A new realization of the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) is presented based on the work achieved by a working group of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) mandated for this ...purpose. This new realization follows the initial realization of the ICRF completed in 1997 and its successor, ICRF2, adopted as a replacement in 2009. The new frame, referred to as ICRF3, is based on nearly 40 years of data acquired by very long baseline interferometry at the standard geodetic and astrometric radio frequencies (8.4 and 2.3 GHz), supplemented with data collected at higher radio frequencies (24 GHz and dual-frequency 32 and 8.4 GHz) over the past 15 years. State-of-the-art astronomical and geophysical modeling has been used to analyze these data and derive source positions. The modeling integrates, for the first time, the effect of the galactocentric acceleration of the solar system (directly estimated from the data) which, if not considered, induces significant deformation of the frame due to the data span. The new frame includes positions at 8.4 GHz for 4536 extragalactic sources. Of these, 303 sources, uniformly distributed on the sky, are identified as “defining sources” and as such serve to define the axes of the frame. Positions at 8.4 GHz are supplemented with positions at 24 GHz for 824 sources and at 32 GHz for 678 sources. In all, ICRF3 comprises 4588 sources, with three-frequency positions available for 600 of these. Source positions have been determined independently at each of the frequencies in order to preserve the underlying astrophysical content behind such positions. They are reported for epoch 2015.0 and must be propagated for observations at other epochs for the most accurate needs, accounting for the acceleration toward the Galactic center, which results in a dipolar proper motion field of amplitude 0.0058 milliarcsecond yr
−1
(mas yr
−1
). The frame is aligned onto the International Celestial Reference System to within the accuracy of ICRF2 and shows a median positional uncertainty of about 0.1 mas in right ascension and 0.2 mas in declination, with a noise floor of 0.03 mas in the individual source coordinates. A subset of 500 sources is found to have extremely accurate positions, in the range of 0.03–0.06 mas, at the traditional 8.4 GHz frequency. Comparing ICRF3 with the recently released
Gaia
Celestial Reference Frame 2 in the optical domain, there is no evidence for deformations larger than 0.03 mas between the two frames, in agreement with the ICRF3 noise level. Significant positional offsets between the three ICRF3 frequencies are detected for about 5% of the sources. Moreover, a notable fraction (22%) of the sources shows optical and radio positions that are significantly offset. There are indications that these positional offsets may be the manifestation of extended source structures. This third realization of the ICRF was adopted by the IAU at its 30th General Assembly in August 2018 and replaced the previous realization, ICRF2, on January 1, 2019.
Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) enables visualisation of morphological and biochemical information, which could improve disease diagnostic accuracy. Unfortunately, the wide range of image distortions ...that arise during flexible endoscopy in the clinic have made integration of HSI challenging. To address this challenge, we demonstrate a hyperspectral endoscope (HySE) that simultaneously records intrinsically co-registered hyperspectral and standard-of-care white light images, which allows image distortions to be compensated computationally and an accurate hyperspectral data cube to be reconstructed as the endoscope moves in the lumen. Evaluation of HySE performance shows excellent spatial, spectral and temporal resolution and high colour fidelity. Application of HySE enables: quantification of blood oxygenation levels in tissue mimicking phantoms; differentiation of spectral profiles from normal and pathological ex vivo human tissues; and recording of hyperspectral data under freehand motion within an intact ex vivo pig oesophagus model. HySE therefore shows potential for enabling HSI in clinical endoscopy.
The Radio Frequency Spectrometer (RFS) is a two‐channel digital receiver and spectrometer, which will make remote sensing observations of radio waves and in situ measurements of electrostatic and ...electromagnetic fluctuations in the solar wind. A part of the FIELDS suite for Solar Probe Plus (SPP), the RFS is optimized for measurements in the inner heliosphere, where solar radio bursts are more intense and the plasma frequency is higher compared to previous measurements at distances of 1 AU or greater. The inputs to the RFS receiver are the four electric antennas mounted near the front of the SPP spacecraft and a single axis of the SPP search coil magnetometer (SCM). Each RFS channel selects a monopole or dipole antenna input, or the SCM input, via multiplexers. The primary data products from the RFS are autospectra and cross spectra from the selected inputs. The spectra are calculated using a polyphase filter bank, which enables the measurement of low amplitude signals of interest in the presence of high‐amplitude narrowband noise generated by spacecraft systems. We discuss the science signals of interest driving the RFS measurement objectives, describe the RFS analog design and digital signal processing, and show examples of current performance.
Plain Language Summary
Solar Probe Plus (SPP) is a NASA mission which will travel much closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft. The FIELDS experiment on SPP is composed of sensors (antennas and magnetometers) and receivers which will measure the electric and magnetic fields in this unexplored region. This paper describes the Radio Frequency Spectrometer (RFS), a receiver which will measure radio waves up to 19.2 MHz. We describe the types of radio signal sources present in interplanetary space close to the Sun, show how the design of the RFS makes it possible to measure these sources, and demonstrate the current performance of the receiver.
Key Points
The RFS is a newly designed receiver and spectrometer for Solar Probe Plus
The RFS provides the FIELDS suite with high‐frequency measurements of radio bursts and quasi‐thermal noise
The RFS is optimized for flexible operations and minimal use of resources
The Touch And Go Camera System (TAGCAMS) is a three-camera-head instrument onboard NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission spacecraft. The purpose of TAGCAMS is to facilitate navigation to ...the target asteroid, (101955) Bennu; confirm acquisition of the asteroid sample; document asteroid sample stowage; and provide supplementary imaging for OSIRIS-REx science investigations.
