9,211 research outputs found
Background modeling by shifted tilings of stacked denoising autoencoders
The effective processing of visual data without interruption is currently of supreme importance. For that purpose, the analysis system must adapt to events that may affect the data quality and maintain its performance level over time. A methodology for background modeling and foreground detection, whose main characteristic is its robustness against stationary noise, is presented in the paper. The system is based on a stacked denoising autoencoder which extracts a set of significant features for each patch of several shifted tilings of the video frame. A probabilistic model for each patch is learned. The distinct patches which include a particular pixel are considered for that pixel classification. The experiments show that classical methods existing in the literature experience drastic performance drops when noise is present in the video sequences, whereas the proposed one seems to be slightly affected. This fact corroborates the idea of robustness of our proposal, in addition to its usefulness for the processing and analysis of continuous data during uninterrupted periods of time.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
A view of Large Magellanic Cloud HII regions N159, N132, and N166 through the 345 GHz window
We present results obtained towards the HII regions N159, N166, and N132 from
the emission of several molecular lines in the 345 GHz window. Using ASTE we
mapped a 2.4' 2.4' region towards the molecular cloud N159-W in the
CO J=3-2 line and observed several molecular lines at an IR peak very
close to a massive young stellar object. CO and CO J=3-2 were
observed towards two positions in N166 and one position in N132. The CO
J=3-2 map of the N159-W cloud shows that the molecular peak is shifted
southwest compared to the peak of the IR emission. Towards the IR peak we
detected emission from HCN, HNC, HCO, CH J=4-3, CS J=7-6, and
tentatively CO J=3-2. This is the first reported detection of these
molecular lines in N159-W. The analysis of the CH line yields more
evidence supporting that the chemistry involving this molecular species in
compact and/or UCHII regions in the LMC should be similar to that in Galactic
ones. A non-LTE study of the CO emission suggests the presence of both cool and
warm gas in the analysed region. The same analysis for the CS, HCO, HCN,
and HNC shows that it is very likely that their emissions arise mainly from
warm gas with a density between to some cm. The
obtained HCN/HNC abundance ratio greater than 1 is compatible with warm gas and
with an star-forming scenario. From the analysis of the molecular lines
observed towards N132 and N166 we propose that both regions should have similar
physical conditions, with densities of about 10 cm.Comment: accepted in MNRAS (October 5, 2015
Switching the Conductance of a Molecular Junction using a Proton Transfer Reaction
A novel mechanism for switching a molecular junction based on a proton
transfer reaction triggered by an external electrostatic field is proposed. As
a specific example to demonstrate the feasibility of the mechanism, the
tautomers [2,5-(4-hydroxypyridine)] and {2,5-[4(1H)-pyridone]} are considered.
Employing a combination of first-principles electronic structure calculations
and Landauer transport theory, we show that both tautomers exhibit very
different conductance properties and realize the "on" and "off" states of a
molecular switch. Moreover, we provide a proof of principle that both forms can
be reversibly converted into each other using an external electrostatic field.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
First-Principle Description of Correlation Effects in Layered Materials
We present a first-principles description of anisotropic materials
characterized by having both weak (dispersion-like) and strong covalent bonds,
based on the Adiabatic--Connection Fluctuation--Dissipation Theorem within
Density Functional Theory. For hexagonal boron nitride the in-plane and out of
plane bonding as well as vibrational dynamics are well described both at
equilibrium and when the layers are pulled apart. Also bonding in covalent and
ionic solids is described. The formalism allows to ping-down the deficiencies
of common exchange-correlation functionals and provides insight towards the
inclusion of dispersion interactions into the correlation functional.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
ASTE observations in the 345 GHz window towards the HII region N113 of the Large Magellanic Cloud
N113 is an HII region located in the central part of the Large Magellanic
Cloud (LMC) with an associated molecular cloud very rich in molecular species.
Most of the previously observed molecular lines cover the frequency range
85-270 GHz. Thus, a survey and study of lines at the 345 GHz window is required
in order to have a more complete understanding of the chemistry and excitation
conditions of the region. We mapped a region of 2.5' x 2.5' centered at N113
using the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment in the 13CO J=3-2 line
with an angular and spectral resolution of 22" and 0.11 km/s, respectively. In
addition, we observed 16 molecular lines as single pointings towards its
center. For the molecular cloud associated with N113, from the 13CO J=3-2 map
we estimate LTE and virial masses of about 1x10^4 and 4.5x10^4 M_sun,
respectively. Additionally, from the dust continuum emission at 500 micron we
obtain a mass of gas of 7x10^3 M_sun. Towards the cloud center we detected
emission from: 12CO, 13CO, C18O (3-2), HCN, HNC, HCO+, C2H (4-3), and CS (7-6);
being the first reported detection of HCN, HNC, and C2H (4-3) lines from this
region. The CS (7-6) which was previously tentatively detected is confirmed in
this study. By analyzing the HCN, HNC, and C2H, we suggest that their emission
may arise from a photodissociation region (PDR). Moreover, we suggest that the
chemistry involving the C2H in N113 can be similar to that in Galactic PDRs.
