176 research outputs found
Dichotomize and Generalize: PAC-Bayesian Binary Activated Deep Neural Networks
We present a comprehensive study of multilayer neural networks with binary activation, relying on the PAC-Bayesian theory. Our contributions are twofold: (i) we develop an end-to-end framework to train a binary activated deep neural network, overcoming the fact that binary activation function is non-differentiable; (ii) we provide nonvacuous PAC-Bayesian generalization bounds for binary activated deep neural networks. Noteworthy, our results are obtained by minimizing the expected loss of an architecture-dependent aggregation of binary activated deep neural networks. The performance of our approach is assessed on a thorough numerical experiment protocol on real-life datasets
Strangers in the night: Discovery of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy on its first Local Group infall
We present spectroscopic observations of the AndXII dwarf spheroidal galaxy
using DEIMOS/Keck-II, showing it to be moving rapidly through the Local Group
(-556 km/s heliocentric velocity, -281 km/s relative to Andromeda from the MW),
falling into the Local Group from ~115 kpc beyond Andromeda's nucleus. AndXII
therefore represents a dwarf galaxy plausibly falling into the Local Group for
the first time, and never having experienced a dense galactic environment. From
Green Bank Telescope observations, a limit on the H{I} gas mass of <3000 Msun
suggests that AndXII's gas could have been removed prior to experiencing the
tides of the Local Group galaxies. Orbit models suggest the dwarf is close to
the escape velocity of M31 for published mass models. AndXII is our best direct
evidence for the late infall of satellite galaxies, a prediction of
cosmological simulations.Comment: 4 pages 5 figures 1 table, accepted in ApJ, july issu
VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy of red giant branch stars in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy
Fornax is one of the most massive dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local
Group. The Fornax field star population is dominated by intermediate age stars
but star formation was going on over almost its entire history. It has been
proposed that Fornax experienced a minor merger event. Despite recent progress,
only the high metallicity end of Fornax field stars ([Fe/H]>-1.2 dex) has been
sampled in larger number via high resolution spectroscopy. We want to better
understand the full chemical evolution of this galaxy by better sampling the
whole metallicity range, including more metal poor stars. We use the VLT-FLAMES
multi-fibre spectrograph in high-resolution mode to determine the abundances of
several alpha, iron-peak and neutron-capture elements in a sample of 47
individual Red Giant Branch stars in the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We
combine these abundances with accurate age estimates derived from the age
probability distribution from the colour-magnitude diagram of Fornax. Similar
to other dwarf spheroidal galaxies, the old, metal-poor stars of Fornax are
typically alpha-rich while the young metal-rich stars are alpha-poor. In the
classical scenario of the time delay between SNe II and SNe Ia, we confirm that
SNe Ia started to contribute to the chemical enrichment at [Fe/H] between -2.0
and -1.8 dex. We find that the onset of SNe Ia took place between 12-10 Gyrs
ago. The high values of [Ba/Fe], [La/Fe] reflect the influence of SNe Ia and
AGB stars in the abundance pattern of the younger stellar population of Fornax.
Our findings of low [alpha/Fe] and enhanced [Eu/Mg] are compatible with an
initial mass function that lacks the most massive stars and with star formation
that kept going on throughout the whole history of Fornax. We find that massive
stars kept enriching the interstellar medium in alpha-elements, although they
were not the main contributor to the iron enrichment.Comment: Resubmitted to A&A (18/09/2014) after Referee's comment
Chemical Composition of Extremely Metal-Poor Stars in the Sextans Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
Chemical abundances of six extremely metal-poor ([Fe/H]<-2.5) stars in the
Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy are determined based on high resolution
spectroscopy (R=40,000) with the Subaru Telescope High Dispersion Spectrograph.
