1,056 research outputs found

    Top-Quark Mass Measurement in the Dilepton Channel Using {\it in situ} Jet Energy Scale Calibration

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    We employ a top-quark mass measurement technique in the dilepton channel with {\it in situ} jet energy scale calibration. Three variables having different jet energy scale dependences are used simultaneously to extract not only the top-quark mass but also the energy scale of the jet from a single likelihood fit. Monte Carlo studies with events corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 fb1^{-1} proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider s=7\sqrt{s} = 7 TeV are performed. Our analysis suggests that the overall jet energy scale uncertainty can be significantly reduced and the top-quark mass can be determined with a precision of less than 1 GeV/c2^2, including jet energy scale uncertainty, at the Large Hadron Collider.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

    The Effect Of Pitting Corrosion On The Position Of Aircraft Structural Failures

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    Corrosion has been shown over the last decade to significantly reduce the structural integrity of aircraft as they age. Previous work at DSTO has shown that pitting and exfoliation corrosion are particularly deleterious to aircraft structural integrity. In addition to reducing fatigue endurance, pitting also increases the surface area of the component over which fatigue failures can occur. This paper reports the results of a Monte-Carlo model of this phenomenon, which has been labelled 'corrosion criticality'. This model concentrates on the effect of the pit spatial density and position on the endurance of a fatigue coupon designed to mimic a simple aircraft component. The study's results show that pitting increases the area of the coupon over which failures can occur

    Proof Systems for Retracts in Simply Typed Lambda Calculus

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    Abstract. This paper concerns retracts in simply typed lambda calculus assuming βη-equality. We provide a simple tableau proof system which characterises when a type is a retract of another type and which leads to an exponential decision procedure.

    Top Quark Physics at the Tevatron

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    We review the field of top-quark physics with an emphasis on experimental techniques. The role of the top quark in the Standard Model of particle physics is summarized and the basic phenomenology of top-quark production and decay is introduced. We discuss how contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model could affect top-quark properties or event samples. The many measurements made at the Fermilab Tevatron, which test the Standard Model predictions or probe for direct evidence of new physics using the top-quark event samples, are reviewed here.Comment: 50 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables; version accepted by Review of Modern Physic

    Fast and stable multivariate kernel density estimation by fast sum updating

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    Kernel density estimation and kernel regression are powerful but computationally expensive techniques: a direct evaluation of kernel density estimates at MM evaluation points given NN input sample points requires a quadratic O(MN)\mathcal{O}(MN) operations, which is prohibitive for large scale problems. For this reason, approximate methods such as binning with Fast Fourier Transform or the Fast Gauss Transform have been proposed to speed up kernel density estimation. Among these fast methods, the Fast Sum Updating approach is an attractive alternative, as it is an exact method and its speed is independent of the input sample and the bandwidth. Unfortunately, this method, based on data sorting, has for the most part been limited to the univariate case. In this paper, we revisit the fast sum updating approach and extend it in several ways. Our main contribution is to extend it to the general multivariate case for general input data and rectilinear evaluation grid. Other contributions include its extension to a wider class of kernels, including the triangular, cosine and Silverman kernels, its combination with parsimonious additive multivariate kernels, and its combination with a fast approximate k-nearest-neighbors bandwidth for multivariate datasets. Our numerical tests of multivariate regression and density estimation confirm the speed, accuracy and stability of the method. We hope this paper will renew interest for the fast sum updating approach and help solve large-scale practical density estimation and regression problems.Comment: 38 pages, 29 figure

    A New Technique for Finding Needles in Haystacks: A Geometric Approach to Distinguishing Between a New Source and Random Fluctuations

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    We propose a new test statistic based on a score process for determining the statistical significance of a putative signal that may be a small perturbation to a noisy experimental background. We derive the reference distribution for this score test statistic; it has an elegant geometrical interpretation as well as broad applicability. We illustrate the technique in the context of a model problem from high-energy particle physics. Monte Carlo experimental results confirm that the score test results in a significantly improved rate of signal detection.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

    Mixtures of nonparametric autoregressions

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    We consider data generating mechanisms which can be represented as mixtures of finitely many regression or autoregression models.We propose nonparametric estimators for the functions characterising the various mixture components based on a local quasi maximum likelihood approach and prove their consistency. We present an EM algorithm for calculating the estimates numerically which is mainly based on iteratively applying common local smoothers and discuss its convergence properties. © American Statistical Association and Taylor & Francis 2011.postprin

    Researching the use of force: The background to the international project

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    This article provides the background to an international project on use of force by the police that was carried out in eight countries. Force is often considered to be the defining characteristic of policing and much research has been conducted on the determinants, prevalence and control of the use of force, particularly in the United States. However, little work has looked at police officers’ own views on the use of force, in particular the way in which they justify it. Using a hypothetical encounter developed for this project, researchers in each country conducted focus groups with police officers in which they were encouraged to talk about the use of force. The results show interesting similarities and differences across countries and demonstrate the value of using this kind of research focus and methodology

    Media representation of regulated incivilities: Relevant actors, problems, solutions and the role played by experts in the Flemish press

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    This article analyses the representations of regulated nuisance in a section of Flemish newspapers over time. It identifies the groups of people who have been successful in conveying messages in and through Flemish press news, and explores the way they have represented problems of, and suggested solutions to, regulated incivilities over the years. Furthermore, against the backdrop of newsmaking criminology, it considers whether and how crime and justice experts have contributed to shaping the Flemish media discourse on regulated incivilities over time. Overall the analysis of press news has found that the press, by giving coverage to the voices of local institutional actors, has promoted the criminalization of nuisance and, especially, of physical incivilities. The views of criminological experts, by contrast, have remained marginal. The article concludes by suggesting how such findings present a new set of empirical and conceptual challenges for newsmaking criminology, and more generally, for public criminology

    The structure of Chariklo's rings from stellar occultations

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    Two narrow and dense rings (called C1R and C2R) were discovered around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo during a stellar occultation observed on 2013 June 3. Following this discovery, we planned observations of several occultations by Chariklo's system in order to better characterize the physical properties of the ring and main body. Here, we use 12 successful occulations by Chariklo observed between 2014 and 2016. They provide ring profiles (physical width, opacity, edge structure) and constraints on the radii and pole position. Our new observations are currently consistent with the circular ring solution and pole position, to within the ±3.3\pm 3.3 km formal uncertainty for the ring radii derived by Braga-Ribas et al. The six resolved C1R profiles reveal significant width variations from 5\sim 5 to 7.5 km. The width of the fainter ring C2R is less constrained, and may vary between 0.1 and 1 km. The inner and outer edges of C1R are consistent with infinitely sharp boundaries, with typical upper limits of one kilometer for the transition zone between the ring and empty space. No constraint on the sharpness of C2R's edges is available. A 1σ\sigma upper limit of 20\sim 20 m is derived for the equivalent width of narrow (physical width <4 km) rings up to distances of 12,000 km, counted in the ring plane
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