1,598 research outputs found
How light can the lightest neutralino be?
In this talk we summarize previous work on mass bounds of a light neutralino
in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We show that without the GUT
relation between the gaugino mass parameters M_1 and M_2, the mass of the
lightest neutralino is essentially unconstrained by collider bounds and
precision observables. We conclude by considering also the astrophysics and
cosmology of a light neutralino.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 16th
International Symposium on Particles, Strings and Cosmology (PASCOS2010),
Valencia (Spain), July 19th - 23rd, 201
Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Angular Power Spectra
We present the temperature and polarization angular power spectra of the
cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the first 5 years of WMAP data.
The 5-year temperature (TT) spectrum is cosmic variance limited up to multipole
l=530, and individual l-modes have S/N>1 for l<920. The best fitting
six-parameter LambdaCDM model has a reduced chi^2 for l=33-1000 of
chi^2/nu=1.06, with a probability to exceed of 9.3%. There is now significantly
improved data near the third peak which leads to improved cosmological
constraints. The temperature-polarization correlation (TE) is seen with high
significance. After accounting for foreground emission, the low-l reionization
feature in the EE power spectrum is preferred by \Delta\chi^2=19.6 for optical
depth tau=0.089 by the EE data alone, and is now largely cosmic variance
limited for l=2-6. There is no evidence for cosmic signal in the BB, TB, or EB
spectra after accounting for foreground emission. We find that, when averaged
over l=2-6, l(l+1)C^{BB}_l/2\pi < 0.15 uK^2 (95% CL).Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, accepted by ApJ
Resolving the high redshift Lyman-alpha forest in smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations
We use a large set of cosmological smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)
simulations to examine the effect of mass resolution and box size on synthetic
Lya forest spectra at 2 \leq z \leq 5. The mass resolution requirements for the
convergence of the mean Lya flux and flux power spectrum at z=5 are
significantly stricter than at lower redshift. This is because transmission in
the high redshift Lya forest is primarily due to underdense regions in the
intergalactic medium (IGM), and these are less well resolved compared to the
moderately overdense regions which dominate the Lya forest opacity at z~2-3. We
further find that the gas density distribution in our simulations differs
significantly from previous results in the literature at large overdensities
(\Delta>10). We conclude that studies of the Lya forest at z=5 using SPH
simulations require a gas particle mass of M_gas \leq 2x10^5 M_sol/h, which is
>8 times the value required at z=2. A box size of at least 40 Mpc/h is
preferable at all redshifts.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, accepted by MNRA
Cosmological constraints on neutrino plus axion hot dark matter: Update after WMAP-5
We update our previous constraints on two-component hot dark matter (axions
and neutrinos), including the recent WMAP 5-year data release. Marginalising
over sum m_nu provides m_a < 1.02 eV (95% C.L.) for the axion mass. In the
absence of axions we find sum m_nu < 0.63 eV (95% C.L.).Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, uses iopart.cls; v2 matches published versio
How Does Feedback Affect Milky Way Satellite Formation?
We use sub-parsec resolution hydrodynamic resimulations of a Milky Way (MW)
like galaxy at high redshift to investigate the formation of the MW satellite
galaxies. More specifically, we assess the impact of supernova feedback on the
dwarf progenitors of these satellite, and the efficiency of a simple
instantaneous reionisation scenario in suppressing star formation at the
low-mass end of this dwarf distribution. Identifying galaxies in our high
redshift simulation and tracking them to z=0 using a dark matter halo merger
tree, we compare our results to present-day observations and determine the
epoch at which we deem satellite galaxy formation must be completed. We find
that only the low-mass end of the population of luminous subhalos of the
Milky-Way like galaxy is not complete before redshift 8, and that although
supernovae feedback reduces the stellar mass of the low-mass subhalos
(log(M/Msolar) < 9), the number of surviving satellites around the Milky-Way
like galaxy at z = 0 is the same in the run with or without supernova feedback.
