17,555 research outputs found
SILC: a new Planck Internal Linear Combination CMB temperature map using directional wavelets
We present new clean maps of the CMB temperature anisotropies (as measured by
Planck) constructed with a novel internal linear combination (ILC) algorithm
using directional, scale-discretised wavelets --- Scale-discretised,
directional wavelet ILC or SILC. Directional wavelets, when convolved with
signals on the sphere, can separate the anisotropic filamentary structures
which are characteristic of both the CMB and foregrounds. Extending previous
component separation methods, which use the frequency, spatial and harmonic
signatures of foregrounds to separate them from the cosmological background
signal, SILC can additionally use morphological information in the foregrounds
and CMB to better localise the cleaning algorithm. We test the method on Planck
data and simulations, demonstrating consistency with existing component
separation algorithms, and discuss how to optimise the use of morphological
information by varying the number of directional wavelets as a function of
spatial scale. We find that combining the use of directional and axisymmetric
wavelets depending on scale could yield higher quality CMB temperature maps.
Our results set the stage for the application of SILC to polarisation
anisotropies through an extension to spin wavelets.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures. Minor changes to match version published in
MNRAS. Map products available at http://www.silc-cmb.or
Spin-SILC: CMB polarisation component separation with spin wavelets
We present Spin-SILC, a new foreground component separation method that
accurately extracts the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarisation and
modes from raw multifrequency Stokes and measurements of the
microwave sky. Spin-SILC is an internal linear combination method that uses
spin wavelets to analyse the spin-2 polarisation signal . The
wavelets are additionally directional (non-axisymmetric). This allows different
morphologies of signals to be separated and therefore the cleaning algorithm is
localised using an additional domain of information. The advantage of spin
wavelets over standard scalar wavelets is to simultaneously and
self-consistently probe scales and directions in the polarisation signal and in the underlying and modes, therefore providing the ability
to perform component separation and - decomposition concurrently for the
first time. We test Spin-SILC on full-mission Planck simulations and data and
show the capacity to correctly recover the underlying cosmological and
modes. We also demonstrate a strong consistency of our CMB maps with those
derived from existing component separation methods. Spin-SILC can be combined
with the pseudo- and pure - spin wavelet estimators presented in a
companion paper to reliably extract the cosmological signal in the presence of
complicated sky cuts and noise. Therefore, it will provide a
computationally-efficient method to accurately extract the CMB and
modes for future polarisation experiments.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes to match version published in
MNRAS. Map products available at http://www.silc-cmb.org. Companion paper:
arXiv:1605.01414 "Wavelet reconstruction of pure E and B modes for CMB
polarisation and cosmic shear analyses" (B. Leistedt et al.
Simulating full-sky interferometric observations
Aperture array interferometers, such as that proposed for the Square
Kilometre Array (SKA), will see the entire sky, hence the standard approach to
simulating visibilities will not be applicable since it relies on a tangent
plane approximation that is valid only for small fields of view. We derive
interferometric formulations in real, spherical harmonic and wavelet space that
include contributions over the entire sky and do not rely on any tangent plane
approximations. A fast wavelet method is developed to simulate the visibilities
observed by an interferometer in the full-sky setting. Computing visibilities
using the fast wavelet method adapts to the sparse representation of the
primary beam and sky intensity in the wavelet basis. Consequently, the fast
wavelet method exhibits superior computational complexity to the real and
spherical harmonic space methods and may be performed at substantially lower
computational cost, while introducing only negligible error to simulated
visibilities. Low-resolution interferometric observations are simulated using
all of the methods to compare their performance, demonstrating that the fast
wavelet method is approximately three times faster that the other methods for
these low-resolution simulations. The computational burden of the real and
spherical harmonic space methods renders these techniques computationally
infeasible for higher resolution simulations. High-resolution interferometric
observations are simulated using the fast wavelet method only, demonstrating
and validating the application of this method to realistic simulations. The
fast wavelet method is estimated to provide a greater than ten-fold reduction
in execution time compared to the other methods for these high-resolution
simulations.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, replaced to match version accepted by MNRAS
(major additions to previous version including new fast wavelet method
The spatio-temporal mapping of epileptic networks: Combination of EEG–fMRI and EEG source imaging
Simultaneous EEG–fMRI acquisitions in patients with epilepsy often reveal distributed patterns of Blood Oxygen Level Dependant (BOLD) change correlated with epileptiform discharges. We investigated if electrical source imaging (ESI) performed on the interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) acquired during fMRI acquisition could be used to study the dynamics of the networks identified by the BOLD effect, thereby avoiding the limitations of combining results from separate recordings.
Nine selected patients (13 IED types identified) with focal epilepsy underwent EEG–fMRI. Statistical analysis was performed using SPM5 to create BOLD maps. ESI was performed on the IED recorded during fMRI acquisition using a realistic head model (SMAC) and a distributed linear inverse solution (LAURA).
ESI could not be performed in one case. In 10/12 remaining studies, ESI at IED onset (ESIo) was anatomically close to one BOLD cluster. Interestingly, ESIo was closest to the positive BOLD cluster with maximal statistical significance in only 4/12 cases and closest to negative BOLD responses in 4/12 cases. Very small BOLD clusters could also have clinical relevance in some cases. ESI at later time frame (ESIp) showed propagation to remote sources co-localised with other BOLD clusters in half of cases. In concordant cases, the distance between maxima of ESI and the closest EEG–fMRI cluster was less than 33 mm, in agreement with previous studies.
We conclude that simultaneous ESI and EEG–fMRI analysis may be able to distinguish areas of BOLD response related to initiation of IED from propagation areas. This combination provides new opportunities for investigating epileptic networks
Super-Resolution Microscopy: A Virus’ Eye View of the Cell
It is difficult to observe the molecular choreography between viruses and host cell components, as they exist on a spatial scale beyond the reach of conventional microscopy. However, novel super-resolution microscopy techniques have cast aside technical limitations to reveal a nanoscale view of virus replication and cell biology. This article provides an introduction to super-resolution imaging; in particular, localisation microscopy, and explores the application of such technologies to the study of viruses and tetraspanins, the topic of this special issue
A liquid Xenon Positron Emission Tomograph for small animal imaging : first experimental results of a prototype cell
A detector using liquid Xenon (LXe) in the scintillation mode is studied for
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) of small animals. Its specific design aims
at taking full advantage of the Liquid Xenon scintillation properties. This
paper reports on energy, time and spatial resolution capabilities of the first
LXe prototype module equipped with a Position Sensitive Photo- Multiplier tube
(PSPMT) operating in the VUV range (178 nm) and at 165 K. The experimental
results show that such a LXe PET configuration might be a promising solution
insensitive to any parallax effect.Comment: 34 pages, 18 pages, to appear in NIM
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