4,969 research outputs found
Smear correction of highly-variable, frame-transfer-CCD images with application to polarimetry
Image smear, produced by the shutter-less operation of frame transfer CCD
detectors, can be detrimental for many imaging applications. Existing
algorithms used to numerically remove smear, do not contemplate cases where
intensity levels change considerably between consecutive frame exposures. In
this report we reformulate the smearing model to include specific variations of
the sensor illumination. The corresponding desmearing expression and its noise
properties are also presented and demonstrated in the context of fast imaging
polarimetry.Comment: Article accepted for publication in Applied Optics on 08 Jun 201
Statistical Curse of the Second Half Rank
In competitions involving many participants running many races the final rank
is determined by the score of each participant, obtained by adding its ranks in
each individual race. The "Statistical Curse of the Second Half Rank" is the
observation that if the score of a participant is even modestly worse than the
middle score, then its final rank will be much worse (that is, much further
away from the middle rank) than might have been expected. We give an
explanation of this effect for the case of a large number of races using the
Central Limit Theorem. We present exact quantitative results in this limit and
demonstrate that the score probability distribution will be gaussian with
scores packing near the center. We also derive the final rank probability
distribution for the case of two races and we present some exact formulae
verified by numerical simulations for the case of three races. The variant in
which the worst result of each boat is dropped from its final score is also
analyzed and solved for the case of two races.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Coal desulfurization by low temperature chlorinolysis, phase 2
An engineering scale reactor system was constructed and operated for the evaluation of five high sulfur bituminous coals obtained from Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. Forty-four test runs were conducted under conditions of 100 by 200 mesh coal,solvents - methlychloroform and water, 60 to 130 C, 0 to 60 psig, 45 to 90 minutes, and gaseous chlorine flow rate of up to 24 SCFH. Sulfur removals demonstrated for the five coals were: maximum total sulfur removal of 46 to 89% (4 of 5 coals with methylchloroform) and 0 to 24% with water. In addition, an integrated continuous flow mini-pilot plant was designed and constructed for a nominal coal rate of 2 kilograms/hour which will be operated as part of the follow-on program. Equipment flow sheets and design drawings are included for both the batch and continuous flow mini-pilot plants
Quantum computers can search arbitrarily large databases by a single query
This paper shows that a quantum mechanical algorithm that can query
information relating to multiple items of the database, can search a database
in a single query (a query is defined as any question to the database to which
the database has to return a (YES/NO) answer). A classical algorithm will be
limited to the information theoretic bound of at least O(log N) queries (which
it would achieve by using a binary search).Comment: Several enhancements to the original pape
Model for Folding and Aggregation in RNA Secondary Structures
We study the statistical mechanics of RNA secondary structures designed to
have an attraction between two different types of structures as a model system
for heteropolymer aggregation. The competition between the branching entropy of
the secondary structure and the energy gained by pairing drives the RNA to
undergo a `temperature independent' second order phase transition from a molten
to an aggregated phase'. The aggregated phase thus obtained has a
macroscopically large number of contacts between different RNAs. The partition
function scaling exponent for this phase is \theta ~ 1/2 and the crossover
exponent of the phase transition is \nu ~ 5/3. The relevance of these
calculations to the aggregation of biological molecules is discussed.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages; 3 Figures; Final published versio
Migration of Ca II H bright points in the internetwork
The migration of magnetic bright point-like features (MBP) in the lower solar
atmosphere reflects the dispersal of magnetic flux as well as the horizontal
flows of the atmospheric layer they are embedded in. We analyse trajectories of
the proper motion of intrinsically magnetic, isolated internetwork Ca II H MBPs
(mean lifetime 461 +- 9 s) to obtain their diffusivity behaviour. We use
seeing-free high spatial and temporal resolution image sequences of quiet-Sun,
disc-centre observations obtained in the Ca II H 3968 {\AA} passband of the
Sunrise Filter Imager (SuFI) onboard the Sunrise balloon-borne solar
observatory. Small MBPs in the internetwork are automatically tracked. The
trajectory of each MBP is then calculated and described by a diffusion index
({\gamma}) and a diffusion coefficient (D). We further explore the distribution
of the diffusion indices with the help of a Monte Carlo simulation. We find
{\gamma} = 1.69 +- 0.08 and D = 257 +- 32 km^2/s averaged over all MBPs.
