16,547 research outputs found
Central station applications planning activities and supporting studies
The application of photovoltaic technology in central station (utility) power generation plants is considered. A program of data collection and analysis designed to provide additional information about the subset of the utility market that was identified as the initial target for photovoltaic penetration, the oil-dependent utilities (especially muncipals) of the U.S. Sunbelt, is described along with a series of interviews designed to ascertain utility industry opinions about the National Photovoltaic Program as it relates to central station applications
Darth Fader: Using wavelets to obtain accurate redshifts of spectra at very low signal-to-noise
We present the DARTH FADER algorithm, a new wavelet-based method for
estimating redshifts of galaxy spectra in spectral surveys that is particularly
adept in the very low SNR regime. We use a standard cross-correlation method to
estimate the redshifts of galaxies, using a template set built using a PCA
analysis on a set of simulated, noise-free spectra. Darth Fader employs wavelet
filtering to both estimate the continuum & to extract prominent line features
in each galaxy spectrum. A simple selection criterion based on the number of
features present in the spectrum is then used to clean the catalogue: galaxies
with fewer than six total features are removed as we are unlikely to obtain a
reliable redshift estimate. Applying our wavelet-based cleaning algorithm to a
simulated testing set, we successfully build a clean catalogue including
extremely low signal-to-noise data (SNR=2.0), for which we are able to obtain a
5.1% catastrophic failure rate in the redshift estimates (compared with 34.5%
prior to cleaning). We also show that for a catalogue with uniformly mixed SNRs
between 1.0 & 20.0, with realistic pixel-dependent noise, it is possible to
obtain redshifts with a catastrophic failure rate of 3.3% after cleaning (as
compared to 22.7% before cleaning). Whilst we do not test this algorithm
exhaustively on real data, we present a proof of concept of the applicability
of this method to real data, showing that the wavelet filtering techniques
perform well when applied to some typical spectra from the SDSS archive. The
Darth Fader algorithm provides a robust method for extracting spectral features
from very noisy spectra. The resulting clean catalogue gives an extremely low
rate of catastrophic failures, even when the spectra have a very low SNR. For
very large sky surveys, this technique may offer a significant boost in the
number of faint galaxies with accurately determined redshifts.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Statistical multi-moment bifurcations in random delay coupled swarms
We study the effects of discrete, randomly distributed time delays on the
dynamics of a coupled system of self-propelling particles. Bifurcation analysis
on a mean field approximation of the system reveals that the system possesses
patterns with certain universal characteristics that depend on distinguished
moments of the time delay distribution. Specifically, we show both
theoretically and numerically that although bifurcations of simple patterns,
such as translations, change stability only as a function of the first moment
of the time delay distribution, more complex patterns arising from Hopf
bifurcations depend on all of the moments
The Population Dynamics of the Brittlestar Ophioderma brevispinum in Near- and Farshore Seagrass Habitats of Port Saint Joseph Bay, Florida
The population dynamics of the brittlestar Ophioderma brevispinum were followed monthly from Jan. 1995 to March 1996 in a near- and farshore seagrass bed in Saint Joseph Bay, FL. Abiotic (sea water temperature and salinity) and biotic (seagrass cover and sublethal predation) factors that could influence populations were also measured. Densities of individuals at both sites peaked in winter and spring, then declined dramatically in early summer months, and increased once again in the early fall at the offshore site and in the late fall at the nearshore site. Mean monthly disc diameters of individuals did not reveal any evidence of juvenile recruitment, suggesting seasonal migrations of adults into and out of near- and farshore seagrass beds. Seagrass cover at both sites varied substantially with season, with the highest cover in the summer months when brittlestar densities were lowest. Sublethal predation, as measured indirectly by counting the numbers of arm tips regenerating in individuals, did not differ significantly between sites except for the month of Feb. 1995, when levels of arm tip regeneration were higher among individuals at the nearshore site. The high overall incidence of individuals with regenerating arms at both sites suggests that predators exert persistent sublethal predatory pressure and may contribute to mortality. Individuals may migrate into deeper water during summer months to avoid thermal stress, hypoxia, or high levels of ultraviolet radiation and to avoid predation when predator densities are likely to be highest
Ballistic spin transport in exciton gases
Traditional spintronics relies on spin transport by charge carriers, such as
electrons in semiconductor crystals. This brings several complications: the
Pauli principle prevents the carriers from moving with the same speed; Coulomb
repulsion leads to rapid dephasing of electron flows. Spin-optronics is a
valuable alternative to traditional spintronics. In spin-optronic devices the
spin currents are carried by electrically neutral bosonic quasi-particles:
excitons or exciton-polaritons. They can form highly coherent quantum liquids
and carry spins over macroscopic distances. The price to pay is a finite
life-time of the bosonic spin carriers. We present the theory of exciton
ballistic spin transport which may be applied to a range of systems where
bosonic spin transport has been reported, in particular, to indirect excitons
in coupled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. We describe the effect of spin-orbit
interaction of electrons and holes on the exciton spin, account for the Zeeman
effect induced by external magnetic fields, long range and short range exchange
splittings of the exciton resonances. We also consider exciton transport in the
non-linear regime and discuss the definitions of exciton spin current,
polarization current and spin conductivity.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures to be published in Phys. Rev.
Depression in Right Hemisphere Disorder
Between 25-79% of stroke survivors suffer depression, which can lead to limited recovery, decreased quality of life, and increased mortality. In adults with right hemisphere disorder (RHD), the cause(s) of depression have been unclear. Our results showed that significantly more adults with RHD were depressed than normal controls, and that adults with RHD were significantly more depressed than normal controls. In both groups, depression was significantly related with loneliness. In adults with RHD, depression was also significantly related with social support. No demographic or lesion-related variables were associated with increased depression in our samples. Suggestions for treatment research are offered
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