2,247 research outputs found
Integration of the atmospheric fluctuations in a dual-field optical interferometer: the short exposure regime
Spatial phase-referencing in dual-field optical interferometry is
reconsidered. Our analysis is based on the 2-sample variance of the
differential phase between target and reference star. We show that averaging
over time of the atmospheric effects depends on this 2-sample phase variance
(Allan variance) rather than on the true variance. The proper expression for
fringe smearing beyond the isoplanatic angle is derived. With simulations of
atmospheric effects, based on a Paranal turbulence model, we show how the
performances of a dual-field optical interferometer can be evaluated in a
diagram 'separation angle' versus 'magnitude of faint object'. In this diagram,
a domain with short exposure is found to be most useful for interferometry,
with about the same magnitude limits in the H and K bands. With star counts
from a Galaxy model, we evaluate the sky coverage for differential astrometry
and detection of exoplanets, i.e. likelihood of faint reference stars in the
vicinity of a bright target. With the 2mass survey, we evaluate sky coverage
for phase-referencing, i.e. avaibility of a bright enough star for main delay
tracking in the vicinity of any target direction.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Differential image motion in the short exposure regime
Whole atmosphere seeing \beta_0 is the most important parameter in site
testing measurements. Estimation of the seeing from a variance of differential
image motion is always biased by a non-zero DIMM exposure, which results in a
wind smoothing. In the paper, the wind effects are studied within short
exposure approximation, i.e. when the wind shifts turbulence during exposure by
distance lesser than device aperture. The method of correction for this effect
on the base of image motion correlation between adjacent frames is proposed. It
is shown that the correlation can be used for estimation of the mean wind speed
V_2 and atmospheric coherence time \tau_0. Total power of longitudinal and
transverse image motion is suggested for elimination of dependence on the wind
direction. Obtained theoretical results were tested on the data obtained on
Mount Shatdjatmaz in 2007--2010 with MASS/DIMM device and good agreement was
found.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
A robust method for shift detection in time series
We present a robust test for change-points in time series which is based on
the two-sample Hodges-Lehmann estimator. We develop new limit theory for a class of
statistics based on the two-sample U-quantile processes, in the case of short range dependent
observations. Using this theory we can derive the asymptotic distribution of our test statistic
under the null hypothesis. We study the finite sample properties of our test via a simulation
study and compare the test with the classical CUSUM test and a test based on the Wilcoxon-
Mann-Whitney statistic
European Guidelines for Obesity Management in Adults
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease characterised by an increase of body fat stores. It is a gateway to ill health, and it has become one of the leading causes of disability and death, affecting not only adults but also children and adolescents worldwide. In clinical practice, the body fatness is estimated by BMI, and the accumulation of intra-abdominal fat (marker for higher metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk) can be assessed by waist circumference. Complex interactions between biological, behavioural, social and environmental factors are involved in regulation of energy balance and fat stores. A comprehensive history, physical examination and laboratory assessment relevant to the patient's obesity should be obtained. Appropriate goals of weight management emphasise realistic weight loss to achieve a reduction in health risks and should include promotion of weight loss, maintenance and prevention of weight regain. Management of co-morbidities and improving quality of life of obese patients are also included in treatment aims. Balanced hypocaloric diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasise. Aerobic training is the optimal mode of exercise for reducing fat mass while a programme including resistance training is needed for increasing lean mass in middle-aged and overweight/obese individuals. Cognitive behavioural therapy directly addresses behaviours that require change for successful weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Pharmacotherapy can help patients to maintain compliance and ameliorate obesity-related health risks. Surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity in terms of long-term weight loss. A comprehensive obesity management can only be accomplished by a multidisciplinary obesity management team. We conclude that physicians have a responsibility to recognise obesity as a disease and help obese patients with appropriate prevention and treatment. Treatment should be based on good clinical care, and evidence-based interventions; should focus on realistic goals and lifelong multidisciplinary management. (C) 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freibur
Atmospheric image blur with finite outer scale or partial adaptive correction
Seeing-limited resolution in large telescopes working over wide wavelength
range depends substantially on the turbulence outer scale and cannot be
adequately described by one "seeing" value. We attempt to clarify frequent
confusions on this matter. We study the effects of finite turbulence outer
scale and partial adaptive corrections by means of analytical calculations and
numerical simulations. If a von Karman turbulence model is adopted, a simple
approximate formula captures the dependence of atmospheric long-exposure
resolution on the outer scale over the entire practically interesting range of
telescope diameters and wavelengths. In the infrared (IR), the difference with
the standard Kolmogorov seeing formula can exceed a factor of two. We find that
low-order adaptive turbulence correction produces residual wave-fronts with
effectively small outer scale, so even very low compensation order leads to a
substantial improvement in resolution over seeing, compared to the standard
theory. Seeing-limited resolution of large telescopes, especially in the IR, is
currently under-estimated by not accounting for the outer scale. On the other
hand, adaptive-optics systems designed for diffraction-limited imaging in the
IR can improve the resolution in the visible by as much as two times.Comment: A&A accepte
Change-Point Detection under Dependence Based on Two-Sample U-Statistics
We study the detection of change-points in time series. The classical CUSUM
statistic for detection of jumps in the mean is known to be sensitive to
outliers. We thus propose a robust test based on the Wilcoxon two-sample test
statistic. The asymptotic distribution of this test can be derived from a
functional central limit theorem for two-sample U-statistics. We extend a
theorem of Csorgo and Horvath to the case of dependent data
A New Shear Estimator for Weak Lensing Observations
We present a new shear estimator for weak lensing observations which properly
accounts for the effects of a realistic point spread function (PSF). Images of
faint galaxies are subject to gravitational shearing followed by smearing with
the instrumental and/or atmospheric PSF. We construct a `finite resolution
shear operator' which when applied to an observed image has the same effect as
a gravitational shear applied prior to smearing. This operator allows one to
calibrate essentially any shear estimator. We then specialize to the case of
weighted second moment shear estimators. We compute the shear polarizability
which gives the response of an individual galaxy's polarization to a
gravitational shear. We then compute the response of the population of
galaxies, and thereby construct an optimal weighting scheme for combining shear
estimates from galaxies of various shapes, luminosities and sizes. We define a
figure of merit --- an inverse shear variance per unit solid angle --- which
characterizes the quality of image data for shear measurement. The new method
is tested with simulated image data. We discuss the correction for anisotropy
of the PSF and propose a new technique involving measuring shapes from images
which have been convolved with a re-circularizing PSF. We draw attention to a
hitherto ignored noise related bias and show how this can be analyzed and
corrected for. The analysis here draws heavily on the properties of real PSF's
and we include as an appendix a brief review, highlighting those aspects which
are relevant for weak lensing.Comment: 39 pages, 9 figure
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