2,082 research outputs found
Electron Cloud Buildup Characterization Using Shielded Pickup Measurements and Custom Modeling Code at CESRTA
The Cornell Electron Storage Ring Test Accelerator experimental program
includes investigations into electron cloud buildup, applying various
mitigation techniques in custom vacuum chambers. Among these are two 1.1-m-long
sections located symmetrically in the east and west arc regions. These chambers
are equipped with pickup detectors shielded against the direct beam-induced
signal. They detect cloud electrons migrating through an 18-mm-diameter pattern
of small holes in the top of the chamber. A digitizing oscilloscope is used to
record the signals, providing time-resolved information on cloud development.
Carbon-coated, TiN-coated and uncoated aluminum chambers have been tested.
Electron and positron beams of 2.1, 4.0 and 5.3 GeV with a variety of bunch
populations and spacings in steps of 4 and 14 ns have been used. Here we report
on results from the ECLOUD modeling code which highlight the sensitivity of
these measurements to the physical phenomena determining cloud buildup such as
the photoelectron production azimuthal and energy distributions, and the
secondary yield parameters including the true secondary, re-diffused, and
elastic yield values.Comment: Presented at ECLOUD'12: Joint INFN-CERN-EuCARD-AccNet Workshop on
Electron-Cloud Effects, La Biodola, Isola d'Elba, Italy, 5-9 June 2012;
CERN-2013-002, pp. 241-25
Cross-correlation of the CMB and radio galaxies in real, harmonic and wavelet spaces: detection of the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect and dark energy constraints
We report the first detection of the ISW effect in wavelet space, at scales
in the sky around 7 degrees with a significance of around 3.3 sigma, by
cross-correlating the WMAP first-year data and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS).
In addition, we present a detailed comparison among the capabilities of three
different techniques for two different objectives: to detect the ISW and to put
constraints in the nature of the dark energy. The three studied techniques are:
the cross-angular power spectrum (CAPS, harmonic space), the correlation
function (CCF, real space) and the covariance of the Spherical Mexican Hat
Wavelet (SMHW) coefficients (CSMHW, wavelet space). We prove that the CSMHW is
expected to provide a higher detection of the ISW effect for a certain scale.
This prediction has been corroborated by the analysis of the data. The SMHW
analysis shows that the cross-correlation signal is caused neither by
systematic effects nor foreground contamination. However, by taking into
account the information encoded in all the multipoles/scales/angles, the CAPS
provides slightly better constraints than the SMHW in the cosmological
parameters that define the nature of the dark energy. The limits provided by
the CCF are wider than for the other two methods. Two different cases have been
studied: 1) a flat Lambda-CDM universe and 2) a flat universe with an equation
of state parameter different from -1. In the first case, the CAPS provides (for
a bias value of b = 1.6) 0.59 < Lambda density < 0.84 (at 1 sigma CL).
Moreover, the CAPS rejects the range Lambda density < 0.1 at 3.5 sigma, which
is the highest detection of the dark energy reported up to date. In the second
case, the CAPS gives 0.50 < dark energy density < 0.82 and -1.16 < w < 0.43 (at
1 sigma CL).Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Analysis
redone. Changes in the estimation of the cosmological parametres. Additional
comparison between wavelets and more standard technique
Error analysis in cross-correlation of sky maps: application to the ISW detection
Constraining cosmological parameters from measurements of the Integrated
Sachs-Wolfe effect requires developing robust and accurate methods for
computing statistical errors in the cross-correlation between maps. This paper
presents a detailed comparison of such error estimation applied to the case of
cross-correlation of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and large-scale
structure data. We compare theoretical models for error estimation with
montecarlo simulations where both the galaxy and the CMB maps vary around a
fiducial auto-correlation and cross-correlation model which agrees well with
the current concordance LCDM cosmology. Our analysis compares estimators both
in harmonic and configuration (or real) space, quantifies the accuracy of the
error analysis and discuss the impact of partial sky survey area and the choice
of input fiducial model on dark-energy constraints. We show that purely
analytic approaches yield accurate errors even in surveys that cover only 10%
of the sky and that parameter constraints strongly depend on the fiducial model
employed. Alternatively, we discuss the advantages and limitations of error
estimators that can be directly applied to data. In particular, we show that
errors and covariances from the Jack-Knife method agree well with the
theoretical approaches and simulations. We also introduce a novel method in
real space that is computationally efficient and can be applied to real data
and realistic survey geometries. Finally, we present a number of new findings
and prescriptions that can be useful for analysis of real data and forecasts,
and present a critical summary of the analyses done to date.Comment: submitted to MNRAS, 26 page
Aspects of the ecology of mat-forming lichens
Lichen species in the genera Cladonia (subgenus Cladina), Cetraria, Stereocaulon and Alectoria are important vegetation components on well-drained terrain and on elevated micro-sites in peatlands in boreal-Arctic regions. These lichens often form closed mats, the component thalli in which grow vertically upwards at the apices and die off in the older basal regions; they are therefore only loosely attached to the underlying soil. This growth habit is relatively unusual in lichens being found in <0.5% of known species. It might facilitate internal nutrienr recycling and higher growth rates and, together with the production of allelochemicals, it might underlie the considerable ecological success of mat-forming lichens; experiments to critically assess the importance of these processes are required. Mat-forming lichens can constitute in excess of 60% of the winter food intake of caribou and reindeer. Accordingly there is a pressing need for data on lichen growth rates, measured as mass increment, in order to help determine the carrying capacity of winter ranges for rhese herbivores and to better predict recovery rates following grazing. Trampling during the snow-free season fragments lichen thalli; mat-forming lichens regenerate very successfully from thallus fragments provided trampling does nor re-occur. Frequent recurrence of trampling creates disturbed habitats from which lichens will rapidly become eliminated consistent with J.P. Grime's CSR strategy theory. Such damage to lichen ground cover has occurred where reindeer or caribou are unable to migrate away from their winter range such as on small islands or where political boundaries have been fenced; it can also occur on summer range that contains a significant lichen component and on winter range where numbers of migrarory animals become excessive. Species of Stereocaulon, and other genera that contain cyanobacteria (most notably Peltigera and Nephroma), are among the principal agents of nitrogen fixation in boreal-arctic regions. Stereocaulon-dominated subarctic woodlands provide excellent model systems in which to investigate the role of lichens in nitrogen cycling. Mat-forming lichens are sensitive indicators of atmospheric deposition partly because they occur in open situations in which they intercept precipitation and particulates directly with minimal modification by vascular plant overstoreys. Data from both the UK and northern Russia are presented to illustrate geographical relationships between lichen chemistry and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and acidity. The ecology of mat-fotming lichens remains under-researched and good opportunities exist for making significant contributions to this field including areas that relate directly to the management of arctic ungulates
