143 GHz BRIGHTNESS MEASUREMENTS OF URANUS, NEPTUNE, AND OTHER SECONDARY CALIBRATORS WITH BOLOCAM BETWEEN 2003 AND 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayers, J.; Czakon, N. G.; Golwala, S. R.

2012-01-01

Bolocam began collecting science data in 2003 as the long-wavelength imaging camera at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. The planets, along with a handful of secondary calibrators, have been used to determine the flux calibration for all of the data collected with Bolocam. Uranus and Neptune stand out as the only two planets that are bright enough to be seen with high signal-to-noise in short integrations without saturating the standard Bolocam readout electronics. By analyzing all of the 143 GHz observations made with Bolocam between 2003 and 2010, we find that the brightness ratio of Uranus to Neptune is 1.027 ± 0.006, with no evidence for any variations over that period. Including previously published results at ≅ 150 GHz, we find a brightness ratio of 1.029 ± 0.006 with no evidence for time variability over the period 1983-2010. Additionally, we find no evidence for time variability in the brightness ratio of either Uranus or Neptune to the ultracompact H II region G34.3 or the protostellar source NGC 2071IR. Using recently published Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe results we constrain the absolute 143 GHz brightness of both Uranus and Neptune to ≅ 3%. Finally, we present ≅ 3% absolute 143 GHz peak flux density values for the ultracompact H II regions G34.3 and K3-50A and the protostellar source NGC 2071IR.

Extracting Galaxy Cluster Gas Inhomogeneity from X-Ray Surface Brightness: A Statistical Approach and Application to Abell 3667

Science.gov (United States)

Kawahara, Hajime; Reese, Erik D.; Kitayama, Tetsu; Sasaki, Shin; Suto, Yasushi

2008-11-01

Our previous analysis indicates that small-scale fluctuations in the intracluster medium (ICM) from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations follow the lognormal probability density function. In order to test the lognormal nature of the ICM directly against X-ray observations of galaxy clusters, we develop a method of extracting statistical information about the three-dimensional properties of the fluctuations from the two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness. We first create a set of synthetic clusters with lognormal fluctuations around their mean profile given by spherical isothermal β-models, later considering polytropic temperature profiles as well. Performing mock observations of these synthetic clusters, we find that the resulting X-ray surface brightness fluctuations also follow the lognormal distribution fairly well. Systematic analysis of the synthetic clusters provides an empirical relation between the three-dimensional density fluctuations and the two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness. We analyze Chandra observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 3667, and find that its X-ray surface brightness fluctuations follow the lognormal distribution. While the lognormal model was originally motivated by cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, this is the first observational confirmation of the lognormal signature in a real cluster. Finally we check the synthetic cluster results against clusters from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. As a result of the complex structure exhibited by simulated clusters, the empirical relation between the two- and three-dimensional fluctuation properties calibrated with synthetic clusters when applied to simulated clusters shows large scatter. Nevertheless we are able to reproduce the true value of the fluctuation amplitude of simulated clusters within a factor of 2 from their two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness alone. Our current methodology combined with existing observational data is useful in describing and inferring the

Bright galaxies in the Fornax cluster. Automated galaxy surface photometry: Pt. 7

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Disney, M.J.; Phillipps, S.; Davies, J.L.; Cawson, M.G.M.; Kibblewhite, E.J.

1990-01-01

We have determined surface-brightness profiles for all galaxies down to magnitude B = 16 in the central region of the Fornax cluster. Using existing redshift data, we have determined the distributions of surface brightness for both the whole sample and for cluster disc galaxies only. Although both distributions peak at extrapolated central surface brightness ∼ 21.7B mag/arcsec 2 (the canonical result), it is shown that they are, in fact, consistent with very broad distributions of disc central surface brightness once selection effects and the effects of bulge contamination of the profile are taken into account. (author)

Soil hydraulic parameters and surface soil moisture of a tilled bare soil plot inversely derived from l-band brightness temperatures

KAUST Repository

Dimitrov, Marin

2014-01-01

We coupled a radiative transfer model and a soil hydrologic model (HYDRUS 1D) with an optimization routine to derive soil hydraulic parameters, surface roughness, and soil moisture of a tilled bare soil plot using measured brightness temperatures at 1.4 GHz (L-band), rainfall, and potential soil evaporation. The robustness of the approach was evaluated using five 28-d data sets representing different meteorological conditions. We considered two soil hydraulic property models: the unimodal Mualem-van Genuchten and the bimodal model of Durner. Microwave radiative transfer was modeled by three different approaches: the Fresnel equation with depth-averaged dielectric permittivity of either 2-or 5-cm-thick surface layers and a coherent radiative transfer model (CRTM) that accounts for vertical gradients in dielectric permittivity. Brightness temperatures simulated by the CRTM and the 2-cm-layer Fresnel model fitted well to the measured ones. L-band brightness temperatures are therefore related to the dielectric permittivity and soil moisture in a 2-cm-thick surface layer. The surface roughness parameter that was derived from brightness temperatures using inverse modeling was similar to direct estimates from laser profiler measurements. The laboratory-derived water retention curve was bimodal and could be retrieved consistently for the different periods from brightness temperatures using inverse modeling. A unimodal soil hydraulic property function underestimated the hydraulic conductivity near saturation. Surface soil moisture contents simulated using retrieved soil hydraulic parameters were compared with in situ measurements. Depth-specific calibration relations were essential to derive soil moisture from near-surface installed sensors. © Soil Science Society of America 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA.

Low-Surface-Brightness Galaxies: Hidden Galaxies Revealed

Science.gov (United States)

Bothun, G.; Impey, C.; McGaugh, S.

1997-07-01

In twenty years, low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies have evolved from being an idiosyncratic notion to being one of the major baryonic repositories in the Universe. The story of their discovery and the characterization of their properties is told here. Their recovery from the noise of the night sky background is a strong testament to the severity of surface brightness selection effects. LSB galaxies have a number of remarkable properties which distinguish them from the more familiar Hubble Sequence of spirals. The two most important are 1) they evolve at a significantly slower rate and may well experience star formation outside of the molecular cloud environment, 2) they are embedded in dark matter halos which are of lower density and more extended than the halos around high surface brightness (HSB) disk galaxies. Compared to HSB disks, LSB disks are strongly dark matter dominated at all radii and show a systematic increase in $M/L$ with decreasing central surface brightness. In addition, the recognition that large numbers of LSB galaxies actually exist has changed the form of the galaxy luminosity function and has clearly increased the space density of galaxies at z =0. Recent CCD surveys have uncovered a population of red LSB disks that may be related to the excess of faint blue galaxies detected at moderate redshifts. LSB galaxies offer us a new window into galaxy evolution and formation which is every bit as important as those processes which have produced easy to detect galaxies. Indeed, the apparent youth of some LSB galaxies suggest that galaxy formation is a greatly extended process. While the discovery of LSB galaxies have lead to new insights, it remains unwise to presume that we now have a representative sample which encompasses all galaxy types and forms. (SECTION: Invited Review Paper)

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Intersatellite Calibrated Clear-Sky HIRS Channel 12 Brightness Temperature, Version 2.6 (Superseded)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Inter-Satellite Calibrated Clear-Sky High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) Channel 12 brightness temperatures...

Low surface brightness galaxies in the cluster A1367

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, J.I.; Phillipps, S.; Disney, M.J.

1989-01-01

We have obtained deep CCD frames of apparently blank regions of sky in the hope of detecting very low surface brightness (LSB) objects in the cluster A1367. We discuss our data reduction, and image detection and selection techniques. If the galaxies detected are actually cluster members then they are dwarfs and the conclusions of a previous paper on the Fornax cluster are essentially confirmed. One area of variance is that the lowest surface brightness galaxies do not appear to be preferentially concentrated towards the cluster centre. This can be explained by there being a much larger density of dwarf galaxies over this bright galaxy-rich region of the universe. We find over our small area approximately four times as many LSB galaxies as would be expected from our Fornax data. We speculate on the possible origin and likely intensity of intergalactic light within clusters. (author)

Some problems in calibrating surface contamination meters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zigen; LI Xingyuan; Shuai Xiaoping.

1984-01-01

It is necessary that instruments are calibrated accurately in order to obtain reliable survey data of surface contamination. Some problems in calibrating surface contamination meters are expounded in this paper. Measurement comparison for beta surface contamination meters is organized within limited scope, thus survey quality is understood, questions are discovered, significance of calibration is expounded further. (Author)

Observation of near-infrared surface brightness of the large Magellanic cloud

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayakawa, Satio; Koizumi, Yutaka; Matsumoto, Toshio; Murakami, Hiroshi; Uyama, Kiichiro.

1981-01-01

The near-infrared surface brightness of the large Magellanic cloud was observed by an infrared telescope carried by a balloon. The balloon flight was made at Australian Balloon Launching Station. The brightness distribution of 2.4 Mu m radiation was obtained. A part of Bar was bright, and the expansion of the contour at the east end of Bar corresponded to the 30 Dor region. Many near-infrared sources distribute in this region. Discussions on the color and brightness of the center of Bar and the 30 Dor region are presented. (Kato, T.)

Early Evaluation of the VIIRS Calibration, Cloud Mask and Surface Reflectance Earth Data Records

Science.gov (United States)

Vermote, Eric; Justice, Chris; Csiszar, Ivan

2014-01-01

Surface reflectance is one of the key products fromVIIRS and as withMODIS, is used in developing several higherorder land products. The VIIRS Surface Reflectance (SR) Intermediate Product (IP) is based on the heritageMODIS Collection 5 product (Vermote, El Saleous, & Justice, 2002). The quality and character of surface reflectance depend on the accuracy of the VIIRS Cloud Mask (VCM), the aerosol algorithms and the adequate calibration of the sensor. The focus of this paper is the early evaluation of the VIIRS SR product in the context of the maturity of the operational processing system, the Interface Data Processing System (IDPS). After a brief introduction, the paper presents the calibration performance and the role of the surface reflectance in calibration monitoring. The analysis of the performance of the cloud mask with a focus on vegetation monitoring (no snow conditions) shows typical problems over bright surfaces and high elevation sites. Also discussed is the performance of the aerosol input used in the atmospheric correction and in particular the artifacts generated by the use of the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System. Early quantitative results of the performance of the SR product over the AERONET sites showthatwith the fewadjustments recommended, the accuracy iswithin the threshold specifications. The analysis of the adequacy of the SR product (Land PEATE adjusted version) in applications of societal benefits is then presented. We conclude with a set of recommendations to ensure consistency and continuity of the JPSS mission with the MODIS Land Climate Data Record.

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Intersatellite Calibrated Clear-Sky High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) Channel 12 Brightness Temperature Version 3

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) of intersatellite calibrated channel 12 brightness temperature (TB) product is a gridded global monthly time...

Soil Moisture Active/Passive (SMAP) Radiometer Subband Calibration and Calibration Drift

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jinzheng; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; De Amici, Giovanni; Mohammed, Priscilla

2016-01-01

The SMAP is one of four first-tier missions recommended by the US National Research Council's Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space (Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, Space Studies Board, National Academies Press, 2007)]. The observatory was launched on Jan 31, 2015. The goal of the SMAP is to measure the global soil moisture and freeze/thaw from space. The L-band radiometer is the passive portion of the spaceborne instrument. It measures all four Stokes antenna temperatures and outputs counts. The Level 1B Brightness Temperature (L1B_TB) science algorithm converts radiometer counts to the Earths surface brightness temperature. The results are reported in the radiometer level 1B data product together with the calibrated antenna temperature (TA) and all of the corrections to the unwanted sources contribution. The calibrated L1B data product are required to satisfy the overall radiometer error budget of 1.3 K needed to meet the soil moisture requirement of 0.04 volumetric fraction uncertainty and the calibration drift requirement of no larger than 0.4 K per month.

Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Radiometer Subband Calibration and Calibration Drift

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jinzheng; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; De Amici, Giovanni; Mohammed, Priscilla N.

2016-01-01

The SMAP is one of four first-tier missions recommended by the US National Research Council's Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space (Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond, Space Studies Board, National Academies Press, 2007). The observatory was launched on Jan 31, 2015. The goal of the SMAP is to measure the global soil moisture and freeze/thaw from space. The L-band radiometer is the passive portion of the spaceborne instrument. It measures all four Stokes antenna temperatures and outputs counts. The Level 1B Brightness Temperature (L1B_TB) science algorithm converts radiometer counts to the Earths surface brightness temperature. The results are reported in the radiometer level 1B data product together with the calibrated antenna temperature (TA) and all of the corrections to the unwanted sources contribution. The calibrated L1B data product are required to satisfy the overall radiometer error budget of 1.3 K needed to meet the soil moisture requirement of 0.04 volumetric fraction uncertainty and the calibration drift requirement of no larger than 0.4 K per month.

Stellar populations of bulges in galaxies with a low surface-brightness disc

Science.gov (United States)

Morelli, L.; Corsini, E. M.; Pizzella, A.; Dalla Bontà, E.; Coccato, L.; Méndez-Abreu, J.

2015-03-01

The radial profiles of the Hβ, Mg, and Fe line-strength indices are presented for a sample of eight spiral galaxies with a low surface-brightness stellar disc and a bulge. The correlations between the central values of the line-strength indices and velocity dispersion are consistent to those known for early-type galaxies and bulges of high surface-brightness galaxies. The age, metallicity, and α/Fe enhancement of the stellar populations in the bulge-dominated region are obtained using stellar population models with variable element abundance ratios. Almost all the sample bulges are characterized by a young stellar population, on-going star formation, and a solar α/Fe enhancement. Their metallicity spans from high to sub-solar values. No significant gradient in age and α/Fe enhancement is measured, whereas only in a few cases a negative metallicity gradient is found. These properties suggest that a pure dissipative collapse is not able to explain formation of all the sample bulges and that other phenomena, like mergers or acquisition events, need to be invoked. Such a picture is also supported by the lack of a correlation between the central value and gradient of the metallicity in bulges with very low metallicity. The stellar populations of the bulges hosted by low surface-brightness discs share many properties with those of high surface-brightness galaxies. Therefore, they are likely to have common formation scenarios and evolution histories. A strong interplay between bulges and discs is ruled out by the fact that in spite of being hosted by discs with extremely different properties, the bulges of low and high surface-brightness discs are remarkably similar.

Distribution of surface brightness in Seyfert galaxies. III. Analysis of data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afanas'ev, V.L.; Doroshenko, V.T.; Terebizh, V.Yu.

1987-01-01

The observational data on the distribution of the surface brightness μ(r) in normal and Seyfert galaxies given in the first two parts of the study [1,2] are considered. The general form of μ(r) for r ≤ approximately equals 2 kpc is the same for the two groups of galaxies. The values of the parameters that characterize the central part of the spherical component are found, namely, the surface brightness μ 1 /sup (0)/, the brightness, the brightness gradient n 1 , and the color indices (U-B) 1 /sup (0)/ and (B-V) 1 /sup (0)/ at distance 1 kpc from the center. The range of variation of the basic parameters and the correlations of the parameters with each other and with the absolute magnitudes M/sub B//sup (0)/ of the galaxies find a natural explanation in the framework of the standard models of the spherical subsystems of galaxies. The relationships have approximately the same form for normal and Seyfert galaxies. The photometric characteristics of the central regions of Sy 1 and Sy 2 type galaxies are similar. The obtained results do not contradict the idea that all sufficiently bright spiral galaxies can pass through a Seyfert stage with a characteristic time of ∼10 8 yr

The morphology and surface brightness of extragalactic jets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bicknell, G.V.

1983-01-01

The problems associated with laminar flow models are reviewed, and an analogy between laboratory jets and astrophysical jets is given. The relationship between surface brightness and the jet full width half maximum is not in general as predicted by simple magnetohydrodynamic models. An alternative turbulent model is presented

Calibration of alpha surface contamination monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, I.S.M. de; Goncalez, O.L.

1990-01-01

In this work, the results, as well as the methodology, of the calibration of an alpha surface contamination monitor are presented. The calibration factors are obtained by least-squares fitting with effective variance. (author)

The visibility of galaxies as a function of central surface brightness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Disney, M.; Phillipps, S.

1983-01-01

The likelihood of a galaxy with given intrinsic profile appearing in a photograph catalogue with limiting criteria on apparent magnitude and angular size will depend on the maximum distance at which such a galaxy can lie and still obey both criteria. It is demonstrated that the corresponding volume in which the galaxy will be visible is a sensitive function of the galaxy's central surface brightness as well as its absolute magnitude. Before the observed concentrations around preferred values of surface brightness can be regarded as real, it will be necessary to make allowance for this selection effect. (author)

The Improved NRL Tropical Cyclone Monitoring System with a Unified Microwave Brightness Temperature Calibration Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Song Yang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The near real-time NRL global tropical cyclone (TC monitoring system based on multiple satellite passive microwave (PMW sensors is improved with a new inter-sensor calibration scheme to correct the biases caused by differences in these sensor’s high frequency channels. Since the PMW sensor 89 GHz channel is used in multiple current and near future operational and research satellites, a unified scheme to calibrate all satellite PMW sensor’s ice scattering channels to a common 89 GHz is created so that their brightness temperatures (TBs will be consistent and permit more accurate manual and automated analyses. In order to develop a physically consistent calibration scheme, cloud resolving model simulations of a squall line system over the west Pacific coast and hurricane Bonnie in the Atlantic Ocean are applied to simulate the views from different PMW sensors. To clarify the complicated TB biases due to the competing nature of scattering and emission effects, a four-cloud based calibration scheme is developed (rain, non-rain, light rain, and cloudy. This new physically consistent inter-sensor calibration scheme is then evaluated with the synthetic TBs of hurricane Bonnie and a squall line as well as observed TCs. Results demonstrate the large TB biases up to 13 K for heavy rain situations before calibration between TMI and AMSR-E are reduced to less than 3 K after calibration. The comparison stats show that the overall bias and RMSE are reduced by 74% and 66% for hurricane Bonnie, and 98% and 85% for squall lines, respectively. For the observed hurricane Igor, the bias and RMSE decrease 41% and 25% respectively. This study demonstrates the importance of TB calibrations between PMW sensors in order to systematically monitor the global TC life cycles in terms of intensity, inner core structure and convective organization. A physics-based calibration scheme on TC’s TB corrections developed in this study is able to significantly reduce the

Illuminating Low Surface Brightness Galaxies with the Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Greco, Johnny P.; Greene, Jenny E.; Strauss, Michael A.; Macarthur, Lauren A.; Flowers, Xzavier; Goulding, Andy D.; Huang, Song; Kim, Ji Hoon; Komiyama, Yutaka; Leauthaud, Alexie; Leisman, Lukas; Lupton, Robert H.; Sifón, Cristóbal; Wang, Shiang-Yu

2018-04-01

We present a catalog of extended low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) identified in the Wide layer of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP). Using the first ∼200 deg2 of the survey, we have uncovered 781 LSBGs, spanning red (g ‑ i ≥ 0.64) and blue (g ‑ i r eff = 2.″5–14″), our sample is likely dominated by low-redshift objects. We define LSBGs to have mean surface brightnesses {\\bar{μ }}eff}(g)> 24.3 mag arcsec‑2, which allows nucleated galaxies into our sample. As a result, the central surface brightness distribution spans a wide range of μ 0(g) = 18–27.4 mag arcsec‑2, with 50% and 95% of galaxies fainter than 24.3 and 22 mag arcsec‑2, respectively. Furthermore, the surface brightness distribution is a strong function of color, with the red distribution being much broader and generally fainter than that of the blue LSBGs, and this trend shows a clear correlation with galaxy morphology. Red LSBGs typically have smooth light profiles that are well characterized by single-component Sérsic functions. In contrast, blue LSBGs tend to have irregular morphologies and show evidence for ongoing star formation. We cross-match our sample with existing optical, H I, and ultraviolet catalogs to gain insight into the physical nature of the LSBGs. We find that our sample is diverse, ranging from dwarf spheroidals and ultradiffuse galaxies in nearby groups to gas-rich irregulars to giant LSB spirals, demonstrating the potential of the HSC-SSP to provide a truly unprecedented view of the LSBG population.

Unveiling the Low Surface Brightness Stellar Peripheries of Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Annette M. N.

2018-01-01

The low surface brightness peripheral regions of galaxies contain a gold mine of information about how minor mergers and accretions have influenced their evolution over cosmic time. Enormous stellar envelopes and copious amounts of faint tidal debris are natural outcomes of the hierarchical assembly process and the search for and study of these features, albeit highly challenging, offers the potential for unrivalled insight into the mechanisms of galaxy growth. Over the last two decades, there has been burgeoning interest in probing galaxy outskirts using resolved stellar populations. Wide-field surveys have uncovered vast tidal debris features and new populations of very remote globular clusters, while deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry has provided exquisite star formation histories back to the earliest epochs. I will highlight some recent results from studies within and beyond the Local Group and conclude by briefly discussing the great potential of future facilities, such as JWST, Euclid, LSST and WFIRST, for major breakthroughs in low surface brightness galaxy periphery science.

Sand Dune Ridge Alignment Effects on Surface BRF over the Libya-4 CEOS Calibration Site

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yves M. Govaerts

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The Libya-4 desert area, located in the Great Sand Sea, is one of the most important bright desert CEOS pseudo-invariant calibration sites by its size and radiometric stability. This site is intensively used for radiometer drift monitoring, sensor intercalibration and as an absolute calibration reference based on simulated radiances traceable to the SI standard. The Libya-4 morphology is composed of oriented sand dunes shaped by dominant winds. The effects of sand dune spatial organization on the surface bidirectional reflectance factor is analyzed in this paper using Raytran, a 3D radiative transfer model. The topography is characterized with the 30 m resolution ASTER digital elevation model. Four different regions-of-interest sizes, ranging from 10 km up to 100 km, are analyzed. Results show that sand dunes generate more backscattering than forward scattering at the surface. The mean surface reflectance averaged over different viewing and illumination angles is pretty much independent of the size of the selected area, though the standard deviation differs. Sun azimuth position has an effect on the surface reflectance field, which is more pronounced for high Sun zenith angles. Such 3D azimuthal effects should be taken into account to decrease the simulated radiance uncertainty over Libya-4 below 3% for wavelengths larger than 600 nm.

B and R CCD surface photometry of selected low surface brightness galaxies in the region of the Fornax cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, J.I.; Phillipps, S.; Disney, M.J.

1990-01-01

The recent discoveries of large numbers of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in clusters and of the extreme LSB giant galaxy Malin 1 are changing our view of the galactic contents of the Universe. In this paper we describe B and R band CCD photometry of a sample of LSB galaxies previously identified from photographic plates of the Fornax cluster. This sample contains some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies known, one having the same central surface brightness as Main 1. The objects in this sample have a wide range of morphologies, and galaxies of similar appearance may have very different (B-R) colours. The range of (B-R) colours for this sample (almost all of which would have been described as dE from their B band morphology alone) is as large as that of the entire Hubble sequence. (author)

Calibration guidelines for surface texture instruments - horizontal axis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Jan Lasson; Shem, R. Krüger

The present report is a documentation of the work carried out at DTU, on TASK 5.1: PROCEDURES FOR CALIBRATION IN X- AND Y- DIRECTION the project with contract SMT4-CT97-2176 with title: Calibration Standards for Surface Topography Measuring Systems down to Nanometric Scale. After a short introduc......The present report is a documentation of the work carried out at DTU, on TASK 5.1: PROCEDURES FOR CALIBRATION IN X- AND Y- DIRECTION the project with contract SMT4-CT97-2176 with title: Calibration Standards for Surface Topography Measuring Systems down to Nanometric Scale. After a short...

Global Properties of M31's Stellar Halo from the SPLASH Survey. I. Surface Brightness Profile

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Karoline M.; Guhathakurta, Puragra; Beaton, Rachael L.; Bullock, James; Geha, Marla C.; Kalirai, Jason S.; Kirby, Evan N.; Majewski, Steven R.; Ostheimer, James C.; Patterson, Richard J.; Tollerud, Erik J.; Tanaka, Mikito; Chiba, Masashi

2012-11-01

We present the surface brightness profile of M31's stellar halo out to a projected radius of 175 kpc. The surface brightness estimates are based on confirmed samples of M31 red giant branch stars derived from Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic observations. A set of empirical spectroscopic and photometric M31 membership diagnostics is used to identify and reject foreground and background contaminants. This enables us to trace the stellar halo of M31 to larger projected distances and fainter surface brightnesses than previous photometric studies. The surface brightness profile of M31's halo follows a power law with index -2.2 ± 0.2 and extends to a projected distance of at least ~175 kpc (~2/3 of M31's virial radius), with no evidence of a downward break at large radii. The best-fit elliptical isophotes have b/a = 0.94 with the major axis of the halo aligned along the minor axis of M31's disk, consistent with a prolate halo, although the data are also consistent with M31's halo having spherical symmetry. The fact that tidal debris features are kinematically cold is used to identify substructure in the spectroscopic fields out to projected radii of 90 kpc and investigate the effect of this substructure on the surface brightness profile. The scatter in the surface brightness profile is reduced when kinematically identified tidal debris features in M31 are statistically subtracted; the remaining profile indicates that a comparatively diffuse stellar component to M31's stellar halo exists to large distances. Beyond 90 kpc, kinematically cold tidal debris features cannot be identified due to small number statistics; nevertheless, the significant field-to-field variation in surface brightness beyond 90 kpc suggests that the outermost region of M31's halo is also comprised to a significant degree of stars stripped from accreted objects. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California

SURFACE BRIGHTNESS PROFILES OF DWARF GALAXIES. II. COLOR TRENDS AND MASS PROFILES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herrmann, Kimberly A. [Penn State Mont Alto, 1 Campus Drive, Mont Alto, PA 17237 (United States); Hunter, Deidre A. [Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Road, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States); Elmegreen, Bruce G., E-mail: kah259@psu.edu, E-mail: dah@lowell.edu, E-mail: bge@us.ibm.com [IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 (United States)

2016-06-01

In this second paper of a series, we explore the B  −  V , U  −  B , and FUV−NUV radial color trends from a multi-wavelength sample of 141 dwarf disk galaxies. Like spirals, dwarf galaxies have three types of radial surface brightness profiles: (I) single exponential throughout the observed extent (the minority), (II) down-bending (the majority), and (III) up-bending. We find that the colors of (1) Type I dwarfs generally become redder with increasing radius, unlike spirals which have a blueing trend that flattens beyond ∼1.5 disk scale lengths, (2) Type II dwarfs come in six different “flavors,” one of which mimics the “U” shape of spirals, and (3) Type III dwarfs have a stretched “S” shape where the central colors are flattish, become steeply redder toward the surface brightness break, then remain roughly constant beyond, which is similar to spiral Type III color profiles, but without the central outward bluing. Faint (−9 >  M{sub B}  > −14) Type II dwarfs tend to have continuously red or “U” shaped colors and steeper color slopes than bright (−14 >  M{sub B}  > −19) Type II dwarfs, which additionally have colors that become bluer or remain constant with increasing radius. Sm dwarfs and BCDs tend to have at least some blue and red radial color trend, respectively. Additionally, we determine stellar surface mass density (Σ) profiles and use them to show that the break in Σ generally remains in Type II dwarfs (unlike Type II spirals) but generally disappears in Type III dwarfs (unlike Type III spirals). Moreover, the break in Σ is strong, intermediate, and weak in faint dwarfs, bright dwarfs, and spirals, respectively, indicating that Σ may straighten with increasing galaxy mass. Finally, the average stellar surface mass density at the surface brightness break is roughly 1−2  M {sub ⊙} pc{sup −2} for Type II dwarfs but higher at 5.9  M {sub ⊙} pc{sup −2} or 27  M {sub ⊙} pc{sup −2} for

Hydrometer calibration by hydrostatic weighing with automated liquid surface positioning

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilera, Jesus; Wright, John D.; Bean, Vern E.

2008-01-01

We describe an automated apparatus for calibrating hydrometers by hydrostatic weighing (Cuckow's method) in tridecane, a liquid of known, stable density, and with a relatively low surface tension and contact angle against glass. The apparatus uses a laser light sheet and a laser power meter to position the tridecane surface at the hydrometer scale mark to be calibrated with an uncertainty of 0.08 mm. The calibration results have an expanded uncertainty (with a coverage factor of 2) of 100 parts in 106 or less of the liquid density. We validated the apparatus by comparisons using water, toluene, tridecane and trichloroethylene, and found agreement within 40 parts in 106 or less. The new calibration method is consistent with earlier, manual calibrations performed by NIST. When customers use calibrated hydrometers, they may encounter uncertainties of 370 parts in 106 or larger due to surface tension, contact angle and temperature effects.

Thermal measurements of dark and bright surface features on Vesta as derived from Dawn/VIR

Science.gov (United States)

Tosi, Federico; Capria, Maria Teresa; De Sanctis, M.C.; Combe, J.-Ph.; Zambon, F.; Nathues, A.; Schröder, S.E.; Li, J.-Y.; Palomba, E.; Longobardo, A.; Blewett, D.T.; Denevi, B.W.; Palmer, E.; Capaccioni, F.; Ammannito, E.; Titus, Timothy N.; Mittlefehldt, D.W.; Sunshine, J.M.; Russell, C.T.; Raymond, C.A.; Dawn/VIR Team,

2014-01-01

Remote sensing data acquired during Dawn’s orbital mission at Vesta showed several local concentrations of high-albedo (bright) and low-albedo (dark) material units, in addition to spectrally distinct meteorite impact ejecta. The thermal behavior of such areas seen at local scale (1-10 km) is related to physical properties that can provide information about the origin of those materials. We use Dawn’s Visible and InfraRed (VIR) mapping spectrometer hyperspectral data to retrieve surface temperatures and emissivities, with high accuracy as long as temperatures are greater than 220 K. Some of the dark and bright features were observed multiple times by VIR in the various mission phases at variable spatial resolution, illumination and observation angles, local solar time, and heliocentric distance. This work presents the first temperature maps and spectral emissivities of several kilometer-scale dark and bright material units on Vesta. Results retrieved from the infrared data acquired by VIR show that bright regions generally correspond to regions with lower temperature, while dark regions correspond to areas with higher temperature. During maximum daily insolation and in the range of heliocentric distances explored by Dawn, i.e. 2.23-2.54 AU, the warmest dark unit found on Vesta rises to a temperature of 273 K, while bright units observed under comparable conditions do not exceed 266 K. Similarly, dark units appear to have higher emissivity on average compared to bright units. Dark-material units show a weak anticorrelation between temperature and albedo, whereas the relation is stronger for bright material units observed under the same conditions. Individual features may show either evanescent or distinct margins in the thermal images, as a consequence of the cohesion of the surface material. Finally, for the two categories of dark and bright materials, we were able to highlight the influence of heliocentric distance on surface temperatures, and estimate an

Hydrometer calibration by hydrostatic weighing with automated liquid surface positioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilera, Jesus; Wright, John D; Bean, Vern E

2008-01-01

We describe an automated apparatus for calibrating hydrometers by hydrostatic weighing (Cuckow's method) in tridecane, a liquid of known, stable density, and with a relatively low surface tension and contact angle against glass. The apparatus uses a laser light sheet and a laser power meter to position the tridecane surface at the hydrometer scale mark to be calibrated with an uncertainty of 0.08 mm. The calibration results have an expanded uncertainty (with a coverage factor of 2) of 100 parts in 10 6 or less of the liquid density. We validated the apparatus by comparisons using water, toluene, tridecane and trichloroethylene, and found agreement within 40 parts in 10 6 or less. The new calibration method is consistent with earlier, manual calibrations performed by NIST. When customers use calibrated hydrometers, they may encounter uncertainties of 370 parts in 10 6 or larger due to surface tension, contact angle and temperature effects

SIMULTANEOUS MULTI-BAND DETECTION OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES WITH MARKOVIAN MODELING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vollmer, B.; Bonnarel, F.; Louys, M.; Perret, B.; Petremand, M.; Lavigne, F.; Collet, Ch.; Van Driel, W.; Sabatini, S.; MacArthur, L. A.

2013-01-01

We present to the astronomical community an algorithm for the detection of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in images, called MARSIAA (MARkovian Software for Image Analysis in Astronomy), which is based on multi-scale Markovian modeling. MARSIAA can be applied simultaneously to different bands. It segments an image into a user-defined number of classes, according to their surface brightness and surroundings—typically, one or two classes contain the LSB structures. We have developed an algorithm, called DetectLSB, which allows the efficient identification of LSB galaxies from among the candidate sources selected by MARSIAA. The application of the method to two and three bands simultaneously was tested on simulated images. Based on our tests, we are confident that we can detect LSB galaxies down to a central surface brightness level of only 1.5 times the standard deviation from the mean pixel value in the image background. To assess the robustness of our method, the method was applied to a set of 18 B- and I-band images (covering 1.3 deg 2 in total) of the Virgo Cluster to which Sabatini et al. previously applied a matched-filter dwarf LSB galaxy search algorithm. We have detected all 20 objects from the Sabatini et al. catalog which we could classify by eye as bona fide LSB galaxies. Our method has also detected four additional Virgo Cluster LSB galaxy candidates undetected by Sabatini et al. To further assess the completeness of the results of our method, both MARSIAA, SExtractor, and DetectLSB were applied to search for (1) mock Virgo LSB galaxies inserted into a set of deep Next Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS) gri-band subimages and (2) Virgo LSB galaxies identified by eye in a full set of NGVS square degree gri images. MARSIAA/DetectLSB recovered ∼20% more mock LSB galaxies and ∼40% more LSB galaxies identified by eye than SExtractor/DetectLSB. With a 90% fraction of false positives from an entirely unsupervised pipeline, a completeness of 90% is

ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF UGC 1382 AS A GIANT LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagen, Lea M. Z.; Hagen, Alex [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Seibert, Mark; Rich, Jeffrey A.; Madore, Barry F. [Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Nyland, Kristina; Young, Lisa M. [Physics Department, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM 87801 (United States); Neill, James D. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Treyer, Marie [Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR 7326, 38 rue F. Joliot-Curie, F-13388 Marseille (France)

2016-08-01

We provide evidence that UGC 1382, long believed to be a passive elliptical galaxy, is actually a giant low surface brightness (GLSB) galaxy that rivals the archetypical GLSB Malin 1 in size. Like other GLSB galaxies, it has two components: a high surface brightness disk galaxy surrounded by an extended low surface brightness (LSB) disk. For UGC 1382, the central component is a lenticular system with an effective radius of 6 kpc. Beyond this, the LSB disk has an effective radius of ∼38 kpc and an extrapolated central surface brightness of ∼26 mag arcsec{sup 2}. Both components have a combined stellar mass of ∼8 × 10{sup 10} M {sub ⊙}, and are embedded in a massive (10{sup 10} M {sub ⊙}) low-density (<3 M {sub ⊙} pc{sup 2}) HI disk with a radius of 110 kpc, making this one of the largest isolated disk galaxies known. The system resides in a massive dark matter halo of at least 2 × 10{sup 12} M {sub ⊙}. Although possibly part of a small group, its low-density environment likely plays a role in the formation and retention of the giant LSB and HI disks. We model the spectral energy distributions and find that the LSB disk is likely older than the lenticular component. UGC 1382 has UV–optical colors typical of galaxies transitioning through the green valley. Within the LSB disk are spiral arms forming stars at extremely low efficiencies. The gas depletion timescale of ∼10{sup 11} years suggests that UGC 1382 may be a very-long-term resident of the green valley. We find that the formation and evolution of the LSB disk in UGC 1382 is best explained by the accretion of gas-rich LSB dwarf galaxies.

Simple laser vision sensor calibration for surface profiling applications

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Nabah, Bassam A.; ElSoussi, Adnane O.; Al Alami, Abed ElRahman K.

2016-09-01

Due to the relatively large structures in the Oil and Gas industry, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been implementing custom-designed laser vision sensor (LVS) surface profiling systems as part of quality control in their manufacturing processes. The rough manufacturing environment and the continuous movement and misalignment of these custom-designed tools adversely affect the accuracy of laser-based vision surface profiling applications. Accordingly, Oil and Gas businesses have been raising the demand from the OEMs to implement practical and robust LVS calibration techniques prior to running any visual inspections. This effort introduces an LVS calibration technique representing a simplified version of two known calibration techniques, which are commonly implemented to obtain a calibrated LVS system for surface profiling applications. Both calibration techniques are implemented virtually and experimentally to scan simulated and three-dimensional (3D) printed features of known profiles, respectively. Scanned data is transformed from the camera frame to points in the world coordinate system and compared with the input profiles to validate the introduced calibration technique capability against the more complex approach and preliminarily assess the measurement technique for weld profiling applications. Moreover, the sensitivity to stand-off distances is analyzed to illustrate the practicality of the presented technique.

Matching Images to Models: Camera Calibration for 3-D Surface Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Robin D.; Smelyanskiy, Vadim N.; Cheeseman. Peter C.; Norvig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

In a previous paper we described a system which recursively recovers a super-resolved three dimensional surface model from a set of images of the surface. In that paper we assumed that the camera calibration for each image was known. In this paper we solve two problems. Firstly, if an estimate of the surface is already known, the problem is to calibrate a new image relative to the existing surface model. Secondly, if no surface estimate is available, the relative camera calibration between the images in the set must be estimated. This will allow an initial surface model to be estimated. Results of both types of estimation are given.

SIMULTANEOUS MULTI-BAND DETECTION OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES WITH MARKOVIAN MODELING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vollmer, B.; Bonnarel, F.; Louys, M. [CDS, Observatoire Astronomique, UMR 7550, 11 rue de l' universite, F-67000 Strasbourg (France); Perret, B.; Petremand, M.; Lavigne, F.; Collet, Ch. [LSIIT, Universite de Strasbourg, 7, Rue Rene Descartes, F-67084 Strasbourg (France); Van Driel, W. [GEPI, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Universite Paris Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, F-92190 Meudon (France); Sabatini, S. [INAF/IASF-Roma, via Fosso de Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma (Italy); MacArthur, L. A., E-mail: Bernd.Vollmer@astro.unistra.fr [Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada)

2013-02-01

We present to the astronomical community an algorithm for the detection of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in images, called MARSIAA (MARkovian Software for Image Analysis in Astronomy), which is based on multi-scale Markovian modeling. MARSIAA can be applied simultaneously to different bands. It segments an image into a user-defined number of classes, according to their surface brightness and surroundings-typically, one or two classes contain the LSB structures. We have developed an algorithm, called DetectLSB, which allows the efficient identification of LSB galaxies from among the candidate sources selected by MARSIAA. The application of the method to two and three bands simultaneously was tested on simulated images. Based on our tests, we are confident that we can detect LSB galaxies down to a central surface brightness level of only 1.5 times the standard deviation from the mean pixel value in the image background. To assess the robustness of our method, the method was applied to a set of 18 B- and I-band images (covering 1.3 deg{sup 2} in total) of the Virgo Cluster to which Sabatini et al. previously applied a matched-filter dwarf LSB galaxy search algorithm. We have detected all 20 objects from the Sabatini et al. catalog which we could classify by eye as bona fide LSB galaxies. Our method has also detected four additional Virgo Cluster LSB galaxy candidates undetected by Sabatini et al. To further assess the completeness of the results of our method, both MARSIAA, SExtractor, and DetectLSB were applied to search for (1) mock Virgo LSB galaxies inserted into a set of deep Next Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS) gri-band subimages and (2) Virgo LSB galaxies identified by eye in a full set of NGVS square degree gri images. MARSIAA/DetectLSB recovered {approx}20% more mock LSB galaxies and {approx}40% more LSB galaxies identified by eye than SExtractor/DetectLSB. With a 90% fraction of false positives from an entirely unsupervised pipeline, a completeness of

Suzaku observations of low surface brightness cluster Abell 1631

Science.gov (United States)

Babazaki, Yasunori; Mitsuishi, Ikuyuki; Ota, Naomi; Sasaki, Shin; Böhringer, Hans; Chon, Gayoung; Pratt, Gabriel W.; Matsumoto, Hironori

2018-06-01

We present analysis results for a nearby galaxy cluster Abell 1631 at z = 0.046 using the X-ray observatory Suzaku. This cluster is categorized as a low X-ray surface brightness cluster. To study the dynamical state of the cluster, we conduct four-pointed Suzaku observations and investigate physical properties of the Mpc-scale hot gas associated with the A 1631 cluster for the first time. Unlike relaxed clusters, the X-ray image shows no strong peak at the center and an irregular morphology. We perform spectral analysis and investigate the radial profiles of the gas temperature, density, and entropy out to approximately 1.5 Mpc in the east, north, west, and south directions by combining with the XMM-Newton data archive. The measured gas density in the central region is relatively low (a few ×10-4 cm-3) at the given temperature (˜2.9 keV) compared with X-ray-selected clusters. The entropy profile and value within the central region (r clusters. These features are also observed in another low surface brightness cluster, Abell 76. The spatial distributions of galaxies and the hot gas appear to be different. The X-ray luminosity is relatively lower than that expected from the velocity dispersion. A post-merger scenario may explain the observed results.

Larger Optics and Improved Calibration Techniques for Small Satellite Observations with the ERAU OSCOM System

Science.gov (United States)

Bilardi, S.; Barjatya, A.; Gasdia, F.

OSCOM, Optical tracking and Spectral characterization of CubeSats for Operational Missions, is a system capable of providing time-resolved satellite photometry using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and custom tracking and analysis software. This system has acquired photometry of objects as small as CubeSats using a Celestron 11” RASA and an inexpensive CMOS machine vision camera. For satellites with known shapes, these light curves can be used to verify a satellite’s attitude and the state of its deployed solar panels or antennae. While the OSCOM system can successfully track satellites and produce light curves, there is ongoing improvement towards increasing its automation while supporting additional mounts and telescopes. A newly acquired Celestron 14” Edge HD can be used with a Starizona Hyperstar to increase the SNR for small objects as well as extend beyond the limiting magnitude of the 11” RASA. OSCOM currently corrects instrumental brightness measurements for satellite range and observatory site average atmospheric extinction, but calibrated absolute brightness is required to determine information about satellites other than their spin rate, such as surface albedo. A calibration method that automatically detects and identifies background stars can use their catalog magnitudes to calibrate the brightness of the satellite in the image. We present a photometric light curve from both the 14” Edge HD and 11” RASA optical systems as well as plans for a calibration method that will perform background star photometry to efficiently determine calibrated satellite brightness in each frame.

Photometric Calibration of Consumer Video Cameras

Science.gov (United States)

Suggs, Robert; Swift, Wesley, Jr.

2007-01-01

Equipment and techniques have been developed to implement a method of photometric calibration of consumer video cameras for imaging of objects that are sufficiently narrow or sufficiently distant to be optically equivalent to point or line sources. Heretofore, it has been difficult to calibrate consumer video cameras, especially in cases of image saturation, because they exhibit nonlinear responses with dynamic ranges much smaller than those of scientific-grade video cameras. The present method not only takes this difficulty in stride but also makes it possible to extend effective dynamic ranges to several powers of ten beyond saturation levels. The method will likely be primarily useful in astronomical photometry. There are also potential commercial applications in medical and industrial imaging of point or line sources in the presence of saturation.This development was prompted by the need to measure brightnesses of debris in amateur video images of the breakup of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The purpose of these measurements is to use the brightness values to estimate relative masses of debris objects. In most of the images, the brightness of the main body of Columbia was found to exceed the dynamic ranges of the cameras. A similar problem arose a few years ago in the analysis of video images of Leonid meteors. The present method is a refined version of the calibration method developed to solve the Leonid calibration problem. In this method, one performs an endto- end calibration of the entire imaging system, including not only the imaging optics and imaging photodetector array but also analog tape recording and playback equipment (if used) and any frame grabber or other analog-to-digital converter (if used). To automatically incorporate the effects of nonlinearity and any other distortions into the calibration, the calibration images are processed in precisely the same manner as are the images of meteors, space-shuttle debris, or other objects that one seeks to

Spectral emissivity of surface blackbody calibrators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Sønnik

2007-01-01

The normal spectral emissivity of commercial infrared calibrators is compared with measurements of anodized aluminum samples and grooved aluminum surfaces coated with Pyromark. Measurements performed by FTIR spectroscopy in the wavelength interval from 2 to 20 mu m and at temperatures between 5...

Development of a calibration system for surface contamination monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marechal, M.H.H.; Barbosa, M.P.

1992-01-01

A calibration system for surface contamination monitors is developed, aiming supply the existence demand of these instruments. A experimental arrangement and a methodology are described. The advantages of use this system for calibration routine optimization are also discussed. (C.G.C.)

Calibration of the geometrical characteristics of areal surface topography measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giusca, C L; Leach, R K; Helery, F; Gutauskas, T

2011-01-01

The use of areal surface topography measuring instruments has increased significantly over the past ten years as industry starts to embrace the use of surface structuring to affect the function of a component. This has led to a range of areal surface topography measuring instruments being developed and becoming available commercially. For such instruments to be used as part of quality control during production, it is essential for them to be calibrated according to international standards. The ISO 25178 suite of specification standards on areal surface topography measurement presents a series of tests that can be used to calibrate the metrological characteristics of an areal surface topography measuring instrument. Calibration artefacts and test procedures have been developed that are compliant with ISO 25178. The material measures include crossed gratings, resolution artefacts and pseudorandom surfaces. Traceability is achieved through the NPL Areal Instrument - a primary stylus-based instrument that uses laser interferometers to measure the displacement of the stylus tip. Good practice guides on areal calibration have also been drafted for stylus instruments, coherence scanning interferometers, scanning confocal microscopes and focus variation instruments.

Characterizing bars in low surface brightness disc galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Wesley; Kuzio de Naray, Rachel

2018-05-01

In this paper, we use B-band, I-band, and 3.6 μm azimuthal light profiles of four low surface brightness galaxies (LSBs; UGC 628, F568-1, F568-3, F563-V2) to characterize three bar parameters: length, strength, and corotation radius. We employ three techniques to measure the radius of the bars, including a new method using the azimuthal light profiles. We find comparable bar radii between the I-band and 3.6 μm for all four galaxies when using our azimuthal light profile method, and that our bar lengths are comparable to those in high surface brightness galaxies (HSBs). In addition, we find the bar strengths for our galaxies to be smaller than those for HSBs. Finally, we use Fourier transforms of the B-band, I-band, and 3.6 μm images to characterize the bars as either `fast' or `slow' by measuring the corotation radius via phase profiles. When using the B- and I-band phase crossings, we find three of our galaxies have faster than expected relative bar pattern speeds for galaxies expected to be embedded in centrally dense cold dark matter haloes. When using the B-band and 3.6 μm phase crossings, we find more ambiguous results, although the relative bar pattern speeds are still faster than expected. Since we find a very slow bar in F563-V2, we are confident that we are able to differentiate between fast and slow bars. Finally, we find no relation between bar strength and relative bar pattern speed when comparing our LSBs to HSBs.

Calibration of areal surface topography measuring instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Seewig, J.; Eifler, M.

2017-06-01

The ISO standards which are related to the calibration of areal surface topography measuring instruments are the ISO 25178-6xx series which defines the relevant metrological characteristics for the calibration of different measuring principles and the ISO 25178-7xx series which defines the actual calibration procedures. As the field of areal measurement is however not yet fully standardized, there are still open questions to be addressed which are subject to current research. Based on this, selected research results of the authors in this area are presented. This includes the design and fabrication of areal material measures. For this topic, two examples are presented with the direct laser writing of a stepless material measure for the calibration of the height axis which is based on the Abbott- Curve and the manufacturing of a Siemens star for the determination of the lateral resolution limit. Based on these results, as well a new definition for the resolution criterion, the small scale fidelity, which is still under discussion, is presented. Additionally, a software solution for automated calibration procedures is outlined.

IRAS surface brightness maps of reflection nebulae in the Pleiades

Science.gov (United States)

Castelaz, Michael W.; Werner, M. W.; Sellgren, K.

1987-01-01

Surface brightness maps at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns were made of a 2.5 deg x 2.5 deg area of the reflection nebulae in the Pleiades by coadding IRAS scans of this region. Emission is seen surrounding 17 Tau, 20 Tau, 23 Tau, and 25 Tau in all four bands, coextensive with the visible reflection nebulosity, and extending as far as 30 arcminutes from the illuminating stars. The infrared energy distributions of the nebulae peak in the 100 micron band, but up to 40 percent of the total infrared power lies in the 12 and 25 micron bands. The brightness of the 12 and 25 micron emission and the absence of temperature gradients at these wavelengths are inconsistent with the predictions of equilibrium thermal emission models. The emission at these wavelengths appears to be the result of micron nonequilibrium emission from very small grains, or from molecules consisting of 10-100 carbon atoms, which have been excited by ultraviolet radiation from the illuminating stars.

Detecting edges in the X-ray surface brightness of galaxy clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, J. S.; Fabian, A. C.; Russell, H. R.; Walker, S. A.; Blundell, K. M.

2016-08-01

The effects of many physical processes in the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters imprint themselves in X-ray surface brightness images. It is therefore important to choose optimal methods for extracting information from and enhancing the interpretability of such images. We describe in detail a gradient filtering edge detection method that we previously applied to images of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies. The Gaussian gradient filter measures the gradient in the surface brightness distribution on particular spatial scales. We apply this filter on different scales to Chandra X-ray observatory images of two clusters with active galactic nucleus feedback, the Perseus cluster and M 87, and a merging system, A 3667. By combining filtered images on different scales using radial filters spectacular images of the edges in a cluster are produced. We describe how to assess the significance of features in filtered images. We find the gradient filtering technique to have significant advantages for detecting many kinds of features compared to other analysis techniques, such as unsharp masking. Filtering cluster images in this way in a hard energy band allows shocks to be detected.

Soil Moisture ActivePassive (SMAP) L-Band Microwave Radiometer Post-Launch Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jinzheng; Piepmeier, Jeffrey R.; Misra, Sidharth; Dinnat, Emmanuel P.; Hudson, Derek; Le Vine, David M.; De Amici, Giovanni; Mohammed, Priscilla N.; Yueh, Simon H.; Meissner, Thomas

2016-01-01

The SMAP microwave radiometer is a fully-polarimetric L-band radiometer flown on the SMAP satellite in a 6 AM/ 6 PM sun-synchronous orbit at 685 km altitude. Since April, 2015, the radiometer is under calibration and validation to assess the quality of the radiometer L1B data product. Calibration methods including the SMAP L1B TA2TB (from Antenna Temperature (TA) to the Earth’s surface Brightness Temperature (TB)) algorithm and TA forward models are outlined, and validation approaches to calibration stability/quality are described in this paper including future work. Results show that the current radiometer L1B data satisfies its requirements.

Calibration artefacts in radio interferometry - III. Phase-only calibration and primary beam correction

Science.gov (United States)

Grobler, T. L.; Stewart, A. J.; Wijnholds, S. J.; Kenyon, J. S.; Smirnov, O. M.

2016-09-01

This is the third installment in a series of papers in which we investigate calibration artefacts. Calibration artefacts (also known as ghosts or spurious sources) are created when we calibrate with an incomplete model. In the first two papers of this series, we developed a mathematical framework which enabled us to study the ghosting mechanism itself. An interesting concomitant of the second paper was that ghosts appear in symmetrical pairs. This could possibly account for spurious symmetrization. Spurious symmetrization refers to the appearance of a spurious source (the antighost) symmetrically opposite an unmodelled source around a modelled source. The analysis in the first two papers indicates that the antighost is usually very faint, in particular, when a large number of antennas are used. This suggests that spurious symmetrization will mainly occur at an almost undetectable flux level. In this paper, we show that phase-only calibration produces an antighost that is N-times (where N denotes the number of antennas in the array) as bright as the one produced by phase and amplitude calibration and that this already bright ghost can be further amplified by the primary beam correction.

Calibration of an integrated land surface process and radiobrightness (LSP/R) model during summertime

Science.gov (United States)

Judge, Jasmeet; England, Anthony W.; Metcalfe, John R.; McNichol, David; Goodison, Barry E.

2008-01-01

In this study, a soil vegetation and atmosphere transfer (SVAT) model was linked with a microwave emission model to simulate microwave signatures for different terrain during summertime, when the energy and moisture fluxes at the land surface are strong. The integrated model, land surface process/radiobrightness (LSP/R), was forced with weather and initial conditions observed during a field experiment. It simulated the fluxes and brightness temperatures for bare soil and brome grass in the Northern Great Plains. The model estimates of soil temperature and moisture profiles and terrain brightness temperatures were compared with the observed values. Overall, the LSP model provides realistic estimates of soil moisture and temperature profiles to be used with a microwave model. The maximum mean differences and standard deviations between the modeled and the observed temperatures (canopy and soil) were 2.6 K and 6.8 K, respectively; those for the volumetric soil moisture were 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Brightness temperatures at 19 GHz matched well with the observations for bare soil, when a rough surface model was incorporated indicating reduced dielectric sensitivity to soil moisture by surface roughness. The brightness temperatures of the brome grass matched well with the observations indicating that a simple emission model was sufficient to simulate accurate brightness temperatures for grass typical of that region and surface roughness was not a significant issue for grass-covered soil at 19 GHz. Such integrated SVAT-microwave models allow for direct assimilation of microwave observations and can also be used to understand sensitivity of microwave signatures to changes in weather forcings and soil conditions for different terrain types.

Calibrating the SNfactory Integral Field Spectrograph (SNIFS) with SCALA

Science.gov (United States)

Küsters, Daniel; Lombardo, Simona; Kowalski, Marek; Aldering, Greg; Nordin, Jakob; Rigault, Mickael

2016-08-01

The SNIFS CALibration Apparatus (SCALA), a device to calibrate the Supernova Integral Field Spectrograph on the University Hawaii 2.2m telescope, was developed and installed in Spring 2014. SCALA produces an artificial planet with a diameter of 1° and a constant surface brightness. The wavelength of the beam can be tuned between 3200 Å and 10000 Å and has a bandwidth of 35 Å. The amount of light injected into the telescope is monitored with NIST calibrated photodiodes. SCALA was upgraded in 2015 with a mask installed at the entrance pupil of the UH88 telescope, ensuring that the illumination of the telescope by stars is similar to that of SCALA. With this setup, a first calibration run was performed in conjunction with the spectrophotometric observations of standard stars. We present first estimates for the expected systematic uncertainties of the in-situ calibration and discuss the results of tests that examine the influence of stray light produced in the optics.

Suzaku observations of low surface brightness cluster Abell 1631

Science.gov (United States)

Babazaki, Yasunori; Mitsuishi, Ikuyuki; Ota, Naomi; Sasaki, Shin; Böhringer, Hans; Chon, Gayoung; Pratt, Gabriel W.; Matsumoto, Hironori

2018-04-01

We present analysis results for a nearby galaxy cluster Abell 1631 at z = 0.046 using the X-ray observatory Suzaku. This cluster is categorized as a low X-ray surface brightness cluster. To study the dynamical state of the cluster, we conduct four-pointed Suzaku observations and investigate physical properties of the Mpc-scale hot gas associated with the A 1631 cluster for the first time. Unlike relaxed clusters, the X-ray image shows no strong peak at the center and an irregular morphology. We perform spectral analysis and investigate the radial profiles of the gas temperature, density, and entropy out to approximately 1.5 Mpc in the east, north, west, and south directions by combining with the XMM-Newton data archive. The measured gas density in the central region is relatively low (a few ×10-4 cm-3) at the given temperature (˜2.9 keV) compared with X-ray-selected clusters. The entropy profile and value within the central region (r < 0.1 r200) are found to be flatter and higher (≳400 keV cm2). The observed bolometric luminosity is approximately three times lower than that expected from the luminosity-temperature relation in previous studies of relaxed clusters. These features are also observed in another low surface brightness cluster, Abell 76. The spatial distributions of galaxies and the hot gas appear to be different. The X-ray luminosity is relatively lower than that expected from the velocity dispersion. A post-merger scenario may explain the observed results.

Calibration and verification of surface contamination meters --- Procedures and techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuler, C; Butterweck, G.; Wernli, C.; Bochud, F.; Valley, J.-F.

2007-03-01

A standardised measurement procedure for surface contamination meters (SCM) is presented. The procedure aims at rendering surface contamination measurements to be simply and safely interpretable. Essential for the approach is the introduction and common use of the radionuclide specific quantity 'guideline value' specified in the Swiss Radiation Protection Ordinance as unit for the measurement of surface activity. The according radionuclide specific 'guideline value count rate' can be summarized as verification reference value for a group of radionuclides ('basis guideline value count rate'). The concept can be generalized for SCM of the same type or for SCM of different types using he same principle of detection. A SCM multi source calibration technique is applied for the determination of the instrument efficiency. Four different electron radiation energy regions, four different photon radiation energy regions and an alpha radiation energy region are represented by a set of calibration sources built according to ISO standard 8769-2. A guideline value count rate representing the activity per unit area of a surface contamination of one guideline value can be calculated for any radionuclide using instrument efficiency, radionuclide decay data, contamination source efficiency, guideline value averaging area (100 cm 2 ), and radionuclide specific guideline value. n this way, instrument responses for the evaluation of surface contaminations are obtained for radionuclides without available calibration sources as well as for short-Iived radionuclides, for which the continuous replacement of certified calibration sources can lead to unreasonable costs. SCM verification is based on surface emission rates of reference sources with an active area of 100 cm 2 . The verification for a given list of radionuclides is based on the radionuclide specific quantity guideline value count rate. Guideline value count rates for groups of radionuclides can be represented within the maximum

Selection effects in the bivariate brightness distribution for spiral galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillipps, S.; Disney, M.

