5,989 research outputs found
Cross-Correlating Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Fluctuations with Redshift Surveys: Detecting the Signature of Gravitational Lensing
Density inhomogeneities along the line-of-sight distort fluctuations in the
cosmic microwave background. Usually, this effect is thought of as a small
second-order effect that mildly alters the statistics of the microwave
background fluctuations. We show that there is a first-order effect that is
potentially observable if we combine microwave background maps with large
redshift surveys. We introduce a new quantity that measures this lensing
effect, , where T is the microwave
background temperature and is the lensing due to matter in the
region probed by the redshift survey. We show that the expected signal is first
order in the gravitational lensing bending angle, , and find that it should be easily detectable, (S/N) 15-35, if
we combine the Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite and Sloan Digital Sky
Survey data. Measurements of this cross-correlation will directly probe the
``bias'' factor, the relationship between fluctuations in mass and fluctuations
in galaxy counts.Comment: 13 pages, 4 postscript figures included; Uses aaspp4.sty (AASTeX
v4.0); Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal, Part
Analytic Examples, Measurement Models and Classical Limit of Quantum Backflow
We investigate the backflow effect in elementary quantum mechanics - the
phenomenon in which a state consisting entirely of positive momenta may have
negative current and the probability flows in the opposite direction to the
momentum. We compute the current and flux for states consisting of
superpositions of gaussian wave packets. These are experimentally realizable
but the amount of backflow is small. Inspired by the numerical results of Penz
et al (M.Penz, G.Gr\"ubl, S.Kreidl and P.Wagner, J.Phys. A39, 423 (2006)), we
find two non-trivial wave functions whose current at any time may be computed
analytically and which have periods of significant backflow, in one case with a
backwards flux equal to about 70 percent of the maximum possible backflow, a
dimensionless number , discovered by Bracken and Melloy
(A.J.Bracken and G.F.Melloy, J.Phys. A27, 2197 (1994)). This number has the
unusual property of being independent of (and also of all other
parameters of the model), despite corresponding to an obviously
quantum-mechanical effect, and we shed some light on this surprising property
by considering the classical limit of backflow. We discuss some specific
measurement models in which backflow may be identified in certain measurable
probabilities.Comment: 33 pages, 14 figures. Minor revisions. Published versio
Some stationary properties of a -ball in arbitrary space dimensions
Introducing new physically motivated ans\"{a}tze, we explore both
analytically and numerically the classical and absolute stabilities of a single
-ball in an arbitrary number of spatial dimensions , working in both the
thin and thick wall limits.Comment: 35 pages, 32 figures; added references, corrected typo
TECPR1 promotes aggrephagy by direct recruitment of LC3C autophagosomes to lysosomes
The accumulation of protein aggregates is involved in the onset of many neurodegenerative diseases. Aggrephagy is a selective type of autophagy that counteracts neurodegeneration by degrading such aggregates. In this study, we found that LC3C cooperates with lysosomal TECPR1 to promote the degradation of disease-related protein aggregates in neural stem cells. The N-terminal WD-repeat domain of TECPR1 selectively binds LC3C which decorates matured autophagosomes. The interaction of LC3C and TECPR1 promotes the recruitment of autophagosomes to lysosomes for degradation. Augmented expression of TECPR1 in neural stem cells reduces the number of protein aggregates by promoting their autophagic clearance, whereas knockdown of LC3C inhibits aggrephagy. The PH domain of TECPR1 selectively interacts with PtdIns(4)P to target TECPR1 to PtdIns(4)P containing lysosomes. Exchanging the PH against a tandem-FYVE domain targets TECPR1 ectopically to endosomes. This leads to an accumulation of LC3C autophagosomes at endosomes and prevents their delivery to lysosomes. Many neurodegenerative disorders are characterised by the accumulation of protein aggregates in neurons. Here, the authors show that the lysosomal protein TECPR1 selectively recruits mature autophagosomes via an interaction with LC3C to break down protein aggregates in neural stem cells
Dynamical effects of the neutrino gravitational clustering at Planck angular scales
We study the CMB anisotropy induced by the non-linear perturbations in the
massive neutrino density associated to the non-linear gravitational clustering
proceses. Our results show that for the neutrino fraction in agreement with
that indicated by the astroparticle and nuclear physics experiments and a
cosmological accreting mass comparable with the mass of known clusters, the
angular resolution and the sensitivity of the CMB anisotropy measurements from
the Planck surveyor will allow the detection of the dynamical effects of the
neutrino gravitational clustering.Comment: 40 pages and 12 figures, submitted to ApJ (14 March 2002
Gravitational Lensing Effect on the Two-point Correlation of Hotspots in the Cosmic Microwave Background
We investigate the weak gravitational lensing effect due to the large-scale
structure of the universe on two-point correlations of local maxima ({\em
hotspots}) in the 2D sky map of the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
anisotropy. According to the Gaussian random statistics as most inflationary
scenarios predict, the hotspots are discretely distributed with some {\em
characteristic} angular separations on the last scattering surface owing to
oscillations of the CMB angular power spectrum.
