23,095 research outputs found
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
Fractal analysis of weld defect patterns obtained by radiographic tests
This paper presents a fractal analysis of radiographic patterns obtained from
specimens with three types of inserted welding defects: lack of fusion, lack of
penetration, and porosity. The study focused on patterns of carbon steel beads
from radiographs of the International Institute of Welding (IIW). The
radiographs were scanned using a greyscale with 256 levels, and the fractal
features of the surfaces constructed from the radiographic images were
characterized by means of Hurst, detrended-fluctuation, and minimal-cover
analyses. A Karhunen-Loeve transformation was then used to classify the curves
obtained from the fractal analyses of the various images, and a study of the
classification errors was performed. The obtained results indicate that fractal
analyses can be an effective additional tool for pattern recognition of weld
defects in radiographic tests.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. To appear AIP Conference Proceedings - QNDE 200
Black hole entropy functions and attractor equations
The entropy and the attractor equations for static extremal black hole
solutions follow from a variational principle based on an entropy function. In
the general case such an entropy function can be derived from the reduced
action evaluated in a near-horizon geometry. BPS black holes constitute special
solutions of this variational principle, but they can also be derived directly
from a different entropy function based on supersymmetry enhancement at the
horizon. Both functions are consistent with electric/magnetic duality and for
BPS black holes their corresponding OSV-type integrals give identical results
at the semi-classical level. We clarify the relation between the two entropy
functions and the corresponding attractor equations for N=2 supergravity
theories with higher-derivative couplings in four space-time dimensions. We
discuss how non-holomorphic corrections will modify these entropy functions.Comment: 21 pages,LaTeX,minor change
Black Hole Microstates and Attractor Without Supersymmetry
Due to the attractor mechanism, the entropy of an extremal black hole does
not vary continuously as we vary the asymptotic values of various moduli
fields. Using this fact we argue that the entropy of an extremal black hole in
string theory, calculated for a range of values of the asymptotic moduli for
which the microscopic theory is strongly coupled, should match the statistical
entropy of the same system calculated for a range of values of the asymptotic
moduli for which the microscopic theory is weakly coupled. This argument does
not rely on supersymmetry and applies equally well to nonsupersymmetric
extremal black holes. We discuss several examples which support this argument
and also several caveats which could invalidate this argument.Comment: 50 pages; references adde
Non-Supersymmetric Attractors in Gravities
We investigate the attractor mechanism for spherically symmetric extremal
black holes in a theory of general gravity in 4-dimensions, coupled to
gauge fields and moduli fields. For the general theory, we look for
solutions which are analytic near the horizon, show that they exist and enjoy
the attractor behavior. The attractor point is determined by extremization of
an effective potential at the horizon. This analysis includes the backreaction
and supports the validity of non-supersymmetric attractors in the presence of
higher derivative interactions. To include a wider class of solutions, we
continue our analysis for the specific case of a Gauss-Bonnet theory which is
non-topological, due to the coupling of Gauss-Bonnet terms to the moduli
fields. We find that the regularity of moduli fields at the horizon is
sufficient for attractor behavior. For the non-analytic sector, this regularity
condition in turns implies the minimality of the effective potential at the
attractor point.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figure
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