The Effects of Halo Assembly Bias on Self-Calibration in Galaxy Cluster Surveys

Self-calibration techniques for analyzing galaxy cluster counts utilize the abundance and the clustering amplitude of dark matter halos. These properties simultaneously constrain cosmological parameters and the cluster observable-mass relation. It was recently discovered that the clustering amplitude of halos depends not only on the halo mass, but also on various secondary variables, such as the halo formation time and the concentration; these dependences are collectively termed assembly bias. Applying modified Fisher matrix formalism, we explore whether these secondary variables have a significant impact on the study of dark energy properties using the self-calibration technique in current (SDSS) and the near future (DES, SPT, and LSST) cluster surveys. The impact of the secondary dependence is determined by (1) the scatter in the observable-mass relation and (2) the correlation between observable and secondary variables. We find that for optical surveys, the secondary dependence does not significantly influence an SDSS-like survey; however, it may affect a DES-like survey (given the high scatter currently expected from optical clusters) and an LSST-like survey (even for low scatter values and low correlations). For an SZ survey such as SPT, the impact of secondary dependence is insignificant if the scatter is 20% or lower but can be enhanced by the potential high scatter values introduced by a highly correlated background. Accurate modeling of the assembly bias is necessary for cluster self-calibration in the era of precision cosmology.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, replaced to match published versio

Probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle state via POVM

We propose a scheme for probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle state with partly entangled four-particle state via POVM. In this scheme the teleportation of unknown two-particle state can be realized with certain probability by performing two Bell state measurements, a proper POVM and a unitary transformation.Comment: 5 pages, no figur

A Sino-German 6cm polarisation survey of the Galactic plane IX. HII regions

Large-scale radio continuum surveys provide data to get insights into the physical properties of radio sources. HII regions are prominent radio sources produced by thermal emission of ionised gas around young massive stars. We identify and analyse HII regions in the Sino-German 6cm polarisation survey of the Galactic plane. Objects with flat radio continuum spectra together with infrared and/or Halpha emission were identified as HII regions. For HII regions with small apparent sizes, we cross-matched the 6cm small-diameter source catalogue with the radio HII region catalogue compiled by Paladini and the infrared HII region catalogue based on the WISE data. Extended HII regions were identified by eye by overlaying the Paladini and the WISE HII regions onto the 6cm survey images for coincidences. The TT-plot method was employed for spectral index verification. A total of 401 HII regions were identified and their flux densities were determined with the Sino-German 6cm survey data. In the surveyed area, 76 pairs of sources are found to be duplicated in the Paladini HII region catalogue, mainly due to the non-distinction of previous observations with different angular resolutions, and 78 objects in their catalogue are misclassified as HII regions, being actually planetary nebulae, supernova remnants or extragalactic sources that have steep spectra. More than 30 HII regions and HII region candidates from our 6cm survey data, especially extended ones, do not have counterparts in the WISE HII region catalogue, of which 9 are identified for the first time. Based on the newly derived radio continuum spectra and the evidence of infrared emission, the previously identified SNRs G11.1-1.0, G20.4+0.1 and G16.4-0.5 are believed to be HII regions.Comment: version after some minor corrections and language editing, full Table 2 - 5 will appear in CDS, accepted for publication in A&

Bimodal Distribution of Sulfuric Acid Aerosols in the Upper Haze of Venus

The upper haze (UH) of Venus is variable on the order of days and it is populated by two particle modes. We use a 1D microphysics and vertical transport model based on the Community Aerosol and Radiation Model for Atmospheres to evaluate whether interaction of upwelled cloud particles and sulfuric acid particles nucleated in situ on meteoric dust are able to generate the two size modes and whether their observed variability are due to cloud top vertical transient winds. Nucleation of photochemically produced sulfuric acid onto polysulfur condensation nuclei generates mode 1 cloud droplets that then diffuse upwards into the UH. Droplets generated in the UH from nucleation of sulfuric acid onto meteoric dust coagulate with the upwelled cloud particles and cannot reproduce the observed bimodal size distribution. The mass transport enabled by cloud top transient winds are able to generate a bimodal size distribution in a time scale consistent with observations. Sedimentation and convection in the middle and lower clouds causes the formation of large mode 2 and mode 3 particles. Evaporation of these particles below the clouds creates a local sulfuric acid vapor maximum that causes upwelling of sulfuric acid back into the clouds. If the polysulfur condensation nuclei are small and their production rate is high, coagulation of small droplets onto larger droplets in the middle cloud may result in sulfuric acid "rain" below the clouds once every few Earth months. Reduction of the polysulfur condensation nuclei production rate destroys this oscillation and reduces the mode 1 particle abundance in the middle cloud by two orders of magnitude, though it better reproduces the sulfur-to-sulfuric-acid mass ratio in the cloud and haze droplets. In general we find satisfactory agreement between our results and observations, though improvements could be made by incorporating sulfur microphysics.Comment: 62 pages, 18 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Icaru

Pycortex: an interactive surface visualizer for fMRI.

Surface visualizations of fMRI provide a comprehensive view of cortical activity. However, surface visualizations are difficult to generate and most common visualization techniques rely on unnecessary interpolation which limits the fidelity of the resulting maps. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand the relationship between flattened cortical surfaces and the underlying 3D anatomy using tools available currently. To address these problems we have developed pycortex, a Python toolbox for interactive surface mapping and visualization. Pycortex exploits the power of modern graphics cards to sample volumetric data on a per-pixel basis, allowing dense and accurate mapping of the voxel grid across the surface. Anatomical and functional information can be projected onto the cortical surface. The surface can be inflated and flattened interactively, aiding interpretation of the correspondence between the anatomical surface and the flattened cortical sheet. The output of pycortex can be viewed using WebGL, a technology compatible with modern web browsers. This allows complex fMRI surface maps to be distributed broadly online without requiring installation of complex software

Dual-mode mechanical resonance of individual ZnO nanobelts

©2003 American Institute of Physics. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://link.aip.org/link/?APPLAB/82/4806/1DOI:10.1063/1.1587878The mechanical resonance of a single ZnO nanobelt, induced by an alternative electric field, was studied by in situ transmission electron microscopy. Due to the rectangular cross section of the nanobelt, two fundamental resonance modes have been observed corresponding to two orthogonal transverse vibration directions, showing the versatile applications of nanobelts as nanocantilevers and nanoresonators. The bending modulus of the ZnO nanobelts was measured to be ~52 GPa and the damping time constant of the resonance in a vacuum of 5×10–8 Torr was ~1.2 ms and quality factor Q = 500

Generation of N-qubit W state with rf-SQUID qubits by adiabatic passage

A simple scheme is presented to generate n-qubit W state with rf-superconducting quantum interference devices (rf-SQUIDs) in cavity QED through adiabatic passage. Because of the achievable strong coupling for rf-SQUID qubits embedded in cavity QED, we can get the desired state with high success probability. Furthermore, the scheme is insensitive to position inaccuracy of the rf-SQUIDs. The numerical simulation shows that, by using present experimental techniques, we can achieve our scheme with very high success probability, and the fidelity could be eventually unity with the help of dissipation.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.