179 research outputs found
Galaxy Satellites and the Weak Equivalence Principle
Numerical simulations of the effect of a long-range scalar interaction (LRSI)
acting only on nonbaryonic dark matter, with strength comparable to gravity,
show patterns of disruption of satellites that can agree with what is seen in
the Milky Way. This includes the symmetric Sagittarius stellar stream. The
exception presented here to the Kesden and Kamionkowski demonstration that an
LRSI tends to produce distinctly asymmetric streams follows if the LRSI is
strong enough to separate the stars from the dark matter before tidal
disruption of the stellar component, and if stars dominate the mass in the
luminous part of the satellite. It requires that the Sgr galaxy now contains
little dark matter, which may be consistent with the Sgr stellar velocity
dispersion, for in the simulation the dispersion at pericenter exceeds virial.
We present other examples of simulations in which a strong LRSI produces
satellites with large mass-to-light ratio, as in Draco, or free streams of
stars, which might be compared to "orphan" streams.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in PR
Environmental Effects on Real-Space and Redshift-Space Galaxy Clustering
Galaxy formation inside dark matter halos, as well as the halo formation
itself, can be affected by large-scale environments. Evaluating the imprints of
environmental effects on galaxy clustering is crucial for precise cosmological
constraints with data from galaxy redshift surveys. We investigate such an
environmental impact on both real-space and redshift-space galaxy clustering
statistics using a semi-analytic model derived from the Millennium Simulation.
We compare clustering statistics from original SAM galaxy samples and shuffled
ones with environmental influence on galaxy properties eliminated. Among the
luminosity-threshold samples examined, the one with the lowest threshold
luminosity (~0.2L_*) is affected by environmental effects the most, which has a
~10% decrease in the real-space two-point correlation function (2PCF) after
shuffling. By decomposing the 2PCF into five different components based on the
source of pairs, we show that the change in the 2PCF can be explained by the
age and richness dependence of halo clustering. The 2PCFs in redshift space are
found to change in a similar manner after shuffling. If the environmental
effects are neglected, halo occupation distribution modeling of the real-space
and redshift-space clustering may have a less than 6.5% systematic uncertainty
in constraining beta from the most affected SAM sample and have substantially
smaller uncertainties from the other, more luminous samples. We argue that the
effect could be even smaller in reality. In the Appendix, we present a method
to decompose the 2PCF, which can be applied to measure the two-point
auto-correlation functions of galaxy sub-samples in a volume-limited galaxy
sample and their two-point cross-correlation functions in a single run
utilizing only one random catalog.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, Accepted by AP
A Novel, Robust Quantum Detection Scheme
Protocols used in quantum information and precision spectroscopy rely on
efficient internal quantum state discrimination. With a single ion in a linear
Paul trap, we implement a novel detection method which utilizes correlations
between two detection events with an intermediate spin-flip. The technique is
experimentally characterized as more robust against fluctuations in detection
laser power compared to conventionally implemented methods. Furthermore,
systematic detection errors which limit the Rabi oscillation contrast in
conventional methods are overcome
The distribution of ejected subhalos and its implication for halo assembly bias
Using a high-resolution cosmological -body simulation, we identify the
ejected population of subhalos, which are halos at redshift but were once
contained in more massive `host' halos at high redshifts. The fraction of the
ejected subhalos in the total halo population of the same mass ranges from 9%
to 4% for halo masses from to \sim 10^{12}\msun. Most of the
ejected subhalos are distributed within 4 times the virial radius of their
hosts. These ejected subhalos have distinct velocity distribution around their
hosts in comparison to normal halos. The number of subhalos ejected from a host
of given mass increases with the assembly redshift of the host. Ejected
subhalos in general reside in high-density regions, and have a much higher bias
parameter than normal halos of the same mass. They also have earlier assembly
times, so that they contribute to the assembly bias of dark matter halos seen
in cosmological simulations. However, the assembly bias is {\it not} dominated
by the ejected population, indicating that large-scale environmental effects on
normal halos are the main source for the assembly bias.Comment: revised version, submitted to MNRA
Clues from nearby galaxies to a better theory of cosmic evolution
The great advances in the network of cosmological tests show that the
relativistic Big Bang theory is a good description of our expanding universe.
