URAT: astrometric requirements and design history

The U.S. Naval Observatory Robotic Astrometric Telescope (URAT) project aims at a highly accurate (5 mas), ground-based, all-sky survey. Requirements are presented for the optics and telescope for this 0.85 m aperture, 4.5 degree diameter field-of-view, specialized instrument, which are close to the capability of the industry. The history of the design process is presented as well as astrometric performance evaluations of the toleranced, optical design, with expected wavefront errors included.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, SPIE 2006 Orlando conf. proc. Vol. 626

Locking mechanism for orthopedic braces

A locking mechanism for orthopedic braces is described which automatically prevents or permits the relative pivotable movement between a lower brace member and an upper brace member. The upper and lower brace members are provided with drilled bores within which a slidable pin is disposed, and depending upon the inclination of the brace members with respect to a vertical plane, the slidable pin will be interposed between both brace members. The secondary or auxiliary latching device includes a spring biased, manually operable lever bar arrangement which is manually unlatched and automatically latched under the influence of the spring

NICMOS Observations of Interaction Triggered Star Formation in the Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 6090

High resolution, 1.1, 1.6, and 2.2 micron imaging of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6090 obtained with NICMOS of the Hubble Space Telescope are presented. These new observations are centered on the two nuclei of the merger, and reveal the spiral structure of the eastern galaxy and the amorphous nature of the western galaxy. The nuclear separation of 3.2 kpc (H_0 = 75 km/s/Mpc) indicates that NGC 6090 is at an intermediate stage of merging. Bright knots/clusters are also visible in the region overlapping the merging galaxies; four of these knots appear bluer than the underlying galaxies and have colors consistent with young (<~ 10^7 yr) star clusters. The spatial coincidence of the knots with the molecular gas in NGC 6090 indicates that much of the present star formation is occuring outside of the nuclear region of merging galaxies, consistent with recent studies of other double nuclei luminous infrared galaxies.Comment: LaTex, 18 pages with 4 jpg figures, ApJ, in pres

Emergence of time-horizon invariant correlation structure in financial returns by subtraction of the market mode

We investigate the emergence of a structure in the correlation matrix of assets' returns as the time-horizon over which returns are computed increases from the minutes to the daily scale. We analyze data from different stock markets (New York, Paris, London, Milano) and with different methods. Result crucially depends on whether the data is restricted to the ``internal'' dynamics of the market, where the ``center of mass'' motion (the market mode) is removed or not. If the market mode is not removed, we find that the structure emerges, as the time-horizon increases, from splitting a single large cluster. In NYSE we find that when the market mode is removed, the structure of correlation at the daily scale is already well defined at the 5 minutes time-horizon, and this structure accounts for 80 % of the classification of stocks in economic sectors. Similar results, though less sharp, are found for the other markets. We also find that the structure of correlations in the overnight returns is markedly different from that of intraday activity.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figure

Multiscaled Cross-Correlation Dynamics in Financial Time-Series

The cross correlation matrix between equities comprises multiple interactions between traders with varying strategies and time horizons. In this paper, we use the Maximum Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform to calculate correlation matrices over different timescales and then explore the eigenvalue spectrum over sliding time windows. The dynamics of the eigenvalue spectrum at different times and scales provides insight into the interactions between the numerous constituents involved. Eigenvalue dynamics are examined for both medium and high-frequency equity returns, with the associated correlation structure shown to be dependent on both time and scale. Additionally, the Epps effect is established using this multivariate method and analyzed at longer scales than previously studied. A partition of the eigenvalue time-series demonstrates, at very short scales, the emergence of negative returns when the largest eigenvalue is greatest. Finally, a portfolio optimization shows the importance of timescale information in the context of risk management

Evaluating the Role of Evapotranspirative Processes for Stormwater Management in Coastal South Carolina Watersheds with Shallow Groundwater

2014 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Informing Strategic Water Planning to Address Natural Resource, Community and Economic Challenge

Green Infrastructure in Coastal Landscapes: Ecological Design, Hydrological Function, and Sustainable Land Use Goals

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

The SIDE dual VIS-NIR fiber fed spectrograph for the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias

SIDE (Super Ifu Deployable Experiment) is proposed as second-generation, common-user instrument for the GTC. It will be a low and intermediate resolution fiber fed spectrograph, highly efficient in multi-object and 3D spectroscopy. The low resolution part (R = 1500, 4000) is called Dual VIS-NIR because it will observe in the VIS and NIR bands (0.4 ~V 1.7 microns) simultaneously. Because of the large number of fibers, a set of ~10 identical spectrographs is needed, each with a mirror collimator, a dichroic and two refractive cameras. The cameras are optimized for 0.4 - 0.95 microns (VIS) and 0.95 - 1.7 microns (NIR) respectively.Comment: To appear in "Advanced Optical and Mechanical Technologies in Telescopes and Instrumentation" SPIE conference Proc. 7018, Marseille, 23-28 June 200

NICMOS Imaging of the Nuclei of Arp 220

We report high resolution imaging of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 at 1.1, 1.6, and 2.22 microns with NICMOS on the HST. The diffraction-limited images at 0.1--0.2 arcsecond resolution clearly resolve both nuclei of the merging galaxy system and reveal for the first time a number of luminous star clusters in the circumnuclear envelope. The morphologies of both nuclei are strongly affected by dust obscuration, even at 2.2 microns : the primary nucleus (west) presents a crescent shape, concave to the south and the secondary (eastern) nucleus is bifurcated by a dust lane with the southern component being very reddened. In the western nucleus, the morphology of the 2.2 micron emission is most likely the result of obscuration by an opaque disk embedded within the nuclear star cluster. The morphology of the central starburst-cluster in the western nucleus is consistent with either a circumnuclear ring of star formation or a spherical cluster with the bottom half obscured by the embedded dust disk. Comparison of cm-wave radio continuum maps with the near-infrared images suggests that the radio nuclei lie in the dust disk on the west and near the highly reddened southern component of the eastern complex. The radio nuclei are separated by 0.98 arcseconds (corresponding to 364 pc at 77 Mpc) and the half-widths of the infrared nuclei are approximately 0.2-0.5 arcseconds. At least 8, unresolved infrared sources -- probably globular clusters -- are also seen in the circumnuclear envelope at radii 2-7 arcseconds . Their near-infrared colors do not significantly constrain their ages.Comment: LaTex, 15 pages with 1 gif figure and 5 postscript figures. ApJL accepte