3,598 research outputs found
Primordial statistical anisotropy generated at the end of inflation
We present a new mechanism for generating primordial statistical anisotropy
of curvature perturbations. We introduce a vector field which has a non-minimal
kinetic term and couples with a waterfall field in hybrid inflation model. In
such a system, the vector field gives fluctuations of the end of inflation and
hence induces a subcomponent of curvature perturbations. Since the vector has a
preferred direction, the statistical anisotropy could appear in the
fluctuations. We present the explicit formula for the statistical anisotropy in
the primordial power spectrum and the bispectrum of curvature perturbations.
Interestingly, there is the possibility that the statistical anisotropy does
not appear in the power spectrum but does appear in the bispectrum. We also
find that the statistical anisotropy provides the shape dependence to the
bispectrum.Comment: 9 pages, This version supersedes the JCAP version. Minor revision
Evidence of vorticity and shear at large angular scales in the WMAP data: a violation of cosmological isotropy?
Motivated by the large-scale asymmetry observed in the cosmic microwave
background sky, we consider a specific class of anisotropic cosmological models
-- Bianchi type VII_h -- and compare them to the WMAP first-year data on large
angular scales. Remarkably, we find evidence of a correlation which is ruled
out as a chance alignment at the 3sigma level. The best fit Bianchi model
corresponds to x=0.55, Omega_0=0.5, a rotation axis in the direction
(l,b)=(222degr,-62degr), shear (sigma/H)_0=2.4e-10 and a right--handed
vorticity (omega/H)_0=6.1e-10. Correcting for this component greatly reduces
the significance of the large-scale power asymmetry, resolves several anomalies
detected on large angular scales (ie. the low quadrupole amplitude and
quadrupole/octopole planarity and alignment), and can account for a
non--Gaussian "cold spot" on the sky. Despite the apparent inconsistency with
the best-fit parameters required in inflationary models to account for the
acoustic peaks, we consider the results sufficiently provocative to merit
further consideration.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; emulateapj.cls; ApJL accepted version plus fixed
error in vorticity calculation (sqrt(2) off in Table 1, abstract, and
conclusions); basic conclusions unchange
New evidence for lack of CMB power on large scales
A digitalized temperature map is recovered from the first light sky survey
image published by the Planck team, from which an angular power spectrum is
derived. The amplitudes of the low multipoles measured from the preliminary
Planck power spectrum are significantly lower than that reported by the WMAP
team. Possible systematical effects are far from enough to explain the observed
low-l differences.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Relativistic point dynamics and Einstein formula as a property of localized solutions of a nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation
Einstein's relation E=Mc^2 between the energy E and the mass M is the
cornerstone of the relativity theory. This relation is often derived in a
context of the relativistic theory for closed systems which do not accelerate.
By contrast, Newtonian approach to the mass is based on an accelerated motion.
We study here a particular neoclassical field model of a particle governed by a
nonlinear Klein-Gordon (KG) field equation. We prove that if a solution to the
nonlinear KG equation and its energy density concentrate at a trajectory, then
this trajectory and the energy must satisfy the relativistic version of
Newton's law with the mass satisfying Einstein's relation. Therefore the
internal energy of a localized wave affects its acceleration in an external
field as the inertial mass does in Newtonian mechanics. We demonstrate that the
"concentration" assumptions hold for a wide class of rectilinear accelerating
motions
Computation of local exchange coefficients in strongly interacting one-dimensional few-body systems: local density approximation and exact results
One-dimensional multi-component Fermi or Bose systems with strong zero-range
interactions can be described in terms of local exchange coefficients and
mapping the problem into a spin model is thus possible. For arbitrary external
confining potentials the local exchanges are given by highly non-trivial
geometric factors that depend solely on the geometry of the confinement through
the single-particle eigenstates of the external potential. To obtain accurate
effective Hamiltonians to describe such systems one needs to be able to compute
these geometric factors with high precision which is difficult due to the
computational complexity of the high-dimensional integrals involved. An
approach using the local density approximation would therefore be a most
welcome approximation due to its simplicity. Here we assess the accuracy of the
local density approximation by going beyond the simple harmonic oscillator that
has been the focus of previous studies and consider some double-wells of
current experimental interest. We find that the local density approximation
works quite well as long as the potentials resemble harmonic wells but break
down for larger barriers. In order to explore the consequences of applying the
local density approximation in a concrete setup we consider quantum state
transfer in the effective spin models that one obtains. Here we find that even
minute deviations in the local exchange coefficients between the exact and the
local density approximation can induce large deviations in the fidelity of
state transfer for four, five, and six particles.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, final versio
Interpretation of F106B and CV580 in-flight lightning data and form factor determination
Two topics of in-flight aircraft/lightning interaction are addressed. The first is the analysis of measured data from the NASA F106B Thunderstorm Research Aircraft and the CV580 research program run by the FAA and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The CV580 data was investigated in a mostly qualitative sense, while the F106B data was subjected to both statistical and quantitative analysis using linear triggered lightning finite difference models. The second main topic is the analysis of field mill data and the calibration of the field mill systems. The calibration of the F106B field mill system was investigated using an improved finite difference model of the aircraft having a spatial resolution of one-quarter meter. The calibration was applied to measured field mill data acquired during the 1985 thunderstorm season. The experimental determination of form factors useful for field mill calibration was also investigated both experimentally and analytically. The experimental effort involved the use of conducting scale models and an electrolytic tank. An analytic technique was developed to aid in the understanding of the experimental results
Joint Bayesian component separation and CMB power spectrum estimation
We describe and implement an exact, flexible, and computationally efficient
algorithm for joint component separation and CMB power spectrum estimation,
building on a Gibbs sampling framework. Two essential new features are 1)
conditional sampling of foreground spectral parameters, and 2) joint sampling
of all amplitude-type degrees of freedom (e.g., CMB, foreground pixel
amplitudes, and global template amplitudes) given spectral parameters. Given a
parametric model of the foreground signals, we estimate efficiently and
accurately the exact joint foreground-CMB posterior distribution, and therefore
all marginal distributions such as the CMB power spectrum or foreground
spectral index posteriors. The main limitation of the current implementation is
the requirement of identical beam responses at all frequencies, which restricts
the analysis to the lowest resolution of a given experiment. We outline a
future generalization to multi-resolution observations. To verify the method,
we analyse simple models and compare the results to analytical predictions. We
then analyze a realistic simulation with properties similar to the 3-yr WMAP
data, downgraded to a common resolution of 3 degree FWHM. The results from the
actual 3-yr WMAP temperature analysis are presented in a companion Letter.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures; version accepted for publication in ApJ -- only
minor changes, all clarifications. More information about the WMAP3 analysis
available at http://www.astro.uio.no/~hke under the Research ta
Plane-mirroring anomaly in the cosmic microwave background maps
The plane-mirror symmetry previously noticed in the Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy maps of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy
Probe is shown to possess certain anomalous properties. The degree of the
randomness determined by the Kolmogorov stochasticity parameter in the both
symmetry regions appears to have identical values which, however, essentially
differ from the corresponding values for other sky regions. If the mirroring
were of cosmological origin, this would imply either additional randomizing
properties in those directions of the Universe or their different line-of-sight
depth. This analysis also provides a way to test the hypothesis of a link
between the nature of dark energy and inhomogeneities.Comment: A & A (Lett.) in press; 3 pages, 2 fig
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