566 research outputs found
Primary Beam Shape Calibration from Mosaicked, Interferometric Observations
Image quality in mosaicked observations from interferometric radio telescopes
is strongly dependent on the accuracy with which the antenna primary beam is
calibrated. The next generation of radio telescope arrays such as the Allen
Telescope Array (ATA) and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) have key science
goals that involve making large mosaicked observations filled with bright point
sources. We present a new method for calibrating the shape of the telescope's
mean primary beam that uses the multiple redundant observations of these bright
sources in the mosaic. The method has an analytical solution for simple
Gaussian beam shapes but can also be applied to more complex beam shapes
through minimization. One major benefit of this simple, conceptually
clean method is that it makes use of the science data for calibration purposes,
thus saving telescope time and improving accuracy through simultaneous
calibration and observation. We apply the method both to 1.43 GHz data taken
during the ATA Twenty Centimeter Survey (ATATS) and to 3.14 GHz data taken
during the ATA's Pi Gigahertz Sky Survey (PiGSS). We find that the beam's
calculated full width at half maximum (FWHM) values are consistent with the
theoretical values, the values measured by several independent methods, and the
values from the simulation we use to demonstrate the effectiveness of our
method on data from future telescopes such as the expanded ATA and the SKA.
These results are preliminary, and can be expanded upon by fitting more complex
beam shapes. We also investigate, by way of a simulation, the dependence of the
accuracy of the telescope's FWHM on antenna number. We find that the
uncertainty returned by our fitting method is inversely proportional to the
number of antennas in the array.Comment: Accepted by PASP. 8 pages, 8 figure
Subluxation: dogma or science?
Subluxation syndrome is a legitimate, potentially testable, theoretical construct for which there is little experimental evidence. Acceptable as hypothesis, the widespread assertion of the clinical meaningfulness of this notion brings ridicule from the scientific and health care communities and confusion within the chiropractic profession. We believe that an evidence-orientation among chiropractors requires that we distinguish between subluxation dogma vs. subluxation as the potential focus of clinical research. We lament efforts to generate unity within the profession through consensus statements concerning subluxation dogma, and believe that cultural authority will continue to elude us so long as we assert dogma as though it were validated clinical theory
Random polynomials, random matrices, and -functions
We show that the Circular Orthogonal Ensemble of random matrices arises
naturally from a family of random polynomials. This sheds light on the
appearance of random matrix statistics in the zeros of the Riemann
zeta-function.Comment: Added background material. Final version. To appear in Nonlinearit
Properties of a continuous-random-network model for amorphous systems
We use a Monte Carlo bond-switching method to study systematically the
thermodynamic properties of a "continuous random network" model, the canonical
model for such amorphous systems as a-Si and a-SiO. Simulations show
first-order "melting" into an amorphous state, and clear evidence for a glass
transition in the supercooled liquid. The random-network model is also extended
to study heterogeneous structures, such as the interface between amorphous and
crystalline Si.Comment: Revtex file with 4 figure
First Results from COPSS: The CO Power Spectrum Survey
We present constraints on the abundance of carbon monoxide in the early universe from the CO Power Spectrum Survey. We utilize a data set collected between 2005 and 2008 using the SunyaevâZel'dovich Array (SZA), which was previously used to measure arcminute-scale fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background. This data set features observations of 44 fields, covering an effective area of 1.7 square degrees, over a frequency range of 27â35 GHz. Using the technique of intensity mapping, we are able to probe the CO(1â0) transition, with sensitivity to spatial modes between k = 0.5â2 h Mpc^(â1) over a range in redshift of z = 2.3â3.3, spanning a comoving volume of 3.6 Ă 10^6 h^(â3) Mpc^3. We demonstrate our ability to mitigate foregrounds, and present estimates of the impact of continuum sources on our measurement. We constrain the CO power spectrum to P_(CO) < 2.6 Ă 10^4 ÎŒK^2 (h^(â1) Mpc)^3, or Î^2_(CO)(k = 1 h Mpc^(â1)) < 1.3 Ă 10^3 ÎŒK^2, at 95% confidence. This limit resides near optimistic predictions for the CO power spectrum. Under the assumption that CO emission is proportional to halo mass during bursts of active star formation, this corresponds to a limit on the ratio of CO(1â0) luminosity to host halo mass of A_(CO) < 1.2 Ă 10^(â5) Lâ_ M_â^(â1). Further assuming a Milky Way-like conversion factor between CO luminosity and molecular gas mass (α_(CO) = 4.3 M_â (K km s^(â1) pc^(â2))^(â1)), we constrain the global density of molecular gas to Ï_(z~3) (M_H_2) â©œ 2.8 x 10^8 M_â Mpc^(-3)
Three-Dimensional Adult Cardiac Extracellular Matrix Promotes Maturation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes
Pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) have great potential in the development of new therapies for cardiovascular disease. In particular, human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) may prove especially advantageous due to their pluripotency, their self-renewal potential, and their ability to create patient-specific cell lines. Unfortunately, pluripotent stem cell-derived CMs are immature, with characteristics more closely resembling fetal CMs than adult CMs, and this immaturity has limited their use in drug screening and cell-based therapies. Extracellular matrix (ECM) influences cellular behavior and maturation, as does the geometry of the environmentâtwodimensional (2D) versus three-dimensional (3D). We therefore tested the hypothesis that native cardiac ECM and 3D cultures might enhance the maturation of iPSC-derived CMs in vitro. We demonstrate that maturation of iPSCderived CMs was enhanced when cells were seeded into a 3D cardiac ECM scaffold, compared with 2D culture. 3D cardiac ECMpromoted increased expression of calcium-handling genes, Junctin, CaV1.2, NCX1, HCN4, SERCA2a, Triadin, and CASQ2. Consistent with this, we find that iPSC-derived CMs in 3D adult cardiac ECM show increased calcium signaling (amplitude) and kinetics (maximum upstroke and downstroke) compared with cells in 2D. Cells in 3D culture were also more responsive to caffeine, likely reflecting an increased availability of calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Taken together, these studies provide novel strategies for maturing iPSC-derived CMs that may have applications in drug screening and transplantation therapies to treat heart disease
Atomic structure of dislocation kinks in silicon
We investigate the physics of the core reconstruction and associated
structural excitations (reconstruction defects and kinks) of dislocations in
silicon, using a linear-scaling density-matrix technique. The two predominant
dislocations (the 90-degree and 30-degree partials) are examined, focusing for
the 90-degree case on the single-period core reconstruction. In both cases, we
observe strongly reconstructed bonds at the dislocation cores, as suggested in
previous studies. As a consequence, relatively low formation energies and high
migration barriers are generally associated with reconstructed
(dangling-bond-free) kinks. Complexes formed of a kink plus a reconstruction
defect are found to be strongly bound in the 30-degree partial, while the
opposite is true in the case of 90-degree partial, where such complexes are
found to be only marginally stable at zero temperature with very low
dissociation barriers. For the 30-degree partial, our calculated formation
energies and migration barriers of kinks are seen to compare favorably with
experiment. Our results for the kink energies on the 90-degree partial are
consistent with a recently proposed alternative double-period structure for the
core of this dislocation.Comment: 12 pages, two-column style with 8 postscript figures embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#rn_di
First-principles theory of ferroelectric phase transitions for perovskites: The case of BaTiO3
We carry out a completely first-principles study of the ferroelectric phase
transitions in BaTiO. Our approach takes advantage of two features of these
transitions: the structural changes are small, and only low-energy distortions
are important. Based on these observations, we make systematically improvable
approximations which enable the parameterization of the complicated energy
surface. The parameters are determined from first-principles total-energy
calculations using ultra-soft pseudopotentials and a preconditioned
conjugate-gradient scheme. The resulting effective Hamiltonian is then solved
by Monte Carlo simulation. The calculated phase sequence, transition
temperatures, latent heats, and spontaneous polarizations are all in good
agreement with experiment. We find the transitions to be intermediate between
order-disorder and displacive character. We find all three phase transitions to
be of first order. The roles of different interactions are discussed.Comment: 33 pages latex file, 9 figure
Structure and oxidation kinetics of the Si(100)-SiO2 interface
We present first-principles calculations of the structural and electronic
properties of Si(001)-SiO2 interfaces. We first arrive at reasonable structures
for the c-Si/a-SiO2 interface via a Monte-Carlo simulated annealing applied to
an empirical interatomic potential, and then relax these structures using
first-principles calculations within the framework of density-functional
theory. We find a transition region at the interface, having a thickness on the
order of 20\AA, in which there is some oxygen deficiency and a corresponding
presence of sub-oxide Si species (mostly Si^+2 and Si^+3). Distributions of
bond lengths and bond angles, and the nature of the electronic states at the
interface, are investigated and discussed. The behavior of atomic oxygen in
a-SiO2 is also investigated. The peroxyl linkage configuration is found to be
lower in energy than interstitial or threefold configurations. Based on these
results, we suggest a possible mechanism for oxygen diffusion in a-SiO2 that
may be relevant to the oxidation process.Comment: 7 pages, two-column style with 6 postscript figures embedded. Uses
REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#ng_sio
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Portable 3-D computed tomography system
Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Los Alamos National Laboratory and HYTEC, Inc., a portable 3-D Computed Tomography (CT) system has been developed that dramatically reduces the overall complexity and time-to-completion for performing CT studies. The system incorporates an amorphous silicon flat-panel detector, coupled motion control and state of the art software to produce high quality CT results. All alignment, image calibration and radiation exposure monitoring is handled in software, thereby, eliminating the need for precise mechanical positioning during setup or a highly stable source of radiation. The image acquisition hardware occupies a minimal 30-inch x 48-inch footprint and is mounted on a portable cart for transportation between multiple X-ray sites. The software is built on the Windows NT/2K operating system for maximum flexibility in today's industry, and offers an unprecedented user interface designed for technicians and operators who have minimal computer training. Multiple reconstruction methods (parallel, fan and cone beam) are provided and can be run in a parallel-processed mode on any number of Windows NT/2K computers to decrease reconstruction time. Visualization software offers 2-D and 3-D viewing including slice animation and volume rendering of entire objects
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