Autonomous attitude estimation via star sensing and pattern recognition

Results are reported on the development of an autonomous, onboard, near real time spacecraft attitude estimation technique. The approach uses CCD based star sensors to digitize relative star positions. Three microcomputers are envisioned, configured in parallel, to: (1) determine star image centroids and delete spurious images; (2) identify measured stars with stars in an onboard catalog and determine discrete attitude estimates; (3) integrate gyro rate measurements and determine optimal real time attitude estimates for use in the control system and for feedback to the star identification algorithm. Algorithms for the star identification are presented. The discrete attitude estimation algorithm recovers thermally varying interlock angles between two star sensors. The optimal state estimation process recovers rate gyro biases in addition to real time attitude estimates

Metamaterial Polarization Converter Analysis: Limits of Performance

In this paper we analyze the theoretical limits of a metamaterial converter that allows for linear-to- elliptical polarization transformation with any desired ellipticity and ellipse orientation. We employ the transmission line approach providing a needed level of the design generalization. Our analysis reveals that the maximal conversion efficiency for transmission through a single metamaterial layer is 50%, while the realistic re ection configuration can give the conversion efficiency up to 90%. We show that a double layer transmission converter and a single layer with a ground plane can have 100% polarization conversion efficiency. We tested our conclusions numerically reaching the designated limits of efficiency using a simple metamaterial design. Our general analysis provides useful guidelines for the metamaterial polarization converter design for virtually any frequency range of the electromagnetic waves.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

Cauchy boundaries in linearized gravitational theory

We investigate the numerical stability of Cauchy evolution of linearized gravitational theory in a 3-dimensional bounded domain. Criteria of robust stability are proposed, developed into a testbed and used to study various evolution-boundary algorithms. We construct a standard explicit finite difference code which solves the unconstrained linearized Einstein equations in the 3+1 formulation and measure its stability properties under Dirichlet, Neumann and Sommerfeld boundary conditions. We demonstrate the robust stability of a specific evolution-boundary algorithm under random constraint violating initial data and random boundary data.Comment: 23 pages including 3 figures and 2 tables, revte

One-way multigrid method in electronic structure calculations

We propose a simple and efficient one-way multigrid method for self-consistent electronic structure calculations based on iterative diagonalization. Total energy calculations are performed on several different levels of grids starting from the coarsest grid, with wave functions transferred to each finer level. The only changes compared to a single grid calculation are interpolation and orthonormalization steps outside the original total energy calculation and required only for transferring between grids. This feature results in a minimal amount of code change, and enables us to employ a sophisticated interpolation method and noninteger ratio of grid spacings. Calculations employing a preconditioned conjugate gradient method are presented for two examples, a quantum dot and a charged molecular system. Use of three grid levels with grid spacings 2h, 1.5h, and h decreases the computer time by about a factor of 5 compared to single level calculations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B, Rapid Communication

A Mathematical Model of Liver Cell Aggregation In Vitro

The behavior of mammalian cells within three-dimensional structures is an area of intense biological research and underpins the efforts of tissue engineers to regenerate human tissues for clinical applications. In the particular case of hepatocytes (liver cells), the formation of spheroidal multicellular aggregates has been shown to improve cell viability and functionality compared to traditional monolayer culture techniques. We propose a simple mathematical model for the early stages of this aggregation process, when cell clusters form on the surface of the extracellular matrix (ECM) layer on which they are seeded. We focus on interactions between the cells and the viscoelastic ECM substrate. Governing equations for the cells, culture medium, and ECM are derived using the principles of mass and momentum balance. The model is then reduced to a system of four partial differential equations, which are investigated analytically and numerically. The model predicts that provided cells are seeded at a suitable density, aggregates with clearly defined boundaries and a spatially uniform cell density on the interior will form. While the mechanical properties of the ECM do not appear to have a significant effect, strong cell-ECM interactions can inhibit, or possibly prevent, the formation of aggregates. The paper concludes with a discussion of our key findings and suggestions for future work

From colored glass condensate to gluon plasma: equilibration in high energy heavy ion collisions

The initial distribution of gluons at the very early times after a high energy heavy ion collision is described by the bulk scale $Q_s$ of gluon saturation in the nuclear wavefunction. The subsequent evolution of the system towards kinetic equilibrium is described by a non-linear Landau equation for the single particle distributions \cite{Mueller1,Mueller2}. In this paper, we solve this equation numerically for the idealized initial conditions proposed by Mueller, and study the evolution of the system to equilibrium. We discuss the sensitivity of our results on the dynamical screening of collinear divergences. In a particular model of dynamical screening, the convergence to the hydrodynamic limit is seen to be rapid relative to hydrodynamic time scales. The equilibration time, the initial temperature, and the chemical potential are shown to have a strong functional dependence on the initial gluon saturation scale $Q_s$.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figure

Migration Patterns, Use of Stopover Areas, and Austral Summer Movements of Swainson\u27s Hawks

From 1995 to 1998, we tracked movements of adult Swainson’s Hawks (Buteo swainsoni), using satellite telemetry to characterize migration, important stopover areas, and movements in the austral summer. We tagged 46 hawks from July to September on their nesting grounds in seven U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Swainson’s Hawks followed three basic routes south on a broad front, converged along the east coast of central Mexico, and followed a concentrated corridor to a communal area in central Argentina for the austral summer. North of 20°N, southward and northward tracks differed little for individuals from east of the continental divide but differed greatly (up to 1700 km) for individuals from west of the continental divide. Hawks left the breeding grounds mid-August to mid-October; departure dates did not differ by location, year, or sex. Southbound migration lasted 42 to 98 days, northbound migration 51 to 82 days. Southbound, 36% of the Swainson’s Hawks departed the nesting grounds nearly 3 weeks earlier than the other radio-marked hawks and made stopovers 9.0–26.0 days long in seven separate areas, mainly in the southern Great Plains, southern Arizona and New Mexico, and northcentral Mexico. The birds stayed in their nonbreeding range for 76 to 128 days. All used a core area in central Argentina within 23% of the 738 800-km2 austral summer range, where they frequently moved long distances (up to 1600 km). Conservation of Swainson’s Hawks must be an international effort that considers habitats used during nesting and non-nesting seasons, including migration stopovers

Fly with the flock: immersive solutions for animal movement visualization and analytics

Understanding the movement of animals is important for a wide range of scientific interests including migration, disease spread, collective movement behaviour and analysing motion in relation to dynamic changes of the environment such as wind and thermal lifts. Particularly, the three-dimensional (3D) spatial–temporal nature of bird movement data, which is widely available with high temporal and spatial resolution at large volumes, presents a natural option to explore the potential of immersive analytics (IA). We investigate the requirements and benefits of a wide range of immersive environments for explorative visualization and analytics of 3D movement data, in particular regarding design considerations for such 3D immersive environments, and present prototypes for IA solutions. Tailored to biologists studying bird movement data, the immersive solutions enable geo-locational time-series data to be investigated interactively, thus enabling experts to visually explore interesting angles of a flock and its behaviour in the context of the environment. The 3D virtual world presents the audience with engaging and interactive content, allowing users to ‘fly with the flock’, with the potential to ascertain an intuitive overview of often complex datasets, and to provide the opportunity thereby to formulate and at least qualitatively assess hypotheses. This work also contributes to ongoing research efforts to promote better understanding of bird migration and the associated environmental factors at the global scale, thereby providing a visual vehicle for driving public awareness of environmental issues and bird migration patterns