The Comparison of Several 3D Digital Techniques Applied in Rockery Surveying and Mapping:A Case Study of North China University of Technology

By summarizing research status of traditional garden,the obstacles and difficulties of garden rockery research are analyzed,and the breakthroughs and advantages of 3D digital technique in garden rockery surveying and mapping are introduced.The rockery in North China University of Technology is taken as the research object.Using many kinds of digital 3D techniques,3D scanning and modeling analysis of the rockery are conducted.Modeling result and accuracy of each technique are analyzed,and application prospect of 3D digital technique in rockery research of classical garden is explored.

The first data release(DR1) of the LAMOST regular survey

The Large sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope（LAMOST） general survey is a spectroscopic survey that will eventually cover approximately half of the celestial sphere and collect 10 million spectra of stars, galaxies and QSOs. Objects in both the pilot survey and the first year regular survey are included in the LAMOST DR1. The pilot survey started in October 2011 and ended in June 2012, and the data have been released to the public as the LAMOST Pilot Data Release in August 2012. The regular survey started in September 2012, and completed its first year of operation in June 2013. The LAMOST DR1 includes a total of 1202 plates containing 2 955 336 spectra, of which 1 790 879 spectra have observed signalto-noise ratio（SNR） ≥ 10. All data with SNR ≥ 2 are formally released as LAMOST DR1 under the LAMOST data policy. This data release contains a total of 2 204 696 spectra, of which 1 944 329 are stellar spectra, 12 082 are galaxy spectra and 5017 are quasars. The DR1 not only includes spectra, but also three stellar catalogs with measured parameters： late A,FGK-type stars with high quality spectra（1 061 918 entries）, A-type stars（100 073 entries）, and M-type stars（121 522 entries）. This paper introduces the survey design, the observational and instrumental limitations, data reduction and analysis, and some caveats. A description of the FITS structure of spectral files and parameter catalogs is also provided.

Test area of the SAGE survey

Sky surveys represent one of the most important efforts to improve developments in astrophysics,especially when using new photometric bands. We are performing the Stellar Abundance and Galactic Evolution(SAGE) survey with a self-designed SAGE photometric system, which is composed of eight photometric bands. The project mainly aims to study the stellar atmospheric parameters of ～0.5 billion stars in ～12 000 deg2 of the northern sky, which mainly focuses on Galactic astronomy, as well as some aspects of extragalactic astronomy. This work introduces the detailed data reduction process of the test field NGC 6791, including the data reduction of single-exposure images and stacked multi-exposure images, and properties of the final catalog.

Data release of the LAMOST pilot survey

This paper describes the data release of the LAMOST pilot survey, which includes data reduction, calibration, spectral analysis, data products and data access. The accuracy of the released data and the information about the FITS headers of spectra are also introduced. The released data set includes 319 000 spectra and a catalog of these objects.

Optical system research of multi-object fiber spectroscopic survey telescope

In the first part of this paper,four different Cassegrain optical systems with their correctors are designed and studied for multi-object fiber slit spectroscopic survey.The aperture in 6.5 m and field of view 3°are taken for these optical systems.Assuming observation wavelength range is 0.365-0.95μm,the maximum zenith distance for observing is 60°,the maximum diameter of these lenses is 1.66 m,the altitude of the telescope site is 2500 m,two correctors are composed of 4-piece lenses and the other two are 5-piece lenses.The results obtained are:f-ratio about 3.7,the image quality for all four systems with EE80D≤0.60″,the linear diameter of the focal surface is about 1.2 m and 11 000 fibers can be set on it.Considering the limit of size of fused silica and optical glass,the maximum diameter for lens is about 1.7 m.Such a 6.5 m telescope is about the largest one if using the above correctors.Considering the multiobject spectroscopic survey is greatly important,we also studied some telescope optical systems having their aperture near or larger than 10 m used for the multi-object fiber spectroscopic survey.Such ideas are introduced in the last section of this paper.

The SAGE photometric survey: technical description

To investigate a huge sample of data related to the Stellar Abundance and Galactic Evolution(SAGE) survey in more detail, we are performing a northern sky photometric survey named SAGES with the SAGE photometric system.This system consists of eight filters: Str?mgren-u, SAGE-v, SDSS g, r, i, DDO-51, Hαwideand Hαnarrow, including three Sloan broadband filters, three intermediateband filters, two narrow-band filters and one newly-designed narrow-band filter.SAGES covers～12 000 square degrees of the northern sky with δ >-5°, excluding the Galactic disk(|b| < 10°) and the sky area 12 h <RA <18 h.The photometric detection limit depth at signal-to-noise ratio 5σ can be as deep as V～20 mag.SAGES will produce a photometric catalog with uniform depth for～500 million stars with atmospheric parameters including effective temperature Teff, surface gravity log g and metallicity[Fe/H], as well as interstellar extinction to each individual target.In this work, we will briefly introduce the SAGE photometric system, the SAGE survey and a preliminary test field of the open cluster NGC 6791 and its surroundings.

