arXiv subjects

G. Willis

Publications and source records attributed to G. Willis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Euclid. II. The VIS Instrument

This paper presents the specification, design, and development of the Visible Camera (VIS) on the ESA Euclid mission. VIS is a large optical-band imager with a field of view of 0.54 deg^2 sampled at 0.1" with an array of 609 Megapixels and spatial resolution of 0.18". It will be used to survey approximately 14,000 deg^2 of extragalactic sky to measure the distortion of galaxies in the redshift range z=0.1-1.5 resulting from weak gravitational lensing, one of the two principal cosmology probes of Euclid. With photometric redshifts, the distribution of dark matter can be mapped in three dimensions, and, from how this has changed with look-back time, the nature of dark energy and theories of gravity can be constrained. The entire VIS focal plane will be transmitted to provide the largest images of the Universe from space to date, reaching m_AB>24.5 with S/N >10 in a single broad I_E~(r+i+z) band over a six year survey. The particularly challenging aspects of the instrument are the control and calibration of observational biases, which lead to stringent performance requirements and calibration regimes. With its combination of spatial resolution, calibration knowledge, depth, and area covering most of the extra-Galactic sky, VIS will also provide a legacy data set for many other fields. This paper discusses the rationale behind the VIS concept and describes the instrument design and development before reporting the pre-launch performance derived from ground calibrations and brief results from the in-orbit commissioning. VIS should reach fainter than m_AB=25 with S/N>10 for galaxies of full-width half-maximum of 0.3" in a 1.3" diameter aperture over the Wide Survey, and m_AB>26.4 for a Deep Survey that will cover more than 50 deg^2. The paper also describes how VIS works with the other Euclid components of survey, telescope, and science data processing to extract the cosmological information.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2014

Pair correlation functions and the wavevector-dependent surface tension in a simple density functional treatment of the liquid-vapour interface

We study the density-density correlation function $G({\bf r},{\bf r}')$ in the interfacial region of a fluid (or Ising-like magnet) with short-ranged interactions using square gradient density functional theory. Adopting a simple double parabola approximation for the bulk free-energy density, we first show that the parallel Fourier transform $G(z,z';q)$ and local structure factor $S(z;q)$ separate into bulk and excess contributions. We attempt to account for both contributions by deriving an interfacial Hamiltonian, characterised by a wavevector dependent surface tension $σ(q)$, and then reconstructing density correlations from correlations in the interface position. We show that the standard crossing criterion identification of the interface, as a surface of fixed density (or magnetization), does not explain the separation of $G(z,z';q)$ and the form of the excess contribution. We propose an alternative definition of the interface position based on the properties of correlations between points that "float" with the surface and show that this describes the full $q$ and $z$ dependence of the excess contributions to both $G$ and $S$. However, neither the "crossing-criterion" nor the new "floating interface" definition of $σ(q)$ are quantities directly measurable from the total structure factor $S^{tot}(q)$ which contains additional $q$ dependence arising from the non-local relation between fluctuations in the interfacial position and local density. Since it is the total structure factor that is measured experimentally or in simulations, our results have repercussions for earlier attempts to extract and interpret $σ(q)$.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2004

Laser Welfare: First Steps in Econodynamic Engineering

The paper starts with a brief review of present understanding of income distributions; especially with regard to recent work in the field of econophysics that draws parallels between income, wealth and energy distributions. Examples of alternative energy distributions found in physical systems are discussed, and how they could be used to construct economic models that might allow alternative overall distributions of wealth and income in society. These ideas are further expanded and a more detailed scheme for welfare assistance is proposed that might be used to improve the incomes of the poorest in a more efficient way than traditional welfare schemes. Finally, and unusually for a paper on economics; an experiment is proposed that could be used to either support or disprove the ideas discussed in the rest of the paper.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2004

Evidence for the Independence of Waged and Unwaged Income, Evidence for Boltzmann Distributions in Waged Income, and the Outlines of a Coherent Theory of Income Distribution

Two sets of high quality income data are analysed in detail, one set from the UK, one from the USA. It is firstly demonstrated that both a log-normal distribution and a Boltzmann distribution can give very accurate fits to both these data sets. The absence of a power tail in the US data set is then discussed. Taken in conjunction with detailed evidence from the UK and Japanese income data, a strong case is made for the mathematically separate treatment of waged and unwaged income. The authors present a case for preferring the use of the Boltzmann distribution over the log-normal function, this leads to a brief review of the work of a number of researchers, which shows that a coherent theory for the distribution of all income can be postulated.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2002

Lagrange statistics in systems (markets) with price constraints: Analysis of property, car sales, marriage and job markets by the Boltzmann function and the Pareto distribution

Statistical models of economic distributions lead to Boltzmann distributions rather than a Pareto power law. This result is supported by two facts: 1. the distributions of income, car sales, marriages or jobs are a matter of chances and luck and not of reason! 2. Data for property, automobile sales, marriages and job markets were analyzed by two models: the Pareto law and the Boltzmann distribution of stochastic systems. In all cases the best fits to data were obtained by the Boltzmann function. This may indicate that the principles of stochastic systems like in physics, chemistry, thermodynamics may also be applied to economic systems.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