629 research outputs found
Sufficient Covariate, Propensity Variable and Doubly Robust Estimation
Statistical causal inference from observational studies often requires
adjustment for a possibly multi-dimensional variable, where dimension reduction
is crucial. The propensity score, first introduced by Rosenbaum and Rubin, is a
popular approach to such reduction. We address causal inference within Dawid's
decision-theoretic framework, where it is essential to pay attention to
sufficient covariates and their properties. We examine the role of a propensity
variable in a normal linear model. We investigate both population-based and
sample-based linear regressions, with adjustments for a multivariate covariate
and for a propensity variable. In addition, we study the augmented inverse
probability weighted estimator, involving a combination of a response model and
a propensity model. In a linear regression with homoscedasticity, a propensity
variable is proved to provide the same estimated causal effect as multivariate
adjustment. An estimated propensity variable may, but need not, yield better
precision than the true propensity variable. The augmented inverse probability
weighted estimator is doubly robust and can improve precision if the propensity
model is correctly specified
Spherically Symmetric Solutions in Macroscopic Gravity
Schwarzschild's solution to the Einstein Field Equations was one of the first
and most important solutions that lead to the understanding and important
experimental tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. However,
Schwarzschild's solution is essentially based on an ideal theory of
gravitation, where all inhomogeneities are ignored. Therefore, any
generalization of the Schwarzschild solution should take into account the
effects of small perturbations that may be present in the gravitational field.
The theory of Macroscopic Gravity characterizes the effects of the
inhomogeneities through a non-perturbative and covariant averaging procedure.
With similar assumptions on the geometry and matter content, a solution to the
averaged field equations as dictated by Macroscopic Gravity are derived. The
resulting solution provides a possible explanation for the flattening of
galactic rotation curves, illustrating that Dark Matter is not real but may
only be the result of averaging inhomogeneities in a spherically symmetric
background.Comment: 14 pages, added and updated references, some paragraphs rewritten for
clarity, typographical errors fixed, results have not change
Astrophysical constraints on primordial black holes in Brans-Dicke theory
We consider cosmological evolution in Brans-Dicke theory with a population of
primordial black holes. Hawking radiation from the primordial black holes
impacts various astrophysical processes during the evolution of the Universe.
The accretion of radiation by the black holes in the radiation dominated era
may be effective in imparting them a longer lifetime. We present a detailed
study of how this affects various standard astrophysical constraints coming
from the evaporation of primordial black holes. We analyze constraints from the
present density of the Universe, the present photon spectrum, the distortion of
the cosmic microwave background spectrum and also from processes affecting
light element abundances after nucleosynthesis. We find that the constraints on
the initial primordial black hole mass fractions are tightened with increased
accretion efficiency.Comment: 15 page
Quasinormal modes for tensor and vector type perturbation of Gauss Bonnet black holes using third order WKB approach
We obtain the quasinormal modes for tensor perturbations of Gauss-Bonnet (GB)
black holes in dimensions and vector perturbations in
and 8 dimensions using third order WKB formalism. The tensor perturbation for
black holes in is not considered because of the fact that it is unstable
to tensor mode perturbations. In the case of uncharged GB black hole, for both
tensor and vector perturbations, the real part of the QN frequency increases as
the Gauss-Bonnet coupling () increases. The imaginary part first
decreases upto a certain value of and then increases with
for both tensor and vector perturbations. For larger values of , the
QN frequencies for vector perturbation differs slightly from the QN frequencies
for tensorial one. It has also been shown that as , the
quasinormal mode frequency for tensor and vector perturbation of the
Schwarzschild black hole can be obtained. We have also calculated the
quasinormal spectrum of the charged GB black hole for tensor perturbations.
