Using a Goal-Driven Approach in the Investigation of a Questioned Contract

Part 3: FORENSIC TECHNIQUESInternational audienceThis paper presents a systematic process for describing digital forensic investigations. It focuses on forensic goals and anti-forensic obstacles and their operationalization in terms of human and software actions. The paper also demonstrates how the process can be used to capture the various forensic and anti-forensic aspects of a real-world case involving document forgery

Compound particle swarm optimization in dynamic environments

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008.Adaptation to dynamic optimization problems is currently receiving a growing interest as one of the most important applications of evolutionary algorithms. In this paper, a compound particle swarm optimization (CPSO) is proposed as a new variant of particle swarm optimization to enhance its performance in dynamic environments. Within CPSO, compound particles are constructed as a novel type of particles in the search space and their motions are integrated into the swarm. A special reflection scheme is introduced in order to explore the search space more comprehensively. Furthermore, some information preserving and anti-convergence strategies are also developed to improve the performance of CPSO in a new environment. An experimental study shows the efficiency of CPSO in dynamic environments.This work was supported by the Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF) of China under Grant No. 70431003 and Grant No. 70671020, the Science Fund for Creative Research Group of NNSF of China under Grant No. 60521003, the National Science and Technology Support Plan of China under Grant No. 2006BAH02A09 and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant No. EP/E060722/1

Cooler and bigger than thought? Planetary host stellar parameters from the InfraRed Flux Method

Effective temperatures and radii for 92 planet-hosting stars as determined from the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) are presented and compared with those given by other authors using different approaches. The IRFM temperatures we have derived are systematically lower than those determined from the spectroscopic condition of excitation equilibrium, the mean difference being as large as 110 K. They are, however, consistent with previous IRFM studies and with the colors derived from Kurucz and MARCS model atmospheres. Comparison with direct measurements of stellar diameters for 7 dwarf stars, which approximately cover the range of temperatures of the planet-hosting stars, suggest that the IRFM radii and temperatures are reliable in an absolute scale. A better understanding of the fundamental properties of the stars with planets will be achieved once this discrepancy between the IRFM and the spectroscopic temperature scales is resolved.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap

Oxygen Abundances in Two Metal-Poor Subgiants from the Analysis of the 6300 A Forbidden O I Line

Recent LTE analyses (Israelian et al. 1998 and Bosegaard et al. 1999) of the OH bands in the optical-ultraviolet spectra of nearby metal-poor subdwarfs indicate that oxygen abundances are generally higher than those previously determined. The difference increases with decreasing metallicity and reaches delta([O/Fe]) ~ +0.6 dex as [Fe/H] approaches -3.0. Employing high resolution (R = 50000), high S/N (~ 250) echelle spectra of the two stars found by Israelian et al. (1998) to have the highest [O/Fe]-ratios, viz, BD +23 3130 and BD +37 1458, we conducted abundance analyses based on about 60 Fe I and 7-9 Fe II lines. We determined from Kurucz LTE models the values of the stellar parameters, as well as abundances of Na, Ni, and the traditional alpha-elements, independent of the calibration of color vs $T_{eff}$ scales. We determined oxygen abundances from spectral synthesis of the stronger line (6300 A) of the [O I] doublet. The syntheses of the [O I] line lead to smaller values of [O/Fe], consistent with those found earlier among halo field and globular cluster giants. We obtain [O/Fe] = +0.35 +/- 0.2 for BD +23 3130 and +0.50 +/- 0.2 for BD +37 1458. In the former, the [O I] line is very weak (~ 1 mA), so that the quoted [O/Fe] value may in reality be an upper limit. Therefore in these two stars a discrepancy exists between the [O/Fe]- ratios derived from [O I] and the OH feature, and the origin of this difference remains unclear. Until the matter is clarified, we suggest it is premature to conclude that the ab initio oxygen abundances of old, metal-poor stars need to be revised drastically upward.Comment: 38 pages, 5 tables, 14 figures To appear in July 1999 AJ Updated April 16, 1999. Fixed typo

