The Evolution of Post-Starburst Galaxies from z∼1z\sim1 to the Present

Post-starburst galaxies are in the transitional stage between blue, star-forming galaxies and red, quiescent galaxies, and therefore hold important clues for our understanding of galaxy evolution. In this paper, we systematically searched for and identified a large sample of post-starburst galaxies from the spectroscopic dataset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 9. In total, we found more than 6000 objects with redshifts between $z\sim0.05$ and $z\sim1.3$, making this the largest sample of post-starburst galaxies in the literature. We calculated the luminosity function of the post-starburst galaxies using two uniformly selected subsamples: the SDSS Main Galaxy Sample and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey CMASS Sample. The luminosity functions are reasonably fit by half-Gaussian functions. The peak magnitudes shift as a function of redshift from $M\sim-23.5$ at $z\sim0.8$ to $M\sim-20.3$ at $z\sim0.1$. This is consistent with the downsizing trend, whereby more massive galaxies form earlier than low-mass galaxies. We compared the mass of the post-starburst stellar population found in our sample to the decline of the global star-formation rate and found that only a small amount ($\sim1\%$) of all star-formation quenching in the redshift range $z=0.2-0.7$ results in post-starburst galaxies in the luminosity range our sample is sensitive to. Therefore, luminous post-starburst galaxies are not the place where most of the decline in star-formation rate of the universe is happening.Comment: 26 pages, 24 figures, 8 tables. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Bullous hemorrhagic lichen sclerosus of the breast: a report of two cases and review of the literature

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic dermatologic condition characterized by atrophic porcelain-appearing plaques that can cause intense discomfort and eventually lead to destruction of local architecture. Lichen sclerosus most commonly arises in the anogenital area, but up to 20% of cases can present on extragenital skin. Rarely, LS can also present with hemorrhage and bullae; the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. We report two cases of bullous hemorrhagic LS of the breast arising in 66-year-old and 77-year-old women. Bullous hemorrhagic LS of the breast is exceedingly rare, with few reported cases, and presents a diagnostic challenge to clinicians

Supernova enrichment and dynamical histories of solar-type stars in clusters

We use N-body simulations of star cluster evolution to explore the hypothesis that short-lived radioactive isotopes found in meteorites, such as 26-Al, were delivered to the Sun's protoplanetary disc from a supernova at the epoch of Solar System formation. We cover a range of star cluster formation parameter space and model both clusters with primordial substructure, and those with smooth profiles. We also adopt different initial virial ratios - from cool, collapsing clusters to warm, expanding associations. In each cluster we place the same stellar population; the clusters each have 2100 stars, and contain one massive 25M_Sun star which is expected to explode as a supernova at about 6.6Myr. We determine the number of Solar (G)-type stars that are within 0.1 - 0.3pc of the 25M_Sun star at the time of the supernova, which is the distance required to enrich the protoplanetary disc with the 26-Al abundances found in meteorites. We then determine how many of these G-dwarfs are unperturbed `singletons'; stars which are never in close binaries, nor suffer sub-100au encounters, and which also do not suffer strong dynamical perturbations. The evolution of a suite of twenty initially identical clusters is highly stochastic, with the supernova enriching over 10 G-dwarfs in some clusters, and none at all in others. Typically only ~25 per cent of clusters contain enriched, unperturbed singletons, and usually only 1 - 2 per cluster (from a total of 96 G-dwarfs in each cluster). The initial conditions for star formation do not strongly affect the results, although a higher fraction of supervirial (expanding) clusters would contain enriched G-dwarfs if the supernova occurred earlier than 6.6Myr. If we sum together simulations with identical initial conditions, then ~1 per cent of all G-dwarfs in our simulations are enriched, unperturbed singletons.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Learning object boundary detection from motion data

A significant barrier to applying the techniques of machine learning to the domain of object boundary detection is the need to obtain a large database of correctly labeled examples. Inspired by developmental psychology, this paper proposes that boundary detection can be learned from the output of a motion tracking algorithm that separates moving objects from their static surroundings. Motion segmentation solves the database problem by providing cheap, unlimited, labeled training data. A probabilistic model of the textural and shape properties of object boundaries can be trained from this data and then used to efficiently detect boundaries in novel images via loopy belief propagation.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

On the Calculation of the Exponential Bound Parameter for Phase Quantized 8-PSK

The exponential bound parameter is numerically evaluated for 16-zone quantized 8-PSK for signal vectors bisecting decision regions and for signal vectors lying on decision boundaries. For decision regions of equal span, signal vectors lying on decision boundaries are superior, confirming the result of Parsons and Wilson (1990). Signal vectors bisecting decision regions are superior if span of decision regions not containing signal vectors is optimized. Using the partial derivative, it is shown that the optimal configuration depends on SNR. Furthermore, the optimal configuration is not necessarily one in which the decision boundaries are straight lines

Quantization of Signals and Metrics in the Decoding of 8-PSK TCM

The performance of rate 2/3 8-PSK Trellis Coded Modulation was investigated as a function of the numerical resolution of the metrics and signal vectors used in decoding by the Viterbi algorithm. It was found that a 16 state Ungerboeck code using 5 bit I and Q with 7 bit metrics achieved roughly the same performance as pragmatic TCM. The findings were applied to the digital logic design of a TCM decoder

On the Performance of Trellis Coded Modulation in a Concatenated Reed-Bolomon System

Concatenated systems combining the error correcting power of trellis codes and Reed-Solomon (RS) codes have been used to achieve error rates between 10-10 and 10-20 on satelite communications links [l]. The need for spectral efficiency has motivated consideration of of non-binary signalling with Ungerboeck [2,3] codes or the Pragmatic standard recently proposed by Viterbi [4], in place of quaternary signalling with rate 1/2 coding. In this paper we investigates the use of 8-PSK trellis-coded modulation (TCM) in a concatenated system using a (255,233) RS code. The use of the 8-PSK codes doubles the spectral efficiency with a performance cost of approximately 2 dB

Developing a Data-Driven Classification of South Florida Plant Communities

A comprehensive, broadly accepted vegetation classification is important for ecosystem management, particularly for planning and monitoring. South Florida vegetation classification systems that are currently in use were largely arrived at subjectively and intuitively with the involvement of experienced botanical observers and ecologists, but with little support in terms of quantitative field data. The need to develop a field data-driven classification of South Florida vegetation that builds on the ecological organization has been recognized by the National Park Service and vegetation practitioners in the region. The present work, funded by the National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program - South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN), covers the first stage of a larger project whose goal is to apply extant vegetation data to test, and revise as necessary, an existing, widely used classification (Rutchey et al. 2006). The objectives of the first phase of the project were (1) to identify useful existing datasets, (2) to collect these data and compile them into a geodatabase, (3) to conduct an initial classification analysis of marsh sites, and (4) to design a strategy for augmenting existing information from poorly represented landscapes in order to develop a more comprehensive south Florida classification