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In this work, a non-gradient descent learning (NGDL) scheme was proposed for deep feedforward neural networks (DNN). It is known that an autoencoder can be used as the building blocks of the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) DNN, the MLP is taken as an example to illustrate the proposed scheme of pseudoinverse learning algorithm for autoencoder (PILAE) in this paper. The PILAE with low rank approximation is a NGDL algorithm, and the encoder weight matrix is set to be the low rank approximation of the pseudoinverse of the input matrix, while the decoder weight matrix is calculated by the pseudoinverse learning algorithm. It is worth to note that only very few network structure hyper-parameters need to be tuned compared with classical gradient descent learning algorithm. Hence, the proposed algorithm could be regarded as a quasi-automated training algorithm which could be utilized in automated machine learning field. The experimental results show that the proposed learning scheme for DNN could achieve better performance on considering the tradeoff between training efficiency and classification accuracy., Comment: This work is our effort toward to realize AutoML

To take advantage of the astrophysical potential of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), Chinese and French astrophysicists have engaged the SVOM mission (Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor). Major advances in GRB studies resulting from the synergy between space and ground observations, the SVOM mission implements space and ground instrumentation. The scientific objectives of the mission put a special emphasis on two categories of GRBs: very distant GRBs at z$>$5 which constitute exceptional cosmological probes, and faint/soft nearby GRBs which allow probing the nature of the progenitors and the physics at work in the explosion. These goals have a major impact on the design of the mission: the on-board hard X-ray imager is sensitive down to 4 keV and computes on line image and rate triggers, and the follow-up telescopes on the ground are sensitive in the NIR. At the beginning of the next decade, SVOM will be the main provider of GRB positions and spectral parameters on very short time scale. The SVOM instruments will operate simultaneously with a wide range of powerful astronomical devices. This rare instrumental conjunction, combined with the relevance of the scientific topics connected with GRB studies, warrants a remarkable scientific return for SVOM. In addition, the SVOM instrumentation, primarily designed for GRB studies, composes a unique multi-wavelength observatory with rapid slew capability that will find multiple applications for the whole astronomy community beyond the specific objectives linked to GRBs. This report lists the scientific themes that will benefit from observations made with SVOM, whether they are specific GRB topics, or more generally all the issues that can take advantage of the multi-wavelength capabilities of SVOM., Comment: 67 pages, 1 frontispiece, 21 figures. Report on the Scientific prospects of the SVOM mission. Proceedings of the Workshop held from 11th to 15th April 2016 at Les Houches School of Physics, France

eXTP is a science mission designed to study the state of matter under extreme conditions of density, gravity and magnetism. Primary targets include isolated and binary neutron stars, strong magnetic field systems like magnetars, and stellar-mass and supermassive black holes. The mission carries a unique and unprecedented suite of state-of-the-art scientific instruments enabling for the first time ever the simultaneous spectral-timing-polarimetry studies of cosmic sources in the energy range from 0.5-30 keV (and beyond). Key elements of the payload are: the Spectroscopic Focusing Array (SFA) - a set of 11 X-ray optics for a total effective area of about 0.9 m^2 and 0.6 m^2 at 2 keV and 6 keV respectively, equipped with Silicon Drift Detectors offering <180 eV spectral resolution; the Large Area Detector (LAD) - a deployable set of 640 Silicon Drift Detectors, for a total effective area of about 3.4 m^2, between 6 and 10 keV, and spectral resolution <250 eV; the Polarimetry Focusing Array (PFA) - a set of 2 X-ray telescope, for a total effective area of 250 cm^2 at 2 keV, equipped with imaging gas pixel photoelectric polarimeters; the Wide Field Monitor (WFM) - a set of 3 coded mask wide field units, equipped with position-sensitive Silicon Drift Detectors, each covering a 90 degrees x 90 degrees FoV. The eXTP international consortium includes mostly major institutions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Universities in China, as well as major institutions in several European countries and the United States. The predecessor of eXTP, the XTP mission concept, has been selected and funded as one of the so-called background missions in the Strategic Priority Space Science Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2011. The strong European participation has significantly enhanced the scientific capabilities of eXTP. The planned launch date of the mission is earlier than 2025., Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures. Oral talk presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, June 26 to July 1, 2016, Edingurgh, UK

