1,489 research outputs found
Very high quality image restoration by combining wavelets and curvelets
We outline digital implementations of two newly developed multiscale representation systems, namely, the ridgelet and curvelet transforms. We apply these digital transforms to the problem of restoring an image from noisy data and compare our results with those obtained via well established methods based on the thresholding of wavelet coefficients. We develop a methodology to combine wavelets together these new systems to perform noise removal by exploiting all these systems simultaneously. The results of the combined reconstruction exhibits clear advantages over any individual system alone. For example, the residual error contains essentially no visually intelligible structure: no structure is lost in the reconstruction
A Catalog of Diffuse X-ray-Emitting Features within 20 pc of Sgr A*: Twenty Pulsar Wind Nebulae?
We present a catalog of 34 diffuse features identified in X-ray images of the
Galactic center taken with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Several of the
features have been discussed in the literature previously, including 7 that are
associated with a complex of molecular clouds that exhibits fluorescent line
emission, 4 that are superimposed on the supernova remnant Sgr A East, 2 that
are coincident with radio features that are thought to be the shell of another
supernova remnant, and one that is thought to be a pulsar wind nebula only a
few arcseconds in projection from Sgr A*. However, this leaves 20 features that
have not been reported previously. Based on the weakness of iron emission in
their spectra, we propose that most of them are non-thermal. One long, narrow
feature points toward Sgr A*, and so we propose that this feature is a jet of
synchrotron-emitting particles ejected from the supermassive black hole. For
the others, we show that their sizes (0.1-2 pc in length for D=8 kpc), X-ray
luminosities (between 10^32 and 10^34 erg/s, 2-8 keV), and spectra (power laws
with Gamma=1-3) are consistent with those of pulsar wind nebulae. Based on the
star formation rate at the Galactic center, we expect that ~20 pulsars have
formed in the last 300 kyr, and could be producing pulsar wind nebulae. Only
one of the 19 candidate pulsar wind nebulae is securely detected in an archival
radio image of the Galactic center; the remainder have upper limits
corresponding to L_R<la10^31 erg/s. These radio limits do not strongly
constrain their natures, which underscores the need for further multi-
wavelength studies of this unprecedented sample of Galactic X-ray emitting
structures.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 5 in color. Submitted to Ap
Analysis of the Spatial Distribution of Galaxies by Multiscale Methods
Galaxies are arranged in interconnected walls and filaments forming a cosmic
web encompassing huge, nearly empty, regions between the structures. Many
statistical methods have been proposed in the past in order to describe the
galaxy distribution and discriminate the different cosmological models. We
present in this paper results relative to the use of new statistical tools
using the 3D isotropic undecimated wavelet transform, the 3D ridgelet transform
and the 3D beamlet transform. We show that such multiscale methods produce a
new way to measure in a coherent and statistically reliable way the degree of
clustering, filamentarity, sheetedness, and voidedness of a datasetComment: 26 pages, 20 figures. Submitted to EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal
Processing (special issue on "Applications of Signal Processing in
Astrophysics and Cosmology"
Observational evidence for the presence of PAHs in distant Luminous Infrared Galaxies using ISO and Spitzer
We present ISOCAM 15 micron and MIPS 24 micron photometry of a sample of 16
distant Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) characterized by a median luminosity
L(IR) 2x10^11 Lsol and redshift z = 0.7 (distributed from z = 0.1 to 1.2).
While some sources display 24/15 micron flux ratios also consistent with a
featureless continuum dominating their mid-infrared (MIR) spectral energy
distributions (SEDs), the presence of prominent emission features such as the
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons is clearly required to explain the observed
colors for more than half of the sample. As a result, a general good agreement
is observed between the data and predictions from the local starburst-dominated
SEDs that have been used so far to constrain IR galaxy evolution. This is
consistent with the star-forming nature of LIRGs derived from previous works,
even though our approach cannot rule out the dominance of an AGN in some cases.
Our study also supports the possibility of tracing the total IR luminosity of
distant galaxies (up to z ~ 1) from their MIR emission.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters (in press
Three genetically distinct ferlaviruses have varying effects on infected corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus)
Ferlaviruses are important pathogens in snakes and other reptiles. They cause respiratory and neurological disease in infected animals and can cause severe disease outbreaks. Isolates from this genus can be divided into four genogroups-A, B, and C, as well as a more distantly related sister group, "tortoise". Sequences from large portions (5.3 kb) of the genomes of a variety of ferlavirus isolates from genogroups A, B, and C, including the genes coding the surface glycoproteins F and HN as well as the L protein were determined and compared. In silico analyses of the glycoproteins of genogroup A, B, and C isolates were carried out. Three isolates representing these three genogroups were used in transmission studies with corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus), and clinical signs, gross and histopathology, electronmicroscopic changes in the lungs, and isolation of bacteria from the lungs were evaluated. Analysis of the sequences supported the previous categorization of ferlaviruses into four genogroups, and criteria for definition of ferlavirus genogroups and species were established based on sequence identities (80% resp. 90%). Analysis of the ferlavirus glycoprotein models showed parallels to corresponding regions of other paramyxoviruses. The transmission studies showed clear differences in the pathogenicities of the three virus isolates used. The genogroup B isolate was the most and the group A virus the least pathogenic. Reasons for these differences were not clear based on the differences in the putative structures of their respective glycoproteins, although e.g. residue and consequential structure variation of an extended cleavage site or changes in electrostatic charges at enzyme binding sites could play a role. The presence of bacteria in the lungs of the infected animals also clearly corresponded to increased pathogenicity. This study contributes to knowledge about the structure and phylogeny of ferlaviruses and lucidly demonstrates differences in pathogenicity between strains of different genogroups
The application of a Trous wave filtering and Monte Carlo analysis on SECIS 2001 solar eclipse observations
8000 images of the Solar corona were captured during the June 2001 total
Solar eclipse. New software for the alignment of the images and an automated
technique for detecting intensity oscillations using multi scale wavelet
analysis were developed. Large areas of the images covered by the Moon and the
upper corona were scanned for oscillations and the statistical properties of
the atmospheric effects were determined. The a Trous wavelet transform was used
for noise reduction and Monte Carlo analysis as a significance test of the
detections. The effectiveness of those techniques is discussed in detail.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted by Solar Physics Journal for
publication in Topical Issue: "Frontiers in Solar Image Processing
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