30,211 research outputs found
Streaming velocities as a dynamical estimator of Omega
It is well known that estimating the pairwise velocity of galaxies, v_{12},
from the redshift space galaxy correlation function is difficult because this
method is highly sensitive to the assumed model of the pairwise velocity
dispersion. Here we propose an alternative method to estimate v_{12} directly
from peculiar velocity samples, which contain redshift-independent distances as
well as galaxy redshifts. In contrast to other dynamical measures which
determine beta = sigma_8 x Omega^{0.6}, our method can provide an estimate of
(sigma_8)^2 x Omega^{0.6} for a range of sigma_8 (here Omega is the
cosmological mass density parameter while sigma_8 is the standard normalization
parameter for the spectrum of matter density fluctuations). We demonstrate how
to measure this quantity from realistic catalogues.Comment: 8 pages of text, 4 figures Subject headings: Cosmology: theory -
observation - peculiar velocities: large scale flows Last name of one of the
authors was misspelled. It is now corrected. Otherwise the manuscript is
identical to its original versio
Evidence for a low-density Universe from the relative velocities of galaxies
The motions of galaxies can be used to constrain the cosmological density
parameter Omega and the clustering amplitude of matter on large scales. The
mean relative velocity of galaxy pairs, estimated from the Mark III survey,
indicates that Omega = 0.35 +0.35/-0.25. If the clustering of galaxies is
unbiased on large scales, Omega = 0.35 +/- 0.15, so that an unbiased
Einstein-de Sitter model (Omega = 1) is inconsistent with the data.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Jan.7 issue of ``Science''; In
the original version, the title appeared twice. This problem has now been
corrected. No other changes were mad
Measuring Omega with Galaxy Streaming Velocities
The mean pairwise velocity of galaxies has traditionally been estimated from
the redshift space galaxy correlation function. This method is notorious for
being highly sensitive to the assumed model of the pairwise velocity
dispersion. Here we propose an alternative method to estimate the streaming
velocity directly from peculiar velocity samples, which contain
redshift-independent distances as well as galaxy redshifts. This method can
provide an estimate of for a range of where
is the cosmological density parameter, while is the
standard normalization for the power spectrum of density fluctuations. We
demonstrate how to measure this quantity from realistic catalogues and identify
the main sources of bias and errorsComment: Proceedings of New Worlds in Astroparticle Physics, 6 pages, 2
figure
Basis invariant conditions for supersymmetry in the two-Higgs-doublet model
The minimal supersymmetric standard model involves a rather restrictive Higgs
potential with two Higgs fields. Recently, the full set of classes of
symmetries allowed in the most general two Higgs doublet model was identified;
these classes do not include the supersymmetric limit as a particular class.
Thus, a physically meaningful definition of the supersymmetric limit must
involve the interaction of the Higgs sector with other sectors of the theory.
Here we show how one can construct basis invariant probes of supersymmetry
involving both the Higgs sector and the gaugino-higgsino Higgs interactions.Comment: RevTex, 11 pages, v2-small section adde
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
Electron-electron interaction in a MCS model with a purely spacelike Lorentz-violating background
One considers a planar Maxwell-Chern-Simons electrodynamics in the presence
of a purely spacelike Lorentz-violating background. Once the Dirac sector is
properly introduced and coupled to the scalar and the gauge fields, the
electron-electron interaction is evaluated as the Fourier transform of the
Moller scattering amplitude (derived in the non-relativistic limit). The
associated Fourier integrations can not be exactly carried out, but an
algebraic solution for the interaction potential is obtained in leading order
in (v/s)^2. It is then observed that the scalar potential presents a
logarithmic attractive (repulsive) behavior near (far from) the origin.
Concerning the gauge potential, it is composed of the pure MCS interaction
corrected by background contributions, also responsible for its anisotropic
character. It is also verified that such corrections may turn the gauge
potential attractive for some parameter values. Such attractiveness remains
even in the presence of the centrifugal barrier and gauge invariant A.A term,
which constitutes a condition compatible with the formation of Cooper pairs.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Revtex4 style, figures revised; to appear in
Phys. Rev. D (2005
Mass-degenerate Higgs bosons at 125 GeV in the Two-Higgs-Doublet Model
The analysis of the Higgs boson data by the ATLAS and CMS Collaborations
appears to exhibit an excess of h --> gamma\gamma events above the Standard
Model (SM) expectations; whereas no significant excess is observed in h --> ZZ*
--> {four lepton} events, albeit with large statistical uncertainty due to the
small data sample. These results (assuming they persist with further data)
could be explained by a pair of nearly mass-degenerate scalars, one of which is
a SM-like Higgs boson and the other is a scalar with suppressed couplings to
W+W- and ZZ. In the two Higgs doublet model, the observed \gamma\gamma and ZZ*
--> {four lepton} data can be reproduced by an approximately degenerate CP-even
(h) and CP-odd (A) Higgs boson for values of \sin(\beta-\alpha) near unity and
0.7 < \tan\beta < 1. An enhanced \gamma\gamma signal can also arise in cases
where m_h ~ m_H, m_H ~ m_A, or m_h ~ m_H ~ m_A. Since the ZZ* --> {four lepton}
signal derives primarily from a SM-like Higgs boson whereas the \gamma\gamma
signal receives contributions from two (or more) nearly mass-degenerate states,
one would expect a slightly different invariant mass peak in the ZZ* --> {four
lepton} and \gamma\gamma channels. The phenomenological consequences of such
models can be tested with additional Higgs data that will be collected at the
LHC in the near future.Comment: 18 pages, 19 pdf figures, v2: references added, v3&v4: added refs and
explanation
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