using computationally expensive first-principles DFT calculations often results in a cumbersome task. To escape the above compromise between physical fidelity and computational efficiency, we have developed a novel physics-based data-driven approach that combines Monte Carlo sampling, first-principles DFT calculations, and Machine Learning to accelerate the discovery of MECs in multi-component alloys. More specifically, we have leveraged well-established Cluster Expansion (CE) techniques with Local Outlier Factor models to establish strategies that enhance the reliability of the CE method. In this work, we demonstrated the capabilities of the proposed approach for the particular case of a tungsten-based quaternary high-entropy alloy. However, the method is applicable to other types of alloys and enables a wide range of applications.

Future multi-spacecraft missions require robust autonomous trajectory optimization capabilities to ensure safe and efficient rendezvous operations. This capability hinges on solving non-convex optimal control problems in real time, although traditional iterative methods such as sequential convex programming impose significant computational challenges. To mitigate this burden, the Autonomous Rendezvous Transformer introduced a generative model trained to provide near-optimal initial guesses. This approach provides convergence to better local optima (e.g., fuel optimality), improves feasibility rates, and results in faster convergence speed of optimization algorithms through warm-starting. This work extends the capabilities of ART to address robust chance-constrained optimal control problems. Specifically, ART is applied to challenging rendezvous scenarios in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), ensuring fault-tolerant behavior under uncertainty. Through extensive experimentation, the proposed warm-starting strategy is shown to consistently produce high-quality reference trajectories, achieving up to 30% cost improvement and 50% reduction in infeasible cases compared to conventional methods, demonstrating robust performance across multiple state representations. Additionally, a post hoc evaluation framework is proposed to assess the quality of generated trajectories and mitigate runtime failures, marking an initial step toward the reliable deployment of AI-driven solutions in safety-critical autonomous systems such as spacecraft.

Predicting the long-term behavior of chaotic systems remains a formidable challenge due to their extreme sensitivity to initial conditions and the inherent limitations of traditional data-driven modeling approaches. This paper introduces a novel framework that addresses these challenges by leveraging the recently proposed multi-step penalty (MP) optimization technique. Our approach extends the applicability of MP optimization to a wide range of deep learning architectures, including Fourier Neural Operators and UNETs. By introducing penalized local discontinuities in the forecast trajectory, we effectively handle the non-convexity of loss landscapes commonly encountered in training neural networks for chaotic systems. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through its application to two challenging use-cases: the prediction of flow velocity evolution in two-dimensional turbulence and ocean dynamics using reanalysis data. Our results highlight the potential of this approach for accurate and stable long-term prediction of chaotic dynamics, paving the way for new advancements in data-driven modeling of complex natural phenomena.

Existing AGR navigation systems have advanced in lightly occluded scenarios (e.g., buildings) by employing 3D semantic scene completion networks for voxel occupancy prediction and constructing Euclidean Signed Distance Field (ESDF) maps for collision-free path planning. However, these systems exhibit suboptimal performance and efficiency in cluttered environments with severe occlusions (e.g., dense forests or tall walls), due to limitations arising from perception networks' low prediction accuracy and path planners' high computational overhead. In this paper, we present HE-Nav, the first high-performance and efficient navigation system tailored for AGRs operating in cluttered environments. The perception module utilizes a lightweight semantic scene completion network (LBSCNet), guided by a bird's eye view (BEV) feature fusion and enhanced by an exquisitely designed SCB-Fusion module and attention mechanism. This enables real-time and efficient obstacle prediction in cluttered areas, generating a complete local map. Building upon this completed map, our novel AG-Planner employs the energy-efficient kinodynamic A* search algorithm to guarantee planning is energy-saving. Subsequent trajectory optimization processes yield safe, smooth, dynamically feasible and ESDF-free aerial-ground hybrid paths. Extensive experiments demonstrate that HE-Nav achieved 7x energy savings in real-world situations while maintaining planning success rates of 98% in simulation scenarios. Code and video are available on our project page: https://jmwang0117.github.io/HE-Nav/.

Neural radiance fields (NeRF) has gained significant attention for its exceptional visual effects. However, most existing NeRF methods reconstruct 3D scenes from RGB images captured by visible light cameras. In practical scenarios like darkness, low light, or bad weather, visible light cameras become ineffective. Therefore, we propose TeX-NeRF, a 3D reconstruction method using only infrared images, which introduces the object material emissivity as a priori, preprocesses the infrared images using Pseudo-TeX vision, and maps the temperatures (T), emissivities (e), and textures (X) of the scene into the saturation (S), hue (H), and value (V) channels of the HSV color space, respectively. Novel view synthesis using the processed images has yielded excellent results. Additionally, we introduce 3D-TeX Datasets, the first dataset comprising infrared images and their corresponding Pseudo-TeX vision images. Experiments demonstrate that our method not only matches the quality of scene reconstruction achieved with high-quality RGB images but also provides accurate temperature estimations for objects in the scene.

The energy transition is driving the integration of large shares of intermittent power sources in the electric power grid. Therefore, addressing the AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF) effectively becomes increasingly essential. The AC-OPF, which is a fundamental optimization problem in power systems, must be solved more frequently to ensure the safe and cost-effective operation of power systems. Due to its non-linear nature, AC-OPF is often solved in its linearized form, despite inherent inaccuracies. Non-linear solvers, such as the interior point method, are typically employed to solve the full OPF problem. However, these iterative methods may not converge for large systems and do not guarantee global optimality. This work explores a physics-informed graph neural network, PINCO, to solve the AC-OPF. We demonstrate that this method provides accurate solutions in a fraction of the computational time when compared to the established non-linear programming solvers. Remarkably, PINCO generalizes effectively across a diverse set of loading conditions in the power system. We show that our method can solve the AC-OPF without violating inequality constraints. Furthermore, it can function both as a solver and as a hybrid universal function approximator. Moreover, the approach can be easily adapted to different power systems with minimal adjustments to the hyperparameters, including systems with multiple generators at each bus. Overall, this work demonstrates an advancement in the field of power system optimization to tackle the challenges of the energy transition. The code and data utilized in this paper are available at https://anonymous.4open.science/r/opf_pinn_iclr-B83E/.