During the almost two-year OSIRIS-REx outbound cruise phase we pursued nine TAGCAMS imaging campaigns to check, calibrate and characterize the camera system’s performance before asteroid arrival and proximity operations began in late 2018. The TAGCAMS in-flight calibration dataset provides the relevant information to enable the three cameras to complete their primary observation goals during asteroid operations. The key performance parameters that we investigated in flight included: linearity, responsivity (both point source and extended body), dark current, hot pixels, pointing, image geometry transformation, image quality and stray light. Analyses of the in-flight performance either confirmed the continued applicability of the TAGCAMS ground test results or substantially improved upon the ground test knowledge. In addition, the TAGCAMS calibration observations identified the source of a spacecraft outgassing feature that guided successful remediation efforts prior to asteroid arrival.
The ability to retrieve image data through hair-thin optical fibers promises to open up new applications in a range of fields, from biomedical imaging to industrial inspection. Unfortunately, small ...changes in mechanical deformation and temperature can completely scramble optical information, distorting any resulting images. Correction of these dynamic changes requires measurement of the fiber transmission matrix (TM) in situ immediately before imaging, which typically requires access to both the proximal and distal facets of the fiber simultaneously. As a result, TM calibration is not feasible during most realistic usage scenarios without compromising the thin form factor with bulky distal optics. Here, we introduce a new approach to determine the TM of multimode or multicore optical fibers in a reflection-mode configuration, without requiring access to the distal facet. We propose introducing a thin stack of structured metasurface reflectors at the distal facet of the fiber, to introduce wavelength-dependent, spatially heterogeneous reflectance profiles. We derive a first-order fiber model that compensates these wavelength-dependent changes in the fiber TM and show that, consequently, the reflected data at three wavelengths can be used to unambiguously reconstruct the full TM by an iterative optimization algorithm. Unlike previous approaches, our method does not require the fiber matrix to be unitary, making it applicable to physically realistic fiber systems that have non-negligible power loss. We demonstrate TM reconstruction and imaging first using simulated nonunitary fibers and noisy reflection matrices, then using larger experimentally measured TMs of a densely packed multicore fiber (MCF), and finally using experimentally measured multiwavelength TMs recorded from a step-index multimode fiber (MMF). Parallelization of multiwavelength in situ measurements could enable experimental characterization times comparable with state-of-the-art transmission-mode fiber TM experiments. Our findings pave the way for online TM calibration in situ in hair-thin optical fibers.
Snapshot multispectral image (MSI) sensors have been proposed as a key enabler for a plethora of multispectral imaging applications, from diagnostic medical imaging to remote sensing. With each ...application requiring a different set, and number, of spectral bands, the absence of a scalable, cost-effective manufacturing solution for custom multispectral filter arrays (MSFAs) has prevented widespread MSI adoption. Despite recent nanophotonic-based efforts, such as plasmonic or high-index metasurface arrays, large-area MSFA manufacturing still consists of many-layer dielectric (Fabry–Perot) stacks, requiring separate complex lithography steps for each spectral band and multiple material compositions for each. It is an expensive, cumbersome, and inflexible undertaking, but yields optimal optical performance. Here, we demonstrate a manufacturing process that enables cost-effective wafer-level fabrication of custom MSFAs in a single lithographic step, maintaining high efficiencies (∼75%) and narrow line widths (∼25 nm) across the visible to near-infrared. By merging grayscale (analog) lithography with metal–insulator–metal (MIM) Fabry–Perot cavities, whereby exposure dose controls cavity thickness, we demonstrate simplified fabrication of MSFAs up to N-wavelength bands. The concept is first proven using low-volume electron beam lithography, followed by the demonstration of large-volume UV mask-based photolithography with MSFAs produced at the wafer level. Our framework provides an attractive alternative to conventional MSFA manufacture and metasurface-based spectral filters by reducing both fabrication complexity and cost of these intricate optical devices, while increasing customizability.
Metabolic phenotyping is an important tool in translational biomedical research. The advanced analytical technologies commonly used for phenotyping, including mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear ...magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, generate complex data requiring tailored statistical analysis methods. Detailed protocols have been published for data acquisition by liquid NMR, solid-state NMR, ultra-performance liquid chromatography (LC-)MS and gas chromatography (GC-)MS on biofluids or tissues and their preprocessing. Here we propose an efficient protocol (guidelines and software) for statistical analysis of metabolic data generated by these methods. Code for all steps is provided, and no prior coding skill is necessary. We offer efficient solutions for the different steps required within the complete phenotyping data analytics workflow: scaling, normalization, outlier detection, multivariate analysis to explore and model study-related effects, selection of candidate biomarkers, validation, multiple testing correction and performance evaluation of statistical models. We also provide a statistical power calculation algorithm and safeguards to ensure robust and meaningful experimental designs that deliver reliable results. We exemplify the protocol with a two-group classification study and data from an epidemiological cohort; however, the protocol can be easily modified to cover a wider range of experimental designs or incorporate different modeling approaches. This protocol describes a minimal set of analyses needed to rigorously investigate typical datasets encountered in metabolic phenotyping.
A prerequisite to gain a complete understanding of the most basic aspects of chemical reactions is the ability to perform experiments with complete control over the reactant degrees of freedom. By ...controlling these, details of a reaction mechanism can be investigated and ultimately manipulated. Here, we present a study of chemi-ionization-a fundamental energy-transfer reaction-under completely controlled conditions. The collision energy of the reagents was tuned from 0.02 K to 1,000 K, with the orientation of the excited Ne atom relative to Ar fully specified by an external magnetic field. Chemi-ionization of Ne(
P
) and Ar in these conditions enables a detailed investigation of how the reaction proceeds, and provides us with a means to control the branching ratio between the two possible reaction outcomes. The merged-beam experimental technique used here allows access to a low-energy regime in which the atoms dynamically reorient into a favourable configuration for reaction, irrespective of their initial orientations.
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