OKC colloquia

Information field theory - turning data into images

by T. Ensslin ((MPI Astrophysics, Garching))

Europe/Stockholm
Description
Non-linear image reconstruction and signal analysis deal with complex inverse problems. To tackle such problems in a systematic way, I present information field theory (IFT, [1]) as a means of probabilistic, data based inference on spatially distributed signal fields. IFT is a statistical field theory, which permits the construction of optimal signal recovery algorithms even for non-linear and non-Gaussian signal inference problems. IFT algorithms exploit spatial correlations of the signal fields and benefit from many techniques developed to tackle statistical field theories, such as Feynman diagrams [1], re-normalisation calculations [1,2], and thermodynamic potentials [3]. The theory can be used in many areas, and a few applications in cosmography, cosmic microwave background research, and cosmic magnetism studies are presented [4]. References: [1] T.A. Enßlin, M. Frommert, & F.S. Kitaura, Phys. Rev. D 80, 105005 (2009). [2] T.A. Enßlin & M. Frommert, Physical Review D 83, 105014 (2011). [3] T.A. Enßlin & C. Weig, Physical Review E 82, 051112 (2010). [4] see applications at http://www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/ift