2,758 research outputs found
The role of authorial context in mathematiciansâ evaluations of proof
We report on a series of task-based interviews in which nine mathematicians were asked to evaluate a series of six mathematical arguments, purportedly produced either by fellow mathematicians or undergraduate students. In this paper, we attend to the role of context in mathematiciansâ responses, leading to four themes in expectations when evaluating the proofs that they read. First, mathematiciansâ evaluations of identical arguments were sensitive to researchersâ manipulation of authorship, with most accepting arguments purportedly produced by a colleague while taking a more critical view of that same argument if produced by an undergraduate student. Our thematic analysis of interview responses led to three context-based factors influencing mathematiciansâ responses when evaluating student-produced texts: course goals, instructorsâ expectations, and assessment type. In the final section, we consider implications for researchers focused on understanding common practice amongst mathematicians as well as the pedagogic consequences of our findings for practice in the classroom
Discovery of a Galaxy Cluster in the Foreground of the Wide-Separation Quasar Pair UM425
We report the discovery of a cluster of galaxies in the field of UM425, a
pair of quasars separated by 6.5arcsec. Based on this finding, we revisit the
long-standing question of whether this quasar pair is a binary quasar or a
wide-separation lens. Previous work has shown that both quasars are at z=1.465
and show broad absorption lines. No evidence for a lensing galaxy has been
found between the quasars, but there were two hints of a foreground cluster:
diffuse X-ray emission observed with Chandra, and an excess of faint galaxies
observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. Here we show, via VLT spectroscopy,
that there is a spike in the redshift histogram of galaxies at z=0.77. We
estimate the chance of finding a random velocity structure of such significance
to be about 5%, and thereby interpret the diffuse X-ray emission as originating
from z=0.77, rather than the quasar redshift. The mass of the cluster, as
estimated from either the velocity dispersion of the z=0.77 galaxies or the
X-ray luminosity of the diffuse emission, would be consistent with the
theoretical mass required for gravitational lensing. The positional offset
between the X-ray centroid and the expected location of the mass centroid is
about 40kpc, which is not too different from offsets observed in lower redshift
clusters. However, UM425 would be an unusual gravitational lens, by virtue of
the absence of a bright primary lensing galaxy. Unless the mass-to-light ratio
of the galaxy is at least 80 times larger than usual, the lensing hypothesis
requires that the galaxy group or cluster plays a uniquely important role in
producing the observed deflections.
Based on observations performed with the Very Large Telescope at the European
Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile.Comment: 12 pages, accepted by ApJ 2005, May 1
Wide Field Imaging. I. Applications of Neural Networks to object detection and star/galaxy classification
[Abriged] Astronomical Wide Field Imaging performed with new large format CCD
detectors poses data reduction problems of unprecedented scale which are
difficult to deal with traditional interactive tools. We present here NExt
(Neural Extractor): a new Neural Network (NN) based package capable to detect
objects and to perform both deblending and star/galaxy classification in an
automatic way. Traditionally, in astronomical images, objects are first
discriminated from the noisy background by searching for sets of connected
pixels having brightnesses above a given threshold and then they are classified
as stars or as galaxies through diagnostic diagrams having variables choosen
accordingly to the astronomer's taste and experience. In the extraction step,
assuming that images are well sampled, NExt requires only the simplest a priori
definition of "what an object is" (id est, it keeps all structures composed by
more than one pixels) and performs the detection via an unsupervised NN
approaching detection as a clustering problem which has been thoroughly studied
in the artificial intelligence literature. In order to obtain an objective and
reliable classification, instead of using an arbitrarily defined set of
features, we use a NN to select the most significant features among the large
number of measured ones, and then we use their selected features to perform the
classification task. In order to optimise the performances of the system we
implemented and tested several different models of NN. The comparison of the
NExt performances with those of the best detection and classification package
known to the authors (SExtractor) shows that NExt is at least as effective as
the best traditional packages.Comment: MNRAS, in press. Paper with higher resolution images is available at
http://www.na.astro.it/~andreon/listapub.htm
Preference purification and the inner rational agent:A critique of the conventional wisdom of behavioural welfare economics
Neoclassical economics assumes that individuals have stable and context-independent preferences, and uses preference-satisfaction as a normative criterion. By calling this assumption into question, behavioural findings cause fundamental problems for normative economics. A common response to these problems is to treat deviations from conventional rational-choice theory as mistakes, and to try to reconstruct the preferences that individuals would have acted on, had they reasoned correctly. We argue that this preference purification approach implicitly uses a dualistic model of the human being, in which an inner rational agent is trapped in an outer psychological shell. This model is psychologically and philosophically problematic
