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Yulong Gao

Publications and source records attributed to Yulong Gao.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Risk-Averse Certification of Bayesian Neural Networks

In light of the inherently complex and dynamic nature of real-world environments, incorporating risk measures is crucial for the robustness evaluation of deep learning models. In this work, we propose a Risk-Averse Certification framework for Bayesian neural networks called RAC-BNN. Our method leverages sampling and optimisation to compute a sound approximation of the output set of a BNN, represented using a set of template polytopes. To enhance robustness evaluation, we integrate a coherent distortion risk measure--Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR)--into the certification framework, providing probabilistic guarantees based on empirical distributions obtained through sampling. We validate RAC-BNN on a range of regression and classification benchmarks and compare its performance with a state-of-the-art method. The results show that RAC-BNN effectively quantifies robustness under worst-performing risky scenarios, and achieves tighter certified bounds and higher efficiency in complex tasks.

cs.LG↗

Uncertainty-Aware Decision-Making and Planning for Autonomous Forced Merging

In this paper, we develop an uncertainty-aware decision-making and motion-planning method for an autonomous ego vehicle in forced merging scenarios, considering the motion uncertainty of surrounding vehicles. The method dynamically captures the uncertainty of surrounding vehicles by online estimation of their acceleration bounds, enabling a reactive but rapid understanding of the uncertainty characteristics of the surrounding vehicles. By leveraging these estimated bounds, a non-conservative forward occupancy of surrounding vehicles is predicted over a horizon, which is incorporated in both the decision-making process and the motion-planning strategy, to enhance the resilience and safety of the planned reference trajectory. The method successfully fulfills the tasks in challenging forced merging scenarios, and the properties are illustrated by comparison with several alternative approaches.

cs.RO↗

PGC 44685: A Dwarf Star-forming Lenticular Galaxy with Wolf-Rayet Population

Lenticular galaxies (S0s) are formed mainly from the gas stripping of spirals in the cluster. But how S0s form and evolve in the field is still untangled. Based on spatially resolved observations from the optical Hispanic Astronomical Center in Andalusia 3.5-m telescope with the PPAK Integral Field Spectroscopy instrument and NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array, we study a dwarf (M*<10^9 Msun) S0, PGC 44685, with triple star-forming regions in the central region, namely A, B, and C, respectively. In northwest region C, we clearly detect the spectral features of Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars and quantify the WR population by stacking spectra with high WR significance. Most of the molecular gas is concentrated in the region C(WR), and there is diffuse gas around regions A and B. The WR region possesses the strongest intensities of Ha, CO(1-0), and 3mm continuum, indicating its ongoing violent star formation (gas depletion timescale $\lesssim$25 Myr) with tentative hundreds (<500) km/s stellar winds accompanied by the WR phase. Most (~96%) of three star-forming regions show relatively low metallicity distributions, suggesting possible (minor) accretions of metal-poor gas that trigger the subsequent complex star formation in a field S0 galaxy. We speculate that PGC 44685 will become quiescent in less than 30 Myr if there is no new molecular gas to provide raw materials for star formation. The existence of this dwarf star-forming S0 presents an example of star formation in the low-mass/metallicity S0 galaxy.

astro-ph.GA↗

The HI reservoir in central spiral galaxies and the implied star formation process

The cold interstellar medium (ISM) as the raw material for star formation is critical to understanding galaxy evolution. It is generally understood that galaxies stop making stars when, in one way or another, they run out of gas. However, here we provide evidence that central spiral galaxies remain rich in atomic gas even if their star formation rate and molecular gas fraction have dropped significantly compared to "normal" star-forming galaxies of the same mass. Since HI is sensitive to external processes, here we investigate central spiral galaxies using a combined sample from SDSS, ALFALFA, and xGASS surveys. After proper incompleteness corrections, we find that the key HI scaling relations for central spirals show significant but regular systematic dependence on stellar mass. At any given stellar mass, the HI gas mass fraction is about constant with changing specific star formation rate (sSFR), which suggests that HI reservoir is ubiquitous in central spirals with any star formation status down to M* ~ 10^9 Msun. Together with the tight correlation between the molecular gas mass fraction and sSFR for galaxies across a wide range of different properties, it suggests that the decline of SFR of all central spirals in the local universe is due to the halt of H2 supply, though there is plenty of HI gas around. These hence provide critical observations of the dramatically different behavior of the cold multi-phase ISM, and a key to understand the star formation process and quenching mechanism.

