Feedback computability on Cantor space

We introduce the notion of feedback computable functions from $2^\omega$ to $2^\omega$, extending feedback Turing computation in analogy with the standard notion of computability for functions from $2^\omega$ to $2^\omega$. We then show that the feedback computable functions are precisely the effectively Borel functions. With this as motivation we define the notion of a feedback computable function on a structure, independent of any coding of the structure as a real. We show that this notion is absolute, and as an example characterize those functions that are computable from a Gandy ordinal with some finite subset distinguished

Using gamma regression for photometric redshifts of survey galaxies

Machine learning techniques offer a plethora of opportunities in tackling big data within the astronomical community. We present the set of Generalized Linear Models as a fast alternative for determining photometric redshifts of galaxies, a set of tools not commonly applied within astronomy, despite being widely used in other professions. With this technique, we achieve catastrophic outlier rates of the order of ~1%, that can be achieved in a matter of seconds on large datasets of size ~1,000,000. To make these techniques easily accessible to the astronomical community, we developed a set of libraries and tools that are publicly available.Comment: Refereed Proceeding of "The Universe of Digital Sky Surveys" conference held at the INAF - Observatory of Capodimonte, Naples, on 25th-28th November 2014, to be published in the Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, edited by Longo, Napolitano, Marconi, Paolillo, Iodice, 6 pages, and 1 figur

Estimating the masses of extra-solar planets

All extra-solar planet masses that have been derived spectroscopically are lower limits since the inclination of the orbit to our line-of-sight is unknown except for transiting systems. It is, however, possible to determine the inclination angle, i, between the rotation axis of a star and an observer's line-of-sight from measurements of the projected equatorial velocity (v sin i), the stellar rotation period (P_rot) and the stellar radius (R_star). This allows the removal of the sin i dependency of spectroscopically derived extra-solar planet masses under the assumption that the planetary orbits lie perpendicular to the stellar rotation axis. We have carried out an extensive literature search and present a catalogue of v sin i, P_rot, and R_star estimates for exoplanet host stars. In addition, we have used Hipparcos parallaxes and the Barnes-Evans relationship to further supplement the R_star estimates obtained from the literature. Using this catalogue, we have obtained sin i estimates using a Markov-chain Monte Carlo analysis. This allows proper 1-sigma two-tailed confidence limits to be placed on the derived sin i's along with the transit probability for each planet to be determined. While a small proportion of systems yield sin i's significantly greater than 1, most likely due to poor P_rot estimations, the large majority are acceptable. We are further encouraged by the cases where we have data on transiting systems, as the technique indicates inclinations of ~90 degrees and high transit probabilities. In total, we estimate the true masses of 133 extra-solar planets. Of these, only 6 have revised masses that place them above the 13 Jupiter mass deuterium burning limit. Our work reveals a population of high-mass planets with low eccentricities and we speculate that these may represent the signature of different planetary formation mechanisms at work.Comment: 40 pages, 6 tables, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society after editing of Tables 1 & 6 for electronic publication. Html abstract shortened for astro-ph submissio

Moderate-cost approaches for hydrodynamic testing of high performance sailing vessels

This study examines the relative merits of physical testing techniques which may be used in early stage design for assessment of the resistance of high-performance sailing vessels. The hull chosen as a benchmark form is a high-speed hard-chine sailing dinghy. The hull proportions and shape are typical of modern trends in skiff design, but may also be considered to be broadly similar to some high performance yacht hulls. The 4.55m hull was tested at full scale in a moderate size towing tank, at 1:2.5 scale in the same tank, and at full-scale by towing on open water. Results show the mean discrepancy in the measured resistance between the open water towing and the full-scale tank test is around 4%. The challenges of full-scale open-water testing are discussed and several improvements identified for future work. Comparison of the full-scale results suggests that blockage and depth correction for the full-scale hull in the tank do not present a substantial problem for subcritical speeds. Larger discrepancies were found between resistance from the model scale and the full scale tank tests at higher speeds; it was speculated that these discrepancies relate to the differences in the detailed geometry of the model and full-scale boat, particularly in the region of the chines

High magnetic field studies of the Vortex Lattice structure in YBa2Cu3O7

We report on small angle neutron scattering measurements of the vortex lattice in twin-free YBa2Cu3O7, extending the previously investigated maximum field of 11~T up to 16.7~T with the field applied parallel to the c axis. This is the first microscopic study of vortex matter in this region of the superconducting phase. We find the high field VL displays a rhombic structure, with a field-dependent coordination that passes through a square configuration, and which does not lock-in to a field-independent structure. The VL pinning reduces with increasing temperature, but is seen to affect the VL correlation length even above the irreversibility temperature of the lattice structure. At high field and temperature we observe a melting transition, which appears to be first order, with no detectable signal from a vortex liquid above the transition

Full pf shell study of A = 47 and A = 49 nuclei

Complete diagonalizations in the pf major shell, lead to very good agreement with the experimental data (level schemes, transitions rates, and static moments) for the A=47 and A=49 isotopes of Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, and Mn. Gamow-Teller and M1 strength functions are calculated. The necessary monopole modifications to the realistic interactions are shown to be critically tested by the spectroscopic factors for one particle transfer from 48Ca, reproduced in detail by the calculations. The collective behaviour of 47Ti, and of the mirror pairs 47V-47Cr and 49Cr-49Mn is found to follow at low spins the particle plus rotor model. It is then analysed in terms of the approximate quasi-SU(3) symmetry, for which some new results are given.Comment: 30 Pages, RevTeX and epsf.sty, 23 figures included. Postscript version available at http://www.ft.uam.es/~gabriel/a47-49.ps.g