1986-01-01

The joint distribution of total luminosity and characteristic surface brightness (the bivariate brightness distribution) is investigated for a complete sample of spiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster. The influence of selection and physical limits of various kinds on the apparent distribution are detailed. While the distribution of surface brightness for bright galaxies may be genuinely fairly narrow, faint galaxies exist right across the (quite small) range of accessible surface brightnesses so no statement can be made about the true extent of the distribution. The lack of high surface brightness bright galaxies in the Virgo sample relative to an overall RC2 sample (mostly field galaxies) supports the contention that the star-formation rate is reduced in the inner region of the cluster for environmental reasons. (author)

A new, bright and hard aluminum surface produced by anodization

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Fengyan; Hu, Bo; Tay, See Leng; Wang, Yuxin; Xiong, Chao; Gao, Wei

2017-07-01

Anodized aluminum (Al) and Al alloys have a wide range of applications. However, certain anodized finishings have relatively low hardness, dull appearance and/or poor corrosion resistance, which limited their applications. In this research, Al was first electropolished in a phosphoric acid-based solution, then anodized in a sulfuric acid-based solution under controlled processing parameters. The anodized specimen was then sealed by two-step sealing method. A systematic study including microstructure, surface morphology, hardness and corrosion resistance of these anodized films has been conducted. Results show that the hardness of this new anodized film was increased by a factor of 10 compared with the pure Al metal. Salt spray corrosion testing also demonstrated the greatly improved corrosion resistance. Unlike the traditional hard anodized Al which presents a dull-colored surface, this newly developed anodized Al alloy possesses a very bright and shiny surface with good hardness and corrosion resistance.

The distribution of star formation and metals in the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 628

Science.gov (United States)

Young, J. E.; Kuzio de Naray, Rachel; Wang, Sharon X.

2015-09-01

We introduce the MUSCEL Programme (MUltiwavelength observations of the Structure, Chemistry and Evolution of LSB galaxies), a project aimed at determining the star-formation histories of low surface brightness galaxies. MUSCEL utilizes ground-based optical spectra and space-based UV and IR photometry to fully constrain the star-formation histories of our targets with the aim of shedding light on the processes that led low surface brightness galaxies down a different evolutionary path from that followed by high surface brightness galaxies, such as our Milky Way. Here we present the spatially resolved optical spectra of UGC 628, observed with the VIRUS-P IFU at the 2.7-m Harlen J. Smith Telescope at the McDonald Observatory, and utilize emission-line diagnostics to determine the rate and distribution of star formation as well as the gas-phase metallicity and metallicity gradient. We find highly clustered star formation throughout UGC 628, excluding the core regions, and a log(O/H) metallicity around -4.2, with more metal-rich regions near the edges of the galactic disc. Based on the emission-line diagnostics alone, the current mode of star formation, slow and concentrated in the outer disc, appears to have dominated for quite some time, although there are clear signs of a much older stellar population formed in a more standard inside-out fashion.

Bright patches on chernozems - from space to surface and soil properties

Science.gov (United States)

Smetanova, Anna; Burian, Libor; Holec, Juraj; Minár, Jozef

2016-04-01

located in areas with slope gradient between 3 and 6°, which is consider as the higher slope in this part of the hilly land. In 1949 the distribution of bright patches was more strongly related to higher slope gradient, the convex forms of profile curvature, and upslope position than in 2004. In the studied catchment, 34 soil profiles were described in the bright patches (identified in 2004), and 73% of them were situated on the convex forms of profile curvature. The most of the profiles were eroded (88%), the mean soil loss was 0.36 m (in the comparison with the reference soil profile), and in 55% of described soil profiles the entire mollic horizon was removed. The typical surface horizon contained 2.3% of humus and 21% of carbonates. The soil profiles were further compared with these situated in the areas neighbouring with the bright patches, and soil profiles on two valley cross-sections, in order to understand the soil redistribution in the catchment, and describe the differences between the bright and black patches in the chernozem landscape. This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract ESF-EC-0006-07 and APVV-0625-11; Anna Smetanová has received the support of the AgreenSkills fellowship (under grant agreement n°267196).

Brightness and transparency in the early visual cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Salmela, Viljami R; Vanni, Simo

2013-06-24

Several psychophysical studies have shown that transparency can have drastic effects on brightness and lightness. However, the neural processes generating these effects have remained unresolved. Several lines of evidence suggest that the early visual cortex is important for brightness perception. While single cell recordings suggest that surface brightness is represented in the primary visual cortex, the results of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have been discrepant. In addition, the location of the neural representation of transparency is not yet known. We investigated whether the fMRI responses in areas V1, V2, and V3 correlate with brightness and transparency. To dissociate the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to brightness from the response to local border contrast and mean luminance, we used variants of White's brightness illusion, both opaque and transparent, in which luminance increments and decrements cancel each other out. The stimuli consisted of a target surface and a surround. The surround luminance was always sinusoidally modulated at 0.5 Hz to induce brightness modulation to the target. The target luminance was constant or modulated in counterphase to null brightness modulation. The mean signal changes were calculated from the voxels in V1, V2, and V3 corresponding to the retinotopic location of the target surface. The BOLD responses were significantly stronger for modulating brightness than for stimuli with constant brightness. In addition, the responses were stronger for transparent than for opaque stimuli, but there was more individual variation. No interaction between brightness and transparency was found. The results show that the early visual areas V1-V3 are sensitive to surface brightness and transparency and suggest that brightness and transparency are represented separately.

Calibration Standards for Surface Topography Measuring Systems down to Nanometric Range

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Trumpold, H.; De Chiffre, Leonardo; Andreasen, Jan Lasson

compression and injection moulded plastic negatives and Ni-negatives have been made from which again Ni-positives were produced. The replication processes showed negligible deviations from the Pt and Pa values compared to the primary standards. An important prerequisite is the cleanliness of the surfaces......Background For the precise and accurate measurement of surface topography a whole range of surface detection systems is available. With their application in research and production problems arise due to the lack of traceable standard artefacts for the instrument calibration in X, Y and Z directions...... and for the calibration of filters. Existing ISO standards on calibration specimens are inadequate and limited in that they only cover contacting instruments and only partially the measuring ranges for these instruments. The whole range of non-contacting instruments are not covered despite their increasing use...

"Calibration" system for spectral measurements and its experimental results

Science.gov (United States)

Bruchkouskaya, Sviatlana I.; Katkovsky, Leonid V.; Belyaev, Boris I.; Malyshev, Vladislav B.

2017-04-01

"Calibration" system has been developed at A. N. Sevchenko Research Institute of Applied Physical Problems of the Belarusian State University. It was designed for measuring the characteristics of spectral reflectance of all types of natural surfaces (test sites) in ground conditions or on board of aircraft carriers and has the following components: - Photospectroradiometr (PhSR) of high resolution with a range of 400-900 nm, equipped with a digital time-lapse video system; - Two-channel modular spectroradiometer (TMS) with a range of 400-900 nm, designed for simultaneous measurements of reflected light brightness of the underlying surface and the incident radiation from the upper hemisphere; - Two portable spectroradiometers (PSR-700 and PSR-1300) with a spectral range 800-1500 nm; 1200-2500 nm; - Scanning solar spectropolarimeter (SSP-600) with a range of 350-950 nm for measurements of direct sunlight and scattered by the atmosphere at different angles; "Calibration" system provides spectral resolution of 5.2 nm in a range of 400-900 nm, 10 nm in a range of 800-1500 nm and 15 nm in a range of 1200-2500 nm. Measurements of the optical characteristics of solar radiation (for determining parameters of the atmosphere) and that of underlying surface are synchronous. There is also a set of special nozzles for measurements of spectral brightness coefficients, polarization characteristics and spectral albedo. Spectra and images are geotagged to the navigation data (time, GPS). For the measurements of spectral reflection dependencies within "Monitoring-SG" framework expeditions to the Kuril Islands, Kursk aerospace test site and Kamchatka Peninsula were conducted in 2015 and 2016. The spectra of different underlying surfaces have been obtained: soils, plants and water objects, sedimentary and volcanic rocks. These surveys are a valuable material for further researches and selection of test facilities for flight calibration of space imaging systems. Information obtained

Satellite-based Calibration of Heat Flux at the Ocean Surface

Science.gov (United States)

Barron, C. N.; Dastugue, J. M.; May, J. C.; Rowley, C. D.; Smith, S. R.; Spence, P. L.; Gremes-Cordero, S.

2016-02-01

Model forecasts of upper ocean heat content and variability on diurnal to daily scales are highly dependent on estimates of heat flux through the air-sea interface. Satellite remote sensing is applied to not only inform the initial ocean state but also to mitigate errors in surface heat flux and model representations affecting the distribution of heat in the upper ocean. Traditional assimilation of sea surface temperature (SST) observations re-centers ocean models at the start of each forecast cycle. Subsequent evolution depends on estimates of surface heat fluxes and upper-ocean processes over the forecast period. The COFFEE project (Calibration of Ocean Forcing with satellite Flux Estimates) endeavors to correct ocean forecast bias through a responsive error partition among surface heat flux and ocean dynamics sources. A suite of experiments in the southern California Current demonstrates a range of COFFEE capabilities, showing the impact on forecast error relative to a baseline three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation using Navy operational global or regional atmospheric forcing. COFFEE addresses satellite-calibration of surface fluxes to estimate surface error covariances and links these to the ocean interior. Experiment cases combine different levels of flux calibration with different assimilation alternatives. The cases may use the original fluxes, apply full satellite corrections during the forecast period, or extend hindcast corrections into the forecast period. Assimilation is either baseline 3DVAR or standard strong-constraint 4DVAR, with work proceeding to add a 4DVAR expanded to include a weak constraint treatment of the surface flux errors. Covariance of flux errors is estimated from the recent time series of forecast and calibrated flux terms. While the California Current examples are shown, the approach is equally applicable to other regions. These approaches within a 3DVAR application are anticipated to be useful for global and larger

Testing Snow Melt Algorithms in High Relief Topography Using Calibrated Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperatures, Hunza River Basin, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Ramage, J. M.; Brodzik, M. J.; Hardman, M.; Troy, T. J.

2017-12-01

Snow is a vital part of the terrestrial hydrological cycle, a crucial resource for people and ecosystems. In mountainous regions snow is extensive, variable, and challenging to document. Snow melt timing and duration are important factors affecting the transfer of snow mass to soil moisture and runoff. Passive microwave brightness temperature (Tb) changes at 36 and 18 GHz are a sensitive way to detect snow melt onset due to their sensitivity to the abrupt change in emissivity. They are widely used on large icefields and high latitude watersheds. The coarse resolution ( 25 km) of historically available data has precluded effective use in high relief, heterogeneous regions, and gaps between swaths also create temporal data gaps at lower latitudes. New enhanced resolution data products generated from a scatterometer image reconstruction for radiometer (rSIR) technique are available at the original frequencies. We use these Calibrated Enhanced-resolution Brightness (CETB) Temperatures Earth System Data Records (ESDR) to evaluate existing snow melt detection algorithms that have been used in other environments, including the cross polarized gradient ratio (XPGR) and the diurnal amplitude variations (DAV) approaches. We use the 36/37 GHz (3.125 km resolution) and 18/19 GHz (6.25 km resolution) vertically and horizontally polarized datasets from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) and Advanced Microwave Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) and evaluate them for use in this high relief environment. The new data are used to assess glacier and snow melt records in the Hunza River Basin [area 13,000 sq. km, located at 36N, 74E], a tributary to the Upper Indus Basin, Pakistan. We compare the melt timing results visually and quantitatively to the corresponding EASE-Grid 2.0 25-km dataset, SRTM topography, and surface temperatures from station and reanalysis data. The new dataset is coarser than the topography, but is able to differentiate signals of melt/refreeze timing for

Spitzer/JWST Cross Calibration: IRAC Observations of Potential Calibrators for JWST

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, Sean J.; Gordon, Karl D.; Lowrance, Patrick; Ingalls, James G.; Glaccum, William J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; E Krick, Jessica; Laine, Seppo J.; Fazio, Giovanni G.; Hora, Joseph L.; Bohlin, Ralph

2017-06-01

We present observations at 3.6 and 4.5 microns using IRAC on the Spitzer Space Telescope of a set of main sequence A stars and white dwarfs that are potential calibrators across the JWST instrument suite. The stars range from brightnesses of 4.4 to 15 mag in K band. The calibration observations use a similar redundancy to the observing strategy for the IRAC primary calibrators (Reach et al. 2005) and the photometry is obtained using identical methods and instrumental photometric corrections as those applied to the IRAC primary calibrators (Carey et al. 2009). The resulting photometry is then compared to the predictions based on spectra from the CALSPEC Calibration Database (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/observatory/crds/calspec.html) and the IRAC bandpasses. These observations are part of an ongoing collaboration between IPAC and STScI investigating absolute calibration in the infrared.

Automated detection of very Low Surface Brightness galaxies in the Virgo Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Prole, D. J.; Davies, J. I.; Keenan, O. C.; Davies, L. J. M.

2018-04-01

We report the automatic detection of a new sample of very low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies, likely members of the Virgo cluster. We introduce our new software, DeepScan, that has been designed specifically to detect extended LSB features automatically using the DBSCAN algorithm. We demonstrate the technique by applying it over a 5 degree2 portion of the Next-Generation Virgo Survey (NGVS) data to reveal 53 low surface brightness galaxies that are candidate cluster members based on their sizes and colours. 30 of these sources are new detections despite the region being searched specifically for LSB galaxies previously. Our final sample contains galaxies with 26.0 ≤ ⟨μe⟩ ≤ 28.5 and 19 ≤ mg ≤ 21, making them some of the faintest known in Virgo. The majority of them have colours consistent with the red sequence, and have a mean stellar mass of 106.3 ± 0.5M⊙ assuming cluster membership. After using ProFit to fit Sérsic profiles to our detections, none of the new sources have effective radii larger than 1.5 Kpc and do not meet the criteria for ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) classification, so we classify them as ultra-faint dwarfs.

THE STABILITY OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS DISKS BASED ON MULTI-WAVELENGTH MODELING

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacLachlan, J. M.; Wood, K.; Matthews, L. D.; Gallagher, J. S.

2011-01-01

To investigate the structure and composition of the dusty interstellar medium (ISM) of low surface brightness (LSB) disk galaxies, we have used multi-wavelength photometry to construct spectral energy distributions for three low-mass, edge-on LSB galaxies (V rot = 88-105 km s -1 ). We use Monte Carlo radiation transfer codes that include the effects of transiently heated small grains and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules to model and interpret the data. We find that, unlike the high surface brightness galaxies previously modeled, the dust disks appear to have scale heights equal to or exceeding their stellar scale heights. This result supports the findings of previous studies that low-mass disk galaxies have dust scale heights comparable to their stellar scale heights and suggests that the cold ISM of low-mass, LSB disk galaxies may be stable against fragmentation and gravitational collapse. This may help to explain the lack of observed dust lanes in edge-on LSB galaxies and their low current star formation rates. Dust masses are found in the range (1.16-2.38) x 10 6 M sun , corresponding to face-on (edge-on), V-band, optical depths 0.034 ∼ face ∼ eq ∼< 1.99).

Preparation of XH-3001 floodgate type of calibration surface sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Hui; Zhang Fenglan

2005-10-01

The preparation of a large sized (active area: 100 mm x 150 mm) calibration sources by oxide film filling of aluminum is introduced. The influence of current densities, oxidation time, filling time, the pH, the concentration and the consumption of filling solution on surface emission rate of the source is studied. The surface emission rate, adhensiveness and uniformity of the source are also tested. The testing results indicate that the surface emission rate of source is 1500-3500 (2π·s) -1 , the uniformity of the source is better than ±10%, the activity of the source removed with wipe test is less than 200 Bq. The large sized source have been used for calibrating the apparatus in Qinshan Nuclear Power Station. (authors)

Calibration of a distributed hydrology and land surface model using energy flux measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Morten Andreas Dahl; Refsgaard, Jens Christian; Jensen, Karsten H.

2016-01-01

In this study we develop and test a calibration approach on a spatially distributed groundwater-surface water catchment model (MIKE SHE) coupled to a land surface model component with particular focus on the water and energy fluxes. The model is calibrated against time series of eddy flux measure...

Quantitative Measurements of Daytime Near Infrared Sky Brightness at the AEOS 3.6 m Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

photometric filters. In the case of the 1250 nm filter, the quoted results reflect the brightness that would be seen through a standard 2MASS J filter [9...brightness per unit wavelength through the broader 2MASS filter with 162 nm bandpass. Given the known colors of the star, we estimate this error to be...Megeath, S. T. “Spectral irradiance calibration in the infrared. XIV. The absolute calibration of 2MASS ,” Astron. J., 126, 1090–1096 (2003) [10] Jim

A New Sky Brightness Monitor

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, David L.; McKenna, D.

2006-12-01

A good estimate of sky brightness and its variations throughout the night, the months, and even the years is an essential bit of knowledge both for good observing and especially as a tool in efforts to minimize sky brightness through local action. Hence a stable and accurate monitor can be a valuable and necessary tool. We have developed such a monitor, with the financial help of Vatican Observatory and Walker Management. The device is now undergoing its Beta test in preparation for production. It is simple, accurate, well calibrated, and automatic, sending its data directly to IDA over the internet via E-mail . Approximately 50 such monitors will be ready soon for deployment worldwide including most major observatories. Those interested in having one should enquire of IDA about details.

The outer disks of early-type galaxies. I. Surface-brightness profiles of barred galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erwin, Peter; Pohlen, Michael; Beckman, John E.

We present a study of 66 barred, early-type (S0-Sb) disk galaxies, focused on the disk surface brightness profile outside the bar region, with the aim of throwing light on the nature of Freeman type I and II profiles, their origins, and their possible relation to disk truncations. This paper

Characterization and flip angle calibration of 13C surface coils for hyperpolarization studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Rie Beck; Gutte, Henrik; Larsen, Majbrit M E

The aim of the present work is to address the challenge of optimal The aim of the present work is to address the challenge of optimal flflip angle calibration of ip angle calibration of C surface coils in C surface coils in hyperpolarization studies. To this end, we characterize the spatial pro h...

A Survey for Low Surface Brightness Dwarf Galaxies Around M31

OpenAIRE

Armandroff, Taft E.; Davies, James E.; Jacoby, George H.

1998-01-01

By applying a digital filtering technique to 1550 square degrees of the POSS-II in the vicinity of M31, we found two previously unidentified very low surface brightness dwarf galaxies which we designate And V and VI. Follow-up imaging with the KPNO 4-m telescope resolved these into stars easily. The V- and I- band images of And V indicate a distance similar to that of M31, and approximately -1.5. All evidence strongly supports its classification as a dwarf spheroidal companion to M31. Data f...

Geometrical error calibration in reflective surface testing based on reverse Hartmann test

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Zhidong; Wang, Daodang; Xu, Ping; Wang, Chao; Liang, Rongguang; Kong, Ming; Zhao, Jun; Mo, Linhai; Mo, Shuhui

2017-08-01

In the fringe-illumination deflectometry based on reverse-Hartmann-test configuration, ray tracing of the modeled testing system is performed to reconstruct the test surface error. Careful calibration of system geometry is required to achieve high testing accuracy. To realize the high-precision surface testing with reverse Hartmann test, a computer-aided geometrical error calibration method is proposed. The aberrations corresponding to various geometrical errors are studied. With the aberration weights for various geometrical errors, the computer-aided optimization of system geometry with iterative ray tracing is carried out to calibration the geometrical error, and the accuracy in the order of subnanometer is achieved.

Second IRMF comparison of surface contamination monitor calibrations 2001-2002

CERN Document Server

Scott, C J

2002-01-01

The Ionising Radiations Metrology Forum (IRMF) organised a second comparison of surface contamination monitor calibrations in which twenty establishments in the UK participated. The exercise involved the circulation of three surface contamination monitors for calibration using large area reference sources available in the participants' laboratories. The instruments used were a Mini Instruments EP15, a Berthold LB122 and an Electra ratemeter with DP6AD probe. The instrument responses were calculated by the individual participants and submitted to the for analysis along with details of the reference sources used. Details of the estimated uncertainties were also reported. The results are compared and demonstrate generally satisfactory agreement between the participating establishments.

Identification of faint central stars in extended, low-surface-brightness planetary nebulae

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwitter, K.B.; Lydon, T.J.; Jacoby, G.H.

1988-01-01

As part of a larger program to study the properties of planetary nebula central stars, a search for faint central stars in extended, low-surface-brightness planetary nebulae using CCD imaging is performed. Of 25 target nebulae, central star candidates have been identified in 17, with certainties ranging from extremely probable to possible. Observed V values in the central star candidates extend to fainter than 23 mag. The identifications are presented along with the resulting photometric measurements. 24 references

Simulated X-ray galaxy clusters at the virial radius: Slopes of the gas density, temperature and surface brightness profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Roncarelli, M.; Ettori, S.; Dolag, K.; Moscardini, L.; Borgani, S.; Murante, G.

2006-12-01

Using a set of hydrodynamical simulations of nine galaxy clusters with masses in the range 1.5 × 1014 matter of tension between simulated and observed properties, and up to the virial radius and beyond, where present observations are unable to provide any constraints. We have modelled the radial profiles between 0.3R200 and 3R200 with power laws with one index, two indexes and a rolling index. The simulated temperature and [0.5-2] keV surface brightness profiles well reproduce the observed behaviours outside the core. The shape of all these profiles in the radial range considered depends mainly on the activity of the gravitational collapse, with no significant difference among models including extraphysics. The profiles steepen in the outskirts, with the slope of the power-law fit that changes from -2.5 to -3.4 in the gas density, from -0.5 to -1.8 in the gas temperature and from -3.5 to -5.0 in the X-ray soft surface brightness. We predict that the gas density, temperature and [0.5-2] keV surface brightness values at R200 are, on average, 0.05, 0.60, 0.008 times the measured values at 0.3R200. At 2R200, these values decrease by an order of magnitude in the gas density and surface brightness, by a factor of 2 in the temperature, putting stringent limits on the detectable properties of the intracluster-medium (ICM) in the virial regions.

Evaluation of the AMSR-E Data Calibration Over Land

Science.gov (United States)

Njoku, E.; Chan, T.; Crosson, W.; Limaye, A.

2004-01-01

Land observations by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E), particularly of soil and vegetation moisture changes, have numerous applications in hydrology, ecology and climate. Quantitative retrieval of soil and vegetation parameters relies on accurate calibration of the brightness temperature measurements. Analyses of the spectral and polarization characteristics of early versions of the AMSR-E data revealed significant calibration biases over land at 6.9 GHz. The biases were estimated and removed in the current archived version of the data Radiofrequency interference (RFI) observed at 6.9 GHz is more difficult to quanti@ however. A calibration analysis of AMSR-E data over land is presented in this paper for a complete annual cycle from June 2002 through September 2003. The analysis indicates the general high quality of the data for land applications (except for RFI), and illustrates seasonal trends of the data for different land surface types and regions.

Calibrating AIS images using the surface as a reference

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, M. O.; Roberts, D. A.; Shipman, H. M.; Adams, J. B.; Willis, S. C.; Gillespie, A. R.

1987-01-01

A method of evaluating the initial assumptions and uncertainties of the physical connection between Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (AIS) image data and laboratory/field spectrometer data was tested. The Tuscon AIS-2 image connects to lab reference spectra by an alignment to the image spectral endmembers through a system gain and offset for each band. Images were calibrated to reflectance so as to transform the image into a measure that is independent of the solar radiant flux. This transformation also makes the image spectra directly comparable to data from lab and field spectrometers. A method was tested for calibrating AIS images using the surface as a reference. The surface heterogeneity is defined by lab/field spectral measurements. It was found that the Tuscon AIS-2 image is consistent with each of the initial hypotheses: (1) that the AIS-2 instrument calibration is nearly linear; (2) the spectral variance is caused by sub-pixel mixtures of spectrally distinct materials and shade, and (3) that sub-pixel mixtures can be treated as linear mixtures of pure endmembers. It was also found that the image can be characterized by relatively few endmembers using the AIS-2 spectra.

Error sources in the retrieval of aerosol information over bright surfaces from satellite measurements in the oxygen A band

Science.gov (United States)

Nanda, Swadhin; de Graaf, Martin; Sneep, Maarten; de Haan, Johan F.; Stammes, Piet; Sanders, Abram F. J.; Tuinder, Olaf; Pepijn Veefkind, J.; Levelt, Pieternel F.

2018-01-01

Retrieving aerosol optical thickness and aerosol layer height over a bright surface from measured top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectrum in the oxygen A band is known to be challenging, often resulting in large errors. In certain atmospheric conditions and viewing geometries, a loss of sensitivity to aerosol optical thickness has been reported in the literature. This loss of sensitivity has been attributed to a phenomenon known as critical surface albedo regime, which is a range of surface albedos for which the top-of-atmosphere reflectance has minimal sensitivity to aerosol optical thickness. This paper extends the concept of critical surface albedo for aerosol layer height retrievals in the oxygen A band, and discusses its implications. The underlying physics are introduced by analysing the top-of-atmosphere reflectance spectrum as a sum of atmospheric path contribution and surface contribution, obtained using a radiative transfer model. Furthermore, error analysis of an aerosol layer height retrieval algorithm is conducted over dark and bright surfaces to show the dependence on surface reflectance. The analysis shows that the derivative with respect to aerosol layer height of the atmospheric path contribution to the top-of-atmosphere reflectance is opposite in sign to that of the surface contribution - an increase in surface brightness results in a decrease in information content. In the case of aerosol optical thickness, these derivatives are anti-correlated, leading to large retrieval errors in high surface albedo regimes. The consequence of this anti-correlation is demonstrated with measured spectra in the oxygen A band from the GOME-2 instrument on board the Metop-A satellite over the 2010 Russian wildfires incident.

SURFACE BRIGHTNESS PROFILES OF DWARF GALAXIES. I. PROFILES AND STATISTICS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrmann, Kimberly A.; Hunter, Deidre A.; Elmegreen, Bruce G.

2013-01-01

Radial surface brightness profiles of spiral galaxies are classified into three types: (I) single exponential, or the light falls off with one exponential to a break before falling off (II) more steeply, or (III) less steeply. Profile breaks are also found in dwarf disks, but some dwarf Type IIs are flat or increasing out to a break before falling off. Here we re-examine the stellar disk profiles of 141 dwarfs: 96 dwarf irregulars (dIms), 26 Blue Compact Dwarfs (BCDs), and 19 Magellanic-type spirals (Sms). We fit single, double, or even triple exponential profiles in up to 11 passbands: GALEX FUV and NUV, ground-based UBVJHK and Hα, and Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 μm. We find that more luminous galaxies have brighter centers, larger inner and outer scale lengths, and breaks at larger radii; dwarf trends with M B extend to spirals. However, the V-band break surface brightness is independent of break type, M B , and Hubble type. Dwarf Type II and III profiles fall off similarly beyond the breaks but have different interiors and IIs break ∼twice as far as IIIs. Outer Type II and III scale lengths may have weak trends with wavelength, but pure Type II inner scale lengths clearly decrease from the FUV to visible bands whereas Type III inner scale lengths increase with redder bands. This suggests the influence of different star formation histories on profile type, but nonetheless the break location is approximately the same in all passbands. Dwarfs continue trends between profile and Hubble types such that later-type galaxies have more Type II but fewer Type I and III profiles than early-type spirals. BCDs and Sms are over-represented as Types III and II, respectively, compared to dIms

Calibration technique for the neutron surface moisture measurement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, W.T.; Shreve, D.C.

1996-01-01

A technique for calibrating the response of a surface neutron moisture measurement probe to material moisture concentration has been devised. Tests to ensure that the probe will function in the expected in-tank operating environment are also outlined

Unperturbed moderator brightness in pulsed neutron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batkov, K.; Takibayev, A.; Zanini, L.; Mezei, F.

2013-01-01

The unperturbed neutron brightness of a moderator can be defined from the number of neutrons leaving the surface of a moderator completely surrounded by a reflector. Without openings for beam extraction, it is the maximum brightness that can be theoretically achieved in a moderator. The unperturbed brightness of a cylindrical cold moderator filled with pure para-H 2 was calculated using MCNPX; the moderator dimensions were optimised, for a fixed target and reflector geometry corresponding to the present concept for the ESS spallation source. This quantity does not depend on openings for beam extraction and therefore can be used for a first-round optimisation of a moderator, before effects due to beam openings are considered. We find that such an optimisation yields to a factor of 2 increase with respect to a conventional volume moderator, large enough to accommodate a viewed surface of 12×12 cm 2 : the unperturbed neutron brightness is maximum for a disc-shaped moderator of 15 cm diameter, 1.4 cm height. The reasons for this increase can be related to the properties of the scattering cross-section of para-H 2 , to the added reflector around the exit surface in the case of a compact moderator, and to a directionality effect. This large optimisation gain in the unperturbed brightness hints towards similar potentials for the perturbed neutron brightness, in particular in conjunction with advancing the optical quality of neutron delivery from the moderator to the sample, where by Liouville theorem the brightness is conserved over the beam trajectory, except for absorption and similar type losses

Improvements to the RXTE/PCA Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Jahoda, K.

2009-01-01

The author presents the current status of the RXTE/PCA Calibration, with emphasis on recent updates to the energy scale and the background subtraction. A new treatment of the Xenon K-escape line removes the largest remaining residual in the previously distributed matrices. Observations of Sco X-1 made simultaneously with Swift XRT, expressly for the purpose of cross calibrating the response to bright sources, are presented.

Extinction in the Galaxy from surface brightnesses of ESO-LV galaxies : Testing "standard" extinction maps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Choloniewski, J.; Valentijn, E. A.

A new method for the determination of the extinction in the Galaxy is proposed. The method uses surface brightnesses of external galaxies in the B and R-bands. The observational data have been taken from the ESO-LV galaxy catalog. As a first application of our model we derive the ratio of R-band to

Glacier Melt Detection in Complex Terrain Using New AMSR-E Calibrated Enhanced Daily EASE-Grid 2.0 Brightness Temperature (CETB) Earth System Data Record

Science.gov (United States)

Ramage, J. M.; Brodzik, M. J.; Hardman, M.

2016-12-01

Passive microwave (PM) 18 GHz and 36 GHz horizontally- and vertically-polarized brightness temperatures (Tb) channels from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) have been important sources of information about snow melt status in glacial environments, particularly at high latitudes. PM data are sensitive to the changes in near-surface liquid water that accompany melt onset, melt intensification, and refreezing. Overpasses are frequent enough that in most areas multiple (2-8) observations per day are possible, yielding the potential for determining the dynamic state of the snow pack during transition seasons. AMSR-E Tb data have been used effectively to determine melt onset and melt intensification using daily Tb and diurnal amplitude variation (DAV) thresholds. Due to mixed pixels in historically coarse spatial resolution Tb data, melt analysis has been impractical in ice-marginal zones where pixels may be only fractionally snow/ice covered, and in areas where the glacier is near large bodies of water: even small regions of open water in a pixel severely impact the microwave signal. We use the new enhanced-resolution Calibrated Passive Microwave Daily EASE-Grid 2.0 Brightness Temperature (CETB) Earth System Data Record product's twice daily obserations to test and update existing snow melt algorithms by determining appropriate melt thresholds for both Tb and DAV for the CETB 18 and 36 GHz channels. We use the enhanced resolution data to evaluate melt characteristics along glacier margins and melt transition zones during the melt seasons in locations spanning a wide range of melt scenarios, including the Patagonian Andes, the Alaskan Coast Range, and the Russian High Arctic icecaps. We quantify how improvement of spatial resolution from the original 12.5 - 25 km-scale pixels to the enhanced resolution of 3.125 - 6.25 km improves the ability to evaluate melt timing across boundaries and transition zones in diverse glacial environments.

A MULTIWAVELENGTH STUDY OF THE HIGH SURFACE BRIGHTNESS HOT SPOT IN PKS 1421-490

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godfrey, L. E. H.; Bicknell, G. V.; Lovell, J. E. J.; Jauncey, D. L.; Gelbord, J.; Schwartz, D. A.; Birkinshaw, M.; Worrall, D. M.; Marshall, H. L.; Georganopoulos, M.; Perlman, E. S.; Murphy, D. W.

2009-01-01

Long Baseline Array imaging of the z = 0.663 broadline radio galaxy PKS 1421-490 reveals a 400 pc diameter high surface brightness hot spot at a projected distance of ∼40 kpc from the active galactic nucleus. The isotropic X-ray luminosity of the hot spot, L 2-10keV = 3 x 10 44 ergs s -1 , is comparable to the isotropic X-ray luminosity of the entire X-ray jet of PKS 0637-752, and the peak radio surface brightness is hundreds of times greater than that of the brightest hot spot in Cygnus A. We model the radio to X-ray spectral energy distribution using a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model with a near equipartition magnetic field strength of 3 mG. There is a strong brightness asymmetry between the approaching and receding hotspots and the hot spot spectrum remains flat (α ∼ 0.5) well beyond the predicted cooling break for a 3 mG magnetic field, indicating that the hotspot emission may be Doppler beamed. A high plasma velocity beyond the terminal jet shock could be the result of a dynamically important magnetic field in the jet. There is a change in the slope of the hotspot radio spectrum at GHz frequencies, which we model by incorporating a cutoff in the electron energy distribution at γ min ∼ 650, with higher values implied if the hotspot emission is Doppler beamed. We show that a sharp decrease in the electron number density below a Lorentz factor of 650 would arise from the dissipation of bulk kinetic energy in an electron/proton jet with a Lorentz factor Γ jet ∼> 5.

Edge integration and the perception of brightness and darkness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vladusich, T.; Lucassen, M.P.; Cornelissen, F.W.

2006-01-01

How do induced brightness and darkness signals from local and remote surfaces interact to determine the final achromatic color percept of a target surface? An emerging theory of achromatic color perception posits that brightness and darkness percepts are computed by weighting and summing the

Multi-projector auto-calibration and placement optimization for non-planar surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dong; Xie, Jinghui; Zhao, Lu; Zhou, Lijing; Weng, Dongdong

2015-10-01

Non-planar projection has been widely applied in virtual reality and digital entertainment and exhibitions because of its flexible layout and immersive display effects. Compared with planar projection, a non-planar projection is more difficult to achieve because projector calibration and image distortion correction are difficult processes. This paper uses a cylindrical screen as an example to present a new method for automatically calibrating a multi-projector system in a non-planar environment without using 3D reconstruction. This method corrects the geometric calibration error caused by the screen's manufactured imperfections, such as an undulating surface or a slant in the vertical plane. In addition, based on actual projection demand, this paper presents the overall performance evaluation criteria for the multi-projector system. According to these criteria, we determined the optimal placement for the projectors. This method also extends to surfaces that can be parameterized, such as spheres, ellipsoids, and paraboloids, and demonstrates a broad applicability.

Simultaneous calibration of surface flow and baseflow simulations: A revisit of the SWAT model calibration framework

Science.gov (United States)

Accurate analysis of water flow pathways from rainfall to streams is critical for simulating water use, climate change impact, and contaminant transport. In this study, we developed a new scheme to simultaneously calibrate surface flow (SF) and baseflow (BF) simulations of Soil and Water Assessment ...

Analyzing Snowpack Metrics Over Large Spatial Extents Using Calibrated, Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperature Data and Long Short Term Memory Artificial Neural Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, W.; J Q Farmer, C.

2017-12-01

Snow water equivalence (SWE) is a difficult metric to measure accurately over large spatial extents; snow-tell sites are too localized, and traditional remotely sensed brightness temperature data is at too coarse of a resolution to capture variation. The new Calibrated Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperature (CETB) data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) offers remotely sensed brightness temperature data at an enhanced resolution of 3.125 km versus the original 25 km, which allows for large spatial extents to be analyzed with reduced uncertainty compared to the 25km product. While the 25km brightness temperature data has proved useful in past research — one group found decreasing trends in SWE outweighed increasing trends three to one in North America; other researchers used the data to incorporate winter conditions, like snow cover, into ecological zoning criterion — with the new 3.125 km data, it is possible to derive more accurate metrics for SWE, since we have far more spatial variability in measurements. Even with higher resolution data, using the 37 - 19 GHz frequencies to estimate SWE distorts the data during times of melt onset and accumulation onset. Past researchers employed statistical splines, while other successful attempts utilized non-parametric curve fitting to smooth out spikes distorting metrics. In this work, rather than using legacy curve fitting techniques, a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was trained to perform curve fitting on the data. LSTM ANN have shown great promise in modeling time series data, and with almost 40 years of data available — 14,235 days — there is plenty of training data for the ANN. LSTM's are ideal for this type of time series analysis because they allow important trends to persist for long periods of time, but ignore short term fluctuations; since LSTM's have poor mid- to short-term memory, they are ideal for smoothing out the large spikes generated in the melt

Brightness masking is modulated by disparity structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelekanos, Vassilis; Ban, Hiroshi; Welchman, Andrew E

2015-05-01

The luminance contrast at the borders of a surface strongly influences surface's apparent brightness, as demonstrated by a number of classic visual illusions. Such phenomena are compatible with a propagation mechanism believed to spread contrast information from borders to the interior. This process is disrupted by masking, where the perceived brightness of a target is reduced by the brief presentation of a mask (Paradiso & Nakayama, 1991), but the exact visual stage that this happens remains unclear. In the present study, we examined whether brightness masking occurs at a monocular-, or a binocular-level of the visual hierarchy. We used backward masking, whereby a briefly presented target stimulus is disrupted by a mask coming soon afterwards, to show that brightness masking is affected by binocular stages of the visual processing. We manipulated the 3-D configurations (slant direction) of the target and mask and measured the differential disruption that masking causes on brightness estimation. We found that the masking effect was weaker when stimuli had a different slant. We suggest that brightness masking is partly mediated by mid-level neuronal mechanisms, at a stage where binocular disparity edge structure has been extracted. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

SMAP L1B Radiometer Half-Orbit Time-Ordered Brightness Temperatures V003

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This Level-1B (L1B) product provides calibrated estimates of time-ordered geolocated brightness temperatures measured by the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)...

Standard test method for calibration of surface/stress measuring devices

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1997-01-01

Return to Contents page 1.1 This test method covers calibration or verification of calibration, or both, of surface-stress measuring devices used to measure stress in annealed and heat-strengthened or tempered glass using polariscopic or refractometry based principles. 1.2 This test method is nondestructive. 1.3 This test method uses transmitted light, and therefore, is applicable to light-transmitting glasses. 1.4 This test method is not applicable to chemically tempered glass. 1.5 Using the procedure described, surface stresses can be measured only on the “tin” side of float glass. 1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

Calibration and Industrial Application of Instrument for Surface Mapping based on AFM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Hans Nørgaard; Kofod, Niels; De Chiffre, Leonardo

2002-01-01

The paper describes the calibration and application of an integrated system for topographic characterisation of fine surfaces on large workpieces. The system, consisting of an atomic force microscope mounted on a coordinate measuring machine, was especially designed for surface mapping, i.e., mea...... consisting of a steel sphere with a polished surface having 3 nm roughness....

Design and calibration of a scanning tunneling microscope for large machined surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grigg, D.A.; Russell, P.E.; Dow, T.A.

1988-12-01

During the last year the large sample STM has been designed, built and used for the observation of several different samples. Calibration of the scanner for prope dimensional interpretation of surface features has been a chief concern, as well as corrections for non-linear effects such as hysteresis during scans. Several procedures used in calibration and correction of piezoelectric scanners used in the laboratorys STMs are described.

Visible Color and Photometry of Bright Materials on Vesta

Science.gov (United States)

Schroder, S. E.; Li, J. Y.; Mittlefehldt, D. W.; Pieters, C. M.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Hiesinger, H.; Blewett, D. T.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.; Keller, H. U.

2012-01-01

The Dawn Framing Camera (FC) collected images of the surface of Vesta at a pixel scale of 70 m in the High Altitude Mapping Orbit (HAMO) phase through its clear and seven color filters spanning from 430 nm to 980 nm. The surface of Vesta displays a large diversity in its brightness and colors, evidently related to the diverse geology [1] and mineralogy [2]. Here we report a detailed investigation of the visible colors and photometric properties of the apparently bright materials on Vesta in order to study their origin. The global distribution and the spectroscopy of bright materials are discussed in companion papers [3, 4], and the synthesis results about the origin of Vestan bright materials are reported in [5].

Surface-plasmon resonance-enhanced multiphoton emission of high-brightness electron beams from a nanostructured copper cathode.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, R K; To, H; Andonian, G; Feng, J; Polyakov, A; Scoby, C M; Thompson, K; Wan, W; Padmore, H A; Musumeci, P

2013-02-15

We experimentally investigate surface-plasmon assisted photoemission to enhance the efficiency of metallic photocathodes for high-brightness electron sources. A nanohole array-based copper surface was designed to exhibit a plasmonic response at 800 nm, fabricated using the focused ion beam milling technique, optically characterized and tested as a photocathode in a high power radio frequency photoinjector. Because of the larger absorption and localization of the optical field intensity, the charge yield observed under ultrashort laser pulse illumination is increased by more than 100 times compared to a flat surface. We also present the first beam characterization results (intrinsic emittance and bunch length) from a nanostructured photocathode.

The night sky brightness at McDonald Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinowski, J. K.; Roosen, R. G.; Brandt, J. C.

1975-01-01

Baseline observations of the night sky brightness in B and V are presented for McDonald Observatory. In agreement with earlier work by Elvey and Rudnick (1937) and Elvey (1943), significant night-to-night and same-night variations in sky brightness are found. Possible causes for these variations are discussed. The largest variation in sky brightness found during a single night is approximately a factor of two, a value which corresponds to a factor-of-four variation in airglow brightness. The data are used to comment on the accuracy of previously published surface photometry of M 81.

SU-F-BRA-09: New Efficient Method for Xoft Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy Source Calibration by Pre-Characterizing Surface Applicators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pai, S [iCAD Inc., Los Gatos, CA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: The objective is to improve the efficiency and efficacy of Xoft™ Axxent™ electronic brachytherapy (EBT) calibration of the source & surface applicator using AAPM TG-61 formalism. Methods: Current method of Xoft EBT source calibration involves determination of absolute dose rate of the source in each of the four conical surface applicators using in-air chamber measurements & TG61 formalism. We propose a simplified TG-61 calibration methodology involving initial characterization of surface cone applicators. This is accomplished by calibrating dose rates for all 4 surface applicator sets (for 10 sources) which establishes the “applicator output ratios” with respect to the selected reference applicator (20 mm applicator). After the initial time, Xoft™ Axxent™ source TG61 Calibration is carried out only in the reference applicator. Using the established applicator output ratios, dose rates for other applicators will be calculated. Results: 200 sources & 8 surface applicator sets were calibrated cumulatively using a Standard Imaging A20 ion-chamber in accordance with manufacturer-recommended protocols. Dose rates of 10, 20, 35 & 50mm applicators were normalized to the reference (20mm) applicator. The data in Figure 1 indicates that the normalized dose rate variation for each applicator for all 200 sources is better than ±3%. The average output ratios are 1.11, 1.02 and 0.49 for the 10 mm,35 mm and 50 mm applicators, respectively, which are in good agreement with the manufacturer’s published output ratios of 1.13, 1.02 and 0.49. Conclusion: Our measurements successfully demonstrate the accuracy of a new calibration method using a single surface applicator for Xoft EBT sources and deriving the dose rates of other applicators. The accuracy of the calibration is improved as this method minimizes the source position variation inside the applicator during individual source calibrations. The new method significantly reduces the calibration time to less

The Absolute Reflectance and New Calibration Site of the Moon

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yunzhao; Wang, Zhenchao; Cai, Wei; Lu, Yu

2018-05-01

How bright the Moon is forms a simple but fundamental and important question. Although numerous efforts have been made to answer this question such as use of sophisticated electro-optical measurements and suggestions for calibration sites, the answer is still debated. An in situ measurement with a calibration panel on the surface of the Moon is crucial for obtaining the accurate absolute reflectance and resolving the debate. China’s Chang’E-3 (CE-3) “Yutu” rover accomplished this type of measurement using the Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS). The measurements of the VNIS, which were at large emission and phase angles, complement existing measurements for the range of photometric geometry. The in situ reflectance shows that the CE-3 landing site is very dark with an average reflectance of 3.86% in the visible bands. The results are compared with recent mission instruments: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC), the Spectral Profiler (SP) on board the SELENE, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) on board the Chandrayaan-1, and the Chang’E-1 Interference Imaging Spectrometer (IIM). The differences in the measurements of these instruments are very large and indicate inherent differences in their absolute calibration. The M3 and IIM measurements are smaller than LROC WAC and SP, and the VNIS measurement falls between these two pairs. When using the Moon as a radiance source for the on-orbit calibration of spacecraft instruments, one should be cautious about the data. We propose that the CE-3 landing site, a young and homogeneous surface, should serve as the new calibration site.

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of MSU Level 1c Brightness Temperature, Version 1.0

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains Level 1c inter-calibrated brightness temperatures from the Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) sensors onboard nine polar orbiting satellites...

Intercomparisons of nine sky brightness detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

den Outer, Peter; Lolkema, Dorien; Haaima, Marty; van der Hoff, Rene; Spoelstra, Henk; Schmidt, Wim

2011-01-01

Nine Sky Quality Meters (SQMs) have been intercompared during a night time measurement campaign held in the Netherlands in April 2011. Since then the nine SQMs have been distributed across The Netherlands and form the Dutch network for monitoring night sky brightness. The goal of the intercomparison was to infer mutual calibration factors and obtain insight into the variability of the SQMs under different meteorological situations. An ensemble average is built from the individual measurements and used as a reference to infer the mutual calibration factors. Data required additional synchronization prior to the calibration determination, because the effect of moving clouds combined with small misalignments emerges as time jitter in the measurements. Initial scatter of the individual instruments lies between ±14%. Individual night time sums range from -16% to +20%. Intercalibration reduces this to 0.5%, and -7% to +9%, respectively. During the campaign the smallest luminance measured was 0.657 ± 0.003 mcd/m(2) on 12 April, and the largest value was 5.94 ± 0.03 mcd/m(2) on 2 April. During both occurrences interfering circumstances like snow cover or moonlight were absent.

Intercomparisons of Nine Sky Brightness Detectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henk Spoelstra

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Nine Sky Quality Meters (SQMs have been intercompared during a night time measurement campaign held in the Netherlands in April 2011. Since then the nine SQMs have been distributed across the Netherlands and form the Dutch network for monitoring night sky brightness. The goal of the intercomparison was to infer mutual calibration factors and obtain insight into the variability of the SQMs under different meteorological situations. An ensemble average is built from the individual measurements and used as a reference to infer the mutual calibration factors. Data required additional synchronization prior to the calibration determination, because the effect of moving clouds combined with small misalignments emerges as time jitter in the measurements. Initial scatter of the individual instruments lies between ±14%. Individual night time sums range from −16% to +20%. Intercalibration reduces this to 0.5%, and −7% to +9%, respectively. During the campaign the smallest luminance measured was 0.657 ± 0.003 mcd/m2 on 12 April, and the largest value was 5.94 ± 0.03 mcd/m2 on 2 April. During both occurrences interfering circumstances like snow cover or moonlight were absent.

Calibration-free quantitative surface topography reconstruction in scanning electron microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faber, E.T.; Martinez-Martinez, D.; Mansilla, C.; Ocelík, V.; Hosson, J.Th.M. De

2015-01-01

This work presents a new approach to obtain reliable surface topography reconstructions from 2D Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. In this method a set of images taken at different tilt angles are compared by means of digital image correlation (DIC). It is argued that the strength of the method lies in the fact that precise knowledge about the nature of the rotation (vector and/or magnitude) is not needed. Therefore, the great advantage is that complex calibrations of the measuring equipment are avoided. The paper presents the necessary equations involved in the methods, including derivations and solutions. The method is illustrated with examples of 3D reconstructions followed by a discussion on the relevant experimental parameters. - Highlights: • A novel method for quantitative 3D surface reconstruction in SEM is described. • This method uses at least 3 SEM images acquired at different sample tilts. • This method does not need calibration from the movement of the sample holder. • Mathematical background and examples of application are presented

Energy-exchange collisions of dark-bright-bright vector solitons.

Science.gov (United States)

Radhakrishnan, R; Manikandan, N; Aravinthan, K

2015-12-01

We find a dark component guiding the practically interesting bright-bright vector one-soliton to two different parametric domains giving rise to different physical situations by constructing a more general form of three-component dark-bright-bright mixed vector one-soliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with nine free real parameters. Moreover our main investigation of the collision dynamics of such mixed vector solitons by constructing the multisoliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with the help of Hirota technique reveals that the dark-bright-bright vector two-soliton supports energy-exchange collision dynamics. In particular the dark component preserves its initial form and the energy-exchange collision property of the bright-bright vector two-soliton solution of the Manakov model during collision. In addition the interactions between bound state dark-bright-bright vector solitons reveal oscillations in their amplitudes. A similar kind of breathing effect was also experimentally observed in the Bose-Einstein condensates. Some possible ways are theoretically suggested not only to control this breathing effect but also to manage the beating, bouncing, jumping, and attraction effects in the collision dynamics of dark-bright-bright vector solitons. The role of multiple free parameters in our solution is examined to define polarization vector, envelope speed, envelope width, envelope amplitude, grayness, and complex modulation of our solution. It is interesting to note that the polarization vector of our mixed vector one-soliton evolves in sphere or hyperboloid depending upon the initial parametric choices.

Using GRB 080723B to cross-calibrate Fermi/GBM and INTEGRAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kienlin, A. von; Briggs, M. S.; Connoughton, V.; Preece, R. D.; McBreen, S.; Sazonov, Sergey; Tsygankov, Sergey; Wilson-Hodge, C. A.

2009-01-01

On July 23, 2008 GRB 080723B, a bright GRB lasting about 105 s was detected by the INTEGRAL burst alert system. This burst was also detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray burst monitor. At this time no Fermi/GBM GCN notices were distributed to the public because Fermi was still in commissioning phase. The simultaneous detection of a bright GRB by both satellites gives us the opportunity to cross-calibrate the GBM with the already well-calibrated instruments on-board INTEGRAL, the Spectrometer SPI and the Imager IBIS. Time-resolved spectroscopy of this long and structured GRB is of special importance because Fermi was slewing during the GRB was still ongoing. In this paper we present a first and still preliminary analysis of the GBM spectra and compare them to those obtained by SPI for the same selection of time intervals. A more accurate cross-calibration will be forthcoming when the improved in-flight calibration of GBM is available and the corresponding data and responses can be reprocessed.

Sensitivity analysis and development of calibration methodology for near-surface hydrogeology model of Laxemar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aneljung, Maria; Sassner, Mona; Gustafsson, Lars-Goeran

2007-11-01

This report describes modelling where the hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE has been used to describe surface hydrology, near-surface hydrogeology, advective transport mechanisms, and the contact between groundwater and surface water within the SKB site investigation area at Laxemar. In the MIKE SHE system, surface water flow is described with the one-dimensional modelling tool MIKE 11, which is fully and dynamically integrated with the groundwater flow module in MIKE SHE. In early 2008, a supplementary data set will be available and a process of updating, rebuilding and calibrating the MIKE SHE model based on this data set will start. Before the calibration on the new data begins, it is important to gather as much knowledge as possible on calibration methods, and to identify critical calibration parameters and areas within the model that require special attention. In this project, the MIKE SHE model has been further developed. The model area has been extended, and the present model also includes an updated bedrock model and a more detailed description of the surface stream network. The numerical model has been updated and optimized, especially regarding the modelling of evapotranspiration and the unsaturated zone, and the coupling between the surface stream network in MIKE 11 and the overland flow in MIKE SHE. An initial calibration has been made and a base case has been defined and evaluated. In connection with the calibration, the most important changes made in the model were the following: The evapotranspiration was reduced. The infiltration capacity was reduced. The hydraulic conductivities of the Quaternary deposits in the water-saturated part of the subsurface were reduced. Data from one surface water level monitoring station, four surface water discharge monitoring stations and 43 groundwater level monitoring stations (SSM series boreholes) have been used to evaluate and calibrate the model. The base case simulations showed a reasonable agreement

Analysis of SMOS brightness temperature and vegetation optical depth data with coupled land surface and radiative transfer models in Southern Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Schlenz

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS L1c brightness temperature and L2 optical depth data are analysed with a coupled land surface (PROMET and radiative transfer model (L-MEB. The coupled models are validated with ground and airborne measurements under contrasting soil moisture, vegetation and land surface temperature conditions during the SMOS Validation Campaign in May and June 2010 in the SMOS test site Upper Danube Catchment in southern Germany. The brightness temperature root-mean-squared errors are between 6 K and 9 K. The L-MEB parameterisation is considered appropriate under local conditions even though it might possibly be further optimised. SMOS L1c brightness temperature data are processed and analysed in the Upper Danube Catchment using the coupled models in 2011 and during the SMOS Validation Campaign 2010 together with airborne L-band brightness temperature data. Only low to fair correlations are found for this comparison (R between 0.1–0.41. SMOS L1c brightness temperature data do not show the expected seasonal behaviour and are positively biased. It is concluded that RFI is responsible for a considerable part of the observed problems in the SMOS data products in the Upper Danube Catchment. This is consistent with the observed dry bias in the SMOS L2 soil moisture products which can also be related to RFI. It is confirmed that the brightness temperature data from the lower SMOS look angles and the horizontal polarisation are less reliable. This information could be used to improve the brightness temperature data filtering before the soil moisture retrieval. SMOS L2 optical depth values have been compared to modelled data and are not considered a reliable source of information about vegetation due to missing seasonal behaviour and a very high mean value. A fairly strong correlation between SMOS L2 soil moisture and optical depth was found (R = 0.65 even though the two variables are considered independent in the

Local Adaptive Calibration of the GLASS Surface Incident Shortwave Radiation Product Using Smoothing Spline

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.; Liang, S.; Wang, G.

2015-12-01

Incident solar radiation (ISR) over the Earth's surface plays an important role in determining the Earth's climate and environment. Generally, can be obtained from direct measurements, remotely sensed data, or reanalysis and general circulation models (GCMs) data. Each type of product has advantages and limitations: the surface direct measurements provide accurate but sparse spatial coverage, whereas other global products may have large uncertainties. Ground measurements have been normally used for validation and occasionally calibration, but transforming their "true values" spatially to improve the satellite products is still a new and challenging topic. In this study, an improved thin-plate smoothing spline approach is presented to locally "calibrate" the Global LAnd Surface Satellite (GLASS) ISR product using the reconstructed ISR data from surface meteorological measurements. The influences of surface elevation on ISR estimation was also considered in the proposed method. The point-based surface reconstructed ISR was used as the response variable, and the GLASS ISR product and the surface elevation data at the corresponding locations as explanatory variables to train the thin plate spline model. We evaluated the performance of the approach using the cross-validation method at both daily and monthly time scales over China. We also evaluated estimated ISR based on the thin-plate spline method using independent ground measurements at 10 sites from the Coordinated Enhanced Observation Network (CEON). These validation results indicated that the thin plate smoothing spline method can be effectively used for calibrating satellite derived ISR products using ground measurements to achieve better accuracy.

Comparative evaluations of surface contamination detectors calibration with radioactive sources - used in the Goiania accident, and standard sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, P.H.B.; Marecha, M.H.H.

1997-01-01

The construction of Cs-137 standard flat sources for calibration of surface contamination detectors, used in the Goiania accident in 1987, is described and the procedures adopted are reported. At that time, standard sources were not available. Nowadays the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria has standard sources acquired from Amersham which are used as calibration standards for surface contamination detectors. Comparative evaluations between the standard flat sources constructed for the accident and the calibrated ones are presented

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of SSM/I and SSMIS Microwave Brightness Temperatures, RSS Version 7

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This Version 7 NOAA Fundamental Climate Data Record (CDR) from Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) contains brightness temperatures that have been inter-calibrated and...

