287 research outputs found
Lensing of 21-cm Fluctuations by Primordial Gravitational Waves
Weak-gravitational-lensing distortions to the intensity pattern of 21-cm radiation from the dark ages can be decomposed geometrically into curl and curl-free components. Lensing by primordial gravitational waves induces a curl component, while the contribution from lensing by density fluctuations is strongly suppressed. Angular fluctuations in the 21-cm background extend to very small angular scales, and measurements at different frequencies probe different shells in redshift space. There is thus a huge trove of information with which to reconstruct the curl component of the lensing field, allowing tensor-to-scalar ratios conceivably as small as r∼10^(-9)—far smaller than those currently accessible—to be probed
Odd-Parity Bipolar Spherical Harmonics
Bipolar spherical harmonics (BiPoSHs) provide a general formalism for
quantifying departures in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from
statistical isotropy (SI) and from Gaussianity. However, prior work has focused
only on BiPoSHs with even parity. Here we show that there is another set of
BiPoSHs with odd parity, and we explore their cosmological applications. We
describe systematic artifacts in a CMB map that could be sought by measurement
of these odd-parity BiPoSH modes. These BiPoSH modes may also be produced
cosmologically through lensing by gravitational waves (GWs), among other
sources. We derive expressions for the BiPoSH modes induced by the weak lensing
of both scalar and tensor perturbations. We then investigate the possibility of
detecting parity-breaking physics, such as chiral GWs, by cross-correlating
opposite parity BiPoSH modes with multipole moments of the CMB polarization. We
find that the expected signal-to-noise of such a detection is modest.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to PR
The Effects of Source and Content on Types of Social Influence in Online Traveler Reviews
Today’s highly connected purchasing environment is unique in that consumers are confronted with a vast quantity of information from a variety of sources. Using the theoretical underpinnings of social influence and judgmental heuristics, this dissertation examines source and content characteristics to understand their influence on consumers’ perceptions and decisions. This dissertation utilized two experiments to examine how source and content attributes lead to different types information processing and types of social influence in online reviews. The first study utilized a 2 (expertise) x 2 (group membership) experimental design that manipulated source characteristics. The second study utilized a 2 (recommendation percentage) x 2 (content) x 2 (cognitive processing) experimental design that manipulated content characteristics.
The results of study 1 demonstrate that source characteristics of group membership and expertise can have an effect on consumers’ perceptions, decisions, and informational influence. The results of study 2 demonstrate how content characteristics can lead to different types of processing, affecting perceptions, decisions, and information recall. The results of this dissertation demonstrate that informational influence is present in online reviews. Normative influence is not present in online reviews suggesting the classic theories do not operate the same way in today’s online environment
Star Formation Around Supergiant Shells in the LMC
We examine the recent star formation associated with four supergiant shells
(SGSs) in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC): LMC 1, 4, 5, and 6, which have been
shown to have simple expanding-shell structures. H II regions and OB
associations are used to infer star formation in the last few Myr, while
massive young stellar objects (YSOs) reveal the current ongoing star formation.
Distributions of ionized, H I, and molecular components of the interstellar gas
are compared with the sites of recent and current star formation to determine
whether triggering has taken place. We find that a great majority of the
current star formation has occurred in gravitationally unstable regions, and
that evidence of triggered star formation is prevalent at both large and local
scales.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journal, improved image quality of figure
Astrometric Effects of a Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background
A stochastic gravitational wave background causes the apparent positions of
distant sources to fluctuate, with angular deflections of order the
characteristic strain amplitude of the gravitational waves. These fluctuations
may be detectable with high precision astrometry, as first suggested by
Braginsky et al. in 1990. Several researchers have made order of magnitude
estimates of the upper limits obtainable on the gravitational wave spectrum
\Omega_gw(f), at frequencies of order f ~ 1 yr^-1, both for the future
space-based optical interferometry missions GAIA and SIM, and for VLBI
interferometry in radio wavelengths with the SKA. For GAIA, tracking N ~ 10^6
quasars over a time of T ~ 1 yr with an angular accuracy of \Delta \theta ~ 10
\mu as would yield a sensitivity level of \Omega_gw ~ (\Delta \theta)^2/(N T^2
H_0^2) ~ 10^-6, which would be comparable with pulsar timing. In this paper we
take a first step toward firming up these estimates by computing in detail the
statistical properties of the angular deflections caused by a stochastic
background. We compute analytically the two point correlation function of the
deflections on the sphere, and the spectrum as a function of frequency and
angular scale. The fluctuations are concentrated at low frequencies (for a
scale invariant stochastic background), and at large angular scales, starting
with the quadrupole. The magnetic-type and electric-type pieces of the
fluctuations have equal amounts of power.Comment: 23 pages, 2 figures, references added and minor text correction
Structure of Supergiant Shells in the Large Magellanic Cloud
Nine supergiant shells (SGSs) have been identified in the Large Magellanic
Cloud (LMC) based on H-alpha images, and twenty-three SGSs have been reported
based on HI 21-cm line observations, but these sets do not always identify the
same structures. We have examined the physical structure of the optically
identified SGSs using HI channel maps and P-V diagrams to analyze the gas
kinematics. There is good evidence for seven of the nine optically identified
SGSs to be true shells. Of these seven H-alpha SGSs, four are the ionized inner
walls of HI SGSs, while three are an ionized portion of a larger and more
complex HI structure. All of the H-alpha SGSs are identified as such because
they have OB associations along the periphery or in the center, with younger OB
associations more often found along the periphery. After roughly 12 Myrs, if no
new OB associations have been formed a SGS will cease to be identifiable at
visible wavelengths. Thus, the presence and location of ionizing sources is the
main distinction between shells seen only in HI and those also seen in H-alpha.
