857 research outputs found
Normalizing the Temperature Function of Clusters of Galaxies
We re-examine the constraints which can be robustly obtained from the
observed temperature function of X-ray cluster of galaxies. The cluster mass
function has been thoroughly studied in simulations and analytically, but a
direct simulation of the temperature function is presented here for the first
time. Adaptive hydrodynamic simulations using the cosmological Moving Mesh
Hydro code of Pen (1997a) are used to calibrate the temperature function for
different popular cosmologies. Applying the new normalizations to the
present-day cluster abundances, we find for a hyperbolic universe, and for a spatially flat universe with a cosmological constant.
The simulations followed the gravitational shock heating of the gas and dark
matter, and used a crude model for potential energy injection by supernova
heating. The error bars are dominated by uncertainties in the heating/cooling
models. We present fitting formulae for the mass-temperature conversions and
cluster abundances based on these simulations.Comment: 20 pages incl 5 figures, final version for ApJ, corrected open
universe \gamma relation, results unchange
Dwarf Dark Matter Halos
We study properties of dark matter halos at high redshifts z=2-10 for a vast
range of masses with the emphasis on dwarf halos with masses 10^7-10^9 Msun/h.
We find that the density profiles of relaxed dwarf halos are well fitted by the
NFW profile and do not have cores. We compute the halo mass function and the
halo spin parameter distribution and find that the former is very well
reproduced by the Sheth & Tormen model while the latter is well fitted by a
lognormal distribution with lambda_0 = 0.042 and sigma_lambda = 0.63. We
estimate the distribution of concentrations for halos in mass range that covers
six orders of magnitude from 10^7 Msun/h to 10^13} Msun/h, and find that the
data are well reproduced by the model of Bullock et al. The extrapolation of
our results to z = 0 predicts that present-day isolated dwarf halos should have
a very large median concentration of ~ 35. We measure the subhalo circular
velocity functions for halos with masses that range from 4.6 x 10^9 Msun/h to
10^13 Msun/h and find that they are similar when normalized to the circular
velocity of the parent halo. Dwarf halos studied in this paper are many orders
of magnitude smaller than well-studied cluster- and Milky Way-sized halos. Yet,
in all respects the dwarfs are just down-scaled versions of the large halos.
They are cuspy and, as expected, more concentrated. They have the same spin
parameter distribution and follow the same mass function that was measured for
large halos.Comment: Accepted to be pusblished by ApJ, 12 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX
(documentclass preprint2). Differences with respect to the previous
submission are: (i) abstract was modified slightly to make it more
transparent to the reader, (ii) an extra figure has been added, and (3) some
minor modifications to the main text were also don
Public-Sector Project Abandonment Decision: A Test of the Ricardian Equivalence Theory on the Failed Lagos Metroline in Nigeria
This chapter examines the implications of projects abandonment with test of the Ricardian Equivalence
on the failed Lagos metro line project in Nigeria as case study. The main variables used are Rail and
Pipeline Output, Budget Deficit, Interest Rate, Corruption Index, Savings and some others. The study
results on the Ricardian Equivalence hypothesis on deficit financing of projects using Vector autoregression
model from 1980-2012 indicate that no causal influence holds in Nigeria. Results show that
poor planning, corruption, political factors, poor support infrastructures, poor quality of local resources,
etc. were attributable. The results of the Impulse Response tests reveal that Rail and Pipeline output and
a few others responded positively to shocks in the short run (years 1-2), and negatively to others. The
result affirms that Government should privatize the railway system, legislate against project abandonment
and ensure that projects are adequately planned, funded, insured and insulated against corruptio
Improvements in the M-T relation and mass function and the measured Omega_m through clusters evolution
In this paper, I revisit the constraints obtained by several authors
(Reichart et al. 1999; Eke et al. 1998; Henry 2000) on the estimated values of
Omega_m, n and sigma_8 in the light of recent theoretical developments: 1) new
theoretical mass functions (Sheth & Tormen 1999, Sheth, Mo & Tormen 1999, Del
Popolo 2002b); 2) a more accurate mass-temperature relation, also determined
for arbitrary Omega_m and Omega_{\Lambda} (Voit 2000, Pierpaoli et al. 2001,
Del Popolo 2002a). Firstly, using the quoted improvements, I re-derive an
expression for the X-ray Luminosity Function (XLF), similarly to Reichart et
al. (1999), and then I get some constraints to \Omega_m and n, by using the
ROSAT BCS and EMSS samples and maximum-likelihood analysis. Then I re-derive
the X-ray Temperature Function (XTF), similarly to Henry (2000) and Eke et al.
