Dark matter and cosmological nucleosynthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schramm, D. N.

1986-01-01

Existing dark matter problems, i.e., dynamics, galaxy formation and inflation, are considered, along with a model which proposes dark baryons as the bulk of missing matter in a fractal universe. It is shown that no combination of dark, nonbaryonic matter can either provide a cosmological density parameter value near unity or, as in the case of high energy neutrinos, allow formation of condensed matter at epochs when quasars already existed. The possibility that correlations among galactic clusters are scale-free is discussed. Such a distribution of matter would yield a fractal of 1.2, close to a one-dimensional universe. Biasing, cosmic superstrings, and percolated explosions and hot dark matter are theoretical approaches that would satisfy the D = 1.2 fractal model of the large-scale structure of the universe and which would also allow sufficient dark matter in halos to close the universe.

Fractal analysis of the dark matter and gas distributions in the Mare-Nostrum universe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaite, José, E-mail: jose.gaite@upm.es

2010-03-01

We develop a method of multifractal analysis of N-body cosmological simulations that improves on the customary counts-in-cells method by taking special care of the effects of discreteness and large scale homogeneity. The analysis of the Mare-Nostrum simulation with our method provides strong evidence of self-similar multifractal distributions of dark matter and gas, with a halo mass function that is of Press-Schechter type but has a power-law exponent -2, as corresponds to a multifractal. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the dark matter and gas distributions are indistinguishable as multifractals. To determine if there is any gas biasing, we calculate the cross-correlationmore » coefficient, with negative but inconclusive results. Hence, we develop an effective Bayesian analysis connected with information theory, which clearly demonstrates that the gas is biased in a long range of scales, up to the scale of homogeneity. However, entropic measures related to the Bayesian analysis show that this gas bias is small (in a precise sense) and is such that the fractal singularities of both distributions coincide and are identical. We conclude that this common multifractal cosmic web structure is determined by the dynamics and is independent of the initial conditions.« less

Warm dark matter via ultra-violet freeze-in: reheating temperature and non-thermal distribution for fermionic Higgs portal dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McDonald, John

2016-08-17

Warm dark matter (WDM) of order keV mass may be able to resolve the disagreement between structure formation in cold dark matter simulations and observations. The detailed properties of WDM will depend upon its energy distribution, in particular how it deviates from the thermal distribution usually assumed in WDM simulations. Here we focus on WDM production via the Ultra-Violet (UV) freeze-in mechanism, for the case of fermionic Higgs portal dark matter ψ produced via the portal interaction ψ-barψH{sup †}H/Λ. We introduce a new method to simplify the computation of the non-thermal energy distribution of dark matter from freeze-in. We showmore » that the non-thermal energy distribution from UV freeze-in is hotter than the corresponding thermal distribution and has the form of a Bose-Einstein distribution with a non-thermal normalization. The resulting range of dark matter fermion mass consistent with observations is 5–7 keV. The reheating temperature must satisfy T{sub R}≳120 GeV in order to account for the observed dark matter density when m{sub ψ}≈5 keV, where the lower bound on T{sub R} corresponds to the limit where the fermion mass is entirely due to electroweak symmetry breaking via the portal interaction. The corresponding bound on the interaction scale is Λ≳6.0×10{sup 9} GeV.« less

Hints on the nature of dark matter from the properties of Milky Way satellites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderhalden, Donnino; Diemand, Juerg; Schneider, Aurel

2013-03-01

The nature of dark matter is still unknown and one of the most fundamental scientific mysteries. Although successfully describing large scales, the standard cold dark matter model (CDM) exhibits possible shortcomings on galactic and sub-galactic scales. It is exactly at these highly non-linear scales where strong astrophysical constraints can be set on the nature of the dark matter particle. While observations of the Lyman-α forest probe the matter power spectrum in the mildly non-linear regime, satellite galaxies of the Milky Way provide an excellent laboratory as a test of the underlying cosmology on much smaller scales. Here we present resultsmore » from a set of high resolution simulations of a Milky Way sized dark matter halo in eight distinct cosmologies: CDM, warm dark matter (WDM) with a particle mass of 2 keV and six different cold plus warm dark matter (C+WDM) models, varying the fraction, f{sub wdm}, and the mass, m{sub wdm}, of the warm component. We used three different observational tests based on Milky Way satellite observations: the total satellite abundance, their radial distribution and their mass profile. We show that the requirement of simultaneously satisfying all three constraints sets very strong limits on the nature of dark matter. This shows the power of a multi-dimensional small scale approach in ruling out models which would be still allowed by large scale observations.« less

Absence of a fundamental acceleration scale in galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Davi C.; Marra, Valerio; del Popolo, Antonino; Davari, Zahra

2018-06-01

Dark matter is currently one of the main mysteries of the Universe. There is much strong indirect evidence that supports its existence, but there is yet no sign of a direct detection1-3. Moreover, at the scale of galaxies, there is tension between the theoretically expected dark matter distribution and its indirectly observed distribution4-7. Therefore, phenomena associated with dark matter have a chance of serving as a window towards new physics. The radial acceleration relation8,9 confirms that a non-trivial acceleration scale a0 can be found from the internal dynamics of several galaxies. The existence of such a scale is not obvious as far as the standard cosmological model is concerned10,11, and it has been interpreted as a possible sign of modified gravity12,13. Here, we consider 193 high-quality disk galaxies and, using Bayesian inference, show that the probability of existence of a fundamental acceleration is essentially 0: the null hypothesis is rejected at more than 10σ. We conclude that a0 is of emergent nature. In particular, the modified Newtonian dynamics theory14-17—a well-known alternative to dark matter based on the existence of a fundamental acceleration scale—or any other theory that behaves like it at galactic scales, is ruled out as a fundamental theory for galaxies at more than 10σ.

Novel dark matter phenomenology at colliders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wardlow, Kyle Patrick

While a suitable candidate particle for dark matter (DM) has yet to be discovered, it is possible one will be found by experiments currently investigating physics on the weak scale. If discovered on that energy scale, the dark matter will likely be producible in significant quantities at colliders like the LHC, allowing the properties of and underlying physical model characterizing the dark matter to be precisely determined. I assume that the dark matter will be produced as one of the decay products of a new massive resonance related to physics beyond the Standard Model, and using the energy distributions of the associated visible decay products, develop techniques for determining the symmetry protecting these potential dark matter candidates from decaying into lighter Standard Model (SM) particles and to simultaneously measure the masses of both the dark matter candidate and the particle from which it decays.

GeV-scale dark matter: Production at the main injector

DOE PAGES

Dobrescu, Bogdan A.; Frugiuele, Claudia

2015-02-03

In this study, assuming that dark matter particles interact with quarks via a GeV-scale mediator, we study dark matter production in fixed target collisions. The ensuing signal in a neutrino near detector consists of neutral-current events with an energy distribution peaked at higher values than the neutrino background. We find that for a Z' boson of mass around a few GeV that decays to dark matter particles, the dark matter beam produced by the Main Injector at Fermilab allows the exploration of a range of values for the gauge coupling that currently satisfy all experimental constraints. The NOνA near detectormore » is well positioned for probing the presence of a dark matter beam, and future LBNF near detectors would provide more sensitive probes.« less

A 14 h-3 Gpc3 study of cosmic homogeneity using BOSS DR12 quasar sample

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurent, Pierre; Le Goff, Jean-Marc; Burtin, Etienne; Hamilton, Jean-Christophe; Hogg, David W.; Myers, Adam; Ntelis, Pierros; Pâris, Isabelle; Rich, James; Aubourg, Eric; Bautista, Julian; Delubac, Timothée; du Mas des Bourboux, Hélion; Eftekharzadeh, Sarah; Palanque Delabrouille, Nathalie; Petitjean, Patrick; Rossi, Graziano; Schneider, Donald P.; Yeche, Christophe

2016-11-01

The BOSS quasar sample is used to study cosmic homogeneity with a 3D survey in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 2.8. We measure the count-in-sphere, N(< r), i.e. the average number of objects around a given object, and its logarithmic derivative, the fractal correlation dimension, D2(r). For a homogeneous distribution N(< r) propto r3 and D2(r) = 3. Due to the uncertainty on tracer density evolution, 3D surveys can only probe homogeneity up to a redshift dependence, i.e. they probe so-called ``spatial isotropy". Our data demonstrate spatial isotropy of the quasar distribution in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 2.8 in a model-independent way, independent of any FLRW fiducial cosmology, resulting in 3 - langleD2rangle < 1.7 × 10-3 (2 σ) over the range 250 < r < 1200 h-1 Mpc for the quasar distribution. If we assume that quasars do not have a bias much less than unity, this implies spatial isotropy of the matter distribution on large scales. Then, combining with the Copernican principle, we finally get homogeneity of the matter distribution on large scales. Alternatively, using a flat ΛCDM fiducial cosmology with CMB-derived parameters, and measuring the quasar bias relative to this ΛCDM model, our data provide a consistency check of the model, in terms of how homogeneous the Universe is on different scales. D2(r) is found to be compatible with our ΛCDM model on the whole 10 < r < 1200 h-1 Mpc range. For the matter distribution we obtain 3 - langleD2rangle < 5 × 10-5 (2 σ) over the range 250 < r < 1200 h-1 Mpc, consistent with homogeneity on large scales.

Collapsed Dark Matter Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckley, Matthew R.; DiFranzo, Anthony

2018-02-01

The distributions of dark matter and baryons in the Universe are known to be very different: The dark matter resides in extended halos, while a significant fraction of the baryons have radiated away much of their initial energy and fallen deep into the potential wells. This difference in morphology leads to the widely held conclusion that dark matter cannot cool and collapse on any scale. We revisit this assumption and show that a simple model where dark matter is charged under a "dark electromagnetism" can allow dark matter to form gravitationally collapsed objects with characteristic mass scales much smaller than that of a Milky-Way-type galaxy. Though the majority of the dark matter in spiral galaxies would remain in the halo, such a model opens the possibility that galaxies and their associated dark matter play host to a significant number of collapsed substructures. The observational signatures of such structures are not well explored but potentially interesting.

Collapsed Dark Matter Structures.

PubMed

Buckley, Matthew R; DiFranzo, Anthony

2018-02-02

The distributions of dark matter and baryons in the Universe are known to be very different: The dark matter resides in extended halos, while a significant fraction of the baryons have radiated away much of their initial energy and fallen deep into the potential wells. This difference in morphology leads to the widely held conclusion that dark matter cannot cool and collapse on any scale. We revisit this assumption and show that a simple model where dark matter is charged under a "dark electromagnetism" can allow dark matter to form gravitationally collapsed objects with characteristic mass scales much smaller than that of a Milky-Way-type galaxy. Though the majority of the dark matter in spiral galaxies would remain in the halo, such a model opens the possibility that galaxies and their associated dark matter play host to a significant number of collapsed substructures. The observational signatures of such structures are not well explored but potentially interesting.

Thematic mapper research in the earth sciences: Small scale patches of suspended matter and phytoplankton in the Elbe River Estuary, German Bight and Tidal Flats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grassl, H.; Doerffer, R.; Fischer, J.; Brockmann, C.; Stoessel, M.

1987-01-01

A Thematic Mapper (TM) field experiment was followed by a data analysis to determine TM capabilities for analysis of suspended matter and phytoplankton. Factor analysis showed that suspended matter concentration, atmospheric scattering, and sea surface temperature can be retrieved as independent factors which determine the variation in the TM data over water areas. Spectral channels in the near infrared open the possibility of determining the Angstrom exponent better than for the coastal zone color scanner. The suspended matter distribution may then be calculated by the absolute radiance of channel 2 or 3 or the ratio of both. There is no indication of whether separation of chlorophyll is possible. The distribution of suspended matter and sea surface temperature can be observed with the expected fine structure. A good correlation between water depth and suspended matter distribution as found from ship data can now be analyzed for an entire area by the synoptic view of the TM scenes.

Galaxy dynamics and the mass density of the universe.

PubMed

Rubin, V C

1993-06-01

Dynamical evidence accumulated over the past 20 years has convinced astronomers that luminous matter in a spiral galaxy constitutes no more than 10% of the mass of a galaxy. An additional 90% is inferred by its gravitational effect on luminous material. Here I review recent observations concerning the distribution of luminous and nonluminous matter in the Milky Way, in galaxies, and in galaxy clusters. Observations of neutral hydrogen disks, some extending in radius several times the optical disk, confirm that a massive dark halo is a major component of virtually every spiral. A recent surprise has been the discovery that stellar and gas motions in ellipticals are enormously complex. To date, only for a few spheroidal galaxies do the velocities extend far enough to probe the outer mass distribution. But the diverse kinematics of inner cores, peripheral to deducing the overall mass distribution, offer additional evidence that ellipticals have acquired gas-rich systems after initial formation. Dynamical results are consistent with a low-density universe, in which the required dark matter could be baryonic. On smallest scales of galaxies [10 kiloparsec (kpc); Ho = 50 km.sec-1.megaparsec-1] the luminous matter constitutes only 1% of the closure density. On scales greater than binary galaxies (i.e., >/=100 kpc) all systems indicate a density approximately 10% of the closure density, a density consistent with the low baryon density in the universe. If large-scale motions in the universe require a higher mass density, these motions would constitute the first dynamical evidence for nonbaryonic matter in a universe of higher density.

Galaxy dynamics and the mass density of the universe.

PubMed Central

Rubin, V C

1993-01-01

Dynamical evidence accumulated over the past 20 years has convinced astronomers that luminous matter in a spiral galaxy constitutes no more than 10% of the mass of a galaxy. An additional 90% is inferred by its gravitational effect on luminous material. Here I review recent observations concerning the distribution of luminous and nonluminous matter in the Milky Way, in galaxies, and in galaxy clusters. Observations of neutral hydrogen disks, some extending in radius several times the optical disk, confirm that a massive dark halo is a major component of virtually every spiral. A recent surprise has been the discovery that stellar and gas motions in ellipticals are enormously complex. To date, only for a few spheroidal galaxies do the velocities extend far enough to probe the outer mass distribution. But the diverse kinematics of inner cores, peripheral to deducing the overall mass distribution, offer additional evidence that ellipticals have acquired gas-rich systems after initial formation. Dynamical results are consistent with a low-density universe, in which the required dark matter could be baryonic. On smallest scales of galaxies [10 kiloparsec (kpc); Ho = 50 km.sec-1.megaparsec-1] the luminous matter constitutes only 1% of the closure density. On scales greater than binary galaxies (i.e., >/=100 kpc) all systems indicate a density approximately 10% of the closure density, a density consistent with the low baryon density in the universe. If large-scale motions in the universe require a higher mass density, these motions would constitute the first dynamical evidence for nonbaryonic matter in a universe of higher density. Images Fig. 3 Fig. 5 PMID:11607393

Seeded hot dark matter models with inflation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gratsias, John; Scherrer, Robert J.; Steigman, Gary; Villumsen, Jens V.

1993-01-01

We examine massive neutrino (hot dark matter) models for large-scale structure in which the density perturbations are produced by randomly distributed relic seeds and by inflation. Power spectra, streaming velocities, and the Sachs-Wolfe quadrupole fluctuation are derived for this model. We find that the pure seeded hot dark matter model without inflation produces Sachs-Wolfe fluctuations far smaller than those seen by COBE. With the addition of inflationary perturbations, fluctuations consistent with COBE can be produced. The COBE results set the normalization of the inflationary component, which determines the large-scale (about 50/h Mpc) streaming velocities. The normalization of the seed power spectrum is a free parameter, which can be adjusted to obtain the desired fluctuations on small scales. The power spectra produced are very similar to those seen in mixed hot and cold dark matter models.

Anisotropic Galaxy-Galaxy Lensing in the Illustris-1 Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brainerd, Tereasa G.

2017-06-01

In Cold Dark Matter universes, the dark matter halos of galaxies are expected to be triaxial, leading to a surface mass density that is not circularly symmetric. In principle, this "flattening" of the dark matter halos of galaxies should be observable as an anisotropy in the weak galaxy-galaxy lensing signal. The degree to which the weak lensing signal is observed to be anisotropic, however, will depend strongly on the degree to which mass (i.e., the dark matter) is aligned with light in the lensing galaxies. That is, the anisotropy will be maximized when the major axis of the projected mass distribution is well aligned with the projected light distribution of the lens galaxies. Observational studies of anisotropic galaxy-galaxy lensing have found an anisotropic weak lensing signal around massive, red galaxies. Detecting the signal around blue, disky galaxies has, however, been more elusive. A possible explanation for this is that mass and light are well aligned within red galaxies and poorly aligned within blue galaxies (an explanation that is supported by studies of the locations of satellites of large, relatively isolated galaxies). Here we compute the weak lensing signal of isolated central galaxies in the Illustris-1 simulation. We compute the anisotropy of the weak lensing signal using two definitions of the geometry: [1] the major axis of the projected dark matter mass distribution and [2] the major axis of the projected stellar mass. On projected scales less than 15% of the virial radius, an anisotropy of order 10% is found for both definitions of the geometry. On larger scales, the anisotropy computed relative to the major axis of the projected light distribution is less than the anisotropy computed relative to the major axis of the projected dark matter. On projected scales of order the virial radius, the anisotropy obtained when using the major axis of the light is an order of magnitude less than the anisotropy obtained when using the major axis of the dark matter. The suppression of the anisotropy when using the major axis of the light to define the geometry is indicative of a significant misalignment of mass and light in the Illustris-1 galaxies at large physical radii.

Ward identities and consistency relations for the large scale structure with multiple species

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peloso, Marco; Pietroni, Massimo, E-mail: peloso@physics.umn.edu, E-mail: pietroni@pd.infn.it

2014-04-01

We present fully nonlinear consistency relations for the squeezed bispectrum of Large Scale Structure. These relations hold when the matter component of the Universe is composed of one or more species, and generalize those obtained in [1,2] in the single species case. The multi-species relations apply to the standard dark matter + baryons scenario, as well as to the case in which some of the fields are auxiliary quantities describing a particular population, such as dark matter halos or a specific galaxy class. If a large scale velocity bias exists between the different populations new terms appear in the consistencymore » relations with respect to the single species case. As an illustration, we discuss two physical cases in which such a velocity bias can exist: (1) a new long range scalar force in the dark matter sector (resulting in a violation of the equivalence principle in the dark matter-baryon system), and (2) the distribution of dark matter halos relative to that of the underlying dark matter field.« less

Probing the statistics of primordial fluctuations and their evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaztanaga, Enrique; Yokoyama, Jun'ichi

1993-01-01

The statistical distribution of fluctuations on various scales is analyzed in terms of the counts in cells of smoothed density fields, using volume-limited samples of galaxy redshift catalogs. It is shown that the distribution on large scales, with volume average of the two-point correlation function of the smoothed field less than about 0.05, is consistent with Gaussian. Statistics are shown to agree remarkably well with the negative binomial distribution, which has hierarchial correlations and a Gaussian behavior at large scales. If these observed properties correspond to the matter distribution, they suggest that our universe started with Gaussian fluctuations and evolved keeping hierarchial form.

Gravitational Lensing in Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wambsganss, Joachim

1998-11-01

In addition to multiply-imaged quasars, a number of other aspects of lensing have been discovered: For example, giant luminous arcs, quasar microlensing, Einstein rings, galactic microlensing events, arclets, and weak gravitational lensing. At present, literally hundreds of individual gravitational lens phenomena are known. Although still in its childhood, lensing has established itself as a very useful astrophysical tool with some remarkable successes. It has contributed significant new results in areas as different as the cosmological distance scale, the large scale matter distribution in the universe, mass and mass distribution of galaxy clusters, the physics of quasars, dark matter in galaxy halos, and galaxy structure. Looking at these successes in the recent past we predict an even more luminous future for gravitational lensing.

The relationship between the galactic matter distribution, cosmic ray dynamics, and gamma ray production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kniffen, D. A.; Fichtel, C. E.; Thompson, D. J.

1976-01-01

Theoretical considerations and analysis of the results of gamma ray astronomy suggest that the galactic cosmic rays are dynamically coupled to the interstellar matter through the magnetic fields, and hence the cosmic ray density should be enhanced where the matter density is greatest on the scale of galactic arms. This concept has been explored in a galactic model using recent 21 cm radio observations of the neutral hydrogen and 2.6 mm observations of carbon monoxide, which is considered to be a tracer of molecular hydrogen. The model assumes: (1) cosmic rays are galactic and not universal; (2) on the scale of galactic arms, the cosmic ray column (surface) density is proportional to the total interstellar gas column density; (3) the cosmic ray scale height is significantly larger than the scale height of the matter; and (4) ours is a spiral galaxy characterized by an arm to interarm density ratio of about 3:1.

Novel gamma-ray signatures of PeV-scale dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanco, Carlos; Harding, J. Patrick; Hooper, Dan

2018-04-01

The gamma-ray annihilation and decay products of very heavy dark matter particles can undergo attenuation through pair production, leading to the development of electromagnetic cascades. This has a significant impact not only on the spectral shape of the gamma-ray signal, but also on the angular distribution of the observed photons. Such phenomena are particularly important in light of the new HAWC experiment, which provides unprecedented sensitivity to multi-TeV photons and thus to very heavy dark matter particles. In this study, we focus on dark matter in the 100 TeV–100 PeV mass range, and calculate the spectral and angular distribution of gamma-rays from dwarf galaxies and from nearby galaxy clusters in this class of models.

Measurement of the cosmic microwave background polarization lensing power spectrum with the POLARBEAR experiment.

PubMed

Ade, P A R; Akiba, Y; Anthony, A E; Arnold, K; Atlas, M; Barron, D; Boettger, D; Borrill, J; Chapman, S; Chinone, Y; Dobbs, M; Elleflot, T; Errard, J; Fabbian, G; Feng, C; Flanigan, D; Gilbert, A; Grainger, W; Halverson, N W; Hasegawa, M; Hattori, K; Hazumi, M; Holzapfel, W L; Hori, Y; Howard, J; Hyland, P; Inoue, Y; Jaehnig, G C; Jaffe, A; Keating, B; Kermish, Z; Keskitalo, R; Kisner, T; Le Jeune, M; Lee, A T; Linder, E; Leitch, E M; Lungu, M; Matsuda, F; Matsumura, T; Meng, X; Miller, N J; Morii, H; Moyerman, S; Myers, M J; Navaroli, M; Nishino, H; Paar, H; Peloton, J; Quealy, E; Rebeiz, G; Reichardt, C L; Richards, P L; Ross, C; Schanning, I; Schenck, D E; Sherwin, B; Shimizu, A; Shimmin, C; Shimon, M; Siritanasak, P; Smecher, G; Spieler, H; Stebor, N; Steinbach, B; Stompor, R; Suzuki, A; Takakura, S; Tomaru, T; Wilson, B; Yadav, A; Zahn, O

2014-07-11

Gravitational lensing due to the large-scale distribution of matter in the cosmos distorts the primordial cosmic microwave background (CMB) and thereby induces new, small-scale B-mode polarization. This signal carries detailed information about the distribution of all the gravitating matter between the observer and CMB last scattering surface. We report the first direct evidence for polarization lensing based on purely CMB information, from using the four-point correlations of even- and odd-parity E- and B-mode polarization mapped over ∼30 square degrees of the sky measured by the POLARBEAR experiment. These data were analyzed using a blind analysis framework and checked for spurious systematic contamination using null tests and simulations. Evidence for the signal of polarization lensing and lensing B modes is found at 4.2σ (stat+sys) significance. The amplitude of matter fluctuations is measured with a precision of 27%, and is found to be consistent with the Lambda cold dark matter cosmological model. This measurement demonstrates a new technique, capable of mapping all gravitating matter in the Universe, sensitive to the sum of neutrino masses, and essential for cleaning the lensing B-mode signal in searches for primordial gravitational waves.

Tully-Fisher relation, galactic rotation curves and dissipative mirror dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Foot, R., E-mail: rfoot@unimelb.edu.au

2014-12-01

If dark matter is dissipative then the distribution of dark matter within galactic halos can be governed by dissipation, heating and hydrostatic equilibrium. Previous work has shown that a specific model, in the framework of mirror dark matter, can explain several empirical galactic scaling relations. It is shown here that this dynamical halo model implies a quasi-isothermal dark matter density, ρ(r) ≅ ρ{sub 0}r{sub 0}{sup 2}/(r{sup 2}+r{sub 0}{sup 2}), where the core radius, r{sub 0}, scales with disk scale length, r{sub D}, via r{sub 0}/kpc ≈ 1.4(r{sub D}/kpc). Additionally, the product ρ{sub 0}r{sub 0} is roughly constant, i.e. independent ofmore » galaxy size (the constant is set by the parameters of the model). The derived dark matter density profile implies that the galactic rotation velocity satisfies the Tully-Fisher relation, L{sub B}∝v{sup 3}{sub max}, where v{sub max} is the maximal rotational velocity. Examples of rotation curves resulting from this dynamics are given.« less

Large-scale velocities and primordial non-Gaussianity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmidt, Fabian

2010-09-15

We study the peculiar velocities of density peaks in the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity. Rare, high-density peaks in the initial density field can be identified with tracers such as galaxies and clusters in the evolved matter distribution. The distribution of relative velocities of peaks is derived in the large-scale limit using two different approaches based on a local biasing scheme. Both approaches agree, and show that halos still stream with the dark matter locally as well as statistically, i.e. they do not acquire a velocity bias. Nonetheless, even a moderate degree of (not necessarily local) non-Gaussianity induces a significant skewnessmore » ({approx}0.1-0.2) in the relative velocity distribution, making it a potentially interesting probe of non-Gaussianity on intermediate to large scales. We also study two-point correlations in redshift space. The well-known Kaiser formula is still a good approximation on large scales, if the Gaussian halo bias is replaced with its (scale-dependent) non-Gaussian generalization. However, there are additional terms not encompassed by this simple formula which become relevant on smaller scales (k > or approx. 0.01h/Mpc). Depending on the allowed level of non-Gaussianity, these could be of relevance for future large spectroscopic surveys.« less

Cold dark matter confronts the cosmic microwave background - Large-angular-scale anisotropies in Omega sub 0 + lambda 1 models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorski, Krzysztof M.; Silk, Joseph; Vittorio, Nicola

1992-01-01

A new technique is used to compute the correlation function for large-angle cosmic microwave background anisotropies resulting from both the space and time variations in the gravitational potential in flat, vacuum-dominated, cold dark matter cosmological models. Such models with Omega sub 0 of about 0.2, fit the excess power, relative to the standard cold dark matter model, observed in the large-scale galaxy distribution and allow a high value for the Hubble constant. The low order multipoles and quadrupole anisotropy that are potentially observable by COBE and other ongoing experiments should definitively test these models.

Lyman-α forest constraints on decaying dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mei-Yu; Croft, Rupert A. C.; Peter, Annika H. G.; Zentner, Andrew R.; Purcell, Chris W.

2013-12-01

We present an analysis of high-resolution N-body simulations of decaying dark matter cosmologies focusing on the statistical properties of the transmitted Lyman-α (Lyα) forest flux in the high-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM). In this type of model a dark matter particle decays into a slightly less massive stable dark matter daughter particle and a comparably light particle. The small mass splitting provides a nonrelativistic kick velocity Vk=cΔM/M to the daughter particle resulting in free-streaming and subsequent damping of small-scale density fluctuations. Current Lyα forest power spectrum measurements probe comoving scales up to ˜2-3h-1Mpc at redshifts z˜2-4, providing one of the most robust ways to probe cosmological density fluctuations on relatively small scales. The suppression of structure growth due to the free-streaming of dark matter daughter particles also has a significant impact on the neutral hydrogen cloud distribution, which traces the underlying dark matter distribution well at high redshift. We exploit Lyα forest power spectrum measurements to constrain the amount of free-streaming of dark matter in such models and thereby place limits on decaying dark matter based only on the dynamics of cosmological perturbations without any assumptions about the interactions of the decay products. We use a suite of dark-matter-only simulations together with the fluctuating Gunn-Peterson approximation to derive the Lyα flux distribution. We argue that this approach should be sufficient for our main purpose, which is to demonstrate the power of the Lyα forest to constrain decaying dark matter models. We find that Sloan Digital Sky Survey 1D Lyα forest power spectrum data place a lifetime-dependent upper limit Vk≲30-70km/s for decay lifetimes ≲10Gyr. This is the most stringent model-independent bound on invisible dark matter decays with small mass splittings. For larger mass splittings (large Vk), Lyα forest data restrict the dark matter lifetime to Γ-1≳40Gyr. We leave the calibration of IGM properties using high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations for future work, which might become necessary if we consider data with higher precision such as the Baryon Oscillation and Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) Lyα data. Forthcoming BOSS data should be able to provide more stringent constraints on exotic dark matter, mainly because the larger BOSS quasar spectrum sample will significantly reduce statistical errors.

THE EXTREME SMALL SCALES: DO SATELLITE GALAXIES TRACE DARK MATTER?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watson, Douglas F.; Berlind, Andreas A.; McBride, Cameron K.

2012-04-10

We investigate the radial distribution of galaxies within their host dark matter halos as measured in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey by modeling their small-scale clustering. Specifically, we model the Jiang et al. measurements of the galaxy two-point correlation function down to very small projected separations (10 h{sup -1} kpc {<=} r {<=} 400 h{sup -1} kpc), in a wide range of luminosity threshold samples (absolute r-band magnitudes of -18 up to -23). We use a halo occupation distribution framework with free parameters that specify both the number and spatial distribution of galaxies within their host dark matter halos. Wemore » assume one galaxy resides in the halo center and additional galaxies are considered satellites that follow a radial density profile similar to the dark matter Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, except that the concentration and inner slope are allowed to vary. We find that in low luminosity samples (M{sub r} < -19.5 and lower), satellite galaxies have radial profiles that are consistent with NFW. M{sub r} < -20 and brighter satellite galaxies have radial profiles with significantly steeper inner slopes than NFW (we find inner logarithmic slopes ranging from -1.6 to -2.1, as opposed to -1 for NFW). We define a useful metric of concentration, M{sub 1/10}, which is the fraction of satellite galaxies (or mass) that are enclosed within one-tenth of the virial radius of a halo. We find that M{sub 1/10} for low-luminosity satellite galaxies agrees with NFW, whereas for luminous galaxies it is 2.5-4 times higher, demonstrating that these galaxies are substantially more centrally concentrated within their dark matter halos than the dark matter itself. Our results therefore suggest that the processes that govern the spatial distribution of galaxies, once they have merged into larger halos, must be luminosity dependent, such that luminous galaxies become poor tracers of the underlying dark matter.« less

CMB hemispherical asymmetry from non-linear isocurvature perturbations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Assadullahi, Hooshyar; Wands, David; Firouzjahi, Hassan

2015-04-01

We investigate whether non-adiabatic perturbations from inflation could produce an asymmetric distribution of temperature anisotropies on large angular scales in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We use a generalised non-linear δ N formalism to calculate the non-Gaussianity of the primordial density and isocurvature perturbations due to the presence of non-adiabatic, but approximately scale-invariant field fluctuations during multi-field inflation. This local-type non-Gaussianity leads to a correlation between very long wavelength inhomogeneities, larger than our observable horizon, and smaller scale fluctuations in the radiation and matter density. Matter isocurvature perturbations contribute primarily to low CMB multipoles and hence can lead to a hemisphericalmore » asymmetry on large angular scales, with negligible asymmetry on smaller scales. In curvaton models, where the matter isocurvature perturbation is partly correlated with the primordial density perturbation, we are unable to obtain a significant asymmetry on large angular scales while respecting current observational constraints on the observed quadrupole. However in the axion model, where the matter isocurvature and primordial density perturbations are uncorrelated, we find it may be possible to obtain a significant asymmetry due to isocurvature modes on large angular scales. Such an isocurvature origin for the hemispherical asymmetry would naturally give rise to a distinctive asymmetry in the CMB polarisation on large scales.« less

A 14 h {sup −3} Gpc{sup 3} study of cosmic homogeneity using BOSS DR12 quasar sample

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Laurent, Pierre; Goff, Jean-Marc Le; Burtin, Etienne

2016-11-01

The BOSS quasar sample is used to study cosmic homogeneity with a 3D survey in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 2.8. We measure the count-in-sphere, N (< r ), i.e. the average number of objects around a given object, and its logarithmic derivative, the fractal correlation dimension, D {sub 2}( r ). For a homogeneous distribution N (< r ) ∝ r {sup 3} and D {sub 2}( r ) = 3. Due to the uncertainty on tracer density evolution, 3D surveys can only probe homogeneity up to a redshift dependence, i.e. they probe so-called ''spatial isotropy'. Ourmore » data demonstrate spatial isotropy of the quasar distribution in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 2.8 in a model-independent way, independent of any FLRW fiducial cosmology, resulting in 3 − ( D {sub 2}) < 1.7 × 10{sup −3} (2 σ) over the range 250 < r < 1200 h {sup −1} Mpc for the quasar distribution. If we assume that quasars do not have a bias much less than unity, this implies spatial isotropy of the matter distribution on large scales. Then, combining with the Copernican principle, we finally get homogeneity of the matter distribution on large scales. Alternatively, using a flat ΛCDM fiducial cosmology with CMB-derived parameters, and measuring the quasar bias relative to this ΛCDM model, our data provide a consistency check of the model, in terms of how homogeneous the Universe is on different scales. D {sub 2}( r ) is found to be compatible with our ΛCDM model on the whole 10 < r < 1200 h {sup −1} Mpc range. For the matter distribution we obtain 3 − ( D {sub 2}) < 5 × 10{sup −5} (2 σ) over the range 250 < r < 1200 h {sup −1} Mpc, consistent with homogeneity on large scales.« less

The weight distribution of coarse particulate organic matter exported from an alpine headwater stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turowski, Jens; Badoux, Alexandre; Bunte, Kristin; Rickli, Christian; Federspiel, Nicole

2013-04-01

Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) spans sizes from 1 mm particles, weighing less than 1 mg, to large logs and whole trees, which may weigh several hundred kilograms. Different size and weight classes play different roles in stream environments, from being the prime source of energy in stream ecosystems to macroscopically determining channel morphology and local hydraulics. We show that a single scaling exponent can describe the weight distribution of CPOM transported in a mountain stream. This exponent is independent of discharge and valid for particle weights spanning almost seven orders of magnitude. Together with a rating curve of CPOM transport rates with discharge, we discuss the importance of the scaling exponent for measuring strategies, natural hazard mitigation and ecosystems.

Cold dark matter and degree-scale cosmic microwave background anisotropy statistics after COBE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorski, Krzysztof M.; Stompor, Radoslaw; Juszkiewicz, Roman

1993-01-01

We conduct a Monte Carlo simulation of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy in the UCSB South Pole 1991 degree-scale experiment. We examine cold dark matter cosmology with large-scale structure seeded by the Harrison-Zel'dovich hierarchy of Gaussian-distributed primordial inhomogeneities normalized to the COBE-DMR measurement of large-angle CMB anisotropy. We find it statistically implausible (in the sense of low cumulative probability F lower than 5 percent, of not measuring a cosmological delta-T/T signal) that the degree-scale cosmological CMB anisotropy predicted in such models could have escaped a detection at the level of sensitivity achieved in the South Pole 1991 experiment.

DEMNUni: massive neutrinos and the bispectrum of large scale structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruggeri, Rossana; Castorina, Emanuele; Carbone, Carmelita; Sefusatti, Emiliano

2018-03-01

The main effect of massive neutrinos on the large-scale structure consists in a few percent suppression of matter perturbations on all scales below their free-streaming scale. Such effect is of particular importance as it allows to constraint the value of the sum of neutrino masses from measurements of the galaxy power spectrum. In this work, we present the first measurements of the next higher-order correlation function, the bispectrum, from N-body simulations that include massive neutrinos as particles. This is the simplest statistics characterising the non-Gaussian properties of the matter and dark matter halos distributions. We investigate, in the first place, the suppression due to massive neutrinos on the matter bispectrum, comparing our measurements with the simplest perturbation theory predictions, finding the approximation of neutrinos contributing at quadratic order in perturbation theory to provide a good fit to the measurements in the simulations. On the other hand, as expected, a linear approximation for neutrino perturbations would lead to Script O(fν) errors on the total matter bispectrum at large scales. We then attempt an extension of previous results on the universality of linear halo bias in neutrino cosmologies, to non-linear and non-local corrections finding consistent results with the power spectrum analysis.

Halo ellipticity of GAMA galaxy groups from KiDS weak lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Uitert, Edo; Hoekstra, Henk; Joachimi, Benjamin; Schneider, Peter; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss; Choi, Ami; Erben, Thomas; Heymans, Catherine; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Hopkins, Andrew M.; Klaes, Dominik; Kuijken, Konrad; Nakajima, Reiko; Napolitano, Nicola R.; Schrabback, Tim; Valentijn, Edwin; Viola, Massimo

2017-06-01

We constrain the average halo ellipticity of ˜2600 galaxy groups from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, using the weak gravitational lensing signal measured from the overlapping Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS). To do so, we quantify the azimuthal dependence of the stacked lensing signal around seven different proxies for the orientation of the dark matter distribution, as it is a priori unknown which one traces the orientation best. On small scales, the major axis of the brightest group/cluster member (BCG) provides the best proxy, leading to a clear detection of an anisotropic signal. In order to relate that to a halo ellipticity, we have to adopt a model density profile. We derive new expressions for the quadrupole moments of the shear field given an elliptical model surface mass density profile. Modelling the signal with an elliptical Navarro-Frenk-White profile on scales R < 250 kpc, and assuming that the BCG is perfectly aligned with the dark matter, we find an average halo ellipticity of ɛh = 0.38 ± 0.12, in fair agreement with results from cold dark matter only simulations. On larger scales, the lensing signal around the BCGs becomes isotropic and the distribution of group satellites provides a better proxy for the halo's orientation instead, leading to a 3σ-4σ detection of a non-zero halo ellipticity at 250 < R < 750 kpc. Our results suggest that the distribution of stars enclosed within a certain radius forms a good proxy for the orientation of the dark matter within that radius, which has also been observed in hydrodynamical simulations.

Deep-Subwavelength Resolving and Manipulating of Hidden Chirality in Achiral Nanostructures.

PubMed

Zu, Shuai; Han, Tianyang; Jiang, Meiling; Lin, Feng; Zhu, Xing; Fang, Zheyu

2018-04-24

The chiral state of light plays a vital role in light-matter interactions and the consequent revolution of nanophotonic devices and advanced modern chiroptics. As the light-matter interaction goes into the nano- and quantum world, numerous chiroptical technologies and quantum devices require precise knowledge of chiral electromagnetic modes and chiral radiative local density of states (LDOS) distributions in detail, which directly determine the chiral light-matter interaction for applications such as chiral light detection and emission. With classical optical techniques failing to directly measure the chiral radiative LDOS, deep-subwavelength imaging and control of circular polarization (CP) light associated phenomena are introduced into the agenda. Here, we simultaneously reveal the hidden chiral electromagnetic mode and acquire its chiral radiative LDOS distribution of a single symmetric nanostructure at the deep-subwavelength scale by using CP-resolved cathodoluminescence (CL) microscopy. The chirality of the symmetric nanostructure under normally incident light excitation, resulting from the interference between the symmetric and antisymmetric modes of the V-shaped nanoantenna, is hidden in the near field with a giant chiral distribution (∼99%) at the arm-ends, which enables the circularly polarized CL emission from the radiative LDOS hot-spot and the following active helicity control at the deep-subwavelength scale. The proposed V-shaped nanostructure as a functional unit is further applied to the helicity-dependent binary encoding and the two-dimensional display applications. The proposed physical principle and experimental configuration can promote the future chiral characterization and manipulation at the deep-subwavelength scale and provide direct guidelines for the optimization of chiral light-matter interactions for future quantum studies.

Modeling fluid diffusion in cerebral white matter with random walks in complex environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levy, Amichai; Cwilich, Gabriel; Buldyrev, Sergey V.; Weeden, Van J.

2012-02-01

Recent studies with diffusion MRI have shown new aspects of geometric order in the brain, including complex path coherence within the cerebral cortex, and organization of cerebral white matter and connectivity across multiple scales. The main assumption of these studies is that water molecules diffuse along myelin sheaths of neuron axons in the white matter and thus the anisotropy of their diffusion tensor observed by MRI can provide information about the direction of the axons connecting different parts of the brain. We model the diffusion of particles confined in the space of between the bundles of cylindrical obstacles representing fibrous structures of various orientations. We have investigated the directional properties of the diffusion, by studying the angular distribution of the end point of the random walks as a function of their length, to understand the scale over which the distribution randomizes. We will show evidence of qualitative change in the behavior of the diffusion for different volume fractions of obstacles. Comparisons with three-dimensional MRI images will be illustrated.

Smooth halos in the cosmic web

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaite, José, E-mail: jose.gaite@upm.es

Dark matter halos can be defined as smooth distributions of dark matter placed in a non-smooth cosmic web structure. This definition of halos demands a precise definition of smoothness and a characterization of the manner in which the transition from smooth halos to the cosmic web takes place. We introduce entropic measures of smoothness, related to measures of inequality previously used in economy and with the advantage of being connected with standard methods of multifractal analysis already used for characterizing the cosmic web structure in cold dark matter N-body simulations. These entropic measures provide us with a quantitative description ofmore » the transition from the small scales portrayed as a distribution of halos to the larger scales portrayed as a cosmic web and, therefore, allow us to assign definite sizes to halos. However, these ''smoothness sizes'' have no direct relation to the virial radii. Finally, we discuss the influence of N-body discreteness parameters on smoothness.« less

Tools and Techniques for Adding Fault Tolerance to Distributed and Parallel Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-07

is rapidly approaching dimensions where fault tolerance can no longer be ignored. No matter how reliable the i .nd~ividual components May be, the...The scale of parallel computing systems is rapidly approaching dimensions where 41to’- erance can no longer be ignored. No matter how relitble the...those employed in the Tandem [71 and Stratus [35] systems, is clearly impractical. * No matter how reliable the individual components are, the sheer

The shape of galaxy dark matter haloes in massive galaxy clusters: insights from strong gravitational lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jauzac, Mathilde; Harvey, David; Massey, Richard

2018-07-01

We assess how much unused strong lensing information is available in the deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging and Very Large Telescope/Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer spectroscopy of the Frontier Field clusters. As a pilot study, we analyse galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (z = 0.397, M(R < 200 kpc) = 1.6 × 1014 M⊙), which has 141 multiple images with spectroscopic redshifts. We find that many additional parameters in a cluster mass model can be constrained, and that adding even small amounts of extra freedom to a model can dramatically improve its figures of merit. We use this information to constrain the distribution of dark matter around cluster member galaxies, simultaneously with the cluster's large-scale mass distribution. We find tentative evidence that some galaxies' dark matter has surprisingly similar ellipticity to their stars (unlike in the field, where it is more spherical), but that its orientation is often misaligned. When non-coincident dark matter and stellar haloes are allowed, the model improves by 35 per cent. This technique may provide a new way to investigate the processes and time-scales on which dark matter is stripped from galaxies as they fall into a massive cluster. Our preliminary conclusions will be made more robust by analysing the remaining five Frontier Field clusters.

Quantifying Stock Return Distributions in Financial Markets

PubMed Central

Botta, Federico; Moat, Helen Susannah; Stanley, H. Eugene; Preis, Tobias

2015-01-01

Being able to quantify the probability of large price changes in stock markets is of crucial importance in understanding financial crises that affect the lives of people worldwide. Large changes in stock market prices can arise abruptly, within a matter of minutes, or develop across much longer time scales. Here, we analyze a dataset comprising the stocks forming the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a second by second resolution in the period from January 2008 to July 2010 in order to quantify the distribution of changes in market prices at a range of time scales. We find that the tails of the distributions of logarithmic price changes, or returns, exhibit power law decays for time scales ranging from 300 seconds to 3600 seconds. For larger time scales, we find that the distributions tails exhibit exponential decay. Our findings may inform the development of models of market behavior across varying time scales. PMID:26327593

Quantifying Stock Return Distributions in Financial Markets.

PubMed

Botta, Federico; Moat, Helen Susannah; Stanley, H Eugene; Preis, Tobias

2015-01-01

Being able to quantify the probability of large price changes in stock markets is of crucial importance in understanding financial crises that affect the lives of people worldwide. Large changes in stock market prices can arise abruptly, within a matter of minutes, or develop across much longer time scales. Here, we analyze a dataset comprising the stocks forming the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a second by second resolution in the period from January 2008 to July 2010 in order to quantify the distribution of changes in market prices at a range of time scales. We find that the tails of the distributions of logarithmic price changes, or returns, exhibit power law decays for time scales ranging from 300 seconds to 3600 seconds. For larger time scales, we find that the distributions tails exhibit exponential decay. Our findings may inform the development of models of market behavior across varying time scales.

Critical Branching Neural Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kello, Christopher T.

2013-01-01

It is now well-established that intrinsic variations in human neural and behavioral activity tend to exhibit scaling laws in their fluctuations and distributions. The meaning of these scaling laws is an ongoing matter of debate between isolable causes versus pervasive causes. A spiking neural network model is presented that self-tunes to critical…

The median density of the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stücker, Jens; Busch, Philipp; White, Simon D. M.

2018-07-01

Despite the fact that the mean matter density of the Universe has been measured to an accuracy of a few per cent within the standard Λcold dark matter (ΛCDM) paradigm, its median density is not known even to the order of magnitude. Typical points lie in low-density regions and are not part of a collapsed structure of any scale. Locally, the dark matter distribution is then simply a stretched version of that in the early Universe. In this single-stream regime, the distribution of unsmoothed density is sensitive to the initial power spectrum on all scales, in particular on very small scales, and hence to the nature of the dark matter. It cannot be estimated reliably using conventional cosmological simulations because of the enormous dynamic range involved, but a suitable excursion set procedure can be used instead. For the Planck cosmological parameters, a 100 GeV WIMP, corresponding to a free-streaming mass ˜10-6M⊙, results in a median density of ˜4 × 10-3 in units of the mean density, whereas a 10 μeV axion with free-streaming mass ˜10-12M⊙ gives ˜3 × 10-3, and warm dark matter (WDM) with a (thermal relic) mass of 1 keV gives ˜8 × 10-2. In CDM (but not in WDM) universes, single-stream regions are predicted to be topologically isolated by the excursion set formalism. A test by direct N-body simulations seems to confirm this prediction, although it is still subject to finite size and resolution effects. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any of these properties is observable and so suitable for constraining the properties of dark matter.

Dark matter maps reveal cosmic scaffolding.

PubMed

Massey, Richard; Rhodes, Jason; Ellis, Richard; Scoville, Nick; Leauthaud, Alexie; Finoguenov, Alexis; Capak, Peter; Bacon, David; Aussel, Hervé; Kneib, Jean-Paul; Koekemoer, Anton; McCracken, Henry; Mobasher, Bahram; Pires, Sandrine; Refregier, Alexandre; Sasaki, Shunji; Starck, Jean-Luc; Taniguchi, Yoshi; Taylor, Andy; Taylor, James

2007-01-18

Ordinary baryonic particles (such as protons and neutrons) account for only one-sixth of the total matter in the Universe. The remainder is a mysterious 'dark matter' component, which does not interact via electromagnetism and thus neither emits nor reflects light. As dark matter cannot be seen directly using traditional observations, very little is currently known about its properties. It does interact via gravity, and is most effectively probed through gravitational lensing: the deflection of light from distant galaxies by the gravitational attraction of foreground mass concentrations. This is a purely geometrical effect that is free of astrophysical assumptions and sensitive to all matter--whether baryonic or dark. Here we show high-fidelity maps of the large-scale distribution of dark matter, resolved in both angle and depth. We find a loose network of filaments, growing over time, which intersect in massive structures at the locations of clusters of galaxies. Our results are consistent with predictions of gravitationally induced structure formation, in which the initial, smooth distribution of dark matter collapses into filaments then into clusters, forming a gravitational scaffold into which gas can accumulate, and stars can be built.

Constraining particle dark matter using local galaxy distribution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ando, Shin’ichiro; Ishiwata, Koji

It has been long discussed that cosmic rays may contain signals of dark matter. In the last couple of years an anomaly of cosmic-ray positrons has drawn a lot of attentions, and recently an excess in cosmic-ray anti-proton has been reported by AMS-02 collaboration. Both excesses may indicate towards decaying or annihilating dark matter with a mass of around 1–10 TeV. In this article we study the gamma rays from dark matter and constraints from cross correlations with distribution of galaxies, particularly in a local volume. We find that gamma rays due to inverse-Compton process have large intensity, and hencemore » they give stringent constraints on dark matter scenarios in the TeV scale mass regime. Taking the recent developments in modeling astrophysical gamma-ray sources as well as comprehensive possibilities of the final state products of dark matter decay or annihilation into account, we show that the parameter regions of decaying dark matter that are suggested to explain the excesses are excluded. We also discuss the constrains on annihilating scenarios.« less

Kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect with Projected Fields: A Novel Probe of the Baryon Distribution with Planck, WMAP, and WISE Data.

PubMed

Hill, J Colin; Ferraro, Simone; Battaglia, Nick; Liu, Jia; Spergel, David N

2016-07-29

The kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (KSZ) effect-the Doppler boosting of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons due to Compton scattering off free electrons with nonzero bulk velocity-probes the abundance and the distribution of baryons in the Universe. All KSZ measurements to date have explicitly required spectroscopic redshifts. Here, we implement a novel estimator for the KSZ-large-scale structure cross-correlation based on projected fields: it does not require redshift estimates for individual objects, allowing KSZ measurements from large-scale imaging surveys. We apply this estimator to cleaned CMB temperature maps constructed from Planck and WMAP data and a galaxy sample from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We measure the KSZ effect at 3.8σ-4.5σ significance, depending on the use of additional WISE galaxy bias constraints. We verify that our measurements are robust to possible dust emission from the WISE galaxies. Assuming the standard Λ cold dark matter cosmology, we directly constrain (f_{b}/0.158)(f_{free}/1.0)=1.48±0.19 (statistical error only) at redshift z≈0.4, where f_{b} is the fraction of matter in baryonic form and f_{free} is the free electron fraction. This is the tightest KSZ-derived constraint reported to date on these parameters. Astronomers have long known that baryons do not trace dark matter on ∼ kiloparsec scales and there has been strong evidence that galaxies are baryon poor. The consistency between the f_{b} value found here and the values inferred from analyses of the primordial CMB and big bang nucleosynthesis verifies that baryons approximately trace the dark matter distribution down to ∼ megaparsec scales. While our projected-field estimator is already competitive with other KSZ approaches when applied to current data sets (because we are able to use the full-sky WISE photometric survey), it will yield enormous signal-to-noise ratios when applied to upcoming high-resolution, multifrequency CMB surveys.

Kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect with Projected Fields: A Novel Probe of the Baryon Distribution with Planck, WMAP, and WISE Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, J. Colin; Ferraro, Simone; Battaglia, Nick; Liu, Jia; Spergel, David N.

2016-07-01

The kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (KSZ) effect—the Doppler boosting of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons due to Compton scattering off free electrons with nonzero bulk velocity—probes the abundance and the distribution of baryons in the Universe. All KSZ measurements to date have explicitly required spectroscopic redshifts. Here, we implement a novel estimator for the KSZ—large-scale structure cross-correlation based on projected fields: it does not require redshift estimates for individual objects, allowing KSZ measurements from large-scale imaging surveys. We apply this estimator to cleaned CMB temperature maps constructed from Planck and WMAP data and a galaxy sample from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We measure the KSZ effect at 3.8 σ - 4.5 σ significance, depending on the use of additional WISE galaxy bias constraints. We verify that our measurements are robust to possible dust emission from the WISE galaxies. Assuming the standard Λ cold dark matter cosmology, we directly constrain (fb/0.158 ) (ffree/1.0 ) =1.48 ±0.19 (statistical error only) at redshift z ≈0.4 , where fb is the fraction of matter in baryonic form and ffree is the free electron fraction. This is the tightest KSZ-derived constraint reported to date on these parameters. Astronomers have long known that baryons do not trace dark matter on ˜ kiloparsec scales and there has been strong evidence that galaxies are baryon poor. The consistency between the fb value found here and the values inferred from analyses of the primordial CMB and big bang nucleosynthesis verifies that baryons approximately trace the dark matter distribution down to ˜ megaparsec scales. While our projected-field estimator is already competitive with other KSZ approaches when applied to current data sets (because we are able to use the full-sky WISE photometric survey), it will yield enormous signal-to-noise ratios when applied to upcoming high-resolution, multifrequency CMB surveys.

Modeling The Distribution Of Dark Matter And Its Connection To Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yao-Yuan

2016-06-01

Despite the mysterious nature of dark matter and dark energy, the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model provides a reasonably accurate description of the evolution of the cosmos and the distribution of galaxies. Today, we are set to tackle more specific and quantitative questions about the galaxy formation physics, the nature of dark matter, and the connection between the dark and the visible components. The answers to these questions are however elusive, because dark matter is not directly observable, and various unknowns lie between what we can observe and what we can calculate. Hence, mathematical models that bridge the observable and the calculable are essential for the study of modern cosmology. The aim of my thesis work is to improve existing models and also to construct new models for various aspects of the dark matter distribution, as dark matter structures the cosmic web and forms the nests of visible galaxies. Utilizing a series of cosmological dark matter simulations which span a wide dynamical range and a statistical sample of zoom-in simulations which focus on individual dark matter halos, we develop models for the spatial and velocity distribution of dark matter particles, the abundance of dark substructures, and the empirical connection between dark matter and galaxies. As more precise observational results become available, more accurate models are then required to test the consistency between these results and the LCDM predictions. For all the models we investigate, we find that the formation history of dark matter halos always plays a crucial role. Neglecting the halo formation history would result in systematic biases when we interpret various observational results, including dark matter direct detection experiments, the detection of dark substructures with strong-lensed systems, the large-scale spatial clustering of galaxies, and the abundance of dwarf galaxies. Rectifying this, our work will enable us to fully utilize the complementary power of diverse observational datasets to test the LCDM model and to seek new physics.

Large-scale structure in a texture-seeded cold dark matter cosmogony

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Changbom; Spergel, David N.; Turok, Nail

1991-01-01

This paper studies the formation of large-scale structure by global texture in a flat universe dominated by cold dark matter. A code for evolution of the texture fields was combined with an N-body code for evolving the dark matter. The results indicate some promising aspects: with only one free parameter, the observed galaxy-galaxy correlation function is reproduced, clusters of galaxies are found to be significantly clustered on a scale of 20-50/h Mpc, and coherent structures of over 50/h Mpc in the galaxy distribution were found. The large-scale streaming motions observed are in good agreement with the observations: the average magnitude of the velocity field smoothed over 30/h Mpc is 430 km/sec. Global texture produces a cosmic Mach number that is compatible with observation. Also, significant evolution of clusters at low redshift was seen. Possible problems for the theory include too high velocity dispersions in clusters, and voids which are not as empty as those observed.

Imprints of dark energy on cosmic structure formation - I. Realistic quintessence models and the non-linear matter power spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alimi, J.-M.; Füzfa, A.; Boucher, V.; Rasera, Y.; Courtin, J.; Corasaniti, P.-S.

2010-01-01

Quintessence has been proposed to account for dark energy (DE) in the Universe. This component causes a typical modification of the background cosmic expansion, which, in addition to its clustering properties, can leave a potentially distinctive signature on large-scale structures. Many previous studies have investigated this topic, particularly in relation to the non-linear regime of structure formation. However, no careful pre-selection of viable quintessence models with high precision cosmological data was performed. Here we show that this has led to a misinterpretation (and underestimation) of the imprint of quintessence on the distribution of large-scale structures. To this purpose, we perform a likelihood analysis of the combined Supernova Ia UNION data set and Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 5-yr data to identify realistic quintessence models. These are specified by different model parameter values, but still statistically indistinguishable from the vanilla Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM). Differences are especially manifest in the predicted amplitude and shape of the linear matter power spectrum though these remain within the uncertainties of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. We use these models as a benchmark for studying the clustering properties of dark matter haloes by performing a series of high-resolution N-body simulations. In this first paper, we specifically focus on the non-linear matter power spectrum. We find that realistic quintessence models allow for relevant differences of the dark matter distribution with respect to the ΛCDM scenario well into the non-linear regime, with deviations of up to 40 per cent in the non-linear power spectrum. Such differences are shown to depend on the nature of DE, as well as the scale and epoch considered. At small scales (k ~ 1-5hMpc-1, depending on the redshift), the structure formation process is about 20 per cent more efficient than in ΛCDM. We show that these imprints are a specific record of the cosmic structure formation history in DE cosmologies and therefore cannot be accounted for in standard fitting functions of the non-linear matter power spectrum.

Dark matter universe.

PubMed

Bahcall, Neta A

2015-10-06

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter--a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations--from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is "cold" (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology--a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)--fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle.

FROM FINANCE TO COSMOLOGY: THE COPULA OF LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scherrer, Robert J.; Berlind, Andreas A.; Mao, Qingqing

2010-01-01

Any multivariate distribution can be uniquely decomposed into marginal (one-point) distributions, and a function called the copula, which contains all of the information on correlations between the distributions. The copula provides an important new methodology for analyzing the density field in large-scale structure. We derive the empirical two-point copula for the evolved dark matter density field. We find that this empirical copula is well approximated by a Gaussian copula. We consider the possibility that the full n-point copula is also Gaussian and describe some of the consequences of this hypothesis. Future directions for investigation are discussed.

A correlation between the cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure in the Universe.

PubMed

Boughn, Stephen; Crittenden, Robert

2004-01-01

Observations of distant supernovae and the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) indicate that the expansion of the Universe may be accelerating under the action of a 'cosmological constant' or some other form of 'dark energy'. This dark energy now appears to dominate the Universe and not only alters its expansion rate, but also affects the evolution of fluctuations in the density of matter, slowing down the gravitational collapse of material (into, for example, clusters of galaxies) in recent times. Additional fluctuations in the temperature of CMB photons are induced as they pass through large-scale structures and these fluctuations are necessarily correlated with the distribution of relatively nearby matter. Here we report the detection of correlations between recent CMB data and two probes of large-scale structure: the X-ray background and the distribution of radio galaxies. These correlations are consistent with those predicted by dark energy, indicating that we are seeing the imprint of dark energy on the growth of structure in the Universe.

Thermal photons in heavy ion collisions at 158 A GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutt, Sunil

2018-05-01

The essence of experimental ultra-relativistic heavy ion collision physics is the production and study of strongly interacting matter at extreme energy densities, temperatures and consequent search for equation of state of nuclear matter. The focus of the analysis has been to examine pseudo-rapidity distributions obtained for the γ-like particles in pre-shower photon multiplicity detector. This allows the extension of scaled factorial moment analysis to bin sizes smaller than those accessible to other experimental techniques. Scaled factorial moments are calculated using horizontal corrected and vertical analysis. The results are compared with simulation analysis using VENUS event generator.

Small but mighty: Dark matter substructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Keeton, Charles; Moustakas, Leonidas

2018-01-01

The fundamental properties of dark matter, such as its mass, self-interaction, and coupling to other particles, can have a major impact on the evolution of cosmological density fluctuations on small length scales. Strong gravitational lenses have long been recognized as powerful tools to study the dark matter distribution on these small subgalactic scales. In this talk, we discuss how gravitationally lensed quasars and extended lensed arcs could be used to probe non minimal dark matter models. We comment on the possibilities enabled by precise astrometry, deep imaging, and time delays to extract information about mass substructures inside lens galaxies. To this end, we introduce a new lensing statistics that allows for a robust diagnostic of the presence of perturbations caused by substructures. We determine which properties of mass substructures are most readily constrained by lensing data and forecast the constraining power of current and future observations.

