36,213 research outputs found
An update of the on-sky performance of the Layer-Oriented wave-front sensor for MAD
The Multi-conjugate Adaptive optics Demonstrator, MAD, successfully
demonstrated on sky the MCAO technique both in Layer Oriented and Star Oriented
modes. As results of the Guaranteed Time Observations in Layer Oriented mode
quality astronomy papers have been published. In this paper we concentrate on
the instrumentation issues and technical aspects which stay behind this
success.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE conference "Adaptive
Optics Systems II", 27 June 2010, San Diego, California, US
Feature-Based Diversity Optimization for Problem Instance Classification
Understanding the behaviour of heuristic search methods is a challenge. This
even holds for simple local search methods such as 2-OPT for the Traveling
Salesperson problem. In this paper, we present a general framework that is able
to construct a diverse set of instances that are hard or easy for a given
search heuristic. Such a diverse set is obtained by using an evolutionary
algorithm for constructing hard or easy instances that are diverse with respect
to different features of the underlying problem. Examining the constructed
instance sets, we show that many combinations of two or three features give a
good classification of the TSP instances in terms of whether they are hard to
be solved by 2-OPT.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figure
Micro-to-macro: astrodynamics at extremes of lengths-scale
This paper investigates astrodynamics at extremes of length-scale, ranging from swarms of future `smart dust' devices to the capture and utilisation of small near Earth asteroids. At the smallest length-scales families of orbits are found which balance the energy gain from solar radiation pressure with energy dissipation due to air drag. This results in long orbit lifetimes for high area-to-mass ratio `smart dust' devices. High area-to-mass hybrid spacecraft, using both solar sail and electric propulsion, are then considered to enable `pole-sitter' orbits providing a polar-stationary vantage point for Earth observation. These spacecraft are also considered to enable displaced geostationary orbits. Finally, the potential material resource available from captured near Earth asteroids is considered which can underpin future large-scale space engineering ventures. The use of such material for geo-engineering is investigated using a cloud of unprocessed dust in the vicinity of the Earth-Sun point to fractionally reduce solar insolation
Improving elevation perception with a tool for image-guided head-related transfer function selection
This paper proposes an image-guided HRTF selection procedure that exploits the relation between features of the pinna shape and HRTF notches. Using a 2D image of a subject's pinna, the procedure selects from a database the HRTF set that best fits the anthropometry of that subject. The proposed procedure is designed to be quickly applied and easy to use for a user without previous knowledge on binaural audio technologies. The entire process is evaluated by means of an auditory model for sound localization in the mid-sagittal plane available from previous literature. Using virtual subjects from a HRTF database, a virtual experiment is implemented to assess the vertical localization performance of the database subjects when they are provided with HRTF sets selected by the proposed procedure. Results report a statistically significant improvement in predictions of localization performance for selected HRTFs compared to KEMAR HRTF which is a commercial standard in many binaural audio solutions; moreover, the proposed analysis provides useful indications to refine the perceptually-motivated metrics that guides the selection
Data-Collection for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: a Network-Flow Heuristic
The goal of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey is ``to map in detail one-quarter of
the entire sky, determining the positions and absolute brightnesses of more
than 100 million celestial objects''. The survey will be performed by taking
``snapshots'' through a large telescope. Each snapshot can capture up to 600
objects from a small circle of the sky. This paper describes the design and
implementation of the algorithm that is being used to determine the snapshots
so as to minimize their number. The problem is NP-hard in general; the
algorithm described is a heuristic, based on Lagriangian-relaxation and
min-cost network flow. It gets within 5-15% of a naive lower bound, whereas
using a ``uniform'' cover only gets within 25-35%.Comment: proceedings version appeared in ACM-SIAM Symposium on Discrete
Algorithms (1998
Nonperturbative Ambiguities and the Reality of Resurgent Transseries
In a wide range of quantum theoretical settings -- from quantum mechanics to
quantum field theory, from gauge theory to string theory -- singularities in
the complex Borel plane, usually associated to instantons or renormalons,
render perturbation theory ill-defined as they give rise to nonperturbative
ambiguities. These ambiguities are associated to choices of an integration
contour in the resummation of perturbation theory, along (singular) Stokes
directions in the complex Borel plane (rendering perturbative expansions
non-Borel summable along any Stokes line). More recently, it has been shown
that the proper framework to address these issues is that of resurgent analysis
and transseries. In this context, the cancelation of all nonperturbative
ambiguities is shown to be a consequence of choosing the transseries median
resummation as the appropriate family of unambiguous real solutions along the
coupling-constant real axis. While the median resummation is easily implemented
for one-parameter transseries, once one considers more general multi-parameter
transseries the procedure becomes highly dependent upon properly understanding
Stokes transitions in the complex Borel plane. In particular, all Stokes
coefficients must now be known in order to explicitly implement multi-parameter
median resummations. In the cases where quantum-theoretical physical
observables are described by resurgent functions and transseries, the methods
described herein show how one may cancel nonperturbative ambiguities, and
define these observables nonperturbatively starting out from perturbation
theory. Along the way, structural results concerning resurgent transseries are
also obtained.Comment: 62 pages, 4 figures; v2: corrected typos, added small discussion on
topological sectors, two new figure
Consistency of compact and extended models of glucose-insulin homeostasis: The role of variable pancreatic reserve
Published compact and extended models of the glucose-insulin physiologic control system are compared, in order to understand why a specific functional form of the compact model proved to be necessary for a satisfactory representation of acute perturbation experiments such as the Intra Venous Glucose Tolerance Test (IVGTT). A spectrum of IVGTTâs of virtual subjects ranging from normal to IFG to IGT to frank T2DM were simulated using an extended model incorporating the population-of-controllers paradigm originally hypothesized by Grodsky, and proven to be able to capture a wide array of experimental results from heterogeneous perturbation procedures. The simulated IVGTTâs were then fitted with the Single-Delay Model (SDM), a compact model with only six free parameters, previously shown to be very effective in delivering precise estimates of insulin sensitivity and secretion during an IVGTT. Comparison of the generating, extended-model parameter values with the obtained compact model estimates shows that the functional form of the nonlinear insulin-secretion term, empirically found to be necessary for the compact model to satisfactorily fit clinical observations, captures the pancreatic reserve level of the simulated virtual patients. This result supports the validity of the compact model as a meaningful analysis tool for the clinical assessment of insulin sensitivity
Sensor Networks TDOA Self-Calibration: 2D Complexity Analysis and Solutions
Given a network of receivers and transmitters, the process of determining
their positions from measured pseudo-ranges is known as network
self-calibration. In this paper we consider 2D networks with synchronized
receivers but unsynchronized transmitters and the corresponding calibration
techniques,known as TDOA techniques. Despite previous work, TDOA
self-calibration is computationally challenging. Iterative algorithms are very
sensitive to the initialization, causing convergence issues.In this paper, we
present a novel approach, which gives an algebraic solution to three previously
unsolved scenarios. Our solvers can lead to a position error <1.2% and are
robust to noise
Solving the planar p-median problem by variable neighborhood and concentric searches
Two new approaches for the solution of the p-median problem
in the plane are proposed. One is a Variable Neighborhood Search (VNS)
and the other one is a concentric search. Both approaches are enhanced by a
front-end procedure for finding good starting solutions and a decomposition
heuristic acting as a post optimization procedure. Computational results
confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms
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