8,493 research outputs found
Detection of the ISW effect and corresponding dark energy constraints made with directional spherical wavelets
Using a directional spherical wavelet analysis we detect the integrated
Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect, indicated by a positive correlation between the
first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and NRAO VLA Sky Survey
(NVSS) data. Detections are made using both a directional extension of the
spherical Mexican hat wavelet and the spherical butterfly wavelet. We examine
the possibility of foreground contamination and systematics in the WMAP data
and conclude that these factors are not responsible for the signal that we
detect. The wavelet analysis inherently enables us to localise on the sky those
regions that contribute most strongly to the correlation. On removing these
localised regions the correlation that we detect is reduced in significance, as
expected, but it is not eliminated, suggesting that these regions are not the
sole source of correlation between the data. This finding is consistent with
predictions made using the ISW effect, where one would expect weak correlations
over the entire sky. In a flat universe the detection of the ISW effect
provides direct and independent evidence for dark energy. We use our detection
to constrain dark energy parameters by deriving a theoretical prediction for
the directional wavelet covariance statistic for a given cosmological model.
Comparing these predictions with the data we place constraints on the
equation-of-state parameter and the vacuum energy density .
We also consider the case of a pure cosmological constant, i.e. . For
this case we rule out a zero cosmological constant at greater than the 99.9%
significance level. All parameter estimates that we obtain are consistent with
the standand cosmological concordance model values.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures; replaced to match version accepted by MNRA
Limits on Arcminute Scale Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy with the BIMA Array
We have used the Berkeley-Illinois-Maryland-Association (BIMA) millimeter
array outfitted with sensitive cm-wave receivers to search for Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) anisotropies on arcminute scales. The interferometer was
placed in a compact configuration which produces high brightness sensitivity,
while providing discrimination against point sources. Operating at a frequency
of 28.5 GHz, the FWHM primary beam of the instrument is 6.6 arcminutes. We have
made sensitive images of seven fields, five of which where chosen specifically
to have low IR dust contrast and be free of bright radio sources. Additional
observations with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) millimeter array
were used to assist in the location and removal of radio point sources.
Applying a Bayesian analysis to the raw visibility data, we place limits on CMB
anisotropy flat-band power Q_flat = 5.6 (+3.0 -5.6) uK and Q_flat < 14.1 uK at
68% and 95% confidence. The sensitivity of this experiment to flat band power
peaks at a multipole of l = 5470, which corresponds to an angular scale of
approximately 2 arcminutes. The most likely value of Q_flat is similar to the
level of the expected secondary anisotropies.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, LaTex, aas2pp4.sty, ApJ submitte
Bayes-X: a Bayesian inference tool for the analysis of X-ray observations of galaxy clusters
We present the first public release of our Bayesian inference tool, Bayes-X,
for the analysis of X-ray observations of galaxy clusters. We illustrate the
use of Bayes-X by analysing a set of four simulated clusters at z=0.2-0.9 as
they would be observed by a Chandra-like X-ray observatory. In both the
simulations and the analysis pipeline we assume that the dark matter density
follows a spherically-symmetric Navarro, Frenk and White (NFW) profile and that
the gas pressure is described by a generalised NFW (GNFW) profile. We then
perform four sets of analyses. By numerically exploring the joint probability
distribution of the cluster parameters given simulated Chandra-like data, we
show that the model and analysis technique can robustly return the simulated
cluster input quantities, constrain the cluster physical parameters and reveal
the degeneracies among the model parameters and cluster physical parameters. We
then analyse Chandra data on the nearby cluster, A262, and derive the cluster
physical profiles. To illustrate the performance of the Bayesian model
selection, we also carried out analyses assuming an Einasto profile for the
matter density and calculated the Bayes factor. The results of the model
selection analyses for the simulated data favour the NFW model as expected.
However, we find that the Einasto profile is preferred in the analysis of A262.
