1,241 research outputs found
High-speed imaging and wavefront sensing with an infrared avalanche photodiode array
Infrared avalanche photodiode arrays represent a panacea for many branches of
astronomy by enabling extremely low-noise, high-speed and even photon-counting
measurements at near-infrared wavelengths. We recently demonstrated the use of
an early engineering-grade infrared avalanche photodiode array that achieves a
correlated double sampling read noise of 0.73 e- in the lab, and a total noise
of 2.52 e- on sky, and supports simultaneous high-speed imaging and tip-tilt
wavefront sensing with the Robo-AO visible-light laser adaptive optics system
at the Palomar Observatory 1.5-m telescope. We report here on the improved
image quality achieved simultaneously at visible and infrared wavelengths by
using the array as part of an image stabilization control-loop with
adaptive-optics sharpened guide stars. We also discuss a newly enabled survey
of nearby late M-dwarf multiplicity as well as future uses of this technology
in other adaptive optics and high-contrast imaging applications.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal. 8 pages, 3 figures and 1 tabl
Second generation Robo-AO instruments and systems
The prototype Robo-AO system at the Palomar Observatory 1.5-m telescope is
the world's first fully automated laser adaptive optics instrument. Scientific
operations commenced in June 2012 and more than 12,000 observations have since
been performed at the ~0.12" visible-light diffraction limit. Two new infrared
cameras providing high-speed tip-tilt sensing and a 2' field-of-view will be
integrated in 2014. In addition to a Robo-AO clone for the 2-m IGO and the
natural guide star variant KAPAO at the 1-m Table Mountain telescope, a second
generation of facility-class Robo-AO systems are in development for the 2.2-m
University of Hawai'i and 3-m IRTF telescopes which will provide higher Strehl
ratios, sharper imaging, ~0.07", and correction to {\lambda} = 400 nm.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 3 table
Observatory Deployment and Characterization of SAPHIRA HgCdTe APD Arrays
We report the performance of Selex ES' SAPHIRA APD arrays from both laboratory characterization and telescope deployment. The arrays are produced using the MOVPE production method, allowing for solid state engineering and thus produce superior performance to similar liquid phase epitaxy efforts. With an avalanche gain slightly over 50 and read noise of ~9e-, the detectors are easily capable of single-frame sub-electron read noise, and the 32 output readout and flexible windowing allow an excellent readout speed. Gain-corrected dark current/glow is found to be 10-20 e-/s at low bias, and drops below baseline at high avalanche gains. The detectors were also tested on-sky at both IRTF on Maunakea and the 1.5-m telescope at Palomar Observatory, demonstrating that the SAPHIRA is an ideal device for both tip-tilt NGS guiding and infrared lucky imaging, in the latter providing diffraction-limited resolution for the 3-meter IRTF without the benefit of adaptive optics correction
Partial and Complete Observables for Hamiltonian Constrained Systems
We will pick up the concepts of partial and complete observables introduced
by Rovelli in order to construct Dirac observables in gauge systems. We will
generalize these ideas to an arbitrary number of gauge degrees of freedom.
Different methods to calculate such Dirac observables are developed. For
background independent field theories we will show that partial and complete
observables can be related to Kucha\v{r}'s Bubble Time Formalism. Moreover one
can define a non-trivial gauge action on the space of complete observables and
also state the Poisson brackets of these functions.
Additionally we will investigate, whether it is possible to calculate Dirac
observables starting with partially invariant partial observables, for instance
functions, which are invariant under the spatial diffeomorphism group.Comment: 38 page
Dirac and Weyl Equations on a Lattice as Quantum Cellular Automata
A discretized time evolution of the wave function for a Dirac particle on a
cubic lattice is represented by a very simple quantum cellular automaton. In
each evolution step the updated value of the wave function at a given site
depends only on the values at the nearest sites, the evolution is unitary and
preserves chiral symmetry. Moreover, it is shown that the relationship between
Dirac particles and cellular automata operating on two component objects on a
lattice is indeed very close. Every local and unitary automaton on a cubic
lattice, under some natural assumptions, leads in the continuum limit to the
Weyl equation. The sum over histories is evaluated and its connection with path
integrals and theories of fermions on a lattice is outlined.Comment: 6, RevTe
On the Resolution of the Time-Like Singularities in Reissner-Nordstrom and Negative-Mass Schwarzschild
Certain time-like singularities are shown to be resolved already in classical
General Relativity once one passes from particle probes to scalar waves. The
time evolution can be defined uniquely and some general conditions for that are
formulated. The Reissner-Nordstrom singularity allows for communication through
the singularity and can be termed "beam splitter" since the transmission
probability of a suitably prepared high energy wave packet is 25%. The high
frequency dependence of the cross section is w^{-4/3}. However, smooth
geometries arbitrarily close to the singular one require a finite amount of
negative energy matter. The negative-mass Schwarzschild has a qualitatively
different resolution interpreted to be fully reflecting. These 4d results are
similar to the 2d black hole and are generalized to an arbitrary dimension d>4.Comment: 47 pages, 5 figures. v2: See end of introduction for an important
note adde
LASSO: Large Adaptive optics Survey for Substellar Objects using the new SAPHIRA detector on Robo-AO
We report on initial results from the largest infrared AO direct imaging
survey searching for wide orbit (>100 AU) massive exoplanets and brown dwarfs
as companions around young nearby stars using Robo-AO at the 2.1-m telescope on
Kitt Peak, Arizona. The occurrence rates of these rare substellar companions
are critical to furthering our understanding of the origin of planetary-mass
companions on wide orbits. The observing efficiency of Robo-AO allows us to
conduct a survey an order of magnitude larger than previously possible. We
commissioned a low-noise high-speed SAPHIRA near-infrared camera to conduct
this survey and report on its sensitivity, performance, and data reduction
process.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, SPIE conference proceeding
Controlled study of the impact on child behaviour problems of intensive interaction for children with ASD
Cancellous bone and theropod dinosaur locomotion. Part IIâa new approach to inferring posture and locomotor biomechanics in extinct tetrapod vertebrates
This paper is the second of a three-part series that investigates the architecture of cancellous bone in the main hindlimb bones of theropod dinosaurs, and uses cancellous bone architectural patterns to infer locomotor biomechanics in extinct non-avian species. Cancellous bone is widely known to be highly sensitive to its mechanical environment, and therefore has the potential to provide insight into locomotor biomechanics in extinct tetrapod vertebrates such as dinosaurs. Here in Part II, a new biomechanical modelling approach is outlined, one which mechanistically links cancellous bone architectural patterns with three-dimensional musculoskeletal and finite element modelling of the hindlimb. In particular, the architecture of cancellous bone is used to derive a single âcharacteristic postureâ for a given speciesâone in which bone continuum-level principal stresses best align with cancellous bone fabricâand thereby clarify hindlimb locomotor biomechanics. The quasi-static approach was validated for an extant theropod, the chicken, and is shown to provide a good estimate of limb posture at around mid-stance. It also provides reasonable predictions of bone loading mechanics, especially for the proximal hindlimb, and also provides a broadly accurate assessment of muscle recruitment insofar as limb stabilization is concerned. In addition to being useful for better understanding locomotor biomechanics in extant species, the approach hence provides a new avenue by which to analyse, test and refine palaeobiomechanical hypotheses, not just for extinct theropods, but potentially many other extinct tetrapod groups as well
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