(1999), re-obtaining the constraints on Omega_m, n, sigma_8. Both in the case
of the XLF and XTF, the changes in the mass function and M-T relation produces
an increase in Omega_m of \simeq 20% and similar results in sigma_8 and n.Comment: 34 pages, 11 encapsulated figures. Accepted by Ap
Constraining Omega with Cluster Evolution
We show that the evolution of the number density of rich clusters of galaxies
breaks the degeneracy between Omega (the mass density ratio of the universe)
and sigma_{8} (the normalization of the power spectrum), sigma_{8}Omega^{0.5}
\simeq 0.5, that follows from the observed present-day abundance of rich
clusters. The evolution of high-mass (Coma-like) clusters is strong in Omega=1,
low-sigma_{8} models (such as the standard biased CDM model with sigma_{8}
\simeq 0.5), where the number density of clusters decreases by a factor of \sim
10^{3} from z = 0 to z \simeq 0.5; the same clusters show only mild evolution
in low-Omega, high-sigma_{8} models, where the decrease is a factor of \sim 10.
This diagnostic provides a most powerful constraint on Omega. Using
observations of clusters to z \simeq 0.5-1, we find only mild evolution in the
observed cluster abundance. We find Omega = 0.3 \pm 0.1 and sigma_{8} = 0.85
\pm 0.15 (for Lambda = 0 models; for Omega + Lambda = 1 models, Omega = 0.34
\pm 0.13). These results imply, if confirmed by future surveys, that we live in
a low-den sity, low-bias universe.Comment: 14 pages, 3 Postscript figures, ApJ Letters, accepte
Extracting Galaxy Cluster Gas Inhomogeneity from X-ray Surface Brightness: A Statistical Approach and Application to Abell 3667
Our previous analysis indicates that small-scale fluctuations in the
intracluster medium (ICM) from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations follow the
lognormal distribution. In order to test the lognormal nature of the ICM
directly against X-ray observations of galaxy clusters, we develop a method of
extracting statistical information about the three-dimensional properties of
the fluctuations from the two-dimensional X-ray surface brightness.
We first create a set of synthetic clusters with lognormal fluctuations.
Performing mock observations of these synthetic clusters, we find that the
resulting X-ray surface brightness fluctuations also follow the lognormal
distribution fairly well. Systematic analysis of the synthetic clusters
provides an empirical relation between the density fluctuations and the X-ray
surface brightness. We analyze \chandra observations of the galaxy cluster
Abell 3667, and find that its X-ray surface brightness fluctuations follow the
lognormal distribution. While the lognormal model was originally motivated by
cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, this is the first observational
confirmation of the lognormal signature in a real cluster. Finally we check the
synthetic cluster results against clusters from cosmological hydrodynamic
simulations. As a result of the complex structure exhibited by simulated
clusters, the empirical relation shows large scatter. Nevertheless we are able
to reproduce the true value of the fluctuation amplitude of simulated clusters
within a factor of two from their X-ray surface brightness alone.
