436 research outputs found
Detection of a CMB decrement towards a cluster of mJy radiosources
We present the results of radio, optical and near-infrared observations of
the field of TOC J0233.3+3021, a cluster of milliJansky radiosources from the
TexOx Cluster survey. In an observation of this field with the Ryle Telescope
(RT) at 15 GHz, we measure a decrement in the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
of Jy on the RT's 0.65 k baseline. Using
optical and infrared imaging with the McDonald 2.7-m Smith Reflector, Calar
Alto 3.5-m telescope and UKIRT, we identify the host galaxies of five of the
radiosources and measure magnitudes of , , .
The CMB decrement is consistent with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect of a
massive cluster of galaxies, which if modelled as a spherical King profile of
core radius has a central temperature decrement
of K. The magnitudes and colours of the galaxies are consistent with
those of old ellipticals at . We therefore conclude that TOC
J0233.3+3021 is a massive, high redshift cluster. These observations add to the
growing evidence for a significant population of massive clusters at high
redshift, and demonstrate the effectiveness of combining searches for AGN
`signposts' to clusters with the redshift-independence of the SZ effect.Comment: Six pages; accepted for publication in MNRAS. Version with
full-resolution UV plot available from
http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/~garret/MB185.p
CLOVER - A new instrument for measuring the B-mode polarization of the CMB
We describe the design and expected performance of Clover, a new instrument
designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background.
The proposed instrument will comprise three independent telescopes operating at
90, 150 and 220 GHz and is planned to be sited at Dome C, Antarctica. Each
telescope will feed a focal plane array of 128 background-limited detectors and
will measure polarized signals over angular multipoles 20 < l < 1000. The
unique design of the telescope and careful control of systematics should enable
the B-mode signature of gravitational waves to be measured to a
lensing-confusion-limited tensor-to-scalar ratio r~0.005.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the XXXVIXth
Rencontres de Moriond "Exploring the Universe
Observational constraints on braneworld inflation: the effect of a Gauss-Bonnet term
High-energy modifications to general relativity introduce changes to the
perturbations generated during inflation, and the latest high-precision
cosmological data can be used to place constraints on such modified inflation
models. Recently it was shown that Randall-Sundrum type braneworld inflation
leads to tighter constraints on quadratic and quartic potentials than in
general relativity. We investigate how this changes with a Gauss-Bonnet
correction term, which can be motivated by string theory. Randall-Sundrum
models preserve the standard consistency relation between the tensor spectral
index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. The Gauss-Bonnet term breaks this
relation, and also modifies the dynamics and perturbation amplitudes at high
energies. We find that the Gauss-Bonnet term tends to soften the
Randall-Sundrum constraints. The observational compatibility of the quadratic
potential is strongly improved. For a broad range of energy scales, the quartic
potential is rescued from marginal rejection. Steep inflation driven by an
exponential potential is excluded in the Randall-Sundrum case, but the
Gauss-Bonnet term leads to marginal compatibility for sufficient e-folds.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, version to appear in Physical Review
Observational constraints on patch inflation in noncommutative spacetime
We study constraints on a number of patch inflationary models in
noncommutative spacetime using a compilation of recent high-precision
observational data. In particular, the four-dimensional General Relativistic
(GR) case, the Randall-Sundrum (RS) and Gauss-Bonnet (GB) braneworld scenarios
are investigated by extending previous commutative analyses to the infrared
limit of a maximally symmetric realization of the stringy uncertainty
principle. The effect of spacetime noncommutativity modifies the standard
consistency relation between the tensor spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar
ratio. We perform likelihood analyses in terms of inflationary observables
using new consistency relations and confront them with large-field inflationary
models with potential V \propto \vp^p in two classes of noncommutative
scenarios. We find a number of interesting results: (i) the quartic potential
(p=4) is rescued from marginal rejection in the class 2 GR case, and (ii) steep
inflation driven by an exponential potential (p \to \infty) is allowed in the
class 1 RS case. Spacetime noncommutativity can lead to blue-tilted scalar and
tensor spectra even for monomial potentials, thus opening up a possibility to
explain the loss of power observed in the cosmic microwave background
anisotropies. We also explore patch inflation with a Dirac-Born-Infeld tachyon
field and explicitly show that the associated likelihood analysis is equivalent
to the one in the ordinary scalar field case by using horizon-flow parameters.
It turns out that tachyon inflation is compatible with observations in all
patch cosmologies even for large p.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; v2: updated references, minor corrections to
match the Phys. Rev. D versio
A close-pair binary in a distant triple supermassive black-hole system
Galaxies are believed to evolve through merging, which should lead to
multiple supermassive black holes in some. There are four known triple black
hole systems, with the closest pair being 2.4 kiloparsecs apart (the third
component is more distant at 3 kiloparsecs), which is far from the
gravitational sphere of influence of a black hole with mass 10
M (about 100 parsecs). Previous searches for compact black hole systems
concluded that they were rare, with the tightest binary system having a
separation of 7 parsecs. Here we report observations of a triple black hole
system at redshift z=0.39, with the closest pair separated by 140
parsecs. The presence of the tight pair is imprinted onto the properties of the
large-scale radio jets, as a rotationally-symmetric helical modulation, which
provides a useful way to search for other tight pairs without needing extremely
high resolution observations. As we found this tight pair after searching only
six galaxies, we conclude that tight pairs are more common than hitherto
believed, which is an important observational constraint for low-frequency
gravitational wave experiments.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures. Published online by Nature on 25 June 2014.
