Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Jan 15th and 16th, 2003

It will feature many of our key speakers, plus other experts from other fields (and from astrophysics). Web page should be available soon!

Format:

• HIGHLIGHTS AND CHALLENGES FROM NEW AREAS OF PROGRESS:

  • Practical, Flexible Frameworks for Multiscale 'Deconvolution' for both Guass-Normal and Poisson Data

    Rebecca Willett and Robert Nowak, EE and Statistics, Rice University

  • No More Magic Numbers:

    Bayes Multiscale Methods with Chandra Images

    Margarita Karovska (CfA), David Esch (Harvard Statistics), and the Harvard Astrostat Working Group (Web page).

  • Just confirmed: Albert Bijaoui, Observatoire de Nice Web page; and papers list.

Using multiscale methods (wavelets and their relatives) to extract the "best representation" of one's image, spectra, or timing data is always a topic of great practical interest. Recently, a number of collaborations in Astrophysics, Electrical Engineering, Statistics, and Medical Imaging have reached very exciting complementary breakthroughs. These include:

• Handling non-gaussian errors (esp. Poisson)
• Handling instrument response (PSF, energy response, etc...)
• "No More Magic Numbers", e.g. no need to guess the stopping iteration (in something like Richardson-Lucy), smoothness parameter, or number of components;
• related to that: the ability to address uncertainties on fluxes and features in an image (or spectrum or light--curve);
• expanding all to a more flexible suite of basis functions to better represent quirky astronomical images.

• We have a total of an hour and a half. Typically the speakers leave plenty of time for discussion and commentary by learners and experts in the audience.
• We plan for time at the end for a one-viewgraph "advertisement" for each of the posters in an associated Poser Special Session;
• We plan to develop a "wish-list" of multiscale and `model-free deconvolution' challenges and problems! Come join us! Voice your questions and opinions! Problems that were mentioned at last year's AstroStat Special Session are now being actively worked on. Many are close to being solved!
• We also challenge participants to try out here own methods, and compare them with the kinds of solutions suggested in the Tutorial sessions.

Watch this space for more details!

Sponsored in part by the AISR program

Questions? Comments? Ideas for the next session?
You are welcome to contact:

aconnors@frances.wellesley.edu

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