6,962 research outputs found
Color-Induced Displacement double stars in SDSS
We report the first successful application of the astrometric color-induced
displacement technique (CID, the displacement of the photocenter between
different bandpasses due to a varying contribution of differently colored
components to the total light), originally proposed by Wielen (1996) for
discovering unresolved binary stars. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Data Release 1 with 2.5 million stars brighter than 21m in the u and g bands,
we select 419 candidate binary stars with CID greater than 0.5 arcsec. The SDSS
colors of the majority of these candidates are consistent with binary systems
including a white dwarf and any main sequence star with spectral type later
than ~K7. The astrometric CID method discussed here is complementary to the
photometric selection of binary stars in SDSS discussed by Smolcic et al.
(2004), but there is considerable overlap (15%) between the two samples of
selected candidates. This overlap testifies both to the physical soundness of
both methods, as well as to the astrometric and photometric quality of SDSS
data.Comment: submitted to A&A, 13 pages, 6 figure
Optical Cluster-Finding with An Adaptive Matched-Filter Technique: Algorithm and Comparison with Simulations
We present a modified adaptive matched filter algorithm designed to identify
clusters of galaxies in wide-field imaging surveys such as the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey. The cluster-finding technique is fully adaptive to imaging surveys
with spectroscopic coverage, multicolor photometric redshifts, no redshift
information at all, and any combination of these within one survey. It works
with high efficiency in multi-band imaging surveys where photometric redshifts
can be estimated with well-understood error distributions. Tests of the
algorithm on realistic mock SDSS catalogs suggest that the detected sample is
~85% complete and over 90% pure for clusters with masses above 1.0*10^{14}
h^{-1} M_solar and redshifts up to z=0.45. The errors of estimated cluster
redshifts from maximum likelihood method are shown to be small (typically less
that 0.01) over the whole redshift range with photometric redshift errors
typical of those found in the Sloan survey. Inside the spherical radius
corresponding to a galaxy overdensity of Delta=200, we find the derived cluster
richness Lambda_{200} a roughly linear indicator of its virial mass M_{200},
which well recovers the relation between total luminosity and cluster mass of
the input simulation.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 13 pages, 9 figure
Subgrade geology beneath railways in Manchester
It is not sufficient to identify fine-grained soils, only, as locations for potential subgrade problems as could be done using a traditional 2D geological map. More information is required about the geological structure, lithological variability, mineralogy, moisture content and geotechnical properties of the soil, much of which can be supplied by modern 3D geospatial databases. These databases can be interrogated at key depths to show the wide variability of geological materials and conditions beneath the ground surface. Geological outcrop and thickness of bedrock an superficial deposits (soils), plus the permeability and water table level are predicted from the Manchester geospatial model that is based on 6500 borehole records. Geological sections along railway routes are modelled and the locations of problem soils such as alluvium, till and glaciolacustrine deposits at outcrop and shallow subcrop are identified. Spatial attribution of geotechnical data and simple methods to recast sections in engineering geological terms are demonstrated
A Modified Magnitude System that Produces Well-Behaved Magnitudes, Colors, and Errors Even for Low Signal-to-Noise Ratio Measurements
We describe a modification of the usual definition of astronomical
magnitudes, replacing the usual logarithm with an inverse hyperbolic sine
function; we call these modified magnitudes `asinh magnitudes'. For objects
detected at signal-to-noise ratios of greater than about five, our modified
definition is essentially identical to the traditional one; for fainter objects
(including those with a formally negative flux) our definition is well behaved,
tending to a definite value with finite errors as the flux goes to zero.
This new definition is especially useful when considering the colors of faint
objects, as the difference of two `asinh' magnitudes measures the usual flux
ratio for bright objects, while avoiding the problems caused by dividing two
very uncertain values for faint objects.
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data products will use this scheme to
express all magnitudes in their catalogs.Comment: 11 pages, including 3 postscript figures. Submitted to A
Assessing patients' experience of integrated care: a survey of patient views in the North West London Integrated Care Pilot
Despite the importance of continuity of care and patient engagement, few studies have captured patients' views on integrated care. This study assesses patient experience in the Integrated Care Pilot in North West London with the aim to help clinicians and policymakers understand patients' acceptability of integrated care and design future initiatives
Do Interprofessional Educational Programmes on Eating Disorders Provide Proximal and Distal Benefits? Findings from a National Cohort Collected from 1998 to 2010
Background: Many programs are launched aiming to raise knowledge and competence in treating eating disorders, yet few of them have been evaluated. Methods and Findings: Using a pre-post and one-year repeated measures design we evaluated a 17-month interprofessional education program (Body and Self-Esteem) comprising a national cohort of participants (n = 845) enrolled from 1998 to 2010. The purpose of the program is to raise health professionals’ 1) knowledge, 2) confidence, 3) clinical competence, and 4) to promote an understanding of how patient care can be organized in an interdisciplinary fashion. The program format consists of five to six one- to three-day seminars with plenary lectures, and four to six closed network groups. The detected changes in all four outcomes were unrelated to program-irrelevant covariates. Program satisfaction was high, and on par with initial expectations. Conclusions: Limited by the fact that a randomized controlled design was impossible to use, a reasonable conclusion is that the program may have provided both immediate and longer-term benefits
Pattern Competition in the Photorefractive Semiconductors
We analytically study the photorefractive Gunn effect in n-GaAs subjected to
two external laser beams which form a moving interference pattern (MIP) in the
semiconductor. When the intensity of the spatially independent part of the MIP,
denoted by , is small, the system has a periodic domain train (PDT),
consistent with the results of linear stability analysis. When is large,
the space-charge field induced by the MIP will compete with the PDT and result
in complex dynamics, including driven chaos via quasiperiodic route
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