Automated probabilistic classification of transients and variables

There is an increasing number of large, digital, synoptic sky surveys, in which repeated observations are obtained over large areas of the sky in multiple epochs. Likewise, there is a growth in the number of (often automated or robotic) follow‐up facilities with varied capabilities in terms of instruments, depth, cadence, wavelengths, etc., most of which are geared toward some specific astrophysical phenomenon. As the number of detected transient events grows, an automated, probabilistic classification of the detected variables and transients becomes increasingly important, so that an optimal use can be made of follow‐up facilities, without unnecessary duplication of effort. We describe a methodology now under development for a prototype event classification system; it involves Bayesian and Machine Learning classifiers, automated incorporation of feedback from follow‐up observations, and discriminated or directed follow‐up requests. This type of methodology may be essential for the massive synoptic sky surveys in the future. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Detection and temporal coherence of p‐modes below 1.4 mHz

Data collected recently by the helioseismic experiments aboard the SOHO spacecraft have allowed the detection of low degree p‐modes with increasingly lower order n. In particular, the GOLF experiment is currently able to unambiguously identify low degree modes with frequencies as low as 1.3 mHz. The detection of p‐modes with very low frequency (i.e., low n), is difficult due to the low signal‐to‐noise ratio in this spectral region and its contamination by solar signals that are not of acoustic origin. To address this problem without using any theoretical a priory, we propose a methodology that relies only on the inversion of observed values to define a spectral window for the expected locations of these low frequency modes. The application of this method to 2920‐day‐long GOLF observations is presented and its results discussed. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Wavelet analysis of non-Gaussian anisotropies from primordial voids in simulated maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Phase transitions taking place during the inflationary epoch give rise to bubbles of true vacuum embedded in the false vacuum. These bubbles can imprint a distinctive signal on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We evaluate the feasibility of detecting these signatures with wavelets in CMB maps, such as those that will be made available by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Planck mission.     

Solar Type III Bursts and the Generation of Backward Langmuir Wave

It is generally believed that the conversion of Langmuir wave (LW) to electromagnetic wave is the generating mechanism of solar type III bursts. The Langmuir wave can be easily excited by the instability of the electron-beam current, and the interaction of the forward and backward Langmuir waves is considered to be the cause for the second harmonic of a type III burst, but, so far, the dispersion equation and generating mechanism of the backward Langmuir wave have not yet been thoroughly studied. For the equation of two-stream instability with temperature included, an analytical solution is derived. It is found that the dispersion relation of the forward LW strongly depends on the beam-current speed, while that of the backward LW depends only on the thermal velocity, when the other parameters are fixed. These analytical results are partially confirmed by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. With the PIC simulation, the generating mechanism of the backward LW is studied, and it is revealed that the backward LW can not be excited directly by the electron-beam current, and that its energy is obtained basically from the scattering of the forward LW. However, the electron-beam current does cause a direct amplification of the second harmonic of the forward LW.     

On the Systematic Errors in the Astrometric Catalogues ACR and CMC13 Based on CCD Drift Scanning Observations

Error analyses are made of ACR (Astrometric Calibration Regions along the celestial equator) and CMC13 (Carlsberg Meridian Catalogue 13), two astrometric catalogues compiled on the basis of CCD drift scanning observations and published respectively before and after 2000. Through a comparison with the UCAC2 (the second U.S. Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalogue), the form and size of the errors are analyzed numerically. The main and possible sources of the errors are analyzed from the standpoint of observing mode and data reduction. It is found that there is evident magnitude difference between the ACR and CMC13 in the equatorial direction, and that there exists periodic variation close to the CCD field of view along the right ascension and also a systematic variation close to the size of reduction zone along the declination.     

Nonlinear evolution of Tayler unstable equilibrium states

We investigate the nonlinear evolution of Tayler unstable toroidal fields in a disk geometry, by numerical simulations. We consider non‐rotating and rigid rotating disks, with different radial field profiles. The initial configuration is in equilibrium, which is achieved by a pressure gradient or an external potential force. The nonlinear evolution of the system leads to a stable equilibrium with a current free toroidal field. Only for the fast rotating case we could preserve a ring type structure of the toroidal field. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

An unusual timing and spectral state of a black hole microquasar XTE J1550-564

An unusual timing and spectral state of a black hole microquasar XTE J1550-564 observed with RXTE is analyzed. Millisecond variabilities are found, which are significantly shorter than the minimum possible time scale in the light curves of black hole binaries, as suggested by Sunyaev & Revnivtsev (2000). The X-ray spectral fitting result indicates that there is an unusual soft component in the spectrum, which may be responsible for the millisecond variabilities. The millisecond variabilities as well as the unusual soft spectral component should be produced from some small, but independent active regions in the accretion disk.     

Non-Gaussian distribution and clustering of hot and cold pixels in the five-year WMAP sky

We present measurements of the clustering of hot and cold patches in the microwave background sky as measured from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-year data. These measurements are compared with theoretical predictions which assume that the cosmological signal obeys Gaussian statistics. We find significant differences from the simplest Gaussian-based prediction. However, the measurements are sensitive to the fact that the noise is spatially inhomogeneous (e.g. because different parts of the sky were observed for different lengths of time). We show how to account for this spatial inhomogeneity when making predictions. Differences from the Gaussian-based expectation remain even after this more careful accounting of the noise. In particular, we note that hot and cold pixels cluster differently within the same temperature thresholds at few-degree scales. While these findings may indicate primordial non-Gaussianity, we discuss other plausible explanations for these discrepancies. In addition, we find some deviations from Gaussianity at sub-degree scales, especially in the W band, whose origin may be associated with extragalactic dust emission.     

船体可靠性评估

为了研究不同结构船体的寿命和使用时可靠度的关系,提出了一种基于试验的可靠度估计方法.针对不同结构船体寿命服从Weibull分布,在无失效数据情形下、置信度至少为γ和寿命为t时,根据船体寿命试验数据,给出了可靠度的单侧置信下限.该方法是在Weibull分布形状参数下限已知的情况下,能将所有的无失效寿命数据进行累加,大大提高了可靠性分析的精度.最后,对钢结构、钛合金结构、铝合金结构的船体,在寿命为t月、置信度至少为γ时,计算了3种结构船体的可靠度单侧置信下限.结果表明该方法易于计算,便于工程应用.