If a luminous halo is able to avoid accretion by the Milky-Way progenitor
before redshift 3, then it is likely to survive as a MW satellite to redshift
0.Comment: Oral Presentation, Proceedings of "A Universe of Dwarf Galaxies"
Conference, Lyon 201
Maximum likelihood, parametric component separation and CMB B-mode detection in suborbital experiments
We investigate the performance of the parametric Maximum Likelihood component
separation method in the context of the CMB B-mode signal detection and its
characterization by small-scale CMB suborbital experiments. We consider
high-resolution (FWHM=8') balloon-borne and ground-based observatories mapping
low dust-contrast sky areas of 400 and 1000 square degrees, in three frequency
channels, 150, 250, 410 GHz, and 90, 150, 220 GHz, with sensitivity of order 1
to 10 micro-K per beam-size pixel. These are chosen to be representative of
some of the proposed, next-generation, bolometric experiments. We study the
residual foreground contributions left in the recovered CMB maps in the pixel
and harmonic domain and discuss their impact on a determination of the
tensor-to-scalar ratio, r. In particular, we find that the residuals derived
from the simulated data of the considered balloon-borne observatories are
sufficiently low not to be relevant for the B-mode science. However, the
ground-based observatories are in need of some external information to permit
satisfactory cleaning. We find that if such information is indeed available in
the latter case, both the ground-based and balloon-borne experiments can detect
the values of r as low as ~0.04 at 95% confidence level. The contribution of
the foreground residuals to these limits is found to be then subdominant and
these are driven by the statistical uncertainty due to CMB, including E-to-B
leakage, and noise. We emphasize that reaching such levels will require a
sufficient control of the level of systematic effects present in the data.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, 6 table
Non-Fickian Diffusion Affects the Relation between the Salinity and Hydrate Capacity Profiles in Marine Sediments
On-site measurements of water salinity (which can be directly evaluated from
the electrical conductivity) in deep-sea sediments is technically the primary
source of indirect information on the capacity of the marine deposits of
methane hydrates. We show the relation between the salinity (chlorinity)
profile and the hydrate volume in pores to be significantly affected by
non-Fickian contributions to the diffusion flux---the thermal diffusion and the
gravitational segregation---which have been previously ignored in the
literature on the subject and the analysis of surveys data. We provide amended
relations and utilize them for an analysis of field measurements for a real
hydrate deposit.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, submitted to Compte Rendus Mecaniqu
BEAMS: separating the wheat from the chaff in supernova analysis
We introduce Bayesian Estimation Applied to Multiple Species (BEAMS), an
algorithm designed to deal with parameter estimation when using contaminated
data. We present the algorithm and demonstrate how it works with the help of a
Gaussian simulation. We then apply it to supernova data from the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS), showing how the resulting confidence contours of the
cosmological parameters shrink significantly.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures. Chapter 4 in "Astrostatistical Challenges for
the New Astronomy" (Joseph M. Hilbe, ed., Springer, New York, forthcoming in
2012), the inaugural volume for the Springer Series in Astrostatistic
High-grade metamorphic rocks from Skallevikshalsen in the Lutzow-Holm Complex, East Antarctica: metamorphic conditions and possibility of partial melting
The high-grade metamorphic rocks of Skallevikshalsen, Lutzow-Holm Complex, East Antarctica predominantly comprise garnet-sillimanite gneiss, garnet-spinel-sillimanite gneiss, garnet-biotite gneiss and garnet-two pyroxene-mafic granulite. The metamorphic conditions were estimated using various geothermometers and geobarometers for garnet-biotite gneiss and mafic gneiss. The results were 770-940℃and 0.65-1.2 GPa for garnet-biotite gneiss and 780-960℃ and 0.6-1.1 GPa for mafic gneiss. Garnet-biotite gneiss is widespread in this area and displays a well-developed migmatitic structure. Garnet porphyroblasts in the leucosome and the boundaries between leucosome and melanosome in garnet-biotite gneiss commonly have a poikiloblastic texture with euhedral feldspar and quartz inclusions. High Y concentrations in garnet cores, high An values for plagioclase inclusions, and high Ba contents in K-feldspar from garnet-biotite gneiss are inferred to reflect growth in the presence of partial melt. Garnet in garnet-sillimanite gneiss also has high Y and P contents and chemical zoning that implies changes in trace element distribution coefficients. It is suggested that hydrous melt in garnet-sillimanite gneiss was generated during prograde metamorphism while anhydrous restite underwent continuous high-temperature metamorphism. Garnet-sillimanite gneiss is likely to be the restitic product of partial melting and shows evidence for melt segregation and movement
Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Data Processing, Sky Maps, and Basic Results
We present new full-sky temperature and polarization maps in five frequency
bands from 23 to 94 GHz, based on data from the first five years of the WMAP
sky survey. The five-year maps incorporate several improvements in data
processing made possible by the additional years of data and by a more complete
analysis of the instrument calibration and in-flight beam response. We present
several new tests for systematic errors in the polarization data and conclude
that Ka band data (33 GHz) is suitable for use in cosmological analysis, after
foreground cleaning. This significantly reduces the overall polarization
uncertainty. With the 5 year WMAP data, we detect no convincing deviations from
the minimal 6-parameter LCDM model: a flat universe dominated by a cosmological
constant, with adiabatic and nearly scale-invariant Gaussian fluctuations.
Using WMAP data combined with measurements of Type Ia supernovae and Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations, we find (68% CL uncertainties): Omega_bh^2 = 0.02267 \pm
0.00059, Omega_ch^2 = 0.1131 \pm 0.0034, Omega_Lambda = 0.726 \pm 0.015, n_s =
0.960 \pm 0.013, tau = 0.084 \pm 0.016, and Delta_R^2 = (2.445 \pm 0.096) x
10^-9. From these we derive: sigma_8 = 0.812 \pm 0.026, H_0 = 70.5 \pm 1.3
km/s/Mpc, z_{reion} = 10.9 \pm 1.4, and t_0 = 13.72 \pm 0.12 Gyr. The new limit
on the tensor-to-scalar ratio is r < 0.22 (95% CL). We obtain tight,
simultaneous limits on the (constant) dark energy equation of state and spatial
curvature: -0.14 < 1+w < 0.12 and -0.0179 < Omega_k < 0.0081 (both 95% CL). The
number of relativistic degrees of freedom (e.g. neutrinos) is found to be
N_{eff} = 4.4 \pm 1.5, consistent with the standard value of 3.04. Models with
N_{eff} = 0 are disfavored at >99.5% confidence.Comment: 46 pages, 13 figures, and 7 tables. Version accepted for publication,
ApJS, Feb-2009. Includes 5-year dipole results and additional references.
Also available at
http://lambda.gsfc.nasa.gov/product/map/dr3/map_bibliography.cf
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