349 research outputs found
Stellar classification from single-band imaging using machine learning
Information on the spectral types of stars is of great interest in view of
the exploitation of space-based imaging surveys. In this article, we
investigate the classification of stars into spectral types using only the
shape of their diffraction pattern in a single broad-band image. We propose a
supervised machine learning approach to this endeavour, based on principal
component analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction, followed by artificial
neural networks (ANNs) estimating the spectral type. Our analysis is performed
with image simulations mimicking the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Advanced
Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the F606W and F814W bands, as well as the Euclid
VIS imager. We first demonstrate this classification in a simple context,
assuming perfect knowledge of the point spread function (PSF) model and the
possibility of accurately generating mock training data for the machine
learning. We then analyse its performance in a fully data-driven situation, in
which the training would be performed with a limited subset of bright stars
from a survey, and an unknown PSF with spatial variations across the detector.
We use simulations of main-sequence stars with flat distributions in spectral
type and in signal-to-noise ratio, and classify these stars into 13 spectral
subclasses, from O5 to M5. Under these conditions, the algorithm achieves a
high success rate both for Euclid and HST images, with typical errors of half a
spectral class. Although more detailed simulations would be needed to assess
the performance of the algorithm on a specific survey, this shows that stellar
classification from single-band images is well possible.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, accepted in A&
Firedec: a two-channel finite-resolution image deconvolution algorithm
We present a two-channel deconvolution method that decomposes images into a
parametric point-source channel and a pixelized extended-source channel. Based
on the central idea of the deconvolution algorithm proposed by Magain, Courbin
& Sohy (1998), the method aims at improving the resolution of the data rather
than at completely removing the point spread function (PSF). Improvements over
the original method include a better regularization of the pixel channel of the
image, based on wavelet filtering and multiscale analysis, and a better
controlled separation of the point source vs. the extended source. In addition,
the method is able to simultaneously deconvolve many individual frames of the
same object taken with different instruments under different PSF conditions.
For this purpose, we introduce a general geometric transformation between
individual images. This transformation allows the combination of the images
without having to interpolate them. We illustrate the capability of our
algorithm using real and simulated images with complex diffraction-limited PSF.Comment: Accepted in A&A. An application of the technique to real data is
available in Cantale et al. http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.05192v
Dynamical and rheological properties of fluorinated surfactant films adsorbed at the pressurized CO2-H2O interface
The dynamics of adsorption, interfacial tension, and rheological properties of two phosphocholine-derived partially fluorinated surfactants FnHmPC, designed to compensate for the weak CO(2)-surfactant tail interactions, were determined at the pressurized CO(2)-H(2)O interface. The two surfactants differ only by the length of the hydrocarbon spacer (5 CH(2) in F8H5PC and 11 CH(2) in F8H11PC) located between the terminal perfluoroalkyl chain and the polar head. The length of this spacer was found to have a critical impact on the adsorption kinetics and elasticity of the interfacial surfactant film. F8H5PC is soluble in both water and CO(2) phases and presents several distinct successive interfacial behaviors when bulk water concentration (C(W)) increases and displays a nonclassical isotherm shape. The isotherms of F8H5PC are similar for the three CO(2) pressures investigated and comprise four regimes. In the first regime, at low C(W), the interfacial tension is controlled by the organization that occurs between H(2)O and CO(2). The second regime corresponds to the adsorption of the surfactant as a monolayer until the CO(2) phase is saturated with F8H5PC, resulting in a first inflection point. In this regime, F8H5PC molecules reach maximal compaction and