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An iterative technique for the rectification of observed distributions

1974/06/01 by L. B. Lucy · 3,872 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · #Algorithm #Control Systems and Identification #Iterative method #Neural Networks and Applications #Physics #Rectification

paper · doi:10.1086/111605

published in The Astronomical Journal 79, 745 (Institute of Physics)

openalex publication_date 1974/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

An iterative technique is described for generating estimates to the solutions of rectification and deconvolution problems in statistical astronomy. The technique, which derives from Bayes' theorem on conditional probabili- ties, conserves the constraints on frequency distributions (i.e., normalization and non-negativeness) and, at each iteration, increases the likelihood of the observed sample. The behavior of the technique is explored by applying it to roblems whose solutions are known in the limit of infinite sample size, and excellent results are obtained after a few iterations. The astronomical use of the technique is illustrated by applying it to the problem of rectifying distributions of v sin i for aspect effect; calculations are also reported illustrating the technique's possible use for correcting radio-astronomical observations for beam-smoothing. Application to the problem of obtaining unbiased, smoothed histograms is also suggested.

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