Nambu monopoles interacting with lattice defects in two-dimensional artificial square spin ice

The interactions between an excitation (similar to a pair of Nambu monopoles) and a lattice defect are studied in an artificial two-dimensional square spin ice. This is done by considering a square array of islands containing only one island different from all others. This difference is incorporated in the magnetic moment (spin) of the "imperfect" island and several cases are studied, including the special situation in which this distinct spin is zero (vacancy). We have shown that the two extreme points of a malformed island behave like two opposite magnetic charges. Then, the effective interaction between a pair of Nambu monopoles with the deformed island is a problem involving four magnetic charges (two pairs of opposite poles) and a string. We also sketch the configuration of the field lines of these four charges to confirm this picture. The influence of the string on this interaction decays rapidly with the string distance from the defect.Comment: 7 pages, 13 figure

The WFCAM Multi-wavelength Variable Star Catalog

Stellar variability in the near-infrared (NIR) remains largely unexplored. The exploitation of public science archives with data-mining methods offers a perspective for the time-domain exploration of the NIR sky. We perform a comprehensive search for stellar variability using the optical-NIR multi-band photometric data in the public Calibration Database of the WFCAM Science Archive (WSA), with the aim of contributing to the general census of variable stars, and to extend the current scarce inventory of accurate NIR light curves for a number of variable star classes. We introduce new variability indices designed for multi-band data with correlated sampling, and apply them for pre-selecting variable star candidates, i.e., light curves that are dominated by correlated variations, from noise-dominated ones. Pre-selection criteria are established by robust numerical tests for evaluating the response of variability indices to colored noise characteristic to the data. We find 275 periodic variable stars and an additional 44 objects with suspected variability with uncertain periods or apparently aperiodic variation. Only 44 of these objects had been previously known, including 11 RR~Lyrae stars in the outskirts of the globular cluster M3 (NGC~5272). We provide a preliminary classification of the new variable stars that have well-measured light curves, but the variability types of a large number of objects remain ambiguous. We classify most of the new variables as contact binary stars, but we also find several pulsating stars, among which 34 are probably new field RR~Lyrae and 3 are likely Cepheids. We also identify 32 highly reddened variable objects close to previously known dark nebulae, suggesting that these are embedded young stellar objects. We publish our results and all light-curve data as the WFCAM Variable Star Catalog.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure

Fractionally Integrated Moving Average Stable Processes With Long-Range Dependence

Long memory processes driven by L\'evy noise with finite second-order moments have been well studied in the literature. They form a very rich class of processes presenting an autocovariance function which decays like a power function. Here, we study a class of L\'evy process whose second-order moments are infinite, the so-called $\alpha$-stable processes. Based on Samorodnitsky and Taqqu (2000), we construct an isometry that allows us to define stochastic integrals concerning the linear fractional stable motion using Riemann-Liouville fractional integrals. With this construction, follows naturally an integration by parts formula. We then present a family of stationary $S\alpha S$ processes with the property of long-range dependence, using a generalized measure to investigate its dependence structure. In the end, the law of large number's result for a time's sample of the process is shown as an application of the isometry and integration by parts formula

The Digitized Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (DPOSS) II: Photometric Calibration

We present the photometric calibration technique for the Digitized Second Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (DPOSS), used to create seamless catalogs of calibrated objects over large sky areas. After applying a correction for telescope vignetting, the extensive plate overlap regions are used to transform sets of plates onto a common instrumental photometric system. Photometric transformations to the Gunn gri system for each plate, for stars and galaxies, are derived using these contiguous stitched areas and an extensive CCD imaging library obtained for this purpose. We discuss the resulting photometric accuracy, survey depth, and possible systematic errors.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures. Accepted to AJ. Some figures shrunk or missing to limit file size; the full paper is available at http://www.sdss.jhu.edu/~rrg/science/papers/photometrypaper.ps.g

On the canonical map of surfaces with q>=6

We carry out an analysis of the canonical system of a minimal complex surface of general type with irregularity q>0. Using this analysis we are able to sharpen in the case q>0 the well known Castelnuovo inequality K^2>=3p_g+q-7. Then we turn to the study of surfaces with p_g=2q-3 and no fibration onto a curve of genus >1. We prove that for q>=6 the canonical map is birational. Combining this result with the analysis of the canonical system, we also prove the inequality: K^2>=7\chi+2. This improves an earlier result of the first and second author [M.Mendes Lopes and R.Pardini, On surfaces with p_g=2q-3, Adv. in Geom. 10 (3) (2010), 549-555].Comment: Dedicated to Fabrizio Catanese on the occasion of his 60th birthday. To appear in the special issue of Science of China Ser.A: Mathematics dedicated to him. V2:some typos have been correcte

Non-parametric comparison of histogrammed two-dimensional data distributions using the Energy Test

When monitoring complex experiments, comparison is often made between regularly acquired histograms of data and reference histograms which represent the ideal state of the equipment. With the larger HEP experiments now ramping up, there is a need for automation of this task since the volume of comparisons could overwhelm human operators. However, the two-dimensional histogram comparison tools available in ROOT have been noted in the past to exhibit shortcomings. We discuss a newer comparison test for two-dimensional histograms, based on the Energy Test of Aslan and Zech, which provides more conclusive discrimination between histograms of data coming from different distributions than methods provided in a recent ROOT release.The Science and Technology Facilities Council, U

Estimativa do saldo de radiação utilizando imagem do sensor MODIS/TERRA em sub-bacias do Paracatu.

O saldo de radiação à superfície exerce um papel fundamental nos métodos que estimam a evapotranspiração, componente essencial do balanço hídrico, principalmente quando a superfície do solo é mantida úmida com irrigação. Neste contexto, esse trabalho tem como objetivo estimar o saldo de radiação em sub-bacias do Paracatu utilizando produtos obtidos pelo sensor MODIS a bordo do satélite Terra. Para obtenção do Rn foi utilizado o Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL). O saldo de radiação à superfície variou de 431,00 a 729,58 W/m2, com média de 559,26 W/m2

Una nota sobre el delta-ésimo momento en modelos ARMA-APARCH con distribuciones condicionales estables y GEV

In a ARMA-APARCH time series model with innovations Z, the delta-stationarity condition of the APARCH process involves the delta-th moment of the difference between the absolute value of the innovations with the product of the asymmetry parameter and the innovations. This moment allows calculating more efficiently the estimates of the parameters of the model by maximum likelihood. In this article, we obtain explicit expressions of this delta - th moment where Z has stable and GEV distribution. These moments have been implemented in our GEVStableGarch package available in CRAN R-PROJECT developed to estimate the parameters of ARMA-GARCH / APARCH models with stable innovations and GEV.En un modelo de series temporales ARMA-APARCH con innovaciones Z, la condición de delta - estacionariedad del proceso APARCH envuelve el delta-ésimo momento de la diferencia entre el valor absoluto de las innovaciones con el producto del parámetro de asimetría y las innovaciones. Este momento permite calcular de forma mas eficiente las estimativas de máxima verosimilitud de los parámetros del modelo. En este artículo, son obtenidas expresiones explícitas de ese delta-ésimo momento onde Z tem distribución estable y GEV. Esos momentos se han implementado en nuestro paquete GEVStableGarch disponible en CRAN R-PROJECT desarrollado para estimar los parámetros de los modelos ARMA-GARCH / APARCH con innovaciones estables y GEV