9,317 research outputs found
Application of XFaster power spectrum and likelihood estimator to Planck
We develop the XFaster Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and
polarization anisotropy power spectrum and likelihood technique for the Planck
CMB satellite mission. We give an overview of this estimator and its current
implementation and present the results of applying this algorithm to simulated
Planck data. We show that it can accurately extract the power spectrum of
Planck data for the high-l multipoles range. We compare the XFaster
approximation for the likelihood to other high-l likelihood approximations such
as Gaussian and Offset Lognormal and a low-l pixel-based likelihood. We show
that the XFaster likelihood is not only accurate at high-l, but also performs
well at moderately low multipoles. We also present results for cosmological
parameter Markov Chain Monte Carlo estimation with the XFaster likelihood. As
long as the low-l polarization and temperature power are properly accounted
for, e.g., by adding an adequate low-l likelihood ingredient, the input
parameters are recovered to a high level of accuracy.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures, updated to reflect published version: slightly
extended account of XFaster technique, added improved plots and minor
corrections. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Markov Chain Beam Randomization: a study of the impact of PLANCK beam measurement errors on cosmological parameter estimation
We introduce a new method to propagate uncertainties in the beam shapes used
to measure the cosmic microwave background to cosmological parameters
determined from those measurements. The method, which we call Markov Chain Beam
Randomization, MCBR, randomly samples from a set of templates or functions that
describe the beam uncertainties. The method is much faster than direct
numerical integration over systematic `nuisance' parameters, and is not
restricted to simple, idealized cases as is analytic marginalization. It does
not assume the data are normally distributed, and does not require Gaussian
priors on the specific systematic uncertainties. We show that MCBR properly
accounts for and provides the marginalized errors of the parameters. The method
can be generalized and used to propagate any systematic uncertainties for which
a set of templates is available. We apply the method to the Planck satellite,
and consider future experiments. Beam measurement errors should have a small
effect on cosmological parameters as long as the beam fitting is performed
after removal of 1/f noise.Comment: 17 pages, 23 figures, revised version with improved explanation of
the MCBR and overall wording. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysics (to appear in the Planck pre-launch special issue
Non-collinear coupling between magnetic adatoms in carbon nanotubes
The long range character of the exchange coupling between localized magnetic
moments indirectly mediated by the conduction electrons of metallic hosts often
plays a significant role in determining the magnetic order of low-dimensional
structures. In addition to this indirect coupling, here we show that the direct
exchange interaction that arises when the moments are not too far apart may
induce a non-collinear magnetic order that cannot be characterized by a
Heisenberg-like interaction between the magnetic moments. We argue that this
effect can be manipulated to control the magnetization alignment of magnetic
dimers adsorbed to the walls of carbon nanotubes.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Black string corrections in variable tension braneworld scenarios
Braneworld models with variable tension are investigated, and the corrections
on the black string horizon along the extra dimension are provided. Such
corrections are encrypted in additional terms involving the covariant
derivatives of the variable tension on the brane, providing profound
consequences concerning the black string horizon variation along the extra
dimension, near the brane. The black string horizon behavior is shown to be
drastically modified by the terms corrected by the brane variable tension. In
particular, a model motivated by the phenomenological interesting case
regarding Eotvos branes is investigated. It forthwith provides further physical
features regarding variable tension braneworld scenarios, heretofore concealed
in all previous analysis in the literature. All precedent analysis considered
uniquely the expansion of the metric up to the second order along the extra
dimension, what is able to evince solely the brane variable tension absolute
value. Notwithstanding, the expansion terms aftermath, further accomplished in
this paper from the third order on, elicits the successive covariant
derivatives of the brane variable tension, and their respective coupling with
the extrinsic curvature, the Weyl tensor, and the Riemann and Ricci tensors, as
well as the scalar curvature. Such additional terms are shown to provide sudden
modifications in the black string horizon in a variable tension braneworld
scenarioComment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted in PR
Aspectos biológicos, morfológicos e comportamentais de Aspidiotus nerii Bouché, 1833 (Hemiptera: Diaspididae).
O presente trabalho teve por objetivo estudar aspectos biológicos, morfológicos e comportamentais de uma linhagem unipariental de Aspidiotus nerii Bouché, 1833 (Hemiptera: Diaspididae), sob condições controladas, tendo abóboras híbridas "cabotia" como hospedeiro. Ninfas recém-eclodidas foram transferidas da criação massal para abóboras "cabotia", devidamente higienizadas, dispostas em câmaras climatizadas..
