Refraction Effects Research Articles

CrystalNet: Texture‐Aware Neural Refraction Baking for Global Illumination

AbstractNeural rendering bakes global illumination and other computationally costly effects into the weights of a neural network, allowing to efficiently synthesize photorealistic images without relying on path tracing. In neural rendering approaches, G‐buffers obtained from rasterization through direct rendering provide information regarding the scene such as position, normal, and textures to the neural network, achieving accurate and stable rendering quality in real‐time. However, due to the use of G‐buffers, existing methods struggle to accurately render transparency and refraction effects, as G‐buffers do not capture any ray information from multiple light ray bounces. This limitation results in blurriness, distortions, and loss of detail in rendered images that contain transparency and refraction, and is particularly notable in scenes with refracted objects that have high‐frequency textures. In this work, we propose a neural network architecture to encode critical rendering information, including texture coordinates from refracted rays, and enable reconstruction of high‐frequency textures in areas with refraction. Our approach is able to achieve accurate refraction rendering in challenging scenes with a diversity of overlapping transparent objects. Experimental results demonstrate that our method can interactively render high quality refraction effects with global illumination, unlike existing neural rendering approaches. Our code can be found at https://github.com/ziyangz5/CrystalNet

Neutron phase filtering for separating phase- and attenuation signal in aluminium and anodic aluminium oxide

Neutron imaging has gained significant importance as a material characterisation technique and is particularly useful to visualise hydrogenous materials in objects opaque to other radiations. Fields of application include investigations of hydrogen in metals as well as metal corrosion, thanks to the fact that neutrons can penetrate metals better than e.g. X-rays and are highly sensitive to hydrogen. However, at interfaces refraction effects sometimes obscure the attenuation image, which is used for hydrogen quantification. Refraction, a differential phase effect, diverts the neutron beam away from the interface in the image leading to intensity gain and intensity loss regions, which are superimposed to the attenuation image, thus obscuring the interface region and hindering quantitative analyses of e.g. hydrogen content in the vicinity of the interface. For corresponding effects in X-ray imaging, a phase filter approach was developed and is generally based on transport-of-intensity considerations. Here, we compare such an approach, that has been adapted to neutrons, with another simulation-based assessment using the ray-tracing software McStas. The latter appears superior and promising for future extensions which enable fitting forward models via simulations in order to separate phase and attenuation effects and thus pave the way for overcoming quantitative limitations at refracting interfaces.

Ionospheric plasma irregularities over Dronning Maud Land in Antarctica and associated space weather effects

Ionospheric plasma irregularities and associated space weather effects over Dronning Maud Land in Antarctica are studied with a multi-instrument approach. It is demonstrated during a substorm event that auroral particle precipitation associated with the edges of auroral arcs can lead to irregularities in the ionospheric plasma density that can have significant impact on trans-ionospheric radio waves. Both refractive and diffractive effects are observed on signals from the GNSS satellites, where the latter are identified by the ionospheric free linear combination approach and amplitude scintillation. Thus, intense auroral particle precipitation can lead to plasma irregularities at scales from several kilometers down to and below the Fresnel radius, and they can result in space weather effects which can lead to losing the integrity of the GNSS signals.

Refractive Coupling Effects in Keratorefractive Lenticule Extraction Procedures: A Machine Learning-Assisted Approach.

To evaluate the impact of refractive couplings in myopia and myopic astigmatism with two different keratorefractive lenticule extraction (KLEx) systems. This was a retrospective evaluation of refractive outcomes with two different lasers studying 2,841 eyes undergoing small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) (VisuMax 500; Carl Zeiss Meditec) and 2,528 eyes undergoing SmartSight (ATOS; SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH). Coupling effects (derived from the ratio between partial slopes) were determined for sphere and cylinder and for spherical equivalent, cardinal, and oblique astigmatism separately. Statistically significant coupling effects were observed for both the VisuMax and ATOS systems, as indicated by P values less than .05. For the VisuMax, a coupling effect of 8% of cylinder into sphere and a 2% coupling of sphere into cylinder was found. For the ATOS, the coupling effect of sphere into cylinder was 1%. A 3% coupling effect of oblique astigmatism into cardinal astigmatism in the VisuMax, and conversely, a 0.1% coupling effect of defocus into oblique astigmatism in the ATOS were found. In cases with no astigmatism plan, sphere had a 2% effect on induced astigmatism in the VisuMax and 0.6% in the ATOS. In high astigmatism plans, sphere had a significant 16% impact on cylinder in the VisuMax. Additionally, the effect of defocus on cardinal astigmatism was 6% in the VisuMax and 0.8% on oblique astigmatism in the ATOS. Despite the P values less than .05 indicating statistical significance, the observed coupling effects were consistently low, with magnitudes below 10%, even for astigmatism exceeding 2.50 diopters. These couplings may be partly attributed to cross-effects of torsional eye movements. Coupling values for KLEx were markedly lower than those reported for non-aspheric excimer laser ablations. The results suggest that surgical results may be refined further by optimizing nomograms to mitigate coupling effects. [J Refract Surg. 2024;40(10):e706-e715.].

