IFTrace: Video segmentation of deformable objects using the Image Foresting Transform

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Denisiuk-type reflection holography display with sillenite crystals for imaging and interferometry of small objects

A novel setup for imaging and interferometry through reflection holography with Bi12TiPO20(BTO) sillenite photorefractive crystals is proposed. A variation of the lensless Denisiuk arrangement was developed resulting in a compact, robust and simple interferometer. A red He-Ne laser was used as light source and the holographic recording occurred by diffusion with the grating vector parallel to the crystal [0 0 1]-axis. In order to enhance the holographic image quality and reduce noise a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) was positioned at the BTO input and the crystal was tilted around the [0 0 1]-axis. This enabled the orthogonally polarized transmission and diffracted beams to be separated by the PBS, providing the holographic image only. The possibility of performing deformation and strain analysis as well as vibration measurement of small objects was demonstrated. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Point vibration measurements for the detection of shallow-buried objects

A major UK initiative, entitled 'Mapping the Underworld', is seeking to address the serious social, environmental and economic consequences arising from an inability to locate accurately and comprehensively the buried utility service infrastructure without resorting to extensive excavations. Mapping the Underworld aims to develop and prove the efficacy of a multi-sensor device for accurate remote buried utility service detection, location and, where possible, identification. One of the technologies to be incorporated in the device is low-frequency vibro-acoustics, and application of this technique for detecting buried infrastructure is currently being investigated. Here, the potential for making a number of simple point vibration measurements in order to detect shallow-buried objects, in particular plastic pipes, is explored. Point measurements can be made relatively quickly without the need for arrays of surface sensors, which can be expensive, time-consuming to deploy, and sometimes impractical in congested areas. At low frequencies, the ground behaves as a simple single-degree-of-freedom (mass-spring) system with a well-defined resonance, the frequency of which will depend on the density and elastic properties of the soil locally. This resonance will be altered by the presence of a buried object whose properties differ from the surrounding soil. It is this behavior which can be exploited in order to detect the presence of a buried object, provided it is buried at a sufficiently shallow depth. The theoretical background is described and preliminary measurements are made both on a dedicated buried pipe rig and on the ground over a domestic waste pipe. Preliminary findings suggest that, for shallow-buried pipes, a measurement of this kind could be a quick and useful adjunct to more conventional methods of buried pipe detection. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Black holes in realistic branes: Black string-like objects?

A realistic model describing a black string-like object in an expanding Universe is analyzed in the context of the McVittie's solution of the Einstein field equations. The bulk metric near the brane is provided analogously to previous solutions for black strings. In particular, we show that at least when the Hubble parameter on the brane is positive, a black string-like object seems to play a fundamental role in the braneworld scenario, generalizing the standard black strings in the context of a dynamical brane. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Boosted objects and jet substructure at the LHC. Report of BOOST2012, held at IFIC Valencia, 23rd-27th of July 2012

This report of the BOOST2012 workshop presents the results of four working groups that studied key aspects of jet substructure. We discuss the potential of first-principle QCD calculations to yield a precise description of the substructure of jets and study the accuracy of state-of-the-art Monte Carlo tools. Limitations of the experiments' ability to resolve substructure are evaluated, with a focus on the impact of additional (pile-up) proton proton collisions on jet substructure performance in future LHC operating scenarios. A final section summarizes the lessons learnt from jet substructure analyses in searches for new physics in the production of boosted top quarks.

Instability of nonminimally coupled scalar fields in the spacetime of slowly rotating compact objects

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)