5,967 research outputs found
Prospects for Measuring Cosmic Microwave Background Spectral Distortions in the Presence of Foregrounds
Measurements of cosmic microwave background spectral distortions have
profound implications for our understanding of physical processes taking place
over a vast window in cosmological history. Foreground contamination is
unavoidable in such measurements and detailed signal-foreground separation will
be necessary to extract cosmological science. We present MCMC-based spectral
distortion detection forecasts in the presence of Galactic and extragalactic
foregrounds for a range of possible experimental configurations, focusing on
the Primordial Inflation Explorer (PIXIE) as a fiducial concept. We consider
modifications to the baseline PIXIE mission (operating 12 months in distortion
mode), searching for optimal configurations using a Fisher approach. Using only
spectral information, we forecast an extended PIXIE mission to detect the
expected average non-relativistic and relativistic thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich
distortions at high significance (194 and 11, respectively),
even in the presence of foregrounds. The CDM Silk damping -type
distortion is not detected without additional modifications of the instrument
or external data. Galactic synchrotron radiation is the most problematic source
of contamination in this respect, an issue that could be mitigated by combining
PIXIE data with future ground-based observations at low frequencies (GHz). Assuming moderate external information on the synchrotron spectrum,
we project an upper limit of (95\% c.l.), slightly
more than one order of magnitude above the fiducial CDM signal from
the damping of small-scale primordial fluctuations, but a factor of improvement over the current upper limit from COBE/FIRAS. This limit could
be further reduced to (95\% c.l.) with more
optimistic assumptions about low-frequency information. (Abridged)Comment: (16 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRAS. Fisher code available at
https://github.com/mabitbol/sd_foregrounds. Updated with published version.
Constraining the Anomalous Microwave Emission Mechanism in the S140 Star Forming Region with Spectroscopic Observations Between 4 and 8 GHz at the Green Bank Telescope
Anomalous microwave emission (AME) is a category of Galactic signals that
cannot be explained by synchrotron radiation, thermal dust emission, or
optically thin free-free radiation. Spinning dust is one variety of AME that
could be partially polarized and therefore relevant for ongoing and future
cosmic microwave background polarization studies. The Planck satellite mission
identified candidate AME regions in approximately patches that were
found to have spectra generally consistent with spinning dust grain models. The
spectra for one of these regions, G107.2+5.2, was also consistent with
optically thick free-free emission because of a lack of measurements between 2
and 20 GHz. Follow-up observations were needed. Therefore, we used the C-band
receiver (4 to 8 GHz) and the VEGAS spectrometer at the Green Bank Telescope to
constrain the AME mechanism. For the study described in this paper, we produced
three band averaged maps at 4.575, 5.625, and 6.125 GHz and used aperture
photometry to measure the spectral flux density in the region relative to the
background. We found if the spinning dust description is correct, then the
spinning dust signal peaks at GHz, and it explains the excess
emission. The morphology and spectrum together suggest the spinning dust grains
are concentrated near S140, which is a star forming region inside our chosen
photometry aperture. If the AME is sourced by optically thick free-free
radiation, then the region would have to contain HII with an emission measure
of and a physical extent of
. This result suggests the HII
would have to be ultra or hyper compact to remain an AME candidate.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures. Submitted to Ap
Geology and Ground-Water Hydrology of the Valleys of the Republican and Frenchman Rivers Nebraska
The geology and ground-water resources of the upper Republican River valley west of the town of Alma, Nebr., to the Nebraska-Colorado State line and of the Frenchman River valley from its confluence with the Republican River to a point about 12 miles upstream from Wauneta, Nebr., were studied from January 1950 to April 1951. The purpose of the study was to relate the occurrence of ground water to irrigation and flood control and to aid in the evaluation of the effects of irrigation on the land in the area.
The area included in this study consists of 370 square miles of flat or gently sloping terraces and bottom land that border the Republican and Frenchman Rivers on either side. The Republican River is a comparatively shallow stream, ranging in width from about 150 feet at the western end of the area to about 300 feet at the eastern end. The channel banks are low, except where the river cuts into bordering terraces. In many places, natural levees of loose sand and gravel have been formed adjacent to the river banks.