Refractive lensing of scintillating FRBs by subparsec cloudlets in the multiphase CGM

We consider the refractive lensing effects of ionized cool ([Formula: see text]) gas cloudlets in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of galaxies. In particular, we discuss the combined effects of lensing from these cloudlets and scintillation from plasma screens in the Milky Way interstellar medium (ISM). We show that, if the CGM comprises a mist of subparsec cloudlets with column densities of order [Formula: see text] (as predicted by [M. McCourt, S. P. Oh, R. O'Leary, A. M. Madigan, MNRAS 473, 5407-5431 (2018)]), then fast radio bursts (FRBs) whose sightlines pass within a virial radius of a CGM halo will may be lensed into tens of refractive images with a ∼10 ms scattering timescale. When these images are formed, they will be resolved by scintillating screens in the Milky Way ISM and will suppress the observed scintillation. We illustrate this effect in refractive lensing and argue that positive detections of FRB scintillation may constrain the properties of these cool-gas cloudlets, with current scintillation observation weakly disfavoring the cloudlet model. We propose that sheet-like geometries for the cool gas in the CGM can reconcile quasar absorption measurements (from which we infer the presence of the cool gas with structure on subparsec scales) and the unexpected lack of lensing signals from this gas thus far observed.

Novel Orange-Emitting YPO4:Sm3+/Polymer Nanocomposite Phosphor Films for LED Applications.

A polymer based nanocomposite (NC) material embedded with highly luminescent nanopowders could be promising for replacing traditional luminescent materials from a technological pointof view.In this study, we have successfully obtained YPO4: Sm3+ /Polymer nanocomposite phosphor films by embedding YPO4: Sm3+ luminescent nanoparticles (NPs) for orange-light emitting diode (LED) applications. These luminescent NPs were synthesized using the sol gel method in different polymer matrices i.e. polystyrene (PS) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) by using direct solution mixing. The structural, morphological, and photoluminescence characteristics of the nano-phosphors and resulting NC films were examined and discussed. The emission spectra of YPO4: Sm3+ (x at.%) nano-phosphors under near-UV excitation at 404nm were dominated by orange emission attributed to 6H5/2 4F7/2 (601nm) luminescence of Sm3+ ions. The optimum doping concentration of activator Sm3+ in YPO4 matrix was found to be 5 at.%. When the doping concentration of Sm3+ was higher than 5 at.%, concentration quenching occurred. The incorporation of YPO4: Sm3+ NPs into polymer matrices indicated that the NCs retained the original luminescence properties of the luminescent NPs, although a decrease in their emission intensity was observed for the NC films, attributable to a polymer matrix effect, which dominated in PS matrix. The fluorescence decay times of NPs in the NC films were measured and compared to those of proper YPO4: Sm3+ nano-phosphors. A decrease in decay time in NC film was observed due the effective refractive index effect. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (TDPL) of PMMA NC film was studied in 100-400K range, investigating the thermal stability of the film. Additionally, CIE coordinates confirmed the red-orange light emission of the prepared phosphors and NC films. The obtained results indicate that the synthesized polymer-nanophosphor NC films are promising candidates for orange-LED applications.

Treatment of antibiotics in mariculture wastewater via phosphate-doped porous coralline carbon nitride/porous mullite honeycomb sunlight-driven photocatalytic system: Morphological control, long-term and continuous flow application

