14,819 research outputs found
Signal-to-Noise Eigenmode Analysis of the Two-Year COBE Maps
To test a theory of cosmic microwave background fluctuations, it is natural
to expand an anisotropy map in an uncorrelated basis of linear combinations of
pixel amplitudes --- statistically-independent for both the noise and the
signal. These -eigenmodes are indispensible for rapid Bayesian analyses of
anisotropy experiments, applied here to the recently-released two-year COBE
{\it dmr} maps and the {\it firs} map. A 2-parameter model with an overall
band-power and a spectral tilt describes well inflation-based
theories. The band-powers for {\it all} the {\it dmr} + GHz
and {\it firs} 170 GHz maps agree, , and
are largely independent of tilt and degree of (sharp) -filtering. Further,
after optimal -filtering, the {\it dmr} maps reveal the same
tilt-independent large scale features and correlation function. The unfiltered
{\it dmr} + index is ; increasing the
-filtering gives a broad region at (1.0--1.2)0.5, a jump to
(1.4--1.6)0.5, then a drop to 0.8, the higher values clearly seen to be
driven by -power spectrum data points that do not fit single-tilt models.
These indices are nicely compatible with inflation values (0.8--1.2), but
not overwhelmingly so.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.Letters, 4 pages, uuencoded compressed
PostScript; also bdmr2.ps.Z, via anonymous ftp to ftp.cita.utoronto.ca, cd to
/pub/dick/yukawa; CITA-94-2
Constraints on Dark Energy from Supernovae, Gamma Ray Bursts, Acoustic Oscillations, Nucleosynthesis and Large Scale Structure and the Hubble constant
The luminosity distance vs. redshift law is now measured using supernovae and
gamma ray bursts, and the angular size distance is measured at the surface of
last scattering by the CMB and at z = 0.35 by baryon acoustic oscillations. In
this paper this data is fit to models for the equation of state with w = -1, w
= const, and w(z) = w_0+w_a(1-a). The last model is poorly constrained by the
distance data, leading to unphysical solutions where the dark energy dominates
at early times unless the large scale structure and acoustic scale constraints
are modified to allow for early time dark energy effects. A flat LambdaCDM
model is consistent with all the data.Comment: 19 pages Latex with 8 Postscript figure files. A new reference and
constraint, w vs w' contour plots updated. Version accepted by the the Ap
Constraining Large Scale Structure Theories with the Cosmic Background Radiation
We review the relevant 10+ parameters associated with inflation and matter
content; the relation between LSS and primary and secondary CMB anisotropy
probes; COBE constraints on energy injection; current anisotropy band-powers
which strongly support the gravitational instability theory and suggest the
universe could not have reionized too early. We use Bayesian analysis methods
to determine what current CMB and CMB+LSS data imply for inflation-based
Gaussian fluctuations in tilted CDM, hCDM and oCDM model
sequences with age 11-15 Gyr, consisting of mixtures of baryons, cold (and
possibly hot) dark matter, vacuum energy, and curvature energy in open
cosmologies. For example, we find the slope of the initial spectrum is within
about 5% of the (preferred) scale invariant form when just the CMB data is
used, and for CDM when LSS data is combined with CMB; with both, a
nonzero value of is strongly preferred ( for a 13
Gyr sequence, similar to the value from SNIa). The CDM sequence prefers
, but is overall much less likely than the flat
sequence with CMB+LSS. We also review the rosy forecasts
of angular power spectra and parameter estimates from future balloon and
satellite experiments when foreground and systematic effects are ignored.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures, 2 tables, uses rspublic.sty To appear in
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A, 1998.