The clustering of baryonic matter. I: a halo-model approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fedeli, C., E-mail: cosimo.fedeli@oabo.inaf.it

2014-04-01

In this paper I generalize the halo model for the clustering of dark matter in order to produce the power spectra of the two main baryonic matter components in the Universe: stars and hot gas. As a natural extension, this can be also used to describe the clustering of all mass. According to the design of the halo model, the large-scale power spectra of the various matter components are physically connected with the distribution of each component within bound structures and thus, ultimately, with the complete set of physical processes that drive the formation of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Besidesmore » being practical for cosmological and parametric studies, the semi-analytic model presented here has also other advantages. Most importantly, it allows one to understand on physical ground what is the relative contribution of each matter component to the total clustering of mass as a function of scale, and thus it opens an interesting new window to infer the distribution of baryons through high precision cosmic shear measurements. This is particularly relevant for future wide-field photometric surveys such as Euclid. In this work the concept of the model and its uncertainties are illustrated in detail, while in a companion paper we use a set of numerical hydrodynamic simulations to show a practical application and to investigate where the model itself needs to be improved.« less

The Planar Satellite Distributions around Andromeda, the Milky Way and Other Galaxies, and Their Implications for Fundamental Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroupa, P.

2014-05-01

The existence of dark matter particles is a key hypothesis in present-day cosmology and galactic dynamics. The validity of this hypothesis is challenged significantly by two independent arguments. 1) The dual dwarf galaxy theorem must be true in any realistic cosmological model. But it is found to be falsified when the dark-matter-based model is applied to the observational data. A consistency check of this conclusion comes from the observed significantly disk-like distributions of satellite populations which orbit in the same direction around their hosting galaxy and which cannot be derived from dark-matter models. 2) The action of dynamical friction due to expansive and massive dark matter halos must be evident in the galaxy population. The evidence however for dynamical friction is void or meagre at best. The M81 group fo galaxies already appears to rule out the existence of dynamical friction through dark matter halos, and the Milky Way satellite galaxies have been shown to challenge dark-matter-induced dynamical friction. The implication of this deduction for fundamental physics would be that exotic dark matter particles do not exist and that consequently gravitational physics on the scales of galaxies and beyond ought to be non-Newtonian/Einsteinian. An analysis of the kinematical data in galaxies shows them to be described excellently by scale-invariant dynamics, as discovered by Milgrom. This leads to a natural emergence of laws that galaxies are observed to obey. Such success has not been forthcoming in the dark-matter-based models. A consequence of this novel understanding of galactic astrophysics is that most dwarf satellite galaxies are formed as tidal dwarf galaxies in galaxy-galaxy encounters and that galactic mergers are rare.

Dark matter universe

PubMed Central

Bahcall, Neta A.

2015-01-01

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter—a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations—from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is “cold” (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology—a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)—fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle. PMID:26417091

Organic Matter Stabilization in Soil Microaggregates: Implications from Spatial Heterogeneity of Organic Carbon Contents and Carbon Forms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehmann,J.; Kinyangi, J.; Solomon, D.

2007-01-01

This study investigates the spatial distribution of organic carbon (C) in free stable microaggregates (20-250 {mu}m; not encapsulated within macroaggregates) from one Inceptisol and two Oxisols in relation to current theories of the mechanisms of their formation. Two-dimensional micro- and nano-scale observations using synchrotron-based Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy yielded maps of the distribution of C amounts and chemical forms. Carbon deposits were unevenly distributed within microaggregates and did not show any discernable gradients between interior and exterior of aggregates. Rather, C deposits appeared to be patchy within the microaggregates. In contrast to themore » random location of C, there were micron-scale patterns in the spatial distribution of aliphatic C-H (2922 cm-1), aromatic C=C and N-H (1589 cm-1) and polysaccharide C-O (1035 cm-1). Aliphatic C forms and the ratio of aliphatic C/aromatic C were positively correlated (r 2 of 0.66-0.75 and 0.27-0.59, respectively) to the amount of O-H on kaolinite surfaces (3695 cm-1), pointing at a strong role for organo-mineral interactions in C stabilization within microaggregates and at a possible role for molecules containing aliphatic C-H groups in such interactions. This empirical relationship was supported by nanometer-scale observations using NEXAFS which showed that the organic matter in coatings on mineral surfaces had more aliphatic and carboxylic C with spectral characteristics resembling microbial metabolites than the organic matter of the entire microaggregate. Our observations thus support models of C stabilization in which the initially dominant process is adsorption of organics on mineral surfaces rather than occlusion of organic debris by adhering clay particles.« less

A gravitationally lensed quasar with quadruple images separated by 14.62 arcseconds.

PubMed

Inada, Naohisa; Oguri, Masamune; Pindor, Bartosz; Hennawi, Joseph F; Chiu, Kuenley; Zheng, Wei; Ichikawa, Shin-Ichi; Gregg, Michael D; Becker, Robert H; Suto, Yasushi; Strauss, Michael A; Turner, Edwin L; Keeton, Charles R; Annis, James; Castander, Francisco J; Eisenstein, Daniel J; Frieman, Joshua A; Fukugita, Masataka; Gunn, James E; Johnston, David E; Kent, Stephen M; Nichol, Robert C; Richards, Gordon T; Rix, Hans-Walter; Sheldon, Erin Scott; Bahcall, Neta A; Brinkmann, J; Ivezić, Zeljko; Lamb, Don Q; McKay, Timothy A; Schneider, Donald P; York, Donald G

2003-12-18

Gravitational lensing is a powerful tool for the study of the distribution of dark matter in the Universe. The cold-dark-matter model of the formation of large-scale structures (that is, clusters of galaxies and even larger assemblies) predicts the existence of quasars gravitationally lensed by concentrations of dark matter so massive that the quasar images would be split by over 7 arcsec. Numerous searches for large-separation lensed quasars have, however, been unsuccessful. All of the roughly 70 lensed quasars known, including the first lensed quasar discovered, have smaller separations that can be explained in terms of galaxy-scale concentrations of baryonic matter. Although gravitationally lensed galaxies with large separations are known, quasars are more useful cosmological probes because of the simplicity of the resulting lens systems. Here we report the discovery of a lensed quasar, SDSS J1004 + 4112, which has a maximum separation between the components of 14.62 arcsec. Such a large separation means that the lensing object must be dominated by dark matter. Our results are fully consistent with theoretical expectations based on the cold-dark-matter model.

Galaxy formation and physical bias

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cen, Renyue; Ostriker, Jeremiah P.

1992-01-01

We have supplemented our code, which computes the evolution of the physical state of a representative piece of the universe to include, not only the dynamics of dark matter (with a standard PM code), and the hydrodynamics of the gaseous component (including detailed collisional and radiative processes), but also galaxy formation on a heuristic but plausible basis. If, within a cell the gas is Jeans' unstable, collapsing, and cooling rapidly, it is transformed to galaxy subunits, which are then followed with a collisionless code. After grouping them into galaxies, we estimate the relative distributions of galaxies and dark matter and the relative velocities of galaxies and dark matter. In a large scale CDM run of 80/h Mpc size with 8 x 10 exp 6 cells and dark matter particles, we find that physical bias b is on the 8/h Mpc scale is about 1.6 and increases towards smaller scales, and that velocity bias is about 0.8 on the same scale. The comparable HDM simulation is highly biased with b = 2.7 on the 8/h Mpc scale. Implications of these results are discussed in the light of the COBE observations which provide an accurate normalization for the initial power spectrum. CDM can be ruled out on the basis of too large a predicted small scale velocity dispersion at greater than 95 percent confidence level.

The mass distribution of coarse particulate organic matter exported from an alpine headwater stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turowski, J. M.; Badoux, A.; Bunte, K.; Rickli, C.; Federspiel, N.; Jochner, M.

2013-05-01

Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) particles span sizes from 1 mm, with masses less than 1 mg, to large logs and whole trees, which may have masses of several hundred kilograms. Different size and mass classes play different roles in stream environments, from being the prime source of energy in stream ecosystems to macroscopically determining channel morphology and local hydraulics. We show that a single scaling exponent can describe the mass distribution of CPOM transported in the Erlenbach, a steep mountain stream in the Swiss Prealps. This exponent takes an average value of -1.8, is independent of discharge and valid for particle masses spanning almost seven orders of magnitude. Together with a rating curve of CPOM transport rates with discharge, we discuss the importance of the scaling exponent for measuring strategies and natural hazard mitigation. Similar to CPOM, the mass distribution of in-stream large woody debris can likewise be described by power law scaling distributions, with exponents varying between -1.8 and -2.0, if all in-stream material is considered, and between -1.4 and -1.8 for material locked in log jams. We expect that scaling exponents are determined by stream type, vegetation, climate, substrate properties, and the connectivity between channels and hillslopes. However, none of the descriptor variables tested here, including drainage area, channel bed slope and forested area, show a strong control on exponent value. The number of streams studied in this paper is too small to make final conclusions.

The median density of the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stücker, Jens; Busch, Philipp; White, Simon D. M.

2018-03-01

Despite the fact that the mean matter density of the universe has been measured to an accuracy of a few percent within the standard ΛCDM paradigm, its median density is not known even to order of magnitude. Typical points lie in low-density regions and are not part of a collapsed structure of any scale. Locally, the dark matter distribution is then simply a stretched version of that in the early universe. In this single-stream regime, the distribution of unsmoothed density is sensitive to the initial power spectrum on all scales, in particular on very small scales, and hence to the nature of the dark matter. It cannot be estimated reliably using conventional cosmological simulations because of the enormous dynamic range involved, but a suitable excursion set procedure can be used instead. For the Planck cosmological parameters, a 100 GeV WIMP, corresponding to a free-streaming mass ˜10-6M⊙, results in a median density of ˜4 × 10-3 in units of the mean density, whereas a 10 μeV axion with free-streaming mass ˜10-12M⊙ gives ˜3 × 10-3, and Warm Dark Matter with a (thermal relic) mass of 1 keV gives ˜8 × 10-2. In CDM (but not in WDM) universes, single-stream regions are predicted to be topologically isolated by the excursion set formalism. A test by direct N-Body simulations seems to confirm this prediction, although it is still subject to finite size and resolution effects. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any of these properties is observable and so suitable for constraining the properties of dark matter.

Dark matter and global symmetries

DOE PAGES

Mambrini, Yann; Profumo, Stefano; Queiroz, Farinaldo S.

2016-08-03

General considerations in general relativity and quantum mechanics are known to potentially rule out continuous global symmetries in the context of any consistent theory of quantum gravity. Assuming the validity of such considerations, we derive stringent bounds from gamma-ray, X-ray, cosmic-ray, neutrino, and CMB data on models that invoke global symmetries to stabilize the dark matter particle. We compute up-to-date, robust model-independent limits on the dark matter lifetime for a variety of Planck-scale suppressed dimension-five effective operators. We then specialize our analysis and apply our bounds to specific models including the Two-Higgs-Doublet, Left-Right, Singlet Fermionic, Zee-Babu, 3-3-1 and Radiative See-Sawmore » models. Here, assuming that (i) global symmetries are broken at the Planck scale, that (ii) the non-renormalizable operators mediating dark matter decay have O(1) couplings, that (iii) the dark matter is a singlet field, and that (iv) the dark matter density distribution is well described by a NFW profile, we are able to rule out fermionic, vector, and scalar dark matter candidates across a broad mass range (keV-TeV), including the WIMP regime« less

Tying dark matter to baryons with self-interactions.

PubMed

Kaplinghat, Manoj; Keeley, Ryan E; Linden, Tim; Yu, Hai-Bo

2014-07-11

Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) models have been proposed to solve the small-scale issues with the collisionless cold dark matter paradigm. We derive equilibrium solutions in these SIDM models for the dark matter halo density profile including the gravitational potential of both baryons and dark matter. Self-interactions drive dark matter to be isothermal and this ties the core sizes and shapes of dark matter halos to the spatial distribution of the stars, a radical departure from previous expectations and from cold dark matter predictions. Compared to predictions of SIDM-only simulations, the core sizes are smaller and the core densities are higher, with the largest effects in baryon-dominated galaxies. As an example, we find a core size around 0.3 kpc for dark matter in the Milky Way, more than an order of magnitude smaller than the core size from SIDM-only simulations, which has important implications for indirect searches of SIDM candidates.

Internal velocity and mass distributions in simulated clusters of galaxies for a variety of cosmogonic models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cen, Renyue

1994-01-01

The mass and velocity distributions in the outskirts (0.5-3.0/h Mpc) of simulated clusters of galaxies are examined for a suite of cosmogonic models (two Omega(sub 0) = 1 and two Omega(sub 0) = 0.2 models) utilizing large-scale particle-mesh (PM) simulations. Through a series of model computations, designed to isolate the different effects, we find that both Omega(sub 0) and P(sub k) (lambda less than or = 16/h Mpc) are important to the mass distributions in clusters of galaxies. There is a correlation between power, P(sub k), and density profiles of massive clusters; more power tends to point to the direction of a stronger correlation between alpha and M(r less than 1.5/h Mpc); i.e., massive clusters being relatively extended and small mass clusters being relatively concentrated. A lower Omega(sub 0) universe tends to produce relatively concentrated massive clusters and relatively extended small mass clusters compared to their counterparts in a higher Omega(sub 0) model with the same power. Models with little (initial) small-scale power, such as the hot dark matter (HDM) model, produce more extended mass distributions than the isothermal distribution for most of the mass clusters. But the cold dark matter (CDM) models show mass distributions of most of the clusters more concentrated than the isothermal distribution. X-ray and gravitational lensing observations are beginning providing useful information on the mass distribution in and around clusters; some interesting constraints on Omega(sub 0) and/or the (initial) power of the density fluctuations on scales lambda less than or = 16/h Mpc (where linear extrapolation is invalid) can be obtained when larger observational data sets, such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, become available.

Particle dark matter searches in the anisotropic sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fornengo, Nicolao; Regis, Marco

2014-02-01

Anisotropies in the electromagnetic emission produced by dark matter annihilation or decay in the extragalactic sky are a recent tool in the quest for a particle dark matter evidence. We review the formalism to compute the two-point angular power spectrum in the halo-model approach and discuss the features and the relative size of the various auto- and cross-correlation signals that can be envisaged for anisotropy studies. From the side of particle dark matter signals, we consider the full multi-wavelength spectrum, from the radio emission to X-ray and gamma-ray productions. We discuss the angular power spectra of the auto-correlation of each of these signals and of the cross-correlation between any pair of them. We then extend the search to comprise specific gravitational tracers of dark matter distribution in the Universe: weak-lensing cosmic shear, large-scale-structure matter distribution and CMB-lensing. We have shown that cross-correlating a multi-wavelength dark matter signal (which is a direct manifestation of its particle physics nature) with a gravitational tracer (which is a manifestation of the presence of large amounts of unseen matter in the Universe) may offer a promising tool to demonstrate that what we call DM is indeed formed by elementary particles.

FLRW cosmological models with quark and strange quark matters in f(R,T) gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagpal, Ritika; Singh, J. K.; Aygün, S.

2018-06-01

In this paper, we have studied the magnetized quark matter (QM) and strange quark matter (SQM) distributions in the presence of f(R,T) gravity in the background of Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric. To get exact solutions of modified field equations we have used f(R,T ) = R + 2 f(T) model given by Harko et al. with two different parametrization of geometrical parameters i.e. the parametrization of the deceleration parameter q , and the scale factor a in hybrid expansion form. Also, we have obtained Einstein Static Universe (ESU) solutions for QM and SQM distributions in f(R,T) gravity and General Relativity (GR). All models in f(R,T) gravity and GR for FRW and ESU Universes with QM also SQM distributions, we get zero magnetic field. These results agree with the solutions of Aktaş and Aygün in f(R,T) gravity. However, we have also discussed the physical consequences of our obtained models.

Removal of Anabaena spiroides by potassium permanganate pre-oxidation: effect on photosynthetic capacity and molecular weight distribution.

PubMed

Qiao, Junlian; Zhang, Xiaodong; Lv, Liping

2017-11-01

Bench scale tests were conducted to investigate the effect of potassium permanganate pre-oxidation on the photosynthetic activity and molecular weight distribution of Anabaena spiroides. Different concentrations of potassium permanganate were added into the suspension of Anabaena spiroides, one of the dominant algae in water bloom, and after pre-oxidation of permanganate for 1 h, the results show that the removal rate significantly increases by 33.99~36.35% compared to direct coagulation. Then, the algal characteristics, including photosynthetic ability, the changes in extracellular organic matter three-dimensional fluorescence, and the distribution of molecular weight were conducted and the results show that along with increasing concentration of potassium permanganate, the photosynthetic ability of algae decreases, more extracellular organic matter is secreted, and large molecular weight matter (humic-like and fulvic-like substances) are generated. Therefore, this study demonstrates that potassium permanganate could be used in addressing the algae-rich water.

Galaxies and Their Host Dark Matter Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, ChangHoon

Through their connection with dark matter structures, galaxies act as tracers of the underlying matter distribution in the Universe. Their observed spatial distribution allows us to precisely measure large scale structure and effectively test cosmological models that explain the content, geometry, and history of the Universe. Current observations from galaxy surveys such as the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey have already probed vast cosmic volumes with millions of galaxies and ushered in an era of precision cosmology. The next surveys will probe over an order of magnitude more. With this unprecedented statistical power, the bottleneck of scientific discovery is in the methodology. In this dissertation, I address major methodological challenges in constraining cosmology with the large-scale distribution of galaxies. I develop a robust framework for treating systematic effects, which significantly bias galaxy clustering measurements. I apply new innovative approaches to probabilistic parameter inference that challenge and test the in- correct assumptions of the standard approach. Furthermore, I use precise predictions of structure formation from cosmology and observations of galaxies during the last eight billion years to develop detailed models of how galaxies are impacted by their host dark matter structures. These models provide key insight into the galaxy-halo connection, which bridges the gap between cosmology theory and observations. They also answer crucial questions of how galaxies form and evolve. The developments in this dissertation will help unlock the full potential of future observations and allow us to precisely test cosmological models, General Relativity and modified gravity scenarios, and even particle physics theory beyond the Standard Model.

Power spectrum estimation from peculiar velocity catalogues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macaulay, E.; Feldman, H. A.; Ferreira, P. G.; Jaffe, A. H.; Agarwal, S.; Hudson, M. J.; Watkins, R.

2012-09-01

The peculiar velocities of galaxies are an inherently valuable cosmological probe, providing an unbiased estimate of the distribution of matter on scales much larger than the depth of the survey. Much research interest has been motivated by the high dipole moment of our local peculiar velocity field, which suggests a large-scale excess in the matter power spectrum and can appear to be in some tension with the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model. We use a composite catalogue of 4537 peculiar velocity measurements with a characteristic depth of 33 h-1 Mpc to estimate the matter power spectrum. We compare the constraints with this method, directly studying the full peculiar velocity catalogue, to results by Macaulay et al., studying minimum variance moments of the velocity field, as calculated by Feldman, Watkins & Hudson. We find good agreement with the ΛCDM model on scales of k > 0.01 h Mpc-1. We find an excess of power on scales of k < 0.01 h Mpc-1 with a 1σ uncertainty which includes the ΛCDM model. We find that the uncertainty in excess at these scales is larger than an alternative result studying only moments of the velocity field, which is due to the minimum variance weights used to calculate the moments. At small scales, we are able to clearly discriminate between linear and non-linear clustering in simulated peculiar velocity catalogues and find some evidence (although less clear) for linear clustering in the real peculiar velocity data.

The two-point correlation function for groups of galaxies in the Center for Astrophysics redshift survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramella, Massimo; Geller, Margaret J.; Huchra, John P.

1990-01-01

The large-scale distribution of groups of galaxies selected from complete slices of the CfA redshift survey extension is examined. The survey is used to reexamine the contribution of group members to the galaxy correlation function. The relationship between the correlation function for groups and those calculated for rich clusters is discussed, and the results for groups are examined as an extension of the relation between correlation function amplitude and richness. The group correlation function indicates that groups and individual galaxies are equivalent tracers of the large-scale matter distribution. The distribution of group centers is equivalent to random sampling of the galaxy distribution. The amplitude of the correlation function for groups is consistent with an extrapolation of the amplitude-richness relation for clusters. The amplitude scaled by the mean intersystem separation is also consistent with results for richer clusters.

The dark-baryonic matter mass relation for observational verification in Verlinde's emergent gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Jian Qi

2018-06-01

Recently, a new interesting idea of origin of gravity has been developed by Verlinde. In this scheme of emergent gravity, where horizon entropy, microscopic de Sitter states and relevant contribution to gravity are involved, an entropy displacement resulting from matter behaves as a memory effect and can be exhibited at sub-Hubble scales, namely, the entropy displacement and its "elastic" response would lead to emergent gravity, which gives rise to an extra gravitational force. Then galactic dark matter effects may origin from such extra emergent gravity. We discuss some concepts in Verlinde's theory of emergent gravity and point out some possible problems or issues, e.g., the gravitational potential caused by Verlinde's emergent apparent dark matter may no longer be continuous in spatial distribution at ordinary matter boundary (such as a massive sphere surface). In order to avoid the unnatural discontinuity of the extra emergent gravity of Verlinde's apparent dark matter, we suggest a modified dark-baryonic mass relation (a formula relating Verlinde's apparent dark matter mass to ordinary baryonic matter mass) within this framework of emergent gravity. The modified mass relation is consistent with Verlinde's result at relatively small scales (e.g., R<3h_{70}^{-1} Mpc). However, it seems that, compared with Verlinde's relation, at large scales (e.g., gravitating systems with R>3h_{70}^{-1} Mpc), the modified dark-baryonic mass relation presented here might be in better agreement with the experimental curves of weak lensing analysis in the recent work of Brouwer et al. Galactic rotation curves are compared between Verlinde's emergent gravity and McGaugh's recent model of MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics established based on recent galaxy observations). It can be found that Verlinde rotational curves deviate far from those of McGaugh MOND model when the MOND effect (or emergent dark matter) dominates. Some applications of the modified dark-baryonic mass relation inspired by Verlinde's emergent gravity will be addressed for galactic and solar scales. Potential possibilities to test this dark-baryonic mass relation as well as apparent dark matter effects, e.g., planetary perihelion precession at Solar System scale, will be considered. This may enable to place some constraints on the magnitudes of the MOND characteristic acceleration at the small solar scale.

The link between the baryonic mass distribution and the rotation curve shape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swaters, R. A.; Sancisi, R.; van der Hulst, J. M.; van Albada, T. S.

2012-09-01

The observed rotation curves of disc galaxies, ranging from late-type dwarf galaxies to early-type spirals, can be fitted remarkably well simply by scaling up the contributions of the stellar and H I discs. This 'baryonic scaling model' can explain the full breadth of observed rotation curves with only two free parameters. For a small fraction of galaxies, in particular early-type spiral galaxies, H I scaling appears to fail in the outer parts, possibly due to observational effects or ionization of H I. The overall success of the baryonic scaling model suggests that the well-known global coupling between the baryonic mass of a galaxy and its rotation velocity (known as the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation) applies at a more local level as well, and it seems to imply a link between the baryonic mass distribution and the distribution of total mass (including dark matter).

The mass distribution of coarse particulate organic matter exported from an Alpine headwater stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turowski, J. M.; Badoux, A.; Bunte, K.; Rickli, C.; Federspiel, N.; Jochner, M.

2013-09-01

Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) particles span sizes from 1 mm, with a dry mass less than 1 mg, to large logs and entire trees, which can have a dry mass of several hundred kilograms. Pieces of different size and mass play different roles in stream environments, from being the prime source of energy in stream ecosystems to macroscopically determining channel morphology and local hydraulics. We show that a single scaling exponent can describe the mass distribution of CPOM heavier than 0.1 g transported in the Erlenbach, a steep mountain stream in the Swiss pre-Alps. This exponent takes an average value of -1.8, is independent of discharge and valid for particle masses spanning almost seven orders of magnitude. Similarly, the mass distribution of in-stream large woody debris (LWD) in several Swiss streams can be described by power law scaling distributions, with exponents varying between -1.8 and -2.0, if all in-stream LWD is considered, and between -1.3 and -1.8 for material locked in log jams. We found similar values for in-stream and transported material in the literature. We had expected that scaling exponents are determined by stream type, vegetation, climate, substrate properties, and the connectivity between channels and hillslopes. However, none of the descriptor variables tested here, including drainage area, channel bed slope and the percentage of forested area, show a strong control on exponent value. Together with a rating curve of CPOM transport rates with discharge, the scaling exponents can be used in the design of measuring strategies and in natural hazard mitigation.

Adding Spice to Vanilla LCDM simulations: From Alternative Cosmologies to Lighting up Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahan Elahi, Pascal

2015-08-01

Cold Dark Matter simulations have formed the backbone of our theoretical understanding of cosmological structure formation. Predictions from the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) cosmology, in which the Universe contains two major dark components, namely Dark Matter and Dark Energy, are in excellent agreement with the Large-Scale Structures observed, i.e., the distribution of galaxies across cosmic time. However, this paradigm is in tension with observations at small-scales, from the number and properties of satellite galaxies around galaxies such as the Milky Way and Andromeda, to the lensing statistics of massive galaxy clusters. I will present several alternative models of cosmology (from Warm Dark Matter to coupled Dark Matter-Dark Energy models) and how they compare to vanilla LCDM by studying formation of groups and clusters dark matter only and adiabatic hydrodynamical zoom simulations. I will show how modifications to the dark sector can lead to some surprising results. For example, Warm Dark Matter, so often examined on small satellite galaxies scales, can be probed observationally using weak lensing at cluster scales. Coupled dark sectors, where dark matter decays into dark energy and experiences an effective gravitational potential that differs from that experienced by normal matter, is effectively hidden away from direct observations of galaxies. Studies like these are vital if we are to pinpoint observations which can look for unique signatures of the physics that governs the hidden Universe. Of course, all of these predictions are unfortunately affected by uncertain galaxy formation physics. I will end by presenting results from a comparison study of numerous hydrodynamical codes, the nIFTY cluster comparison project, and how even how purely adiabatic simulations run with different codes give in quite different galaxy populations. The galaxies that form in these simulations, which all attempt to reproduce the observed galaxy population via not unreasonable subgrid physics, can and do vary in stellar mass, morphology and gas fraction.

Structure formation by a fifth force: N-body versus linear simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Baojiu; Zhao, Hongsheng

2009-08-01

We lay out the frameworks to numerically study the structure formation in both linear and nonlinear regimes in general dark-matter-coupled scalar field models, and give an explicit example where the scalar field serves as a dynamical dark energy. Adopting parameters of the scalar field which yield a realistic cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectrum, we generate the initial conditions for our N-body simulations, which follow the spatial distributions of the dark matter and the scalar field by solving their equations of motion using the multilevel adaptive grid technique. We show that the spatial configuration of the scalar field tracks well the voids and clusters of dark matter. Indeed, the propagation of scalar degree of freedom effectively acts as a fifth force on dark matter particles, whose range and magnitude are determined by the two model parameters (μ,γ), local dark matter density as well as the background value for the scalar field. The model behaves like the ΛCDM paradigm on scales relevant to the CMB spectrum, which are well beyond the probe of the local fifth force and thus not significantly affected by the matter-scalar coupling. On scales comparable or shorter than the range of the local fifth force, the fifth force is perfectly parallel to gravity and their strengths have a fixed ratio 2γ2 determined by the matter-scalar coupling, provided that the chameleon effect is weak; if on the other hand there is a strong chameleon effect (i.e., the scalar field almost resides at its effective potential minimum everywhere in the space), the fifth force indeed has suppressed effects in high density regions and shows no obvious correlation with gravity, which means that the dark-matter-scalar-field coupling is not simply equivalent to a rescaling of the gravitational constant or the mass of the dark matter particles. We show these spatial distributions and (lack of) correlations at typical redshifts (z=0,1,5.5) in our multigrid million-particle simulations. The viable parameters for the scalar field can be inferred on intermediate or small scales at late times from, e.g., weak lensing and phase space properties, while the predicted Hubble expansion and linearly simulated CMB spectrum are virtually indistinguishable from the standard ΛCDM predictions.

The large-scale environment from cosmological simulations - I. The baryonic cosmic web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Weiguang; Knebe, Alexander; Yepes, Gustavo; Yang, Xiaohu; Borgani, Stefano; Kang, Xi; Power, Chris; Staveley-Smith, Lister

2018-01-01

Using a series of cosmological simulations that includes one dark-matter-only (DM-only) run, one gas cooling-star formation-supernova feedback (CSF) run and one that additionally includes feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we classify the large-scale structures with both a velocity-shear-tensor code (VWEB) and a tidal-tensor code (PWEB). We find that the baryonic processes have almost no impact on large-scale structures - at least not when classified using aforementioned techniques. More importantly, our results confirm that the gas component alone can be used to infer the filamentary structure of the universe practically un-biased, which could be applied to cosmology constraints. In addition, the gas filaments are classified with its velocity (VWEB) and density (PWEB) fields, which can theoretically connect to the radio observations, such as H I surveys. This will help us to bias-freely link the radio observations with dark matter distributions at large scale.

Fundamental tests of galaxy formation theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silk, J.

1982-01-01

The structure of the universe as an environment where traces exist of the seed fluctuations from which galaxies formed is studied. The evolution of the density fluctuation modes that led to the eventual formation of matter inhomogeneities is reviewed, How the resulting clumps developed into galaxies and galaxy clusters acquiring characteristic masses, velocity dispersions, and metallicities, is discussed. Tests are described that utilize the large scale structure of the universe, including the dynamics of the local supercluster, the large scale matter distribution, and the anisotropy of the cosmic background radiation, to probe the earliest accessible stages of evolution. Finally, the role of particle physics is described with regard to its observable implications for galaxy formation.

A new method to quantify the effects of baryons on the matter power spectrum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, Aurel; Teyssier, Romain, E-mail: aurel@physik.uzh.ch, E-mail: teyssier@physik.uzh.ch

2015-12-01

Future large-scale galaxy surveys have the potential to become leading probes for cosmology provided the influence of baryons on the total mass distribution is understood well enough. As hydrodynamical simulations strongly depend on details in the feedback implementations, no unique and robust predictions for baryonic effects currently exist. In this paper we propose a baryonic correction model that modifies the density field of dark-matter-only N-body simulations to mimic the effects of baryons from any underlying adopted feedback recipe. The model assumes haloes to consist of 4 components: 1- hot gas in hydrostatical equilibrium, 2- ejected gas from feedback processes, 3-more » central galaxy stars, and 4- adiabatically relaxed dark matter, which all modify the initial dark-matter-only density profiles. These altered profiles allow to define a displacement field for particles in N-body simulations and to modify the total density field accordingly. The main advantage of the baryonic correction model is to connect the total matter density field to the observable distribution of gas and stars in haloes, making it possible to parametrise baryonic effects on the matter power spectrum. We show that the most crucial quantities are the mass fraction of ejected gas and its corresponding ejection radius. The former controls how strongly baryons suppress the power spectrum, while the latter provides a measure of the scale where baryonic effects become important. A comparison with X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich cluster observations suggests that baryons suppress wave modes above k∼0.5 h/Mpc with a maximum suppression of 10-25 percent around k∼ 2 h/Mpc. More detailed observations of the gas in the outskirts of groups and clusters are required to decrease the large uncertainties of these numbers.« less

Cosmological constraints from a combination of galaxy clustering and lensing - III. Application to SDSS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cacciato, Marcello; van den Bosch, Frank C.; More, Surhud; Mo, Houjun; Yang, Xiaohu

2013-04-01

We simultaneously constrain cosmology and galaxy bias using measurements of galaxy abundances, galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We use the conditional luminosity function (which describes the halo occupation statistics as a function of galaxy luminosity) combined with the halo model (which describes the non-linear matter field in terms of its halo building blocks) to describe the galaxy-dark matter connection. We explicitly account for residual redshift-space distortions in the projected galaxy-galaxy correlation functions, and marginalize over uncertainties in the scale dependence of the halo bias and the detailed structure of dark matter haloes. Under the assumption of a spatially flat, vanilla Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology, we focus on constraining the matter density, Ωm, and the normalization of the matter power spectrum, σ8, and we adopt 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP7) priors for the spectral index, n, the Hubble parameter, h, and the baryon density, Ωb. We obtain that Ωm = 0.278+ 0.023- 0.026 and σ8 = 0.763+ 0.064- 0.049 (95 per cent CL). These results are robust to uncertainties in the radial number density distribution of satellite galaxies, while allowing for non-Poisson satellite occupation distributions results in a slightly lower value for σ8 (0.744+ 0.056- 0.047). These constraints are in excellent agreement (at the 1σ level) with the cosmic microwave background constraints from WMAP. This demonstrates that the use of a realistic and accurate model for galaxy bias, down to the smallest non-linear scales currently observed in galaxy surveys, leads to results perfectly consistent with the vanilla ΛCDM cosmology.

Missing matter in the vicinity of the sun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahcall, John N.

1986-01-01

The Poisson and Vlasov equations are solved numerically for realistic Galaxy models which include multiple disk components, a Population II spheroid, and an unseen massive halo. The total amount of matter in the vicinity of the sun is determined by comparing the observed distributions of tracer stars, samples of F dwarfs, and K giants with the predictions of the Galaxy models. Results are obtained for a number of different assumed distributions of the unseen disk mass. For all the observed samples, typical models imply that about half of the mass in the solar vicinity must be in the form of unobserved matter. The volume density of unobserved material near the sun is about 0.1 solar mass/cu pc; the corresponding column density is about 30 solar mass/sq pc. This so far unseen material must be in a disk with an exponential scale height of less than 0.7 kpc.

Regge trajectories and Hagedorn behavior: Hadronic realizations of dynamical dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dienes, Keith R.; Huang, Fei; Su, Shufang; Thomas, Brooks

2017-11-01

Dynamical Dark Matter (DDM) is an alternative framework for dark-matter physics in which the dark sector comprises a vast ensemble of particle species whose Standard-Model decay widths are balanced against their cosmological abundances. In this talk, we study the properties of a hitherto-unexplored class of DDM ensembles in which the ensemble constituents are the "hadronic" resonances associated with the confining phase of a strongly-coupled dark sector. Such ensembles exhibit masses lying along Regge trajectories and Hagedorn-like densities of states that grow exponentially with mass. We investigate the applicable constraints on such dark-"hadronic" DDM ensembles and find that these constraints permit a broad range of mass and confinement scales for these ensembles. We also find that the distribution of the total present-day abundance across the ensemble is highly correlated with the values of these scales. This talk reports on research originally presented in Ref. [1].

Tracing global biogeochemical cycles and meridional overturning circulation using chromophoric dissolved organic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Norman B.; Siegel, David A.; Carlson, Craig A.; Swan, Chantal M.

2010-02-01

Basin-scale distributions of light absorption by chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) are positively correlated (R2 > 0.8) with apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) within the top kilometer of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. However, a much weaker correspondence is found for the Atlantic (R2 < 0.05). Strong correlation between CDOM and AOU indicates that CDOM is created as a byproduct of the oxidation of organic matter from sinking particles. The observed meridional-depth sections of CDOM result from a balance between biogeochemical processes (autochthonous production and solar bleaching) and the meridional overturning circulation. Rapid mixing in the Atlantic dilutes CDOM in the interior and implies that the time scale for CDOM accumulation is greater than ˜50 years. CDOM emerges as a unique tracer for diagnosing changes in biogeochemistry and the overturning circulation, similar to dissolved oxygen, with the additional feature that it can be quantified from satellite observation.

Observation of Accumulated Metal Cation Distribution in Fish by Novel Stigmatic Imaging Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Jun; Ikeda, Shinichiro; Toyoda, Michisato

2014-02-01

The accumulation of radioactive substances in biological organisms is a matter of great concern since the incident at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. We have developed a novel technique for observing the distribution of accumulated metal cations in fish that employs a new imaging mass spectrometer, MULTUM-IMG2. Distributions of 133Cs and 88Sr in a sliced section of medaka (Oryzias latipes) are obtained with spatial resolution of µm-scale.

Self-consistent construction of virialized wave dark matter halos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Shan-Chang; Schive, Hsi-Yu; Wong, Shing-Kwong; Chiueh, Tzihong

2018-05-01

Wave dark matter (ψ DM ), which satisfies the Schrödinger-Poisson equation, has recently attracted substantial attention as a possible dark matter candidate. Numerical simulations have, in the past, provided a powerful tool to explore this new territory of possibility. Despite their successes in revealing several key features of ψ DM , further progress in simulations is limited, in that cosmological simulations so far can only address formation of halos below ˜2 ×1011 M⊙ and substantially more massive halos have become computationally very challenging to obtain. For this reason, the present work adopts a different approach in assessing massive halos by constructing wave-halo solutions directly from the wave distribution function. This approach bears certain similarities with the analytical construction of the particle-halo (cold dark matter model). Instead of many collisionless particles, one deals with one single wave that has many noninteracting eigenstates. The key ingredient in the wave-halo construction is the distribution function of the wave power, and we use several halos produced by structure formation simulations as templates to determine the wave distribution function. Among different models, we find the fermionic King model presents the best fits and we use it for our wave-halo construction. We have devised an iteration method for constructing the nonlinear halo and demonstrate its stability by three-dimensional simulations. A Milky Way-sized halo has also been constructed, and the inner halo is found to be flatter than the NFW profile. These wave-halos have small-scale interferences both in space and time producing time-dependent granules. While the spatial scale of granules varies little, the correlation time is found to increase with radius by 1 order of magnitude across the halo.

Element-abundance inhomogeneity of interstellar matter as it follows from the chemical composition of the O-type supergiants HDE 226868 (Cyg X-1) and *alpha; Cam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bochkarev, N. G.; Karitskaya, E. A.; Shimanskii, V. V.; Galazutdinov, G. A.

2013-10-01

By means of synthetic spectrum modeling with non-LTE effects, we determined element abundances in the atmospheres of two O supergiants with similar physical characteristics: HDE 226868 (the optical component of Cyg X-1) and α Cam. These objects are situated at the distance about 2.5 kpc from each other. HDE 226868 has higher abundances compared to α Cam. The differences of Al, S, Zn, and averaged CNO abundances are within 0.15-0.30 dex. This is in a good qualitative agreement with the inhomogeneity of the heavy-element distribution over the Galactic disk derived by Luck et al. (2006) from Cepheids. This finding confirms the inhomogeneity of chemical-element distribution on the scale of 2 kpc and is in agreement with the concept of interstellar-matter superclouds preserving their intrinsic particularities on a time scale in excess of 1 Gyr.

Adding Spice to Vanilla LCDM simulations: Alternative Cosmologies & Lighting up Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahan Elahi, Pascal

2015-08-01

Cold Dark Matter simulations have formed the backbone of our theoretical understanding of cosmological structure formation. Predictions from the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) cosmology, where the Universe contains two dark components, namely Dark Matter & Dark Energy, are in excellent agreement with the Large-Scale Structures observed, i.e., the distribution of galaxies across cosmic time. However, this paradigm is in tension with observations at small-scales, from the number and properties of satellite galaxies around galaxies such as the Milky Way and Andromeda, to the lensing statistics of massive galaxy clusters. I will present several alternative models of cosmology (from Warm Dark Matter to coupled Dark Matter-Dark Energy models) and how they compare to vanilla LCDM by studying formation of groups and clusters dark matter only and adiabatic hydrodynamical zoom simulations. I will show how modifications to the dark sector can lead to some surprising results. For example, Warm Dark Matter, so often examined on small satellite galaxies scales, can be probed observationally using weak lensing at cluster scales. Coupled dark sectors, where dark matter decays into dark energy and experiences an effective gravitational potential that differs from that experienced by normal matter, is effectively hidden away from direct observations of galaxies. Studies like these are vital if we are to pinpoint observations which can look for unique signatures of the physics that governs the hidden Universe. Finally, I will discuss how all of these predictions are affected by uncertain galaxy formation physics. I will present results from a major comparison study of numerous hydrodynamical codes, the nIFTY cluster comparison project. This comparison aims to understand the code-to-code scatter in the properties of dark matter haloes and the galaxies that reside in them. We find that even in purely adiabatic simulations, different codes form clusters with very different X-ray profiles. The galaxies that form in these simulations, which all use codes that attempt to reproduce the observed galaxy population via not unreasonable subgrid physics, vary in stellar mass, morphology and gas fraction, sometimes by an order of magnitude. I will end with a discussion of precision cosmology in light of these results.

Small-scale geochemical cycles and the distribution of uranium in central and north Florida organic deposits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bond, P.A.

1993-03-01

The global geochemical cycle for an element tracks its path from its various sources to its sinks via processes of weathering and transportation. The cycle may then be quantified in a necessarily approximate manner. The geochemical cycle (thus quantified) reveals constraints (known and unknown) on an element's behavior imposed by the various processes which act on it. In the context of a global geochemical cycle, a continent becomes essentially a source term. If, however, an element's behavior is examined in a local or regional context, sources and their related sinks may be identified. This suggests that small-scale geochemical cycles maymore » be superimposed on global geochemical cycles. Definition of such sub-cycles may clarify the distribution of an element in the earth's near-surface environment. In Florida, phosphate minerals of the Hawthorn Group act as a widely distributed source of uranium. Uranium is transported by surface- and ground-waters. Florida is the site of extensive wetlands and peatlands. The organic matter associated with these deposits adsorbs uranium and may act as a local sink depending on its hydrogeologic setting. This work examines the role of organic matter in the distribution of uranium in the surface and shallow subsurface environments of central and north Florida.« less

Linear perturbation theory for tidal streams and the small-scale CDM power spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bovy, Jo; Erkal, Denis; Sanders, Jason L.

2017-04-01

Tidal streams in the Milky Way are sensitive probes of the population of low-mass dark matter subhaloes predicted in cold dark matter (CDM) simulations. We present a new calculus for computing the effect of subhalo fly-bys on cold streams based on the action-angle representation of streams. The heart of this calculus is a line-of-parallel-angle approach that calculates the perturbed distribution function of a stream segment by undoing the effect of all relevant impacts. This approach allows one to compute the perturbed stream density and track in any coordinate system in minutes for realizations of the subhalo distribution down to 105 M⊙, accounting for the stream's internal dispersion and overlapping impacts. We study the statistical properties of density and track fluctuations with large suites of simulations of the effect of subhalo fly-bys. The one-dimensional density and track power spectra along the stream trace the subhalo mass function, with higher mass subhaloes producing power only on large scales, while lower mass subhaloes cause structure on smaller scales. We also find significant density and track bispectra that are observationally accessible. We further demonstrate that different projections of the track all reflect the same pattern of perturbations, facilitating their observational measurement. We apply this formalism to data for the Pal 5 stream and make a first rigorous determination of 10^{+11}_{-6} dark matter subhaloes with masses between 106.5 and 109 M⊙ within 20 kpc from the Galactic centre [corresponding to 1.4^{+1.6}_{-0.9} times the number predicted by CDM-only simulations or to fsub(r < 20 kpc) ≈ 0.2 per cent] assuming that the Pal 5 stream is 5 Gyr old. Improved data will allow measurements of the subhalo mass function down to 105 M⊙, thus definitively testing whether dark matter is clumpy on the smallest scales relevant for galaxy formation.

Speckle interferometry of IRC +10216 in the fundamental vibration-rotation lines of CO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dyck, H. M.; Beckwith, S.; Zuckerman, B.

1983-01-01

The largest fraction of the matter returned by stars to the interstellar medium is probably provided by red giants. The carbon star IRC +10216 is an example of an evolved giant with a large mass loss rate. One plausible mechanism for the acceleration of the gas in stars like IRC +10216 is radiation pressure on dust grains which then collide with and transfer their momentum to the gas. However, at the present time neither infrared nor microwave observations provide a clear picture of the distribution of matter near cool red giant stars. There exists one method which may be used to obtain more information about the distribution of matter very close to the star. This method involves the measurement of the spatial extent of near-infrared lines by employing a combination of very high spatial and high spectral resolution. The present investigation is concerned with an application of this method. Speckle interferometry is used to measure the radial distribution of CO molecules on angular scales of 1 sec near IRC +10216.

Molecular weight distribution of organic matter by ozonation and biofiltration.

PubMed

Lin, Yen-Hui

2012-01-01

Molecular weight (MW) distribution of organic matter by ozonation and biofiltration was evaluated using gel chromatography. The MW distribution of organic matter by Sephadex G-25 was observed from groups 2 (MW = 1,029-7,031 g/mol) and 3 (MW = 303-1,029 g/mol) shifted to groups 2, 3 and 4 (MW < 303 g/mol) under ozone doses of 0.1 and 0.4 mg O₃/mg total organic carbon (TOC). The shift in MW increases as ozone dosage increases. Biofiltration effectively degraded the organic molecule of group 2; however, the biofiltration only slightly degraded the organic molecule of group 4. Increased ozone dose destroyed functional groups C═C in phenolic and C-O in alcoholic compounds and increased UV-insensitive biodegradable organic carbon for subsequent biofiltration. Biofiltration effectively degraded organic compounds of alcohols and alkenes at an ozone dose of 0.1 mg O₃/mg TOC. Experimental approaches in this study can be applied to evaluate and diagnose the function of a full-scale process combining ozonation and biofiltration in drinking water treatment plants.

Cosmic Infrared Background Sources Clustered Around Quasars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Kirsten R.; Zakamska, Nadia; Marriage, Tobias; Crichton, Devin; Gralla, Megan

2017-06-01

Powerful quasars can be seen out to large distances. As they reside in massive dark matter halos, they provide a useful tracer of large scale structure. We stack Herschel-SPIRE images at 250, 350, and 500 microns at the locations of 13,000 quasars in redshift bins spanning 0.5 < z < 3.5. While the detected signal is dominated on instrumental beam scales by the unresolved dust emission of the quasar and its host galaxy, at z 2 the extended emission is clearly spatially resolved on Mpc scales. This emission is due to star-forming galaxies clustered around the dark matter halos hosting quasars. We measure radial surface brightness profiles of the stacked images to compute the angular correlation function of dusty star-forming galaxies correlated with quasars. We generate a halo occupation distribution model in order to determine the masses of the dark matter halos in which dusty star forming galaxies reside. We are probing potential changes in the halo mass most efficient at hosting star forming galaxies, and assessing any evidence that this halo mass evolved with redshift in the context of "cosmic downsizing".

Organic geochemistry in Pennsylvanian tidally influenced sediments from SW Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mastalerz, Maria; Kvale, E.P.; Stankiewicz, B.A.; Portle, K.

1999-01-01

Tidal rhythmites are vertically stacked small-scale sedimentary structures that record daily variations in tidal current energy and are known to overlie some low-sulfur coals in the Illinois Basin. Tidal rhythmites from the Pennsylvanian Brazil Formation in Indiana have been analyzed sedimentologically, petrographically, and geochemically in order to understand the character and distribution of organic matter (OM) preserved in an environment of daily interactions between marine and fresh waters. The concentration of organic matter (TOC) ranges from traces to 6.9% and sulfur rarely exceeds 0.1% in individual laminae. Angular vitrinite is the major organic matter type, accounting for 50-90% of total OM. The C/S ratio decreases as the verfical distance from the underlying coal increases. A decreasing C/S ratio coupled with decreases in Pr/Ph, Pr/n-C17, Ph/n-C18 ratios and a shift of carbon isotopic composition towards less negative values suggest an increase in salinity from freshwater in the mudflat tidal rhythmite facies close to the coal to brackish/marine in the sandflat tidal rhythmite facies further above from the coal. Within an interval spanning one year of deposition, TOC and S values show monthly variability. On a daily scale, TOC and S oscillations are still detectable but they are of lower magnitude than on a monthly scale. These small-scale variations are believed to reflect oscillations in water salinity related to tidal cycles.Tidal rhythmites are vertically stacked small-scale sedimentary structures that record daily variations in tidal current energy and are known to overlie some low-sulfur coals in the Illinois Basin. Tidal rhythmites from the Pennsylvanian Brazil Formation in Indiana have been analyzed sedimentologically, petrographically, and geochemically in order to understand the character and distribution of organic matter (OM) preserved in an environment of daily interactions between marine and fresh waters. The concentration of organic matter (TOC) ranges from traces to 6.9% and sulfur rarely exceeds 0.1% in individual laminae. Angular vitrinite is the major organic matter type, accounting for 50-90% of total OM. The C/S ratio decreases as the vertical distance from the underlying coal increases. A decreasing C/S ratio coupled with decreases in Pr/Ph, Pr/n-C17, Ph/n-C18 ratios and a shift of carbon isotopic composition towards less negative values suggest an increase in salinity from freshwater in the mudflat tidal rhythmite facies close to the coal to brackish/marine in the sandflat tidal rhythmite facies further above from the coal. Within an interval spanning one year of deposition, TOC and S values show monthly variability. On a daily scale, TOC and S oscillations are still detectable but they are of lower magnitude than on a monthly scale. These small-scale variations are believed to reflect oscillations in water salinity related to tidal cycles.

Search for new physics in dijet angular distributions using proton-proton collisions at $$\\sqrt{s}=$$ 13 TeV and constraints on dark matter and other models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sirunyan, Albert M; et al.

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model, based on measurements of dijet angular distributions in proton-proton collisions atmore » $$\\sqrt{s}=$$ 13 TeV. The data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb$$^{-1}$$. The observed distributions are found to be in agreement with predictions from perturbative quantum chromodynamics that include electroweak corrections, and constraints are placed on models containing quark contact interactions, extra spatial dimensions, quantum black holes, or dark matter. In a benchmark model where only left-handed quarks participate, contact interactions are excluded at the 95% confidence level up to a scale of 12.8 or 17.5 TeV, for destructive or constructive interference, respectively. The most stringent lower limits to date are set on the ultraviolet cutoff in the Arkani-Hamed-Dimopoulos-Dvali model of extra dimensions. In the Giudice-Rattazzi-Wells convention, the cutoff scale is excluded up to 10.1 TeV. The production of quantum black holes is excluded for masses below 5.9 and 8.2 TeV, depending on the model. For the first time, lower limits between 2.0 and 4.6 TeV are set on the mass of a dark matter mediator for (axial-)vector mediators, for the universal quark coupling $$g_\\mathrm{q}\\geq$$ 1.« less

The Correspondence between Convergence Peaks from Weak Lensing and Massive Dark Matter Haloes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Chengliang; Li, Guoliang; Kang, Xi; Liu, Xiangkun; Fan, Zuhui; Yuan, Shuo; Pan, Chuzhong

2018-05-01

The convergence peaks, constructed from galaxy shape measurement in weak lensing, is a powerful probe of cosmology as the peaks can be connected with the underlined dark matter haloes. However the capability of convergence peak statistic is affected by the noise in galaxy shape measurement, signal to noise ratio as well as the contribution from the projected mass distribution from the large-scale structures along the line of sight (LOS). In this paper we use the ray-tracing simulation on a curved sky to investigate the correspondence between the convergence peak and the dark matter haloes at the LOS. We find that, in case of no noise and for source galaxies at zs = 1, more than 65% peaks with SNR ≥ 3 (signal to noise ratio) are related to more than one massive haloes with mass larger than 1013M⊙. Those massive haloes contribute 87.2% to high peaks (SNR ≥ 5) with the remaining contributions are from the large-scale structures. On the other hand, the peaks distribution is skewed by the noise in galaxy shape measurement, especially for lower SNR peaks. In the noisy field where the shape noise is modelled as a Gaussian distribution, about 60% high peaks (SNR ≥ 5) are true peaks and the fraction decreases to 20% for lower peaks (3 ≤ SNR < 5). Furthermore, we find that high peaks (SNR ≥ 5) are dominated by very massive haloes larger than 1014M⊙.

"Non-cold" dark matter at small scales: a general approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murgia, R.; Merle, A.; Viel, M.; Totzauer, M.; Schneider, A.

2017-11-01

Structure formation at small cosmological scales provides an important frontier for dark matter (DM) research. Scenarios with small DM particle masses, large momenta or hidden interactions tend to suppress the gravitational clustering at small scales. The details of this suppression depend on the DM particle nature, allowing for a direct link between DM models and astrophysical observations. However, most of the astrophysical constraints obtained so far refer to a very specific shape of the power suppression, corresponding to thermal warm dark matter (WDM), i.e., candidates with a Fermi-Dirac or Bose-Einstein momentum distribution. In this work we introduce a new analytical fitting formula for the power spectrum, which is simple yet flexible enough to reproduce the clustering signal of large classes of non-thermal DM models, which are not at all adequately described by the oversimplified notion of WDM . We show that the formula is able to fully cover the parameter space of sterile neutrinos (whether resonantly produced or from particle decay), mixed cold and warm models, fuzzy dark matter, as well as other models suggested by effective theory of structure formation (ETHOS). Based on this fitting formula, we perform a large suite of N-body simulations and we extract important nonlinear statistics, such as the matter power spectrum and the halo mass function. Finally, we present first preliminary astrophysical constraints, based on linear theory, from both the number of Milky Way satellites and the Lyman-α forest. This paper is a first step towards a general and comprehensive modeling of small-scale departures from the standard cold DM model.

Challenging the cosmological constant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaloper, Nemanja

2007-09-01

We outline a dynamical dark energy scenario whose signatures may be simultaneously tested by astronomical observations and laboratory experiments. The dark energy is a field with slightly sub-gravitational couplings to matter, a logarithmic self-interaction potential with a scale tuned to ˜10 eV, as is usual in quintessence models, and an effective mass m influenced by the environmental energy density. Its forces may be suppressed just below the current bounds by the chameleon-like mimicry, whereby only outer layers of mass distributions, of thickness 1/m, give off appreciable long range forces. After inflation and reheating, the field is relativistic, and attains a Planckian expectation value before Hubble friction freezes it. This can make gravity in space slightly stronger than on Earth. During the matter era, interactions with nonrelativistic matter dig a minimum close to the Planck scale. However, due to its sub-gravitational matter couplings the field will linger away from this minimum until the matter energy density dips below ˜10 eV. Then it starts to roll to the minimum, driving a period of cosmic acceleration. Among the signatures of this scenario may be dark energy equation of state w≠-1, stronger gravity in dilute mediums, that may influence BBN and appear as an excess of dark matter, and sub-millimeter corrections to Newton's law, close to the present laboratory limits.

Impact of natural organic matter on uranium transport through saturated geologic materials: from molecular to column scale.

PubMed

Yang, Yu; Saiers, James E; Xu, Na; Minasian, Stefan G; Tyliszczak, Tolek; Kozimor, Stosh A; Shuh, David K; Barnett, Mark O

2012-06-05

The risk stemming from human exposure to actinides via the groundwater track has motivated numerous studies on the transport of radionuclides within geologic environments; however, the effects of waterborne organic matter on radionuclide mobility are still poorly understood. In this study, we compared the abilities of three humic acids (HAs) (obtained through sequential extraction of a peat soil) to cotransport hexavalent uranium (U) within water-saturated sand columns. Relative breakthrough concentrations of U measured upon elution of 18 pore volumes increased from undetectable levels (<0.001) in an experiment without HAs to 0.17 to 0.55 in experiments with HAs. The strength of the HA effect on U mobility was positively correlated with the hydrophobicity of organic matter and NMR-detected content of alkyl carbon, which indicates the possible importance of hydrophobic organic matter in facilitating U transport. Carbon and uranium elemental maps collected with a scanning transmission X-ray microscope (STXM) revealed uneven microscale distribution of U. Such molecular- and column-scale data provide evidence for a critical role of hydrophobic organic matter in the association and cotransport of U by HAs. Therefore, evaluations of radionuclide transport within subsurface environments should consider the chemical characteristics of waterborne organic substances, especially hydrophobic organic matter.

Double inflation - A possible resolution of the large-scale structure problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Michael S.; Villumsen, Jens V.; Vittorio, Nicola; Silk, Joseph; Juszkiewicz, Roman

1987-01-01

A model is presented for the large-scale structure of the universe in which two successive inflationary phases resulted in large small-scale and small large-scale density fluctuations. This bimodal density fluctuation spectrum in an Omega = 1 universe dominated by hot dark matter leads to large-scale structure of the galaxy distribution that is consistent with recent observational results. In particular, large, nearly empty voids and significant large-scale peculiar velocity fields are produced over scales of about 100 Mpc, while the small-scale structure over less than about 10 Mpc resembles that in a low-density universe, as observed. Detailed analytical calculations and numerical simulations are given of the spatial and velocity correlations.

Organic matter in primitive meteorites: a study of the hydrogen isotopic distribution in CM-type carbonaceous chondrites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piani, L.; Yurimoto, H.; Remusat, L.; Gonzales, A.; Marty, B.

2017-12-01

Chondrite meteorites are fragments of rocks coming from small bodies of the asteroid belt and constitute witnesses of the volatile-rich reservoirs present in the inner protoplanetary disk. Among these meteorites, carbonaceous chondrites contain the largest quantity of water and organic matter and are one of the most probable candidates for the delivery of water and molecular origin of life to Earth. Organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites is intimately mixed with hydrated minerals challenging its in situ characterization and the determination of its H-isotope composition (Le Guillou et al., GCA 131, 2014). Organic matter occurs as soluble components (in water or organic solvents) and an insoluble macromolecule. The insoluble organic matter (IOM) is efficiently isolated after acid leaching of the chondrite minerals. IOM has thus been investigated by a large set of analytical techniques allowing its structural organization, chemical composition and isotopic composition to be determined at several scales (e.g. Derenne and Robert, MAPS 45, 2010). In the soluble counterpart (SOM), targeted studies have shown large ranges of D/H ratios in the different classes of soluble organic compounds (i.e. carboxylic acids, ketones and aldehydes, amino-acids etc.) (Remusat, Planetary Mineralogy 15, 2015 and references therein). This D/H distribution indicates a complex and probably multiple-stage synthesis of this organic compounds occurring at different stages of the disk evolution. Nevertheless, inventories of the known C-bearing species in carbonaceous chondrites (carbonates, SOM and IOM) show that about 40-50 % of the carbon is hidden within the matrix (Alexander et al., MAPS 50, 2015). In this study, we perform in situ hydrogen isotope analyses at the micrometer scale by secondary ion mass spectrometry to investigate the distribution of organic matter in primitive chondrites without the use of any chemical treatment. Correlated analyses of the D/H and C/H ratios allow us to decipher the H contribution of water-bearing minerals and to estimate the hydrogen isotopic composition of water in chondrites (Piani et al., submitted). Comparison of spot analyses and isotope images obtained in situ and on isolated IOM gives clues on the nature of the organic components of carbonaceous asteroid rocks.

The global distribution and dynamics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter.

PubMed

Nelson, Norman B; Siegel, David A

2013-01-01

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is a ubiquitous component of the open ocean dissolved matter pool, and is important owing to its influence on the optical properties of the water column, its role in photochemistry and photobiology, and its utility as a tracer of deep ocean biogeochemical processes and circulation. In this review, we discuss the global distribution and dynamics of CDOM in the ocean, concentrating on developments in the past 10 years and restricting our discussion to open ocean and deep ocean (below the main thermocline) environments. CDOM has been demonstrated to exert primary control on ocean color by its absorption of light energy, which matches or exceeds that of phytoplankton pigments in most cases. This has important implications for assessing the ocean biosphere via ocean color-based remote sensing and the evaluation of ocean photochemical and photobiological processes. The general distribution of CDOM in the global ocean is controlled by a balance between production (primarily microbial remineralization of organic matter) and photolysis, with vertical ventilation circulation playing an important role in transporting CDOM to and from intermediate water masses. Significant decadal-scale fluctuations in the abundance of global surface ocean CDOM have been observed using remote sensing, indicating a potentially important role for CDOM in ocean-climate connections through its impact on photochemistry and photobiology.

The topology of large-scale structure. I - Topology and the random phase hypothesis. [galactic formation models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberg, David H.; Gott, J. Richard, III; Melott, Adrian L.

1987-01-01

Many models for the formation of galaxies and large-scale structure assume a spectrum of random phase (Gaussian), small-amplitude density fluctuations as initial conditions. In such scenarios, the topology of the galaxy distribution on large scales relates directly to the topology of the initial density fluctuations. Here a quantitative measure of topology - the genus of contours in a smoothed density distribution - is described and applied to numerical simulations of galaxy clustering, to a variety of three-dimensional toy models, and to a volume-limited sample of the CfA redshift survey. For random phase distributions the genus of density contours exhibits a universal dependence on threshold density. The clustering simulations show that a smoothing length of 2-3 times the mass correlation length is sufficient to recover the topology of the initial fluctuations from the evolved galaxy distribution. Cold dark matter and white noise models retain a random phase topology at shorter smoothing lengths, but massive neutrino models develop a cellular topology.

Cosmic string wakes and large-scale structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charlton, Jane C.