Herein, this study describes a promising sunlight-driven photocatalytic system designed for the elimination of antibiotics (e.g., fluoroquinolones and sulfonamides) in real maricultural wastewater. Phosphate-doped porous coralline carbon nitride (P-CCN), synthesized by controlling morphology from two-dimensional block CN, was immobilized onto porous mullite honeycomb to construct a practical and molding photocatalytic system (P-CCN/PMH). By leveraging its microscopic porous coral structure, P-CCN displayed an augmentation in surface-active sites and a notable inner light refraction effect. This enhancement contributed to the high-efficiency performance of P-CCN/PMH system, producing 8.232 mM·h−1·g−1 H2O2 under sunlight, which was 7.21-fold higher than before modification; and its degradation rate constant to enrofloxacin (0.263 min−1) was 39.31-fold higher. The P-CCN/PMH system demonstrated superior capability in terms of adaptability to a wide concentration range, acid-alkali conditions, mineralization, carbon reduction, and challenging ionic surroundings or water matrices. Crucial superoxide radicals have been confirmed through mass-spectrometric technique and theoretical calculations, leading to ring-opening effects. Long-term and continuous-flow experiments were deeply carried out, validating the commendable competence of the P-CCN/PMH photocatalytic system in simulated wastewater treatment scenarios. Ultimately, the aggregate results highlight valuable insights into coralline materials synthesis and modular catalyst construction, presenting potential for addressing challenges related to environmental antibiotics pollution.

Transparent Depth Completion Using Segmentation Features

Estimating the depth of transparent objects is one of the well-known challenges of RGB-D cameras due to the reflection and refraction effects. Previously, researchers propose to correct the depth of transparent objects by using their estimated segmentation masks, because it is possible to recover the internal depth of an object just from its boundary, as illustrated by those depth-from-silhouette methods. However, these algorithms only use segmentation masks. They ignore the internal structure information from the mask segmentation features, which we argue are more useful for transparent depth estimation. In this work, we demonstrate the effectiveness of segmentation features for transparent object depth estimation. We show that it is even possible to recover the depth map just from segmentation features, without any RGB or depth map as input. Based on this observation, we propose DualTransNet which uses segmentation features for transparent depth completion. In our DualTransNet, we feed segmentation features from an extra module to the main network for better depth completion quality. Extensive experiments have shown the superiority of segmentation features as well as the state-of-the-art performance of our network.

Optical Methods for Optimizing Fluorescence Imaging Field of View and Image Quality in Surgical Guidance Procedures.

Cancer surgery is aimed at complete tumor resection and accurate lymph node detection. However, numerous blood vessels are distributed within the tumor, and the colors of the tumor, blood vessels, and lymph nodes are similar, making observations with the naked eye difficult. Therefore, tumors, blood vessels, and lymph nodes can be monitored via color classification using an operating microscope to induce fluorescence emission. However, as the beam width of the LED required to induce fluorescence emission is narrow and the power loss of the beam is significant at a certain working distance, there are limitations to inducing fluorescence emission, and light reflection occurs in the observation image, obstructing the view of the observation area. Therefore, the removal of reflected light is essential to avoid missing the diagnosis of the lesion under observation. This paper proposes the use of a beam mirror and polarizing filter to increase the beam width and beam intensity. The refraction and reflection effects of the beam were utilized using the beam mirror, and the rotation angle of the polarizing filter was adjusted to remove light reflection. Consequently, the minimum beam power using the beam mirror was 10.9 mW, the beam width was doubled to 40.2°, and more than 98% of light reflection was removed at 90° and 270°. With light reflection effectively eliminated, clear observation of lesions is possible. This method is expected to be used effectively in surgical, procedural, and diagnostic departments.

Tunneling away the relic neutrino asymmetry

The Earth acts as a matter potential for relic neutrinos which modifies their index of refraction from vacuum by δ∼10−8. It has been argued that the refractive effects from this potential should lead to a large O(δ) neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry at the surface of the Earth. This result was computed by treating the Earth as flat. In this work, we revisit this calculation in the context of a perfectly spherical Earth. We demonstrate, both numerically and through analytic arguments, that the flat-Earth result is only recovered under the condition δ3/2kR≫1, where k is the typical momentum of the relic neutrinos and R is the radius of the Earth. This condition is required to prevent antineutrinos from tunneling into classically inaccessible trajectories below the Earth’s surface and washing away the large asymmetry. As the physical parameters of the Earth do not satisfy this condition, we find that the asymmetry at the surface should only be O(δ). While the asphericity of the Earth may serve as a loophole to our conclusions, we argue that it is still difficult to generate a large asymmetry even in the presence of local terrain. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Improving GNSS-IR Sea Surface Height Accuracy Based on a New Ionospheric Stratified Elevation Angle Correction Model

Approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by vast oceans. With the exacerbation of global climate change, high-precision monitoring of sea surface height variations is of vital importance for constructing global ocean gravity fields and preventing natural disasters in the marine system. Global Navigation Satellite System Interferometry Reflectometry (GNSS-IR) sea surface altimetry is a method of inferring sea surface height based on the signal-to-noise ratio of satellite signals. It enables the retrieval of sea surface height variations with high precision. However, navigation satellite signals are influenced by the ionosphere during propagation, leading to deviations in the measured values of satellite elevation angles from their true values, which significantly affects the accuracy of GNSS-IR sea surface altimetry. Based on this, the contents of this paper are as follows: Firstly, a new ionospheric stratified elevation angle correction model (ISEACM) was developed by integrating the International Reference Ionosphere Model (IRI) and ray tracing methods. This model aims to improve the accuracy of GNSS-IR sea surface altimetry by correcting the ionospheric refraction effects on satellite elevation angles. Secondly, four GNSS stations (TAR0, PTLD, GOM1, and TPW2) were selected globally, and the corrected sea surface height values obtained using ISEACM were compared with observed values from tide gauge stations. The calculated average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) were 0.20 m and 0.83, respectively, indicating the effectiveness of ISEACM in sea surface height retrieval. Thirdly, a comparative analysis was conducted between sea surface height retrieval before and after correction using ISEACM. The optimal RMSE and PCC values with tide gauge station observations were 0.15 m and 0.90, respectively, representing a 20.00% improvement in RMSE and a 4.00% improvement in correlation coefficient compared to traditional GNSS-IR retrieval heights. These experimental results demonstrate that correction with ISEACM can effectively enhance the precision of GNSS-IR sea surface altimetry, which is crucial for accurate sea surface height measurements.

Terahertz electromagnetically induced optical limiter in asymmetric coupled quantum wells

This paper explores the optical limiting (OL) characteristics of an input probe field within a closed-loop asymmetric coupled quantum well (ACQW) system. Our research reveals that the application of Terahertz (THz) coupling laser fields can induce the OL behavior within the THz domain in the ACQW. The study demonstrates that revers saturable absorption arises through cross-Kerr nonlinearity, contributing to the emergence of OL behavior. Additionally, it is shown that the self-defocusing is induced concurrently within the system, further enhancing nonlinear refractive OL effects. Furthermore, it is revealed that the properties of induced OL can be manipulated by adjusting the characteristics of the applied fields. The discovered outcomes hold potential utility in safeguarding sensors and detectors operating within the THz band.

Variations in gust factor with wind direction and height based on the measurements from a coastal tower during three landfalling typhoons

Using high-frequency onshore wind data from four different heights of a coastal tower, the variations in gust factor with turbulence intensity, height and wind speed were studied under typhoon conditions. The gust factor increases with increasing turbulence intensity and, most often, can be described by a linear relationship with the turbulence intensity. The gust factor decreases with height and is relatively small compared with those presented in the national codes and other studies. A value of 2.5 is acceptable for the peak factor, which is close to the recommended value of the national code in China. The gust factor increases with increasing wind speed and is also affected by the wind direction. The gust factor has a value to that of previously published results when the wind flows roughly perpendicular to the shoreline, and has a smaller value when the wind flows roughly parallel to the shoreline. The phenomenon is caused by the confinement of shoreline on the sea wave development. Sea waves tend to propagate normal to the shoreline because of the refraction effect. As a result, a shorter roughness length exists in the parallel direction to the shoreline. It can be further explained by the weakness in the momentum flux exchange between the air and sea based on the wave form drag theory when the wind flows parallel to the shoreline.

Design of phononic crystals using superposition of defect and gradient-index for enhanced wave focusing

This paper introduces a novel design strategy for phononic crystals (PnCs) that significantly enhances their wave amplification and focusing capabilities, making them highly suitable for energy harvesting applications. The superposition strategy is based on the combination of two distinct wave tuning techniques: defect PnCs implementation and gradient-index (GRIN) structure designs. The two techniques are based on different mechanisms and are commonly considered independently for wave manipulation applications. In particular, defect PnCs incorporate structural or material irregularities within periodic PnCs, enabling waves of certain frequencies, typically blocked by the bandgap, to pass through and emerge with amplified amplitude at the defect location. In contrast, the GRIN technique utilizes gradient structures that induce refractive effect to the wave propagation, focusing the wave at a pre-determined location. The PnC design strategy that we propose combines the wave amplifying effect of defect PnCs in conjunction with the wave focusing effect of the GRIN mechanism. This combination leads to substantial performance improvement, with enhancement factors of 2.6 and 4.1, in comparison with individually implemented defect or gradient models, respectively. These results open up new possibilities for the development of PnCs with the goal of tuning wave propagation for optimized vibration energy harvesters.

