211,581 research outputs found
Radio Properties of the Shapley Concentration. III. Merging Clusters in the A3558 Complex
We present the results of a 22 cm radio survey carried out with the A3558
complex, a chain formed by the merging ACO clusters A3556-A3558-A3562 and
thetwo groups SC1327-312 and SC1323-313, located in the central region of the
complex, a chain formed by the merging ACO clusters A3556-A3558-A3562 and the
two groups SC1327-312 and SC1323-313, located in the central region of the
Shapley Concentration. The purpose of our survey is to study the effects of
cluster mergers on the statistical properties of radio galaxies and to
investigate the connection between mergers and the presence of radio halos and
relic sources. We found that the radio source counts in the A3558 complex are
consistent with the background source counts. Furthermore, we found that no
correlation exists between the local density and the radio source power, and
that steep spectrum radio galaxies are not segregated in denser optical
regions. The radio luminosity function for elliptical and S0 galaxies is
significantly lower than that for cluster type galaxies and for those not
selected to be in clusters at radio powers logP(1.4) > 22.5, implying that the
probability of a galaxy becoming a radio source above this power limit is lower
in the Shapley Concentration compared with any other environment. The detection
of a head-tail source in the centre of A3562, coupled with careful inspection
of the 20 cm NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and of 36 cm MOST observations, allowed
us to spot two extended sources in the region between A3562 and SC1329-313,
i.e. a candidate radio halo at the centre of A3562, and low brightness extended
emission around a 14.96 magnitude Shapley galaxy.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication on MNRA
A Bayesian approach to discrete object detection in astronomical datasets
A Bayesian approach is presented for detecting and characterising the signal
from discrete objects embedded in a diffuse background. The approach centres
around the evaluation of the posterior distribution for the parameters of the
discrete objects, given the observed data, and defines the
theoretically-optimal procedure for parametrised object detection. Two
alternative strategies are investigated: the simultaneous detection of all the
discrete objects in the dataset, and the iterative detection of objects. In
both cases, the parameter space characterising the object(s) is explored using
Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo sampling. For the iterative detection of objects,
another approach is to locate the global maximum of the posterior at each
iteration using a simulated annealing downhill simplex algorithm. The
techniques are applied to a two-dimensional toy problem consisting of Gaussian
objects embedded in uncorrelated pixel noise. A cosmological illustration of
the iterative approach is also presented, in which the thermal and kinetic
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects from clusters of galaxies are detected in microwave
maps dominated by emission from primordial cosmic microwave background
anisotropies.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, accepted by MNRAS; contains some additional
material in response to referee's comment
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich clusters reconstruction in multiband bolometer camera surveys
We present a new method for the reconstruction of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ)
galaxy clusters in future SZ-survey experiments using multiband bolometer
cameras such as Olimpo, APEX, or Planck. Our goal is to optimise SZ-Cluster
extraction from our observed noisy maps. We wish to emphasize that none of the
algorithms used in the detection chain is tuned on prior knowledge on the SZ
-Cluster signal, or other astrophysical sources (Optical Spectrum, Noise
Covariance Matrix, or covariance of SZ Cluster wavelet coefficients). First, a
blind separation of the different astrophysical components which contribute to
the observations is conducted using an Independent Component Analysis (ICA)
method. Then, a recent non linear filtering technique in the wavelet domain,
based on multiscale entropy and the False Discovery Rate (FDR) method, is used
to detect and reconstruct the galaxy clusters. Finally, we use the Source
Extractor software to identify the detected clusters. The proposed method was
applied on realistic simulations of observations. As for global detection
efficiency, this new method is impressive as it provides comparable results to
Pierpaoli et al. method being however a blind algorithm. Preprint with full
resolution figures is available at the URL:
w10-dapnia.saclay.cea.fr/Phocea/Vie_des_labos/Ast/ast_visu.php?id_ast=728Comment: Submitted to A&A. 32 Pages, text onl
Simulation and Analysis Chain for Acoustic Ultra-high Energy Neutrino Detectors in Water
Acousticneutrinodetectionisapromisingapproachforlarge-scaleultra-highenergyneutrinodetectorsinwater.In
this article, a Monte Carlo simulation chain for acoustic neutrino detection
devices in water will be presented. The simulation chain covers the generation
of the acoustic pulse produced by a neutrino interaction and its propagation to
the sensors within the detector. Currently, ambient and transient noise models
for the Mediterranean Sea and simulations of the data acquisition hardware,
equivalent to the one used in ANTARES/AMADEUS, are implemented. A pre-selection
scheme for neutrino-like signals based on matched filtering is employed, as it
is used for on-line filtering. To simulate the whole processing chain for
experimental data, signal classification and acoustic source reconstruction
algorithms are integrated in an analysis chain. An overview of design and
capabilities of the simulation and analysis chain will be presented and
preliminary studies will be discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, ARENA 2012. arXiv admin note: substantial text
overlap with arXiv:1304.057
Detection of Side Chain Rearrangements Mediating the Motions of Transmembrane Helices in Molecular Dynamics Simulations of G Protein-Coupled Receptors.
