169 research outputs found
Gravitational Lensing by Dark Matter Caustics
Dark matter caustics have specific density profiles and, therefore, precisely
calculable gravitational lensing properties. We present a formalism which
simplifies the relevant calculations, and apply it to four specific cases. In
the first three, the line of sight is tangent to a smooth caustic surface. The
curvature of the surface at the tangent point is positive, negative or zero. In
the fourth case the line of sight passes near a cusp. For each we derive the
map between the image and source planes. In some cases, a point source has
multiple images and experiences infinite magnification when the images merge.
Unfortunately, for the dark matter caustics expected in realistic galactic halo
models, the angular resolution required to resolve the multiple images is not
presently achievable. A more promising approach aims to observe the distortions
caused by dark matter caustics in the images of extended sources such as radio
jets.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figure
Cosmology with Weak Lensing Surveys
Weak gravitational lensing surveys measure the distortion of the image of
distant sources due to the deflections of light rays by the fluctuations of the
gravitational potential along the line of sight. Since they probe the
non-linear matter power spectrum itself at medium redshift such surveys are
complimentary to both galaxy surveys (which follow stellar light) and cosmic
microwave background observations (which probe the linear regime at high
redshift). Ongoing CMB experiments such as WMAP and the future Planck satellite
mission will measure the standard cosmological parameters with unprecedented
accuracy. The focus of attention will then shift to understanding the nature of
dark matter and vacuum energy: several recent studies suggest that lensing is
the best method for constraining the dark energy equation of state. During the
next 5 year period ongoing and future weak lensing surveys such as the Joint
Dark Energy Mission (JDEM, e.g. SNAP) or the Large-aperture Synoptic Survey
Telescope (LSST) will play a major role in advancing our understanding of the
universe in this direction. In this review article we describe various aspects
of weak lensing surveys and how they can help us in understanding our universe.Comment: 15 pages, review article to appear in 2005 Triennial Issue of Phil.
Trans.
Tilted two-fluid Bianchi type I models
In this paper we investigate expanding Bianchi type I models with two tilted
fluids with the same linear equation of state, characterized by the equation of
state parameter w. Individually the fluids have non-zero energy fluxes w.r.t.
the symmetry surfaces, but these cancel each other because of the Codazzi
constraint. We prove that when w=0 the model isotropizes to the future. Using
numerical simulations and a linear analysis we also find the asymptotic states
of models with w>0. We find that future isotropization occurs if and only if . The results are compared to similar models investigated previously
where the two fluids have different equation of state parameters.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure
Cosmology at the Millennium
One hundred years ago we did not know how stars generate energy, the age of
the Universe was thought to be only millions of years, and our Milky Way galaxy
was the only galaxy known. Today, we know that we live in an evolving and
expanding Universe comprising billions of galaxies, all held together by dark
matter. With the hot big-bang model, we can trace the evolution of the Universe
from the hot soup of quarks and leptons that existed a fraction of a second
after the beginning to the formation of galaxies a few billion years later, and
finally to the Universe we see today 13 billion years after the big bang, with
its clusters of galaxies, superclusters, voids, and great walls. The attractive
force of gravity acting on tiny primeval inhomogeneities in the distribution of
matter gave rise to all the structure seen today. A paradigm based upon deep
connections between cosmology and elementary particle physics -- inflation +
cold dark matter -- holds the promise of extending our understanding to an even
more fundamental level and much earlier times, as well as shedding light on the
unification of the forces and particles of nature. As we enter the 21st
century, a flood of observations is testing this paradigm.Comment: 44 pages LaTeX with 14 eps figures. To be published in the Centennial
Volume of Reviews of Modern Physic
Annihilation of NMSSM neutralinos in the Sun and neutrino telescope limits
We investigate neutralino dark matter in the framework of NMSSM performing a
scan over its parameter space and calculating neutralino capture and
annihilation rates in the Sun. We discuss the prospects of searches for
neutralino dark matter in neutrino experiments depending on neutralino content
and its main annihilation channel. We recalculate the upper limits on
neutralino-proton elastic cross sections directly from neutrino telescopes
upper bounds on annihilation rates in the Sun. This procedure has advantages as
compared with corresponding recalcalations from the limits on muon flux,
namely, it is independent on details of the experiment and the recalculation
coefficients are universal for any kind of WIMP dark matter models. We derive
90% c.l. upper limits on neutralino-proton cross sections from the results of
the Baksan Underground Scintillator Telescope.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP, references
adde
Determining the WIMP mass using the complementarity between direct and indirect searches and the ILC
We study the possibility of identifying dark matter properties from
XENON-like 100 kg experiments and the GLAST satellite mission. We show that
whereas direct detection experiments will probe efficiently light WIMPs, given
