10 The Mk II and Mk III auto-folders compared

Comparison of the results of the Mk II auto-folder (Fig. 5 left) with the results of the Mk III auto-folder (Fig. 5 right) show unambiguously that the B peak is stronger in Mk II whilst the C peak is stronger in Mk III. The status of the D peak is slightly ambiguous in that whilst it reaches a higher level in Mk II, it appears more strongly differentiated from the background on Mk III. The status of the E peak is similarly ambiguous in that, in both solutions, it has a "tuning fork'' shape relative to the position of the E peak in the PS solution (vertical line) but, overall, has about equal strength in each diagram.

To summarize, contrary to the working hypothesis made in Sect. 9, that the innermost parts of rotation curves should always be cut out, circumstances appear to suggest that the application of a combination of the Mk II and Mk III auto-folders, each applied according to estimated value of $\ln A$, might result in an algorithm of greater effectiveness. However, since the precise final value of $\ln A$ for any given rotation curve will depend on the folding process used, then it is clear that defining a strategy for choosing between the Mk II and the Mk III auto-folders will not necessarily be a simple process. In the following two sections, we describe the means by which we are able to deduce an effective working strategy.