astro-ph.GA↗

Learning-based Rigid Tube Model Predictive Control

This paper is concerned with model predictive control (MPC) of discrete-time linear systems subject to bounded additive disturbance and mixed constraints on the state and input, whereas the true disturbance set is unknown. Unlike most existing work on robust MPC, we propose an algorithm incorporating online learning that builds on prior knowledge of the disturbance, i.e., a known but conservative disturbance set. We approximate the true disturbance set at each time step with a parameterised set, which is referred to as a quantified disturbance set, using disturbance realisations. A key novelty is that the parameterisation of these quantified disturbance sets enjoys desirable properties such that the quantified disturbance set and its corresponding rigid tube bounding disturbance propagation can be efficiently updated online. We provide statistical gaps between the true and quantified disturbance sets, based on which, probabilistic recursive feasibility of MPC optimisation problems is discussed. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm and compare with conventional robust MPC algorithms.

math.OC↗

Policy Evaluation in Distributional LQR (Extended Version)

Distributional reinforcement learning (DRL) enhances the understanding of the effects of the randomness in the environment by letting agents learn the distribution of a random return, rather than its expected value as in standard reinforcement learning. Meanwhile, a challenge in DRL is that the policy evaluation typically relies on the representation of the return distribution, which needs to be carefully designed. In this paper, we address this challenge for the special class of DRL problems that rely on a discounted linear quadratic regulator (LQR), which we call \emph{distributional LQR}. Specifically, we provide a closed-form expression for the distribution of the random return, which is applicable for all types of exogenous disturbance as long as it is independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). We show that the variance of the random return is bounded if the fourth moment of the exogenous disturbance is bounded. Furthermore, we investigate the sensitivity of the return distribution to model perturbations. While the proposed exact return distribution consists of infinitely many random variables, we show that this distribution can be well approximated by a finite number of random variables. The associated approximation error can be analytically bounded under mild assumptions. When the model is unknown, we propose a model-free approach for estimating the return distribution, supported by sample complexity guarantees. Finally, we extend our approach to partially observable linear systems. Numerical experiments are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.

math.OC↗

Detection of metal enrichment by SN 2011jm in NGC 4809

The cosmic metals are believed to originate from stellar and supernovae (SNe) nucleosynthesis, dispersed into the interstellar medium (ISM) through stellar winds and supernova explosions. In this paper, we present the clear evidence of metal enrichment by a type Ic SN 2011jm in the galaxy NGC 4809, utilizing high spatial resolution Integral Field Units (IFU) observations obtained from the Very Large Telescope (VLT)/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). Despite SN 2011jm being surrounded by metal-deficient ISM ($\sim 0.25 \ Z_\odot$) at a scale about 100 pc, we clearly detect enriched oxygen abundance ($\sim 0.35 \ Z_\odot$) and a noteworthy nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio at the SN site. Remarkably, the metal pollution is confined to a smaller scale ( $\leq$ 13 pc). We posit that the enhanced ionized metal stems from stellar winds emitted by massive stars or previous SNe explosions. This observation may represent the first direct detection of chemical pollution by stellar feedback in star-forming galaxies beyond the Local Volume.

astro-ph.GA↗

Integrated Sensing and Communication with Massive MIMO: A Unified Tensor Approach for Channel and Target Parameter Estimation

Benefitting from the vast spatial degrees of freedom, the amalgamation of integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) and massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is expected to simultaneously improve spectral and energy efficiencies as well as the sensing capability. However, a large number of antennas deployed in massive MIMO-ISAC raises critical challenges in acquiring both accurate channel state information and target parameter information. To overcome these two challenges with a unified framework, we first analyze their underlying system models and then propose a novel tensor-based approach that addresses both the channel estimation and target sensing problems. Specifically, by parameterizing the high-dimensional communication channel exploiting a small number of physical parameters, we associate the channel state information with the sensing parameters of targets in terms of angular, delay, and Doppler dimensions. Then, we propose a shared training pattern adopting the same time-frequency resources such that both the channel estimation and target parameter estimation can be formulated as a canonical polyadic decomposition problem with a similar mathematical expression. On this basis, we first investigate the uniqueness condition of the tensor factorization and the maximum number of resolvable targets by utilizing the specific Vandermonde

