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Characterizing the epoch of reionization with the small-scale CMB: Constraints on the optical depth and duration
Patchy reionization leaves a number of imprints on the small-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature fluctuations, the largest of which is the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ), the Doppler shift of CMB photons scattering off moving electrons in ionized bubbles. It has long been known that in the CMB power spectrum, this imprint of reionization is largely degenerate with the kSZ signal produced by late-time galaxies and clusters, thus limiting our ability to constrain reionization. Following Smith & Ferraro (2017), it is possible to isolate the reionization contribution in a model independent way, by looking at the large scale modulation of the small scale CMB power spectrum. In this paper we extend the formalism to use the full shape information of the small scale power spectrum (rather than just its broadband average), and argue that this is necessary to break the degeneracy between the optical depth τ and parameters setting the duration of reionization. In particular, we show that the next generation of CMB experiments could achieve up to a factor of 3 improvement on the optical depth τ and at the same time, constrain the duration of reionization to ∼25%. This can help tighten the constrains on neutrino masses, which will be limited by our knowledge of τ, and shed light on the physical processes responsible for reionization
Characterization of neurospora circadian rhythms in space
To determine whether the circadian rhythm of conidiation in neurospora crassa is endogenously derived or is driven by some geophysical time cue, an experiment was conducted on space shuttle flight STS-9, where inoculated race tubes were exposed to the microgravity environment of space. The results demonstated that the rhythm can persist in space. However, there were several minor alterations noted; an increase in the period of the oscillation and the variability of the growth rate and a diminished rhythm amplitude, which eventually damped out in 25% of the flight tubes. On day seven of the flight, the tubes were exposed to light while their growth fronts were marked. It appears that some aspects of this marking process reinstated a robust rhythm in all the tubes which continued throughout the remainder of the flight. It was hypothesized that the damping found prior to the marking procedure on STS-9 may have been a result of the hypergravity pulse of launch and not due to the microgravity of the orbital lab; furthermore, that the marking procedure, by exposing the samples to light, had reinstated rhythmicity. To test this, an investigation was conducted into the effects of acute and chronic exposure to hypergravity
Photon subtracted states and enhancement of nonlocality in the presence of noise
We address nonlocality of continuous variable systems in the presence of
dissipation and noise. Three nonlocality tests have been considered, based on
the measurement of displaced-parity, field-quadrature and pseudospin-operator,
respectively. Nonlocality of twin beam has been investigated, as well as that
of its non-Gaussian counterparts obtained by inconclusive subtraction of
photons. Our results indicate that: i) nonlocality of twin beam is degraded but
not destroyed by noise; ii) photon subtraction enhances nonlocality in the
presence of noise, especially in the low-energy regime.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
The optical companion to the binary millisecond pulsar J1824-2452H in the globular cluster M28
We report on the optical identification of the companion star to the
eclipsing millisecond pulsar PSR J1824-2452H in the galactic globular cluster
M28 (NGC 6626). This star is at only 0.2" from the nominal position of the
pulsar and it shows optical variability (~ 0.25 mag) that nicely correlates
with the pulsar orbital period. It is located on the blue side of the cluster
main sequence, ~1.5 mag fainter than the turn-off point. The observed light
curve shows two distinct and asymmetric minima, suggesting that the companion
star is suffering tidal distortion from the pulsar. This discovery increases
the number of non-degenerate MSP companions optically identified so far in
globular clusters (4 out of 7), suggesting that these systems could be a common
outcome of the pulsar recycling process, at least in dense environments where
they can be originated by exchange interactions.Comment: accepted for publication on ApJ, 17 pages, 5 figure
The giant, horizontal and asymptotic branches of galactic globular clusters. I. The catalog, photometric observables and features
A catalog including a set of the most recent Color Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs)
is presented for a sample of 61 Galactic Globular Clusters (GGCs). We used this
data-base to perform an homogeneous systematic analysis of the evolved
sequences (namely, Red Giant Branch (RGB), Horizontal Branch (HB) and
Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB)). Based on this analysis, we present: (1) a new
procedure to measure the level of the ZAHB (V_ZAHB) and an homogeneous set of
distance moduli obtained adopting the HB as standard candle; (2) an independent
estimate for RGB metallicity indicators and new calibrations of these
parameters in terms of both spectroscopic ([Fe/H]_CG97) and global metallicity
([M/H], including also the alpha-elements enhancement). The set of equations
presented can be used to simultaneously derive a photometric estimate of the
metal abundance and the reddening from the morphology and the location of the
RGB in the (V,B-V)-CMD. (3) the location of the RGB-Bump (in 47 GGCs) and the
AGB-Bump (in 9 GGCs). The dependence of these features on the metallicity is
discussed. We find that by using the latest theoretical models and the new
metallicity scales the earlier discrepancy between theory and observations
(~0.4 mag) completely disappears.Comment: 51 pages, 23 figures, AAS Latex, macro rtrpp4.sty included, accepted
by A
Cluster Abundance in f(R) Gravity Models
As one of the most powerful probes of cosmological structure formation, the
abundance of massive galaxy clusters is a sensitive probe of modifications to
gravity on cosmological scales. In this paper, we present results from N-body
simulations of a general class of f(R) models, which self-consistently solve
the non-linear field equation for the enhanced forces. Within this class we
vary the amplitude of the field, which controls the range of the enhanced
gravitational forces, both at the present epoch and as a function of redshift.
Most models in the literature can be mapped onto the parameter space of this
class. Focusing on the abundance of massive dark matter halos, we compare the
simulation results to a simple spherical collapse model. Current constraints
lie in the large-field regime, where the chameleon mechanism is not important.
In this regime, the spherical collapse model works equally well for a wide
range of models and can serve as a model-independent tool for placing
constraints on f(R) gravity from cluster abundance. Using these results, we
show how constraints from the observed local abundance of X-ray clusters on a
specific f(R) model can be mapped onto other members of this general class of
models.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Reconstruction with velocities
Reconstruction is becoming a crucial procedure of galaxy clustering analysis for future spectroscopic redshift surveys to obtain subper cent level measurement of the baryon acoustic oscillation scale. Most reconstruction algorithms rely on an estimation of the displacement field from the observed galaxy distribution. However, the displacement reconstruction degrades near the survey boundary due to incomplete data and the boundary effects extend to ∼100 Mpc/h within the interior of the survey volume. We study the possibility of using radial velocities measured from the cosmic microwave background observation through the kinematic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect to improve performance near the boundary. We find that the boundary effect can be reduced to ∼30 − 40 Mpc/h with the velocity information from Simons Observatory. This is especially helpful for dense low redshift surveys where the volume is relatively small and a large fraction of total volume is affected by the boundary
Simulating Nonholonomic Dynamics
This paper develops different discretization schemes for nonholonomic
mechanical systems through a discrete geometric approach. The proposed methods
are designed to account for the special geometric structure of the nonholonomic
motion. Two different families of nonholonomic integrators are developed and
examined numerically: the geometric nonholonomic integrator (GNI) and the
reduced d'Alembert-Pontryagin integrator (RDP). As a result, the paper provides
a general tool for engineering applications, i.e. for automatic derivation of
numerically accurate and stable dynamics integration schemes applicable to a
variety of robotic vehicle models
Selective cloning of Gaussian states by linear optics
We investigate the performances of a selective cloning machine based on
linear optical elements and Gaussian measurements, which allows to clone at
will one of the two incoming input states. This machine is a complete
generalization of a 1 to 2 cloning scheme demonstrated by U. L. Andersen et al.
[Phys. Rev. Lett. vol. 94, 240503 (2005)]. The input-output fidelity is studied
for generic Gaussian input state and the effect of non-unit quantum efficiency
is also taken into account. We show that if the states to be cloned are
squeezed states with known squeezing parameter, then the fidelity can be
enhanced using a third suitable squeezed state during the final stage of the
cloning process. A binary communication protocol based on the selective cloning
machne is also discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
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