56,421 research outputs found
Detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Features in the Large-Scale 3-Point Correlation Function of SDSS BOSS DR12 CMASS Galaxies
We present the large-scale 3-point correlation function (3PCF) of the SDSS
DR12 CMASS sample of Luminous Red Galaxies, the largest-ever sample
used for a 3PCF or bispectrum measurement. We make the first high-significance
() detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the 3PCF.
Using these acoustic features in the 3PCF as a standard ruler, we measure the
distance to to precision (statistical plus systematic). We
find for our
fiducial cosmology (consistent with Planck 2015) and bias model. This
measurement extends the use of the BAO technique from the 2-point correlation
function (2PCF) and power spectrum to the 3PCF and opens an avenue for deriving
additional cosmological distance information from future large-scale structure
redshift surveys such as DESI. Our measured distance scale from the 3PCF is
fairly independent from that derived from the pre-reconstruction 2PCF and is
equivalent to increasing the length of BOSS by roughly 10\%; reconstruction
appears to lower the independence of the distance measurements. Fitting a model
including tidal tensor bias yields a moderate significance (
detection of this bias with a value in agreement with the prediction from local
Lagrangian biasing.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted MNRA
Numerical evolution of squeezed and non-Gaussian states in loop quantum cosmology
In recent years, numerical simulations with Gaussian initial states have
demonstrated the existence of a quantum bounce in loop quantum cosmology in
various models. A key issue pertaining to the robustness of the bounce and the
associated physics is to understand the quantum evolution for more general
initial states which may depart significantly from Gaussianity and may have no
well defined peakedness properties. The analysis of such states, including
squeezed and highly non-Gaussian states, has been computationally challenging
until now. In this manuscript, we overcome these challenges by using the
Chimera scheme for the spatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic model sourced
with a massless scalar field. We demonstrate that the quantum bounce in this
model occurs even for states which are highly squeezed or are non-Gaussian with
multiple peaks and with little resemblance to semi-classical states. The
existence of the bounce is found to be robust, being independent of the
properties of the states. The evolution of squeezed and non-Gaussian states
turns out to be qualitatively similar to that of Gaussian states, and satisfies
strong constraints on the growth of the relative fluctuations across the
bounce. We also compare the results from the effective dynamics and find that,
although it captures the qualitative aspects of the evolution for squeezed and
highly non-Gaussian states, it always underestimates the bounce volume. We show
that various properties of the evolution, such as the energy density at the
bounce, are in excellent agreement with the predictions from an exactly
solvable loop quantum cosmological model for arbitrary states.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures. v2: Discussion of the main results expande
The Inflation Technique for Causal Inference with Latent Variables
The problem of causal inference is to determine if a given probability
distribution on observed variables is compatible with some causal structure.
The difficult case is when the causal structure includes latent variables. We
here introduce the for tackling this problem. An
inflation of a causal structure is a new causal structure that can contain
multiple copies of each of the original variables, but where the ancestry of
each copy mirrors that of the original. To every distribution of the observed
variables that is compatible with the original causal structure, we assign a
family of marginal distributions on certain subsets of the copies that are
compatible with the inflated causal structure. It follows that compatibility
constraints for the inflation can be translated into compatibility constraints
for the original causal structure. Even if the constraints at the level of
inflation are weak, such as observable statistical independences implied by
disjoint causal ancestry, the translated constraints can be strong. We apply
this method to derive new inequalities whose violation by a distribution
witnesses that distribution's incompatibility with the causal structure (of
which Bell inequalities and Pearl's instrumental inequality are prominent
examples). We describe an algorithm for deriving all such inequalities for the
original causal structure that follow from ancestral independences in the
inflation. For three observed binary variables with pairwise common causes, it
yields inequalities that are stronger in at least some aspects than those
obtainable by existing methods. We also describe an algorithm that derives a
weaker set of inequalities but is more efficient. Finally, we discuss which
inflations are such that the inequalities one obtains from them remain valid
even for quantum (and post-quantum) generalizations of the notion of a causal
model.Comment: Minor final corrections, updated to match the published version as
closely as possibl
Motif Clustering and Overlapping Clustering for Social Network Analysis
Motivated by applications in social network community analysis, we introduce
a new clustering paradigm termed motif clustering. Unlike classical clustering,
motif clustering aims to minimize the number of clustering errors associated
with both edges and certain higher order graph structures (motifs) that
represent "atomic units" of social organizations. Our contributions are
two-fold: We first introduce motif correlation clustering, in which the goal is
to agnostically partition the vertices of a weighted complete graph so that
certain predetermined "important" social subgraphs mostly lie within the same
cluster, while "less relevant" social subgraphs are allowed to lie across
clusters. We then proceed to introduce the notion of motif covers, in which the
goal is to cover the vertices of motifs via the smallest number of (near)
cliques in the graph. Motif cover algorithms provide a natural solution for
overlapping clustering and they also play an important role in latent feature
inference of networks. For both motif correlation clustering and its extension
introduced via the covering problem, we provide hardness results, algorithmic
solutions and community detection results for two well-studied social networks
Approaching the Problem of Time with a Combined Semiclassical-Records-Histories Scheme
I approach the Problem of Time and other foundations of Quantum Cosmology
using a combined histories, timeless and semiclassical approach. This approach
is along the lines pursued by Halliwell. It involves the timeless probabilities
for dynamical trajectories entering regions of configuration space, which are
computed within the semiclassical regime. Moreover, the objects that Halliwell
uses in this approach commute with the Hamiltonian constraint, H. This approach
has not hitherto been considered for models that also possess nontrivial linear
constraints, Lin. This paper carries this out for some concrete relational
particle models (RPM's). If there is also commutation with Lin - the Kuchar
observables condition - the constructed objects are Dirac observables.
Moreover, this paper shows that the problem of Kuchar observables is explicitly
resolved for 1- and 2-d RPM's. Then as a first route to Halliwell's approach
for nontrivial linear constraints that is also a construction of Dirac
observables, I consider theories for which Kuchar observables are formally
known, giving the relational triangle as an example. As a second route, I apply
an indirect method that generalizes both group-averaging and Barbour's best
matching. For conceptual clarity, my study involves the simpler case of
Halliwell 2003 sharp-edged window function. I leave the elsewise-improved
softened case of Halliwell 2009 for a subsequent Paper II. Finally, I provide
comments on Halliwell's approach and how well it fares as regards the various
facets of the Problem of Time and as an implementation of QM propositions.Comment: An improved version of the text, and with various further references.
25 pages, 4 figure
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