Evolution of basin and range structure in the Ruby Mountains and vicinity, Nevada

Results from various age dating techniques, seismic reflection profiling hydrocarbon maturation studies, and structural analysis were used to evaluate the Cenozoic deformation in the Ruby Mountains and adjoining ranges (pinyon Range and Cortez Range) in Elko and Eureka Counties, Nevada. Age dating techniques used include potassium-argon ages of biotites from granites published by Kistler et al. (1981) and fission track ages from apatite and zircon. Fission track ages from apatite reflect a closing temperature of 100 plus or minus 20 deg C. Zircon fission track ages reflect a closing temperature of 175 plus or minus 25 deg C and potassium-argon ages from brotite reflect a closing temperature of 250 plus or minus 30 deg C. Thus these results allow a reasonably precise tracking of the evolution of the ranges during the Cenozoic. Seismic reflection data are available from Huntington Valley. Access to seismic reflection data directly to the west of the Harrison Pass Pluton in the central Ruby Mountains was obtained. In addition results are available from several deep exploration holes in Huntington Valley

TMCalc - A fast code to derive Teff and [Fe/H] for FGK stars

We present a new direct spectroscopic calibration for a fast estimation of the stellar metallicity [Fe/H]. These calibrations were computed using a large sample of 451 solar-type stars for which we have precise spectroscopic parameters derived from high quality spectra. The new [Fe/H] calibration is based on weak Fe I lines, which are expected to be less dependent on surface gravity and microturbulence, and require only a pre-determination of the effective temperature. This temperature can be obtained using a previously presented line-ratio calibration. We also present a simple code that uses the calibrations and procedures presented in these works to obtain both the effective temperature and the [Fe/H] estimate. The code, written in C, is freely available for the community and may be used as an extension of the ARES code. We test these calibrations for 582 independent FGK stars. We show that the code can be used as a precise and fast indicator of the spectroscopic temperature and metallicity for dwarf FKG stars with effective temperatures ranging from 4500 K to 6500 K and with [Fe/H] ranging from -0.8 dex to 0.4 dex.Comment: 10 pages, 8 Figures, published in A&

Improved Laboratory Transition Probabilities for Neutral Chromium and Re-determination of the Chromium Abundance for the Sun and Three Stars

Branching fraction measurements from Fourier transform spectra in conjunction with published radiative lifetimes are used to determine transition probabilities for 263 lines of neutral chromium. These laboratory values are employed to derive a new photospheric abundance for the Sun: log $\epsilon$(Cr I)$_{\odot}$ = 5.64$\pm$0.01 ($\sigma = 0.07$). These Cr I solar abundances do not exhibit any trends with line strength nor with excitation energy and there were no obvious indications of departures from LTE. In addition, oscillator strengths for singly-ionized chromium recently reported by the FERRUM Project are used to determine: log $\epsilon$(Cr II)$_{\odot}$ = 5.77$\pm$0.03 ($\sigma = 0.13$). Transition probability data are also applied to the spectra of three stars: HD 75732 (metal-rich dwarf), HD 140283 (metal-poor subgiant), and CS 22892-052 (metal-poor giant). In all of the selected stars, Cr I is found to be underabundant with respect to Cr II. The possible causes for this abundance discrepancy and apparent ionization imbalance are discussed.Comment: 44 pages, 6 figure

Writing the Live Coding Book

This paper is a speculation on the relationship between coding and writing, and the ways in which technical innovations and capabilities enable us to rethink each in terms of the other. As a case study, we draw on recent experiences of preparing a book on live coding, which integrates a wide range of personal, historical, technical and critical perspectives. This book project has been both experimental and reflective, in a manner that allows us to draw on critical understanding of both code and writing, and point to the potential for new practices in the future

Open Piping: Towards an Open Visual Workflow Environment

The most popular visual programming tools focus on procedural, object-oriented and event-based programming. This paper describes a boxes-and-wires functional programming tool, aimed to be accessible to novice programmers, while also supporting open access to the specified processes, executable programs and results for study and deployment