1,483 research outputs found
Some Pattern Recognition Challenges in Data-Intensive Astronomy
We review some of the recent developments and challenges posed by the data
analysis in modern digital sky surveys, which are representative of the
information-rich astronomy in the context of Virtual Observatory. Illustrative
examples include the problems of an automated star-galaxy classification in
complex and heterogeneous panoramic imaging data sets, and an automated,
iterative, dynamical classification of transient events detected in synoptic
sky surveys. These problems offer good opportunities for productive
collaborations between astronomers and applied computer scientists and
statisticians, and are representative of the kind of challenges now present in
all data-intensive fields. We discuss briefly some emergent types of scalable
scientific data analysis systems with a broad applicability.Comment: 8 pages, compressed pdf file, figures downgraded in quality in order
to match the arXiv size limi
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Collaborative yet independent: Information practices in the physical sciences
In many ways, the physical sciences are at the forefront of using digital tools and methods to work with information and data. However, the fields and disciplines that make up the physical sciences are by no means uniform, and physical scientists find, use, and disseminate information in a variety of ways. This report examines information practices in the physical sciences across seven cases, and demonstrates the richly varied ways in which physical scientists work, collaborate, and share information and data.
This report details seven case studies in the physical sciences. For each case, qualitative interviews and focus groups were used to understand the domain. Quantitative data gathered from a survey of participants highlights different information strategies employed across the cases, and identifies important software used for research.
Finally, conclusions from across the cases are drawn, and recommendations are made. This report is the third in a series commissioned by the Research Information Network (RIN), each looking at information practices in a specific domain (life sciences, humanities, and physical sciences). The aim is to understand how researchers within a range of disciplines find and use information, and in particular how that has changed with the introduction of new technologies
Sky Surveys
Sky surveys represent a fundamental data basis for astronomy. We use them to
map in a systematic way the universe and its constituents, and to discover new
types of objects or phenomena. We review the subject, with an emphasis on the
wide-field imaging surveys, placing them in a broader scientific and historical
context. Surveys are the largest data generators in astronomy, propelled by the
advances in information and computation technology, and have transformed the
ways in which astronomy is done. We describe the variety and the general
properties of surveys, the ways in which they may be quantified and compared,
and offer some figures of merit that can be used to compare their scientific
discovery potential. Surveys enable a very wide range of science; that is
perhaps their key unifying characteristic. As new domains of the observable
parameter space open up thanks to the advances in technology, surveys are often
the initial step in their exploration. Science can be done with the survey data
alone or a combination of different surveys, or with a targeted follow-up of
potentially interesting selected sources. Surveys can be used to generate
large, statistical samples of objects that can be studied as populations, or as
tracers of larger structures. They can be also used to discover or generate
samples of rare or unusual objects, and may lead to discoveries of some
previously unknown types. We discuss a general framework of parameter spaces
that can be used for an assessment and comparison of different surveys, and the
strategies for their scientific exploration. As we move into the Petascale
regime, an effective processing and scientific exploitation of such large data
sets and data streams poses many challenges, some of which may be addressed in
the framework of Virtual Observatory and Astroinformatics, with a broader
application of data mining and knowledge discovery technologies.Comment: An invited chapter, to appear in Astronomical Techniques, Software,
and Data (ed. H. Bond), Vol.2 of Planets, Stars, and Stellar Systems (ser.
ed. T. Oswalt), Springer Verlag, in press (2012). 62 pages, incl. 2 tables
and 3 figure
White paper on nuclear astrophysics and low energy nuclear physics Part 1: Nuclear astrophysics
This white paper informs the nuclear astrophysics community and funding agencies about the scientific directions and priorities of the field and provides input from this community for the 2015 Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It summarizes the outcome of the nuclear astrophysics town meeting that was held on August 21–23, 2014 in College Station at the campus of Texas A&M University in preparation of the NSAC Nuclear Science Long Range Plan. It also reflects the outcome of an earlier town meeting of the nuclear astrophysics community organized by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (JINA) on October 9–10, 2012 Detroit, Michigan, with the purpose of developing a vision for nuclear astrophysics in light of the recent NRC decadal surveys in nuclear physics (NP2010) and astronomy (ASTRO2010). The white paper is furthermore informed by the town meeting of the Association of Research at University Nuclear Accelerators (ARUNA) that took place at the University of Notre Dame on June 12–13, 2014. In summary we find that nuclear astrophysics is a modern and vibrant field addressing fundamental science questions at the intersection of nuclear physics and astrophysics. These questions relate to the origin of the elements, the nuclear engines that drive life and death of stars, and the properties of dense matter. A broad range of nuclear accelerator facilities, astronomical observatories, theory efforts, and computational capabilities are needed. With the developments outlined in this white paper, answers to long standing key questions are well within reach in the coming decade
CERN openlab Whitepaper on Future IT Challenges in Scientific Research
This whitepaper describes the major IT challenges in scientific research at CERN and several other European and international research laboratories and projects. Each challenge is exemplified through a set of concrete use cases drawn from the requirements of large-scale scientific programs. The paper is based on contributions from many researchers and IT experts of the participating laboratories and also input from the existing CERN openlab industrial sponsors. The views expressed in this document are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of their organisations and/or affiliates
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