1988-01-01

The formation of structure from infinite cosmic string wakes is modeled for a universe dominated by cold dark matter (CDM). Cross-sectional slices through the wake distribution tend to outline empty regions with diameters which are not inconsistent with the range of sizes of the voids in the CfA slice of the universe. The topology of the wake distribution is found to be spongy rather than cell-like. Correlations between CDM wakes do not extend much beyond a horizon length, so it is unlikely that CDM wakes are responsible for the correlations between clusters of galaxies. An estimate of the fraction of matter to accrete onto CDM wakes indicates that wakes could be more important in galaxy formation than previously anticipated.

Surface current patterns suggested by suspended sediment distribution over the outer continental margin, Bering Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Karl, Herman A.; Carlson, P.R.

1987-01-01

Samples of total suspended matter (TSM) were collected at the surface over the northern outer continental margin of the Bering Sea during the summers of 1980 and 1981. Volume concentrations of surface TSM averaged 0.6 and 1.1 mg l-1 for 1980 and 1981, respectively. Organic matter, largely plankton, made up about 65% of the near-surface TSM for both years. Distributions of TSM suggested that shelf circulation patterns were characterized either by meso- and large- scale eddies or by cross-shelf components of flow superimposed on a general northwesterly net drift. These patterns may be caused by large submarine canyons which dominate the physiography of this part of the Bering Sea continental margin. ?? 1987.

Using Advanced Monitoring Tools to Evaluate PM PM2.5 2.5 in San Joaquin Valley

EPA Science Inventory

One of the primary data deficiencies that prevent the advance of policy relevant research on particulate matter, ozone, and associated precursors is the lack of measurement data and knowledge on the true vertical profile and synoptic-scale spatial distributions of the pollutants....

NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE MODELING OF PM 2.5 AND AIR TOXICS CONCENTRATION DISTRIBUTIONS TO DRIVE HUMAN EXPOSURE MODELS

EPA Science Inventory

Air quality (AQ) simulation models provide a basis for implementing the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and are a tool for performing risk-based assessments and for developing environmental management strategies. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), its constituent...

Confirmation of Element Abundance Inhomogeneity in Interstellar Matter from a Study of the O-type Supergiants HDE 226868 (Cyg X-1) and α Cam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karitskaya, E. A.; Bochkarev, N. G.; Shimansky, V. V.; Galazutdinov, G. A.

2011-09-01

Chemical abundances derived for two O-type supergiants with similar parameters confirm the inhomogeneity of heavy-element distribution on a scale of 2 kpc and a lifetime of ISM superclouds exceeding 1 Gyr.

Extending the Applicability of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model to Hemispheric Scales: Motivation, Challenges, and Progress

EPA Science Inventory

The adaptation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system to simulate O₃, particulate matter, and related precursor distributions over the northern hemisphere is presented. Hemispheric simulations with CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecasting (...

Extending the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System to Hemispheric Scales: Overview of Process Considerations and Initial Applications

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system is extended to simulate ozone, particulate matter, and related precursor distributions throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Modeled processes were examined and enhanced to suitably represent the extended space and timesca...

Cosmological perturbation theory for baryons and dark matter: One-loop corrections in the renormalized perturbation theory framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somogyi, Gábor; Smith, Robert E.

2010-01-01

We generalize the renormalized perturbation theory (RPT) formalism of Crocce and Scoccimarro [M. Crocce and R. Scoccimarro, Phys. Rev. DPRVDAQ1550-7998 73, 063519 (2006)10.1103/PhysRevD.73.063519] to deal with multiple fluids in the Universe and here we present the complete calculations up to the one-loop level in the RPT. We apply this approach to the problem of following the nonlinear evolution of baryon and cold dark matter (CDM) perturbations, evolving from the distinct sets of initial conditions, from the high redshift post-recombination Universe right through to the present day. In current theoretical and numerical models of structure formation, it is standard practice to treat baryons and CDM as an effective single matter fluid—the so-called dark matter only modeling. In this approximation, one uses a weighed sum of late-time baryon and CDM transfer functions to set initial mass fluctuations. In this paper we explore whether this approach can be employed for high precision modeling of structure formation. We show that, even if we only follow the linear evolution, there is a large-scale scale-dependent bias between baryons and CDM for the currently favored WMAP5 ΛCDM model. This time evolving bias is significant (>1%) until the present day, when it is driven towards unity through gravitational relaxation processes. Using the RPT formalism we test this approximation in the nonlinear regime. We show that the nonlinear CDM power spectrum in the two-component fluid differs from that obtained from an effective mean-mass one-component fluid by ˜3% on scales of order k˜0.05hMpc-1 at z=10, and by ˜0.5% at z=0. However, for the case of the nonlinear evolution of the baryons the situation is worse and we find that the power spectrum is suppressed, relative to the total matter, by ˜15% on scales k˜0.05hMpc-1 at z=10, and by ˜3%-5% at z=0. Importantly, besides the suppression of the spectrum, the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) features are amplified for baryon and slightly damped for CDM spectra. If we compare the total matter power spectra in the two- and one-component fluid approaches, then we find excellent agreement, with deviations being <0.5% throughout the evolution. Consequences: high precision modeling of the large-scale distribution of baryons in the Universe cannot be achieved through an effective mean-mass one-component fluid approximation; detection significance of BAO will be amplified in probes that study baryonic matter, relative to probes that study the CDM or total mass only. The CDM distribution can be modeled accurately at late times and the total matter at all times. This is good news for probes that are sensitive to the total mass, such as gravitational weak lensing as existing modeling techniques are good enough. Lastly, we identify an analytic approximation that greatly simplifies the evaluation of the full PT expressions, and it is better than <1% over the full range of scales and times considered.

Cosmic background radiation anisotropies in universes dominated by nonbaryonic dark matter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bond, J. R.; Efstathiou, G.

1984-01-01

Detailed calculations of the temperature fluctuations in the cosmic background radiation for universes dominated by massive collisionless relics of the big bang are presented. An initially adiabatic constant curvature perturbation spectrum is assumed. In models with cold dark matter, the simplest hypothesis - that galaxies follow the mass distribution leads to small-scale anisotropies which exceed current observational limits if omega is less than 0.2 h to the -4/3. Since low values of omega are indicated by dynamical studies of galaxy clustering, cold particle models in which light traces mass are probably incorrect. Reheating of the pregalactic medium is unlikely to modify this conclusion. In cold particle or neutrino-dominated universes with omega = 1, presented predictions for small-scale and quadrupole anisotropies are below current limits. In all cases, the small-scale fluctuations are predicted to be about 10 percent linearly polarized.

Large-scale structure after COBE: Peculiar velocities and correlations of cold dark matter halos

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zurek, Wojciech H.; Quinn, Peter J.; Salmon, John K.; Warren, Michael S.

1994-01-01

Large N-body simulations on parallel supercomputers allow one to simultaneously investigate large-scale structure and the formation of galactic halos with unprecedented resolution. Our study shows that the masses as well as the spatial distribution of halos on scales of tens of megaparsecs in a cold dark matter (CDM) universe with the spectrum normalized to the anisotropies detected by Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is compatible with the observations. We also show that the average value of the relative pairwise velocity dispersion sigma(sub v) - used as a principal argument against COBE-normalized CDM models-is significantly lower for halos than for individual particles. When the observational methods of extracting sigma(sub v) are applied to the redshift catalogs obtained from the numerical experiments, estimates differ significantly between different observation-sized samples and overlap observational estimates obtained following the same procedure.

Dark matter haloes: a multistream view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramachandra, Nesar S.; Shandarin, Sergei F.

2017-09-01

Mysterious dark matter constitutes about 85 per cent of all masses in the Universe. Clustering of dark matter plays a dominant role in the formation of all observed structures on scales from a fraction to a few hundreds of Mega-parsecs. Galaxies play a role of lights illuminating these structures so they can be observed. The observations in the last several decades have unveiled opulent geometry of these structures currently known as the cosmic web. Haloes are the highest concentrations of dark matter and host luminous galaxies. Currently the most accurate modelling of dark matter haloes is achieved in cosmological N-body simulations. Identifying the haloes from the distribution of particles in N-body simulations is one of the problems attracting both considerable interest and efforts. We propose a novel framework for detecting potential dark matter haloes using the field unique for dark matter-multistream field. The multistream field emerges at the non-linear stage of the growth of perturbations because the dark matter is collisionless. Counting the number of velocity streams in gravitational collapses supplements our knowledge of spatial clustering. We assume that the virialized haloes have convex boundaries. Closed and convex regions of the multistream field are hence isolated by imposing a positivity condition on all three eigenvalues of the Hessian estimated on the smoothed multistream field. In a single-scale analysis of high multistream field resolution and low softening length, the halo substructures with local multistream maxima are isolated as individual halo sites.

Mapping field spatial distribution patterns of isoproturon-mineralizing activity over a three-year winter wheat/rape seed/barley rotation.

PubMed

Hussain, S; Devers-Lamrani, M; Spor, A; Rouard, N; Porcherot, M; Beguet, J; Martin-Laurent, F

2013-03-01

The temporal and spatial variability of the activity of soil microorganisms able to mineralize the herbicide isoproturon (IPU) pesticide was investigated over a three-year long crop rotation between 2008 and 2010. Isoproturon mineralization was higher in 2008, when winter wheat was treated with this herbicide, than in 2009 and 2010, when rape seed and barley were treated with different herbicides. Under laboratory conditions, we showed that isoproturon mineralization was not promoted by sulfonylurea herbicide applied on barley crop in 2010. IPU mineralization was shown to be highly variable at the field scale in years 2009 and 2010. Principal component analyses and analyses of similarities revealed that soil pH and equivalent humidity, and to a lesser extent soil organic matter content and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were the main drivers of isoproturon-mineralizing activity variance. Using a rather simple model that yields the rate of isoproturon mineralization as a function of soil pH and equivalent humidity, we explained up to 85% of the variance observed. Mapping field-scale distribution of isoproturon mineralization over the three-year survey indicated higher variability in 2009 and in 2010 as compared to 2008, suggesting that isoproturon treatment applied to winter wheat promoted isoproturon mineralization activity and reduced its spatial variability. Field-scale distribution of isoproturon mineralization showed important similarity to the distribution of soil pH, equivalent humidity and to a lesser extent to soil organic matter and cation exchange capacity (CEC) thereby confirming our model. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Massive superclusters as a probe of the nature and amplitude of primordial density fluctuations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaiser, N.; Davis, M.

1985-01-01

It is pointed out that correlation studies of galaxy positions have been widely used in the search for information about the large-scale matter distribution. The study of rare condensations on large scales provides an approach to extend the existing knowledge of large-scale structure into the weakly clustered regime. Shane (1975) provides a description of several apparent massive condensations within the Shane-Wirtanen catalog, taking into account the Serpens-Virgo cloud and the Corona cloud. In the present study, a description is given of a model for estimating the frequency of condensations which evolve from initially Gaussian fluctuations. This model is applied to the Corona cloud to estimate its 'rareness' and thereby estimate the rms density contrast on this mass scale. An attempt is made to find a conflict between the density fluctuations derived from the Corona cloud and independent constraints. A comparison is conducted of the estimate and the density fluctuations predicted to arise in a universe dominated by cold dark matter.

An analytically soluble problem in fully nonlinear statistical gravitational lensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, P.

1987-01-01

The amplification probability distribution p(I)dI for a point source behind a random star field which acts as the deflector exhibits a I exp-3 behavior for large amplification, as can be shown from the universality of the lens equation near critical lines. In this paper it is shown that the amplitude of the I exp-3 tail can be derived exactly for arbitrary mass distribution of the stars, surface mass density of stars and smoothly distributed matter, and large-scale shear. This is then compared with the corresponding linear result.

Antimatter cosmic rays from dark matter annihilation: First results from an N-body experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lavalle, J.; Nezri, E.; Athanassoula, E.

2008-11-15

While the particle hypothesis for dark matter may be very soon investigated at the LHC, and as the PAMELA and GLAST satellites are currently taking new data on charged and gamma cosmic rays, the need of controlling the theoretical uncertainties affecting the possible indirect signatures of dark matter annihilation is of paramount importance. The uncertainties which originate from the dark matter distribution are difficult to estimate because current astrophysical observations provide rather weak dynamical constraints and because, according to cosmological N-body simulations, dark matter is neither smoothly nor spherically distributed in galactic halos. Some previous studies made use of N-bodymore » simulations to compute the {gamma}-ray flux from dark matter annihilation, but such a work has never been performed for the antimatter (positron and antiproton) primary fluxes, for which transport processes complicate the calculations. We take advantage of the galaxylike 3D dark matter map extracted from the Horizon Project results to calculate the positron and antiproton fluxes from dark matter annihilation, in a model-independent approach as well as for dark matter particle benchmarks relevant at the LHC scale (from supersymmetric and extradimensional theories). We find that the flux uncertainties arise mainly from fluctuations of the local dark matter density, and are of {approx}1 order of magnitude. We compare our results to analytic descriptions of the dark matter halo, showing how the latter can well reproduce the former. The overall antimatter predictions associated with our benchmark models are shown to lie far below the existing measurements and, in particular, that of the positron fraction recently reported by PAMELA, and far below the background predictions as well. Finally, we stress the limits of the use of an N-body framework in this context.« less

Mapping all the mass in the universe (with weak gravitational lensing) - Oral Presentation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Everett, Spencer

Recent discoveries have shown that most of the universe is made of an exotic dark matter that behaves much differently than the normal matter that we experience in everyday life. As we cannot detect dark matter directly, we must infer its location in the universe by indirect effects, such as the distortion of light from distant galaxies as it travels through large clouds of dark matter. While the degree of distortion should be proportional to the amount of dark matter present, we don't know the original shape of the galaxy so the distortion is difficult to quantify. If we hadmore » a model of how dark matter is linked to galaxies, and thus be able predict the amount of distortion that should occur, we could apply the model to galaxy surveys to map out the dark matter in our universe. In this research, I attach a spherical 'halo' of dark matter to each galaxy in a simulated universe to approximate its known complex dark matter structure. I then predict how the halos distort the light from distant galaxies generated behind the halos. As the data is simulated, the true distortion of the light is known which is compared to the halo-predicted distortion. I find that, on average, the model under-predicts the degree of distortion on all scales and fails to capture distortions from large-scale dark matter structure. These issues are likely due to missing features in the model, as the halo model is a greatly simplified version of the actual distribution of dark matter. Potential improvements to the model for future work are discussed.« less

The lack of luminous matter in the poles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shatsova, R. B.; Anisimova, G. B.

2010-01-01

Many RR Lyral type stars, globular clusters and dwarf galaxus of Local Group are localized in the thin oval envelopes around the holes. 12 ovals over ▵b = 30° are in the zone of Polar Ring of the Galaxy l = (97° and 277°)+/-30°. IRAS sources on λ = 60° and 100 mμ have roughly similar distribution. These small formations partly resemble the cells of large scale of the Universe and maybe have the identical nature. It is possible that the observable picture is formed by the dark matter.

Cosmological implications of primordial black holes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luis Bernal, José; Bellomo, Nicola; Raccanelli, Alvise

The possibility that a relevant fraction of the dark matter might be comprised of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) has been seriously reconsidered after LIGO's detection of a ∼ 30 M {sub ⊙} binary black holes merger. Despite the strong interest in the model, there is a lack of studies on possible cosmological implications and effects on cosmological parameters inference. We investigate correlations with the other standard cosmological parameters using cosmic microwave background observations, finding significant degeneracies, especially with the tilt of the primordial power spectrum and the sound horizon at radiation drag. However, these degeneracies can be greatly reduced withmore » the inclusion of small scale polarization data. We also explore if PBHs as dark matter in simple extensions of the standard ΛCDM cosmological model induces extra degeneracies, especially between the additional parameters and the PBH's ones. Finally, we present cosmic microwave background constraints on the fraction of dark matter in PBHs, not only for monochromatic PBH mass distributions but also for popular extended mass distributions. Our results show that extended mass distribution's constraints are tighter, but also that a considerable amount of constraining power comes from the high-ℓ polarization data. Moreover, we constrain the shape of such mass distributions in terms of the correspondent constraints on the PBH mass fraction.« less

Dark Matter in the Universe and in the Galaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamionkowski, Marc

1999-01-01

During the past four years, Prof. Kamionkowski and collaborators have made progress in research on the nature and distribution of dark-matter in the Universe and in the Galaxy, and on related topics in astrophysics and cosmology. We have made progress on research on the cosmic microwave background, large-scale structure, issues related to particle dark matter, and the gamma-ray-burst enigma. A significant fraction of the research supported by this ATP has been on the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Prof. Kamionkowski and collaborators showed how the polarization of the CMB could be used to detect long-wavelength gravitational waves, such as those produced by inflation. With Kosowsky, Prof. Kamionkowski calculated the amplitude of a stochastic gravitational-wave background that could be detected for a satellite experiment of a given sensitivity and angular resolution. They showed that polarization should improve the sensitivity oa MAP to these gravity waves, and that the Planck Surveyor should do even better. Prof. Kamionkowski, Caldwell, and a student calculated and illustrated the CMB temperature/polarization pattern produced by a single plane-wave gravitational wave. They calculated the amplitude of such a wave that would be detectable with MAP and Planck, and compared that with the sensitivity of traditional gravitational-wave detectors like LIGO and LISA. With Lue and Wang, the PI showed how parity violation from new high-energy physics could conceivably give rise to an observable signature in the CMB polarization. With Loeb, Prof. Kamionkowski showed how measurement of the polarization of CMB photons scattered by hot gas in a cluster could be used to determine the quadrupole moment of the CMB incident on that cluster. Prof. Kamionkowski and Jaffe calculated the amplitude of secondary anisotropies produced by scattering of CMB photons from reionized regions. Research has also been carried out on probing the large-scale distribution of mass in the Universe today, and on structure-formation theories. They investigated the possibility of determining the large-scale distribution of mass in the Universe via measurement of ellipticity-ellipticity correlations in the FIRST radio survey induced by weak gravitational lensing due to mass inhomogeneities along the line of sight. Dr. Summers, Prof. Kamionkowski, and a student investigated the distribution of protogalactic masses and angular momenta in an effort to understand how the luminosity function and angular-momentum distribution of disk galaxies arises from an initial power spectrum of density perturbations. Several projects related to the distribution and possible detection of dark matter in our Galactic halo were studied. The PI was involved in several projects involving the calculation of nuclear-reaction rates needed for stellar evolution and for predictions of solar-neutrino fluxes.

Soil organic matter dynamics and CO2 fluxes in relation to landscape scale processes: linking process understanding to regional scale carbon mass-balances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Oost, Kristof; Nadeu, Elisabet; Wiaux, François; Wang, Zhengang; Stevens, François; Vanclooster, Marnik; Tran, Anh; Bogaert, Patrick; Doetterl, Sebastian; Lambot, Sébastien; Van wesemael, Bas

2014-05-01

In this paper, we synthesize the main outcomes of a collaborative project (2009-2014) initiated at the UCL (Belgium). The main objective of the project was to increase our understanding of soil organic matter dynamics in complex landscapes and use this to improve predictions of regional scale soil carbon balances. In a first phase, the project characterized the emergent spatial variability in soil organic matter storage and key soil properties at the regional scale. Based on the integration of remote sensing, geomorphological and soil analysis techniques, we quantified the temporal and spatial variability of soil carbon stock and pool distribution at the local and regional scales. This work showed a linkage between lateral fluxes of C in relation with sediment transport and the spatial variation in carbon storage at multiple spatial scales. In a second phase, the project focused on characterizing key controlling factors and process interactions at the catena scale. In-situ experiments of soil CO2 respiration showed that the soil carbon response at the catena scale was spatially heterogeneous and was mainly controlled by the catenary variation of soil physical attributes (soil moisture, temperature, C quality). The hillslope scale characterization relied on advanced hydrogeophysical techniques such as GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar), EMI (Electromagnetic induction), ERT (Electrical Resistivity Tomography), and geophysical inversion and data mining tools. Finally, we report on the integration of these insights into a coupled and spatially explicit model and its application. Simulations showed that C stocks and redistribution of mass and energy fluxes are closely coupled, they induce structured spatial and temporal patterns with non negligible attached uncertainties. We discuss the main outcomes of these activities in relation to sink-source behavior and relevance of erosion processes for larger-scale C budgets.

Global distribution of dissolved organic matter along the aquatic continuum: Across rivers, lakes and oceans.

PubMed

Massicotte, Philippe; Asmala, Eero; Stedmon, Colin; Markager, Stiig

2017-12-31

Based on an extensive literature survey containing more than 12,000 paired measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations and absorption of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) distributed over four continents and seven oceans, we described the global distribution and transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) along the aquatic continuum across rivers and lakes to oceans. A strong log-linear relationship (R 2 =0.92) between DOC concentration and CDOM absorption at 350nm was observed at a global scale, but was found to be ecosystem-dependent at local and regional scales. Our results reveal that as DOM is transported towards the oceans, the robustness of the observed relation decreases rapidly (R 2 from 0.94 to 0.44) indicating a gradual decoupling between DOC and CDOM. This likely reflects the decreased connectivity between the landscape and DOM along the aquatic continuum. To support this hypothesis, we used the DOC-specific UV absorbance (SUVA) to characterize the reactivity of the DOM pool which decreased from 4.9 to 1.7m 2 × gC -1 along the aquatic continuum. Across the continuum, a piecewise linear regression showed that the observed decrease of SUVA occurred more rapidly in freshwater ecosystems compared to marine water ecosystems, suggesting that the different degradation processes act preferentially on CDOM rather than carbon content. The observed change in the DOM characteristics along the aquatic continuum also suggests that the terrestrial DOM pool is gradually becoming less reactive, which has profound consequences on cycling of organic carbon in aquatic ecosystems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measuring the Power Spectrum with Peculiar Velocities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macaulay, Edward; Feldman, H. A.; Ferreira, P. G.; Jaffe, A. H.; Agarwal, S.; Hudson, M. J.; Watkins, R.

2012-01-01

The peculiar velocities of galaxies are an inherently valuable cosmological probe, providing an unbiased estimate of the distribution of matter on scales much larger than the depth of the survey. Much research interest has been motivated by the high dipole moment of our local peculiar velocity field, which suggests a large scale excess in the matter power spectrum, and can appear to be in some tension with the LCDM model. We use a composite catalogue of 4,537 peculiar velocity measurements with a characteristic depth of 33 h-1 Mpc to estimate the matter power spectrum. We compare the constraints with this method, directly studying the full peculiar velocity catalogue, to results from Macaulay et al. (2011), studying minimum variance moments of the velocity field, as calculated by Watkins, Feldman & Hudson (2009) and Feldman, Watkins & Hudson (2010). We find good agreement with the LCDM model on scales of k > 0.01 h Mpc-1. We find an excess of power on scales of k < 0.01 h Mpc-1, although with a 1 sigma uncertainty which includes the LCDM model. We find that the uncertainty in the excess at these scales is larger than an alternative result studying only moments of the velocity field, which is due to the minimum variance weights used to calculate the moments. At small scales, we are able to clearly discriminate between linear and nonlinear clustering in simulated peculiar velocity catalogues, and find some evidence (although less clear) for linear clustering in the real peculiar velocity data.

THE SL2S GALAXY-SCALE LENS SAMPLE. V. DARK MATTER HALOS AND STELLAR IMF OF MASSIVE EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES OUT TO REDSHIFT 0.8

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sonnenfeld, Alessandro; Treu, Tommaso; Marshall, Philip J.

2015-02-20

We investigate the cosmic evolution of the internal structure of massive early-type galaxies over half of the age of the universe. We perform a joint lensing and stellar dynamics analysis of a sample of 81 strong lenses from the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey and Sloan ACS Lens Survey and combine the results with a hierarchical Bayesian inference method to measure the distribution of dark matter mass and stellar initial mass function (IMF) across the population of massive early-type galaxies. Lensing selection effects are taken into account. We find that the dark matter mass projected within the inner 5 kpc increasesmore » for increasing redshift, decreases for increasing stellar mass density, but is roughly constant along the evolutionary tracks of early-type galaxies. The average dark matter slope is consistent with that of a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, but is not well constrained. The stellar IMF normalization is close to a Salpeter IMF at log M {sub *} = 11.5 and scales strongly with increasing stellar mass. No dependence of the IMF on redshift or stellar mass density is detected. The anti-correlation between dark matter mass and stellar mass density supports the idea of mergers being more frequent in more massive dark matter halos.« less

The SL2S galaxy-scale lens sample. V. dark matter halos and stellar IMF of massive early-type galaxies out to redshift 0.8

DOE PAGES

Sonnenfeld, Alessandro; Treu, Tommaso; Marshall, Philip J.; ...

2015-02-17

Here, we investigate the cosmic evolution of the internal structure of massive early-type galaxies over half of the age of the universe. We also perform a joint lensing and stellar dynamics analysis of a sample of 81 strong lenses from the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey and Sloan ACS Lens Survey and combine the results with a hierarchical Bayesian inference method to measure the distribution of dark matter mass and stellar initial mass function (IMF) across the population of massive early-type galaxies. Lensing selection effects are taken into account. Furthermore, we found that the dark matter mass projected within the innermore » 5 kpc increases for increasing redshift, decreases for increasing stellar mass density, but is roughly constant along the evolutionary tracks of early-type galaxies. The average dark matter slope is consistent with that of a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, but is not well constrained. The stellar IMF normalization is close to a Salpeter IMF at log M * = 11.5 and scales strongly with increasing stellar mass. No dependence of the IMF on redshift or stellar mass density is detected. The anti-correlation between dark matter mass and stellar mass density supports the idea of mergers being more frequent in more massive dark matter halos.« less

Massive neutrinos and the pancake theory of galaxy formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaeffer, R.; Silk, J.

1984-01-01

Three problems encountered by the pancake theory of galaxy formation in a massive neutrino-dominated universe are discussed. A nonlinear model for pancakes is shown to reconcile the data with the predicted coherence length and velocity field, and minimal predictions are given of the contribution from the large-scale matter distribution.

The shape of galaxy dark matter halos in massive galaxy clusters: Insights from strong gravitational lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jauzac, Mathilde; Harvey, David; Massey, Richard

2018-04-01

We assess how much unused strong lensing information is available in the deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging and VLT/MUSE spectroscopy of the Frontier Field clusters. As a pilot study, we analyse galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (z=0.397, M(R < 200 kpc)=1.6×1014M⊙), which has 141 multiple images with spectroscopic redshifts. We find that many additional parameters in a cluster mass model can be constrained, and that adding even small amounts of extra freedom to a model can dramatically improve its figures of merit. We use this information to constrain the distribution of dark matter around cluster member galaxies, simultaneously with the cluster's large-scale mass distribution. We find tentative evidence that some galaxies' dark matter has surprisingly similar ellipticity to their stars (unlike in the field, where it is more spherical), but that its orientation is often misaligned. When non-coincident dark matter and stellar halos are allowed, the model improves by 35%. This technique may provide a new way to investigate the processes and timescales on which dark matter is stripped from galaxies as they fall into a massive cluster. Our preliminary conclusions will be made more robust by analysing the remaining five Frontier Field clusters.

Quantitative analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging for hepatic encephalopathy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syh, Hon-Wei; Chu, Wei-Kom; Ong, Chin-Sing

1992-06-01

High intensity lesions around ventricles have recently been observed in T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance images for patients suffering hepatic encephalopathy. The exact etiology that causes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gray scale changes has not been totally understood. The objective of our study was to investigate, through quantitative means, (1) the amount of changes to brain white matter due to the disease process, and (2) the extent and distribution of these high intensity lesions, since it is believed that the abnormality may not be entirely limited to the white matter only. Eleven patients with proven haptic encephalopathy and three normal persons without any evidence of liver abnormality constituted our current data base. Trans-axial, sagittal, and coronal brain MRI were obtained on a 1.5 Tesla scanner. All processing was carried out on a microcomputer-based image analysis system in an off-line manner. Histograms were decomposed into regular brain tissues and lesions. Gray scale ranges coded as lesion were then brought back to original images to identify distribution of abnormality. Our results indicated the disease process involved pallidus, mesencephalon, and subthalamic regions.

Simulating the cold dark matter-neutrino dipole with TianNu

DOE PAGES

Inman, Derek; Yu, Hao-Ran; Zhu, Hong-Ming; ...

2017-04-20

Measurements of neutrino mass in cosmological observations rely on two-point statistics that are hindered by significant degeneracies with the optical depth and galaxy bias. The relative velocity effect between cold dark matter and neutrinos induces a large scale dipole in the matter density field and may be able to provide orthogonal constraints to standard techniques. In this paper, we numerically investigate this dipole in the TianNu simulation, which contains cold dark matter and 50 meV neutrinos. We first compute the dipole using a new linear response technique where we treat the displacement caused by the relative velocity as a phasemore » in Fourier space and then integrate the matter power spectrum over redshift. Then, we compute the dipole numerically in real space using the simulation density and velocity fields. We find excellent agreement between the linear response and N-body methods. Finally, utilizing the dipole as an observational tool requires two tracers of the matter distribution that are differently biased with respect to the neutrino density.« less

Resonantly produced 7 keV sterile neutrino dark matter models and the properties of Milky Way satellites.

PubMed

Abazajian, Kevork N

2014-04-25

Sterile neutrinos produced through a resonant Shi-Fuller mechanism are arguably the simplest model for a dark matter interpretation of the origin of the recent unidentified x-ray line seen toward a number of objects harboring dark matter. Here, I calculate the exact parameters required in this mechanism to produce the signal. The suppression of small-scale structure predicted by these models is consistent with Local Group and high-z galaxy count constraints. Very significantly, the parameters necessary in these models to produce the full dark matter density fulfill previously determined requirements to successfully match the Milky Way Galaxy's total satellite abundance, the satellites' radial distribution, and their mass density profile, or the "too-big-to-fail problem." I also discuss how further precision determinations of the detailed properties of the candidate sterile neutrino dark matter can probe the nature of the quark-hadron transition, which takes place during the dark matter production.

Primordial black holes from single field models of inflation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Bellido, Juan; Ruiz Morales, Ester

2017-12-01

Primordial black holes (PBH) have been shown to arise from high peaks in the matter power spectra of multi-field models of inflation. Here we show, with a simple toy model, that it is also possible to generate a peak in the curvature power spectrum of single-field inflation. We assume that the effective dynamics of the inflaton field presents a near-inflection point which slows down the field right before the end of inflation and gives rise to a prominent spike in the fluctuation power spectrum at scales much smaller than those probed by Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Large Scale Structure (LSS) observations. This peak will give rise, upon reentry during the radiation era, to PBH via gravitational collapse. The mass and abundance of these PBH is such that they could constitute the totality of the Dark Matter today. We satisfy all CMB and LSS constraints and predict a very broad range of PBH masses. Some of these PBH are light enough that they will evaporate before structure formation, leaving behind a large curvature fluctuation on small scales. This broad mass distribution of PBH as Dark Matter will be tested in the future by AdvLIGO and LISA interferometers.

Towards a Holistic Cortical Thickness Descriptor: Heat Kernel-Based Grey Matter Morphology Signatures.

PubMed

Wang, Gang; Wang, Yalin

2017-02-15

In this paper, we propose a heat kernel based regional shape descriptor that may be capable of better exploiting volumetric morphological information than other available methods, thereby improving statistical power on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis. The mechanism of our analysis is driven by the graph spectrum and the heat kernel theory, to capture the volumetric geometry information in the constructed tetrahedral meshes. In order to capture profound brain grey matter shape changes, we first use the volumetric Laplace-Beltrami operator to determine the point pair correspondence between white-grey matter and CSF-grey matter boundary surfaces by computing the streamlines in a tetrahedral mesh. Secondly, we propose multi-scale grey matter morphology signatures to describe the transition probability by random walk between the point pairs, which reflects the inherent geometric characteristics. Thirdly, a point distribution model is applied to reduce the dimensionality of the grey matter morphology signatures and generate the internal structure features. With the sparse linear discriminant analysis, we select a concise morphology feature set with improved classification accuracies. In our experiments, the proposed work outperformed the cortical thickness features computed by FreeSurfer software in the classification of Alzheimer's disease and its prodromal stage, i.e., mild cognitive impairment, on publicly available data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The multi-scale and physics based volumetric structure feature may bring stronger statistical power than some traditional methods for MRI-based grey matter morphology analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Linear and non-linear bias: predictions versus measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, K.; Bel, J.; Gaztañaga, E.

2017-02-01

We study the linear and non-linear bias parameters which determine the mapping between the distributions of galaxies and the full matter density fields, comparing different measurements and predictions. Associating galaxies with dark matter haloes in the Marenostrum Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (MICE) Grand Challenge N-body simulation, we directly measure the bias parameters by comparing the smoothed density fluctuations of haloes and matter in the same region at different positions as a function of smoothing scale. Alternatively, we measure the bias parameters by matching the probability distributions of halo and matter density fluctuations, which can be applied to observations. These direct bias measurements are compared to corresponding measurements from two-point and different third-order correlations, as well as predictions from the peak-background model, which we presented in previous papers using the same data. We find an overall variation of the linear bias measurements and predictions of ˜5 per cent with respect to results from two-point correlations for different halo samples with masses between ˜1012and1015 h-1 M⊙ at the redshifts z = 0.0 and 0.5. Variations between the second- and third-order bias parameters from the different methods show larger variations, but with consistent trends in mass and redshift. The various bias measurements reveal a tight relation between the linear and the quadratic bias parameters, which is consistent with results from the literature based on simulations with different cosmologies. Such a universal relation might improve constraints on cosmological models, derived from second-order clustering statistics at small scales or higher order clustering statistics.

Vertical distribution of bacterial community is associated with the degree of soil organic matter decomposition in the active layer of moist acidic tundra.

PubMed

Kim, Hye Min; Lee, Min Jin; Jung, Ji Young; Hwang, Chung Yeon; Kim, Mincheol; Ro, Hee-Myong; Chun, Jongsik; Lee, Yoo Kyung

2016-11-01

The increasing temperature in Arctic tundra deepens the active layer, which is the upper layer of permafrost soil that experiences repeated thawing and freezing. The increasing of soil temperature and the deepening of active layer seem to affect soil microbial communities. Therefore, information on soil microbial communities at various soil depths is essential to understand their potential responses to climate change in the active layer soil. We investigated the community structure of soil bacteria in the active layer from moist acidic tundra in Council, Alaska. We also interpreted their relationship with some relevant soil physicochemical characteristics along soil depth with a fine scale (5 cm depth interval). The bacterial community structure was found to change along soil depth. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Planctomycetes, and candidate phylum WPS-2 rapidly decreased with soil depth, while those of Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes, and candidate AD3 rapidly increased. A structural shift was also found in the soil bacterial communities around 20 cm depth, where two organic (upper Oi and lower Oa) horizons are subdivided. The quality and the decomposition degree of organic matter might have influenced the bacterial community structure. Besides the organic matter quality, the vertical distribution of bacterial communities was also found to be related to soil pH and total phosphorus content. This study showed the vertical change of bacterial community in the active layer with a fine scale resolution and the possible influence of the quality of soil organic matter on shaping bacterial community structure.

Large-Scale Distribution and Activity of Prokaryotes in Deep-Sea Surface Sediments of the Mediterranean Sea and the Adjacent Atlantic Ocean

PubMed Central

Giovannelli, Donato; Molari, Massimiliano; d’Errico, Giuseppe; Baldrighi, Elisa; Pala, Claudia; Manini, Elena

2013-01-01

The deep-sea represents a substantial portion of the biosphere and has a major influence on carbon cycling and global biogeochemistry. Benthic deep-sea prokaryotes have crucial roles in this ecosystem, with their recycling of organic matter from the photic zone. Despite this, little is known about the large-scale distribution of prokaryotes in the surface deep-sea sediments. To assess the influence of environmental and trophic variables on the large-scale distribution of prokaryotes, we investigated the prokaryotic assemblage composition (Bacteria to Archaea and Euryarchaeota to Crenarchaeota ratio) and activity in the surface deep-sea sediments of the Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent North Atlantic Ocean. Prokaryotic abundance and biomass did not vary significantly across the Mediterranean Sea; however, there were depth-related trends in all areas. The abundance of prokaryotes was positively correlated with the sedimentary concentration of protein, an indicator of the quality and bioavailability of organic matter. Moving eastwards, the Bacteria contribution to the total prokaryotes decreased, which appears to be linked to the more oligotrophic conditions of the Eastern Mediterranean basins. Despite the increased importance of Archaea, the contributions of Crenarchaeota Marine Group I to the total pool was relatively constant across the investigated stations, with the exception of Matapan-Vavilov Deep, in which Euryarchaeota Marine Group II dominated. Overall, our data suggest that deeper areas of the Mediterranean Sea share more similar communities with each other than with shallower sites. Freshness and quality of sedimentary organic matter were identified through Generalized Additive Model analysis as the major factors for describing the variation in the prokaryotic community structure and activity in the surface deep-sea sediments. Longitude was also important in explaining the observed variability, which suggests that the overlying water masses might have a critical role in shaping the benthic communities. PMID:24039667

The Very Small Scale Clustering of SDSS-II and SDSS-III Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piscionere, Jennifer

2015-01-01

We measure the angular clustering of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 in order to probe the spatial distribution of satellite galaxies within their dark matter halos. Specifically, we measure the angular correlation function on very small scales (7 - 320‧‧) in a range of luminosity threshold samples (absolute r-band magnitudes of -18 up to -21) that are constructed from the subset of SDSS that has been spectroscopically observed more than once (the so-called plate overlap region). We choose to measure angular clustering in this reduced survey footprint in order to minimize the effects of fiber collision incompleteness, which are otherwise substantial on these small scales. We model our clustering measurements using a fully numerical halo model that populates dark matter halos in N-body simulations to create realistic mock galaxy catalogs. The model has free parameters that specify both the number and spatial distribution of galaxies within their host halos. We adopt a flexible density profile for the spatial distribution of satellite galaxies that is similar to the dark matter Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, except that the inner slope is allowed to vary. We find that the angular clustering of our most luminous samples (Mr < -20 and -21) suggests that luminous satellite galaxies have substantially steeper inner density profiles than NFW. Lower luminosity samples are less constraining, however, and are consistent with satellite galaxies having shallow density profiles. Our results confirm the findings of Watson et al. (2012) while using different clustering measurements and modeling methodology. With the new SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS; Dawson et al., 2013), we can measure how the same class of galaxy evolves over time. The BOSS CMASS sample is of roughly constant stellar mass and number density out to z ˜ 0.6. The clustering of these samples appears to evolve very little with redshift, and each of the samples exhibit flattening of wp at roughly the same comoving distance of 100kpc.

Contribution of peculiar shear motions to large-scale structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueler, Hans-Reinhard; Treumann, Rudolf A.

1994-01-01

Self-gravitating shear flow instability simulations in a cold dark matter-dominated expanding Einstein-de Sitter universe have been performed. When the shear flow speed exceeds a certain threshold, self-gravitating Kelvin-Helmoholtz instability occurs, forming density voids and excesses along the shear flow layer which serve as seeds for large-scale structure formation. A possible mechanism for generating shear peculiar motions are velocity fluctuations induced by the density perturbations of the postinflation era. In this scenario, short scales grow earlier than large scales. A model of this kind may contribute to the cellular structure of the luminous mass distribution in the universe.

White matter tract signatures of impaired social cognition in frontotemporal lobar degeneration

PubMed Central

Downey, Laura E.; Mahoney, Colin J.; Buckley, Aisling H.; Golden, Hannah L.; Henley, Susie M.; Schmitz, Nicole; Schott, Jonathan M.; Simpson, Ivor J.; Ourselin, Sebastien; Fox, Nick C.; Crutch, Sebastian J.; Warren, Jason D.

2015-01-01

Impairments of social cognition are often leading features in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and likely to reflect large-scale brain network disintegration. However, the neuroanatomical basis of impaired social cognition in FTLD and the role of white matter connections have not been defined. Here we assessed social cognition in a cohort of patients representing two core syndromes of FTLD, behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD; n = 29) and semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA; n = 15), relative to healthy older individuals (n = 37) using two components of the Awareness of Social Inference Test, canonical emotion identification and sarcasm identification. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to derive white matter tract correlates of social cognition performance and compared with the distribution of grey matter atrophy on voxel-based morphometry. The bvFTD and svPPA groups showed comparably severe deficits for identification of canonical emotions and sarcasm, and these deficits were correlated with distributed and overlapping white matter tract alterations particularly affecting frontotemporal connections in the right cerebral hemisphere. The most robust DTI associations were identified in white matter tracts linking cognitive and evaluative processing with emotional responses: anterior thalamic radiation, fornix (emotion identification) and uncinate fasciculus (sarcasm identification). DTI associations of impaired social cognition were more consistent than corresponding grey matter associations. These findings delineate a brain network substrate for the social impairment that characterises FTLD syndromes. The findings further suggest that DTI can generate sensitive and functionally relevant indexes of white matter damage in FTLD, with potential to transcend conventional syndrome boundaries. PMID:26236629

Cold dark matter. 2: Spatial and velocity statistics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelb, James M.; Bertschinger, Edmund

1994-01-01

We examine high-resolution gravitational N-body simulations of the omega = 1 cold dark matter (CDM) model in order to determine whether there is any normalization of the initial density fluctuation spectrum that yields acceptable results for galaxy clustering and velocities. Dense dark matter halos in the evolved mass distribution are identified with luminous galaxies; the most massive halos are also considered as sites for galaxy groups, with a range of possibilities explored for the group mass-to-light ratios. We verify the earlier conclusions of White et al. (1987) for the low-amplitude (high-bias) CDM model-the galaxy correlation function is marginally acceptable but that there are too many galaxies. We also show that the peak biasing method does not accurately reproduce the results obtained using dense halos identified in the simulations themselves. The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) anisotropy implies a higher normalization, resulting in problems with excessive pairwise galaxy velocity dispersion unless a strong velocity bias is present. Although we confirm the strong velocity bias of halos reported by Couchman & Carlberg (1992), we show that the galaxy motions are still too large on small scales. We find no amplitude for which the CDM model can reconcile simultaneously and galaxy correlation function, the low pairwise velocity dispersion, and the richness distribution of groups and clusters. With the normalization implied by COBE, the CDM spectrum has too much power on small scales if omega = 1.

Populating dark matter haloes with galaxies: comparing the 2dFGRS with mock galaxy redshift surveys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xiaohu; Mo, H. J.; Jing, Y. P.; van den Bosch, Frank C.; Chu, YaoQuan

2004-06-01

In two recent papers, we developed a powerful technique to link the distribution of galaxies to that of dark matter haloes by considering halo occupation numbers as a function of galaxy luminosity and type. In this paper we use these distribution functions to populate dark matter haloes in high-resolution N-body simulations of the standard ΛCDM cosmology with Ωm= 0.3, ΩΛ= 0.7 and σ8= 0.9. Stacking simulation boxes of 100 h-1 Mpc and 300 h-1 Mpc with 5123 particles each we construct mock galaxy redshift surveys out to a redshift of z= 0.2 with a numerical resolution that guarantees completeness down to 0.01L*. We use these mock surveys to investigate various clustering statistics. The predicted two-dimensional correlation function ξ(rp, π) reveals clear signatures of redshift space distortions. The projected correlation functions for galaxies with different luminosities and types, derived from ξ(rp, π), match the observations well on scales larger than ~3 h-1 Mpc. On smaller scales, however, the model overpredicts the clustering power by about a factor two. Modelling the `finger-of-God' effect on small scales reveals that the standard ΛCDM model predicts pairwise velocity dispersions (PVD) that are ~400 km s-1 too high at projected pair separations of ~1 h-1 Mpc. A strong velocity bias in massive haloes, with bvel≡σgal/σdm~ 0.6 (where σgal and σdm are the velocity dispersions of galaxies and dark matter particles, respectively) can reduce the predicted PVD to the observed level, but does not help to resolve the overprediction of clustering power on small scales. Consistent results can be obtained within the standard ΛCDM model only when the average mass-to-light ratio of clusters is of the order of 1000 (M/L)solar in the B-band. Alternatively, as we show by a simple approximation, a ΛCDM model with σ8~= 0.75 may also reproduce the observational results. We discuss our results in light of the recent WMAP results and the constraints on σ8 obtained independently from other observations.

Basic Equations Interrelate Atomic and Nuclear Properties to Patterns at the Size Scales of the Cosmos, Extended Clusters of Galaxies, Galaxies, and Nebulae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, Rob

2016-09-01

Structures within molecules and nuclei have relationships to astronomical patterns. The COBE cosmic scale plots, and large scale surveys of galaxy clusters have patterns also repeating and well known at atomic scales. The Induction, Strong Force, and Nuclear Binding Energy Periods within the Big Bang are revealed to have played roles in the formation of these large scale distributions. Equations related to the enormous patterns also model chemical bonds and likely nucleus and nucleon substructures. ratios of the forces that include gravity are accurately calculated from the distributions and shapes. In addition, particle masses and a great many physical constants can be derived with precision and accuracy from astrophysical shapes. A few very basic numbers can do modelling from nucleon internals to molecules to super novae, and up to the Visible Universe. Equations are also provided along with possible structural configurations for some Cold Dark Matter and Dark Energy.

Primeval galaxies and cold dark matter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silk, Joseph; Szalay, Alexander S.

1987-01-01

In the context of the cold dark matter theory for the large-scale matter distribution, the onset of galaxy formation is a gradual process, with star formation being initiated at z = about 10 and reaching a peak for luminous galaxies at z = about 1. The mass function of galaxy cores matches the observed quasar luminosity function at z = 2-3. Primeval galaxies are envisaged as a collection of many interacting and merging clumps, attaining a peak luminosity that is an order of magnitude below that achieved in models in which galaxy formation is initiated abruptly. Hence, ongoing searches for primeval galaxies would not necessarily have been successful unless they are designed to find moderately low-luminosity, low-surface-brigtness extended objects at low redshift.

Time-sliced perturbation theory for large scale structure I: general formalism

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blas, Diego; Garny, Mathias; Sibiryakov, Sergey

2016-07-01

We present a new analytic approach to describe large scale structure formation in the mildly non-linear regime. The central object of the method is the time-dependent probability distribution function generating correlators of the cosmological observables at a given moment of time. Expanding the distribution function around the Gaussian weight we formulate a perturbative technique to calculate non-linear corrections to cosmological correlators, similar to the diagrammatic expansion in a three-dimensional Euclidean quantum field theory, with time playing the role of an external parameter. For the physically relevant case of cold dark matter in an Einstein-de Sitter universe, the time evolution ofmore » the distribution function can be found exactly and is encapsulated by a time-dependent coupling constant controlling the perturbative expansion. We show that all building blocks of the expansion are free from spurious infrared enhanced contributions that plague the standard cosmological perturbation theory. This paves the way towards the systematic resummation of infrared effects in large scale structure formation. We also argue that the approach proposed here provides a natural framework to account for the influence of short-scale dynamics on larger scales along the lines of effective field theory.« less

A lacustrine carbonate record of Holocene seasonality and climate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wittkop, Chad A.; Teranes, Jane L.; Dean, Walter E.; Guilderson, Thomas P.

2009-01-01

Annually laminated (varved) Holocene sediments from Derby Lake, Michigan, display variations in endogenic calcite abundance reflecting a long-(millennial-scale) decrease in burial punctuated with frequent short- (decadal-scale) oscillations due to carbonate dissolution. Since 6000 cal yr B.P., sediment carbonate abundance has followed a decreasing trend while organic-carbon abundance has increased. The correlation between organic-carbon abundance and the sum of March-April-October-November insolation has an r2 value of 0.58. We interpret these trends to represent a precession-driven lengthening of the Holocene growing season that has reduced calcite burial by enhancing net annual organic-matter production and associated calcite dissolution. Correlations with regional paleoclimate records suggest that changes in temperature and moisture balance have impacted the distribution of short- oscillations in carbonate and organic-matter abundance superimposed on the precession-driven trends.

Nexus of the Cosmic Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cautun, Marius; van de Weygaert, Rien; Jones, Bernard J. T.; Frenk, Carlos S.; Hellwing, Wojciech A.

2015-01-01

One of the important unknowns of current cosmology concerns the effects of the large scale distribution of matter on the formation and evolution of dark matter haloes and galaxies. One main difficulty in answering this question lies in the absence of a robust and natural way of identifying the large scale environments and their characteristics. This work summarizes the NEXUS+ formalism which extends and improves our multiscale scale-space MMF method. The new algorithm is very successful in tracing the Cosmic Web components, mainly due to its novel filtering of the density in logarithmic space. The method, due to its multiscale and hierarchical character, has the advantage of detecting all the cosmic structures, either prominent or tenuous, without preference for a certain size or shape. The resulting filamentary and wall networks can easily be characterized by their direction, thickness, mass density and density profile. These additional environmental properties allows to us to investigate not only the effect of environment on haloes, but also how it correlates with the environment characteristics.

Statistical Analysis of Large-Scale Structure of Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tugay, A. V.

While galaxy cluster catalogs were compiled many decades ago, other structural elements of cosmic web are detected at definite level only in the newest works. For example, extragalactic filaments were described by velocity field and SDSS galaxy distribution during the last years. Large-scale structure of the Universe could be also mapped in the future using ATHENA observations in X-rays and SKA in radio band. Until detailed observations are not available for the most volume of Universe, some integral statistical parameters can be used for its description. Such methods as galaxy correlation function, power spectrum, statistical moments and peak statistics are commonly used with this aim. The parameters of power spectrum and other statistics are important for constraining the models of dark matter, dark energy, inflation and brane cosmology. In the present work we describe the growth of large-scale density fluctuations in one- and three-dimensional case with Fourier harmonics of hydrodynamical parameters. In result we get power-law relation for the matter power spectrum.

Higher order moments of the matter distribution in scale-free cosmological simulations with large dynamic range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucchin, Francesco; Matarrese, Sabino; Melott, Adrian L.; Moscardini, Lauro

1994-01-01

We calculate reduced moments (xi bar)(sub q) of the matter density fluctuations, up to order q = 5, from counts in cells produced by particle-mesh numerical simulations with scale-free Gaussian initial conditions. We use power-law spectra P(k) proportional to k(exp n) with indices n = -3, -2, -1, 0, 1. Due to the supposed absence of characteristic times or scales in our models, all quantities are expected to depend on a single scaling variable. For each model, the moments at all times can be expressed in terms of the variance (xi bar)(sub 2), alone. We look for agreement with the hierarchical scaling ansatz, according to which ((xi bar)(sub q)) proportional to ((xi bar)(sub 2))(exp (q - 1)). For n less than or equal to -2 models, we find strong deviations from the hierarchy, which are mostly due to the presence of boundary problems in the simulations. A small, residual signal of deviation from the hierarchical scaling is however also found in n greater than or equal to -1 models. The wide range of spectra considered and the large dynamic range, with careful checks of scaling and shot-noise effects, allows us to reliably detect evolution away from the perturbation theory result.

Impact of Neutrinos on Dark Matter Halo Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Court, Travis; Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco

2018-01-01

The spatial clustering of galaxies is commonly used to infer the shape of the matter power spectrum and therefore to place constraints on the value of the cosmological parameters. In order to extract the maximum information from galaxy surveys it is required to provide accurate theoretical predictions. The first step to model galaxy clustering is to understand the spatial distribution of the structures where they reside: dark matter halos. I will show that the clustering of halos does not depend only on mass, but on other quantities like local matter overdensity. I will point out that halo clustering is also sensitive to the local overdensity of the cosmic neutrino background. I will show that splitting halos according to neutrino overdensity induces a very large scale-dependence bias, an effect that may lead to a new technique to constraint the sum of the neutrino masses.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seljak, Uroš; McDonald, Patrick, E-mail: useljak@berkeley.edu, E-mail: pvmcdonald@lbl.gov

We develop a phase space distribution function approach to redshift space distortions (RSD), in which the redshift space density can be written as a sum over velocity moments of the distribution function. These moments are density weighted and have well defined physical interpretation: their lowest orders are density, momentum density, and stress energy density. The series expansion is convergent if kμu/aH < 1, where k is the wavevector, H the Hubble parameter, u the typical gravitational velocity and μ = cos θ, with θ being the angle between the Fourier mode and the line of sight. We perform an expansionmore » of these velocity moments into helicity modes, which are eigenmodes under rotation around the axis of Fourier mode direction, generalizing the scalar, vector, tensor decomposition of perturbations to an arbitrary order. We show that only equal helicity moments correlate and derive the angular dependence of the individual contributions to the redshift space power spectrum. We show that the dominant term of μ{sup 2} dependence on large scales is the cross-correlation between the density and scalar part of momentum density, which can be related to the time derivative of the matter power spectrum. Additional terms contributing to μ{sup 2} and dominating on small scales are the vector part of momentum density-momentum density correlations, the energy density-density correlations, and the scalar part of anisotropic stress density-density correlations. The second term is what is usually associated with the small scale Fingers-of-God damping and always suppresses power, but the first term comes with the opposite sign and always adds power. Similarly, we identify 7 terms contributing to μ{sup 4} dependence. Some of the advantages of the distribution function approach are that the series expansion converges on large scales and remains valid in multi-stream situations. We finish with a brief discussion of implications for RSD in galaxies relative to dark matter, highlighting the issue of scale dependent bias of velocity moments correlators.« less

On parametrized cold dense matter equation-of-state inference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riley, Thomas E.; Raaijmakers, Geert; Watts, Anna L.

2018-07-01

Constraining the equation of state of cold dense matter in compact stars is a major science goal for observing programmes being conducted using X-ray, radio, and gravitational wave telescopes. We discuss Bayesian hierarchical inference of parametrized dense matter equations of state. In particular, we generalize and examine two inference paradigms from the literature: (i) direct posterior equation-of-state parameter estimation, conditioned on observations of a set of rotating compact stars; and (ii) indirect parameter estimation, via transformation of an intermediary joint posterior distribution of exterior spacetime parameters (such as gravitational masses and coordinate equatorial radii). We conclude that the former paradigm is not only tractable for large-scale analyses, but is principled and flexible from a Bayesian perspective while the latter paradigm is not. The thematic problem of Bayesian prior definition emerges as the crux of the difference between these paradigms. The second paradigm should in general only be considered as an ill-defined approach to the problem of utilizing archival posterior constraints on exterior spacetime parameters; we advocate for an alternative approach whereby such information is repurposed as an approximative likelihood function. We also discuss why conditioning on a piecewise-polytropic equation-of-state model - currently standard in the field of dense matter study - can easily violate conditions required for transformation of a probability density distribution between spaces of exterior (spacetime) and interior (source matter) parameters.

On parametrised cold dense matter equation of state inference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riley, Thomas E.; Raaijmakers, Geert; Watts, Anna L.

2018-04-01

Constraining the equation of state of cold dense matter in compact stars is a major science goal for observing programmes being conducted using X-ray, radio, and gravitational wave telescopes. We discuss Bayesian hierarchical inference of parametrised dense matter equations of state. In particular we generalise and examine two inference paradigms from the literature: (i) direct posterior equation of state parameter estimation, conditioned on observations of a set of rotating compact stars; and (ii) indirect parameter estimation, via transformation of an intermediary joint posterior distribution of exterior spacetime parameters (such as gravitational masses and coordinate equatorial radii). We conclude that the former paradigm is not only tractable for large-scale analyses, but is principled and flexible from a Bayesian perspective whilst the latter paradigm is not. The thematic problem of Bayesian prior definition emerges as the crux of the difference between these paradigms. The second paradigm should in general only be considered as an ill-defined approach to the problem of utilising archival posterior constraints on exterior spacetime parameters; we advocate for an alternative approach whereby such information is repurposed as an approximative likelihood function. We also discuss why conditioning on a piecewise-polytropic equation of state model - currently standard in the field of dense matter study - can easily violate conditions required for transformation of a probability density distribution between spaces of exterior (spacetime) and interior (source matter) parameters.

Effect of PAC dosage in a pilot-scale PAC-MBR treating micro-polluted surface water.

PubMed

Hu, Jingyi; Shang, Ran; Deng, Huiping; Heijman, Sebastiaan G J; Rietveld, Luuk C

2014-02-01

To address the water scarcity issue and advance the traditional drinking water treatment technique, a powdered activated carbon-amended membrane bioreactor (PAC-MBR) is proposed for micro-polluted surface water treatment. A pilot-scale study was carried out by initially dosing different amounts of PAC into the MBR. Comparative results showed that 2g/L performed the best among 0, 1, 2 and 3g/L PAC-MBR regarding organic matter and ammonia removal as well as membrane flux sustainability. 1g/L PAC-MBR exhibited a marginal improvement in pollutant removal compared to the non-PAC system. The accumulation of organic matter in the bulk mixture of 3g/L PAC-MBR led to poorer organic removal and severer membrane fouling. Molecular weight distribution of the bulk liquid in 2g/L PAC-MBR revealed the synergistic effects of PAC adsorption/biodegradation and membrane rejection on organic matter removal. Additionally, a lower amount of soluble extracellular polymer substances in the bulk can be secured in 21 days operation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doux, Cyrille; Schaan, Emmanuel; Aubourg, Eric

We present the first detection of a correlation between the Lyman-α forest and cosmic microwave background gravitational lensing. For each Lyman-α forest in SDSS-III/BOSS DR12, we correlate the one-dimensional power spectrum with the cosmic microwave background lensing convergence on the same line of sight from Planck. This measurement constitutes a position-dependent power spectrum, or a squeezed bispectrum, and quantifies the nonlinear response of the Lyman-α forest power spectrum to a large-scale overdensity. The signal is measured at 5σ and is consistent with the expectation of the standard ΛCDM cosmological model. We measure the linear bias of the Lyman-α forest withmore » respect to the dark matter distribution and constrain a combination of nonlinear terms including the nonlinear bias. This new observable provides a consistency check for the Lyman-α forest as a large-scale structure probe and tests our understanding of the relation between intergalactic gas and dark matter. In the future, it could be used to test hydrodynamical simulations and calibrate the relation between the Lyman-α forest and dark matter.« less

Submillimeter-scale heterogeneity of labile phosphorus in sediments characterized by diffusive gradients in thin films and spatial analysis.

PubMed

Meng, Yuting; Ding, Shiming; Gong, Mengdan; Chen, Musong; Wang, Yan; Fan, Xianfang; Shi, Lei; Zhang, Chaosheng

2018-03-01

Sediments have a heterogeneous distribution of labile redox-sensitive elements due to a drastic downward transition from oxic to anoxic condition as a result of organic matter degradation. Characterization of the heterogeneous nature of sediments is vital for understanding of small-scale biogeochemical processes. However, there are limited reports on the related specialized methodology. In this study, the monthly distributions of labile phosphorus (P), a redox-sensitive limiting nutrient, were measured in the eutrophic Lake Taihu by Zr-oxide diffusive gradients in thin films (Zr-oxide DGT) on a two-dimensional (2D) submillimeter level. Geographical information system (GIS) techniques were used to visualize the labile P distribution at such a micro-scale, showing that the DGT-labile P was low in winter and high in summer. Spatial analysis methods, including semivariogram and Moran's I, were used to quantify the spatial variation of DGT-labile P. The distribution of DGT-labile P had clear submillimeter-scale spatial patterns with significant spatial autocorrelation during the whole year and displayed seasonal changes. High values of labile P with strong spatial variation were observed in summer, while low values of labile P with relatively uniform spatial patterns were detected in winter, demonstrating the strong influences of temperature on the mobility and spatial distribution of P in sediment profiles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distribution patterns of the crab Ucides cordatus (Brachyura, Ucididae) at different spatial scales in subtropical mangroves of Paranaguá Bay (southern Brazil)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandrini-Neto, L.; Lana, P. C.

