1,379 research outputs found
Practical Bayesian Modeling and Inference for Massive Spatial Datasets On Modest Computing Environments
With continued advances in Geographic Information Systems and related
computational technologies, statisticians are often required to analyze very
large spatial datasets. This has generated substantial interest over the last
decade, already too vast to be summarized here, in scalable methodologies for
analyzing large spatial datasets. Scalable spatial process models have been
found especially attractive due to their richness and flexibility and,
particularly so in the Bayesian paradigm, due to their presence in hierarchical
model settings. However, the vast majority of research articles present in this
domain have been geared toward innovative theory or more complex model
development. Very limited attention has been accorded to approaches for easily
implementable scalable hierarchical models for the practicing scientist or
spatial analyst. This article is submitted to the Practice section of the
journal with the aim of developing massively scalable Bayesian approaches that
can rapidly deliver Bayesian inference on spatial process that are practically
indistinguishable from inference obtained using more expensive alternatives. A
key emphasis is on implementation within very standard (modest) computing
environments (e.g., a standard desktop or laptop) using easily available
statistical software packages without requiring message-parsing interfaces or
parallel programming paradigms. Key insights are offered regarding assumptions
and approximations concerning practical efficiency.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
A standard test case suite for two-dimensional linear transport on the sphere
It is the purpose of this paper to propose a standard test case suite for two-dimensional transport schemes on the sphere intended to be used for model development and facilitating scheme intercomparison. The test cases are designed to assess important aspects of accuracy in geophysical fluid dynamics such as numerical order of convergence, "minimal" resolution, the ability of the transport scheme to preserve filaments, transport "rough" distributions, and to preserve pre-existing functional relations between species/tracers under challenging flow conditions. <br><br> The experiments are designed to be easy to set up. They are specified in terms of two analytical wind fields (one non-divergent and one divergent) and four analytical initial conditions (varying from smooth to discontinuous). Both conventional error norms as well as novel mixing and filament preservation diagnostics are used that are easy to implement. The experiments pose different challenges for the range of transport approaches from Lagrangian to Eulerian. The mixing and filament preservation diagnostics do not require an analytical/reference solution, which is in contrast to standard error norms where a "true" solution is needed. Results using the CSLAM (Conservative Semi-Lagrangian Multi-tracer) scheme on the cubed-sphere are presented for reference and illustrative purposes
Equilibration through local information exchange in networks
We study the equilibrium states of energy functions involving a large set of
real variables, defined on the links of sparsely connected networks, and
interacting at the network nodes, using the cavity and replica methods. When
applied to the representative problem of network resource allocation, an
efficient distributed algorithm is devised, with simulations showing full
agreement with theory. Scaling properties with the network connectivity and the
resource availability are found.Comment: v1: 7 pages, 1 figure, v2: 4 pages, 2 figures, simplified analysis
and more organized results, v3: minor change
Replicated Bethe Free Energy: A Variational Principle behind Survey Propagation
A scheme to provide various mean-field-type approximation algorithms is
presented by employing the Bethe free energy formalism to a family of
replicated systems in conjunction with analytical continuation with respect to
the number of replicas. In the scheme, survey propagation (SP), which is an
efficient algorithm developed recently for analyzing the microscopic properties
of glassy states for a fixed sample of disordered systems, can be reproduced by
assuming the simplest replica symmetry on stationary points of the replicated
Bethe free energy. Belief propagation and generalized SP can also be offered in
the identical framework under assumptions of the highest and broken replica
symmetries, respectively.Comment: appeared in Journal of the Physical Society of Japan 74, 2133-2136
(2005
Multi-modal assessment of neurovascular coupling during cerebral ischaemia and reperfusion using remote middle cerebral artery occlusion
Hyperacute changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion is
an important determinant of injury. CBF is regulated by neurovascular coupling (NVC), and
disruption of NVC contributes to brain plasticity and repair problems. However, it is
unknown how NVC is affected hyperacutely during cerebral ischemia and reperfusion. We have developed a remote middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in the rat, which
enables multi-modal assessment of NVC immediately prior to, during and immediately
following reperfusion. Male Wistar rats were subjected to remote MCAO, where a long
filament was advanced intraluminally through a guide cannula in the common carotid
artery. Transcallosal stimulation evoked increases in blood flow, tissue oxygenation and
neuronal activity, which were diminished by MCAO and partially restored during
reperfusion. These evoked responses were not affected by administration of the
thrombolytic alteplase at clinically used doses. Evoked CBF responses were fully restored at
24 hours post-MCAO indicating that neurovascular dysfunction was not sustained. These
data show for the first time that the rat remote MCAO model coupled with transcallosal
stimulation provides a novel method for continuous assessment of hyperacute NVC changes
during ischemia and reperfusion, and offers unique insight into hyperacute ischemic
pathophysiology
Interfering Doorway States and Giant Resonances. II: Transition Strengths
The mixing of the doorway components of a giant resonance (GR) due to the
interaction via common decay channels influences significantly the distribution
of the multipole strength and the energy spectrum of the decay products of the
GR. The concept of the partial widths of a GR becomes ambiguous when the mixing
is strong. In this case, the partial widths determined in terms of the - and
-matrices must be distinguished. The photoemission turns out to be most
sensitive to the overlapping of the doorway states. At high excitation
energies, the interference between the doorway states leads to a restructuring
towards lower energies and apparent quenching of the dipole strength.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures as JPEG, to appear in PRC (July 1997
Complex Periodic Orbits and Tunnelling in Chaotic Potentials
We derive a trace formula for the splitting-weighted density of states
suitable for chaotic potentials with isolated symmetric wells. This formula is
based on complex orbits which tunnel through classically forbidden barriers.
The theory is applicable whenever the tunnelling is dominated by isolated
orbits, a situation which applies to chaotic systems but also to certain
near-integrable ones. It is used to analyse a specific two-dimensional
potential with chaotic dynamics. Mean behaviour of the splittings is predicted
by an orbit with imaginary action. Oscillations around this mean are obtained
from a collection of related orbits whose actions have nonzero real part
Cycle-based Cluster Variational Method for Direct and Inverse Inference
We elaborate on the idea that loop corrections to belief propagation could be
dealt with in a systematic way on pairwise Markov random fields, by using the
elements of a cycle basis to define region in a generalized belief propagation
setting. The region graph is specified in such a way as to avoid dual loops as
much as possible, by discarding redundant Lagrange multipliers, in order to
facilitate the convergence, while avoiding instabilities associated to minimal
factor graph construction. We end up with a two-level algorithm, where a belief
propagation algorithm is run alternatively at the level of each cycle and at
the inter-region level. The inverse problem of finding the couplings of a
Markov random field from empirical covariances can be addressed region wise. It
turns out that this can be done efficiently in particular in the Ising context,
where fixed point equations can be derived along with a one-parameter log
likelihood function to minimize. Numerical experiments confirm the
effectiveness of these considerations both for the direct and inverse MRF
inference.Comment: 47 pages, 16 figure
Towards an eficient atomic frequency comb quantum memory
We present an efficient photon-echo experiment based on atomic frequency
combs [Phys. Rev. A 79, 052329 (2009)]. Echoes containing an energy of up to
35% of that of the input pulse are observed in a Pr3+-doped Y2SiO5 crystal.
This material allows for the precise spectral holeburning needed to make a
sharp and highly absorbing comb structure. We compare our results with a simple
theoretical model with satisfactory agreement. Our results show that atomic
frequency combs has the potential for high-efficiency storage of single photons
as required in future long-distance communication based on quantum repeaters.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
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