332 research outputs found

    When Can You Fold a Map?

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    We explore the following problem: given a collection of creases on a piece of paper, each assigned a folding direction of mountain or valley, is there a flat folding by a sequence of simple folds? There are several models of simple folds; the simplest one-layer simple fold rotates a portion of paper about a crease in the paper by +-180 degrees. We first consider the analogous questions in one dimension lower -- bending a segment into a flat object -- which lead to interesting problems on strings. We develop efficient algorithms for the recognition of simply foldable 1D crease patterns, and reconstruction of a sequence of simple folds. Indeed, we prove that a 1D crease pattern is flat-foldable by any means precisely if it is by a sequence of one-layer simple folds. Next we explore simple foldability in two dimensions, and find a surprising contrast: ``map'' folding and variants are polynomial, but slight generalizations are NP-complete. Specifically, we develop a linear-time algorithm for deciding foldability of an orthogonal crease pattern on a rectangular piece of paper, and prove that it is (weakly) NP-complete to decide foldability of (1) an orthogonal crease pattern on a orthogonal piece of paper, (2) a crease pattern of axis-parallel and diagonal (45-degree) creases on a square piece of paper, and (3) crease patterns without a mountain/valley assignment.Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures. Version 3 includes several improvements thanks to referees, including formal definitions of simple folds, more figures, table summarizing results, new open problems, and additional reference

    Demonstration of Bias-Controlled Algorithmic Tuning of Quantum Dots in a Well (DWELL) MidIR Detectors

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    The quantum-confined Stark effect in intersublevel transitions present in quantum-dots-in-a-well (DWELL) detectors gives rise to a midIR spectral response that is dependent upon the detector\u27s operational bias. The spectral responses resulting from different biases exhibit spectral shifts, albeit with significant spectral overlap. A postprocessing algorithm was developed by Sakoglu that exploited this bias-dependent spectral diversity to predict the continuous and arbitrary tunability of the DWELL detector within certain limits. This paper focuses on the experimental demonstration of the DWELL-based spectral tuning algorithm. It is shown experimentally that it is possible to reconstruct the spectral content of a target electronically without using any dispersive optical elements for tuning, thereby demonstrating a DWELL-based algorithmic spectrometer. The effects of dark current, detector temperature, and bias selection on the tuning capability are also investigated experimentally

    Deep CCD Surface Photometry of Galaxy Clusters I: Methods and Initial Studies of Intracluster Starlight

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    We report the initial results of a deep imaging survey of galaxy clusters. The primary goals of this survey are to quantify the amount of intracluster light as a function of cluster properties, and to quantify the frequency of tidal debris. We outline the techniques needed to perform such a survey, and we report findings for the first two galaxy clusters in the survey: Abell 1413, and MKW 7 . These clusters vary greatly in richness and structure. We show that our surface photometry reliably reaches to a surface brightness of \mu_v = 26.5 mags per arcsec. We find that both clusters show clear excesses over a best-fitting r^{1/4} profile: this was expected for Abell 1413, but not for MKW 7. Both clusters also show evidence of tidal debris in the form of plumes and arc-like structures, but no long tidal arcs were detected. We also find that the central cD galaxy in Abell 1413 is flattened at large radii, with an ellipticity of 0.8\approx 0.8, the largest measured ellipticity of any cD galaxy to date.Comment: 58 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Version has extremely low resolution figures to comply with 650k limit. High resolution version is available at http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/johnf/icl1.ps.gz Obtaining high resolution version is strongly reccomende

    Elemental Abundances of Kepler Objects of Interest in APOGEE. I. Two Distinct Orbital Period Regimes Inferred from Host Star Iron Abundances

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    The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has observed \sim600 transiting exoplanets and exoplanet candidates from \textit{Kepler} (Kepler Objects of Interest, KOIs), most with \geq18 epochs. The combined multi-epoch spectra are of high signal-to-noise (typically \geq100) and yield precise stellar parameters and chemical abundances. We first confirm the ability of the APOGEE abundance pipeline, ASPCAP, to derive reliable [Fe/H] and effective temperatures for FGK dwarf stars -- the primary \textit{Kepler} host stellar type -- by comparing the ASPCAP-derived stellar parameters to those from independent high-resolution spectroscopic characterizations for 221 dwarf stars in the literature. With a sample of 282 close-in (P<100P<100 days) KOIs observed in the APOGEE KOI goal program, we find a correlation between orbital period and host star [Fe/H] characterized by a critical period, PcritP_\mathrm{crit}= 8.34.1+0.18.3^{+0.1}_{-4.1} days, below which small exoplanets orbit statistically more metal-enriched host stars. This effect may trace a metallicity dependence of the protoplanetary disk inner-radius at the time of planet formation or may be a result of rocky planet ingestion driven by inward planetary migration. We also consider that this may trace a metallicity dependence of the dust sublimation radius, but find no statistically significant correlation with host TeffT_\mathrm{eff} and orbital period to support such a claim.Comment: 18 Pages, Accepted to A