An optimal estimator for the CMB-LSS angular power spectrum and its application to WMAP and NVSS data
We use a Quadratic Maximum Likelihood (QML) method to estimate the angular
power spectrum of the cross-correlation between cosmic microwave background and
large scale structure maps as well as their individual auto-spectra. We
describe our implementation of this method and demonstrate its accuracy on
simulated maps. We apply this optimal estimator to WMAP 7-year and NRAO VLA Sky
Survey (NVSS) data and explore the robustness of the angular power spectrum
estimates obtained by the QML method. With the correction of the declination
systematics in NVSS, we can safely use most of the information contained in
this survey. We then make use of the angular power spectrum estimates obtained
by the QML method to derive constraints on the dark energy critical density in
a flat CDM model by different likelihood prescriptions. When using
just the cross-correlation between WMAP 7 year and NVSS maps with 1.8
resolution, the best-fit model has a cosmological constant of approximatively
70% of the total energy density, disfavouring an Einstein-de Sitter Universe at
more than 2 CL (confidence level).Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Integrated Sachs-Wolfe map recovery from NVSS and WMAP 7yr data
We present a map of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies
induced by the late Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect. The map is constructed by
combining the information of the WMAP 7-yr CMB data and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey
(NVSS) through a linear filter. This combination improves the quality of the
map that would be obtained using information only from the Large Scale
Structure data. In order to apply the filter, a given cosmological model needs
to be assumed. In particular, we consider the standard LCDM model. As a test of
consistency, we show that the reconstructed map is in agreemet with the assumed
model, which is also favoured against a scenario where no correlation between
the CMB and NVSS catalogue is considered.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Minor revision, accepted for publication in MNRA
The large-scale bias of the hard X-ray background
Recent deep X-ray surveys combined with spectroscopic identification of the
sources have allowed the determination of the rest-frame 2-8 keV luminosity as
a function of redshift. In addition, an analysis of the HEAO1 A2 2-10 keV
full-sky map of the X-ray background (XRB) reveals clustering on the scale of
several degrees. Combining these two results in the context of the currently
favored Lambda-CDM cosmological model implies an average X-ray bias factor,
b_x, of b_x^2 = 1.12 +- 0.33, i.e., b_x = 1.06 +- 0.16. These error estimates
include only statistical error; the systematic error sources, while comparable,
appear to be sub-dominant. This result is in contrast to the large biases of
some previous estimates and is more in line with current estimates of the
optical bias of L* galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 eps figures, accepted for ApJ, vol. 612, 10 September 200
Detection of the ISW effect and corresponding dark energy constraints made with directional spherical wavelets
Using a directional spherical wavelet analysis we detect the integrated
Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect, indicated by a positive correlation between the
first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and NRAO VLA Sky Survey
(NVSS) data. Detections are made using both a directional extension of the
spherical Mexican hat wavelet and the spherical butterfly wavelet. We examine
the possibility of foreground contamination and systematics in the WMAP data
and conclude that these factors are not responsible for the signal that we
detect. The wavelet analysis inherently enables us to localise on the sky those
regions that contribute most strongly to the correlation. On removing these
localised regions the correlation that we detect is reduced in significance, as
expected, but it is not eliminated, suggesting that these regions are not the
sole source of correlation between the data. This finding is consistent with
predictions made using the ISW effect, where one would expect weak correlations
over the entire sky. In a flat universe the detection of the ISW effect
provides direct and independent evidence for dark energy. We use our detection
to constrain dark energy parameters by deriving a theoretical prediction for
the directional wavelet covariance statistic for a given cosmological model.
Comparing these predictions with the data we place constraints on the
equation-of-state parameter and the vacuum energy density .
We also consider the case of a pure cosmological constant, i.e. . For
this case we rule out a zero cosmological constant at greater than the 99.9%
significance level. All parameter estimates that we obtain are consistent with
the standand cosmological concordance model values.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures; replaced to match version accepted by MNRA
Disentangling non-Gaussianity, bias and GR effects in the galaxy distribution
Local non-Gaussianity, parametrized by , introduces a
scale-dependent bias that is strongest at large scales, precisely where General
Relativistic (GR) effects also become significant. With future data, it should
be possible to constrain with high redshift surveys.
GR corrections to the power spectrum and ambiguities in the gauge used to
define bias introduce effects similar to , so it is
essential to disentangle these effects. For the first time in studies of
primordial non-Gaussianity, we include the consistent GR calculation of galaxy
power spectra, highlighting the importance of a proper definition of bias. We
present observable power spectra with and without GR corrections, showing that
an incorrect definition of bias can mimic non-Gaussianity. However, these
effects can be distinguished by their different redshift and scale dependence,
so as to extract the true primordial non-Gaussianity.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, published versio
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