The Plan as per Art Lucas..

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All:
 
My first boss at GE liked to refer to the guy who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions.  Let me try to express what seems to me to be a sensible plan.

 
1.  Firstly the plan should be to develop working, recursive software directed at explaining slow disappearances and disappearances in occultation data as we see it.

 
2.  The generic method is to write a possible forward solution with unevaluated constants.  The elements of the solution should first be, in my opinion:

    Diffraction with unevaluated constants
    Stellar diameter w. an unevaluated diameter
 
The solution involves using the recursive, probably Marquardt, method to choose different values for the unevaluated constants, make a forward solution and compare it to the data. The solution stops when the minimum in the sum of squares of differences between the observed and calculated data is reached.

 
During the solution process display the current value of the stellar component, the diffraction component, and the stripped value along with the initial data.

 
3.  Once this basic module works we can start looking at the model for appropriateness, completeness, etc.  In other words tweaking it.

 
4.  It may be appropriate, as specifically interesting data are anticipated, to mount more exact experiments than are possible with video.

 
For the moment each of us has an undergrad optics book and Michael has shown us the way.  I have pretty good control of the Marquardt method.  We have several data sets that have been discussed in recent days.  We (I) should be ready to start soon.

 
Art Lucas, Sc. D., secy/treas, IOTA

BREIT IDEAS  Observatory
http://www.poyntsource.com/BREIT_IDEAS/index.htm