Epithelial Remodeling and Epithelial Wavefront Aberrometry after Spherical vs. Cylindrical Myopic Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE).

Background/Objectives: To compare the epithelial thickness changes and the changes in epithelial wavefront aberrometry following spherical versus astigmatic myopic small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE). Methods: Eighty-six eyes of 86 patients who underwent SMILE were included in this retrospective study. A total of 43 eyes underwent myopic spherical correction (spherical group) and 43 eyes underwent myopic cylindrical correction (cylindrical group). The groups were matched according to the spherical equivalent of surgically corrected refraction. Subjective manifest refraction as well as high-resolution anterior segment optical coherence tomography (MS-39; CSO; Florence, Italy) were obtained preoperatively as well as 3 months postoperatively. The latter was utilized for computing epithelial wavefront aberrometry in addition to epithelial thickness mapping. Results: Epithelial thickness increased significantly in both groups after SMILE (p < 0.01). In the cylindrical group, epithelial thickening was more pronounced on the flat meridian compared to the steep meridian (p = 0.04). In both groups, epithelial wavefront aberrometry showed a significant postoperative increase in the epithelium's spherical refractive power, causing a myopization of -0.24 ± 0.42 diopters (D) in the spherical group (p < 0.01) and -0.41 ± 0.52 D in the cylindrical group (p < 0.0001). While no significant changes in epithelial cylindrical refractive power were observed in the spherical group, a significant increase was noted in the cylindrical group from -0.21 ± 0.24 D to -0.37 ± 0.31 D (p = 0.01). In both groups, epithelial higher-order aberrations increased significantly (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Postoperative epithelial remodeling after SMILE alters lower-order (sphere and cylinder) and higher-order aberrations of the corneal epithelial wavefront and might contribute to refractive undercorrection, especially in astigmatic corrections. Epithelial wavefront aberrometry can be used to quantify the refractive effect of epithelial remodeling processes after keratorefractive surgery.

Detection of a glass fiber-reinforced polymer with defects by terahertz computed tomography

Terahertz (THz) computed tomography (THz CT) exhibits the potential to provide a wealth of data, surpassing that of THz tomographic imaging in applications such as detecting embedded defects, particularly defect evolution within a glass fiber-reinforced polymer. To realize high-resolution THz CT, a systematic approach guided by wave propagation simulation was employed. First, the front wave of the THz beam was fine-tuned to realize a beam diameter of <2 mm. To mitigate the strong refractive effect and minimize Fresnel reflection loss, a refractive-index-matching material was fabricated and utilized as a rounded enclosure for samples with sharp corners. To further improve the reconstruction resolution, a flat surface enclosure was applied to collect all incident beams at the detector. To realize comparable results to those of full-angle CT, a limited-angle CT approach was implemented, and the frequency range 0.1–3 THz was used in the image reconstruction study. The experimental and simulated images were used to validate the findings, and conductive and non-conductive defects measuring 200 µm were successfully visualized. Additionally, a custom-built user interface enabled us to visualize the field spatial distribution of the THz beam with respect to frequency.

Real-Time Speed-of-Sound Estimation In Vivo via Steered Plane Wave Ultrasound.

Speed-of-sound (SoS) is an intrinsic acoustic property of human tissues and has been regarded as a potential biomarker of tissue health. To foster the clinical use of this emerging biomarker in medical diagnostics, it is important for SoS estimates to be derived and displayed in real time. Here, we demonstrate that concurrent global SoS estimation and B-mode imaging can be achieved live on a portable ultrasound scanner. Our innovation is hinged upon the design of a novel pulse-echo SoS estimation framework that is based on steered plane wave imaging. It has accounted for the effects of refraction and imaging depth when the medium SoS differs from the nominal value of 1540 m/s that is conventionally used in medical imaging. The accuracy of our SoS estimation framework was comparatively analyzed with through-transmit time-of-flight measurements in vitro on 15 custom agar phantoms with different SoS values (1508-1682 m/s) and in vivo on human calf muscles ( N = 9 ; SoS range: 1560-1586 m/s). Our SoS estimation framework has a mean signed difference (MSD) of - 0.6 ± 2.3 m/s in vitro and - 2.2 ± 11.2 m/s in vivo relative to the reference measurements. In addition, our real-time system prototype has yielded simultaneous SoS estimates and B-mode imaging at an average frame rate of 18.1 fps. Overall, by realizing real-time tissue SoS estimation with B-mode imaging, our innovation can foster the use of tissue SoS as a biomarker in medical ultrasound diagnostics.