2012-06-01

Heterogeneity in the distribution of organisms occurs at a range of spatial scales, which may vary from few centimeters to hundreds of kilometers. The exclusion of small-scale variability from routine sampling designs may confound comparisons at larger scales and lead to inconsistent interpretation of data. Despite its ecological and social-economic importance, little is known about the spatial structure of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus in the southwest Atlantic. Previous studies have commonly compared densities at relatively broad scales, relying on alleged distribution patterns (e.g., mangroves of distinct composition and structure). We have assessed variability patterns of U. cordatus in mangroves of Paranaguá Bay at four levels of spatial hierarchy (10 s km, km, 10 s m and m) using a nested ANOVA and variance components measures. The potential role of sediment parameters, pneumatophore density, and organic matter content in regulating observed patterns was assessed by multiple regression models. Densities of total and non-commercial size crabs varied mostly at 10 s m to km scales. Densities of commercial size crabs differed at the scales of 10 s m and 10 s km. Variance components indicated that small-scale variation was the most important, contributing up to 70% of the crab density variability. Multiple regression models could not explain the observed variations. Processes driving differences in crab abundance were not related to the measured variables. Small-scale patchy distribution has direct implications to current management practices of U. cordatus. Future studies should consider processes operating at smaller scales, which are responsible for a complex mosaic of patches within previously described patterns.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: REFLEX Galaxy Cluster Survey catalogue (Boehringer+, 2004)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehringer, H.; Schuecker, P.; Guzzo, L.; Collins, C. A.; Voges, W.; Cruddace, R. G.; Ortiz-Gil, A.; Chincarini, G.; de Grandi, S.; Edge, A. C.; MacGillivray, H. T.; Neumann, D. M.; Schindler, S.; Shaver, P.

2004-05-01

The following tables provide the catalogue as well as several data files necessary to reproduce the sample preparation. These files are also required for the cosmological modeling of these observations in e.g. the study of the statistics of the large-scale structure of the matter distribution in the Universe and related cosmological tests. (13 data files).

Where Does Wood Most Effectively Enhance Storage? Network-Scale Distribution of Sediment and Organic Matter Stored by Instream Wood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfeiffer, Andrew; Wohl, Ellen

2018-01-01

We used 48 reach-scale measurements of large wood and wood-associated sediment and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) storage within an 80 km2 catchment to examine spatial patterns of storage relative to stream order. Wood, sediment, and CPOM are not distributed uniformly across the drainage basin. Third- and fourth-order streams (23% of total stream length) disproportionately store wood and coarse and fine sediments: 55% of total wood volume, 78% of coarse sediment, and 49% of fine sediment, respectively. Fourth-order streams store 0.8 m3 of coarse sediment and 0.2 m3 of fine sediment per cubic meter of wood. CPOM storage is highest in first-order streams (60% of storage in 47% of total network stream length). First-order streams can store up to 0.3 m3 of CPOM for each cubic meter of wood. Logjams in third- and fourth-order reaches are primary sediment storage agents, whereas roots in small streams may be more important for storage of CPOM. We propose the large wood particulate storage index to quantify average volume of sediment or CPOM stored by a cubic meter of wood.

The cosmological principle is not in the sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Chan-Gyung; Hyun, Hwasu; Noh, Hyerim; Hwang, Jai-chan

2017-08-01

The homogeneity of matter distribution at large scales, known as the cosmological principle, is a central assumption in the standard cosmological model. The case is testable though, thus no longer needs to be a principle. Here we perform a test for spatial homogeneity using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG) sample by counting galaxies within a specified volume with the radius scale varying up to 300 h-1 Mpc. We directly confront the large-scale structure data with the definition of spatial homogeneity by comparing the averages and dispersions of galaxy number counts with allowed ranges of the random distribution with homogeneity. The LRG sample shows significantly larger dispersions of number counts than the random catalogues up to 300 h-1 Mpc scale, and even the average is located far outside the range allowed in the random distribution; the deviations are statistically impossible to be realized in the random distribution. This implies that the cosmological principle does not hold even at such large scales. The same analysis of mock galaxies derived from the N-body simulation, however, suggests that the LRG sample is consistent with the current paradigm of cosmology, thus the simulation is also not homogeneous in that scale. We conclude that the cosmological principle is neither in the observed sky nor demanded to be there by the standard cosmological world model. This reveals the nature of the cosmological principle adopted in the modern cosmology paradigm, and opens a new field of research in theoretical cosmology.

The detection of the imprint of filaments on cosmic microwave background lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Siyu; Alam, Shadab; Ferraro, Simone; Chen, Yen-Chi; Ho, Shirley

2018-05-01

Galaxy redshift surveys, such as the 2-Degree-Field Survey (2dF)1, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)2, 6-Degree-Field Survey (6dF)3, Galaxy And Mass Assembly survey (GAMA)4 and VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey (VIPERS)5, have shown that the spatial distribution of matter forms a rich web, known as the cosmic web6. Most galaxy survey analyses measure the amplitude of galaxy clustering as a function of scale, ignoring information beyond a small number of summary statistics. Because the matter density field becomes highly non-Gaussian as structure evolves under gravity, we expect other statistical descriptions of the field to provide us with additional information. One way to study the non-Gaussianity is to study filaments, which evolve non-linearly from the initial density fluctuations produced in the primordial Universe. In our study, we report the detection of lensing of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by filaments, and we apply a null test to confirm our detection. Furthermore, we propose a phenomenological model to interpret the detected signal, and we measure how filaments trace the matter distribution on large scales through filament bias, which we measure to be around 1.5. Our study provides new scope to understand the environmental dependence of galaxy formation. In the future, the joint analysis of lensing and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich observations might reveal the properties of `missing baryons', the vast majority of the gas that resides in the intergalactic medium, which has so far evaded most observations.

The cosmic microwave background radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Silk, Joseph

1992-01-01

A review the implications of the spectrum and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background for cosmology. Thermalization and processes generating spectral distortions are discussed. Anisotropy predictions are described and compared with observational constraints. If the evidence for large-scale power in the galaxy distribution in excess of that predicted by the cold dark matter model is vindicated, and the observed structure originated via gravitational instabilities of primordial density fluctuations, the predicted amplitude of microwave background anisotropies on angular scales of a degree and larger must be at least several parts in 10 exp 6.

Gravitational Lensing: Einstein's unfinished symphony

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treu, Tommaso; Ellis, Richard S.

2015-01-01

Gravitational lensing - the deflection of light rays by gravitating matter - has become a major tool in the armoury of the modern cosmologist. Proposed nearly a hundred years ago as a key feature of Einstein's theory of general relativity, we trace the historical development since its verification at a solar eclipse in 1919. Einstein was apparently cautious about its practical utility and the subject lay dormant observationally for nearly 60 years. Nonetheless there has been rapid progress over the past twenty years. The technique allows astronomers to chart the distribution of dark matter on large and small scales thereby testing predictions of the standard cosmological model which assumes dark matter comprises a massive weakly-interacting particle. By measuring the distances and tracing the growth of dark matter structure over cosmic time, gravitational lensing also holds great promise in determining whether the dark energy, postulated to explain the accelerated cosmic expansion, is a vacuum energy density or a failure of general relativity on large scales. We illustrate the wide range of applications which harness the power of gravitational lensing, from searches for the earliest galaxies magnified by massive clusters to those for extrasolar planets which temporarily brighten a background star. We summarise the future prospects with dedicated ground and space-based facilities designed to exploit this remarkable physical phenomenon.

Fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular weight distribution of extracellular polymers from full-scale activated sludge biomass.

PubMed

Esparza-Soto, M; Westerhoff, P K

2001-01-01

Two fractions of extracellular polymer substances (EPSs), soluble and readily extractable (RE), were characterised in terms of their molecular weight distributions (MWD) and 3-D excitation-emission-matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy signatures. The EPS fractions were different: the soluble EPSs were composed mainly of high molecular weight compounds, while the RE EPSs were composed of small molecular weight compounds. Contrary to previous thought, EPS may not be considered only as macromolecular because most organic matter present in both fractions had low molecular weight. Three different fluorophore peaks were identified in the EEM fluorescence spectra. Two peaks were attributed to protein-like fluorophores, and the third to a humic-like fluorophore. Fluorescence signatures were different from other previously published signatures for marine and riverine environments. EEM spectroscopy proved to be a suitable method that may be used to characterise and trace organic matter of bacterial origin in wastewater treatment operations.

Redshift space clustering of galaxies and cold dark matter model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahcall, Neta A.; Cen, Renyue; Gramann, Mirt

1993-01-01

The distorting effect of peculiar velocities on the power speturm and correlation function of IRAS and optical galaxies is studied. The observed redshift space power spectra and correlation functions of IRAS and optical the galaxies over the entire range of scales are directly compared with the corresponding redshift space distributions using large-scale computer simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) models in order to study the distortion effect of peculiar velocities on the power spectrum and correlation function of the galaxies. It is found that the observed power spectrum of IRAS and optical galaxies is consistent with the spectrum of an Omega = 1 CDM model. The problems that such a model currently faces may be related more to the high value of Omega in the model than to the shape of the spectrum. A low-density CDM model is also investigated and found to be consistent with the data.

Voids and constraints on nonlinear clustering of galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogeley, Michael S.; Geller, Margaret J.; Park, Changbom; Huchra, John P.

1994-01-01

Void statistics of the galaxy distribution in the Center for Astrophysics Redshift Survey provide strong constraints on galaxy clustering in the nonlinear regime, i.e., on scales R equal to or less than 10/h Mpc. Computation of high-order moments of the galaxy distribution requires a sample that (1) densely traces the large-scale structure and (2) covers sufficient volume to obtain good statistics. The CfA redshift survey densely samples structure on scales equal to or less than 10/h Mpc and has sufficient depth and angular coverage to approach a fair sample on these scales. In the nonlinear regime, the void probability function (VPF) for CfA samples exhibits apparent agreement with hierarchical scaling (such scaling implies that the N-point correlation functions for N greater than 2 depend only on pairwise products of the two-point function xi(r)) However, simulations of cosmological models show that this scaling in redshift space does not necessarily imply such scaling in real space, even in the nonlinear regime; peculiar velocities cause distortions which can yield erroneous agreement with hierarchical scaling. The underdensity probability measures the frequency of 'voids' with density rho less than 0.2 -/rho. This statistic reveals a paucity of very bright galaxies (L greater than L asterisk) in the 'voids.' Underdensities are equal to or greater than 2 sigma more frequent in bright galaxy samples than in samples that include fainter galaxies. Comparison of void statistics of CfA samples with simulations of a range of cosmological models favors models with Gaussian primordial fluctuations and Cold Dark Matter (CDM)-like initial power spectra. Biased models tend to produce voids that are too empty. We also compare these data with three specific models of the Cold Dark Matter cosmogony: an unbiased, open universe CDM model (omega = 0.4, h = 0.5) provides a good match to the VPF of the CfA samples. Biasing of the galaxy distribution in the 'standard' CDM model (omega = 1, b = 1.5; see below for definitions) and nonzero cosmological constant CDM model (omega = 0.4, h = 0.6 lambda(sub 0) = 0.6, b = 1.3) produce voids that are too empty. All three simulations match the observed VPF and underdensity probability for samples of very bright (M less than M asterisk = -19.2) galaxies, but produce voids that are too empty when compared with samples that include fainter galaxies.

Large- and small-scale constraints on power spectra in Omega = 1 universes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelb, James M.; Gradwohl, Ben-Ami; Frieman, Joshua A.

1993-01-01

The CDM model of structure formation, normalized on large scales, leads to excessive pairwise velocity dispersions on small scales. In an attempt to circumvent this problem, we study three scenarios (all with Omega = 1) with more large-scale and less small-scale power than the standard CDM model: (1) cold dark matter with significantly reduced small-scale power (inspired by models with an admixture of cold and hot dark matter); (2) cold dark matter with a non-scale-invariant power spectrum; and (3) cold dark matter with coupling of dark matter to a long-range vector field. When normalized to COBE on large scales, such models do lead to reduced velocities on small scales and they produce fewer halos compared with CDM. However, models with sufficiently low small-scale velocities apparently fail to produce an adequate number of halos.

Pulsed remineralisation in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea: a hypothesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denis, Michel; Martin, Valérie; Momzikoff, André; Gondry, Geneviève; Stemmann, Lars; Demers, Serge; Gorsky, Gaby; Andersen, Valérie

2003-02-01

A general study of biogeochemical processes (DYNAPROC cruise) was conducted in May 1995 at a time-series station in the open northwestern Mediterranean Sea where horizontal advection was weak. Short-term variations of the vertical distributions of pico- and nanophytoplankton were investigated over four 36-h cycles, along with parallel determinations of metabolic CO 2 production rates and amino acid-containing colloid (AACC) concentrations at the chlorophyll maximum depth. The vertical (0-1000-m depth) distributions of (i) AACC, (ii) suspended particles and (iii) metabolic CO 2 production rate were documented during the initial and final stages of these 36-h cycles. This study was concerned with diel vertical migration (DVM) of zooplankton, which provided periodic perturbations. Accordingly, the time scale of the experimental work varied from a few hours to a few days. Although all distributions exhibited a periodic behaviour, AACC distributions were generally not linked to diel vertical migrations. In the subsurface layer, Synechococcus made the most abundant population and large variations in concentration were observed both at day and at night. The corresponding integrated (over the upper 90 m) losses of Synechococcus during one night pointed to a potential source of exported organic matter amounting to 534 mg C m -2. This study stresses the potential importance of organic matter export from the euphotic zone through the daily grazing activity of vertically migrating organisms, which would not be accounted for by measurements at longer time scales. The metabolic CO 2 production exhibited a peak of activity below 500 m that was shifted downward, apparently in a recurrent way and independently of the vertical distributions of AACC or of suspended particulate material. To account for this phenomenon, a «sustained wave train» hypothesis is proposed that combines the effect of the diel superficial faecal pellet production by swarming migrators and the repackaging activity of the nonmigrating midwater populations. Our results confirm the recent finding that the particulate compartment is not the major source of the observed instantaneous remineralisation rate and shed a new light on the fate of organic matter in the aphotic zone.

Distributions of Gas and Galaxies from Galaxy Clusters to Larger Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patej, Anna

2017-01-01

We address the distributions of gas and galaxies on three scales: the outskirts of galaxy clusters, the clustering of galaxies on large scales, and the extremes of the galaxy distribution. In the outskirts of galaxy clusters, long-standing analytical models of structure formation and recent simulations predict the existence of density jumps in the gas and dark matter profiles. We use these features to derive models for the gas density profile, obtaining a simple fiducial model that is in agreement with both observations of cluster interiors and simulations of the outskirts. We next consider the galaxy density profiles of clusters; under the assumption that the galaxies in cluster outskirts follow similar collisionless dynamics as the dark matter, their distribution should show a steep jump as well. We examine the profiles of a low-redshift sample of clusters and groups, finding evidence for the jump in some of these clusters. Moving to larger scales where massive galaxies of different types are expected to trace the same large-scale structure, we present a test of this prediction by measuring the clustering of red and blue galaxies at z 0.6, finding low stochasticity between the two populations. These results address a key source of systematic uncertainty - understanding how target populations of galaxies trace large-scale structure - in galaxy redshift surveys. Such surveys use baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) as a cosmological probe, but are limited by the expense of obtaining sufficiently dense spectroscopy. With the intention of leveraging upcoming deep imaging data, we develop a new method of detecting the BAO in sparse spectroscopic samples via cross-correlation with a dense photometric catalog. This method will permit the extension of BAO measurements to higher redshifts than possible with the existing spectroscopy alone. Lastly, we connect galaxies near and far: the Local Group dwarfs and the high redshift galaxies observed by Hubble and Spitzer. We examine how the local dwarfs may have appeared in the past and compare their properties to the detection limits of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), finding that JWST should be able to detect galaxies similar to the progenitors of a few of the brightest of the local galaxies, revealing a hitherto unobserved population of galaxies at high redshifts.

Taming active turbulence with patterned soft interfaces.

PubMed

Guillamat, P; Ignés-Mullol, J; Sagués, F

2017-09-15

Active matter embraces systems that self-organize at different length and time scales, often exhibiting turbulent flows apparently deprived of spatiotemporal coherence. Here, we use a layer of a tubulin-based active gel to demonstrate that the geometry of active flows is determined by a single length scale, which we reveal in the exponential distribution of vortex sizes of active turbulence. Our experiments demonstrate that the same length scale reemerges as a cutoff for a scale-free power law distribution of swirling laminar flows when the material evolves in contact with a lattice of circular domains. The observed prevalence of this active length scale can be understood by considering the role of the topological defects that form during the spontaneous folding of microtubule bundles. These results demonstrate an unexpected strategy for active systems to adapt to external stimuli, and provide with a handle to probe the existence of intrinsic length and time scales.Active nematics consist of self-driven components that develop orientational order and turbulent flow. Here Guillamat et al. investigate an active nematic constrained in a quasi-2D geometrical setup and show that there exists an intrinsic length scale that determines the geometry in all forcing regimes.

Sparsely sampling the sky: Regular vs. random sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paykari, P.; Pires, S.; Starck, J.-L.; Jaffe, A. H.

2015-09-01

Aims: The next generation of galaxy surveys, aiming to observe millions of galaxies, are expensive both in time and money. This raises questions regarding the optimal investment of this time and money for future surveys. In a previous work, we have shown that a sparse sampling strategy could be a powerful substitute for the - usually favoured - contiguous observation of the sky. In our previous paper, regular sparse sampling was investigated, where the sparse observed patches were regularly distributed on the sky. The regularity of the mask introduces a periodic pattern in the window function, which induces periodic correlations at specific scales. Methods: In this paper, we use a Bayesian experimental design to investigate a "random" sparse sampling approach, where the observed patches are randomly distributed over the total sparsely sampled area. Results: We find that in this setting, the induced correlation is evenly distributed amongst all scales as there is no preferred scale in the window function. Conclusions: This is desirable when we are interested in any specific scale in the galaxy power spectrum, such as the matter-radiation equality scale. As the figure of merit shows, however, there is no preference between regular and random sampling to constrain the overall galaxy power spectrum and the cosmological parameters.

Universal scaling relations in scale-free structure formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guszejnov, Dávid; Hopkins, Philip F.; Grudić, Michael Y.

2018-07-01

A large number of astronomical phenomena exhibit remarkably similar scaling relations. The most well-known of these is the mass distribution dN/dM ∝ M-2 which (to first order) describes stars, protostellar cores, clumps, giant molecular clouds, star clusters, and even dark matter haloes. In this paper we propose that this ubiquity is not a coincidence and that it is the generic result of scale-free structure formation where the different scales are uncorrelated. We show that all such systems produce a mass function proportional to M-2 and a column density distribution with a power-law tail of dA/dln Σ ∝ Σ-1. In the case where structure formation is controlled by gravity the two-point correlation becomes ξ2D ∝ R-1. Furthermore, structures formed by such processes (e.g. young star clusters, DM haloes) tend to a ρ ∝ R-3 density profile. We compare these predictions with observations, analytical fragmentation cascade models, semi-analytical models of gravito-turbulent fragmentation, and detailed `full physics' hydrodynamical simulations. We find that these power laws are good first-order descriptions in all cases.

Universal Scaling Relations in Scale-Free Structure Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guszejnov, Dávid; Hopkins, Philip F.; Grudić, Michael Y.

2018-04-01

A large number of astronomical phenomena exhibit remarkably similar scaling relations. The most well-known of these is the mass distribution dN/dM∝M-2 which (to first order) describes stars, protostellar cores, clumps, giant molecular clouds, star clusters and even dark matter halos. In this paper we propose that this ubiquity is not a coincidence and that it is the generic result of scale-free structure formation where the different scales are uncorrelated. We show that all such systems produce a mass function proportional to M-2 and a column density distribution with a power law tail of dA/d lnΣ∝Σ-1. In the case where structure formation is controlled by gravity the two-point correlation becomes ξ2D∝R-1. Furthermore, structures formed by such processes (e.g. young star clusters, DM halos) tend to a ρ∝R-3 density profile. We compare these predictions with observations, analytical fragmentation cascade models, semi-analytical models of gravito-turbulent fragmentation and detailed "full physics" hydrodynamical simulations. We find that these power-laws are good first order descriptions in all cases.

Mass distribution in galaxy clusters: the role of Active Galactic Nuclei feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teyssier, Romain; Moore, Ben; Martizzi, Davide; Dubois, Yohan; Mayer, Lucio

2011-06-01

We use 1-kpc resolution cosmological Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) simulations of a Virgo-like galaxy cluster to investigate the effect of feedback from supermassive black holes on the mass distribution of dark matter, gas and stars. We compared three different models: (i) a standard galaxy formation model featuring gas cooling, star formation and supernovae feedback, (ii) a 'quenching' model for which star formation is artificially suppressed in massive haloes and finally (iii) the recently proposed active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback model of Booth and Schaye. Without AGN feedback (even in the quenching case), our simulated cluster suffers from a strong overcooling problem, with a stellar mass fraction significantly above observed values in M87. The baryon distribution is highly concentrated, resulting in a strong adiabatic contraction (AC) of dark matter. With AGN feedback, on the contrary, the stellar mass in the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) lies below observational estimates and the overcooling problem disappears. The stellar mass of the BCG is seen to increase with increasing mass resolution, suggesting that our stellar masses converge to the correct value from below. The gas and total mass distributions are in better agreement with observations. We also find a slight deficit (˜10 per cent) of baryons at the virial radius, due to the combined effect of AGN-driven convective motions in the inner parts and shock waves in the outer regions, pushing gas to Mpc scales and beyond. This baryon deficit results in a slight adiabatic expansion of the dark matter distribution that can be explained quantitatively by AC theory.

Hyperspectral imaging to investigate the distribution of organic matter and iron down the soil profile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hobley, Eleanor; Kriegs, Stefanie; Steffens, Markus

2017-04-01

Obtaining reliable and accurate data regarding the spatial distribution of different soil components is difficult due to issues related with sampling scale and resolution on the one hand and laboratory analysis on the other. When investigating the chemical composition of soil, studies frequently limit themselves to two dimensional characterisations, e.g. spatial variability near the surface or depth distribution down the profile, but rarely combine both approaches due to limitations to sampling and analytical capacities. Furthermore, when assessing depth distributions, samples are taken according to horizon or depth increments, resulting in a mixed sample across the sampling depth. Whilst this facilitates mean content estimation per depth increment and therefore reduces analytical costs, the sample information content with regards to heterogeneity within the profile is lost. Hyperspectral imaging can overcome these sampling limitations, yielding high resolution spectral data of down the soil profile, greatly enhancing the information content of the samples. This can then be used to augment horizontal spatial characterisation of a site, yielding three dimensional information into the distribution of spectral characteristics across a site and down the profile. Soil spectral characteristics are associated with specific chemical components of soil, such as soil organic matter or iron contents. By correlating the content of these soil components with their spectral behaviour, high resolution multi-dimensional analysis of soil chemical composition can be obtained. Here we present a hyperspectral approach to the characterisation of soil organic matter and iron down different soil profiles, outlining advantages and issues associated with the methodology.

Edgeworth streaming model for redshift space distortions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uhlemann, Cora; Kopp, Michael; Haugg, Thomas

2015-09-01

We derive the Edgeworth streaming model (ESM) for the redshift space correlation function starting from an arbitrary distribution function for biased tracers of dark matter by considering its two-point statistics and show that it reduces to the Gaussian streaming model (GSM) when neglecting non-Gaussianities. We test the accuracy of the GSM and ESM independent of perturbation theory using the Horizon Run 2 N -body halo catalog. While the monopole of the redshift space halo correlation function is well described by the GSM, higher multipoles improve upon including the leading order non-Gaussian correction in the ESM: the GSM quadrupole breaks down on scales below 30 Mpc /h whereas the ESM stays accurate to 2% within statistical errors down to 10 Mpc /h . To predict the scale-dependent functions entering the streaming model we employ convolution Lagrangian perturbation theory (CLPT) based on the dust model and local Lagrangian bias. Since dark matter halos carry an intrinsic length scale given by their Lagrangian radius, we extend CLPT to the coarse-grained dust model and consider two different smoothing approaches operating in Eulerian and Lagrangian space, respectively. The coarse graining in Eulerian space features modified fluid dynamics different from dust while the coarse graining in Lagrangian space is performed in the initial conditions with subsequent single-streaming dust dynamics, implemented by smoothing the initial power spectrum in the spirit of the truncated Zel'dovich approximation. Finally, we compare the predictions of the different coarse-grained models for the streaming model ingredients to N -body measurements and comment on the proper choice of both the tracer distribution function and the smoothing scale. Since the perturbative methods we considered are not yet accurate enough on small scales, the GSM is sufficient when applied to perturbation theory.

A study of the dust distribution and extinction law in Mon R2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Natta, A.; Beckwith, S.; Beck, S. C.; Evans, N. J., II; Moorwood, A. F. M.

1986-01-01

Observations were obtained at wavelengths from 1.5 to 7.5 microns with beams varying in diameter from 4 to 28 arcsec of infrared hydrogen recombination lines toward the Mon R2 IRS1 H II region. It is found that the data cannot be fitted with the extinction law which characterizes the interstellar medium unless the obscuring matter is clumped on a small scale of not greater than 0.3 arcsec; in which case considerable fluctuations in the amount of extinction on scales smaller than 1 arcsec are expected. The data of Simon et al. (1983) suggest a dip in the extinction about 5 arcsec from the 2-micron and radio continuum peak, and rule out models with uniform dust and clump distributions.

Dynamical constraints on the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pato, Miguel; Iocco, Fabio; Bertone, Gianfranco, E-mail: migpato@gmail.com, E-mail: fabio.iocco.astro@gmail.com, E-mail: g.bertone@uva.nl

2015-12-01

An accurate knowledge of the dark matter distribution in the Milky Way is of crucial importance for galaxy formation studies and current searches for particle dark matter. In this paper we set new dynamical constraints on the Galactic dark matter profile by comparing the observed rotation curve, updated with a comprehensive compilation of kinematic tracers, with that inferred from a wide range of observation-based morphologies of the bulge, disc and gas. The generalised Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) and Einasto dark matter profiles are fitted to the data in order to determine the favoured ranges of local density, slope and scale radius. Formore » a representative baryonic model, a typical local circular velocity v{sub 0}=230 km/s and a distance of the Sun to the Galactic centre R{sub 0}=8 kpc, we find a local dark matter density ρ{sub 0} = 0.420{sup +0.021}{sub −0.018} (2σ) ± 0.025 GeV/cm{sup 3} (ρ{sub 0} = 0.420{sup +0.019}{sub −0.021} (2σ) ± 0.026 GeV/cm{sup 3}) for NFW (Einasto), where the second error is an estimate of the systematic due to baryonic modelling. Apart from the Galactic parameters, the main sources of uncertainty inside and outside the solar circle are baryonic modelling and rotation curve measurements, respectively. Upcoming astronomical observations are expected to reduce all these uncertainties substantially over the coming years.« less

The Baryonic and Dark Matter Distributions in Abell 401

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nevalainen, J.; Markevitch, M.; Forman, W.

1999-11-01

We combine spatially resolved ASCA temperature data with ROSAT imaging data to constrain the total mass distribution in the cluster A401, assuming that the cluster is in hydrostatic equilibrium, but without the assumption of gas isothermality. We obtain a total mass within the X-ray core (290 h-150 kpc) of 1.2+0.1-0.5×1014 h-150 Msolar at the 90% confidence level, 1.3 times larger than the isothermal estimate. The total mass within r500 (1.7 h-150 Mpc) is M500=0.9+0.3-0.2×1015 h-150 Msolar at 90% confidence, in agreement with the optical virial mass estimate, and 1.2 times smaller than the isothermal estimate. Our M500 value is 1.7 times smaller than that estimated using the mass-temperature scaling law predicted by simulations. The best-fit dark matter density profile scales as r-3.1 at large radii, which is consistent with the Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) ``universal profile'' as well as the King profile of the galaxy density in A401. From the imaging data, the gas density profile is shallower than the dark matter profile, scaling as r-2.1 at large radii, leading to a monotonically increasing gas mass fraction with radius. Within r500 the gas mass fraction reaches a value of fgas=0.21+0.06-0.05 h-3/250 (90% confidence errors). Assuming that fgas (plus an estimate of the stellar mass) is the universal value of the baryon fraction, we estimate the 90% confidence upper limit of the cosmological matter density to be Ωm<0.31, in conflict with an Einstein-deSitter universe. Even though the NFW dark matter density profile is statistically consistent with the temperature data, its central temperature cusp would lead to convective instability at the center, because the gas density does not have a corresponding peak. One way to reconcile a cusp-shaped total mass profile with the observed gas density profile, regardless of the temperature data, is to introduce a significant nonthermal pressure in the center. Such a pressure must satisfy the hydrostatic equilibrium condition without inducing turbulence. Alternately, significant mass drop-out from the cooling flow would make the temperature less peaked and the NFW profile acceptable. However, the quality of data is not adequate to test this possibility.

Kelvin Absolute Temperature Scale Identified as Length Scale and Related to de Broglie Thermal Wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohrab, Siavash

Thermodynamic equilibrium between matter and radiation leads to de Broglie wavelength λdβ = h /mβvrβ and frequency νdβ = k /mβvrβ of matter waves and stochastic definitions of Planck h =hk =mk <λrk > c and Boltzmann k =kk =mk <νrk > c constants, λrkνrk = c , that respectively relate to spatial (λ) and temporal (ν) aspects of vacuum fluctuations. Photon massmk =√{ hk /c3 } , amu =√{ hkc } = 1 /No , and universal gas constant Ro =No k =√{ k / hc } result in internal Uk = Nhνrk = Nmkc2 = 3 Nmkvmpk2 = 3 NkT and potential pV = uN\\vcirc / 3 = N\\ucirc / 3 = NkT energy of photon gas in Casimir vacuum such that H = TS = 4 NkT . Therefore, Kelvin absolute thermodynamic temperature scale [degree K] is identified as length scale [meter] and related to most probable wavelength and de Broglie thermal wavelength as Tβ =λmpβ =λdβ / 3 . Parallel to Wien displacement law obtained from Planck distribution, the displacement law λwS T =c2 /√{ 3} is obtained from Maxwell -Boltzmann distribution of speed of ``photon clusters''. The propagation speeds of sound waves in ideal gas versus light waves in photon gas are described in terms of vrβ in harmony with perceptions of Huygens. Newton formula for speed of long waves in canals √{ p / ρ } is modified to √{ gh } =√{ γp / ρ } in accordance with adiabatic theory of Laplace.

Using MODIS Terra 250 m Imagery to Map Concentrations of Total Suspended Matter in Coastal Waters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Richard L.; McKee, Brent A.

2004-01-01

High concentrations of suspended particulate matter in coastal waters directly effect or govern numerous water column and benthic processes. The concentration of suspended sediments derived from bottom sediment resuspension or discharge of sediment-laden rivers is highly variable over a wide range of time and space scales. Although there has been considerable effort to use remotely sensed images to provide synoptic maps of suspended particulate matter, there are limited routine applications of this technology due in-part to the low spatial resolution, long revisit period, or cost of most remotely sensed data. In contrast, near daily coverage of medium-resolution data is available from the MODIS Terra instrument without charge from several data distribution gateways. Equally important, several display and processing programs are available that operate on low cost computers.

Triplets of galaxies: Their dynamics, evolution, and the origin of chaos in them

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chernin, Arthur D.; Ivanov, Alexei V.

1990-01-01

Recently Karachentsev's group at The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) (6-meter Telescope Observatory) published a list of 84 triple systems of galaxies with their distances, radial (line of sight) velocities, and angular sizes (Karachentseva et al., 1988). This gives a new ground for studies of the dark matter problem which fills the gap between the large cosmic scales (White, 1987; Dekel and Rees, 1987, and Einasto et al., 1977) and the scale of individual galaxies (Erickson et al., 1987). The data on the typical velocity dispersions and linear dimension of the triplets indicate that they contain considerable amounts of dark matter (see also earlier work of Karachentseva et al., 1979). Numerical simulations show that the statistical characteristics of the Karachentsev triplets can be imitated by model ensembles of triple systems with dark matter masses M sub d = (1-3 x 10(exp 12) M sub O, which is almost ten times greater than the typical mass of stellar galaxies estimated by the standard mass-to-luminosity ration (Kiseleva and Chernin, 1988). Here, the authors report that important information can be drawn from the data on the visible configurations of these systems. The statistics of configurations provide an independent evidence for dark matter in the triplets; moreover, it enables one to argue that dark matter seems to be distributed over the whole volume of the typical triplet forming its common corona rather than concentrated within individual coronae (or haloes) of the member galaxies.

36 CFR 1002.52 - Sale or distribution of printed matter.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... printed matter. 1002.52 Section 1002.52 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PRESIDIO TRUST RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION § 1002.52 Sale or distribution of printed matter. (a) The sale or distribution of printed matter is allowed within the area administered by the Presidio Trust, provided that a...

36 CFR 2.52 - Sale or distribution of printed matter.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... printed matter. 2.52 Section 2.52 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION § 2.52 Sale or distribution of printed matter. (a) The sale or distribution of printed matter is allowed within park areas, provided that a...

Multiverse dark matter: SUSY or axions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Eramo, Francesco; Hall, Lawrence J.; Pappadopulo, Duccio

2014-11-01

The observed values of the cosmological constant and the abundance of Dark Matter (DM) can be successfully understood, using certain measures, by imposing the anthropic requirement that density perturbations go non-linear and virialize to form halos. This requires a probability distribution favoring low amounts of DM, i.e. low values of the PQ scale f for the QCD axion and low values of the superpartner mass scale for LSP thermal relics. In theories with independent scanning of multiple DM components, there is a high probability for DM to be dominated by a single component. For example, with independent scanning of f and , TeV-scale LSP DM and an axion solution to the strong CP problem are unlikely to coexist. With thermal LSP DM, the scheme allows an understanding of a Little SUSY Hierarchy with multi-TeV superpartners. Alternatively, with axion DM, PQ breaking before (after) inflation leads to f typically below (below) the projected range of the current ADMX experiment of f = (3 - 30) × 1011 GeV, providing strong motivation to develop experimental techniques for probing lower f.

Studying generalised dark matter interactions with extended halo-independent methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kahlhoefer, Felix; Wild, Sebastian

2016-10-20

The interpretation of dark matter direct detection experiments is complicated by the fact that neither the astrophysical distribution of dark matter nor the properties of its particle physics interactions with nuclei are known in detail. To address both of these issues in a very general way we develop a new framework that combines the full formalism of non-relativistic effective interactions with state-of-the-art halo-independent methods. This approach makes it possible to analyse direct detection experiments for arbitrary dark matter interactions and quantify the goodness-of-fit independent of astrophysical uncertainties. We employ this method in order to demonstrate that the degeneracy between astrophysicalmore » uncertainties and particle physics unknowns is not complete. Certain models can be distinguished in a halo-independent way using a single ton-scale experiment based on liquid xenon, while other models are indistinguishable with a single experiment but can be separated using combined information from several target elements.« less

Warm Dark Matter and Cosmic Reionization

DOE PAGES

Villanueva-Domingo, Pablo; Gnedin, Nickolay Y.; Mena, Olga

2018-01-10

In models with dark matter made of particles with keV masses, such as a sterile neutrino, small-scale density perturbations are suppressed, delaying the period at which the lowest mass galaxies are formed and therefore shifting the reionization processes to later epochs. In this study, focusing on Warm Dark Matter (WDM) with masses close to its present lower bound, i.e., around the 3 keV region, we derive constraints from galaxy luminosity functions, the ionization history and the Gunn–Peterson effect. We show that even if star formation efficiency in the simulations is adjusted to match the observed UV galaxy luminosity functions in bothmore » CDM and WDM models, the full distribution of Gunn–Peterson optical depth retains the strong signature of delayed reionization in the WDM model. Furthermore, until the star formation and stellar feedback model used in modern galaxy formation simulations is constrained better, any conclusions on the nature of dark matter derived from reionization observables remain model-dependent.« less

Warm Dark Matter and Cosmic Reionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villanueva-Domingo, Pablo; Gnedin, Nickolay Y.; Mena, Olga

2018-01-01

In models with dark matter made of particles with keV masses, such as a sterile neutrino, small-scale density perturbations are suppressed, delaying the period at which the lowest mass galaxies are formed and therefore shifting the reionization processes to later epochs. In this study, focusing on Warm Dark Matter (WDM) with masses close to its present lower bound, i.e., around the 3 keV region, we derive constraints from galaxy luminosity functions, the ionization history and the Gunn–Peterson effect. We show that even if star formation efficiency in the simulations is adjusted to match the observed UV galaxy luminosity functions in both CDM and WDM models, the full distribution of Gunn–Peterson optical depth retains the strong signature of delayed reionization in the WDM model. However, until the star formation and stellar feedback model used in modern galaxy formation simulations is constrained better, any conclusions on the nature of dark matter derived from reionization observables remain model-dependent.

Warm Dark Matter and Cosmic Reionization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Villanueva-Domingo, Pablo; Gnedin, Nickolay Y.; Mena, Olga

In models with dark matter made of particles with keV masses, such as a sterile neutrino, small-scale density perturbations are suppressed, delaying the period at which the lowest mass galaxies are formed and therefore shifting the reionization processes to later epochs. In this study, focusing on Warm Dark Matter (WDM) with masses close to its present lower bound, i.e., around the 3 keV region, we derive constraints from galaxy luminosity functions, the ionization history and the Gunn–Peterson effect. We show that even if star formation efficiency in the simulations is adjusted to match the observed UV galaxy luminosity functions in bothmore » CDM and WDM models, the full distribution of Gunn–Peterson optical depth retains the strong signature of delayed reionization in the WDM model. Furthermore, until the star formation and stellar feedback model used in modern galaxy formation simulations is constrained better, any conclusions on the nature of dark matter derived from reionization observables remain model-dependent.« less

Non-invasive localization of organic matter in soil aggregates using SR-μCT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peth, Stephan; Mordhorst, Anneka; Chenu, Claire; Uteau Puschmann, Daniel; Garnier, Patricia; Nunan, Naoise; Pot, Valerie; Beckmann, Felix; Ogurreck, Malte

2014-05-01

Knowledge of the location of soil organic matter (SOM) and its spatial association to soil structure is an important step in improving modeling approaches for simulating organic matter turnover processes. Advanced models for carbon mineralization are able to account for the 3D distribution of SOM which is assumed to influence mineralisation. However, their application is still limited by the fact that no method exists to non-invasively determine the 3D spatial distribution of SOM in structured soils. SR-based X-ray microtomography (SR-µCT) is an advanced and promising tool in gaining knowledge on the 3-dimensional organization of soil phases (minerals, organic matter, water, air) which on a voxel level could be implemented into spatially explicit models. However, since the contrast of linear attenuation coefficients of soil organic matter on the one hand and mineral components and water on the other hand are relatively low, especially when materials are finely dispersed, organic matter within the soil pore space is often not resolved in ordinary X-ray absorption contrast imaging. To circumvent this problem we have developed a staining procedure for organic matter using Osmium-tetroxide since Osmium is an element with an absorption edge at a higher X-ray energy level. Osmium is known from transmission electron microscopy analysis (TEM) to stain organic matter specifically and irreversibly while having an absorption edge at approximately 74 keV. We report on the application of a novel Osmium vapor staining method to analyze differences in organic matter content and identify small scale spatial distribution of SOM in soil aggregates. To achieve this we have taken soil aggregate samples (6-8 mm across) obtained from arable soils differing in soil management. Aggregate samples were investigated by synchrotron-based X-ray microtomography (SR-µCT) after staining the sample with Osmium-tetroxide (OsO4) vapor. We utilized the monochromatic X-ray beam to locate osmium bound to SOM in the stained soil aggregate samples by scanning the aggregates at different photon energies: 30 keV at which the attenuation contrast is optimal for distinguishing other soil constituents, 70 keV (below the absorption of osmium) and 78 keV (above the absorption edge of osmium). The results suggest that particulate organic matter, which was not visibly by scanning samples at energy levels optimal for resolving soil structure (30 keV), was identified after osmium staining and scanning the samples at energy levels just below (70 keV) and above (78 keV) the absorption edge of Osmium. Subtracting the images below from the images above the osmium edged we were able to isolate stained particulate organic matter which otherwise would have been wrongly interpreted as pore space without staining. Combining both pore space and organic matter distribution we are able to investigate the association of SOM with soil structure.

Did LIGO Detect Dark Matter?

PubMed

Bird, Simeon; Cholis, Ilias; Muñoz, Julian B; Ali-Haïmoud, Yacine; Kamionkowski, Marc; Kovetz, Ely D; Raccanelli, Alvise; Riess, Adam G

2016-05-20

We consider the possibility that the black-hole (BH) binary detected by LIGO may be a signature of dark matter. Interestingly enough, there remains a window for masses 20M_{⊙}≲M_{bh}≲100M_{⊙} where primordial black holes (PBHs) may constitute the dark matter. If two BHs in a galactic halo pass sufficiently close, they radiate enough energy in gravitational waves to become gravitationally bound. The bound BHs will rapidly spiral inward due to the emission of gravitational radiation and ultimately will merge. Uncertainties in the rate for such events arise from our imprecise knowledge of the phase-space structure of galactic halos on the smallest scales. Still, reasonable estimates span a range that overlaps the 2-53  Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1} rate estimated from GW150914, thus raising the possibility that LIGO has detected PBH dark matter. PBH mergers are likely to be distributed spatially more like dark matter than luminous matter and have neither optical nor neutrino counterparts. They may be distinguished from mergers of BHs from more traditional astrophysical sources through the observed mass spectrum, their high ellipticities, or their stochastic gravitational wave background. Next-generation experiments will be invaluable in performing these tests.

On the stability of satellite planes - I. Effects of mass, velocity, halo shape and alignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernando, Nuwanthika; Arias, Veronica; Guglielmo, Magda; Lewis, Geraint F.; Ibata, Rodrigo A.; Power, Chris

2017-02-01

The recently discovered vast thin plane of dwarf satellites orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) adds to the mystery of the small-scale distribution of the Local Group's galaxy population. Such well-defined planar structures are apparently rare occurrences in cold dark matter cosmological simulations, and we lack a coherent explanation of their formation and existence. In this paper, we explore the long-term survivability of thin planes of dwarfs in galactic haloes, focusing, in particular, on systems mimicking the observed Andromeda distribution. The key results show that, in general, planes of dwarf galaxies are fragile, sensitive to the shape of the dark matter halo and other perturbing effects. In fact, long-lived planes of satellites only exist in polar orbits in spherical dark matter haloes, presenting a challenge to the observed Andromeda plane that is significantly tilted with respect to the optical disc. Our conclusion is that, in the standard cosmological models, planes of satellites are generally short lived, and hence we must be located at a relatively special time in the evolution of the Andromeda Plane, lucky enough to see its coherent pattern.

First detection of cosmic microwave background lensing and Lyman- α forest bispectrum

DOE PAGES

Doux, Cyrille; Schaan, Emmanuel; Aubourg, Eric; ...

2016-11-09

We present the first detection of a correlation between the Lyman-α forest and cosmic microwave background gravitational lensing. For each Lyman-α forest in SDSS-III/BOSS DR12, we correlate the one-dimensional power spectrum with the cosmic microwave background lensing convergence on the same line of sight from Planck. This measurement constitutes a position-dependent power spectrum, or a squeezed bispectrum, and quantifies the nonlinear response of the Lyman-α forest power spectrum to a large-scale overdensity. The signal is measured at 5σ and is consistent with the expectation of the standard ΛCDM cosmological model. We measure the linear bias of the Lyman-α forest withmore » respect to the dark matter distribution and constrain a combination of nonlinear terms including the nonlinear bias. This new observable provides a consistency check for the Lyman-α forest as a large-scale structure probe and tests our understanding of the relation between intergalactic gas and dark matter. In the future, it could be used to test hydrodynamical simulations and calibrate the relation between the Lyman-α forest and dark matter.« less

PARALLEL HOP: A SCALABLE HALO FINDER FOR MASSIVE COSMOLOGICAL DATA SETS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skory, Stephen; Turk, Matthew J.; Norman, Michael L.

2010-11-15

Modern N-body cosmological simulations contain billions (10{sup 9}) of dark matter particles. These simulations require hundreds to thousands of gigabytes of memory and employ hundreds to tens of thousands of processing cores on many compute nodes. In order to study the distribution of dark matter in a cosmological simulation, the dark matter halos must be identified using a halo finder, which establishes the halo membership of every particle in the simulation. The resources required for halo finding are similar to the requirements for the simulation itself. In particular, simulations have become too extensive to use commonly employed halo finders, suchmore » that the computational requirements to identify halos must now be spread across multiple nodes and cores. Here, we present a scalable-parallel halo finding method called Parallel HOP for large-scale cosmological simulation data. Based on the halo finder HOP, it utilizes message passing interface and domain decomposition to distribute the halo finding workload across multiple compute nodes, enabling analysis of much larger data sets than is possible with the strictly serial or previous parallel implementations of HOP. We provide a reference implementation of this method as a part of the toolkit {sup yt}, an analysis toolkit for adaptive mesh refinement data that include complementary analysis modules. Additionally, we discuss a suite of benchmarks that demonstrate that this method scales well up to several hundred tasks and data sets in excess of 2000{sup 3} particles. The Parallel HOP method and our implementation can be readily applied to any kind of N-body simulation data and is therefore widely applicable.« less

Probing parton dynamics of QCD matter with Ω and ϕ production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamczyk, L.; Adkins, J. K.; Agakishiev, G.; Aggarwal, M. M.; Ahammed, Z.; Alekseev, I.; Aparin, A.; Arkhipkin, D.; Aschenauer, E. C.; Attri, A.; Averichev, G. S.; Bai, X.; Bairathi, V.; Bellwied, R.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A. K.; Bhattarai, P.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bland, L. C.; Bordyuzhin, I. G.; Bouchet, J.; Brandenburg, J. D.; Brandin, A. V.; Bunzarov, I.; Butterworth, J.; Caines, H.; Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, M.; Campbell, J. M.; Cebra, D.; Chakaberia, I.; Chaloupka, P.; Chang, Z.; Chatterjee, A.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chen, J. H.; Chen, X.; Cheng, J.; Cherney, M.; Christie, W.; Contin, G.; Crawford, H. J.; Das, S.; De Silva, L. C.; Debbe, R. R.; Dedovich, T. G.; Deng, J.; Derevschikov, A. A.; di Ruzza, B.; Didenko, L.; Dilks, C.; Dong, X.; Drachenberg, J. L.; Draper, J. E.; Du, C. M.; Dunkelberger, L. E.; Dunlop, J. C.; Efimov, L. G.; Engelage, J.; Eppley, G.; Esha, R.; Evdokimov, O.; Eyser, O.; Fatemi, R.; Fazio, S.; Federic, P.; Fedorisin, J.; Feng, Z.; Filip, P.; Fisyak, Y.; Flores, C. E.; Fulek, L.; Gagliardi, C. A.; Garand, D.; Geurts, F.; Gibson, A.; Girard, M.; Greiner, L.; Grosnick, D.; Gunarathne, D. S.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, S.; Gupta, A.; Guryn, W.; Hamad, A. I.; Hamed, A.; Haque, R.; Harris, J. W.; He, L.; Heppelmann, S.; Heppelmann, S.; Hirsch, A.; Hoffmann, G. W.; Horvat, S.; Huang, T.; Huang, X.; Huang, B.; Huang, H. Z.; Huck, P.; Humanic, T. J.; Igo, G.; Jacobs, W. W.; Jang, H.; Jentsch, A.; Jia, J.; Jiang, K.; Judd, E. G.; Kabana, S.; Kalinkin, D.; Kang, K.; Kauder, K.; Ke, H. W.; Keane, D.; Kechechyan, A.; Khan, Z. H.; Kikoła, D. P.; Kisel, I.; Kisiel, A.; Kochenda, L.; Koetke, D. D.; Kosarzewski, L. K.; Kraishan, A. F.; Kravtsov, P.; Krueger, K.; Kumar, L.; Lamont, M. A. C.; Landgraf, J. M.; Landry, K. D.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lednicky, R.; Lee, J. H.; Li, X.; Li, C.; Li, X.; Li, Y.; Li, W.; Lin, T.; Lisa, M. A.; Liu, F.; Ljubicic, T.; Llope, W. J.; Lomnitz, M.; Longacre, R. S.; Luo, X.; Ma, R.; Ma, G. L.; Ma, Y. G.; Ma, L.; Magdy, N.; Majka, R.; Manion, A.; Margetis, S.; Markert, C.; Matis, H. S.; McDonald, D.; McKinzie, S.; Meehan, K.; Mei, J. C.; Minaev, N. G.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mishra, D.; Mohanty, B.; Mondal, M. M.; Morozov, D. A.; Mustafa, M. K.; Nandi, B. K.; Nasim, Md.; Nayak, T. K.; Nigmatkulov, G.; Niida, T.; Nogach, L. V.; Noh, S. Y.; Novak, J.; Nurushev, S. B.; Odyniec, G.; Ogawa, A.; Oh, K.; Okorokov, V. A.; Olvitt, D.; Page, B. S.; Pak, R.; Pan, Y. X.; Pandit, Y.; Panebratsev, Y.; Pawlik, B.; Pei, H.; Perkins, C.; Pile, P.; Pluta, J.; Poniatowska, K.; Porter, J.; Posik, M.; Poskanzer, A. M.; Pruthi, N. K.; Putschke, J.; Qiu, H.; Quintero, A.; Ramachandran, S.; Raniwala, S.; Raniwala, R.; Ray, R. L.; Ritter, H. G.; Roberts, J. B.; Rogachevskiy, O. V.; Romero, J. L.; Ruan, L.; Rusnak, J.; Rusnakova, O.; Sahoo, N. R.; Sahu, P. K.; Sakrejda, I.; Salur, S.; Sandweiss, J.; Sarkar, A.; Schambach, J.; Scharenberg, R. P.; Schmah, A. M.; Schmidke, W. B.; Schmitz, N.; Seger, J.; Seyboth, P.; Shah, N.; Shahaliev, E.; Shanmuganathan, P. V.; Shao, M.; Sharma, A.; Sharma, B.; Sharma, M. K.; Shen, W. Q.; Shi, Z.; Shi, S. S.; Shou, Q. Y.; Sichtermann, E. P.; Sikora, R.; Simko, M.; Singha, S.; Skoby, M. J.; Smirnov, N.; Smirnov, D.; Solyst, W.; Song, L.; Sorensen, P.; Spinka, H. M.; Srivastava, B.; Stanislaus, T. D. S.; Stepanov, M.; Stock, R.; Strikhanov, M.; Stringfellow, B.; Sumbera, M.; Summa, B.; Sun, Z.; Sun, X. M.; Sun, Y.; Surrow, B.; Svirida, D. N.; Tang, Z.; Tang, A. H.; Tarnowsky, T.; Tawfik, A.; Thäder, J.; Thomas, J. H.; Timmins, A. R.; Tlusty, D.; Todoroki, T.; Tokarev, M.; Trentalange, S.; Tribble, R. E.; Tribedy, P.; Tripathy, S. K.; Tsai, O. D.; Ullrich, T.; Underwood, D. G.; Upsal, I.; Van Buren, G.; van Nieuwenhuizen, G.; Vandenbroucke, M.; Varma, R.; Vasiliev, A. N.; Vertesi, R.; Videbæk, F.; Vokal, S.; Voloshin, S. A.; Vossen, A.; Wang, F.; Wang, G.; Wang, J. S.; Wang, H.; Wang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Webb, G.; Webb, J. C.; Wen, L.; Westfall, G. D.; Wieman, H.; Wissink, S. W.; Witt, R.; Wu, Y.; Xiao, Z. G.; Xie, W.; Xie, G.; Xin, K.; Xu, Y. F.; Xu, Q. H.; Xu, N.; Xu, H.; Xu, Z.; Xu, J.; Yang, S.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Y.; Yang, C.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Q.; Ye, Z.; Ye, Z.; Yepes, P.; Yi, L.; Yip, K.; Yoo, I.-K.; Yu, N.; Zbroszczyk, H.; Zha, W.; Zhang, X. P.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, S.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, J. B.; Zhao, F.; Zhao, J.; Zhong, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhu, X.; Zoulkarneeva, Y.; Zyzak, M.; STAR Collaboration

2016-02-01

We present measurements of Ω and ϕ production at midrapidity from Au+Au collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies √{sN N}=7.7 , 11.5 , 19.6 , 27, and 39 GeV by the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Motivated by the coalescence formation mechanism for these strange hadrons, we study the ratios of N (Ω-+Ω¯+) /[2 N (ϕ ) ] . These ratios as a function of transverse momentum pT fall on a consistent trend at high collision energies, but start to show deviations in peripheral collisions at √{sN N}=19.6 , 27, and 39 GeV, and in central collisions at 11.5 GeV in the intermediate pT region of 2.4 -3.6 GeV/c . We further evaluate empirically the strange quark pT distributions at hadronization by studying the Ω /ϕ ratios scaled by the number of constituent quarks (NCQ). The NCQ-scaled Ω /ϕ ratios show a suppression of strange quark production in central collisions at 11.5 GeV compared to √{sN N}≥19.6 GeV. The shapes of the presumably thermal strange quark distributions in 0-60% most central collisions at 7.7 GeV show significant deviations from those in 0-10% most central collisions at higher energies. These features suggest that there is likely a change of the underlying strange quark dynamics in the transition from quark matter to hadronic matter at collision energies below 19.6 GeV.

Galaxy Bias and its Effects on the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Kushal; Seo, H.; Eckel, J.; Eisenstein, D.; Metchnik, M.; Pinto, P.; Xu, X.

2011-05-01

The baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature in the clustering of matter in the universe serves as a robust standard ruler and hence can be used to map the expansion history of the universe. We use high force resolution simulations to analyze the effects of galaxy bias on the measurements of the BAO signal. We apply a variety of Halo Occupation Distributions (HODs) and produce biased mass tracers to mimic different galaxy populations. We investigate whether galaxy bias changes the non-linear shifts on the acoustic scale relative to the underlying dark matter distribution presented by Seo et al (2010). For the less biased HOD models (b < 3), we do not detect any shift in the acoustic scale relative to the no-bias case, typically 0.10% ± 0.10%. However, the most biased HOD models (b > 3) show a shift at moderate significance (0.79% ± 0.31% for the most extreme case). We test the one-step reconstruction technique introduced by Eisenstein et al. (2007) in the case of realistic galaxy bias and shot noise. The reconstruction scheme increases the correlation between the initial and final (z = 1) density fields achieving an equivalent level of correlation at nearly twice the wavenumber after reconstruction. Reconstruction reduces the shifts and errors on the shifts. We find that after reconstruction the shifts from the galaxy cases and the dark matter case are consistent with each other and with no shift. The 1σ systematic errors on the distance measurements inferred from our BAO measurements with various HODs after reconstruction are about 0.07% - 0.15%.

Galaxy Bias and Its Effects on the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehta, Kushal T.; Seo, Hee-Jong; Eckel, Jonathan; Eisenstein, Daniel J.; Metchnik, Marc; Pinto, Philip; Xu, Xiaoying

2011-06-01

The baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature in the clustering of matter in the universe serves as a robust standard ruler and hence can be used to map the expansion history of the universe. We use high force resolution simulations to analyze the effects of galaxy bias on the measurements of the BAO signal. We apply a variety of Halo Occupation Distributions (HODs) and produce biased mass tracers to mimic different galaxy populations. We investigate whether galaxy bias changes the nonlinear shifts on the acoustic scale relative to the underlying dark matter distribution presented by Seo et al. For the less biased HOD models (b < 3), we do not detect any shift in the acoustic scale relative to the no-bias case, typically 0.10% ± 0.10%. However, the most biased HOD models (b > 3) show a shift at moderate significance (0.79% ± 0.31% for the most extreme case). We test the one-step reconstruction technique introduced by Eisenstein et al. in the case of realistic galaxy bias and shot noise. The reconstruction scheme increases the correlation between the initial and final (z = 1) density fields, achieving an equivalent level of correlation at nearly twice the wavenumber after reconstruction. Reconstruction reduces the shifts and errors on the shifts. We find that after reconstruction the shifts from the galaxy cases and the dark matter case are consistent with each other and with no shift. The 1σ systematic errors on the distance measurements inferred from our BAO measurements with various HODs after reconstruction are about 0.07%-0.15%.

Probing parton dynamics of QCD matter with Ω and Φ production

DOE PAGES

Adamczyk, L.

2016-02-24

In this paper, we present measurements of Ω and Φ production at midrapidity from Au+Au collisions at nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energies √sNN = 7.7, 11.5, 19.6 , 27, and 39 GeV by the STAR experiment at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Motivated by the coalescence formation mechanism for these strange hadrons, we study the ratios of N(Ω - +more » $$\\overline{Ω}$$ +) / [2N (Φ)] . These ratios as a function of transverse momentum p T fall on a consistent trend at high collision energies, but start to show deviations in peripheral collisions at √sNN = 19.6, 27, and 39 GeV, and in central collisions at 11.5 GeV in the intermediate p T region of 2.4 - 3.6 GeV/ . We further evaluate empirically the strange quark p T distributions at hadronization by studying the Ω/Φ ratios scaled by the number of constituent quarks (NCQ). The NCQ-scaled Ω/Φ ratios show a suppression of strange quark production in central collisions at 11.5 GeV compared to √sNN ≥ 19.6 GeV. The shapes of the presumably thermal strange quark distributions in 0–60% most central collisions at 7.7 GeV show significant deviations from those in 0–10% most central collisions at higher energies. Lastly, these features suggest that there is likely a change of the underlying strange quark dynamics in the transition from quark matter to hadronic matter at collision energies below 19.6 GeV.« less

Wildfire impacts on soil-water retention in the Colorado Front Range, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ebel, Brian A.

2012-01-01

This work examined the plot-scale differences in soil-water retention caused by wildfire in the area of the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in the Colorado Front Range, United States. We measured soil-water retention curves on intact cores and repacked samples, soil particle-size distributions, and organic matter content. Estimates were also made of plant-available water based on the soil-water retention curves. Parameters for use in soil-hydraulic property models were estimated; these parameters can be used in unsaturated flow modeling for comparing burned and unburned watersheds. The primary driver for measured differences in soil-water retention in burned and unburned soils was organic matter content and not soil-particle size distribution. The tendency for unburned south-facing soils to have greater organic matter content than unburned north-facing soils in this field area may explain why unburned south-facing soils had greater soil-water retention than unburned north-facing soils. Our results suggest that high-severity wildfire can “homogenize” soil-water retention across the landscape by erasing soil-water retention differences resulting from organic matter content, which for this site may be affected by slope aspect. This homogenization could have important implications for ecohydrology and plant succession/recovery in burned areas, which could be a factor in dictating the window of vulnerability of the landscape to flash floods and erosion that are a common consequence of wildfire.

Wildfire impacts on soil-water retention in the Colorado Front Range, United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebel, Brian A.

2012-12-01

This work examined the plot-scale differences in soil-water retention caused by wildfire in the area of the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire in the Colorado Front Range, United States. We measured soil-water retention curves on intact cores and repacked samples, soil particle-size distributions, and organic matter content. Estimates were also made of plant-available water based on the soil-water retention curves. Parameters for use in soil-hydraulic property models were estimated; these parameters can be used in unsaturated flow modeling for comparing burned and unburned watersheds. The primary driver for measured differences in soil-water retention in burned and unburned soils was organic matter content and not soil-particle size distribution. The tendency for unburned south-facing soils to have greater organic matter content than unburned north-facing soils in this field area may explain why unburned south-facing soils had greater soil-water retention than unburned north-facing soils. Our results suggest that high-severity wildfire can "homogenize" soil-water retention across the landscape by erasing soil-water retention differences resulting from organic matter content, which for this site may be affected by slope aspect. This homogenization could have important implications for ecohydrology and plant succession/recovery in burned areas, which could be a factor in dictating the window of vulnerability of the landscape to flash floods and erosion that are a common consequence of wildfire.

Massive primordial black holes from hybrid inflation as dark matter and the seeds of galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clesse, Sébastien; García-Bellido, Juan

2015-07-01

In this paper we present a new scenario where massive primordial black holes (PBHs) are produced from the collapse of large curvature perturbations generated during a mild-waterfall phase of hybrid inflation. We determine the values of the inflaton potential parameters leading to a PBH mass spectrum peaking on planetarylike masses at matter-radiation equality and producing abundances comparable to those of dark matter today, while the matter power spectrum on scales probed by cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies agrees with Planck data. These PBHs could have acquired large stellar masses today, via merging, and the model passes both the constraints from CMB distortions and microlensing. This scenario is supported by Chandra observations of numerous BH candidates in the central region of Andromeda. Moreover, the tail of the PBH mass distribution could be responsible for the seeds of supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, as well as for ultraluminous x-ray sources. We find that our effective hybrid potential can originate e.g. from D-term inflation with a Fayet-Iliopoulos term of the order of the Planck scale but sub-Planckian values of the inflaton field. Finally, we discuss the implications of quantum diffusion at the instability point of the potential, able to generate a Swiss-cheese-like structure of the Universe, eventually leading to apparent accelerated cosmic expansion.

