Sóley Hyman, TAP Graduate Student Research Prize Awardee
When
Refreshments served at 3:00 pm in the 3rd floor atrium.
TAP Colloquium
PECCARY: A Novel Approach for Characterizing Orbital Complexity, Stochasticity, and Regularity
Abstract:
Permutation Entropy and statistiCal Complexity Analysis for astRophYsics (PECCARY) is a computationally inexpensive, statistical method by which any time series can be characterized as predominantly regular, complex, or stochastic. Elements of the PECCARY method have been used in a variety of physical, biological, economic, and mathematical scenarios, but have not yet gained traction in the astrophysical community. This study introduces the PECCARY technique with the specific aims to motivate its use in and optimize it for the analysis of astrophysical orbital systems. PECCARY works by decomposing a time-dependent measure, such as the xcoordinate or orbital angular momentum time series, into ordinal patterns. Due to its unique approach and statistical nature, PECCARY is well suited for detecting preferred and forbidden patterns (a signature of chaos), even when the chaotic behavior is short-lived or when working with a relatively short-duration time series or small sets of time-series data. A variety of examples are used to demonstrate the capabilities of PECCARY. These include mathematical examples (sine waves, varieties of noise, well-known chaotic functions), a double pendulum system, and astrophysical tracer particle simulations with potentials of varying intricacies. Since the adopted timescale used to diagnose a given time series can affect the outcome, a method is presented to identify an ideal sampling scheme, constrained by the overall duration and the natural timescale of the system. The accompanying PECCARY Python package and its usage are discussed.
Bio:
Sóley is a sixth-year PhD student in the Astronomy Department working with Prof. Kate Daniel. She completed her bachelor's degree in Astrophysics and Physics at Harvard University in 2019. Her PhD research focuses on how stellar orbits (especially chaotic ones) shape the evolution of internal galactic structures like bars and spiral arms. She is also interested in connecting her theoretical work for understanding galaxy evolution with observational data of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. In addition to that work, Sóley is heavily involved in developing sonification tools for both dynamics research and astronomy outreach. She will be starting as a CITA National Fellow at Queen's University in the fall.