Correlations in the Spatial Power Spectrum Inferred from Angular Clustering: Methods and Application to APM

We reconsider the inference of spatial power spectra from angular clustering data and show how to include correlations in both the angular correlation function and the spatial power spectrum. Inclusion of the full covariance matrices loosens the constraints on large-scale structure inferred from the APM survey by over a factor of two. We present a new inversion technique based on singular value decomposition that allows one to propagate the covariance matrix on the angular correlation function through to that of the spatial power spectrum and to reconstruct smooth power spectra without underestimating the errors. Within a parameter space of the CDM shape Gamma and the amplitude sigma_8, we find that the angular correlations in the APM survey constrain Gamma to be 0.19-0.37 at 68% confidence when fit to scales larger than k=0.2h Mpc^-1. A downturn in power at k<0.04h Mpc^-1 is significant at only 1-sigma. These results are optimistic as we include only Gaussian statistical errors and neglect any boundary effects.Comment: 37 pages, LaTex, 9 figures. Submitted to Ap

Assumptions of the primordial spectrum and cosmological parameter estimation

The observables of the perturbed universe, CMB anisotropy and large structures, depend on a set of cosmological parameters, as well as, the assumed nature of primordial perturbations. In particular, the shape of the primordial power spectrum (PPS) is, at best, a well motivated assumption. It is known that the assumed functional form of the PPS in cosmological parameter estimation can affect the best fit parameters and their relative confidence limits. In this paper, we demonstrate that a specific assumed form actually drives the best fit parameters into distinct basins of likelihood in the space of cosmological parameters where the likelihood resists improvement via modifications to the PPS. The regions where considerably better likelihoods are obtained allowing free form PPS lie outside these basins. In the absence of a preferred model of inflation, this raises a concern that current cosmological parameters estimates are strongly prejudiced by the assumed form of PPS. Our results strongly motivate approaches toward simultaneous estimation of the cosmological parameters and the shape of the primordial spectrum from upcoming cosmological data. It is equally important for theorists to keep an open mind towards early universe scenarios that produce features in the PPS.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, discussions extended, main results unchanged, matches published versio

The Usurper: Trump, Islamophobia, and the Decline of Reagan Conservatism

Op Eds, or opinion editorials, are typically published in daily newspapers and can raise awareness about a particular topic or aim to persuade others. For this project each student wrote an op-ed in which they presented their opinion or thoughts about the issue of islamophobic discourse coming from Republican candidates, especially Donald Trump

Black, White, & Blue: An Analysis of Implicit Racial Bias & the Fourth Amendment in the Criminal Justice System

Just two score and seven years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to leadership in a fight for racial justice and civil rights in America. As Dr. King famously remarked from the confines of a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Dr. King’s powerful words hold true today. Controversies, such as the deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner at the hands of officers tasked to protect them, seems to indicate that while progress has been made since the days of Dr. King, racial prejudice and discrimination remain prevalent in contemporary society. When examining racial disparities in incarceration rates, racial prejudice and discrimination can also be seen to have an impact as well. Legal scholar and civil rights activist Michelle Alexander published a well-known hypothesis that the Jim Crow-era racial caste system has been renewed in modern society by the criminal justice system, in particular blaming the War on Drugs as the vehicle for “Mass Incarceration”. Pretext stops and consent searches are just two ways in which Fourth Amendment doctrine has increased the amount of discretion police officers have in investigating drug crimes. Jack Glaser, a scholar in the field of Psychology, has demonstrated that law enforcement officers have implicit racial biases that affect how they enforce the law. The combination of increased police discretion and the existence of implicit racial biases is problematic when looking at a system that incarcerates a much greater percentage of Blacks than it does Whites. This study will first examine Fourth Amendment doctrine to understand the increased discretion afforded to law enforcement officers. The racial outcomes of the “War on Drugs” and Mass Incarceration in the United States must also be examined to understand the effect of the explosion of incarceration rates on minorities. The issue of implicit racial bias must be brought in to understand, among other major factors, how these racial outcomes have occurred. These steps will enable this study to test the hypothesis that the weakening of the Fourth Amendment and the implicit racial bias of police officers contributes to the disproportionate number of Blacks and other minority groups under the control of the Federal and State Prison Systems