But the properties of nearby galaxies that can be observed in greatest detail
suggest a still better theory would more rapidly gather matter into galaxies
and groups of galaxies. This happens in theoretical ideas now under discussion.Comment: published in Natur
Conserved and Differential Effects of Dietary Energy Intake on the Hippocampal Transcriptomes of Females and Males
The level of dietary energy intake influences metabolism, reproductive function, the development of age-related diseases, and even cognitive behavior. Because males and females typically play different roles in the acquisition and allocation of energy resources, we reasoned that dietary energy intake might differentially affect the brains of males and females at the molecular level. To test this hypothesis, we performed a gene array analysis of the hippocampus in male and female rats that had been maintained for 6 months on either ad libitum (control), 20% caloric restriction (CR), 40% CR, intermittent fasting (IF) or high fat/high glucose (HFG) diets. These diets resulted in expected changes in body weight, and circulating levels of glucose, insulin and leptin. However, the CR diets significantly increased the size of the hippocampus of females, but not males. Multiple genes were regulated coherently in response to energy restriction diets in females, but not in males. Functional physiological pathway analyses showed that the 20% CR diet down-regulated genes involved in glycolysis and mitochondrial ATP production in males, whereas these metabolic pathways were up-regulated in females. The 40% CR diet up-regulated genes involved in glycolysis, protein deacetylation, PGC-1α and mTor pathways in both sexes. IF down-regulated many genes in males including those involved in protein degradation and apoptosis, but up-regulated many genes in females including those involved in cellular energy metabolism, cell cycle regulation and protein deacetylation. Genes involved in energy metabolism, oxidative stress responses and cell death were affected by the HFG diet in both males and females. The gender-specific molecular genetic responses of hippocampal cells to variations in dietary energy intake identified in this study may mediate differential behavioral responses of males and females to differences in energy availability
The Optical Alignment System of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer Endcaps
The muon spectrometer of the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN consists of over a thousand muon precision chambers, arranged in three concentrical cylinders in the barrel region, and in four wheels in each of the two endcaps. The endcap wheels are located between 7m and 22m from the interaction point, and have diameters between 13m and 24m. Muon chambers are equipped with a complex on-line optical alignment system to monitor their positions and deformations during ATLAS data-taking. We describe the layout of the endcap part of the alignment system and the design and calibration of the optical sensors, as well as the various software components. About 1% of the system has been subjected to performance tests in the H8 beam line at CERN, and results of these tests are discussed. The installation and commissioning of the full system in the ATLAS cavern is well underway, and results from approximately half of the system indicate that we will reach the ambitious goal of a 40mu alignment accuracy, required for reconstructing final-state muons at the highest expected energies
Internal properties and environments of dark matter halos
We use seven high-resolution -body simulations to study the correlations
among different halo properties (assembly time, spin, shape and substructure),
and how these halo properties are correlated with the large-scale environment
in which halos reside. The large-scale tidal field estimated from halos above a
mass threshold is used as our primary quantity to characterize the large-scale
environment, while other parameters, such as the local overdensity and the
morphology of large-scale structure, are used for comparison. For halos at a
fixed mass, all the halo properties depend significantly on environment,
particularly the tidal field. The environmental dependence of halo assembly
time is primarily driven by local tidal field. The mass of the unbound fraction
in substructure is boosted in strong tidal force region, while the bound
fraction is suppressed. Halos have a tendency to spin faster in stronger tidal
field and the trend is stronger for more massive halos. The spin vectors show
significant alignment with the intermediate axis of the tidal field, as
expected from the tidal torque theory. Both the major and minor axes of halos
are strongly aligned with the corresponding principal axes of the tidal field.
In general, a halo that can accrete more material after the formation of its
main halo on average is younger, is more elongated, spins faster, and contains
a larger amount of substructure. Higher density environments not only provide
more material for halo to accrete, but also are places of stronger tidal field
that tends to suppress halo accretion. The environmental dependencies are the
results of these two competing effects. The tidal field based on halos can be
estimated from observation, and we discuss the implications of our results for
the environmental dependence of galaxy properties.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
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