The bedrock formations exposed in the area are the Niobrara formation and the Pierre shale of Cretaceous age and the Ogallala formation of Tertiary age. Deposits of sand and gravel, of early Pleistocene age, are present in the bottom of the ancestral Republican River valley and along the north side of the present valley. These coarse deposits are mantled by finer sediments of later Pleistocene and Recent age. Large quantities of ground water are available from the Pleistocene and Recent deposits throughout most of the Republican River valley. In the center of the valley as much as 40 to 60 feet of the deposits are saturated.
The ground-water reservoir is recharged principally by precipitation. Ground water also enters the Republican River valley by underflow through the fill of tributary valleys. Ground water is discharged by evaporation, transpiration, and effluent streams; ground water also is drawn upon extensively for irrigation, for municipal supplies, and for domestic and stock use in rural areas
Geology and Ground-Water Hydrology of the Valleys of the Republican and Frenchman Rivers Nebraska
The geology and ground-water resources of the upper Republican River valley west of the town of Alma, Nebr., to the Nebraska-Colorado State line and of the Frenchman River valley from its confluence with the Republican River to a point about 12 miles upstream from Wauneta, Nebr., were studied from January 1950 to April 1951. The purpose of the study was to relate the occurrence of ground water to irrigation and flood control and to aid in the evaluation of the effects of irrigation on the land in the area.
The area included in this study consists of 370 square miles of flat or gently sloping terraces and bottom land that border the Republican and Frenchman Rivers on either side. The Republican River is a comparatively shallow stream, ranging in width from about 150 feet at the western end of the area to about 300 feet at the eastern end. The channel banks are low, except where the river cuts into bordering terraces. In many places, natural levees of loose sand and gravel have been formed adjacent to the river banks.
The bedrock formations exposed in the area are the Niobrara formation and the Pierre shale of Cretaceous age and the Ogallala formation of Tertiary age. Deposits of sand and gravel, of early Pleistocene age, are present in the bottom of the ancestral Republican River valley and along the north side of the present valley. These coarse deposits are mantled by finer sediments of later Pleistocene and Recent age. Large quantities of ground water are available from the Pleistocene and Recent deposits throughout most of the Republican River valley. In the center of the valley as much as 40 to 60 feet of the deposits are saturated.
The ground-water reservoir is recharged principally by precipitation. Ground water also enters the Republican River valley by underflow through the fill of tributary valleys. Ground water is discharged by evaporation, transpiration, and effluent streams; ground water also is drawn upon extensively for irrigation, for municipal supplies, and for domestic and stock use in rural areas
An Assessment of Grass Regeneration Nurseries at the Western Regional Plant Introduction Station, 1994-1997
The Western Regional Plant Introduction Station (WRPIS), Pullman, WA, USA, maintains over 17,000 accessions of forage and turf grasses that are mostly wind cross-pollinated and highly heterogenic. Regeneration procedures have been refined over the past nine years to include improved isolation distance and increased plant populations for regeneration. The grass regeneration nurseries planted from 1994 through 1997 were evaluated using data recorded in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) and it was found that approximately 78% of the regenerations were successful. Reasons for failures were contributed to inadequate plant number, presence of disease, seed shattering, and unsuitable growing environment. Several solutions have been identified and implemented
POLOCALC: a Novel Method to Measure the Absolute Polarization Orientation of the Cosmic Microwave Background
We describe a novel method to measure the absolute orientation of the
polarization plane of the CMB with arcsecond accuracy, enabling unprecedented
measurements for cosmology and fundamental physics. Existing and planned CMB
polarization instruments looking for primordial B-mode signals need an
independent, experimental method for systematics control on the absolute
polarization orientation. The lack of such a method limits the accuracy of the
detection of inflationary gravitational waves, the constraining power on the
neutrino sector through measurements of gravitational lensing of the CMB, the
possibility of detecting Cosmic Birefringence, and the ability to measure
primordial magnetic fields. Sky signals used for calibration and direct
measurements of the detector orientation cannot provide an accuracy better than
1 deg. Self-calibration methods provide better accuracy, but may be affected by
foreground signals and rely heavily on model assumptions. The POLarization