The weak lensing then causes pairs of hotspots which are separated with the
characteristic scale to be observed with various separations. We found that the
lensing fairly smoothes the oscillatory features of the two-point correlation
function of hotspots. This indicates that the hotspots correlations can be a
new statistical tool for measuring shape and normalization of the power
spectrum of matter fluctuations from the lensing signatures.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; replaced with published versio
Necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of bound states in a central potential
We obtain, using the Birman-Schwinger method, a series of necessary
conditions for the existence of at least one bound state applicable to
arbitrary central potentials in the context of nonrelativistic quantum
mechanics. These conditions yield a monotonic series of lower limits on the
"critical" value of the strength of the potential (for which a first bound
state appears) which converges to the exact critical strength. We also obtain a
sufficient condition for the existence of bound states in a central monotonic
potential which yield an upper limit on the critical strength of the potential.Comment: 7 page
Lyapunov exponents and transport in the Zhang model of Self-Organized Criticality
We discuss the role played by the Lyapunov exponents in the dynamics of
Zhang's model of Self-Organized Criticality. We show that a large part of the
spectrum (slowest modes) is associated with the energy transpor in the lattice.
In particular, we give bounds on the first negative Lyapunov exponent in terms
of the energy flux dissipated at the boundaries per unit of time. We then
establish an explicit formula for the transport modes that appear as diffusion
modes in a landscape where the metric is given by the density of active sites.
We use a finite size scaling ansatz for the Lyapunov spectrum and relate the
scaling exponent to the scaling of quantities like avalanche size, duration,
density of active sites, etc ...Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, 1 table (to appear
Cosmology with X-ray Cluster Baryons
X-ray cluster measurements interpreted with a universal baryon/gas mass
fraction can theoretically serve as a cosmological distance probe. We examine
issues of cosmological sensitivity for current (e.g. Chandra X-ray Observatory,
XMM-Newton) and next generation (e.g. Con-X, XEUS) observations, along with
systematic uncertainties and biases. To give competitive next generation
constraints on dark energy, we find that systematics will need to be controlled
to better than 1% and any evolution in f_gas (and other cluster gas properties)
must be calibrated so the residual uncertainty is weaker than (1+z)^{0.03}.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; v2: 13 pages, substantial elaboration and
reordering, matches JCAP versio
Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy is our richest source of
cosmological information; the standard cosmological model was largely
established thanks to study of the temperature anisotropies. By the end of the
decade, the Planck satellite will close this important chapter and move us
deeper into the new frontier of polarization measurements. Numerous
ground--based and balloon--borne experiments are already forging into this new
territory. Besides providing new and independent information on the primordial
density perturbations and cosmological parameters, polarization measurements
offer the potential to detect primordial gravity waves, constrain dark energy
and measure the neutrino mass scale. A vigorous experimental program is
underway worldwide and heading towards a new satellite mission dedicated to CMB
polarization.Comment: Review given at TAUP 2005; References added; Additional reference
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