6,339 research outputs found
Alas, the dark matter structures were not that trivial
The radial density profile of dark matter structures has been observed to
have an almost universal behaviour in numerical simulations, however, the
physical reason for this behaviour remains unclear. It has previously been
shown that if the pseudo phase-space density, rho/sigma_d^epsilon, is a
beautifully simple power-law in radius, with the "golden values" epsilon=3 and
d=r (i.e., the phase-space density is only dependent on the radial component of
the velocity dispersion), then one can analytically derive the radial variation
of the mass profile, dispersion profile etc. That would imply, if correct, that
we just have to explain why rho/sigma^3_r ~r^{-alpha}, and then we would
understand everything about equilibrated DM structures. Here we use a set of
simulated galaxies and clusters of galaxies to demonstrate that there are no
such golden values, but that each structure instead has its own set of values.
Considering the same structure at different redshifts shows no evolution of the
phase-space parameters towards fixed points. There is also no clear connection
between the halo virialized mass and these parameters. This implies that we
still do not understand the origin of the profiles of dark matter structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
First measurement of cluster temperature using the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect
We discuss a new method of finding the cluster temperatures which is
independent of distance and therefore very useful for distant clusters. The hot
gas of electrons in clusters of galaxies scatters and distorts the cosmic
microwave background radiation in a well determined way. This
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect is a useful tool for extracting information
about clusters such as their peculiar radial velocity and optical depth. Here
we show how the temperature of the cluster can be inferred from the SZ effect,
in principle without use of X-ray data. We use recent millimetre observation of
Abell 2163 to determine for the first time a cluster temperature using SZ
observations only. The result T_e = 26^+34_-19 keV at 68% confidence level (at
95% c.l. we find T>1.5 keV) is in reasonable agreement with the X-ray results,
T_e =12.4^+2.8_-1.9 keV.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
A codesign case study: implementing arithmetic functions in FPGAs
Different way of implementing and designing arithmetic functions for 16/32 bit integers in FPGA technology are studied. This also includes a comparison of four different design methods. The results are used to increase the overall system performance in a dedicated 3D image analysis prototype system by moving a vector length calculation from software to hardware. The conclusion is that by adding one relatively simple board containing two FPGA's in the prototype setup, the total computing time is reduced by 30 %. The total amount of image data, in this case 300 Mbyte which has to be transmitted via network, is reduced by a factor of two, and the required network bandwidth is reduced similarly. 1 Introduction This paper describes and analyses different ways of designing and implementing the arithmetic functions X 2 + Y 2 and p Z, where X and Y are 16 bit integers and Z is a 32 bit integer, in FPGA 1 technology. In a prototype setup, there is 2.5 ¯s available for calculating the..
A gain-loss framework based on ensemble flow forecasts to switch the urban drainage-wastewater system management towards energy optimization during dry periods
Precipitation is the cause of major perturbation to the flow in urban
drainage and wastewater systems. Flow forecasts, generated by coupling
rainfall predictions with a hydrologic runoff model, can potentially be used
to optimize the operation of integrated urban drainage–wastewater systems
(IUDWSs) during both wet and dry weather periods. Numerical weather prediction
(NWP) models have significantly improved in recent years, having increased their
spatial and temporal resolution. Finer resolution NWP are suitable for urban-catchment-scale applications, providing longer lead time than radar
extrapolation. However, forecasts are inevitably uncertain, and fine
resolution is especially challenging for NWP. This uncertainty is commonly
addressed in meteorology with ensemble prediction systems (EPSs). Handling
uncertainty is challenging for decision makers and hence tools are necessary
to provide insight on ensemble forecast usage and to support the rationality
of decisions (i.e. forecasts are uncertain and therefore errors will be made;
decision makers need tools to justify their choices, demonstrating that these
choices are beneficial in the long run).
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This study presents an economic framework to support the decision-making
process by providing information on when acting on the forecast is
beneficial and how to handle the EPS. The relative economic value (REV)
approach associates economic values with the potential outcomes and determines
the preferential use of the EPS forecast. The envelope curve of the REV diagram
combines the results from each probability forecast to provide the highest
relative economic value for a given gain–loss ratio. This approach is
traditionally used at larger scales to assess mitigation measures for
adverse events (i.e. the actions are taken when events are forecast). The
specificity of this study is to optimize the energy consumption in IUDWS
during low-flow periods by exploiting the electrical smart grid market (i.e.
the actions are taken when no events are forecast). Furthermore, the results
demonstrate the benefit of NWP neighbourhood post-processing methods to
enhance the forecast skill and increase the range of beneficial uses
Sex-Specific Effect of Serum Lipids and Body Mass Index on Psychotic Symptoms, a Cross-Sectional Study of First-Episode Psychosis Patients
Background: Schizophrenia is a disorder with considerable heterogeneity in course and outcomes, which is in part related to the patients' sex. Studies report a link between serum lipids, body mass index (BMI), and therapeutic response. However, the role of sex in these relationships is poorly understood. In a cross-sectional sample of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, we investigated if the relationship between serum lipid levels (total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides), BMI, and symptoms differs between the sexes. Methods: We included 435 FEP patients (males: N = 283, 65%) from the ongoing Thematically Organized Psychosis (TOP) study. Data on clinical status, antipsychotics, lifestyle, serum lipid levels, and BMI were obtained. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) were used to assess psychotic and depressive symptoms. General linear models were employed to examine the relationship between metabolic variables and symptomatology. Results: We observed a female-specific association between serum HDL-C levels and negative symptoms (B = −2.24, p = 0.03) and between triglycerides levels (B = 1.48, p = 0.04) and BMI (B = 0.27, p = 0.001) with depressive symptoms. When controlling for BMI, only the association between serum HDL-C levels and negative symptoms remained significant. Moreover, the HDL-C and BMI associations remained significant after controlling for demography, lifestyle, and illness-related factors. Conclusion: We found a relationship between metabolic factors and psychiatric symptoms in FEP patients that was sex-dependent.publishedVersio
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