45,170 research outputs found
Tensor Analysis and Fusion of Multimodal Brain Images
Current high-throughput data acquisition technologies probe dynamical systems
with different imaging modalities, generating massive data sets at different
spatial and temporal resolutions posing challenging problems in multimodal data
fusion. A case in point is the attempt to parse out the brain structures and
networks that underpin human cognitive processes by analysis of different
neuroimaging modalities (functional MRI, EEG, NIRS etc.). We emphasize that the
multimodal, multi-scale nature of neuroimaging data is well reflected by a
multi-way (tensor) structure where the underlying processes can be summarized
by a relatively small number of components or "atoms". We introduce
Markov-Penrose diagrams - an integration of Bayesian DAG and tensor network
notation in order to analyze these models. These diagrams not only clarify
matrix and tensor EEG and fMRI time/frequency analysis and inverse problems,
but also help understand multimodal fusion via Multiway Partial Least Squares
and Coupled Matrix-Tensor Factorization. We show here, for the first time, that
Granger causal analysis of brain networks is a tensor regression problem, thus
allowing the atomic decomposition of brain networks. Analysis of EEG and fMRI
recordings shows the potential of the methods and suggests their use in other
scientific domains.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Proceedings of the IEE
Critical evaluation of magnetic field detections reported for pulsating B-type stars in the light of ESPaDOnS, Narval and reanalyzed FORS1/2 observations
Recent spectropolarimetric studies of 7 SPB and Cep stars have
suggested that photospheric magnetic fields are more common in B-type pulsators
than in the general population of B stars, suggesting a significant connection
between magnetic and pulsational phenomena. We present an analysis of new and
previously published spectropolarimetric observations of these stars. New
Stokes observations obtained with the high-resolution ESPaDOnS and Narval
instruments confirm the presence of a magnetic field in one of the stars
( Lup), but find no evidence of magnetism in 5 others. A re-analysis
of the published longitudinal field measurements obtained with the
low-resolution FORS1/2 spectropolarimeters finds that the measurements of all
stars show more scatter from zero than can be attributed to Gaussian noise,
suggesting the presence of a signal and/or systematic under-estimation of error
bars. Re-reduction and re-measurement of the FORS1/2 spectra from the ESO
archive demonstrates that small changes in reduction procedure lead to
substantial changes in the inferred longitudinal field, and substantially
reduces the number of field detections at the 3 level. Furthermore, we
find that the published periods are not unique solutions to the time series of
either the original or the revised FORS1/2 data. We conclude that the reported
field detections, proposed periods and field geometry models for Pyx,
15 CMa, 33 Eri and V1449 Aql are artefacts of the data analysis and reduction
procedures, and that magnetic fields at the reported strength are no more
common in SPB/ Cep stars than in the general population of B stars.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, 2012, typo
correcte
BeppoSAX Observations of Mkn 421: clues on the particle acceleration ?
Mkn 421 was repeatedly observed with BeppoSAX in 1997-1998. We present
highlights of the results of the thorough temporal and spectral analysis
discussed by Fossati et al. (1999) and Maraschi et al. (1999), focusing on the
flare of April 1998, which was simultaneously observed also at TeV energies.
