JSM 2004 - Toronto

Abstract #300708

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Activity Number: 19
Type: Contributed
Date/Time: Sunday, August 8, 2004 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
Sponsor: Section on Nonparametric Statistics
Abstract - #300708
Title: Nonparametric Estimation of Mass within a Galaxy
Author(s): Xiao Wang*+ and Michael Woodroofe
Companies: University of Michigan and University of Michigan
Address: 2151 Hubbard Rd. #29, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105,
Keywords: kernel-smoothing ; isotonic method ; mass of a galaxy
Abstract:

We consider using a nonparametric method to estimate the distribution of mass within a galaxy. The data will consist of positions and spectral information from a sample of a few thousand stars. The data pose interesting statistical questions. The main one is a difficult inverse problem in which one attempts to infer the mass distribution, primarily from the radial velocities of stars (which can be determined from the data). This new procedure is to combine the kernel smoothing techniques with the isotonic methods to obtain a consistent estimate of mass distribution. The use of nonparametric methods is rare with this type of data and, so, our work has the potential to influence future statistics within astronomy, since only a general model is assumed in this nonparametric approach.

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