Based on our analysis, H-alpha observations alone cannot unambiguously identify
SGSs, especially in distant galaxies.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journal Supplemen
Long-term Evolution of Protostellar and Protoplanetary Disks. I. Outbursts
As an initial investigation into the long-term evolution of protostellar
disks, we explore the conditions required to explain the large outbursts of
disk accretion seen in some young stellar objects. We use one-dimensional
time-dependent disk models with a phenomenological treatment of the
magnetorotational instability (MRI) and gravitational torques to follow disk
evolution over long timescales. Comparison with our previous two-dimensional
disk model calculations (Zhu et al. 2009b, Z2009b) indicates that the neglect
of radial effects and two-dimensional disk structure in the one-dimensional
case makes only modest differences in the results; this allows us to use the
simpler models to explore parameter space efficiently. We find that the mass
infall rates typically estimated for low-mass protostars generally result in
AU-scale disk accretion outbursts, as predicted by our previous analysis (Zhu
et al. 2009a,Z2009a). We also confirm quasi-steady accretion behavior for high
mass infall rates if the values of -parameter for the magnetorotational
instability is small, while at this high accretion rate convection from the
thermal instability may lead to some variations. We further constrain the
combinations of the -parameter and the MRI critical temperature, which
can reproduce observed outburst behavior. Our results suggest that dust
sublimation may be connected with full activation of the MRI. This is
consistent with the idea that small dust captures ions and electrons to
suppress the MRI. In a later paper we will explore both long-term outburst and
disk evolution with this model, allowing for infall from protostellar envelopes
with differing angular momenta.Comment: Accepted to publish in Ap
The Role of Ram Pressure Stripping in the Quenching of Cluster Star Formation
Recent observations of galaxy clusters have shown that environmental effects
apparently associated with the cluster begin to lower the star formation rates
of galaxies at distances as great as three times the cluster virial radius.
These observations may indicate preprocessing of cluster galaxies in groups or
in the cluster core for galaxies on highly elliptical orbits, but may also
imply that the environmental effects due to the cluster are directly affecting
galaxies on their first infall. To explore these issues, we investigate
different models of ram pressure stripping as it acts on satellite galaxies in
clusters, and compare to observations of the radial star formation gradient in
clusters. We calculate the location of the accretion shock around model
clusters, and use this as the radius of onset of ram pressure stripping in the
GALFORM semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. Comparison of the results of
our model, and previously considered, simpler ram pressure models, with recent
observations indicates that current data is unable to strongly discriminate
between models of ram pressure stripping due to the complex interplay of
preprocessing effects at work. However, future observations of a larger sample
of clusters will likely be able to place stronger constraints on the process of
ram pressure stripping and its role in shaping radial trends in and around
clusters.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published in the Astrophysical Journa
Angular momentum evolution in dark-matter haloes
We have analysed high-resolution N-body simulations of dark-matter (DM) haloes, focusing specifically on the evolution of angular momentum. We find that not only is individual particle angular momentum not conserved, but the angular momentum of radial shells also varies over the age of the Universe by up to factors of a few. We find that torques from external structure are the most likely cause for this distribution shift. Since the model of adiabatic contraction
that is often applied to model the effects of galaxy evolution on the DM density profile in a halo
assumes angular momentum conservation, this variation implies that there is a fundamental limit on the possible accuracy of the adiabatic contraction model in modelling the response of DM haloes to the growth of galaxies
COMPUTE N-WAY DE-DUPLICATED REACH USING PRIVACY SAFE VECTOR OF COUNTS
Systems and methods for determining the union of the set of user identifiers across multiple publishers are described. Each publisher computing device can use a list of hash functions to hash the respective set of de-duplicated user identifiers. Each publisher can assemble a vector of counts using the respective hashed set of user identifiers, where each coordinate in the vector of counts corresponds to a select of bit positions from the hashed set of user identifiers. Each publisher can add noise to each of the vector of counts to enhance the privacy of the system. Each publisher can transmit the respective vector of counts to a server to compute the union of the multiset without exposing any private or protected information about the user identifiers to any third-party. The server can compute the union of the sets described by the vectors of counts from each of the publishers using at least one of the methods described herein
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