Adaptive DCTNet for Audio Signal Classification

In this paper, we investigate DCTNet for audio signal classification. Its output feature is related to Cohen's class of time-frequency distributions. We introduce the use of adaptive DCTNet (A-DCTNet) for audio signals feature extraction. The A-DCTNet applies the idea of constant-Q transform, with its center frequencies of filterbanks geometrically spaced. The A-DCTNet is adaptive to different acoustic scales, and it can better capture low frequency acoustic information that is sensitive to human audio perception than features such as Mel-frequency spectral coefficients (MFSC). We use features extracted by the A-DCTNet as input for classifiers. Experimental results show that the A-DCTNet and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) achieve state-of-the-art performance in bird song classification rate, and improve artist identification accuracy in music data. They demonstrate A-DCTNet's applicability to signal processing problems.Comment: International Conference of Acoustic and Speech Signal Processing (ICASSP). New Orleans, United States, March, 201

Ultrashort Q-switched pulses from a passively mode-locked distributed Bragg reflector semiconductor laser

A compact semiconductor mode-locked laser (MLL) is presented that demonstrates strong passive Q-switched mode-locking over a wide range of drive conditions. The Q-switched frequency is tunable between 1 and 4 GHz for mode-locked pulses widths around 3.5 ps. The maximum ratio of peak to average power of the pulse-train is >120, greatly exceeding that of similarly sized passively MLLs

Annealing-induced Fe oxide nanostructures on GaAs

We report the evolution of Fe oxide nanostructures on GaAs(100) upon pre- and post-growth annealing conditions. GaAs nanoscale pyramids were formed on the GaAs surface due to wet etching and thermal annealing. An 8.0-nm epitaxial Fe film was grown, oxidized, and annealed using a gradient temperature method. During the process the nanostripes were formed, and the evolution has been demonstrated using transmission and reflection high energy electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. These nanostripes; exhibited uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. The formation of these nanostructures is attributed to surface anisotropy, which in addition could explain the observed uniaxial magnetic anisotropy

Deaf and hearing children's picture naming Impact of age of acquisition and language modality on representational gesture

Stefanini, Bello, Caselli, Iverson, & Volterra (2009) reported that Italian 24-36 month old children use a high proportion of representational gestures to accompany their spoken responses when labelling pictures. The two studies reported here used the same naming task with (1) typically developing 24-46-month-old hearing children acquiring English and (2) 24-63-month-old deaf children of deaf and hearing parents acquiring British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English. In Study 1 children scored within the range of correct spoken responses previously reported, but produced very few representational gestures. However, when they did gesture, they expressed the same action meanings as reported in previous research. The action bias was also observed in deaf children of hearing parents in Study 2, who labelled pictures with signs, spoken words and gestures. The deaf group with deaf parents used BSL almost exclusively with few additional gestures. The function of representational gestures in spoken and signed vocabulary development is considered in relation to differences between native and non-native sign language acquisition

Heat-Capacity Measurements of Energy-Gap Nodes of the Heavy-Fermion Superconductor CeIrIn5 Deep inside the Pressure-Dependent Dome Structure of its Superconducting Phase Diagram

We use heat capacity measurements as a function of field rotation to identify the nodal gap structure of CeIrIn5 at pressures to 2.05 GPa, deep inside its superconducting dome. A four-fold oscillation in the heat capacity at 0.3 K is observed for all pressures but with its sign reversed between 1.50 and 0.90 GPa. On the basis of recent theoretical models for the field-angle dependent specific heat, all data, including the sign reversal, imply a d{x^2-y^2} order parameter with nodes along [110], which constrains theoretical models of the pairing mechanism in CeIrIn5.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Unconventional and conventional quantum criticalities in CeRh0.58_{0.58}Ir0.42_{0.42}In5_5

An appropriate description of the state of matter that appears as a second order phase transition is tuned toward zero temperature, {\it viz.} quantum-critical point (QCP), poses fundamental and still not fully answered questions. Experiments are needed both to test basic conclusions and to guide further refinement of theoretical models. Here, charge and entropy transport properties as well as AC specific heat of the heavy-fermion compound CeRh$_{0.58}$Ir$_{0.42}$In$_5$, measured as a function of pressure, reveal two qualitatively different QCPs in a {\it single} material driven by a {\it single} non-symmetry-breaking tuning parameter. A discontinuous sign-change jump in thermopower suggests an unconventional QCP at $p_{c1}$ accompanied by an abrupt Fermi-surface reconstruction that is followed by a conventional spin-density-wave critical point at $p_{c2}$ across which the Fermi surface evolves smoothly to a heavy Fermi-liquid state. These experiments are consistent with some theoretical predictions, including the sequence of critical points and the temperature dependence of the thermopower in their vicinity.Comment: 21+3 pages, 4+2 figures. Change the title, figures et a

Galactic Center Youth: Orbits and Origins of the Young Stars in the Central Parsec

We present new proper motions for the massive, young stars at the Galactic Center, based on 10 years of diffraction limited data from the Keck telescopes. Our proper motion measurements now have uncertainties of only 1-2 km/s and allow us to explore the origin of the young stars that reside within the sphere of inflience of the supermassive black hole whose strong tidal forces make this region inhospitable for star formation. Their presence, however, may be explained either by in situ star formation in an accretion disk or as the remnants of a massive stellar cluster which spiraled in via dynamical friction. Earlier stellar velocity vectors were used to postulate that all the young stars resided in two counter-rotating stellar disks, which is consistent with both of the above formation scenarios. Our precise proper motions allow us, for the frst time, to determine the orbital parameters of each individual star and thereby to test the hypothesis that the massive stars reside in two stellar disks. Of the 26 young stars in this study that were previously proposed to lie on the inner, clockwise disk, we find that nearly all exhibit orbital constraints consistent with such a disk. On the other hand, of the 7 stars in this study previously proposed to lie in the outer, less well-defhed counter-clockwise disk, 6 exhibit inclinations that are inconsistent with such a disk, bringing into question the existence of the outer disk. Furthermore, for stars in the inner disk that have eccentricity constraints, we find several that have lower limits to the eccentricity of more than 0.4, implying highly eccentric orbits. This stands in contrast to simple accretion disk formation scenarios which typically predict predominantly circular orbits

XPS and XMCD study of Fe3O4/GaAs interface

Ultrathin Fe oxide films of various thicknesses prepared by post-growth oxidation on GaAs(100) surface have been investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The XPS confirms that the surfaces of the oxide are Fe3O4 rather than Fe2O3. XAS and XMCD measurements indicate the presence of nsulating Fe divalent oxide phases (FeO) beneath the surface Fe-3 O-4 layer with the sample thickness above 4 mn. This FeO might act as a barrier for the spin injection into the GaAs