Our current methodology combined with existing observational data is useful
in describing and inferring the statistical properties of the three dimensional
inhomogeneity in galaxy clusters.Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The Impact of Halo Properties, Energy Feedback and Projection Effects on the Mass-SZ Flux Relation
We present a detailed analysis of the intrinsic scatter in the integrated SZ
effect - cluster mass (Y-M) relation, using semi-analytic and simulated cluster
samples. Specifically, we investigate the impact on the Y-M relation of energy
feedback, variations in the host halo concentration and substructure
populations, and projection effects due to unresolved clusters along the line
of sight (the SZ background). Furthermore, we investigate at what radius (or
overdensity) one should measure the integrated SZE and define cluster mass so
as to achieve the tightest possible scaling. We find that the measure of Y with
the least scatter is always obtained within a smaller radius than that at which
the mass is defined; e.g. for M_{200} (M_{500}) the scatter is least for
Y_{500} (Y_{1100}). The inclusion of energy feedback in the gas model
significantly increases the intrinsic scatter in the Y-M relation due to larger
variations in the gas mass fraction compared to models without feedback. We
also find that variations in halo concentration for clusters of a given mass
may partly explain why the integrated SZE provides a better mass proxy than the
central decrement. Substructure is found to account for approximately 20% of
the observed scatter in the Y-M relation. Above M_{200} = 2x10^{14} h^{-1}
msun, the SZ background does not significantly effect cluster mass
measurements; below this mass, variations in the background signal reduce the
optimal angular radius within which one should measure Y to achieve the
tightest scaling with M_{200}.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, to be submitted to Ap
Detecting the Gravitational Redshift of Cluster Gas
We examine the gravitational redshift of radiation emitted from within the
potential of a cluster. Spectral lines from the intracluster medium (ICM) are
redshifted in proportion to the emission-weighted mean potential along the line
of sight, amounting to approximately 50 km/s at a radius of 100 kpc/h, for a
cluster dispersion of 1200 km/s. We show that the relative redshifts of
different ionization states of metals in the ICM provide a unique probe of the
three-dimensional matter distribution. An examination of the reported peculiar
velocities of cD galaxies in well studied Abell clusters reveals they are
typically redshifted by an average of km/s. This can be achieved by
gravity with the addition of a steep central potential associated with the cD
galaxy. Note that in general gravitational redshifts cause a small overestimate
of the recessional velocities of clusters by an average of 20 km/s.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal Letter
Evolution of X-ray cluster scaling relations in simulations with radiative cooling and non-gravitational heating
We investigate the redshift dependence of X-ray cluster scaling relations
drawn from three hydrodynamic simulations of the LCDM cosmology: a Radiative
model that incorporates radiative cooling of the gas, a Preheating model that
additionally heats the gas uniformly at high redshift, and a Feedback model
that self-consistently heats cold gas in proportion to its local star-formation
rate. While all three models are capable of reproducing the observed local
Lx-Tx relation, they predict substantially different results at high redshift
(to z=1.5), with the Radiative, Preheating and Feedback models predicting
strongly positive, mildly positive and mildly negative evolution, respectively.
The physical explanation for these differences lies in the structure of the
intracluster medium. All three models predict significant temperature
fluctuations at any given radius due to the presence of cool subclumps and, in
the case of the Feedback simulation, reheated gas. The mean gas temperature
lies above the dynamical temperature of the halo for all models at z=0, but
differs between models at higher redshift with the Radiative model having the
lowest mean gas temperature at z=1.5.
We have not attempted to model the scaling relations in a manner that mimics
the observational selection effects, nor has a consistent observational picture
yet emerged. Nevertheless, evolution of the scaling relations promises to be a
powerful probe of the physics of entropy generation in clusters. First
indications are that early, widespread heating is favored over an extended
period of heating that is associated with galaxy formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Minor changes following referee's
comment
An Isocurvature CDM Cosmogony. II. Observational Tests
A companion paper presents a worked model for evolution through inflation to
initial conditions for an isocurvature model for structure formation. It is
shown here that the model is consistent with the available observational
constraints that can be applied without the help of numerical simulations. The
model gives an acceptable fit to the second moments of the angular fluctuations
in the thermal background radiation and the second through fourth moments of
the measured large-scale fluctuations in galaxy counts, within the possibly
significant uncertainties in these measurements. The cluster mass function
requires a rather low but observationally acceptable mass density,
0.1\lsim\Omega\lsim 0.2 in a cosmologically flat universe. Galaxies would be
assembled earlier in this model than in the adiabatic version, an arguably good
thing. Aspects of the predicted non-Gaussian character of the anisotropy of the
thermal background radiation in this model are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 3 postscript figures, uses aas2pp4.st
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