A method of measuring the [α/Fe] ratios from the spectra of the LAMOST survey

The [α/Fe] ratios in stars are good tracers to probe the formation history of stellar populations and the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. The spectroscopic survey of LAMOST provides a good opportunity to determine [α/Fe] of millions of stars in the Galaxy. We present a method of measuring the [α/Fe]ratios from LAMOST spectra using the template-matching technique of the LSP3 pipeline. We use three test samples of stars selected from the ELODIE and MILES libraries, as well as the LEGUE survey to validate our method. Based on the test results, we conclude that our method is valid for measuring [α/Fe]from low-resolution spectra acquired by the LAMOST survey. Within the range of the stellar parameters Teff= [5000, 7500] K, log g = [1.0, 5.0] dex and [Fe/H]= [onsistent with values derived from high-resolution spectra,-1.5, ＋0.5] dex, our [α/Fe] measurements are c and the accuracy of our [α/Fe] measurements from LAMOST spectra is better than 0.1 dex with spectral signal-to-noise higher than 20.

Research on scheduling of robotic transient survey for Antarctic Survey Telescopes(AST3)

Antarctic Survey Telescopes（AST3） are designed to be fully robotic telescopes at Dome A,Antarctica,which aim for highly efficient time-domain sky surveys as well as rapid response to special transient events（e.g.,gamma-ray bursts,near-Earth asteroids,supernovae,etc.）.Unlike traditional observations,a well-designed real-time survey scheduler is needed in order to implement an automatic survey in a very efficient,reliable and flexible way for the unattended telescopes.We present a study of the survey strategy for AST3 and implementation of its survey scheduler,which is also useful for other survey projects.

NUV Star Catalog from the Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope Survey: First Release

We present a star catalog extracted from the Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope （LUT） survey program. LUT＇s observable sky area is a circular belt around the Moon＇s north pole, and the survey program covers a preferred area of about 2400 deg2 which includes a region of the Galactic plane. The data are processed with an automatic pipeline which copes with stray light contamination, artificial sources, cosmic rays, flat field calibration, photometry and so on. In the first release version, the catalog provides high confidence sources which have been cross-identified with the Tycho-2 catalog. All the sources have signalto-noise ratio larger than 5, and the corresponding magnitude limit is typically 14.4 mag, but can be as deep as -16 mag if stray light contamination is at the lowest level. A total of 86 467 stars are recorded in the catalog. The full catalog in electronic form is available online.

South Galactic Cap u-band Sky Survey(SCUSS):Project Overview

The South Galactic Cap u-band Sky Survey （SCUSS） was established in 2009 in order to provide a photometric input catalog for target selection of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope （LAMOST） project. SCUSS is an international cooperative project between National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, using the 90 inch （2.3 m） Bok telescope on Kitt Peak. The telescope is equipped with a prime focus camera that is composed of a mosaic of four 4096 × 4096 CCDs and has a field of view of about 1 deg2. From 2009 to 2013, SCUSS performed a sky survey of an approximately 5000 deg2 field of the South Galactic Cap in u band, including the Galactic anticenter area and the SDSS-IV extended imaging area. The limiting magnitude of SCUSS is deeper than 23 mag （at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5）. In this paper, we briefly describe the goals of this project, method of observations and data reduction, and we also introduce current and potential scientific activities related to the SCUSS project.

The LEGUE input catalog for dark night observing in the LAMOST pilot survey

We outline the design of the dark nights portion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began observations in 2011 October. In particular, we focus on Milky Way stellar candidates that are targeted for the LEGUE （LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration） survey. We discuss the regions of sky in which spectroscopic candidates were selected, and the motivations for selecting each of these sky areas. Some limitations due to the unique design of the telescope are discussed, including the requirement that a bright （V 〈 8） star be placed at the center of each plate for wavefront sensing and active optics corrections. The target selection categories and scientific goals motivating them are briefly discussed, followed by a detailed overview of how these selection functions were implemented. We illustrate the difference between the overall input catalog - Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） photometry - and the final targets selected for LAMOST observations.

