5632 research outputs found
Sort by
Identifying Drivers of Energy Resolution Variation in a Multi-KID Phonon-Mediated Detector
No full textPhonon-mediated Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) on silicon substrates have demonstrated both O(10) eV energy resolution and mm position resolution when used as particle detectors, making them strong candidates for instrumenting next-generation rare event experiments such as in looking for dark matter. Previous work has demonstrated the performance of an 80-KID array on a Si wafer; however, current energy resolution measurements show a ∼25× difference between otherwise identical KIDs—between 5 and 125 eV on energy absorbed by the KID. Here, we use a first principles approach and attempt to identify the drivers behind the variation. In particular, we analyze a subset of 8 KIDs using the unique approach of pulsing neighboring KIDs to generate signals in the target. We tentatively identify differences in quality factor as the likely culprit for the observed differences
Asteroid Polarimetric Phase Behavior in the Near-infrared: S- and C-complex Objects
No full textWe present the first results of our survey of asteroid polarization phase curves in the near-infrared J and H bands using the WIRC+Pol instrument on the Palomar 200-inch telescope. We confirm through observations of standard stars that WIRC+Pol can reach the 0.1% precision needed for asteroid phase curve characterization, and we show that C-complex asteroids could act as an alternate calibration source, as they show less wavelength variation than stellar polarized standards. Initial polarization phase curve results for S-complex asteroids show a shift in behavior as a function of wavelength from visible to near-infrared bands, extending previously observed trends. Full near-infrared polarization phase curve characterization of individual asteroids will provide a unique constraint on surface composition of these objects by probing the wavelength dependence of albedo and index of refraction of the surface material
Autonomous Vehicles on the Edge: A Survey on Autonomous Vehicle Racing
No full textThe rising popularity of self-driving cars has led to the emergence of a new research field in recent years: Autonomous racing. Researchers are developing software and hardware for high-performance race vehicles which aim to operate autonomously on the edge of the vehicle’s limits: High speeds, high accelerations, low reaction times, highly uncertain, dynamic, and adversarial environments. This paper represents the first holistic survey that covers the research in the field of autonomous racing. We focus on the field of autonomous racecars only and display the algorithms, methods, and approaches used in the areas of perception, planning, control, and end-to-end learning. Further, with an increasing number of autonomous racing competitions, researchers now have access to high-performance platforms to test and evaluate their autonomy algorithms. This survey presents a comprehensive overview of the current autonomous racing platforms, emphasizing the software-hardware co-evolution to the current stage. Finally, based on additional discussion with leading researchers in the field, we conclude with a summary of open research challenges that will guide future researchers in this field
The Impact of Plate Motions on Long-Wavelength InSAR-Derived Velocity Fields
No full textInterferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements are increasingly being used to measure small amplitude tectonic deformations over large spatial scales. Residual signals are often present at these scales, and are interpreted to be noise of indeterminate origin, limiting studies of long-wavelength deformation. Here, we demonstrate the impact of bulk motion by the Earth’s tectonic plates on InSAR-derived velocity fields. The range-dependent incidence angle of the InSAR observations, coupled with plate velocities of centimeters per year, can induce long-wavelength spatial gradients of millimeters per year over hundreds of kilometers in InSAR-derived velocity fields. We show that, after applying corrections, including for the ionosphere and troposphere, plate motion represents the dominant source of long-wavelength secular velocity gradients in multi-year time series for several study areas. This signal can be accounted for using plate motion models, allowing improved detection of regional tectonic strain at continental scales
DMD-based Superresolution Measurement of a Supersonic Jet using Dual Planar PIV and Acoustic Data
No full textThe present study proposes a framework of the superresolution measurement based on the dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) with the Kalman filter and Rauch–Tung–Striebel smoother. The dual-planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) systems were constructed to acquire the paired velocity fields of a Mach 1.1 supersonic jet. The acoustic measurement was simultaneously performed, and the velocity and acoustic data are used for the superresolution. Although the dual PIV system measures the basic characteristics of the velocity fields, all the DMD modes calculated by the exact DMD are decay modes due to the measurement noise. The superresolved velocity field shows smooth convection of the large-scale structures at the downstream side. Therefore, the proposed method is effective to reconstruct the entire flow fluctuation because the DMD modes express the linear dynamical system of the velocity fields
On Closure Phase and Systematic Bias in Multilooked SAR Interferometry