    Perspective on gravitational self-force analyses

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    A point particle of mass μ\mu moving on a geodesic creates a perturbation habh_{ab}, of the spacetime metric gabg_{ab}, that diverges at the particle. Simple expressions are given for the singular μ/r\mu/r part of habh_{ab} and its distortion caused by the spacetime. This singular part h^\SS_{ab} is described in different coordinate systems and in different gauges. Subtracting h^\SS_{ab} from habh_{ab} leaves a regular remainder habRh^\R_{ab}. The self-force on the particle from its own gravitational field adjusts the world line at \Or(\mu) to be a geodesic of gab+habRg_{ab}+h^\R_{ab}; this adjustment includes all of the effects of radiation reaction. For the case that the particle is a small non-rotating black hole, we give a uniformly valid approximation to a solution of the Einstein equations, with a remainder of \Or(\mu^2) as μ0\mu\to0. An example presents the actual steps involved in a self-force calculation. Gauge freedom introduces ambiguity in perturbation analysis. However, physically interesting problems avoid this ambiguity.Comment: 40 pages, to appear in a special issue of CQG on radiation reaction, contains additional references, improved notation for tensor harmonic

    Development, Operation, and Results From the Texas Automated Buoy System

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    The Texas Automated Buoy System (TABS) is a coastal network of moored buoys that report near-real-time observations about currents and winds along the Texas coast. Established in 1995, the primary mission of TABS is ocean observations in the service of oil spill preparedness and response. The state of Texas funded the system with the intent of improving the data available to oil spill trajectory modelers. In its 12 years of operation, TABS has proven its usefulness during realistic oil spill drills and actual spills. The original capabilities of TABS, i.e., measurement of surface currents and temperatures, have been extended to the marine surface layer, the entire water column, and the sea floor. In addition to observations, a modeling component has been integrated into the TABS program. The goal is to form the core of a complete ocean observing system for Texas waters. As the nation embarks on the development of an integrated ocean observing system, TABS will continue to be an active participant of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) regional association and the primary source of near-surface current measurements in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. This article describes the origin of TABS, the philosophy behind the operation and development of the system, the resulting modifications to improve the system, the expansion of the system to include new sensors, the development of TABS forecasting models and real-time analysis tools, and how TABS has met many of the societal goals envisioned for GCOOS

    TOI-150: A transiting hot Jupiter in the TESS southern CVZ

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    We report the detection of a hot Jupiter ($M_{p}=1.75_{-0.17}^{+0.14}\ M_{J},, R_{p}=1.38\pm0.04\ R_{J})orbitingamiddleagedstar() orbiting a middle-aged star (\log g=4.152^{+0.030}_{-0.043})intheTransitingExoplanetSurveySatellite(TESS)southerncontinuousviewingzone() in the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) southern continuous viewing zone (\beta=-79.59^{\circ}$). We confirm the planetary nature of the candidate TOI-150.01 using radial velocity observations from the APOGEE-2 South spectrograph and the Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph, ground-based photometric observations from the robotic Three-hundred MilliMeter Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, and Gaia distance estimates. Large-scale spectroscopic surveys, such as APOGEE/APOGEE-2, now have sufficient radial velocity precision to directly confirm the signature of giant exoplanets, making such data sets valuable tools in the TESS era. Continual monitoring of TOI-150 by TESS can reveal additional planets and subsequent observations can provide insights into planetary system architectures involving a hot Jupiter around a star about halfway through its main-sequence life.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted to ApJ

    The Hot Interstellar Medium of Normal Elliptical Galaxies. I. A Chandra Gas Gallery and Comparison of X-ray and Optical Morphology

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    We present an X-ray analysis of 54 normal elliptical galaxies in the Chandra archive and isolate their hot gas component from the contaminating point source emission, allowing us to conduct, for the first time, a morphological analysis on the gas alone. A comparison with optical images and photometry shows that the hot gas morphology has surprisingly little in common with the shape of the stellar distribution. We observe no correlation between optical and X-ray ellipticities in the inner regions where stellar mass dominates over dark matter. A shallow correlation would be expected if the gas had settled into hydrostatic equilibrium with the gravitational potential. Instead, observed X-ray ellipticities exceed optical ellipticities in many cases. We exclude rotation as the dominant factor to produce the gas ellipticities. The gas appears disturbed, and hydrostatic equilibrium is the exception rather than the rule. Nearly all hydrostatic models can be ruled out at 99% confidence, based of their inability to reproduce the optical-X-ray correlation and large X-ray ellipticities. Hydrostatic models not excluded are those in which dark matter either dominates over stellar mass inside the inner half-light radius or has a prominently cigar-shaped distribution, both of which can be ruled out on other grounds. We conclude that, even for rather X-ray faint elliptical galaxies, the gas is at least so far out of equilibrium that it does not retain any information about the shape of the potential, and that X-ray derived radial mass profiles may be in error by factors of order unity.Comment: 20 Pages, 8 Figures (3 new), extended discussion, accepted to ApJ, high-resolution version with additional online-only figures available at http://www.phy.ohiou.edu/~diehl/Publications
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