132,527 research outputs found
Semiparametric inference in mixture models with predictive recursion marginal likelihood
Predictive recursion is an accurate and computationally efficient algorithm
for nonparametric estimation of mixing densities in mixture models. In
semiparametric mixture models, however, the algorithm fails to account for any
uncertainty in the additional unknown structural parameter. As an alternative
to existing profile likelihood methods, we treat predictive recursion as a
filter approximation to fitting a fully Bayes model, whereby an approximate
marginal likelihood of the structural parameter emerges and can be used for
inference. We call this the predictive recursion marginal likelihood.
Convergence properties of predictive recursion under model mis-specification
also lead to an attractive construction of this new procedure. We show
pointwise convergence of a normalized version of this marginal likelihood
function. Simulations compare the performance of this new marginal likelihood
approach that of existing profile likelihood methods as well as Dirichlet
process mixtures in density estimation. Mixed-effects models and an empirical
Bayes multiple testing application in time series analysis are also considered
The Boson peak and the phonons in glasses
Despite the presence of topological disorder, phonons seem to exist also in
glasses at very high frequencies (THz) and they remarkably persist into the
supercooled liquid. A universal feature of such a systems is the Boson peak, an
excess of states over the standard Debye contribution at the vibrational
density of states. Exploiting the euclidean random matrix theory of vibrations
in amorphous systems we show that this peak is the signature of a phase
transition in the space of the stationary points of the energy, from a
minima-dominated phase (with phonons) at low energy to a saddle-point dominated
phase (without phonons). The theoretical predictions are checked by means of
numeric simulations.Comment: to appear in the proceedings of the conference "Slow dynamics in
complex sistems", Sendai (Japan) 200
Vibrations in glasses and Euclidean Random Matrix theory
We study numerically and analytically a simple off-lattice model of scalar
harmonic vibrations by means of Euclidean random matrix theory. Since the
spectrum of this model shares the most puzzling spectral features with the
high-frequency domain of glasses (non-Rayleigh broadening of the Brillouin
peak, boson peak and secondary peak), the Euclidean random matrix theory
provide a single and fairly simple theoretical framework to their explanation.Comment: 11 pages, 7 postscript figures, Proceedings of Statphys 2
Vibrational spectra in glasses
The findings of X-ray and neutron scattering experiments on amorphous systems
are interpreted within the framework of the theory of Euclidean random
matrices. This allows to take into account the topological nature of the
disorder, a key ingredient which strongly affects the vibrational spectra of
those systems. We present a resummation scheme for a perturbative expansion in
the inverse particle density, allowing an accurate analytical computation of
the dynamical structure factor within the range of densities encountered in
real systems.Comment: Talk given at the '8th International Workshop on Disordered Systems'
Andalo, Trento, 12-15 March 200
Ejaculate allocation by male sand martins, Riparia riparia
Males of many species allocate sperm to ejaculates strategically in response to variation in the risk and intensity of sperm competition. The notable exception is passerine birds, in which evidence for strategic allocation is absent. Here we report the results of a study testing for strategic ejaculate allocation in a passerine bird, the sand martin (Riparia riparia). Natural ejaculates were collected from males copulating with a model female. Ejaculates transferred in the presence of a rival male contained significantly more sperm than ejaculates transferred in the absence of a rival male. There was no evidence that this difference was due to the confounding effects of the year of ejaculate collection, the identity of the model female, the colony, the stage of season or the period of the day in which ejaculates were collected. A more detailed examination of the ejaculate patterns of individual males, achieved by the DNA profiling of ejaculates, provided additional evidence for strategic allocation of sperm
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