Space-resolved dynamic light scattering within a millimeter-sized drop: From Brownian diffusion to the swelling of hydrogel beads.

We present a dynamic light scattering setup to probe, with time and space resolution, the microscopic dynamics of soft matter systems confined within millimeter-sized spherical drops. By using an ad hoc optical layout, we tackle the challenges raised by refraction effects due to the unconventional shape of the samples. We first validate the setup by investigating the dynamics of a suspension of Brownian particles. The dynamics measured at different positions in the drop, and hence different scattering angles, are found to be in excellent agreement with those obtained for the same sample in a conventional light scattering setup. We then demonstrate the setup capabilities by investigating a bead made of a polymer hydrogel undergoing swelling. The gel microscopic dynamics exhibit a space dependence that strongly varies with time elapsed since the beginning of swelling. Initially, the dynamics in the periphery of the bead are much faster than in the core, indicative of nonuniform swelling. As the swelling proceeds, the dynamics slow down and become more spatially homogeneous. By comparing the experimental results to numerical and analytical calculations for the dynamics of a homogeneous, purely elastic sphere undergoing swelling, we establish that the mean square displacement of the gel strands deviates from the affine motion inferred from the macroscopic deformation, evolving from fast diffusivelike dynamics at the onset of swelling to slower, yet supradiffusive, rearrangements at later stages.

Every Data Point Counts: Stellar Flares as a Case Study of Atmosphere-aided Studies of Transients in the LSST Era

Due to their short timescale, stellar flares are a challenging target for the most modern synoptic sky surveys. The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a project designed to collect more data than any precursor survey, is unlikely to detect flares with more than one data point in its main survey. We developed a methodology to enable LSST studies of stellar flares, with a focus on flare temperature and temperature evolution, which remain poorly constrained compared to flare morphology. By leveraging the sensitivity expected from the Rubin system, differential chromatic refraction (DCR) can be used to constrain flare temperature from a single-epoch detection, which will enable statistical studies of flare temperatures and constrain models of the physical processes behind flare emission using the unprecedentedly high volume of data produced by Rubin over the 10 yr LSST. We model the refraction effect as a function of the atmospheric column density, photometric filter, and temperature of the flare, and show that flare temperatures at or above ∼4000 K can be constrained by a single g-band observation at air mass X ≳ 1.2, given the minimum specified requirement on the single-visit relative astrometric accuracy of LSST, and that a surprisingly large number of LSST observations are in fact likely be conducted at X ≳ 1.2, in spite of image quality requirements pushing the survey to preferentially low X. Having failed to measure flare DCR in LSST precursor surveys, we make recommendations on survey design and data products that enable these studies in LSST and other future surveys.

The palaeomagnetic field recorded in Eyjafjarðardalur basalts (2.6–8.0 Ma), Iceland: are inclination-shallowing corrections necessary in time-averaged field analysis?

SUMMARY The geocentric axial dipole (GAD) hypothesis is key to many palaeomagnetic applications, for example plate-tectonic reconstructions; however, the validity of this hypothesis at high latitudes is not fully resolved. To address this, in this paper we determined the palaeomagnetic directional data of 156 lava units in Eyjafjarðardalur, Iceland, with the aim of determining the validity of the GAD hypothesis at high latitudes using time-averaged field (TAF) analysis. In addition to the palaeomagnetic directional data, we constructed an age model for the sequences using new 40Ar/39Ar dates, magnetostratigraphy and field data. The sequence age range is 2.6–8.0 Ma. We show that the mean virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) for our data does not agree with the GAD theory at 95 per cent confidence, when only the standard tilt and tectonic corrections are made; however, when inclination-shallowing processes are accounted for, for example thermoremanence (TRM) anisotropy and refraction effects, the mean VGP can align with GAD at 95 per cent confidence. These inclination-shallowing processes are shown to reduce the inclination by up to 14° for some of the basaltic units. Applying the inclination-shallowing correction also reduces VGP dispersion to levels that agree with global model predictions. We propose that much of the scatter within the palaeomagnetic directional databases are due to inclination-shallowing process effects, which become more important as the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) intensity is high, for example &amp;gt;2 A m−1. We propose that inclination-shallowing processes can be identified and corrected for by examining the NRM intensity and dispersion.