(1) The Fe abundances derived from the high resolution spectra are in good
agreement with the metallicity estimated from the Ca triplet lines in low
resolution spectra. The lack of stars with [Fe/H]=<-3 in Sextans, found by
previous estimates from the Ca triplet, is confirmed by our measurements,
although we note that high resolution spectroscopy for a larger sample of stars
will be necessary to estimate the true fraction of stars with such low
metallicity. (2) While one object shows an overabundance of Mg (similar to
Galactic halo stars), the Mg/Fe ratios of the remaining five stars are similar
to the solar value. This is the first time that low Mg/Fe ratios at such low
metallicities have been found in a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. No evidence for
over-abundances of Ca and Ti are found in these five stars, though the
measurements for these elements are less certain. Possible mechanisms to
produce low Mg/Fe ratios, with respect to that of Galactic halo stars, are
discussed. (3) Ba is under-abundant in four objects, while the remaining two
stars exhibit large and moderate excesses of this element. The abundance
distribution of Ba in this galaxy is similar to that in the Galactic halo,
indicating that the enrichment of heavy elements, probably by the r-process,
started at metallicities [Fe/H] < -2.5, as found in the Galactic halo.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 6 tables, A&A, in pres
Manganese in dwarf spheroidal galaxies
We provide manganese abundances (corrected for the effect of the hyperfine
structure) for a large number of stars in the dwarf spheroidal galaxies
Sculptor and Fornax, and for a smaller number in the Carina and Sextans dSph
galaxies. Abundances had already been determined for a number of other elements
in these galaxies, including alpha and iron-peak ones, which allowed us to
build [Mn/Fe] and [Mn/alpha] versus [Fe/H] diagrams. The Mn abundances imply
sub-solar [Mn/Fe] ratios for the stars in all four galaxies examined. In
Sculptor, [Mn/Fe] stays roughly constant between [Fe/H]\sim -1.8 and -1.4 and
decreases at higher iron abundance. In Fornax, [Mn/Fe] does not vary in any
significant way with [Fe/H]. The relation between [Mn/alpha] and [Fe/H] for the
dSph galaxies is clearly systematically offset from that for the Milky Way,
which reflects the different star formation histories of the respective
galaxies. The [Mn/alpha] behavior can be interpreted as a result of the
metal-dependent Mn yields of type II and type Ia supernovae. We also computed
chemical evolution models for star formation histories matching those
determined empirically for Sculptor, Fornax, and Carina, and for the Mn yields
of SNe Ia, which were assumed to be either constant or variable with
metallicity. The observed [Mn/Fe] versus [Fe/H] relation in Sculptor, Fornax,
and Carina can be reproduced only by the chemical evolution models that include
a metallicity-dependent Mn yield from the SNe Ia.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Chronotropic incompetence predicts mortality in severe obstructive pulmonary disease
We evaluated the prevalence of chronotropic incompetence (CI), a marker of autonomic dysfunction, and its prognostic value in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We performed a retrospective analysis of 449 patients with severe COPD who underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test, after excluding patients with lung volume reduction surgery, left ventricular dysfunction and those not in sinus rhythm. CI was defined as percent predicted heart rate reserve (%HRR). Events were defined as death or lung transplant during a median follow-up of 68 months. Median age was 61 years; median percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (%FEV1) of 25% and median %HRR of 33%. The hazard ratio for an event in the lowest quartile of %HRR, taking the highest quartile as reference, was of 3.2 (95% confidence interval: 2.1-4.8; p < 0.001). In a multivariate regression model, %HRR was an independent predictor of events. In conclusion, Cl was an independent and powerful outcome predictor in patients with severe COPD. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Purification of the Thy-1 molecule, a major cell-surface glycoprotein of rat thymocytes
Two distinct ancient components in the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy: First Results from DART
We have found evidence for the presence of two distinct ancient stellar
components (both geq 10 Gyr old) in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We
used the ESO Wide Field Imager (WFI) in conjunction with the VLT/FLAMES
spectrograph to study the properties of the resolved stellar population of
Sculptor out to and beyond the tidal radius. We find that two components are
discernible in the spatial distribution of Horizontal Branch stars in our
imaging, and in the [Fe/H] and v_hel distributions for our large sample of
spectroscopic measurements. They can be generally described as a ``metal-poor''
component ([Fe/H] -1.7). The
metal-poor stars are more spatially extended than the metal-rich stars, and
they also appear to be kinematically distinct. These results provide an
important insight into the formation processes of small systems in the early
universe and the conditions found there. Even this simplest of galaxies appears
to have had a surprisingly complex early evolution.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJL 12 pages, 4 figure
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