The anatomy of a quadruply imaged gravitational lens system

The key to using a strong gravitational lens system to measure the Hubble constant is to obtain an accurate model of the lens potential. In this paper, we investigate the properties of gravitational lens B1608+656, a quadruply-imaged lens system with an extended source intensity distribution. Our analysis is valid for generic quadruply-lensed systems. Limit curves and isophotal separatrices are defined for such systems, and we show that the isophotal separatrices must intersect at the critical curves and the satellite isophotes must be tangent to the limit curves. The current model of B1608+656 (Koopmans et al. 2003) satisfies these criteria for some, but not all, of the isophotal separatrices within the observational uncertainty. We study a non-parametric method of potential reconstruction proposed by Blandford, Surpi & Kundic (2001) and demonstrate that although the method works in principle and elucidates image formation, the initial potential only converges to the true model when it is within ~ 1 percent of the true model.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures. Minor revisions based on referee's comments after initial submission to MNRA

Doubly hybrid density functional for accurate descriptions of nonbond interactions, thermochemistry, and thermochemical kinetics

We develop and validate a density functional, XYG3, based on the adiabatic connection formalism and the Görling–Levy coupling-constant perturbation expansion to the second order (PT2). XYG3 is a doubly hybrid functional, containing 3 mixing parameters. It has a nonlocal orbital-dependent component in the exchange term (exact exchange) plus information about the unoccupied Kohn–Sham orbitals in the correlation part (PT2 double excitation). XYG3 is remarkably accurate for thermochemistry, reaction barrier heights, and nonbond interactions of main group molecules. In addition, the accuracy remains nearly constant with system size

On a theory of neutrino oscillations with entanglement

We show that, despite appearances, a theoretical approach to neutrino oscillation in which the neutrino and its interaction partners are entangled yields the standard result for the neutrino oscillation wavelength. We also shed some light on the question of why plane-wave approaches to the neutrino oscillation problem can yield the correct oscillation wavelength even though they do not explicitly account for the localization of the neutrino source and the detector.Comment: RevTeX 4, 12 pages, 1 figure; v2: Minor clarifications, references adde

Stacked Weak Lensing Mass Calibration: Estimators, Systematics, and Impact on Cosmological Parameter Constraints

When extracting the weak lensing shear signal, one may employ either locally normalized or globally normalized shear estimators. The former is the standard approach when estimating cluster masses, while the latter is the more common method among peak finding efforts. While both approaches have identical signal-to-noise in the weak lensing limit, it is possible that higher order corrections or systematics considerations make one estimator preferable over the other. In this paper, we consider the efficacy of both estimators within the context of stacked weak lensing mass estimation in the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We find the two estimators have nearly identical statistical precision, even after including higher order corrections, but that these corrections must be incorporated into the analysis to avoid observationally relevant biases in the recovered masses. We also demonstrate that finite bin-width effects may be significant if not properly accounted for, and that the two estimators exhibit different systematics, particularly with respect to contamination of the source catalog by foreground galaxies. Thus, the two estimators may be employed as a systematics cross-check of each other. Stacked weak lensing in the DES should allow for the mean mass of galaxy clusters to be calibrated to about 2% precision (statistical only), which can improve the figure of merit of the DES cluster abundance experiment by a factor of ~3 relative to the self-calibration expectation. A companion paper (Schmidt & Rozo, 2010) investigates how the two types of estimators considered here impact weak lensing peak finding efforts.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures; comments welcom

Liquid Hydrogen Target Experience at SLAC

Liquid hydrogen targets have played a vital role in the physics program at SLAC for the past 40 years. These targets have ranged from small "beer can" targets to the 1.5 m long E158 target that was capable of absorbing up to 800 W without any significant density changes. Successful use of these targets has required the development of thin-wall designs, liquid hydrogen pumps, remote positioning and alignment systems, safety systems, control and data acquisition systems, cryogenic cooling circuits and heat exchangers. Detailed operating procedures have been created to ensure safety and operational reliability.This paper surveys the evolution of liquid hydrogen targets at SLAC and discusses advances in several of the enabling technologies that made these targets possible

Butterfly Tachyons in Vacuum String Field Theory

We use geometrical conformal field theory methods to investigate tachyon fluctuations about the butterfly projector state in Vacuum String Field Theory. We find that the on-shell condition for the tachyon field is equivalent to the requirement that the quadratic term in the string-field action vanish on shell. This further motivates the interpretation of the butterfly state as a D-brane. We begin a calculation of the tension of the butterfly, and conjecture that this will match the case of the sliver and further strengthen this interpretation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, revte

The VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey at 5 GHz

We present the first results of the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS), a 5 GHz VLBI survey of 1,127 sources with flat radio spectra. Through automated data reduction and imaging routines, we have produced publicly available I, Q, and U images and have detected polarized flux density from 37% of the sources. We have also developed an algorithm to use each source's I image to automatically classify it as a point-like source, a core-jet, a compact symmetric object (CSO) candidate, or a complex source. The mean ratio of the polarized to total 5 GHz flux density for VIPS sources with detected polarized flux density ranges from 1% to 20% with a median value of about 5%. We have also found significant evidence that the directions of the jets in core-jet systems tend to be perpendicular to the electric vector position angles (EVPAs). The data is consistent with a scenario in which ~24% of the polarized core-jets have EVPAs that are anti-aligned with the directions of their jet components and which have a substantial amount of Faraday rotation. In addition to these initial results, plans for future follow-up observations are discussed.Comment: 36 pages, 3 tables, 13 figures; accepted for publication in Ap