15,711 research outputs found
Calibrating and Stabilizing Spectropolarimeters with Charge Shuffling and Daytime Sky Measurements
Well-calibrated spectropolarimetry studies at resolutions of 10,000 with
signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) better than 0.01\% across individual line
profiles, are becoming common with larger aperture telescopes.
Spectropolarimetric studies require high SNR observations and are often limited
by instrument systematic errors. As an example, fiber-fed spectropolarimeters
combined with advanced line-combination algorithms can reach statistical error
limits of 0.001\% in measurements of spectral line profiles referenced to the
continuum. Calibration of such observations is often required both for
cross-talk and for continuum polarization. This is not straightforward since
telescope cross-talk errors are rarely less than 1\%. In solar
instruments like the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), much more
stringent calibration is required and the telescope optical design contains
substantial intrinsic polarization artifacts. This paper describes some
generally useful techniques we have applied to the HiVIS spectropolarimeter at
the 3.7m AEOS telescope on Haleakala. HiVIS now yields accurate polarized
spectral line profiles that are shot-noise limited to 0.01\% SNR levels at our
full spectral resolution of 10,000 at spectral sampling of 100,000. We
show line profiles with absolute spectropolarimetric calibration for cross-talk
and continuum polarization in a system with polarization cross-talk levels of
essentially 100\%. In these data the continuum polarization can be recovered to
one percent accuracy because of synchronized charge-shuffling model now working
with our CCD detector. These techniques can be applied to other
spectropolarimeters on other telescopes for both night and day-time
applications such as DKIST, TMT and ELT which have folded non-axially symmetric
foci.Comment: Accepted to A&
Interaction and Expressivity in Video Games: Harnessing the Rhetoric of Film
The film-maker uses the camera and editing creatively, not simply to present the action of the film but also to set up a particular relation between the action and the viewer. In 3D video games with action controlled by the player, the pseudo camera is usually less creatively controlled and has less effect on the player’s appreciation of and engagement with the game. This paper discusses methods of controlling games by easy and intuitive interfaces and use of an automated virtual camera to increase the appeal of games for users
The relative efficacy of price announcements and express communication for collusion: experimental findings
This study conducts experiments to determine the modes of communication that are able to produce and sustain collusion and how the efficacy of communication de- pends on market structure. Two communication treatments are considered: non-binding price announcements and unrestricted written communication. We find that price an- nouncements are conducive to coordinating on a high price but only under duopoly and when firms are symmetric. The standard experimental finding that collusion without com- munication is rare when there are more than two firms is shown to be robust to allowing firms to make price announcements. When firms are asymmetric, price announcements do result in higher prices but there is little evidence that firms are coordinating their behavior. When firms are allowed to engage in unrestricted written communication, co- ordination on high prices occurs for all market structures. We find that the incremental value to express communication (compared to price announcements) is greater when firms are asymmetric and there are more firms
The study of comets, part 1
Papers are presented dealing with observations of comets. Topic discussed include: photometry, polarimetry, and astrometry of comets; detection of water and molecular transitions in comets; ion motions in comet tails; determination of comet brightness and luminosity; and evolution of cometary orbits. Emphasis is placed on analysis of observations of comet Kohoutek
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