19,124 research outputs found
Some observations about LANDSAT digital analysis
Several hypotheses concerning LANDSAT data are analyzed. These hypotheses are: (1) LANDSAT does not discriminate vegetation types, but mostly sees chlorophyl and canopy cover. (2) A majority of the features in the ground scene possess linearly proportional amounts of color from each spectral band. (3) The data are continuous and as a result there is no true separability of ground scene features in the data, but some features possess an excess of color in a particular band pair. (4) There are relatively few features present in the spectral data, and these do not correspond to the conventional definitions that are used. (5) Aside from seasonal effects, in a distributional sense all LANDSAT data are essentially the same. The only difference is the way the data are spatially arranged in the image
Phase-coherent lightwave communications with frequency combs
Fiber-optical networks are a crucial telecommunication infrastructure in
society. Wavelength division multiplexing allows for transmitting parallel data
streams over the fiber bandwidth, and coherent detection enables the use of
sophisticated modulation formats and electronic compensation of signal
impairments. In the future, optical frequency combs may replace multiple lasers
used for the different wavelength channels. We demonstrate two novel signal
processing schemes that take advantage of the broadband phase coherence of
optical frequency combs. This approach allows for a more efficient estimation
and compensation of optical phase noise in coherent communication systems,
which can significantly simplify the signal processing or increase the
transmission performance. With further advances in space division multiplexing
and chip-scale frequency comb sources, these findings pave the way for compact
energy-efficient optical transceivers.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure
Multivariate Approaches to Classification in Extragalactic Astronomy
Clustering objects into synthetic groups is a natural activity of any
science. Astrophysics is not an exception and is now facing a deluge of data.
For galaxies, the one-century old Hubble classification and the Hubble tuning
fork are still largely in use, together with numerous mono-or bivariate
classifications most often made by eye. However, a classification must be
driven by the data, and sophisticated multivariate statistical tools are used
more and more often. In this paper we review these different approaches in
order to situate them in the general context of unsupervised and supervised
learning. We insist on the astrophysical outcomes of these studies to show that
multivariate analyses provide an obvious path toward a renewal of our
classification of galaxies and are invaluable tools to investigate the physics
and evolution of galaxies.Comment: Open Access paper.
http://www.frontiersin.org/milky\_way\_and\_galaxies/10.3389/fspas.2015.00003/abstract\>.
\<10.3389/fspas.2015.00003 \&g
Automated land-use mapping from spacecraft data
The author has identified the following significant results. In response to the need for a faster, more economical means of producing land use maps, this study evaluated the suitability of using ERTS-1 computer compatible tape (CCT) data as a basis for automatic mapping. Significant findings are: (1) automatic classification accuracy greater than 90% is achieved on categories of deep and shallow water, tended grass, rangeland, extractive (bare earth), urban, forest land, and nonforested wet lands; (2) computer-generated printouts by target class provide a quantitative measure of land use; and (3) the generation of map overlays showing land use from ERTS-1 CCTs offers a significant breakthrough in the rate at which land use maps are generated. Rather than uncorrected classified imagery or computer line printer outputs, the processing results in geometrically-corrected computer-driven pen drawing of land categories, drawn on a transparent material at a scale specified by the operator. These map overlays are economically produced and provide an efficient means of rapidly updating maps showing land use
Models of emission line profiles and spectral energy distributions to characterize the multi-frequency properties of active galactic nuclei
The spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are often characterized by a
wealth of emission lines with different profiles and intensity ratios that led
to a complicated classification. Their electro-magnetic radiation spans more
than 10 orders of magnitude in frequency. In spite of the differences between
various classes, the origin of their activity is attributed to a combination of
emitting components, surrounding an accreting Super Massive Black Hole, in the
so called Unified Model. Currently, the execution of sky surveys, with
instruments operating at various frequencies, provides the possibility to
detect and to investigate the properties of AGNs on very large statistical
samples. Thanks to the spectroscopic surveys that allow investigation of many
objects, we have the opportunity to place new constraints on the nature and
evolution of AGNs. In this contribution we present the results obtained by
working on multi-frequency data and we discuss their relations with the
available optical spectra. We compare our findings with the AGN Unified Model
predictions, and we present a revised technique to select AGNs of different
types from other line emitting objects. We discuss the multi-frequency
properties in terms of the innermost structures of the sources.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Proceedings of the XI Serbian Conference on
Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics. Accepted for publication on Atom
12th International Workshop on Termination (WST 2012) : WST 2012, February 19–23, 2012, Obergurgl, Austria / ed. by Georg Moser
This volume contains the proceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Termination (WST 2012), to be held February 19–23, 2012 in Obergurgl, Austria. The goal of the Workshop on Termination is to be a venue for presentation and discussion of all topics in and around termination. In this way, the workshop tries to bridge the gaps between different communities interested and active in research in and around termination. The 12th International Workshop on Termination in Obergurgl continues the successful workshops held in St. Andrews (1993), La Bresse (1995), Ede (1997), Dagstuhl (1999), Utrecht (2001), Valencia (2003), Aachen (2004), Seattle (2006), Paris (2007), Leipzig (2009), and Edinburgh (2010). The 12th International Workshop on Termination did welcome contributions on all aspects of termination and complexity analysis. Contributions from the imperative, constraint, functional, and logic programming communities, and papers investigating applications of complexity or termination (for example in program transformation or theorem proving) were particularly welcome. We did receive 18 submissions which all were accepted. Each paper was assigned two reviewers. In addition to these 18 contributed talks, WST 2012, hosts three invited talks by Alexander Krauss, Martin Hofmann, and Fausto Spoto
Object Classification in Astronomical Multi-Color Surveys
We present a photometric method for identifying stars, galaxies and quasars
in multi-color surveys, which uses a library of >65000 color templates. The
method aims for extracting the information content of object colors in a
statistically correct way and performs a classification as well as a redshift
estimation for galaxies and quasars in a unified approach. For the redshift
estimation, we use an advanced version of the MEV estimator which determines
the redshift error from the redshift dependent probability density function.
The method was originally developed for the CADIS survey, where we checked
its performance by spectroscopy. The method provides high reliability (6 errors
among 151 objects with R<24), especially for quasar selection, and redshifts
accurate within sigma ~ 0.03 for galaxies and sigma ~ 0.1 for quasars.
We compare a few model surveys using the same telescope time but different
sets of broad-band and medium-band filters. Their performance is investigated
by Monte-Carlo simulations as well as by analytic evaluation in terms of
classification and redshift estimation. In practice, medium-band surveys show
superior performance. Finally, we discuss the relevance of color calibration
and derive important conclusions for the issues of library design and choice of
filters. The calibration accuracy poses strong constraints on an accurate
classification, and is most critical for surveys with few, broad and deeply
exposed filters, but less severe for many, narrow and less deep filters.Comment: 21 pages including 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
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