106,652 research outputs found

    Phase field models and higher-order active contours

    Get PDF
    The representation and modelling of regions is an important topic in computer vision. In this paper, we represent a region via a level set of a 'phase field' function. The function is not constrained, e.g. to be a distance function; nevertheless, phase field energies equivalent to classical active contour energies can be defined. They represent an advantageous alternative to other methods: a linear representation space; ease of implementation (a PDE with no reinitialization); neutral initialization; greater topological freedom. We extend the basic phase field model with terms that reproduce 'higher-order active contour' energies, a powerful way of including prior geometric knowledge in the active contour framework via nonlocal interactions between contour points, in addition to the above advantages, the phase field greatly simplifies the analysis and implementation of the higher-order terms. We define a phase field model that favours regions composed of thin arms meeting at junctions, combine this with image terms, and apply the model to the extraction of line networks from remote sensing images

    Inflection point model under phase field higher-order active contours for network extraction from VHR satellite images

    Get PDF
    The segmentation of networks is important in several imaging domains, and models incorporating prior shape knowledge are often essential for the automatic performance of this task. We incorporate such knowledge via phase fields and higher-order active contours (HOACs). In this paper: we introduce an improved prior model, the phase field HOAC `inflection point' model of a network; we present an improved data term for the segmentation of road networks; we confirm the robustness of the resulting model to choice of gradient descent initialization; and we illustrate these points via road network extraction results on VHR satellite images

    INFLECTION POINT PHASE FIELD HIGHER-ORDER ACTIVE CONTOUR MODEL FOR NETWORK EXTRACTION FROM VHR SATELLITE IMAGES

    Get PDF
    International audienceThe segmentation of networks is important in several imaging domains, and models incorporating prior shape knowledge are often essential for the automatic performance of this task. We incorporate such knowledge via phase fields and higher-order active contours (HOACs). In this paper: we introduce an improved prior model, the phase field HOAC ‘inflection point' model of a network; we present an improved data term for the segmentation of road networks; we confirm the robustness of the resulting model to choice of gradient descent initialization; and we illustrate these points via road network extraction results on VHR satellite images

    Remnant radio-loud AGN in the Herschel-ATLAS field

    Get PDF
    Only a small fraction of observed active galactic nuclei (AGN) display large-scale radio emission associated with jets, yet these radio-loud AGN have become increasingly important in models of galaxy evolution. In determining the dynamics and energetics of the radio sources over cosmic time, a key question concerns what happens when their jets switch off. The resulting ‘remnant' radio-loud AGN have been surprisingly evasive in past radio surveys, and therefore statistical information on the population of radio-loud AGN in their dying phase is limited. In this paper, with the recent developments of Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) and the Very Large Array, we are able to provide a systematically selected sample of remnant radio-loud AGN in the Herschel-ATLAS field. Using a simple core-detection method, we constrain the upper limit on the fraction of remnants in our radio-loud AGN sample to 9 per cent, implying that the extended lobe emission fades rapidly once the core/jets turn off. We also find that our remnant sample has a wide range of spectral indices (−1.5 ⩽ α1400150 ⩽ −0.5), confirming that the lobes of some remnants may possess flat spectra at low frequencies just as active sources do. We suggest that, even with the unprecedented sensitivity of LOFAR, our sample may still only contain the youngest of the remnant population

    In search of dying radio sources in the local universe

    Full text link
    Up till now very few dying sources were known, presumably because the dying phase is short at centimeter wavelengths. We therefore have tried to improve the statistics on sources that have ceased to be active, or are intermittently active. The latter sources would partly consist of a fossil radio plasma left over from an earlier phase of activity, plus a recently restarted core and radio jets. Improving the statistics of dying sources will give us a better handle on the evolution of radio sources, in particular the frequency and time scales of radio activity. We have used the WENSS and NVSS surveys, in order to find sources with steep spectral indices, associated with nearby elliptical galaxies. In the cross correlation we presently used only unresolved sources, with flux densities at 1.4 GHz larger than 10 mJy. The eleven candidates thus obtained were observed with the VLA in various configurations, in order to confirm the steepness of the spectra, and to check whether active structures like flat-spectrum cores and jets are present, perhaps at low levels. We estimated the duration of the active and relic phases by modelling the integrated radio spectra using the standard models of spectral evolution. We have found six dying sources and three restarted sources, while the remaining two candidates remain unresolved also with the new VLA data and may be Compact Steep Spectrum sources, with an unusually steep spectrum. The typical age of the active phase, as derived by spectral fits, is in the range 10^7 - 10^8 years. For our sample of dying sources, the age of the relic phase is on average shorter by an order of magnitude than the active phase.Comment: 21 pages, 17 figures, accepted by A&A. For a version with high quality figures, see http://erg.ca.astro.it/preprints/dying2007