Orientation CALibrator for Cosmology, POLOCALC, will dramatically improve
instrumental accuracy by means of an artificial calibration source flying on
balloons and aerial drones. A balloon-borne calibrator will provide far-field
source for larger telescopes, while a drone will be used for tests and smaller
polarimeters. POLOCALC will also allow a unique method to measure the
telescopes' polarized beam. It will use microwave emitters between 40 and 150
GHz coupled to precise polarizing filters. The orientation of the source
polarization plane will be registered to sky coordinates by star cameras and
gyroscopes with arcsecond accuracy. This project can become a rung in the
calibration ladder for the field: any existing or future CMB polarization
experiment observing our polarization calibrator will enable measurements of
the polarization angle for each detector with respect to absolute sky
coordinates.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, Accepted by Journal of Astronomical
Instrumentatio
A CubeSat for Calibrating Ground-Based and Sub-Orbital Millimeter-Wave Polarimeters (CalSat)
We describe a low-cost, open-access, CubeSat-based calibration instrument
that is designed to support ground-based and sub-orbital experiments searching
for various polarization signals in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). All
modern CMB polarization experiments require a robust calibration program that
will allow the effects of instrument-induced signals to be mitigated during
data analysis. A bright, compact, and linearly polarized astrophysical source
with polarization properties known to adequate precision does not exist.
Therefore, we designed a space-based millimeter-wave calibration instrument,
called CalSat, to serve as an open-access calibrator, and this paper describes
the results of our design study. The calibration source on board CalSat is
composed of five "tones" with one each at 47.1, 80.0, 140, 249 and 309 GHz. The
five tones we chose are well matched to (i) the observation windows in the
atmospheric transmittance spectra, (ii) the spectral bands commonly used in
polarimeters by the CMB community, and (iii) The Amateur Satellite Service
bands in the Table of Frequency Allocations used by the Federal Communications
Commission. CalSat would be placed in a polar orbit allowing visibility from
observatories in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Mauna Kea in Hawaii and
Summit Station in Greenland, and the Southern Hemisphere, such as the Atacama
Desert in Chile and the South Pole. CalSat also would be observable by
balloon-borne instruments launched from a range of locations around the world.
This global visibility makes CalSat the only source that can be observed by all
terrestrial and sub-orbital observatories, thereby providing a universal
standard that permits comparison between experiments using appreciably
different measurement approaches
Retention of low-fitness genotypes over six decades of admixture between native and introduced tiger salamanders
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Introductions of non-native tiger salamanders into the range of California tiger salamanders have provided a rare opportunity to study the early stages of secondary contact and hybridization. We produced first- and second-generation hybrid salamanders in the lab and measured viability among these early-generation hybrid crosses to determine the strength of the initial barrier to gene exchange. We also created contemporary-generation hybrids in the lab and evaluated the extent to which selection has affected fitness over approximately 20 generations of admixture. Additionally, we examined the inheritance of quantitative phenotypic variation to better understand how evolution has progressed since secondary contact.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found significant variation in the fitness of hybrids, with non-native backcrosses experiencing the highest survival and F2 hybrids the lowest. Contemporary-generation hybrids had similar survival to that of F2 families, contrary to our expectation that 20 generations of selection in the wild would eliminate unfit genotypes and increase survival. Hybrid survival clearly exhibited effects of epistasis, whereas size and growth showed mostly additive genetic variance, and time to metamorphosis showed substantial dominance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on first- and second- generation cross types, our results suggest that the initial barrier to gene flow between these two species was relatively weak, and subsequent evolution has been generally slow. The persistence of low-viability recombinant hybrid genotypes in some contemporary populations illustrates that while hybridization can provide a potent source of genetic variation upon which natural selection can act, the sorting of fit from unfit gene combinations might be inefficient in highly admixed populations. Spatio-temporal fluctuation in selection or complex genetics has perhaps stalled adaptive evolution in this system despite selection for admixed genotypes within generations.</p
- …