Using the HCN J=4-3, J=3-2, and J=1-0 lines in a RADEX analysis we conclude
that we are observing very high density gas, between some 10^5 and 10^7 cm-3.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, September 9, 201
The Structure of a Low-Metallicity Giant Molecular Cloud Complex
To understand the impact of low metallicities on giant molecular cloud (GMC)
structure, we compare far infrared dust emission, CO emission, and dynamics in
the star-forming complex N83 in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud. Dust
emission (measured by Spitzer as part of the S3MC and SAGE-SMC surveys) probes
the total gas column independent of molecular line emission and traces
shielding from photodissociating radiation. We calibrate a method to estimate
the dust column using only the high-resolution Spitzer data and verify that
dust traces the ISM in the HI-dominated region around N83. This allows us to
resolve the relative structures of H2, dust, and CO within a giant molecular
cloud complex, one of the first times such a measurement has been made in a
low-metallicity galaxy. Our results support the hypothesis that CO is
photodissociated while H2 self-shields in the outer parts of low-metallicity
GMCs, so that dust/self shielding is the primary factor determining the
distribution of CO emission. Four pieces of evidence support this view. First,
the CO-to-H2 conversion factor averaged over the whole cloud is very high 4-11
\times 10^21 cm^-2/(K km/s), or 20-55 times the Galactic value. Second, the
CO-to-H2 conversion factor varies across the complex, with its lowest (most
nearly Galactic) values near the CO peaks. Third, bright CO emission is largely
confined to regions of relatively high line-of-sight extinction, A_V >~ 2 mag,
in agreement with PDR models and Galactic observations. Fourth, a simple model
in which CO emerges from a smaller sphere nested inside a larger cloud can
roughly relate the H2 masses measured from CO kinematics and dust.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures (including appendix), accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
Background modeling for video sequences by stacked denoising autoencoders
Nowadays, the analysis and extraction of relevant information in visual data flows is of paramount importance. These images sequences can last for hours, which implies that the model must adapt to all kinds of circumstances so that the performance of the system does not decay over time. In this paper we propose a methodology for background modeling and foreground detection, whose main characteristic is its robustness against stationary noise. Thus, stacked denoising autoencoders are applied to generate a set of robust characteristics for each region or patch of the image, which will be the input of a probabilistic model to determine if that region is background or foreground. The evaluation of a set of heterogeneous sequences results in that, although our proposal is similar to the classical methods existing in the literature, the inclusion of noise in these sequences causes drastic performance drops in the competing methods, while in our case the performance stays or falls slightly.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional AndalucÃa Tech
The molecular environment of the pillar-like features in the HII region G46.5-0.2
At the interface of HII regions and molecular gas peculiar structures appear,
some of them with pillar-like shapes. Understanding their origin is important
for characterizing triggered star formation and the impact of massive stars on
the interstellar medium. In order to study the molecular environment and the
influence of the radiation on two pillar-like features related to the HII
region G46.5-0.2, we performed molecular line observations with the Atacama
Submillimeter Telescope Experiment, and spectroscopic optical observations with
the Isaac Newton Telescope. From the optical observations we identified the
star that is exciting the HII region as a spectral type O4-6. The molecular
data allowed us to study the structure of the pillars and a HCO+ cloud lying
between them. In this HCO+ cloud, which have not any well defined 12CO
counterpart, we found direct evidence of star formation: two molecular outflows
and two associated near-IR nebulosities. The outflows axis orientation is
perpendicular to the direction of the radiation flow from the HII region.
Several Class I sources are also embedded in this HCO+ cloud, showing that it
is usual that the YSOs form large associations occupying a cavity bounded by
pillars. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the RDI process is not
occurring in one of the pillar tips.Comment: Accepted in MNRAS (2017 June 13
Computational Design of Chemical Nanosensors: Metal Doped Carbon Nanotubes
We use computational screening to systematically investigate the use of
transition metal doped carbon nanotubes for chemical gas sensing. For a set of
relevant target molecules (CO, NH3, H2S) and the main components of air (N2,
O2, H2O), we calculate the binding energy and change in conductance upon
adsorption on a metal atom occupying a vacancy of a (6,6) carbon nanotube.
Based on these descriptors, we identify the most promising dopant candidates
for detection of a given target molecule. From the fractional coverage of the
metal sites in thermal equilibrium with air, we estimate the change in the
nanotube resistance per doping site as a function of the target molecule
concentration assuming charge transport in the diffusive regime. Our analysis
points to Ni-doped nanotubes as candidates for CO sensors working under typical
atmospheric conditions
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