The Bayes-X software, which is implemented in Fortran 90, is available at
http://www.mrao.cam.ac.uk/facilities/software/bayesx/.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
Filtering techniques for the detection of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich clusters in multifrequency CMB maps
The problem of detecting Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) clusters in multifrequency
CMB observations is investigated using a number of filtering techniques. A
multifilter approach is introduced, which optimizes the detection of SZ
clusters on microwave maps. An alternative method is also investigated, in
which maps at different frequencies are combined in an optimal manner so that
existing filtering techniques can be applied to the single combined map. The SZ
profiles are approximated by the circularly-symmetric template , with and , where the core radius and the overall amplitude of the effect
are not fixed a priori, but are determined from the data. The background
emission is modelled by a homogeneous and isotropic random field, characterized
by a cross-power spectrum with . The
filtering methods are illustrated by application to simulated Planck
observations of a patch of sky in 10 frequency
channels. Our simulations suggest that the Planck instrument should detect
SZ clusters in 2/3 of the sky. Moreover, we find the catalogue
to be complete for fluxes mJy at 300 GHz.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures; Corrected figures. Submitted to MNRA
Weyssenhoff fluid dynamics in general relativity using a 1+3 covariant approach
The Weyssenhoff fluid is a perfect fluid with spin where the spin of the
matter fields is the source of torsion in an Einstein-Cartan framework. Obukhov
and Korotky showed that this fluid can be described as an effective fluid with
spin in general relativity. A dynamical analysis of such a fluid is performed
in a gauge invariant manner using the 1+3 covariant approach. This yields the
propagation and constraint equations for the set of dynamical variables. A
verification of these equations is performed for the special case of
irrotational flow with zero peculiar acceleration by evolving the constraints.Comment: 20 page
Dust Attenuation in Late-Type Galaxies. I. Effects on Bulge and Disk Components
We present results of new Monte Carlo calculations made with the DIRTY code
of radiative transfer of stellar and scattered radiation for a dusty giant
late-type galaxy like the Milky Way, which illustrate the effect of the
attenuation of stellar light by internal dust on the integrated photometry of
the individual bulge and disk components. Here we focus on the behavior of the
attenuation function, the color excess, and the fraction of light scattered or
directly transmitted towards the outside observer as a function of the total
amount of dust and the inclination of the galaxy, and the structure of the
dusty interstellar medium (ISM) of the disk. We confirm that dust attenuation
produces qualitatively and quantitatively different effects on the integrated
photometry of bulge and disk, whatever the wavelength. In addition, we find
that the structure of the dusty ISM affects more sensitively the observed
magnitudes than the observed colors of both bulge and disk. Finally, we show
that the contribution of the scattered radiation to the total monochromatic
light received by the outside observer is significant, particularly at UV
wavelengths, even for a two-phase, clumpy, dusty ISM. Thus understanding dust
scattering properties is fundamental for the interpretation of extragalactic
observations in the rest-frame UV.Comment: 62 pages, 28 eps-figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ
Main Journa
Bayesian modelling of clusters of galaxies from multi-frequency pointed Sunyaev--Zel'dovich observations
We present a Bayesian approach to modelling galaxy clusters using
multi-frequency pointed observations from telescopes that exploit the
Sunyaev--Zel'dovich effect. We use the recently developed MultiNest technique
(Feroz, Hobson & Bridges, 2008) to explore the high-dimensional parameter
spaces and also to calculate the Bayesian evidence. This permits robust
parameter estimation as well as model comparison. Tests on simulated Arcminute
Microkelvin Imager observations of a cluster, in the presence of primary CMB
signal, radio point sources (detected as well as an unresolved background) and
receiver noise, show that our algorithm is able to analyse jointly the data
from six frequency channels, sample the posterior space of the model and
calculate the Bayesian evidence very efficiently on a single processor. We also
illustrate the robustness of our detection process by applying it to a field
with radio sources and primordial CMB but no cluster, and show that indeed no
cluster is identified. The extension of our methodology to the detection and
modelling of multiple clusters in multi-frequency SZ survey data will be
described in a future work.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRA
Limits on non-Gaussianities from WMAP data
We develop a method to constrain the level of non-Gaussianity of density
perturbations when the 3-point function is of the "equilateral" type.
Departures from Gaussianity of this form are produced by single field models
such as ghost or DBI inflation and in general by the presence of higher order
derivative operators in the effective Lagrangian of the inflaton. We show that
the induced shape of the 3-point function can be very well approximated by a
factorizable form, making the analysis practical. We also show that, unless one
has a full sky map with uniform noise, in order to saturate the Cramer-Rao
bound for the error on the amplitude of the 3-point function, the estimator
must contain a piece that is linear in the data. We apply our technique to the
WMAP data obtaining a constraint on the amplitude f_NL^equil of "equilateral"
non-Gaussianity: -366 < f_NL^equil < 238 at 95% C.L. We also apply our
technique to constrain the so-called "local" shape, which is predicted for
example by the curvaton and variable decay width models. We show that the
inclusion of the linear piece in the estimator improves the constraint over
those obtained by the WMAP team, to -27 < f_NL^local < 121 at 95% C.L.Comment: 20 pages, 12 eps figure
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