display the highest apparent interfacial elasticity. In the third regime, a second inflection is observed that corresponds to the critical micelle concentration of the surfactant in water. At the highest concentrations (fourth regime), the interfacial films are purely viscous and highly flexible, suggesting the capacity for this surfactant to produce water-in-CO(2) microemulsion. In this regime, surfactant adsorption is very fast and equilibrium is reached in less than 100 s. The behavior of F8H11PC is drastically different: it forms micelles only in the water phase, resulting in a classical Gibbs interface. This surfactant decreases the interfacial tension down to 1 mN/m and forms a strongly elastic interface. As this surfactant forms a very cohesive interface, it should be suitable for formulating stable water-in-CO(2) emulsions. The finding that the length of the hydrocarbon spacer in partially fluorinated surfactants can drastically influence film properties at the CO(2)-H(2)O interface should help control the formation of microemulsions versus emulsions and help elaborate a rationale for the design of surfactants specifically adapted to pressurized CO(2)
COSMOGRAIL: the COSmological MOnitoring of GRAvItational Lenses XV. Assessing the achievability and precision of time-delay measurements
COSMOGRAIL is a long-term photometric monitoring of gravitationally lensed
QSOs aimed at implementing Refsdal's time-delay method to measure cosmological
parameters, in particular H0. Given long and well sampled light curves of
strongly lensed QSOs, time-delay measurements require numerical techniques
whose quality must be assessed. To this end, and also in view of future
monitoring programs or surveys such as the LSST, a blind signal processing
competition named Time Delay Challenge 1 (TDC1) was held in 2014. The aim of
the present paper, which is based on the simulated light curves from the TDC1,
is double. First, we test the performance of the time-delay measurement
techniques currently used in COSMOGRAIL. Second, we analyse the quantity and
quality of the harvest of time delays obtained from the TDC1 simulations. To
achieve these goals, we first discover time delays through a careful inspection
of the light curves via a dedicated visual interface. Our measurement
algorithms can then be applied to the data in an automated way. We show that
our techniques have no significant biases, and yield adequate uncertainty
estimates resulting in reduced chi2 values between 0.5 and 1.0. We provide
estimates for the number and precision of time-delay measurements that can be
expected from future time-delay monitoring campaigns as a function of the
photometric signal-to-noise ratio and of the true time delay. We make our blind
measurements on the TDC1 data publicly availableComment: 11 pages, 8 figures, published in Astronomy & Astrophysic
First case of strong gravitational lensing by a QSO : SDSS J0013+1523 at z = 0.120
We present the first case of strong gravitational lensing by a QSO : SDSS
J0013+1523, at z = 0.120. The discovery is the result of a systematic search
for emission lines redshifted behind QSOs, among 22298 spectra of the SDSS data
release 7. Apart from the z = 0.120 spectral features of the foreground QSO,
the spectrum of SDSS J0013+1523 also displays the OII and Hbeta emission lines
and the OIII doublet, all at the same redshift, z = 0.640. Using sharp Keck
adaptive optics K-band images obtained using laser guide stars, we unveil two
objects within a radius of 2 arcsec from the QSO. Deep Keck optical
spectroscopy clearly confirms one of these objects at z = 0.640 and shows
traces of the OIII, emission line of the second object, also at z = 0.640. Lens
modeling suggests that they represent two images of the same z = 0.640
emission-line galaxy. Our Keck spectra also allow us to measure the redshift of
an intervening galaxy at z = 0.394, located 3.2 arcsec away from the line of
sight to the QSO. If the z = 0.120 QSO host galaxy is modeled as a singular
isothermal sphere, its mass within the Einstein radius is M_E(r < 1 kpc) =
2.16e10 M_Sun and its velocity dispersion is sigma_SIS = 169 km/s. This is
about 1 sigma away from the velocity dispersion estimated from the width of the
QSO Hbeta emission line, sigma_*(M_BH) = 124 +/- 47 km/s. Deep optical HST
imaging will be necessary to constrain the total radial mass profile of the QSO
host galaxy using the detailed shape of the lensed source. This first case of a
QSO acting as a strong lens on a more distant object opens new directions in