cs.IT↗

Abstracting Linear Stochastic Systems via Knowledge Filtering

In this paper, we propose a new model reduction technique for linear stochastic systems that builds upon knowledge filtering and utilizes optimal Kalman filtering techniques. This new technique will reduce the dimension of the noise disturbance and will allow any controller designed for the reduced model to be refined into a controller for the original stochastic system, while preserving any specification on the output. Although initially the reduced model will be time-varying, a method will be provided with which the reduced model can become time-invariant if it satisfies some minor technical conditions. We present our theoretical findings with an example that supports the proposed framework and illustrates how model reduction and controller refinement of stochastic systems can be achieved. We finish the paper by considering specific examples to analyze both completeness with respect to controller synthesis and model order reduction with respect to the state.

eess.SY↗

Strong [O III] λ5007 Compact Galaxies Identified from SDSS DR16 and Their Scaling Relations

Green pea galaxies are a special class of star-forming compact galaxies with strong [O III]λ5007 and considered as analogs of high-redshift Lyα-emitting galaxies and potential sources for cosmic reionization. In this paper, we identify 76 strong [O III]λ5007 compact galaxies at z < 0.35 from DR1613 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These galaxies present relatively low stellar mass, high star formation rate, and low metallicity. Both star-forming main sequence relation (SFMS) and mass-metallicity relation (MZR) are investigated and compared with green pea and blueberry galaxies collected from literature. It is found that our strong [O III] λ5007 compact galaxies share common properties with those compact galaxies with extreme star formation and show distinct scaling relations in respect to those of normal star-forming galaxies at the same redshift. The slope of SFMS is higher, indicates that strong [O III]λ5007 compact galaxies might grow faster in stellar mass. The lower MZR implies that they may be less chemically evolved and hence on the early stage of star formation. A further environmental investigation confirms that they inhabit relatively low-density regions. Future largescale spectroscopic surveys will provide more details on their physical origin and evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

Merger-induced star formation in low-metallicity dwarf galaxy NGC 4809/4810

The physical mechanisms driving starbursts in dwarf galaxies are unclear, and the effects of mergers on star formation in these galaxies are still uncertain. We explore how the merger process affects star formation in metal-poor dwarf galaxies by analyzing high-spatial-resolution ($\sim$ 70 pc) integral field spectrograph observations of ionized gas. We use archival data from the Very Large Telescope/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer to map the spatial distribution of strong emission lines (e.g., $\rm Hβ$, $\rm Hα$, $\rm [OIII]\lambda5007$, $\rm [NII]\lambda6583$, etc) in the nearby merging star-forming dwarf galaxy system NGC 4809/4810. We identify approximately 112 star-forming knots scattered among the two galaxies, where the gas-phase metallicity distribution is inhomogeneous and mixing with metal-poor and metal-rich ionized gas. Star-forming knots at the interacting region show lower metallicity, the highest star formation rates (SFRs) and SFR to resolved main-sequence-relation (rMSR) ratios. Ionized gas exhibits an obvious northeast-southwest velocity gradient in NGC 4809, while seemingly mixed in NGC 4810. High virial parameters and the stellar mass-size relation of HII regions indicate that these regions are dominated by direct radiation pressure from massive stars/clusters and persistently expanding. We find two different stellar mass surface density-stellar age relations in NGC 4809 and NGC 4810, and the stellar ages of NGC 4810 are systematically younger than in NGC 4809. Our study suggests that the merging stage of two dwarf galaxies can induce starburst activities at the interaction areas, despite the metal-deficient environment. Considering the high specific SFRs and different stellar ages, we propose that the interaction initially triggered star formation in NGC 4809 and then drove star formation in NGC 4810.

astro-ph.GA↗

Policy Evaluation in Distributional LQR

Distributional reinforcement learning (DRL) enhances the understanding of the effects of the randomness in the environment by letting agents learn the distribution of a random return, rather than its expected value as in standard RL. At the same time, a main challenge in DRL is that policy evaluation in DRL typically relies on the representation of the return distribution, which needs to be carefully designed. In this paper, we address this challenge for a special class of DRL problems that rely on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for control, advocating for a new distributional approach to LQR, which we call \emph{distributional LQR}. Specifically, we provide a closed-form expression of the distribution of the random return which, remarkably, is applicable to all exogenous disturbances on the dynamics, as long as they are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). While the proposed exact return distribution consists of infinitely many random variables, we show that this distribution can be approximated by a finite number of random variables, and the associated approximation error can be analytically bounded under mild assumptions. Using the approximate return distribution, we propose a zeroth-order policy gradient algorithm for risk-averse LQR using the Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) as a measure of risk. Numerical experiments are provided to illustrate our theoretical results.

