800 research outputs found

    Recent Studies in Andean Prehistory and Protohistory: Papers from the Second Annual Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory

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    The contributions in this volume represent nine of the twenty-three papers presented at the Second Annual Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory (NCAAE) held at the American Museum of Natural History on November 19-20, 1983. Papers include The Preceramic and Formative Period Occupations in the Cordillera Negra: Preliminary Report by Michael A. Malpass, The Early Horizon--Early Intermediate Period Transition: A View from the Nepena and Viru Valleys by Richard E. Daggett, Paracas in Chincha and Pisco: A Reappraisal of the Ocucaje Sequence by Dwight T. Wallace, Impressions in Metal: Reconstructing Burial Context at Loma Negra, Peru by Anne-Louise Schaeffer, The Moche Moon by Elizabeth P. Benson, Archaeological Investigation in the Andean Piedmont and High Llanos of Western Venezuela: A Preliminary Report by Charles S. Spencer and Elsa M. Redmond, Pachacamac--An Andean Oracle Under Inca Rule by Thomas C. Patterson, The Spanish League and Inca Sites: A Reassessment of the Itinerary of Juan de Matienzo through N.W. Argentina by Gordon C. Pollard, and Written Sources on Andean Cosmogony by George Kubler.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past_special/1001/thumbnail.jp

    Sustainability appraisal: Jack of all trades, master of none?

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    Sustainable development is a commonly quoted goal for decision making and supports a large number of other discourses. Sustainability appraisal has a stated goal of supporting decision making for sustainable development. We suggest that the inherent flexibility of sustainability appraisal facilitates outcomes that often do not adhere to the three goals enshrined in most definitions of sustainable development: economic growth, environmental protection and enhancement, and the wellbeing of the human population. Current practice is for sustainable development to be disenfranchised through the interpretation of sustainability, whereby the best alternative is good enough even when unsustainable. Practitioners must carefully and transparently review the frameworks applied during sustainability appraisal to ensure that outcomes will meet the three goals, rather than focusing on a discourse that emphasises one or more goals at the expense of the other(s)

    Mass Calibration and Cosmological Analysis of the SPT-SZ Galaxy Cluster Sample Using Velocity Dispersion σv\sigma_v and X-ray YXY_\textrm{X} Measurements

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    We present a velocity dispersion-based mass calibration of the South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect survey (SPT-SZ) galaxy cluster sample. Using a homogeneously selected sample of 100 cluster candidates from 720 deg2 of the survey along with 63 velocity dispersion (σv\sigma_v) and 16 X-ray Yx measurements of sample clusters, we simultaneously calibrate the mass-observable relation and constrain cosmological parameters. The calibrations using σv\sigma_v and Yx are consistent at the 0.6σ0.6\sigma level, with the σv\sigma_v calibration preferring ~16% higher masses. We use the full cluster dataset to measure σ8(Ωm/0.27)0.3=0.809±0.036\sigma_8(\Omega_ m/0.27)^{0.3}=0.809\pm0.036. The SPT cluster abundance is lower than preferred by either the WMAP9 or Planck+WMAP9 polarization (WP) data, but assuming the sum of the neutrino masses is ∑mν=0.06\sum m_\nu=0.06 eV, we find the datasets to be consistent at the 1.0σ\sigma level for WMAP9 and 1.5σ\sigma for Planck+WP. Allowing for larger ∑mν\sum m_\nu further reconciles the results. When we combine the cluster and Planck+WP datasets with BAO and SNIa, the preferred cluster masses are 1.9σ1.9\sigma higher than the Yx calibration and 0.8σ0.8\sigma higher than the σv\sigma_v calibration. Given the scale of these shifts (~44% and ~23% in mass, respectively), we execute a goodness of fit test; it reveals no tension, indicating that the best-fit model provides an adequate description of the data. Using the multi-probe dataset, we measure Ωm=0.299±0.009\Omega_ m=0.299\pm0.009 and σ8=0.829±0.011\sigma_8=0.829\pm0.011. Within a ν\nuCDM model we find ∑mν=0.148±0.081\sum m_\nu = 0.148\pm0.081 eV. We present a consistency test of the cosmic growth rate. Allowing both the growth index γ\gamma and the dark energy equation of state parameter ww to vary, we find γ=0.73±0.28\gamma=0.73\pm0.28 and w=−1.007±0.065w=-1.007\pm0.065, demonstrating that the expansion and the growth histories are consistent with a LCDM model (γ=0.55; w=−1\gamma=0.55; \,w=-1).Comment: Accepted by ApJ (v2 is accepted version); 17 pages, 6 figure