Calibrate the aerial surveying instrument by the limited surface source and the single point source that replace the unlimited surface source

CERN Document Server

Lu Cun Heng

1999-01-01

It is described that the calculating formula and surveying result is found on the basis of the stacking principle of gamma ray and the feature of hexagonal surface source when the limited surface source replaces the unlimited surface source to calibrate the aerial survey instrument on the ground, and that it is found in the light of the exchanged principle of the gamma ray when the single point source replaces the unlimited surface source to calibrate aerial surveying instrument in the air. Meanwhile through the theoretical analysis, the receiving rate of the crystal bottom and side surfaces is calculated when aerial surveying instrument receives gamma ray. The mathematical expression of the gamma ray decaying following height according to the Jinge function regularity is got. According to this regularity, the absorbing coefficient that air absorbs the gamma ray and the detective efficiency coefficient of the crystal is calculated based on the ground and air measuring value of the bottom surface receiving cou...

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of AMSU-A Level 1c Brightness Temperature, Version 1.0

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This dataset contains Level 1c inter-calibrated brightness temperatures from the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) sensors onboard six polar orbiting...

Sensitivity analysis and development of calibration methodology for near-surface hydrogeology model of Laxemar

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aneljung, Maria; Sassner, Mona; Gustafsson, Lars-Goeran (DHI Sverige AB, Lilla Bommen 1, SE-411 04 Goeteborg (Sweden))

2007-11-15

This report describes modelling where the hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE has been used to describe surface hydrology, near-surface hydrogeology, advective transport mechanisms, and the contact between groundwater and surface water within the SKB site investigation area at Laxemar. In the MIKE SHE system, surface water flow is described with the one-dimensional modelling tool MIKE 11, which is fully and dynamically integrated with the groundwater flow module in MIKE SHE. In early 2008, a supplementary data set will be available and a process of updating, rebuilding and calibrating the MIKE SHE model based on this data set will start. Before the calibration on the new data begins, it is important to gather as much knowledge as possible on calibration methods, and to identify critical calibration parameters and areas within the model that require special attention. In this project, the MIKE SHE model has been further developed. The model area has been extended, and the present model also includes an updated bedrock model and a more detailed description of the surface stream network. The numerical model has been updated and optimized, especially regarding the modelling of evapotranspiration and the unsaturated zone, and the coupling between the surface stream network in MIKE 11 and the overland flow in MIKE SHE. An initial calibration has been made and a base case has been defined and evaluated. In connection with the calibration, the most important changes made in the model were the following: The evapotranspiration was reduced. The infiltration capacity was reduced. The hydraulic conductivities of the Quaternary deposits in the water-saturated part of the subsurface were reduced. Data from one surface water level monitoring station, four surface water discharge monitoring stations and 43 groundwater level monitoring stations (SSM series boreholes) have been used to evaluate and calibrate the model. The base case simulations showed a reasonable agreement

Cuban-Brazilian comparison of the calibration procedures for surface contamination monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salas, Gonzalo W.; Garcia, Jose A.T.; Ramos, Manoel M.O.

2007-01-01

The calibration laboratory of the CPHR, Centro de Proteccion e Higiene de las Radiaciones, is the only laboratory that performs calibrations of radiation protection instruments in Cuba. Recently they started a cooperation project with IAEA, code number CUB3002-01 with the task title 'Assuring and Demonstrating the safety of radioactive Waste Management'. Within the frame of this project they have a compromise to implement the calibration service for surface contamination monitors, for which they received instruments and sources. In 2006 the Laboratorio Nacional de Metrologia das Radiacoes Ionizantes (LNMRI) from the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria, IRD/CNEN, was invited to perform a mission to CPHR in order to evaluate the level of implementation of the service trough the insertion of the service in the Quality Assurance System of their laboratory, and perform a comparison exercise to test the calibration method implemented. The results were evaluated by the methodology recommended in the ISO/IEC 43-1 standard. These results show that all values from both laboratories are comparable for most radionuclides except for Cl-36. The preliminary investigation about this situation is presented in the paper. (author)

Calibrated, Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperature Earth System Data Record: A New Era for Gridded Passive Microwave Data

Science.gov (United States)

Hardman, M.; Brodzik, M. J.; Long, D. G.

2017-12-01

Since 1978, the satellite passive microwave data record has been a mainstay of remote sensing of the cryosphere, providing twice-daily, near-global spatial coverage for monitoring changes in hydrologic and cryospheric parameters that include precipitation, soil moisture, surface water, vegetation, snow water equivalent, sea ice concentration and sea ice motion. Up until recently, the available global gridded passive microwave data sets have not been produced consistently. Various projections (equal-area, polar stereographic), a number of different gridding techniques were used, along with various temporal sampling as well as a mix of Level 2 source data versions. In addition, not all data from all sensors have been processed completely and they have not been processed in any one consistent way. Furthermore, the original gridding techniques were relatively primitive and were produced on 25 km grids using the original EASE-Grid definition that is not easily accommodated in modern software packages. As part of NASA MEaSUREs, we have re-processed all data from SMMR, all SSM/I-SSMIS and AMSR-E instruments, using the most mature Level 2 data. The Calibrated, Enhanced-Resolution Brightness Temperature (CETB) Earth System Data Record (ESDR) gridded data are now available from the NSIDC DAAC. The data are distributed as netCDF files that comply with CF-1.6 and ACDD-1.3 conventions. The data have been produced on EASE 2.0 projections at smoothed, 25 kilometer resolution and spatially-enhanced resolutions, up to 3.125 km depending on channel frequency, using the radiometer version of the Scatterometer Image Reconstruction (rSIR) method. We expect this newly produced data set to enable scientists to better analyze trends in coastal regions, marginal ice zones and in mountainous terrain that were not possible with the previous gridded passive microwave data. The use of the EASE-Grid 2.0 definition and netCDF-CF formatting allows users to extract compliant geotiff images and

Advancing Absolute Calibration for JWST and Other Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Rieke, George; Bohlin, Ralph; Boyajian, Tabetha; Carey, Sean; Casagrande, Luca; Deustua, Susana; Gordon, Karl; Kraemer, Kathleen; Marengo, Massimo; Schlawin, Everett; Su, Kate; Sloan, Greg; Volk, Kevin

2017-10-01

We propose to exploit the unique optical stability of the Spitzer telescope, along with that of IRAC, to (1) transfer the accurate absolute calibration obtained with MSX on very bright stars directly to two reference stars within the dynamic range of the JWST imagers (and of other modern instrumentation); (2) establish a second accurate absolute calibration based on the absolutely calibrated spectrum of the sun, transferred onto the astronomical system via alpha Cen A; and (3) provide accurate infrared measurements for the 11 (of 15) highest priority stars with no such data but with accurate interferometrically measured diameters, allowing us to optimize determinations of effective temperatures using the infrared flux method and thus to extend the accurate absolute calibration spectrally. This program is integral to plans for an accurate absolute calibration of JWST and will also provide a valuable Spitzer legacy.

The NIF x-ray spectrometer calibration campaign at Omega

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pérez, F.; Kemp, G. E.; Barrios, M. A.; Pino, J.; Scott, H.; Ayers, S.; Chen, H.; Emig, J.; Colvin, J. D.; Fournier, K. B., E-mail: fournier2@llnl.gov [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P. O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551 (United States); Regan, S. P.; Bedzyk, M.; Shoup, M. J.; Agliata, A.; Yaakobi, B.; Marshall, F. J.; Hamilton, R. A. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States); Jaquez, J.; Farrell, M.; Nikroo, A. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186 (United States)

2014-11-15

The calibration campaign of the National Ignition Facility X-ray Spectrometer (NXS) was carried out at the OMEGA laser facility. Spherically symmetric, laser-driven, millimeter-scale x-ray sources of K-shell and L-shell emission from various mid-Z elements were designed for the 2–18 keV energy range of the NXS. The absolute spectral brightness was measured by two calibrated spectrometers. We compare the measured performance of the target design to radiation hydrodynamics simulations.

The NIF x-ray spectrometer calibration campaign at Omega.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, F; Kemp, G E; Regan, S P; Barrios, M A; Pino, J; Scott, H; Ayers, S; Chen, H; Emig, J; Colvin, J D; Bedzyk, M; Shoup, M J; Agliata, A; Yaakobi, B; Marshall, F J; Hamilton, R A; Jaquez, J; Farrell, M; Nikroo, A; Fournier, K B

2014-11-01

The calibration campaign of the National Ignition Facility X-ray Spectrometer (NXS) was carried out at the Omega laser facility. Spherically symmetric, laser-driven, millimeter-scale x-ray sources of K-shell and L-shell emission from various mid-Z elements were designed for the 2-18 keV energy range of the NXS. The absolute spectral brightness was measured by two calibrated spectrometers. We compare the measured performance of the target design to radiation hydrodynamics simulations.

Galaxy Size Evolution at High Redshift and Surface Brightness Selection Effects: Constraints from the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

Science.gov (United States)

Bouwens, R. J.; Illingworth, G. D.; Blakeslee, J. P.; Broadhurst, T. J.; Franx, M.

2004-08-01

We use the exceptional depth of the Ultra Deep Field (UDF) and UDF-parallel Advanced Camera for Surveys fields to study the sizes of high-redshift (z~2-6) galaxies and address long-standing questions about possible biases in the cosmic star formation rate due to surface brightness dimming. Contrasting B-, V-, and i-dropout samples culled from the deeper data with those obtained from the shallower Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey fields, we demonstrate that the shallower data are essentially complete at bright magnitudes to z~0.4", >~3 kpc) low surface brightness galaxies are rare. A simple comparison of the half-light radii of the Hubble Deep Field-North + Hubble Deep Field-South U-dropouts with B-, V-, and i-dropouts from the UDF shows that the sizes follow a (1+z)-1.05+/-0.21 scaling toward high redshift. A more rigorous measurement compares different scalings of our U-dropout sample with the mean profiles for a set of intermediate-magnitude (26.0dropouts from the UDF. The best fit is found with a (1+z)-0.94+0.19-0.25 size scaling (for fixed luminosity). This result is then verified by repeating this experiment with different size measures, low-redshift samples, and magnitude ranges. Very similar scalings are found for all comparisons. A robust measurement of size evolution is thereby demonstrated for galaxies from z~6 to 2.5 using data from the UDF. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

Accurate antenna reflector loss measurements for radiometer calibration budget

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skou, Niels

1996-01-01

Antenna reflector losses may play an important role in the calibration budget for a microwave radiometer. If the losses are small they are difficult to measure by traditional means. However, they can be assessed directly by radiometric means using the sky brightness temperature as incident...

New tests of the common calibration context for ISO, IRTS, and MSX

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Martin

1997-01-01

The work carried out in order to test, verify and validate the accuracy of the calibration spectra provided to the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), to the Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) and to the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) for external calibration support of instruments, is reviewed. The techniques, used to vindicate the accuracy of the absolute spectra, are discussed. The work planned for comparing far infrared spectra of Mars and some of the bright stellar calibrators with long wavelength spectrometer data are summarized.

The bright-bright and bright-dark mode coupling-based planar metamaterial for plasmonic EIT-like effect

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wei; Meng, Hongyun; Chen, Zhangjie; Li, Xianping; Zhang, Xing; Wang, Faqiang; Wei, Zhongchao; Tan, Chunhua; Huang, Xuguang; Li, Shuti

2018-05-01

In this paper, we propose a novel planar metamaterial structure for the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like effect, which consists of a split-ring resonator (SRR) and a pair of metal strips. The simulated results indicate that a single transparency window can be realized in the symmetry situation, which originates from the bright-bright mode coupling. Further, a dual-band EIT-like effect can be achieved in the asymmetry situation, which is due to the bright-bright mode coupling and bright-dark mode coupling, respectively. Different EIT-like effect can be simultaneously achieved in the proposed structure with the different situations. It is of certain significance for the study of EIT-like effect.

Calibrate the aerial surveying instrument by the limited surface source and the single point source that replace the unlimited surface source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Cunheng

1999-01-01

It is described that the calculating formula and surveying result is found on the basis of the stacking principle of gamma ray and the feature of hexagonal surface source when the limited surface source replaces the unlimited surface source to calibrate the aerial survey instrument on the ground, and that it is found in the light of the exchanged principle of the gamma ray when the single point source replaces the unlimited surface source to calibrate aerial surveying instrument in the air. Meanwhile through the theoretical analysis, the receiving rate of the crystal bottom and side surfaces is calculated when aerial surveying instrument receives gamma ray. The mathematical expression of the gamma ray decaying following height according to the Jinge function regularity is got. According to this regularity, the absorbing coefficient that air absorbs the gamma ray and the detective efficiency coefficient of the crystal is calculated based on the ground and air measuring value of the bottom surface receiving count rate (derived from total receiving count rate of the bottom and side surface). Finally, according to the measuring value, it is proved that imitating the change of total receiving gamma ray exposure rate of the bottom and side surfaces with this regularity in a certain high area is feasible

Lamb wave tuning curve calibration for surface-bonded piezoelectric transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sohn, Hoon; Lee, Sang Jun

2010-01-01

Surface-bonded lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers have been widely used for guided wave generation and measurement. For selective actuation and sensing of Lamb wave modes, the sizes of the transducers and the driving frequency of the input waveform should be tuned. For this purpose, a theoretical Lamb wave tuning curve (LWTC) of a specific transducer size is generally obtained. Here, the LWTC plots each Lamb wave mode' amplitude as a function of the driving frequency. However, a discrepancy between experimental and existing theoretical LWTCs has been observed due to little consideration of the bonding layer and the energy distribution between Lamb wave modes. In this study, calibration techniques for theoretical LWTCs are proposed. First, a theoretical LWTC is developed when circular PZT transducers are used for both Lamb wave excitation and sensing. Then, the LWTC is calibrated by estimating the effective PZT size with PZT admittance measurement. Finally, the energy distributions among symmetric and antisymmetric modes are taken into account for better prediction of the relative amplitudes between Lamb wave modes. The effectiveness of the proposed calibration techniques is examined through numerical simulations and experimental estimation of the LWTC using the circular PZT transducers instrumented on an aluminum plate

Binary pseudo-random gratings and arrays for calibration of the modulation transfer function of surface profilometers: recent developments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barber, Samuel K.; Soldate, Paul; Anderson, Erik H.; Cambie, Rossana; Marchesini, Stefano; McKinney, Wanye R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Voronov, Dmitry L.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.

2009-07-07

The major problem of measurement of a power spectral density (PSD) distribution of the surface heights with surface profilometers arises due to the unknown Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of the instruments. The MTF tends to distort the PSD at higher spatial frequencies. It has been suggested [Proc. SPIE 7077-7, (2007), Opt. Eng. 47 (7), 073602-1-5 (2008)] that the instrumental MTF of a surface profiler can be precisely measured using standard test surfaces based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) patterns. In the cited work, a one dimensional (1D) realization of the suggested method based on use of BPR gratings has been demonstrated. Here, we present recent achievements made in fabricating and using two-dimensional (2D) BPR arrays that allow for a direct 2D calibration of the instrumental MTF. The 2D BPRAs were used as standard test surfaces for 2D MTF calibration of the MicromapTM-570 interferometric microscope with all available objectives. The effects of fabrication imperfections on the efficiency of calibration are also discussed.

Comparison and uncertainty evaluation of different calibration protocols and ionization chambers for low-energy surface brachytherapy dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Candela-Juan, C., E-mail: ccanjuan@gmail.com [Radiation Oncology Department, La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital, Valencia 46026 (Spain); Vijande, J. [Department of Atomic, Molecular, and Nuclear Physics, University of Valencia, Burjassot 46100, Spain and Instituto de Física Corpuscular (UV-CSIC), Paterna 46980 (Spain); García-Martínez, T. [Radiation Oncology Department, Hospital La Ribera, Alzira 46600 (Spain); Niatsetski, Y.; Nauta, G.; Schuurman, J. [Elekta Brachytherapy, Veenendaal 3905 TH (Netherlands); Ouhib, Z. [Radiation Oncology Department, Lynn Regional Cancer Center, Boca Raton Community Hospital, Boca Raton, Florida 33486 (United States); Ballester, F. [Department of Atomic, Molecular, and Nuclear Physics, University of Valencia, Burjassot 46100 (Spain); Perez-Calatayud, J. [Radiation Oncology Department, La Fe University and Polytechnic Hospital, Valencia 46026, Spain and Department of Radiotherapy, Clínica Benidorm, Benidorm 03501 (Spain)

2015-08-15

Purpose: A surface electronic brachytherapy (EBT) device is in fact an x-ray source collimated with specific applicators. Low-energy (<100 kVp) x-ray beam dosimetry faces several challenges that need to be addressed. A number of calibration protocols have been published for x-ray beam dosimetry. The media in which measurements are performed are the fundamental difference between them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface dose rate of a low-energy x-ray source with small field applicators using different calibration standards and different small-volume ionization chambers, comparing the values and uncertainties of each methodology. Methods: The surface dose rate of the EBT unit Esteya (Elekta Brachytherapy, The Netherlands), a 69.5 kVp x-ray source with applicators of 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 mm diameter, was evaluated using the AAPM TG-61 (based on air kerma) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) TRS-398 (based on absorbed dose to water) dosimetry protocols for low-energy photon beams. A plane parallel T34013 ionization chamber (PTW Freiburg, Germany) calibrated in terms of both absorbed dose to water and air kerma was used to compare the two dosimetry protocols. Another PTW chamber of the same model was used to evaluate the reproducibility between these chambers. Measurements were also performed with two different Exradin A20 (Standard Imaging, Inc., Middleton, WI) chambers calibrated in terms of air kerma. Results: Differences between surface dose rates measured in air and in water using the T34013 chamber range from 1.6% to 3.3%. No field size dependence has been observed. Differences are below 3.7% when measurements with the A20 and the T34013 chambers calibrated in air are compared. Estimated uncertainty (with coverage factor k = 1) for the T34013 chamber calibrated in water is 2.2%–2.4%, whereas it increases to 2.5% and 2.7% for the A20 and T34013 chambers calibrated in air, respectively. The output factors, measured with the PTW chambers

An Evaluation of Antarctica as a Calibration Target for Passive Microwave Satellite Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Edward

2012-01-01

Passive microwave remote sensing at L-band (1.4 GHz) is sensitive to soil moisture and sea surface salinity, both important climate variables. Science studies involving these variables can now take advantage of new satellite L-band observations. The first mission with regular global passive microwave observations at L-band is the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), launched November, 2009. A second mission, NASA's Aquarius, was launched June, 201l. A third mission, NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) is scheduled to launch in 2014. Together, these three missions may provide a decade-long data record -- provided that they are intercalibrated. The intercalibration is best performed at the radiance (brightness temperature) level, and Antarctica is proving to be a key calibration target. However, Antarctica has thus far not been fully characterized as a potential target. This paper will present evaluations of Antarctica as a microwave calibration target for the above satellite missions. Preliminary analyses have identified likely target areas, such as the vicinity of Dome-C and larger areas within East Antarctica. Physical sources of temporal and spatial variability of polar firn are key to assessing calibration uncertainty. These sources include spatial variability of accumulation rate, compaction, surface characteristics (dunes, micro-topography), wind patterns, and vertical profiles of density and temperature. Using primarily SMOS data, variability is being empirically characterized and attempts are being made to attribute observed variability to physical sources. One expected outcome of these studies is the potential discovery of techniques for remotely sensing--over all of Antarctica--parameters such as surface temperature.

Using RSpec in an introductory bright star spectroscopy lab activity

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, James; Sitar, David J.

2018-01-01

After presenting at the North Carolina Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers during the fall 2016 meeting, we were encouraged to turn our poster into a paper. This article describes the strengthening of a bright star spectroscopy lab activity for introductory astronomy lab students (AST1002) at Appalachian State University. Explanations of the tools and methods used in the activity are included, particularly the preparation of additional materials using RSpec and calibrated instrument response curves.

Measurement of small antenna reflector losses for radiometer calibration budget

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skou, Niels

1997-01-01

Antenna reflector losses play an important role in the calibration budget for a microwave radiometer. If the losses are small, they are difficult to measure by traditional means. However, they can be assessed directly by radiometric means using the sky brightness temperature as incident radiation...

Sensitivity analysis and development of calibration methodology for near-surface hydrogeology model of Forsmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aneljung, Maria; Gustafsson, Lars-Goeran

2007-04-01

The hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE has been used to describe near-surface groundwater flow, transport mechanisms and the contact between ground- and surface water at the Forsmark site. The surface water system at Forsmark is described with the 1D modelling tool MIKE 11, which is fully and dynamically integrated with MIKE SHE. In spring 2007, a new data freeze will be available and a process of updating, rebuilding and calibrating the MIKE SHE model will start, based on the latest data set. Prior to this, it is important to gather as much knowledge as possible on calibration methods and to define critical calibration parameters and areas within the model. In this project, an optimization of the numerical description and an initial calibration of the MIKE SHE model has been made, and an updated base case has been defined. Data from 5 surface water level monitoring stations, 4 surface water discharge monitoring stations and 32 groundwater level monitoring stations (SFM soil boreholes) has been used for model calibration and evaluation. The base case simulations generally show a good agreement between calculated and measured water levels and discharges, indicating that the total runoff from the area is well described by the model. Moreover, with two exceptions (SFM0012 and SFM0022) the base case results show very good agreement between calculated and measured groundwater head elevations for boreholes installed below lakes. The model also shows a reasonably good agreement between calculated and measured groundwater head elevations or depths to phreatic surfaces in many other points. The following major types of calculation-measurement differences can be noted: Differences in groundwater level amplitudes due to transpiration processes. Differences in absolute mean groundwater head, due to differences between borehole casing levels and the interpolated DEM. Differences in absolute mean head elevations, due to local errors in hydraulic conductivity values

Sensitivity analysis and development of calibration methodology for near-surface hydrogeology model of Forsmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aneljung, Maria; Gustafsson, Lars-Goeran [DHI Water and Environment AB, Goeteborg (Sweden)

2007-04-15

The hydrological modelling system MIKE SHE has been used to describe near-surface groundwater flow, transport mechanisms and the contact between ground- and surface water at the Forsmark site. The surface water system at Forsmark is described with the 1D modelling tool MIKE 11, which is fully and dynamically integrated with MIKE SHE. In spring 2007, a new data freeze will be available and a process of updating, rebuilding and calibrating the MIKE SHE model will start, based on the latest data set. Prior to this, it is important to gather as much knowledge as possible on calibration methods and to define critical calibration parameters and areas within the model. In this project, an optimization of the numerical description and an initial calibration of the MIKE SHE model has been made, and an updated base case has been defined. Data from 5 surface water level monitoring stations, 4 surface water discharge monitoring stations and 32 groundwater level monitoring stations (SFM soil boreholes) has been used for model calibration and evaluation. The base case simulations generally show a good agreement between calculated and measured water levels and discharges, indicating that the total runoff from the area is well described by the model. Moreover, with two exceptions (SFM0012 and SFM0022) the base case results show very good agreement between calculated and measured groundwater head elevations for boreholes installed below lakes. The model also shows a reasonably good agreement between calculated and measured groundwater head elevations or depths to phreatic surfaces in many other points. The following major types of calculation-measurement differences can be noted: Differences in groundwater level amplitudes due to transpiration processes. Differences in absolute mean groundwater head, due to differences between borehole casing levels and the interpolated DEM. Differences in absolute mean head elevations, due to local errors in hydraulic conductivity values

Plasmonic EIT-like switching in bright-dark-bright plasmon resonators.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Junxue; Wang, Pei; Chen, Chuncong; Lu, Yonghua; Ming, Hai; Zhan, Qiwen

2011-03-28

In this paper we report the study of the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-like transmission in the bright-dark-bright plasmon resonators. It is demonstrated that the interferences between the dark plasmons excited by two bright plasmon resonators can be controlled by the incident light polarization. The constructive interference strengthens the coupling between the bright and dark resonators, leading to a more prominent EIT-like transparency window of the metamaterial. In contrary, destructive interference suppresses the coupling between the bright and dark resonators, destroying the interference pathway that forms the EIT-like transmission. Based on this observation, the plasmonic EIT switching can be realized by changing the polarization of incident light. This phenomenon may find applications in optical switching and plasmon-based information processing.

The abundance properties of nearby late-type galaxies. II. The relation between abundance distributions and surface brightness profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilyugin, L. S.; Grebel, E. K.; Zinchenko, I. A.; Kniazev, A. Y.

2014-01-01

The relations between oxygen abundance and disk surface brightness (OH–SB relation) in the infrared W1 band are examined for nearby late-type galaxies. The oxygen abundances were presented in Paper I. The photometric characteristics of the disks are inferred here using photometric maps from the literature through bulge-disk decomposition. We find evidence that the OH–SB relation is not unique but depends on the galactocentric distance r (taken as a fraction of the optical radius R 25 ) and on the properties of a galaxy: the disk scale length h and the morphological T-type. We suggest a general, four-dimensional OH–SB relation with the values r, h, and T as parameters. The parametric OH–SB relation reproduces the observed data better than a simple, one-parameter relation; the deviations resulting when using our parametric relation are smaller by a factor of ∼1.4 than that of the simple relation. The influence of the parameters on the OH–SB relation varies with galactocentric distance. The influence of the T-type on the OH–SB relation is negligible at the centers of galaxies and increases with galactocentric distance. In contrast, the influence of the disk scale length on the OH–SB relation is at a maximum at the centers of galaxies and decreases with galactocentric distance, disappearing at the optical edges of galaxies. Two-dimensional relations can be used to reproduce the observed data at the optical edges of the disks and at the centers of the disks. The disk scale length should be used as a second parameter in the OH–SB relation at the center of the disk while the morphological T-type should be used as a second parameter in the relation at optical edge of the disk. The relations between oxygen abundance and disk surface brightness in the optical B and infrared K bands at the center of the disk and at optical edge of the disk are also considered. The general properties of the abundance–surface brightness relations are similar for the three

Self-Calibration Method Based on Surface Micromaching of Light Transceiver Focal Plane for Optical Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Li

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In remote sensing photogrammetric applications, inner orientation parameter (IOP calibration of remote sensing camera is a prerequisite for determining image position. However, achieving such a calibration without temporal and spatial limitations remains a crucial but unresolved issue to date. The accuracy of IOP calibration methods of a remote sensing camera determines the performance of image positioning. In this paper, we propose a high-accuracy self-calibration method without temporal and spatial limitations for remote sensing cameras. Our method is based on an auto-collimating dichroic filter combined with a surface micromachining (SM point-source focal plane. The proposed method can autonomously complete IOP calibration without the need of outside reference targets. The SM procedure is used to manufacture a light transceiver focal plane, which integrates with point sources, a splitter, and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor sensor. A dichroic filter is used to fabricate an auto-collimation light reflection element. The dichroic filter, splitter, and SM point-source focal plane are integrated into a camera to perform an integrated self-calibration. Experimental measurements confirm the effectiveness and convenience of the proposed method. Moreover, the method can achieve micrometer-level precision and can satisfactorily complete real-time calibration without temporal or spatial limitations.

AXIAL RATIO OF EDGE-ON SPIRAL GALAXIES AS A TEST FOR BRIGHT RADIO HALOS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singal, J.; Jones, E.; Dunlap, H.; Kogut, A.

2015-01-01

We use surface brightness contour maps of nearby edge-on spiral galaxies to determine whether extended bright radio halos are common. In particular, we test a recent model of the spatial structure of the diffuse radio continuum by Subrahmanyan and Cowsik which posits that a substantial fraction of the observed high-latitude surface brightness originates from an extended Galactic halo of uniform emissivity. Measurements of the axial ratio of emission contours within a sample of normal spiral galaxies at 1500 MHz and below show no evidence for such a bright, extended radio halo. Either the Galaxy is atypical compared to nearby quiescent spirals or the bulk of the observed high-latitude emission does not originate from this type of extended halo. (letters)

Calibration of Modulation Transfer Function of Surface Profilometers with 1D and 2D Binary Pseudo-random Array Standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.

2008-01-01

We suggest and describe the use of a binary pseudo-random grating as a standard test surface for calibration of the modulation transfer function of microscopes. Results from calibration of a MicromapTM-570 interferometric microscope are presented.

Brightness of the photosphere and faculae at the limb based on eclipse observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akimov, L.A.; Belkina, I.L.; Dyatel, N.P.

1982-05-01

The absolute distributions of integral and surface brightness of the photospheric continuum (lambdaroughly-equal5870 A) and in faculae at the very limb are obtained from slitless spectrograms of the total solar eclipse of July 10, 1972. Several possible reasons for the brightness increase toward the limb in the distribution of photospheric surface brightness are discussed. The faculae showed high contrasts, up to 1.76 at a height of 200 km from the limb. A comparison of the times of local contacts observed and calculated with allowance for lunar relief showed that the active regions are at about 300 km above the photosphere. A schematic model of a facula is proposed.

Enhanced-Resolution Satellite Microwave Brightness Temperature Records for Mapping Boreal-Arctic Landscape Freeze-Thaw Heterogeneity

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Y.; Du, J.; Kimball, J. S.

2017-12-01

The landscape freeze-thaw (FT) status derived from satellite microwave remote sensing is closely linked to vegetation phenology and productivity, surface energy exchange, evapotranspiration, snow/ice melt dynamics, and trace gas fluxes over land areas affected by seasonally frozen temperatures. A long-term global satellite microwave Earth System Data Record of daily landscape freeze-thaw status (FT-ESDR) was developed using similar calibrated 37GHz, vertically-polarized (V-pol) brightness temperatures (Tb) from SMMR, SSM/I, and SSMIS sensors. The FT-ESDR shows mean annual spatial classification accuracies of 90.3 and 84.3 % for PM and AM overpass retrievals relative surface air temperature (SAT) measurement based FT estimates from global weather stations. However, the coarse FT-ESDR gridding (25-km) is insufficient to distinguish finer scale FT heterogeneity. In this study, we tested alternative finer scale FT estimates derived from two enhanced polar-grid (3.125-km and 6-km resolution), 36.5 GHz V-pol Tb records derived from calibrated AMSR-E and AMSR2 sensor observations. The daily FT estimates are derived using a modified seasonal threshold algorithm that classifies daily Tb variations in relation to grid cell-wise FT thresholds calibrated using ERA-Interim reanalysis based SAT, downscaled using a digital terrain map and estimated temperature lapse rates. The resulting polar-grid FT records for a selected study year (2004) show mean annual spatial classification accuracies of 90.1% (84.2%) and 93.1% (85.8%) for respective PM (AM) 3.125km and 6-km Tb retrievals relative to in situ SAT measurement based FT estimates from regional weather stations. Areas with enhanced FT accuracy include water-land boundaries and mountainous terrain. Differences in FT patterns and relative accuracy obtained from the enhanced grid Tb records were attributed to several factors, including different noise contributions from underlying Tb processing and spatial mismatches between Tb

SU-E-J-221: Advantages of a New Surface Imaging Calibration Method for SRS Treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paxton, A; Manger, R; Pawlicki, T; Kim, G

2014-01-01

Purpose: The present calibration method used for the AlignRT surface imaging system relies on the placement of a calibration plate at the linac isocenter using isocenter surrogates (crosshairs, room lasers, etc.). This work investigated the potential advantages of a new calibration method that shifts the AlignRT isocenter to be coincident with the linac MV beam isocenter. Methods: To quantify the potential uncertainties associated with the present calibration method for SRS treatments, the calibration plate was intentionally shifted away from isocenter +/−3mm in the longitudinal and lateral directions and +/−1mm in the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions. A head phantom was placed in a mock SRS treatment position and monitored with the AlignRT system. The AlignRT-indicated offsets were recorded at 270, 315, 0, 45, and 90° couch angles for each intentional calibration misalignment. The new isocenter calibration was applied after each misalignment, and the measurements were repeated and compared to the previous results. Results: With intentional longitudinal and lateral shifts of +/−3mm and +/−1mm in the calibration plate, the average indicated offsets at couch rotations of +/−90° were 4.3mm and 1.6mm, respectively. This was in agreement with the theoretical offset of sqrt(2)*(intentional shift of the calibration plate). Since vertical shifts were along the rotation axis of the couch, these shifts had little effect on the offsets with changing couch angle. When the new calibration was applied, the indicated offsets were all within 0.5mm for all couch angles. These offsets were in agreement with the known magnitude of couch walkout. Conclusion: The potential pitfalls of the present calibration method have been established, and the advantages of the new calibration method have been demonstrated. This new calibration method effectively removes the potential miscalibration artifacts of the present calibration method, giving the AlignRT user more

MOIRCS DEEP SURVEY. V. A UNIVERSAL RELATION FOR STELLAR MASS AND SURFACE BRIGHTNESS OF GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichikawa, Takashi; Kajisawa, Masaru; Yamada, Toru; Akiyama, Masayuki; Yoshikawa, Tomohiro; Onodera, Masato; Konishi, Masahiro

2010-01-01

We present a universal linear correlation between the stellar mass and surface brightness (SB) of galaxies at 0.3 -2.0∼-0.8 , in addition to dimming as (1 + z) 4 by the cosmological expansion effect. The brightening depends on galaxy color and stellar mass. The blue population (rest-frame U - V -0.8±0.3 in the rest-V band. On the other hand, the red population (U - V>0) and the massive galaxies (M * >10 10 M sun ) show stronger brightening, (1 + z) -1.5±0.1 . By comparison with galaxy evolution models, the phenomena are well understood by the pure luminosity evolution of galaxies out to z ∼ 3.

A new perspective on the infrared brightness temperature ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

CEAWMT), ... temperatures clearly discriminates the cloud pixels of deep convective and ... utilized in the modelling of the histogram of infrared brightness temperature of deep convective and ..... Henderson-Sellers A 1978 Surface type and its effect.

The Star-forming Main Sequence of Dwarf Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

McGaugh, Stacy S.; Schombert, James M.; Lelli, Federico

2017-12-01

We explore the star-forming properties of late-type, low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. The star-forming main sequence ({SFR}-{M}* ) of LSB dwarfs has a steep slope, indistinguishable from unity (1.04 ± 0.06). They form a distinct sequence from more massive spirals, which exhibit a shallower slope. The break occurs around {M}* ≈ {10}10 {M}⊙ , and can also be seen in the gas mass—stellar mass plane. The global Kennicutt-Schmidt law ({SFR}-{M}g) has a slope of 1.47 ± 0.11 without the break seen in the main sequence. There is an ample supply of gas in LSB galaxies, which have gas depletion times well in excess of a Hubble time, and often tens of Hubble times. Only ˜ 3 % of this cold gas needs be in the form of molecular gas to sustain the observed star formation. In analogy with the faint, long-lived stars of the lower stellar main sequence, it may be appropriate to consider the main sequence of star-forming galaxies to be defined by thriving dwarfs (with {M}* {10}10 {M}⊙ ) are weary giants that constitute more of a turn-off population.

Development of Pseudorandom Binary Arrays for Calibration of Surface Profile Metrology Tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barber, S.K.; Takacs, P.; Soldate, P.; Anderson, E.H.; Cambie, R.; McKinney, W.R.; Voronov, D.L.; Yashchuk, V.V.

2009-01-01

measured and simulated PSD distributions gives the MTF of the instrument. The applicability of the MTF concept to phase map measurements with optical interferometric microscopes needs to be experimentally verified as the optical tool and algorithms may introduce nonlinear artifacts into the process. In previous work [V. V. Yashchuk et al., Proc. SPIE 6704, 670408 (2007); Valeriy V. Yashchuk et al., Opt. Eng. (Bellingham) 47, 073602 (2008)] the instrumental MTF of a surface profiler was precisely measured using reference test surfaces based on binary pseudorandom (BPR) gratings. Here, the authors present results of fabricating and using two-dimensional (2D) BPR arrays that allow for a direct 2D calibration of the instrumental MTF. BPR sequences are widely used in engineering and communication applications such as global position systems and wireless communication protocols. The ideal BPR pattern has a flat 'white noise' response over the entire range of spatial frequencies of interest. The BPR array used here is based on the uniformly redundant array (URA) prescription [E. E. Fenimore and T. M. Cannon, Appl. Opt. 17, 337 (1978)] initially used for x-ray and gamma ray astronomy applications. The URA's superior imaging capability originates from the fact that its cyclical autocorrelation function very closely approximates a delta function, which produces a flat PSD. Three different size BPR array patterns were fabricated by electron beam lithography and induction coupled plasma etching of silicon. The basic size units were 200, 400, and 600 nm. Two different etch processes were used, CF 4 /Ar and HBr, which resulted in undercut and vertical sidewall profiles, respectively. The 2D BPR arrays were used as standard test surfaces for MTF calibration of the MicroMap(trademark)-570 interferometric microscope using all available objectives. The MicroMap(trademark)-570 interferometric microscope uses incoherent illumination from a tungsten filament source and common path modulated

LARGER PLANET RADII INFERRED FROM STELLAR ''FLICKER'' BRIGHTNESS VARIATIONS OF BRIGHT PLANET-HOST STARS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastien, Fabienne A.; Stassun, Keivan G.; Pepper, Joshua

2014-01-01

Most extrasolar planets have been detected by their influence on their parent star, typically either gravitationally (the Doppler method) or by the small dip in brightness as the planet blocks a portion of the star (the transit method). Therefore, the accuracy with which we know the masses and radii of extrasolar planets depends directly on how well we know those of the stars, the latter usually determined from the measured stellar surface gravity, log g. Recent work has demonstrated that the short-timescale brightness variations ( f licker ) of stars can be used to measure log g to a high accuracy of ∼0.1-0.2 dex. Here, we use flicker measurements of 289 bright (Kepmag < 13) candidate planet-hosting stars with T eff = 4500-6650 K to re-assess the stellar parameters and determine the resulting impact on derived planet properties. This re-assessment reveals that for the brightest planet-host stars, Malmquist bias contaminates the stellar sample with evolved stars: nearly 50% of the bright planet-host stars are subgiants. As a result, the stellar radii, and hence the radii of the planets orbiting these stars, are on average 20%-30% larger than previous measurements had suggested

All-sky brightness monitoring of light pollution with astronomical methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabaza, O; Galadí-Enríquez, D; Estrella, A Espín; Dols, F Aznar

2010-06-01

This paper describes a mobile prototype and a protocol to measure light pollution based on astronomical methods. The prototype takes three all-sky images using BVR filters of the Johnson-Cousins astronomical photometric system. The stars are then identified in the images of the Hipparcos and General Catalogue of Photometric Data II astronomical catalogues, and are used as calibration sources. This method permits the measurement of night-sky brightness and facilitates an estimate of which fraction is due to the light up-scattered in the atmosphere by a wide variety of man-made sources. This is achieved by our software, which compares the sky background flux to that of many stars of known brightness. The reduced weight and dimensions of the prototype allow the user to make measurements from virtually any location. This prototype is capable of measuring the sky distribution of light pollution, and also provides an accurate estimate of the background flux at each photometric band. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Use of Dark and Bright Targets for the In-Flight Calibration of AVIRIS

Science.gov (United States)

Thome, K.; Parada, R.; Schiller, S.; Conel, J.; LaMarr, J.

1998-01-01

During a field campaign at Lake Tahoe on June 22, 1995, calibrations of AVIRIS were attempted using both the reflectance-based and radiance-based methods. This experiment shows that the use of dark water targets to calibrate radiometric sensors can result in meaningful sensor characterization. In particular, the reflectance-based method shows promise towards meeting the desired 2-3% uncertainty levels for ocean color sensors since experimental agreement of better than 1.5% is found for the Lake Tahoe AVIRIS experiment. Similarly promising results were found from reflectance-based calibrations at Lunar Lake with large portions of the spectrum having less than a 5% difference between the reflectance-based predictions and the measured AVIRIS radiances. These results are still in the preliminary stage and it is likely that further study of this data set will lead to even better agreement. The results of the radiance-based calibration at Lake Tahoe are quite good at the shorter wavelengths where atmospheric scattering leads to larger signals and smaller effects of specularly reflected solar energy. The results also showed the sensitivity to radiometer pointing when using water targets for vicarious calibration.

Compact blackbody calibration sources for in-flight calibration of spaceborne infrared instruments

Science.gov (United States)

Scheiding, S.; Driescher, H.; Walter, I.; Hanbuch, K.; Paul, M.; Hartmann, M.; Scheiding, M.

2017-11-01

High-emissivity blackbodies are mandatory as calibration sources in infrared radiometers. Besides the requirements on the high spectral emissivity and low reflectance, constraints regarding energy consumption, installation space and mass must be considered during instrument design. Cavity radiators provide an outstanding spectral emissivity to the price of installation space and mass of the calibration source. Surface radiation sources are mainly limited by the spectral emissivity of the functional coating and the homogeneity of the temperature distribution. The effective emissivity of a "black" surface can be optimized, by structuring the substrate with the aim to enlarge the ratio of the surface to its projection. Based on the experiences of the Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spectrometer (MERTIS) calibration source MBB3, the results of the surface structuring on the effective emissivity are described analytically and compared to the experimental performance. Different geometries are analyzed and the production methods are discussed. The high-emissivity temperature calibration source features values of 0.99 for wavelength from 5 μm to 10 μm and emissivity larger than 0.95 for the spectral range from 10 μm to 40 μm.

Tracing the stellar component of low surface brightness Milky Way dwarf galaxies to their outskirts. I. Sextans

Science.gov (United States)

Cicuéndez, L.; Battaglia, G.; Irwin, M.; Bermejo-Climent, J. R.; McMonigal, B.; Bate, N. F.; Lewis, G. F.; Conn, A. R.; de Boer, T. J. L.; Gallart, C.; Guglielmo, M.; Ibata, R.; McConnachie, A.; Tolstoy, E.; Fernando, N.

2018-01-01

Aims: We present results from deep and very spatially extended CTIO/DECam g and r photometry (reaching out to 2 mag below the oldest main-sequence turn-off and covering 20 deg2) around the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We aim to use this dataset to study the structural properties of Sextans overall stellar population and its member stars in different evolutionary phases, as well as to search for possible signs of tidal disturbance from the Milky Way, which would indicate departure from dynamical equilibrium. Methods: We performed the most accurate and quantitative structural analysis to-date of Sextans' stellar components by applying Bayesian Monte Carlo Markov chain methods to the individual stars' positions. Surface density maps are built by statistically decontaminating the sample through a matched filter analysis of the colour-magnitude diagram, and then analysed for departures from axisymmetry. Results: Sextans is found to be significantly less spatially extended and more centrally concentrated than early studies suggested. No statistically significant distortions or signs of tidal disturbances were found down to a surface brightness limit of 31.8 mag/arcsec2 in V-band. We identify an overdensity in the central regions that may correspond to previously reported kinematic substructure(s). In agreement with previous findings, old and metal-poor stars such as Blue Horizontal Branch stars cover a much larger area than stars in other evolutionary phases, and bright Blue Stragglers (BSs) are less spatially extended than faint ones. However, the different spatial distribution of bright and faint BSs appears consistent with the general age and metallicity gradients found in Sextans' stellar component. This is compatible with Sextans BSs having formed by evolution of binaries and not necessarily due to the presence of a central disrupted globular cluster, as suggested in the literature. We provide structural parameters for the various populations analysed and make

150 southern compact and bright-nucleus galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fairall, A.P.

1977-01-01

Galaxies having regions of exceptionally high surface brightness have been selected from the ESO Quick Blue Survey and investigated by 'grating photography' -direct photography plus low-dispersion slitless spectroscopy. Two new Seyfert galaxies and a peculiar multiple system have been discovered. Differences in red continua are also noted. (author)

Near-infrared photometry of bright elliptical galaxies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peletier, R. F.; Valentijn, E. A.; Jameson, R. F.

High-quality visual-infrared color profiles have been determined for elliptical galaxies for the first time. Surface photometry in J and K is presented for 12 bright elliptical galaxies, and the results have been combined with CCD data in visual passbands. It is shown that the galaxies become bluer

Investigating the Bright End of LSST Photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Ojala, Elle; Pepper, Joshua; LSST Collaboration

2018-01-01

The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will begin operations in 2022, conducting a wide-field, synoptic multiband survey of the southern sky. Some fraction of objects at the bright end of the magnitude regime observed by LSST will overlap with other wide-sky surveys, allowing for calibration and cross-checking between surveys. The LSST is optimized for observations of very faint objects, so much of this data overlap will be comprised of saturated images. This project provides the first in-depth analysis of saturation in LSST images. Using the PhoSim package to create simulated LSST images, we evaluate saturation properties of several types of stars to determine the brightness limitations of LSST. We also collect metadata from many wide-field photometric surveys to provide cross-survey accounting and comparison. Additionally, we evaluate the accuracy of the PhoSim modeling parameters to determine the reliability of the software. These efforts will allow us to determine the expected useable data overlap between bright-end LSST images and faint-end images in other wide-sky surveys. Our next steps are developing methods to extract photometry from saturated images.This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation through Cooperative Agreement 1258333 managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), and the Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515 with the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Additional LSST funding comes from private donations, grants to universities, and in-kind support from LSSTC Institutional Members.Thanks to NSF grant PHY-135195 and the 2017 LSSTC Grant Award #2017-UG06 for making this project possible.

Measuring the color and brightness of artificial sky glow from cities using an all-sky imaging system calibrated with astronomical methods in the Johnson-Cousins B and V photometric systems

Science.gov (United States)

Pipkin, Ashley; Duriscoe, Dan M.; Lughinbuhl, Christian

2017-01-01

Artificial light at night, when observed at some distance from a city, results in a dome of sky glow, brightest at the horizon. The spectral power distribution of electric light utilized will determine its color of the light dome and the amount of light will determine its brightness. Recent outdoor lighting technologies have included blue-rich light emitting diode (LED) sources that may increase the relative amount of blue to green light in sky glow compared to typical high pressure sodium (HPS) sources with warmer spectra. Measuring and monitoring this effect is important to the preservation of night sky visual quality as seen from undeveloped areas outside the city, such as parks or other protected areas, since the dark-adapted human eye is more sensitive to blue and green. We present a method using a wide field CCD camera which images the entire sky in both Johnson V and B photometric bands. Standard stars within the images are used for calibration. The resulting all-sky brightness maps, and a derived B-V color index map, provide a means to assess and track the impact of specific outdoor lighting practices. We also present example data from several cities, including Las Vegas, Nevada, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Andromeda (M31) optical and infrared disk survey. I. Insights in wide-field near-IR surface photometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sick, Jonathan; Courteau, Stéphane; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles; McDonald, Michael; De Jong, Roelof; Tully, R. Brent

2014-01-01

We present wide-field near-infrared J and K s images of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) taken with WIRCam at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope as part of the Andromeda Optical and Infrared Disk Survey. This data set allows simultaneous observations of resolved stars and near-infrared (NIR) surface brightness across M31's entire bulge and disk (within R = 22 kpc), permitting a direct test of the stellar composition of near-infrared light in a nearby galaxy. Here we develop NIR observation and reduction methods to recover a uniform surface brightness map across the 3° × 1° disk of M31 with 27 WIRCam fields. Two sky-target nodding strategies are tested, and we find that strictly minimizing sky sampling latency cannot improve background subtraction accuracy to better than 2% of the background level due to spatio-temporal variations in the NIR skyglow. We fully describe our WIRCam reduction pipeline and advocate using flats built from night-sky images over a single night, rather than dome flats that do not capture the WIRCam illumination field. Contamination from scattered light and thermal background in sky flats has a negligible effect on the surface brightness shape compared to the stochastic differences in background shape between sky and galaxy disk fields, which are ∼0.3% of the background level. The most dramatic calibration step is the introduction of scalar sky offsets to each image that optimizes surface brightness continuity. Sky offsets reduce the mean surface brightness difference between observation blocks from 1% to <0.1% of the background level, though the absolute background level remains statistically uncertain to 0.15% of the background level. We present our WIRCam reduction pipeline and performance analysis to give specific recommendations for the improvement of NIR wide-field imaging methods.

Photometric Calibration of the SPRED at the FTU Tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

May, M J

1999-01-01

The SPRED spectrometer was photometrically calibrated by using the FTU tokamak plasma and the Grazing Incidence Time Resolving Spectrometer (GRITS) from the Johns Hopkins University [Stratton, Nucl. Fusion, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 767-777, 1984]. The photometric calibration of the GRITS spectrometer was transferred to the SPRED [Fonck, R.J., Applied Optics, Vol. 21, No. 12, p. 2115 (1982)] by directly comparing the intensity of bright lines emitted from the FTU tokamak plasma that were simultaneously measured by both spectrometers. The GRITS spectrometer (λ = 10 - 360 (angstrom); Δλ ∼ 0.7 (angstrom)) was photometrically calibrated in the 50 - 360 (angstrom) spectral range at the SURF II synchrotron light source at NIST in Gaithersburg MD in August 1997. The calibration of each SPRED grating was performed separately. These gratings covered the short wavelengths: 100 - 300 (angstrom)(Δλ - 1.4 (angstrom)) and the long wavelengths: 200 - 1800 (angstrom) (Δλ ∼ 7 (angstrom)). This calibration should be accurate until the microchannel plate of the SPRED is exposed to atmospheric pressure. This calibration is similar to the one obtained by Stratton [Stratton, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 57 (8), pp. 204,3 August 1986

SPOTS Calibration Example

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patterson E.

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The results are presented using the procedure outlined by the Standardisation Project for Optical Techniques of Strain measurement to calibrate a digital image correlation system. The process involves comparing the experimental data obtained with the optical measurement system to the theoretical values for a specially designed specimen. The standard states the criteria which must be met in order to achieve successful calibration, in addition to quantifying the measurement uncertainty in the system. The system was evaluated at three different displacement load levels, generating strain ranges from 289 µstrain to 2110 µstrain. At the 289 µstrain range, the calibration uncertainty was found to be 14.1 µstrain, and at the 2110 µstrain range it was found to be 28.9 µstrain. This calibration procedure was performed without painting a speckle pattern on the surface of the metal. Instead, the specimen surface was prepared using different grades of grit paper to produce the desired texture.

Circadian Phase-Shifting Effects of Bright Light, Exercise, and Bright Light + Exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Youngstedt, Shawn D; Kline, Christopher E; Elliott, Jeffrey A; Zielinski, Mark R; Devlin, Tina M; Moore, Teresa A

2016-02-26

Limited research has compared the circadian phase-shifting effects of bright light and exercise and additive effects of these stimuli. The aim of this study was to compare the phase-delaying effects of late night bright light, late night exercise, and late evening bright light followed by early morning exercise. In a within-subjects, counterbalanced design, 6 young adults completed each of three 2.5-day protocols. Participants followed a 3-h ultra-short sleep-wake cycle, involving wakefulness in dim light for 2h, followed by attempted sleep in darkness for 1 h, repeated throughout each protocol. On night 2 of each protocol, participants received either (1) bright light alone (5,000 lux) from 2210-2340 h, (2) treadmill exercise alone from 2210-2340 h, or (3) bright light (2210-2340 h) followed by exercise from 0410-0540 h. Urine was collected every 90 min. Shifts in the 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) cosine acrophase from baseline to post-treatment were compared between treatments. Analyses revealed a significant additive phase-delaying effect of bright light + exercise (80.8 ± 11.6 [SD] min) compared with exercise alone (47.3 ± 21.6 min), and a similar phase delay following bright light alone (56.6 ± 15.2 min) and exercise alone administered for the same duration and at the same time of night. Thus, the data suggest that late night bright light followed by early morning exercise can have an additive circadian phase-shifting effect.

Building and calibrating a large-extent and high resolution coupled groundwater-land surface model using globally available data-sets

Science.gov (United States)

Sutanudjaja, E. H.; Van Beek, L. P.; de Jong, S. M.; van Geer, F.; Bierkens, M. F.

2012-12-01

The current generation of large-scale hydrological models generally lacks a groundwater model component simulating lateral groundwater flow. Large-scale groundwater models are rare due to a lack of hydro-geological data required for their parameterization and a lack of groundwater head data required for their calibration. In this study, we propose an approach to develop a large-extent fully-coupled land surface-groundwater model by using globally available datasets and calibrate it using a combination of discharge observations and remotely-sensed soil moisture data. The underlying objective is to devise a collection of methods that enables one to build and parameterize large-scale groundwater models in data-poor regions. The model used, PCR-GLOBWB-MOD, has a spatial resolution of 1 km x 1 km and operates on a daily basis. It consists of a single-layer MODFLOW groundwater model that is dynamically coupled to the PCR-GLOBWB land surface model. This fully-coupled model accommodates two-way interactions between surface water levels and groundwater head dynamics, as well as between upper soil moisture states and groundwater levels, including a capillary rise mechanism to sustain upper soil storage and thus to fulfill high evaporation demands (during dry conditions). As a test bed, we used the Rhine-Meuse basin, where more than 4000 groundwater head time series have been collected for validation purposes. The model was parameterized using globally available data-sets on surface elevation, drainage direction, land-cover, soil and lithology. Next, the model was calibrated using a brute force approach and massive parallel computing, i.e. by running the coupled groundwater-land surface model for more than 3000 different parameter sets. Here, we varied minimal soil moisture storage and saturated conductivities of the soil layers as well as aquifer transmissivities. Using different regularization strategies and calibration criteria we compared three calibration scenarios

SMOS brightness data indicate ice thickness hence bedrock topography in east antarctica

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skou, Niels; Kristensen, Steen Savstrup

2017-01-01

In order to evaluate a potential calibration target for spaceborne L-band radiometer systems, a 350 × 350 km area near the Concordia station on the East Antarctica plateau was mapped by an airborne L-band radiometer. Unexpectedly, the area showed significant brightness temperature spatial...... variations, well correlated with bedrock topography, hence ice thickness. Using SMOS data over a poorly known part of Antarctica, ice thickness in this area has been assessed, and an existing bedrock map has been improved....

Assimilation of SMOS Brightness Temperatures or Soil Moisture Retrievals into a Land Surface Model

Science.gov (United States)

De Lannoy, Gabrielle J. M.; Reichle, Rolf H.

2016-01-01

Three different data products from the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission are assimilated separately into the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, version 5 (GEOS-5) to improve estimates of surface and root-zone soil moisture. The first product consists of multi-angle, dual-polarization brightness temperature (Tb) observations at the bottom of the atmosphere extracted from Level 1 data. The second product is a derived SMOS Tb product that mimics the data at a 40 degree incidence angle from the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission. The third product is the operational SMOS Level 2 surface soil moisture (SM) retrieval product. The assimilation system uses a spatially distributed ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with seasonally varying climatological bias mitigation for Tb assimilation, whereas a time-invariant cumulative density function matching is used for SM retrieval assimilation. All assimilation experiments improve the soil moisture estimates compared to model-only simulations in terms of unbiased root-mean-square differences and anomaly correlations during the period from 1 July 2010 to 1 May 2015 and for 187 sites across the US. Especially in areas where the satellite data are most sensitive to surface soil moisture, large skill improvements (e.g., an increase in the anomaly correlation by 0.1) are found in the surface soil moisture. The domain-average surface and root-zone skill metrics are similar among the various assimilation experiments, but large differences in skill are found locally. The observation-minus-forecast residuals and analysis increments reveal large differences in how the observations add value in the Tb and SM retrieval assimilation systems. The distinct patterns of these diagnostics in the two systems reflect observation and model errors patterns that are not well captured in the assigned EnKF error parameters. Consequently, a localized optimization of the EnKF error parameters is needed to further improve Tb or SM retrieval

Critical issues in enhancing brightness in thin film phosphors for flat-panel display applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, R.K.; Chen, Z.; Kumar, D.; Cho, K.; Ollinger, M.

2002-01-01

Thin film phosphors have potential applications in field emission flat-panel displays. However, they are limited by the lower cathodoluminescent brightness in comparison to phosphor powders. In this paper, we have investigated the critical parameters that need to be optimized to increase the brightness of phosphor thin films. Specifically, we studied the role of surface roughness and optical properties of the substrate on the brightness of the phosphor films. Thin Y 2 O 3 :Eu phosphor films were deposited on various substrates (lanthanum aluminate, quartz, sapphire, and silicon) with thicknesses varying from 50 to 500 nm. A model that accounts for diffuse and specular or scattering effects has been developed to understand the effects of the microstructure on the emission characteristics of the cathodoluminescent films. The results from the model show that both the optical properties of the substrate and the surface roughness of the films play a critical role in controlling the brightness of laser deposited phosphor films

Bright Stuff on Ceres = Sulfates and Carbonates on CI Chondrites

Science.gov (United States)

Zolensky, Michael; Chan, Queenie H. S.; Gounelle, Matthieu; Fries, Marc

2016-01-01

Recent reports of the DAWN spacecraft's observations of the surface of Ceres indicate that there are bright areas, which can be explained by large amounts of the Mg sulfate hexahydrate (MgSO4•6(H2O)), although the identification appears tenuous. There are preliminary indications that water is being evolved from these bright areas, and some have inferred that these might be sites of contemporary hydro-volcanism. A heat source for such modern activity is not obvious, given the small size of Ceres, lack of any tidal forces from nearby giant planets, probable age and presumed bulk composition. We contend that observations of chondritic materials in the lab shed light on the nature of the bright spots on Ceres

A study of the H I and optical properties of Low Surface Brightness galaxies: spirals, dwarfs, and irregulars

Science.gov (United States)

Honey, M.; van Driel, W.; Das, M.; Martin, J.-M.