No full textIn this article, we investigate the link between the closure phase and the observed systematic bias in deformation modeling with multilooked SAR interferometry. Multilooking or spatial averaging is commonly used to reduce stochastic noise over a neighborhood of distributed scatterers in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements. However, multilooking may break consistency among a triplet of interferometric phases formed from three acquisitions leading to a residual phase error called closure phase. Understanding the cause of closure phase in multilooked InSAR measurements and the impact of closure phase errors on the performance of InSAR time-series algorithms is crucial for quantifying the uncertainty of ground displacement time series derived from InSAR measurements. We develop a model that consistently explains both closure phase and systematic bias in multilooked interferometric measurements. We show that nonzero closure phase can be an indicator of temporally inconsistent physical processes that alter both phase and amplitude of interferometric measurements. We propose a method to estimate the systematic bias in the InSAR time series with generalized closure phase measurements. We validate our model with a case study in Barstow-Bristol Trough, CA, USA. We find systematic differences on the order of cm/year between InSAR time-series results using subsets of varying maximum temporal baselines. We show that these biases can be identified and accounted for
Euclid: Covariance of weak lensing pseudo-C_ℓ estimates. Calculation, comparison to simulations, and dependence on survey geometry
No full textAn accurate covariance matrix is essential for obtaining reliable cosmological results when using a Gaussian likelihood. In this paper we study the covariance of pseudo-C_ℓ estimates of tomographic cosmic shear power spectra. Using two existing publicly available codes in combination, we calculate the full covariance matrix, including mode-coupling contributions arising from both partial sky coverage and non-linear structure growth. For three different sky masks, we compare the theoretical covariance matrix to that estimated from publicly available N-body weak lensing simulations, finding good agreement. We find that as a more extreme sky cut is applied, a corresponding increase in both Gaussian off-diagonal covariance and non-Gaussian super-sample covariance is observed in both theory and simulations, in accordance with expectations. Studying the different contributions to the covariance in detail, we find that the Gaussian covariance dominates along the main diagonal and the closest off-diagonals, but farther away from the main diagonal the super-sample covariance is dominant. Forming mock constraints in parameters that describe matter clustering and dark energy, we find that neglecting non-Gaussian contributions to the covariance can lead to underestimating the true size of confidence regions by up to 70 per cent. The dominant non-Gaussian covariance component is the super-sample covariance, but neglecting the smaller connected non-Gaussian covariance can still lead to the underestimation of uncertainties by 10–20 per cent. A real cosmological analysis will require marginalisation over many nuisance parameters, which will decrease the relative importance of all cosmological contributions to the covariance, so these values should be taken as upper limits on the importance of each component
The wired arboreal gas on regular trees
No full textWe study the weak limit of the arboreal gas along any exhaustion of a regular tree with wired boundary conditions. We prove that this limit exists, does not depend on the choice of exhaustion, and undergoes a phase transition. Below and at criticality, we prove the model is equivalent to bond percolation. Above criticality, we characterise the model as the superposition of critical bond percolation and a random collection of infinite one-ended paths. This provides a simple example of an arboreal gas model that continues to exhibit critical-like behaviour throughout its supercritical phase
Topological phonon transport in an optomechanical system
No full textLight is a powerful tool for controlling mechanical motion, as shown by numerous applications in the field of cavity optomechanics. Recently, small scale optomechanical circuits, connecting a few optical and mechanical modes, have been demonstrated in an ongoing push towards multi-mode on-chip optomechanical systems. An ambitious goal driving this trend is to produce topologically protected phonon transport. Once realized, this will unlock the full toolbox of optomechanics for investigations of topological phononics. Here, we report the realization of topological phonon transport in an optomechanical device. Our experiment is based on an innovative multiscale optomechanical crystal design and allows for site-resolved measurements in an array of more than 800 cavities. The sensitivity inherent in our optomechanical read-out allowed us to detect thermal fluctuations traveling along topological edge channels. This represents a major step forward in an ongoing effort to downscale mechanical topological systems
Rational Arrays for DOA Estimation
No full textLinear arrays used in array processing usually have sensor positions r_iλ/2 where λ is the wavelength of the impinging signals and r_i are integers. This paper considers rational arrays, where r_i are rational numbers. In particular, sparse rational arrays such as coprime rational arrays are introduced. In order to do this, some rational extensions of integer number theoretic concepts such as greatest common divisor and coprime numbers are required, which are introduced as well. The advantages of rational arrays are demonstrated with the help of rational coprime arrays. For example, they improve the accuracy of DOA estimation when the sensors have to be distributed with a fixed aperture constraint