"Discussion Meeting on Large Scale Structure in the Universe," Royal Society,
London, March 1998. Text and colour figures also available at
ftp://ftp.cita.utoronto.ca/bond/roysoc9
Increasing the quality of seismic interpretation
Acknowledgments E. Macrae was funded by an NERC Open CASE Ph.D. award (NE/F013728/1) with Midland Valley Exploration Ltd. as the industry partner. We thank 763 geoscientists for their participation, and in particular, the REs who gave their time freely to the project. M. Scott (University of Glasgow, UK) is thanked for assisting with the statistical analysis. Four reviewers are thanked for their constructive comments that improved the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infection Quarterly status report, 1 Apr. - 30 Jun. 1970
Effects of high and low barometric pressures on susceptibility and resistance to infectio
A Way to Dynamically Overcome the Cosmological Constant Problem
The Cosmological Constant problem can be solved once we require that the full
standard Einstein Hilbert lagrangian, gravity plus matter, is multiplied by a
total derivative. We analyze such a picture writing the total derivative as the
covariant gradient of a new vector field (b_mu). The dynamics of this b_mu
field can play a key role in the explanation of the present cosmological
acceleration of the Universe.Comment: 5 page
CMB Likelihood Functions for Beginners and Experts
Although the broad outlines of the appropriate pipeline for cosmological
likelihood analysis with CMB data has been known for several years, only
recently have we had to contend with the full, large-scale, computationally
challenging problem involving both highly-correlated noise and extremely large
datasets (). In this talk we concentrate on the beginning and end of
this process. First, we discuss estimating the noise covariance from the data
itself in a rigorous and unbiased way; this is essentially an iterated
minimum-variance mapmaking approach. We also discuss the unbiased determination
of cosmological parameters from estimates of the power spectrum or experimental
bandpowers.Comment: Long-delayed submission. In AIP Conference Proceedings "3K Cosmology"
held in Rome, Oct 5-10, 1998, edited by Luciano Maiani, Francesco Melchiorri
and Nicola Vittorio, 343-347, New York, American Institute of Physics 199
Cosmological Consequences of String Axions
Axion fluctuations generated during inflation lead to isocurvature and
non-Gaussian temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background
radiation. Following a previous analysis for the model independent string axion
we consider the consequences of a measurement of these fluctuations for two
additional string axions. We do so independent of any cosmological assumptions
except for the axions being massless during inflation. The first axion has been
shown to solve the strong CP problem for most compactifications of the
heterotic string while the second axion, which does not solve the strong CP
problem, obeys a mass formula which is independent of the axion scale. We find
that if gravitational waves interpreted as arising from inflation are observed
by the PLANCK polarimetry experiment with a Hubble constant during inflation of
H_inf \apprge 10^13 GeV the existence of the first axion is ruled out and the
second axion cannot obey the scale independent mass formula. In an appendix we
quantitatively justify the often held assumption that temperature corrections
to the zero temperature QCD axion mass may be ignored for temperatures T
\apprle \Lambda_QCD.Comment: 27 pages, 4 figures; v2: References corrected; v3: Assumptions
simplified, minor corrections, conclusions unchange
Comparing Cosmic Microwave Background Datasets
To extract reliable cosmic parameters from cosmic microwave background
datasets, it is essential to show that the data are not contaminated by
residual non-cosmological signals. We describe general statistical approaches
to this problem, with an emphasis on the case in which there are two datasets
that can be checked for consistency. A first visual step is the Wiener filter
mapping from one set of data onto the pixel basis of another. For more
quantitative analyses we develop and apply both Bayesian and frequentist
techniques. We define the ``contamination parameter'' and advocate the
calculation of its probability distribution as a means of examining the
consistency of two datasets. The closely related ``probability enhancement
factor'' is shown to be a useful statistic for comparison; it is significantly
better than a number of chi-squared quantities we consider. Our methods can be
used: internally (between different subsets of a dataset) or externally
(between different experiments); for observing regions that completely overlap,
partially overlap or overlap not at all; and for observing strategies that
differ greatly.
We apply the methods to check the consistency (internal and external) of the
MSAM92, MSAM94 and Saskatoon Ring datasets. From comparing the two MSAM
datasets, we find that the most probable level of contamination is 12%, with no
contamination only 1.05 times less probable, and 100% contamination strongly
ruled out at over 2 X 10^5 times less probable. From comparing the 1992 MSAM
flight with the Saskatoon data we find the most probable level of contamination
to be 50%, with no contamination only 1.6 times less probable and 100%
contamination 13 times less probable. [Truncated]Comment: LaTeX, 16 pages which include 16 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Window Functions Revisited
The primary results of most observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB)
anisotropy are estimates of the angular power spectrum averaged through some
broad band, called band-powers. These estimates are in turn what are used to
produce constraints on cosmological parameters due to all CMB observations.
Essential to this estimation of cosmological parameters is the calculation of
the expected band-power for a given experiment, given a theoretical power
spectrum. Here we derive the "band power" window function which should be used
for this calculation, and point out that it is not equivalent to the window
function used to calculate the variance. This important distinction has been
absent from much of the literature: the variance window function is often used
as the band-power window function. We discuss the validity of this assumed
equivalence, the role of window functions for experiments that constrain the
power in {\it multiple} bands, and summarize a prescription for reporting
experimental results. The analysis methods detailed here are applied in a
companion paper to three years of data from the Medium Scale Anisotropy
Measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 1 included .eps figure, PRD in press---final published
versio
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