2,758 research outputs found
Removal of Spectro-Polarimetric Fringes by 2D Pattern Recognition
We present a pattern-recognition based approach to the problem of removal of
polarized fringes from spectro-polarimetric data. We demonstrate that 2D
Principal Component Analysis can be trained on a given spectro-polarimetric map
in order to identify and isolate fringe structures from the spectra. This
allows us in principle to reconstruct the data without the fringe component,
providing an effective and clean solution to the problem. The results presented
in this paper point in the direction of revising the way that science and
calibration data should be planned for a typical spectro-polarimetric observing
run.Comment: ApJ, in pres
Analysis of Seeing-Induced Polarization Cross-Talk and Modulation Scheme Performance
We analyze the generation of polarization cross-talk in Stokes polarimeters
by atmospheric seeing, and its effects on the noise statistics of
spectropolarimetric measurements for both single-beam and dual-beam
instruments. We investigate the time evolution of seeing-induced correlations
between different states of one modulation cycle, and compare the response to
these correlations of two popular polarization modulation schemes in a
dual-beam system. Extension of the formalism to encompass an arbitrary number
of modulation cycles enables us to compare our results with earlier work. Even
though we discuss examples pertinent to solar physics, the general treatment of
the subject and its fundamental results might be useful to a wider community.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures; accepted in Astrophys.
Mutual information challenges entropy bounds
We consider some formulations of the entropy bounds at the semiclassical
level. The entropy S(V) localized in a region V is divergent in quantum field
theory (QFT). Instead of it we focus on the mutual information
I(V,W)=S(V)+S(W)-S(V\cup W) between two different non-intersecting sets V and
W. This is a low energy quantity, independent of the regularization scheme. In
addition, the mutual information is bounded above by twice the entropy
corresponding to the sets involved. Calculations of I(V,W) in QFT show that the
entropy in empty space cannot be renormalized to zero, and must be actually
very large. We find that this entropy due to the vacuum fluctuations violates
the FMW bound in Minkowski space. The mutual information also gives a precise,
cutoff independent meaning to the statement that the number of degrees of
freedom increases with the volume in QFT. If the holographic bound holds, this
points to the essential non locality of the physical cutoff. Violations of the
Bousso bound would require conformal theories and large distances. We speculate
that the presence of a small cosmological constant might prevent such a
violation.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, minor change
Simulation of subseismic joint and fault networks using a heuristic mechanical model
Flow simulations of fractured and faulted reservoirs require representation of subseismic structures about which subsurface data are limited. We describe a method for simulating fracture growth that is mechanically based but heuristic, allowing for realistic modelling of fracture networks with reasonable run times. The method takes a triangulated meshed surface as input, together with an initial stress field. Fractures initiate and grow based on the stress field, and the growing fractures relieve the stress in the mesh. We show that a wide range of bedding-plane joint networks can be modelled simply by varying the distribution and anisotropy of the initial stress field. The results are in good qualitative agreement with natural joint patterns. We then apply the method to a set of parallel veins and demonstrate how the variations in thickness of the veins can be represented. Lastly, we apply the method to the simulation of normal fault patterns on salt domes. We derive the stress field on the bedding surface using the horizon curvature. The modelled fault network shows both radial and concentric faults. The new method provides an effective means of modelling joint and fault networks that can be imported to the flow simulator
If Donald Trump were Mexican, would he still be Donald Trump? The problem of identity in counterfactuals and a dispositionalist solution
The study of counterfactuals has produced some well-known problems concerning identity. I focus on two of them. I suggest that a dispositionalist account of counterfactuals, not involving possible worlds but dispositions and potentiality, could solve both. First is the problem of identity across possible worlds, concerning the identification of individuals in various possible worlds. Dispositionalism can solve it: its aim is to explain counterfactuals in the actual world, without appealing to possible worlds. This would eliminate the problem because the individuals involved in counterfactuals would be in the actual world, without needing identification in other worlds. Second is the problem of what I call ‘property alteration’. In ‘if Donald Trump were Mexican, he wouldn’t be President of the USA’, denying Trump’s property of ‘being a US citizen’ could lead us to deny the identity between the Donald Trump we know and the Donald Trump of the counterfactual. Barbara Vetter’s version of dispositionalism can solve also this problem, introducing the concept of ‘potentiality’
Preliminary design of the Visible Spectro-Polarimeter for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope
The Visible Spectro-Polarimeter (ViSP) is one of the first light instruments
for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST). It is an echelle
spectrograph designed to measure three different regions of the solar spectrum
in three separate focal planes simultaneously between 380 and 900 nm. It will
use the polarimetric capabilities of the ATST to measure the full Stokes
parameters across the line profiles. By measuring the polarization in
magnetically sensitive spectral lines the magnetic field vector as a function
of height in the solar atmosphere can be obtained, along with the associated
variation of the thermodynamic properties. The ViSP will have a spatial
resolution of 0.04 arcsec over a 2 arcmin field of view (at 600 nm). The
minimum spectral resolving power for all the focal planes is 180,000. The
spectrograph supports up to 4 diffraction gratings and is fully automated to
allow for rapid reconfiguration.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, proceedings of SPIE Astronomical Telescopes +
Instrumentation 2012 Conference 8446 (1-5 July 2012
Optimizing the computation of overriding
We introduce optimization techniques for reasoning in DLN---a recently
introduced family of nonmonotonic description logics whose characterizing
features appear well-suited to model the applicative examples naturally arising
in biomedical domains and semantic web access control policies. Such
optimizations are validated experimentally on large KBs with more than 30K
axioms. Speedups exceed 1 order of magnitude. For the first time, response
times compatible with real-time reasoning are obtained with nonmonotonic KBs of
this size
Positivity, entanglement entropy, and minimal surfaces
The path integral representation for the Renyi entanglement entropies of
integer index n implies these information measures define operator correlation
functions in QFT. We analyze whether the limit , corresponding
to the entanglement entropy, can also be represented in terms of a path
integral with insertions on the region's boundary, at first order in .
This conjecture has been used in the literature in several occasions, and
specially in an attempt to prove the Ryu-Takayanagi holographic entanglement
entropy formula. We show it leads to conditional positivity of the entropy
correlation matrices, which is equivalent to an infinite series of polynomial
inequalities for the entropies in QFT or the areas of minimal surfaces
representing the entanglement entropy in the AdS-CFT context. We check these
inequalities in several examples. No counterexample is found in the few known
exact results for the entanglement entropy in QFT. The inequalities are also
remarkable satisfied for several classes of minimal surfaces but we find
counterexamples corresponding to more complicated geometries. We develop some
analytic tools to test the inequalities, and as a byproduct, we show that
positivity for the correlation functions is a local property when supplemented
with analyticity. We also review general aspects of positivity for large N
theories and Wilson loops in AdS-CFT.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures. Changes in presentation and discussion of
Wilson loops. Conclusions regarding entanglement entropy unchange
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