On the void explanation of the Cold Spot

The integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) contribution induced on the cosmic microwave background by the presence of a supervoid as the one detected by Szapudi et al. (2015) is reviewed in this letter in order to check whether it could explain the Cold Spot (CS) anomaly. Two different models, previously used for the same purpose, are considered to describe the matter density profile of the void: a top hat function and a compensated profile produced by a Gaussian potential. The analysis shows that, even enabling ellipticity changes or different values for the dark-energy equation of state parameter $\omega$, the ISW contribution due to the presence of the void does not reproduce the properties of the CS. Finally, the probability of alignment between the void and the CS is also questioned as an argument in favor of a physical connection between these two phenomena

La poesía de Gustavo García Saravi.

Sin resume

Exploring two-spin internal linear combinations for the recovery of the CMB polarization

We present a methodology to recover cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization in which the quantity $P = Q+ iU$ is linearly combined at different frequencies using complex coefficients. This is the most general linear combination of the $Q$ and $U$ Stokes parameters which preserves the physical coherence of the residual contribution on the CMB estimation. The approach is applied to the internal linear combination (ILC) and the internal template fitting (ITF) methodologies. The variance of $P$ of the resulting map is minimized to compute the coefficients of the linear combination. One of the key aspects of this procedure is that it serves to account for a global frequency-dependent shift of the polarization phase. Although in the standard case, in which no global E-B transference depending on frequency is expected in the foreground components, minimizing $\left\langle |P|^2\right\rangle$ is similar to minimizing $\left\langle Q^2\right\rangle$ and $\left\langle U^2\right\rangle$ separately (as previous methodologies proceed), multiplying $Q$ and $U$ by different coefficients induces arbitrary changes in the polarization angle and it does not preserve the coherence between the spinorial components. The approach is tested on simulations, obtaining a similar residual level with respect to the one obtained with other implementations of the ILC, and perceiving the polarization rotation of a toy model with the frequency dependence of the Faraday rotation.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Simplified Hand Configuration for Object Manipulation

This work is focused on obtaining realistic human hand models that are suitable for manipulation tasks. Firstly, a 24 DOF kinematic model of the human hand is defined. This model is based on the human skeleton. Intra-finger and inter-finger constraints have been included in order to improve the movement realism. Secondly, two simplified hand descriptions (9 and 6 DOF) have been developed according to the constraints predefined. These simplified models involve some errors in reconstructing the hand posture. These errors are calculated with respect to the 24 DOF model and evaluated according to the hand gestures. Finally, some criteria are defined by which to select the hand description best suited to the features of the manipulation task

Searching for a dipole modulation in the large-scale structure of the Universe

Several statistical anomalies in the CMB temperature anisotropies seem to defy the assumption of a homogeneous and isotropic universe. In particular, a dipole modulation has been detected both in WMAP and Planck data. We adapt the methodology proposed by Eriksen et al. (2007) on CMB data to galaxy surveys, tracing the large-scale structure. We analyse the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) data at a resolution of ~2 degrees for three different flux thresholds: 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mJy respectively. No evidence of a dipole modulation is found. This result suggests that the origin of the dipole asymmetry found in the CMB cannot be assigned to secondary anisotropies produced at redshifts around z = 1. However, it could still have been generated at redshifts higher or lower, such as the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect produced by the local structures. Other all-sky surveys, like the infrared WISE catalogue, could help to explore with a high sensitivity a redshift interval closer than the one probed with NVSS.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Some minor changes have been done from the original manuscript. This paper is accepted by MNRA

Estudio del efecto de la adición de harina de alpiste sobre la calidad de galletas sin gluten

El alpiste es un cereal invernal cultivado en zonas de clima templado. Su elevado valor nutricional y la ausencia de gluten en su composición, lo convierten en un cereal con un alto potencial para la elaboración o enriquecimiento de productos horneados para celiacos. En el presente trabajo se han elaborado galletas sin gluten del tipo "sugar-snap" sustituyendo harina de arroz por harina de alpiste refinada o integral en dosis del 50% y 100%, con el fin de estudiar el efecto que genera la introducción de este cereal. Se estudió el comportamiento reológico de las diferentes masas. Asimismo, se evaluaron las propiedades físicas de las distintas galletas y se realizó un análisis sensorial. Los resultados obtenidos revelaron que la introducción de alpiste reduce considerablemente la consistencia de las masas. Sin embargo, el empleo de harina integrar hizo que la masa fuese más consistente que la obtenida con harina refinada. La introducción de alpiste supuso una reducción de la dureza y un aumento del factor de propagación de las galletas. Las galletas elaboradas con harina de alpiste fueron aceptadas por los consumidores, siendo las mejor valoradas aquellas que se realizaron con harina integral. Todo ello indica que el alpiste es un ingrediente alternativo en la elaboración de galletas sin gluten. No obstante, es necesario seguir investigando sobre sus propiedades funcionales y tecnológicas con el objeto de optimizar la formulación de los productos.Máster en Calidad, Desarrollo e Innovación de Alimento

Radial derivatives as a test of pre-Big-Bang events on the Planck data

Although the search for azimutal patterns in cosmological surveys is useful to characterise some effects depending exclusively on an angular distance within the standard model, they are considered as a key distinguishing feature of some exotic scenarios, such as bubble collisions or conformal cyclic cosmology (CCC). In particular, the CCC is a non-stardard framework which predicts circular patterns on the CMB intensity fluctuations. Motivated by some previous works which explore the presence of radial gradients, we apply a methodology based on the radial derivatives to the latest release of \textit{Planck} data. The new approach allows exhaustive studies to be performed at all sky directions at a HEALPix resolution of $N_{\mathrm{side}} = 1024$. Specifically, two different analyses are performed focusing on weight functions in both small (up to a $5$-degree radius) and large scales. We present a comparison between our results and those shown by An et al. (2017), and An et al. (2018). In addition, a possible polarization counterpart of these circular patterns is also analysed for the most promising case. Taking into account the limitations to characterize the significance of the results, including the possibility of suffering a look-elsewhere effect, no strong evidence of the kind of circular patterns expected from CCC is found in the \textit{Planck} data for either the small or the large scales.Comment: 8 figures, 4 table

TweetAlert: Sistema de análisis semántico de la voz de los ciudadanos en redes sociales en la ciudad del futuro

En este artículo se presenta un sistema automático de almacenamiento, análisis y visualización de información semántica extraída de mensajes de Twitter, diseñado para proporcionar a las administraciones públicas una herramienta para detectar y analizar de una manera sencilla y rápida los patrones de comportamiento de los ciudadanos, su opinión acerca de los servicios públicos, la percepción de la ciudad, los eventos de interés, etc. Además, puede ser usado como un sistema de alerta temprana, mejorando la eficiencia y rapidez de actuación de los sistemas de emergencia