1,563 research outputs found
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
Probabilistic Cross-Identification of Astronomical Sources
We present a general probabilistic formalism for cross-identifying
astronomical point sources in multiple observations. Our Bayesian approach,
symmetric in all observations, is the foundation of a unified framework for
object matching, where not only spatial information, but physical properties,
such as colors, redshift and luminosity, can also be considered in a natural
way. We provide a practical recipe to implement an efficient recursive
algorithm to evaluate the Bayes factor over a set of catalogs with known
circular errors in positions. This new methodology is crucial for studies
leveraging the synergy of today's multi-wavelength observations and to enter
the time-domain science of the upcoming survey telescopes.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 8 pages, 1
figure, emulateapj w/ apjfont
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
Signature of Gravity Waves in Polarization of the Microwave Background
Using spin-weighted decomposition of polarization in the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) we show that a particular combination of Stokes and
parameters vanishes for primordial fluctuations generated by scalar modes, but
does not for those generated by primordial gravity waves. Because of this
gravity wave detection is not limited by cosmic variance as in the case of
temperature fluctuations. We present the exact expressions for various
polarization power spectra, which are valid on any scale. Numerical evaluation
in inflation-based models shows that the expected signal is of the order of 0.5
, which could be directly tested in future CMB experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTeX, matches the accepted version (to appear in
Phys. Rev. Lett.); code available at
http://arcturus.mit.edu:80/~matiasz/CMBFAST/cmbfast.htm
Cross-Correlation of the Cosmic Microwave Background with Radio Sources: Constraints on an Accelerating Universe
We present a new limit on the cosmological constant based on the absence of
correlations between the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and the distribution
of distant radio sources. In the cosmological constant-cold dark matter models
currently favored, such correlations should have been produced via the
integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, assuming that radio sources trace the local
(z=1) matter density. We find no evidence of correlations between the COBE 53Hz
microwave map and the NVSS 1.4 GHz radio survey. The implied 95% CL limit on
the cosmological constant is Lambda < 0.74, in marginal agreement with the
values suggested by recent measurements of the CMB anisotropy and type-IA
supernovae observations, 0.6 < Lambda < 0.7. If the cosmological model does lie
in this range, then the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect should be detectable with
upcoming CMB maps and radio surveys.Comment: 5 pages; 3 figures; submitted to PR
Photoproduction of Quarkonium in Proton-Proton and Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions
We discuss the photoproduction of and at high energy
, and heavy ion colliders. We predict large rates in
interactions at the Fermilab Tevatron %and in heavy-ion interactions at the
CERN LHC. These reactions can be and in and heavy-ion interactions at the
CERN LHC. The is also produced copiously at RHIC. These reactions can
be used to study the gluon distribution in protons and heavy nuclei. We also
show that the different CP symmetries of the initial states lead to large
differences in the transverse momentum spectra of mesonsComment: 4 pgs. with 3 figure
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