189 research outputs found
Performance and Complexity Co-Evaluations of MPEG4-ALS Compression Standard for Low-Latency Music Compression
In this thesis compression ratio and latency of different classical audio music tracks are analyzed with various encoder options of MPEG4ALS. Different tracks of audio music tracks are tested with MPEG4-ALS coder with different options to find the optimum values for various parameters to obtain maximum compression ratio with minimum CPU time (encoder and decoder time). Optimum frame length for which the compression ratio saturates for music audio is found out by analyzing the results when different classical music tracks are experimented with various frame lengths. Also music tracks with varying sampling rate are tested and the compression ratio and latency relationship with sampling rate are analyzed and plotted. It is found that the compression gain rate was higher when the codec complexity is less, and joint channel correlation and long term correlations are not significant and latency trade off make the more complex codec options unsuitable for applications where latency is critical. When the two entropy coding options, Rice code and BGMC (Block Gilbert-Moore Codes) are applied on various classical music tracks, it was obvious that the Rice code is more suitable for low-latency applications compared to the more complex BGMC coding, as BGMC improved compression performance with the expense of latency, making it unsuitable in real-time applications
Comparing the Vaginal Wall Sling with Autologous Rectus Fascia and Polypropylene Sling on Outcome and Patient Satisfaction
Since 2011 FDA safety update on transvaginal synthetic mesh for treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP), providers are encouraged to counsel patients on risks related to synthetic mesh slings, such as dyspareunia, erosion, and extrusion. As an alternative to synthetic slings patients often choose autologous slings. We aim to compare outcome and patient satisfaction in patients, who received an autologous vaginal wall sling (VWS), rectus fascia sling (RFS), or synthetic suburethral sling (SSS) for treatment of SUI
A Lack of Variability Between Repeated Spitzer Phase Curves of WASP-43b
Though the global atmospheres of hot Jupiters have been extensively studied
using phase curve observations, the level of time variability in these data is
not well constrained. To investigate possible time variability in a planetary
phase curve, we observed two full-orbit phase curves of the hot Jupiter
WASP-43b at 4.5 microns using the Spitzer Space Telescope, and reanalyzed a
previous 4.5 micron phase curve from Stevenson et al. (2017). We find no
significant time variability between these three phase curves, which span
timescales of weeks to years. The three observations are best fit by a single
phase curve with an eclipse depth of 3907 +- 85 ppm, a dayside-integrated
brightness temperature of 1479 +- 13 K, a nightside-integrated brightness
temperature of 755 +- 46 K, and an eastward-shifted peak of 10.4 +- 1.8
degrees. To model our observations, we performed 3D general circulation model
simulations of WASP-43b with simple cloud models of various vertical extents.
In comparing these simulations to our observations, we find that WASP-43b
likely has a cloudy nightside that transitions to a relatively cloud-free
dayside. We estimate that any change in WASP-43bs vertical cloud thickness of
more than three pressure scale heights is inconsistent with our observed upper
limit on variation. These observations, therefore, indicate that WASP-43bs
clouds are stable in their vertical and spatial extent over timescales up to
several years. These results strongly suggest that atmospheric properties
derived from previous, single Spitzer phase curve observations of hot Jupiters
likely show us the equilibrium properties of these atmospheres.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, Published in the Astronomical Journal (AJ
A diamond nanophotonic interface with an optically accessible deterministic electronuclear spin register
A contemporary challenge for the scalability of quantum networks is
developing quantum nodes with simultaneous high photonic efficiency and
long-lived qubits. Here, we present a fibre-packaged nanophotonic diamond
waveguide hosting a tin-vacancy centre with a spin-1/2 Sn nucleus. The
interaction between the electronic and nuclear spins results in a signature
452(7) MHz hyperfine splitting. This exceeds the natural optical linewidth by a
factor of 16, enabling direct optical nuclear-spin initialisation with 98.6(3)%
fidelity and single-shot readout with 80(1)% fidelity. The waveguide-to-fibre
extraction efficiency of our device of 57(6)% enables the practical detection
of 5-photon events. Combining the photonic performance with the optically
initialised nuclear spin, we demonstrate a spin-gated single-photon
nonlinearity with 11(1)% contrast in the absence of an external magnetic field.