2018-06-01

We present a study of the H I and optical properties of nearby (z ≤ 0.1) Low Surface Brightness galaxies (LSBGs). We started with a literature sample of ˜900 LSBGs and divided them into three morphological classes: spirals, irregulars, and dwarfs. Of these, we could use ˜490 LSBGs to study their H I and stellar masses, colours, and colour-magnitude diagrams, and local environment, compare them with normal, High Surface Brightness (HSB) galaxies and determine the differences between the three morphological classes. We found that LSB and HSB galaxies span a similar range in H I and stellar masses, and have a similar M_{H I}/M⋆-M⋆ relationship. Among the LSBGs, as expected, the spirals have the highest average H I and stellar masses, both of about 109.8 M⊙. The LSGBs' (g - r) integrated colour is nearly constant as function of H I mass for all classes. In the colour-magnitude diagram, the spirals are spread over the red and blue regions whereas the irregulars and dwarfs are confined to the blue region. The spirals also exhibit a steeper slope in the M_{H I}/M⋆-M⋆ plane. Within their local environment, we confirmed that LSBGs are more isolated than HSB galaxies, and LSB spirals more isolated than irregulars and dwarfs. Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistical tests on the H I mass, stellar mass, and number of neighbours indicate that the spirals are a statistically different population from the dwarfs and irregulars. This suggests that the spirals may have different formation and H I evolution than the dwarfs and irregulars.

Variation reduction of brightness and pH of pulp sent to a paper mill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Napassavong Rojanarowan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The variance of the brightness of pulp sent to the paper mill during the changing period of dry pulp grades affects the chemical control in the paper mill. This research aims to determine the mixing formula of pulp with different brightness from the EOP and D1 stages to handle this variation issue. This research uses response surface design with Central Composite Design type, regression technique and optimization technique to find the optimal setting of the mixing formula for each of the seven brightness levels to obtain the target brightness of 86% and the pH of 5.25. The mixing formulas are determined by the pulp mixing percentage and the sulfuric acid consumption. The experimental results reveal that when using higher EOP mixing ratio, the brightness decreases and the pH increases. Regarding the effect of the sulfuric acid, increasing the sulfuric acid makes the brightness and the pH decrease. After implementing the optimal formula in the production line, the mean of pulp brightness is closer to the target compared with the brightness before improvement and the brightness variation decreases without affecting the quality of other pulp grades, average of brightness decreased from 87.4% to 86.3% and standard deviation of brightness decreased from 1.09 to 0.46.

Surface applicator calibration and commissioning of an electronic brachytherapy system for nonmelanoma skin cancer treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rong, Yi; Welsh, James S.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The Xoft Axxent x-ray source has been used for treating nonmelanoma skin cancer since the surface applicators became clinically available in 2009. The authors report comprehensive calibration procedures for the electronic brachytherapy (eBx) system with the surface applicators. Methods: The Xoft miniature tube (model S700) generates 50 kVp low-energy x rays. The new surface applicators are available in four sizes of 10, 20, 35, and 50 mm in diameter. The authors' tests include measurements of dose rate, air-gap factor, output stability, depth dose verification, beam flatness and symmetry, and treatment planning with patient specific cutout factors. The TG-61 in-air method was used as a guideline for acquiring nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface. A soft x-ray parallel-plate chamber (PTW T34013) and electrometer was used for the output commissioning. GafChromic EBT films were used for testing the properties of the treatment fields with the skin applicators. Solid water slabs were used to verify the depth dose and cutout factors. Patients with basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma were treated with eBx using a calibrated Xoft system with the low-energy x-ray source and the skin applicators. Results: The average nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface for the 35 mm applicator is 1.35 Gy/min with ±5% variation for 16 sources. The dose-rate output and stability (within ±5% variation) were also measured for the remaining three applicators. For the same source, the output variation is within 2%. The effective source-surface distance was calculated based on the air-gap measurements for four applicator sizes. The field flatness and symmetry are well within 5%. Percentage depth dose in water was provided by factory measurements and can be verified using solid water slabs. Treatment duration was calculated based on the nominal dose rate, the prescription fraction size, the depth dose percentage, and the cutout factor. The output factor needs to be

Surface applicator calibration and commissioning of an electronic brachytherapy system for nonmelanoma skin cancer treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rong, Yi; Welsh, James S. [Department of Human Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin 53792 and University of Wisconsin Cancer Center-Riverview, Riverview Hospital Association, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54494 (United States); Department of Human Oncology and Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin 53792 and University of Wisconsin Cancer Center-Riverview, Riverview Hospital Association, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 54494 (United States)

2010-10-15

Purpose: The Xoft Axxent x-ray source has been used for treating nonmelanoma skin cancer since the surface applicators became clinically available in 2009. The authors report comprehensive calibration procedures for the electronic brachytherapy (eBx) system with the surface applicators. Methods: The Xoft miniature tube (model S700) generates 50 kVp low-energy x rays. The new surface applicators are available in four sizes of 10, 20, 35, and 50 mm in diameter. The authors' tests include measurements of dose rate, air-gap factor, output stability, depth dose verification, beam flatness and symmetry, and treatment planning with patient specific cutout factors. The TG-61 in-air method was used as a guideline for acquiring nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface. A soft x-ray parallel-plate chamber (PTW T34013) and electrometer was used for the output commissioning. GafChromic EBT films were used for testing the properties of the treatment fields with the skin applicators. Solid water slabs were used to verify the depth dose and cutout factors. Patients with basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma were treated with eBx using a calibrated Xoft system with the low-energy x-ray source and the skin applicators. Results: The average nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface for the 35 mm applicator is 1.35 Gy/min with {+-}5% variation for 16 sources. The dose-rate output and stability (within {+-}5% variation) were also measured for the remaining three applicators. For the same source, the output variation is within 2%. The effective source-surface distance was calculated based on the air-gap measurements for four applicator sizes. The field flatness and symmetry are well within 5%. Percentage depth dose in water was provided by factory measurements and can be verified using solid water slabs. Treatment duration was calculated based on the nominal dose rate, the prescription fraction size, the depth dose percentage, and the cutout factor. The output factor needs

Surface applicator calibration and commissioning of an electronic brachytherapy system for nonmelanoma skin cancer treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rong, Yi; Welsh, James S

2010-10-01

The Xoft Axxent x-ray source has been used for treating nonmelanoma skin cancer since the surface applicators became clinically available in 2009. The authors report comprehensive calibration procedures for the electronic brachytherapy (eBx) system with the surface applicators. The Xoft miniature tube (model S700) generates 50 kVp low-energy x rays. The new surface applicators are available in four sizes of 10, 20, 35, and 50 mm in diameter. The authors' tests include measurements of dose rate, air-gap factor, output stability, depth dose verification, beam flatness and symmetry, and treatment planning with patient specific cutout factors. The TG-61 in-air method was used as a guideline for acquiring nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface. A soft x-ray parallel-plate chamber (PTW T34013) and electrometer was used for the output commissioning. GafChromic EBT films were used for testing the properties of the treatment fields with the skin applicators. Solid water slabs were used to verify the depth dose and cutout factors. Patients with basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma were treated with eBx using a calibrated Xoft system with the low-energy x-ray source and the skin applicators. The average nominal dose-rate output at the skin surface for the 35 mm applicator is 1.35 Gy/min with +/- 5% variation for 16 sources. The dose-rate output and stability (within +/- 5% variation) were also measured for the remaining three applicators. For the same source, the output variation is within 2%. The effective source-surface distance was calculated based on the air-gap measurements for four applicator sizes. The field flatness and symmetry are well within 5%. Percentage depth dose in water was provided by factory measurements and can be verified using solid water slabs. Treatment duration was calculated based on the nominal dose rate, the prescription fraction size, the depth dose percentage, and the cutout factor. The output factor needs to be measured for each case with

Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M.

1999-01-01

The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of ∼60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For ∼9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of ∼20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision σ V =0.021, σ R =0.019, σ V-R =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be ±0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 mag< V-R<1.2 mag. A comparison of calibrated MACHO photometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be ±0.10 mag in V or R and ±0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

Calibration of the MACHO Photometry Database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alcock, C.; Allsman, R. A.; Alves, D. R.; Axelrod, T. S.; Becker, A. C.; Bennett, D. P.; Cook, K. H.; Drake, A. J.; Freeman, K. C.; Geha, M. (and others)

1999-12-01

The MACHO Project is a microlensing survey that monitors the brightnesses of {approx}60 million stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), Small Magellanic Cloud, and Galactic bulge. Our database presently contains about 80 billion photometric measurements, a significant fraction of all astronomical photometry. We describe the calibration of MACHO two-color photometry and transformation to the standard Kron-Cousins V and R system. Calibrated MACHO photometry may be properly compared with all other observations on the Kron-Cousins standard system, enhancing the astrophysical value of these data. For {approx}9 million stars in the LMC bar, independent photometric measurements of {approx}20,000 stars with V(less-or-similar sign)18 mag in field-overlap regions demonstrate an internal precision {sigma}{sub V} =0.021, {sigma}{sub R} =0.019, {sigma}{sub V-R} =0.028 mag. The accuracy of the zero point in this calibration is estimated to be {+-}0.035 mag for stars with colors in the range -0.1 magcalibrated MACHO photometry with published photometric sequences and new Hubble Space Telescope observations shows agreement. The current calibration zero-point uncertainty for the remainder of the MACHO photometry database is estimated to be {+-}0.10 mag in V or R and {+-}0.04 mag in V-R. We describe the first application of calibrated MACHO data: the construction of a color-magnitude diagram used to calculate our experimental sensitivity for detecting microlensing in the LMC. (c) (c) 1999. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

Kiloamp high-brightness beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caporaso, G.J.

1987-01-01

Brightness preservation of high-current relativistic electron beams under two different types of transport is discussed. Recent progress in improving the brightness of laser-guided beams in the Advanced Test Accelerator is reviewed. A strategy for the preservation of the brightness of space-charge-dominated beams in a solenoidal transport system is presented

An Evaluation of Antarctica as a Calibration Target for Passive Microwave Satellite Missions with Climate Data Record Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Edward

2011-01-01

Passive microwave remote sensing at L-band (1.4 GHz) is sensitive to soil moisture and sea surface salinity, both important climate variables. Science studies involving these variables can now take advantage of new satellite L-band observations. The first mission with regular global passive microwave observations at L-band is the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS), launched November, 2009. A second mission, NASA's Aquarius, was launched June, 201 I. A third mission, NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) is scheduled to launch in 2014. Together, these three missions may provide a decade-long data record-provided that they are intercalibrated. The intercalibration is best performed at the radiance (brightness temperature) level, and Antarctica is proving to be a key calibration target. However, Antarctica has thus far not been fully characterized as a potential target. This paper will present evaluations of Antarctica as a microwave calibration target for the above satellite missions. Preliminary analyses have identified likely target areas, such as the vicinity of Dome-C and larger areas within East Antarctica. Physical sources of temporal and spatial variability of polar firn are key to assessing calibration uncertainty. These sources include spatial variability of accumulation rate, compaction, surface characteristics (dunes, micro-topography), wind patterns, and vertical profiles of density and temperature. Using primarily SMOS data, variability is being empirically characterized and attempts are being made to attribute observed variability to physical sources. One expected outcome of these studies is the potential discovery of techniques for remotely sensing--over all of Antarctica-parameters such as surface temperature.

Calibrating a surface mass-balance model for Austfonna ice cap, Svalbard

Science.gov (United States)

Schuler, Thomas Vikhamar; Loe, Even; Taurisano, Andrea; Eiken, Trond; Hagen, Jon Ove; Kohler, Jack

2007-10-01

Austfonna (8120 km2) is by far the largest ice mass in the Svalbard archipelago. There is considerable uncertainty about its current state of balance and its possible response to climate change. Over the 2004/05 period, we collected continuous meteorological data series from the ice cap, performed mass-balance measurements using a network of stakes distributed across the ice cap and mapped the distribution of snow accumulation using ground-penetrating radar along several profile lines. These data are used to drive and test a model of the surface mass balance. The spatial accumulation pattern was derived from the snow depth profiles using regression techniques, and ablation was calculated using a temperature-index approach. Model parameters were calibrated using the available field data. Parameter calibration was complicated by the fact that different parameter combinations yield equally acceptable matches to the stake data while the resulting calculated net mass balance differs considerably. Testing model results against multiple criteria is an efficient method to cope with non-uniqueness. In doing so, a range of different data and observations was compared to several different aspects of the model results. We find a systematic underestimation of net balance for parameter combinations that predict observed ice ablation, which suggests that refreezing processes play an important role. To represent these effects in the model, a simple PMAX approach was included in its formulation. Used as a diagnostic tool, the model suggests that the surface mass balance for the period 29 April 2004 to 23 April 2005 was negative (-318 mm w.e.).

A selective deficit in the appreciation and recognition of brightness: brightness agnosia?

Science.gov (United States)

Nijboer, Tanja C W; Nys, Gudrun M S; van der Smagt, Maarten J; de Haan, Edward H F

2009-01-01

We report a patient with extensive brain damage in the right hemisphere who demonstrated a severe impairment in the appreciation of brightness. Acuity, contrast sensitivity as well as luminance discrimination were normal, suggesting her brightness impairment is not a mere consequence of low-level sensory impairments. The patient was not able to indicate the darker or the lighter of two grey squares, even though she was able to see that they differed. In addition, she could not indicate whether the lights in a room were switched on or off, nor was she able to differentiate between normal greyscale images and inverted greyscale images. As the patient recognised objects, colours, and shapes correctly, the impairment is specific for brightness. As low-level, sensory processing is normal, this specific deficit in the recognition and appreciation of brightness appears to be of a higher, cognitive level, the level of semantic knowledge. This appears to be the first report of 'brightness agnosia'.

Brightness Temperature and Soil Moisture Validation at Different Scales During the SMOS Validation Campaign in the Rur and Erft Catchments, Germany

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Montzka, Carsten; Bogena, Heye R.; Weihermüller, Lutz

2013-01-01

The European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite was launched in November 2009 and delivers now brightness temperature and soil moisture products over terrestrial areas on a regular three-day basis. In 2010, several airborne campaigns were conducted to validate the SMOS......-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere model. Measurements of the airborne L-band sensors EMIRAD and HUT-2D on-board a Skyvan aircraft as well as ground-based mobile measurements performed with the truck mounted JÜLBARA L-band radiometer were analyzed for calibration of the simulated brightness temperature...

Model calibration and beam control systems for storage rings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corbett, W.J.; Lee, M.J.; Ziemann, V.

1993-04-01

Electron beam storage rings and linear accelerators are rapidly gaining worldwide popularity as scientific devices for the production of high-brightness synchrotron radiation. Today, everybody agrees that there is a premium on calibrating the storage ring model and determining errors in the machine as soon as possible after the beam is injected. In addition, the accurate optics model enables machine operators to predictably adjust key performance parameters, and allows reliable identification of new errors that occur during operation of the machine. Since the need for model calibration and beam control systems is common to all storage rings, software packages should be made that are portable between different machines. In this paper, we report on work directed toward achieving in-situ calibration of the optics model, detection of alignment errors, and orbit control techniques, with an emphasis on developing a portable system incorporating these tools

Limits on the Secular Drift of the TMI Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Wilheit, T. T.; Farrar, S.; Jones, L.; Santos-Garcia, A.

2012-12-01

Data from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) can be applied to the problem of determining the trend in oceanic precipitation over more than a decade. It is thus critical to know if the calibration of the instrument has any drift over this time scale. Recently a set of Windsat data with a self-consistent calibration covering July 2005 through June of 2006 and all of 2011 has become available. The mission of Windsat, determining the feasibility of measuring oceanic wind speed and direction, requires extraordinary attention to instrument calibration. With TRMM being in a low inclination orbit and Windsat in a near polar sun synchronous orbit, there are many observations coincident in space and nearly coincident in time. A data set has been assembled where the observations are averaged over 1 degree boxes of latitude and longitude and restricted to a maximum of 1 hour time difference. University of Central Florida (UCF) compares the two radiometers by computing radiances based on Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) analyses for all channels of each radiometer for each box and computing double differences for corresponding channels. The algorithm is described in detail by Biswas et al., (2012). Texas A&M (TAMU) uses an independent implementation of GDAS-based algorithm and another where the radiances of Windsat are used to compute Sea Surface Temperature, Sea Surface Wind Speed, Precipitable Water and Cloud Liquid Water for each box. These are, in turn, used to compute the TMI radiances. These two algorithms have been described in detail by Wilheit (2012). Both teams apply stringent filters to the boxes to assure that the conditions are consistent with the model assumptions. Examination of both teams' results indicates that the drift is less than 0.04K over the 5 ½ year span for the 10 and 37 GHz channels of TMI. The 19 and 21 GHz channels have somewhat larger differences, but they are more influenced by atmospheric changes. Given the design of the instruments, it is

BrightFocus Foundation

Science.gov (United States)

... About BrightFocus Foundation Featured Content BrightFocus: Investing in Science to Save Mind and Sight We're here to help. Explore ... recognition is very important. Monday, November 6, 2017 New Diagnosis? Managing a mind and sight disease is a journey. And you’ ...

LANL MTI calibration team experience

Science.gov (United States)

Bender, Steven C.; Atkins, William H.; Clodius, William B.; Little, Cynthia K.; Christensen, R. Wynn

2004-01-01

The Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) was designed as an imaging radiometer with absolute calibration requirements established by Department of Energy (DOE) mission goals. Particular emphasis was given to water surface temperature retrieval using two mid wave and three long wave infrared spectral bands, the fundamental requirement was a surface temperature determination of 1K at the 68% confidence level. For the ten solar reflective bands a one-sigma radiometric performance goal of 3% was established. In order to address these technical challenges a calibration facility was constructed containing newly designed sources that were calibrated at NIST. Additionally, the design of the payload and its onboard calibration system supported post launch maintenance and update of the ground calibration. The on-orbit calibration philosophy also included vicarious techniques using ocean buoys, playas and other instrumented sites; these became increasingly important subsequent to an electrical failure which disabled the onboard calibration system. This paper offers various relevant lessons learned in the eight-year process of reducing to practice the calibration capability required by the scientific mission. The discussion presented will include observations pertinent to operational and procedural issues as well as hardware experiences; the validity of some of the initial assumptions will also be explored.

Intercomparison of 30+ years of AVHRR and Landsat-5 TM Surface Reflectance using Multiple Pseudo-Invariant Calibration Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Santamaría-Artigas, A. E.; Franch, B.; Vermote, E.; Roger, J. C.; Justice, C. O.

2017-12-01

The 30+ years daily surface reflectance long term data record (LTDR) from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) is a valuable source of information for long-term studies of the Earth surface. This LTDR was generated by combining observations from multiple AVHRR sensors aboard different NOAA satellites starting from the early 1980s, and due to the lack of on-board calibration its quality should be evaluated. Previous studies have used observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) over pseudo-invariant calibration sites (PICS) as a calibrated reference to assess the performance of AVHRR products. However, this limits the evaluation to the period after MODIS launch. In this work, the AVHRR surface reflectance LTDR was evaluated against Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper (TM) data using observations from 4 well known pseudo-invariant calibration sites (i.e. Sonoran, Saharan, Sudan1, and Libya4) over an extended time period (1984-2011). For the intercomparison, AVHRR and TM observations of each site were extracted and averaged over a 20 km x 20 km area and aggregated to monthly mean values. In order to account for the spectral differences between sensors, Hyperion hyperspectral data from the Sonoran and Libya4 sites were convolved with sensor-specific relative spectral responses, and used to compute spectral band adjustment factors (SBAFs). Results of the intercomparison are reported in terms of the root mean square difference (RMSD) and determination coefficient (r2). In general, there is good agreement between the surface reflectance products from both sensors. The overall RMSD and r2 for all the sites and AVHRR/TM combinations were 0.03 and 0.85 for the red band, and 0.04 and 0.81 for the near-infrared band. These results show the strong performance of the AVHRR surface reflectance LTDR through all of the considered period. Thus, remarking its usefulness and value for long term Earth studies. Figure 1 shows the red (filled markers

Absolute sensitivity calibration from 20 A to 430 A of a grazing incidence spectrometer with a multi-element spectral detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terry, J.L.; Manning, H.L.; Marmar, E.S.

1986-07-01

Two methods which together allow sensitivity calibration from 20 A to 430 A are described in detail. The first method, useful up to 120 A, uses a low power source to generate Kα x-rays which are alternately viewed by an absolute detector (a proportional counter) and the spectrometer. The second method extends that calibration to 430 A. It relies on the 2:1 brightness ratio of bright doublet lines from impurity ions which have a single outer shell electron and which are present in hot, magnetically confined plasmas. It requires that the absolute sensitivity of the spectrometer be known at one wavelength point, and in practice requires a multi-element spectral detector

Mass Functions of the Active Black Holes in Distant Quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey, the Bright Quasar Survey, and the Color-Selected Sample of the SDSS Fall Equatorial Stripe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vestergaard, Marianne; Osmer, Patrick S.

2009-01-01

We present mass functions of distant actively accreting supermassive black holes residing in luminous quasars discovered in the Large Bright Quasar Survey, the Bright Quasar Survey, and the Fall Equatorial Stripe of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The quasars cover a wide range of redshifts (0...... functions at similar redshifts based on the SDSS Data Release 3 quasar catalog presented by Vestergaard et al. We see clear evidence of cosmic downsizing in the comoving space density distribution of active black holes in the LBQS sample alone. In forthcoming papers, further analysis, comparison......, and discussion of these mass functions will be made with other existing black hole mass functions, notably that based on the SDSS DR3 quasar catalog. We present the relationships used to estimate the black hole mass based on the MgII emission line; the relations are calibrated to the Hbeta and CIV relations...

Review on common calibration and measuremnt practises for mesuring free form surface on CMMs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Savio, Enrico; De Chiffre, Leonardo

the traceability of measuring of free form surfaces on CMMs outlined. A newly developed procedure for performance verification on CMMs with respect to free form measurements is described, and some investigations regarding this method are reviewed. The investigations are concerned with two new tests, the Spiral...... Test and the Cylinder Test developed as a coorperation between the University of Padova and the Technical University of Denmark. Experiments conducted by means of calibrated objects and CAD models created in an independent and external system, using calibrated dimensions are described. The experiments...... have been carried out on two CMMs with different performances. The investigations have clearly shown that the performance verification procedure must be implemented in the specific software in use for the actual measurements. The Spiral Test showed a clear influence on CMM performances from scanning...

Calibration-free quantitative surface topography reconstruction in scanning electron microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Faber, E T; Martinez-Martinez, D; Mansilla, C; Ocelík, V; Hosson, J Th M De

2015-01-01

This work presents a new approach to obtain reliable surface topography reconstructions from 2D Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. In this method a set of images taken at different tilt angles are compared by means of digital image correlation (DIC). It is argued that the strength of the method lies in the fact that precise knowledge about the nature of the rotation (vector and/or magnitude) is not needed. Therefore, the great advantage is that complex calibrations of the measuring equipment are avoided. The paper presents the necessary equations involved in the methods, including derivations and solutions. The method is illustrated with examples of 3D reconstructions followed by a discussion on the relevant experimental parameters. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Study on low-cost calibration-free pH sensing with disposable optical sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge Xudong; Kostov, Yordan; Tolosa, Leah; Rao, Govind

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Development of disposable calibration-free optical pH sensor. ► Derivation of theoretical calibration model. ► Strategy to eliminate inter-coaster inconsistency. - Abstract: As labor costs become more expensive, less labor-intensive disposable devices have become more ubiquitous. Similarly, the disposable optical pH sensor developed in our lab could provide a convenient yet cost-effective way for pH sensing in processes that require stringent pH control. This optical pH sensor is prepared in uniform individual lots of 100–200 sensors per lot. Calibration is accomplished on a few randomly selected sensors out of each lot. We show that all others in the same lot can then be used directly without requiring individual calibration. In this paper, a calibration model is derived to include all the factors that affect the signal of the disposable sensor. Experimental results show that the derived calibration model fits the experimental data. The readings of 28 randomly selected disposable sensors with 4 sensors from each of the 7 lots show an error less than 0.1 pH units in the useful sensing range of the sensor. The calibration model indicates that if further improvement on precision is desired, more uniform porous material and more advanced coating techniques will be required. When it comes to the effects of the varying coasters, house-made low-cost fluorometers, the variability in the brightness ratio of the blue-to-violet LEDs is the primary reason for the lack of precision. Other factors like LED light intensity distribution, optical properties of the filters and electronics also contribute to the coaster-to-coaster difference, but to a lesser extent. Two different methods for correcting the instrument variations were introduced. After correction, the collective reading errors for all the tested instruments were reduced to less than 0.2 pH units within the sensor's useful sensing range. Based on this result, our lab is currently implementing

AFM lateral force calibration for an integrated probe using a calibration grating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Huabin; Gee, Michelle L.

2014-01-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) friction measurements on hard and soft materials remain a challenge due to the difficulties associated with accurately calibrating the cantilever for lateral force measurement. One of the most widely accepted lateral force calibration methods is the wedge method. This method is often used in a simplified format but in so doing sacrifices accuracy. In the present work, we have further developed the wedge method to provide a lateral force calibration method for integrated AFM probes that is easy to use without compromising accuracy and reliability. Raw friction calibration data are collected from a single scan image by continuous ramping of the set point as the facets of a standard grating are scanned. These data are analysed to yield an accurate lateral force conversion/calibration factor that is not influenced by adhesion forces or load deviation. By demonstrating this new calibration method, we illustrate its reliability, speed and ease of execution. This method makes accessible reliable boundary lubrication studies on adhesive and heterogeneous surfaces that require spatial resolution of frictional forces. - Highlights: • We develop a simple and accurate method for lateral force calibration in AFM friction measurements. • We detail the basis of the method and illustrate how to use it and its reliability with example data. • Our method is easy, accurate and accounts for the affects of adhesion on friction measurements. • The method is applicable to integrated probes, as opposed to colloidal probes. • This allows accurate AFM friction measurements on spatially heterogeneous and adhesive surfaces

Reference sources for the calibration of surface contamination monitors - Beta-emitters (maximum beta energy greater than MeV) and alpha-emitters (International Standard Publication ISO 8769:1988)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanik, J.

2001-01-01

This International Standard specifies the characteristics of reference sources of radioactive surface contamination, traceable to national measurement standards, for the calibration of surface contamination monitors. This International Standard relates to alpha-emitters and to beta-emitters of maximum beta energy greater than 0,15 MeV. It does not describe the procedures involved in the use of these reference sources for the calibration of surface contamination monitors. Such procedures are specified in IEC Publication 325 and other documents. This International Standard specifies reference radiations for the calibration of surface contamination monitors which take the form of adequately characterized large area sources specified, without exception, in terms of activity and surface emission rate, the evaluation of these quantities being traceable to national standards

Sr/Ca-Sea surface temperature calibration in the branching Caribbean coral Acropora palmata

Science.gov (United States)

Gallup, Christina D.; Olson, Donna M.; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Gruhn, Leah M.; Winter, Amos; Taylor, Frederick W.

2006-02-01

We measured Sr/Ca ratios by thermal ionization mass spectrometry in radial and axial growth of modern Caribbean Acropora palmata corals. Comparison of our results with sea surface temperature (SST) allows radial and axial Sr/Ca-SST calibrations of Sr/Ca (mmol/mol) = 11.30 - 0.07072 × SST (°C) and Sr/Ca (mmol/mol) = 11.32 - 0.06281 x SST (°C), respectively. Application of the calibrations to fossil Acropora palmata from the last glacial maximum in Barbados (Guilderson et al., 1994) imply ~7°C cooler conditions than the present, much larger than the 1-1.5° cooling suggested by modern analog technique foraminifera-based estimates (Trend-Staid and Prell, 2002). If the foraminifera-based estimates are correct, then the excess cooling suggested by the Barbados corals could be explained by a 5% shift in the marine Sr/Ca ratio or an addition of ~20% abiotic secondary aragonite.

Intermittent episodes of bright light suppress myopia in the chicken more than continuous bright light.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weizhong Lan

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Bright light has been shown a powerful inhibitor of myopia development in animal models. We studied which temporal patterns of bright light are the most potent in suppressing deprivation myopia in chickens. METHODS: Eight-day-old chickens wore diffusers over one eye to induce deprivation myopia. A reference group (n = 8 was kept under office-like illuminance (500 lux at a 10:14 light:dark cycle. Episodes of bright light (15 000 lux were super-imposed on this background as follows. Paradigm I: exposure to constant bright light for either 1 hour (n = 5, 2 hours (n = 5, 5 hours (n = 4 or 10 hours (n = 4. Paradigm II: exposure to repeated cycles of bright light with 50% duty cycle and either 60 minutes (n = 7, 30 minutes (n = 8, 15 minutes (n = 6, 7 minutes (n = 7 or 1 minute (n = 7 periods, provided for 10 hours. Refraction and axial length were measured prior to and immediately after the 5-day experiment. Relative changes were analyzed by paired t-tests, and differences among groups were tested by one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Compared with the reference group, exposure to continuous bright light for 1 or 2 hours every day had no significant protective effect against deprivation myopia. Inhibition of myopia became significant after 5 hours of bright light exposure but extending the duration to 10 hours did not offer an additional benefit. In comparison, repeated cycles of 1:1 or 7:7 minutes of bright light enhanced the protective effect against myopia and could fully suppress its development. CONCLUSIONS: The protective effect of bright light depends on the exposure duration and, to the intermittent form, the frequency cycle. Compared to the saturation effect of continuous bright light, low frequency cycles of bright light (1:1 min provided the strongest inhibition effect. However, our quantitative results probably might not be directly translated into humans, but rather need further amendments in clinical studies.

Intermittent episodes of bright light suppress myopia in the chicken more than continuous bright light.

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Weizhong; Feldkaemper, Marita; Schaeffel, Frank

2014-01-01

Bright light has been shown a powerful inhibitor of myopia development in animal models. We studied which temporal patterns of bright light are the most potent in suppressing deprivation myopia in chickens. Eight-day-old chickens wore diffusers over one eye to induce deprivation myopia. A reference group (n = 8) was kept under office-like illuminance (500 lux) at a 10:14 light:dark cycle. Episodes of bright light (15 000 lux) were super-imposed on this background as follows. Paradigm I: exposure to constant bright light for either 1 hour (n = 5), 2 hours (n = 5), 5 hours (n = 4) or 10 hours (n = 4). Paradigm II: exposure to repeated cycles of bright light with 50% duty cycle and either 60 minutes (n = 7), 30 minutes (n = 8), 15 minutes (n = 6), 7 minutes (n = 7) or 1 minute (n = 7) periods, provided for 10 hours. Refraction and axial length were measured prior to and immediately after the 5-day experiment. Relative changes were analyzed by paired t-tests, and differences among groups were tested by one-way ANOVA. Compared with the reference group, exposure to continuous bright light for 1 or 2 hours every day had no significant protective effect against deprivation myopia. Inhibition of myopia became significant after 5 hours of bright light exposure but extending the duration to 10 hours did not offer an additional benefit. In comparison, repeated cycles of 1:1 or 7:7 minutes of bright light enhanced the protective effect against myopia and could fully suppress its development. The protective effect of bright light depends on the exposure duration and, to the intermittent form, the frequency cycle. Compared to the saturation effect of continuous bright light, low frequency cycles of bright light (1:1 min) provided the strongest inhibition effect. However, our quantitative results probably might not be directly translated into humans, but rather need further amendments in clinical studies.

Analysis and Calibration of in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy Images with atomic Resolution Influenced by Surface Drift Phenomena

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jens Enevold Thaulov; Møller, Per

1994-01-01

The influence of surface drift velocities on in situ scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments with atomic resolution is analysed experimentally and mathematically. Constant drift velocities much smaller than the speed of scanning can in many in situ STM experiments with atomic resolution ...... as well as the vectors of the non-distorted surface lattice can be determined. The calibration of distances can thus be carried out also when the image is influenced by drift. Results with gold surfaces and graphite surfaces are analysed and discussed....

Brightness/darkness induction and the genesis of a contour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio eRoncato

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Visual contours often result from the integration or interpolation of fragmented edges.The strength of the completion increases when the edges share the same contrast polarity (CP. Here we demonstrate that the appearance in the perceptual field of this integrated unit, or contour of invariant CP, is concomitant with a vivid brightness alteration of the surfaces at its opposite sides. To observe this effect requires some stratagems because the formation in the visual field of a contour of invariant CP normally engenders the formation of a second contour and then the rise of two streams of induction signals that interfere in different ways. Particular configurations have been introduced that allow us to observe the induction effects of one contour taken in isolation. I documented these effects by phenomenological observations and psychophysical measurement of the brightness alteration in relation to luminance contrast. When the edges of the same CP complete to form a contour, the background of homogeneous luminance appears to dim at one side and to brighten at the opposite side (in accord with the CP. The strength of the phenomenon is proportional to the local luminance contrast. This effect weakens or nulls when the contour of the invariant CP separates surfaces filled with different grey shades.These conflicting results stimulate a deeper exploration of the induction phenomena and their role in the computation of brightness contrast. An alternative perspective is offered to account for some brightness illusions and their relation to the phenomenal transparency. The main assumption asserts that, when in the same region induction signals of opposite CP overlap, the filling-in are blocked unless the image is stratified into different layers, one for each signal of the same polarity. Phenomenological observations document this solution by the visual system

Replication and dimensional quality control of industrial nanoscale surfaces using calibrated AFM measurements and SEM image processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tosello, Guido; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard; Marinello, F.

2010-01-01

application of AFM to calibrate height, depth and pitch of sub-micrometer features and SEM image processing to detect replication accuracy in terms of number of replicated features. Surface replication is analyzed using a metrological approach: nano-features on nickel stampers and injection...

ALMA Discovery of Solar Umbral Brightness Enhancement at λ = 3 mm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iwai, Kazumasa [Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601 (Japan); Loukitcheva, Maria [Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 323 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102 (United States); Shimojo, Masumi [Chile Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Solanki, Sami K. [Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, D-37073 Göttingen (Germany); White, Stephen M., E-mail: k.iwai@isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Space Vehicles Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2017-06-01

We report the discovery of a brightness enhancement in the center of a large sunspot umbra at a wavelength of 3 mm using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA). Sunspots are among the most prominent features on the solar surface, but many of their aspects are surprisingly poorly understood. We analyzed a λ = 3 mm (100 GHz) mosaic image obtained by ALMA that includes a large sunspot within the active region AR12470, on 2015 December 16. The 3 mm map has a 300″ × 300″ field of view and 4.″9 × 2.″2 spatial resolution, which is the highest spatial resolution map of an entire sunspot in this frequency range. We find a gradient of 3 mm brightness from a high value in the outer penumbra to a low value in the inner penumbra/outer umbra. Within the inner umbra, there is a marked increase in 3 mm brightness temperature, which we call an umbral brightness enhancement. This enhanced emission corresponds to a temperature excess of 800 K relative to the surrounding inner penumbral region and coincides with excess brightness in the 1330 and 1400 Å slit-jaw images of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ), adjacent to a partial lightbridge. This λ = 3 mm brightness enhancement may be an intrinsic feature of the sunspot umbra at chromospheric heights, such as a manifestation of umbral flashes, or it could be related to a coronal plume, since the brightness enhancement was coincident with the footpoint of a coronal loop observed at 171 Å.

Development of nano-roughness calibration standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baršić, Gorana; Mahović, Sanjin; Zorc, Hrvoje

2012-01-01

At the Laboratory for Precise Measurements of Length, currently the Croatian National Laboratory for Length, unique nano-roughness calibration standards were developed, which have been physically implemented in cooperation with the company MikroMasch Trading OU and the Ruđer Bošković Institute. In this paper, a new design for a calibration standard with two measuring surfaces is presented. One of the surfaces is for the reproduction of roughness parameters, while the other is for the traceability of length units below 50 nm. The nominal values of the groove depths on these measuring surfaces are the same. Thus, a link between the measuring surfaces has been ensured, which makes these standards unique. Furthermore, the calibration standards available on the market are generally designed specifically for individual groups of measuring instrumentation, such as interferometric microscopes, stylus instruments, scanning electron microscopes (SEM) or scanning probe microscopes. In this paper, a new design for nano-roughness standards has been proposed for use in the calibration of optical instruments, as well as for stylus instruments, SEM, atomic force microscopes and scanning tunneling microscopes. Therefore, the development of these new nano-roughness calibration standards greatly contributes to the reproducibility of the results of groove depth measurement as well as the 2D and 3D roughness parameters obtained by various measuring methods. (paper)

Nuclear radiation moisture gauge calibration standard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

A hydrophobic standard for calibrating nuclear radiation moisture gauges is described. Each standard has physical characteristics and dimensions effective for representing to a nuclear gauge undergoing calibration, an infinite mass of homogeneous hydrogen content. Calibration standards are discussed which are suitable for use with surface gauges and with depth gauges. (C.F.)

Brightness Alteration with Interweaving Contours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Roncato

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Chromatic induction is observed whenever the perceived colour of a target surface shifts towards the hue of a neighbouring surface. Some vivid manifestations may be seen in a white background where thin coloured lines have been drawn (assimilation or when lines of different colours are collinear (neon effect or adjacent (watercolour to each other. This study examines a particular colour induction that manifests in concomitance with an opposite effect of colour saturation (or anti-spread. The two phenomena can be observed when a repetitive pattern is drawn in which outline thin contours intercept wider contours or surfaces, colour spreading appear to fill the surface occupied by surfaces or thick lines whereas the background traversed by thin lines is seen as brighter or filled of a saturated white. These phenomena were first observed by Bozzi (1975 and Kanizsa (1979 in figural conditions that did not allow them to document their conjunction. Here we illustrate various manifestations of this twofold phenomenon and compare its effects with the known effects of brightness and colour induction. Some conjectures on the nature of these effects are discussed.

Colors and Photometry of Bright Materials on Vesta as Seen by the Dawn Framing Camera

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, S. E.; Li, J.-Y.; Mittlefehldt, D. W.; Pieters, C. M.; De Sanctis, M. C.; Hiesinger, H.; Blewett, D. T.; Russell, C. T.; Raymond, C. A.; Keller, H. U.;

A selective deficit in the appreciation and recognition of brightness: brightness agnosia?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, T.C.W.; Nys, G.M.S.; van der Smagt, M.J.; de Haan, E.H.F.

2009-01-01

We report a patient with extensive brain damage in the right hemisphere who demonstrated a severe impairment in the appreciation of brightness. Acuity, contrast sensitivity as well as luminance discrimination were normal, suggesting her brightness impairment is not a mere consequence of low-level

Polarized Redundant-Baseline Calibration for 21 cm Cosmology Without Adding Spectral Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Dillon, Joshua S.; Kohn, Saul A.; Parsons, Aaron R.; Aguirre, James E.; Ali, Zaki S.; Bernardi, Gianni; Kern, Nicholas S.; Li, Wenyang; Liu, Adrian; Nunhokee, Chuneeta D.; Pober, Jonathan C.

2018-04-01

21 cm cosmology is a promising new probe of the evolution of visible matter in our universe, especially during the poorly-constrained Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization. However, in order to separate the 21 cm signal from bright astrophysical foregrounds, we need an exquisite understanding of our telescopes so as to avoid adding spectral structure to spectrally-smooth foregrounds. One powerful calibration method relies on repeated simultaneous measurements of the same interferometric baseline to solve for the sky signal and for instrumental parameters simultaneously. However, certain degrees of freedom are not constrained by asserting internal consistency between redundant measurements. In this paper, we review the origin of these degeneracies of redundant-baseline calibration and demonstrate how they can source unwanted spectral structure in our measurement and show how to eliminate that additional, artificial structure. We also generalize redundant calibration to dual-polarization instruments, derive the degeneracy structure, and explore the unique challenges to calibration and preserving spectral smoothness presented by a polarized measurement.

Evaluation of the homogeneity of reference flat sources used in calibration of surface contamination monitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva Junior, I.A.; Xavier, M.; Siqueira, P.T.D.; Potiens, M.P.A.

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to re-evaluate the uniformity of the wide area reference sources of the Calibration Laboratory of Instruments (LCI-IPEN) used in the calibration of surface contamination monitors, according the recommendations of the ISO 8769 standard and the NRPB. In this work used six wide area reference sources of 150 cm 2 of 241 Am, 14 C, 36 Cl, 137 Cs, 90 Sr+ 90 Y and 99 Tc with reference dates between 1996 and 1997 and three sources of 100 cm 2 of 14 C, 137 Cs and 60 Co were used with reference dates 2007. Measurements were performed with a radiation monitor of the Thermo, model FH40GX with a pancake probe, model FHZ732GM. We also made several models on paper with the objective of define each measurement position and an aluminum plate with a square hole (6.25 cm 2 ) in its center, allowing the passage of the radiation only through the hole. Each wide area reference source was positioned in setup and measurements were performed in order to cover the entire surface of the source. The values of the uniformity obtained partially confirm previous data obtained in another study conducted by LCI-IPEN, showing that some wide area reference sources 150 cm 2 in disagree with ISO 8769. In the former work, just the source of 241 Am (7.3%) was within the range specified by the standard, now have sources of 241 Am (5.7%), 137 Cs (8.8%), 90 Sr+ 9 '0Y (8, 8%) and 99 Tc (9.2%) with values within the specified uniformity. The sources of 14 C (53.3%) and 36 Cl (16.6%) were outside the specified. The wide area reference sources of 100 cm 2 , show disagreement in values of uniformity of the sources 14 C (46.7%) and 60 Co (10.4%). The values of the uniformity of the wide area reference sources show that some fonts can not be used in calibrations, because not in accordance with the value of uniformity specified in ISO 8769:2010, this is a conditions to believe a laboratory according to ISO 17025, show the laboratory performs its services with a high quality. The

High-brightness rf linear accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jameson, R.A.

1986-01-01

The issue of high brightness and its ramifications in linacs driven by radio-frequency fields is discussed. A history of the RF linacs is reviewed briefly. Some current applications are then examined that are driving progress in RF linacs. The physics affecting the brightness of RF linacs is then discussed, followed by the economic feasibility of higher brightness machines

A case study on large-scale dynamical influence on bright band using cloud radar during the Indian summer monsoon

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Ambuj K.; Kalapureddy, M. C. R.; Devisetty, Hari Krishna; Deshpande, Sachin M.; Pandithurai, G.

2018-02-01

The present study is a first of its kind attempt in exploring the physical features (e.g., height, width, intensity, duration) of tropical Indian bright band using a Ka-band cloud radar under the influence of large-scale cyclonic circulation and attempts to explain the abrupt changes in bright band features, viz., rise in the bright band height by 430 m and deepening of the bright band by about 300 m observed at around 14:00 UTC on Sep 14, 2016, synoptically as well as locally. The study extends the utility of cloud radar to understand how the bright band features are associated with light precipitation, ranging from 0 to 1.5 mm/h. Our analysis of the precipitation event of Sep 14-15, 2016 shows that the bright band above (below) 3.7 km, thickness less (more) than 300 m can potentially lead to light drizzle of 0-0.25 mm/h (drizzle/light rain) at the surface. It is also seen that the cloud radar may be suitable for bright band study within light drizzle limits than under higher rain conditions. Further, the study illustrates that the bright band features can be determined using the polarimetric capability of the cloud radar. It is shown that an LDR value of - 22 dB can be associated with the top height of bright band in the Ka-band observations which is useful in the extraction of the bright band top height and its width. This study is useful for understanding the bright band phenomenon and could be potentially useful in establishing the bright band-surface rain relationship through the perspective of a cloud radar, which would be helpful to enhance the cloud radar-based quantitative estimates of precipitation.

Discovery of megaparsec-scale, low surface brightness nonthermal emission in merging galaxy clusters using the green bank telescope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farnsworth, Damon; Rudnick, Lawrence [Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics, University of Minnesota, 116 Church Street S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States); Brown, Shea [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, 203 Van Allen Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242 (United States); Brunetti, Gianfranco [INAF/Istituto di Radioastronomia, via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna (Italy)

2013-12-20

We present results from a study of 12 X-ray bright clusters at 1.4 GHz with the 100 m Green Bank Telescope. After subtraction of point sources using existing interferometer data, we reach a median (best) 1σ rms sensitivity level of 0.01 (0.006) μJy arcsec{sup –2}, and find a significant excess of diffuse, low surface brightness emission in 11 of 12 Abell clusters observed. We also present initial results at 1.4 GHz of A2319 from the Very Large Array. In particular, we find: (1) four new detections of diffuse structures tentatively classified as two halos (A2065, A2069) and two relics (A2067, A2073); (2) the first detection of the radio halo in A2061 at 1.4 GHz, which qualifies this as a possible ultra-steep spectrum halo source with a synchrotron spectral index of α ∼ 1.8 between 327 MHz and 1.4 GHz; (3) a ∼2 Mpc radio halo in the sloshing, minor-merger cluster A2142; (4) a >2× increase of the giant radio halo extent and luminosity in the merging cluster A2319; (5) a ∼7× increase to the integrated radio flux and >4× increase to the observed extent of the peripheral radio relic in A1367 to ∼600 kpc, which we also observe to be polarized on a similar scale; (6) significant excess emission of ambiguous nature in three clusters with embedded tailed radio galaxies (A119, A400, A3744). Our radio halo detections agree with the well-known X-ray/radio luminosity correlation, but they are larger and fainter than current radio power correlation studies would predict. The corresponding volume-averaged synchrotron emissivities are 1-2 orders of magnitude below the characteristic value found in previous studies. Some of the halo-like detections may be some type of previously unseen, low surface brightness radio halo or blend of unresolved shock structures and sub-Mpc-scale turbulent regions associated with their respective cluster merging activity. Four of the five tentative halos contain one or more X-ray cold fronts, suggesting a possible connection between gas

Calibration of GOES-derived solar radiation data using a distributed network of surface measurements in Florida, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Sumner, David M.; Pathak, Chandra S.; Mecikalski, John R.; Paech, Simon J.; Wu, Qinglong; Sangoyomi, Taiye; Babcock, Roger W.; Walton, Raymond

2008-01-01

Solar radiation data are critically important for the estimation of evapotranspiration. Analysis of visible-channel data derived from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) using radiative transfer modeling has been used to produce spatially- and temporally-distributed datasets of solar radiation. An extensive network of (pyranometer) surface measurements of solar radiation in the State of Florida has allowed refined calibration of a GOES-derived daily integrated radiation data product. This refinement of radiation data allowed for corrections of satellite sensor drift, satellite generational change, and consideration of the highly-variable cloudy conditions that are typical of Florida. To aid in calibration of a GOES-derived radiation product, solar radiation data for the period 1995–2004 from 58 field stations that are located throughout the State were compiled. The GOES radiation product was calibrated by way of a three-step process: 1) comparison with ground-based pyranometer measurements on clear reference days, 2) correcting for a bias related to cloud cover, and 3) deriving month-by-month bias correction factors. Pre-calibration results indicated good model performance, with a station-averaged model error of 2.2 MJ m–2 day–1 (13 percent). Calibration reduced errors to 1.7 MJ m–2 day–1 (10 percent) and also removed time- and cloudiness-related biases. The final dataset has been used to produce Statewide evapotranspiration estimates.

Assimilation of microwave brightness temperatures for soil moisture estimation using particle filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bi, H Y; Ma, J W; Qin, S X; Zeng, J Y

2014-01-01

Soil moisture plays a significant role in global water cycles. Both model simulations and remote sensing observations have their limitations when estimating soil moisture on a large spatial scale. Data assimilation (DA) is a promising tool which can combine model dynamics and remote sensing observations to obtain more precise ground soil moisture distribution. Among various DA methods, the particle filter (PF) can be applied to non-linear and non-Gaussian systems, thus holding great potential for DA. In this study, a data assimilation scheme based on the residual resampling particle filter (RR-PF) was developed to assimilate microwave brightness temperatures into the macro-scale semi-distributed Variance Infiltration Capacity (VIC) Model to estimate surface soil moisture. A radiative transfer model (RTM) was used to link brightness temperatures with surface soil moisture. Finally, the data assimilation scheme was validated by experimental data obtained at Arizona during the Soil Moisture Experiment 2004 (SMEX04). The results show that the estimation accuracy of soil moisture can be improved significantly by RR-PF through assimilating microwave brightness temperatures into VIC model. Both the overall trends and specific values of the assimilation results are more consistent with ground observations compared with model simulation results

Photometric behavior of spectral parameters in Vesta dark and bright regions as inferred by the Dawn VIR spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Longobardo, Andrea; Palomba, Ernesto; Capaccioni, Fabrizio; De Sanctis, Maria Cristina; Tosi, Federico; Ammannito, Eleonora; Schröder, Stefan E.; Zambon, Francesca; Raymond, Carol A.; Russell, Christopher T.

2014-09-01

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft orbited Vesta for approximately one year, collecting thousands of hyperspectral images of its surface. The mission revealed that Vesta’s surface shows the largest variations in surface albedo on asteroids visited thus far, due to the presence of dark and bright materials at the local scale (i.e. 0.1-10 km). The aim of this work is to characterize the photometric properties of bright and dark regions, and thus derive and apply an empirical photometric correction to all the hyperspectral observations of Vesta. The very large dataset (i.e. more than 20 million spectra) provided by the VIR imaging spectrometer onboard Dawn enabled accurate statistical analysis of the spectral dataset, aimed at retrieving empirical relations between several spectral parameters (i.e. visible and infrared reflectance, band depths, band centers, Band Area Ratio) and the illumination/viewing angles. The derived relations made it possible to derive photometrically corrected maps of these spectral parameters and to infer information on the regolith shadowing effect in the Vestan dark and bright regions. As an additional analysis, we also evaluated the correlation between surface temperature and band center position. A general conclusion of this analysis is that, from a photometric point of view, the distinction between bright and dark material units lies mainly in the larger contribution due to multiple scattering in the bright units. We observed reflectance and band depth variations over Vesta’s entire surface, but these variations were much larger in the dark regions than in the bright ones. Band centers have been found to shift to longer wavelengths at increasing temperatures, with a trend that is the same observed for HED meteorites (Reddy et al. [2012]. Icarus 217, 153-158). Finally, the Band Area Ratio (i.e. the ratio between areas of the main pyroxene absorption bands located at 1.9 μm and at 0.9 μm, respectively) did not show any dependence on

The JCMT Transient Survey: Data Reduction and Calibration Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mairs, Steve; Lane, James; Johnstone, Doug; Kirk, Helen; Lacaille, Kevin; Chapman, Scott; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Bell, Graham S.; Graves, Sarah

2017-01-01

Though there has been a significant amount of work investigating the early stages of low-mass star formation in recent years, the evolution of the mass assembly rate onto the central protostar remains largely unconstrained. Examining in depth the variation in this rate is critical to understanding the physics of star formation. Instabilities in the outer and inner circumstellar disk can lead to episodic outbursts. Observing these brightness variations at infrared or submillimeter wavelengths constrains the current accretion models. The JCMT Transient Survey is a three-year project dedicated to studying the continuum variability of deeply embedded protostars in eight nearby star-forming regions at a one-month cadence. We use the SCUBA-2 instrument to simultaneously observe these regions at wavelengths of 450 and 850 μ m. In this paper, we present the data reduction techniques, image alignment procedures, and relative flux calibration methods for 850 μ m data. We compare the properties and locations of bright, compact emission sources fitted with Gaussians over time. Doing so, we achieve a spatial alignment of better than 1″ between the repeated observations and an uncertainty of 2%–3% in the relative peak brightness of significant, localized emission. This combination of imaging performance is unprecedented in ground-based, single-dish submillimeter observations. Finally, we identify a few sources that show possible and confirmed brightness variations. These sources will be closely monitored and presented in further detail in additional studies throughout the duration of the survey.

The JCMT Transient Survey: Data Reduction and Calibration Methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mairs, Steve; Lane, James [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 1A1 (Canada); Johnstone, Doug; Kirk, Helen [NRC Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, BC, V9E 2E7 (Canada); Lacaille, Kevin; Chapman, Scott [Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2 (Canada); Bower, Geoffrey C. [Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 645 N. A‘ohōkū Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States); Bell, Graham S.; Graves, Sarah, E-mail: smairs@uvic.ca [East Asian Observatory, 660 North A‘ohōkū Place, University Park, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 (United States); Collaboration: JCMT Transient Team

2017-07-01

Though there has been a significant amount of work investigating the early stages of low-mass star formation in recent years, the evolution of the mass assembly rate onto the central protostar remains largely unconstrained. Examining in depth the variation in this rate is critical to understanding the physics of star formation. Instabilities in the outer and inner circumstellar disk can lead to episodic outbursts. Observing these brightness variations at infrared or submillimeter wavelengths constrains the current accretion models. The JCMT Transient Survey is a three-year project dedicated to studying the continuum variability of deeply embedded protostars in eight nearby star-forming regions at a one-month cadence. We use the SCUBA-2 instrument to simultaneously observe these regions at wavelengths of 450 and 850 μ m. In this paper, we present the data reduction techniques, image alignment procedures, and relative flux calibration methods for 850 μ m data. We compare the properties and locations of bright, compact emission sources fitted with Gaussians over time. Doing so, we achieve a spatial alignment of better than 1″ between the repeated observations and an uncertainty of 2%–3% in the relative peak brightness of significant, localized emission. This combination of imaging performance is unprecedented in ground-based, single-dish submillimeter observations. Finally, we identify a few sources that show possible and confirmed brightness variations. These sources will be closely monitored and presented in further detail in additional studies throughout the duration of the survey.

Accommodating brightness and exposure levels in densitometry of stained polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Han Yen; Ng, Tuck Wah; Liew, Oi Wah

2010-01-01

Flatbed scanner densitometers can be operated under various illumination and recording exposure levels. In this work, we show that optical density measurement accuracy, sensitivity, and stability of stained polyacrylamide electrophoresis gel densitometry are crucially dependent on these two factors (brightness and exposure level), notwithstanding that the source is monochromatic, spatially uniform, and the measurements are made using an accurately calibrated step wedge in tandem. We further outline a method to accommodate the intensity deviations over a range of illumination and exposure levels in order to maintain sensitivity and repeatability in the computed optical densities. Comparisons were also made with results from a commercial densitometer.

Proxy magnetometry of the photosphere: why are G-band bright points so bright?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rutten, R.J.; Kiselman, Dan; Voort, Luc Rouppe van der; Plez, Bertrand

2000-01-01

We discuss the formation of G-band bright points in terms of standard uxtube modeling, in particular the 1D LTE models constructed by Solanki and coworkers. Combined with LTE spectral synthesis they explain observed G-band bright point contrasts quite well. The G-band contrast increase over the

Second COS FUV Lifetime Position: Verification of FUV Bright Object Aperture (BOA) Operations (FCAL4)

Science.gov (United States)

Debes, John H.

2013-05-01

As part of the calibration of the second lifetime position on the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) far-ultraviolet (FUV) detectors, observations of the external target, G191-B2B, were obtained with the G130M, G160M, and G140L gratings in combi- nation with the Bright Object Aperture. The observations were designed to verify the performance of these spectroscopic modes by reproducing similar observations taken during the SM4 Servicing Mission Observatory Verification (SMOV) of COS. These observations allowed for a detailed determination of the spatial location and profile of the spectra from the three gratings, as well as a determination of the spectral resolution of the G130M grating prior to and after the lifetime move. In general, the negligi- ble differences which exist between the two lifetime positions can be attributed to slight differences in the optical path. In particular, the spectral resolution appears to be slightly improved. The stability of the absolute and relative flux calibration was investigated for G130M as well using STIS echelle data of G191-B2B. We determine that the COS ab- solute flux calibration with the BOA is accurate to 10%, and flux calibrated data are reproducible at the 1-2% level since SMOV.

AN ATLAS OF BRIGHT STAR SPECTRA IN THE NEAR-INFRARED FROM CASSINI-VIMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, Paul N.; Tuthill, Peter G.; Nicholson, Philip D.; Sloan, G. C.; Hedman, Matthew M.