Structure and dynamics are essential elements of protein function. Protein structure is constantly fluctuating and undergoing conformational changes, which are captured by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We introduce a computational framework that provides a compact representation of the dynamic conformational space of biomolecular simulations. This method presents a systematic approach designed to reduce the large MD simulation spatiotemporal datasets into a manageable set in order to guide our understanding of how protein mechanics emerge from side chain organization and dynamic reorganization. We focus on the detection of side chain interactions that undergo rearrangements mediating global domain motions and vice versa. Side chain rearrangements are extracted from side chain interactions that undergo well-defined abrupt and persistent changes in distance time series using Gaussian mixture models, whereas global domain motions are detected using dynamic cross-correlation. Both side chain rearrangements and global domain motions represent the dynamic components of the protein MD simulation, and are both mapped into a network where they are connected based on their degree of coupling. This method allows for the study of allosteric communication in proteins by mapping out the protein dynamics into an intramolecular network to reduce the large simulation data into a manageable set of communities composed of coupled side chain rearrangements and global domain motions. This computational framework is suitable for the study of tightly packed proteins, such as G protein-coupled receptors, and we present an application on a seven microseconds MD trajectory of CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) bound to its ligand CCL21
Clustering in Block Markov Chains
This paper considers cluster detection in Block Markov Chains (BMCs). These
Markov chains are characterized by a block structure in their transition
matrix. More precisely, the possible states are divided into a finite
number of groups or clusters, such that states in the same cluster exhibit
the same transition rates to other states. One observes a trajectory of the
Markov chain, and the objective is to recover, from this observation only, the
(initially unknown) clusters. In this paper we devise a clustering procedure
that accurately, efficiently, and provably detects the clusters. We first
derive a fundamental information-theoretical lower bound on the detection error
rate satisfied under any clustering algorithm. This bound identifies the
parameters of the BMC, and trajectory lengths, for which it is possible to
accurately detect the clusters. We next develop two clustering algorithms that
can together accurately recover the cluster structure from the shortest
possible trajectories, whenever the parameters allow detection. These
algorithms thus reach the fundamental detectability limit, and are optimal in
that sense.Comment: 73 pages, 18 plots, second revisio
Tandem: A Context-Aware Method for Spontaneous Clustering of Dynamic Wireless Sensor Nodes
Wireless sensor nodes attached to everyday objects and worn by people are able to collaborate and actively assist users in their activities. We propose a method through which wireless sensor nodes organize spontaneously into clusters based on a common context. Provided that the confidence of sharing a common context varies in time, the algorithm takes into account a window-based history of believes. We approximate the behaviour of the algorithm using a Markov chain model and we analyse theoretically the cluster stability. We compare the theoretical approximation with simulations, by making use of experimental results reported from field tests. We show the tradeoff between the time history necessary to achieve a certain stability and the responsiveness of the clustering algorithm
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