Chaotic universe model.

PubMed

Aydiner, Ekrem

2018-01-15

In this study, we consider nonlinear interactions between components such as dark energy, dark matter, matter and radiation in the framework of the Friedman-Robertson-Walker space-time and propose a simple interaction model based on the time evolution of the densities of these components. By using this model we show that these interactions can be given by Lotka-Volterra type equations. We numerically solve these coupling equations and show that interaction dynamics between dark energy-dark matter-matter or dark energy-dark matter-matter-radiation has a strange attractor for 0 > w de  >-1, w dm  ≥ 0, w m  ≥ 0 and w r  ≥ 0 values. These strange attractors with the positive Lyapunov exponent clearly show that chaotic dynamics appears in the time evolution of the densities. These results provide that the time evolution of the universe is chaotic. The present model may have potential to solve some of the cosmological problems such as the singularity, cosmic coincidence, big crunch, big rip, horizon, oscillation, the emergence of the galaxies, matter distribution and large-scale organization of the universe. The model also connects between dynamics of the competing species in biological systems and dynamics of the time evolution of the universe and offers a new perspective and a new different scenario for the universe evolution.

The density of dark matter in the Galactic bulge and implications for indirect detection

DOE PAGES

Hooper, Dan

2016-11-29

A recent study, making use of the number of horizontal branch stars observed in infrared photometric surveys and kinematic measurements of M-giant stars from the BRAVA survey, combined with N-body simulations of stellar populations, has presented a new determination of the dark matter mass within the bulge-bar region of the Milky Way. That study constrains the total mass within themore » $$\\pm 2.2 \\times \\pm 1.4 \\times \\pm 1.2$$ kpc volume of the bulge-bar region to be ($$1.84 \\pm 0.07) \\times 10^{10} \\, M_{\\odot}$$, of which 9-30% is made up of dark matter. Here, we use this result to constrain the the Milky Way's dark matter density profile, and discuss the implications for indirect dark matter searches. Furthermore uncertainties remain significant, these results favor dark matter distributions with a cusped density profile. For example, for a scale radius of 20 kpc and a local dark matter density of 0.4 GeV/cm$^3$, density profiles with an inner slope of 0.69 to 1.40 are favored, approximately centered around the standard NFW value. In contrast, profiles with large flat-density cores are disfavored by this information.« less

The Unquiet State of Violent Relaxation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henriksen, Richard

2005-08-01

In 1967 Lynden-Bell presented a statistical mechanical theory for the relaxation of collisionless systems. Since then this theory has been studied numerically and theoretically by many authors. Nakamura in 2000 gave an alternate theory that differed from that of Lynden- Bell by predicting a Gaussian equilibrium distribution function rather than Fermi-Dirac. More recently Henriksen in 2004 has used a coarsegraining technique on cosmological infall systems that also predicts a Gaussian equilibrium distribution function. These relaxed states are thought to occur from the centre of the system outwards. Simulations of cosmological cold dark-matter halos however persist in finding central density cusps (the NFWprofile), which are inconsistent with the predicted distribution functions and perhaps with the observations of some galaxies. Some numerical studies (e.g.Merrall & Henriksen 2003) that attempt to measure the distribution function of dark matter do find Gaussian functions, provided that the initial asymmetry is not too great. Moreover recent work at Queen's reported here by MacMillan, suggests that it is the growth of asymmetry during the infall that produces the cusped behaviour. So put briefly, the essential physics of dark-matter relaxation remains "obscure" as does the validity of the theoretical predictions. "Violent virialization" occurs rapidly, well before subscale relaxation, but the scale at which the relaxation stops (and why) remains unclear. I will present some results that argue for wave-particle relaxation (Landau damping as frequently suggested by Kandrup) and in addition I will suggest that the evolution of isolated systems is very different from that of systems constantly disturbed by infall. Isolated systems may become trapped in an unrelaxed state by the development or existence of multipolar internal structure. Nevertheless a suitable coarse graining of the system may restore the predicted distribution functions.

Iterative initial condition reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmittfull, Marcel; Baldauf, Tobias; Zaldarriaga, Matias

2017-07-01

Motivated by recent developments in perturbative calculations of the nonlinear evolution of large-scale structure, we present an iterative algorithm to reconstruct the initial conditions in a given volume starting from the dark matter distribution in real space. In our algorithm, objects are first moved back iteratively along estimated potential gradients, with a progressively reduced smoothing scale, until a nearly uniform catalog is obtained. The linear initial density is then estimated as the divergence of the cumulative displacement, with an optional second-order correction. This algorithm should undo nonlinear effects up to one-loop order, including the higher-order infrared resummation piece. We test the method using dark matter simulations in real space. At redshift z =0 , we find that after eight iterations the reconstructed density is more than 95% correlated with the initial density at k ≤0.35 h Mpc-1 . The reconstruction also reduces the power in the difference between reconstructed and initial fields by more than 2 orders of magnitude at k ≤0.2 h Mpc-1 , and it extends the range of scales where the full broadband shape of the power spectrum matches linear theory by a factor of 2-3. As a specific application, we consider measurements of the baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale that can be improved by reducing the degradation effects of large-scale flows. In our idealized dark matter simulations, the method improves the BAO signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of 2.7 at z =0 and by a factor of 2.5 at z =0.6 , improving standard BAO reconstruction by 70% at z =0 and 30% at z =0.6 , and matching the optimal BAO signal and signal-to-noise ratio of the linear density in the same volume. For BAO, the iterative nature of the reconstruction is the most important aspect.

Experimental evidence of stress-field-induced selection of variants in Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape-memory alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Y. D.; Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials; Brown, D. W.

2007-05-01

The in situ time-of-flight neutron-diffraction measurements captured well the martensitic transformation behavior of the Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape-memory alloys under uniaxial stress fields. We found that a small uniaxial stress applied during phase transformation dramatically disturbed the distribution of variants in the product phase. The observed changes in the distributions of variants may be explained by considering the role of the minimum distortion energy of the Bain transformation in the effective partition among the variants belonging to the same orientation of parent phase. It was also found that transformation kinetics under various stress fields follows the scale law. The present investigationsmore » provide the fundamental approach for scaling the evolution of microstructures in martensitic transitions, which is of general interest to the condensed matter community.« less

Anomalies in the GRBs' distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagoly, Zsolt; Horvath, Istvan; Hakkila, Jon; Toth, Viktor

2015-08-01

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous objects known: they outshine their host galaxies making them ideal candidates for probing large-scale structure. Earlier, the angular distribution of different GRBs (long, intermediate and short) has been studied in detail with different methods and it has been found that the short and intermediate groups showed deviation from the full randomness at different levels (e.g. Vavrek, R., et al. 2008). However these result based only angular measurements of the BATSE experiment, without any spatial distance indicator involved.Currently we have more than 361 GRBs with measured precise position, optical afterglow and redshift, mainly due to the observations of the Swift mission. This sample is getting large enough that it its homogeneous and isotropic distribution a large scale can be checked. We have recently (Horvath, I. et al., 2014) identified a large clustering of gamma-ray bursts at redshift z ~ 2 in the general direction of the constellations of Hercules and Corona Borealis. This angular excess cannot be entirely attributed to known selection biases, making its existence due to chance unlikely. The scale on which the clustering occurs is disturbingly large, about 2-3 Gpc: the underlying distribution of matter suggested by this cluster is big enough to question standard assumptions about Universal homogeneity and isotropy.

Suspended matter mean distribution and seasonal cycle in the Río de La Plata estuary and the adjacent shelf from ocean color satellite (MODIS) and in-situ observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreira, Diego; Simionato, Claudia G.; Gohin, Francis; Cayocca, Florence; Luz Clara Tejedor, Moira

2013-10-01

The Río de la Plata is one of the largest and most turbid estuaries of the world, carrying a total of 160 million tons y-1 of suspended sediments. The knowledge of their spatial distribution and their scales of variability is fundamental for management and scientific reasons, but has been limited by the scarcity of observations. During 2009 and 2010, in-situ data (CTD and turbidity profiles, and water and bottom sediment samples) were collected at 26 sites during six repeated cruises and from three fixed instruments deployed in the frame of the FREPLATA/FFEM experiment. In this paper we complement the analysis of this in-situ data base with 10 years of daily intermediate resolution (1 km) MODIS-Aqua observations processed for surface suspended matter using the IFREMER algorithm for coastal turbid waters. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive characterization of the annual mean suspended matter concentration distribution, to study its variability on seasonal time scale and to identify the involved physical mechanisms. The comparison between the statistics of the direct and remote sensed data is satisfactory, showing a good agreement in the magnitude and spatial distribution of the mean suspended sediments concentration, its standard deviation, so as the seasonal variability. Our data show that all along the year the concentration of surface suspended matter maximizes along the southern coast of the upper and intermediate estuary and at the tips of Samborombón Bay. This fact is linked in part with the higher solid discharge of the Paraná River - flowing along the southern coast - compared to the Uruguay River which flows following the northern coast. The former receives most of the sediments load to the Río de la Plata from the Bermejo River. The observed mean pattern is also related to the stronger tidal currents along the southern coast of the estuary and at the tips of Samborombón Bay, which act re-suspending sediments near the bottom. Then, wind waves during storms enhance vertical mixing, increasing the surface concentration. The concentration of suspended sediments rapidly falls seawards the Barra del Indio shoal, in the area of the salt wedge. In the outer estuary, suspended matter concentration is also strongly associated to the wind-forced motion of the freshwater plume. Suspended matter concentration exhibits a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer, that cannot be fully explained in terms of the seasonal cycle of the solid discharge of the tributaries, but seems to be related to a raise in the frequency of the storms in winter, increasing the frequency of strong winds and higher wind waves, and the associated re-suspension and mixing.

Mapping Transient Hyperventilation Induced Alterations with Estimates of the Multi-Scale Dynamics of BOLD Signal.

PubMed

Kiviniemi, Vesa; Remes, Jukka; Starck, Tuomo; Nikkinen, Juha; Haapea, Marianne; Silven, Olli; Tervonen, Osmo

2009-01-01

Temporal blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast signals in functional MRI during rest may be characterized by power spectral distribution (PSD) trends of the form 1/f(alpha). Trends with 1/f characteristics comprise fractal properties with repeating oscillation patterns in multiple time scales. Estimates of the fractal properties enable the quantification of phenomena that may otherwise be difficult to measure, such as transient, non-linear changes. In this study it was hypothesized that the fractal metrics of 1/f BOLD signal trends can map changes related to dynamic, multi-scale alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF) after a transient hyperventilation challenge. Twenty-three normal adults were imaged in a resting-state before and after hyperventilation. Different variables (1/f trend constant alpha, fractal dimension D(f), and, Hurst exponent H) characterizing the trends were measured from BOLD signals. The results show that fractal metrics of the BOLD signal follow the fractional Gaussian noise model, even during the dynamic CBF change that follows hyperventilation. The most dominant effect on the fractal metrics was detected in grey matter, in line with previous hyperventilation vaso-reactivity studies. The alpha was able to differentiate also blood vessels from grey matter changes. D(f) was most sensitive to grey matter. H correlated with default mode network areas before hyperventilation but this pattern vanished after hyperventilation due to a global increase in H. In the future, resting-state fMRI combined with fractal metrics of the BOLD signal may be used for analyzing multi-scale alterations of cerebral blood flow.

36 CFR 327.17 - Advertisment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... § 327.17 Advertisment. (a) Advertising and the distribution of printed matter is allowed within project... location of the proposed advertising or the distribution of printed matter, the number of participants, and... reasonably appears that the advertising or the distribution of printed matter will present a clear and...

A two-tiered correlation of dark matter with missing transverse energy: reconstructing the lightest supersymmetric particle mass at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Tianjun; Maxin, James A.; Nanopoulos, Dimitri V.; Walker, Joel W.

2012-02-01

We suggest that non-trivial correlations between the dark matter particle mass and collider based probes of missing transverse energy H_{text{T}}^{text{miss}} may facilitate a two tiered approach to the initial discovery of supersymmetry and the subsequent reconstruction of the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) mass at the LHC. These correlations are demonstrated via extensive Monte Carlo simulation of seventeen benchmark models, each sampled at five distinct LHC center-of-mass beam energies, spanning the parameter space of No-Scale mathcal{F} -SU(5). This construction is defined in turn by the union of the mathcal{F} -lipped SU(5) Grand Unified Theory, two pairs of hypothetical TeV scale vector-like supersymmetric multiplets with origins in mathcal{F} -theory, and the dynamically established boundary conditions of No-Scale Supergravity. In addition, we consider a control sample comprised of a standard minimal Supergravity benchmark point. Led by a striking similarity between the H_{text{T}}^{text{miss}} distribution and the familiar power spectrum of a black body radiator at various temperatures, we implement a broad empirical fit of our simulation against a Poisson distribution ansätz. We advance the resulting fit as a theoretical blueprint for deducing the mass of the LSP, utilizing only the missing transverse energy in a statistical sampling of ≥ 9 jet events. Cumulative uncertainties central to the method subsist at a satisfactory 12-15% level. The fact that supersymmetric particle spectrum of No-Scale mathcal{F} -SU(5) has thrived the withering onslaught of early LHC data that is steadily decimating the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and minimal Supergravity parameter spaces is a prime motivation for augmenting more conventional LSP search methodologies with the presently proposed alternative.

Clear and Measurable Signature of Modified Gravity in the Galaxy Velocity Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hellwing, Wojciech A.; Barreira, Alexandre; Frenk, Carlos S.; Li, Baojiu; Cole, Shaun

2014-06-01

The velocity field of dark matter and galaxies reflects the continued action of gravity throughout cosmic history. We show that the low-order moments of the pairwise velocity distribution v12 are a powerful diagnostic of the laws of gravity on cosmological scales. In particular, the projected line-of-sight galaxy pairwise velocity dispersion σ12(r) is very sensitive to the presence of modified gravity. Using a set of high-resolution N-body simulations, we compute the pairwise velocity distribution and its projected line-of-sight dispersion for a class of modified gravity theories: the chameleon f(R) gravity and Galileon gravity (cubic and quartic). The velocities of dark matter halos with a wide range of masses would exhibit deviations from general relativity at the (5-10)σ level. We examine strategies for detecting these deviations in galaxy redshift and peculiar velocity surveys. If detected, this signature would be a "smoking gun" for modified gravity.

[Concentrations and Distribution of Metals in the Core Sediments from Estuary and City Section of Liaohe River].

PubMed

Wang, Wei-jie; Zhou, Jun-li; Pei, Shu-wei; Liu, Zheng-tao

2016-01-15

The particle size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratio and metal concentrations as well as activities of 210Pb were determined in Liaohe River estuary area (LN-2) and Shenyang area (LN-5), and the organic matter resources were discussed in two core sediments. Also the index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) and enrichment factors (EFs) methods were applied to evaluate the state of heavy metal contamination in the studied sties. The study showed that both sediment cores LN-2 and LN-5 were dominated by silts, and the vertical variations of grain-size composition and organic matter were well distributed in LN- 2 while fluctuated in LN-5. According to the organic matter source analysis through C/N ratio, C/N ratio varied in the scale of 5. 24-7.93 in LN-2 which was dominated by river source, and 9.94-14.21 in LN-5 which was dominated by terrestrial input. Al, Ca, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr in two sediment cores had different vertical changing rules, Ni and Zn in LN-2 as well as Pb and Zn in LN-5 were affected by both natural and human factors, other elements had similar distributions to those of organic matters, which showed that these elements were mainly affected by the natural activities. Based on Igeo and EFs, both sediment cores were more severely polluted with Ni, Zn and Pb than other metals. The effects of human activities on the environment were also discussed in this study, combined with the economical development of Liaoning Province and the studied sites in the past 20 years.

Predicting weak lensing statistics from halo mass reconstructions - Final Paper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Everett, Spencer

2015-08-20

As dark matter does not absorb or emit light, its distribution in the universe must be inferred through indirect effects such as the gravitational lensing of distant galaxies. While most sources are only weakly lensed, the systematic alignment of background galaxies around a foreground lens can constrain the mass of the lens which is largely in the form of dark matter. In this paper, I have implemented a framework to reconstruct all of the mass along lines of sight using a best-case dark matter halo model in which the halo mass is known. This framework is then used to makemore » predictions of the weak lensing of 3,240 generated source galaxies through a 324 arcmin² field of the Millennium Simulation. The lensed source ellipticities are characterized by the ellipticity-ellipticity and galaxy-mass correlation functions and compared to the same statistic for the intrinsic and ray-traced ellipticities. In the ellipticity-ellipticity correlation function, I and that the framework systematically under predicts the shear power by an average factor of 2.2 and fails to capture correlation from dark matter structure at scales larger than 1 arcminute. The model predicted galaxy-mass correlation function is in agreement with the ray-traced statistic from scales 0.2 to 0.7 arcminutes, but systematically underpredicts shear power at scales larger than 0.7 arcminutes by an average factor of 1.2. Optimization of the framework code has reduced the mean CPU time per lensing prediction by 70% to 24 ± 5 ms. Physical and computational shortcomings of the framework are discussed, as well as potential improvements for upcoming work.« less

Constraining self-interacting dark matter with scaling laws of observed halo surface densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bondarenko, Kyrylo; Boyarsky, Alexey; Bringmann, Torsten; Sokolenko, Anastasia

2018-04-01

The observed surface densities of dark matter halos are known to follow a simple scaling law, ranging from dwarf galaxies to galaxy clusters, with a weak dependence on their virial mass. Here we point out that this can not only be used to provide a method to determine the standard relation between halo mass and concentration, but also to use large samples of objects in order to place constraints on dark matter self-interactions that can be more robust than constraints derived from individual objects. We demonstrate our method by considering a sample of about 50 objects distributed across the whole halo mass range, and by modelling the effect of self-interactions in a way similar to what has been previously done in the literature. Using additional input from simulations then results in a constraint on the self-interaction cross section per unit dark matter mass of about σ/mχlesssim 0.3 cm2/g. We expect that these constraints can be significantly improved in the future, and made more robust, by i) an improved modelling of the effect of self-interactions, both theoretical and by comparison with simulations, ii) taking into account a larger sample of objects and iii) by reducing the currently still relatively large uncertainties that we conservatively assign to the surface densities of individual objects. The latter can be achieved in particular by using kinematic observations to directly constrain the average halo mass inside a given radius, rather than fitting the data to a pre-selected profile and then reconstruct the mass. For a velocity-independent cross-section, our current result is formally already somewhat smaller than the range 0.5‑5 cm2/g that has been invoked to explain potential inconsistencies between small-scale observations and expectations in the standard collisionless cold dark matter paradigm.

Generalization of Rindler Potential at Cluster Scales in Randers-Finslerian Spacetime: a Possible Explanation of the Bullet Cluster 1E0657-558?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Zhe; Li, Ming-Hua; Lin, Hai-Nan; Li, Xin

2012-12-01

The data of the Bullet Cluster 1E0657-558 released on November 15, 2006 reveal that the strong and weak gravitational lensing convergence κ-map has an 8σ offset from the Σ-map. The observed Σ-map is a direct measurement of the surface mass density of the Intracluster medium (ICM) gas. It accounts for 83% of the averaged mass-fraction of the system. This suggests a modified gravity theory at large distances different from Newton's inverse-square gravitational law. In this paper, as a cluster scale generalization of Grumiller's modified gravity model (Phys. Rev. Lett.105 (2010) 211303), we present a gravity model with a generalized linear Rindler potential in Randers-Finslerian spacetime without invoking any dark matter. The galactic limit of the model is qualitatively consistent with the MOND and Grumiller's. It yields approximately the flatness of the rotational velocity profile at the radial distance of several kpcs and gives the velocity scales for spiral galaxies at which the curves become flattened. Plots of convergence κ for a galaxy cluster show that the peak of the gravitational potential has chances to lie on the outskirts of the baryonic mass center. Assuming an isotropic and isothermal ICM gas profile with temperature T = 14.8 keV (which is the center value given by observations), we obtain a good match between the dynamical mass MT of the main cluster given by collisionless Boltzmann equation and that given by the King β-model. We also consider a Randers+dark matter scenario and a Λ-CDM model with the NFW dark matter distribution profile. We find that a mass ratio η between dark matter and baryonic matter about 6 fails to reproduce the observed convergence κ-map for the isothermal temperature T taking the observational center value.

Effect of hydrodynamical-simulation–inspired dark matter velocity profile on directional detection of dark matter

DOE PAGES

Laha, Ranjan

2018-02-01

Directional detection is an important way to detect dark matter. An input for these experiments is the dark matter velocity distribution. Recent hydrodynamical simulations have shown that the dark matter velocity distribution differs substantially from the Standard Halo Model. We study the impact of some of these updated velocity distributions in dark matter directional detection experiments. Here, we calculate the ratio of events required to confirm the forward-backward asymmetry and the existence of the ring of maximum recoil rate using different dark matter velocity distributions for 19F and Xe targets. We show that with the use of updated dark mattermore » velocity profiles, the forward-backward asymmetry and the ring of maximum recoil rate can be confirmed using a factor of ~ 2– 3 less events when compared to that using the Standard Halo Model.« less

Effect of hydrodynamical-simulation–inspired dark matter velocity profile on directional detection of dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Laha, Ranjan

Directional detection is an important way to detect dark matter. An input for these experiments is the dark matter velocity distribution. Recent hydrodynamical simulations have shown that the dark matter velocity distribution differs substantially from the Standard Halo Model. We study the impact of some of these updated velocity distributions in dark matter directional detection experiments. Here, we calculate the ratio of events required to confirm the forward-backward asymmetry and the existence of the ring of maximum recoil rate using different dark matter velocity distributions for 19F and Xe targets. We show that with the use of updated dark mattermore » velocity profiles, the forward-backward asymmetry and the ring of maximum recoil rate can be confirmed using a factor of ~ 2– 3 less events when compared to that using the Standard Halo Model.« less

Alignments of Dark Matter Halos with Large-scale Tidal Fields: Mass and Redshift Dependence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Sijie; Wang, Huiyuan; Mo, H. J.; Shi, Jingjing

2016-07-01

Large-scale tidal fields estimated directly from the distribution of dark matter halos are used to investigate how halo shapes and spin vectors are aligned with the cosmic web. The major, intermediate, and minor axes of halos are aligned with the corresponding tidal axes, and halo spin axes tend to be parallel with the intermediate axes and perpendicular to the major axes of the tidal field. The strengths of these alignments generally increase with halo mass and redshift, but the dependence is only on the peak height, ν \\equiv {δ }{{c}}/σ ({M}{{h}},z). The scaling relations of the alignment strengths with the value of ν indicate that the alignment strengths remain roughly constant when the structures within which the halos reside are still in a quasi-linear regime, but decreases as nonlinear evolution becomes more important. We also calculate the alignments in projection so that our results can be compared directly with observations. Finally, we investigate the alignments of tidal tensors on large scales, and use the results to understand alignments of halo pairs separated at various distances. Our results suggest that the coherent structure of the tidal field is the underlying reason for the alignments of halos and galaxies seen in numerical simulations and in observations.

Testing the lognormality of the galaxy and weak lensing convergence distributions from Dark Energy Survey maps

DOE PAGES

Clerkin, L.; Kirk, D.; Manera, M.; ...

2016-08-30

It is well known that the probability distribution function (PDF) of galaxy density contrast is approximately lognormal; whether the PDF of mass fluctuations derived from weak lensing convergence (kappa_WL) is lognormal is less well established. We derive PDFs of the galaxy and projected matter density distributions via the Counts in Cells (CiC) method. We use maps of galaxies and weak lensing convergence produced from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification data over 139 deg^2. We test whether the underlying density contrast is well described by a lognormal distribution for the galaxies, the convergence and their joint PDF. We confirmmore » that the galaxy density contrast distribution is well modeled by a lognormal PDF convolved with Poisson noise at angular scales from 10-40 arcmin (corresponding to physical scales of 3-10 Mpc). We note that as kappa_WL is a weighted sum of the mass fluctuations along the line of sight, its PDF is expected to be only approximately lognormal. We find that the kappa_WL distribution is well modeled by a lognormal PDF convolved with Gaussian shape noise at scales between 10 and 20 arcmin, with a best-fit chi^2/DOF of 1.11 compared to 1.84 for a Gaussian model, corresponding to p-values 0.35 and 0.07 respectively, at a scale of 10 arcmin. Above 20 arcmin a simple Gaussian model is sufficient. The joint PDF is also reasonably fitted by a bivariate lognormal. As a consistency check we compare the variances derived from the lognormal modelling with those directly measured via CiC. Our methods are validated against maps from the MICE Grand Challenge N-body simulation.« less

Testing the lognormality of the galaxy and weak lensing convergence distributions from Dark Energy Survey maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clerkin, L.; Kirk, D.; Manera, M.; Lahav, O.; Abdalla, F.; Amara, A.; Bacon, D.; Chang, C.; Gaztañaga, E.; Hawken, A.; Jain, B.; Joachimi, B.; Vikram, V.; Abbott, T.; Allam, S.; Armstrong, R.; Benoit-Lévy, A.; Bernstein, G. M.; Bernstein, R. A.; Bertin, E.; Brooks, D.; Burke, D. L.; Rosell, A. Carnero; Carrasco Kind, M.; Crocce, M.; Cunha, C. E.; D'Andrea, C. B.; da Costa, L. N.; Desai, S.; Diehl, H. T.; Dietrich, J. P.; Eifler, T. F.; Evrard, A. E.; Flaugher, B.; Fosalba, P.; Frieman, J.; Gerdes, D. W.; Gruen, D.; Gruendl, R. A.; Gutierrez, G.; Honscheid, K.; James, D. J.; Kent, S.; Kuehn, K.; Kuropatkin, N.; Lima, M.; Melchior, P.; Miquel, R.; Nord, B.; Plazas, A. A.; Romer, A. K.; Roodman, A.; Sanchez, E.; Schubnell, M.; Sevilla-Noarbe, I.; Smith, R. C.; Soares-Santos, M.; Sobreira, F.; Suchyta, E.; Swanson, M. E. C.; Tarle, G.; Walker, A. R.

2017-04-01

It is well known that the probability distribution function (PDF) of galaxy density contrast is approximately lognormal; whether the PDF of mass fluctuations derived from weak lensing convergence (κWL) is lognormal is less well established. We derive PDFs of the galaxy and projected matter density distributions via the counts-in-cells (CiC) method. We use maps of galaxies and weak lensing convergence produced from the Dark Energy Survey Science Verification data over 139 deg2. We test whether the underlying density contrast is well described by a lognormal distribution for the galaxies, the convergence and their joint PDF. We confirm that the galaxy density contrast distribution is well modelled by a lognormal PDF convolved with Poisson noise at angular scales from 10 to 40 arcmin (corresponding to physical scales of 3-10 Mpc). We note that as κWL is a weighted sum of the mass fluctuations along the line of sight, its PDF is expected to be only approximately lognormal. We find that the κWL distribution is well modelled by a lognormal PDF convolved with Gaussian shape noise at scales between 10 and 20 arcmin, with a best-fitting χ2/dof of 1.11 compared to 1.84 for a Gaussian model, corresponding to p-values 0.35 and 0.07, respectively, at a scale of 10 arcmin. Above 20 arcmin a simple Gaussian model is sufficient. The joint PDF is also reasonably fitted by a bivariate lognormal. As a consistency check, we compare the variances derived from the lognormal modelling with those directly measured via CiC. Our methods are validated against maps from the MICE Grand Challenge N-body simulation.

Risk and Distributional Inequality.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-03-01

judgments about the weight to be attached to inequality at different points on the income scale.... [Thus, in choosing a measure of inequality ,] it may... Rawls , 1971.) Thus, it might be concluded that the U.K. has greater inequality of incomes than West Germany for the reason that A its Lorenz curve lies...suffices to summarize matters as follows: (1) in welfare economics , measurement of the inequality of income (or wealth) is made difficult by the fact that

Mapping the Heavens: Probing Cosmology with Large Surveys

ScienceCinema

Frieman, Joshua [Fermilab

2017-12-09

This talk will provide an overview of recent and on-going sky surveys, focusing on their implications for cosmology. I will place particular emphasis on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the most ambitious mapping of the Universe yet undertaken, showing a virtual fly-through of the survey that reveals the large-scale structure of the galaxy distribution. Recent measurements of this large-scale structure, in combination with observations of the cosmic microwave background, have provided independent evidence for a Universe dominated by dark matter and dark energy as well as insights into how galaxies and larger-scale structures formed. Future planned surveys will build on these foundations to probe the history of the cosmic expansion--and thereby the dark energy--with greater precision.

Does lake size matter? Combining morphology and process modeling to examine the contribution of lake classes to population-scale processes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winslow, Luke A.; Read, Jordan S.; Hanson, Paul C.; Stanley, Emily H.

2014-01-01

With lake abundances in the thousands to millions, creating an intuitive understanding of the distribution of morphology and processes in lakes is challenging. To improve researchers’ understanding of large-scale lake processes, we developed a parsimonious mathematical model based on the Pareto distribution to describe the distribution of lake morphology (area, perimeter and volume). While debate continues over which mathematical representation best fits any one distribution of lake morphometric characteristics, we recognize the need for a simple, flexible model to advance understanding of how the interaction between morphometry and function dictates scaling across large populations of lakes. These models make clear the relative contribution of lakes to the total amount of lake surface area, volume, and perimeter. They also highlight the critical thresholds at which total perimeter, area and volume would be evenly distributed across lake size-classes have Pareto slopes of 0.63, 1 and 1.12, respectively. These models of morphology can be used in combination with models of process to create overarching “lake population” level models of process. To illustrate this potential, we combine the model of surface area distribution with a model of carbon mass accumulation rate. We found that even if smaller lakes contribute relatively less to total surface area than larger lakes, the increasing carbon accumulation rate with decreasing lake size is strong enough to bias the distribution of carbon mass accumulation towards smaller lakes. This analytical framework provides a relatively simple approach to upscaling morphology and process that is easily generalizable to other ecosystem processes.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sonnenfeld, Alessandro; Treu, Tommaso; Marshall, Philip J.

Here, we investigate the cosmic evolution of the internal structure of massive early-type galaxies over half of the age of the universe. We also perform a joint lensing and stellar dynamics analysis of a sample of 81 strong lenses from the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey and Sloan ACS Lens Survey and combine the results with a hierarchical Bayesian inference method to measure the distribution of dark matter mass and stellar initial mass function (IMF) across the population of massive early-type galaxies. Lensing selection effects are taken into account. Furthermore, we found that the dark matter mass projected within the innermore » 5 kpc increases for increasing redshift, decreases for increasing stellar mass density, but is roughly constant along the evolutionary tracks of early-type galaxies. The average dark matter slope is consistent with that of a Navarro-Frenk-White profile, but is not well constrained. The stellar IMF normalization is close to a Salpeter IMF at log M * = 11.5 and scales strongly with increasing stellar mass. No dependence of the IMF on redshift or stellar mass density is detected. The anti-correlation between dark matter mass and stellar mass density supports the idea of mergers being more frequent in more massive dark matter halos.« less

Extending the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System to Hemispheric Scales: Overview of Process Considerations and Initial Applications

PubMed Central

Mathur, Rohit; Xing, Jia; Gilliam, Robert; Sarwar, Golam; Hogrefe, Christian; Pleim, Jonathan; Pouliot, George; Roselle, Shawn; Spero, Tanya L.; Wong, David C.; Young, Jeffrey

2018-01-01

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system is extended to simulate ozone, particulate matter, and related precursor distributions throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Modelled processes were examined and enhanced to suitably represent the extended space and time scales for such applications. Hemispheric scale simulations with CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are performed for multiple years. Model capabilities for a range of applications including episodic long-range pollutant transport, long-term trends in air pollution across the Northern Hemisphere, and air pollution-climate interactions are evaluated through detailed comparison with available surface, aloft, and remotely sensed observations. The expansion of CMAQ to simulate the hemispheric scales provides a framework to examine interactions between atmospheric processes occurring at various spatial and temporal scales with physical, chemical, and dynamical consistency. PMID:29681922

Universal scaling laws of diffusion in two-dimensional granular liquids.

PubMed

Wang, Chen-Hung; Yu, Szu-Hsuan; Chen, Peilong

2015-06-01

We find, in a two-dimensional air table granular system, that the reduced diffusion constant D* and excess entropy S(2) follow two distinct scaling laws: D*∼e(S(2)*) for dense liquids and D∼e(3S(2)*) for dilute ones. The scaling for dense liquids is very similar to that for three-dimensional liquids proposed previously [M. Dzugutov, Nature (London) 381, 137 (1996); A. Samanta et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 145901 (2004)]. In the dilute regime, a power law [Y. Rosenfeld, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 11, 5415 (1999)] also fits our data reasonably well. In our system, particles experience low air drag dissipation and interact with each others through embedded magnets. These near-conservative many-body interactions are responsible for the measured Gaussian velocity distribution functions and the scaling laws. The dominance of cage relaxations in dense liquids leads to the different scaling laws for dense and dilute regimes.

Critical branching neural networks.

PubMed

Kello, Christopher T

2013-01-01

It is now well-established that intrinsic variations in human neural and behavioral activity tend to exhibit scaling laws in their fluctuations and distributions. The meaning of these scaling laws is an ongoing matter of debate between isolable causes versus pervasive causes. A spiking neural network model is presented that self-tunes to critical branching and, in doing so, simulates observed scaling laws as pervasive to neural and behavioral activity. These scaling laws are related to neural and cognitive functions, in that critical branching is shown to yield spiking activity with maximal memory and encoding capacities when analyzed using reservoir computing techniques. The model is also shown to account for findings of pervasive 1/f scaling in speech and cued response behaviors that are difficult to explain by isolable causes. Issues and questions raised by the model and its results are discussed from the perspectives of physics, neuroscience, computer and information sciences, and psychological and cognitive sciences.

Evolution of organic matter in Orgueil, Murchison and Renazzo during parent body aqueous alteration: In situ investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Guillou, Corentin; Bernard, Sylvain; Brearley, Adrian J.; Remusat, Laurent

2014-04-01

Chondrites accreted the oldest solid materials in the solar system including dust processed in the protoplanetary disk and diverse organic compounds. After accretion, asteroidal alteration may have impacted organic particles in various ways. To constrain these processes, we conducted a comprehensive study of organics disseminated within the matrices of the three carbonaceous chondrite falls, Renazzo (CR2), Murchison (CM2) and Orgueil (CI). By combining synchrotron-based STXM and TEM analyses on FIB sections of samples previously characterized by NanoSIMS, we investigated the influence of aqueous alteration on the morphology, isotopic signature, molecular structure, spatial distribution, and mineralogical environment of the organic matter within the matrices. Two different populations of materials are distinguishable: sub-micrometric individual grains, likely dominated by insoluble compounds and diffuse organic matter, finely interspersed within phyllosilicates and/or (amorphous) nanocarbonates at the nanometer scale. We suggest that this latter component, which is depleted in aromatics and enriched in carboxylic functional groups, may be dominated by soluble compounds. Organic matter in Renazzo (CR) mainly consists of chemically-homogeneous individual grains surrounded by amorphous and nanocrystalline phyllosilicates. Evidence of connectivity between organic grains and fractures indicates that redistribution has occurred: some areas containing diffuse organic matter can be observed. This diffuse organic component is more abundant in Murchison (CM) and Orgueil (CI). This is interpreted as resulting from fluid transport at the micrometer scale and encapsulation within recrystallized alteration phases. In contrast to Renazzo, organic grains in Murchison and Orgueil display strong chemical heterogeneities, likely related to chemical evolution during aqueous alteration. The observations suggest that the altering fluid was a brine with elevated concentrations of both organic and inorganic soluble components. Ultimately, when water was consumed by aqueous alteration reactions or lost from the system, soluble organic compounds accumulated in the immediate vicinity of the precipitated carbonates and phosphates. Additionally, the nanometer scale organic/phyllosilicate relationships provide a petrological environment where some of the initially accreted organic matter could have been modified through clay-mediated reactions.

Halo models of HI selected galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Niladri; Choudhury, Tirthankar Roy; Paranjape, Aseem

2018-06-01

Modelling the distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI) in dark matter halos is important for studying galaxy evolution in the cosmological context. We use a novel approach to infer the HI-dark matter connection at the massive end (m_H{I} > 10^{9.8} M_{⊙}) from radio HI emission surveys, using optical properties of low-redshift galaxies as an intermediary. In particular, we use a previously calibrated optical HOD describing the luminosity- and colour-dependent clustering of SDSS galaxies and describe the HI content using a statistical scaling relation between the optical properties and HI mass. This allows us to compute the abundance and clustering properties of HI-selected galaxies and compare with data from the ALFALFA survey. We apply an MCMC-based statistical analysis to constrain the free parameters related to the scaling relation. The resulting best-fit scaling relation identifies massive HI galaxies primarily with optically faint blue centrals, consistent with expectations from galaxy formation models. We compare the Hi-stellar mass relation predicted by our model with independent observations from matched Hi-optical galaxy samples, finding reasonable agreement. As a further application, we make some preliminary forecasts for future observations of HI and optical galaxies in the expected overlap volume of SKA and Euclid/LSST.

Determining the spatial variability of wetland soil bulk density, organic matter, and the conversion factor between organic matter and organic carbon across coastal Louisiana, U.S.A.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wang, Hongqing; Piazza, Sarai C.; Sharp, Leigh A.; Stagg, Camille L.; Couvillion, Brady R.; Steyer, Gregory D.; McGinnis, Thomas E.

2016-01-01

Soil bulk density (BD), soil organic matter (SOM) content, and a conversion factor between SOM and soil organic carbon (SOC) are often used in estimating SOC sequestration and storage. Spatial variability in BD, SOM, and the SOM–SOC conversion factor affects the ability to accurately estimate SOC sequestration, storage, and the benefits (e.g., land building area and vertical accretion) associated with wetland restoration efforts, such as marsh creation and sediment diversions. There are, however, only a few studies that have examined large-scale spatial variability in BD, SOM, and SOM–SOC conversion factors in coastal wetlands. In this study, soil cores, distributed across the entire coastal Louisiana (approximately 14,667 km2) were used to examine the regional-scale spatial variability in BD, SOM, and the SOM–SOC conversion factor. Soil cores for BD and SOM analyses were collected during 2006–09 from 331 spatially well-distributed sites in the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System network. Soil cores for the SOM–SOC conversion factor analysis were collected from 15 sites across coastal Louisiana during 2006–07. Results of a split-plot analysis of variance with incomplete block design indicated that BD and SOM varied significantly at a landscape level, defined by both hydrologic basins and vegetation types. Vertically, BD and SOM varied significantly among different vegetation types. The SOM–SOC conversion factor also varied significantly at the landscape level. This study provides critical information for the assessment of the role of coastal wetlands in large regional carbon budgets and the estimation of carbon credits from coastal restoration.

Concentrated dark matter: Enhanced small-scale structure from codecaying dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dror, Jeff A.; Kuflik, Eric; Melcher, Brandon; Watson, Scott

2018-03-01

We study the cosmological consequences of codecaying dark matter—a recently proposed mechanism for depleting the density of dark matter through the decay of nearly degenerate particles. A generic prediction of this framework is an early dark matter dominated phase in the history of the Universe, that results in the enhanced growth of dark matter perturbations on small scales. We compute the duration of the early matter dominated phase and show that the perturbations are robust against washout from free streaming. The enhanced small-scale structure is expected to survive today in the form of compact microhalos and can lead to significant boost factors for indirect-detection experiments, such as FERMI, where dark matter would appear as point sources.

Porosity and permeability determination of organic-rich Posidonia shales based on 3-D analyses by FIB-SEM microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grathoff, Georg H.; Peltz, Markus; Enzmann, Frieder; Kaufhold, Stephan

2016-07-01

The goal of this study is to better understand the porosity and permeability in shales to improve modelling fluid and gas flow related to shale diagenesis. Two samples (WIC and HAD) were investigated, both mid-Jurassic organic-rich Posidonia shales from Hils area, central Germany of different maturity (WIC R0 0.53 % and HAD R0 1.45 %). The method for image collection was focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy coupled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For image and data analysis Avizo and GeoDict was used. Porosity was calculated from segmented 3-D FIB based images and permeability was simulated by a Navier Stokes-Brinkman solver in the segmented images. Results show that the quantity and distribution of pore clusters and pores (≥ 40 nm) are similar. The largest pores are located within carbonates and clay minerals, whereas the smallest pores are within the matured organic matter. Orientation of the pores calculated as pore paths showed minor directional differences between the samples. Both samples have no continuous connectivity of pore clusters along the axes in the x, y, and z direction on the scale of 10 to 20 of micrometer, but do show connectivity on the micrometer scale. The volume of organic matter in the studied volume is representative of the total organic carbon (TOC) in the samples. Organic matter does show axis connectivity in the x, y, and z directions. With increasing maturity the porosity in organic matter increases from close to 0 to more than 5 %. These pores are small and in the large organic particles have little connection to the mineral matrix. Continuous pore size distributions are compared with mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) data. Differences between both methods are caused by resolution limits of the FIB-SEM and by the development of small pores during the maturation of the organic matter. Calculations show no permeability when only considering visible pores due to the lack of axis connectivity. Adding the organic matter with a background permeability of 1 × 10-21 m2 to the calculations, the total permeability increased by up to 1 order of magnitude for the low mature and decreases slightly for the overmature sample from the gas window. Anisotropy of permeability was observed. Permeability coefficients increase by 1 order of magnitude if simulations are performed parallel to the bedding. Our results compare well with experimental data from the literature suggesting that upscaling may be possible in the future as soon as maturity dependent organic matter permeability coefficients can be determined.

Impact of water mass mixing on the biogeochemistry and microbiology of the Northeast Atlantic Deep Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinthaler, Thomas; Álvarez Salgado, Xosé Antón; Álvarez, Marta; van Aken, Hendrik M.; Herndl, Gerhard J.

2013-12-01

The extent to which water mass mixing contributes to the biological activity of the dark ocean is essentially unknown. Using a multiparameter water mass analysis, we examined the impact of water mass mixing on the nutrient distribution and microbial activity of the Northeast Atlantic Deep Water (NEADW) along an 8000 km long transect extending from 62°N to 5°S. Mixing of four water types (WT) and basin scale mineralization from the site where the WT where defined to the study area explained up to 95% of the variability in the distribution of inorganic nutrients and apparent oxygen utilization. Mixing-corrected average O2:N:P mineralization ratios of 127(±11):13.0(±0.7):1 in the core of the NEADW suggested preferential utilization of phosphorus compounds while dissolved organic carbon mineralization contributed a maximum of 20% to the oxygen demand of the NEADW. In conjunction with the calculated average mineralization ratios, our results indicate a major contribution of particulate organic matter to the biological activity in the NEADW. The variability in prokaryotic abundance, high nucleic acid containing cells, and prokaryotic heterotrophic production in the NEADW was explained by large scale (64-79%) and local mineralization processes (21-36%), consistent with the idea that deep-water prokaryotic communities are controlled by substrate supply. Overall, our results suggest a major impact of mixing on the distribution of inorganic nutrients and a weaker influence on the dissolved organic matter pool supporting prokaryotic activity in the NEADW.

In situ visualisation and characterisation of the capacity of highly reactive minerals to preserve soil organic matter (SOM) in colloids at submicron scale.

PubMed

Xiao, Jian; Wen, Yongli; Li, Huan; Hao, Jialong; Shen, Qirong; Ran, Wei; Mei, Xinlan; He, Xinhua; Yu, Guanghui

2015-11-01

Mineral-organo associations (MOAs) are a mixture of identifiable biopolymers associated with highly reactive minerals and microorganisms. However, the in situ characterization and correlation between soil organic matter (SOM) and highly reactive Al and Fe minerals are still unclear for the lack of technologies, particularly in the long-term agricultural soil colloids at submicron scale. We combined several novel techniques, including nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to characterise the capacity of highly reactive Al and Fe minerals to preserve SOM in Ferralic Cambisol in south China. Our results demonstrated that: (1) highly reactive minerals were strongly related to SOM preservation, while SOM had a more significant line correlation with the highly reactive Al minerals than the highly reactive Fe minerals, according to the regions of interest correlation analyses using NanoSIMS; (2) allophane and ferrihydrite were the potential mineral species to determine the SOM preservation capability, which was evaluated by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fe K-edge XANES spectroscopy techniques; and (3) soil organic biopolymers with dominant compounds, such as proteins, polysaccharides and lipids, were distributed at the rough and clustered surface of MOAs with high chemical and spatial heterogeneity according to the CLSM observation. Our results also promoted the understanding of the roles played by the highly reactive Al and Fe minerals in the spatial distribution of soil organic biopolymers and SOM sequestration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating the distribution of colored dissolved organic matter during the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment using four-dimensional variational data assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Castillo, C. E.; Dwivedi, S.; Haine, T. W. N.; Ho, D. T.

2017-03-01

We diagnosed the effect of various physical processes on the distribution of mixed-layer colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and a sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer during the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment (SO GasEx). The biochemical upper ocean state estimate uses in situ and satellite biochemical and physical data in the study region, including CDOM (absorption coefficient and spectral slope), SF6, hydrography, and sea level anomaly. Modules for photobleaching of CDOM and surface transport of SF6 were coupled with an ocean circulation model for this purpose. The observed spatial and temporal variations in CDOM were captured by the state estimate without including any new biological source term for CDOM, assuming it to be negligible over the 26 days of the state estimate. Thermocline entrainment and photobleaching acted to diminish the mixed-layer CDOM with time scales of 18 and 16 days, respectively. Lateral advection of CDOM played a dominant role and increased the mixed-layer CDOM with a time scale of 12 days, whereas lateral diffusion of CDOM was negligible. A Lagrangian view on the CDOM variability was demonstrated by using the SF6 as a weighting function to integrate the CDOM fields. This and similar data assimilation methods can be used to provide reasonable estimates of optical properties, and other physical parameters over the short-term duration of a research cruise, and help in the tracking of tracer releases in large-scale oceanographic experiments, and in oceanographic process studies.

Estimating the Distribution of Colored Dissolved Organic Matter During the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment Using Four-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Del Castillo, C. E.; Dwivedi, S.; Haine, T. W. N.; Ho, D. T.

2017-01-01

We diagnosed the effect of various physical processes on the distribution of mixed-layer colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and a sulfur hexauoride (SF6) tracer during the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment (SO GasEx). The biochemical upper ocean state estimate uses in situ and satellite biochemical and physical data in the study region, including CDOM (absorption coefcient and spectral slope), SF6, hydrography, and sea level anomaly. Modules for photobleaching of CDOM and surface transport of SF6 were coupled with an ocean circulation model for this purpose. The observed spatial and temporal variations in CDOM were captured by the state estimate without including any new biological source term for CDOM, assuming it to be negligible over the 26 days of the state estimate. Thermocline entrainment and photobleaching acted to diminish the mixed-layer CDOM with time scales of 18 and 16 days, respectively. Lateral advection of CDOM played a dominant role and increased the mixed-layer CDOM with a time scale of 12 days, whereas lateral diffusion of CDOM was negligible. A Lagrangian view on the CDOM variability was demonstrated by using the SF6 as a weighting function to integrate the CDOM elds. This and similar data assimilation methods can be used to provide reasonable estimates of optical properties, and other physical parameters over the short-term duration of a research cruise, and help in the tracking of tracer releases in large-scale oceanographic experiments, and in oceanographic process studies.

Warm dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horiuchi, Shunsaku, E-mail: horiuchi@vt.edu

2016-06-21

The cold dark matter paradigm has been extremely successful in explaining the large-scale structure of the Universe. However, it continues to face issues when confronted by observations on sub-Galactic scales. A major caveat, now being addressed, has been the incomplete treatment of baryon physics. We first summarize the small-scale issues surrounding cold dark matter and discuss the solutions explored by modern state-of-the-art numerical simulations including treatment of baryonic physics. We identify the too big to fail in field galaxies as among the best targets to study modifications to dark matter, and discuss the particular connection with sterile neutrino warm darkmore » matter. We also discuss how the recently detected anomalous 3.55 keV X-ray lines, when interpreted as sterile neutrino dark matter decay, provide a very good description of small-scale observations of the Local Group.« less

Origin and distribution of the organic matter in the distal lobe of the Congo deep-sea fan - A Rock-Eval survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baudin, François; Stetten, Elsa; Schnyder, Johann; Charlier, Karine; Martinez, Philippe; Dennielou, Bernard; Droz, Laurence

2017-08-01

The Congo River, the second largest river in the world, is a major source of organic matter for the deep Atlantic Ocean because of the connection of its estuary to the deep offshore area by a submarine canyon which feeds a vast deep-sea fan. The lobe zone of this deep-sea fan is the final receptacle of the sedimentary inputs presently channelled by the canyon and covers an area of 2500 km². The quantity and the source of organic matter preserved in recent turbiditic sediments from the distal lobe of the Congo deep-sea fan were assessed using Rock-Eval pyrolysis analyses. Six sites, located at approximately 5000 m water-depth, were investigated. The mud-rich sediments of the distal lobe contain high amounts of organic matter ( 3.5 to 4% Corg), the origin of which is a mixture of terrestrial higher-plant debris, soil organic matter and deeply oxidized phytoplanktonic material. Although the respective contribution of terrestrial and marine sources of organic matter cannot be precisely quantified using Rock-Eval analyses, the terrestrial fraction is dominant according to similar hydrogen and oxygen indices of both suspended and bedload sediments from the Congo River and that deposited in the lobe complex. The Rock-Eval signature supports the 70% to 80% of the terrestrial fraction previously estimated using C/N and δ13Corg data. In the background sediment, the organic matter distribution is homogeneous at different scales, from a single turbiditic event to the entire lobe, and changes in accumulation rates only have a limited effect on the quantity and quality of the preserved organic matter. Peculiar areas with chemosynthetic bivalves and/or bacterial mats, explored using ROV Victor 6000, show a Rock-Eval signature similar to background sediment. This high organic carbon content associated to high sedimentation rates (> 2 to 20 mm.yr-1) in the Congo distal lobe complex implies a high burial rate for organic carbon. Consequently, the Congo deep-sea fan represents an enormous sink of terrestrial organic matter when compared to other turbiditic systems over the world.

Probing small-scale structure in galaxies with strong gravitational lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Congdon, Arthur Benjamin

We use gravitational lensing to study the small-scale distribution of matter in galaxies. First, we examine galaxies and their dark matter halos. Roughly half of all observed four-image quasar lenses have image flux ratios that differ from the values predicted by simple lens potentials. We show that smooth departures from elliptical symmetry fail to explain anomalous radio fluxes, strengthening the case for dark matter substructure. Our results have important implications for the "missing satellites'' problem. We then consider how time delays between lensed images can be used to identify lens galaxies containing small-scale structure. We derive an analytic relation for the time delay between the close pair of images in a "fold'' lens, and perform Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the utility of time delays for probing small- scale structure in realistic lens populations. We compare our numerical predictions with systems that have measured time delays and discover two anomalous lenses. Next, we consider microlensing, where stars in the lens galaxy perturb image magnifications. This is relevant at optical wavelengths, where the size of the lensed source is comparable to the Einstein radius of a typical star. Our simulations of negative-parity images show that raising the fraction of dark matter relative to stars increases image flux variability for small sources, and decreases it for large sources. This suggests that quasar accretion disks and broad-emission-line regions may respond differently to microlensing. We also consider extended sources with a range of ellipticities, which has relevance to a population of inclined accretion disks. Depending on their orientation, more elongated sources lead to more rapid variability, which may complicate the interpretation of microlensing light curves. Finally, we consider prospects for observing strong lensing by the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A*. Assuming a black hole on the million- solar-mass scale, we predict that the probability of observing strong lensing of a background star is roughly 56%. We also consider how lensing by Sgr A* could be used to test general relativity against alternative theories, concluding that microarcsecond resolution would make this possible.

Remapping dark matter halo catalogues between cosmological simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mead, A. J.; Peacock, J. A.

2014-05-01

We present and test a method for modifying the catalogue of dark matter haloes produced from a given cosmological simulation, so that it resembles the result of a simulation with an entirely different set of parameters. This extends the method of Angulo & White, which rescales the full particle distribution from a simulation. Working directly with the halo catalogue offers an advantage in speed, and also allows modifications of the internal structure of the haloes to account for non-linear differences between cosmologies. Our method can be used directly on a halo catalogue in a self-contained manner without any additional information about the overall density field; although the large-scale displacement field is required by the method, this can be inferred from the halo catalogue alone. We show proof of concept of our method by rescaling a matter-only simulation with no baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) features to a more standard Λ cold dark matter model containing a cosmological constant and a BAO signal. In conjunction with the halo occupation approach, this method provides a basis for the rapid generation of mock galaxy samples spanning a wide range of cosmological parameters.

Large-scale determinants of intestinal schistosomiasis and intermediate host snail distribution across Africa: does climate matter?

PubMed

Stensgaard, Anna-Sofie; Utzinger, Jürg; Vounatsou, Penelope; Hürlimann, Eveline; Schur, Nadine; Saarnak, Christopher F L; Simoonga, Christopher; Mubita, Patricia; Kabatereine, Narcis B; Tchuem Tchuenté, Louis-Albert; Rahbek, Carsten; Kristensen, Thomas K

2013-11-01

The geographical ranges of most species, including many infectious disease agents and their vectors and intermediate hosts, are assumed to be constrained by climatic tolerances, mainly temperature. It has been suggested that global warming will cause an expansion of the areas potentially suitable for infectious disease transmission. However, the transmission of infectious diseases is governed by a myriad of ecological, economic, evolutionary and social factors. Hence, a deeper understanding of the total disease system (pathogens, vectors and hosts) and its drivers is important for predicting responses to climate change. Here, we combine a growing degree day model for Schistosoma mansoni with species distribution models for the intermediate host snail (Biomphalaria spp.) to investigate large-scale environmental determinants of the distribution of the African S. mansoni-Biomphalaria system and potential impacts of climatic changes. Snail species distribution models included several combinations of climatic and habitat-related predictors; the latter divided into "natural" and "human-impacted" habitat variables to measure anthropogenic influence. The predictive performance of the combined snail-parasite model was evaluated against a comprehensive compilation of historical S. mansoni parasitological survey records, and then examined for two climate change scenarios of increasing severity for 2080. Future projections indicate that while the potential S. mansoni transmission area expands, the snail ranges are more likely to contract and/or move into cooler areas in the south and east. Importantly, we also note that even though climate per se matters, the impact of humans on habitat play a crucial role in determining the distribution of the intermediate host snails in Africa. Thus, a future contraction in the geographical range size of the intermediate host snails caused by climatic changes does not necessarily translate into a decrease or zero-sum change in human schistosomiasis prevalence. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anomalous Galactic Dynamics by Collusion of Rindler and Cosmological Horizons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Putten, Maurice H. P. M.

2017-03-01

In holography, the dimensional reduction of phase space to two dimensions defines a dynamical dark energy of {{Λ }}=(1-q){H}2, associated with the cosmological horizon at a Hubble radius of {R}H=c/H, and inertia m of baryonic matter at acceleration α in terms of a thermodynamic potential U={{mc}}2 of Rindler horizons at ξ ={c}2/α . Here, H is the Hubble parameter with deceleration q and c is the velocity of light. In weak gravity, m drops below Newton’s value m 0 as α < {a}H, when Rindler horizons fall beyond the cosmological horizon. The onset to weak gravity across α ={a}H is sharp by causality. Striking evidence is found in galaxy rotation curves, whose asymptotic dynamics is parameterized by Milgrom’s scale of acceleration {a}0=({cH}/2π )\\sqrt{1-q}. This onset presents a new challenge for canonical dark matter distributions on galactic scales in ΛCDM. Instead, future galaxy surveys may determine {Q}0={{dq}(z)/{dz}| }z=0, to provide a direct test of dynamical dark energy ({Q}0> 2.5) versus ΛCDM ({Q}0< 1) and establish a bound of {10}-30 {{eV}} on the mass of the putative dark matter particle with clustering limited to galaxy clusters.

Multi-scale approach to the environmental factors effects on spatio-temporal variability of Chironomus salinarius (Diptera: Chironomidae) in a French coastal lagoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartier, V.; Claret, C.; Garnier, R.; Fayolle, S.; Franquet, E.

2010-03-01

The complexity of the relationships between environmental factors and organisms can be revealed by sampling designs which consider the contribution to variability of different temporal and spatial scales, compared to total variability. From a management perspective, a multi-scale approach can lead to time-saving. Identifying environmental patterns that help maintain patchy distribution is fundamental in studying coastal lagoons, transition zones between continental and marine waters characterised by great environmental variability on spatial and temporal scales. They often present organic enrichment inducing decreased species richness and increased densities of opportunist species like C hironomus salinarius, a common species that tends to swarm and thus constitutes a nuisance for human populations. This species is dominant in the Bolmon lagoon, a French Mediterranean coastal lagoon under eutrophication. Our objective was to quantify variability due to both spatial and temporal scales and identify the contribution of different environmental factors to this variability. The population of C. salinarius was sampled from June 2007 to June 2008 every two months at 12 sites located in two areas of the Bolmon lagoon, at two different depths, with three sites per area-depth combination. Environmental factors (temperature, dissolved oxygen both in sediment and under water surface, sediment organic matter content and grain size) and microbial activities (i.e. hydrolase activities) were also considered as explanatory factors of chironomid densities and distribution. ANOVA analysis reveals significant spatial differences regarding the distribution of chironomid larvae for the area and the depth scales and their interaction. The spatial effect is also revealed for dissolved oxygen (water), salinity and fine particles (area scale), and for water column depth. All factors but water column depth show a temporal effect. Spearman's correlations highlight the seasonal effect (temperature, dissolved oxygen in sediment and water) as well as the effect of microbial activities on chironomid larvae. Our results show that a multi-scale approach identifies patchy distribution, even when there is relative environmental homogeneity.

Natural Resource Management at Four Social Scales: Psychological Type Matters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allison, Helen; Hobbs, Richard

2010-03-01

Understanding organisation at different social scales is crucial to learning how social processes play a role in sustainable natural resource management. Research has neglected the potential role that individual personality plays in decision making in natural resource management. In the past two decades natural resource management across rural Australia has increasingly come under the direct influence of voluntary participatory groups, such as Catchment Management Authorities. The greater complexity of relationships among all stakeholders is a serious management challenge when attempting to align their differing aspirations and values at four social institutional scales—local, regional, state and national. This is an exploratory study on the psychological composition of groups of stakeholders at the four social scales in natural resource management in Australia. This article uses the theory of temperaments and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®) to investigate the distribution of personality types. The distribution of personality types in decision-making roles in natural resource management was markedly different from the Australian Archive sample. Trends in personality were found across social scales with Stabilizer temperament more common at the local scale and Theorist temperament more common at the national scale. Greater similarity was found at the state and national scales. Two temperaments comprised between 76 and 90% of participants at the local and regional scales, the common temperament type was Stabilizer. The dissimilarity was Improviser (40%) at the local scale and Theorist (29%) at the regional scale. Implications for increasing participation and bridging the gap between community and government are discussed.

Ordinary Dark Matter versus Mysterious Dark Matter in Galactic Rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallo, C. F.; Feng, James

2008-04-01

To theoretically describe the measured rotational velocity curves of spiral galaxies, there are two different approaches and conclusions. (1) ORDINARY DARK MATTER. We assume Newtonian gravity/dynamics and successfully find (via computer) mass distributions in bulge/disk configurations that duplicate the measured rotational velocities. There is ordinary dark matter within the galactic disk towards the cooler periphery which has lower emissivity/opacity. There are no mysteries in this scenario based on verified physics. (2) MYSTERIOUS DARK MATTER. Others INaccurately assume the galactic mass distributions follow the measured light distributions, and then the measured rotational velocity curves are NOT duplicated. To alleviate this discrepancy, speculations are invoked re ``Massive Peripheral Spherical Halos of Mysterious Dark Matter.'' But NO matter has been detected in this UNtenable Halo configuration. Many UNverified ``Mysteries'' are invoked as necessary and convenient. CONCLUSION. The first approach utilizing Newtonian gravity/dynamics and searching for the ordinary mass distributions within the galactic disk simulates reality and agrees with data.

