211 research outputs found
Online Collaborative Time Management System using Artificial Intelligence
Online Collaborative Time Management System is a system that will plan events and help achieve goals intelligently using Partial Order Planning. This product is similar to a social networking site, which plans events for collaborative set of people. For this masters’ project, such a system is developed. Our site allows multiple people to add items to a collaborative To-Do list. The user interface for our site allows people to add actions and preconditions to the existing system, enabling the system to grow constantly. In order to generate a sequence of actions to the most complex problems, partial order generators are implemented at the back end. The planning algorithms are designed such that they will resolve conflicts by implementing backtracking whenever it comes across a conflict
Single local interneurons in the locust make central synapses with different properties of transmitter release on distinct postsynaptic neurons
Quantal analysis has been applied to the inhibitory synapses made by single spiking local interneurons onto several nonspiking local interneurons (and motorneurons) in the locust CNS. Transmission at these synapses appears to be mediated by GABA. The apparent reversal potential of the IPSP and inhibitory postsynaptic current were -80 to - 85 mV, a value similar to that of the potential evoked by pressure- applied GABA. This reversal potential was 25–30 mV more negative than the resting potential of the nonspiking interneurons in the experimental conditions. The statistical properties of release at these synapses were studied by recording simultaneously from pre- and postsynaptic interneurons with intracellular electrodes. The distribution of postsynaptic potential amplitudes could be described by a simple binomial model, implying uniformity of binomial p (probability of release at a single release site) for each synapse. The mean quantal amplitude was 290 ± 110 µV, and the mean quantal content m of the IPSPs was 6.25 ± 2.83. The mean values of binomial n (average size of the releasable pool) and p were 13.11 ± 2.8 and 0.45 ± 0.16, respectively. Numerical simulations of statistical experiments were performed to test whether the IPSP amplitude distribution histograms might be misleadingly indicative of quantal release. These simulations showed that such a hypothesis was very unlikely. When a spiking local interneuron was impaled, several of its target interneurons could sometimes be successively sampled. Quantal analysis was then performed with the different IPSPs evoked, in identical conditions, by a same presynaptic interneuron, and the quantal parameters were compared between the synapses. It was found that binomials n and p and their product m generally differed between the synapses made by a given spiking interneuron onto different target neurons. These results show that quantal contents can vary for the many synapses made centrally by one interneuron, and suggest that this variability may arise from differences in release probabilities between the sites associated with different synapses
Lyot Coronagraphy on Giant Segmented-Mirror Telescopes
We present a study of Lyot style (i.e., classical, band-limited, and Gaussian
occulter) coronagraphy on extremely large, highly-segmented telescopes. We show
that while increased telescope diameter is always an advantage for high dynamic
range science (assuming wavefront errors have been corrected sufficiently
well), segmentation itself sets a limit on the performance of Lyot
coronagraphs. Diffraction from inter-segment gaps sets a floor to the
achievable extinction of on-axis starlight with Lyot coronagraphy. We derive an
analytical expression for the manner in which coronagraphic suppression of an
on-axis source decreases with increasing gap size when the segments are placed
in a spatially periodic array over the telescope aperture, regardless of the
details of the arrangement. A simple Lyot stop masking out pupil edges produces
good extinction of the central peak in the point-spread function (PSF), but
leaves satellite images caused by inter-segment gaps essentially unaffected.
Masking out the bright segment gaps in the Lyot plane with a reticulated mask
reduces the satellite images'intensity to a contrast of 5x10^{-9} on a 30 m
telescope with 10 mm gaps, at the expense of an increase in the brightness of
the central peak. The morphology of interesting targets will dictate which Lyot
stop geometry is preferable: the reticulated Lyot stop produces a conveniently
uni-modal PSF, whereas a simple Lyot stop produces an extended array of
satellite spots. A cryogenic reticulate Lyot stop will also benefit both direct
and coronagraphic mid-IR imaging.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Tip-tilt Error in Lyot Coronagraphs
The direct detection of extrasolar planets by imaging means is limited by the
large flux of light from the host star being scattered into the region of
interest by a variety of processes, including diffraction. Coronagraphs are
devices that suppress the undesirable scattering of light caused by
diffraction. In a coronagraph the sensitivity limit for high dynamic range is
limited by the propagation of errors introduced by the imperfect optical system
to the final image. In this paper we develop theory and simulations to
understand how such errors propagate in a coronagraph. We describe the response
of classical and band-limited Lyot coronagraphs to small and large errors in
the placement of the central star, and identify ways of making such
coronagraphs more robust to small guiding errors. We also uncover features of
the decentered PSF that can lead to spurious detection of companions,
especially with aggressive, high dynamic range coronagraphs dedicated to
companion searches aimed at finding extrasolar terrestrial or Jovian planets.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Astrometry and Photometry with Coronagraphs
We propose a solution to the problem of astrometric and photometric
calibration of coronagraphic images with a simple optical device which, in
theory, is easy to use. Our design uses the Fraunhofer approximation of Fourier
optics. Placing a periodic grid of wires (we use a square grid) with known
width and spacing in a pupil plane in front of the occulting coronagraphic
focal plane mask produces fiducial images of the obscured star at known
locations relative to the star. We also derive the intensity of these fiducial
images in the coronagraphic image. These calibrator images can be used for
precise relative astrometry, to establish companionship of other objects in the
field of view through measurement of common proper motion or common parallax,
to determine orbits, and to observe disk structure around the star
quantitatively. The calibrator spots also have known brightness, selectable by
the coronagraph designer, permitting accurate relative photometry in the
coronagraphic image. This technique, which enables precision exoplanetary
science, is relevant to future coronagraphic instruments, and is particularly
useful for `extreme' adaptive optics and space-based coronagraphy.Comment: To appear in ApJ August 2006, 27 preprint style pages 4 figure
Fast computation of Lyot-style coronagraph propagation
We present a new method for numerical propagation through Lyot-style
coronagraphs using finite occulting masks. Standard methods for coronagraphic
simulations involve Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) of very large arrays, and
computing power is an issue for the design and tolerancing of coronagraphs on
segmented Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT) in order to handle both the speed
and memory requirements. Our method combines a semi-analytical approach with
non-FFT based Fourier transform algorithms. It enables both fast and
memory-efficient computations without introducing any additional
approximations. Typical speed improvements based on computation costs are of
about ten to fifty for propagations from pupil to Lyot plane, with thirty to
sixty times less memory needed. Our method makes it possible to perform
numerical coronagraphic studies even in the case of ELTs using a contemporary
commercial laptop computer, or any standard commercial workstation computer.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Optics Expres
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