40,825 research outputs found
A spatial scan statistic for zero-inflated Poisson process
The scan statistic is widely used in spatial cluster detection applications
of inhomogeneous Poisson processes. However, real data may present substantial
departure from the underlying Poisson process. One of the possible departures
has to do with zero excess. Some studies point out that when applied to data
with excess zeros, the spatial scan statistic may produce biased inferences. In
this work, we develop a closed-form scan statistic for cluster detection of
spatial zero-inflated count data. We apply our methodology to simulated and
real data. Our simulations revealed that the Scan-Poisson statistic steadily
deteriorates as the number of zeros increases, producing biased inferences. On
the other hand, our proposed Scan-ZIP and Scan-ZIP+EM statistics are, most of
the time, either superior or comparable to the Scan-Poisson statistic
A photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50 parsecs of the Sun: I. Atmospheric parameters and color similarity to the Sun
Solar twins and analogs are fundamental in the characterization of the Sun's
place in the context of stellar measurements, as they are in understanding how
typical the solar properties are in its neighborhood. They are also important
for representing sunlight observable in the night sky for diverse photometric
and spectroscopic tasks, besides being natural candidates for harboring
planetary systems similar to ours and possibly even life-bearing environments.
We report a photometric and spectroscopic survey of solar twin stars within 50
pc of the Sun. Hipparcos absolute magnitudes and (B-V)_Tycho colors were used
to define a 2 sigma box around the solar values, where 133 stars were
considered. Additional stars resembling the solar UBV colors in a broad sense,
plus stars present in the lists of Hardorp, were also selected. All objects
were ranked by a color-similarity index with respect to the Sun, defined by
uvby and BV photometry. Moderately high-resolution, high-S/N spectra were used
for a subsample of equatorial-southern stars to derive Teff, log g, and [Fe/H]
with average internal errors better than 50 K, 0.20 dex, and 0.08 dex,
respectively. Ages and masses were estimated from theoretical HR diagrams. The
color-similarity index proved very successful. We identify and rank new
excellent solar analogs, which are fit to represent the Sun in the night sky.
Some of them are faint enough to be of interest for moderately large
telescopes. We also identify two stars with near-UV spectra indistinguishable
from the Sun's. We present five new "probable" solar twin stars, besides five
new "possible" twins. Masses and ages for the best solar twin candidates lie
very close to the solar values, but chromospheric activity levels range
somewhat. We propose that the solar twins be emphasized in the ongoing searches
for extra-solar planets and SETI searches.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, 14 table
Adsorption of Xe atoms on metal surfaces: New insights from first-principles calculations
The adsorption of rare gases on metal surfaces serve as the paradigm of weak
adsorption where it is typically assumed that the adsorbate occupies maximally
coordinated hollow sites. Density-functional theory calculations using the
full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method for Xe adatoms on
Mg(0001), Al(111), Ti(0001), Cu(111), Pd(111), and Pt(111), show, however, that
Xe prefers low-coordination on-top sites in all cases. We identify the
importance of polarization and a site-dependent Pauli repulsion in actuating
the site preference and the principle nature of the rare-gas atom--metal
surface interaction.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figure files. Related publications can be found
at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
A Framework for Dynamic Web Services Composition
Dynamic composition of web services is a promising approach and at the same time a challenging research area for the dissemination of service-oriented applications. It is widely recognised that service semantics is a key element for the dynamic composition of Web services, since it allows the unambiguous descriptions of a service's capabilities and parameters. This paper introduces a framework for performing dynamic service composition by exploiting the semantic matchmaking between service parameters (i.e., outputs and inputs) to enable their interconnection and interaction. The basic assumption of the framework is that matchmaking enables finding semantic compatibilities among independently defined service descriptions. We also developed a composition algorithm that follows a semantic graph-based approach, in which a graph represents service compositions and the nodes of this graph represent semantic connections between services. Moreover, functional and non-functional properties of services are considered, to enable the computation of relevant and most suitable service compositions for some service request. The suggested end-to-end functional level service composition framework is illustrated with a realistic application scenario from the IST SPICE project
Copper and Barium Abundances in the Ursa Major Moving Group
We present Cu and Ba abundances for 7 G-K dwarf stars, members of the
solar-metallicity, 0.3 Gyr old Ursa Major Moving Group. All analyzed member
stars show [Ba/Fe] excesses of +0.3-plus, associated with [Cu/Fe] deficiencies
of up to -0.23 dex. The present results suggest that there is an
anti-correlation between the abundances of Cu and the heavy elements produced
by the main component of the neutron capture s-process. Other possible
anomalies are Na and C deficiencies with respect to normal solar-metallicity
stars. The new data do not confirm the recent claim that the group member
HR6094 is a Ba dwarf star.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted to MNRA
Cyclical Effects of Bank Capital Buffers with Imperfect Credit Markets: international evidence
This paper analyzes the cyclical effects of bank capital buffers using an international sample of 2,361 banks from 92 countries over the 1990-2007 period. We find that capital buffers reduce the bank credit supply but â through what could be âmonitoring or signaling effectsâ â have also an expansionary effect on economic activity by reducing lending and deposit rate spreads. This influence on lending and deposit rate spreads is more pronunced in developing countries and during downturns. The results suggest that capital buffers have a counter-cyclical effect in these countries. Our data do not suggest differences in the cyclical effects of capital buffers between Basel I and Basel II.
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