2015-01-01

We present the Cassini Atlas Of Stellar Spectra (CAOSS), comprised of near-infrared, low-resolution spectra of bright stars recovered from space-based observations by the Cassini spacecraft. The 65 stellar targets in the atlas are predominately M, K, and S giants. However, it also contains spectra of other bright nearby stars including carbon stars and main-sequence stars from A to F. The spectra presented are free of all spectral contamination caused by the Earth's atmosphere, including the detrimental telluric molecular bands which put parts of the near-infrared spectrum out of reach of terrestrial observations. With a single instrument, a spectro-photometric data set is recovered that spans the near-infrared from 0.8 to 5.1 μm with spectral resolution ranging from R = 53.5 to R = 325. Spectra have been calibrated into absolute flux units after careful characterization of the instrumental spectral efficiency. Spectral energy distributions for most stars match closely with literature values. All final data products have been made available online

AN ATLAS OF BRIGHT STAR SPECTRA IN THE NEAR-INFRARED FROM CASSINI-VIMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stewart, Paul N.; Tuthill, Peter G. [Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Nicholson, Philip D. [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Sloan, G. C. [Cornell Center for Astrophyics and Planetary Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Hedman, Matthew M., E-mail: p.stewart@physics.usyd.edu.au [Department of Physics, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844 (United States)

2015-12-15

We present the Cassini Atlas Of Stellar Spectra (CAOSS), comprised of near-infrared, low-resolution spectra of bright stars recovered from space-based observations by the Cassini spacecraft. The 65 stellar targets in the atlas are predominately M, K, and S giants. However, it also contains spectra of other bright nearby stars including carbon stars and main-sequence stars from A to F. The spectra presented are free of all spectral contamination caused by the Earth's atmosphere, including the detrimental telluric molecular bands which put parts of the near-infrared spectrum out of reach of terrestrial observations. With a single instrument, a spectro-photometric data set is recovered that spans the near-infrared from 0.8 to 5.1 μm with spectral resolution ranging from R = 53.5 to R = 325. Spectra have been calibrated into absolute flux units after careful characterization of the instrumental spectral efficiency. Spectral energy distributions for most stars match closely with literature values. All final data products have been made available online.

Recent advances in high-brightness electron guns at AES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bluem, H.; Todd, A.M.M.; Cole, M.D.; Rathke, J.; Schultheiss, T.

2003-01-01

We describe a number of active Advanced Energy Systems projects pertaining to the development of advanced, high-brightness electron guns for various applications. These projects include a fully superconducting, CW RF gun, nearing test, that utilizes the niobium surface as the photocathode material. An integrated 100 mA, low emittance DC/SRF gun, ideal as an injector for ERL-type light sources and intended as the injector for a 100 kW FEL, is in late design stage. A parallel high-power, CW, normal-conducting L-band RF gun project has just begun. The early performance analysis for this gun also shows good promise as an injector for ERL-type light sources. Lastly, a fully axisymmetric RF gun, operating in X-band, is being studied as a source of extremely bright electron bunches

Application and Analysis of Measurement Model for Calibrating Spatial Shear Surface in Triaxial Test

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhihua; Qiu, Hongsheng; Zhang, Xiedong; Zhang, Hang

2017-12-01

Discrete element method has great advantages in simulating the contacts, fractures, large displacement and deformation between particles. In order to analyze the spatial distribution of the shear surface in the three-dimensional triaxial test, a measurement model is inserted in the numerical triaxial model which is generated by weighted average assembling method. Due to the non-visibility of internal shear surface in laboratory, it is largely insufficient to judge the trend of internal shear surface only based on the superficial cracks of sheared sample, therefore, the measurement model is introduced. The trend of the internal shear zone is analyzed according to the variations of porosity, coordination number and volumetric strain in each layer. It shows that as a case study on confining stress of 0.8 MPa, the spatial shear surface is calibrated with the results of the rotated particle distribution and the theoretical value with the specific characteristics of the increase of porosity, the decrease of coordination number, and the increase of volumetric strain, which represents the measurement model used in three-dimensional model is applicable.

Study of glass hydrometer calibration by hydrostatic weighting

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chaoyun; Wang, Jintao; Li, Zhihao; Zhang, Peiman

2016-01-01

Glass hydrometers are simple but effective instruments for measuring the density of liquids. Glass hydrometers calibration based on the Archimedes law, using silicon ring as a reference standard solid density, n-tridecane with density stability and low surface tension as the standard working liquid, based on hydrostatic weighing method designs a glass hydrometer calibration system. Glass hydrometer calibration system uses CCD image measurement system to align the scale of hydrometer and liquid surface, with positioning accuracy of 0.01 mm. Surface tension of the working liquid is measured by Whihemy plate. According to twice glass hydrometer weighing in the air and liquid can calculate the correction value of the current scale. In order to verify the validity of the principle of the hydrostatic weighing method of glass hydrometer calibration system, for measuring the density range of (770-790) kg/m3, with a resolution of 0.2 kg/m3 of hydrometer. The results of measurement compare with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt(PTB) ,verifying the validity of the calibration system.

Beam position monitors for the high brightness lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ring, T.

1985-06-01

Engineering developments associated with the high brightness lattice and the projected change in machine operating parameters will inherently affect the diagnostics systems and devices installed at present in the storage ring. This is particularly true of the beam position monitoring (BPI) system. The new sixteen unit cell lattice with its higher betatron tune values and the limited space available in the redesigned machine straights for fitting standard BPI vessels forces a fundamental re-evaluation of the beam position monitor system. The design aims for the new system are based on accepting the space limitations imposed while still providing the monitor points required to give good radial and vertical closed orbit plots. The locations of BPI's in the redesigned machine straights is illustrated. A description of the new BPI assemblies and their calibration is given. The BPI's use capacitance button type pick-ups; their response is described. (U.K.)

Forward Global Photometric Calibration of the Dark Energy Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Burke, D. L.; Rykoff, E. S.; Allam, S.; Annis, J.; Bechtol, K.; Bernstein, G. M.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Finley, D. A.; Gruendl, R. A.; James, D. J.; Kent, S.; Kessler, R.; Kuhlmann, S.; Lasker, J.; Li, T. S.; Scolnic, D.; Smith, J.; Tucker, D. L.; Wester, W.; Yanny, B.; Abbott, T. M. C.; Abdalla, F. B.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bertin, E.; Carnero Rosell, A.; Carrasco Kind, M.; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; D’Andrea, C. B.; da Costa, L. N.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Doel, P.; Estrada, J.; García-Bellido, J.; Gruen, D.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Maia, M. A. G.; March, M.; Marshall, J. L.; Melchior, P.; Menanteau, F.; Miquel, R.; Plazas, A. A.; Sako, M.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Schindler, R.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, M.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Tarle, G.; Walker, A. R.; DES Collaboration

2018-01-01

Many scientific goals for the Dark Energy Survey (DES) require the calibration of optical/NIR broadband b = grizY photometry that is stable in time and uniform over the celestial sky to one percent or better. It is also necessary to limit to similar accuracy systematic uncertainty in the calibrated broadband magnitudes due to uncertainty in the spectrum of the source. Here we present a “Forward Global Calibration Method (FGCM)” for photometric calibration of the DES, and we present results of its application to the first three years of the survey (Y3A1). The FGCM combines data taken with auxiliary instrumentation at the observatory with data from the broadband survey imaging itself and models of the instrument and atmosphere to estimate the spatial and time dependences of the passbands of individual DES survey exposures. “Standard” passbands that are typical of the passbands encountered during the survey are chosen. The passband of any individual observation is combined with an estimate of the source spectral shape to yield a magnitude {m}b{std} in the standard system. This “chromatic correction” to the standard system is necessary to achieve subpercent calibrations and in particular, to resolve ambiguity between the broadband brightness of a source and the shape of its SED. The FGCM achieves a reproducible and stable photometric calibration of standard magnitudes {m}b{std} of stellar sources over the multiyear Y3A1 data sample with residual random calibration errors of σ =6{--}7 {mmag} per exposure. The accuracy of the calibration is uniform across the 5000 {\\deg }2 DES footprint to within σ =7 {mmag}. The systematic uncertainties of magnitudes in the standard system due to the spectra of sources are less than 5 {mmag} for main-sequence stars with 0.5< g-i< 3.0.

The Mars Science Laboratory APXS calibration target: Comparison of Martian measurements with the terrestrial calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, J.L.; King, P.L.; Burkemper, L.; Berger, J.A.; Gellert, R.; Boyd, N.I.; Perrett, G.M.; Pradler, I.; Thompson, L.; Edgett, K.S.; Yingst, R.A.

2014-01-01

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover carries a basalt calibration target for monitoring the performance of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. The spectrum acquired on Sol 34 shows increased contributions from Mg, S, Cl and Fe relative to laboratory spectra recorded before launch. Mars Hand Lens Imager images confirm changes in the appearance of the surface. Spectra taken on Sols 179 and 411 indicate some loss of the deposited material. The observations suggest deposition of a surface film likely consisting of dust mobilized by impingement of the sky crane’s terminal descent engine plumes with surface fines during Curiosity’s landing. New APXS software has been used to model the thin film that coated the calibration target on landing. The results suggest that a film of about 100 nm thickness, and containing predominantly MgO, Fe 2 O 3 , SO 3 , Cl and Na 2 O could give rise to the observed spectral changes. If this film is also present on the alpha particle sources within the APXS, then its effect is negligible and the terrestrial calibration remains appropriate

NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of GPS RO-Calibrated AMSU Channel 7 (Temperatures of Troposphere / Stratosphere, TTS), Version 1.0 (Version Superseded)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Climate Data Records (CDR) for Channel 7 contains Radio Occulation (RO) calibrated brightness temperatures from AMSU-A channel 7 measurements at 54.9 GHz from...

Campaign for vicarious calibration of SumbandilaSat in Argentina

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Vhengani, LM

2011-07-01

Full Text Available assessment, they are also calibrated post-launch. Various post-launch techniques exist including cross-sensor, solar, lunar and vicarious calibration. Vicarious calibration relies on in-situ measurements of surface reflectance and atmospheric transmittance...

The Pelindaba facility for calibrating radiometric field instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corner, B.; Toens, P.D.; Van As, D.; Vleggaar, C.M.; Richards, D.J.

1979-04-01

The tremendous upsurge in uranium exploration activity, experienced in recent years, has made the need for the standardisation and calibration of radiometric field instruments apparent. In order to fulfill this need, construction of a calibration facility at the National Nuclear Research Centre, Pelindaba, was commenced in 1972 and has since been extended according the the requirements of the mining industry. The facility currently comprises 11 surface standard sources suitable for the calibration, in terms of radio-element concentration, of portable scintillometers and spectrometers, and single uranium and thorium model-borehole sources which make possible the accurate calibration of borehole logging instruments both for gross-count and spectrometric surveys. Portable potassium, uranium and thorium sources are also available for the purposes of establishing airborne-spectrometer stripping ratios. The relevant physico-chemical properties of the standards are presented in this report and calibration procedures and data reduction techniques recommended. Examples are given of in situ measurements, both on surface and down-the-hole, which show that the derived calibration constants yield radiometric grades which are, on average, accurate to within 5% of the true radio-element concentrations. A secondary facility comprising single borehole- and surface-uranium sources has also been constructed in Beaufort West in the southern Karoo [af

Soil hydraulic parameters and surface soil moisture of a tilled bare soil plot inversely derived from l-band brightness temperatures

KAUST Repository

Dimitrov, Marin; Vanderborght, Jan P.; Kostov, K. G.; Jadoon, Khan; Weihermü ller, Lutz; Jackson, Thomas J.; Bindlish, Rajat; Pachepsky, Ya A.; Schwank, Mike; Vereecken, Harry

2014-01-01

model (CRTM) that accounts for vertical gradients in dielectric permittivity. Brightness temperatures simulated by the CRTM and the 2-cm-layer Fresnel model fitted well to the measured ones. L-band brightness temperatures are therefore related

Intermittent Episodes of Bright Light Suppress Myopia in the Chicken More than Continuous Bright Light

OpenAIRE

Lan, Weizhong; Feldkaemper, Marita; Schaeffel, Frank

2014-01-01

PURPOSE: Bright light has been shown a powerful inhibitor of myopia development in animal models. We studied which temporal patterns of bright light are the most potent in suppressing deprivation myopia in chickens. METHODS: Eight-day-old chickens wore diffusers over one eye to induce deprivation myopia. A reference group (n = 8) was kept under office-like illuminance (500 lux) at a 10:14 light:dark cycle. Episodes of bright light (15 000 lux) were super-imposed on this background as follows....

CALIBRATED HYDRODYNAMIC MODEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sezar Gülbaz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The land development and increase in urbanization in a watershed affect water quantityand water quality. On one hand, urbanization provokes the adjustment of geomorphicstructure of the streams, ultimately raises peak flow rate which causes flood; on theother hand, it diminishes water quality which results in an increase in Total SuspendedSolid (TSS. Consequently, sediment accumulation in downstream of urban areas isobserved which is not preferred for longer life of dams. In order to overcome thesediment accumulation problem in dams, the amount of TSS in streams and inwatersheds should be taken under control. Low Impact Development (LID is a BestManagement Practice (BMP which may be used for this purpose. It is a land planningand engineering design method which is applied in managing storm water runoff inorder to reduce flooding as well as simultaneously improve water quality. LID includestechniques to predict suspended solid loads in surface runoff generated over imperviousurban surfaces. In this study, the impact of LID-BMPs on surface runoff and TSS isinvestigated by employing a calibrated hydrodynamic model for Sazlidere Watershedwhich is located in Istanbul, Turkey. For this purpose, a calibrated hydrodynamicmodel was developed by using Environmental Protection Agency Storm WaterManagement Model (EPA SWMM. For model calibration and validation, we set up arain gauge and a flow meter into the field and obtain rainfall and flow rate data. Andthen, we select several LID types such as retention basins, vegetative swales andpermeable pavement and we obtain their influence on peak flow rate and pollutantbuildup and washoff for TSS. Consequently, we observe the possible effects ofLID on surface runoff and TSS in Sazlidere Watershed.

A comparison of different neutron probes calibration method for the soil surface and their radiation effect on the users

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arslan, A; Razzouk, A K; Al-Ain, F [Atomic Energy commission , Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic). Dept of Radiation Agriculture

1996-08-01

In situ calibration curves were installed for the soil surface using different models of depth neutron probes and different adaptors. depth beutron probe readings increased with increasing the number of teflon plastic blocks deposited on the soil surface. The intercept of the straight line regression analysis decreased with increasing of teflon plastics blocks deposited on the soil surface in all sites. The least exposure was with depth probe with surface reflectors. This study proves the possibility of measuring the moisture content of the soil surface by using a depth probe with a block laid on the surface, without a danger of receiving the thresgold of radiation dose. (author). 10 Refs., 2 Figs., 8 Tabs.

The CHEOPS calibration bench

Science.gov (United States)

Wildi, F.; Chazelas, B.; Deline, A.; Sarajlic, M.; Sordet, M.

2017-09-01

CHEOPS is an ESA Class S Mission aiming at the characterization of exoplanets through the precise measurement of their radius, using the transit method [1]. To achieve this goal, the payload is designed to be a high precision "absolute" photometer, looking at one star at a time. It will be able to cover la large fraction of the sky by repointing. Its launch is expected at the end of 2017 [2, this conference]. CHEOPS' main science is the measure of the transit of exoplanets of radius ranging from 1 to 6 Earth radii orbiting bright stars. The required photometric stability to reach this goal is of 20 ppm in 6 hours for a 9th magnitude star. The CHEOPS' only instrument is a Ritchey-Chretien style telescope with 300 mm effective aperture diameter, which provides a defocussed image of the target star on a single frame-transfer backside illuminated CCD detector cooled to -40°C and stabilized within 10 mK [2]. CHEOPS being in a LEO, it is equipped with a high performance baffle. The spacecraft platform provides a pointing stability of < 2 arcsec rms. This relatively modest pointing performance makes high quality flat-fielding necessary In the rest of this article we will refer to the only CHEOPS instrument simply as "CHEOP" Its behavior will be calibrated thoroughly on the ground and only a small subset of the calibrations can be redone in flight. The main focuses of the calibrations are the photonic gain stability and sensibility to the environment variations and the Flat field that has to be known at a precision better than 0.1%.

Absolute radiometric calibration of Landsat using a pseudo invariant calibration site

Science.gov (United States)

Helder, D.; Thome, K.J.; Mishra, N.; Chander, G.; Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Angal, A.; Choi, Tae-young

2013-01-01

Pseudo invariant calibration sites (PICS) have been used for on-orbit radiometric trending of optical satellite systems for more than 15 years. This approach to vicarious calibration has demonstrated a high degree of reliability and repeatability at the level of 1-3% depending on the site, spectral channel, and imaging geometries. A variety of sensors have used this approach for trending because it is broadly applicable and easy to implement. Models to describe the surface reflectance properties, as well as the intervening atmosphere have also been developed to improve the precision of the method. However, one limiting factor of using PICS is that an absolute calibration capability has not yet been fully developed. Because of this, PICS are primarily limited to providing only long term trending information for individual sensors or cross-calibration opportunities between two sensors. This paper builds an argument that PICS can be used more extensively for absolute calibration. To illustrate this, a simple empirical model is developed for the well-known Libya 4 PICS based on observations by Terra MODIS and EO-1 Hyperion. The model is validated by comparing model predicted top-of-atmosphere reflectance values to actual measurements made by the Landsat ETM+ sensor reflective bands. Following this, an outline is presented to develop a more comprehensive and accurate PICS absolute calibration model that can be Système international d'unités (SI) traceable. These initial concepts suggest that absolute calibration using PICS is possible on a broad scale and can lead to improved on-orbit calibration capabilities for optical satellite sensors.

Integrating SMOS brightness temperatures with a new conceptual spatially distributed hydrological model for improving flood and drought predictions at large scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Hostache, Renaud; Rains, Dominik; Chini, Marco; Lievens, Hans; Verhoest, Niko E. C.; Matgen, Patrick

2017-04-01

, SUPERFLEX is capable of predicting runoff, soil moisture, and SMOS-like brightness temperature time series. Such a model is traditionally calibrated using only discharge measurements. In this study we designed a multi-objective calibration procedure based on both discharge measurements and SMOS-derived brightness temperature observations in order to evaluate the added value of remotely sensed soil moisture data in the calibration process. As a test case we set up the SUPERFLEX model for the large scale Murray-Darling catchment in Australia ( 1 Million km2). When compared to in situ soil moisture time series, model predictions show good agreement resulting in correlation coefficients exceeding 70 % and Root Mean Squared Errors below 1 %. When benchmarked with the physically based land surface model CLM, SUPERFLEX exhibits similar performance levels. By adapting the runoff routing function within the SUPERFLEX model, the predicted discharge results in a Nash Sutcliff Efficiency exceeding 0.7 over both the calibration and the validation periods.

Difference in Dwarf Galaxy Surface Brightness Profiles as a Function of Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Youngdae; Park, Hong Soo; Kim, Sang Chul; Moon, Dae-Sik; Lee, Jae-Joon; Kim, Dong-Jin; Cha, Sang-Mok

2018-05-01

We investigate surface brightness profiles (SBPs) of dwarf galaxies in field, group, and cluster environments. With deep BV I images from the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network Supernova Program, SBPs of 38 dwarfs in the NGC 2784 group are fitted by a single-exponential or double-exponential model. We find that 53% of the dwarfs are fitted with single-exponential profiles (“Type I”), while 47% of the dwarfs show double-exponential profiles; 37% of all dwarfs have smaller sizes for the outer part than the inner part (“Type II”), while 10% have a larger outer than inner part (“Type III”). We compare these results with those in the field and in the Virgo cluster, where the SBP types of 102 field dwarfs are compiled from a previous study and the SBP types of 375 cluster dwarfs are measured using SDSS r-band images. As a result, the distributions of SBP types are different in the three environments. Common SBP types for the field, the NGC 2784 group, and the Virgo cluster are Type II, Type I and II, and Type I and III profiles, respectively. After comparing the sizes of dwarfs in different environments, we suggest that since the sizes of some dwarfs are changed due to environmental effects, SBP types are capable of being transformed and the distributions of SBP types in the three environments are different. We discuss possible environmental mechanisms for the transformation of SBP types. Based on data collected at KMTNet Telescopes and SDSS.

BrightStat.com: free statistics online.

Science.gov (United States)

Stricker, Daniel

2008-10-01

Powerful software for statistical analysis is expensive. Here I present BrightStat, a statistical software running on the Internet which is free of charge. BrightStat's goals, its main capabilities and functionalities are outlined. Three different sample runs, a Friedman test, a chi-square test, and a step-wise multiple regression are presented. The results obtained by BrightStat are compared with results computed by SPSS, one of the global leader in providing statistical software, and VassarStats, a collection of scripts for data analysis running on the Internet. Elementary statistics is an inherent part of academic education and BrightStat is an alternative to commercial products.

High brightness InP micropillars grown on silicon with Fermi level splitting larger than 1 eV.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Thai-Truong D; Sun, Hao; Ng, Kar Wei; Ren, Fan; Li, Kun; Lu, Fanglu; Yablonovitch, Eli; Chang-Hasnain, Constance J

2014-06-11

The growth of III-V nanowires on silicon is a promising approach for low-cost, large-scale III-V photovoltaics. However, performances of III-V nanowire solar cells have not yet been as good as their bulk counterparts, as nanostructured light absorbers are fundamentally challenged by enhanced minority carriers surface recombination rates. The resulting nonradiative losses lead to significant reductions in the external spontaneous emission quantum yield, which, in turn, manifest as penalties in the open-circuit voltage. In this work, calibrated photoluminescence measurements are utilized to construct equivalent voltage-current characteristics relating illumination intensities to Fermi level splitting ΔF inside InP microillars. Under 1 sun, we show that splitting can exceed ΔF ∼ 0.90 eV in undoped pillars. This value can be increased to values of ΔF ∼ 0.95 eV by cleaning pillar surfaces in acidic etchants. Pillars with nanotextured surfaces can yield splitting of ΔF ∼ 0.90 eV, even though they exhibit high densities of stacking faults. Finally, by introducing n-dopants, ΔF of 1.07 eV can be achieved due to a wider bandgap energy in n-doped wurzite InP, the higher brightness of doped materials, and the extraordinarily low surface recombination velocity of InP. This is the highest reported value for InP materials grown on a silicon substrate. These results provide further evidence that InP micropillars on silicon could be a promising material for low-cost, large-scale solar cells with high efficiency.

Calibration of the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aglietta, M.; Alision, P.S.; Arneodo, F.; Barnhill, D.; Bauleo, P.; Beatty, J.J.; Bertou, X.; Bonifazi, C.; Busca, N.; Creusot, A.; Dornic, D.; Etchegoyen, A.; Filevitch, A.; Ghia, P.L.; Grunfeld, C.M.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Medina, M.C.; Moreno, E.; Navarra, G.; Nitz, D.; Ohnuki, T.

2005-01-01

The ground array of the Pierre Auger Observatory will consist of 1600 water Cherenkov detectors, deployed over 3000 km 2 . The remoteness and large number of detectors required a simple, automatic remote calibration procedure. The primary physics calibration is based on the average charge deposited by a vertical and central throughgoing muon, determined with good precision at the detector via a novel rate-based technique and later with higher precision via charge histograms. This value is named the vertical-equivalent muon (VEM). The VEM and the other parameters needed to maintain this calibration over the full energy range and to assess the quality of the detector are measured every minute. This allows an accurate determination of the energy deposited in each detector when an atmospheric cosmic ray shower occurs

Drift-insensitive distributed calibration of probe microscope scanner in nanometer range: Virtual mode

Science.gov (United States)

Lapshin, Rostislav V.

2016-08-01

A method of distributed calibration of a probe microscope scanner is suggested. The main idea consists in a search for a net of local calibration coefficients (LCCs) in the process of automatic measurement of a standard surface, whereby each point of the movement space of the scanner can be characterized by a unique set of scale factors. Feature-oriented scanning (FOS) methodology is used as a basis for implementation of the distributed calibration permitting to exclude in situ the negative influence of thermal drift, creep and hysteresis on the obtained results. Possessing the calibration database enables correcting in one procedure all the spatial systematic distortions caused by nonlinearity, nonorthogonality and spurious crosstalk couplings of the microscope scanner piezomanipulators. To provide high precision of spatial measurements in nanometer range, the calibration is carried out using natural standards - constants of crystal lattice. One of the useful modes of the developed calibration method is a virtual mode. In the virtual mode, instead of measurement of a real surface of the standard, the calibration program makes a surface image ;measurement; of the standard, which was obtained earlier using conventional raster scanning. The application of the virtual mode permits simulation of the calibration process and detail analysis of raster distortions occurring in both conventional and counter surface scanning. Moreover, the mode allows to estimate the thermal drift and the creep velocities acting while surface scanning. Virtual calibration makes possible automatic characterization of a surface by the method of scanning probe microscopy (SPM).

Brightness of the photosphere and faculae at the limb according to eclipse observations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akimov, L.A.; Belkina, I.L.; Dyatel, N.P. (Khar' kovskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ. (Ukrainian SSR). Astronomicheskaya Observatoriya)

The absolute integrated and surface brightness distributions of the photospheric continuum (lambda approximately 5870 A) and faculae at the extreme limb are obtained from July 10, 1972 solar eclipse slitless spectrograms. Some possible reasons of the limb brightening in the surface brightness distributions of the photosphere are discussed. It is detected that facular contrasts have the high values, up to 1.76 for the height about 200 km. This fact shows that radiation and matter density changes depending on height in the upper atmosphere in a facula more quickly than outside the facula. The comparison of the observed moments of local contacts with the theoretical ones, based on the lunar limb relief data, has shown that the active regions are approximately 300 km higher than the photosphere. The schematic model of the photospheric faculae is given.

Brightness of the photosphere and faculae at the limb according to eclipse observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akimov, L.A.; Belkina, I.L.; Dyatel, N.P.

1982-01-01

The absolute integrated and surface brightness distributions of the photospheric continuum (lambda approximately 5870 A) and faculae at the extreme limb are obtained from July 10, 1972 solar eclipse slitless spectrograms. Some possible reasons of the limb brightening in the surface brightness distributions of the photosphere are discussed. It is detected that facular contrasts have the high values, up to 1.76 for the height about 200 km. This fact shows that radiation and matter density changes depending on height in the upper atmosphere in a facula more quickly than outside the facula. The comparison of the observed moments of local contacts with the theoretical ones, based on the lunar limb relief data, has shown that the active regions are approximately 300 km higher than the photosphere. The schematic model of the photospheric faculae is given

The Mars Science Laboratory APXS calibration target: Comparison of Martian measurements with the terrestrial calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, J.L., E-mail: icampbel@uoguelph.ca [Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute, University of Guelph, Ontario N1G2W1 (Canada); King, P.L. [Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute, University of Guelph, Ontario N1G2W1 (Canada); Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, NM 87131 (United States); Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario N6A3K7 (Canada); Burkemper, L. [Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, NM 87131 (United States); Berger, J.A. [Institute of Meteoritics, University of New Mexico, NM 87131 (United States); Department of Earth Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario N6A3K7 (Canada); Gellert, R.; Boyd, N.I.; Perrett, G.M.; Pradler, I. [Guelph-Waterloo Physics Institute, University of Guelph, Ontario N1G2W1 (Canada); Thompson, L. [Planetary and Space Science Centre, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B5A3 (Canada); Edgett, K.S. [Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA 92191-0148 (United States); Yingst, R.A. [Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 (United States)

2014-03-15

The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover carries a basalt calibration target for monitoring the performance of the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. The spectrum acquired on Sol 34 shows increased contributions from Mg, S, Cl and Fe relative to laboratory spectra recorded before launch. Mars Hand Lens Imager images confirm changes in the appearance of the surface. Spectra taken on Sols 179 and 411 indicate some loss of the deposited material. The observations suggest deposition of a surface film likely consisting of dust mobilized by impingement of the sky crane’s terminal descent engine plumes with surface fines during Curiosity’s landing. New APXS software has been used to model the thin film that coated the calibration target on landing. The results suggest that a film of about 100 nm thickness, and containing predominantly MgO, Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3}, SO{sub 3}, Cl and Na{sub 2}O could give rise to the observed spectral changes. If this film is also present on the alpha particle sources within the APXS, then its effect is negligible and the terrestrial calibration remains appropriate.

Importance of including small-scale tile drain discharge in the calibration of a coupled groundwater-surface water catchment model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Anne Lausten; Refsgaard, Jens Christian; Christensen, Britt Stenhøj Baun

2013-01-01

the catchment. In this study, a coupled groundwater-surface water model based on the MIKE SHE code was developed for the 4.7 km2 Lillebæk catchment in Denmark, where tile drain flow is a major contributor to the stream discharge. The catchment model was calibrated in several steps by incrementally including...... the observation data into the calibration to see the effect on model performance of including diverse data types, especially tile drain discharge. For the Lillebæk catchment, measurements of hydraulic head, daily stream discharge, and daily tile drain discharge from five small (1–4 ha) drainage areas exist....... The results showed that including tile drain data in the calibration of the catchment model improved its general performance for hydraulic heads and stream discharges. However, the model failed to correctly describe the local-scale dynamics of the tile drain discharges, and, furthermore, including the drain...

Precise on-machine extraction of the surface normal vector using an eddy current sensor array

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Yongqing; Lian, Meng; Liu, Haibo; Ying, Yangwei; Sheng, Xianjun

2016-01-01

To satisfy the requirements of on-machine measurement of the surface normal during complex surface manufacturing, a highly robust normal vector extraction method using an Eddy current (EC) displacement sensor array is developed, the output of which is almost unaffected by surface brightness, machining coolant and environmental noise. A precise normal vector extraction model based on a triangular-distributed EC sensor array is first established. Calibration of the effects of object surface inclination and coupling interference on measurement results, and the relative position of EC sensors, is involved. A novel apparatus employing three EC sensors and a force transducer was designed, which can be easily integrated into the computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool spindle and/or robot terminal execution. Finally, to test the validity and practicability of the proposed method, typical experiments were conducted with specified testing pieces using the developed approach and system, such as an inclined plane and cylindrical and spherical surfaces. (paper)

Precise on-machine extraction of the surface normal vector using an eddy current sensor array

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yongqing; Lian, Meng; Liu, Haibo; Ying, Yangwei; Sheng, Xianjun

2016-11-01

To satisfy the requirements of on-machine measurement of the surface normal during complex surface manufacturing, a highly robust normal vector extraction method using an Eddy current (EC) displacement sensor array is developed, the output of which is almost unaffected by surface brightness, machining coolant and environmental noise. A precise normal vector extraction model based on a triangular-distributed EC sensor array is first established. Calibration of the effects of object surface inclination and coupling interference on measurement results, and the relative position of EC sensors, is involved. A novel apparatus employing three EC sensors and a force transducer was designed, which can be easily integrated into the computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool spindle and/or robot terminal execution. Finally, to test the validity and practicability of the proposed method, typical experiments were conducted with specified testing pieces using the developed approach and system, such as an inclined plane and cylindrical and spherical surfaces.

Increasing the Brightness of Light Sources

OpenAIRE

Fu, Ling

2006-01-01

In modern illumination systems, compact size and high brightness are important features. Light recycling allows an increase of the spectral radiance (brightness) emitted by a light source for the price of reducing the total radiant power. Light recycling means returning part of the emitted light to the source where part of it will escape absorption. As a result, the output brightness can be increased in a restricted phase space, ...

Experimental calibration and validation of sewer/surface flow exchange equations in steady and unsteady flow conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinato, Matteo; Martins, Ricardo; Kesserwani, Georges; Leandro, Jorge; Djordjević, Slobodan; Shucksmith, James

2017-09-01

The linkage between sewer pipe flow and floodplain flow is recognised to induce an important source of uncertainty within two-dimensional (2D) urban flood models. This uncertainty is often attributed to the use of empirical hydraulic formulae (the one-dimensional (1D) weir and orifice steady flow equations) to achieve data-connectivity at the linking interface, which require the determination of discharge coefficients. Because of the paucity of high resolution localised data for this type of flows, the current understanding and quantification of a suitable range for those discharge coefficients is somewhat lacking. To fulfil this gap, this work presents the results acquired from an instrumented physical model designed to study the interaction between a pipe network flow and a floodplain flow. The full range of sewer-to-surface and surface-to-sewer flow conditions at the exchange zone are experimentally analysed in both steady and unsteady flow regimes. Steady state measured discharges are first analysed considering the relationship between the energy heads from the sewer flow and the floodplain flow; these results show that existing weir and orifice formulae are valid for describing the flow exchange for the present physical model, and yield new calibrated discharge coefficients for each of the flow conditions. The measured exchange discharges are also integrated (as a source term) within a 2D numerical flood model (a finite volume solver to the 2D Shallow Water Equations (SWE)), which is shown to reproduce the observed coefficients. This calibrated numerical model is then used to simulate a series of unsteady flow tests reproduced within the experimental facility. Results show that the numerical model overestimated the values of mean surcharge flow rate. This suggests the occurrence of additional head losses in unsteady conditions which are not currently accounted for within flood models calibrated in steady flow conditions.

Bright soil units on Mars determined from ISM imaging spectrometer data

Science.gov (United States)

Murchie, Scott; Mustard, John

1993-01-01

The lithology of bright Martian soil provides evidence for chemical and physical processes that have modified the planet's surface. Data from the ISM imaging spectrometer, which observed much of the equatorial region at a spatial resolution of approximately 22 km, cover the NIR wavelength range critical to ascertaining the presence and abundance of Fe-containing phases, hydroxylated silicates, and H2O in the bright soil. ISM data previously have revealed spatial variations in depth of the 3.0-microns H2O absorption suggesting differences in water content, a weak absorption at 2.2 microns indicative of metal-OH in phyllosilicate, and variations in the 1-micron Fe absorption indicative of differences in Fe mineralogy. This paper summarizes first results of a systematic investigation of spectral heterogeneity in bright soils observed by ISM. At least seven 'units' with distinctive properties were discriminated. Comparison of their spatial distributions with Viking data shows that they generally correspond with previously recognized morphologic, color, and thermal features. These correspondences and the units' spectral attributes provide evidence for lithologic differences between the soils in different geologic settings.

REFLECTANCE CALIBRATION SCHEME FOR AIRBORNE FRAME CAMERA IMAGES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U. Beisl

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The image quality of photogrammetric images is influenced by various effects from outside the camera. One effect is the scattered light from the atmosphere that lowers contrast in the images and creates a colour shift towards the blue. Another is the changing illumination during the day which results in changing image brightness within an image block. In addition, there is the so-called bidirectional reflectance of the ground (BRDF effects that is giving rise to a view and sun angle dependent brightness gradient in the image itself. To correct for the first two effects an atmospheric correction with reflectance calibration is chosen. The effects have been corrected successfully for ADS linescan sensor data by using a parametrization of the atmospheric quantities. Following Kaufman et al. the actual atmospheric condition is estimated by the brightness of a dark pixel taken from the image. The BRDF effects are corrected using a semi-empirical modelling of the brightness gradient. Both methods are now extended to frame cameras. Linescan sensors have a viewing geometry that is only dependent from the cross track view zenith angle. The difference for frame cameras now is to include the extra dimension of the view azimuth into the modelling. Since both the atmospheric correction and the BRDF correction require a model inversion with the help of image data, a different image sampling strategy is necessary which includes the azimuth angle dependence. For the atmospheric correction a sixth variable is added to the existing five variables visibility, view zenith angle, sun zenith angle, ground altitude, and flight altitude – thus multiplying the number of modelling input combinations for the offline-inversion. The parametrization has to reflect the view azimuth angle dependence. The BRDF model already contains the view azimuth dependence and is combined with a new sampling strategy.

Evaluations of the new LiF-scintillator and optional brightness enhancement films for neutron imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iikura, H., E-mail: Iikura.hiroshi@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki (Japan); Tsutsui, N. [Chichibu Fuji Co., Ltd., Ogano, Chichibu, Saitama 368-0193 (Japan); Nakamura, T.; Katagiri, M.; Kureta, M. [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki (Japan); Kubo, J. [Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0126 (Japan); Matsubayashi, M. [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata-shirane, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki (Japan)

2011-09-21

Japan Atomic Energy Agency has developed the neutron scintillator jointly with Chichibu Fuji Co., Ltd. In this study, we evaluated the new ZnS(Ag):Al/{sup 6}Li scintillator developed for neutron imaging. It was confirmed that the brightness increased by about double while maintaining equal performance for the spatial resolution as compared with a conventional scintillator. High frame-rate imaging using a high-speed video camera system and this new scintillator made it possible to image beyond 10 000 frames per second while still having enough brightness. This technique allowed us to obtain a high-frame-rate visualization of oil flow in a running car engine. Furthermore, we devised a technique to increase the light intensity of reception for a camera by adding brightness enhancement films on the output surface of the scintillator. It was confirmed that the spatial resolution degraded more than double, but the brightness increased by about three times.

A model for atmospheric brightness temperatures observed by the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I)

Science.gov (United States)

Petty, Grant W.; Katsaros, Kristina B.

1989-01-01

A closed-form mathematical model for the atmospheric contribution to microwave the absorption and emission at the SSM/I frequencies is developed in order to improve quantitative interpretation of microwave imagery from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I). The model is intended to accurately predict upwelling and downwelling atmospheric brightness temperatures at SSM/I frequencies, as functions of eight input parameters: the zenith (nadir) angle, the integrated water vapor and vapor scale height, the integrated cloud water and cloud height, the effective surface temperature, atmospheric lapse rate, and surface pressure. It is shown that the model accurately reproduces clear-sky brightness temperatures computed by explicit integration of a large number of radiosonde soundings representing all maritime climate zones and seasons.

Time-resolved brightness measurements by streaking

Science.gov (United States)

Torrance, Joshua S.; Speirs, Rory W.; McCulloch, Andrew J.; Scholten, Robert E.

2018-03-01

Brightness is a key figure of merit for charged particle beams, and time-resolved brightness measurements can elucidate the processes involved in beam creation and manipulation. Here we report on a simple, robust, and widely applicable method for the measurement of beam brightness with temporal resolution by streaking one-dimensional pepperpots, and demonstrate the technique to characterize electron bunches produced from a cold-atom electron source. We demonstrate brightness measurements with 145 ps temporal resolution and a minimum resolvable emittance of 40 nm rad. This technique provides an efficient method of exploring source parameters and will prove useful for examining the efficacy of techniques to counter space-charge expansion, a critical hurdle to achieving single-shot imaging of atomic scale targets.

Calibration of the Chemcatcher passive sampler for monitoring selected polar and semi-polar pesticides in surface water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunold, Roman; Schaefer, Ralf Bernhard; Paschke, Albrecht; Schueuermann, Gerrit; Liess, Matthias

2008-01-01

Passive sampling is a powerful method for continuous pollution monitoring, but calibration experiments are still needed to generate sampling rates in order to estimate water concentrations for polar compounds. We calibrated the Chemcatcher device with an uncovered SDB-XC Empore disk as receiving phase for 12 polar and semi-polar pesticides in aquatic environments in flow-through tank experiments at two water flow velocities (0.135 m/s and 0.4 m/s). In the 14-day period of exposure the uptake of test substances in the sampler remained linear, and all derived sampling rates R s were in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 L/day. By additionally monitoring the release of two preloaded polar pesticides from the SDB-XC disks over time, very high variation in release kinetics was found, which calls into question the applicability of performance reference compounds. Our study expands the applicability of the Chemcatcher for monitoring trace concentrations of pesticides with frequent occurrence in water. - We calibrated the Chemcatcher passive sampler for current-use polar pesticides in surface waters, allowing its application in future monitoring studies

Surface Relief of Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Costa, Manuel F.; Almeida, Jose B.

1989-02-01

We will describe in this communication a noncont act method of measuring surface profile, it does not require any surface preparation, and it can be used with a very large range of surfaces from highly reflecting to non reflecting ones and as complex as textile surfaces. This method is reasonably immune to dispersion and diffraction, which usually make very difficult the application of non contact profilometry methods to a wide range of materials and situations, namely on quality control systems in industrial production lines. The method is based on the horizontal shift of the bright spot on a horizontal surface when this is illuminated with an oblique beam and moved vertically. in order to make the profilometry the sample is swept by an oblique light beam and the bright spot position is compared with a reference position. The bright spot must be as small as possible, particularly in very irregular surfaces; so the light beam diameter must be as small as possible and the incidence angle must not be too small. The sensivity of a system based on this method will be given, mostly, by the reception optical system.

Observations of C-Band Brightness Temperature and Ocean Surface Wind Speed and Rain Rate in Hurricanes Earl And Karl (2010)

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Timothy; James, Mark; Roberts, Brent J.; Biswax, Sayak; Uhlhorn, Eric; Black, Peter; Linwood Jones, W.; Johnson, Jimmy; Farrar, Spencer; Sahawneh, Saleem

2012-01-01

Ocean surface emission is affected by: a) Sea surface temperature. b) Wind speed (foam fraction). c) Salinity After production of calibrated Tb fields, geophysical fields wind speed and rain rate (or column) are retrieved. HIRAD utilizes NASA Instrument Incubator Technology: a) Provides unique observations of sea surface wind, temp and rain b) Advances understanding & prediction of hurricane intensity c) Expands Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer capabilities d) Uses synthetic thinned array and RFI mitigation technology of Lightweight Rain Radiometer (NASA Instrument Incubator) Passive Microwave C-Band Radiometer with Freq: 4, 5, 6 & 6.6 GHz: a) Version 1: H-pol for ocean wind speed, b) Version 2: dual ]pol for ocean wind vectors. Performance Characteristics: a) Earth Incidence angle: 0deg - 60deg, b) Spatial Resolution: 2-5 km, c) Swath: approx.70 km for 20 km altitude. Observational Goals: WS 10 - >85 m/s RR 5 - > 100 mm/hr.

Evolution of Altimetry Calibration and Future Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Lee-Lueng; Haines, Bruce J.

2012-01-01

Over the past 20 years, altimetry calibration has evolved from an engineering-oriented exercise to a multidisciplinary endeavor driving the state of the art. This evolution has been spurred by the developing promise of altimetry to capture the large-scale, but small-amplitude, changes of the ocean surface containing the expression of climate change. The scope of altimeter calibration/validation programs has expanded commensurately. Early efforts focused on determining a constant range bias and verifying basic compliance of the data products with mission requirements. Contemporary investigations capture, with increasing accuracies, the spatial and temporal characteristics of errors in all elements of the measurement system. Dedicated calibration sites still provide the fundamental service of estimating absolute bias, but also enable long-term monitoring of the sea-surface height and constituent measurements. The use of a network of island and coastal tide gauges has provided the best perspective on the measurement stability, and revealed temporal variations of altimeter measurement system drift. The cross-calibration between successive missions provided fundamentally new information on the performance of altimetry systems. Spatially and temporally correlated errors pose challenges for future missions, underscoring the importance of cross-calibration of new measurements against the established record.

Electromagnetically induced transparency control in terahertz metasurfaces based on bright-bright mode coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Yahiaoui, R.; Burrow, J. A.; Mekonen, S. M.; Sarangan, A.; Mathews, J.; Agha, I.; Searles, T. A.

2018-04-01

We demonstrate a classical analog of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a highly flexible planar terahertz metamaterial (MM) comprised of three-gap split-ring resonators. The keys to achieve EIT in this system are the frequency detuning and hybridization processes between two bright modes coexisting in the same unit cell as opposed to bright-dark modes. We present experimental verification of two bright modes coupling for a terahertz EIT-MM in the context of numerical results and theoretical analysis based on a coupled Lorentz oscillator model. In addition, a hybrid variation of the EIT-MM is proposed and implemented numerically to dynamically tune the EIT window by incorporating photosensitive silicon pads in the split gap region of the resonators. As a result, this hybrid MM enables the active optical control of a transition from the on state (EIT mode) to the off state (dipole mode).

NIGHT SKY BRIGHTNESS ABOVE ZAGREB 2012.-2017.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Željko Andreić

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The night sky brightness at the RGN site (near the centre of Zagreb, Croatia was monitored form January 2012. to December 2017. The gathered data show that the average night sky brightness in this period did not change significantly, apart from differences caused by yearly variations in meteorological parameters. The nightly minima, maxima and mean values of the sky brightness do change considerably due to changes in meteorological conditions, often being between 2 and 3 magnitudes. The seasonal probability curves and histograms are constructed and are used to obtain additional information on the light pollution at the RGN site. They reveal that the night sky brightness clutters around two peaks, at about 15.0 mag/arcsec2 and at about 18.2 mag/arcsec2. The tendency to slightly lower brightness values in spring and summer can also be seen in the data. Two peaks correspond to cloudy and clear nights respectively, the difference in brightness between them being about 3 magnitudes. A crude clear/cloudy criterion can be defined too: the minimum between two peaks is around 16.7 mag/arcsec2. The brightness values smaller than thisare attributed to clear nights and vice-versa. Comparison with Vienna and Hong-Kong indicates that the light pollution of Zagreb is a few times larger.

High brightness electron accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheffield, R.L.; Carlsten, B.E.; Young, L.M.

1994-01-01

A compact high brightness linear accelerator is provided for use, e.g., in a free electron laser. The accelerator has a first plurality of accelerating cavities having end walls with four coupling slots for accelerating electrons to high velocities in the absence of quadrupole fields. A second plurality of cavities receives the high velocity electrons for further acceleration, where each of the second cavities has end walls with two coupling slots for acceleration in the absence of dipole fields. The accelerator also includes a first cavity with an extended length to provide for phase matching the electron beam along the accelerating cavities. A solenoid is provided about the photocathode that emits the electrons, where the solenoid is configured to provide a substantially uniform magnetic field over the photocathode surface to minimize emittance of the electrons as the electrons enter the first cavity. 5 figs

Electron beam brightness with field immersed emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyd, J.K.; Neil, V.K.

1985-01-01

The beam quality or brightness of an electron beam produced with field immersed emission is studied with two models. First, an envelope formulation is used to determine the scaling of brightness with current, magnetic field and cathode radius, and examine the equilibrium beam radius. Second, the DPC computer code is used to calculate the brightness of two electron beam sources

Chandra's Darkest Bright Star: not so Dark after All?

Science.gov (United States)

Ayres, Thomas R.

2008-11-01

The Chandra High Resolution camera (HRC) has obtained numerous short exposures of the ultraviolet (UV)-bright star Vega (α Lyrae; HD 172167: A0 V), to calibrate the response of the detector to out-of-band (non-X-ray) radiation. A new analysis uncovered a stronger "blue leak" in the imaging section (HRC-I) than reported in an earlier study of Vega based on a subset of the pointings. The higher count rate—a factor of nearly 2 above prelaunch estimates—raised the possibility that genuine coronal X-rays might lurk among the out-of-band events. Exploiting the broader point-spread function of the UV leak compared with soft X-rays identified an excess of counts centered on the target, technically at 3σ significance. A number of uncertainties, however, prevent a clear declaration of a Vegan corona. A more secure result would be within reach of a deep uninterrupted HRC-I pointing.

Calibration of the modulation transfer function of surface profilometers with binary pseudo-random test standards: expanding the application range

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Anderson, Erik H.; Barber, Samuel K.; Bouet, Nathalie; Cambie, Rossana; Conley, Raymond; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Voronov, Dmitriy L.

2011-01-01

A modulation transfer function (MTF) calibration method based on binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays (Proc. SPIE 7077-7 (2007), Opt. Eng. 47, 073602 (2008)) has been proven to be an effective MTF calibration method for a number of interferometric microscopes and a scatterometer (Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A616, 172 (2010)). Here we report on a further expansion of the application range of the method. We describe the MTF calibration of a 6 inch phase shifting Fizeau interferometer. Beyond providing a direct measurement of the interferometer's MTF, tests with a BPR array surface have revealed an asymmetry in the instrument's data processing algorithm that fundamentally limits its bandwidth. Moreover, the tests have illustrated the effects of the instrument's detrending and filtering procedures on power spectral density measurements. The details of the development of a BPR test sample suitable for calibration of scanning and transmission electron microscopes are also presented. Such a test sample is realized as a multilayer structure with the layer thicknesses of two materials corresponding to BPR sequence. The investigations confirm the universal character of the method that makes it applicable to a large variety of metrology instrumentation with spatial wavelength bandwidths from a few nanometers to hundreds of millimeters.

Accurate measurement of Atomic Force Microscope cantilever deflection excluding tip-surface contact with application to force calibration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slattery, Ashley D.; Blanch, Adam J.; Quinton, Jamie S.; Gibson, Christopher T., E-mail: christopher.gibson@flinders.edu.au

2013-08-15

Considerable attention has been given to the calibration of AFM cantilever spring constants in the last 20 years. Techniques that do not require tip-sample contact are considered advantageous since the imaging tip is not at risk of being damaged. Far less attention has been directed toward measuring the cantilever deflection or sensitivity, despite the fact that the primary means of determining this factor relies on the AFM tip being pressed against a hard surface, such as silicon or sapphire; which has the potential to significantly damage the tip. A recent method developed by Tourek et al. in 2010 involves deflecting the AFM cantilever a known distance from the imaging tip by pressing the cantilever against a sharpened tungsten wire. In this work a similar yet more precise method is described, whereby the deflection of the cantilever is achieved using an AFM probe with a spring constant much larger than the test cantilever, essentially a rigid cantilever. The exact position of loading on the test cantilever was determined by reverse AFM imaging small spatial markers that are milled into the test cantilever using a focussed ion beam. For V shaped cantilevers it is possible to reverse image the arm intersection in order to determine the exact loading point without necessarily requiring FIB milled spatial markers, albeit at the potential cost of additional uncertainty. The technique is applied to tip-less, beam shaped and V shaped cantilevers and compared to the hard surface contact technique with very good agreement (on average less than 5% difference). While the agreement with the hard surface contact technique was very good the error on the technique is dependent upon the assumptions inherent in the method, such as cantilever shape, loading point distance and ratio of test to rigid cantilever spring constants. The average error ranged between 2 to 5% for the majority of test cantilevers studied. The sensitivity derived with this technique can then be used to

THE METHOD OF GEOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF OPTOELECTRONIC SYSTEMS BASED ON ELECTRONIC TEST OBJECT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. A. Kozhevnikov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Designing remote sensing of the Earth devices is requires a lot of attention to evaluation lens distortion level and providing the required accuracy values of geometric calibration of optoelectronic systems at all. Test- objects known as most common tools for optical systems geometric calibration. The purpose of the research was creating an automatically method of distortion correction coefficients calculating with a 3 μm precision in the measurement process. The method of geometric calibration of the internal orientation elements of the optical system based on the electronic test object is proposed. The calculation of the test string brightness image from its multispectral image and filtered signal extrema position determination are presented. Ratio of magnitude of the distortion and interval center is given. Three variants of electronic test-objects with different step and element size are considered. Оptimal size of calibration element was defined as 3×3 pixels due to shape of the subpixels with the aspect ratio of the radiating areas about 1 : 3. It is advisable to use IPS as an electronic test object template. An experimental test and measurement stand functional diagram based on the collimator and optical bench «OSK-2CL» is showed. It was determined that test objects with a grid spacing of 4 and 8 pixels can’t provide tolerable image because of non-collimated emission of active sites and scattering on optical surfaces – the shape of the elements is substantially disrupted. Test-object with a 12 pixels grid spacing was used to distortion level analyzing as most suitable.Ratio of coordinate increment and element number graphs for two photographic lenses (Canon EF-S 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS USM and EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS II are presented. A calculation of the distortion values in edge zones was held, which were respectively 43 μm and 51.6 μm. The technique and algorithm of software implementation is described. Possible directions of the

Teradiode's high brightness semiconductor lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Robin K.; Chann, Bien; Burgess, James; Lochman, Bryan; Zhou, Wang; Cruz, Mike; Cook, Rob; Dugmore, Dan; Shattuck, Jeff; Tayebati, Parviz

2016-03-01

TeraDiode is manufacturing multi-kW-class ultra-high brightness fiber-coupled direct diode lasers for industrial applications. A fiber-coupled direct diode laser with a power level of 4,680 W from a 100 μm core diameter, BPP) of 3.5 mm-mrad and is the lowest BPP multi-kW-class direct diode laser yet reported. This laser is suitable for industrial materials processing applications, including sheet metal cutting and welding. This 4-kW fiber-coupled direct diode laser has comparable brightness to that of industrial fiber lasers and CO2 lasers, and is over 10x brighter than state-of-the-art direct diode lasers. We have also demonstrated novel high peak power lasers and high brightness Mid-Infrared Lasers.

CONSTRAINING THE NFW POTENTIAL WITH OBSERVATIONS AND MODELING OF LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXY VELOCITY FIELDS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzio de Naray, Rachel; McGaugh, Stacy S.; Mihos, J. Christopher

2009-01-01

We model the Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) potential to determine if, and under what conditions, the NFW halo appears consistent with the observed velocity fields of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. We present mock DensePak Integral Field Unit (IFU) velocity fields and rotation curves of axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric potentials that are well matched to the spatial resolution and velocity range of our sample galaxies. We find that the DensePak IFU can accurately reconstruct the velocity field produced by an axisymmetric NFW potential and that a tilted-ring fitting program can successfully recover the corresponding NFW rotation curve. We also find that nonaxisymmetric potentials with fixed axis ratios change only the normalization of the mock velocity fields and rotation curves and not their shape. The shape of the modeled NFW rotation curves does not reproduce the data: these potentials are unable to simultaneously bring the mock data at both small and large radii into agreement with observations. Indeed, to match the slow rise of LSB galaxy rotation curves, a specific viewing angle of the nonaxisymmetric potential is required. For each of the simulated LSB galaxies, the observer's line of sight must be along the minor axis of the potential, an arrangement that is inconsistent with a random distribution of halo orientations on the sky.

Calibration factor or calibration coefficient?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meghzifene, A.; Shortt, K.R.

2002-01-01

Full text: The IAEA/WHO network of SSDLs was set up in order to establish links between SSDL members and the international measurement system. At the end of 2001, there were 73 network members in 63 Member States. The SSDL network members provide calibration services to end-users at the national or regional level. The results of the calibrations are summarized in a document called calibration report or calibration certificate. The IAEA has been using the term calibration certificate and will continue using the same terminology. The most important information in a calibration certificate is a list of calibration factors and their related uncertainties that apply to the calibrated instrument for the well-defined irradiation and ambient conditions. The IAEA has recently decided to change the term calibration factor to calibration coefficient, to be fully in line with ISO [ISO 31-0], which recommends the use of the term coefficient when it links two quantities A and B (equation 1) that have different dimensions. The term factor should only be used for k when it is used to link the terms A and B that have the same dimensions A=k.B. However, in a typical calibration, an ion chamber is calibrated in terms of a physical quantity such as air kerma, dose to water, ambient dose equivalent, etc. If the chamber is calibrated together with its electrometer, then the calibration refers to the physical quantity to be measured per electrometer unit reading. In this case, the terms referred have different dimensions. The adoption by the Agency of the term coefficient to express the results of calibrations is consistent with the 'International vocabulary of basic and general terms in metrology' prepared jointly by the BIPM, IEC, ISO, OIML and other organizations. The BIPM has changed from factor to coefficient. The authors believe that this is more than just a matter of semantics and recommend that the SSDL network members adopt this change in terminology. (author)

AN EMPIRICAL CALIBRATION TO ESTIMATE COOL DWARF FUNDAMENTAL PARAMETERS FROM H-BAND SPECTRA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newton, Elisabeth R.; Charbonneau, David; Irwin, Jonathan [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Mann, Andrew W., E-mail: enewton@cfa.harvard.edu [Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (United States)

2015-02-20

Interferometric radius measurements provide a direct probe of the fundamental parameters of M dwarfs. However, interferometry is within reach for only a limited sample of nearby, bright stars. We use interferometrically measured radii, bolometric luminosities, and effective temperatures to develop new empirical calibrations based on low-resolution, near-infrared spectra. We find that H-band Mg and Al spectral features are good tracers of stellar properties, and derive functions that relate effective temperature, radius, and log luminosity to these features. The standard deviations in the residuals of our best fits are, respectively, 73 K, 0.027 R {sub ☉}, and 0.049 dex (an 11% error on luminosity). Our calibrations are valid from mid K to mid M dwarf stars, roughly corresponding to temperatures between 3100 and 4800 K. We apply our H-band relationships to M dwarfs targeted by the MEarth transiting planet survey and to the cool Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs). We present spectral measurements and estimated stellar parameters for these stars. Parallaxes are also available for many of the MEarth targets, allowing us to independently validate our calibrations by demonstrating a clear relationship between our inferred parameters and the stars' absolute K magnitudes. We identify objects with magnitudes that are too bright for their inferred luminosities as candidate multiple systems. We also use our estimated luminosities to address the applicability of near-infrared metallicity calibrations to mid and late M dwarfs. The temperatures we infer for the KOIs agree remarkably well with those from the literature; however, our stellar radii are systematically larger than those presented in previous works that derive radii from model isochrones. This results in a mean planet radius that is 15% larger than one would infer using the stellar properties from recent catalogs. Our results confirm the derived parameters from previous in-depth studies of KOIs 961 (Kepler

New improved algorithm for sky calibration of L-band radiometers JLBARA and ELBARA II

KAUST Repository

Dimitrov, Marin

2012-03-01

We propose a new algorithm for sky calibration of the L-band radiometers JLBARA and ELBARA II, introducing the effective transmissivities of the instruments. The suggested approach was tested using experimental data obtained at the Selhausen test site, Germany. It was shown that for JLBARA the effective transmissivities depend strongly on the air temperature and decrease with increasing air temperature, while for ELBARA II such strong dependence was not observed. It was also shown that the effective transmissivities account for the antenna and feed cable loss effects, and for the variations of the radiometer gain due to air temperature changes. The new calibration algorithm reduces significantly the bias of brightness temperature estimates for both radiometers, especially for JLBARA. © 2012 IEEE.

