1,747 research outputs found
WMAP 3yr data with the CCA: anomalous emission and impact of component separation on the CMB power spectrum
The Correlated Component Analysis (CCA) allows us to estimate how the
different diffuse emissions mix in CMB experiments, exploiting also
complementary information from other surveys. It is especially useful to deal
with possible additional components. An application of CCA to WMAP maps
assuming that only the canonical Galactic emissions are present, highlights the
widespread presence of a spectrally flat "synchrotron" component, largely
uncorrelated with the synchrotron template, suggesting that an additional
foreground is indeed required. We have tested various spectral shapes for such
component, namely a power law as expected if it is flat synchrotron, and two
spectral shapes that may fit the spinning dust emission: a parabola in the logS
- log(frequency) plane, and a grey body. Quality tests applied to the
reconstructed CMB maps clearly disfavour two of the models. The CMB power
spectra, estimated from CMB maps reconstructed exploiting the three surviving
foreground models, are generally consistent with the WMAP ones, although at
least one of them gives a significantly higher quadrupole moment than found by
the WMAP team. Taking foreground modeling uncertainties into account, we find
that the mean quadrupole amplitude for the three "good" models is less than 1
sigma below the expectation from the standard LambdaCDM model. Also the other
reported deviations from model predictions are found not to be statistically
significant, except for the excess power at l~40. We confirm the evidence for a
marked North-South asymmetry in the large scale (l < 20) CMB anisotropies. We
also present a first, albeit preliminary, all-sky map of the "anomalous"
component.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures, submitted to MNRAS, references adde
A reassessment of the evidence of the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect through the WMAP-NVSS correlation
We reassess the estimate of the cross-correlation of the spatial distribution
of the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) radio sources with that of Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) anisotropies from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
(WMAP). This re-analysis is motivated by the fact that most previous studies
adopted a redshift distribution of NVSS sources inconsistent with recent data.
We find that the constraints on the bias-weighted redshift distribution,
b(z)xN(z), of NVSS sources, set by the observed angular correlation function,
w(theta), strongly mitigate the effect of the choice of N(z). If such
constraints are met, even highly discrepant redshift distributions yield
NVSS-WMAP cross-correlation functions consistent with each other within
statistical errors. The models favoured by recent data imply a bias factor,
b(z), decreasing with increasing z, rather than constant, as assumed by most
previous analyses. As a consequence, the function b(z)xN(z) has more weight at
z<1, i.e. in the redshift range yielding the maximum contribution to the ISW in
a standard LambdaCDM cosmology. On the whole, the NVSS turns out to be better
suited for ISW studies than generally believed, even in the absence of an
observational determination of the redshift distribution. The NVSS-WMAP
cross-correlation function is found to be fully consistent with the prediction
of the standard LambdaCDM cosmology.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to MNRA
Simulations of Galactic Cosmic Rays Impacts on the Herschel/PACS Photoconductor Arrays with Geant4 Code
We present results of simulations performed with the Geant4 software code of
the effects of Galactic Cosmic Ray impacts on the photoconductor arrays of the
PACS instrument. This instrument is part of the ESA-Herschel payload, which
will be launched in late 2007 and will operate at the Lagrangian L2 point of
the Sun-Earth system. Both the Satellite plus the cryostat (the shield) and the
detector act as source of secondary events, affecting the detector performance.
Secondary event rates originated within the detector and from the shield are of
comparable intensity. The impacts deposit energy on each photoconductor pixel
but do not affect the behaviour of nearby pixels. These latter are hit with a
probability always lower than 7%. The energy deposited produces a spike which
can be hundreds times larger than the noise. We then compare our simulations
with proton irradiation tests carried out for one of the detector modules and
follow the detector behaviour under 'real' conditions.Comment: paper submitted to Experimental Astronomy in March 200
Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effects from Quasars in Galaxies and Groups
The energy fed by active galactic nuclei to the surrounding diffuse baryons
changes their amount, temperature, and distribution; so in groups and in member
galaxies it affects the X-ray luminosity and also the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich
effect. Here we compute how the latter is enhanced by the transient blastwave
driven by an active quasar, and is depressed when the equilibrium is recovered
with a depleted density. We constrain such depressions and enhancements with
the masses of relic black holes in galaxies and the X-ray luminosities in
groups. We discuss how all these linked observables can tell the quasar
contribution to the thermal history of the baryons pervading galaxies and
groups.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, uses REVTeX4 and emulateapj.cls. Accepted by ApJ
Correlated Component Analysis for diffuse component separation with error estimation on simulated Planck polarization data
We present a data analysis pipeline for CMB polarization experiments, running
from multi-frequency maps to the power spectra. We focus mainly on component
separation and, for the first time, we work out the covariance matrix
accounting for errors associated to the separation itself. This allows us to
propagate such errors and evaluate their contributions to the uncertainties on
the final products.The pipeline is optimized for intermediate and small scales,
but could be easily extended to lower multipoles. We exploit realistic
simulations of the sky, tailored for the Planck mission. The component
separation is achieved by exploiting the Correlated Component Analysis in the
harmonic domain, that we demonstrate to be superior to the real-space
application (Bonaldi et al. 2006). We present two techniques to estimate the
uncertainties on the spectral parameters of the separated components. The
component separation errors are then propagated by means of Monte Carlo
simulations to obtain the corresponding contributions to uncertainties on the
component maps and on the CMB power spectra. For the Planck polarization case
they are found to be subdominant compared to noise.Comment: 17 pages, accepted in MNRA
Ancillary Services 4.0: A Top-To-Bottom Control-Based Approach for Solving Ancillary Services Problems in Smart Grids
