44,610 research outputs found
Color-coordinate system from a 13th-century account of rainbows.
We present a new analysis of Robert Grosseteste’s account of color in his treatise De iride (On the Rainbow), dating from the early 13th century. The work explores color within the 3D framework set out in Grosseteste’s De colore [see J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 29, A346 (2012)], but now links the axes of variation to observable properties of rainbows. We combine a modern understanding of the physics of rainbows and of human color perception to resolve the linguistic ambiguities of the medieval text and to interpret Grosseteste’s key terms
Determinantal point process models on the sphere
We consider determinantal point processes on the -dimensional unit sphere
. These are finite point processes exhibiting repulsiveness and
with moment properties determined by a certain determinant whose entries are
specified by a so-called kernel which we assume is a complex covariance
function defined on . We review the appealing
properties of such processes, including their specific moment properties,
density expressions and simulation procedures. Particularly, we characterize
and construct isotropic DPPs models on , where it becomes
essential to specify the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions in a spectral
representation for the kernel, and we figure out how repulsive isotropic DPPs
can be. Moreover, we discuss the shortcomings of adapting existing models for
isotropic covariance functions and consider strategies for developing new
models, including a useful spectral approach
A LiDAR Point Cloud Generator: from a Virtual World to Autonomous Driving
3D LiDAR scanners are playing an increasingly important role in autonomous
driving as they can generate depth information of the environment. However,
creating large 3D LiDAR point cloud datasets with point-level labels requires a
significant amount of manual annotation. This jeopardizes the efficient
development of supervised deep learning algorithms which are often data-hungry.
We present a framework to rapidly create point clouds with accurate point-level
labels from a computer game. The framework supports data collection from both
auto-driving scenes and user-configured scenes. Point clouds from auto-driving
scenes can be used as training data for deep learning algorithms, while point
clouds from user-configured scenes can be used to systematically test the
vulnerability of a neural network, and use the falsifying examples to make the
neural network more robust through retraining. In addition, the scene images
can be captured simultaneously in order for sensor fusion tasks, with a method
proposed to do automatic calibration between the point clouds and captured
scene images. We show a significant improvement in accuracy (+9%) in point
cloud segmentation by augmenting the training dataset with the generated
synthesized data. Our experiments also show by testing and retraining the
network using point clouds from user-configured scenes, the weakness/blind
spots of the neural network can be fixed
Detecting the orientation of magnetic fields in galaxy clusters
Clusters of galaxies, filled with hot magnetized plasma, are the largest
bound objects in existence and an important touchstone in understanding the
formation of structures in our Universe. In such clusters, thermal conduction
follows field lines, so magnetic fields strongly shape the cluster's thermal
history; that some have not since cooled and collapsed is a mystery. In a
seemingly unrelated puzzle, recent observations of Virgo cluster spiral
galaxies imply ridges of strong, coherent magnetic fields offset from their
centre. Here we demonstrate, using three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamical
simulations, that such ridges are easily explained by galaxies sweeping up
field lines as they orbit inside the cluster. This magnetic drape is then lit
up with cosmic rays from the galaxies' stars, generating coherent polarized
emission at the galaxies' leading edges. This immediately presents a technique
for probing local orientations and characteristic length scales of cluster
magnetic fields. The first application of this technique, mapping the field of
the Virgo cluster, gives a startling result: outside a central region, the
magnetic field is preferentially oriented radially as predicted by the
magnetothermal instability. Our results strongly suggest a mechanism for
maintaining some clusters in a 'non-cooling-core' state.Comment: 48 pages, 21 figures, revised version to match published article in
Nature Physics, high-resolution version available at
http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~pfrommer/Publications/pfrommer-dursi.pd
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