The LEGUE high latitude bright survey design for the LAMOST pilot survey

We describe the footprint and input catalog for bright nights in the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which began in October 2011. Targets are selected from two stripes in the north and south Galactic Cap regions, centered at δ = 29°, with 10° width in declination, covering right ascensions of 135° to 290° and -30° to 30° re- spectively. We selected spectroscopic targets from a combination of the SDSS and 2MASS point source catalogs. The catalog of stars defining the field centers （as re- quired by the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor at the center of the LAMOST field） consists of all V 〈 8m stars from the Hipparcos catalog. We employ a statistical selection algorithm that assigns priorities to targets based on their positions in mul- tidimensional color/magnitude space. This scheme overemphasizes rare objects and de-emphasizes more populated regions of magnitude and color phase space, while en- suring a smooth, well-understood selection function. A demonstration of plate design is presented based on the Shack-Hartmann star catalog and an input catalog that was generated by our target selection routines.

Behavioral Risk Profile of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Beijing, China： Results from a Cross-sectional Survey with Randomized Response Techniques

Background：Human immunodeficiency virus （HIV） is spreading rapidly among men who have sex with men （MSM） in China.Anonymous questionnaires or direct interviews have been frequently used to study their behavior.The aim of the study was to describe the behavioral risk profile of the MSM in Beijing using the randomized response techniques （RRTs）.Methods：A cross-sectional survey of sexual behavior among a sample of MSM was conducted in two HIV counseling and testing clinics in Beijing.The survey was carried out with an anonymous questionnaire containing sensitive questions on sexual behavior.To obtain the honest responses to the sensitive questions,three distinctive RRTs were used in the questionnaire：（1） Additive randomized response model for quantitative questions,（2） randomized response model for multiple choice questions,and （3） Simmons randomized response model for binomial questions.Formulae for the point estimate,variance,and confidence interval （CI） were provided for each specific model.Results：Using RRTs in a sample of 659 participants,the mean age at first homosexual encounter was estimated to be 21.7 years （95% CI：21.2-22.2）,and each had sex with about three （2.9,95% CI：2.4-3.4） male partners on average in the past month.The estimated rate for consistent condom use was 56.4% （95% CI：50.1-62.8%）.In addition,condom was estimated to be used among 80.0% （95% CI：74.1-85.9%） of the population during last anal sex with a male partner.Conclusions：Our study employed RRTs in a survey containing questions on sexual behavior among MSM,and the results showed that RRT might be a useful tool to obtain truthful feedback on sensitive information such as sexual behavior from the respondents,especially in traditional Chinese cultural settings.

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST)

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST, also called the Guo Shou Jing Telescope) is a special reflecting Schmidt telescope. LAMOST’s special design allows both a large aperture (effective aperture of 3.6 m–4.9 m) and a wide field of view (FOV) (5°). It has an innovative active reflecting Schmidt configuration which continuously changes the mirror’s surface that adjusts during the observation process and combines thin deformable mirror active optics with segmented active optics. Its primary mirror (6.67m×6.05 m) and active Schmidt mirror (5.74m×4.40 m) are both segmented, and composed of 37 and 24 hexagonal sub-mirrors respectively. By using a parallel controllable fiber positioning technique, the focal surface of 1.75 m in diameter can accommodate 4000 optical fibers. Also, LAMOST has 16 spectrographs with 32 CCD cameras. LAMOST will be the telescope with the highest rate of spectral acquisition. As a national large scientific project, the LAMOST project was formally proposed in 1996, and approved by the Chinese government in 1997. The construction started in 2001, was completed in 2008 and passed the official acceptance in June 2009. The LAMOST pilot survey was started in October 2011 and the spectroscopic survey will launch in September 2012. Up to now, LAMOST has released more than 480 000 spectra of objects. LAMOST will make an important contribution to the study of the large-scale structure of the Universe, structure and evolution of the Galaxy, and cross-identification of multiwaveband properties in celestial objects.

Applying Lambert problem to association of radar-measured orbit tracks of space objects

Thousands of orbit tracks of space objects are collected by a radar each day,and many may be from uncatalogued objects.As such,it is an urgent demand to catalogue the uncatalogued objects,which requires to determine whether two or more un-correlated tracks(UCTs)are from the same object.This paper proposes to apply the Lambert problem to associate two radar-measured orbit tracks of LEO and HEO objects.A novel method of position correction is proposed to correct the secular and short periodic effects caused by the J_2 perturbation,making the Lambert problem applicable to perturbed orbit tracks.After that,an orbit selection method based on the characteristics of residuals solves the multiple-revolution Lambert problem.Extensive experiments with simulated radar measurements of LEO and HEO objects are carried out to assess the performance of the proposed method.It is shown that the semi-major axis can be determined with an error less than 200 m from two tracks separated by 4 days.The true positive(TP)rates for associating two LEO tracks apart by less than 6 days are 94.2%.The TP rate is still at 73.1%even for two tracks apart by 8–9 days.The results demonstrate the strong applicability of the proposed method to associate radar measurements of uncatalogued objects.