Power systems are experiencing a large amount of renewable generation with highly stochastic and partly unpredictable characteristics. This change in energy production implies significant consequences related to the provision of ancillary services (AS). Current markets dedicated to the provision of AS are not able to benefit from the flexible energy resources. They also cannot cope with the new level of stochasticity, non-linearity and dynamics of generation and flexibility. To overcome such issues and exploit the potential of flexibility resources, a new strategy is required. In this paper, by capitalising on flexibility resources’ potential, AS 4.0 approach is proposed, which offers a comprehensive solution for the AS provision in the smart grid era
On the Nature of Intrinsic Absorption in Reddened Seyfert 1 Galaxies
We discuss the origin of the ``dusty lukewarm absorber'', which we previously
identified in the reddened Seyfert 1 galaxies NGC 3227 and Akn 564. This
absorber is characterized by saturated UV absorption lines (C IV, N V) near the
systemic velocity of the host galaxy, and is likely responsible for reddening
both the continuum and the emission lines (including those from the narrow-line
region) from these Seyferts. From a large sample of Seyfert 1 galaxies, we find
that continuum reddening (as measured by UV color) tends to increase with
inclination of the host galaxy. Furthermore, reddened, inclined Seyfert
galaxies observed at moderate to high spectral resolution all show evidence for
dusty lukewarm absorbers. We suggest that these absorbers lie in the plane of
the host galaxy at distances > 100 pc from the nucleus, and are physically
distinct from the majority of intrinsic absorbers that are outflowing from the
nucleus.Comment: 14 pages, including 2 figures, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journal (Letters
Constraints on Evolutionary Properties of GHz Peaked Spectrum Galaxies
We have used the available samples of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS)
galaxies to investigate their evolution properties in the framework of the
``youth'' scenario. Care was taken to properly allow for the different
selection criteria used to define the samples. We find that the observed
redshift and peak frequency distributions can be satisfactorily accounted for
in terms of simple luminosity evolution of individual sources, along the lines
discussed by Fanti et al. (1995) and Begelman (1996, 1999), although the
derived parameter values have large uncertainties due to ambiguities in the
selection of GPS sources and to the incompleteness of redshift measurements.
However the simplest self-similar model, whereby the evolution is controlled
only by the radial profile of the density of the ambient medium is not good
enough and one additional parameter needs to be introduced. The fit requires a
decrease of the emitted power and of the peak luminosity with source age or
with decreasing peak frequency, at variance with the Snellen et al. (2000)
model. On the other hand, our analysis confirms the rather flat slope of the
luminosity function, found by Snellen et al. (2000) who also report indications
of a high luminosity break, not required by the data sets we have used. Our
results suggest that the GPS galaxies are the precursors of extended radio
sources with luminosities below the break of the luminosity function. No
cosmological evolution of the GPS galaxy population is required by presently
available data.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics. Figure 1 has been replace
Pea-Wheat Rotation Affects Soil Microbiota Diversity, Community Structure, and Soilborne Pathogens
Intensive cultivation based on monocultures has a significant impact on ecosystem function, and sustainable agriculture must rely on alternative methods, including crop rotation. On the Canadian prairies, the use of pulse crops is a common practice, but few studies have investigated the impact on soil microorganisms. Here, we studied the effect of pea, wheat, pea–wheat rotation, and fallow in bulk soil bacterial and fungal communities. We characterized soil microbiota by high-throughput sequencing of 16S and 18S rRNA genes for bacteria and eukaryotes. Different crop rotations and fallow significantly modified soil community composition, as well as bacterial and fungal diversity. Pea alone caused a strong reduction of bacterial and fungal richness and diversity compared to wheat, pea–wheat rotation, and fallow. Notably, pea–wheat rotation increased the abundance of Fusarium graminearum compared to other management practices. The bacterial community was less responsive to crop rotation identity compared to the fungal microbiota, and we found minor differences at the phylum level, with an increase in Actinobacteria in fallow and Firmicutes in wheat. In summary, our study demonstrated that rotations alter bulk soil microbial community diversity and composition in Canadian prairies. The frequent use of pea in rotation with wheat should be carefully evaluated, balancing their ecological effects on nitrogen mineralization, water conservation, and impact on beneficial, as well as pathotrophic, fungi
The Role of the Dust in Primeval Galaxies: A Simple Physical Model for Lyman Break Galaxies and Lyman Alpha Emitters
We explore the onset of star formation in the early Universe, exploiting the
observations of high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) and Lyman alpha
emitters (LAEs), in the framework of the galaxy formation scenario elaborated
by Granato et al. (2004) already successfully tested against the wealth of data
on later evolutionary stages. Complementing the model with a simple, physically
plausible, recipe for the evolution of dust attenuation in metal poor galaxies
we reproduce the luminosity functions (LFs) of LBGs and of LAEs at different
redshifts. This recipe yields a much faster increase with galactic age of
attenuation in more massive galaxies, endowed with higher star formation rates.
These objects have therefore shorter lifetimes in the LAE and LBG phases, and
are more easily detected in the dusty submillimeter bright phase. The short UV
bright lifetimes of massive objects strongly mitigate the effect of the fast
increase of the massive halo density with decreasing redshift, thus accounting
for the weaker evolution of the LBG LF, compared to that of the halo mass
function, and the even weaker evolution between z~6 and z~3 of the LAE LF. LAEs
are on the average expected to be younger, with lower stellar masses, and
associated to less massive halos than LBGs. Finally, we show that the
intergalactic medium can be completely reionized at redshift z~6-7 by massive
stars shining in protogalactic spheroids with halo masses from a few 10^10 to a
few 10^11 M_sun, showing up as faint LBGs with magnitude in the range
-17<M_1350<-20, without resorting to any special stellar initial mass function.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, uses REVTeX 4 + emulateapj.cls and apjfonts.sty.
Title changed and text revised following referee's comments. Accepted by Ap
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