a positive detection (at the 10% level for GeV), GLAST
will be able to confirm and even increase the precision in the case of a NFW
profile, for a WIMP-nucleon cross-section
pb. We also predict the rate of production of a WIMP in the next generation of
colliders (ILC), and compare their sensitivity to the WIMP mass with the XENON
and GLAST projects.Comment: 32 pages, new figures and a more detailed statistical analysis. Final
version to appear in JCA
Ring finger protein 121 is a potent regulator of adeno-associated viral genome transcription
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are Dependoparvoviruses that have shown promise as recombinant vectors for gene therapy. While infectious pathways of AAV are well studied, gaps remain in our understanding of host factors affecting vector genome expression. Here, we map the role of ring finger protein 121 (RNF121), an E3 ubiquitin ligase, as a key regulator of AAV genome transcription. CRISPR-mediated knockout of RNF121 (RNF121 KO) in different cells markedly decreased AAV transduction regardless of capsid serotype or vector dose. Recombinant AAV transduction is partially rescued by overexpressing RNF121, but not by co-infection with helper Adenovirus. Major steps in the AAV infectious pathway including cell surface binding, cellular uptake, nuclear entry, capsid uncoating and second strand synthesis are unaffected. While gene expression from transfected plasmids or AAV genomes is unaffected, mRNA synthesis from AAV capsid-associated genomes is markedly decreased in RNF121 KO cells. These observations were attributed to transcriptional arrest as corroborated by RNAPol-ChIP and mRNA half-life measurements. Although AAV capsid proteins do not appear to be direct substrates of RNF121, the catalytic domain of the E3 ligase appears essential. Inhibition of ubiquitin-proteasome pathways revealed that blocking Valosin Containing Protein (VCP/p97), which targets substrates to the proteasome, can selectively and completely restore AAV-mediated transgene expression in RNF121 KO cells. Expanding on this finding, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis revealed that the catalytic subunit of DNA PK (DNAPK-Cs), a known activator of VCP, is upregulated in RNF121 KO cells and that the DNA damage machinery is enriched at sites of stalled AAV genome transcription. We postulate that a network of RNF121, VCP and DNA damage response elements function together to regulate transcriptional silencing and/or activation of AAV vector genomes
Probing neutrino masses with future galaxy redshift surveys
We perform a new study of future sensitivities of galaxy redshift surveys to
the free-streaming effect caused by neutrino masses, adding the information on
cosmological parameters from measurements of primary anisotropies of the cosmic
microwave background (CMB). Our reference cosmological scenario has nine
parameters and three different neutrino masses, with a hierarchy imposed by
oscillation experiments. Within the present decade, the combination of the
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and CMB data from the PLANCK experiment will
have a 2-sigma detection threshold on the total neutrino mass close to 0.2 eV.
This estimate is robust against the inclusion of extra free parameters in the
reference cosmological model. On a longer term, the next generation of
experiments may reach values of order sum m_nu = 0.1 eV at 2-sigma, or better
if a galaxy redshift survey significantly larger than SDSS is completed. We
also discuss how the small changes on the free-streaming scales in the normal
and inverted hierarchy schemes are translated into the expected errors from
future cosmological data.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Added results with the KAOS proposal and 1
referenc
A Method For Eclipsing Component Identification In Large Photometric Datasets
We describe an automated method for assigning the most likely physical
parameters to the components of an eclipsing binary (EB), using only its
photometric light curve and combined color. In traditional methods (e.g. WD and
EBOP) one attempts to optimize a multi-parameter model over many iterations, so
as to minimize the chi-squared value. We suggest an alternative method, where
one selects pairs of coeval stars from a set of theoretical stellar models, and
compares their simulated light curves and combined colors with the
observations. This approach greatly reduces the EB parameter-space over which
one needs to search, and allows one to determine the components' masses, radii
and absolute magnitudes, without spectroscopic data. We have implemented this
method in an automated program using published theoretical isochrones and
limb-darkening coefficients. Since it is easy to automate, this method lends
itself to systematic analyses of datasets consisting of photometric time series
of large numbers of stars, such as those produced by OGLE, MACHO, TrES, HAT,
and many others surveys.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the conference proceedings of "Close
Binaries in the 21st Century: New Opportunities and Challenges", Syros,
Greece, 27-30 June, 200
Cosmological Applications of Gravitational Lensing
The last decade has seen an enormous increase of activity in the field of
gravitational lensing, mainly driven by improvements of observational
capabilities. I will review the basics of gravitational lens theory, just
enough to understand the rest of this contribution, and will then concentrate
on several of the main applications in cosmology. Cluster lensing, and weak
lensing, will constitute the main part of this review.Comment: 26 pages, including 2 figures (a third figure can be obtained from
the author by request) gziped and uuencoded postscript file; to be published
in Proceedings of the Laredo Advanced Summer School, Sept. 9
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