21,459 research outputs found
Variation of the Diameter of the Sun as Measured by the Solar Disk Sextant (SDS)
The balloon-borne Solar Disk Sextant (SDS) experiment has measured the
angular size of the Sun on seven occasions spanning the years 1992 to 2011. The
solar half-diameter -- observed in a 100-nm wide passband centred at 615 nm --
is found to vary over that period by up to 200 mas, while the typical estimated
uncertainty of each measure is 20 mas. The diameter variation is not in phase
with the solar activity cycle; thus, the measured diameter variation cannot be
explained as an observational artefact of surface activity. Other possible
instrument-related explanations for the observed variation are considered but
found unlikely, leading us to conclude that the variation is real. The SDS is
described here in detail, as is the complete analysis procedure necessary to
calibrate the instrument and allow comparison of diameter measures across
decades.Comment: 41 pages; appendix and 2 figures added plus some changes in text
based on referee's comments; to appear in MNRA
Time-scale analysis of abrupt changes corrupted by multiplicative noise
Multiplicative Abrupt Changes (ACs) have been considered in many applications. These applications include image processing (speckle) and random communication models (fading). Previous authors have shown that the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) has good detection properties for ACs in additive noise. This work applies the CWT to AC detection in multiplicative noise. CWT translation invariance allows to define an AC signature. The problem then becomes signature detection in the time-scale domain. A second-order contrast criterion is defined as a measure of detection performance. This criterion depends upon the first- and second-order moments of the multiplicative process's CWT. An optimal wavelet (maximizing the contrast) is derived for an ideal step in white multiplicative noise. This wavelet is asymptotically optimal for smooth changes and can be approximated for small AC amplitudes by the Haar wavelet. Linear and quadratic suboptimal signature-based detectors are also studied. Closed-form threshold expressions are given as functions of the false alarm probability for three of the detectors. Detection performance is characterized using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves computed from Monte-Carlo simulations
Probes of Lorentz Violation in Neutrino Propagation
It has been suggested that the interactions of energetic particles with the
foamy structure of space-time thought to be generated by quantum-gravitational
(QG) effects might violate Lorentz invariance, so that they do not propagate at
a universal speed of light. We consider the limits that may be set on a linear
or quadratic violation of Lorentz invariance in the propagation of energetic
neutrinos, v/c=[1 +- (E/M_\nuQG1)] or [1 +- (E/M_\nu QG2}^2], using data from
supernova explosions and the OPERA long-baseline neutrino experiment. Using the
SN1987a neutrino data from the Kamioka II, IMB and Baksan experiments, we set
the limits M_\nuQG1 > 2.7(2.5)x10^10 GeV for subluminal (superluminal)
propagation, respectively, and M_\nuQG2 >4.6(4.1)x10^4 GeV at the 95%
confidence level. A future galactic supernova at a distance of 10 kpc would
have sensitivity to M_\nuQG1 > 2(4)x10^11 GeV for subluminal (superluminal)
propagation, respectively, and M_\nuQG2 > 2(4)x10^5 GeV. With the current CNGS
extraction spill length of 10.5 micro seconds and with standard clock
synchronization techniques, the sensitivity of the OPERA experiment would reach
M_\nuQG1 ~ 7x10^5 GeV (M_\nuQG2 ~ 8x10^3 GeV) after 5 years of nominal running.
If the time structure of the SPS RF bunches within the extracted CNGS spills
could be exploited, these figures would be significantly improved to M_\nuQG1 ~
5x10^7 GeV (M_\nuQG2 ~ 4x10^4 GeV). These results can be improved further if
similar time resolution can be achieved with neutrino events occurring in the
rock upstream of the OPERA detector: we find potential sensitivities to
M_\nuQG1 ~ 4x10^8 GeV and M_\nuQG2 ~ 7x10^5 GeV.Comment: 33 pages, 22 figures, version accepted for publication in Physical
Review
Exploration of Possible Quantum Gravity Effects with Neutrinos II: Lorentz Violation in Neutrino Propagation
It has been suggested that the interactions of energetic particles with the
foamy structure of space-time thought to be generated by quantum-gravitational
(QG) effects might violate Lorentz invariance, so that they do not propagate at
a universal speed of light. We consider the limits that may be set on a linear
or quadratic violation of Lorentz invariance in the propagation of energetic
neutrinos, v/c=[1 +- (E/M_\nuQG1)] or [1 +- (E/M_\nu QG2}^2], using data from
supernova explosions and the OPERA long-baseline neutrino experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, proceedings for invited talk by A.Sakharov at
DISCRETE'08, Valencia, Spain; December 200
Continuous bunch-by-bunch spectroscopic investigation of the micro-bunching instability
Electron accelerators and synchrotrons can be operated to provide short
emission pulses due to longitudinally compressed or sub-structured electron
bunches. Above a threshold current, the high charge density leads to the
micro-bunching instability and the formation of sub-structures on the bunch
shape. These time-varying sub-structures on bunches of picoseconds-long
duration lead to bursts of coherent synchrotron radiation in the terahertz
frequency range. Therefore, the spectral information in this range contains
valuable information about the bunch length, shape and sub-structures. Based on
the KAPTURE readout system, a 4-channel single-shot THz spectrometer capable of
recording 500 million spectra per second and streaming readout is presented.
First measurements of time-resolved spectra are compared to simulation results
of the Inovesa Vlasov-Fokker-Planck solver. The presented results lead to a
better understanding of the bursting dynamics especially above the
micro-bunching instability threshold.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure
Nonlinearity and pixel shifting effects in HXRG infrared detectors
We study the nonlinearity (NL) in the conversion from charge to voltage in
infrared detectors (HXRG) for use in precision astronomy. We present laboratory
measurements of the NL function of a H2RG detector and discuss the accuracy to
which it would need to be calibrated in future space missions to perform
cosmological measurements through the weak gravitational lensing technique. In
addition, we present an analysis of archival data from the infrared H1RG
detector of the Wide Field Camera 3 in the Hubble Space Telescope that provides
evidence consistent with the existence of a sensor effect analogous to the
brighter-fatter effect found in Charge-Coupled Devices. We propose a model in
which this effect could be understood as shifts in the effective pixel
boundaries, and discuss prospects of laboratory measurements to fully
characterize this effect.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Instrumentation (JINST).
Part of "Precision Astronomy with Fully Depleted CCDs" (Dec 1-2, 2016),
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, US
Principled Design and Implementation of Steerable Detectors
We provide a complete pipeline for the detection of patterns of interest in
an image. In our approach, the patterns are assumed to be adequately modeled by
a known template, and are located at unknown position and orientation. We
propose a continuous-domain additive image model, where the analyzed image is
the sum of the template and an isotropic background signal with self-similar
isotropic power-spectrum. The method is able to learn an optimal steerable
filter fulfilling the SNR criterion based on one single template and background
pair, that therefore strongly responds to the template, while optimally
decoupling from the background model. The proposed filter then allows for a
fast detection process, with the unknown orientation estimation through the use
of steerability properties. In practice, the implementation requires to
discretize the continuous-domain formulation on polar grids, which is performed
using radial B-splines. We demonstrate the practical usefulness of our method
on a variety of template approximation and pattern detection experiments
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