These capabilities position our nanophotonic interface as a versatile quantum
node in the pursuit of scalable quantum networks
Year-round trace gas measurements in the central Arctic during the MOSAiC expedition
Despite the key role of the Arctic in the global Earth system, year-round in-situ atmospheric composition observations within the Arctic are sparse and mostly rely on measurements at ground-based coastal stations. Measurements of a suite of in-situ trace gases were performed in the central Arctic during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition. These observations give a comprehensive picture of year-round near-surface atmospheric abundances of key greenhouse and trace gases, i.e., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, dimethylsulfide, sulfur dioxide, elemental mercury, and selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Redundancy in certain measurements supported continuity and permitted cross-evaluation and validation of the data. This paper gives an overview of the trace gas measurements conducted during MOSAiC and highlights the high quality of the monitoring activities. In addition, in the case of redundant measurements, merged datasets are provided and recommended for further use by the scientific community.Peer reviewe
The architecture of Abell 1386 and its relationship to the Sloan Great Wall
We present new radial velocities from AAOmega on the Anglo-Australian
Telescope for 307 galaxies (b_J < 19.5) in the region of the rich cluster Abell
1386. Consistent with other studies of galaxy clusters that constitute
sub-units of superstructures, we find that the velocity distribution of A1386
is very broad (21,000--42,000 kms^-1, or z=0.08--0.14) and complex. The mean
redshift of the cluster that Abell designated as number 1386 is found to be
~0.104. However, we find that it consists of various superpositions of
line-of-sight components. We investigate the reality of each component by
testing for substructure and searching for giant elliptical galaxies in each
and show that A1386 is made up of at least four significant clusters or groups
along the line of sight whose global parameters we detail. Peculiar velocities
of brightest galaxies for each of the groups are computed and found to be
different from previous works, largely due to the complexity of the sky area
and the depth of analysis performed in the present work. We also analyse A1386
in the context of its parent superclusters: Leo A, and especially the Sloan
Great Wall. Although the new clusters may be moving toward mass concentrations
in the Sloan Great Wall or beyond, many are most likely not yet physically
bound to it.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, includes the full appendix table. Accepted for
publication in MNRA
Hyperfine Spectroscopy of Isotopically Engineered Group-IV Color Centers in Diamond
A quantum register coupled to a spin-photon interface is a key component in
quantum communication and information processing. Group-IV color centers in
diamond (SiV, GeV, and SnV) are promising candidates for this application,
comprising an electronic spin with optical transitions coupled to a nuclear
spin as the quantum register. However, the creation of a quantum register for
these color centers with deterministic and strong coupling to the spin-photon
interface remains challenging. Here, we make first-principles predictions of
the hyperfine parameters of the group-IV color centers, which we verify
experimentally with a comprehensive comparison between the spectra of spin
active and spin neutral intrinsic dopant nuclei in single GeV and SnV emitters.
In line with the theoretical predictions, detailed spectroscopy on large sample
sizes reveals that hyperfine coupling causes a splitting of the optical
transition of SnV an order of magnitude larger than the optical linewidth and
provides a magnetic-field insensitive transition. This strong coupling provides
access to a new regime for quantum registers in diamond color centers, opening
avenues for novel spin-photon entanglement and quantum sensing schemes for
these well-studied emitters
The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO Survey: The Star Formation Histories of Luminous Red Galaxies
We present a detailed investigation into the recent star formation histories
of 5,697 Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) based on the Hdelta (4101A) and [OII]
(3727A) lines. LRGs are luminous (L>3L*), galaxies which have been selected to
have photometric properties consistent with an old, passively evolving stellar
population. For this study we utilise LRGs from the recently completed 2dF-SDSS
LRG and QSO survey (2SLAQ). Equivalent widths of the Hdelta and [OII] lines are
measured and used to define three spectral types, those with only strong Hdelta
absorption (k+a), those with strong [OII] in emission (em) and those with both
(em+a). All other LRGs are considered to have passive star formation histories.
The vast majority of LRGs are found to be passive (~80 per cent), however
significant numbers of k+a (2.7 per cent), em+a (1.2 per cent) and em LRGs (8.6
per cent) are identified. An investigation into the redshift dependence of the
fractions is also performed. A sample of SDSS MAIN galaxies with colours and
luminosities consistent with the 2SLAQ LRGs is selected to provide a low
redshift comparison. While the em and em+a fractions are consistent with the
low redshift SDSS sample, the fraction of k+a LRGs is found to increase
significantly with redshift. This result is interpreted as an indication of an
increasing amount of recent star formation activity in LRGs with redshift. By
considering the expected life time of the k+a phase, the number of LRGs which
will undergo a k+a phase can be estimated. A crude comparison of this estimate
with the predictions from semi-analytic models of galaxy formation shows that
the predicted level of k+a and em+a activity is not sufficient to reconcile the
predicted mass growth for massive early-types in a hierarchical merging
scenario.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 10 figure
The 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO survey: evolution of the clustering of luminous red galaxies since z = 0.6
We present an analysis of the small-to-intermediate scale clustering of
samples of Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and
the 2dF-SDSS LRG and QSO (2SLAQ) survey carefully matched to have the same
rest-frame colours and luminosity. We study the spatial two-point
auto-correlation function in both redshift-space and real-space of a combined
sample of over 10,000 LRGs, which represent the most massive galaxies in the
universe with stellar masses > 10^11 h^-1 M_sun and space densities 10^-4 h^-3
Mpc^-3. We find no significant evolution in the amplitude r_0 of the
correlation function with redshift, but do see a slight decrease in the slope
with increasing redshift over 0.19 < z < 0.55 and scales of 0.32 < r < 32 h^-1
Mpc. We compare our measurements with the predicted evolution of dark matter
clustering and use the halo model to interpret our results. We find that our
clustering measurements are inconsistent (>99.9% significance) with a passive
model whereby the LRGs do not merge with one another; a model with a merger
rate of 7.5 +/- 2.3% from z = 0.55 to z = 0.19 (i.e. an average rate of 2.4%
Gyr^-1) provides a better fit to our observations. Our clustering and number
density measurements are consistent with the hypothesis that the merged LRGs
were originally central galaxies in different haloes which, following the
merger of these haloes, merged to create a single Brightest Cluster Galaxy. In
addition, we show that the small-scale clustering signal constrains the scatter
in halo merger histories. When combined with measurements of the luminosity
function, our results suggest that this scatter is sub-Poisson. While this is a
generic prediction of hierarchical models, it has not been tested before.Comment: 20 pages, replaced with version accepted for publication in MNRA
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