The nearly continuous light curves with micromagnitude precision provided by the space mission Kepler are revolutionising our view of pulsating stars. They have revealed a vast sea of low-amplitude pulsation modes that were undetectable from Earth. The long time base of Kepler light curves allows an accurate determination of frequencies and amplitudes of pulsation modes needed for in-depth asteroseismic modeling. However, for an asteroseismic study to be successful, the first estimates of stellar parameters need to be known and they can not be derived from the Kepler photometry itself. The Kepler Input Catalog (KIC) provides values for the effective temperature, the surface gravity and the metallicity, but not always with a sufficient accuracy. Moreover, information on the chemical composition and rotation rate is lacking. We are collecting low-resolution spectra for objects in the Kepler field of view with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST, Xinglong observatory, China). All of the requested fields have now been observed at least once. In this paper we describe those observations and provide a database of use to the whole astronomical community., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJS (19 pages, 9 figures, 6 tables). Peter.DeCat@oma.be

We report the discovery of a kiloparsec-scale dual active galactic nucleus (AGN) in J0038+4128. From the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC2) images, we find two optical nuclei with a projection separation of 4.7 kpc (3.44 arcsec). The southern component (J0038+4128S) is spectroscopically observed with the HST Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph in the UV range and is found to be a Seyfert 1 galaxy with a broad Ly alpha emission line. The northern component (J0038+4128N) is spectroscopically observed during the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (also named the Guoshoujing Telescope) pilot survey in the optical range. The observed line ratios as well as the consistency of redshift of the nucleus emission lines and the host galaxy's absorption lines indicate that J0038+4128N is a Seyfert 2 galaxy with narrow lines only. These results thus confirm that J0038+4128 is a Seyfert 1-Seyfert 2 AGN pair. The HST WFPC2 F336W/U-band image of J0038+4128 also reveals for the first time for a dual AGN system two pairs of bi-symmetric arms, as are expected from the numerical simulations of such system. Being one of a few confirmed kiloparsec-scale dual AGNs exhibiting a clear morphological structure of the host galaxies, J0038+4128 provides an unique opportunity to study the co-evolution of the host galaxies and their central supermassive black holes undergoing a merging process., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We study the AGN-host co-evolution issue here by focusing on the correlation between the hard X-ray emission from central AGNs and the stellar populations of the host galaxies. By focusing on the galaxies with strong H$\alpha$ line emission (EW(H$\alpha)>5$\AA), both X-ray and optical spectral analysis are performed on 67 (partially) obscured AGNs that are selected from the \it XMM-Newton\rm\ 2XMMi/SDSS-DR7 catalog originally cross-matched by Pineau et al. The sample allows us to study central AGN activity and host galaxy directly and simultaneously in individual objects. Combining the spectral analysis in both bands reveals that the older the stellar population of the host galaxy, the harder the X-ray emission will be, which was missed in our previous study where the \it ROSAT\rm\ hardness ratios are used. By excluding the contamination from the host galaxies and from the jet beaming emission, the correlation indicates that the Compton cooling in the accretion disk corona decreases with the mean age of the stellar population. We argue that the correlation is related to the correlation of $L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$ with the host stellar population. In addition, the [\ion{O}{1}]/H$\alpha$ and [\ion{S}{2}]/H$\alpha$ narrow-line ratios are identified to correlate with the spectral slope in hard X-ray, which can be inferred from the currently proposed evolution of the X-ray emission because of the confirmed tight correlations between the two line ratios and stellar population age., Comment: accepted by ApJ, 35 pages, 9 figures and 4 tables