Delivery of complex organic compounds from evolved stars to the solar system.

PubMed

Kwok, Sun

2011-12-01

Stars in the late stages of evolution are able to synthesize complex organic compounds with aromatic and aliphatic structures over very short time scales. These compounds are ejected into the interstellar medium and distributed throughout the Galaxy. The structures of these compounds are similar to the insoluble organic matter found in meteorites. In this paper, we discuss to what extent stellar organics has enriched the primordial Solar System and possibly the early Earth.

36 CFR 2.52 - Sale or distribution of printed matter.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Sale or distribution of printed matter. 2.52 Section 2.52 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF... matter. (a) Printed Matter. The term “printed matter” means message-bearing textual printed material such...

Gravitational Lensing in Astronomy.

PubMed

Wambsganss, Joachim

1998-01-01

Deflection of light by gravity was predicted by General Relativity and observationally confirmed in 1919. In the following decades, various aspects of the gravitational lens effect were explored theoretically. Among them were: the possibility of multiple or ring-like images of background sources, the use of lensing as a gravitational telescope on very faint and distant objects, and the possibility of determining Hubble's constant with lensing. It is only relatively recently, (after the discovery of the first doubly imaged quasar in 1979), that gravitational lensing has became an observational science. Today lensing is a booming part of astrophysics. In addition to multiply-imaged quasars, a number of other aspects of lensing have been discovered: For example, giant luminous arcs, quasar microlensing, Einstein rings, galactic microlensing events, arclets, and weak gravitational lensing. At present, literally hundreds of individual gravitational lens phenomena are known. Although still in its childhood, lensing has established itself as a very useful astrophysical tool with some remarkable successes. It has contributed significant new results in areas as different as the cosmological distance scale, the large scale matter distribution in the universe, mass and mass distribution of galaxy clusters, the physics of quasars, dark matter in galaxy halos, and galaxy structure. Looking at these successes in the recent past we predict an even more luminous future for gravitational lensing. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-1998-12.

Nonthermal Supermassive Dark Matter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, Daniel J. H.; Kolb, Edward W.; Riotto, Antonio

1999-01-01

We discuss several cosmological production mechanisms for nonthermal supermassive dark matter and argue that dark matter may he elementary particles of mass much greater than the weak scale. Searches for dark matter should ma be limited to weakly interacting particles with mass of the order of the weak scale, but should extend into the supermassive range as well.

Evaluation of biomass burning aerosols in the HadGEM3 climate model with observations from the SAMBBA field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Ben T.; Haywood, James M.; Langridge, Justin M.; Darbyshire, Eoghan; Morgan, William T.; Szpek, Kate; Brooke, Jennifer K.; Marenco, Franco; Coe, Hugh; Artaxo, Paulo; Longo, Karla M.; Mulcahy, Jane P.; Mann, Graham W.; Dalvi, Mohit; Bellouin, Nicolas

2016-11-01

We present observations of biomass burning aerosol from the South American Biomass Burning Analysis (SAMBBA) and other measurement campaigns, and use these to evaluate the representation of biomass burning aerosol properties and processes in a state-of-the-art climate model. The evaluation includes detailed comparisons with aircraft and ground data, along with remote sensing observations from MODIS and AERONET. We demonstrate several improvements to aerosol properties following the implementation of the Global Model for Aerosol Processes (GLOMAP-mode) modal aerosol scheme in the HadGEM3 climate model. This predicts the particle size distribution, composition, and optical properties, giving increased accuracy in the representation of aerosol properties and physical-chemical processes over the Coupled Large-scale Aerosol Scheme for Simulations in Climate Models (CLASSIC) bulk aerosol scheme previously used in HadGEM2. Although both models give similar regional distributions of carbonaceous aerosol mass and aerosol optical depth (AOD), GLOMAP-mode is better able to capture the observed size distribution, single scattering albedo, and Ångström exponent across different tropical biomass burning source regions. Both aerosol schemes overestimate the uptake of water compared to recent observations, CLASSIC more so than GLOMAP-mode, leading to a likely overestimation of aerosol scattering, AOD, and single scattering albedo at high relative humidity. Observed aerosol vertical distributions were well captured when biomass burning aerosol emissions were injected uniformly from the surface to 3 km. Finally, good agreement between observed and modelled AOD was gained only after scaling up GFED3 emissions by a factor of 1.6 for CLASSIC and 2.0 for GLOMAP-mode. We attribute this difference in scaling factor mainly to different assumptions for the water uptake and growth of aerosol mass during ageing via oxidation and condensation of organics. We also note that similar agreement with observed AOD could have been achieved with lower scaling factors if the ratio of organic carbon to primary organic matter was increased in the models toward the upper range of observed values. Improved knowledge from measurements is required to reduce uncertainties in emission ratios for black carbon and organic carbon, and the ratio of organic carbon to primary organic matter for primary emissions from biomass burning.

Time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach to nuclear ``pasta'' at finite temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuetrumpf, B.; Klatt, M. A.; Iida, K.; Maruhn, J. A.; Mecke, K.; Reinhard, P.-G.

2013-05-01

We present simulations of neutron-rich matter at subnuclear densities, like supernova matter, with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation at temperatures of several MeV. The initial state consists of α particles randomly distributed in space that have a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution in momentum space. Adding a neutron background initialized with Fermi distributed plane waves the calculations reflect a reasonable approximation of astrophysical matter. This matter evolves into spherical, rod-like, and slab-like shapes and mixtures thereof. The simulations employ a full Skyrme interaction in a periodic three-dimensional grid. By an improved morphological analysis based on Minkowski functionals, all eight pasta shapes can be uniquely identified by the sign of only two valuations, namely the Euler characteristic and the integral mean curvature. In addition, we propose the variance in the cell density distribution as a measure to distinguish pasta matter from uniform matter.

Constraints and consequences of reducing small scale structure via large dark matter-neutrino interactions

DOE PAGES

Bertoni, Bridget; Ipek, Seyda; McKeen, David; ...

2015-04-30

Here, cold dark matter explains a wide range of data on cosmological scales. However, there has been a steady accumulation of evidence for discrepancies between simulations and observations at scales smaller than galaxy clusters. One promising way to affect structure formation on small scales is a relatively strong coupling of dark matter to neutrinos. We construct an experimentally viable, simple, renormalizable model with new interactions between neutrinos and dark matter and provide the first discussion of how these new dark matter-neutrino interactions affect neutrino phenomenology. We show that addressing the small scale structure problems requires asymmetric dark matter with amore » mass that is tens of MeV. Generating a sufficiently large dark matter-neutrino coupling requires a new heavy neutrino with a mass around 100 MeV. The heavy neutrino is mostly sterile but has a substantial τ neutrino component, while the three nearly massless neutrinos are partly sterile. This model can be tested by future astrophysical, particle physics, and neutrino oscillation data. Promising signatures of this model include alterations to the neutrino energy spectrum and flavor content observed from a future nearby supernova, anomalous matter effects in neutrino oscillations, and a component of the τ neutrino with mass around 100 MeV.« less

Constraints on dark matter annihilations from diffuse gamma-ray emission in the Galaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tavakoli, Maryam; Evoli, Carmelo; Cholis, Ilias

2014-01-01

Recent advances in γ-ray cosmic ray, infrared and radio astronomy have allowed us to develop a significantly better understanding of the galactic medium properties in the last few years. In this work using the DRAGON code, that numerically solves the CR propagation equation and calculating γ-ray emissivities in a 2-dimensional grid enclosing the Galaxy, we study in a self consistent manner models for the galactic diffuse γ-ray emission. Our models are cross-checked to both the available CR and γ-ray data. We address the extend to which dark matter annihilations in the Galaxy can contribute to the diffuse γ-ray flux towardsmore » different directions on the sky. Moreover we discuss the impact that astrophysical uncertainties of non DM nature, have on the derived γ-ray limits. Such uncertainties are related to the diffusion properties on the Galaxy, the interstellar gas and the interstellar radiation field energy densities. Light ∼ 10 GeV dark matter annihilating dominantly to hadrons is more strongly constrained by γ-ray observations towards the inner parts of the Galaxy and influenced the most by assumptions of the gas distribution; while TeV scale DM annihilating dominantly to leptons has its tightest constraints from observations towards the galactic center avoiding the galactic disk plane, with the main astrophysical uncertainty being the radiation field energy density. In addition, we present a method of deriving constraints on the dark matter distribution profile from the diffuse γ-ray spectra. These results critically depend on the assumed mass of the dark matter particles and the type of its end annihilation products.« less

The halo model in a massive neutrino cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massara, Elena; Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco; Viel, Matteo, E-mail: emassara@sissa.it, E-mail: villaescusa@oats.inaf.it, E-mail: viel@oats.inaf.it

2014-12-01

We provide a quantitative analysis of the halo model in the context of massive neutrino cosmologies. We discuss all the ingredients necessary to model the non-linear matter and cold dark matter power spectra and compare with the results of N-body simulations that incorporate massive neutrinos. Our neutrino halo model is able to capture the non-linear behavior of matter clustering with a ∼20% accuracy up to very non-linear scales of k = 10 h/Mpc (which would be affected by baryon physics). The largest discrepancies arise in the range k = 0.5 – 1 h/Mpc where the 1-halo and 2-halo terms are comparable and are present also inmore » a massless neutrino cosmology. However, at scales k < 0.2 h/Mpc our neutrino halo model agrees with the results of N-body simulations at the level of 8% for total neutrino masses of < 0.3 eV. We also model the neutrino non-linear density field as a sum of a linear and clustered component and predict the neutrino power spectrum and the cold dark matter-neutrino cross-power spectrum up to k = 1 h/Mpc with ∼30% accuracy. For masses below 0.15 eV the neutrino halo model captures the neutrino induced suppression, casted in terms of matter power ratios between massive and massless scenarios, with a 2% agreement with the results of N-body/neutrino simulations. Finally, we provide a simple application of the halo model: the computation of the clustering of galaxies, in massless and massive neutrinos cosmologies, using a simple Halo Occupation Distribution scheme and our halo model extension.« less

The phase-space structure of nearby dark matter as constrained by the SDSS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leclercq, Florent; Percival, Will; Jasche, Jens

Previous studies using numerical simulations have demonstrated that the shape of the cosmic web can be described by studying the Lagrangian displacement field. We extend these analyses, showing that it is now possible to perform a Lagrangian description of cosmic structure in the nearby Universe based on large-scale structure observations. Building upon recent Bayesian large-scale inference of initial conditions, we present a cosmographic analysis of the dark matter distribution and its evolution, referred to as the dark matter phase-space sheet, in the nearby universe as probed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey main galaxy sample. We consider its stretchings andmore » foldings using a tetrahedral tessellation of the Lagrangian lattice. The method provides extremely accurate estimates of nearby density and velocity fields, even in regions of low galaxy density. It also measures the number of matter streams, and the deformation and parity reversals of fluid elements, which were previously thought inaccessible using observations. We illustrate the approach by showing the phase-space structure of known objects of the nearby Universe such as the Sloan Great Wall, the Coma cluster and the Boötes void. We dissect cosmic structures into four distinct components (voids, sheets, filaments, and clusters), using the Lagrangian classifiers DIVA, ORIGAMI, and a new scheme which we introduce and call LICH. Because these classifiers use information other than the sheer local density, identified structures explicitly carry physical information about their formation history. Accessing the phase-space structure of dark matter in galaxy surveys opens the way for new confrontations of observational data and theoretical models. We have made our data products publicly available.« less

The phase-space structure of nearby dark matter as constrained by the SDSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leclercq, Florent; Jasche, Jens; Lavaux, Guilhem; Wandelt, Benjamin; Percival, Will

2017-06-01

Previous studies using numerical simulations have demonstrated that the shape of the cosmic web can be described by studying the Lagrangian displacement field. We extend these analyses, showing that it is now possible to perform a Lagrangian description of cosmic structure in the nearby Universe based on large-scale structure observations. Building upon recent Bayesian large-scale inference of initial conditions, we present a cosmographic analysis of the dark matter distribution and its evolution, referred to as the dark matter phase-space sheet, in the nearby universe as probed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey main galaxy sample. We consider its stretchings and foldings using a tetrahedral tessellation of the Lagrangian lattice. The method provides extremely accurate estimates of nearby density and velocity fields, even in regions of low galaxy density. It also measures the number of matter streams, and the deformation and parity reversals of fluid elements, which were previously thought inaccessible using observations. We illustrate the approach by showing the phase-space structure of known objects of the nearby Universe such as the Sloan Great Wall, the Coma cluster and the Boötes void. We dissect cosmic structures into four distinct components (voids, sheets, filaments, and clusters), using the Lagrangian classifiers DIVA, ORIGAMI, and a new scheme which we introduce and call LICH. Because these classifiers use information other than the sheer local density, identified structures explicitly carry physical information about their formation history. Accessing the phase-space structure of dark matter in galaxy surveys opens the way for new confrontations of observational data and theoretical models. We have made our data products publicly available.

Impact of a primordial magnetic field on cosmic microwave background B modes with weak lensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamazaki, Dai G.

2018-05-01

We discuss the manner in which the primordial magnetic field (PMF) suppresses the cosmic microwave background (CMB) B mode due to the weak-lensing (WL) effect. The WL effect depends on the lensing potential (LP) caused by matter perturbations, the distribution of which at cosmological scales is given by the matter power spectrum (MPS). Therefore, the WL effect on the CMB B mode is affected by the MPS. Considering the effect of the ensemble average energy density of the PMF, which we call "the background PMF," on the MPS, the amplitude of MPS is suppressed in the wave number range of k >0.01 h Mpc-1 . The MPS affects the LP and the WL effect in the CMB B mode; however, the PMF can damp this effect. Previous studies of the CMB B mode with the PMF have only considered the vector and tensor modes. These modes boost the CMB B mode in the multipole range of ℓ>1000 , whereas the background PMF damps the CMB B mode owing to the WL effect in the entire multipole range. The matter density in the Universe controls the WL effect. Therefore, when we constrain the PMF and the matter density parameters from cosmological observational data sets, including the CMB B mode, we expect degeneracy between these parameters. The CMB B mode also provides important information on the background gravitational waves, inflation theory, matter density fluctuations, and the structure formations at the cosmological scale through the cosmological parameter search. If we study these topics and correctly constrain the cosmological parameters from cosmological observations, including the CMB B mode, we need to correctly consider the background PMF.

A Solution to ``Too Big to Fail''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohler, Susanna

2016-10-01

Its a tricky business to reconcile simulations of our galaxys formation with our current observations of the Milky Way and its satellites. In a recent study, scientists have addressed one discrepancy between simulations and observations: the so-called to big to fail problem.From Missing Satellites to Too Big to FailThe favored model of the universe is the lambda-cold-dark-matter (CDM) cosmological model. This model does a great job of correctly predicting the large-scale structure of the universe, but there are still a few problems with it on smaller scales.Hubble image of UGC 5497, a dwarf galaxy associated with Messier 81. In the missing satellite problem, simulations of galaxy formation predict that there should be more such satellite galaxies than we observe. [ESA/NASA]The first is the missing satellites problem: CDM cosmology predicts that galaxies like the Milky Way should have significantly more satellite galaxies than we observe. A proposed solution to this problem is the argument that there may exist many more satellites than weve observed, but these dwarf galaxies have had their stars stripped from them during tidal interactions which prevents us from being able to see them.This solution creates a new problem, though: the too big to fail problem. This problem states that many of the satellites predicted by CDM cosmology are simply so massive that theres no way they couldnt have visible stars. Another way of looking at it: the observed satellites of the Milky Way are not massive enough to be consistent with predictions from CDM.Artists illustration of a supernova, a type of stellar feedback that can modify the dark-matter distribution of a satellite galaxy. [NASA/CXC/M. Weiss]Density Profiles and Tidal StirringLed by Mihai Tomozeiu (University of Zurich), a team of scientists has published a study in which they propose a solution to the too big to fail problem. By running detailed cosmological zoom simulations of our galaxys formation, Tomozeiu and collaborators modeled the dark matter and the stellar content of the galaxy, tracking the formation and evolution of dark-matter subhalos.Based on the results of their simulations, the team argues that the too big to fail problem can be resolved by combining two effects:Stellar feedback in a satellite galaxy can modify its dark-matter distribution, lowering the dark-matter density in the galaxys center and creating a shallower density profile. Satellites with such shallow density profiles evolve differently than those typically modeled, which have a high concentration of dark matter in their centers.After these satellites fall into the Milky Ways potential, tidal effects such as shocks and stripping modify the mass distribution of both the dark matter and the baryons even further.Each curve represents a simulated satellites circular velocity (which corresponds to its total mass) at z=0. Left: results using typical dark-matter density profiles. Right: results using the shallower profiles expected when stellar feedback is included. Results from the shallower profiles are consistent with observed Milky-Way satellites(black crosses). [Adapted from Tomozeiu et al. 2016]A Match to ObservationsTomozeiu and collaborators found that when they used traditional density profiles to model the satellites, the satellites at z=0 in the simulation were much larger than those we observe around the Milky Way consistent with the too big to fail problem.When the team used shallower density profiles and took into account tidal effects, however, the simulations produced a distribution of satellites at z=0 that is consistent with what we observe.This study provides a tidy potential solution to the too big to fail problem, further strengthening the support for CDM cosmology.CitationMihai Tomozeiu et al 2016 ApJ 827 L15. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/827/1/L15

Astrophysical uncertainties on the local dark matter distribution and direct detection experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Anne M.

2017-08-01

The differential event rate in weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) direct detection experiments depends on the local dark matter density and velocity distribution. Accurate modelling of the local dark matter distribution is therefore required to obtain reliable constraints on the WIMP particle physics properties. Data analyses typically use a simple standard halo model which might not be a good approximation to the real Milky Way (MW) halo. We review observational determinations of the local dark matter density, circular speed and escape speed and also studies of the local dark matter distribution in simulated MW-like galaxies. We discuss the effects of the uncertainties in these quantities on the energy spectrum and its time and direction dependence. Finally, we conclude with an overview of various methods for handling these astrophysical uncertainties.

Similarity of plant functional traits and aggregation pattern in a subtropical forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zhang, Bo; Lu, Xiaozhen; Jiang, Jiang; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Fu, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Jinchi

2017-01-01

The distribution of species and communities in relation to environmental heterogeneity is a central focus in ecology. Co-occurrence of species with similar functional traits is an indication that communities are determined in part by environmental filters. However, few studies have been designed to test how functional traits are selectively filtered by environmental conditions at local scales. Exploring the relationship between soil characteristics and plant traits is a step toward understanding the filtering hypothesis in determining plant distribution at local scale. Toward this end, we mapped all individual trees (diameter >1 cm) in a one-ha subtropical forest of China in 2007 and 2015. We measured topographic and detailed soil properties within the field site, as well as plant leaf functional traits and demographic rates of the seven most common tree species. A second one-ha study plot was established in 2015, to test and validate the general patterns that were drawn from first plot. We found that variation in species distribution at local scale can be explained by soil heterogeneity and plant functional traits. (From first plot). (1) Species dominant in habitats with high soil ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus tended to have high specific leaf area (SLA) and relative growth rate (RGR). (2) Species dominant in low-fertility habitats tended to have high leaf dry matter content (LDMC), ratio of chlorophyll a and b (ratioab), and leaf thickness (LT). The hypothesis that functional traits are selected in part by environmental filters and determine plant distribution at local scale was confirmed by the data of the first plot and a second regional site showed similar species distribution patterns.

Large-scale microwave anisotropy from gravitating seeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Veeraraghavan, Shoba; Stebbins, Albert

1992-01-01

Topological defects could have seeded primordial inhomogeneities in cosmological matter. We examine the horizon-scale matter and geometry perturbations generated by such seeds in an expanding homogeneous and isotropic universe. Evolving particle horizons generally lead to perturbations around motionless seeds, even when there are compensating initial underdensities in the matter. We describe the pattern of the resulting large angular scale microwave anisotropy.

Accurate Modeling of Galaxy Clustering on Small Scales: Testing the Standard ΛCDM + Halo Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, Manodeep; Berlind, Andreas A.; McBride, Cameron; Scoccimarro, Roman

2015-01-01

The large-scale distribution of galaxies can be explained fairly simply by assuming (i) a cosmological model, which determines the dark matter halo distribution, and (ii) a simple connection between galaxies and the halos they inhabit. This conceptually simple framework, called the halo model, has been remarkably successful at reproducing the clustering of galaxies on all scales, as observed in various galaxy redshift surveys. However, none of these previous studies have carefully modeled the systematics and thus truly tested the halo model in a statistically rigorous sense. We present a new accurate and fully numerical halo model framework and test it against clustering measurements from two luminosity samples of galaxies drawn from the SDSS DR7. We show that the simple ΛCDM cosmology + halo model is not able to simultaneously reproduce the galaxy projected correlation function and the group multiplicity function. In particular, the more luminous sample shows significant tension with theory. We discuss the implications of our findings and how this work paves the way for constraining galaxy formation by accurate simultaneous modeling of multiple galaxy clustering statistics.

Local gravity and large-scale structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juszkiewicz, Roman; Vittorio, Nicola; Wyse, Rosemary F. G.

1990-01-01

The magnitude and direction of the observed dipole anisotropy of the galaxy distribution can in principle constrain the amount of large-scale power present in the spectrum of primordial density fluctuations. This paper confronts the data, provided by a recent redshift survey of galaxies detected by the IRAS satellite, with the predictions of two cosmological models with very different levels of large-scale power: the biased Cold Dark Matter dominated model (CDM) and a baryon-dominated model (BDM) with isocurvature initial conditions. Model predictions are investigated for the Local Group peculiar velocity, v(R), induced by mass inhomogeneities distributed out to a given radius, R, for R less than about 10,000 km/s. Several convergence measures for v(R) are developed, which can become powerful cosmological tests when deep enough samples become available. For the present data sets, the CDM and BDM predictions are indistinguishable at the 2 sigma level and both are consistent with observations. A promising discriminant between cosmological models is the misalignment angle between v(R) and the apex of the dipole anisotropy of the microwave background.

Non-linear clustering in the cold plus hot dark matter model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonometto, Silvio A.; Borgani, Stefano; Ghigna, Sebastiano; Klypin, Anatoly; Primack, Joel R.

1995-03-01

The main aim of this work is to find out if hierarchical scaling, observed in galaxy clustering, can be dynamically explained by studying N-body simulations. Previous analyses of dark matter (DM) particle distributions indicated heavy distortions with respect to the hierarchical pattern. Here, we shall describe how such distortions are to be interpreted and why they can be fully reconciled with the observed galaxy clustering. This aim is achieved by using high-resolution (512^3 grid-points) particle-mesh (PM) N-body simulations to follow the development of non-linear clustering in a Omega=1 universe, dominated either by cold dark matter (CDM) or by a mixture of cold+hot dark matter (CHDM) with Omega_cold=0.6, and Omega_hot=0.3 and Omega_baryon=0.1 a simulation box of side 100 Mpc (h=0.5) is used. We analyse two CHDM realizations with biasing factor b=1.5 (COBE normalization), starting from different initial random numbers, and compare them with CDM simulations with b=1 (COBE-compatible) and b=1.5. We evaluate high-order correlation functions and the void probability function (VPF). Correlation functions are obtained from both counts in cells and counts of neighbours. The analysis is carried out for DM particles and for galaxies identified as massive haloes of the evolved density field. We confirm that clustering of DM particles systematically exhibits deviations from hierarchical scaling, although the deviation increases somewhat in redshift space. Deviations from the hierarchical scaling of DM particles are found to be related to the spectrum shape, in a way that indicates that such distortions arise from finite sampling effects. We identify galaxy positions in the simulations and show that, quite differently from the DM particle background, galaxies follow hierarchical scaling (S_q=xi_q/& xgr^q-1_2=consta nt) far more closely, with reduced skewness and kurtosis coefficients S_3~2.5 and S_4~7.5, in general agreement with observational results. Unlike DM, the scaling of galaxy clustering is must marginally affected by redshift distortions and is obtained for both CDM and CHDM models. Hierarchical scaling in simulations is confirmed by VPF analysis. Also in this case, we find substantial agreement with observational findings.

Connectivity-driven white matter scaling and folding in primate cerebral cortex

PubMed Central

Herculano-Houzel, Suzana; Mota, Bruno; Kaas, Jon H.

2010-01-01

Larger brains have an increasingly folded cerebral cortex whose white matter scales up faster than the gray matter. Here we analyze the cellular composition of the subcortical white matter in 11 primate species, including humans, and one Scandentia, and show that the mass of the white matter scales linearly across species with its number of nonneuronal cells, which is expected to be proportional to the total length of myelinated axons in the white matter. This result implies that the average axonal cross-section area in the white matter, a, does not scale significantly with the number of neurons in the gray matter, N. The surface area of the white matter increases with N0.87, not N1.0. Because this surface can be defined as the product of N, a, and the fraction n of cortical neurons connected through the white matter, we deduce that connectivity decreases in larger cerebral cortices as a slowly diminishing fraction of neurons, which varies with N−0.16, sends myelinated axons into the white matter. Decreased connectivity is compatible with previous suggestions that neurons in the cerebral cortex are connected as a small-world network and should slow down the increase in global conduction delay in cortices with larger numbers of neurons. Further, a simple model shows that connectivity and cortical folding are directly related across species. We offer a white matter-based mechanism to account for increased cortical folding across species, which we propose to be driven by connectivity-related tension in the white matter, pulling down on the gray matter. PMID:20956290

Carbon Characteristics and Biogeochemical Processes of Uranium Accumulating Organic Matter Rich Sediments in the Upper Colorado River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boye, K.; Noel, V.; Tfaily, M. M.; Dam, W. L.; Bargar, J.; Fendorf, S. E.

2015-12-01

Uranium plume persistence in groundwater aquifers is a problem on several former ore processing sites on floodplains in the upper Colorado River Basin. Earlier observations by our group and others at the Old Rifle Site, CO, have noted that U concentrations are highest in organic rich, fine-grained, and, therefore, diffusion limited sediment material. Due to the constantly evolving depositional environments of floodplains, surficial organic matter may become buried at various stages of decomposition, through sudden events such as overbank flooding and through the slower progression of river meandering. This creates a discontinuous subsurface distribution of organic-rich sediments, which are hotspots for microbial activity and thereby central to the subsurface cycling of contaminants (e.g. U) and biologically relevant elements (e.g. C, N, P, Fe). However, the organic matter itself is poorly characterized. Consequently, little is known about its relevance in driving biogeochemical processes that control U fate and transport in the subsurface. In an investigation of soil/sediment cores from five former uranium ore processing sites on floodplains distributed across the Upper Colorado River Basin we confirmed consistent co-enrichment of U with organic-rich layers in all profiles. However, using C K-edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) coupled with Fourier-Transformed Ion-Cyclotron-Resonance Mass-Spectroscopy (FT-ICR-MS) on bulk sediments and density-separated organic matter fractions, we did not detect any chemical difference in the organic rich sediments compared to the surrounding coarser-grained aquifer material within the same profile, even though there were differences in organic matter composition between the 5 sites. This suggests that U retention and reduction to U(IV) is independent of C chemical composition on the bulk scale. Instead it appears to be the abundance of organic matter in combination with a limited O2 supply in the fine-grained material that stimulate anaerobic microbial processes responsible for U enrichment. Thus, the chemical composition of organic matter is subordinate to the physical environment and total organic matter content in controlling U reduction and retention processes.

Directly Detecting MeV-Scale Dark Matter Via Solar Reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Haipeng; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef; Ritz, Adam

2018-04-01

If dark matter (DM) particles are lighter than a few MeV /c2 and can scatter off electrons, their interaction within the solar interior results in a considerable hardening of the spectrum of galactic dark matter received on Earth. For a large range of the mass versus cross section parameter space, {me,σe}, the "reflected" component of the DM flux is far more energetic than the end point of the ambient galactic DM energy distribution, making it detectable with existing DM detectors sensitive to an energy deposition of 10 -103 eV . After numerically simulating the small reflected component of the DM flux, we calculate its subsequent signal due to scattering on detector electrons, deriving new constraints on σe in the MeV and sub-MeV range using existing data from the XENON10/100, LUX, PandaX-II, and XENON1T experiments, as well as making projections for future low threshold direct detection experiments.

Directly Detecting MeV-Scale Dark Matter Via Solar Reflection.

PubMed

An, Haipeng; Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef; Ritz, Adam

2018-04-06

If dark matter (DM) particles are lighter than a few   MeV/c^{2} and can scatter off electrons, their interaction within the solar interior results in a considerable hardening of the spectrum of galactic dark matter received on Earth. For a large range of the mass versus cross section parameter space, {m_{e},σ_{e}}, the "reflected" component of the DM flux is far more energetic than the end point of the ambient galactic DM energy distribution, making it detectable with existing DM detectors sensitive to an energy deposition of 10-10^{3}  eV. After numerically simulating the small reflected component of the DM flux, we calculate its subsequent signal due to scattering on detector electrons, deriving new constraints on σ_{e} in the MeV and sub-MeV range using existing data from the XENON10/100, LUX, PandaX-II, and XENON1T experiments, as well as making projections for future low threshold direct detection experiments.

Primary gamma rays. [resulting from cosmic ray interaction with interstellar matter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.

1974-01-01

Within this galaxy, cosmic rays reveal their presence in interstellar space and probably in source regions by their interactions with interstellar matter which lead to gamma rays with a very characteristic energy spectrum. From the study of the intensity of the high energy gamma radiation as a function of galactic longitude, it is already clear that cosmic rays are almost certainly not uniformly distributed in the galaxy and are not concentrated in the center of the galaxy. The galactic cosmic rays appear to be tied to galactic structural features, presumably by the galactic magnetic fields which are in turn held by the matter in the arm segments and the clouds. On the extragalactic scale, it is now possible to say that cosmic rays are not universal at the density seen near the earth. The diffuse celestial gamma ray spectrum that is observed presents the interesting possibility of cosmological studies and possible evidence for a residual universal cosmic ray density, which is much lower than the present galactic cosmic ray density.

Fast Generation of Ensembles of Cosmological N-Body Simulations via Mode-Resampling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schneider, M D; Cole, S; Frenk, C S

2011-02-14

We present an algorithm for quickly generating multiple realizations of N-body simulations to be used, for example, for cosmological parameter estimation from surveys of large-scale structure. Our algorithm uses a new method to resample the large-scale (Gaussian-distributed) Fourier modes in a periodic N-body simulation box in a manner that properly accounts for the nonlinear mode-coupling between large and small scales. We find that our method for adding new large-scale mode realizations recovers the nonlinear power spectrum to sub-percent accuracy on scales larger than about half the Nyquist frequency of the simulation box. Using 20 N-body simulations, we obtain a powermore » spectrum covariance matrix estimate that matches the estimator from Takahashi et al. (from 5000 simulations) with < 20% errors in all matrix elements. Comparing the rates of convergence, we determine that our algorithm requires {approx}8 times fewer simulations to achieve a given error tolerance in estimates of the power spectrum covariance matrix. The degree of success of our algorithm indicates that we understand the main physical processes that give rise to the correlations in the matter power spectrum. Namely, the large-scale Fourier modes modulate both the degree of structure growth through the variation in the effective local matter density and also the spatial frequency of small-scale perturbations through large-scale displacements. We expect our algorithm to be useful for noise modeling when constraining cosmological parameters from weak lensing (cosmic shear) and galaxy surveys, rescaling summary statistics of N-body simulations for new cosmological parameter values, and any applications where the influence of Fourier modes larger than the simulation size must be accounted for.« less

Performance of 20:1 multiplexer for large area charge readouts in directional dark matter TPC detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ezeribe, A. C.; Robinson, M.; Robinson, N.; Scarff, A.; Spooner, N. J. C.; Yuriev, L.

2018-02-01

More target mass is required in current TPC based directional dark matter detectors for improved detector sensitivity. This can be achieved by scaling up the detector volumes, but this results in the need for more analogue signal channels. A possible solution to reducing the overall cost of the charge readout electronics is to multiplex the signal readout channels. Here, we present a multiplexer system in expanded mode based on LMH6574 chips produced by Texas Instruments, originally designed for video processing. The setup has a capability of reducing the number of readouts in such TPC detectors by a factor of 20. Results indicate that the important charge distribution asymmetry along an ionization track is retained after multiplexed signals are demultiplexed.

Topology of large-scale structure in seeded hot dark matter models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaky, Matthew M.; Scherrer, Robert J.; Villumsen, Jens V.

1992-01-01

The topology of the isodensity surfaces in seeded hot dark matter models, in which static seed masses provide the density perturbations in a universe dominated by massive neutrinos is examined. When smoothed with a Gaussian window, the linear initial conditions in these models show no trace of non-Gaussian behavior for r0 equal to or greater than 5 Mpc (h = 1/2), except for very low seed densities, which show a shift toward isolated peaks. An approximate analytic expression is given for the genus curve expected in linear density fields from randomly distributed seed masses. The evolved models have a Gaussian topology for r0 = 10 Mpc, but show a shift toward a cellular topology with r0 = 5 Mpc; Gaussian models with an identical power spectrum show the same behavior.

Rapidity distribution of photons from an anisotropic quark-gluon plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Lusaka; Roy, Pradip

2010-05-01

We calculate rapidity distribution of photons due to Compton and annihilation processes from quark gluon plasma with pre-equilibrium momentum-space anisotropy. We also include contributions from hadronic matter with late-stage transverse expansion. A phenomenological model has been used for the time evolution of hard momentum scale, phard(τ), and anisotropy parameter, ξ(τ). As a result of pre-equilibrium momentum-space anisotropy, we find significant modification of photons rapidity distribution. For example, with the fixed initial condition (FIC) free-streaming (δ=2) interpolating model we observe significant enhancement of photon rapidity distribution at fixed pT, where as for FIC collisionally broadened (δ=2/3) interpolating model the yield increases till y~1. Beyond that suppression is observed. With fixed final multiplicity (FFM) free-streaming interpolating model we predict enhancement of photon yield which is less than the case of FIC. Suppression is always observed for FFM collisionally broadened interpolating model.

Role of weakest links and system-size scaling in multiscale modeling of stochastic plasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ispánovity, Péter Dusán; Tüzes, Dániel; Szabó, Péter; Zaiser, Michael; Groma, István

2017-02-01

Plastic deformation of crystalline and amorphous matter often involves intermittent local strain burst events. To understand the physical background of the phenomenon a minimal stochastic mesoscopic model was introduced, where details of the microstructure evolution are statistically represented in terms of a fluctuating local yield threshold. In the present paper we propose a method for determining the corresponding yield stress distribution for the case of crystal plasticity from lower scale discrete dislocation dynamics simulations which we combine with weakest link arguments. The success of scale linking is demonstrated by comparing stress-strain curves obtained from the resulting mesoscopic and the underlying discrete dislocation models in the microplastic regime. As shown by various scaling relations they are statistically equivalent and behave identically in the thermodynamic limit. The proposed technique is expected to be applicable to different microstructures and also to amorphous materials.

A redshift survey of IRAS galaxies. V - The acceleration on the Local Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strauss, Michael A.; Yahil, Amos; Davis, Marc; Huchra, John P.; Fisher, Karl

1992-01-01

The acceleration on the Local Group is calculated based on a full-sky redshift survey of 5288 galaxies detected by IRAS. A formalism is developed to compute the distribution function of the IRAS acceleration for a given power spectrum of initial perturbations. The computed acceleration on the Local Group points 18-28 deg from the direction of the Local Group peculiar velocity vector. The data suggest that the CMB dipole is indeed due to the motion of the Local Group, that this motion is gravitationally induced, and that the distribution of IRAS galaxies on large scales is related to that of dark matter by a simple linear biasing model.

Honeycomb-Fin Heat Sink

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rippel, Wally E.

1989-01-01

Improved finned heat sink for electronic components more lightweight, inexpensive, and efficient. Designed for use with forced air, easily scaled up to dissipate power up to few hundred watts. Fins are internal walls of aluminum honeycomb structure. Cell structure gives strength to thin aluminum foil. Length of channels chosen for thermodynamic efficency; columns of cells combined in any reasonable number because flowing air distributed to all. Heat sink cools nearly as effectively at ends as near its center, no matter how many columns of cells combined.

MATTER IN THE BEAM: WEAK LENSING, SUBSTRUCTURES, AND THE TEMPERATURE OF DARK MATTER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mahdi, Hareth S.; Elahi, Pascal J.; Lewis, Geraint F.

2016-08-01

Warm dark matter (WDM) models offer an attractive alternative to the current cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological model. We present a novel method to differentiate between WDM and CDM cosmologies, namely, using weak lensing; this provides a unique probe as it is sensitive to all of the “matter in the beam,” not just dark matter haloes and the galaxies that reside in them, but also the diffuse material between haloes. We compare the weak lensing maps of CDM clusters to those in a WDM model corresponding to a thermally produced 0.5 keV dark matter particle. Our analysis clearly shows thatmore » the weak lensing magnification, convergence, and shear distributions can be used to distinguish between CDM and WDM models. WDM models increase the probability of weak magnifications, with the differences being significant to ≳5 σ , while leaving no significant imprint on the shear distribution. WDM clusters analyzed in this work are more homogeneous than CDM ones, and the fractional decrease in the amount of material in haloes is proportional to the average increase in the magnification. This difference arises from matter that would be bound in compact haloes in CDM being smoothly distributed over much larger volumes at lower densities in WDM. Moreover, the signature does not solely lie in the probability distribution function but in the full spatial distribution of the convergence field.« less

Spatial distribution of heterocyclic organic matter compounds at macropore surfaces in Bt-horizons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leue, Martin; Eckhardt, Kai-Uwe; Gerke, Horst H.; Ellerbrock, Ruth H.; Leinweber, Peter

2017-04-01

The illuvial Bt-horizon of Luvisols is characterized by coatings of clay and organic matter (OM) at the surfaces of cracks, biopores and inter-aggregate spaces. The OM composition of the coatings that originate from preferential transport of suspended matter in macropores determines the physico-chemical properties of the macropore surfaces. The analysis of the spatial distribution of specific OM components such as heterocyclic N-compounds (NCOMP) and benzonitrile and naphthalene (BN+NA) could enlighten the effect of macropore coatings on the transport of colloids and reactive solutes during preferential flow and on OM turnover processes in subsoils. The objective was to characterize the mm-to-cm scale spatial distribution of NCOMP and BN+NA at intact macropore surfaces from the Bt-horizons of two Luvisols developed on loess and glacial till. In material manually separated from macropore surfaces the proportions of NCOMP and BN+NA were determined by pyrolysis-field ionization mass spectrometry (Py-FIMS). These OM compounds, likely originating from combustion residues, were found increased in crack coatings and pinhole fillings but decreased in biopore walls (worm burrows and root channels). The Py-FIMS data were correlated with signals from C=O and C=C groups and with signals from O-H groups of clay minerals as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in diffuse reflectance mode (DRIFT). Intensive signals of C15 to C17 alkanes from long-chain alkenes as main components of diesel and diesel exhaust particulates substantiated the assumption that burning residues were prominent in the subsoil OM. The spatial distribution of NCOMP and BN+NA along the macropores was predicted by partial least squares regression (PLSR) using DRIFT mapping spectra from intact surfaces and was found closely related to the distribution of crack coatings and pinholes. The results emphasize the importance of clay coatings in the subsoil to OM sorption and stabilization. Differences between biopores and cracks suggest differences in the mass transport and OM turnover between these macropore types in Luvisols.

Testing gravity using large-scale redshift-space distortions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raccanelli, Alvise; Bertacca, Daniele; Pietrobon, Davide; Schmidt, Fabian; Samushia, Lado; Bartolo, Nicola; Doré, Olivier; Matarrese, Sabino; Percival, Will J.

2013-11-01

We use luminous red galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) II to test the cosmological structure growth in two alternatives to the standard Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM)+general relativity (GR) cosmological model. We compare observed three-dimensional clustering in SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7) with theoretical predictions for the standard vanilla ΛCDM+GR model, unified dark matter (UDM) cosmologies and the normal branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP). In computing the expected correlations in UDM cosmologies, we derive a parametrized formula for the growth factor in these models. For our analysis we apply the methodology tested in Raccanelli et al. and use the measurements of Samushia et al. that account for survey geometry, non-linear and wide-angle effects and the distribution of pair orientation. We show that the estimate of the growth rate is potentially degenerate with wide-angle effects, meaning that extremely accurate measurements of the growth rate on large scales will need to take such effects into account. We use measurements of the zeroth and second-order moments of the correlation function from SDSS DR7 data and the Large Suite of Dark Matter Simulations (LasDamas), and perform a likelihood analysis to constrain the parameters of the models. Using information on the clustering up to rmax = 120 h-1 Mpc, and after marginalizing over the bias, we find, for UDM models, a speed of sound c∞ ≤ 6.1e-4, and, for the nDGP model, a cross-over scale rc ≥ 340 Mpc, at 95 per cent confidence level.

Dark matter subhalos and unidentified sources in the Fermi 3FGL source catalog

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schoonenberg, Djoeke; Gaskins, Jennifer; Bertone, Gianfranco

2016-05-01

If dark matter consists of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), dark matter subhalos in the Milky Way could be detectable as gamma-ray point sources due to WIMP annihilation. In this work, we perform an updated study of the detectability of dark matter subhalos as gamma-ray sources with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi LAT). We use the results of the Via Lactea II simulation, scaled to the Planck 2015 cosmological parameters, to predict the local dark matter subhalo distribution. Under optimistic assumptions for the WIMP parameters—a 40 GeV particle annihilating to b b-bar with a thermal cross-section, as required tomore » explain the Galactic center GeV excess—we predict that at most ∼ 10 subhalos might be present in the third Fermi LAT source catalog (3FGL). This is a smaller number than has been predicted by prior studies, and we discuss the origin of this difference. We also compare our predictions for the detectability of subhalos with the number of subhalo candidate sources in 3FGL, and derive upper limits on the WIMP annihilation cross-section as a function of the particle mass. If a dark matter interpretation could be excluded for all 3FGL sources, our constraints would be competitive with those found by indirect searches using other targets, such as known Milky Way satellite galaxies.« less

Compression and release dynamics of an active matter system of Euglena gracilis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lam, Amy; Tsang, Alan C. H.; Ouellette, Nicholas; Riedel-Kruse, Ingmar

Active matter, defined as ensembles of self-propelled particles, encompasses a large variety of systems at all scales, from nanoparticles to bird flocks. Though various models and simulations have been created to describe the dynamics of these systems, experimental verification has been difficult to obtain. This is frequently due to the complex interaction rules which govern the particle behavior, in turn making systematic varying of parameters impossible. Here, we propose a model for predicting the system evolution of compression and release of an active system based on experiments and simulations. In particular, we consider ensembles of the unicellular, photo-responsive algae, Euglena gracilis, under light stimulation. By varying the spatiotemporal light patterns, we are able to finely adjust cell densities and achieve arbitrary non-homogeneous distributions, including compression into high-density aggregates of varying geometries. We observe the formation of depletion zones after the release of the confining stimulus and investigate the effects of the density distribution and particle rotational noise on the depletion. These results provide implications for defining state parameters which determine system evolution.

Biogeochemistry of the coupled manganese-iron-sulfur cycles of intertidal surface sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosselmann, K.; Boettcher, M. E.; Billerbeck, M.; Walpersdorf, E.; Debeer, D.; Brumsack, H.-J.; Huettel, M.; Joergensen, B. B.

2003-04-01

The biogeochemistry of the coupled iron-manganese-sulfur-carbon cycles was studied in temperate intertidal surface sediments of the German Wadden Sea (North Sea). Coastal sampling sites include sand, mixed and mud flats with different organic matter and metal contents and permeability reflecting different hydrodynamic regimes. The field study focusses on the influence of temperature, organic matter load, and sediment types on the dynamics of biogeochemical reactions on different time scales (season, day-night, tidal cycles). One of the main interests was related to the cycling of metals (Mn, Fe) in relation to the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria. Pore water profiles were investigated by sediment sectioning and high resolution gel sampling techniques. Microbial sulfate reduction rates were measured using radiolabeled sulfate with the whole core incubation technique and the spatial distribution of bacterial activity was visualised by using "2D-photoemulsion-monitoring technique". The biogeochemical sulfur cycle was additionally characterised by the stable isotope ratios (S,O) of different sulfur species (e.g., SO_4, AVS, pyrite). Element transfers (metals, nutrients) across the sediment-water interface were additionally quantified by the application of benthic flux chambers. Microbial sulfate reduction was generally highest in the suboxic zone of the surface sediments indicating its potential importance for the mobilization of iron and manganese. In organic matter poor permeable sediments tidal effects additionally influence the spatial and temporal distribution of dissolved redox-sensitive metals. In organic matter-rich silty and muddy sediments, temperature controlled the microbial sulfate reduction rates. Depth-integrated sulfate reduction rates in sandy sediments were much lower and controlled by both temperature and organic matter. Formation of anoxic sediment surfaces due to local enhanced organic matter load (so-called "black spots") may create windows of an increase flux of metals, nutrients and hydrogen sulfide. Acknowledgements: The study was supported by German Science Foundation within the DFG-research group "BioGeoChemistry of the Waddensea" and Max Planck Society.

Dipolar dark matter with massive bigravity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blanchet, Luc; Heisenberg, Lavinia; Department of Physics & The Oskar Klein Centre, AlbaNova University Centre,Roslagstullsbacken 21, 10691 Stockholm

2015-12-14

Massive gravity theories have been developed as viable IR modifications of gravity motivated by dark energy and the problem of the cosmological constant. On the other hand, modified gravity and modified dark matter theories were developed with the aim of solving the problems of standard cold dark matter at galactic scales. Here we propose to adapt the framework of ghost-free massive bigravity theories to reformulate the problem of dark matter at galactic scales. We investigate a promising alternative to dark matter called dipolar dark matter (DDM) in which two different species of dark matter are separately coupled to the twomore » metrics of bigravity and are linked together by an internal vector field. We show that this model successfully reproduces the phenomenology of dark matter at galactic scales (i.e. MOND) as a result of a mechanism of gravitational polarisation. The model is safe in the gravitational sector, but because of the particular couplings of the matter fields and vector field to the metrics, a ghost in the decoupling limit is present in the dark matter sector. However, it might be possible to push the mass of the ghost beyond the strong coupling scale by an appropriate choice of the parameters of the model. Crucial questions to address in future work are the exact mass of the ghost, and the cosmological implications of the model.« less

Dipolar dark matter with massive bigravity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blanchet, Luc; Heisenberg, Lavinia, E-mail: blanchet@iap.fr, E-mail: laviniah@kth.se

2015-12-01

Massive gravity theories have been developed as viable IR modifications of gravity motivated by dark energy and the problem of the cosmological constant. On the other hand, modified gravity and modified dark matter theories were developed with the aim of solving the problems of standard cold dark matter at galactic scales. Here we propose to adapt the framework of ghost-free massive bigravity theories to reformulate the problem of dark matter at galactic scales. We investigate a promising alternative to dark matter called dipolar dark matter (DDM) in which two different species of dark matter are separately coupled to the twomore » metrics of bigravity and are linked together by an internal vector field. We show that this model successfully reproduces the phenomenology of dark matter at galactic scales (i.e. MOND) as a result of a mechanism of gravitational polarisation. The model is safe in the gravitational sector, but because of the particular couplings of the matter fields and vector field to the metrics, a ghost in the decoupling limit is present in the dark matter sector. However, it might be possible to push the mass of the ghost beyond the strong coupling scale by an appropriate choice of the parameters of the model. Crucial questions to address in future work are the exact mass of the ghost, and the cosmological implications of the model.« less

The effects of the small-scale DM power on the cosmological neutral hydrogen (HI) distribution at high redshifts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, Abir; Sethi, Shiv K.; Mondal, Rajesh

The particle nature of dark matter remains a mystery. In this paper, we consider two dark matter models—Late Forming Dark Matter (LFDM) and Ultra-Light Axion (ULA) models—where the matter power spectra show novel effects on small scales. The high redshift universe offers a powerful probe of their parameters. In particular, we study two cosmological observables: the neutral hydrogen (HI) redshifted 21-cm signal from the epoch of reionization, and the evolution of the collapsed fraction of HI in the redshift range 2 < z < 5. We model the theoretical predictions of the models using CDM-like N-body simulations with modified initial conditions, and generate reionizationmore » fields using an excursion set model. The N-body approximation is valid on the length and halo mass scales studied. We show that LFDM and ULA models predict an increase in the HI power spectrum from the epoch of reionization by a factor between 2–10 for a range of scales 0.1 < k < 4 Mpc{sup −1}. Assuming a fiducial model where a neutral hydrogen fraction x-bar {sub HI} = 0.5 must be achieved by z = 8, the reionization process allows us to put approximate bounds on the redshift of dark matter formation z{sub f} > 4 × 10{sup 5} (for LFDM) and the axion mass m{sub a} > 2.6 × 10{sup −23} eV (for ULA). The comparison of the collapsed mass fraction inferred from damped Lyman-α observations to the theoretical predictions of our models lead to the weaker bounds: z{sub f} > 2 × 10{sup 5} and m{sub a} > 10{sup −23} eV. These bounds are consistent with other constraints in the literature using different observables; we briefly discuss how these bounds compare with possible constraints from the observation of luminosity function of galaxies at high redshifts. In the case of ULAs, these constraints are also consistent with a solution to the cusp-core problem of CDM.« less

Optimal linear reconstruction of dark matter from halo catalogues

DOE PAGES

Cai, Yan -Chuan; Bernstein, Gary; Sheth, Ravi K.

2011-04-01

The dark matter lumps (or "halos") that contain galaxies have locations in the Universe that are to some extent random with respect to the overall matter distributions. We investigate how best to estimate the total matter distribution from the locations of the halos. We derive the weight function w(M) to apply to dark-matter haloes that minimizes the stochasticity between the weighted halo distribution and its underlying mass density field. The optimal w(M) depends on the range of masses of halos being used. While the standard biased-Poisson model of the halo distribution predicts that bias weighting is optimal, the simple factmore » that the mass is comprised of haloes implies that the optimal w(M) will be a mixture of mass-weighting and bias-weighting. In N-body simulations, the Poisson estimator is up to 15× noisier than the optimal. Optimal weighting could make cosmological tests based on the matter power spectrum or cross-correlations much more powerful and/or cost effective.« less

Gravitational lens models of arcs in clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergmann, Anton G.; Petrosian, Vahe; Lynds, Roger

1990-01-01

It is now well established that the luminous arcs discovered in clusters of galaxies, in particular those in Abell 370 and Cluster 2244-02, are produced by gravitational lensing of background sources. The arcs are modeled and constraints are placed on the distribution of the mass in the clusters and the shape and size of the sources. The models require, as expected, a large amount of dark matter in the clusters and a mass-to blue-light ratio for the cluster which exceeds 100 solar mass/solar luminosity and could be as high as 1000 solar mass/solar luminosity depending on cosmological parameters and the distribution of the dark matter. Furthermore, it is found that in the case of the arc in A370 the dark matter must have a different distribution than the luminous galaxies, while for the arc in Cl 2244 the dark matter can have a distribution similar to that of the light matter (galaxies) or a separate distribution.

Dark energy and modified gravity in the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cusin, Giulia; Lewandowski, Matthew; Vernizzi, Filippo

2018-04-01

We develop an approach to compute observables beyond the linear regime of dark matter perturbations for general dark energy and modified gravity models. We do so by combining the Effective Field Theory of Dark Energy and Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure approaches. In particular, we parametrize the linear and nonlinear effects of dark energy on dark matter clustering in terms of the Lagrangian terms introduced in a companion paper [1], focusing on Horndeski theories and assuming the quasi-static approximation. The Euler equation for dark matter is sourced, via the Newtonian potential, by new nonlinear vertices due to modified gravity and, as in the pure dark matter case, by the effects of short-scale physics in the form of the divergence of an effective stress tensor. The effective fluid introduces a counterterm in the solution to the matter continuity and Euler equations, which allows a controlled expansion of clustering statistics on mildly nonlinear scales. We use this setup to compute the one-loop dark-matter power spectrum.

Relationship between brain lesion characteristics and communication in preschool children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Coleman, Andrea; Fiori, Simona; Weir, Kelly A; Ware, Robert S; Boyd, Roslyn N

2016-11-01

MRI shows promise as a prognostic tool for clinical findings such as gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy(CP), however the relationship with communication skills requires exploration. To examine the relationship between the type and severity of brain lesion on MRI and communication skills in children with CP. 131 children with CP (73 males(56%)), mean corrected age(SD) 28(5) months, Gross Motor Functional Classification System distribution: I=57(44%), II=14(11%), III=19(14%), IV=17(13%), V=24(18%). Children were assessed on the Communication and Symbolic Behavioral Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS-DP) Infant-Toddler Checklist. Structural MRI was analysed with reference to type and semi-quantitative assessment of the severity of brain lesion. Children were classified for motor type, distribution and GMFCS. The relationships between type/severity of brain lesion and communication ability were analysed using multivariable tobit regression. Children with periventricular white matter lesions had better speech than children with cortical/deep grey matter lesions (β=-2.6, 95%CI=-5.0, -0.2, p=0.04). Brain lesion severity on the semi-quantitative scale was related to overall communication skills (β=-0.9, 95%CI=-1.4, -0.5, p<0.001). Motor impairment better accounted for impairment in overall communication skills than brain lesion severity. Structural MRI has potential prognostic value for communication impairment in children with CP. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: This is the first paper to explore important aspects of communication in relation to the type and severity of brain lesion on MRI in a representative cohort of preschool-aged children with CP. We found a relationship between the type of brain lesion and communication skills, children who had cortical and deep grey matter lesions had overall communication skills>1 SD below children with periventricular white matter lesions. Children with more severe brain lesions on MRI had poorer overall communication skills. Children with CP born at term had poorer communication than those born prematurely and were more likely to have cortical and deep grey matter lesions. Gross motor function better accounted for overall communication skills than the type of brain lesion or brain lesion severity. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Redshift-space distortions with the halo occupation distribution - II. Analytic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tinker, Jeremy L.

2007-01-01

We present an analytic model for the galaxy two-point correlation function in redshift space. The cosmological parameters of the model are the matter density Ωm, power spectrum normalization σ8, and velocity bias of galaxies αv, circumventing the linear theory distortion parameter β and eliminating nuisance parameters for non-linearities. The model is constructed within the framework of the halo occupation distribution (HOD), which quantifies galaxy bias on linear and non-linear scales. We model one-halo pairwise velocities by assuming that satellite galaxy velocities follow a Gaussian distribution with dispersion proportional to the virial dispersion of the host halo. Two-halo velocity statistics are a combination of virial motions and host halo motions. The velocity distribution function (DF) of halo pairs is a complex function with skewness and kurtosis that vary substantially with scale. Using a series of collisionless N-body simulations, we demonstrate that the shape of the velocity DF is determined primarily by the distribution of local densities around a halo pair, and at fixed density the velocity DF is close to Gaussian and nearly independent of halo mass. We calibrate a model for the conditional probability function of densities around halo pairs on these simulations. With this model, the full shape of the halo velocity DF can be accurately calculated as a function of halo mass, radial separation, angle and cosmology. The HOD approach to redshift-space distortions utilizes clustering data from linear to non-linear scales to break the standard degeneracies inherent in previous models of redshift-space clustering. The parameters of the occupation function are well constrained by real-space clustering alone, separating constraints on bias and cosmology. We demonstrate the ability of the model to separately constrain Ωm,σ8 and αv in models that are constructed to have the same value of β at large scales as well as the same finger-of-god distortions at small scales.

Fine-scale estimation of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter concentrations in proximity to a road intersection by using wavelet neural network with genetic algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhanyong; Lu, Feng; He, Hong-di; Lu, Qing-Chang; Wang, Dongsheng; Peng, Zhong-Ren

2015-03-01

At road intersections, vehicles frequently stop with idling engines during the red-light period and speed up rapidly in the green-light period, which generates higher velocity fluctuation and thus higher emission rates. Additionally, the frequent changes of wind direction further add the highly variable dispersion of pollutants at the street scale. It is, therefore, very difficult to estimate the distribution of pollutant concentrations using conventional deterministic causal models. For this reason, a hybrid model combining wavelet neural network and genetic algorithm (GA-WNN) is proposed for predicting 5-min series of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations in proximity to an intersection. The proposed model is examined based on the measured data under two situations. As the measured pollutant concentrations are found to be dependent on the distance to the intersection, the model is evaluated in three locations respectively, i.e. 110 m, 330 m and 500 m. Due to the different variation of pollutant concentrations on varied time, the model is also evaluated in peak and off-peak traffic time periods separately. Additionally, the proposed model, together with the back-propagation neural network (BPNN), is examined with the measured data in these situations. The proposed model is found to perform better in predictability and precision for both CO and PM2.5 than BPNN does, implying that the hybrid model can be an effective tool to improve the accuracy of estimating pollutants' distribution pattern at intersections. The outputs of these findings demonstrate the potential of the proposed model to be applicable to forecast the distribution pattern of air pollution in real-time in proximity to road intersection.

Does APO ε4 correlate with MRI changes in Alzheimer's disease?

PubMed Central

Doody, R; Azher, S; Haykal, H; Dunn, J; Liao, T; Schneider, L

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVE—To assess the relation between APO E genotype and MRI white matter changes in Alzheimer's disease. The APO ε4 allele is correlated with amyloid angiopathy and other neuropathologies in Alzheimer's disease and could be associated with white matter changes. If so, there should be a dose effect.
METHODS—104 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (NINCDS-ADRDA criteria) in this Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre were studied. Patients received MRI and APO E genotyping by standardised protocols. Axial MRI was scored (modified Schelten's scale) for the presence and degree of white matter changes and atrophy in several regions by a neuroradiologist blinded to genotype. Total white matter and total atrophy scores were also generated. Data analysis included Pearson's correlation for regional and total imaging scores and analysis of variance (ANOVA) (or Kruskal-Wallis) and χ2 for demographic and disease related variables.
RESULTS—30 patients had no ε4, 53 patients were heterozygous, and 21 patients were homozygous. The three groups did not differ in sex distribution, age of onset, age at MRI, MMSE, clinical dementia rating, or modified Hachinski ischaemia scores. There were no significant correlations between total or regional white matter scores and APO E genotype (Pearson correlation).
CONCLUSIONS—No correlation between total or regional white matter scores and APO E genotype was found. The pathogenesis of white matter changes in Alzheimer's disease may be independent of APO E genotype.

 PMID:11032626

Spatial clustering and halo occupation distribution modelling of local AGN via cross-correlation measurements with 2MASS galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krumpe, Mirko; Miyaji, Takamitsu; Coil, Alison L.; Aceves, Hector

2018-02-01

We present the clustering properties and halo occupation distribution (HOD) modelling of very low redshift, hard X-ray-detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) using cross-correlation function measurements with Two-Micron All Sky Survey galaxies. Spanning a redshift range of 0.007 < z < 0.037, with a median z = 0.024, we present a precise AGN clustering study of the most local AGN in the Universe. The AGN sample is drawn from the SWIFT/BAT 70-month and INTEGRAL/IBIS eight year all-sky X-ray surveys and contains both type I and type II AGN. We find a large-scale bias for the full AGN sample of b=1.04^{+0.10}_{-0.11}, which corresponds to a typical host dark matter halo mass of M_h^typ=12.84^{+0.22}_{-0.30} h^{-1} M_{⊙}. When split into low and high X-ray luminosity and type I and type II AGN subsamples, we detect no statistically significant differences in the large-scale bias parameters. However, there are differences in the small-scale clustering, which are reflected in the full HOD model results. We find that low and high X-ray luminosity AGN, as well as type I and type II AGN, occupy dark matter haloes differently, with 3.4σ and 4.0σ differences in their mean halo masses, respectively, when split by luminosity and type. The latter finding contradicts a simple orientation-based AGN unification model. As a by-product of our cross-correlation approach, we also present the first HOD model of 2MASS galaxies.

