A complete picture of the galaxy despite incomplete data: The measurement does not cover all points (dark areas in the left-hand image) but the distribution of matter in a section of the universe can be partially reconstructed using the Wiener filter (right-hand image). (Credit: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics / Kitaura)

ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2009) — A bit of imagination on the part of a measuring instrument wouldn’t be a bad thing. It could help to add data from areas where the instrument is unable to measure. However, it must do so constructively. In order to infer missing data in an astronomical measurement with more than just imagination, physicists at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics have formulated a theory of spatial perception called information field theory. The scientists have developed a series of rules for reconstituting incomplete and noisy image data. Furthermore, they have established the various conditions under which the rules should be applied. They draw on a mathematical algorithm that particle physicists use in quantum field theory. The theory could also help to create images in the areas of medicine, geology and materials sciences.

Sometimes we hear or see what we think makes sense: we can recognise a cup even if we only see a single detail. And we understand someone mumbling on the phone more clearly if we are already familiar with their voice. It’s the expectation of a sensory impression that makes life easier for magicians, too, when they make a ball disappear by throwing it up in the air: our eyes follow the ball that we think should be flying through the air, but the conjurer only pretended to throw the ball and actually hid it instead.

A measuring instrument should be safe from such illusions – on the one hand. But on the other hand, it would certainly be helpful if scientists could add data in places where it cannot be measured: for instance, when they want to take a picture of the universe behind the Milky Way, which telescopes are unable to penetrate. To enable them to draw conclusions about astronomical blind spots, Torsten Enßlin and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching have developed a clever system, which they call information field theory (IFT).

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