New improved algorithm for sky calibration of L-band radiometers JLBARA and ELBARA II

KAUST Repository

Dimitrov, Marin; Kostov, K. G.; Jonard, Franç ois; Jadoon, Khan; Schwank, Mike; Weihermü ller, Lutz; Hermes, Normen; Vanderborght, Jan P.; Vereecken, Harry

2012-01-01

We propose a new algorithm for sky calibration of the L-band radiometers JLBARA and ELBARA II, introducing the effective transmissivities of the instruments. The suggested approach was tested using experimental data obtained at the Selhausen test site, Germany. It was shown that for JLBARA the effective transmissivities depend strongly on the air temperature and decrease with increasing air temperature, while for ELBARA II such strong dependence was not observed. It was also shown that the effective transmissivities account for the antenna and feed cable loss effects, and for the variations of the radiometer gain due to air temperature changes. The new calibration algorithm reduces significantly the bias of brightness temperature estimates for both radiometers, especially for JLBARA. © 2012 IEEE.

Study of Three-Dimensional Image Brightness Loss in Stereoscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsing-Cheng Yu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available When viewing three-dimensional (3D images, whether in cinemas or on stereoscopic televisions, viewers experience the same problem of image brightness loss. This study aims to investigate image brightness loss in 3D displays, with the primary aim being to quantify the image brightness degradation in the 3D mode. A further aim is to determine the image brightness relationship to the corresponding two-dimensional (2D images in order to adjust the 3D-image brightness values. In addition, the photographic principle is used in this study to measure metering values by capturing 2D and 3D images on television screens. By analyzing these images with statistical product and service solutions (SPSS software, the image brightness values can be estimated using the statistical regression model, which can also indicate the impact of various environmental factors or hardware on the image brightness. In analysis of the experimental results, comparison of the image brightness between 2D and 3D images indicates 60.8% degradation in the 3D image brightness amplitude. The experimental values, from 52.4% to 69.2%, are within the 95% confidence interval

THE zCOSMOS 10k-BRIGHT SPECTROSCOPIC SAMPLE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilly, Simon J.; Maier, Christian; Carollo, Marcella; Caputi, Karina; Le Brun, Vincent; Kneib, Jean-Paul; Le Fevre, Olivier; De la Torre, Sylvain; De Ravel, Loic; Mainieri, Vincenzo; Mignoli, Marco; Zamorani, Gianni; Bardelli, Sandro; Bolzonella, Micol; Coppa, Graziano; Scodeggio, Marco; Contini, Thierry; Renzini, Alvio; Bongiorno, Angela; Cucciati, Olga

2009-01-01

We present spectroscopic redshifts of a large sample of galaxies with I AB -1 , independent of redshift. The reliability of individual redshifts is described by a Confidence Class that has been empirically calibrated through repeat spectroscopic observations of over 600 galaxies. There is very good agreement between spectroscopic and photometric redshifts for the most secure Confidence Classes. For the less secure Confidence Classes, there is a good correspondence between the fraction of objects with a consistent photometric redshift and the spectroscopic repeatability, suggesting that the photometric redshifts can be used to indicate which of the less secure spectroscopic redshifts are likely right and which are probably wrong, and to give an indication of the nature of objects for which we failed to determine a redshift. Using this approach, we can construct a spectroscopic sample that is 99% reliable and which is 88% complete in the sample as a whole, and 95% complete in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 0.8. The luminosity and mass completeness levels of the zCOSMOS-bright sample of galaxies is also discussed.

Surface brightness and color distributions in blue compact dwarf galaxies. I. Haro 2, an extreme example of a star-forming young elliptical galaxy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loose, H.H.; Thuan, T.X.; Virginia Univ., Charlottesville, VA)

1986-01-01

The first results of a large-scale program to study the morphology and structure of blue compact dwarf galaxies from CCD observations are presented. The observations and reduction procedures are described, and surface brightness and color profiles are shown. The results are used to discuss the morphological type of Haro 2 and its stellar populations. It is found that Haro 2 appears to be an extreme example of an elliptical galaxy undergoing intense star formation in its central regions, and that the oldest stars it contains were made only about four million yr ago. The missing mass problem of Haro 2 is also discussed. 28 references

Brightness and darkness as perceptual dimensions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vladusich, T.; Lucassen, M.P.; Cornelissen, F.W.

2007-01-01

A common-sense assumption concerning visual perception states that brightness and darkness cannot coexist at a given spatial location. One corollary of this assumption is that achromatic colors, or perceived grey shades, are contained in a one-dimensional (1-D) space varying from bright to dark. The

Effect of MODIS Terra Radiometric Calibration Improvements on Collection 6 Deep Blue Aerosol Products: Validation and Terra/Aqua Consistency

Science.gov (United States)

Sayer, A. M.; Hsu, N. C.; Bettenhausen, C.; Jeong, M.-J.; Meister, G.

2015-01-01

The Deep Blue (DB) algorithm's primary data product is midvisible aerosol optical depth (AOD). DB applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements provides a data record since early 2000 for MODIS Terra and mid-2002 for MODIS Aqua. In the previous data version (Collection 5, C5), DB production from Terra was halted in 2007 due to sensor degradation; the new Collection 6 (C6) has both improved science algorithms and sensor radiometric calibration. This includes additional calibration corrections developed by the Ocean Biology Processing Group to address MODIS Terra's gain, polarization sensitivity, and detector response versus scan angle, meaning DB can now be applied to the whole Terra record. Through validation with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data, it is shown that the C6 DB Terra AOD quality is stable throughout the mission to date. Compared to the C5 calibration, in recent years the RMS error compared to AERONET is smaller by approximately 0.04 over bright (e.g., desert) and approximately 0.01-0.02 over darker (e.g., vegetated) land surfaces, and the fraction of points in agreement with AERONET within expected retrieval uncertainty higher by approximately 10% and approximately 5%, respectively. Comparisons to the Aqua C6 time series reveal a high level of correspondence between the two MODIS DB data records, with a small positive (Terra-Aqua) average AOD offset <0.01. The analysis demonstrates both the efficacy of the new radiometric calibration efforts and that the C6 MODIS Terra DB AOD data remain stable (to better than 0.01 AOD) throughout the mission to date, suitable for quantitative scientific analyses.

A hydrological prediction system based on the SVS land-surface scheme: efficient calibration of GEM-Hydro for streamflow simulation over the Lake Ontario basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

É. Gaborit

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This work explores the potential of the distributed GEM-Hydro runoff modeling platform, developed at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC over the last decade. More precisely, the aim is to develop a robust implementation methodology to perform reliable streamflow simulations with a distributed model over large and partly ungauged basins, in an efficient manner. The latest version of GEM-Hydro combines the SVS (Soil, Vegetation and Snow land-surface scheme and the WATROUTE routing scheme. SVS has never been evaluated from a hydrological point of view, which is done here for all major rivers flowing into Lake Ontario. Two established hydrological models are confronted to GEM-Hydro, namely MESH and WATFLOOD, which share the same routing scheme (WATROUTE but rely on different land-surface schemes. All models are calibrated using the same meteorological forcings, objective function, calibration algorithm, and basin delineation. GEM-Hydro is shown to be competitive with MESH and WATFLOOD: the NSE  √  (Nash–Sutcliffe criterion computed on the square root of the flows is for example equal to 0.83 for MESH and GEM-Hydro in validation on the Moira River basin, and to 0.68 for WATFLOOD. A computationally efficient strategy is proposed to calibrate SVS: a simple unit hydrograph is used for routing instead of WATROUTE. Global and local calibration strategies are compared in order to estimate runoff for ungauged portions of the Lake Ontario basin. Overall, streamflow predictions obtained using a global calibration strategy, in which a single parameter set is identified for the whole basin of Lake Ontario, show accuracy comparable to the predictions based on local calibration: the average NSE  √  in validation and over seven subbasins is 0.73 and 0.61, respectively for local and global calibrations. Hence, global calibration provides spatially consistent parameter values, robust performance at gauged locations, and reduces the

A hydrological prediction system based on the SVS land-surface scheme: efficient calibration of GEM-Hydro for streamflow simulation over the Lake Ontario basin

Science.gov (United States)

Gaborit, Étienne; Fortin, Vincent; Xu, Xiaoyong; Seglenieks, Frank; Tolson, Bryan; Fry, Lauren M.; Hunter, Tim; Anctil, François; Gronewold, Andrew D.

2017-09-01

This work explores the potential of the distributed GEM-Hydro runoff modeling platform, developed at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) over the last decade. More precisely, the aim is to develop a robust implementation methodology to perform reliable streamflow simulations with a distributed model over large and partly ungauged basins, in an efficient manner. The latest version of GEM-Hydro combines the SVS (Soil, Vegetation and Snow) land-surface scheme and the WATROUTE routing scheme. SVS has never been evaluated from a hydrological point of view, which is done here for all major rivers flowing into Lake Ontario. Two established hydrological models are confronted to GEM-Hydro, namely MESH and WATFLOOD, which share the same routing scheme (WATROUTE) but rely on different land-surface schemes. All models are calibrated using the same meteorological forcings, objective function, calibration algorithm, and basin delineation. GEM-Hydro is shown to be competitive with MESH and WATFLOOD: the NSE √ (Nash-Sutcliffe criterion computed on the square root of the flows) is for example equal to 0.83 for MESH and GEM-Hydro in validation on the Moira River basin, and to 0.68 for WATFLOOD. A computationally efficient strategy is proposed to calibrate SVS: a simple unit hydrograph is used for routing instead of WATROUTE. Global and local calibration strategies are compared in order to estimate runoff for ungauged portions of the Lake Ontario basin. Overall, streamflow predictions obtained using a global calibration strategy, in which a single parameter set is identified for the whole basin of Lake Ontario, show accuracy comparable to the predictions based on local calibration: the average NSE √ in validation and over seven subbasins is 0.73 and 0.61, respectively for local and global calibrations. Hence, global calibration provides spatially consistent parameter values, robust performance at gauged locations, and reduces the complexity and computation burden of the

Effect of evening exposure to bright or dim light after daytime bright light on absorption of dietary carbohydrates the following morning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirota, Naoko; Sone, Yoshiaki; Tokura, Hiromi

2010-01-01

We had previously reported on the effect of exposure to light on the human digestive system: daytime bright light exposure has a positive effect, whereas, evening bright light exposure has a negative effect on the efficiency of dietary carbohydrate absorption from the evening meal. These results prompted us to examine whether the light intensity to which subjects are exposed in the evening affects the efficiency of dietary carbohydrate absorption the following morning. In this study, subjects were exposed to either 50 lux (dim light conditions) or 2,000 lux (bright light conditions) in the evening for 9 h (from 15:00 to 24:00) after staying under bright light in the daytime (under 2,000 lux from 07:00 to 15:00). We measured unabsorbed dietary carbohydrates using the breath-hydrogen test the morning after exposure to either bright light or dim light the previous evening. Results showed that there was no significant difference between the two conditions in the amount of breath hydrogen. This indicates that evening exposure to bright or dim light after bright light exposure in the daytime has no varying effect on digestion or absorption of dietary carbohydrates in the following morning's breakfast.

Next generation diode lasers with enhanced brightness

Science.gov (United States)

Ried, S.; Rauch, S.; Irmler, L.; Rikels, J.; Killi, A.; Papastathopoulos, E.; Sarailou, E.; Zimer, H.

2018-02-01

High-power diode lasers are nowadays well established manufacturing tools in high power materials processing, mainly for tactile welding, surface treatment and cladding applications. Typical beam parameter products (BPP) of such lasers range from 30 to 50 mm·mrad at several kilowatts of output power. TRUMPF offers a product line of diode lasers to its customers ranging from 150 W up to 6 kW of output power. These diode lasers combine high reliability with small footprint and high efficiency. However, up to now these lasers are limited in brightness due to the commonly used spatial and coarse spectral beam combining techniques. Recently diode lasers with enhanced brightness have been presented by use of dense wavelength multiplexing (DWM). In this paper we report on TRUMPF's diode lasers utilizing DWM. We demonstrate a 2 kW and a 4 kW system ideally suited for fine welding and scanner welding applications. The typical laser efficiency is in the range of 50%. The system offers plug and play exchange of the fiber beam delivery cable, multiple optical outputs and integrated cooling in a very compact package. An advanced control system offers flexible integration in any customer's shop floor environment and includes industry 4.0 capabilities (e.g. condition monitoring and predictive maintenance).

Calibration assembly for nuclear reactor vessel inspection apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elsner, H.J.

1981-01-01

A removable calibration assembly can be utilized to verify the angular mounting of transducers in an array employed in an ultrasonic inpsection apparatus, to calibrate one axis of movement of the array with reference to a starting point, or to measure and calibrate the speed per unit of distance of the transducer's ultrasonic beam in the operating medium. The calibration assembly includes both a large and small reflecting surface separated by known distances, and several large cones, the tips of which are machined or adjusted to angles at which certain of the transducers are to be mounted. Clamping means for securing the calibration assembly to the inspection apparatus at a predetermined orientation is provided

The brightness of colour.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Corney

Full Text Available The perception of brightness depends on spatial context: the same stimulus can appear light or dark depending on what surrounds it. A less well-known but equally important contextual phenomenon is that the colour of a stimulus can also alter its brightness. Specifically, stimuli that are more saturated (i.e. purer in colour appear brighter than stimuli that are less saturated at the same luminance. Similarly, stimuli that are red or blue appear brighter than equiluminant yellow and green stimuli. This non-linear relationship between stimulus intensity and brightness, called the Helmholtz-Kohlrausch (HK effect, was first described in the nineteenth century but has never been explained. Here, we take advantage of the relative simplicity of this 'illusion' to explain it and contextual effects more generally, by using a simple Bayesian ideal observer model of the human visual ecology. We also use fMRI brain scans to identify the neural correlates of brightness without changing the spatial context of the stimulus, which has complicated the interpretation of related fMRI studies.Rather than modelling human vision directly, we use a Bayesian ideal observer to model human visual ecology. We show that the HK effect is a result of encoding the non-linear statistical relationship between retinal images and natural scenes that would have been experienced by the human visual system in the past. We further show that the complexity of this relationship is due to the response functions of the cone photoreceptors, which themselves are thought to represent an efficient solution to encoding the statistics of images. Finally, we show that the locus of the response to the relationship between images and scenes lies in the primary visual cortex (V1, if not earlier in the visual system, since the brightness of colours (as opposed to their luminance accords with activity in V1 as measured with fMRI.The data suggest that perceptions of brightness represent a robust

Assessing Radiometric Stability of the 17-Plus-Year TRMM Microwave Imager 1B11 Version-8 (GPM05 Brightness Temperature Product

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruiyao Chen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI has produced a 17-plus-year time-series of calibrated microwave radiances that have remarkable value for investigating the effects of the Earth’s climate change over the tropics. Recently, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM Inter-Satellite Radiometric Calibration (XCAL Working Group have performed various calibration and corrections that yielded the legacy TMI 1B11 Version 8 (also called GPM05 brightness temperature product, which will be released in late 2017 by the NASA Precipitation Processing System. Since TMI served as the radiometric transfer standard for the TRMM constellation microwave radiometer sensors, it is important to document its accuracy. In this paper, the various improvements applied to TMI 1B11 V8 are summarized, and the radiometric calibration stability is evaluated by comparisons with a radiative transfer model and by XCAL evaluations with the Global Precipitation Measuring Microwave Imager during their 13-month overlap period. Evaluation methods will be described and results will be presented, which demonstrate that TMI has achieved a radiometric stability level of a few deciKelvin over almost two decades.

AVIRIS Inflight Calibration Experiments, Analysis, and Results in 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Robert O.; Pavri, Betina

2001-01-01

The NASA Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) measures spectra from 370 to 2500 nm with nominally 10-nm sampling and resolution. The spectra are acquired as images with an 11 km width and up to 800 km length from the ER-2 platform or 2.1 km width and 160 km length from the Twin Otter platform. AVIRIS measurements are used for a range of Earth science research and application objectives. The molecular absorption and particle scattering properties expressed in the calibrated AVIRIS measurements are used. For both science research and application objectives, calibration of the AVIRIS spectra is required to produce useful results. Each year prior to the flight season AVIRIS is calibrated in the laboratory. However, the temperature, pressure, vibration, and observational geometry, as well as mechanical, electrical, and operational interfaces of the laboratory are different than the environment on board the airborne platform. To validate the calibration of AVIRIS in the flight environment, an inflight calibration experiment is orchestrated at the beginning of each flight season. In most years additional inflight calibration experiments occur towards the middle and end of the flight season as well. For an inflight calibration experiment, AVIRIS acquires airborne data over a designated calibration target. In concert with the airborne data acquisition, surface and atmospheric properties at the calibration target are measured in situ. These in situ measurements are used to constrain a radiative transfer code and predict the radiance incident at the AVIRIS instrument from the calibration target. This prediction is compared with the AVIRIS-measured radiance to validate the calibration of AVIRIS in the flight environment. Additional properties (such as the AVIRIS inflight measurement precision) are determined as well. This paper presents measurements, analyses, and results from the inflight calibration experiment held on the dry lake bed surface of Rogers Dry

Near-source surface seismic measurements for the NPE, NPE Calibration, Hunter`s Trophy, and Mineral Quarry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinke, R.E.; Leverette, J.A. [Field Command Defense Nuclear Agency, Kirtland AFB, NM (United States); Stump, B.W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)] [and others

1994-12-31

An extensive seismic network was deployed on the surface of Rainier Mesa for both the Non-Proliferation Experiment (NPE) Calibration shot as well as the full scale NPE event. This network was very similar to previous deployments for the nuclear events MISTY ECHO, MINERAL QUARRY, and HUNTERS TROPHY. For the full scale NPE event three-component accelerometers and seismometers were fielded at 32 sites across the mesa. A slightly smaller network with 28 stations was in operation for the 300 pound NPE calibration event. The mesa top array included both accelerometers and seismometers. The accelerometers were used to obtain data from the main NPE event while the seismometers with their higher sensitivity were used to record the 300 pound cal shot and several hundred after events from the NPE. Large spatial variations in ground motion are evident in both the full mesa data set as well as a small (80 m on a side) aperture, 9-element triangular array. This paper summarizes the data and discusses wave propagation effects. A companion paper presents a comparative source analysis.

Binary Pseudo-Random Gratings and Arrays for Calibration of Modulation Transfer Functions of Surface Profilometers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barber, Samuel K.; Anderson, Erik D.; Cambie, Rossana; McKinney, Wayne R.; Takacs, Peter Z.; Stover, John C.; Voronov, Dmitriy L.; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.

2009-09-11

A technique for precise measurement of the modulation transfer function (MTF), suitable for characterization of a broad class of surface profilometers, is investigated in detail. The technique suggested in [Proc. SPIE 7077-7, (2007), Opt. Eng. 47(7), 073602-1-5 (2008)]is based on use of binary pseudo-random (BPR) gratings and arrays as standard MTF test surfaces. Unlike most conventional test surfaces, BPR gratings and arrays possess white-noise-like inherent power spectral densities (PSD), allowing the direct determination of the one- and two-dimensional MTF, respectively, with a sensitivity uniform over the entire spatial frequency range of a profiler. In the cited work, a one dimensional realization of the suggested method based on use of BPR gratings has been demonstrated. Here, a high-confidence of the MTF calibration technique is demonstrated via cross comparison measurements of a number of two dimensional BPR arrays using two different interferometric microscopes and a scatterometer. We also present the results of application of the experimentally determined MTF correction to the measurement taken with the MicromapTM-570 interferometric microscope of the surface roughness of a super-polished test mirror. In this particular case, without accounting for the instrumental MTF, the surface rms roughness over half of the instrumental spatial frequency bandwidth would be underestimated by a factor of approximately 1.4.

The moon as a radiometric reference source for on-orbit sensor stability calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, T.C.

2009-01-01

The wealth of data generated by the world's Earth-observing satellites, now spanning decades, allows the construction of long-term climate records. A key consideration for detecting climate trends is precise quantification of temporal changes in sensor calibration on-orbit. For radiometer instruments in the solar reflectance wavelength range (near-UV to shortwave-IR), the Moon can be viewed as a solar diffuser with exceptional stability properties. A model for the lunar spectral irradiance that predicts the geometric variations in the Moon's brightness with ???1% precision has been developed at the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, AZ. Lunar model results corresponding to a series of Moon observations taken by an instrument can be used to stabilize sensor calibration with sub-percent per year precision, as demonstrated by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The inherent stability of the Moon and the operational model to utilize the lunar irradiance quantity provide the Moon as a reference source for monitoring radiometric calibration in orbit. This represents an important capability for detecting terrestrial climate change from space-based radiometric measurements.

Cross-calibration of Medium Resolution Earth Observing Satellites by Using EO-1 Hyperion-derived Spectral Surface Reflectance from "Lunar Cal Sites"

Science.gov (United States)

Ungar, S.

2017-12-01

Over the past 3 years, the Earth Observing-one (EO-1) Hyperion imaging spectrometer was used to slowly scan the lunar surface at a rate which results in up to 32X oversampling to effectively increase the SNR. Several strategies, including comparison against the USGS RObotic Lunar Observatory (ROLO) mode,l are being employed to estimate the absolute and relative accuracy of the measurement set. There is an existing need to resolve discrepancies as high as 10% between ROLO and solar based calibration of current NASA EOS assets. Although the EO-1 mission was decommissioned at the end of March 2017, the development of a well-characterized exoatmospheric spectral radiometric database, for a range of lunar phase angles surrounding the fully illuminated moon, continues. Initial studies include a comprehensive analysis of the existing 17-year collection of more than 200 monthly lunar acquisitions. Specific lunar surface areas, such as a lunar mare, are being characterized as potential "lunar calibration sites" in terms of their radiometric stability in the presence of lunar nutation and libration. Site specific Hyperion-derived lunar spectral reflectance are being compared against spectrographic measurements made during the Apollo program. Techniques developed through this activity can be employed by future high-quality orbiting imaging spectrometers (such as HyspIRI and EnMap) to further refine calibration accuracies. These techniques will enable the consistent cross calibration of existing and future earth observing systems (spectral and multi-spectral) including those that do not have lunar viewing capability. When direct lunar viewing is not an option for an earth observing asset, orbiting imaging spectrometers can serve as transfer radiometers relating that asset's sensor response to lunar values through near contemporaneous observations of well characterized stable CEOS test sites. Analysis of this dataset will lead to the development of strategies to ensure more

An Updated Geophysical Model for AMSR-E and SSMIS Brightness Temperature Simulations over Oceans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizaveta Zabolotskikh

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In this study, we considered the geophysical model for microwave brightness temperature (BT simulation for the Atmosphere-Ocean System under non-precipitating conditions. The model is presented as a combination of atmospheric absorption and ocean emission models. We validated this model for two satellite instruments—for Advanced Microwave Sounding Radiometer-Earth Observing System (AMSR-E onboard Aqua satellite and for Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS onboard F16 satellite of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP series. We compared simulated BT values with satellite BT measurements for different combinations of various water vapor and oxygen absorption models and wind induced ocean emission models. A dataset of clear sky atmospheric and oceanic parameters, collocated in time and space with satellite measurements, was used for the comparison. We found the best model combination, providing the least root mean square error between calculations and measurements. A single combination of models ensured the best results for all considered radiometric channels. We also obtained the adjustments to simulated BT values, as averaged differences between the model simulations and satellite measurements. These adjustments can be used in any research based on modeling data for removing model/calibration inconsistencies. We demonstrated the application of the model by means of the development of the new algorithm for sea surface wind speed retrieval from AMSR-E data.

The ZTF Bright Transient Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Fremling, C.; Sharma, Y.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Miller, A. A.; Taggart, K.; Perley, D. A.; Gooba, A.

2018-06-01

As a supplement to the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF; ATel #11266) public alerts (ATel #11685) we plan to report (following ATel #11615) bright probable supernovae identified in the raw alert stream from the ZTF Northern Sky Survey ("Celestial Cinematography"; see Bellm & Kulkarni, 2017, Nature Astronomy 1, 71) to the Transient Name Server (https://wis-tns.weizmann.ac.il) on a daily basis; the ZTF Bright Transient Survey (BTS; see Kulkarni et al., 2018; arXiv:1710.04223).

Astrometric Calibration and Performance of the Dark Energy Camera

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernstein, G. M.; Armstrong, R.; Plazas, A. A.; Walker, A. R.; Abbott, T. M. C.; Allam, S.; Bechtol, K.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Brooks, D.; Burke, D. L.; Rosell, A. Carnero; Kind, M. Carrasco; Carretero, J.; Cunha, C. E.; Costa, L. N. da; DePoy, D. L.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Eifler, T. F.; Fernandez, E.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; García-Bellido, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Gruen, D.; Gruendl, R. A.; Gschwend, J.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; James, D. J.; Kent, S.; Krause, E.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Li, T. S.; Maia, M. A. G.; March, M.; Marshall, J. L.; Menanteau, F.; Miquel, R.; Ogando, R. L. C.; Reil, K.; Roodman, A.; Rykoff, E. S.; Sanchez, E.; Scarpine, V.; Schindler, R.; Schubnell, M.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, M.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Swanson, M. E. C.; Tarle, G.

2017-05-30

We characterize the variation in photometric response of the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) across its 520~Mpix science array during 4 years of operation. These variations are measured using high signal-to-noise aperture photometry of $>10^7$ stellar images in thousands of exposures of a few selected fields, with the telescope dithered to move the sources around the array. A calibration procedure based on these results brings the RMS variation in aperture magnitudes of bright stars on cloudless nights down to 2--3 mmag, with <1 mmag of correlated photometric errors for stars separated by $\\ge20$". On cloudless nights, any departures of the exposure zeropoints from a secant airmass law exceeding >1 mmag are plausibly attributable to spatial/temporal variations in aperture corrections. These variations can be inferred and corrected by measuring the fraction of stellar light in an annulus between 6" and 8" diameter. Key elements of this calibration include: correction of amplifier nonlinearities; distinguishing pixel-area variations and stray light from quantum-efficiency variations in the flat fields; field-dependent color corrections; and the use of an aperture-correction proxy. The DECam response pattern across the 2-degree field drifts over months by up to $\\pm7$ mmag, in a nearly-wavelength-independent low-order pattern. We find no fundamental barriers to pushing global photometric calibrations toward mmag accuracy.

A laser sheet self-calibration method for scanning PIV

Science.gov (United States)

Knutsen, Anna N.; Lawson, John M.; Dawson, James R.; Worth, Nicholas A.

2017-10-01

Knowledge of laser sheet position, orientation, and thickness is a fundamental requirement of scanning PIV and other laser-scanning methods. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a new laser sheet self-calibration method for stereoscopic scanning PIV, which allows the measurement of these properties from particle images themselves. The approach is to fit a laser sheet model by treating particles as randomly distributed probes of the laser sheet profile, whose position is obtained via a triangulation procedure enhanced by matching particle images according to their variation in brightness over a scan. Numerical simulations and tests with experimental data were used to quantify the sensitivity of the method to typical experimental error sources and validate its performance in practice. The numerical simulations demonstrate the accurate recovery of the laser sheet parameters over range of different seeding densities and sheet thicknesses. Furthermore, they show that the method is robust to significant image noise and camera misalignment. Tests with experimental data confirm that the laser sheet model can be accurately reconstructed with no impairment to PIV measurement accuracy. The new method is more efficient and robust in comparison with the standard (self-) calibration approach, which requires an involved, separate calibration step that is sensitive to experimental misalignments. The method significantly improves the practicality of making accurate scanning PIV measurements and broadens its potential applicability to scanning systems with significant vibrations.

Dark-Bright Soliton Dynamics Beyond the Mean-Field Approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Katsimiga, Garyfallia; Koutentakis, Georgios; Mistakidis, Simeon; Kevrekidis, Panagiotis; Schmelcher, Peter; Theory Group of Fundamental Processes in Quantum Physics Team

2017-04-01

The dynamics of dark bright solitons beyond the mean-field approximation is investigated. We first examine the case of a single dark-bright soliton and its oscillations within a parabolic trap. Subsequently, we move to the setting of collisions, comparing the mean-field approximation to that involving multiple orbitals in both the dark and the bright component. Fragmentation is present and significantly affects the dynamics, especially in the case of slower solitons and in that of lower atom numbers. It is shown that the presence of fragmentation allows for bipartite entanglement between the distinguishable species. Most importantly the interplay between fragmentation and entanglement leads to the decay of each of the initial mean-field dark-bright solitons into fast and slow fragmented dark-bright structures. A variety of excitations including dark-bright solitons in multiple (concurrently populated) orbitals is observed. Dark-antidark states and domain-wall-bright soliton complexes can also be observed to arise spontaneously in the beyond mean-field dynamics. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of the SFB 925 ``Light induced dynamics and control of correlated quantum systems''.

Diagnostics for high-brightness beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafer, R.E.

1990-01-01

Special techniques are required for beam diagnostics on high-brightness particle beams. Examples of high-brightness beams include low-emittance proton linacs (either pulsed or CW), electron linacs suitable for free-electron-laser applications, and future linear colliders. Non-interceptive and minimally-interceptive techniques for measuring beam current, position, profile, and transverse and longitudinal emittance will be reviewed. Included will be stripline, wire scanner, laser neutralization, beam-beam scattering, interceptive microgratings, spontaneous emission, optical transition radiation, and other techniques. 24 refs

Development of Yellow Sand Image Products Using Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference Method

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, J.; Kim, J.; Kwak, M.; Ha, K.

2007-12-01

A technique for detection of airborne yellow sand dust using meteorological satellite has been developed from various bands from ultraviolet to infrared channels. Among them, Infrared (IR) channels have an advantage of detecting aerosols over high reflecting surface as well as during nighttime. There had been suggestion of using brightness temperature difference (BTD) between 11 and 12¥ìm. We have found that the technique is highly depends on surface temperature, emissivity, and zenith angle, which results in changing the threshold of BTD. In order to overcome these problems, we have constructed the background brightness temperature threshold of BTD and then aerosol index (AI) has been determined from subtracting the background threshold from BTD of our interested scene. Along with this, we utilized high temporal coverage of geostationary satellite, MTSAT, to improve the reliability of the determined AI signal. The products have been evaluated by comparing the forecasted wind field with the movement fiend of AI. The statistical score test illustrates that this newly developed algorithm produces a promising result for detecting mineral dust by reducing the errors with respect to the current BTD method.

The TMS-1 corneal topography measurement applied to calibrated ellipsoidal convex surfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Douthwaite, W A; Matilla, M T

1996-03-01

The purpose of this report is to assess the accuracy of the TMS-1 videokeratoscope (Computed Anatomy Inc.) by using convex ellipsoidal surfaces. The ellipsoids were calibrated using Form Talysurf analysis, which allowed for subsequent calculation of the vertex radius and p value. The videokeratoscope was used to examine the same ellipsoids. The data provided by the instrument software were used to plot a graph of r2 verses y2, where r is the measured radius at y, the distance from the corneal point being measured to the optical axis of the instrument. The intercept on the ordinate of this graph gives the vertex radius, and the slope give the p value. The results arising from the Talysurf and the TMS-1 techniques were compared. The TMS-1 videokeratoscope gave readings for the vertex radius that were generally higher than those of the Talysurf analysis. The vertex radius was up to 0.09 mm greater. The p value results were similar by the two methods for p values of approximately 0.8; however, the TMS-1 results were higher, and the discrepancy increased as the p value approached that of a paraboloid. Although the videokeratoscope may be useful in comparative studies of the cornea, there must be some doubt about the absolute values displayed as the surface becomes increasingly aspheric.

Spectroscopic observations of the Moon at the lunar surface

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yunzhao; Hapke, Bruce

2018-02-01

The Moon's reflectance spectrum records many of its important properties. However, prior to Chang'E-3 (CE-3), no spectra had previously been measured on the lunar surface. Here we show the in situ reflectance spectra of the Moon acquired on the lunar surface by the Visible-Near Infrared Spectrometer (VNIS) onboard the CE-3 rover. The VNIS detected thermal radiation from the lunar regolith, though with much shorter wavelength range than typical thermal radiometer. The measured temperatures are higher than expected from theoretical model, indicating low thermal inertia of the lunar soil and the effects of grain facet on soil temperature in submillimeter scale. The in situ spectra also reveal that 1) brightness changes visible from orbit are related to the reduction in maturity due to the removal of the fine and weathered particles by the lander's rocket exhaust, not the smoothing of the surface and 2) the spectra of the uppermost soil detected by remote sensing exhibit substantial differences with that immediately beneath, which has important implications for the remote compositional analysis. The reflectance spectra measured by VNIS not only reveal the thermal, compositional, and space-weathering properties of the Moon but also provide a means for the calibration of optical instruments that view the surface remotely.

High brightness semiconductor lasers with reduced filamentation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McInerney, John; O'Brien, Peter.; Skovgaard, Peter M. W.

1999-01-01

High brightness semiconductor lasers have applications in spectroscopy, fiber lasers, manufacturing and materials processing, medicine and free space communication or energy transfer. The main difficulty associated with high brightness is that, because of COD, high power requires a large aperture...

A high brightness source for nano-probe secondary ion mass spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Smith, N.S. [Oregon Physics LLC, 2704 SE 39th Loop, Suite 109, Hillsboro, OR 97123 (United States)], E-mail: n.smith@oregon-physics.com; Tesch, P.P.; Martin, N.P.; Kinion, D.E. [Oregon Physics LLC, 2704 SE 39th Loop, Suite 109, Hillsboro, OR 97123 (United States)

2008-12-15

The two most prevalent ion source technologies in the field of surface analysis and surface machining are the Duoplasmatron and the liquid metal ion source (LMIS). There have been many efforts in this area of research to develop an alternative source [; N.S. Smith, W.P. Skoczylas, S.M. Kellogg, D.E. Kinion, P.P. Tesch, O. Sutherland, A. Aanesland, R.W. Boswell, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 24 (6) (2006) 2902-2906] with the brightness of a LMIS and yet the ability to produce secondary ion yield enhancing species such as oxygen. However, to date a viable alternative has not been realized. The high brightness and small virtual source size of the LMIS are advantageous for forming high resolution probes but a significant disadvantage when beam currents in excess of 100 nA are required, due to the effects of spherical aberration from the optical column. At these higher currents a source with a high angular intensity is optimal and in fact the relatively moderate brightness of today's plasma ion sources prevail in this operating regime. Both the LMIS and Duoplasmatron suffer from a large axial energy spread resulting in further limitations when forming focused beams at the chromatic limit where the figure-of-merit is inversely proportional to the square of the energy spread. Also, both of these ion sources operate with a very limited range of ion species. This article reviews some of the latest developments and some future potential in this area of instrument development. Here we present an approach to source development that could lead to oxygen ion beam SIMS imaging with 10 nm resolution, using a 'broad area' RF gas phase ion source.

Evaluation of VIIRS and MODIS Thermal Emissive Band Calibration Stability Using Ground Target

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sriharsha Madhavan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The S-NPP Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS instrument, a polar orbiting Earth remote sensing instrument built using a strong MODIS background, employs a similarly designed on-board calibrating source—a V-grooved blackbody for the Thermal Emissive Bands (TEB. The central wavelengths of most VIIRS TEBs are very close to those of MODIS with the exception of the 10.7 µm channel. To ensure the long term continuity of climate data records derived using VIIRS and MODIS TEB, it is necessary to assess any systematic differences between the two instruments, including scenes with temperatures significantly lower than blackbody operating temperatures at approximately 290 K. Previous work performed by the MODIS Characterization Support Team (MCST at NASA/GSFC used the frequent observations of the Dome Concordia site located in Antarctica to evaluate the calibration stability and consistency of Terra and Aqua MODIS over the mission lifetime. The near-surface temperature measurements from an automatic weather station (AWS provide a direct reference useful for tracking the stability and determining the relative bias between the two MODIS instruments. In this study, the same technique is applied to the VIIRS TEB and the results are compared with those from the matched MODIS TEB. The results of this study show a small negative bias when comparing the matching VIIRS and Aqua MODIS TEB, implying a higher brightness temperature for S-VIIRS at the cold end. Statistically no significant drift is observed for VIIRS TEB performance over the first 3.5 years of the mission.

Radiometric Cross-Calibration of GF-4 in Multispectral Bands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aixia Yang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The GaoFen-4 (GF-4, launched at the end of December 2015, is China’s first high-resolution geostationary optical satellite. A panchromatic and multispectral sensor (PMS is onboard the GF-4 satellite. Unfortunately, the GF-4 has no onboard calibration assembly, so on-orbit radiometric calibration is required. Like the charge-coupled device (CCD onboard HuanJing-1 (HJ or the wide field of view sensor (WFV onboard GaoFen-1 (GF-1, GF-4 also has a wide field of view, which provides challenges for cross-calibration with narrow field of view sensors, like the Landsat series. A new technique has been developed and used to calibrate HJ-1/CCD and GF-1/WFV, which is verified viable. The technique has three key steps: (1 calculate the surface using the bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF characterization of a site, taking advantage of its uniform surface material and natural topographic variation using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+/Operational Land Imager (OLI imagery and digital elevation model (DEM products; (2 calculate the radiance at the top-of-the atmosphere (TOA with the simulated surface reflectance using the atmosphere radiant transfer model; and (3 fit the calibration coefficients with the TOA radiance and corresponding Digital Number (DN values of the image. This study attempts to demonstrate the technique is also feasible to calibrate GF-4 multispectral bands. After fitting the calibration coefficients using the technique, extensive validation is conducted by cross-validation using the image pairs of GF-4/PMS and Landsat-8/OLI with similar transit times and close view zenith. The validation result indicates a higher accuracy and frequency than that given by the China Centre for Resources Satellite Data and Application (CRESDA using vicarious calibration. The study shows that the new technique is also quite feasible for GF-4 multispectral bands as a routine long-term procedure.

Microwave Remote Sensing Modeling of Ocean Surface Salinity and Winds Using an Empirical Sea Surface Spectrum

Science.gov (United States)

Yueh, Simon H.

2004-01-01

Active and passive microwave remote sensing techniques have been investigated for the remote sensing of ocean surface wind and salinity. We revised an ocean surface spectrum using the CMOD-5 geophysical model function (GMF) for the European Remote Sensing (ERS) C-band scatterometer and the Ku-band GMF for the NASA SeaWinds scatterometer. The predictions of microwave brightness temperatures from this model agree well with satellite, aircraft and tower-based microwave radiometer data. This suggests that the impact of surface roughness on microwave brightness temperatures and radar scattering coefficients of sea surfaces can be consistently characterized by a roughness spectrum, providing physical basis for using combined active and passive remote sensing techniques for ocean surface wind and salinity remote sensing.

IRAS surface brightness maps of visible reflection nebulae: evidence for non-equilibrium infrared emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castelaz, M.W.; Werner, M.W.; Sellgren, K.

1986-01-01

Surface brightness maps at 12, 25, 60, and 100 microns of 16 visible reflection nebulae were extracted from the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) database. The maps were produced by coadding IRAS survey scans over areas centered on the illuminating stars, and have spatial resolutions of 0.9' x 4' at 12 and 25 microns, 1.8' x 4.5' at 60 microns, and 3.6' x 5' at 100 microns. Extended emission in the four IRAS bandpasses was detected in fourteen of the reflection nebulae. The IRAS data were used to measure the flux of the infrared emission associated with each source. The energy distributions show that the 12 micron flux is greater than the 25 micron flux in 11 of the nebulae, and the peak flux occurs in the 60 or 100 micron bandpass in all 16 nebular. The 60 and 100 micron flux can be approximated by blackbodies with temperatures between 30 and 50 K, consistent with temperatures expected from extrapolation of greybody fits to the 60 and 100 micron data. The excess 12 and 25 micron emission is attributed to a nonequilibrium process such as emission from thermal fluctuations of very small grains excited by single ultraviolet photons, or emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) excited by ultraviolet radiation. The common features of the energy distributions of the 16 reflection nebulae, also seen in the reflection nebulae associated with the Pleiades, suggest that PAHs or very small grains may be found in most reflection nebulae

Burkina Faso - BRIGHT II

Data.gov (United States)

Millennium Challenge Corporation — Millennium Challenge Corporation hired Mathematica Policy Research to conduct an independent evaluation of the BRIGHT II program. The three main research questions...

Space charge and wake field analysis for a high brightness electron source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsa, Z.

1991-01-01

We present a brief overview of the formalism used, and some simulation results for transverse and longitudinal motion of a bunch of particles moving through a cavity (e.g., the Brookhaven National Laboratory high brightness photocathode gun), including effects of the accelerating field, space charge forces (e.g., arising from the interaction of the cavity surface and the self field of the bunch). 3 refs., 12 figs

Numerical simulations of novel high-power high-brightness diode laser structures

Science.gov (United States)

Boucke, Konstantin; Rogg, Joseph; Kelemen, Marc T.; Poprawe, Reinhart; Weimann, Guenter

2001-07-01

One of the key topics in today's semiconductor laser development activities is to increase the brightness of high-power diode lasers. Although structures showing an increased brightness have been developed specific draw-backs of these structures lead to a still strong demand for investigation of alternative concepts. Especially for the investigation of basically novel structures easy-to-use and fast simulation tools are essential to avoid unnecessary, cost and time consuming experiments. A diode laser simulation tool based on finite difference representations of the Helmholtz equation in 'wide-angle' approximation and the carrier diffusion equation has been developed. An optimized numerical algorithm leads to short execution times of a few seconds per resonator round-trip on a standard PC. After each round-trip characteristics like optical output power, beam profile and beam parameters are calculated. A graphical user interface allows online monitoring of the simulation results. The simulation tool is used to investigate a novel high-power, high-brightness diode laser structure, the so-called 'Z-Structure'. In this structure an increased brightness is achieved by reducing the divergency angle of the beam by angular filtering: The round trip path of the beam is two times folded using internal total reflection at surfaces defined by a small index step in the semiconductor material, forming a stretched 'Z'. The sharp decrease of the reflectivity for angles of incidence above the angle of total reflection leads to a narrowing of the angular spectrum of the beam. The simulations of the 'Z-Structure' indicate an increase of the beam quality by a factor of five to ten compared to standard broad-area lasers.

Intersatellite Calibration of Microwave Radiometers for GPM

Science.gov (United States)

Wilheit, T. T.

2010-12-01

The aim of the GPM mission is to measure precipitation globally with high temporal resolution by using a constellation of satellites logically united by the GPM Core Satellite which will be in a non-sunsynchronous, medium inclination orbit. The usefulness of the combined product depends on the consistency of precipitation retrievals from the various microwave radiometers. The calibration requirements for this consistency are quite daunting requiring a multi-layered approach. The radiometers can vary considerably in their frequencies, view angles, polarizations and spatial resolutions depending on their primary application and other constraints. The planned parametric algorithms will correct for the varying viewing parameters, but they are still vulnerable to calibration errors, both relative and absolute. The GPM Intersatellite Calibration Working Group (aka X-CAL) will adjust the calibration of all the radiometers to a common consensus standard for the GPM Level 1C product to be used in precipitation retrievals. Finally, each Precipitation Algorithm Working Group must have its own strategy for removing the residual errors. If the final adjustments are small, the credibility of the precipitation retrievals will be enhanced. Before intercomparing, the radiometers must be self consistent on a scan-wise and orbit-wise basis. Pre-screening for this consistency constitutes the first step in the intercomparison. The radiometers are then compared pair-wise with the microwave radiometer (GMI) on the GPM Core Satellite. Two distinct approaches are used for sake of cross-checking the results. On the one hand, nearly simultaneous observations are collected at the cross-over points of the orbits and the observations of one are converted to virtual observations of the other using a radiative transfer model to permit comparisons. The complementary approach collects histograms of brightness temperature from each instrument. In each case a model is needed to translate the

Using Flux Site Observations to Calibrate Root System Architecture Stencils for Water Uptake of Plant Functional Types in Land Surface Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouda, M.

2017-12-01

Root system architecture (RSA) can significantly affect plant access to water, total transpiration, as well as its partitioning by soil depth, with implications for surface heat, water, and carbon budgets. Despite recent advances in land surface model (LSM) descriptions of plant hydraulics, RSA has not been included because of its three-dimensional complexity, which makes RSA modelling generally too computationally costly. This work builds upon the recently introduced "RSA stencil," a process-based 1D layered model that captures the dynamic shifts in water potential gradients of 3D RSA in response to heterogeneous soil moisture profiles. In validations using root systems calibrated to the rooting profiles of four plant functional types (PFT) of the Community Land Model, the RSA stencil predicts plant water potentials within 2% of the outputs of full 3D models, despite its trivial computational cost. In transient simulations, the RSA stencil yields improved predictions of water uptake and soil moisture profiles compared to a 1D model based on root fraction alone. Here I show how the RSA stencil can be calibrated to time-series observations of soil moisture and transpiration to yield a water uptake PFT definition for use in terrestrial models. This model-data integration exercise aims to improve LSM predictions of soil moisture dynamics and, under water-limiting conditions, surface fluxes. These improvements can be expected to significantly impact predictions of downstream variables, including surface fluxes, climate-vegetation feedbacks and soil nutrient cycling.

Increasing the brightness of light sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fu, Ling

2006-11-16

In this work the principle of light recycling is applied to artificial light sources in order to achieve brightness enhancement. Firstly, the feasibilities of increasing the brightness of light sources via light recycling are examined theoretically, based on the fundamental laws of thermodynamics including Kirchhoff's law on radiation, Planck's law, Lambert-Beer's law, the etendue conservation and the brightness theorem. From an experimental viewpoint, the radiation properties of three different kinds of light sources including short-arc lamps, incandescent lamps and LEDs characterized by their light-generating mechanisms are investigated. These three types of sources are used in light recycling experiments, for the purpose of 1. validating the intrinsic light recycling effect in light sources, e. g. the intrinsic light recycling effect in incandescent lamps stemming from the coiled filament structure. 2. acquiring the required parameters for establishing physical models, e.g. the emissivity/absorptivity of the short-arc lamps, the intrinsic reflectivity and the external quantum efficiency of LEDs. 3. laying the foundations for designing optics aimed at brightness enhancement according to the characteristics of the sources and applications. Based on the fundamental laws and experiments, two physical models for simulating the radiance distribution of light sources are established, one for thermal filament lamps, the other for luminescent sources, LEDs. As validation of the theoretical and experimental investigation of the light recycling effect, an optical device, the Carambola, is designed for achieving deterministic and multiple light recycling. The Carambola has the function of a concentrator. In order to achieve the maximum possible brightness enhancement with the Carambola, several combinations of sources and Carambolas are modelled in ray-tracing simulations. Sources with different light-emitting mechanisms and different radiation properties

Calibration of VIIRS F1 Sensor Fire Detection Band Using lunar Observations

Science.gov (United States)

McIntire, Jeff; Efremova, Boryana; Xiong, Xiaoxiong

2012-01-01

Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Fight 1 (Fl) sensor includes a fire detection band at roughly 4 microns. This spectral band has two gain states; fire detection occurs in the low gain state above approximately 345 K. The thermal bands normally utilize an on-board blackbody to provide on-orbit calibration. However, as the maximum temperature of this blackbody is 315 K, the low gain state of the 4 micron band cannot be calibrated in the same manner as the rest of the thermal bands. Regular observations of the moon provide an alternative calibration source. The lunar surface temperature has been recently mapped by the DIVINER sensor on the LRO platform. The periodic on-board high gain calibration along with the DIVINER surface temperatures was used to determine the emissivity and solar reflectance of the lunar surface at 4 microns; these factors and the lunar data are then used to fit the low gain calibration coefficients of the 4 micron band. Furthermore, the emissivity of the lunar surface is well known near 8.5 microns due to the Christiansen feature (an emissivity maximum associated with Si-O stretching vibrations) and the solar reflectance is negligible. Thus, the 8.5 micron band is used for relative calibration with the 4 micron band to de-trend any temporal variations. In addition, the remaining thermal bands are analyzed in a similar fashion, with both calculated emissivities and solar reflectances produced.

An ultra-bright white LED based non-contact skin cancer imaging system with polarization control

Science.gov (United States)

Günther, A.; Basu, C.; Roth, B.; Meinhardt-Wollweber, M.

2013-06-01

Early detection and excision of melanoma skin cancer is crucial for a successful therapy. Dermoscopy in direct contact with the skin is routinely used for inspection, but screening is time consuming for high-risk patients with a large number of nevi. Features like symmetry, border, color and most importantly changes like growth or depigmentation of a nevus may indicate malignancy. We present a non-contact remote imaging system for human melanocytic nevi with homogenous illumination by an ultra-bright white LED. The advantage compared to established dermoscopy systems requiring direct skin contact is that deformation of raised nevi is avoided and full-body scans of the patients may time-efficiently be obtained while they are in a lying, comfortable position. This will ultimately allow for automated screening in the future. In addition, calibration of true color rendering, which is essential for distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions and to ensure reproducibility and comparison between individual check-ups in order to follow nevi evolution is implemented as well as suppression of specular highlights on the skin surface by integration of polarizing filters. Important features of the system which will be crucial for future integration into automated systems are the possibility to record images without artifacts in combination with short exposure times which both reduce image blurring caused by patient motion.

A calibration method for fringe reflection technique based on the analytical phase-slope description

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yuxiang; Yue, Huimin; Pan, Zhipeng; Liu, Yong

2018-05-01

The fringe reflection technique (FRT) has been one of the most popular methods to measure the shape of specular surface these years. The existing system calibration methods of FRT usually contain two parts, which are camera calibration and geometric calibration. In geometric calibration, the liquid crystal display (LCD) screen position calibration is one of the most difficult steps among all the calibration procedures, and its accuracy is affected by the factors such as the imaging aberration, the plane mirror flatness, and LCD screen pixel size accuracy. In this paper, based on the deduction of FRT analytical phase-slope description, we present a novel calibration method with no requirement to calibrate the position of LCD screen. On the other hand, the system can be arbitrarily arranged, and the imaging system can either be telecentric or non-telecentric. In our experiment of measuring the 5000mm radius sphere mirror, the proposed calibration method achieves 2.5 times smaller measurement error than the geometric calibration method. In the wafer surface measuring experiment, the measurement result with the proposed calibration method is closer to the interferometer result than the geometric calibration method.

Calibration and combination of monthly near-surface temperature and precipitation predictions over Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Luis R. L.; Doblas-Reyes, Francisco J.; Coelho, Caio A. S.

2018-02-01

A Bayesian method known as the Forecast Assimilation (FA) was used to calibrate and combine monthly near-surface temperature and precipitation outputs from seasonal dynamical forecast systems. The simple multimodel (SMM), a method that combines predictions with equal weights, was used as a benchmark. This research focuses on Europe and adjacent regions for predictions initialized in May and November, covering the boreal summer and winter months. The forecast quality of the FA and SMM as well as the single seasonal dynamical forecast systems was assessed using deterministic and probabilistic measures. A non-parametric bootstrap method was used to account for the sampling uncertainty of the forecast quality measures. We show that the FA performs as well as or better than the SMM in regions where the dynamical forecast systems were able to represent the main modes of climate covariability. An illustration with the near-surface temperature over North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and Middle-East in summer months associated with the well predicted first mode of climate covariability is offered. However, the main modes of climate covariability are not well represented in most situations discussed in this study as the seasonal dynamical forecast systems have limited skill when predicting the European climate. In these situations, the SMM performs better more often.

Life-threatening motor vehicle crashes in bright sunlight

OpenAIRE

Redelmeier, Donald A.; Raza, Sheharyar

2017-01-01

Abstract Bright sunlight may create visual illusions that lead to driver error, including fallible distance judgment from aerial perspective. We tested whether the risk of a life-threatening motor vehicle crash was increased when driving in bright sunlight. This longitudinal, case-only, paired-comparison analysis evaluated patients hospitalized because of a motor vehicle crash between January 1, 1995 and December 31, 2014. The relative risk of a crash associated with bright sunlight was estim...

Automated galaxy surface photometry: Pt. 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, M.J.; Davies, J.I.; Disney, M.J.; Phillipps, S.

1990-01-01

We show that APM measurement of a standard deep UKSTU plate is equally as successful as photographic amplification in the detection of very low surface brightness galaxies. This method has the advantage of allowing us to detect and quantitatively measure images at the same time (i.e. without recourse to further observations). Suitable median filtering techniques allow us to detect galaxies with scale sizes of a few arcseconds and central surface brightnesses as low as 26.5 B mag arcsec -2 . (author)

High-brightness fiber-coupled pump laser development

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Kirk; Karlsen, Scott; Leisher, Paul; Martinsen, Robert

2010-02-01

We report on the continued development of high brightness laser diode modules at nLIGHT Photonics. These modules, based on nLIGHT's PearlTM product platform, demonstrate excellence in output power, brightness, wavelength stabilization, and long wavelength performance. This system, based on 14 single emitters, is designed to couple diode laser light into a 105 μm fiber at an excitation NA of under 0.14. We demonstrate over 100W of optical power at 9xx nm with a diode brightness exceeding 20 MW/cm2-str with an operating efficiency of approximately 50%. Additional results show over 70W of optical coupled at 8xx nm. Record brilliance at wavelengths 14xx nm and longer will also be demonstrated, with over 15 W of optical power with a beam quality of 7.5 mm-mrad. These results of high brightness, high efficiency, and wavelength stabilization demonstrate the pump technology required for next generation solid state and fiber lasers.

In-flight PSF calibration of the NuSTAR hard X-ray optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

An, Hongjun; Madsen, Kristin K.; Westergaard, Niels J.

2014-01-01

We present results of the point spread function (PSF) calibration of the hard X-ray optics of the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). Immediately post-launch, NuSTAR has observed bright point sources such as Cyg X-1, Vela X-1, and Her X-1 for the PSF calibration. We use the point source...... observations taken at several off-axis angles together with a ray-trace model to characterize the in-orbit angular response, and find that the ray-trace model alone does not fit the observed event distributions and applying empirical corrections to the ray-trace model improves the fit significantly. We...... describe the corrections applied to the ray-trace model and show that the uncertainties in the enclosed energy fraction (EEF) of the new PSF model is less than or similar to 3 for extraction apertures of R greater than or similar to 60" with no significant energy dependence. We also show that the PSF...

PLEIADES ABSOLUTE CALIBRATION : INFLIGHT CALIBRATION SITES AND METHODOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Lachérade

2012-07-01

Full Text Available In-flight calibration of space sensors once in orbit is a decisive step to be able to fulfil the mission objectives. This article presents the methods of the in-flight absolute calibration processed during the commissioning phase. Four In-flight calibration methods are used: absolute calibration, cross-calibration with reference sensors such as PARASOL or MERIS, multi-temporal monitoring and inter-bands calibration. These algorithms are based on acquisitions over natural targets such as African deserts, Antarctic sites, La Crau (Automatic calibration station and Oceans (Calibration over molecular scattering or also new extra-terrestrial sites such as the Moon and selected stars. After an overview of the instrument and a description of the calibration sites, it is pointed out how each method is able to address one or several aspects of the calibration. We focus on how these methods complete each other in their operational use, and how they help building a coherent set of information that addresses all aspects of in-orbit calibration. Finally, we present the perspectives that the high level of agility of PLEIADES offers for the improvement of its calibration and a better characterization of the calibration sites.

Untangling the contributions of image charge and laser profile for optimal photoemission of high-brightness electron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Portman, J.; Zhang, H.; Makino, K.; Ruan, C. Y.; Berz, M.; Duxbury, P. M.

2014-01-01

Using our model for the simulation of photoemission of high brightness electron beams, we investigate the virtual cathode physics and the limits to spatio-temporal and spectroscopic resolution originating from the image charge on the surface and from the profile of the exciting laser pulse. By contrasting the effect of varying surface properties (leading to expanding or pinned image charge), laser profiles (Gaussian, uniform, and elliptical), and aspect ratios (pancake- and cigar-like) under different extraction field strengths and numbers of generated electrons, we quantify the effect of these experimental parameters on macroscopic pulse properties such as emittance, brightness (4D and 6D), coherence length, and energy spread. Based on our results, we outline optimal conditions of pulse generation for ultrafast electron microscope systems that take into account constraints on the number of generated electrons and on the required time resolution.

Intercomparison of integrated IASI and AATSR calibrated radiances at 11 and 12 μm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. J. Parker

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The mission objectives of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI are driven by the needs of the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP and climate monitoring communities. These objectives rely upon the IASI instrument being able to measure top of atmosphere radiances accurately. This paper presents a technique and first results for the validation of the radiometric calibration of radiances for IASI, using a cross-calibration with the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR. The AATSR is able to measure Brightness Temperature (BT to an accuracy of 30 mK, and by applying the AATSR spectral filter functions to the IASI measured radiances we are able to compare AATSR and IASI Brightness Temperatures. By choosing coincident data points that are over the sea and in clear sky conditions, a threshold of homogeneity is derived. It is found that in these homogenous conditions, the IASI BTs agree with those measured by the AATSR to within 0.3 K, with an uncertainty of order 0.1 K. The agreement is particularly good at 11 μm where the difference is less than 0.1 K. These first results indicate that IASI is meeting its target objective of 0.5 K accuracy. It is believed that a refinement of the AATSR spectral filter functions will hopefully permit a tighter error constraint on the quality of the IASI data and hence further assessment of the climate quality of the radiances.