Constraints on changes in fundamental constants from a cosmologically distant OH absorber/emitter
We have detected the four 18cm OH lines from the gravitational
lens toward PMN J0134-0931. The 1612 and 1720 MHz lines are in conjugate
absorption and emission, providing a laboratory to test the evolution of
fundamental constants over a large lookback time. We compare the HI and OH main
line absorption redshifts of the different components in the
absorber and the lens toward B0218+357 to place stringent
constraints on changes in . We obtain
,
consistent with no evolution over the redshift range . The
measurements have a sensitivity of or to fractional
changes in and over a period of Gyr, half the age of
the Universe. These are among the most sensitive current constraints on changes
in .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Final version, with minor changes to match the
version in print in Phys. Rev. Let
Fast Pixel Space Convolution for CMB Surveys with Asymmetric Beams and Complex Scan Strategies: FEBeCoP
Precise measurement of the angular power spectrum of the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropy can tightly constrain
many cosmological models and parameters. However, accurate measurements can
only be realized in practice provided all major systematic effects have been
taken into account. Beam asymmetry, coupled with the scan strategy, is a major
source of systematic error in scanning CMB experiments such as Planck, the
focus of our current interest. We envision Monte Carlo methods to rigorously
study and account for the systematic effect of beams in CMB analysis. Toward
that goal, we have developed a fast pixel space convolution method that can
simulate sky maps observed by a scanning instrument, taking into account real
beam shapes and scan strategy. The essence is to pre-compute the "effective
beams" using a computer code, "Fast Effective Beam Convolution in Pixel space"
(FEBeCoP), that we have developed for the Planck mission. The code computes
effective beams given the focal plane beam characteristics of the Planck
instrument and the full history of actual satellite pointing, and performs very
fast convolution of sky signals using the effective beams. In this paper, we
describe the algorithm and the computational scheme that has been implemented.
We also outline a few applications of the effective beams in the precision
analysis of Planck data, for characterizing the CMB anisotropy and for
detecting and measuring properties of point sources.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures. New subsection on beam/PSF statistics, new and
better figures, more explicit algebra for polarized beams, added explanatory
text at many places following referees comments [Accepted for publication in
ApJS
Planck 2018 results. IX. Constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity
We analyse the Planck full-mission cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and E-mode polarization maps to obtain constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (NG). We compare estimates obtained from separable template-fitting, binned, and optimal modal bispectrum estimators, finding consistent values for the local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum amplitudes. Our combined temperature and polarization analysis produces the following final results: f_(NL)^(local) = −0.9 ± 5.1; f_(NL)^(equil) = −26 ± 47; and f_(NL)^(ortho) = −38 ± 24 (68% CL, statistical). These results include low-multipole (4 ≤ ℓ < 40) polarization data that are not included in our previous analysis. The results also pass an extensive battery of tests (with additional tests regarding foreground residuals compared to 2015), and they are stable with respect to our 2015 measurements (with small fluctuations, at the level of a fraction of a standard deviation, which is consistent with changes in data processing). Polarization-only bispectra display a significant improvement in robustness; they can now be used independently to set primordial NG constraints with a sensitivity comparable to WMAP temperature-based results and they give excellent agreement. In addition to the analysis of the standard local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum shapes, we consider a large number of additional cases, such as scale-dependent feature and resonance bispectra, isocurvature primordial NG, and parity-breaking models, where we also place tight constraints but do not detect any signal. The non-primordial lensing bispectrum is, however, detected with an improved significance compared to 2015, excluding the null hypothesis at 3.5σ. Beyond estimates of individual shape amplitudes, we also present model-independent reconstructions and analyses of the Planck CMB bispectrum. Our final constraint on the local primordial trispectrum shape is g_(NL)^(local) = (−5.8 ± 6.5) × 10⁴ (68% CL, statistical), while constraints for other trispectrum shapes are also determined. Exploiting the tight limits on various bispectrum and trispectrum shapes, we constrain the parameter space of different early-Universe scenarios that generate primordial NG, including general single-field models of inflation, multi-field models (e.g. curvaton models), models of inflation with axion fields producing parity-violation bispectra in the tensor sector, and inflationary models involving vector-like fields with directionally-dependent bispectra. Our results provide a high-precision test for structure-formation scenarios, showing complete agreement with the basic picture of the ΛCDM cosmology regarding the statistics of the initial conditions, with cosmic structures arising from adiabatic, passive, Gaussian, and primordial seed perturbations
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