[x3d-public] [1510.02796] Advanced Data Visualization in Astrophysics: the X3D Pathway

[Don Brutzman]

to: x3d-public

Christophe MOUTON wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> Please find this recent paper that is related to a lot of topics in terms
> of workflow from astrophysics to 3D-printing.
>
> The URL is: http://arxiv.org/abs/1510.02796
>
> Please find the paper attached:
>
> Kind regards
>
> Christophe

(.pdf link included above, here is abstract)

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Advanced Data Visualization in Astrophysics: the X3D Pathway
F. P. A. Vogt, C. I. Owen, L. Verdes-Montenegro, S. Borthakur
(Submitted on 9 Oct 2015)

     Most modern astrophysical datasets are multi-dimensional; a characteristic that can nowadays generally be conserved and exploited scientifically during the data reduction/simulation and analysis cascades. Yet, the same multi-dimensional datasets are systematically cropped, sliced and/or projected to printable two-dimensional (2-D) diagrams at the publication stage. In this article, we introduce the concept of the "X3D pathway" as a mean of simplifying and easing the access to data visualization and publication via three-dimensional (3-D) diagrams. The X3D pathway exploits the facts that 1) the X3D 3-D file format lies at the center of a product tree that includes interactive HTML documents, 3-D printing, and high-end animations, and 2) all high-impact-factor & peer-reviewed journals in Astrophysics are now published (some exclusively) online. We argue that the X3D standard is an ideal vector for sharing multi-dimensional datasets, as it provides direct access to a range 
 of diff
erent data visualization techniques, is fully-open source, and is a well defined ISO standard. Unlike other earlier propositions to publish multi-dimensional datasets via 3-D diagrams, the X3D pathway is not tied to specific software (prone to rapid and unexpected evolution), but instead compatible with a range of open-source software already in use by our community. The interactive HTML branch of the X3D pathway is also actively supported by leading peer-reviewed journals in the field of Astrophysics. Finally, this article provides interested readers with a detailed set of practical astrophysical examples designed to act as a stepping stone towards the implementation of the X3D pathway for any other dataset.

Comments: 	11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Associated Github repository: this https URL (v0.9 release DOI:10.5281/zenodo.31953)
Subjects: 	Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM)
Cite as: 	arXiv:1510.02796 [astro-ph.IM]
   	(or arXiv:1510.02796v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
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p.s. wondering if we 3D print galaxies, where do we put them?!

all the best, Don
-- 
Don Brutzman  Naval Postgraduate School, Code USW/Br       brutzman at nps.edu
Watkins 270,  MOVES Institute, Monterey CA 93943-5000 USA   +1.831.656.2149
X3D graphics, virtual worlds, navy robotics http://faculty.nps.edu/brutzman