math.OC↗

Online Control Synthesis for Uncertain Systems under Signal Temporal Logic Specifications

This paper studies the online control synthesis problem for uncertain discrete-time systems subject to signal temporal logic (STL) specifications. Different from existing techniques, this work proposes an approach based on STL, reachability analysis, and temporal logic trees. Firstly, a real-time version of STL semantics and a tube-based temporal logic tree (tTLT) are proposed. We show that the tTLT is an underapproximation for the STL formula, in the sense that a trajectory satisfying an tTLT also satisfies the corresponding STL formula. Secondly, an online control synthesis algorithm is designed. It is shown that when the STL formula is robustly satisfiable and the initial state of the system belongs to the initial root node of the tTLT, it is guaranteed that the trajectory generated by the control synthesis algorithm satisfies the STL formula. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by a simulation example and a practical experiment.

eess.SY↗

Unveiling the formation of NGC 2915 with MUSE: A counter-rotating stellar disk embedded in a disordered gaseous environment

NGC 2915 is a unique nearby galaxy that is classified as an isolated blue compact dwarf based on its optical appearance but has an extremely extended H i gas disk with prominent Sd-type spiral arms. To unveil the starburst-triggering mystery of NGC 2915, we performed a comprehensive analysis of deep VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopic observations that cover the star-forming region in the central kiloparsec of the galaxy. We find that episodes of bursty star formation have recurred in different locations throughout the central region, and the most recent one peaked around 50 Myr ago. The bursty star formation has significantly disturbed the kinematics of the ionized gas but not the neutral atomic gas, which implies that the two gas phases are largely spatially decoupled along the line of sight. No evidence for an active galactic nucleus is found based on the classical line-ratio diagnostic diagrams. The ionized gas metallicities have a positive radial gradient, which confirms the previous study based on several individual H ii regions and may be attributed to both the stellar feedback-driven outflows and metal-poor gas inflow. Evidence for metal-poor gas infall or inflow includes discoveries of high-speed collisions between gas clouds of different metallicities, localized gas metallicity drops and unusually small metallicity differences between gas and stars. The central stellar disk appears to be counter-rotating with respect to the extended H i disk, implying that the recent episodes of bursty star formation have been sustained by externally accreted gas.

astro-ph.GA↗

CO Excitation and its Connection to Star Formation at 200 pc in NGC 1365

We report high resolution 2" ~ 200 pc mappings of the central region of the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 in the CO(1--0) and CO(2--1) emission lines. The 2--1/1--0 ratio of integrated intensities shows a large scatter (0.15) with a median value of 0.67. We also calculate the ratio of velocity dispersions and peak temperatures and find that in most cases the velocity dispersion ratio is close to unity and thus the peak temperature ratio is comparable to the integrated intensity ratio. This result indicates that both CO(1--0) and CO(2--1) lines trace similar components of molecular gas, with their integrated intensity (or peak temperature) ratios reflecting the gas density and/or temperature. Similar to recent kpc scale studies, these ratios show a positive correlation with a star formation rate indicator (here we use an extinction-corrected H-alpha map), suggesting that molecular gas associated with recent star formation is denser and/or warmer. We also find that some CO spectra show two peaks owing to complicated kinematics, and such two components likely trace molecular gas at different conditions. This result demonstrates the importance of spectral fitting to measure integrated intensities and their ratios more accurately.