    Gap Filling of 3-D Microvascular Networks by Tensor Voting

    Get PDF
    We present a new algorithm which merges discontinuities in 3-D images of tubular structures presenting undesirable gaps. The application of the proposed method is mainly associated to large 3-D images of microvascular networks. In order to recover the real network topology, we need to fill the gaps between the closest discontinuous vessels. The algorithm presented in this paper aims at achieving this goal. This algorithm is based on the skeletonization of the segmented network followed by a tensor voting method. It permits to merge the most common kinds of discontinuities found in microvascular networks. It is robust, easy to use, and relatively fast. The microvascular network images were obtained using synchrotron tomography imaging at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. These images exhibit samples of intracortical networks. Representative results are illustrated

    Double-double radio galaxies: further insights into the formation of the radio structures

    Get PDF
    Double-double radio galaxies (DDRGs) offer a unique opportunity for us to study multiple episodes of jet activity in large-scale radio sources. We use radio data from the Very Large Array and the literature to model two DDRGs, B1450+333 and B1834+620, in terms of their dynamical evolution. We find that the standard Fanaroff-Riley II model is able to explain the properties of the two outer lobes of each source, whereby the lobes are formed by ram-pressure balance of a shock at the end of the jet with the surrounding medium. The inner pairs of lobes, however, are not well-described by the standard model. Instead we interpret the inner lobes as arising from the emission of relativistic electrons within the outer lobes, which are compressed and re-accelerated by the bow-shock in front of the restarted jets and within the outer lobes. The predicted rapid progression of the inner lobes through the outer lobes requires the eventual development of a hotspot at the edge of the outer lobe, causing the DDRG ultimately to resemble a standard Fanaroff-Riley II radio galaxy. This may suggest that DDRGs are a brief, yet normal, phase of the evolution of large-scale radio galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 17 pages; 15 figures, 2 of which are in colou

    First Detection of a Strong Magnetic Field on a Bursty Brown Dwarf: Puzzle Solved

    Get PDF
    We report the first direct detection of a strong, 5 kG magnetic field on the surface of an active brown dwarf. LSR J1835+3259 is an M8.5 dwarf exhibiting transient radio and optical emission bursts modulated by fast rotation. We have detected the surface magnetic field as circularly polarized signatures in the 819 nm sodium lines when an active emission region faced the Earth. Modeling Stokes profiles of these lines reveals the effective temperature of 2800 K and log gravity acceleration of 4.5. These parameters place LSR J1835+3259 on evolutionary tracks as a young brown dwarf with the mass of 55±\pm4 MJ_{\rm J} and age of 22±\pm4 Myr. Its magnetic field is at least 5.1 kG and covers at least 11% of the visible hemisphere. The active region topology recovered using line profile inversions comprises hot plasma loops with a vertical stratification of optical and radio emission sources. These loops rotate with the dwarf in and out of view causing periodic emission bursts. The magnetic field is detected at the base of the loops. This is the first time that we can quantitatively associate brown dwarf non-thermal bursts with a strong, 5 kG surface magnetic field and solve the puzzle of their driving mechanism. This is also the coolest known dwarf with such a strong surface magnetic field. The young age of LSR J1835+3259 implies that it may still maintain a disk, which may facilitate bursts via magnetospheric accretion, like in higher-mass T Tau-type stars. Our results pave a path toward magnetic studies of brown dwarfs and hot Jupiters.Comment: ApJ, in pres
    corecore