Trajectories of most MBPs are classified as super-diffusive, i.e., {\gamma} >
1, with the determined {\gamma} being to our knowledge the largest obtained so
far. A direct correlation between D and time-scale ({\tau}) determined from
trajectories of all MBPs is also obtained. We discuss a simple scenario to
explain the diffusivity of the observed, relatively short-lived MBPs while they
migrate within a small area in a supergranule (i.e., an internetwork area). We
show that the scatter in the {\gamma} values obtained for individual MBPs is
due to their limited lifetimes. The super-diffusive MBPs can be well-described
as random walkers (due to granular evolution and intergranular turbu- lence)
superposed on a large systematic (background) velocity, caused by granular,
mesogranular and supergranular flows.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
Vortex Tubes in Turbulence Velocity Fields at Reynolds Numbers 300-1300
The most elementary structures of turbulence, i.e., vortex tubes, are studied
using velocity data obtained in a laboratory experiment for boundary layers
with microscale Reynolds numbers 295-1258. We conduct conditional averaging for
enhancements of a small-scale velocity increment and obtain the typical
velocity profile for vortex tubes. Their radii are of the order of the
Kolmogorov length. Their circulation velocities are of the order of the
root-mean-square velocity fluctuation. We also obtain the distribution of the
interval between successive enhancements of the velocity increment as the
measure of the spatial distribution of vortex tubes. They tend to cluster
together below about the integral length and more significantly below about the
Taylor microscale. These properties are independent of the Reynolds number and
are hence expected to be universal.Comment: 8 pages, to appear in Physical Review
On possible violation of the CHSH Bell inequality in a classical context
It has been shown that there is a small possibility to experimentally violate
the CHSH Bell inequality in a 'classical' context. The probability of such a
violation has been estimated in the framework of a classical probabilistic
model in the language of a random-walk representation.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
Inclinations of small quiet-Sun magnetic features based on a new geometric approach
High levels of horizontal magnetic flux have been reported in the quiet-Sun
internetwork, often based on Stokes profile inversions. Here we introduce a new
method for deducing the inclination of magnetic elements and use it to test
magnetic field inclinations from inversions. We determine accurate positions of
a set of small, bright magnetic elements in high spatial resolution images
sampling different photospheric heights obtained by the Sunrise balloon-borne
solar observatory. Together with estimates of the formation heights of the
employed spectral bands, these provide us with the inclinations of the magnetic
features. We also compute the magnetic inclination angle of the same magnetic
features from the inversion of simultaneously recorded Stokes parameters. Our
new, geometric method returns nearly vertical fields (average inclination of
around 14 deg with a relatively narrow distribution having a standard deviation
of 6 deg). In strong contrast to this, the traditionally used inversions give
almost horizontal fields (average inclination of 75+-8 deg) for the same small
magnetic features, whose linearly polarised Stokes profiles are adversely
affected by noise. The almost vertical field of bright magnetic features from
our geometric method is clearly incompatible with the nearly horizontal
magnetic fields obtained from the inversions. This indicates that the amount of
magnetic flux in horizontal fields deduced from inversions is overestimated in
the presence of weak Stokes signals, in particular if Stokes Q and U are close
to or under the noise level. By combining the proposed method with inversions
we are not just improving the inclination, but also the field strength. This
technique allows us to analyse features that are not reliably treated by
inversions, thus greatly extending our capability to study the complete
magnetic field of the quiet Sun.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Possible Experience: from Boole to Bell
Mainstream interpretations of quantum theory maintain that violations of the
Bell inequalities deny at least either realism or Einstein locality. Here we
investigate the premises of the Bell-type inequalities by returning to earlier
inequalities presented by Boole and the findings of Vorob'ev as related to
these inequalities. These findings together with a space-time generalization of
Boole's elements of logic lead us to a completely transparent Einstein local
counterexample from everyday life that violates certain variations of the Bell
inequalities. We show that the counterexample suggests an interpretation of the
Born rule as a pre-measure of probability that can be transformed into a
Kolmogorov probability measure by certain Einstein local space-time
characterizations of the involved random variables.Comment: Published in: EPL, 87 (2009) 6000
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