The detailed study of the flare in different energy bands reveals a few very
important new results: (a) hard photons lag the soft ones by 2-3 ks *a behavior
opposite to what is normally found in High energy peak BL Lacs X-ray spectra*;
(b) the flux decay of the flare can be intrinsically achromatic if a stationary
underlying emission component is present. Moreover the spectral evolution
during the flare has been followed by extracting X-ray spectra on few ks
intervals, allowing to detect for the first time the peak of the synchrotron
component shifting to higher energies during the rising phase, and then
receding. The spectral analysis confirms the delay in the flare at the higher
energies, as above a few keV the spectrum changes only after the peak of the
outburst has occurred. The spectral and temporal information obtained challenge
the simplest models currently adopted for the (synchrotron) emission and most
importantly provide clues on the particle acceleration process. A theoretical
picture accounting for all the observational constraints is discussed, where
electrons are injected at low energies and then progressively accelerated
during the development of the flare.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, uses aipproc.sty, 3 PostScript figures, to appear in
the Proceedings of the "Fifth Compton Symposium", held in Portsmouth (NH),
1999 Septembe
Optical variability of the BL Lacertae object GC 0109+224. Multiband behaviour and time scales from a 7-years monitoring campaign
We present the most continuous data base of optical
observations ever published on the BL Lacertae object GC 0109+224, collected
mainly by the robotic telescope of the Perugia University Observatory in the
period November 1994-February 2002. These observations have been complemented
by data from the Torino Observatory, collected in the period July 1995-January
1999, and Mt. Maidanak Observatory (December 2000). GC 0109+224 showed rapid
optical variations and six major outbursts were observed at the beginning and
end of 1996, in fall 1998, at the beginning and at the end of 2000, and at the
beginning of 2002. Fast and large-amplitude drops characterized its flux
behaviour. The magnitude ranged from 13.3 (16.16 mJy) to 16.46 (0.8 mJy),
with a mean value of 14.9 (3.38 mJy). In the periods where we collected
multi-filter observations, we analyzed colour and spectral indexes, and the
variability patterns during some flares. The long-term behaviour seems
approximatively achromatic, but during some isolated outbursts we found
evidence of the typical loop-like hysteresis behaviour, suggesting that rapid
optical variability is dominated by non-thermal cooling of a single emitting
particle population. We performed also a statistical analysis of the data,
through the discrete correlation function (DCF), the structure function (SF),
and the Lomb-Scargle periodogram, to identify characteristic times scales, from
days to months, in the light curves, and to quantify the mode of variability.
We also include the reconstruction of the historical light curve and a
photometric calibration of comparison stars, to favour further extensive
optical monitoring of this interesting blazar.Comment: 13 pages, 11 PS figures, 1 EPS figure, 3 tables, accepted by
Astronomy and Astrophysics. Uses A&A documentclass aa.cls, and the package
graphicx.st
High-energy environment of super-Earth 55 Cnc e I: Far-UV chromospheric variability as a possible tracer of planet-induced coronal rain
The irradiation of close-in planets by their star influences their evolution
and might be responsible for a population of ultra-short period planets eroded
to their bare core. In orbit around a bright, nearby G-type star, the
super-Earth 55 Cnc e offers the possibility to address these issues through UV
transit observations. We used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe the transit
in the FUV over 3 epochs in Apr. 2016, Jan. 2017, and Feb. 2017. These
observations reveal significant short- and long-term variability in 55 Cnc
chromospheric emission lines. In the last 2 epochs, we detected a larger flux
in the C III, Si III, and Si IV lines after the planet passed the approaching
quadrature, followed by a flux decrease in the Si IV doublet. In the second
epoch these variations are contemporaneous with flux decreases in the Si II and
C II doublet. All epochs show flux decreases in the N V doublet as well, albeit
at different orbital phases. These flux decreases are consistent with
absorption from optically thin clouds of gas, are mostly localized at low and
redshifted radial velocities in the star rest frame, and occur preferentially
before and during the transit. These 3 points make it unlikely that the
variations are purely stellar, yet we show that the occulting material is also
unlikely to originate from the planet. We tentatively propose that the motion
of 55 Cnc e at the fringes of the stellar corona leads to the formation of a
cool coronal rain. The inhomogeneity and temporal evolution of the stellar
corona would be responsible for the differences between the visits. Additional
variations are detected in the C II doublet in the first epoch and in the O I
triplet in all epochs with a different behavior that points toward intrinsic
stellar variability. Further observations at FUV wavelengths are required to
disentangle between star-planet interactions and the activity of the starComment: 22 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Spectro-temporal shaping of seeded free-electron laser pulses
We demonstrate the ability to control and shape the spectro-temporal content
of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulses produced by a seeded free-electron laser
(FEL). The control over the spectro-temporal properties of XUV light was
achieved by precisely manipulating the linear frequency chirp of the seed
laser. Our results agree with existing theory, which allows retrieving the
temporal properties (amplitude and phase) of the FEL pulse from measurements of
the spectra as a function of the FEL operating parameters. Furthermore, we show
the first direct evidence of the full temporal coherence of FEL light and
generate Fourier limited pulses by fine-tuning the FEL temporal phase. The
possibility to tailor the spectro-temporal content of intense short-wavelength
pulses represents the first step towards efficient nonlinear optics in the XUV
to X-ray spectral region and will enable precise manipulation of core-electron
excitations using the methods of coherent quantum control.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
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