A Historical Sketch and an Evaluation of the Utah State Agricultural Coaching School and its Results in Terms of the Judgment of Coaches who Participated in 1948

The 1st Annual Utah State Agricultural College Coaching School was held in 1927. The originator and director of the school is E. L. Romney, professor of physical education, director of athletics, and head football coach, Utah State Agricultural College. He has directed this school from its beginning and has consistently obtained leading coaches in the United States as instructors. The school was begun by Coach Romney because he felt that high school and college coaches needed to learn, through specialized instruction by outstanding authorities, the latest developments in coaching principal sports. The purpose of the present study is to determine (1) the areas from which coaches come to attend the Utah State Agricultural College Coaching School, (2) whether or not the people attending the 22nd Annual Coaching School at the Utah State Agricultural College attend regularly, (3) to what extent information and material available at the school are used in the coach\u27s own coaching program, (4) if the school is answering the needs of the coaches attending, and (5) whether or not there is any social value in attending the school, (6) a comparison of all Utah State coaching schools, (7) what, if any, instructional methods need to be used more in the instructor\u27s presentation of material. This information should prove valuable (1) as a guide to Directors of Coaching Schools in building their programs for their particular coaching school, (2) to coaches in determining the value of the coaching school

New Clarification About Observation Billing May Improve Care for Behavioral Health Patients

Emergency Physicians provide ongoing care to psychiatric patients beyond the confines of a standard emergency room visit.  Often, when we identify patients who need specialty psychiatric care, patients board in the emergency department awaiting acceptance and transfer to an outside facility.  Even in cases where it has taken multiple days to complete the transfer, it has been unclear how to properly obtain reimbursement for this care.  We discuss a new coding clarification that may provide a pathway to improve part of this situation

A Comparison of Semi-Analytic and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Galaxy Formation

We compare the statistical properties of galaxies found in two different models of hierarchical galaxy formation: the semi-analytic model of Cole et al. and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations of Pearce et al. Using a `stripped-down' version of the semi-analytic model which mimics the resolution of the SPH simulations and excludes physical processes not included in them, we find that the two models produce an ensemble of galaxies with remarkably similar properties, although there are some differences in the gas cooling rates and in the number of galaxies that populate halos of different mass. The full semi-analytic model, which has effectively no resolution limit and includes a treatment of star formation and supernovae feedback, produces somewhat different (but readily understandable) results. Agreement is particularly good for the present-day global fractions of hot gas, cold dense (i.e. galactic) gas and uncollapsed gas, for which the SPH and stripped-down semi-analytic calculations differ by at most 25%. In the most massive halos, the stripped-down semi-analytic model predicts, on the whole, up to 50% less gas in galaxies than is seen in the SPH simulations. The two techniques apportion this cold gas somewhat differently amongst galaxies in a given halo. This difference can be tracked down to the greater cooling rate in massive halos in the SPH simulation compared to the semi-analytic model. (abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, to appear in MNRAS. Significantly extended to explore galaxy progenitor distributions and behaviour of models at high redshift

The Angular Power Spectrum of EDSGC Galaxies

We determine the angular power spectrum, C_l, of the Edinburgh/Durham Southern Galaxy Catalog (EDSGC) and use this statistic to constrain cosmological parameters. Our methods for determining C_l, and the parameters that affect it are based on those developed for the analysis of cosmic microwave background maps. We expect them to be useful for future surveys. Assuming flat cold dark matter models with a cosmological constant (constrained by COBE/DMR and local cluster abundances), and a scale--independent bias, b, we find good fits to the EDSGC angular power spectrum with 1.11 < b < 2.35 and 0.2 < Omega_m < 0.55 at 95% confidence. These results are not significantly affected by the ``integral constraint'' or extinction by interstellar dust, but may be by our assumption of Gaussianity.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, version to appear in Ap