A discrete model for the design sensitivity analysis of multi-layered composite shells of revolution
This paper studies the sensitivity analysis for the optimization of the multi-layered composite axisymmetric shells subjected to arbitrary static loading and free vibrations. The structural analysis is carried out using a two node frustum-cone finite element with 16 degrees of freedom based on Love-Kirchhoff assumptions. The design variables are the angle of orientation of the fibers and/or the vectorial distances from middle surface to upper surface of each ply. The constraint functions are displacements, stresses (Tsai-Hill criterion) and the natural frequency of a specified mode shape. Four types of objective functions can be used: maximum displacement or natural frequency or elastic strain energy and material volume. The design sensitivities are calculated analytically, semi-analytically and by global finite difference. The potentiality of the proposed model and the accuracy of the sensitivities of response are discussed with reference to the applications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The ALMA Frontier Fields Survey - IV. Lensing-corrected 1.1 mm number counts in Abell 2744, MACSJ0416.1-2403 and MACSJ1149.5+2223
[abridged] Characterizing the number counts of faint, dusty star-forming
galaxies is currently a challenge even for deep, high-resolution observations
in the FIR-to-mm regime. They are predicted to account for approximately half
of the total extragalactic background light at those wavelengths. Searching for
dusty star-forming galaxies behind massive galaxy clusters benefits from strong
lensing, enhancing their measured emission while increasing spatial resolution.
Derived number counts depend, however, on mass reconstruction models that
properly constrain these clusters. We estimate the 1.1 mm number counts along
the line of sight of three galaxy clusters, i.e. Abell 2744, MACSJ0416.1-2403
and MACSJ1149.5+2223, which are part of the ALMA Frontier Fields Survey. We
perform detailed simulations to correct these counts for lensing effects. We
use several publicly available lensing models for the galaxy clusters to derive
the intrinsic flux densities of our sources. We perform Monte Carlo simulations
of the number counts for a detailed treatment of the uncertainties in the
magnifications and adopted source redshifts. We find an overall agreement among
the number counts derived for the different lens models, despite their
systematic variations regarding source magnifications and effective areas. Our
number counts span ~2.5 dex in demagnified flux density, from several mJy down
to tens of uJy. Our number counts are consistent with recent estimates from
deep ALMA observations at a 3 level. Below 0.1 mJy, however,
our cumulative counts are lower by 1 dex, suggesting a flattening in
the number counts. In our deepest ALMA mosaic, we estimate number counts for
intrinsic flux densities 4 times fainter than the rms level. This
highlights the potential of probing the sub-10 uJy population in larger samples
of galaxy cluster fields with deeper ALMA observations.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in A&
String Driven Cosmology and its Predictions
We present a minimal model for the Universe evolution fully extracted from
effective String Theory. This model is by its construction close to the
standard cosmological evolution, and it is driven selfconsistently by the
evolution of the string equation of state itself. The inflationary String
Driven stage is able to reach enough inflation, describing a Big Bang like
evolution for the metric. By linking this model to a minimal but well
established observational information, (the transition times of the different
cosmological epochs), we prove that it gives realistic predictions on early and
current energy density and its results are compatible with General Relativity.
Interestingly enough, the predicted current energy density is found Omega = 1
and a lower limit Omega \geq 4/9 is also found. The energy density at the exit
of the inflationary stage also gives | Omega |_{inf}=1. This result shows an
agreement with General Relativity (spatially flat metric gives critical energy
density) within an inequivalent Non-Einstenian context (string low energy
effective equations). The order of magnitude of the energy density-dilaton
coupled term at the beginning of the radiation dominated stage agrees with the
GUT scale. The predicted graviton spectrum is computed and analyzed without any
free parameters. Peaks and asymptotic behaviours of the spectrum are a direct
consequence of the dilaton involved and not only of the scale factor evolution.
Drastic changes are found at high frequencies: the dilaton produces an
increasing spectrum (in no string cosmologies the spectrum is decreasing).
Without solving the known problems about higher order corrections and graceful
exit of inflation, we find this model closer to the observational Universe than
the current available string cosmology scenarii.Comment: LaTex, 22 pages, Lectures delivered at the Chalonge School, Nato ASI:
Phase Transitions in the Early Universe: Theory and Observations. To appear
in the Proceedings, Editors H. J. de Vega, I. Khalatnikov, N. Sanchez.
(Kluwer Pub
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