Here we have found that the real oscillation frequency increases, while the
imaginary part of the frequency falls with the increase of the charge. We also
show that the quasinormal frequencies for scalar field perturbations and the
tensor gravitational perturbations do not match as was claimed in the
literature. The difference in the result increases if we increase the GB
coupling.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, change in title and abstract, new equations and
results added for QN frequencies for vector perturbations, new referencees
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Observation of Parity Violation in the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus Decay
The alpha decay parameter in the process Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus has
been measured from a sample of 4.50 million unpolarized Omega-minus decays
recorded by the HyperCP (E871) experiment at Fermilab and found to be [1.78 +/-
0.19(stat) +/- 0.16(syst)]{\times}10^{-2}. This is the first unambiguous
evidence for a nonzero alpha decay parameter, and hence parity violation, in
the Omega-minus -> Lambda + K-minus decay.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
HI in the Outskirts of Nearby Galaxies
The HI in disk galaxies frequently extends beyond the optical image, and can
trace the dark matter there. I briefly highlight the history of high spatial
resolution HI imaging, the contribution it made to the dark matter problem, and
the current tension between several dynamical methods to break the disk-halo
degeneracy. I then turn to the flaring problem, which could in principle probe
the shape of the dark halo. Instead, however, a lot of attention is now devoted
to understanding the role of gas accretion via galactic fountains. The current
cold dark matter theory has problems on galactic scales, such as
the core-cusp problem, which can be addressed with HI observations of dwarf
galaxies. For a similar range in rotation velocities, galaxies of type Sd have
thin disks, while those of type Im are much thicker. After a few comments on
modified Newtonian dynamics and on irregular galaxies, I close with statistics
on the HI extent of galaxies.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figures, invited review, book chapter in "Outskirts of
Galaxies", Eds. J. H. Knapen, J. C. Lee and A. Gil de Paz, Astrophysics and
Space Science Library, Springer, in pres
Reconstruction of the Dark Energy equation of state
One of the main challenges of modern cosmology is to investigate the nature
of dark energy in our Universe. The properties of such a component are normally
summarised as a perfect fluid with a (potentially) time-dependent
equation-of-state parameter . We investigate the evolution of this
parameter with redshift by performing a Bayesian analysis of current
cosmological observations. We model the temporal evolution as piecewise linear
in redshift between `nodes', whose -values and redshifts are allowed to
vary. The optimal number of nodes is chosen by the Bayesian evidence. In this
way, we can both determine the complexity supported by current data and locate
any features present in . We compare this node-based reconstruction with
some previously well-studied parameterisations: the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder
(CPL), the Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan (JBP) and the Felice-Nesseris-Tsujikawa
(FNT). By comparing the Bayesian evidence for all of these models we find an
indication towards possible time-dependence in the dark energy
equation-of-state. It is also worth noting that the CPL and JBP models are
strongly disfavoured, whilst the FNT is just significantly disfavoured, when
compared to a simple cosmological constant . We find that our node-based
reconstruction model is slightly disfavoured with respect to the CDM
model.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, minor correction
HyperCP: A high-rate spectrometer for the study of charged hyperon and kaon decays
The HyperCP experiment (Fermilab E871) was designed to search for rare
phenomena in the decays of charged strange particles, in particular CP
violation in and hyperon decays with a sensitivity of
. Intense charged secondary beams were produced by 800 GeV/c protons
and momentum-selected by a magnetic channel. Decay products were detected in a
large-acceptance, high-rate magnetic spectrometer using multiwire proportional
chambers, trigger hodoscopes, a hadronic calorimeter, and a muon-detection
system. Nearly identical acceptances and efficiencies for hyperons and
antihyperons decaying within an evacuated volume were achieved by reversing the
polarities of the channel and spectrometer magnets. A high-rate
data-acquisition system enabled 231 billion events to be recorded in twelve
months of data-taking.Comment: 107 pages, 45 Postscript figures, 14 tables, Elsevier LaTeX,
submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth.
Branching Fractions for D0 -> K+K- and D0 -> pi+pi-, and a Search for CP Violation in D0 Decays
Using the large hadroproduced charm sample collected in experiment E791 at
Fermilab, we have measured ratios of branching fractions for the two-body
singly-Cabibbo-suppressed charged decays of the D0:
(D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.109 +- 0.003 +- 0.003,
(D0 -> pipi)/(D0 -> Kpi) = 0.040 +- 0.002 +- 0.003, and
(D0 -> KK)/(D0 -> pipi) = 2.75 +- 0.15 +- 0.16. We have looked for
differences in the decay rates of D0 and D0bar to the CP eigenstates K+K- and
pi+pi-, and have measured the CP asymmetry parameters
A_CP(K+K-) = -0.010 +- 0.049 +- 0.012 and
A_CP(pi+pi-) = -0.049 +- 0.078 +- 0.030, both consistent with zero.Comment: 10 Postscript pages, including 2 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.
Asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons from 500 GeV/c pi- nucleon interactions as a function of xF and pt**2
We present asymmetries between the production of D+ and D- mesons in Fermilab
experiment E791 as a function of xF and pt**2. The data used here consist of
74,000 fully-reconstructed charmed mesons produced by a 500 GeV/c pi- beam on C
and Pt foils. The measurements are compared to results of models which predict
differences between the production of heavy-quark mesons that have a light
quark in common with the beam (leading particles) and those that do not
(non-leading particles). While the default models do not agree with our data,
we can reach agreement with one of them, PYTHIA, by making a limited number of
changes to parameters used
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