The effect of bright lines in environmental risk communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, K.N.; Desvousges, W.H.; Smith, K.V.; Payne, J.

1993-01-01

Bright lines in environmental risk communication refer to the specific levels at which an environmental risk becomes a serious health threat and action should be taken to mitigate its effects. This study examined the effect of ''bright lines'' in risk communication by emphasizing the radon exposure threshold level of 4 picocuries per liter. Specifically, the authors developed a computer-assisted interview containing bright-line versions of risk information. The bright-line version contained a range of possible radon levels, the corresponding number of estimated lung cancer cases, the relative health risk from radon compared to other health risks, and the EPA guidelines for mitigating levels above 4 picocuries in the home. The non-bright line version was identical to the bright-line version, except it did not include the EPA's mitigation recommendations. Effect measures included respondents' change in perceived risk after reading their materials, intended testing behavior, and advice to their neighbor for a specified radon level either above or below the 4 picocury threshold level. This paper discusses broader policy implications for designing effective risk communication programs

Ultrasonic calibration assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

Ultrasonic transducers for in-service inspection of nuclear reactor vessels have several problems associated with them which this invention seeks to overcome. The first is that of calibration or referencing a zero start point for the vertical axis of transducer movement to locate a weld defect. The second is that of verifying the positioning (vertically or at a predetermined angle). Thirdly there is the problem of ascertaining the speed per unit distance in the operating medium of the transducer beam prior to the actual inspection. The apparatus described is a calibration assembly which includes a fixed, generally spherical body having a surface for reflecting an ultrasonic beam from one of the transducers which can be moved until the reflection from the spherical body is the highest amplitude return signal indicating radial alignment from the body. (U.K.)

Bright boys the making of information technology

CERN Document Server

Green, Tom

2010-01-01

Everything has a beginning. None was more profound-and quite as unexpected-than Information Technology. Here for the first time is the untold story of how our new age came to be and the bright boys who made it happen. What began on the bare floor of an old laundry building eventually grew to rival in size the Manhattan Project. The unexpected consequence of that journey was huge---what we now know as Information Technology. For sixty years the bright boys have been totally anonymous while their achievements have become a way of life for all of us. "Bright Boys" brings them home. By 1950 they'd

A method of camera calibration with adaptive thresholding

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Lei; Yan, Shu-hua; Wang, Guo-chao; Zhou, Chun-lei

2009-07-01

In order to calculate the parameters of the camera correctly, we must figure out the accurate coordinates of the certain points in the image plane. Corners are the important features in the 2D images. Generally speaking, they are the points that have high curvature and lie in the junction of different brightness regions of images. So corners detection has already widely used in many fields. In this paper we use the pinhole camera model and SUSAN corner detection algorithm to calibrate the camera. When using the SUSAN corner detection algorithm, we propose an approach to retrieve the gray difference threshold, adaptively. That makes it possible to pick up the right chessboard inner comers in all kinds of gray contrast. The experiment result based on this method was proved to be feasible.

Analysis of a high brightness photo electron beam with self field and wake field effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsa, Z.

1991-01-01

High brightness sources are the basic ingredients in the new accelerator developments such as Free-Electron Laser experiments. The effects of the interactions between the highly charged particles and the fields in the accelerating structure, e.g. R.F., Space charge and Wake fields can be detrimental to the beam and the experiments. We present and discuss the formulation used, some simulation and results for the Brookhaven National Laboratory high brightness beam that illustrates effects of the accelerating field, space charge forces (e.g. due to self field of the bunch), and the wake field (e.g. arising from the interaction of the cavity surface and the self field of the bunch)

THE ACS FORNAX CLUSTER SURVEY. IV. DEPROJECTION OF THE SURFACE BRIGHTNESS PROFILES OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES IN THE VIRGO AND FORNAX CLUSTERS: INVESTIGATING THE 'CORE/POWER-LAW DICHOTOMY'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glass, Lisa; Ferrarese, Laura; Cote, Patrick; Blakeslee, John P.; Chen, Chin-Wei; Jordan, Andres; Infante, Leopoldo; Peng, Eric; Mei, Simona; Tonry, John L.; West, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Although early observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) pointed to a sharp dichotomy among early-type galaxies in terms of the logarithmic slope γ' of their central surface brightness profiles, several studies in the past few years have called this finding into question. In particular, recent imaging surveys of 143 early-type galaxies belonging to the Virgo and Fornax Clusters using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board HST have not found a dichotomy in γ', but instead a systematic progression from central luminosity deficit to excess relative to the inward extrapolation of the best-fitting global Sersic model. Given that earlier studies also found that the dichotomy persisted when analyzing the deprojected density profile slopes, we investigate the distribution of the three-dimensional luminosity density profiles of the ACS Virgo and Fornax Cluster Survey galaxies. Having fitted the surface brightness profiles with modified Sersic models, we then deproject the galaxies using an Abel integral and measure the inner slopes γ 3D of the resulting luminosity density profiles at various fractions of the effective radius R e . We find no evidence of a dichotomy, but rather, a continuous variation in the central luminosity profiles as a function of galaxy magnitude. We introduce a parameter, Δ 3D , that measures the central deviation of the deprojected luminosity profiles from the global Sersic fit, showing that this parameter varies smoothly and systematically along the luminosity function.

An Hα Imaging Survey of the Low-surface-brightness Galaxies Selected from the Fall Sky Region of the 40% ALFALFA H I Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Feng-Jie; Wu, Hong; Du, Wei; Zhu, Yi-Nan; Lam, Man-I.; Zhou, Zhi-Min; He, Min; Jin, Jun-Jie; Cao, Tian-Wen; Zhao, Pin-Song; Yang, Fan; Wu, Chao-Jian; Li, Hong-Bin; Ren, Juan-Juan

2018-03-01

We present the observed Hα flux and derived star formation rates (SFRs) for a fall sample of low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs). The sample is selected from the fall sky region of the 40% ALFALFA H I Survey–SDSS DR7 photometric data, and all the Hα images were obtained using the 2.16 m telescope, operated by the National Astronomy Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences. A total of 111 LSBGs were observed and Hα flux was measured in 92 of them. Though almost all the LSBGs in our sample are H I-rich, their SFRs, derived from the extinction and filter-transmission-corrected Hα flux, are less than 1 M ⊙ yr‑1. LSBGs and star-forming galaxies have similar H I surface densities, but LSBGs have much lower SFRs and SFR surface densities than star-forming galaxies. Our results show that LSBGs deviate from the Kennicutt–Schmidt law significantly, which indicates that they have low star formation efficiency. The SFRs of LSBGs are close to average SFRs in Hubble time and support previous arguments that most of the LSBGs are stable systems and they tend to seldom contain strong interactions or major mergers in their star formation histories.

NuSTAR on-ground calibration I: Imaging quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westergaard, Niels Jørgen Stenfeldt; Madsen, Kristin K.; Brejnholt, Nicolai

2012-01-01

metrology provided surface maps of the reflecting surfaces. Several flight coated mirrors were brought to BNL for scattering measurements. The information from both sources is fed to a raytracing code that is tested against the on-ground calibration data. The code is subsequently used for predicting...

Calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greacen, E.L.; Correll, R.L.; Cunningham, R.B.; Johns, G.G.; Nicolls, K.D.

1981-01-01

Procedures common to different methods of calibration of neutron moisture meters are outlined and laboratory and field calibration methods compared. Gross errors which arise from faulty calibration techniques are described. The count rate can be affected by the dry bulk density of the soil, the volumetric content of constitutional hydrogen and other chemical components of the soil and soil solution. Calibration is further complicated by the fact that the neutron meter responds more strongly to the soil properties close to the detector and source. The differences in slope of calibration curves for different soils can be as much as 40%

Bright point study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, F.; Harvey, K.; Bruner, M.; Kent, B.; Antonucci, E.

1982-01-01

Transition region and coronal observations of bright points by instruments aboard the Solar Maximum Mission and high resolution photospheric magnetograph observations on September 11, 1980 are presented. A total of 31 bipolar ephemeral regions were found in the photosphere from birth in 9.3 hours of combined magnetograph observations from three observatories. Two of the three ephemeral regions present in the field of view of the Ultraviolet Spectrometer-Polarimeter were observed in the C IV 1548 line. The unobserved ephemeral region was determined to be the shortest-lived (2.5 hr) and lowest in magnetic flux density (13G) of the three regions. The Flat Crystal Spectrometer observed only low level signals in the O VIII 18.969 A line, which were not statistically significant to be positively identified with any of the 16 ephemeral regions detected in the photosphere. In addition, the data indicate that at any given time there lacked a one-to-one correspondence between observable bright points and photospheric ephemeral regions, while more ephemeral regions were observed than their counterparts in the transition region and the corona

Helmholtz bright and boundary solitons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christian, J M; McDonald, G S; Chamorro-Posada, P

2007-01-01

We report, for the first time, exact analytical boundary solitons of a generalized cubic-quintic nonlinear Helmholtz (NLH) equation. These solutions have a linked-plateau topology that is distinct from conventional dark soliton solutions; their amplitude and intensity distributions are spatially delocalized and connect regions of finite and zero wave-field disturbances (suggesting also the classification as 'edge solitons'). Extensive numerical simulations compare the stability properties of recently derived Helmholtz bright solitons, for this type of polynomial nonlinearity, to those of the new boundary solitons. The latter are found to possess a remarkable stability characteristic, exhibiting robustness against perturbations that would otherwise lead to the destabilizing of their bright-soliton counterparts

Brightness waves of electroluminescence in ZnO:La electroluminor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhushan, S.; Pandey, A.N.; Kaza, Balakrishna Rao

1979-01-01

A cryostat for the measurement of different luminescent characteristics from liquid N 2 temperature to above has been fabricated. Using this cryostat brightness waves due to sinusoidal excitations for ZnO:La electroluminor (EL) has been studied at different temperatures from -168deg C. Brightness waves for this system consist of two primary peaks during each cycle of excitation. Each primary peak is associated with a secondary peak. This secondary peak at -168deg C exists at the left arm of the primary peak. As the temperature is increased to 18deg C it moves towards the right arm of the primary peak. At an intermediate temperature the secondary peaks are most pronounced. Possible mechanism for these phenomena have been discussed. Temperature dependence of time averaged EL brightness for this system has also been studied and three peaks have been found. The results of brightness waves have also been discussed in the light of temperature dependence of time averaged EL brightness. (auth.)

Intrinsic brightness temperatures of blazar jets at 15 GHz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hovatta Talvikki

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We have developed a new Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to deconvolve light curves of blazars into individual flares, including proper estimation of the fit errors. We use the method to fit 15GHzlight curves obtained within the OVRO 40-m blazar monitoring program where a large number of AGN have been monitored since 2008 in support of the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope mission. The time scales obtained from the fitted models are used to calculate the variability brightness temperature of the sources. Additionally, we have calculated brightness temperatures of a sample of these objects using Very Long Baseline Array data from the MOJAVE survey. Combining these two data sets enables us to study the intrinsic brightness temperature distribution in these blazars at 15 GHz. Our preliminary results indicate that the mean intrinsic brightness temperature in a sample of 14 sources is near the equipartition brightness temperature of ~ 1011K.

Experimental investigation of bright spots in broadband, gated x-ray images of ignition-scale implosions on the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrios, M. A.; Suter, L. J.; Glenn, S.; Benedetti, L. R.; Bradley, D. K.; Collins, G. W.; Hammel, B. A.; Izumi, N.; Ma, T.; Scott, H.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Regan, S. P.; Epstein, R.; Kyrala, G. A.

2013-01-01

Bright spots in the hot spot intensity profile of gated x-ray images of ignition-scale implosions at the National Ignition Facility [G. H. Miller et al., Opt. Eng. 443, (2004)] are observed. X-ray images of cryogenically layered deuterium-tritium (DT) and tritium-hydrogen-deuterium (THD) ice capsules, and gas filled plastic shell capsules (Symcap) were recorded along the hohlraum symmetry axis. Heterogeneous mixing of ablator material and fuel into the hot spot (i.e., hot-spot mix) by hydrodynamic instabilities causes the bright spots. Hot-spot mix increases the radiative cooling of the hot spot. Fourier analysis of the x-ray images is used to quantify the evolution of bright spots in both x- and k-space. Bright spot images were azimuthally binned to characterize bright spot location relative to known isolated defects on the capsule surface. A strong correlation is observed between bright spot location and the fill tube for both Symcap and cryogenically layered DT and THD ice targets, indicating the fill tube is a significant seed for the ablation front instability causing hot-spot mix. The fill tube is the predominant seed for Symcaps, while other capsule non-uniformities are dominant seeds for the cryogenically layered DT and THD ice targets. A comparison of the bright spot power observed for Si- and Ge-doped ablator targets shows heterogeneous mix in Symcap targets is mostly material from the doped ablator layer

High-brightness injector modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewellen, J.W.

2004-01-01

There are many aspects to the successful conception, design, fabrication, and operation of high-brightness electron beam sources. Accurate and efficient modeling of the injector are critical to all phases of the process, from evaluating initial ideas to successful diagnosis of problems during routine operation. The basic modeling tasks will vary from design to design, according to the basic nature of the injector (dc, rf, hybrid, etc.), the type of cathode used (thermionic, photo, field emitter, etc.), and 'macro' factors such as average beam current and duty factor, as well as the usual list of desired beam properties. The injector designer must be at least aware of, if not proficient at addressing, the multitude of issues that arise from these considerations; and, as high-brightness injectors continue to move out of the laboratory, the number of such issues will continue to expand.

Stunningly bright optical emission

Science.gov (United States)

Heinke, Craig O.

2017-12-01

The detection of bright, rapid optical pulsations from pulsar PSR J1023+0038 have provided a surprise for researchers working on neutron stars. This discovery poses more questions than it answers and will spur on future work and instrumentation.

BRITE-Constellation: Nanosatellites for precision photometry of bright stars

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, W. W.; Moffat, A. F. J.; Schwarzenberg-Czerny, A.; Koudelka, O. F.; Grant, C. C.; Zee, R. E.; Kuschnig, R.; Mochnacki, St.; Rucinski, S. M.; Matthews, J. M.; Orleański, P.; Pamyatnykh, A. A.; Pigulski, A.; Alves, J.; Guedel, M.; Handler, G.; Wade, G. A.; Scholtz, A. L.; Scholtz

2014-02-01

will be selected is shown in Fig. 1. This sample falls into two principal classes of stars: (1) Hot luminous H-burning stars (O to F stars). Analyses of OB star variability have the potential to help solve two outstanding problems: the sizes of convective (mixed) cores in massive stars and the influence of rapid rotation on their structure and evolution. (2) Cool luminous stars (AGB stars, cool giants and cool supergiants). Measurements of the time scales involved in surface granulation and differential rotation will constrain turbulent convection models. Mass loss from these stars (especially the massive supernova progenitors) is a major contributor to the evolution of the interstellar medium, so in a sense, this sample dominates cosmic ``ecology'' in terms of future generations of star formation. The massive stars are believed to share many characteristics of the lower mass range of the first generation of stars ever formed (although the original examples are of course long gone). BRITE observations will also be used to detect some Jupiter- and even Neptune-sized planets around bright host stars via transits, as expected on the basis of statistics from the Kepler exoplanet mission. Detecting planets around such very bright stars will greatly facilitate their subsequent characterization. BRITE will also use surface spots to investigate stellar rotation. The following Table summarizes launch and orbit parameters of BRITE-Constellation components. The full version of this paper describing in more detail BRITE-Constellation will be published separately in a journal. The symposium presentation is available at http://iaus301.astro.uni.wroc.pl/program.php

Simbol-X Telescope Scientific Calibrations: Requirements and Plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malaguti, G.; Raimondi, L.; Trifoglio, M.; Angelini, L.; Moretti, A.

2009-01-01

The Simbol-X telescope characteristics and the mission scientific requirements impose a challenging calibration plan with a number of unprecedented issues. The 20 m focal length implies for the incoming X-ray beam a divergence comparable to the incidence angle of the mirror surface also for 100 m-long facilities. Moreover this is the first time that a direct focussing X-ray telescope will be calibrated on an energy band covering about three decades, and with a complex focal plane. These problems require a careful plan and organization of the measurements, together with an evaluation of the calibration needs in terms of both hardware and software.

Simbol-X Telescope Scientific Calibrations: Requirements and Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Malaguti, G.; Angelini, L.; Raimondi, L.; Moretti, A.; Trifoglio, M.

2009-05-01

The Simbol-X telescope characteristics and the mission scientific requirements impose a challenging calibration plan with a number of unprecedented issues. The 20 m focal length implies for the incoming X-ray beam a divergence comparable to the incidence angle of the mirror surface also for 100 m-long facilities. Moreover this is the first time that a direct focussing X-ray telescope will be calibrated on an energy band covering about three decades, and with a complex focal plane. These problems require a careful plan and organization of the measurements, together with an evaluation of the calibration needs in terms of both hardware and software.

Beam brightness calculation for analytical and empirical distribution functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, T.J.; Boulais, K.A.; O, Y.S.; Rhee, M.J.

1992-01-01

The beam brightness, a figure of merit for a beam quality useful for high-current low-emittance beams, was introduced by van Steenbergen as B = I/V 4 , where I is the beam current and V 4 is the hypervolume in the four-dimensional trace space occupied by the beam particles. Customarily, the brightness is expressed in terms of the product of emittances ε x ε y as B = ηI/(π 2 ε x ε y ), where η is a form factor of order unity which depends on the precise definition of emittance and hypervolume. Recently, a refined definition of the beam brightness based on the arithmetic mean value defined in statistics is proposed. The beam brightness is defined as B triple-bond 4 > = I -1 ∫ ρ 4 2 dxdydx'dy', where I is the beam current given by I ∫ ρ 4 dxdydx'dy'. Note that in this definition, neither the hypervolume V 4 nor the emittance, are explicitly used; the brightness is determined solely by the distribution function. Brightnesses are unambiguously calculated and expressed analytically in terms of the respective beam current and effective emittance for a few commonly used distribution functions, including Maxwellian and water-bag distributions. Other distributions of arbitrary shape frequently encountered in actual experiments are treated numerically. The resulting brightnesses are expressed in the form B = ηI/(π 2 ε x ε y ), and η is found to be weakly dependent on the form of velocity distribution as well as spatial distribution

Color and emotion: effects of hue, saturation, and brightness.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilms, Lisa; Oberfeld, Daniel

2017-06-13

Previous studies on emotional effects of color often failed to control all the three perceptual dimensions of color: hue, saturation, and brightness. Here, we presented a three-dimensional space of chromatic colors by independently varying hue (blue, green, red), saturation (low, medium, high), and brightness (dark, medium, bright) in a factorial design. The 27 chromatic colors, plus 3 brightness-matched achromatic colors, were presented via an LED display. Participants (N = 62) viewed each color for 30 s and then rated their current emotional state (valence and arousal). Skin conductance and heart rate were measured continuously. The emotion ratings showed that saturated and bright colors were associated with higher arousal. The hue also had a significant effect on arousal, which increased from blue and green to red. The ratings of valence were the highest for saturated and bright colors, and also depended on the hue. Several interaction effects of the three color dimensions were observed for both arousal and valence. For instance, the valence ratings were higher for blue than for the remaining hues, but only for highly saturated colors. Saturated and bright colors caused significantly stronger skin conductance responses. Achromatic colors resulted in a short-term deceleration in the heart rate, while chromatic colors caused an acceleration. The results confirm that color stimuli have effects on the emotional state of the observer. These effects are not only determined by the hue of a color, as is often assumed, but by all the three color dimensions as well as their interactions.

Paleoecological Calibration In Central Guatemala: Modern Pollen Rain From Bryophyte Polsters And Surface Sediments

Science.gov (United States)

Finkelstein, S. A.; Avendano, C. E.; Cowling, S. A.

2009-05-01

Paleoecology requires understanding the correspondences between modern pollen rain and local-regional vegetation, in order to develop accurate paleovegetation reconstructions. Paleoecology in Guatemala has been developed largely over decades in the northern lowlands in close relationship with Classic Maya archaeology, where paleoenvironmental reconstructions have been made mainly through the use of fossil pollen. Scarcity of calibration studies in the Mesoamerican region however remains evident; nevertheless, they are necessary to produce reliable reconstructions. We present calibration pollen data from two locations in Central Guatemala: Lachua Lowlands and Purulha Highlands. Pollen spectra were analyzed from surface sediments samples (SS) from a lake and a small pond in Lachua, a river floodplain and a lake shore in Purulha. Bryophyte polsters samples (BP) were collected from the interior of minimally disturbed forests in both Lachua (rain forest) and Purulha (cloud forest). Pollen spectra between SS and BP differed in both locations. Analysis per location indicates that SS were more similar for Purulha, as compared to Lachua. Combined analysis of locations indicates that SS from both locations were related to anemophilous taxa - great production of pollen quantities that has high dispersion capacities-. This provides evidence that the pollen signal from SS is probably more regional than local. BP from Lachua and Purulha differed notably in their pollen signal, each location containing local taxa, tropical and temperate respectively. Some temperate anemophilous taxa were better represented in Lachua than in Purulha. Purulha SS were similar, and contained more taxa related to disturbance and anemophilous taxa. The arboreal pollen (AP) to non-arboreal (NAP) ratio (AP/NAP) of both SS and BP corresponded with the tree- prevalent landscape in Lachua. The SS AP/NAP ratio represented the deforested landscape of the river floodplain and lake environments in Purulha

Quantitative Brightness Analysis of Fluorescence Intensity Fluctuations in E. Coli.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwang-Ho Hur

Full Text Available The brightness measured by fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy specifies the average stoichiometry of a labeled protein in a sample. Here we extended brightness analysis, which has been mainly applied in eukaryotic cells, to prokaryotic cells with E. coli serving as a model system. The small size of the E. coli cell introduces unique challenges for applying brightness analysis that are addressed in this work. Photobleaching leads to a depletion of fluorophores and a reduction of the brightness of protein complexes. In addition, the E. coli cell and the point spread function of the instrument only partially overlap, which influences intensity fluctuations. To address these challenges we developed MSQ analysis, which is based on the mean Q-value of segmented photon count data, and combined it with the analysis of axial scans through the E. coli cell. The MSQ method recovers brightness, concentration, and diffusion time of soluble proteins in E. coli. We applied MSQ to measure the brightness of EGFP in E. coli and compared it to solution measurements. We further used MSQ analysis to determine the oligomeric state of nuclear transport factor 2 labeled with EGFP expressed in E. coli cells. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of quantifying the stoichiometry of proteins by brightness analysis in a prokaryotic cell.

Lamp spectrum and spatial brightness at photopic levels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fotios, Steve; Atli, Deniz; Cheal, Chris

2015-01-01

Light sources are available in a variety of spectral power distributions (SPDs) and this affects spatial brightness in a manner not predicted by quantities such as illuminance. Tuning light source SPD to better match the sensitivity of visual perception may allow the same spatial brightness but a...

Helmholtz bright and boundary solitons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christian, J M [Joule Physics Laboratory, School of Computing, Science and Engineering, Institute for Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT (United Kingdom); McDonald, G S [Joule Physics Laboratory, School of Computing, Science and Engineering, Institute for Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT (United Kingdom); Chamorro-Posada, P [Departmento de TeorIa de la Senal y Comunicaciones e IngenierIa Telematica, Universidad de Valladolid, ETSI Telecomunicacion, Campus Miguel Delibes s/n, 47011 Valladolid (Spain)

2007-02-16

We report, for the first time, exact analytical boundary solitons of a generalized cubic-quintic nonlinear Helmholtz (NLH) equation. These solutions have a linked-plateau topology that is distinct from conventional dark soliton solutions; their amplitude and intensity distributions are spatially delocalized and connect regions of finite and zero wave-field disturbances (suggesting also the classification as 'edge solitons'). Extensive numerical simulations compare the stability properties of recently derived Helmholtz bright solitons, for this type of polynomial nonlinearity, to those of the new boundary solitons. The latter are found to possess a remarkable stability characteristic, exhibiting robustness against perturbations that would otherwise lead to the destabilizing of their bright-soliton counterparts.

Implementation of an Ultra-Bright Thermographic Phosphor for Gas Turbine Engine Temperature Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Eldridge, Jeffrey I.; Bencic, Timothy J.; Zhu, Dongming; Cuy, Michael D.; Wolfe, Douglas E.; Allison, Stephen W.; Beshears, David L.; Jenkins, Thomas P.; Heeg, Bauke; Howard, Robert P.;

Human CD56bright NK Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Michel, Tatiana; Poli, Aurélie; Cuapio, Angelica

2016-01-01

Human NK cells can be subdivided into various subsets based on the relative expression of CD16 and CD56. In particular, CD56(bright)CD16(-/dim) NK cells are the focus of interest. They are considered efficient cytokine producers endowed with immunoregulatory properties, but they can also become c...... NK cell subsets is not fully defined, nor is their precise hematopoietic origin. In this article, we summarize recent studies about CD56(bright) NK cells in health and disease and briefly discuss the current controversies surrounding them....

Kinematic parameter calibration method for industrial robot manipulator using the relative position

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, In Chul

2008-01-01

A new calibration method for industrial robot system calibration on a manufacturing floor is presented in this paper. To calibrate the robot system, a laser sensor to measure the distance between robot tool and measurement surface is attached to the robot end-effector and a grid is established in the floor. Given two position command pulses for a robot manipulator and using the position difference between two command pulses, the relative position measurement calibration method will find the real robot kinematic parameters. The procedures developed have been applied to an industrial robot. Finally, the effects of the models used to calibrate the robot are discussed. This calibration method represents an effective, low cost and feasible technique for the industrial robot calibration in lab. projects and industrial environments

POLCAL - POLARIMETRIC RADAR CALIBRATION

Science.gov (United States)

Vanzyl, J.

1994-01-01

Calibration of polarimetric radar systems is a field of research in which great progress has been made over the last few years. POLCAL (Polarimetric Radar Calibration) is a software tool intended to assist in the calibration of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems. In particular, POLCAL calibrates Stokes matrix format data produced as the standard product by the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) airborne imaging synthetic aperture radar (AIRSAR). POLCAL was designed to be used in conjunction with data collected by the NASA/JPL AIRSAR system. AIRSAR is a multifrequency (6 cm, 24 cm, and 68 cm wavelength), fully polarimetric SAR system which produces 12 x 12 km imagery at 10 m resolution. AIRSTAR was designed as a testbed for NASA's Spaceborne Imaging Radar program. While the images produced after 1991 are thought to be calibrated (phase calibrated, cross-talk removed, channel imbalance removed, and absolutely calibrated), POLCAL can and should still be used to check the accuracy of the calibration and to correct it if necessary. Version 4.0 of POLCAL is an upgrade of POLCAL version 2.0 released to AIRSAR investigators in June, 1990. New options in version 4.0 include automatic absolute calibration of 89/90 data, distributed target analysis, calibration of nearby scenes with calibration parameters from a scene with corner reflectors, altitude or roll angle corrections, and calibration of errors introduced by known topography. Many sources of error can lead to false conclusions about the nature of scatterers on the surface. Errors in the phase relationship between polarization channels result in incorrect synthesis of polarization states. Cross-talk, caused by imperfections in the radar antenna itself, can also lead to error. POLCAL reduces cross-talk and corrects phase calibration without the use of ground calibration equipment. Removing the antenna patterns during SAR processing also forms a very important part of the calibration of SAR data. Errors in the

Music for a Brighter World: Brightness Judgment Bias by Musical Emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, Joydeep; Lindsen, Job P

2016-01-01

A prevalent conceptual metaphor is the association of the concepts of good and evil with brightness and darkness, respectively. Music cognition, like metaphor, is possibly embodied, yet no study has addressed the question whether musical emotion can modulate brightness judgment in a metaphor consistent fashion. In three separate experiments, participants judged the brightness of a grey square that was presented after a short excerpt of emotional music. The results of Experiment 1 showed that short musical excerpts are effective emotional primes that cross-modally influence brightness judgment of visual stimuli. Grey squares were consistently judged as brighter after listening to music with a positive valence, as compared to music with a negative valence. The results of Experiment 2 revealed that the bias in brightness judgment does not require an active evaluation of the emotional content of the music. By applying a different experimental procedure in Experiment 3, we showed that this brightness judgment bias is indeed a robust effect. Altogether, our findings demonstrate a powerful role of musical emotion in biasing brightness judgment and that this bias is aligned with the metaphor viewpoint.

Calibration OGSEs for multichannel radiometers for Mars atmosphere studies

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, J. J.; J Álvarez, F.; Gonzalez-Guerrero, M.; Apéstigue, V.; Martín, I.; Fernández, J. M.; Fernán, A. A.; Arruego, I.

2018-06-01

This work describes several Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSEs) developed by INTA (Spanish Institute of Aerospace Technology—Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) for the calibration and characterization of their self-manufactured multichannel radiometers (solar irradiance sensors—SIS) developed for working on the surface of Mars and studying the atmosphere of that planet. Nowadays, INTA is developing two SIS for the ESA ExoMars 2020 and for the JPL/NASA Mars 2020 missions. These calibration OGSEs have been improved since the first model in 2011 developed for Mars MetNet Precursor mission. This work describes the currently used OGSE. Calibration tests provide an objective evidence of the SIS performance, allowing the conversion of the electrical sensor output into accurate physical measurements (irradiance) with uncertainty bounds. Calibration results of the SIS on board of the Dust characterisation, Risk assessment, and Environment Analyzer on the Martian Surface (DREAMS) on board the ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli module (EDM—entry and descent module) are also presented, as well as their error propagation. Theoretical precision and accuracy of the instrument are determined by these results. Two types of OGSE are used as a function of the pursued aim: calibration OGSEs and Optical Fast Verification (OFV) GSE. Calibration OGSEs consist of three setups which characterize with the highest possible accuracy, the responsivity, the angular response and the thermal behavior; OFV OGSE verify that the performance of the sensor is close to nominal after every environmental and qualification test. Results show that the accuracy of the calibrated sensors is a function of the accuracy of the optical detectors and of the light conditions. For normal direct incidence and diffuse light, the accuracy is in the same order of uncertainty as that of the reference cell used for fixing the irradiance, which is about 1%.

Calibration OGSEs for multichannel radiometers for Mars atmosphere studies

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, J. J.; J Álvarez, F.; Gonzalez-Guerrero, M.; Apéstigue, V.; Martín, I.; Fernández, J. M.; Fernán, A. A.; Arruego, I.

2018-02-01

This work describes several Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSEs) developed by INTA (Spanish Institute of Aerospace Technology—Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) for the calibration and characterization of their self-manufactured multichannel radiometers (solar irradiance sensors—SIS) developed for working on the surface of Mars and studying the atmosphere of that planet. Nowadays, INTA is developing two SIS for the ESA ExoMars 2020 and for the JPL/NASA Mars 2020 missions. These calibration OGSEs have been improved since the first model in 2011 developed for Mars MetNet Precursor mission. This work describes the currently used OGSE. Calibration tests provide an objective evidence of the SIS performance, allowing the conversion of the electrical sensor output into accurate physical measurements (irradiance) with uncertainty bounds. Calibration results of the SIS on board of the Dust characterisation, Risk assessment, and Environment Analyzer on the Martian Surface (DREAMS) on board the ExoMars 2016 Schiaparelli module (EDM—entry and descent module) are also presented, as well as their error propagation. Theoretical precision and accuracy of the instrument are determined by these results. Two types of OGSE are used as a function of the pursued aim: calibration OGSEs and Optical Fast Verification (OFV) GSE. Calibration OGSEs consist of three setups which characterize with the highest possible accuracy, the responsivity, the angular response and the thermal behavior; OFV OGSE verify that the performance of the sensor is close to nominal after every environmental and qualification test. Results show that the accuracy of the calibrated sensors is a function of the accuracy of the optical detectors and of the light conditions. For normal direct incidence and diffuse light, the accuracy is in the same order of uncertainty as that of the reference cell used for fixing the irradiance, which is about 1%.

Effects of diurnal adjustment on biases and trends derived from inter-sensor calibrated AMSU-A data

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, H.; Zou, X.; Qin, Z.

2018-03-01

Measurements of brightness temperatures from Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) temperature sounding instruments onboard NOAA Polarorbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) have been extensively used for studying atmospheric temperature trends over the past several decades. Intersensor biases, orbital drifts and diurnal variations of atmospheric and surface temperatures must be considered before using a merged long-term time series of AMSU-A measurements from NOAA-15, -18, -19 and MetOp-A.We study the impacts of the orbital drift and orbital differences of local equator crossing times (LECTs) on temperature trends derivable from AMSU-A using near-nadir observations from NOAA-15, NOAA-18, NOAA-19, and MetOp-A during 1998-2014 over the Amazon rainforest. The double difference method is firstly applied to estimation of inter-sensor biases between any two satellites during their overlapping time period. The inter-calibrated observations are then used to generate a monthly mean diurnal cycle of brightness temperature for each AMSU-A channel. A diurnal correction is finally applied each channel to obtain AMSU-A data valid at the same local time. Impacts of the inter-sensor bias correction and diurnal correction on the AMSU-A derived long-term atmospheric temperature trends are separately quantified and compared with those derived from original data. It is shown that the orbital drift and differences of LECTamong different POESs induce a large uncertainty in AMSU-A derived long-term warming/cooling trends. After applying an inter-sensor bias correction and a diurnal correction, the warming trends at different local times, which are approximately the same, are smaller by half than the trends derived without applying these corrections.

On the long-term stability of calibration standards in different matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandić, A.; Vukanac, I.; Djurašević, M.; Novković, D.; Šešlak, B.; Milošević, Z.

2012-01-01

In order to assure Quality Control in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025, it was important, from metrological point of view, to examine the long-term stability of calibration standards previously prepared. Comprehensive reconsideration on efficiency curves with respect to the ageing of calibration standards is presented in this paper. The calibration standards were re-used after a period of 5 years and analysis of the results showed discrepancies in efficiency values. - Highlights: ► Long-term stability of calibration standards (ISO 17025 Quality Control) was analyzed. ► Calibration standards covered the wide range of densities and chemical composition. ► Mineralized grass, powdered milk, surface soil and sand were used as standard matrices. ► Calibration standards were re-evaluated after 5 years. ► Results showed discrepancies of efficiency values.

Simultaneous brightness contrast of foraging Papilio butterflies

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Michiyo; Takahashi, Yuki; Arikawa, Kentaro

2012-01-01

This study focuses on the sense of brightness in the foraging Japanese yellow swallowtail butterfly, Papilio xuthus. We presented two red discs of different intensity on a grey background to butterflies, and trained them to select one of the discs. They were successfully trained to select either a high intensity or a low intensity disc. The trained butterflies were tested on their ability to perceive brightness in two different protocols: (i) two orange discs of different intensity presented on the same intensity grey background and (ii) two orange discs of the same intensity separately presented on a grey background that was either higher or lower in intensity than the training background. The butterflies trained to high intensity red selected the orange disc of high intensity in protocol 1, and the disc on the background of low intensity grey in protocol 2. We obtained similar results in another set of experiments with purple discs instead of orange discs. The choices of the butterflies trained to low intensity red were opposite to those just described. Taken together, we conclude that Papilio has the ability to learn brightness and darkness of targets independent of colour, and that they have the so-called simultaneous brightness contrast. PMID:22179808

The ASAS-SN bright supernova catalogue - III. 2016

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holoien, T. W. -S.; Brown, J. S.; Stanek, K. Z.

2017-01-01

This catalogue summarizes information for all supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) and all other bright (m(peak)d......This catalogue summarizes information for all supernovae discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) and all other bright (m(peak)d...

Study of the calibration potential of HELYCON detectors with ANTARES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ernenwein, Jean-Pierre; Tsirigotis, Apostolos; Tzamarias, Spyros

2009-01-01

The 'HEllenic LYceum Cosmic Observatories Network' (HELYCON) Collaboration is constructing a network of detector stations dedicated to the study of Extensive Air Showers. The use of HELYCON detectors is also envisaged for the calibration of a cubic kilometer scale Mediterranean neutrino telescope by means of an array of these detectors at the sea surface. The ANTARES framework is well suited to perform a first test of the principle: a feasibility study is on-going and a test in real conditions is foreseen. In this paper the requirements for evaluating the calibration potential of a surface array in the ANTARES context are discussed.

SDSS-IV/MaNGA: SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Renbin; Sánchez-Gallego, José R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, 505 Rose St., Lexington, KY 40506-0057 (United States); Tremonti, Christy; Bershady, Matthew A.; Eigenbrot, Arthur; Wake, David A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Winsconsin-Madison, 475 N. Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706-1582 (United States); Law, David R. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Schlegel, David J. [Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720-8160 (United States); Bundy, Kevin [Kavli IPMU (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan); Drory, Niv [McDonald Observatory, Department of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, TX 78712-0259 (United States); MacDonald, Nicholas [Department of Astronomy, Box 351580, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Bizyaev, Dmitry [Apache Point Observatory, P.O. Box 59, sunspot, NM 88349 (United States); Blanc, Guillermo A. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino el Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Blanton, Michael R.; Hogg, David W. [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, Department of Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Cherinka, Brian [Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4 (Canada); Gunn, James E. [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Harding, Paul [Department of Astronomy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 (United States); Sánchez, Sebastian F., E-mail: yanrenbin@uky.edu [Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, A.P. 70-264, 04510 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); and others

2016-01-15

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of roughly 10,000 nearby galaxies. It employs dithered observations using 17 hexagonal bundles of 2″ fibers to obtain resolved spectroscopy over a wide wavelength range of 3600–10300 Å. To map the internal variations within each galaxy, we need to perform accurate spectral surface photometry, which is to calibrate the specific intensity at every spatial location sampled by each individual aperture element of the integral field unit. The calibration must correct only for the flux loss due to atmospheric throughput and the instrument response, but not for losses due to the finite geometry of the fiber aperture. This requires the use of standard star measurements to strictly separate these two flux loss factors (throughput versus geometry), a difficult challenge with standard single-fiber spectroscopy techniques due to various practical limitations. Therefore, we developed a technique for spectral surface photometry using multiple small fiber-bundles targeting standard stars simultaneously with galaxy observations. We discuss the principles of our approach and how they compare to previous efforts, and we demonstrate the precision and accuracy achieved. MaNGA's relative calibration between the wavelengths of Hα and Hβ has an rms of 1.7%, while that between [N ii] λ6583 and [O ii] λ3727 has an rms of 4.7%. Using extinction-corrected star formation rates and gas-phase metallicities as an illustration, this level of precision guarantees that flux calibration errors will be sub-dominant when estimating these quantities. The absolute calibration is better than 5% for more than 89% of MaNGA's wavelength range.

SDSS-IV/MaNGA: SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Renbin; Sánchez-Gallego, José R.; Tremonti, Christy; Bershady, Matthew A.; Eigenbrot, Arthur; Wake, David A.; Law, David R.; Schlegel, David J.; Bundy, Kevin; Drory, Niv; MacDonald, Nicholas; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Blanc, Guillermo A.; Blanton, Michael R.; Hogg, David W.; Cherinka, Brian; Gunn, James E.; Harding, Paul; Sánchez, Sebastian F.

2016-01-01

Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA), one of three core programs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV, is an integral-field spectroscopic survey of roughly 10,000 nearby galaxies. It employs dithered observations using 17 hexagonal bundles of 2″ fibers to obtain resolved spectroscopy over a wide wavelength range of 3600–10300 Å. To map the internal variations within each galaxy, we need to perform accurate spectral surface photometry, which is to calibrate the specific intensity at every spatial location sampled by each individual aperture element of the integral field unit. The calibration must correct only for the flux loss due to atmospheric throughput and the instrument response, but not for losses due to the finite geometry of the fiber aperture. This requires the use of standard star measurements to strictly separate these two flux loss factors (throughput versus geometry), a difficult challenge with standard single-fiber spectroscopy techniques due to various practical limitations. Therefore, we developed a technique for spectral surface photometry using multiple small fiber-bundles targeting standard stars simultaneously with galaxy observations. We discuss the principles of our approach and how they compare to previous efforts, and we demonstrate the precision and accuracy achieved. MaNGA's relative calibration between the wavelengths of Hα and Hβ has an rms of 1.7%, while that between [N ii] λ6583 and [O ii] λ3727 has an rms of 4.7%. Using extinction-corrected star formation rates and gas-phase metallicities as an illustration, this level of precision guarantees that flux calibration errors will be sub-dominant when estimating these quantities. The absolute calibration is better than 5% for more than 89% of MaNGA's wavelength range

Color constancy in a scene with bright colors that do not have a fully natural surface appearance.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukuda, Kazuho; Uchikawa, Keiji

2014-04-01

Theoretical and experimental approaches have proposed that color constancy involves a correction related to some average of stimulation over the scene, and some of the studies showed that the average gives greater weight to surrounding bright colors. However, in a natural scene, high-luminance elements do not necessarily carry information about the scene illuminant when the luminance is too high for it to appear as a natural object color. The question is how a surrounding color's appearance mode influences its contribution to the degree of color constancy. Here the stimuli were simple geometric patterns, and the luminance of surrounding colors was tested over the range beyond the luminosity threshold. Observers performed perceptual achromatic setting on the test patch in order to measure the degree of color constancy and evaluated the surrounding bright colors' appearance mode. Broadly, our results support the assumption that the visual system counts only the colors in the object-color appearance for color constancy. However, detailed analysis indicated that surrounding colors without a fully natural object-color appearance had some sort of influence on color constancy. Consideration of this contribution of unnatural object color might be important for precise modeling of human color constancy.

Bright THz Instrument and Nonlinear THz Science

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-30

Report: Bright THz Instrument and Nonlinear THz Science The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and...Number: W911NF-16-1-0436 Organization: University of Rochester Title: Bright THz Instrument and Nonlinear THz Science Report Term: 0-Other Email: xi...exploring new cutting-edge research and broader applications, following the significant development of THz science and technology in the late 80’s, is the

Micro Coronal Bright Points Observed in the Quiet Magnetic Network by SOHO/EIT

Science.gov (United States)

Falconer, D. A.; Moore, R. L.; Porter, J. G.

1997-01-01

When one looks at SOHO/EIT Fe XII images of quiet regions, one can see the conventional coronal bright points (> 10 arcsec in diameter), but one will also notice many smaller faint enhancements in brightness (Figure 1). Do these micro coronal bright points belong to the same family as the conventional bright points? To investigate this question we compared SOHO/EIT Fe XII images with Kitt Peak magnetograms to determine whether the micro bright points are in the magnetic network and mark magnetic bipoles within the network. To identify the coronal bright points, we applied a picture frame filter to the Fe XII images; this brings out the Fe XII network and bright points (Figure 2) and allows us to study the bright points down to the resolution limit of the SOHO/EIT instrument. This picture frame filter is a square smoothing function (hlargelyalf a network cell wide) with a central square (quarter of a network cell wide) removed so that a bright point's intensity does not effect its own background. This smoothing function is applied to the full disk image. Then we divide the original image by the smoothed image to obtain our filtered image. A bright point is defined as any contiguous set of pixels (including diagonally) which have enhancements of 30% or more above the background; a micro bright point is any bright point 16 pixels or smaller in size. We then analyzed the bright points that were fully within quiet regions (0.6 x 0.6 solar radius) centered on disk center on six different days.

Miniature x-ray point source for alignment and calibration of x-ray optics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, R.H.; Boyle, M.J.; Glaros, S.S.

1977-01-01

A miniature x-ray point source of high brightness similar to that of Rovinsky, et al. is described. One version of the x-ray source is used to align the x-ray optics on the Argus and Shiva laser systems. A second version is used to determine the spatial and spectral transmission functions of the x-ray optics. The spatial and spectral characteristics of the x-ray emission from the x-ray point source are described. The physical constraints including size, intensity and thermal limitations, and useful lifetime are discussed. The alignment and calibration techniques for various x-ray optics and detector combinations are described

Regional Calibration of SCS-CN L-THIA Model: Application for Ungauged Basins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ji-Hong Jeon

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Estimating surface runoff for ungauged watershed is an important issue. The Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN method developed from long-term experimental data is widely used to estimate surface runoff from gaged or ungauged watersheds. Many modelers have used the documented SCS-CN parameters without calibration, sometimes resulting in significant errors in estimating surface runoff. Several methods for regionalization of SCS-CN parameters were evaluated. The regionalization methods include: (1 average; (2 land use area weighted average; (3 hydrologic soil group area weighted average; (4 area combined land use and hydrologic soil group weighted average; (5 spatial nearest neighbor; (6 inverse distance weighted average; and (7 global calibration method, and model performance for each method was evaluated with application to 14 watersheds located in Indiana. Eight watersheds were used for calibration and six watersheds for validation. For the validation results, the spatial nearest neighbor method provided the highest average Nash-Sutcliffe (NS value at 0.58 for six watersheds but it included the lowest NS value and variance of NS values of this method was the highest. The global calibration method provided the second highest average NS value at 0.56 with low variation of NS values. Although the spatial nearest neighbor method provided the highest average NS value, this method was not statistically different than other methods. However, the global calibration method was significantly different than other methods except the spatial nearest neighbor method. Therefore, we conclude that the global calibration method is appropriate to regionalize SCS-CN parameters for ungauged watersheds.

CALIPSO IIR Version 2 Level 1b calibrated radiances: analysis and reduction of residual biases in the Northern Hemisphere

Science.gov (United States)

Garnier, Anne; Trémas, Thierry; Pelon, Jacques; Lee, Kam-Pui; Nobileau, Delphine; Gross-Colzy, Lydwine; Pascal, Nicolas; Ferrage, Pascale; Scott, Noëlle A.

2018-04-01

Version 2 of the Level 1b calibrated radiances of the Imaging Infrared Radiometer (IIR) on board the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite has been released recently. This new version incorporates corrections of small but systematic seasonal calibration biases previously revealed in Version 1 data products mostly north of 30° N. These biases - of different amplitudes in the three IIR channels 8.65 µm (IIR1), 10.6 µm (IIR2), and 12.05 µm (IIR3) - were made apparent by a striping effect in images of IIR inter-channel brightness temperature differences (BTDs) and through seasonal warm biases of nighttime IIR brightness temperatures in the 30-60° N latitude range. The latter were highlighted through observed and simulated comparisons with similar channels of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Aqua spacecraft. To characterize the calibration biases affecting Version 1 data, a semi-empirical approach is developed, which is based on the in-depth analysis of the IIR internal calibration procedure in conjunction with observations such as statistical comparisons with similar MODIS/Aqua channels. Two types of calibration biases are revealed: an equalization bias affecting part of the individual IIR images and a global bias affecting the radiometric level of each image. These biases are observed only when the temperature of the instrument increases, and they are found to be functions of elapsed time since night-to-day transition, regardless of the season. Correction coefficients of Version 1 radiances could thus be defined and implemented in the Version 2 code. As a result, the striping effect seen in Version 1 is significantly attenuated in Version 2. Systematic discrepancies between nighttime and daytime IIR-MODIS BTDs in the 30-60° N latitude range in summer are reduced from 0.2 K in Version 1 to 0.1 K in Version 2 for IIR1-MODIS29. For IIR2-MODIS31 and IIR3-MODIS32, they are reduced from 0.4 K

Music for a Brighter World: Brightness Judgment Bias by Musical Emotion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joydeep Bhattacharya

Full Text Available A prevalent conceptual metaphor is the association of the concepts of good and evil with brightness and darkness, respectively. Music cognition, like metaphor, is possibly embodied, yet no study has addressed the question whether musical emotion can modulate brightness judgment in a metaphor consistent fashion. In three separate experiments, participants judged the brightness of a grey square that was presented after a short excerpt of emotional music. The results of Experiment 1 showed that short musical excerpts are effective emotional primes that cross-modally influence brightness judgment of visual stimuli. Grey squares were consistently judged as brighter after listening to music with a positive valence, as compared to music with a negative valence. The results of Experiment 2 revealed that the bias in brightness judgment does not require an active evaluation of the emotional content of the music. By applying a different experimental procedure in Experiment 3, we showed that this brightness judgment bias is indeed a robust effect. Altogether, our findings demonstrate a powerful role of musical emotion in biasing brightness judgment and that this bias is aligned with the metaphor viewpoint.

Richard Bright and his neurological studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, J M S

2009-01-01

Richard Bright was one of the famous triumvirate of Guy's Hospital physicians in the Victorian era. Remembered for his account of glomerulonephritis (Bright's disease) he also made many important and original contributions to medicine and neurology. These included his work on cortical epileptogenesis, descriptions of simple partial (Jacksonian) seizures, infantile convulsions, and a variety of nervous diseases. Most notable were his reports of neurological studies including papers on traumatic tetanus, syringomyelia, arteries of the brain, contractures of spinal origin, tumours of the base of the brain, and narcolepsy. His career and these contributions are outlined. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Sky brightness and twilight measurements at Jogyakarta city, Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herdiwijaya, Dhani

2016-01-01

The sky brightness measurements were performed using a portable photometer. A pocket-sized and low-cost photometer has 20 degree area measurement, and spectral ranges between 320-720 nm with output directly in magnitudes per arc second square (mass) unit. The sky brightness with 3 seconds temporal resolutions was recorded at Jogyakarta city (110° 25’ E; 70° 52’ S; elevation 100 m) within 136 days in years from 2014 to 2016. The darkest night could reach 22.61 mpass only in several seconds, with mean value 18.8±0.7 mpass and temperature variation 23.1±1.2 C. The difference of mean sky brightness between before and after midnight was about -0.76 mpass or 2.0 times brighter. Moreover, the sky brightness and temperature fluctuations were more stable in after midnight than in before midnight. It is suggested that city light pollution affects those variations, and subsequently duration of twilight. By comparing twilight brightness for several places, we also suggest a 17° solar dip or about 66 minutes before sunrise for new time of Fajr prayer. (paper)

Calibration of surface roughness standards

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thalmann, R.; Nicolet, A.; Meli, F.

2016-01-01

organisations. Five surface texture standards of different type were circulated and on each of the standards several roughness parameters according to the standard ISO 4287 had to be determined. 32 out of 395 individual results were not consistent with the reference value. After some corrective actions...

Low dimensional neutron moderators for enhanced source brightness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mezei, Ferenc; Zanini, Luca; Takibayev, Alan

2014-01-01

In a recent numerical optimization study we have found that liquid para-hydrogen coupled cold neutron moderators deliver 3–5 times higher cold neutron brightness at a spallation neutron source if they take the form of a flat, quasi 2-dimensional disc, in contrast to the conventional more voluminous...... for cold neutrons. This model leads to the conclusions that the optimal shape for high brightness para-hydrogen neutron moderators is the quasi 1-dimensional tube and these low dimensional moderators can also deliver much enhanced cold neutron brightness in fission reactor neutron sources, compared...... to the much more voluminous liquid D2 or H2 moderators currently used. Neutronic simulation calculations confirm both of these theoretical conclusions....

Calibration procedures of the Tore-Supra infrared endoscopes

Science.gov (United States)

Desgranges, C.; Jouve, M.; Balorin, C.; Reichle, R.; Firdaouss, M.; Lipa, M.; Chantant, M.; Gardarein, J. L.; Saille, A.; Loarer, T.

2018-01-01

Five endoscopes equipped with infrared cameras working in the medium infrared range (3-5 μm) are installed on the controlled thermonuclear fusion research device Tore-Supra. These endoscopes aim at monitoring the plasma facing components surface temperature to prevent their overheating. Signals delivered by infrared cameras through endoscopes are analysed and used on the one hand through a real time feedback control loop acting on the heating systems of the plasma to decrease plasma facing components surface temperatures when necessary, on the other hand for physics studies such as determination of the incoming heat flux . To ensure these two roles a very accurate knowledge of the absolute surface temperatures is mandatory. Consequently the infrared endoscopes must be calibrated through a very careful procedure. This means determining their transmission coefficients which is a delicate operation. Methods to calibrate infrared endoscopes during the shutdown period of the Tore-Supra machine will be presented. As they do not allow determining the possible transmittances evolution during operation an in-situ method is presented. It permits the validation of the calibration performed in laboratory as well as the monitoring of their evolution during machine operation. This is possible by the use of the endoscope shutter and a dedicated plasma scenario developed to heat it. Possible improvements of this method are briefly evoked.

Spatially single-mode source of bright squeezed vacuum

OpenAIRE

Pérez, A. M.; Iskhakov, T. Sh.; Sharapova, P.; Lemieux, S.; Tikhonova, O. V.; Chekhova, M. V.; Leuchs, G.

2014-01-01

Bright squeezed vacuum, a macroscopic nonclassical state of light, can be obtained at the output of a strongly pumped non-seeded traveling-wave optical parametric amplifier (OPA). By constructing the OPA of two consecutive crystals separated by a large distance we make the squeezed vacuum spatially single-mode without a significant decrease in the brightness or squeezing.

Modeling microelectrode biosensors: free-flow calibration can substantially underestimate tissue concentrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Adam J H; Wall, Mark J; Richardson, Magnus J E

2017-03-01

Microelectrode amperometric biosensors are widely used to measure concentrations of analytes in solution and tissue including acetylcholine, adenosine, glucose, and glutamate. A great deal of experimental and modeling effort has been directed at quantifying the response of the biosensors themselves; however, the influence that the macroscopic tissue environment has on biosensor response has not been subjected to the same level of scrutiny. Here we identify an important issue in the way microelectrode biosensors are calibrated that is likely to have led to underestimations of analyte tissue concentrations. Concentration in tissue is typically determined by comparing the biosensor signal to that measured in free-flow calibration conditions. In a free-flow environment the concentration of the analyte at the outer surface of the biosensor can be considered constant. However, in tissue the analyte reaches the biosensor surface by diffusion through the extracellular space. Because the enzymes in the biosensor break down the analyte, a density gradient is set up resulting in a significantly lower concentration of analyte near the biosensor surface. This effect is compounded by the diminished volume fraction (porosity) and reduction in the diffusion coefficient due to obstructions (tortuosity) in tissue. We demonstrate this effect through modeling and experimentally verify our predictions in diffusive environments. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Microelectrode biosensors are typically calibrated in a free-flow environment where the concentrations at the biosensor surface are constant. However, when in tissue, the analyte reaches the biosensor via diffusion and so analyte breakdown by the biosensor results in a concentration gradient and consequently a lower concentration around the biosensor. This effect means that naive free-flow calibration will underestimate tissue concentration. We develop mathematical models to better quantify the discrepancy between the calibration and tissue

3D reconstruction of a patient-specific surface model of the proximal femur from calibrated x-ray radiographs: A validation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Guoyan; Schumann, Steffen

2009-01-01

Twenty-three femurs (one plastic bone and twenty-two cadaver bones) with both nonpathologic and pathologic cases were considered to validate a statistical shape model based technique for three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of a patient-specific surface model from calibrated x-ray radiographs. The 3D reconstruction technique is based on an iterative nonrigid registration of the features extracted from a statistically instantiated 3D surface model to those interactively identified from the radiographs. The surface models reconstructed from the radiographs were compared to the associated ground truths derived either from a 3D CT-scan reconstruction method or from a 3D laser-scan reconstruction method and an average error distance of 0.95 mm were found. Compared to the existing works, our approach has the advantage of seamlessly handling both nonpathologic and pathologic cases even when the statistical shape model that we used was constructed from surface models of nonpathologic bones.

A comparison of UV surface brightness and HI surface densities for spiral galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Federman, S.R.; Strom, C.