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: modelling the clustering and halo occupation distribution of BOSS CMASS galaxies in the Final Data Release

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez-Torres, Sergio A.; Chuang, Chia-Hsun; Prada, Francisco; Guo, Hong; Klypin, Anatoly; Behroozi, Peter; Hahn, Chang Hoon; Comparat, Johan; Yepes, Gustavo; Montero-Dorta, Antonio D.; Brownstein, Joel R.; Maraston, Claudia; McBride, Cameron K.; Tinker, Jeremy; Gottlöber, Stefan; Favole, Ginevra; Shu, Yiping; Kitaura, Francisco-Shu; Bolton, Adam; Scoccimarro, Román; Samushia, Lado; Schlegel, David; Schneider, Donald P.; Thomas, Daniel

2016-08-01

We present a study of the clustering and halo occupation distribution of Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) CMASS galaxies in the redshift range 0.43 < z < 0.7 drawn from the Final SDSS-III Data Release. We compare the BOSS results with the predictions of a halo abundance matching (HAM) clustering model that assigns galaxies to dark matter haloes selected from the large BigMultiDark N-body simulation of a flat Λ cold dark matter Planck cosmology. We compare the observational data with the simulated ones on a light cone constructed from 20 subsequent outputs of the simulation. Observational effects such as incompleteness, geometry, veto masks and fibre collisions are included in the model, which reproduces within 1σ errors the observed monopole of the two-point correlation function at all relevant scales: from the smallest scales, 0.5 h-1 Mpc, up to scales beyond the baryon acoustic oscillation feature. This model also agrees remarkably well with the BOSS galaxy power spectrum (up to k ˜ 1 h Mpc-1), and the three-point correlation function. The quadrupole of the correlation function presents some tensions with observations. We discuss possible causes that can explain this disagreement, including target selection effects. Overall, the standard HAM model describes remarkably well the clustering statistics of the CMASS sample. We compare the stellar-to-halo mass relation for the CMASS sample measured using weak lensing in the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Stripe 82 Survey with the prediction of our clustering model, and find a good agreement within 1σ. The BigMD-BOSS light cone including properties of BOSS galaxies and halo properties is made publicly available.

Modality-Spanning Deficits in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Functional Networks, Gray Matter, and White Matter

PubMed Central

Kessler, Daniel; Angstadt, Michael; Welsh, Robert C.

2014-01-01

Previous neuroimaging investigations in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have separately identified distributed structural and functional deficits, but interconnections between these deficits have not been explored. To unite these modalities in a common model, we used joint independent component analysis, a multivariate, multimodal method that identifies cohesive components that span modalities. Based on recent network models of ADHD, we hypothesized that altered relationships between large-scale networks, in particular, default mode network (DMN) and task-positive networks (TPNs), would co-occur with structural abnormalities in cognitive regulation regions. For 756 human participants in the ADHD-200 sample, we produced gray and white matter volume maps with voxel-based morphometry, as well as whole-brain functional connectomes. Joint independent component analysis was performed, and the resulting transmodal components were tested for differential expression in ADHD versus healthy controls. Four components showed greater expression in ADHD. Consistent with our a priori hypothesis, we observed reduced DMN-TPN segregation co-occurring with structural abnormalities in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, two important cognitive control regions. We also observed altered intranetwork connectivity in DMN, dorsal attention network, and visual network, with co-occurring distributed structural deficits. There was strong evidence of spatial correspondence across modalities: For all four components, the impact of the respective component on gray matter at a region strongly predicted the impact on functional connectivity at that region. Overall, our results demonstrate that ADHD involves multiple, cohesive modality spanning deficits, each one of which exhibits strong spatial overlap in the pattern of structural and functional alterations. PMID:25505309

Captured metagenomics: large-scale targeting of genes based on ‘sequence capture’ reveals functional diversity in soils

PubMed Central

Manoharan, Lokeshwaran; Kushwaha, Sandeep K.; Hedlund, Katarina; Ahrén, Dag

2015-01-01

Microbial enzyme diversity is a key to understand many ecosystem processes. Whole metagenome sequencing (WMG) obtains information on functional genes, but it is costly and inefficient due to large amount of sequencing that is required. In this study, we have applied a captured metagenomics technique for functional genes in soil microorganisms, as an alternative to WMG. Large-scale targeting of functional genes, coding for enzymes related to organic matter degradation, was applied to two agricultural soil communities through captured metagenomics. Captured metagenomics uses custom-designed, hybridization-based oligonucleotide probes that enrich functional genes of interest in metagenomic libraries where only probe-bound DNA fragments are sequenced. The captured metagenomes were highly enriched with targeted genes while maintaining their target diversity and their taxonomic distribution correlated well with the traditional ribosomal sequencing. The captured metagenomes were highly enriched with genes related to organic matter degradation; at least five times more than similar, publicly available soil WMG projects. This target enrichment technique also preserves the functional representation of the soils, thereby facilitating comparative metagenomics projects. Here, we present the first study that applies the captured metagenomics approach in large scale, and this novel method allows deep investigations of central ecosystem processes by studying functional gene abundances. PMID:26490729

The Angular Momentum Distribution and Baryon Content of Star-forming Galaxies at z ˜ 1-3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkert, A.; Förster Schreiber, N. M.; Genzel, R.; Lang, P.; Tacconi, L. J.; Wisnioski, E.; Wuyts, S.; Bandara, K.; Beifiori, A.; Bender, R.; Brammer, G.; Chan, J.; Davies, R.; Dekel, A.; Fabricius, M.; Fossati, M.; Kulkarni, S.; Lutz, D.; Mendel, J. T.; Momcheva, I.; Nelson, E. J.; Naab, T.; Renzini, A.; Saglia, R.; Sharples, R. M.; Sternberg, A.; Wilman, D.; Wuyts, E.

2016-08-01

We analyze the angular momenta of massive star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at the peak of the cosmic star formation epoch (z ˜ 0.8-2.6). Our sample of ˜360 log(M */M ⊙) ˜ 9.3-11.8 SFGs is mainly based on the KMOS3D and SINS/zC-SINF surveys of Hα kinematics, and collectively provides a representative subset of the massive star-forming population. The inferred halo scale angular momentum distribution is broadly consistent with that theoretically predicted for their dark matter halos, in terms of mean spin parameter < λ > ˜ 0.037 and its dispersion (σ logλ ˜ 0.2). Spin parameters correlate with the disk radial scale and with their stellar surface density, but do not depend significantly on halo mass, stellar mass, or redshift. Our data thus support the long-standing assumption that on average, even at high redshifts, the specific angular momentum of disk galaxies reflects that of their dark matter halos (j d = j DM). The lack of correlation between λ × (j d /j DM) and the nuclear stellar density Σ*(1 kpc) favors a scenario where disk-internal angular momentum redistribution leads to “compaction” inside massive high-redshift disks. For our sample, the inferred average stellar to dark matter mass ratio is ˜2%, consistent with abundance matching results. Including the molecular gas, the total baryonic disk to dark matter mass ratio is ˜5% for halos near 1012 M ⊙, which corresponds to 31% of the cosmologically available baryons, implying that high-redshift disks are strongly baryon dominated. Based on observations obtained at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile (ESO Programme IDs 075.A-0466, 076.A-0527, 079.A-0341, 080.A-0330, 080.A-0339, 080.A-0635, 081.B-0568, 081.A-0672, 082.A-0396, 183.A-0781, 087.A-0081, 088.A-0202, 088.A-0209, 091.A-0126, 092.A-0091, 093.A-0079, 094.A-0217, 095.A-0047, 096.A-0025).

Distribution and Degradation State of Soil Organic Carbon Stocks in Ice Wedge Polygons of the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jastrow, J. D.; Ping, C. L.; Deck, C. B.; Matamala, R.; Vugteveen, T. W.; Lederhouse, J. S.; Michaelson, G. J.

2016-12-01

Estimates of the amount of organic carbon (C) stored in permafrost-region soils and its susceptibility to mobilization with changing climate are improving but remain high, affecting the ability to reliably predict regional C-climate feedbacks. In lowland permafrost soils, much of the organic matter exists in a poorly degraded state and is often weakly associated with soil minerals due to the cold, wet environment and cryoturbation. Thus, the impacts of warming and permafrost thaw likely will depend, at least initially, on the past history of soil organic matter (SOM) degradation. Ice wedge polygons are ubiquitous, patterned ground features throughout Arctic coastal plain regions and are large enough (5-30 m across) that a better three-dimensional understanding of their C stocks and relative degradation state could improve geospatial upscaling of observational data and contribute benchmarks for constraining model parameters. We investigated the distribution and existing degradation state of SOM to a depth of 2 meters across three polygon types on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Alaska: flat-centered (FCP), low-centered (LCP), and high-centered (HCP) polygons, with each type replicated 3 times. To assess the relative degradation state of SOM, we used particle size fractionation to isolate fibric (coarse) from more degraded (fine) particulate organic matter and separated mineral-associated organic matter into silt- and clay-sized fractions. We found variations in the thickness and quality of surface organic layers for different polygon types. Below the active layer, organic-rich cryoturbated layers were located in the transition zone and fingered down into the upper permafrost. Soil organic C stocks varied across individual polygons and differed among polygon types, with HCPs generally having the largest C stocks. The relative degradation state of SOM also varied spatially and vertically within polygons and differed among polygon types. Our findings suggest that accounting for polygon-scale (wedge to center to wedge) and landscape-scale (polygon type) variations could help reduce the uncertainties in observational estimates of soil C stocks and their degradation state for areas dominated by ice wedge polygons.

ASSESSING ASTROPHYSICAL UNCERTAINTIES IN DIRECT DETECTION WITH GALAXY SIMULATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sloane, Jonathan D.; Buckley, Matthew R.; Brooks, Alyson M.

2016-11-01

We study the local dark matter velocity distribution in simulated Milky Way-mass galaxies, generated at high resolution with both dark matter and baryons. We find that the dark matter in the solar neighborhood is influenced appreciably by the inclusion of baryons, increasing the speed of dark matter particles compared to dark matter-only simulations. The gravitational potential due to the presence of a baryonic disk increases the amount of high velocity dark matter, resulting in velocity distributions that are more similar to the Maxwellian Standard Halo Model than predicted from dark matter-only simulations. Furthermore, the velocity structures present in baryonic simulationsmore » possess a greater diversity than expected from dark matter-only simulations. We show that the impact on the direct detection experiments LUX, DAMA/Libra, and CoGeNT using our simulated velocity distributions, and explore how resolution and halo mass within the Milky Way’s estimated mass range impact the results. A Maxwellian fit to the velocity distribution tends to overpredict the amount of dark matter in the high velocity tail, even with baryons, and thus leads to overly optimistic direct detection bounds on models that are dependent on this region of phase space for an experimental signal. Our work further demonstrates that it is critical to transform simulated velocity distributions to the lab frame of reference, due to the fact that velocity structure in the solar neighborhood appears when baryons are included. There is more velocity structure present when baryons are included than in dark matter-only simulations. Even when baryons are included, the importance of the velocity structure is not as apparent in the Galactic frame of reference as in the Earth frame.« less

Mapping Soil Organic Matter with Hyperspectral Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moni, Christophe; Burud, Ingunn; Flø, Andreas; Rasse, Daniel

2014-05-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) plays a central role for both food security and the global environment. Soil organic matter is the 'glue' that binds soil particles together, leading to positive effects on soil water and nutrient availability for plant growth and helping to counteract the effects of erosion, runoff, compaction and crusting. Hyperspectral measurements of samples of soil profiles have been conducted with the aim of mapping soil organic matter on a macroscopic scale (millimeters and centimeters). Two soil profiles have been selected from the same experimental site, one from a plot amended with biochar and another one from a control plot, with the specific objective to quantify and map the distribution of biochar in the amended profile. The soil profiles were of size (30 x 10 x 10) cm3 and were scanned with two pushbroomtype hyperspectral cameras, one which is sensitive in the visible wavelength region (400 - 1000 nm) and one in the near infrared region (1000 - 2500 nm). The images from the two detectors were merged together into one full dataset covering the whole wavelength region. Layers of 15 mm were removed from the 10 cm high sample such that a total of 7 hyperspectral images were obtained from the samples. Each layer was analyzed with multivariate statistical techniques in order to map the different components in the soil profile. Moreover, a 3-dimensional visalization of the components through the depth of the sample was also obtained by combining the hyperspectral images from all the layers. Mid-infrared spectroscopy of selected samples of the measured soil profiles was conducted in order to correlate the chemical constituents with the hyperspectral results. The results show that hyperspectral imaging is a fast, non-destructive technique, well suited to characterize soil profiles on a macroscopic scale and hence to map elements and different organic matter quality present in a complete pedon. As such, we were able to map and quantify biochar in our profile. Smaller interesting regions can also easily be selected from the hyperspectral images for more detailed study at microscopic scale.

Dark matter and cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schramm, D.N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the {Omega} = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between ``cold`` and ``hot`` non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed ``seeds`` that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations,more » such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.« less

Dark matter and cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schramm, D.N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the {Omega} = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between cold'' and hot'' non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed seeds'' that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations,more » such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.« less

Dark matter and cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schramm, David N.

1992-07-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang Nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the Ω = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between ``cold'' and ``hot'' non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed ``seeds'' that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations, such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.

Dark matter and cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schramm, D. N.

1992-03-01

The cosmological dark matter problem is reviewed. The Big Bang nucleosynthesis constraints on the baryon density are compared with the densities implied by visible matter, dark halos, dynamics of clusters, gravitational lenses, large-scale velocity flows, and the omega = 1 flatness/inflation argument. It is shown that (1) the majority of baryons are dark; and (2) non-baryonic dark matter is probably required on large scales. It is also noted that halo dark matter could be either baryonic or non-baryonic. Descrimination between 'cold' and 'hot' non-baryonic candidates is shown to depend on the assumed 'seeds' that stimulate structure formation. Gaussian density fluctuations, such as those induced by quantum fluctuations, favor cold dark matter, whereas topological defects such as strings, textures or domain walls may work equally or better with hot dark matter. A possible connection between cold dark matter, globular cluster ages, and the Hubble constant is mentioned. Recent large-scale structure measurements, coupled with microwave anisotropy limits, are shown to raise some questions for the previously favored density fluctuation picture. Accelerator and underground limits on dark matter candidates are also reviewed.

Coherent photon scattering background in sub- GeV / c 2 direct dark matter searches

DOE PAGES

Robinson, Alan E.

2017-01-18

Here, proposed dark matter detectors with eV-scale sensitivities will detect a large background of atomic (nuclear) recoils from coherent photon scattering of MeV-scale photons. This background climbs steeply below ~10 eV, far exceeding the declining rate of low-energy Compton recoils. The upcoming generation of dark matter detectors will not be limited by this background, but further development of eV-scale and sub-eV detectors will require strategies, including the use of low nuclear mass target materials, to maximize dark matter sensitivity while minimizing the coherent photon scattering background.

The effects of assembly bias on the inference of matter clustering from galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEwen, Joseph E.; Weinberg, David H.

2018-07-01

The combination of galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering is a promising route to measuring the amplitude of matter clustering and testing modified gravity theories of cosmic acceleration. Halo occupation distribution (HOD) modelling can extend the approach down to non-linear scales, but galaxy assembly bias could introduce systematic errors by causing the HOD to vary with the large-scale environment at fixed halo mass. We investigate this problem using the mock galaxy catalogs created by Hearin & Watson (2013, HW13), which exhibit significant assembly bias because galaxy luminosity is tied to halo peak circular velocity and galaxy colour is tied to halo formation time. The preferential placement of galaxies (especially red galaxies) in older haloes affects the cutoff of the mean occupation function ⟨Ncen(Mmin)⟩ for central galaxies, with haloes in overdense regions more likely to host galaxies. The effect of assembly bias on the satellite galaxy HOD is minimal. We introduce an extended, environment-dependent HOD (EDHOD) prescription to describe these results and fit galaxy correlation measurements. Crucially, we find that the galaxy-matter cross-correlation coefficient, rgm(r) ≡ ξgm(r) . [ξmm(r)ξgg(r)]-1/2, is insensitive to assembly bias on scales r ≳ 1 h-1 Mpc, even though ξgm(r) and ξgg(r) are both affected individually. We can therefore recover the correct ξmm(r) from the HW13 galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-matter correlations using either a standard HOD or EDHOD fitting method. For Mr ≤ -19 or Mr ≤ -20 samples the recovery of ξmm(r) is accurate to 2 per cent or better. For a sample of red Mr ≤ -20 galaxies, we achieve 2 per cent recovery at r ≳ 2 h-1 Mpc with EDHOD modelling but lower accuracy at smaller scales or with a standard HOD fit. Most of our mock galaxy samples are consistent with rgm = 1 down to r = 1 h-1 Mpc, to within the uncertainties set by our finite simulation volume.

The effects of assembly bias on the inference of matter clustering from galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEwen, Joseph E.; Weinberg, David H.

2018-04-01

The combination of galaxy-galaxy lensing (GGL) and galaxy clustering is a promising route to measuring the amplitude of matter clustering and testing modified gravity theories of cosmic acceleration. Halo occupation distribution (HOD) modeling can extend the approach down to nonlinear scales, but galaxy assembly bias could introduce systematic errors by causing the HOD to vary with large scale environment at fixed halo mass. We investigate this problem using the mock galaxy catalogs created by Hearin & Watson (2013, HW13), which exhibit significant assembly bias because galaxy luminosity is tied to halo peak circular velocity and galaxy colour is tied to halo formation time. The preferential placement of galaxies (especially red galaxies) in older halos affects the cutoff of the mean occupation function for central galaxies, with halos in overdense regions more likely to host galaxies. The effect of assembly bias on the satellite galaxy HOD is minimal. We introduce an extended, environment dependent HOD (EDHOD) prescription to describe these results and fit galaxy correlation measurements. Crucially, we find that the galaxy-matter cross-correlation coefficient, rgm(r) ≡ ξgm(r) . [ξmm(r)ξgg(r)]-1/2, is insensitive to assembly bias on scales r ≳ 1 h^{-1} Mpc, even though ξgm(r) and ξgg(r) are both affected individually. We can therefore recover the correct ξmm(r) from the HW13 galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-matter correlations using either a standard HOD or EDHOD fitting method. For Mr ≤ -19 or Mr ≤ -20 samples the recovery of ξmm(r) is accurate to 2% or better. For a sample of red Mr ≤ -20 galaxies we achieve 2% recovery at r ≳ 2 h^{-1} Mpc with EDHOD modeling but lower accuracy at smaller scales or with a standard HOD fit. Most of our mock galaxy samples are consistent with rgm = 1 down to r = 1h-1Mpc, to within the uncertainties set by our finite simulation volume.

The Prolate Dark Matter Halo of the Andromeda Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi

2014-07-01

We present new limits on the global shape of the dark matter halo in the Andromeda galaxy using and generalizing non-spherical mass models developed by Hayashi & Chiba and compare our results with theoretical predictions of cold dark matter (CDM) models. This is motivated by the fact that CDM models predict non-spherical virialized dark halos, which reflect the process of mass assembly in the galactic scale. Applying our models to the latest kinematic data of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Andromeda halo, we find that the most plausible cases for Andromeda yield a prolate shape for its dark halo, irrespective of assumed density profiles. We also find that this prolate dark halo in Andromeda is consistent with theoretical predictions in which the satellites are distributed anisotropically and preferentially located along major axes of their host halos. It is a reflection of the intimate connection between galactic dark matter halos and the cosmic web. Therefore, our result is profound in understanding internal dynamics of halo tracers in Andromeda, such as orbital evolutions of tidal stellar streams, which play important roles in extracting the abundance of CDM subhalos through their dynamical effects on stream structures.

Automated segmentation reveals silent radiographic progression in adult-onset vanishing white-matter disease.

PubMed

Huber, Thomas; Herwerth, Marina; Alberts, Esther; Kirschke, Jan S; Zimmer, Claus; Ilg, Ruediger

2017-02-01

Adult-onset vanishing white-matter disease (VWM) is a rare autosomal recessive disease with neurological symptoms such as ataxia and paraparesis, showing extensive white-matter hyperintensities (WMH) on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Besides symptom-specific scores like the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS), there is no established tool to monitor disease progression. Because of extensive WMH, visual comparison of MR images is challenging. Here, we report the results of an automated method of segmentation to detect alterations in T2-weighted fluid-attenuated-inversion-recovery (FLAIR) sequences in a one-year follow-up study of a clinically stable patient with genetically diagnosed VWM. Signal alterations in MR imaging were quantified with a recently published WMH segmentation method by means of extreme value distribution (EVD). Our analysis revealed progressive FLAIR alterations of 5.84% in the course of one year, whereas no significant WMH change could be detected in a stable multiple sclerosis (MS) control group. This result demonstrates that automated EVD-based segmentation allows a precise and rapid quantification of extensive FLAIR alterations like in VWM and might be a powerful tool for the clinical and scientific monitoring of degenerative white-matter diseases and potential therapeutic interventions.

The prolate dark matter halo of the Andromeda galaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayashi, Kohei; Chiba, Masashi, E-mail: k.hayasi@astr.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: chiba@astr.tohoku.ac.jp

We present new limits on the global shape of the dark matter halo in the Andromeda galaxy using and generalizing non-spherical mass models developed by Hayashi and Chiba and compare our results with theoretical predictions of cold dark matter (CDM) models. This is motivated by the fact that CDM models predict non-spherical virialized dark halos, which reflect the process of mass assembly in the galactic scale. Applying our models to the latest kinematic data of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Andromeda halo, we find that the most plausible cases for Andromeda yield a prolate shape for itsmore » dark halo, irrespective of assumed density profiles. We also find that this prolate dark halo in Andromeda is consistent with theoretical predictions in which the satellites are distributed anisotropically and preferentially located along major axes of their host halos. It is a reflection of the intimate connection between galactic dark matter halos and the cosmic web. Therefore, our result is profound in understanding internal dynamics of halo tracers in Andromeda, such as orbital evolutions of tidal stellar streams, which play important roles in extracting the abundance of CDM subhalos through their dynamical effects on stream structures.« less

Suspended particulate matter flocculation in a natural tidal wetland located in the San Francisco Estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraceno, J.; Bergamaschi, B. A.; Wright, S. A.; Boss, E.; Downing, B. D.; Fleck, J.; Ganju, N. K.

2011-12-01

Suspended mineral and algal particles together comprise suspended particulate matter (SPM). The SPM size distribution influences the quantity and color of light penetration and the adsorption and transport of contaminants such as pesticides and metals. It is widely known that interaction with wetlands alters the size distribution and quality of particles through local primary production, differential settling and particle aggregation, however, our understanding of how tidal wetland processes affect SPM quantity and size spectra has been hampered by the difficulty of directly observing these parameters at tidal time scales. To evaluate how SPM concentration and size varied over tidal time scales and to better understand the relationship between organic matter and sediment characteristics, simultaneous measurements of dissolved organic matter, SPM concentration and organic content as well as in situ surrogates of particle concentration (turbidity, particulate attenuation, volume concentration) and particle size (laser diffraction) were carried out with measurements of current velocity (acoustic Doppler velocity meter) in the main channel of Brown's Island located in the western San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta, CA. The study period coincided with high estuary sediment levels following a significant precipitation runoff event. In the Brown Island wetland, particle concentration and size dynamics were tied to variations in water level and velocity. Turbidity and attenuation covaried with the volume concentration of particles smaller than 33 um, which on average represented greater than 50% of particle population by volume. On average, these SPM concentration surrogates were three times higher in flood water than in ebb water; consistent with a loss of fine particles on the island. Following the highest flood tide, the decrease in fine particles was coincident with an increase in the concentration of particles larger than 130 um; a finding consistent with particle flocculation. Additionally, the timing of flocculation was coincident with periods of elevated dissolved organic matter, suggesting organic matter played a role in the formation of large aggregates. Measurements of SPM organic content in ebb water revealed that SPM was enriched in organic matter by up to 50% following interaction with the wetland. Newly formed aggregates were carried out to the estuary with the ebb tide. These results indicate that the Browns Island wetland (and presumably other similar wetlands throughout the San Francisco Bay-Delta) plays an important role in estuarine biogeochemistry and particle cycling because flocculated particles have higher settling velocities and optical properties than their component particles and will behave differently. The implications of these findings are relevant to several tidal wetland management concerns such as the maintenance of marsh elevation, the cycling and transport of contaminants, and water clarity.

SST and terrestrial n-alkanes records in sediment of the Korean Plateau, East Sea (Japan Sea) during the last 400 kyr: Paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyun, Sangmin; Suh, Yean Jee; Kim, Jin Kyung

2014-05-01

SST variation was reconstructed using alkenones and their variation was compared with terrestrial n-alkanes signature from the sediment of the Korean Plateau, East Sea (Japan Sea) during the last 400 ka. SST variation showed glacial-interglacial time scale variation with a maximum temperature of 26 oC in MIS 7, and a minimum of 12 oC at MIS 2 and 6. The distribution of terrestrial n-alkanes signatures is characterized by the occurrence of high odd number predominance in most samples, however minor dominance of a specific compound (nC27 only) was the additional characteristic.bAverage Chain Length (ACL) and Carbon Preferences Index (ICP), derived from n-alkane distributions, showed a similar shifting between glacial-interglacial time-scale. This suggests that paleovegetation communities changed in response to paleoclimatological variations, and the input of terrestrial compound is strongly linked with paleoclimatology. In the previous work, isotopic composition of δ13C and δ15N of organic matter showed extreme temporal variation since MIS 11 suggesting influx of a large amount of terrestrial organic matters from the neighboring continent during MIS 2, 8 and 10. In particular, depleted values of δ13C during MIS 2, 8 and 10 were coincident with lower nitrogen isotope values indicating local paleoceanographic effects such as paleoproductivity changes. Decoupling of δ13C and δ15N during MIS 1, 3, 5, and 7, and coupling of the two during MIS 8 and 11 is observed, which can be interpreted as local productivity changes. The alkenones SST and n-alkanes signature coincided with carbon and nitrogen isotope variation in terms of glacial-interglacial time scale suggesting that the paleoenvironments in the East Sea is sensitive to the global climate changes associated with not only orbital-scale glacial-interglacial variations but also local paleceanographic variations.

Distribution function approach to redshift space distortions. Part IV: perturbation theory applied to dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlah, Zvonimir; Seljak, Uroš; McDonald, Patrick; Okumura, Teppei; Baldauf, Tobias

2012-11-01

We develop a perturbative approach to redshift space distortions (RSD) using the phase space distribution function approach and apply it to the dark matter redshift space power spectrum and its moments. RSD can be written as a sum over density weighted velocity moments correlators, with the lowest order being density, momentum density and stress energy density. We use standard and extended perturbation theory (PT) to determine their auto and cross correlators, comparing them to N-body simulations. We show which of the terms can be modeled well with the standard PT and which need additional terms that include higher order corrections which cannot be modeled in PT. Most of these additional terms are related to the small scale velocity dispersion effects, the so called finger of god (FoG) effects, which affect some, but not all, of the terms in this expansion, and which can be approximately modeled using a simple physically motivated ansatz such as the halo model. We point out that there are several velocity dispersions that enter into the detailed RSD analysis with very different amplitudes, which can be approximately predicted by the halo model. In contrast to previous models our approach systematically includes all of the terms at a given order in PT and provides a physical interpretation for the small scale dispersion values. We investigate RSD power spectrum as a function of μ, the cosine of the angle between the Fourier mode and line of sight, focusing on the lowest order powers of μ and multipole moments which dominate the observable RSD power spectrum. Overall we find considerable success in modeling many, but not all, of the terms in this expansion. This is similar to the situation in real space, but predicting power spectrum in redshift space is more difficult because of the explicit influence of small scale dispersion type effects in RSD, which extend to very large scales.

Dark matter from a classically scale-invariant S U (3 )X

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karam, Alexandros; Tamvakis, Kyriakos

2016-09-01

In this work we study a classically scale-invariant extension of the Standard Model in which the dark matter and electroweak scales are generated through the Coleman-Weinberg mechanism. The extra S U (3 )X gauge factor gets completely broken by the vacuum expectation values of two scalar triplets. Out of the eight resulting massive vector bosons the three lightest are stable due to an intrinsic Z2×Z2' discrete symmetry and can constitute dark matter candidates. We analyze the phenomenological viability of the predicted multi-Higgs sector imposing theoretical and experimental constraints. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the dark matter predictions of the model solving numerically the set of coupled Boltzmann equations involving all relevant dark matter processes and explore the direct detection prospects of the dark matter candidates.

Large-scale tidal effect on redshift-space power spectrum in a finite-volume survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akitsu, Kazuyuki; Takada, Masahiro; Li, Yin

2017-04-01

Long-wavelength matter inhomogeneities contain cleaner information on the nature of primordial perturbations as well as the physics of the early Universe. The large-scale coherent overdensity and tidal force, not directly observable for a finite-volume galaxy survey, are both related to the Hessian of large-scale gravitational potential and therefore are of equal importance. We show that the coherent tidal force causes a homogeneous anisotropic distortion of the observed distribution of galaxies in all three directions, perpendicular and parallel to the line-of-sight direction. This effect mimics the redshift-space distortion signal of galaxy peculiar velocities, as well as a distortion by the Alcock-Paczynski effect. We quantify its impact on the redshift-space power spectrum to the leading order, and discuss its importance for ongoing and upcoming galaxy surveys.

Backlighting the Universe: Understanding the Large-Scale Structure Through Cosmic Microwave Background Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaan, Emmanuel Sebastien

The primary fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the leftover heat from the big bang, have revealed invaluable clues about our universe (age, history, geometry, composition), and are now measured almost to the cosmic variance limit. While important fundamental physics questions remain to be answered from the primary CMB alone (e.g., detection of gravitational waves from inflation, number of relativistic species), many others require looking beyond the primary anisotropies: what is dark energy, this mysterious component responsible for the accelerated expansion of the universe? What is the nature of the dark matter, five times more abundant than ordinary matter? What are the masses of the neutrinos? The clustering pattern in the spatial distribution of galaxies across the universe, the so-called large-scale structure (LSS), contains the key to these fundamental physics questions, as well as many tightly related astrophysical questions: what are the key processes in galaxy formation? How did the universe transition from neutral to ionized, one billion years after the big bang? However, several hurdles hinder extracting this information: non-linear evolution under gravity is complex to model and turns independent Gaussian initial conditions into coupled non-Gaussian modes; uncertain astrophysical effects obscure the connection between visible and dark matter, and alter the matter power spectrum on small-scales; LSS observables are often complex and systematics-limited. In this thesis, I tackle these issues and explore various ways of using the CMB as a backlight for the LSS, to illuminate aspects of its uncertain physics and systematics. In the coming years, ever more sensitive CMB experiments (AdvACT, SPT-3G, Simons Observatory, CMB Stage 4) will overlap with imaging surveys (DES, HSC, LSST, Euclid, WFIRST) and spectroscopic surveys (DESI, PFS), thus greatly magnifying the power of the methods I developed, and helping to answer some of the most pressing astrophysics and fundamental physics questions.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, K.; Itow, Y.; Rott, C., E-mail: koun@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp, E-mail: rott@skku.edu, E-mail: itow@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Dark matter could be captured in the Sun and self-annihilate, giving rise to an observable neutrino flux. Indirect searches for dark matter looking for this signal with neutrino telescopes have resulted in tight constraints on the interaction cross-section of dark matter with ordinary matter. We investigate how robust limits are against astro-physical uncertainties. We study the effect of the velocity distribution of dark matter in our Galaxy on capture rates in the Sun. We investigate four sources of uncertainties: orbital speed of the Sun, escape velocity of dark matter from the halo, dark matter velocity distribution functions and existence ofmore » a dark disc. We find that even extreme cases currently discussed do not decrease the sensitivity of indirect detection significantly because the capture is achieved over a broad range of the velocity distribution by integration over the velocity distribution. The effect of the uncertainty in the high-velocity tail of dark matter halo is very marginal as the capture process is rather inefficient at this region. The difference in capture rate in the Sun for various scenarios is compared to the expected change in event rates for direct detection. The possibility of co-rotating structure with the Sun can largely boost the signal and hence makes the interpretation of indirect detection conservative compared to direct detection.« less

Dark-matter particles without weak-scale masses or weak interactions.

PubMed

Feng, Jonathan L; Kumar, Jason

2008-12-05

We propose that dark matter is composed of particles that naturally have the correct thermal relic density, but have neither weak-scale masses nor weak interactions. These models emerge naturally from gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, where they elegantly solve the dark-matter problem. The framework accommodates single or multiple component dark matter, dark-matter masses from 10 MeV to 10 TeV, and interaction strengths from gravitational to strong. These candidates enhance many direct and indirect signals relative to weakly interacting massive particles and have qualitatively new implications for dark-matter searches and cosmological implications for colliders.

Unveiling Galaxy Bias via the Halo Model, KiDS and GAMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvornik, Andrej; Hoekstra, Henk; Kuijken, Konrad; Schneider, Peter; Amon, Alexandra; Nakajima, Reiko; Viola, Massimo; Choi, Ami; Erben, Thomas; Farrow, Daniel J.; Heymans, Catherine; Hildebrandt, Hendrik; Sifón, Cristóbal; Wang, Lingyu

2018-06-01

We measure the projected galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing signals using the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey and Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS) to study galaxy bias. We use the concept of non-linear and stochastic galaxy biasing in the framework of halo occupation statistics to constrain the parameters of the halo occupation statistics and to unveil the origin of galaxy biasing. The bias function Γgm(rp), where rp is the projected comoving separation, is evaluated using the analytical halo model from which the scale dependence of Γgm(rp), and the origin of the non-linearity and stochasticity in halo occupation models can be inferred. Our observations unveil the physical reason for the non-linearity and stochasticity, further explored using hydrodynamical simulations, with the stochasticity mostly originating from the non-Poissonian behaviour of satellite galaxies in the dark matter haloes and their spatial distribution, which does not follow the spatial distribution of dark matter in the halo. The observed non-linearity is mostly due to the presence of the central galaxies, as was noted from previous theoretical work on the same topic. We also see that overall, more massive galaxies reveal a stronger scale dependence, and out to a larger radius. Our results show that a wealth of information about galaxy bias is hidden in halo occupation models. These models should therefore be used to determine the influence of galaxy bias in cosmological studies.

Colder freeze-in axinos decaying into photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Kyu Jung; Kamada, Ayuki; Liew, Seng Pei; Yanagi, Keisuke

2018-03-01

We point out that 7 keV axino dark matter (DM) in the R-parity violating (RPV) supersymmetric (SUSY) Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnitsky axion model can simultaneously reproduce the 3.5 keV x-ray line excess and evade stringent constraints from the Ly -α forest data. Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking naturally generates both the TeV-scale μ term and the MeV-scale RPV term. The RPV term introduces a tiny axino-neutrino mixing and provides axino DM as a variant of the sterile neutrino DM explaining the 3.5 keV x-ray line excess. Axinos are produced by freeze-in processes via the μ term. The resultant phase space distribution tends to be colder than the Fermi-Dirac distribution. The inherent entropy production from late-time saxion decay makes axinos even colder than those without saxion decay. The resultant axino DM takes the correct relic density and is compatible even with the latest and strongest constraint from the Ly-α forest data.

Evolution of semilocal string networks. II. Velocity estimators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez-Eiguren, A.; Urrestilla, J.; Achúcarro, A.; Avgoustidis, A.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

2017-07-01

We continue a comprehensive numerical study of semilocal string networks and their cosmological evolution. These can be thought of as hybrid networks comprised of (nontopological) string segments, whose core structure is similar to that of Abelian Higgs vortices, and whose ends have long-range interactions and behavior similar to that of global monopoles. Our study provides further evidence of a linear scaling regime, already reported in previous studies, for the typical length scale and velocity of the network. We introduce a new algorithm to identify the position of the segment cores. This allows us to determine the length and velocity of each individual segment and follow their evolution in time. We study the statistical distribution of segment lengths and velocities for radiation- and matter-dominated evolution in the regime where the strings are stable. Our segment detection algorithm gives higher length values than previous studies based on indirect detection methods. The statistical distribution shows no evidence of (anti)correlation between the speed and the length of the segments.

Convection-enhanced delivery of M13 bacteriophage to the brain

PubMed Central

Ksendzovsky, Alexander; Walbridge, Stuart; Saunders, Richard C.; Asthagiri, Ashok R.; Heiss, John D.; Lonser, Russell R.

2013-01-01

Object Recent studies indicate that M13 bacteriophage, a very large nanoparticle, binds to β-amyloid and α-synuclein proteins, leading to plaque disaggregation in models of Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. To determine the feasibility, safety, and characteristics of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of M13 bacteriophage to the brain, the authors perfused primate brains with bacteriophage. Methods Four nonhuman primates underwent CED of M13 bacteriophage (900 nm) to thalamic gray matter (4 infusions) and frontal white matter (3 infusions). Bacteriophage was coinfused with Gd-DTPA (1 mM), and serial MRI studies were performed during infusion. Animals were monitored for neurological deficits and were killed 3 days after infusion. Tissues were analyzed for bacteriophage distribution. Results Real-time T1-weighted MRI studies of coinfused Gd-DTPA during infusion demonstrated a discrete region of perfusion in both thalamic gray and frontal white matter. An MRI-volumetric analysis revealed that the mean volume of distribution (Vd) to volume of infusion (Vi) ratio of M13 bacteriophage was 2.3 ± 0.2 in gray matter and 1.9 ± 0.3 in white matter. The mean values are expressed ± SD. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated mean Vd:Vi ratios of 2.9 ± 0.2 in gray matter and 2.1 ± 0.3 in white matter. The Gd-DTPA accurately tracked M13 bacteriophage distribution (the mean difference between imaging and actual bacteriophage Vd was insignificant [p > 0.05], and was −2.2% ± 9.9% in thalamic gray matter and 9.1% ± 9.5% in frontal white matter). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed evidence of additional spread from the initial delivery site in white matter (mean Vd:Vi, 16.1 ± 9.1). All animals remained neurologically intact after infusion during the observation period, and histological studies revealed no evidence of toxicity. Conclusions The CED method can be used successfully and safely to distribute M13 bacteriophage in the brain. Furthermore, additional white matter spread after infusion cessation enhances distribution of this large nanoparticle. Real-time MRI studies of coinfused Gd-DTPA (1 mM) can be used for accurate tracking of distribution during infusion of M13 bacteriophage. PMID:22606981

Convection-enhanced delivery of M13 bacteriophage to the brain.

PubMed

Ksendzovsky, Alexander; Walbridge, Stuart; Saunders, Richard C; Asthagiri, Ashok R; Heiss, John D; Lonser, Russell R

2012-08-01

Recent studies indicate that M13 bacteriophage, a very large nanoparticle, binds to β-amyloid and α-synuclein proteins, leading to plaque disaggregation in models of Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. To determine the feasibility, safety, and characteristics of convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of M13 bacteriophage to the brain, the authors perfused primate brains with bacteriophage. Four nonhuman primates underwent CED of M13 bacteriophage (900 nm) to thalamic gray matter (4 infusions) and frontal white matter (3 infusions). Bacteriophage was coinfused with Gd-DTPA (1 mM), and serial MRI studies were performed during infusion. Animals were monitored for neurological deficits and were killed 3 days after infusion. Tissues were analyzed for bacteriophage distribution. Real-time T1-weighted MRI studies of coinfused Gd-DTPA during infusion demonstrated a discrete region of perfusion in both thalamic gray and frontal white matter. An MRI-volumetric analysis revealed that the mean volume of distribution (Vd) to volume of infusion (Vi) ratio of M13 bacteriophage was 2.3 ± 0.2 in gray matter and 1.9 ± 0.3 in white matter. The mean values are expressed ± SD. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated mean Vd:Vi ratios of 2.9 ± 0.2 in gray matter and 2.1 ± 0.3 in white matter. The Gd-DTPA accurately tracked M13 bacteriophage distribution (the mean difference between imaging and actual bacteriophage Vd was insignificant [p > 0.05], and was -2.2% ± 9.9% in thalamic gray matter and 9.1% ± 9.5% in frontal white matter). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed evidence of additional spread from the initial delivery site in white matter (mean Vd:Vi, 16.1 ± 9.1). All animals remained neurologically intact after infusion during the observation period, and histological studies revealed no evidence of toxicity. The CED method can be used successfully and safely to distribute M13 bacteriophage in the brain. Furthermore, additional white matter spread after infusion cessation enhances distribution of this large nanoparticle. Real-time MRI studies of coinfused Gd-DTPA (1 mM) can be used for accurate tracking of distribution during infusion of M13 bacteriophage.

Bringing isolated dark matter out of isolation: Late-time reheating and indirect detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erickcek, Adrienne L.; Sinha, Kuver; Watson, Scott

2016-09-01

In standard cosmology, the growth of structure becomes significant following matter-radiation equality. In nonthermal histories, where an effectively matter-dominated phase occurs due to scalar oscillations prior to big bang nucleosynthesis, a new scale at smaller wavelengths appears in the matter power spectrum. Density perturbations that enter the horizon during the early matter-dominated era (EMDE) grow linearly with the scale factor prior to the onset of radiation domination, which leads to enhanced inhomogeneity on small scales if dark matter (DM) thermally and kinetically decouples during the EMDE. The microhalos that form from these enhanced perturbations significantly boost the self-annihilation rate for dark matter. This has important implications for indirect detection experiments: the larger annihilation rate may result in observable signals from dark matter candidates that are usually deemed untestable. As a proof of principle, we consider binos in heavy supersymmetry with an intermediate extended Higgs sector and all other superpartners decoupled. We find that these isolated binos, which lie under the neutrino floor, can account for the dark matter relic density and decouple from the standard model early enough to preserve the enhanced small-scale inhomogeneity generated during the EMDE. If early forming microhalos survive as subhalos within larger microhalos, the resulting boost to the annihilation rate for bino dark matter near the pseudoscalar resonance exceeds the upper limit established by Fermi-LAT's observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies. These DM candidates motivate the N -body simulations required to eliminate uncertainties in the microhalos' internal structure by exemplifying how an EMDE can enable Fermi-LAT to probe isolated dark matter.

A dark matter scaling relation from mirror dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foot, R.

2014-12-01

Mirror dark matter, and other similar dissipative dark matter candidates, need an energy source to stabilize dark matter halos around spiral galaxies. It has been suggested previously that ordinary supernovae can potentially supply the required energy. By matching the energy supplied to the halo from supernovae to that lost due to radiative cooling, we here derive a rough scaling relation, RSN ∝ρ0r02 (RSN is the supernova rate and ρ0 ,r0 the dark matter central density and core radius). Such a relation is consistent with dark matter properties inferred from studies of spiral galaxies with halo masses larger than 3 ×1011M⊙. We speculate that other observed galaxy regularities might be explained within the framework of such dissipative dark matter.

The search for dark matter in xenon: Innovative calibration strategies and novel search channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichard, Shayne Edward

The direct detection dark matter experiment XENON1T became operational in early 2016, heralding the era of tonne-scale dark matter detectors. Direct detection experiments typically search for elastic scatters of dark matter particles off target nuclei. XENON1T's larger xenon target provides the advantage of stronger dark matter signals and lower background rates compared to its predecessors, XENON10 and XENON100; but, at the same time, calibration of the detector's response to backgrounds with traditional external sources becomes exceedingly more difficult. A 220Rn source is deployed on the XENON100 dark matter detector in order to address the challenges in calibration of tonne-scale liquid noble element detectors. I show that the subsequent 212Pb beta emission can be used for low-energy electronic recoil calibration in searches for dark matter. The isotope spreads throughout the entire active region of the detector, and its activity naturally decays below background level within a week after the source is closed. I find no increase in the activity of the troublesome 222Rn background after calibration. Alpha emitters are also distributed throughout the detector and facilitate calibration of its response to 222Rn. Using the delayed coincidence of 220Rn/216Po, I map for the first time the convective motion of particles in the XENON100 detector. Additionally, I make a competitive measurement of the half-life of 212Po, t1/2=293.9+/-(1.0)stat+/-(0.6)ns. In contrast to the elastic scattering of dark matter particles off nuclei, I explore inelastic scattering where the nucleus is excited to a low-lying state of 10-100 keV, with a subsequent prompt de-excitation. I use the inelastic structure factors for the odd-mass xenon isotopes based on state-of-the-art large-scale shell-model calculations with chiral effective field theory WIMP-nucleon currents, finding that the inelastic channel is comparable to or can dominate the elastic channel for momentum transfers around 150 MeV. I calculate the inelastic recoil spectra in the standard halo model, compare these to the elastic case, and discuss the expected signatures in a xenon detector, along with implications for existing and future experiments. The combined information from elastic and inelastic scattering will allow for the determination of the dominant interaction channel within one experiment. In addition, the two channels probe different regions of the dark matter velocity distribution and can provide insight into the dark halo structure. The allowed recoil energy domain and the recoil energy at which the integrated inelastic rates start to dominate the elastic channel depend on the mass of the dark matter particle, thus providing a potential handle to constrain its mass. Similarly, now that liquid xenon detectors have reached the tonne scale, they have sensitivity to all flavors of supernova neutrinos via coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. I consider for the first time a realistic detector model to simulate the expected supernova neutrino signal for different progenitor masses and nuclear equations of state in existing and upcoming dual-phase liquid xenon experiments. I show that the proportional scintillation signal (S2) of a dual-phase detector allows for a clear observation of the neutrino signal and guarantees a particularly low energy threshold, while the backgrounds are rendered negligible during the supernova burst. XENON1T (XENONnT and LZ; DARWIN) experiments will be sensitive to a supernova burst up to 25 (35; 65) kpc from Earth at a significance of more than 5 sigma, observing approximately 35 (123; 704) events from a 27 Solar mass supernova progenitor at 10 kpc. Moreover, it will be possible to measure the average neutrino energy of all flavors, to constrain the total explosion energy, and to reconstruct the supernova neutrino light curve. My results suggest that a large xenon detector such as DARWIN will be competitive with dedicated neutrino telescopes, while providing complementary information that is not otherwise accessible.

Simulating smoke transport from wildland fires with a regional-scale air quality model: sensitivity to spatiotemporal allocation of fire emissions.

PubMed

Garcia-Menendez, Fernando; Hu, Yongtao; Odman, Mehmet T

2014-09-15

Air quality forecasts generated with chemical transport models can provide valuable information about the potential impacts of fires on pollutant levels. However, significant uncertainties are associated with fire-related emission estimates as well as their distribution on gridded modeling domains. In this study, we explore the sensitivity of fine particulate matter concentrations predicted by a regional-scale air quality model to the spatial and temporal allocation of fire emissions. The assessment was completed by simulating a fire-related smoke episode in which air quality throughout the Atlanta metropolitan area was affected on February 28, 2007. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to evaluate the significance of emission distribution among the model's vertical layers, along the horizontal plane, and into hourly inputs. Predicted PM2.5 concentrations were highly sensitive to emission injection altitude relative to planetary boundary layer height. Simulations were also responsive to the horizontal allocation of fire emissions and their distribution into single or multiple grid cells. Additionally, modeled concentrations were greatly sensitive to the temporal distribution of fire-related emissions. The analyses demonstrate that, in addition to adequate estimates of emitted mass, successfully modeling the impacts of fires on air quality depends on an accurate spatiotemporal allocation of emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Revealing modified gravity signals in matter and halo hierarchical clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hellwing, Wojciech A.; Koyama, Kazuya; Bose, Benjamin; Zhao, Gong-Bo

2017-07-01

We use a set of N-body simulations employing a modified gravity (MG) model with Vainshtein screening to study matter and halo hierarchical clustering. As test-case scenarios we consider two normal branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) gravity models with mild and strong growth rate enhancement. We study higher-order correlation functions ξn(R ) up to n =9 and associated reduced cumulants Sn(R )≡ξn(R )/σ (R )2n -2. We find that the matter probability distribution functions are strongly affected by the fifth force on scales up to 50 h-1 Mpc , and the deviations from general relativity (GR) are maximized at z =0 . For reduced cumulants Sn, we find that at small scales R ≤6 h-1 Mpc the MG is characterized by lower values, with the deviation growing from 7% in the reduced skewness up to even 40% in S5. To study the halo clustering we use a simple abundance matching and divide haloes into thee fixed number density samples. The halo two-point functions are weakly affected, with a relative boost of the order of a few percent appearing only at the smallest pair separations (r ≤5 h-1 Mpc ). In contrast, we find a strong MG signal in Sn(R )'s, which are enhanced compared to GR. The strong model exhibits a >3 σ level signal at various scales for all halo samples and in all cumulants. In this context, we find that the reduced kurtosis to be an especially promising cosmological probe of MG. Even the mild nDGP model leaves a 3 σ imprint at small scales R ≤3 h-1 Mpc , while the stronger model deviates from a GR signature at nearly all scales with a significance of >5 σ . Since the signal is persistent in all halo samples and over a range of scales, we advocate that the reduced kurtosis estimated from galaxy catalogs can potentially constitute a strong MG-model discriminatory as well as GR self-consistency test.

Voyager Saturnian ring measurements and the early history of the solar system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfven, H.; Axnaes, I.; Brenning, N.; Lindquist, P. A.

1985-01-01

The mass distribution in the Saturnian ring system is investigated and compared with predictions from plasma cosmogony. According to this theory, the matter in the rings was once a magnetized plasma, in which gravitation is balanced by the centrifugal and electromagnetic forces. As the plasma is neutralized, the electromagnetic forces disappear and the matter falls in to 2/3 of the original saturnocentric distance. This causes the cosmogonic shadow effect, demonstrated for the large scale structure of the Saturnian ring system. It is shown that many structures of the present ring system can be understood as shadows and antishadows of cosmogonic origin. These appear in the form of double rings centered around a position a factor 0.64 (slightly 2/3) closer to Saturn than the causing feature. Voyager data agree with an accuracy 1%.

Gravity and count probabilities in an expanding universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bouchet, Francois R.; Hernquist, Lars

1992-01-01

The time evolution of nonlinear clustering on large scales in cold dark matter, hot dark matter, and white noise models of the universe is investigated using N-body simulations performed with a tree code. Count probabilities in cubic cells are determined as functions of the cell size and the clustering state (redshift), and comparisons are made with various theoretical models. We isolate the features that appear to be the result of gravitational instability, those that depend on the initial conditions, and those that are likely a consequence of numerical limitations. More specifically, we study the development of skewness, kurtosis, and the fifth moment in relation to variance, the dependence of the void probability on time as well as on sparseness of sampling, and the overall shape of the count probability distribution. Implications of our results for theoretical and observational studies are discussed.

Structure analysis and size distribution of particulate matter from candles and kerosene combustion in burning chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baitimirova, M.; Osite, A.; Katkevics, J.; Viksna, A.

2012-08-01

Burning of candles generates particulate matter of fine dimensions that produces poor indoor air quality, so it may cause harmful impact on human health. In this study solid aerosol particles of burning of candles of different composition and kerosene combustion were collected in a closed laboratory system. Present work describes particulate matter collection for structure analysis and the relationship between source and size distribution of particulate matter. The formation mechanism of particulate matter and their tendency to agglomerate also are described. Particles obtained from kerosene combustion have normal size distribution. Whereas, particles generated from the burning of stearin candles have distribution shifted towards finer particle size range. If an additive of stearin to paraffin candle is used, particle size distribution is also observed in range of towards finer particles. A tendency to form agglomerates in a short time is observed in case of particles obtained from kerosene combustion, while in case of particles obtained from burning of candles of different composition such a tendency is not observed. Particles from candles and kerosene combustion are Aitken and accumulation mode particles

Necessity of dark matter in modified Newtonian dynamics within galactic scales.

PubMed

Ferreras, Ignacio; Sakellariadou, Mairi; Yusaf, Muhammad Furqaan

2008-01-25

To test modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) on galactic scales, we study six strong gravitational lensing early-type galaxies from the CASTLES sample. Comparing the total mass (from lensing) with the stellar mass content (from a comparison of photometry and stellar population synthesis), we conclude that strong gravitational lensing on galactic scales requires a significant amount of dark matter, even within MOND. On such scales a 2 eV neutrino cannot explain the excess of matter in contrast with recent claims to explain the lensing data of the bullet cluster. The presence of dark matter is detected in regions with a higher acceleration than the characteristic MOND scale of approximately 10(-10) m/s(2). This is a serious challenge to MOND unless lensing is qualitatively different [possibly to be developed within a covariant, such as Tensor-Vector-Scalar (TeVeS), theory].

Make dark matter charged again

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrawal, Prateek; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Randall, Lisa; Scholtz, Jakub

2017-05-01

We revisit constraints on dark matter that is charged under a U(1) gauge group in the dark sector, decoupled from Standard Model forces. We find that the strongest constraints in the literature are subject to a number of mitigating factors. For instance, the naive dark matter thermalization timescale in halos is corrected by saturation effects that slow down isotropization for modest ellipticities. The weakened bounds uncover interesting parameter space, making models with weak-scale charged dark matter viable, even with electromagnetic strength interaction. This also leads to the intriguing possibility that dark matter self-interactions within small dwarf galaxies are extremely large, a relatively unexplored regime in current simulations. Such strong interactions suppress heat transfer over scales larger than the dark matter mean free path, inducing a dynamical cutoff length scale above which the system appears to have only feeble interactions. These effects must be taken into account to assess the viability of darkly-charged dark matter. Future analyses and measurements should probe a promising region of parameter space for this model.

Gravitational lensing by a smoothly variable three-dimensional mass distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Man Hoi; Paczynski, Bohdan

1990-01-01

A smooth three-dimensional mass distribution is approximated by a model with multiple thin screens, with surface mass density varying smoothly on each screen. It is found that 16 screens are sufficient for a good approximation of the three-dimensional distribution of matter. It is also found that in this multiscreen model the distribution of amplifications of single images is dominated by the convergence due to matter within the beam. The shear caused by matter outside the beam has no significant effect. This finding considerably simplifies the modeling of lensing by a smooth three-dimensional mass distribution by effectively reducing the problem to one dimension, as it is sufficient to know the mass distribution along a straight light ray.

The impact of baryons on the direct detection of dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kelso, Chris; Savage, Christopher; Freese, Katherine

2016-08-01

The spatial and velocity distributions of dark matter particles in the Milky Way Halo affect the signals expected to be observed in searches for dark matter. Results from direct detection experiments are often analyzed assuming a simple isothermal distribution of dark matter, the Standard Halo Model (SHM). Yet there has been skepticism regarding the validity of this simple model due to the complicated gravitational collapse and merger history of actual galaxies. In this paper we compare the SHM to the results of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation to investigate whether or not the SHM is a good representation ofmore » the true WIMP distribution in the analysis of direct detection data. We examine two Milky Way-like galaxies from the MaGICC cosmological simulations (a) with dark matter only and (b) with baryonic physics included. The inclusion of baryons drives the shape of the DM halo to become more spherical and makes the velocity distribution of dark matter particles less anisotropic especially at large heliocentric velocities, thereby making the SHM a better fit. We also note that we do not find a significant disk-like rotating dark matter component in either of the two galaxy halos with baryons that we examine, suggesting that dark disks are not a generic prediction of cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We conclude that in the Solar neighborhood, the SHM is in fact a good approximation to the true dark matter distribution in these cosmological simulations (with baryons) which are reasonable representations of the Milky Way, and hence can also be used for the purpose of dark matter direct detection calculations.« less

Microscale soil structure development after glacial retreat - using machine-learning based segmentation of elemental distributions obtained by NanoSIMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweizer, Steffen; Schlueter, Steffen; Hoeschen, Carmen; Koegel-Knabner, Ingrid; Mueller, Carsten W.

2017-04-01

Soil organic matter (SOM) is distributed on mineral surfaces depending on physicochemical soil properties that vary at the submicron scale. Nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) can be used to visualize the spatial distribution of up to seven elements simultaneously at a lateral resolution of approximately 100 nm from which patterns of SOM coatings can be derived. Existing computational methods are mostly confined to visualization and lack spatial quantification measures of coverage and connectivity of organic matter coatings. This study proposes a methodology for the spatial analysis of SOM coatings based on supervised pixel classification and automatic image analysis of the 12C, 12C14N (indicative for SOM) and 16O (indicative for mineral surfaces) secondary ion distributions. The image segmentation of the secondary ion distributions into mineral particle surface and organic coating was done with a machine learning algorithm, which accounts for multiple features like size, color, intensity, edge and texture in all three ion distributions simultaneously. Our workflow allowed the spatial analysis of differences in the SOM coverage during soil development in the Damma glacier forefield (Switzerland) based on NanoSIMS measurements (n=121; containing ca. 4000 particles). The Damma chronosequence comprises several stages of soil development with increasing ice-free period (from ca. 15 to >700 years). To investigate mineral-associated SOM in the developing soil we obtained clay fractions (<2 μm) from two density fractions: light mineral (1.6 to 2.2 g cm3) and heavy mineral (>2.2 g cm3). We found increased coverage and a simultaneous development from patchy-distributed organic coatings to more connected coatings with increasing time after glacial retreat. The normalized N:C ratio (12C14N: (12C14N + 12C)) on the organic matter coatings was higher in the medium-aged soils than in the young and mature ones in both heavy and light mineral fraction. This reflects the sequential accumulation of proteinaceous SOM in the medium-aged soils and C-rich compounds in the mature soils. The results of our microscale image analysis correlated well with the SOM concentration of the fractions measured by elemental analyzer. Image analysis in combination with secondary ion distributions provides a powerful tool at the required microscale and enhances our mechanistic understanding of SOM stabilization in soil.

Biodiversity redistribution under climate change: Impacts on ecosystems and human well-being.

PubMed

Pecl, Gretta T; Araújo, Miguel B; Bell, Johann D; Blanchard, Julia; Bonebrake, Timothy C; Chen, I-Ching; Clark, Timothy D; Colwell, Robert K; Danielsen, Finn; Evengård, Birgitta; Falconi, Lorena; Ferrier, Simon; Frusher, Stewart; Garcia, Raquel A; Griffis, Roger B; Hobday, Alistair J; Janion-Scheepers, Charlene; Jarzyna, Marta A; Jennings, Sarah; Lenoir, Jonathan; Linnetved, Hlif I; Martin, Victoria Y; McCormack, Phillipa C; McDonald, Jan; Mitchell, Nicola J; Mustonen, Tero; Pandolfi, John M; Pettorelli, Nathalie; Popova, Ekaterina; Robinson, Sharon A; Scheffers, Brett R; Shaw, Justine D; Sorte, Cascade J B; Strugnell, Jan M; Sunday, Jennifer M; Tuanmu, Mao-Ning; Vergés, Adriana; Villanueva, Cecilia; Wernberg, Thomas; Wapstra, Erik; Williams, Stephen E

2017-03-31

Distributions of Earth's species are changing at accelerating rates, increasingly driven by human-mediated climate change. Such changes are already altering the composition of ecological communities, but beyond conservation of natural systems, how and why does this matter? We review evidence that climate-driven species redistribution at regional to global scales affects ecosystem functioning, human well-being, and the dynamics of climate change itself. Production of natural resources required for food security, patterns of disease transmission, and processes of carbon sequestration are all altered by changes in species distribution. Consideration of these effects of biodiversity redistribution is critical yet lacking in most mitigation and adaptation strategies, including the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Best Phd thesis Prize: Statistical analysis of ALFALFA galaxies: insights in galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papastergis, E.

2013-09-01

We use the rich dataset of local universe galaxies detected by the ALFALFA 21cm survey to study the statistical properties of gas-bearing galaxies. In particular, we measure the number density of galaxies as a function of their baryonic mass ("baryonic mass function") and rotational velocity ("velocity width function"), and we characterize their clustering properties ("two-point correlation function"). These statistical distributions are determined by both the properties of dark matter on small scales, as well as by the complex baryonic processes through which galaxies form over cosmic time. We interpret the ALFALFA measurements with the aid of publicly available cosmological N-body simulations and we present some key results related to galaxy formation and small-scale cosmology.

High-resolution simulation of deep pencil beam surveys - analysis of quasi-periodicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weiss, A. G.; Buchert, T.

