Tamath Rainsford

Contrast sensitivity of insect motion detectors to natural images.

How do animals regulate self-movement despite large variation in the luminance contrast of the environment? Insects are capable of regulating flight speed based on the velocity of image motion, but the mechanisms for this are unclear. The Hassenstein-Reichardt correlator model and elaborations can accurately predict responses of motion detecting neurons under many conditions but fail to explain the apparent lack of spatial pattern and contrast dependence observed in freely flying bees and flies. To investigate this apparent discrepancy, we recorded intracellularly from horizontal-sensitive (HS) motion detecting neurons in the hoverfly while displaying moving images of natural environments. Contrary to results obtained with grating patterns, we show these neurons encode the velocity of natural images largely independently of the particular image used despite a threefold range of contrast. This invariance in response to natural images is observed in both strongly and minimally motion-adapted neurons but is sensitive to artificial manipulations in contrast. Current models of these cells account for some, but not all, of the observed insensitivity to image contrast. We conclude that fly visual processing may be matched to commonalities between natural scenes, enabling accurate estimates of velocity largely independent of the particular scene.

Material parameter extraction for terahertz time-domain spectroscopy using fixed-point iteration

A simple method to extract the far-infrared dielectric parameters of a homogeneous material from terahertz signals is explored in this paper. Provided with a reference, sample-probing terahertz signal and a known sample thickness, the method can determine the underlying complex refractive index of the sample within a few iterations based on the technique of fixed-point iteration. The iterative process is guaranteed to converge and gives the correct parameters when the material thickness exceeds 200 μm at a frequency of 0.1 THz or 20 μm at a frequency of 1.0 THz.

T-ray sensing applications: review of global developments

Terahertz wavelengths can pass through dry, non-polar, non-metallic materials that are opaque at visible wavelengths. Moreover they can be manipulated using millimeter wave and quasi-optical techniques to form an image. Sensing in this band potentially provides advantages in a number of areas of interest for security and defense, such as screening of personnel for hidden objects, and the detection of chemical and biological agents. This paper reviews recent research into THz applications by groups across Europe, the US, Australasia, and the UK. Several private companies are developing smaller and cheaper reliable devices allowing for commercialisation of these applications. While there are a number of challenges to be overcome there is little doubt that THz technologies will play a major role in the near future for advancement of security, public health and defense.

DIRECT FABRY-PÉROT EFFECT REMOVAL

This study indicates that the removal of reflections from T-ray signals can be carried out in the frequency domain without prior knowledge of material parameters or sample thickness. By fitting polynomials to the logarithm and the argument of the samples transfer function, the Fabry-Perot reflection term is canceled out, leading to disappearance of the reflections in spatial domain. The method successfully removes the reflections for optically thick samples under the condition of noise or amplitude fluctuations. The application to optically thin samples is possible when the samples are subjected to broadband terahertz measurements. The Fabry-Perot free signal, when used as input to the parameter estimation method, results in correct material parameters with low variance.

Post-Newtonian Cosmology

Newtonian Cosmology is commonly used in astrophysical problems, because of its obvious simplicity when compared with general relativity. However it has inherent difficulties, the most obvious of which is the non-existence of a well-posed initial value problem. In this paper we investigate how far these problems are met by using the post-Newtonian approximation in cosmology.

Terahertz phase contrast imaging

Terahertz imaging is presently in its exploratory stage. Although plots of time versus terahertz amplitude, and frequency versus terahertz magnitude are some of the most common ways of analyzing terahertz data, no standard rendering technique has been established. While existing methods are indispensable, improvements to how terahertz data is rendered and analyzed should be explored so that new techniques can complement existing ones and/or provide a means of displaying new information that existing methods cannot. This paper reports on one solution to terahertz imaging: an implementation of a new form of phase contrast imaging, which is based on a well-established technique for optical microscopy. This will provide us with a further way of interpreting information from terahertz imaging systems.

T-ray relevant frequencies for osteosarcoma classification

We investigate the classification of the T-ray response of normal human bone cells and human osteosarcoma cells, grown in culture. Given the magnitude and phase responses within a reliable spectral range as features for input vectors, a trained support vector machine can correctly classify the two cell types to some extent. Performance of the support vector machine is deteriorated by the curse of dimensionality, resulting from the comparatively large number of features in the input vectors. Feature subset selection methods are used to select only an optimal number of relevant features for inputs. As a result, an improvement in generalization performance is attainable, and the selected frequencies can be used for further describing different mechanisms of the cells, responding to T-rays. We demonstrate a consistent classification accuracy of 89.6%, while the only one fifth of the original features are retained in the data set.

Anisotropic Homogeneous Cosmologies in the Post-Newtonian Approximation

In this paper we explore how far the post-Newtonian theory, [9] goes in overcoming the difficulties associated with anisotropic homogeneous cosmologies in the Newtonian approximation. It will be shown that, unlike in the Newtonian case, the cosmological equations of the post-Newtonian approximation are much more in the spirit of general relativity with regard to the nine Bianchi types and issues of singularities.The situations of vanishing rotation and vanishing shear are treated separately. The homogeneous Bianchi I model is considered as an example of a rotation-free cosmology with anisotropy. It is found in the Newtonian approximation that there are arbitrary functions that need to be given for all time if the initial value problem is to be well-posed, while in the post-Newtonian case there is no such need. For the general case of a perfect fluid only the post-Newtonian theory can satisfactorily describe the effects of pressure. This is in accordance with findings in [7] where the post-Newtonian approximation was applied to homogeneous cosmologies.For a shear-free anisotropic homogeneous cosmology the Newtonian theory of Heckmann and Schücking, [2] is explored. Comparisons with its relativistic and post-Newtonian counterparts are made. In the Newtonian theory solutions exist to which there are no analogues in general relativity. The post-Newtonian approximation may provide a way out.

Markov Approach to Percolation Theory Based Propagation in Random Media

For line-of-sight links in random media or urban areas, propagation may be approximated through sequential reflections of an optical ray in a two-dimensional medium of disordered lossless scatterers. Franceschetti approximated such percolation-based optical-ray propagation by a Markov process with two absorbing barriers, provided numerical solutions for the probability of a ray passing through the percolation lattice and solved-both approximately and exactly-a corresponding problem based on the theory of martingales. In this paper we solve exactly the Markov-theoretical formulation of the problem and prove that both the Markov and martingale approaches are equivalent. Our proof is an application of the Perron-Frobenius theory which provides an elegant framework for the study of the asymptotic behavior of stochastic processes. We demonstrate that for a wide range of vacancies and incident angles the exact solution of the Markov-theoretical formulation performs significantly better than the commonly used Wald approximation in the martingale approach. This has a number of implications on the accuracy of the model, especially for low density propagation media.

Newtonian and Post-Newtonian Approximations of the k= 0 Friedmann–Robertson–Walker Cosmology

In a previous paper [9], we derived a post-Newtonian approximation to cosmology which, in contrast to former Newtonian and post-Newtonian cosmological theories, has a well-posed initial value problem. In this paper, this new post-Newtonian theory is compared with the fully general relativistic theory, in the context of the k= 0 Friedmann–Robertson–Walker cosmology. It is found that the post-Newtonian theory reproduces the results of its general relativistic counterpart, whilst the Newtonian theory does not.