21,476 research outputs found
On the scatter in the relation between stellar mass and halo mass: random or halo formation time dependent?
The empirical HOD model of Wang et al. 2006 fits, by construction, both the
stellar mass function and correlation function of galaxies in the local
Universe. In contrast, the semi-analytical models of De Lucia & Blazoit 2007
(DLB07) and Guo et al. 2011 (Guo11), built on the same dark matter halo merger
trees than the empirical model, still have difficulties in reproducing these
observational data simultaneously. We compare the relations between the stellar
mass of galaxies and their host halo mass in the three models, and find that
they are different. When the relations are rescaled to have the same median
values and the same scatter as in Wang et al., the rescaled DLB07 model can fit
both the measured galaxy stellar mass function and the correlation function
measured in different galaxy stellar mass bins. In contrast, the rescaled Guo11
model still over-predicts the clustering of low-mass galaxies. This indicates
that the detail of how galaxies populate the scatter in the stellar mass --
halo mass relation does play an important role in determining the correlation
functions of galaxies. While the stellar mass of galaxies in the Wang et al.
model depends only on halo mass and is randomly distributed within the scatter,
galaxy stellar mass depends also on the halo formation time in semi-analytical
models. At fixed value of infall mass, galaxies that lie above the median
stellar mass -- halo mass relation reside in haloes that formed earlier, while
galaxies that lie below the median relation reside in haloes that formed later.
This effect is much stronger in Guo11 than in DLB07, which explains the
over-clustering of low mass galaxies in Guo11. Our results illustrate that the
assumption of random scatter in the relation between stellar and halo mass as
employed by current HOD and abundance matching models may be problematic in
case a significant assembly bias exists in the real Universe.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, published in MNRA
Accurate Determination of Conformational Transitions in Oligomeric Membrane Proteins
The structural dynamics governing collective motions in oligomeric membrane proteins play key roles in vital biomolecular processes at cellular membranes. In this study, we present a structural refinement approach that combines solid-state NMR experiments and molecular simulations to accurately describe concerted conformational transitions identifying the overall structural, dynamical, and topological states of oligomeric membrane proteins. The accuracy of the structural ensembles generated with this method is shown to reach the statistical error limit, and is further demonstrated by correctly reproducing orthogonal NMR data. We demonstrate the accuracy of this approach by characterising the pentameric state of phospholamban, a key player in the regulation of calcium uptake in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and by probing its dynamical activation upon phosphorylation. Our results underline the importance of using an ensemble approach to characterise the conformational transitions that are often responsible for the biological function of oligomeric membrane protein states
Improving Surgical Training Phantoms by Hyperrealism: Deep Unpaired Image-to-Image Translation from Real Surgeries
Current `dry lab' surgical phantom simulators are a valuable tool for
surgeons which allows them to improve their dexterity and skill with surgical
instruments. These phantoms mimic the haptic and shape of organs of interest,
but lack a realistic visual appearance. In this work, we present an innovative
application in which representations learned from real intraoperative
endoscopic sequences are transferred to a surgical phantom scenario. The term
hyperrealism is introduced in this field, which we regard as a novel subform of
surgical augmented reality for approaches that involve real-time object
transfigurations. For related tasks in the computer vision community, unpaired
cycle-consistent Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have shown excellent
results on still RGB images. Though, application of this approach to continuous
video frames can result in flickering, which turned out to be especially
prominent for this application. Therefore, we propose an extension of
cycle-consistent GANs, named tempCycleGAN, to improve temporal consistency.The
novel method is evaluated on captures of a silicone phantom for training
endoscopic reconstructive mitral valve procedures. Synthesized videos show
highly realistic results with regard to 1) replacement of the silicone
appearance of the phantom valve by intraoperative tissue texture, while 2)
explicitly keeping crucial features in the scene, such as instruments, sutures
and prostheses. Compared to the original CycleGAN approach, tempCycleGAN
efficiently removes flickering between frames. The overall approach is expected
to change the future design of surgical training simulators since the generated
sequences clearly demonstrate the feasibility to enable a considerably more
realistic training experience for minimally-invasive procedures.Comment: 8 pages, accepted at MICCAI 2018, supplemental material at
https://youtu.be/qugAYpK-Z4
Observing the evolution of a quantum system that does not evolve
This article deals with the problem of gathering information on the time
evolution of a single metastable quantum system whose evolution is impeded by
the quantum Zeno effect. It has been found it is in principle possible to
obtain some information on the time evolution and, depending on the specific
system, even to measure its average decay rate, even if the system does not
undergo any evolution at all.Comment: Two over three PRA referees didn't like the old title... And no more
quantum circuits in the new versio
Strengthening measurements from the edges: application-level packet loss rate estimation
Network users know much less than ISPs, Internet exchanges and content providers about what happens inside the network. Consequently users cannot either easily detect network neutrality violations or readily exercise their market power by knowledgeably switching ISPs. This paper contributes to the ongoing efforts to empower users by proposing two models to estimate -- via application-level measurements -- a key network indicator, i.e., the packet loss rate (PLR) experienced by FTP-like TCP downloads. Controlled, testbed, and large-scale experiments show that the Inverse Mathis model is simpler and more consistent across the whole PLR range, but less accurate than the more advanced Likely Rexmit model for landline connections and moderate PL
Electroweak lights from Dark Matter annihilations
The energy spectra of Standard Model particles originated from Dark Matter
annihilations can be significantly altered by the inclusion of electroweak
gauge boson radiation from the final state. A situation where this effect is
particularly important is when a Majorana Dark Matter particle annihilates into
two light fermions. This process is in p-wave and hence suppressed by the small
value of the relative velocity of the annihilating particles. The inclusion of
electroweak radiation eludes this suppression and opens up a potentially
sizeable s-wave contribution to the annihilation cross section. I will discuss
the impact of this effect on the fluxes of stable particles resulting from the
Dark Matter annihilations, which are relevant for Dark Matter indirect
searches.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the conference proceedings of
TAUP 2011, Munich - Germany (5-9 September 2011
- …