The R 2 term in the Starobinsky inflationary model can be regarded as a leading quantum correction to the gravitational effective action. We assume that parity-preserving and parity-violating (axial) non-minimal couplings between curvature and electromagnetic field are also present in the effective action. In the Einstein frame, they turn into non-trivial couplings of the scalaron and curvature to the electromagnetic field. We make an assessment of inflationary magnetogenesis in this model. In the case of parity-preserving couplings, amplification of magnetic field is negligibly small. In the case of axial couplings, magnetogenesis is hampered by strong back-reaction on the inflationary process, resulting in possible amplification of magnetic field at most by the factor 10 5 relative to its vacuum fluctuations.

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The full optimization of the design and operation of instruments whose functioning relies on the interaction of radiation with matter is a superhuman task, given the large dimensionality of the space of possible choices for geometry, detection technology, materials, data-acquisition, and informationextraction techniques, and the interdependence of the related parameters. On the other hand, massive potential gains in performance over standard, "experience-driven" layouts are in principle within our reach if an objective function fully aligned with the final goals of the instrument is maximized by means of a systematic search of the configuration space. The stochastic nature of the involved quantum processes make the modeling of these systems an intractable problem from a classical statistics point of view, yet the construction of a fully differentiable pipeline and the use of deep learning techniques may allow the simultaneous optimization of all design parameters.In this document we lay down our plans for the design of a modular and versatile modeling tool for the end-to-end optimization of complex instruments for particle physics experiments as well as industrial and medical applications that share the detection of radiation as their basic ingredient. We consider a selected set of use cases to highlight the specific needs of different applications.

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