Extremely minor differences with published version exis
Detection of Cosmic Microwave Background Structure in a Second Field with the Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope
We describe observations at frequencies near 15 GHz of the second 2x2 degree
field imaged with the Cambridge Cosmic Anisotropy Telescope (CAT). After the
removal of discrete radio sources, structure is detected in the images on
characteristic scales of about half a degree, corresponding to spherical
harmonic multipoles in the approximate range l= 330--680. A Bayesian analysis
confirms that the signal arises predominantly from the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) radiation for multipoles in the lower half of this range; the
average broad-band power in a bin with centroid l=422 (theta = 51') is
estimated to be Delta_T/T=2.1^{+0.4}_{-0.5} x 10^{-5}. For multipoles centred
on l=615 (theta =35'), we find contamination from Galactic emission is
significant, and constrain the CMB contribution to the measured power in this
bin to be Delta_T/T <2.0 x 10^{-5} (1-sigma upper limit). These new results are
consistent with the first detection made by CAT in a completely different area
of sky. Together with data from other experiments, this new CAT detection adds
weight to earlier evidence from CAT for a downturn in the CMB power spectrum on
scales smaller than 1 degree. Improved limits on the values of H_0 and Omega
are determined using the new CAT data.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures (gif), submitted to MNRA
Mapping of the SZ effect in the cluster Cl 0016+16 with the Ryle Telescope
We have mapped the high-redshift (z = 0.546) cluster Cl 0016+16 with the Ryle
Telescope at 15 GHz. The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich decrement is clearly detected, and
resolved. We combine our data with an X-ray image from ROSAT, and a gas
temperature from ASCA to estimate the Hubble Constant H0 = 69 +21/-16 km/s/Mpc
for an Omega_M=1.0 cosmology or H0 = 84 +25/-19 km/s/Mpc for Omega_M=0.3 and
Omega_Lambda=0.7.Comment: 10 pages, 2 tables, 6 figures Submitted to MNRA
The radio source counts at 15 GHz and their implications for cm-wave CMB imaging
We present the preliminary results of a new survey of radio sources using the
Ryle telescope at 15.2 GHz. This is the highest frequency at which a survey has
been done that is relevant to the issue of radio source contamination in CMB
experiments. The differential source count of the 66 sources found in 63 sqdeg
is 80(S/Jy)^-2 /Jy/sr from about 20 to 500 mJy. Extrapolating this to 34 GHz
(where many cm-wave CMB experiments operate) gives an estimated temperature
contribution from sources of 9 microK in a CMB image, with a beam corresponding
to multipole l=500. A means of source subtraction is evidently necessary,
otherwise the signal-to-noise ratio in CMB images will be limited to 4 or 5,
becoming worse at higher resolution. We compare the population of sources
observed in this new survey to that predicted by extrapolation from lower
frequency surveys, finding that source fluxes, and indeed the existence of many
sources, cannot be determined by extrapolation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRA
Constraints on Resonant Particle Production during Inflation from the Matter and CMB Power Spectra
We analyze the limits on resonant particle production during inflation based
upon the power spectrum of fluctuations in matter and the cosmic microwave
background. We show that such a model is consistent with features observed in
the matter power spectrum deduced from galaxy surveys and damped Lyman-alpha
systems at high redshift. It also provides an alternative explanation for the
excess power observed in the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background
fluctuations in the range of 1000 < l < 3500. For our best-fit models, epochs
of resonant particle creation reenter the horizon at wave numbers ~ 0.4 and/or
0.2 (h/Mpc). The amplitude and location of these features correspond to the
creation of fermion species of mass ~ 1-2 Mpl during inflation with a coupling
constant between the inflaton field and the created fermion species of near
unity. Although the evidence is marginal, if this interpretation is correct,
this could be one of the first observational hints of new physics at the Planck
scale.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Phys. Rev. D15, in Press, Septermber 15 (2004)
Issu
Radio Sources in Galaxy Clusters at 28.5 GHz
We present serendipitous detections of radio sources at 28.5 GHz (1 cm),
which resulted from our program to image thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect
in 56 galaxy clusters. We find 64 radio sources with fluxes down to 0.4 mJy,
and within 250 arcseconds from the pointing centers. The spectral indices (S ~
\nu^-\alpha) of 54 sources with published low frequency flux densities range
from -0.6 to 2 with a mean of 0.77, and a median of 0.84. Extending low
frequency surveys of radio sources towards galaxy clusters CL 0016+16, Abell
665, and Abell 2218 to 28.5 GHz, and selecting sources with 1.4 GHz flux
density greater than 7 mJy to form an unbiased sample, we find a mean spectral
index of 0.71 and a median of 0.71. We find 4 to 7 times more sources predicted
from a low frequency survey in areas without galaxy clusters. This excess
cannot be accounted for by gravitational lensing of a background radio
population by cluster potentials, indicating most of the detected sources are
associated with galaxy clusters. For the cluster Abell 2218, the presence of
unsubtracted radio sources with 28.5 GHz flux densities less than 0.5 mJy, can
only contribute to temperature fluctuations at a level of 10 to 25 \muK. The
corresponding error due to radio point source contamination in the Hubble
constant derived through a combined analysis of 28.5 GHz SZ images and X-ray
emission observations ranges from 1% to 6%.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, to appear in April 1998 issue of A
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