the study of QSO host galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters. Added
new Keck spectroscop
A Consistent Picture Emerges: A Compact X-ray Continuum Emission Region in the Gravitationally Lensed Quasar SDSS J0924+0219
We analyze the optical, UV, and X-ray microlensing variability of the lensed
quasar SDSS J0924+0219 using six epochs of Chandra data in two energy bands
(spanning 0.4-8.0 keV, or 1-20 keV in the quasar rest frame), 10 epochs of
F275W (rest-frame 1089A) Hubble Space Telescope data, and high-cadence R-band
(rest-frame 2770A) monitoring spanning eleven years. Our joint analysis
provides robust constraints on the extent of the X-ray continuum emission
region and the projected area of the accretion disk. The best-fit half-light
radius of the soft X-ray continuum emission region is between 5x10^13 and 10^15
cm, and we find an upper limit of 10^15 cm for the hard X-rays. The best-fit
soft-band size is about 13 times smaller than the optical size, and roughly 7
GM_BH/c^2 for a 2.8x10^8 M_sol black hole, similar to the results for other
systems. We find that the UV emitting region falls in between the optical and
X-ray emitting regions at 10^14 cm < r_1/2,UV < 3x10^15 cm. Finally, the
optical size is significantly larger, by 1.5*sigma, than the theoretical
thin-disk estimate based on the observed, magnification-corrected I-band flux,
suggesting a shallower temperature profile than expected for a standard disk.Comment: Replaced with accepted version to Ap
Economische projectbeoordeling programma toetsing en toetsgestuurd leren
SURFfoundation heeft een projectplan opgesteld voor het opzetten van een landelijke infrastructuur voor toetsing en toetsgestuurd leren in het hoger onderwijs. Het projectplan zal worden beoordeeld door verschillende gremia. Daarbij is onder andere een projectbeoordeling vanuit economisch perspectief nodig. SURFfoundation heeft SEO Economisch Onderzoek gevraagd om deze projectbeoordeling uit te voeren. De hoofdvraag van het onderzoek luidt: Hoe wordt het Programma Toetsing en Toetsgestuurd Leren in het hoger onderwijs beoordeeld vanuit economisch perspectief? Gegeven de korte doorlooptijd van het onderzoek heeft de projectbeoordeling noodzakelijkerwijs een globaal karakter. Er wordt gewerkt met inschattingen, mogelijkheden en bandbreedtes
A fast empirical method for galaxy shape measurements in weak lensing surveys
We describe a simple and fast method to correct ellipticity measurements of
galaxies from the distortion by the instrumental and atmospheric point spread
function (PSF), in view of weak lensing shear measurements. The method performs
a classification of galaxies and associated PSFs according to measured shape
parameters, and corrects the measured galaxy ellipticites by querying a large
lookup table (LUT), built by supervised learning. We have applied this new
method to the GREAT10 image analysis challenge, and present in this paper a
refined solution that obtains the competitive quality factor of Q = 104,
without any shear power spectrum denoising or training. Of particular interest
is the efficiency of the method, with a processing time below 3 ms per galaxy
on an ordinary CPU.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Metric values updated according to the final
GREAT10 analysis software (Kitching et al. 2012, MNRAS 423, 3163-3208), no
qualitative changes. Associated code available at
http://lastro.epfl.ch/megalu
The Newsvendor problem: analysis of the cost structure under normally distributed demand
We briefly review selected mathematical models that describe the dynamics of
pattern formation phenomena in dip-coating and Langmuir-Blodgett transfer
experiments, where solutions or suspensions are transferred onto a substrate
producing patterned deposit layers with structure length from hundreds of
nanometres to tens of micrometres. The models are presented with a focus on
their gradient dynamics formulations that clearly shows how the dynamics is
governed by particular free energy functionals and facilitates the comparison
of the models. In particular, we include a discussion of models based on
long-wave hydrodynamics as well as of more phenomenological models that focus
on the pattern formation processes in such systems. The models and their
relations are elucidated and examples of resulting patterns are discussed
before we conclude with a discussion of implications of the gradient dynamics
formulation and of some related open issues
Stabilizing Soybean Production in Northeast Texas with Early Planting of Early-Maturing Soybean Varieties.
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