805 research outputs found
Leaf water δ18O reflects water vapour exchange and uptake by C3 and CAM epiphytic bromeliads in Panama
The distributions of CAM and C3 epiphytic bromeliads across an altitudinal gradient in western Panama were identified from carbon isotope (δ13C) signals, and epiphyte water balance was investigated via oxygen isotopes (δ18O) across wet and dry seasons. There were significant seasonal differences in leaf water (δ18Olw), precipitation, stored 'tank' water and water vapour. Values of δ18Olw were evaporatively enriched at low altitude in the dry season for the C3 epiphytes, associated with low relative humidity (RH) during the day. Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) δ18Olw values were relatively depleted, consistent with water vapour uptake during gas exchange under high RH at night. At high altitude, cloudforest locations, C3 δ18Olw also reflected water vapour uptake by day. A mesocosm experiment with Tillandsia fasciculata (CAM) and Werauhia sanguinolenta (C3) was combined with simulations using a non-steady-state oxygen isotope leaf water model. For both C3 and CAM bromeliads, δ18Olw became progressively depleted under saturating water vapour by day and night, although evaporative enrichment was restored in the C3 W. sanguinolenta under low humidity by day. Source water in the overlapping leaf base 'tank' was also modified by evaporative δ18O exchanges. The results demonstrate how stable isotopes in leaf water provide insights for atmospheric water vapour exchanges for both C3 and CAM systems
Measuring individual overpotentials in an operating solid-oxide electrochemical cell
We use photo-electrons as a non-contact probe to measure local electrical
potentials in a solid-oxide electrochemical cell. We characterize the cell in
operando at near-ambient pressure using spatially-resolved X-ray photoemission
spectroscopy. The overpotentials at the interfaces between the Ni and Pt
electrodes and the yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte are directly
measured. The method is validated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.
Using the overpotentials, which characterize the cell's inefficiencies, we
compare without ambiguity the electro-catalytic efficiencies of Ni and Pt,
finding that on Ni H_2O splitting proceeds more rapidly than H2 oxidation,
while on Pt, H2 oxidation proceeds more rapidly than H2O splitting.Comment: corrected; Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 201
High frequency and magnetoelectrical properties of magnetoresistive memory element based on FeCoNi/TiN/FeCoNi film
A miniaturised memory device for information recording and readout processes have been designed on the basis of anisotropic magnetoresistive effect in Fe15Co20Ni65(160Å)/ TiN(50Å)/Fe15Co20Ni65(160Å) three-layered film done by rf diode sputtering. Stable recording and readout processes were available for 32 rectangular element column, where each element had μm dimensions convenient to fabricate memory chip with 106 bits capacity. Rectangles of different sizes with removed corners were used in order to define the geometry of most of all stable recording and readout processes. Magnetoresistance and magnetoimpedance effects of a magnetic memory device have been comparatively analysed. We suggest that the decrease of the absolute value of the magnetoimpedance of the memory device comes from the reduction of the real part via the magnetoresistance.<br><br>Se ha diseñado un dispositivo de memoria para la grabación y lectura de información basado en el efecto de la anisotropía magnetorresistiva de una multicapa fabricada por sputtering mediante diodo de rf. El elemento de memoria se compone de tres películas delgadas, de composición Fe15Co20Ni65(160Å)/ TiN(50Å)/Fe15Co20Ni65(160Å). El dispositivo permite procesos de grabación y lectura estables, y se compone de 32 elementos de memoria rectangulares por columna, donde cada elemento tiene dimensiones de μm lo que permite la fabricación de memorias integradas con capacidades del orden de 106 bits. Se han ensayado elementos de memoria rectangulares de diferentes tamaños, con las esquinas redondeadas con objeto de conseguir procesos de lectura-escritura lo más estable posible. Se han analizado comparativamente los efectos de magnetorresistencia y magnetoimpedancia de los elementos de memoria de diferentes dimensiones. Sugerimos que la disminución del valor absoluto de la magnetoimpedancia del elemento de memoria es consecuencia de la reducción de la parte real, de origen magnetorresistivo
The PAU Survey: Photometric redshifts using transfer learning from simulations
In this paper we introduce the \textsc{Deepz} deep learning photometric
redshift (photo-) code. As a test case, we apply the code to the PAU survey
(PAUS) data in the COSMOS field. \textsc{Deepz} reduces the
scatter statistic by 50\% at compared to existing algorithms.
This improvement is achieved through various methods, including transfer
learning from simulations where the training set consists of simulations as
well as observations, which reduces the need for training data. The redshift
probability distribution is estimated with a mixture density network (MDN),
which produces accurate redshift distributions. Our code includes an
autoencoder to reduce noise and extract features from the galaxy SEDs. It also
benefits from combining multiple networks, which lowers the photo- scatter
by 10 percent. Furthermore, training with randomly constructed coadded fluxes
adds information about individual exposures, reducing the impact of photometric
outliers. In addition to opening up the route for higher redshift precision
with narrow bands, these machine learning techniques can also be valuable for
broad-band surveys.Comment: Accepted versio
COSMOGRAIL XVI: Time delays for the quadruply imaged quasar DES J0408-5354 with high-cadence photometric monitoring
We present time-delay measurements for the new quadruply imaged quasar DES
J0408-5354, the first quadruply imaged quasar found in the Dark Energy Survey
(DES). Our result is made possible by implementing a new observational strategy
using almost daily observations with the MPIA 2.2m telescope at La Silla
observatory and deep exposures reaching a signal-to-noise ratio of about 1000
per quasar image. This data quality allows us to catch small photometric
variations (a few mmag rms) of the quasar, acting on temporal scales much
shorter than microlensing, hence making the time delay measurement very robust
against microlensing. In only 7 months we measure very accurately one of the
time delays in DES J0408-5354: Dt(AB) = -112.1 +- 2.1 days (1.8%) using only
the MPIA 2.2m data. In combination with data taken with the 1.2m Euler Swiss
telescope, we also measure two delays involving the D component of the system
Dt(AD) = -155.5 +- 12.8 days (8.2%) and Dt(BD) = -42.4 +- 17.6 days (41%),
where all the error bars include systematics. Turning these time delays into
cosmological constraints will require deep HST imaging or ground-based Adaptive
Optics (AO), and information on the velocity field of the lensing galaxy.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Phenotypic redshifts with self-organizing maps: A novel method to characterize redshift distributions of source galaxies for weak lensing
Wide-field imaging surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES) rely on
coarse measurements of spectral energy distributions in a few filters to
estimate the redshift distribution of source galaxies. In this regime, sample
variance, shot noise, and selection effects limit the attainable accuracy of
redshift calibration and thus of cosmological constraints. We present a new
method to combine wide-field, few-filter measurements with catalogs from deep
fields with additional filters and sufficiently low photometric noise to break
degeneracies in photometric redshifts. The multi-band deep field is used as an
intermediary between wide-field observations and accurate redshifts, greatly
reducing sample variance, shot noise, and selection effects. Our implementation
of the method uses self-organizing maps to group galaxies into phenotypes based
on their observed fluxes, and is tested using a mock DES catalog created from
N-body simulations. It yields a typical uncertainty on the mean redshift in
each of five tomographic bins for an idealized simulation of the DES Year 3
weak-lensing tomographic analysis of , which is a
60% improvement compared to the Year 1 analysis. Although the implementation of
the method is tailored to DES, its formalism can be applied to other large
photometric surveys with a similar observing strategy.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures; matches version accepted to MNRA
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