1,917 research outputs found
A Study of Hadronic Backgrounds to Isolated Hard Photon Production with L3
I describe two methods for studying hadronic backgrounds to prompt photon
production with L3, and compare the observed background rates with Monte Carlo
predictions. I find that the Monte Carlo models JETSET and HERWIG underestimate
the production of isolated neutral hadrons in hadronic Z decays at LEP. By
extrapolating results obtained with L3, I estimate that the rate of
prompt-photon + jet background to a H -> gamma gamma search at the LHC will be
larger than Monte Carlo predictions by a factor of 1.5-2.5.Comment: 4 page
Batch-Incremental Learning for Mining Data Streams
The data stream model for data mining places harsh restrictions on a learning algorithm. First, a model must be induced incrementally. Second, processing time for instances must keep up with their speed of arrival. Third, a model may only use a constant amount of memory, and must be ready for prediction at any point in time. We attempt to overcome these restrictions by presenting a data stream classification algorithm where the data is split into a stream of disjoint batches. Single batches of data can be processed one after the other by any standard non-incremental learning algorithm. Our approach uses ensembles of decision trees. These tree ensembles are iteratively merged into a single interpretable model of constant maximal size. Using benchmark datasets the algorithm is evaluated for accuracy against state-of-the-art algorithms that make use of the entire dataset
Model independent inference of the expansion history and implications for the growth of structure
We model the expansion history of the Universe as a Gaussian Process and find
constraints on the dark energy density and its low-redshift evolution using
distances inferred from the Luminous Red Galaxy (LRG) and Lyman-alpha
(Ly) datasets of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, supernova
data from the Joint Light-curve Analysis (JLA) sample, Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) data from the Planck satellite, and local measurement of the
Hubble parameter from the Hubble Space Telescope (). Our analysis
shows that the CMB, LRG, Ly, and JLA data are consistent with each
other and with a CDM cosmology, but the data is
inconsistent at moderate significance. Including the presence of dark radiation
does not alleviate the tension in our analysis. While some of
these results have been noted previously, the strength here lies in that we do
not assume a particular cosmological model. We calculate the growth of the
gravitational potential in General Relativity corresponding to these general
expansion histories and show that they are well-approximated by given the current precision. We assess the prospects for upcoming
surveys to measure deviations from CDM using this model-independent
approach.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, code available at:
https://github.com/dkirkby/gphis
Implications of a transition in the dark energy equation of state for the and tensions
We explore the implications of a rapid appearance of dark energy between the
redshifts () of one and two on the expansion rate and growth of
perturbations. Using both Gaussian process regression and a parameteric model,
we show that this is the preferred solution to the current set of low-redshift
() distance measurements if to within
1\% and the high-redshift expansion history is unchanged from the CDM
inference by the Planck satellite. Dark energy was effectively non-existent
around , but its density is close to the CDM model value today,
with an equation of state greater than at . If sources of
clustering other than matter are negligible, we show that this expansion
history leads to slower growth of perturbations at , compared to
CDM, that is measurable by upcoming surveys and can alleviate the
tension between the Planck CMB temperature and low-redshift probes
of the large-scale structure.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figure
ON JUDGEMENT: PSYCHOLOGICAL GENESIS, INTENTIONALITY AND GRAMMAR
This thesis explores conceptions of judgement which have been central to various philosophical and scientific traditions. Beginning with Hume, I situate his conception of
judgement within his overarching constructivist program, his science of man. Defending Hume from criticism regarding the naturalistic credentials of this program, I argue that Hume’s science of man, along with the conception of judgement which is integral to it, is appropriately understood as a forerunner to contemporary cognitive science. Despite this, I contend that Hume’s conception of judgement prompts a problem regarding the intentionality
of judgement – a problem which he does not adequately address.
In the second part of my thesis I show how the intentionality problem which Hume grapples with is also crucial, constituting a point of departure, for Kant’s transcendental undertaking. Following Kant’s reasoning, I illustrate how an original concern with this intentionality issue leads Kant to a distinct conception of judgement, according to which concepts only exist in the context of a judgement. Having arrived at Kant’s conception of a judgement, the remainder of the thesis is devoted to the issue of judgement forms. Kant’s postulation of these forms is closely related to his conception of judgement, and I seek to establish both how these forms ought to be understood and how they might be derived. In relation to this latter issue, I suggest that there may a role for contemporary work in Generative Grammar. Specifically, I suggest that it may be viable to understand the forms of
judgement as grammatical in nature, thereby securing an interdisciplinary connection between a philosophy of judgement and the empirical investigation of grammar
Effects of overlapping sources on cosmic shear estimation: Statistical sensitivity and pixel-noise bias
In Stage-IV imaging surveys, a significant amount of the cosmologically
useful information is due to sources whose images overlap with those of other
sources on the sky. The cosmic shear signal is primarily encoded in the
estimated shapes of observed galaxies and thus directly impacted by overlaps.
We introduce a framework based on the Fisher formalism to analyze effects of
overlapping sources (blending) on the estimation of cosmic shear. For the Rubin
Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), we present the expected
loss in statistical sensitivity for the ten-year survey due to blending. We
find that for approximately 62% of galaxies that are likely to be detected in
full-depth LSST images, at least 1% of the flux in their pixels is from
overlapping sources. We also find that the statistical correlations between
measures of overlapping galaxies and, to a much lesser extent the higher shot
noise level due to their presence, decrease the effective number density of
galaxies, , by 18%. We calculate an upper limit on of
39.4 galaxies per arcmin in band. We study the impact of varying
stellar density on and illustrate the diminishing returns of
extending the survey into lower Galactic latitudes. We extend the Fisher
formalism to predict the increase in pixel-noise bias due to blending for
maximum-likelihood (ML) shape estimators. We find that noise bias is sensitive
to the particular shape estimator and measure of ensemble-average shape that is
used, and properties of the galaxy that include redshift-dependent quantities
such as size and luminosity.Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP. 45 pages, 19 figure
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