Identifying Host Galaxies of Extragalactic Radio Emission Structures using Machine Learning

This paper presents an automatic multi-band source cross-identification method based on deep learning to identify the hosts of extragalactic radio emission structures.The aim is to satisfy the increased demand for automatic radio source identification and analysis of large-scale survey data from next-generation radio facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array and the Next Generation Very Large Array.We demonstrate a 97%overall accuracy in distinguishing quasi-stellar objects,galaxies and stars using their optical morphologies plus their corresponding mid-infrared information by training and testing a convolutional neural network on Pan-STARRS imaging and WISE photometry.Compared with an expert-evaluated sample,we show that our approach has 95%accuracy at identifying the hosts of extended radio components.We also find that improving radio core localization,for instance by locating its geodesic center,could further increase the accuracy of locating the hosts of systems with a complex radio structure,such as C-shaped radio galaxies.The framework developed in this work can be used for analyzing data from future large-scale radio surveys.

Automatic determination of stellar atmospheric parameters and construction of stellar spectral templates of the Guoshoujing Telescope (LAMOST)

A number of spectroscopic surveys have been carried out or are planned to study the origin of the Milky Way. Their exploitation requires reliable automated methods and softwares to measure the fundamental parameters of the stars. Adopting the ULySS package, we have tested the effect of different resolutions and signal-to- noise ratios （SNR） on the measurement of the stellar atmospheric parameters （effective temperature Teff, surface gravity log g, and metaUicity [Fe/H]）. We show that ULySS is reliable for determining these parameters with medium-resolution spectra （R ～2000）. Then, we applied the method to measure the parameters of 771 stars selected in the commissioning database of the Guoshoujing Telescope （LAMOST）. The results were compared with the SDSS/SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline （SSPP）, and we derived precisions of 167 K, 0.34dex, and 0.16dex for Teff, logg and [Fe/H] respectively. Furthermore, 120 of these stars are selected to construct the primary stellar spectral template library （Version 1.0） of LAMOST, and will be deployed as basic ingredients for the LAMOST automated parametrization pipeline.

An object correlation and maneuver detection approach for space surveillance

Object correlation and maneuver detection are persistent problems in space surveillance and maintenance of a space object catalog. We integrate these two prob- lems into one interrelated problem, and consider them simultaneously under a sce- nario where space objects only perform a single in-track orbital maneuver during the time intervals between observations. We mathematically formulate this integrated sce- nario as a maximum a posteriori （MAP） estimation. In this work, we propose a novel approach to solve the MAP estimation. More precisely, the corresponding posterior probability of an orbital maneuver and a joint association event can be approximated by the Joint Probabilistic Data Association （JPDA） algorithm. Subsequently, the ma- neuvering parameters are estimated by optimally solving the constrained non-linear least squares iterative process based on the second-order cone programming （SOCP） algorithm. The desired solution is derived according to the MAP criterions. The per- formance and advantages of the proposed approach have been shown by both theoret- ical analysis and simulation results. We hope that our work will stimulate future work on space surveillance and maintenance of a space object catalog.

Automated estimation of stellar fundamental parameters from low resolution spectra: the PLS method

PLS （Partial Least Squares regression） is introduced into an automatic estimation of fundamental stellar spectral parameters. It extracts the most correlative spectral component to the parameters （Teff, log g and [Fe/H]）, and sets up a linear regression function from spectra to the corresponding parameters. Considering the properties of stellar spectra and the PLS algorithm, we present a piecewise PLS regression method for estimation of stellar parameters, which is composed of one PLS model for Teff, and seven PLS models for log g and [Fe/H] estimation. Its performance is investigated by large experiments on flux calibrated spectra and continuum normalized spectra at different signal-to-noise ratios （SNRs） and resolutions. The results show that the piecewise PLS method is robust for spectra at the medium resolution of 0.23 nm. For low resolution 0.5 nm and 1 nm spectra, it achieves competitive results at higher SNR. Experiments using ELODIE spectra of 0.23 nm resolution illustrate that our piecewise PLS models trained with MILES spectra are efficient for O ～ G stars： for flux calibrated spectra, the systematic offsets are 3.8%, 0.14 dex, and -0.09 dex for Teff, log g and [Fe/H], with error scatters of 5.2%, 0.44 dex and 0.38 dex, respectively; for continuum normalized spectra, the systematic offsets are 3.8%, 0.12dex, and -0.13 dex for Teff, log g and [Fe/H], with error scatters of 5.2%, 0.49 dex and 0.41 dex, respectively. The PLS method is rapid, easy to use and does not rely as strongly on the tightness of a parameter grid of templates to reach high precision as Artificial Neural Networks or minimum distance methods do.

An algorithm for preferential selection of spectroscopic targets in LEGUE

We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly- varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select cer- tain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate differentpossibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration （LEGUE） survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot sur- vey, which began in October 2011.