8,095 research outputs found
The Skewness of the Aperture Mass Statistic
We present simple formulae for calculating the skewness and kurtosis of the
aperture mass statistic for weak lensing surveys which is insensitive to
masking effects of survey geometry or variable survey depth. The calculation is
the higher order analog of the formula given by Schneider et al (2002) which
has been used to compute the variance of the aperture mass from several lensing
surveys. As our formula requires the three-point shear correlation function, we
also present an efficient tree-based algorithm for measuring it. We show how
our algorithm would scale in computing time and memory usage for future lensing
surveys. Finally, we apply the procedure to our CTIO survey data, originally
described in Jarvis et al (2003). We find that the skewness is positive
(inconsistent with zero) at the 2 sigma level. However, the signal is too noisy
from this data to usefully constrain cosmology.Comment: 16 pages, accepted by MNRAS. Minor revisions; this replacement
matches the accepted versio
Gravitational waves from Sco X-1: A comparison of search methods and prospects for detection with advanced detectors
The low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1 (Sco X-1) is potentially the most
luminous source of continuous gravitational-wave radiation for interferometers
such as LIGO and Virgo. For low-mass X-ray binaries this radiation would be
sustained by active accretion of matter from its binary companion. With the
Advanced Detector Era fast approaching, work is underway to develop an array of
robust tools for maximizing the science and detection potential of Sco X-1. We
describe the plans and progress of a project designed to compare the numerous
independent search algorithms currently available. We employ a mock-data
challenge in which the search pipelines are tested for their relative
proficiencies in parameter estimation, computational efficiency, robust- ness,
and most importantly, search sensitivity. The mock-data challenge data contains
an ensemble of 50 Scorpius X-1 (Sco X-1) type signals, simulated within a
frequency band of 50-1500 Hz. Simulated detector noise was generated assuming
the expected best strain sensitivity of Advanced LIGO and Advanced VIRGO ( Hz). A distribution of signal amplitudes was then
chosen so as to allow a useful comparison of search methodologies. A factor of
2 in strain separates the quietest detected signal, at
strain, from the torque-balance limit at a spin frequency of 300 Hz, although
this limit could range from (25 Hz) to (750 Hz) depending on the unknown frequency of Sco X-1. With future
improvements to the search algorithms and using advanced detector data, our
expectations for probing below the theoretical torque-balance strain limit are
optimistic.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figure
Demonstration of Universal Parametric Entangling Gates on a Multi-Qubit Lattice
We show that parametric coupling techniques can be used to generate selective
entangling interactions for multi-qubit processors. By inducing coherent
population exchange between adjacent qubits under frequency modulation, we
implement a universal gateset for a linear array of four superconducting
qubits. An average process fidelity of is estimated for
three two-qubit gates via quantum process tomography. We establish the
suitability of these techniques for computation by preparing a four-qubit
maximally entangled state and comparing the estimated state fidelity against
the expected performance of the individual entangling gates. In addition, we
prepare an eight-qubit register in all possible bitstring permutations and
monitor the fidelity of a two-qubit gate across one pair of these qubits.
Across all such permutations, an average fidelity of
is observed. These results thus offer a path to a scalable architecture with
high selectivity and low crosstalk
Coherent network analysis for continuous gravitational wave signals in a pulsar timing array: Pulsar phases as extrinsic parameters
Supermassive black hole binaries are one of the primary targets for
gravitational wave searches using pulsar timing arrays. Gravitational wave
signals from such systems are well represented by parametrized models, allowing
the standard Generalized Likelihood Ratio Test (GLRT) to be used for their
detection and estimation. However, there is a dichotomy in how the GLRT can be
implemented for pulsar timing arrays: there are two possible ways in which one
can split the set of signal parameters for semi-analytical and numerical
extremization. The straightforward extension of the method used for continuous
signals in ground-based gravitational wave searches, where the so-called pulsar
phase parameters are maximized numerically, was addressed in an earlier paper
(Wang et al. 2014). In this paper, we report the first study of the performance
of the second approach where the pulsar phases are maximized semi-analytically.
This approach is scalable since the number of parameters left over for
numerical optimization does not depend on the size of the pulsar timing array.
Our results show that, for the same array size (9 pulsars), the new method
performs somewhat worse in parameter estimation, but not in detection, than the
previous method where the pulsar phases were maximized numerically. The origin
of the performance discrepancy is likely to be in the ill-posedness that is
intrinsic to any network analysis method. However, scalability of the new
method allows the ill-posedness to be mitigated by simply adding more pulsars
to the array. This is shown explicitly by taking a larger array of pulsars.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, revised version, published in Ap
Multiband Spectrum Access: Great Promises for Future Cognitive Radio Networks
Cognitive radio has been widely considered as one of the prominent solutions
to tackle the spectrum scarcity. While the majority of existing research has
focused on single-band cognitive radio, multiband cognitive radio represents
great promises towards implementing efficient cognitive networks compared to
single-based networks. Multiband cognitive radio networks (MB-CRNs) are
expected to significantly enhance the network's throughput and provide better
channel maintenance by reducing handoff frequency. Nevertheless, the wideband
front-end and the multiband spectrum access impose a number of challenges yet
to overcome. This paper provides an in-depth analysis on the recent
advancements in multiband spectrum sensing techniques, their limitations, and
possible future directions to improve them. We study cooperative communications
for MB-CRNs to tackle a fundamental limit on diversity and sampling. We also
investigate several limits and tradeoffs of various design parameters for
MB-CRNs. In addition, we explore the key MB-CRNs performance metrics that
differ from the conventional metrics used for single-band based networks.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures; published in the Proceedings of the IEEE
Journal, Special Issue on Future Radio Spectrum Access, March 201
Study and simulation results for video landmark acquisition and tracking technology (Vilat-2)
The results of several investigations and hardware developments which supported new technology for Earth feature recognition and classification are described. Data analysis techniques and procedures were developed for processing the Feature Identification and Location Experiment (FILE) data. This experiment was flown in November 1981, on the second Shuttle flight and a second instrument, designed for aircraft flights, was flown over the United States in 1981. Ground tests were performed to provide the basis for designing a more advanced version (four spectral bands) of the FILE which would be capable of classifying clouds and snow (and possibly ice) as distinct features, in addition to the features classified in the Shuttle experiment (two spectral bands). The Shuttle instrument classifies water, bare land, vegetation, and clouds/snow/ice (grouped)
Spike sorting for large, dense electrode arrays
Developments in microfabrication technology have enabled the production of neural electrode arrays with hundreds of closely spaced recording sites, and electrodes with thousands of sites are under development. These probes in principle allow the simultaneous recording of very large numbers of neurons. However, use of this technology requires the development of techniques for decoding the spike times of the recorded neurons from the raw data captured from the probes. Here we present a set of tools to solve this problem, implemented in a suite of practical, user-friendly, open-source software. We validate these methods on data from the cortex, hippocampus and thalamus of rat, mouse, macaque and marmoset, demonstrating error rates as low as 5%
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