2,948 research outputs found
Observations of the Hubble Deep Field with the Infrared Space Observatory. I. Data reduction, maps and sky coverage
We present deep imaging at 6.7 micron and 15 micron from the CAM instrument
on the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), centred on the Hubble Deep Field
(HDF). These are the deepest integrations published to date at these
wavelengths in any region of sky. We discuss the observation strategy and the
data reduction. The observed source density appears to approach the CAM
confusion limit at 15 micron, and fluctuations in the 6.7 micron sky background
may be identifiable with similar spatial fluctuations in the HDF galaxy counts.
ISO appears to be detecting comparable field galaxy populations to the HDF, and
our data yields strong evidence that future IR missions (such as SIRTF, FIRST
and WIRE) as well as SCUBA and millimetre arrays will easily detect field
galaxies out to comparably high redshifts.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX (using mn.sty), 9 figures included as GIFs. Gzipped
Postscipt version available from http://artemis.ph.ic.ac.uk/hdf/papers/ps/.
Further information on ISO-HDF project can be found at
http://artemis.ph.ic.ac.uk/hdf
Infrared Constraints on AGN Tori Models
This work focuses on the properties of dusty tori in active galactic nuclei
(AGN) derived from the comparison of SDSS type 1 quasars with mid-Infrared
(MIR) counterparts and a new, detailed torus model. The infrared data were
taken by the Spitzer Wide-area InfraRed Extragalactic (SWIRE) Survey. Basic
model parameters are constraint, such as the density law of the graphite and
silicate grains, the torus size and its opening angle. A whole variety of
optical depths is supported. The favoured models are those with decreasing
density with distance from the centre, while there is no clear tendency as to
the covering factor, ie small, medium and large covering factors are almost
equally distributed. Based on the models that better describe the observed
SEDs, properties such as the accretion luminosity, the mass of dust, the inner
to outer radius ratio and the hydrogen column density are computed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in "Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy
Evolution", ASP Conference Series, Pasadena, 14-16 November 200
Serum levels and removal by haemodialysis and haemodiafiltration of tryptophan-derived uremic toxins in ESKD patients
Tryptophan is an essential dietary amino acid that originates uremic toxins that contribute to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patient outcomes. We evaluated serum levels and removal during haemodialysis and haemodiafiltration of tryptophan and tryptophan-derived uremic toxins, indoxyl sulfate (IS) and indole acetic acid (IAA), in ESKD patients in different dialysis treatment settings. This prospective multicentre study in four European dialysis centres enrolled 78 patients with ESKD. Blood and spent dialysate samples obtained during dialysis were analysed with high-performance liquid chromatography to assess uremic solutes, their reduction ratio (RR) and total removed solute (TRS). Mean free serum tryptophan and IS concentrations increased, and concentration of IAA decreased over pre-dialysis levels (67%, 49%, -0.8%, respectively) during the first hour of dialysis. While mean serum total urea, IS and IAA concentrations decreased during dialysis (-72%, -39%, -43%, respectively), serum tryptophan levels increased, resulting in negative RR (-8%) towards the end of the dialysis session (p < 0.001), despite remarkable Trp losses in dialysate. RR and TRS values based on serum (total, free) and dialysate solute concentrations were lower for conventional low-flux dialysis (p < 0.001). High-efficiency haemodiafiltration resulted in 80% higher Trp losses than conventional low-flux dialysis, despite similar neutral Trp RR values. In conclusion, serum Trp concentrations and RR behave differently from uremic solutes IS, IAA and urea and Trp RR did not reflect dialysis Trp losses. Conventional low-flux dialysis may not adequately clear Trp-related uremic toxins while high efficiency haemodiafiltration increased Trp losses
Observations of the Hubble Deep Field with the Infrared Space Observatory V. Spectral energy distributions starburst models and star formation history
We have modelled the spectral energy distributions of the 13 Hubble Deep Field (HDF) galaxies reliably detected by the Infrared Space Observatoiy (ISO). For two galaxies the emission detected by ISO is consistent with being starlight or the infrared 'cirrus' in the galaxies. For the remaining 11 galaxies there is a clear mid-infrared excess, which we interpret as emission from dust associated with a strong starburst. 10 of these galaxies are spirals or interacting pairs, while the remaining one is an elliptical with a prominent nucleus and broad emission lines. We give a new discussion of how the star formation rate can be deduced from the far-infrared luminosity, and derive star formation rates for these galaxies of 8-1000ø M¿ yr-1, where ø takes account of the uncertainty in the initial mass function. The HDF galaxies detected by ISO are clearly forming stars at a prodigious rate compared with nearby normal galaxies. We discuss the implications of our detections for the history of star and heavy element formation in the Universe. Although uncertainties in the calibration, reliability of source detection, associations and starburst models remain, it is clear that dust plays an important role in star formation out to redshift 1 at least
The IGEX experiment revisited: a response to the critique of Klapdor-Kleingrothaus,Dietz, and Krivosheina
This paper is a response to the article "Critical View to" the IGEX
neutrinoless double-beta decay experiment..."published in Phys. Rev.D, Volume
65 (2002) 092007," by H.V.Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, A. Dietz, and I.V.Krivosheina,
published as preprint hep-ph/0403056. The criticisms are confronted, and the
questions raised are answered. We demonstrate that the lower limit quoted by
IGEX, for the half life of Ge-76 neutrinoless double beta decay, 1.57x10**25 y,
is correct and that there was no "arithmetical error"-as claimed in the "
Critical Review" article
Exact Histogram Specification Optimized for Structural Similarity
An exact histogram specification (EHS) method modifies its input image to
have a specified histogram. Applications of EHS include image (contrast)
enhancement (e.g., by histogram equalization) and histogram watermarking.
Performing EHS on an image, however, reduces its visual quality. Starting from
the output of a generic EHS method, we maximize the structural similarity index
(SSIM) between the original image (before EHS) and the result of EHS
iteratively. Essential in this process is the computationally simple and
accurate formula we derive for SSIM gradient. As it is based on gradient
ascent, the proposed EHS always converges. Experimental results confirm that
while obtaining the histogram exactly as specified, the proposed method
invariably outperforms the existing methods in terms of visual quality of the
result. The computational complexity of the proposed method is shown to be of
the same order as that of the existing methods.
Index terms: histogram modification, histogram equalization, optimization for
perceptual visual quality, structural similarity gradient ascent, histogram
watermarking, contrast enhancement
Affine Toda model coupled to matter and the string tension in QCD
The affine Toda model coupled to matter (ATM) is shown to describe
various features, such as the spectrum and string tension, of the low-energy
effective Lagrangian of QCD (one flavor and colors). The
corresponding string tension is computed when the dynamical quarks are in the
{\sl fundamental} representation of SU(N) and in the {\sl adjoint}
representation of SU(2).Comment: LaTex, 10 pages. Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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