astro-ph.GA↗

Spatially resolved mass-metallicity relation at z~0.26 from the MUSE-Wide Survey

Aims: There is a spatially resolved star-forming main sequence (rSFMS) and mass-metallicity relation (rMZR) of galaxies in local universe. We know that the global mass-metallicity relation (MZR) results from the integral of rMZR, and it will evolve with the redshift. However, the evolution of rMZR with redshift is still unclear due to the low spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. There are currently too few observations beyond local universe, and only simulations can reproduce the evolution of rMZR with redshift. Methods: In this work, we select ten emission-line galaxies with an average redshift of $z\sim 0.26$ from MUSE-Wide DR1. We obtain the spatially resolved star formation rate (SFR) and metallicity from the integral field spectroscopy (IFS), as well as the stellar mass surface density from the 3D-HST photometry. We derive the rSFMS and rMZR at $z\sim 0.26$ and compare them with local galaxies. Results: We find the rSFMS of galaxies at $z\sim 0.26$ has a slope of $\sim$0.771. The rMZR exists at $z\sim 0.26$, showing a similar shape to the local universe but a lower average metallicity about $\sim$0.11 dex than the local one. In addition, we also study their spatially resolved fundamental metallicity relation (rFMR). However, there is no obvious evidence that rFMR exists at $z\sim$0.26 and it is not an extension of rMZR at a high SFR. Conclusions: Similar to their global versions, the rSFMS and rMZR of galaxies also evolve with redshift. Given the fixed stellar mass, galaxies at higher redshift show higher SFR and lower metallicity. These suggest that the evolution of the global galaxy properties with redshift may result from integrating the evolution of spatially resolved properties of galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

The molecular gas resolved by ALMA in the low-metallicity dwarf merging galaxy Haro 11

The physical mechanisms for starburst or quenching in less massive ($M_* < 10^{10} M_{\odot}$) galaxies are unclear. The merger is one of the inescapable processes referred to as both starburst and quenching in massive galaxies. However, the effects of the merger on star formation in dwarf galaxies and their evolution results are still uncertain. We aim to explore how to trigger and quench star formation in dwarf galaxies by studying the metal-poor gas-rich dwarf mergers based on the multi-band observations at a spatial resolution of $\sim$ 460 pc. We use the archival data of ALMA (band 3, 8) and VLT/MUSE to map CO($J=$1-0), [CI]($^3$P$_1 - ^3$P$_0$), and H$α$ emission in one of the most extreme starburst merging dwarf galaxies, Haro 11. We find the molecular gas is assembled around the central two star-forming regions. The molecular/ionized gas and stellar components show complex kinematics, indicating that the gas is probably at a combined stage of collision of clouds and feedback from star formation. The peak location and distribution of [CI](1-0) strongly resemble the CO(1-0) emission, meaning that it might trace the same molecular gas as CO in such a dwarf merger starburst galaxy. The enhancement of line ratios ($\sim 0.5$) of [CI]/CO around knot C is probably generated by the dissociation of CO molecules by cosmic rays and far-ultraviolet photons. Globally, Haro 11 and its star-forming regions share similar SFEs as the high-$z$ starburst galaxies or the clumps in nearby (U)LIRGs. Given the high SFE, sSFR, small stellar mass, low metallicity, and deficient HI gas, Haro 11 could be an analog of high-$z$ dwarf starburst and the potential progenitor of the nearby less massive elliptical galaxies. The significantly smaller turbulent pressure and viral parameter will probably trigger the intense starbursts. We also predict that it will quench at $M_* < 8.5 \times 10^9 M_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.GA↗

Asymmetric star formation triggered by gas inflow in a barred lenticular galaxy PGC 34107

Comparing to the inactive and gas-poor normal lenticular galaxies (S0s) in the local universe, we study a barred star-forming S0 galaxy, PGC 34107, which has been observed by the Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA) 3.5-m telescope and the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA). The spatially resolved ionized gas and molecular gas traced by $^{12}$CO(1-0), hereafter CO(1-0), show the similar distribution and kinematics to the stellar component with an off-center star-forming region, $\sim$380 pc away from the center. The resolved kinematics of molecular CO(1-0) emission reveals that there is a blueshifted (redshifted) velocity component on the receding (approaching) side of the galaxy along the stellar bar. This might provide a plausible evidence of non-circular motion, such as the bar-induced molecular gas inflow. The velocity of molecular gas inflow decreases with approaching towards the peak of the off-center star formation in the north, which might be associated with the inner Lindblad resonance (ILR). In addition to CO(1-0), we also detect the isotopic line of $^{13}$CO(1-0). Most $\rm Hα$, CO(1-0) and $^{13}$CO(1-0) emissions are concentrated on this northern star-forming region. We find that PGC 34107 follows the local stellar mass-metallicity relation, star-forming main sequence, and the Kennicutt-Schmidt law. The resolved and integrated molecular gas main sequence suggest that there is a higher gas fraction in the galaxy central region, which supports a scenario that the bar-induced gas reservoir provides the raw material, and subsequently triggers the central star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