1990-01-01

Shaya and Federman (1987) suggested that the ambient ultraviolet flux at 1000 A permeating a spiral galaxy controls the neutral hydrogen (HI) surface density in the galaxy. They found that the atomic envelopes surrounding small molecular clouds, because of their great number, provide the major contribution to the HI surface density over the stellar disk. The increase in HI surface density with later Hubble types was ascribed to the stronger UV fields from more high-mass stars in later Hubble types. These hypotheses are based on the observations of nearby diffuse interstellar clouds, which show a sharp atomic-to-molecular transition (Savage et al. 1977), and on the theoretical framework introduced by Federman, Glassgold, and Kwan (1979). Atomic envelopes around interstellar clouds in the solar neighborhood arise when a steady state is reached between photodissociation of H2 and the formation of H2 on grains. The photodissociation process involves photons with wavelengths between 912 A and 1108 A. Shaya and Federman used H-alpha flux as an approximate measure for the far UV flux and made their comparisons based on averages over Hubble type. Here, researchers compare, on an individual basis, UV data obtained with space-borne and balloon-borne instruments for galaxies with measurements of HI surface density (Warmels 1988a, b). The comparisons substantiate the conclusion of Shaya and Federman that the far UV field controls the HI content of spiral galaxies

Thermometric- and Acoustic-Based Beam Power Monitor for Ultra-Bright X-Rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

A design for an average beam power monitor for ultra-bright X-ray sources is proposed that makes simultaneous use of calorimetry and radiation acoustics. Radiation incident on a solid target will induce heating and ultrasonic vibrations, both of which may be measured to give a fairly precise value of the beam power. The monitor is intended for measuring ultra-bright Free-Electron Laser (FEL) X-ray beams, for which traditional monitoring technologies such as photo-diodes or scintillators are unsuitable. The monitor consists of a Boron Carbide (B 4 C) target designed to absorb most of the incident beam's energy. Resistance temperature detectors (RTD) and piezoelectric actuators are mounted on the outward faces of the target to measure the temperature changes and ultrasonic vibrations induced by the incident beam. The design was tested using an optical pulsed beam (780 nm, 120 and 360 Hz) from a Ti:sapphire oscillator at several energies between 0.8 and 2.6 mJ. The RTDs measured an increase in temperature of about 10 K over a period of several minutes. The piezoelectric sensors recorded ringing acoustic oscillations at 580 ± 40 kHz. Most importantly, the amplitude of the acoustic signals was observed to scale linearly with beam power up to 2 mJ of pulse energy. Above this pulse energy, the vibrational signals became nonlinear. Several causes for this nonlinearity are discussed, including amplifier saturation and piezoelectric saturation. Despite this nonlinearity, these measurements demonstrate the feasibility of such a beam power measurement device. The advantage of two distinct measurements (acoustic and thermometric) provides a useful method of calibration that is unavailable to current LCLS diagnostics tools.

Estimating the age of Heliconius butterflies from calibrated photographs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denise Dalbosco Dell’Aglio

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Mating behaviour and predation avoidance in Heliconius involve visual colour signals; however, there is considerable inter-individual phenotypic variation in the appearance of colours. In particular, the red pigment varies from bright crimson to faded red. It has been thought that this variation is primarily due to pigment fading with age, although this has not been explicitly tested. Previous studies have shown the importance of red patterns in mate choice and that birds and butterflies might perceive these small colour differences. Using digital photography and calibrated colour images, we investigated whether the hue variation in the forewing dorsal red band of Heliconius melpomene rosina corresponds with age. We found that the red hue and age were highly associated, suggesting that red colour can indeed be used as a proxy for age in the study of wild-caught butterflies.

Comparative evaluations of surface contamination detectors calibration with radioactive sources - used in the Goiania accident, and standard sources; Estudo comparativo da calibracao dos monitores de contaminacao superficial com as fontes radiativas utilizadas durante o acidente de Goiania e com fontes padrao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, P.H.B.; Marecha, M.H.H. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria (IRD), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1997-12-31

The construction of Cs-137 standard flat sources for calibration of surface contamination detectors, used in the Goiania accident in 1987, is described and the procedures adopted are reported. At that time, standard sources were not available. Nowadays the Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria has standard sources acquired from Amersham which are used as calibration standards for surface contamination detectors. Comparative evaluations between the standard flat sources constructed for the accident and the calibrated ones are presented 6 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.; e-mail: pbecker at ird.gov.br; mhelena at ird. gov.br

Corrected direct force balance method for atomic force microscopy lateral force calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asay, David B.; Hsiao, Erik; Kim, Seong H.

2009-01-01

This paper reports corrections and improvements of the previously reported direct force balance method (DFBM) developed for lateral calibration of atomic force microscopy. The DFBM method employs the lateral force signal obtained during a force-distance measurement on a sloped surface and relates this signal to the applied load and the slope of the surface to determine the lateral calibration factor. In the original publication [Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77, 043903 (2006)], the tip-substrate contact was assumed to be pinned at the point of contact, i.e., no slip along the slope. In control experiments, the tip was found to slide along the slope during force-distance curve measurement. This paper presents the correct force balance for lateral force calibration.

Measuring brightness temperature distributions of plasma bunches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirko, V.I.; Stadnichenko, I.A.

1981-01-01

The possibility of restoration of brightness temperature distribution along plasma jet on the base of a simple ultra high- speed photography and subsequent photometric treatment is shown. The developed technique has been applied for finding spectral radiation intensity and brightness temperature of plasma jets of a tubular gas-cumulative charge and explosive plasma compressor. The problem of shock wave front has been successfully solved and thus distribution of above parameters beginning from the region preceeding the shock wave has been obtained [ru

Primary calibration of TXRF in comparison with the standard droplet procedure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobler, M.; Reus, U.; Knoth, J.; Schwenke, H.

2000-01-01

For the determination of contamination on wafer surfaces with total reflection x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (TXRF) normally external 1 ng Ni droplet standards were used for calibration. This method is based on several assumptions about the properties of the standard droplet which are strongly affected by the preparation of the samples. In this paper a study is resented which compares the external droplet method with a calibration procedure using the fundamental physical background of total reflection x-ray fluorescence spectrometry and the properties of Ni bulk material. The particular features of the two methods will be discussed and the obtained results compared to each other. It is demonstrated in this study that the calibration with Ni bulk material is a primary method which offers several advantages compared to the calibration based on droplet standards. These advantages are unique and enable a more reliable and reproducible quantification of contamination on wafer surfaces. This is caused by the fact that the method is standardless and only based on fundamental parameters and natural constants. It is also demonstrated that effects which could be caused by especial features of the measured samples (particle or film, e.g.) or by the degradation of the calibration sample could be excluded. (author)

Study of the calibration potential of HELYCON detectors with ANTARES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ernenwein, Jean-Pierre [Universite de Haute Alsace, 61 rue Albert Camus, F68100 Mulhouse (France)], E-mail: ernenwein@cppm.in2p3.fr; Tsirigotis, Apostolos; Tzamarias, Spyros [School of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University, Tsamadou 13-15 and Aghiou Andrea, Patras 26222 (Greece)

2009-04-11

The 'HEllenic LYceum Cosmic Observatories Network' (HELYCON) Collaboration is constructing a network of detector stations dedicated to the study of Extensive Air Showers. The use of HELYCON detectors is also envisaged for the calibration of a cubic kilometer scale Mediterranean neutrino telescope by means of an array of these detectors at the sea surface. The ANTARES framework is well suited to perform a first test of the principle: a feasibility study is on-going and a test in real conditions is foreseen. In this paper the requirements for evaluating the calibration potential of a surface array in the ANTARES context are discussed.

High Brightness OLED Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spindler, Jeffrey [OLEDWorks LLC; Kondakova, Marina [OLEDWorks LLC; Boroson, Michael [OLEDWorks LLC; Hamer, John [OLEDWorks LLC

2016-05-25

In this work we describe the technology developments behind our current and future generations of high brightness OLED lighting panels. We have developed white and amber OLEDs with excellent performance based on the stacking approach. Current products achieve 40-60 lm/W, while future developments focus on achieving 80 lm/W or higher.

STARS4ALL Night Sky Brightness Photometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime Zamorano

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We present the main features of TESS-W, the first version of a series of inexpensive but reliable photometers that will be used to measure night sky brightness. The bandpass is extended to the red with respect of that of the Sky Quality Meter (SQM. TESS-W connects to a router via WIFI and it sends automatically the brightness values to a data repository using Internet of Things protocols. The device includes an infrared sensor to estimate the cloud coverage. It is designed for fixed stations to monitor the evolution of the sky brightness. The photometer could also be used in local mode connected to a computer or tablet to gather data from a moving vehicle. The photometer is being developed within STARS4ALL project, a collective awareness platform for promoting dark skies in Europe, funded by the EU. We intend to extend the existing professional networks to a citizen-based network of photometers. 

Optimization of a Radiative Transfer Forward Operator for Simulating SMOS Brightness Temperatures over the Upper Mississippi Basin, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Lievens, H.; Verhoest, N. E. C.; Martens, B.; VanDenBerg, M. J.; Bitar, A. Al; Tomer, S. Kumar; Merlin, O.; Cabot, F.; Kerr, Y.; DeLannoy, G. J. M.;

SEVEN-YEAR WILKINSON MICROWAVE ANISOTROPY PROBE (WMAP ) OBSERVATIONS: PLANETS AND CELESTIAL CALIBRATION SOURCES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weiland, J. L.; Odegard, N.; Hill, R. S.; Greason, M. R.; Wollack, E.; Hinshaw, G.; Kogut, A.; Jarosik, N.; Page, L.; Bennett, C. L.; Gold, B.; Larson, D.; Dunkley, J.; Halpern, M.; Komatsu, E.; Limon, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Nolta, M. R.; Smith, K. M.; Spergel, D. N.

2011-01-01

We present WMAP seven-year observations of bright sources which are often used as calibrators at microwave frequencies. Ten objects are studied in five frequency bands (23-94 GHz): the outer planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) and five fixed celestial sources (Cas A, Tau A, Cyg A, 3C274, and 3C58). The seven-year analysis of Jupiter provides temperatures which are within 1σ of the previously published WMAP five-year values, with slightly tighter constraints on variability with orbital phase (0.2% ± 0.4%), and limits (but no detections) on linear polarization. Observed temperatures for both Mars and Saturn vary significantly with viewing geometry. Scaling factors are provided which, when multiplied by the Wright Mars thermal model predictions at 350 μm, reproduce WMAP seasonally averaged observations of Mars within ∼2%. An empirical model is described which fits brightness variations of Saturn due to geometrical effects and can be used to predict the WMAP observations to within 3%. Seven-year mean temperatures for Uranus and Neptune are also tabulated. Uncertainties in Uranus temperatures are 3%-4% in the 41, 61, and 94 GHz bands; the smallest uncertainty for Neptune is 8% for the 94 GHz band. Intriguingly, the spectrum of Uranus appears to show a dip at ∼30 GHz of unidentified origin, although the feature is not of high statistical significance. Flux densities for the five selected fixed celestial sources are derived from the seven-year WMAP sky maps and are tabulated for Stokes I, Q, and U, along with polarization fraction and position angle. Fractional uncertainties for the Stokes I fluxes are typically 1% to 3%. Source variability over the seven-year baseline is also estimated. Significant secular decrease is seen for Cas A and Tau A: our results are consistent with a frequency-independent decrease of about 0.53% per year for Cas A and 0.22% per year for Tau A. We present WMAP polarization data with uncertainties of a few percent for Tau

Vicarious Calibration of sUAS Microbolometer Temperature Imagery for Estimation of Radiometric Land Surface Temperature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonso Torres-Rua

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the availability of lightweight microbolometer thermal cameras compatible with small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS has allowed their use in diverse scientific and management activities that require sub-meter pixel resolution. Nevertheless, as with sensors already used in temperature remote sensing (e.g., Landsat satellites, a radiance atmospheric correction is necessary to estimate land surface temperature. This is because atmospheric conditions at any sUAS flight elevation will have an adverse impact on the image accuracy, derived calculations, and study replicability using the microbolometer technology. This study presents a vicarious calibration methodology (sUAS-specific, time-specific, flight-specific, and sensor-specific for sUAS temperature imagery traceable back to NIST-standards and current atmospheric correction methods. For this methodology, a three-year data collection campaign with a sUAS called “AggieAir”, developed at Utah State University, was performed for vineyards near Lodi, California, for flights conducted at different times (early morning, Landsat overpass, and mid-afternoon” and seasonal conditions. From the results of this study, it was found that, despite the spectral response of microbolometer cameras (7.0 to 14.0 μm, it was possible to account for the effects of atmospheric and sUAS operational conditions, regardless of time and weather, to acquire accurate surface temperature data. In addition, it was found that the main atmospheric correction parameters (transmissivity and atmospheric radiance significantly varied over the course of a day. These parameters fluctuated the most in early morning and partially stabilized in Landsat overpass and in mid-afternoon times. In terms of accuracy, estimated atmospheric correction parameters presented adequate statistics (confidence bounds under ±0.1 for transmissivity and ±1.2 W/m2/sr/um for atmospheric radiance, with a range of RMSE below 1.0 W/m2/sr

Optimal design and fabrication of three-dimensional calibration specimens for scanning probe microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Xiaoning; Luo Tingting; Chen Yuhang; Huang Wenhao [Department of Precision Machinery and Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, 230026 Hefei (China); Piaszenski, Guido [Raith GmbH, Konrad-Adenauer-Allee 8, 44263 Dortmund (Germany)

2012-05-15

Micro-/nano-scale roughness specimens are highly demanded to synthetically calibrate the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) instrument. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) specimens with controllable main surface evaluation parameters were designed. In order to improve the design accuracy, the genetic algorithm was introduced into the conventional digital filter method. A primary 3D calibration specimen with the dimension of 10 {mu}m x 10 {mu}m was fabricated by electron beam lithography. Atomic force microscopy characterizations demonstrated that the statistical and spectral parameters of the fabricated specimen match well with the designed values. Such a kind of 3D specimens has the potential to calibrate the SPM for applications in quantitative surface evaluations.

Calibration of neural networks using genetic algorithms, with application to optimal path planning

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Terence R.; Pitney, Gilbert A.; Greenwood, Daniel

1987-01-01

Genetic algorithms (GA) are used to search the synaptic weight space of artificial neural systems (ANS) for weight vectors that optimize some network performance function. GAs do not suffer from some of the architectural constraints involved with other techniques and it is straightforward to incorporate terms into the performance function concerning the metastructure of the ANS. Hence GAs offer a remarkably general approach to calibrating ANS. GAs are applied to the problem of calibrating an ANS that finds optimal paths over a given surface. This problem involves training an ANS on a relatively small set of paths and then examining whether the calibrated ANS is able to find good paths between arbitrary start and end points on the surface.

CARMA SURVEY TOWARD INFRARED-BRIGHT NEARBY GALAXIES (STING). III. THE DEPENDENCE OF ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR GAS SURFACE DENSITIES ON GALAXY PROPERTIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, Tony; Xue, Rui; Bolatto, Alberto D.; Fisher, David B.; Vogel, Stuart N.; Leroy, Adam K.; Blitz, Leo; Rosolowsky, Erik; Bigiel, Frank; Ott, Jürgen; Rahman, Nurur; Walter, Fabian

2013-01-01

We investigate the correlation between CO and H I emission in 18 nearby galaxies from the CARMA Survey Toward IR-Bright Nearby Galaxies (STING) at sub-kpc and kpc scales. Our sample, spanning a wide range in stellar mass and metallicity, reveals evidence for a metallicity dependence of the H I column density measured in regions exhibiting CO emission. Such a dependence is predicted by the equilibrium model of McKee and Krumholz, which balances H 2 formation and dissociation. The observed H I column density is often smaller than predicted by the model, an effect we attribute to unresolved clumping, although values close to the model prediction are also seen. We do not observe H I column densities much larger than predicted, as might be expected were there a diffuse H I component that did not contribute to H 2 shielding. We also find that the H 2 column density inferred from CO correlates strongly with the stellar surface density, suggesting that the local supply of molecular gas is tightly regulated by the stellar disk

Bright environments vision of the Intelligent Lighting Institute (ILI)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Özçelebi, T.

2014-01-01

The Bright Environments research program of the Eindhoven University of Technology Intelligent Lighting Institute aims to find new methods of intelligent lighting control and human interaction. We present a summary of the institute’s work on this research field and the research vision of the Bright

Another look at volume self-calibration: calibration and self-calibration within a pinhole model of Scheimpflug cameras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cornic, Philippe; Le Besnerais, Guy; Champagnat, Frédéric; Illoul, Cédric; Cheminet, Adam; Le Sant, Yves; Leclaire, Benjamin

2016-01-01

We address calibration and self-calibration of tomographic PIV experiments within a pinhole model of cameras. A complete and explicit pinhole model of a camera equipped with a 2-tilt angles Scheimpflug adapter is presented. It is then used in a calibration procedure based on a freely moving calibration plate. While the resulting calibrations are accurate enough for Tomo-PIV, we confirm, through a simple experiment, that they are not stable in time, and illustrate how the pinhole framework can be used to provide a quantitative evaluation of geometrical drifts in the setup. We propose an original self-calibration method based on global optimization of the extrinsic parameters of the pinhole model. These methods are successfully applied to the tomographic PIV of an air jet experiment. An unexpected by-product of our work is to show that volume self-calibration induces a change in the world frame coordinates. Provided the calibration drift is small, as generally observed in PIV, the bias on the estimated velocity field is negligible but the absolute location cannot be accurately recovered using standard calibration data. (paper)

Dynamics of bright-bright solitons in Bose-Einstein condensate with Raman-induced one-dimensional spin-orbit coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Lin; Zhang, Xiao-Fei; Hu, Ai-Yuan; Zhou, Jing; Yu, Peng; Xia, Lei; Sun, Qing; Ji, An-Chun

2018-03-01

We investigate the dynamics of bright-bright solitons in one-dimensional two-component Bose-Einstein condensates with Raman-induced spin-orbit coupling, via the variational approximation and the numerical simulation of Gross-Pitaevskii equations. For the uniform system without trapping potential, we obtain two population balanced stationary solitons. By performing the linear stability analysis, we find a Goldstone eigenmode and an oscillation eigenmode around these stationary solitons. Moreover, we derive a general dynamical solution to describe the center-of-mass motion and spin evolution of the solitons under the action of spin-orbit coupling. The effects of a harmonic trap have also been discussed.

Improvement, calibration and validation of a distributed hydrological model over France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Quintana Seguí

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The hydrometeorological model SAFRAN-ISBA-MODCOU (SIM computes water and energy budgets on the land surface and riverflows and the level of several aquifers at the scale of France. SIM is composed of a meteorological analysis system (SAFRAN, a land surface model (ISBA, and a hydrogeological model (MODCOU. In this study, an exponential profile of hydraulic conductivity at saturation is introduced to the model and its impact analysed. It is also studied how calibration modifies the performance of the model. A very simple method of calibration is implemented and applied to the parameters of hydraulic conductivity and subgrid runoff. The study shows that a better description of the hydraulic conductivity of the soil is important to simulate more realistic discharges. It also shows that the calibrated model is more robust than the original SIM. In fact, the calibration mainly affects the processes related to the dynamics of the flow (drainage and runoff, and the rest of relevant processes (like evaporation remain stable. It is also proven that it is only worth introducing the new empirical parameterization of hydraulic conductivity if it is accompanied by a calibration of its parameters, otherwise the simulations can be degraded. In conclusion, it is shown that the new parameterization is necessary to obtain good simulations. Calibration is a tool that must be used to improve the performance of distributed models like SIM that have some empirical parameters.

Phase advancing human circadian rhythms with morning bright light, afternoon melatonin, and gradually shifted sleep: can we reduce morning bright-light duration?

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, Stephanie J; Eastman, Charmane I

2015-02-01

Efficient treatments to phase-advance human circadian rhythms are needed to attenuate circadian misalignment and the associated negative health outcomes that accompany early-morning shift work, early school start times, jet lag, and delayed sleep phase disorder. This study compared three morning bright-light exposure patterns from a single light box (to mimic home treatment) in combination with afternoon melatonin. Fifty adults (27 males) aged 25.9 ± 5.1 years participated. Sleep/dark was advanced 1 h/day for three treatment days. Participants took 0.5 mg of melatonin 5 h before the baseline bedtime on treatment day 1, and an hour earlier each treatment day. They were exposed to one of three bright-light (~5000 lux) patterns upon waking each morning: four 30-min exposures separated by 30 min of room light (2-h group), four 15-min exposures separated by 45 min of room light (1-h group), and one 30-min exposure (0.5-h group). Dim-light melatonin onsets (DLMOs) before and after treatment determined the phase advance. Compared to the 2-h group (phase shift = 2.4 ± 0.8 h), smaller phase-advance shifts were seen in the 1-h (1.7 ± 0.7 h) and 0.5-h (1.8 ± 0.8 h) groups. The 2-h pattern produced the largest phase advance; however, the single 30-min bright-light exposure was as effective as 1 h of bright light spread over 3.25 h, and it produced 75% of the phase shift observed with 2 h of bright light. A 30-min morning bright-light exposure with afternoon melatonin is an efficient treatment to phase-advance human circadian rhythms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase advancing human circadian rhythms with morning bright light, afternoon melatonin, and gradually shifted sleep: can we reduce morning bright light duration?

Science.gov (United States)

Crowley, Stephanie J.; Eastman, Charmane I.

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE Efficient treatments to phase advance human circadian rhythms are needed to attenuate circadian misalignment and the associated negative health outcomes that accompany early morning shift work, early school start times, jet lag, and delayed sleep phase disorder. This study compared three morning bright light exposure patterns from a single light box (to mimic home treatment) in combination with afternoon melatonin. METHODS Fifty adults (27 males) aged 25.9±5.1 years participated. Sleep/dark was advanced 1 hour/day for 3 treatment days. Participants took 0.5 mg melatonin 5 hours before baseline bedtime on treatment day 1, and an hour earlier each treatment day. They were exposed to one of three bright light (~5000 lux) patterns upon waking each morning: four 30-minute exposures separated by 30 minutes of room light (2 h group); four 15-minute exposures separated by 45 minutes of room light (1 h group), and one 30-minute exposure (0.5 h group). Dim light melatonin onsets (DLMOs) before and after treatment determined the phase advance. RESULTS Compared to the 2 h group (phase shift=2.4±0.8 h), smaller phase advance shifts were seen in the 1 h (1.7±0.7 h) and 0.5 h (1.8±0.8 h) groups. The 2-hour pattern produced the largest phase advance; however, the single 30-minute bright light exposure was as effective as 1 hour of bright light spread over 3.25 h, and produced 75% of the phase shift observed with 2 hours of bright light. CONCLUSIONS A 30-minute morning bright light exposure with afternoon melatonin is an efficient treatment to phase advance human circadian rhythms. PMID:25620199

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Beam Measurements and the Microwave Brightness Temperatures of Uranus and Saturn

Science.gov (United States)

Hasselfield, Matthew; Moodley, Kavilan; Bond, J. Richard; Das, Sudeep; Devlin, Mark J.; Dunkley, Joanna; Dunner, Rolando; Fowler, Joseph W.; Gallardo, Patricio; Gralla, Megan B.;

Measuring and mapping the night sky brightness of Perth, Western Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Biggs, James D.; Fouché, Tiffany; Bilki, Frank; Zadnik, Marjan G.

2012-04-01

In order to study the light pollution produced in the city of Perth, Western Australia, we have used a hand-held sky brightness meter to measure the night sky brightness across the city. The data acquired facilitated the creation of a contour map of night sky brightness across the 2400 km2 area of the city - the first such map to be produced for a city. Importantly, this map was created using a methodology borrowed from the field of geophysics - the well proven and rigorous techniques of geostatistical analysis and modelling. A major finding of this study is the effect of land use on night sky brightness. By overlaying the night sky brightness map on to a suitably processed Landsat satellite image of Perth we found that locations near commercial and/or light industrial areas have a brighter night sky, whereas locations used for agriculture or having high vegetation coverage have a fainter night sky than surrounding areas. Urban areas have intermediate amounts of vegetation and are intermediate in brightness compared with the above-mentioned land uses. Regions with a higher density of major highways also appear to contribute to increased night sky brightness. When corrected for the effects of direct illumination from high buildings, we found that the night sky brightness in the central business district (CBD) is very close to that expected for a city of Perth's population from modelling work and observations obtained in earlier studies. Given that our night sky brightness measurements in Perth over 2009 and 2010 are commensurate with that measured in Canadian cities over 30 years earlier implies that the various lighting systems employed in Perth (and probably most other cities) have not been optimised to minimize light pollution over that time. We also found that night sky brightness diminished with distance with an exponent of approximately -0.25 ± 0.02 from 3.5 to 10 km from the Perth CBD, a region characterized by urban and commercial land use. For distances

THE CASE AGAINST WARM OR SELF-INTERACTING DARK MATTER AS EXPLANATIONS FOR CORES IN LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzio de Naray, Rachel; Martinez, Gregory D.; Bullock, James S.; Kaplinghat, Manoj

2010-01-01

Warm dark matter (WDM) and self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) are often motivated by the inferred cores in the dark matter halos of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. We test thermal WDM, non-thermal WDM, and SIDM using high-resolution rotation curves of nine LSB galaxies. We fit these dark matter models to the data and determine the halo core radii and central densities. While the minimum core size in WDM models is predicted to decrease with halo mass, we find that the inferred core radii increase with halo mass and also cannot be explained with a single value of the primordial phase-space density. Moreover, if the core size is set by WDM particle properties, then even the smallest cores we infer would require primordial phase-space density values that are orders of magnitude smaller than lower limits obtained from the Lyα forest power spectra. We also find that the dark matter halo core densities vary by a factor of about 30 from system to system while showing no systematic trend with the maximum rotation velocity of the galaxy. This strongly argues against the core size being directly set by large self-interactions (scattering or annihilation) of dark matter. We therefore conclude that the inferred cores do not provide motivation to prefer WDM or SIDM over other dark matter models.

Modeling of Diamond Field-Emitter-Arrays for high brightness photocathode applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kwan, Thomas; Huang, Chengkun; Piryatinski, Andrei; Lewellen, John; Nichols, Kimberly; Choi, Bo; Pavlenko, Vitaly; Shchegolkov, Dmitry; Nguyen, Dinh; Andrews, Heather; Simakov, Evgenya

2017-10-01

We propose to employ Diamond Field-Emitter-Arrays (DFEAs) as high-current-density ultra-low-emittance photocathodes for compact laser-driven dielectric accelerators capable of generating ultra-high brightness electron beams for advanced applications. We develop a semi-classical Monte-Carlo photoemission model for DFEAs that includes carriers' transport to the emitter surface and tunneling through the surface under external fields. The model accounts for the electronic structure size quantization affecting the transport and tunneling process within the sharp diamond tips. We compare this first principle model with other field emission models, such as the Child-Langmuir and Murphy-Good models. By further including effects of carrier photoexcitation, we perform simulations of the DFEAs' photoemission quantum yield and the emitted electron beam. Details of the theoretical model and validation against preliminary experimental data will be presented. Work ssupported by LDRD program at LANL.

Brightness of synchrotron radiation from wigglers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

2014-12-01

According to literature, while calculating the brightness of synchrotron radiation from wigglers, one needs to account for the so called 'depth-of-field' effects. In fact, the particle beam cross section varies along the wiggler. It is usually stated that the effective photon source size increases accordingly, while the brightness is reduced. Here we claim that this is a misconception originating from an analysis of the wiggler source based on geometrical arguments, regarded as almost self-evident. According to electrodynamics, depth-of-field effects do not exist: we demonstrate this statement both theoretically and numerically, using a well-known first-principle computer code. This fact shows that under the usually accepted approximations, the description of the wiggler brightness turns out to be inconsistent even qualitatively. Therefore, there is a need for a well-defined procedure for computing the brightness from a wiggler source. We accomplish this task based on the use of a Wigner function formalism. In the geometrical optics limit computations can be performed analytically. Within this limit, we restrict ourselves to the case of the beam size-dominated regime, which is typical for synchrotron radiation facilities in the X-ray wavelength range. We give a direct demonstration of the fact that the apparent horizontal source size is broadened in proportion to the beamline opening angle and to the length of the wiggler. While this effect is well-understood, a direct proof appears not to have been given elsewhere. We consider the problem of the calculation of the wiggler source size by means of numerical simulations alone, which play the same role of an experiment. We report a significant numerical disagreement between exact calculations and approximations currently used in literature.

High brightness ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dreyfus, R.W.; Hodgson, R.T.

1975-01-01

A high brightness ion beam is obtainable by using lasers to excite atoms or molecules from the ground state to an ionized state in increments, rather than in one step. The spectroscopic resonances of the atom or molecule are used so that relatively long wavelength, low power lasers can be used to obtain such ion beam

Estimating daily time series of streamflow using hydrological model calibrated based on satellite observations of river water surface width: Toward real world applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wenchao; Ishidaira, Hiroshi; Bastola, Satish; Yu, Jingshan

2015-05-01

Lacking observation data for calibration constrains applications of hydrological models to estimate daily time series of streamflow. Recent improvements in remote sensing enable detection of river water-surface width from satellite observations, making possible the tracking of streamflow from space. In this study, a method calibrating hydrological models using river width derived from remote sensing is demonstrated through application to the ungauged Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar. Generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) is selected as a tool for automatic calibration and uncertainty analysis. Of 50,000 randomly generated parameter sets, 997 are identified as behavioral, based on comparing model simulation with satellite observations. The uncertainty band of streamflow simulation can span most of 10-year average monthly observed streamflow for moderate and high flow conditions. Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency is 95.7% for the simulated streamflow at the 50% quantile. These results indicate that application to the target basin is generally successful. Beyond evaluating the method in a basin lacking streamflow data, difficulties and possible solutions for applications in the real world are addressed to promote future use of the proposed method in more ungauged basins. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role of the second zero-dispersion wavelength in generation of supercontinua and bright-bright soliton-pairs across the zero-dispersion wavelength: erratum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frosz, Michael Henoch; Falk, Peter Andreas; Bang, Ole

2007-01-01

An erratum is presented explaining that the observation in the original paper (Optics Express, volume 13, issue 16, page 6181-6192, 2005), of a bright-bright soliton with one color in the anomalous dispersion region and the other color in the normal dispersion region was mistaken; both parts...

Large-area and bright pulsed electroluminescence in monolayer semiconductors

KAUST Repository

Lien, Der-Hsien; Amani, Matin; Desai, Sujay B.; Ahn, Geun Ho; Han, Kevin; He, Jr-Hau; Ager, Joel W.; Wu, Ming C.; Javey, Ali

2018-01-01

Transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers have naturally terminated surfaces and can exhibit a near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield in the presence of suitable defect passivation. To date, steady-state monolayer light-emitting devices suffer from Schottky contacts or require complex heterostructures. We demonstrate a transient-mode electroluminescent device based on transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers (MoS, WS, MoSe, and WSe) to overcome these problems. Electroluminescence from this dopant-free two-terminal device is obtained by applying an AC voltage between the gate and the semiconductor. Notably, the electroluminescence intensity is weakly dependent on the Schottky barrier height or polarity of the contact. We fabricate a monolayer seven-segment display and achieve the first transparent and bright millimeter-scale light-emitting monolayer semiconductor device.

Large-area and bright pulsed electroluminescence in monolayer semiconductors

KAUST Repository

Lien, Der-Hsien

2018-04-04

Transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers have naturally terminated surfaces and can exhibit a near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield in the presence of suitable defect passivation. To date, steady-state monolayer light-emitting devices suffer from Schottky contacts or require complex heterostructures. We demonstrate a transient-mode electroluminescent device based on transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayers (MoS, WS, MoSe, and WSe) to overcome these problems. Electroluminescence from this dopant-free two-terminal device is obtained by applying an AC voltage between the gate and the semiconductor. Notably, the electroluminescence intensity is weakly dependent on the Schottky barrier height or polarity of the contact. We fabricate a monolayer seven-segment display and achieve the first transparent and bright millimeter-scale light-emitting monolayer semiconductor device.

Brightness-normalized Partial Least Squares Regression for hyperspectral data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feilhauer, Hannes; Asner, Gregory P.; Martin, Roberta E.; Schmidtlein, Sebastian

2010-01-01

Developed in the field of chemometrics, Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) has become an established technique in vegetation remote sensing. PLSR was primarily designed for laboratory analysis of prepared material samples. Under field conditions in vegetation remote sensing, the performance of the technique may be negatively affected by differences in brightness due to amount and orientation of plant tissues in canopies or the observing conditions. To minimize these effects, we introduced brightness normalization to the PLSR approach and tested whether this modification improves the performance under changing canopy and observing conditions. This test was carried out using high-fidelity spectral data (400-2510 nm) to model observed leaf chemistry. The spectral data was combined with a canopy radiative transfer model to simulate effects of varying canopy structure and viewing geometry. Brightness normalization enhanced the performance of PLSR by dampening the effects of canopy shade, thus providing a significant improvement in predictions of leaf chemistry (up to 3.6% additional explained variance in validation) compared to conventional PLSR. Little improvement was made on effects due to variable leaf area index, while minor improvement (mostly not significant) was observed for effects of variable viewing geometry. In general, brightness normalization increased the stability of model fits and regression coefficients for all canopy scenarios. Brightness-normalized PLSR is thus a promising approach for application on airborne and space-based imaging spectrometer data.

Calibration uncertainty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heydorn, Kaj; Anglov, Thomas

2002-01-01

Methods recommended by the International Standardization Organisation and Eurachem are not satisfactory for the correct estimation of calibration uncertainty. A novel approach is introduced and tested on actual calibration data for the determination of Pb by ICP-AES. The improved calibration...

A spectral k-means approach to bright-field cell image segmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradbury, Laura; Wan, Justin W L

2010-01-01

Automatic segmentation of bright-field cell images is important to cell biologists, but difficult to complete due to the complex nature of the cells in bright-field images (poor contrast, broken halo, missing boundaries). Standard approaches such as level set segmentation and active contours work well for fluorescent images where cells appear as round shape, but become less effective when optical artifacts such as halo exist in bright-field images. In this paper, we present a robust segmentation method which combines the spectral and k-means clustering techniques to locate cells in bright-field images. This approach models an image as a matrix graph and segment different regions of the image by computing the appropriate eigenvectors of the matrix graph and using the k-means algorithm. We illustrate the effectiveness of the method by segmentation results of C2C12 (muscle) cells in bright-field images.

T1 bright appendix sign to exclude acute appendicitis in pregnant women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Ilah; An, Chansik; Lim, Joon Seok; Kim, Myeong-Jin; Chung, Yong Eun

2017-01-01

To evaluate the diagnostic value of the T1 bright appendix sign for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in pregnant women. This retrospective study included 125 pregnant women with suspected appendicitis who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The T1 bright appendix sign was defined as a high intensity signal filling more than half length of the appendix on T1-weighted imaging. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix identification were calculated in all patients and in those with borderline-sized appendices (6-7 mm). The T1 bright appendix sign was seen in 51% of patients with normal appendices, but only in 4.5% of patients with acute appendicitis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix diagnosis were 44.9%, 95.5%, 97.6%, and 30.0%, respectively. All four patients with borderline sized appendix with appendicitis showed negative T1 bright appendix sign. The T1 bright appendix sign is a specific finding for the diagnosis of a normal appendix in pregnant women with suspected acute appendicitis. (orig.)

T1 bright appendix sign to exclude acute appendicitis in pregnant women

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Ilah; An, Chansik; Lim, Joon Seok; Kim, Myeong-Jin; Chung, Yong Eun [Yonsei University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Research Institute of Radiological Science, Severance Hospital, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-08-15

To evaluate the diagnostic value of the T1 bright appendix sign for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in pregnant women. This retrospective study included 125 pregnant women with suspected appendicitis who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The T1 bright appendix sign was defined as a high intensity signal filling more than half length of the appendix on T1-weighted imaging. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix identification were calculated in all patients and in those with borderline-sized appendices (6-7 mm). The T1 bright appendix sign was seen in 51% of patients with normal appendices, but only in 4.5% of patients with acute appendicitis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix diagnosis were 44.9%, 95.5%, 97.6%, and 30.0%, respectively. All four patients with borderline sized appendix with appendicitis showed negative T1 bright appendix sign. The T1 bright appendix sign is a specific finding for the diagnosis of a normal appendix in pregnant women with suspected acute appendicitis. (orig.)

Quantitative measurement of brightness from living cells in the presence of photodepletion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kwang-Ho Hur

Full Text Available The brightness of fluorescently labeled proteins provides an excellent marker for identifying protein interactions in living cells. Quantitative interpretation of brightness, however, hinges on a detailed understanding of the processes that affect the signal fluctuation of the fluorescent label. Here, we focus on the cumulative influence of photobleaching on brightness measurements in cells. Photobleaching within the finite volume of the cell leads to a depletion of the population of fluorescently labeled proteins with time. The process of photodepletion reduces the fluorescence signal which biases the analysis of brightness data. Our data show that even small reductions in the signal can introduce significant bias into the analysis of the data. We develop a model that quantifies the bias and introduce an analysis method that accurately determines brightness in the presence of photodepletion as verified by experiments with mammalian and yeast cells. In addition, photodepletion experiments with the fluorescent protein EGFP reveal the presence of a photoconversion process, which leads to a marked decrease in the brightness of the EGFP protein. We also identify conditions where the effect of EGFP's photoconversion on brightness experiments can be safely ignored.

Dark and bright solitons in a quasi-one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shun-Jin; Jia, Cheng-Long; An, Jun-Hong; Zhao, Dun; Luo, Hong-Gang

2003-01-01

The analytical dark and bright soliton solutions of the one-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a confining potential are obtained. For the bright soliton, the recent experimental finding is studied, and the particle number of the soliton and the window of the particle numbers for the bright soliton to occur are estimated analytically and in good agreement with the experimental data. The existence of dark soliton for the attractive interaction and bright soliton for the repulsive interaction is predicted under proper conditions

Quadrature measurements of a bright squeezed state via sideband swapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schneider, J.; Glockl, O.; Leuchs, G.

2009-01-01

The measurement of an arbitrary quadrature of a bright quantum state of light is a commonly requested action in many quantum information protocols, but it is experimentally challenging with previously proposed schemes. We suggest that the quadrature be measured at a specific sideband frequency...... of a bright quantum state by transferring the sideband modes under interrogation to a vacuum state and subsequently measuring the quadrature via homodyne detection. The scheme is implemented experimentally, and it is successfully tested with a bright squeezed state of light....

Condensate bright solitons under transverse confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salasnich, L.; Reatto, L.; Parola, A.

2002-01-01

We investigate the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensate bright solitons made of alkali-metal atoms with negative scattering length and under harmonic confinement in the transverse direction. Contrary to the one-dimensional (1D) case, the 3D bright soliton exists only below a critical attractive interaction that depends on the extent of confinement. Such a behavior is also found in multisoliton condensates with box boundary conditions. We obtain numerical and analytical estimates of the critical strength beyond which the solitons do not exist. By using an effective 1D nonpolynomial nonlinear Schroedinger equation, which accurately takes into account the transverse dynamics of cigarlike condensates, we numerically simulate the dynamics of the 'soliton train' reported in a recent experiment [Nature (London) 417, 150 (2002)]. Then, analyzing the macroscopic quantum tunneling of the bright soliton on a Gaussian barrier, we find that its interference in the tunneling region is strongly suppressed with respect to nonsolitonic case; moreover, the tunneling through a barrier breaks the shape invariance of the matter wave. Finally, we show that the collapse of the soliton is induced by the scattering on the barrier or by the collision with another matter wave when the density reaches a critical value, for which we derive an accurate analytical formula

Possible Bright Starspots on TRAPPIST-1

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Brett M.; Agol, Eric; Davenport, James R. A.; Hawley, Suzanne L.

2018-04-01

The M8V star TRAPPIST-1 hosts seven roughly Earth-sized planets and is a promising target for exoplanet characterization. Kepler/K2 Campaign 12 observations of TRAPPIST-1 in the optical show an apparent rotational modulation with a 3.3-day period, though that rotational signal is not readily detected in the Spitzer light curve at 4.5 μm. If the rotational modulation is due to starspots, persistent dark spots can be excluded from the lack of photometric variability in the Spitzer light curve. We construct a photometric model for rotational modulation due to photospheric bright spots on TRAPPIST-1 that is consistent with both the Kepler and Spitzer light curves. The maximum-likelihood model with three spots has typical spot sizes of R spot/R ⋆ ≈ 0.004 at temperature T spot ≳ 5300 ± 200 K. We also find that large flares are observed more often when the brightest spot is facing the observer, suggesting a correlation between the position of the bright spots and flare events. In addition, these flares may occur preferentially when the spots are increasing in brightness, which suggests that the 3.3-day periodicity may not be a rotational signal, but rather a characteristic timescale of active regions.

Review of technological advancements in calibration systems for laser vision correction

Science.gov (United States)

Arba-Mosquera, Samuel; Vinciguerra, Paolo; Verma, Shwetabh

2018-02-01

Using PubMed and our internal database, we extensively reviewed the literature on the technological advancements in calibration systems, with a motive to present an account of the development history, and latest developments in calibration systems used in refractive surgery laser systems. As a second motive, we explored the clinical impact of the error introduced due to the roughness in ablation and its corresponding effect on system calibration. The inclusion criterion for this review was strict relevance to the clinical questions under research. The existing calibration methods, including various plastic models, are highly affected by various factors involved in refractive surgery, such as temperature, airflow, and hydration. Surface roughness plays an important role in accurate measurement of ablation performance on calibration materials. The ratio of ablation efficiency between the human cornea and calibration material is very critical and highly dependent on the laser beam characteristics and test conditions. Objective evaluation of the calibration data and corresponding adjustment of the laser systems at regular intervals are essential for the continuing success and further improvements in outcomes of laser vision correction procedures.

SKYMONITOR: A Global Network for Sky Brightness Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Donald R.; Mckenna, D.; Pulvermacher, R.; Everett, M.

2010-01-01

We are implementing a global network to measure sky brightness at dark-sky critical sites with the goal of creating a multi-decade database. The heart of this project is the Night Sky Brightness Monitor (NSBM), an autonomous 2 channel photometer which measures night sky brightness in the visual wavelengths (Mckenna et al, AAS 2009). Sky brightness is measured every minute at two elevation angles typically zenith and 20 degrees to monitor brightness and transparency. The NSBM consists of two parts, a remote unit and a base station with an internet connection. Currently these devices use 2.4 Ghz transceivers with a range of 100 meters. The remote unit is battery powered with daytime recharging using a solar panel. Data received by the base unit is transmitted via email protocol to IDA offices in Tucson where it will be collected, archived and made available to the user community via a web interface. Two other versions of the NSBM are under development: one for radio sensitive areas using an optical fiber link and the second that reads data directly to a laptop for sites without internet access. NSBM units are currently undergoing field testing at two observatories. With support from the National Science Foundation, we will construct and install a total of 10 units at astronomical observatories. With additional funding, we will locate additional units at other sites such as National Parks, dark-sky preserves and other sites where dark sky preservation is crucial. We will present the current comparison with the National Park Service sky monitoring camera. We anticipate that the SKYMONITOR network will be functioning by the end of 2010.

Dimensional accuracy of aluminium extrusions in mechanical calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Raknes, Christian Arne; Welo, Torgeir; Paulsen, Frode

2018-05-01

Reducing dimensional variations in the extrusion process without increasing cost is challenging due to the nature of the process itself. An alternative approach—also from a cost perspective—is using extruded profiles with standard tolerances and utilize downstream processes, and thus calibrate the part within tolerance limits that are not achievable directly from the extrusion process. In this paper, two mechanical calibration strategies for the extruded product are investigated, utilizing the forming lines of the manufacturer. The first calibration strategy is based on global, longitudinal stretching in combination with local bending, while the second strategy utilizes the principle of transversal stretching and local bending of the cross-section. An extruded U-profile is used to make a comparison between the two methods using numerical analyses. To provide response surfaces with the FEA program, ABAQUS is used in combination with Design of Experiment (DOE). DOE is conducted with a two-level fractional factorial design to collect the appropriate data. The aim is to find the main factors affecting the dimension accuracy of the final part obtained by the two calibration methods. The results show that both calibration strategies have proven to reduce cross-sectional variations effectively form standard extrusion tolerances. It is concluded that mechanical calibration is a viable, low-cost alternative for aluminium parts that demand high dimensional accuracy, e.g. due to fit-up or welding requirements.

Using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) to calibrate probabilistic surface temperature forecasts over Iran

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soltanzadeh, I. [Tehran Univ. (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Inst. of Geophysics; Azadi, M.; Vakili, G.A. [Atmospheric Science and Meteorological Research Center (ASMERC), Teheran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-07-01

Using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA), an attempt was made to obtain calibrated probabilistic numerical forecasts of 2-m temperature over Iran. The ensemble employs three limited area models (WRF, MM5 and HRM), with WRF used with five different configurations. Initial and boundary conditions for MM5 and WRF are obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) and for HRM the initial and boundary conditions come from analysis of Global Model Europe (GME) of the German Weather Service. The resulting ensemble of seven members was run for a period of 6 months (from December 2008 to May 2009) over Iran. The 48-h raw ensemble outputs were calibrated using BMA technique for 120 days using a 40 days training sample of forecasts and relative verification data. The calibrated probabilistic forecasts were assessed using rank histogram and attribute diagrams. Results showed that application of BMA improved the reliability of the raw ensemble. Using the weighted ensemble mean forecast as a deterministic forecast it was found that the deterministic-style BMA forecasts performed usually better than the best member's deterministic forecast. (orig.)

Using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA to calibrate probabilistic surface temperature forecasts over Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Soltanzadeh

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Using Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA, an attempt was made to obtain calibrated probabilistic numerical forecasts of 2-m temperature over Iran. The ensemble employs three limited area models (WRF, MM5 and HRM, with WRF used with five different configurations. Initial and boundary conditions for MM5 and WRF are obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP Global Forecast System (GFS and for HRM the initial and boundary conditions come from analysis of Global Model Europe (GME of the German Weather Service. The resulting ensemble of seven members was run for a period of 6 months (from December 2008 to May 2009 over Iran. The 48-h raw ensemble outputs were calibrated using BMA technique for 120 days using a 40 days training sample of forecasts and relative verification data. The calibrated probabilistic forecasts were assessed using rank histogram and attribute diagrams. Results showed that application of BMA improved the reliability of the raw ensemble. Using the weighted ensemble mean forecast as a deterministic forecast it was found that the deterministic-style BMA forecasts performed usually better than the best member's deterministic forecast.

Computer Generated Hologram System for Wavefront Measurement System Calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Olczak, Gene

2011-01-01

Computer Generated Holograms (CGHs) have been used for some time to calibrate interferometers that require nulling optics. A typical scenario is the testing of aspheric surfaces with an interferometer placed near the paraxial center of curvature. Existing CGH technology suffers from a reduced capacity to calibrate middle and high spatial frequencies. The root cause of this shortcoming is as follows: the CGH is not placed at an image conjugate of the asphere due to limitations imposed by the geometry of the test and the allowable size of the CGH. This innovation provides a calibration system where the imaging properties in calibration can be made comparable to the test configuration. Thus, if the test is designed to have good imaging properties, then middle and high spatial frequency errors in the test system can be well calibrated. The improved imaging properties are provided by a rudimentary auxiliary optic as part of the calibration system. The auxiliary optic is simple to characterize and align to the CGH. Use of the auxiliary optic also reduces the size of the CGH required for calibration and the density of the lines required for the CGH. The resulting CGH is less expensive than the existing technology and has reduced write error and alignment error sensitivities. This CGH system is suitable for any kind of calibration using an interferometer when high spatial resolution is required. It is especially well suited for tests that include segmented optical components or large apertures.

Time calibration of AMANDA three variations of a theme of T$_{0}$

CERN Document Server

Hanson, K

2002-01-01

The AMANDA-II neutrino telescope currently operating at the South Pole is an array of 677 optical modules (OMs) deployed in the ice at depths between 1200 m and 2300 m beneath the surface. Calibration of the timing offsets of each OM is effected primarily by means of in- ice light pulses transmitted via optical fibers from a surface YAG laser. Discriminator walk, which is significant due to the transmission of electrical signals over 2 km distances, is also calibrated using the YAG laser. Another way to calibrate the timing offsets is to use downgoing cosmic ray muons. This method has the advantages of fuller coverage and year-round availability, i.e., it can be done anytime the detector is taking data. Finally, preliminary results of a technique used to calibrate, with nanosecond precision, the local clocks in "digital optical modules" (DOMs), which digitize and timestamp PMT signals in situ, are presented using DOMs in operation in AMANDA-II. The DOM is part of the baseline design for the planned IceCube de...

Solar brightness distribution at 8.6 mm from interferometer observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawabata, K.; Fujishita, M.; Kato, T.; Ogawa, H.; Omodaka, T.

1980-01-01

The radial brightness distribution of the quiet Sun at 8.6 mm is synthesized from observations using a sixteen element east-west interferometer in Nagoya. The observed brightness is flat from the disk center to 0.8 Rsub(sun). A slight darkening appeared between 0.8 Rsub(sun) and the limb. No evidence if the bright ring near the limb is found. The radio radius at 8.6 mm is 1.015 +- 0.005 Rsub(sun). In addition there exists a coronal component just outside the radio limb. (orig.)

Cross-dimensional mapping of number, length and brightness by preschool children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Dolores de Hevia

Full Text Available Human adults in diverse cultures, children, infants, and non-human primates relate number to space, but it is not clear whether this ability reflects a specific and privileged number-space mapping. To investigate this possibility, we tested preschool children in matching tasks where the dimensions of number and length were mapped both to one another and to a third dimension, brightness. Children detected variation on all three dimensions, and they reliably performed mappings between number and length, and partially between brightness and length, but not between number and brightness. Moreover, children showed reliably better mapping of number onto the dimension of length than onto the dimension of brightness. These findings suggest that number establishes a privileged mapping with the dimension of length, and that other dimensions, including brightness, can be mapped onto length, although less efficiently. Children's adeptness at number-length mappings suggests that these two dimensions are intuitively related by the end of the preschool years.

T1 bright appendix sign to exclude acute appendicitis in pregnant women.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Ilah; An, Chansik; Lim, Joon Seok; Kim, Myeong-Jin; Chung, Yong Eun

2017-08-01

To evaluate the diagnostic value of the T1 bright appendix sign for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in pregnant women. This retrospective study included 125 pregnant women with suspected appendicitis who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The T1 bright appendix sign was defined as a high intensity signal filling more than half length of the appendix on T1-weighted imaging. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix identification were calculated in all patients and in those with borderline-sized appendices (6-7 mm). The T1 bright appendix sign was seen in 51% of patients with normal appendices, but only in 4.5% of patients with acute appendicitis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of the T1 bright appendix sign for normal appendix diagnosis were 44.9%, 95.5%, 97.6%, and 30.0%, respectively. All four patients with borderline sized appendix with appendicitis showed negative T1 bright appendix sign. The T1 bright appendix sign is a specific finding for the diagnosis of a normal appendix in pregnant women with suspected acute appendicitis. • Magnetic resonance imaging is increasingly used in emergency settings. • Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdomen. • Magnetic resonance imaging is widely used in pregnant population. • T1 bright appendix sign can be a specific sign representing normal appendix.

SeaWiFS calibration and validation plan, volume 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hooker, S.B.; Firestone, E.R.; Mcclain, C.R.; Esaias, W.E.; Barnes, W.; Guenther, B.; Endres, D.; Mitchell, B.G.; Barnes, R.

1992-09-01

The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) will be the first ocean-color satellite since the Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), which ceased operation in 1986. Unlike the CZCS, which was designed as a proof-of-concept experiment, SeaWiFS will provide routine global coverage every 2 days and is designed to provide estimates of photosynthetic concentrations of sufficient accuracy for use in quantitative studies of the ocean's primary productivity and biogeochemistry. A review of the CZCS mission is included that describes that data set's limitations and provides justification for a comprehensive SeaWiFS calibration and validation program. To accomplish the SeaWiFS scientific objectives, the sensor's calibration must be constantly monitored, and robust atmospheric corrections and bio-optical algorithms must be developed. The plan incorporates a multi-faceted approach to sensor calibration using a combination of vicarious (based on in situ observations) and onboard calibration techniques. Because of budget constraints and the limited availability of ship resources, the development of the operational algorithms (atmospheric and bio-optical) will rely heavily on collaborations with the Earth Observing System (EOS), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) oceans team, and projects sponsored by other agencies, e.g., the U.S. Navy and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Other elements of the plan include the routine quality control of input ancillary data (e.g., surface wind, surface pressure, ozone concentration, etc.) used in the processing and verification of the level-0 (raw) data to level-1 (calibrated radiances), level-2 (derived products), and level-3 (gridded and averaged derived data) products

Fifty shades of white: how white feather brightness differs among species

Science.gov (United States)

Igic, Branislav; D'Alba, Liliana; Shawkey, Matthew D.

2018-04-01

White colouration is a common and important component of animal visual signalling and camouflage, but how and why it varies across species is poorly understood. White is produced by wavelength-independent and diffuse scattering of light by the internal structures of materials, where the degree of brightness is related to the amount of light scattered. Here, we investigated the morphological basis of brightness differences among unpigmented pennaceous regions of white body feathers across 61 bird species. Using phylogenetically controlled comparisons of reflectance and morphometric measurements, we show that brighter white feathers had larger and internally more complex barbs than duller white feathers. Higher brightness was also associated with more closely packed barbs and barbules, thicker and longer barbules, and rounder and less hollow barbs. Larger species tended to have brighter white feathers than smaller species because they had thicker and more complex barbs, but aquatic species were not significantly brighter than terrestrial species. As similar light scattering principals affect the brightness of chromatic signals, not just white colours, these findings help broaden our general understanding of the mechanisms that affect plumage brightness. Future studies should examine how feather layering on a bird's body contributes to differences between brightness of white plumage patches within and across species.

Characterizing the Motion of Solar Magnetic Bright Points at High Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Van Kooten, Samuel J.; Cranmer, Steven R.

2017-11-01

Magnetic bright points in the solar photosphere, visible in both continuum and G-band images, indicate footpoints of kilogauss magnetic flux tubes extending to the corona. The power spectrum of bright-point motion is thus also the power spectrum of Alfvén wave excitation, transporting energy up flux tubes into the corona. This spectrum is a key input in coronal and heliospheric models. We produce a power spectrum of bright-point motion using radiative magnetohydrodynamic simulations, exploiting spatial resolution higher than can be obtained in present-day observations, while using automated tracking to produce large data quantities. We find slightly higher amounts of power at all frequencies compared to observation-based spectra, while confirming the spectrum shape of recent observations. This also provides a prediction for observations of bright points with DKIST, which will achieve similar resolution and high sensitivity. We also find a granule size distribution in support of an observed two-population distribution, and we present results from tracking passive tracers, which show a similar power spectrum to that of bright points. Finally, we introduce a simplified, laminar model of granulation, with which we explore the roles of turbulence and of the properties of the granulation pattern in determining bright-point motion.

Exposure-rate calibration using large-area calibration pads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novak, E.F.

1988-09-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Remedial Action and Waste Technology established the Technical Measurements Center (TMC) at the DOE Grand Junction Projects Office (GJPO) in Grand Junction, Colorado, to standardize, calibrate, and compare measurements made in support of DOE remedial action programs. A set of large-area, radioelement-enriched concrete pads was constructed by the DOE in 1978 at the Walker Field Airport in Grand Junction for use as calibration standards for airborne gamma-ray spectrometer systems. The use of these pads was investigated by the TMC as potential calibration standards for portable scintillometers employed in measuring gamma-ray exposure rates at Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project sites. Data acquired on the pads using a pressurized ionization chamber (PIC) and three scintillometers are presented as an illustration of an instrumental calibration. Conclusions and recommended calibration procedures are discussed, based on the results of these data

On the Relation Between Facular Bright Points and the Magnetic Field

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Thomas; Shine, Richard; Tarbell, Theodore; Title, Alan; Scharmer, Goran

1994-12-01

Multi-spectral images of magnetic structures in the solar photosphere are presented. The images were obtained in the summers of 1993 and 1994 at the Swedish Solar Telescope on La Palma using the tunable birefringent Solar Optical Universal Polarimeter (SOUP filter), a 10 Angstroms wide interference filter tuned to 4304 Angstroms in the band head of the CH radical (the Fraunhofer G-band), and a 3 Angstroms wide interference filter centered on the Ca II--K absorption line. Three large format CCD cameras with shuttered exposures on the order of 10 msec and frame rates of up to 7 frames per second were used to create time series of both quiet and active region evolution. The full field--of--view is 60times 80 arcseconds (44times 58 Mm). With the best seeing, structures as small as 0.22 arcseconds (160 km) in diameter are clearly resolved. Post--processing of the images results in rigid coalignment of the image sets to an accuracy comparable to the spatial resolution. Facular bright points with mean diameters of 0.35 arcseconds (250 km) and elongated filaments with lengths on the order of arcseconds (10(3) km) are imaged with contrast values of up to 60 % by the G--band filter. Overlay of these images on contemporal Fe I 6302 Angstroms magnetograms and Ca II K images reveals that the bright points occur, without exception, on sites of magnetic flux through the photosphere. However, instances of concentrated and diffuse magnetic flux and Ca II K emission without associated bright points are common, leading to the conclusion that the presence of magnetic flux is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the occurence of resolvable facular bright points. Comparison of the G--band and continuum images shows a complex relation between structures in the two bandwidths: bright points exceeding 350 km in extent correspond to distinct bright structures in the continuum; smaller bright points show no clear relation to continuum structures. Size and contrast statistical cross

THE PANCHROMATIC HUBBLE ANDROMEDA TREASURY. I. BRIGHT UV STARS IN THE BULGE OF M31