Fast Mojette Transform for Discrete Tomography

A new algorithm for reconstructing a two dimensional object from a set of one dimensional projected views is presented that is both computationally exact and experimentally practical. The algorithm has a computational complexity of O(n log2 n) with n = N^2 for an NxN image, is robust in the presence of noise and produces no artefacts in the reconstruction process, as is the case with conventional tomographic methods. The reconstruction process is approximation free because the object is assumed to be discrete and utilizes fully discrete Radon transforms. Noise in the projection data can be suppressed further by introducing redundancy in the reconstruction. The number of projections required for exact reconstruction and the response to noise can be controlled without comprising the digital nature of the algorithm. The digital projections are those of the Mojette Transform, a form of discrete linogram. A simple analytical mapping is developed that compacts these projections exactly into symmetric periodic slices within the Discrete Fourier Transform. A new digital angle set is constructed that allows the periodic slices to completely fill all of the objects Discrete Fourier space. Techniques are proposed to acquire these digital projections experimentally to enable fast and robust two dimensional reconstructions.Comment: 22 pages, 13 figures, Submitted to Elsevier Signal Processin

The determinant of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map for surfaces with boundary

For any orientable compact surface with boundary, we compute the regularized determinant of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DN) map in terms of particular values of dynamical zeta functions by using natural uniformizations, one due to Mazzeo-Taylor, the other to Osgood-Phillips-Sarnak. We also relate in any dimension the DN map for the Yamabe operator to the scattering operator for a conformally compact related problem by using uniformization.Comment: 16 page

On the asymptotics of Morse numbers of finite covers of manifolds

Let M be a closed connected manifold. Let m(M) be the Morse number of M, that is, the minimal number of critical points of a Morse function on M. Let N be a finite cover of M of degree d. M.Gromov posed the following question: what are the asymptotic properties of m(N) as d goes to infinity? In this paper we study the case of high dimensional manifolds M with free abelian fundamental group. Let x be a non-zero element of H^1(M), let M(x) be the infinite cyclic cover corresponding to x, and t be a generator of the structure group of this cover. Set M(x,k)=M(x)/t^k. We prove that the sequence m(M(x,k))/k converges as k goes to infinity. For x outside of a finite union of hyperplanes in H^1(M) we obtain the asymptotics of m(M(x,k)) as k goes to infinity, in terms of homotopy invariants of M related to Novikov homology of M.Comment: Amslatex file, 13 pages. To be published in "Topology

Thermal Dileptons at LHC

We predict dilepton invariant-mass spectra for central 5.5 ATeV Pb-Pb collisions at LHC. Hadronic emission in the low-mass region is calculated using in-medium spectral functions of light vector mesons within hadronic many-body theory. In the intermediate-mass region thermal radiation from the Quark-Gluon Plasma, evaluated perturbatively with hard-thermal loop corrections, takes over. An important source over the entire mass range are decays of correlated open-charm hadrons, rendering the nuclear modification of charm and bottom spectra a critical ingredient.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, contributed to Workshop on Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC: Last Call for Predictions, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 May - 8 Jun 2007 v2: acknowledgment include

Localisable moving average stable and multistable processes

We study a particular class of moving average processes which possess a property called localisability. This means that, at any given point, they admit a ``tangent process'', in a suitable sense. We give general conditions on the kernel g defining the moving average which ensures that the process is localisable and we characterize the nature of the associated tangent processes. Examples include the reverse Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process and the multistable reverse Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. In the latter case, the tangent process is, at each time t, a L\'evy stable motion with stability index possibly varying with t. We also consider the problem of path synthesis, for which we give both theoretical results and numerical simulations

Quadratic functions on torsion groups

We investigate classification results for general quadratic functions on torsion abelian groups. Unlike the previously studied situations, general quadratic functions are allowed to be inhomogeneous or degenerate. We study the discriminant construction which assigns, to an integral lattice with a distinguished characteristic form, a quadratic function on a torsion group. When the associated symmetric bilinear pairing is fixed, we construct an affine embedding of a quotient of the set of characteristic forms into the set of all quadratic functions and determine explicitly its cokernel. We determine a suitable class of torsion groups so that quadratic functions defined on them are classified by the stable class of their lift. This refines results due to A.H. Durfee, V. Nikulin, C.T.C. Wall and E. Looijenga -- J. Wahl. Finally, we show that on this class of torsion groups, two quadratic functions are isomorphic if and only if they have equal associated Gauss sums and there is an isomorphism between the associated symmetric bilinear pairings which preserves the "homogeneity defects". This generalizes a classical result due to V. Nikulin. Our results are elementary in nature and motivated by low-dimensional topology.Comment: 15 pages; a few minor modifications (improved writing, lengthened abstract