    Analysis of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect Mass-Observable Relations using South Pole Telescope Observations of an X-ray Selected Sample of Low Mass Galaxy Clusters and Groups

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    (Abridged) We use 95, 150, and 220GHz observations from the SPT to examine the SZE signatures of a sample of 46 X-ray selected groups and clusters drawn from ~6 deg^2 of the XMM-BCS. These systems extend to redshift z=1.02, have characteristic masses ~3x lower than clusters detected directly in the SPT data and probe the SZE signal to the lowest X-ray luminosities (>10^42 erg s^-1) yet. We develop an analysis tool that combines the SZE information for the full ensemble of X-ray-selected clusters. Using X-ray luminosity as a mass proxy, we extract selection-bias corrected constraints on the SZE significance- and Y_500-mass relations. The SZE significance- mass relation is in good agreement with an extrapolation of the relation obtained from high mass clusters. However, the fit to the Y_500-mass relation at low masses, while in good agreement with the extrapolation from high mass SPT clusters, is in tension at 2.8 sigma with the constraints from the Planck sample. We examine the tension with the Planck relation, discussing sample differences and biases that could contribute. We also present an analysis of the radio galaxy point source population in this ensemble of X-ray selected systems. We find 18 of our systems have 843 MHz SUMSS sources within 2 arcmin of the X-ray centre, and three of these are also detected at significance >4 by SPT. Of these three, two are associated with the group brightest cluster galaxies, and the third is likely an unassociated quasar candidate. We examine the impact of these point sources on our SZE scaling relation analyses and find no evidence of biases. We also examine the impact of dusty galaxies using constraints from the 220 GHz data. The stacked sample provides 2.8σ\sigma significant evidence of dusty galaxy flux, which would correspond to an average underestimate of the SPT Y_500 signal that is (17+-9) per cent in this sample of low mass systems.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

    A Direct Measurement of the Linear Bias of Mid-infrared-selected Quasars at z ap 1 Using Cosmic Microwave Background Lensing

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    We measure the cross-power spectrum of the projected mass density as traced by the convergence of the cosmic microwave background lensing field from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and a sample of Type 1 and 2 (unobscured and obscured) quasars at langzrang ~ 1 selected with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, over 2500 deg2. The cross-power spectrum is detected at ≈7σ, and we measure a linear bias b = 1.61 ± 0.22, consistent with clustering analyses. Using an independent lensing map, derived from Planck observations, to measure the cross-spectrum, we find excellent agreement with the SPT analysis. The bias of the combined sample of Type 1 and 2 quasars determined in this work is similar to that previously determined for Type 1 quasars alone; we conclude that obscured and unobscured quasars trace the matter field in a similar way. This result has implications for our understanding of quasar unification and evolution schemes.Peer reviewe

    Measurements of the Temperature and E-Mode Polarization of the CMB from 500 Square Degrees of SPTpol Data

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    We present measurements of the EE-mode polarization angular auto-power spectrum (EEEE) and temperature-EE-mode cross-power spectrum (TETE) of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using 150 GHz data from three seasons of SPTpol observations. We report the power spectra over the spherical harmonic multipole range 50<ℓ≤800050 < \ell \leq 8000, and detect nine acoustic peaks in the EEEE spectrum with high signal-to-noise ratio. These measurements are the most sensitive to date of the EEEE and TETE power spectra at ℓ>1050\ell > 1050 and ℓ>1475\ell > 1475, respectively. The observations cover 500 deg2^2, a fivefold increase in area compared to previous SPTpol analyses, which increases our sensitivity to the photon diffusion damping tail of the CMB power spectra enabling tighter constraints on \LCDM model extensions. After masking all sources with unpolarized flux >50>50 mJy we place a 95% confidence upper limit on residual polarized point-source power of Dℓ=ℓ(ℓ+1)Cℓ/2π<0.107 μK2D_\ell = \ell(\ell+1)C_\ell/2\pi <0.107\,\mu{\rm K}^2 at ℓ=3000\ell=3000, suggesting that the EEEE damping tail dominates foregrounds to at least ℓ=4050\ell = 4050 with modest source masking. We find that the SPTpol dataset is in mild tension with the ΛCDM\Lambda CDM model (2.1 σ2.1\,\sigma), and different data splits prefer parameter values that differ at the ∼1 σ\sim 1\,\sigma level. When fitting SPTpol data at ℓ<1000\ell < 1000 we find cosmological parameter constraints consistent with those for PlanckPlanck temperature. Including SPTpol data at ℓ>1000\ell > 1000 results in a preference for a higher value of the expansion rate (H_0 = 71.3 \pm 2.1\,\mbox{km}\,s^{-1}\mbox{Mpc}^{-1} ) and a lower value for present-day density fluctuations (σ8=0.77±0.02\sigma_8 = 0.77 \pm 0.02).Comment: Updated to match version accepted to ApJ. 34 pages, 17 figures, 6 table

