[Cosmo-torun] Re: AA/2004/2055

[Andrzej Marecki]

> >  We are sorry that we cannot consider your paper for publication in
> > A&A, since it is based on the HealPix software, that has been
               ^^^^^^^^^^^

> 
> The second half of the above statement is false. Our paper contains
> algebra regarding a pixelisation system which is independent of any
> software implementation.  It is not based on the HealPix software.
                            ^^^^^^!!!^^^^^^
[...]

My (AMr's) 0.03 PLN.

A&A, following Gorski et al., argue that you merely "disassembled" the
HEALPix code and expressed it in algebraic form. _Nothing_ more than that. 
If this was true, they would be right: such a practice would be, IMHO, a
plagiarism. In that case the fact that...

> The algebraic solution to this pixel-coordinate system has not been published
> in any astronomical journal.

... and so you made a "translation" from the programming language(s) used in
HEALPix to the algebraic formalism just to show how HEALPix works, does not
help much.

Therefore you should try to convince A&A that your approach presented in
your article is different. Or to be more precise: that, say, 80% of the 
intellectual content of AA/2004/2055 is common to that in HEALPix software
but the remaining 20% is completely genuine.

Proving this, although may be difficult, is doable. To this end you should
_insist_ that an independent referee analyses and compares the code and
your algebra and judges to what extent your algebra is genuine. But....

Finding a referee that would be willing to wade through the HEALPix code to
find out if, indeed, your algebra and the HEALPix code present different
approaches would be extremely difficult, IMHO. So, what you have to do is
to help A&A and the (would be) referee. To this end you might send them a
detailed list of differences between the code and your algebra.

> But again, it should be made clear: if you read our submitted paper, you will
> see that it is independent of any software. Please read it.

Sorry, Boud, but the point is they won't see it unless _you_ PROVE it. Your
statement "it is independent of any software" is a typical "because I say
so" statement and as such will hardly convince anyone, I'm afraid.

--
Andrzej