    Performance and on-sky optical characterization of the SPTpol instrument

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    In January 2012, the 10m South Pole Telescope (SPT) was equipped with a polarization-sensitive camera, SPTpol, in order to measure the polarization anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Measurements of the polarization of the CMB at small angular scales (~several arcminutes) can detect the gravitational lensing of the CMB by large scale structure and constrain the sum of the neutrino masses. At large angular scales (~few degrees) CMB measurements can constrain the energy scale of Inflation. SPTpol is a two-color mm-wave camera that consists of 180 polarimeters at 90 GHz and 588 polarimeters at 150 GHz, with each polarimeter consisting of a dual transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers. The full complement of 150 GHz detectors consists of 7 arrays of 84 ortho-mode transducers (OMTs) that are stripline coupled to two TES detectors per OMT, developed by the TRUCE collaboration and fabricated at NIST. Each 90 GHz pixel consists of two antenna-coupled absorbers coupled to two TES detectors, developed with Argonne National Labs. The 1536 total detectors are read out with digital frequency-domain multiplexing (DfMUX). The SPTpol deployment represents the first on-sky tests of both of these detector technologies, and is one of the first deployed instruments using DfMUX readout technology. We present the details of the design, commissioning, deployment, on-sky optical characterization and detector performance of the complete SPTpol focal plane.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Conference: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation 201

    A Measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background Damping Tail from the 2500-square-degree SPT-SZ survey

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    We present a measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature power spectrum using data from the recently completed South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SPT-SZ) survey. This measurement is made from observations of 2540 deg2^2 of sky with arcminute resolution at 150 150\,GHz, and improves upon previous measurements using the SPT by tripling the sky area. We report CMB temperature anisotropy power over the multipole range 650<ℓ<3000650<\ell<3000. We fit the SPT bandpowers, combined with the seven-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) data, with a six-parameter LCDM cosmological model and find that the two datasets are consistent and well fit by the model. Adding SPT measurements significantly improves LCDM parameter constraints; in particular, the constraint on θs\theta_s tightens by a factor of 2.7. The impact of gravitational lensing is detected at 8.1 σ8.1\, \sigma, the most significant detection to date. This sensitivity of the SPT+WMAP7 data to lensing by large-scale structure at low redshifts allows us to constrain the mean curvature of the observable universe with CMB data alone to be Ωk=−0.003−0.018+0.014\Omega_k=-0.003^{+0.014}_{-0.018}. Using the SPT+WMAP7 data, we measure the spectral index of scalar fluctuations to be ns=0.9623±0.0097n_s=0.9623 \pm 0.0097 in the LCDM model, a 3.9 σ3.9\,\sigma preference for a scale-dependent spectrum with ns<1n_s<1. The SPT measurement of the CMB damping tail helps break the degeneracy that exists between the tensor-to-scalar ratio rr and nsn_s in large-scale CMB measurements, leading to an upper limit of r<0.18r<0.18 (95%,C.L.) in the LCDM+rr model. Adding low-redshift measurements of the Hubble constant (H0H_0) and the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature to the SPT+WMAP7 data leads to further improvements. The combination of SPT+WMAP7+H0H_0+BAO constrains ns=0.9538±0.0081n_s=0.9538 \pm 0.0081 in the LCDM model, a 5.7 σ5.7\,\sigma detection of ns<1n_s < 1, ... [abridged]Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures. Replaced with version accepted by ApJ. Data products are available at http://pole.uchicago.edu/public/data/story12
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