1993-07-01

We carry out pencil beam constructions in a high-resolution simulation of the large-scale structure of galaxies. The initial density fluctuations are taken to have a truncated power spectrum. All the models have {OMEGA} = 1. As an example we present the results for the case of "Hot-Dark-Matter" (HDM) initial conditions with scale-free n = 1 power index on large scales as a representative of models with sufficient large-scale power. We use an analytic approximation for particle trajectories of a self-gravitating dust continuum and apply a local dynamical biasing of volume elements to identify luminous matter in the model. Using this method, we are able to resolve formally a simulation box of 1200h^-1^ Mpc (e.g. for HDM initial conditions) down to the scale of galactic halos using 2160^3^ particles. We consider this as the minimal resolution necessary for a sensible simulation of deep pencil beam data. Pencil beam probes are taken for a given epoch using the parameters of observed beams. In particular, our analysis concentrates on the detection of a quasi-periodicity in the beam probes using several different methods. The resulting beam ensembles are analyzed statistically using number distributions, pair-count histograms, unnormalized pair-counts, power spectrum analysis and trial-period folding. Periodicities are classified according to their significance level in the power spectrum of the beams. The simulation is designed for application to parameter studies which prepare future observational projects. We find that a large percentage of the beams show quasi- periodicities with periods which cluster at a certain length scale. The periods found range between one and eight times the cutoff length in the initial fluctuation spectrum. At significance levels similar to those of the data of Broadhurst et al. (1990), we find about 15% of the pencil beams to show periodicities, about 30% of which are around the mean separation of rich clusters, while the distribution of scales reaches values of more than 200h^-1^ Mpc. The detection of periodicities larger than the typical void size must not be due to missing of "walls" (like the so called "Great Wall" seen in the CfA catalogue of galaxies), but can be due to different clustering properties of galaxies along the beams.

Large-scale clustering as a probe of the origin and the host environment of fast radio bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirasaki, Masato; Kashiyama, Kazumi; Yoshida, Naoki

2017-04-01

We propose to use degree-scale angular clustering of fast radio bursts (FRBs) to identify their origin and the host galaxy population. We study the information content in autocorrelation of the angular positions and dispersion measures (DM) and in cross-correlation with galaxies. We show that the cross-correlation with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies will place stringent constraints on the mean physical quantities associated with FRBs. If ˜10 ,000 FRBs are detected with ≲deg resolution in the SDSS field, the clustering analysis with the intrinsic DM scatter of 100 pc /cm3 can constrain the global abundance of free electrons at z ≲1 and the large-scale bias of FRB host galaxies (the statistical relation between the distribution of host galaxies and cosmic matter density field) with fractional errors (with a 68% confidence level) of ˜10 % and ˜20 %, respectively. The mean near-source dispersion measure and the delay-time distribution of FRB rates relative to the global star forming rate can be also determined by combining the clustering and the probability distribution function of DM. Our approach will be complementary to high-resolution (≪deg ) event localization using e.g., VLA and VLBI for identifying the origin of FRBs and the source environment. We strongly encourage future observational programs such as CHIME, UTMOST, and HIRAX to survey FRBs in the SDSS field.

Radiative PQ breaking and the Higgs boson mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Eramo, Francesco; Hall, Lawrence J.; Pappadopulo, Duccio

2015-06-01

The small and negative value of the Standard Model Higgs quartic coupling at high scales can be understood in terms of anthropic selection on a landscape where large and negative values are favored: most universes have a very short-lived electroweak vacuum and typical observers are in universes close to the corresponding metastability boundary. We provide a simple example of such a landscape with a Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaking scale generated through dimensional transmutation and supersymmetry softly broken at an intermediate scale. Large and negative contributions to the Higgs quartic are typically generated on integrating out the saxion field. Cancellations among these contributions are forced by the anthropic requirement of a sufficiently long-lived electroweak vacuum, determining the multiverse distribution for the Higgs quartic in a similar way to that of the cosmological constant. This leads to a statistical prediction of the Higgs boson mass that, for a wide range of parameters, yields the observed value within the 1σ statistical uncertainty of ˜ 5 GeV originating from the multiverse distribution. The strong CP problem is solved and single-component axion dark matter is predicted, with an abundance that can be understood from environmental selection. A more general setting for the Higgs mass prediction is discussed.

DO NOT FORGET THE FOREST FOR THE TREES: THE STELLAR-MASS HALO-MASS RELATION IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tonnesen, Stephanie; Cen, Renyue, E-mail: stonnes@gmail.com, E-mail: cen@astro.princeton.edu

2015-10-20

The connection between dark matter halos and galactic baryons is often not well constrained nor well resolved in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Thus, halo occupation distribution models that assign galaxies to halos based on halo mass are frequently used to interpret clustering observations, even though it is well known that the assembly history of dark matter halos is related to their clustering. In this paper we use high-resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulations to compare the halo and stellar mass growth of galaxies in a large-scale overdensity to those in a large-scale underdensity (on scales of about 20 Mpc). The simulation reproduces assemblymore » bias, in which halos have earlier formation times in overdense environments than in underdense regions. We find that the ratio of stellar mass to halo mass is larger in overdense regions in central galaxies residing in halos with masses between 10{sup 11} and 10{sup 12.9} M{sub ⊙}. When we force the local density (within 2 Mpc) at z = 0 to be the same for galaxies in the large-scale over- and underdensities, we find the same results. We posit that this difference can be explained by a combination of earlier formation times, more interactions at early times with neighbors, and more filaments feeding galaxies in overdense regions. This result puts the standard practice of assigning stellar mass to halos based only on their mass, rather than considering their larger environment, into question.« less

Multi-Scale Observation and Modelling of Energy and Matter Exchange in the Atmospheric Boundary-Layer (ScaleX Campaigns)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeeman, M. J.; Wolz, K.; Adler, B.; Brenner, C.; De Roo, F.; Emeis, S.; Kalthoff, N.; Mauder, M.; Schäfer, K.; Wohlfahrt, G.; Zhao, P.

2016-12-01

We investigated biosphere-atmosphere exchange processes in relation to the atmospheric boundary-layer (ABL) flow in a shallow valley. Land-use heterogeneity and topography can force local atmospheric flow patterns, including local circulations. Such flow patterns can impair current techniques for the quantification and source attribution of surface-exchange fluxes due to flux-divergence, advection and decoupling. Wind field, temperature and humidity structures in the ABL were observed in high resolution with spatially distributed observations in a 1 km3 experimental domain. Remote-sensing observations of wind, temperature and particles in the ABL (Raman-lidar; RASS; ceilometer; microwave radiometer; 3D Doppler-lidar) were combined with a high-resolution network of in-situ observations that included vertical and horizontal profiles of wind, temperature, carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor concentrations. The experiments were co-located with the long-term eddy covariance (EC) observatory Fendt (DE-Fen; ICOS, TERENO) and were part of international cooperative efforts in 2015 and 2016 (the ScaleX campaigns). The gathered experimental data offers a scale-transcending insight in local flow patterns in mountainous terrain and their influence on surface-exchange fluxes of energy and matter as observed by EC and flux-gradient methodology. In addition, the data is used for validation of Large-Eddy Simulations in complex terrain using PALM-LES. Within this modelling framework, virtual measurements are conducted to further assess the importance of three-dimensional advective and horizontal turbulent transport terms.

Constraints on small-scale primordial power by annihilation signals from extragalactic dark matter minihalos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakama, Tomohiro; Suyama, Teruaki; Kohri, Kazunori; Hiroshima, Nagisa

2018-01-01

We revisit constraints on small-scale primordial power from annihilation signals from dark matter minihalos. Using gamma rays and neutrinos from extragalactic minihalos and assuming the delta-function primordial spectrum, we show the dependence of the constraints on annihilation modes, the mass of dark matter, and the annihilation cross section. We report conservative constraints by assuming minihalos are fully destructed when becoming part of halos originating from the standard almost-scale invariant primordial spectrum and optimistic constraints by neglecting destruction.

Lensing corrections to features in the angular two-point correlation function and power spectrum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

LoVerde, Marilena; Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027; Hui, Lam

2008-01-15

It is well known that magnification bias, the modulation of galaxy or quasar source counts by gravitational lensing, can change the observed angular correlation function. We investigate magnification-induced changes to the shape of the observed correlation function w({theta}), and the angular power spectrum C{sub l}, paying special attention to the matter-radiation equality peak and the baryon wiggles. Lensing effectively mixes the correlation function of the source galaxies with that of the matter correlation at the lower redshifts of the lenses distorting the observed correlation function. We quantify how the lensing corrections depend on the width of the selection function, themore » galaxy bias b, and the number count slope s. The lensing correction increases with redshift and larger corrections are present for sources with steep number count slopes and/or broad redshift distributions. The most drastic changes to C{sub l} occur for measurements at high redshifts (z > or approx. 1.5) and low multipole moment (l < or approx. 100). For the source distributions we consider, magnification bias can shift the location of the matter-radiation equality scale by 1%-6% at z{approx}1.5 and by z{approx}3.5 the shift can be as large as 30%. The baryon bump in {theta}{sup 2}w({theta}) is shifted by < or approx. 1% and the width is typically increased by {approx}10%. Shifts of > or approx. 0.5% and broadening > or approx. 20% occur only for very broad selection functions and/or galaxies with (5s-2)/b > or approx. 2. However, near the baryon bump the magnification correction is not constant but is a gently varying function which depends on the source population. Depending on how the w({theta}) data is fitted, this correction may need to be accounted for when using the baryon acoustic scale for precision cosmology.« less

Large-scale clustering measurements with photometric redshifts: comparing the dark matter haloes of X-ray AGN, star-forming and passive galaxies at z ≈ 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgakakis, A.; Mountrichas, G.; Salvato, M.; Rosario, D.; Pérez-González, P. G.; Lutz, D.; Nandra, K.; Coil, A.; Cooper, M. C.; Newman, J. A.; Berta, S.; Magnelli, B.; Popesso, P.; Pozzi, F.

2014-10-01

We combine multi-wavelength data in the AEGIS-XD and C-COSMOS surveys to measure the typical dark matter halo mass of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) [LX(2-10 keV) > 1042 erg s- 1] in comparison with far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies detected in the Herschel/PEP survey (PACS Evolutionary Probe; LIR > 1011 L⊙) and quiescent systems at z ≈ 1. We develop a novel method to measure the clustering of extragalactic populations that uses photometric redshift probability distribution functions in addition to any spectroscopy. This is advantageous in that all sources in the sample are used in the clustering analysis, not just the subset with secure spectroscopy. The method works best for large samples. The loss of accuracy because of the lack of spectroscopy is balanced by increasing the number of sources used to measure the clustering. We find that X-ray AGN, far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies and passive systems in the redshift interval 0.6 < z < 1.4 are found in haloes of similar mass, log MDMH/(M⊙ h-1) ≈ 13.0. We argue that this is because the galaxies in all three samples (AGN, star-forming, passive) have similar stellar mass distributions, approximated by the J-band luminosity. Therefore, all galaxies that can potentially host X-ray AGN, because they have stellar masses in the appropriate range, live in dark matter haloes of log MDMH/(M⊙ h-1) ≈ 13.0 independent of their star formation rates. This suggests that the stellar mass of X-ray AGN hosts is driving the observed clustering properties of this population. We also speculate that trends between AGN properties (e.g. luminosity, level of obscuration) and large-scale environment may be related to differences in the stellar mass of the host galaxies.

Radial dependence of the dark matter distribution in M33

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López Fune, E.; Salucci, P.; Corbelli, E.

2017-06-01

The stellar and gaseous mass distributions, as well as the extended rotation curve, in the nearby galaxy M33 are used to derive the radial distribution of dark matter density in the halo and to test cosmological models of galaxy formation and evolution. Two methods are examined to constrain the dark mass density profiles. The first method deals directly with fitting the rotation curve data in the range of galactocentric distances 0.24 ≤ r ≤ 22.72 kpc. Using the results of collisionless Λ cold dark matter numerical simulations, we confirm that the Navarro-Frenkel-White (NFW) dark matter profile provides a better fit to the rotation curve data than the cored Burkert profile (BRK) profile. The second method relies on the local equation of centrifugal equilibrium and on the rotation curve slope. In the aforementioned range of distances, we fit the observed velocity profile, using a function that has a rational dependence on the radius, and we derive the slope of the rotation curve. Then, we infer the effective matter densities. In the radial range 9.53 ≤ r ≤ 22.72 kpc, the uncertainties induced by the luminous matter (stars and gas) become negligible, because the dark matter density dominates, and we can determine locally the radial distribution of dark matter. With this second method, we tested the NFW and BRK dark matter profiles and we can confirm that both profiles are compatible with the data, even though in this case the cored BRK density profile provides a more reasonable value for the baryonic-to-dark matter ratio.

Large-scale galaxy bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Donghui; Desjacques, Vincent; Schmidt, Fabian

2018-01-01

Here, we briefly introduce the key results of the recent review (arXiv:1611.09787), whose abstract is as following. This review presents a comprehensive overview of galaxy bias, that is, the statistical relation between the distribution of galaxies and matter. We focus on large scales where cosmic density fields are quasi-linear. On these scales, the clustering of galaxies can be described by a perturbative bias expansion, and the complicated physics of galaxy formation is absorbed by a finite set of coefficients of the expansion, called bias parameters. The review begins with a detailed derivation of this very important result, which forms the basis of the rigorous perturbative description of galaxy clustering, under the assumptions of General Relativity and Gaussian, adiabatic initial conditions. Key components of the bias expansion are all leading local gravitational observables, which include the matter density but also tidal fields and their time derivatives. We hence expand the definition of local bias to encompass all these contributions. This derivation is followed by a presentation of the peak-background split in its general form, which elucidates the physical meaning of the bias parameters, and a detailed description of the connection between bias parameters and galaxy (or halo) statistics. We then review the excursion set formalism and peak theory which provide predictions for the values of the bias parameters. In the remainder of the review, we consider the generalizations of galaxy bias required in the presence of various types of cosmological physics that go beyond pressureless matter with adiabatic, Gaussian initial conditions: primordial non-Gaussianity, massive neutrinos, baryon-CDM isocurvature perturbations, dark energy, and modified gravity. Finally, we discuss how the description of galaxy bias in the galaxies' rest frame is related to clustering statistics measured from the observed angular positions and redshifts in actual galaxy catalogs.

Large-scale galaxy bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desjacques, Vincent; Jeong, Donghui; Schmidt, Fabian

2018-02-01

This review presents a comprehensive overview of galaxy bias, that is, the statistical relation between the distribution of galaxies and matter. We focus on large scales where cosmic density fields are quasi-linear. On these scales, the clustering of galaxies can be described by a perturbative bias expansion, and the complicated physics of galaxy formation is absorbed by a finite set of coefficients of the expansion, called bias parameters. The review begins with a detailed derivation of this very important result, which forms the basis of the rigorous perturbative description of galaxy clustering, under the assumptions of General Relativity and Gaussian, adiabatic initial conditions. Key components of the bias expansion are all leading local gravitational observables, which include the matter density but also tidal fields and their time derivatives. We hence expand the definition of local bias to encompass all these contributions. This derivation is followed by a presentation of the peak-background split in its general form, which elucidates the physical meaning of the bias parameters, and a detailed description of the connection between bias parameters and galaxy statistics. We then review the excursion-set formalism and peak theory which provide predictions for the values of the bias parameters. In the remainder of the review, we consider the generalizations of galaxy bias required in the presence of various types of cosmological physics that go beyond pressureless matter with adiabatic, Gaussian initial conditions: primordial non-Gaussianity, massive neutrinos, baryon-CDM isocurvature perturbations, dark energy, and modified gravity. Finally, we discuss how the description of galaxy bias in the galaxies' rest frame is related to clustering statistics measured from the observed angular positions and redshifts in actual galaxy catalogs.

Exponential Potential versus Dark Matter

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-10-15

scale of the solar system. Galaxy, Dark matter , Galaxy cluster, Gravitation, Quantum gravity...A two parameter exponential potential explains the anomalous kinematics of galaxies and galaxy clusters without need for the myriad ad hoc dark ... matter models currently in vogue. It also explains much about the scales and structures of galaxies and galaxy clusters while being quite negligible on the

Mind the Costs: Rescaling and Multi-Level Environmental Governance in Venice Lagoon

PubMed Central

Fritsch, Oliver

2010-01-01

Competences over environmental matters are distributed across agencies at different scales on a national-to-local continuum. This article adopts a transaction costs economics perspective in order to explore the question whether, in the light of a particular problem, the scale at which a certain competence is attributed can be reconsidered. Specifically, it tests whether a presumption of least-cost operation concerning an agency at a given scale can hold. By doing so, it investigates whether the rescaling of certain tasks, aiming at solving a scale-related problem, is likely to produce an increase in costs for day-to-day agency operations as compared to the status quo. The article explores such a perspective for the case of Venice Lagoon. The negative aspects of the present arrangement concerning fishery management and morphological remediation are directly linked to the scale of the agencies involved. The analysis suggests that scales have been chosen correctly, at least from the point of view of the costs incurred to the agencies involved. Consequently, a rescaling of those agencies does not represent a viable option. PMID:20162274

Mind the Costs: Rescaling and Multi-Level Environmental Governance in Venice Lagoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roggero, Matteo; Fritsch, Oliver

2010-07-01

Competences over environmental matters are distributed across agencies at different scales on a national-to-local continuum. This article adopts a transaction costs economics perspective in order to explore the question whether, in the light of a particular problem, the scale at which a certain competence is attributed can be reconsidered. Specifically, it tests whether a presumption of least-cost operation concerning an agency at a given scale can hold. By doing so, it investigates whether the rescaling of certain tasks, aiming at solving a scale-related problem, is likely to produce an increase in costs for day-to-day agency operations as compared to the status quo. The article explores such a perspective for the case of Venice Lagoon. The negative aspects of the present arrangement concerning fishery management and morphological remediation are directly linked to the scale of the agencies involved. The analysis suggests that scales have been chosen correctly, at least from the point of view of the costs incurred to the agencies involved. Consequently, a rescaling of those agencies does not represent a viable option.

Mind the costs: rescaling and multi-level environmental governance in Venice lagoon.

PubMed

Roggero, Matteo; Fritsch, Oliver

2010-07-01

Competences over environmental matters are distributed across agencies at different scales on a national-to-local continuum. This article adopts a transaction costs economics perspective in order to explore the question whether, in the light of a particular problem, the scale at which a certain competence is attributed can be reconsidered. Specifically, it tests whether a presumption of least-cost operation concerning an agency at a given scale can hold. By doing so, it investigates whether the rescaling of certain tasks, aiming at solving a scale-related problem, is likely to produce an increase in costs for day-to-day agency operations as compared to the status quo. The article explores such a perspective for the case of Venice Lagoon. The negative aspects of the present arrangement concerning fishery management and morphological remediation are directly linked to the scale of the agencies involved. The analysis suggests that scales have been chosen correctly, at least from the point of view of the costs incurred to the agencies involved. Consequently, a rescaling of those agencies does not represent a viable option.

Alternative to particle dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoury, Justin

2015-01-01

We propose an alternative to particle dark matter that borrows ingredients of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) while adding new key components. The first new feature is a dark matter fluid, in the form of a scalar field with small equation of state and sound speed. This component is critical in reproducing the success of cold dark matter for the expansion history and the growth of linear perturbations, but does not cluster significantly on nonlinear scales. Instead, the missing mass problem on nonlinear scales is addressed by a modification of the gravitational force law. The force law approximates MOND at large and intermediate accelerations, and therefore reproduces the empirical success of MOND at fitting galactic rotation curves. At ultralow accelerations, the force law reverts to an inverse-square law, albeit with a larger Newton's constant. This latter regime is important in galaxy clusters and is consistent with their observed isothermal profiles, provided the characteristic acceleration scale of MOND is mildly varying with scale or mass, such that it is 12 times higher in clusters than in galaxies. We present an explicit relativistic theory in terms of two scalar fields. The first scalar field is governed by a Dirac-Born-Infeld action and behaves as a dark matter fluid on large scales. The second scalar field also has single-derivative interactions and mediates a fifth force that modifies gravity on nonlinear scales. Both scalars are coupled to matter via an effective metric that depends locally on the fields. The form of this effective metric implies the equality of the two scalar gravitational potentials, which ensures that lensing and dynamical mass estimates agree. Further work is needed in order to make both the acceleration scale of MOND and the fraction at which gravity reverts to an inverse-square law explicitly dynamical quantities, varying with scale or mass.

Dark matter phenomenology of high-speed galaxy cluster collisions

DOE PAGES

Mishchenko, Yuriy; Ji, Chueng-Ryong

2017-07-29

Here, we perform a general computational analysis of possible post-collision mass distributions in high-speed galaxy cluster collisions in the presence of self-interacting dark matter. Using this analysis, we show that astrophysically weakly self-interacting dark matter can impart subtle yet measurable features in the mass distributions of colliding galaxy clusters even without significant disruptions to the dark matter halos of the colliding galaxy clusters themselves. Most profound such evidence is found to reside in the tails of dark matter halos’ distributions, in the space between the colliding galaxy clusters. Such features appear in our simulations as shells of scattered dark mattermore » expanding in alignment with the outgoing original galaxy clusters, contributing significant densities to projected mass distributions at large distances from collision centers and large scattering angles of up to 90°. Our simulations indicate that as much as 20% of the total collision’s mass may be deposited into such structures without noticeable disruptions to the main galaxy clusters. Such structures at large scattering angles are forbidden in purely gravitational high-speed galaxy cluster collisions.Convincing identification of such structures in real colliding galaxy clusters would be a clear indication of the self-interacting nature of dark matter. Our findings may offer an explanation for the ring-like dark matter feature recently identified in the long-range reconstructions of the mass distribution of the colliding galaxy cluster CL0024+017.« less

Dark matter phenomenology of high-speed galaxy cluster collisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mishchenko, Yuriy; Ji, Chueng-Ryong

Here, we perform a general computational analysis of possible post-collision mass distributions in high-speed galaxy cluster collisions in the presence of self-interacting dark matter. Using this analysis, we show that astrophysically weakly self-interacting dark matter can impart subtle yet measurable features in the mass distributions of colliding galaxy clusters even without significant disruptions to the dark matter halos of the colliding galaxy clusters themselves. Most profound such evidence is found to reside in the tails of dark matter halos’ distributions, in the space between the colliding galaxy clusters. Such features appear in our simulations as shells of scattered dark mattermore » expanding in alignment with the outgoing original galaxy clusters, contributing significant densities to projected mass distributions at large distances from collision centers and large scattering angles of up to 90°. Our simulations indicate that as much as 20% of the total collision’s mass may be deposited into such structures without noticeable disruptions to the main galaxy clusters. Such structures at large scattering angles are forbidden in purely gravitational high-speed galaxy cluster collisions.Convincing identification of such structures in real colliding galaxy clusters would be a clear indication of the self-interacting nature of dark matter. Our findings may offer an explanation for the ring-like dark matter feature recently identified in the long-range reconstructions of the mass distribution of the colliding galaxy cluster CL0024+017.« less

Multi-component fermionic dark matter and IceCube PeV scale neutrinos in left-right model with gauge unification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borah, Debasish; Dasgupta, Arnab; Dey, Ujjal Kumar; Patra, Sudhanwa; Tomar, Gaurav

2017-09-01

We consider a simple extension of the minimal left-right symmetric model (LRSM) in order to explain the PeV neutrino events seen at the IceCube experiment from a heavy decaying dark matter. The dark matter sector is composed of two fermions: one at PeV scale and the other at TeV scale such that the heavier one can decay into the lighter one and two neutrinos. The gauge annihilation cross sections of PeV dark matter are not large enough to generate its relic abundance within the observed limit. We include a pair of real scalar triplets Ω L,R which can bring the thermally overproduced PeV dark matter abundance into the observed range through late time decay and consequent entropy release thereby providing a consistent way to obtain the correct relic abundance without violating the unitarity bound on dark matter mass. Another scalar field, a bitriplet under left-right gauge group is added to assist the heavier dark matter decay. The presence of an approximate global U(1) X symmetry can naturally explain the origin of tiny couplings required for long-lived nature of these decaying particles. We also show, how such an extended LRSM can be incorporated within a non-supersymmetric SO(10) model where the gauge coupling unification at a very high scale naturally accommodate a PeV scale intermediate symmetry, required to explain the PeV events at IceCube.

The curved kinetic boundary layer of active matter.

PubMed

Yan, Wen; Brady, John F

2018-01-03

A body submerged in active matter feels the swim pressure through a kinetic accumulation boundary layer on its surface. The boundary layer results from a balance between translational diffusion and advective swimming and occurs on the microscopic length scale . Here , D T is the Brownian translational diffusivity, τ R is the reorientation time and l = U 0 τ R is the swimmer's run length, with U 0 the swim speed [Yan and Brady, J. Fluid. Mech., 2015, 785, R1]. In this work we analyze the swim pressure on arbitrary shaped bodies by including the effect of local shape curvature in the kinetic boundary layer. When δ ≪ L and l ≪ L, where L is the body size, the leading order effects of curvature on the swim pressure are found analytically to scale as J S λδ 2 /L, where J S is twice the (non-dimensional) mean curvature. Particle-tracking simulations and direct solutions to the Smoluchowski equation governing the probability distribution of the active particles show that λδ 2 /L is a universal scaling parameter not limited to the regime δ, l ≪ L. The net force exerted on the body by the swimmers is found to scale as F net /(n ∞ k s T s L 2 ) = f(λδ 2 /L), where f(x) is a dimensionless function that is quadratic when x ≪ 1 and linear when x ∼ 1. Here, k s T s = ζU 0 2 τ R /6 defines the 'activity' of the swimmers, with ζ the drag coefficient, and n ∞ is the uniform number density of swimmers far from the body. We discuss the connection of this boundary layer to continuum mechanical descriptions of active matter and briefly present how to include hydrodynamics into this purely kinetic study.

Investigating organic matter in Fanno Creek, Oregon, Part 1 of 3: estimating annual foliar biomass for a deciduous-dominant urban riparian corridor

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sobieszczyk, Steven; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Goldman, Jami H.

2014-01-01

For this study, we explored the amount, type, and distribution of foliar biomass that is deposited annually as leaf litter to Fanno Creek and its floodplain in Portland, Oregon, USA. Organic matter is a significant contributor to the decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations observed in Fanno Creek each year and leaf litter is amongst the largest sources of organic matter to the stream channel and floodplain. Using a combination of field measurements and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point cloud data, the annual foliar biomass was estimated for 13 stream reaches along the creek. Biomass estimates were divided into two sets: (1) the annual foliage available from the entire floodplain overstory canopy, and (2) the annual foliage overhanging the stream, which likely contributes leaf litter directly to the creek each year. Based on these computations, an estimated 991 (±22%) metric tons (tonnes, t) of foliar biomass is produced annually above the floodplain, with about 136 t (±24%) of that foliage falling directly into Fanno Creek. The distribution of foliar biomass varies by reach, with between 150 and 640 t/km2 produced along the floodplain and between 400 and 1100 t/km2 available over the channel. Biomass estimates vary by reach based primarily on the density of tree cover, with forest-dominant reaches containing more mature deciduous trees with broader tree canopies than either wetland or urban-dominant reaches, thus supplying more organic material to the creek. By quantifying the foliar biomass along Fanno Creek we have provided a reach-scale assessment of terrestrial organic matter loading, thereby providing land managers useful information for planning future restoration efforts.

Investigating organic matter in Fanno Creek, Oregon, Part 1 of 3: Estimating annual foliar biomass for a deciduous-dominant urban riparian corridor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobieszczyk, Steven; Keith, Mackenzie K.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Goldman, Jami H.

2014-11-01

For this study, we explored the amount, type, and distribution of foliar biomass that is deposited annually as leaf litter to Fanno Creek and its floodplain in Portland, Oregon, USA. Organic matter is a significant contributor to the decreased dissolved oxygen concentrations observed in Fanno Creek each year and leaf litter is amongst the largest sources of organic matter to the stream channel and floodplain. Using a combination of field measurements and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point cloud data, the annual foliar biomass was estimated for 13 stream reaches along the creek. Biomass estimates were divided into two sets: (1) the annual foliage available from the entire floodplain overstory canopy, and (2) the annual foliage overhanging the stream, which likely contributes leaf litter directly to the creek each year. Based on these computations, an estimated 991 (±22%) metric tons (tonnes, t) of foliar biomass is produced annually above the floodplain, with about 136 t (±24%) of that foliage falling directly into Fanno Creek. The distribution of foliar biomass varies by reach, with between 150 and 640 t/km2 produced along the floodplain and between 400 and 1100 t/km2 available over the channel. Biomass estimates vary by reach based primarily on the density of tree cover, with forest-dominant reaches containing more mature deciduous trees with broader tree canopies than either wetland or urban-dominant reaches, thus supplying more organic material to the creek. By quantifying the foliar biomass along Fanno Creek we have provided a reach-scale assessment of terrestrial organic matter loading, thereby providing land managers useful information for planning future restoration efforts.

White matter lesions and the cholinergic deficit in aging and mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed

Richter, Nils; Michel, Anne; Onur, Oezguer A; Kracht, Lutz; Dietlein, Markus; Tittgemeyer, Marc; Neumaier, Bernd; Fink, Gereon R; Kukolja, Juraj

2017-05-01

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), white matter lesions (WMLs) are associated with an increased risk of progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia, while memory deficits have, at least in part, been linked to a cholinergic deficit. We investigated the relationship between WML load assessed with the Scheltens scale, cerebral acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity measured with [ 11 C]N-methyl-4-piperidyl acetate PET, and neuropsychological performance in 17 patients with MCI due to AD and 18 cognitively normal older participants. Only periventricular, not nonperiventricular, WML load negatively correlated with AChE activity in both groups. Memory performance depended on periventricular and total WML load across groups. Crucially, AChE activity predicted memory function better than WML load, gray matter atrophy, or age. The effects of WML load on memory were fully mediated by AChE activity. Data suggest that the contribution of WML to the dysfunction of the cholinergic system in MCI due to AD depends on WML distribution. Pharmacologic studies are warranted to explore whether this influences the response to cholinergic treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Structure and Dark Halo Core Properties of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkert, A.

2015-08-01

The structure and dark matter halo core properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are investigated. A double-isothermal (DIS) model of an isothermal, non-self-gravitating stellar system embedded in an isothermal dark halo core provides an excellent fit to the various observed stellar surface density distributions. The stellar core scale length a* is sensitive to the central dark matter density ρ0,d. The maximum stellar radius traces the dark halo core radius {r}c,d. The concentration c* of the stellar system, determined by a King profile fit, depends on the ratio of the stellar-to-dark-matter velocity dispersion {σ }*/{σ }d. Simple empirical relationships are derived that allow us to calculate the dark halo core parameters ρ0,d, {r}c,d, and σd given the observable stellar quantities σ*, a*, and c*. The DIS model is applied to the Milky Way’s dSphs. All dSphs closely follow the same universal dark halo scaling relations {ρ }0,d× {r}c,d={75}-45+85 M⊙ pc-2 that characterize the cores of more massive galaxies over a large range in masses. The dark halo core mass is a strong function of core radius, {M}c,d˜ {r}c,d2. Inside a fixed radius of ˜400 pc the total dark matter mass is, however, roughly constant with {M}d=2.6+/- 1.4× {10}7 M⊙, although outliers are expected. The dark halo core densities of the Galaxy’s dSphs are very high, with {ρ }0,d ≈ 0.2 M⊙ pc-3. dSphs should therefore be tidally undisturbed. Evidence for tidal effects might then provide a serious challenge for the CDM scenario.

WIC's promotion of infant formula in the United States

PubMed Central

Kent, George

2006-01-01

Background The United States' Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) distributes about half the infant formula used in the United States at no cost to the families. This is a matter of concern because it is known that feeding with infant formula results in worse health outcomes for infants than breastfeeding. Discussion The evidence that is available indicates that the WIC program has the effect of promoting the use of infant formula, thus placing infants at higher risk. Moreover, the program violates the widely accepted principles that have been set out in the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and in the human right to adequate food. Summary There is no good reason for an agency of government to distribute large quantities of free infant formula. It is recommended that the large-scale distribution of free infant formula by the WIC program should be phased out. PMID:16722534

Application of surface analytical methods for hazardous situation in the Adriatic Sea: monitoring of organic matter dynamics and oil pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pletikapić, Galja; Ivošević DeNardis, Nadica

2017-01-01

Surface analytical methods are applied to examine the environmental status of seawaters. The present overview emphasizes advantages of combining surface analytical methods, applied to a hazardous situation in the Adriatic Sea, such as monitoring of the first aggregation phases of dissolved organic matter in order to potentially predict the massive mucilage formation and testing of oil spill cleanup. Such an approach, based on fast and direct characterization of organic matter and its high-resolution visualization, sets a continuous-scale description of organic matter from micro- to nanometre scales. Electrochemical method of chronoamperometry at the dropping mercury electrode meets the requirements for monitoring purposes due to the simple and fast analysis of a large number of natural seawater samples enabling simultaneous differentiation of organic constituents. In contrast, atomic force microscopy allows direct visualization of biotic and abiotic particles and provides an insight into structural organization of marine organic matter at micro- and nanometre scales. In the future, merging data at different spatial scales, taking into account experimental input on micrometre scale, observations on metre scale and modelling on kilometre scale, will be important for developing sophisticated technological platforms for knowledge transfer, reports and maps applicable for the marine environmental protection and management of the coastal area, especially for tourism, fishery and cruiser trafficking.

Does scale matter? A systematic review of incorporating biological realism when predicting changes in species distributions.

PubMed

Record, Sydne; Strecker, Angela; Tuanmu, Mao-Ning; Beaudrot, Lydia; Zarnetske, Phoebe; Belmaker, Jonathan; Gerstner, Beth

2018-01-01

There is ample evidence that biotic factors, such as biotic interactions and dispersal capacity, can affect species distributions and influence species' responses to climate change. However, little is known about how these factors affect predictions from species distribution models (SDMs) with respect to spatial grain and extent of the models. Understanding how spatial scale influences the effects of biological processes in SDMs is important because SDMs are one of the primary tools used by conservation biologists to assess biodiversity impacts of climate change. We systematically reviewed SDM studies published from 2003-2015 using ISI Web of Science searches to: (1) determine the current state and key knowledge gaps of SDMs that incorporate biotic interactions and dispersal; and (2) understand how choice of spatial scale may alter the influence of biological processes on SDM predictions. We used linear mixed effects models to examine how predictions from SDMs changed in response to the effects of spatial scale, dispersal, and biotic interactions. There were important biases in studies including an emphasis on terrestrial ecosystems in northern latitudes and little representation of aquatic ecosystems. Our results suggest that neither spatial extent nor grain influence projected climate-induced changes in species ranges when SDMs include dispersal or biotic interactions. We identified several knowledge gaps and suggest that SDM studies forecasting the effects of climate change should: 1) address broader ranges of taxa and locations; and 1) report the grain size, extent, and results with and without biological complexity. The spatial scale of analysis in SDMs did not affect estimates of projected range shifts with dispersal and biotic interactions. However, the lack of reporting on results with and without biological complexity precluded many studies from our analysis.

Dark matter, long-range forces, and large-scale structure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gradwohl, Ben-Ami; Frieman, Joshua A.

1992-01-01

If the dark matter in galaxies and clusters is nonbaryonic, it can interact with additional long-range fields that are invisible to experimental tests of the equivalence principle. We discuss the astrophysical and cosmological implications of a long-range force coupled only to the dark matter and find rather tight constraints on its strength. If the force is repulsive (attractive), the masses of galaxy groups and clusters (and the mean density of the universe inferred from them) have been systematically underestimated (overestimated). We explore the consequent effects on the two-point correlation function, large-scale velocity flows, and microwave background anisotropies, for models with initial scale-invariant adiabatic perturbations and cold dark matter.

Galaxy Clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Christopher J. Miller

2012-03-01

There are many examples of clustering in astronomy. Stars in our own galaxy are often seen as being gravitationally bound into tight globular or open clusters. The Solar System's Trojan asteroids cluster at the gravitational Langrangian in front of Jupiter’s orbit. On the largest of scales, we find gravitationally bound clusters of galaxies, the Virgo cluster (in the constellation of Virgo at a distance of ˜50 million light years) being a prime nearby example. The Virgo cluster subtends an angle of nearly 8◦ on the sky and is known to contain over a thousand member galaxies. Galaxy clusters play an important role in our understanding of theUniverse. Clusters exist at peaks in the three-dimensional large-scale matter density field. Their sky (2D) locations are easy to detect in astronomical imaging data and their mean galaxy redshifts (redshift is related to the third spatial dimension: distance) are often better (spectroscopically) and cheaper (photometrically) when compared with the entire galaxy population in large sky surveys. Photometric redshift (z) [Photometric techniques use the broad band filter magnitudes of a galaxy to estimate the redshift. Spectroscopic techniques use the galaxy spectra and emission/absorption line features to measure the redshift] determinations of galaxies within clusters are accurate to better than delta_z = 0.05 [7] and when studied as a cluster population, the central galaxies form a line in color-magnitude space (called the the E/S0 ridgeline and visible in Figure 16.3) that contains galaxies with similar stellar populations [15]. The shape of this E/S0 ridgeline enables astronomers to measure the cluster redshift to within delta_z = 0.01 [23]. The most accurate cluster redshift determinations come from spectroscopy of the member galaxies, where only a fraction of the members need to be spectroscopically observed [25,42] to get an accurate redshift to the whole system. If light traces mass in the Universe, then the locations of galaxy clusters will be at locations of the peaks in the true underlying (mostly) dark matter density field. Kaiser (1984) [19] called this the high-peak model, which we demonstrate in Figure 16.1. We show a two-dimensional representation of a density field created by summing plane-waves with a predetermined power and with random wave-vector directions. In the left panel, we plot only the largest modes, where we see the density peaks (black) and valleys (white) in the combined field. In the right panel, we allow for smaller modes. You can see that the highest density peaks in the left panel contain smaller-scale, but still high-density peaks. These are the locations of future galaxy clusters. The bottom panel shows just these cluster-scale peaks. As you can see, the peaks themselves are clustered, and instead of just one large high-density peak in the original density field (see the left panel), the smaller modes show that six peaks are "born" within the broader, underlying large-scale density modes. This exemplifies the "bias" or amplified structure that is traced by galaxy clusters [19]. Clusters are rare, easy to find, and their member galaxies provide good distance estimates. In combination with their amplified clustering signal described above, galaxy clusters are considered an efficient and precise tracer of the large-scale matter density field in the Universe. Galaxy clusters can also be used to measure the baryon content of the Universe [43]. They can be used to identify gravitational lenses [38] and map the distribution of matter in clusters. The number and spatial distribution of galaxy clusters can be used to constrain cosmological parameters, like the fraction of the energy density in the Universe due to matter (Omega_matter) or the variation in the density field on fixed physical scales (sigma_8) [26,33]. The individual clusters act as “Island Universes” and as such are laboratories here we can study the evolution of the properties of the cluster, like the hot, gaseous intra-cluster medium or shapes, colors, and star-formation histories of the member galaxies [17].

VARIABILITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIPID BIOMARKERS AND THEIR MOLECULAR ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION IN ALTAMAHA ESTUARINE SEDIMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF ORGANIC MATTER FROM VARIOUS SOURCES

EPA Science Inventory

The estuarine mixing zone is an effective trap for particulate and dissolved organic matter From many sources, and thus greatly affects transport and deposition of organic matter between the land and ocean. This study examined sedimentary distributions of various fatty acids and ...

Light domain walls, massive neutrinos and the large scale structure of the Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massarotti, Alessandro

1991-01-01

Domain walls generated through a cosmological phase transition are considered, which interact nongravitationally with light neutrinos. At a redshift z greater than or equal to 10(exp 4), the network grows rapidly and is virtually decoupled from the matter. As the friction with the matter becomes dominant, a comoving network scale close to that of the comoving horizon scale at z of approximately 10(exp 4) gets frozen. During the later phases, the walls produce matter wakes of a thickness d of approximately 10h(exp -1)Mpc, that may become seeds for the formation of the large scale structure observed in the Universe.

Nuclear Pasta at Finite Temperature with the Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuetrumpf, B.; Klatt, M. A.; Iida, K.; Maruhn, J. A.; Mecke, K.; Reinhard, P.-G.

2016-01-01

We present simulations of neutron-rich matter at sub-nuclear densities, like supernova matter. With the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation we can study the evolution of the system at temperatures of several MeV employing a full Skyrme interaction in a periodic three-dimensional grid [1]. The initial state consists of α particles randomly distributed in space that have a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution in momentum space. Adding a neutron background initialized with Fermi distributed plane waves the calculations reflect a reasonable approximation of astrophysical matter. The matter evolves into spherical, rod-like, connected rod-like and slab-like shapes. Further we observe gyroid-like structures, discussed e.g. in [2], which are formed spontaneously choosing a certain value of the simulation box length. The ρ-T-map of pasta shapes is basically consistent with the phase diagrams obtained from QMD calculations [3]. By an improved topological analysis based on Minkowski functionals [4], all observed pasta shapes can be uniquely identified by only two valuations, namely the Euler characteristic and the integral mean curvature. In addition we propose the variance in the cell-density distribution as a measure to distinguish pasta matter from uniform matter.

Dark Matter Profiles in Dwarf Galaxies: A Statistical Sample Using High-Resolution Hα Velocity Fields from PCWI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Relatores, Nicole C.; Newman, Andrew B.; Simon, Joshua D.; Ellis, Richard; Truong, Phuongmai N.; Blitz, Leo

2018-01-01

We present high quality Hα velocity fields for a sample of nearby dwarf galaxies (log M/M⊙ = 8.4-9.8) obtained as part of the Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxies survey. The purpose of the survey is to investigate the cusp-core discrepancy by quantifying the variation of the inner slope of the dark matter distributions of 26 dwarf galaxies, which were selected as likely to have regular kinematics. The data were obtained with the Palomar Cosmic Web Imager, located on the Hale 5m telescope. We extract rotation curves from the velocity fields and use optical and infrared photometry to model the stellar mass distribution. We model the total mass distribution as the sum of a generalized Navarro-Frenk-White dark matter halo along with the stellar and gaseous components. We present the distribution of inner dark matter density profile slopes derived from this analysis. For a subset of galaxies, we compare our results to an independent analysis based on CO observations. In future work, we will compare the scatter in inner density slopes, as well as their correlations with galaxy properties, to theoretical predictions for dark matter core creation via supernovae feedback.

Gauge coupling unification and nonequilibrium thermal dark matter.

PubMed

Mambrini, Yann; Olive, Keith A; Quevillon, Jérémie; Zaldívar, Bryan

2013-06-14

We study a new mechanism for the production of dark matter in the Universe which does not rely on thermal equilibrium. Dark matter is populated from the thermal bath subsequent to inflationary reheating via a massive mediator whose mass is above the reheating scale T(RH). To this end, we consider models with an extra U(1) gauge symmetry broken at some intermediate scale (M(int) ≃ 10(10)-10(12) GeV). We show that not only does the model allow for gauge coupling unification (at a higher scale associated with grand unification) but it can provide a dark matter candidate which is a standard model singlet but charged under the extra U(1). The intermediate scale gauge boson(s) which are predicted in several E6/SO(10) constructions can be a natural mediator between dark matter and the thermal bath. We show that the dark matter abundance, while never having achieved thermal equilibrium, is fixed shortly after the reheating epoch by the relation T(RH)(3)/M(int)(4). As a consequence, we show that the unification of gauge couplings which determines M(int) also fixes the reheating temperature, which can be as high as T(RH) ≃ 10(11) GeV.

Empirical Determination of Dark Matter Velocities Using Metal-Poor Stars.

PubMed

Herzog-Arbeitman, Jonah; Lisanti, Mariangela; Madau, Piero; Necib, Lina

2018-01-26

The Milky Way dark matter halo is formed from the accretion of smaller subhalos. These sub-units also harbor stars-typically old and metal-poor-that are deposited in the Galactic inner regions by disruption events. In this Letter, we show that the dark matter and metal-poor stars in the Solar neighborhood share similar kinematics due to their common origin. Using the high-resolution eris simulation, which traces the evolution of both the dark matter and baryons in a realistic Milky Way analog galaxy, we demonstrate that metal-poor stars are indeed effective tracers for the local, virialized dark matter velocity distribution. The local dark matter velocities can therefore be inferred from observations of the stellar halo made by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey within 4 kpc of the Sun. This empirical distribution differs from the standard halo model in important ways and suggests that the bounds on the spin-independent scattering cross section may be weakened for dark matter masses below ∼10  GeV. Data from Gaia will allow us to further refine the expected distribution for the smooth dark matter component, and to test for the presence of local substructure.

Empirical Determination of Dark Matter Velocities Using Metal-Poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herzog-Arbeitman, Jonah; Lisanti, Mariangela; Madau, Piero; Necib, Lina

2018-01-01

The Milky Way dark matter halo is formed from the accretion of smaller subhalos. These sub-units also harbor stars—typically old and metal-poor—that are deposited in the Galactic inner regions by disruption events. In this Letter, we show that the dark matter and metal-poor stars in the Solar neighborhood share similar kinematics due to their common origin. Using the high-resolution eris simulation, which traces the evolution of both the dark matter and baryons in a realistic Milky Way analog galaxy, we demonstrate that metal-poor stars are indeed effective tracers for the local, virialized dark matter velocity distribution. The local dark matter velocities can therefore be inferred from observations of the stellar halo made by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey within 4 kpc of the Sun. This empirical distribution differs from the standard halo model in important ways and suggests that the bounds on the spin-independent scattering cross section may be weakened for dark matter masses below ˜10 GeV . Data from Gaia will allow us to further refine the expected distribution for the smooth dark matter component, and to test for the presence of local substructure.

Distinct contributions of the fornix and inferior longitudinal fasciculus to episodic and semantic autobiographical memory.

PubMed

Hodgetts, Carl J; Postans, Mark; Warne, Naomi; Varnava, Alice; Lawrence, Andrew D; Graham, Kim S

2017-09-01

Autobiographical memory (AM) is multifaceted, incorporating the vivid retrieval of contextual detail (episodic AM), together with semantic knowledge that infuses meaning and coherence into past events (semantic AM). While neuropsychological evidence highlights a role for the hippocampus and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in episodic and semantic AM, respectively, it is unclear whether these constitute dissociable large-scale AM networks. We used high angular resolution diffusion-weighted imaging and constrained spherical deconvolution-based tractography to assess white matter microstructure in 27 healthy young adult participants who were asked to recall past experiences using word cues. Inter-individual variation in the microstructure of the fornix (the main hippocampal input/output pathway) related to the amount of episodic, but not semantic, detail in AMs - independent of memory age. Conversely, microstructure of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, linking occipitotemporal regions with ATL, correlated with semantic, but not episodic, AMs. Further, these significant correlations remained when controlling for hippocampal and ATL grey matter volume, respectively. This striking correlational double dissociation supports the view that distinct, large-scale distributed brain circuits underpin context and concepts in AM. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A hydrodynamic treatment of the cold dark matter cosmological scenario

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cen, Renyue; Ostriker, Jeremiah

1992-01-01

The evolution of structure in a postrecombination Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe containing both gaseous baryons and cold dark matter (CDM) is studied by means of an Eulerian code coupled with a standard particle-mesh code. Ionization state and radiative opacity are calculated in detail, and the hydrodynamic simulations make it possible to compute properties of gas distribution on scales larger than three cell sizes. The model yields a soft X-ray background consistent with the latest cosmic nucleosynthesis values, and can accurately reproduce the galaxy-galaxy two-point correlation. The rate of galaxy formation peaks at a relatively late epoch. With regard to mass function, the smallest objects are stabilized against collapse by thermal energy: the mass-weighted mass spectrum peaks in the vicinity of m(b) = 10 exp 9.2 solar masses with a reasonable fit to the Schecter luminosity function if the baryon mass to blue light ratio is approximately 4. Overall, the simulations provide strong support for the CMD scenario. Of particular interest is that, while the baryons are not biased on scales greater than 1/h Mpc, the galaxies are, and that the 'galaxies' have a correlation function of the required slope and the correct amplitude.

Jammed elastic shells - a 3D experimental soft frictionless granular system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jose, Jissy; Blab, Gerhard A.; van Blaaderen, Alfons; Imhof, Arnout

2015-03-01

We present a new experimental system of monodisperse, soft, frictionless, fluorescent labelled elastic shells for the characterization of structure, universal scaling laws and force networks in 3D jammed matter. The interesting fact about these elastic shells is that they can reversibly deform and therefore serve as sensors of local stress in jammed matter. Similar to other soft particles, like emulsion droplets and bubbles in foam, the shells can be packed to volume fractions close to unity, which allows us to characterize the contact force distribution and universal scaling laws as a function of volume fraction, and to compare them with theoretical predictions and numerical simulations. However, our shells, unlike other soft particles, deform rather differently at large stresses. They deform without conserving their inner volume, by forming dimples at contact regions. At each contact one of the shells buckled with a dimple and the other remained spherical, closely resembling overlapping spheres. We conducted 3D quantitative analysis using confocal microscopy and image analysis routines specially developed for these particles. In addition, we analysed the randomness of the process of dimpling, which was found to be volume fraction dependent.

Make dark matter charged again

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agrawal, Prateek; Cyr-Racine, Francis-Yan; Randall, Lisa

2017-05-01

We revisit constraints on dark matter that is charged under a U(1) gauge group in the dark sector, decoupled from Standard Model forces. We find that the strongest constraints in the literature are subject to a number of mitigating factors. For instance, the naive dark matter thermalization timescale in halos is corrected by saturation effects that slow down isotropization for modest ellipticities. The weakened bounds uncover interesting parameter space, making models with weak-scale charged dark matter viable, even with electromagnetic strength interaction. This also leads to the intriguing possibility that dark matter self-interactions within small dwarf galaxies are extremely large,more » a relatively unexplored regime in current simulations. Such strong interactions suppress heat transfer over scales larger than the dark matter mean free path, inducing a dynamical cutoff length scale above which the system appears to have only feeble interactions. These effects must be taken into account to assess the viability of darkly-charged dark matter. Future analyses and measurements should probe a promising region of parameter space for this model.« less

Reconstruction of halo power spectrum from redshift-space galaxy distribution: cylinder-grouping method and halo exclusion effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okumura, Teppei; Takada, Masahiro; More, Surhud; Masaki, Shogo

2017-07-01

The peculiar velocity field measured by redshift-space distortions (RSD) in galaxy surveys provides a unique probe of the growth of large-scale structure. However, systematic effects arise when including satellite galaxies in the clustering analysis. Since satellite galaxies tend to reside in massive haloes with a greater halo bias, the inclusion boosts the clustering power. In addition, virial motions of the satellite galaxies cause a significant suppression of the clustering power due to non-linear RSD effects. We develop a novel method to recover the redshift-space power spectrum of haloes from the observed galaxy distribution by minimizing the contamination of satellite galaxies. The cylinder-grouping method (CGM) we study effectively excludes satellite galaxies from a galaxy sample. However, we find that this technique produces apparent anisotropies in the reconstructed halo distribution over all the scales which mimic RSD. On small scales, the apparent anisotropic clustering is caused by exclusion of haloes within the anisotropic cylinder used by the CGM. On large scales, the misidentification of different haloes in the large-scale structures, aligned along the line of sight, into the same CGM group causes the apparent anisotropic clustering via their cross-correlation with the CGM haloes. We construct an empirical model for the CGM halo power spectrum, which includes correction terms derived using the CGM window function at small scales as well as the linear matter power spectrum multiplied by a simple anisotropic function at large scales. We apply this model to a mock galaxy catalogue at z = 0.5, designed to resemble Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) CMASS galaxies, and find that our model can predict both the monopole and quadrupole power spectra of the host haloes up to k < 0.5 {{h Mpc^{-1}}} to within 5 per cent.

Dark matter directionality revisited with a high pressure xenon gas detector

DOE PAGES

Mohlabeng, Gopolang; Kong, Kyoungchul; Li, Jin; ...

2015-07-20

An observation of the anisotropy of dark matter interactions in a direction-sensitive detector would provide decisive evidence for the discovery of galactic dark matter. Directional information would also provide a crucial input to understanding its distribution in the local Universe. Most of the existing directional dark matter detectors utilize particle tracking methods in a low-pressure gas time projection chamber. These low pressure detectors require excessively large volumes in order to be competitive in the search for physics beyond the current limit. In order to avoid these volume limitations, we consider a novel proposal, which exploits a columnar recombination effect inmore » a high-pressure gas time projection chamber. The ratio of scintillation to ionization signals observed in the detector carries the angular information of the particle interactions. In this paper, we investigate the sensitivity of a future directional detector focused on the proposed high-pressure Xenon gas time projection chamber. We study the prospect of detecting an anisotropy in the dark matter velocity distribution. We find that tens of events are needed to exclude an isotropic distribution of dark matter interactions at 95% confidence level in the most optimistic case with head-to-tail information. However, one needs at least 10-20 times more events without head-to-tail information for light dark matter below ~50 GeV. For an intermediate mass range, we find it challenging to observe an anisotropy of the dark matter distribution. Our results also show that the directional information significantly improves precision measurements of dark matter mass and the elastic scattering cross section for a heavy dark matter.« less

Constraints on Cosmology and Gravity from the Dynamics of Voids.

PubMed

Hamaus, Nico; Pisani, Alice; Sutter, P M; Lavaux, Guilhem; Escoffier, Stéphanie; Wandelt, Benjamin D; Weller, Jochen

2016-08-26

The Universe is mostly composed of large and relatively empty domains known as cosmic voids, whereas its matter content is predominantly distributed along their boundaries. The remaining material inside them, either dark or luminous matter, is attracted to these boundaries and causes voids to expand faster and to grow emptier over time. Using the distribution of galaxies centered on voids identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and adopting minimal assumptions on the statistical motion of these galaxies, we constrain the average matter content Ω_{m}=0.281±0.031 in the Universe today, as well as the linear growth rate of structure f/b=0.417±0.089 at median redshift z[over ¯]=0.57, where b is the galaxy bias (68% C.L.). These values originate from a percent-level measurement of the anisotropic distortion in the void-galaxy cross-correlation function, ϵ=1.003±0.012, and are robust to consistency tests with bootstraps of the data and simulated mock catalogs within an additional systematic uncertainty of half that size. They surpass (and are complementary to) existing constraints by unlocking cosmological information on smaller scales through an accurate model of nonlinear clustering and dynamics in void environments. As such, our analysis furnishes a powerful probe of deviations from Einstein's general relativity in the low-density regime which has largely remained untested so far. We find no evidence for such deviations in the data at hand.

The Sherwood simulation suite: overview and data comparisons with the Lyman α forest at redshifts 2 ≤ z ≤ 5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolton, James S.; Puchwein, Ewald; Sijacki, Debora; Haehnelt, Martin G.; Kim, Tae-Sun; Meiksin, Avery; Regan, John A.; Viel, Matteo

2017-01-01

We introduce a new set of large-scale, high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of the intergalactic medium: the Sherwood simulation suite. These are performed in volumes of 103-1603h-3 comoving Mpc3, span almost four orders of magnitude in mass resolution with up to 17.2 billion particles, and employ a variety of physics variations including warm dark matter and galactic outflows. We undertake a detailed comparison of the simulations to high-resolution, high signal-to-noise observations of the Ly α forest over the redshift range 2 ≤ z ≤ 5. The simulations are in very good agreement with the observational data, lending further support to the paradigm that the Ly α forest is a natural consequence of the web-like distribution of matter arising in Λcold dark matter cosmological models. Only a small number of minor discrepancies remain with respect to the observational data. Saturated Ly α absorption lines with column densities N_{H I}>10^{14.5} cm^{-2} at 2 < z < 2.5 are underpredicted in the models. An uncertain correction for continuum placement bias is required to match the distribution and power spectrum of the transmitted flux, particularly at z > 4. Finally, the temperature of intergalactic gas in the simulations may be slightly too low at z = 2.7 and a flatter temperature-density relation is required at z = 2.4, consistent with the expected effects of non-equilibrium ionization during He II reionization.

Nanometer-scale characterization of laser-driven plasmas, compression, shocks and phase transitions, by coherent small angle x-ray scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kluge, Thomas

2015-11-01

Combining ultra-intense short-pulse and high-energy long-pulse lasers, with brilliant coherent hard X-ray FELs, such as the Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields (HIBEF) under construction at the HED Instrument of European XFEL, or MEC at LCLS, holds the promise to revolutionize our understanding of many High Energy Density Physics phenomena. Examples include the relativistic electron generation, transport, and bulk plasma response, and ionization dynamics and heating in relativistic laser-matter interactions, or the dynamics of laser-driven shocks, quasi-isentropic compression, and the kinetics of phase transitions at high pressure. A particularly promising new technique is the use of coherent X-ray diffraction to characterize electron density correlations, and by resonant scattering to characterize the distribution of specific charge-state ions, either on the ultrafast time scale of the laser interaction, or associated with hydrodynamic motion. As well one can image slight density changes arising from phase transitions inside of shock-compressed high pressure matter. The feasibility of coherent diffraction techniques in laser-driven matter will be discussed. including recent results from demonstration experiments at MEC. Among other things, very sharp density changes from laser-driven compression are observed, having an effective step width of 10 nm or smaller. This compares to a resolution of several hundred nm achievedpreviously with phase contrast imaging. and on behalf of HIBEF User Consortium, for the Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields at the European XFEL.

Bacterial diversity and active biomass in full-scale granular activated carbon filters operated at low water temperatures.

PubMed

Kaarela, Outi E; Härkki, Heli A; Palmroth, Marja R T; Tuhkanen, Tuula A

2015-01-01

Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration enhances the removal of natural organic matter and micropollutants in drinking water treatment. Microbial communities in GAC filters contribute to the removal of the biodegradable part of organic matter, and thus help to control microbial regrowth in the distribution system. Our objectives were to investigate bacterial community dynamics, identify the major bacterial groups, and determine the concentration of active bacterial biomass in full-scale GAC filters treating cold (3.7-9.5°C), physicochemically pretreated, and ozonated lake water. Three sampling rounds were conducted to study six GAC filters of different operation times and flow modes in winter, spring, and summer. Total organic carbon results indicated that both the first-step and second-step filters contributed to the removal of organic matter. Length heterogeneity analysis of amplified 16S rRNA genes illustrated that bacterial communities were diverse and considerably stable over time. α-Proteobacteria, β-Proteobacteria, and Nitrospira dominated in all of the GAC filters, although the relative proportion of dominant phylogenetic groups in individual filters differed. The active bacterial biomass accumulation, measured as adenosine triphosphate, was limited due to low temperature, low flux of nutrients, and frequent backwashing. The concentration of active bacterial biomass was not affected by the moderate seasonal temperature variation. In summary, the results provided an insight into the biological component of GAC filtration in cold water temperatures and the operational parameters affecting it.

Holographic Spherically Symmetric Metrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petri, Michael

The holographic principle (HP) conjectures, that the maximum number of degrees of freedom of any realistic physical system is proportional to the system's boundary area. The HP has its roots in the study of black holes. It has recently been applied to cosmological solutions. In this article we apply the HP to spherically symmetric static space-times. We find that any regular spherically symmetric object saturating the HP is subject to tight constraints on the (interior) metric, energy-density, temperature and entropy-density. Whenever gravity can be described by a metric theory, gravity is macroscopically scale invariant and the laws of thermodynamics hold locally and globally, the (interior) metric of a regular holographic object is uniquely determined up to a constant factor and the interior matter-state must follow well defined scaling relations. When the metric theory of gravity is general relativity, the interior matter has an overall string equation of state (EOS) and a unique total energy-density. Thus the holographic metric derived in this article can serve as simple interior 4D realization of Mathur's string fuzzball proposal. Some properties of the holographic metric and its possible experimental verification are discussed. The geodesics of the holographic metric describe an isotropically expanding (or contracting) universe with a nearly homogeneous matter-distribution within the local Hubble volume. Due to the overall string EOS the active gravitational mass-density is zero, resulting in a coasting expansion with Ht = 1, which is compatible with the recent GRB-data.

Comprehensive asymmetric dark matter model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lonsdale, Stephen J.; Volkas, Raymond R.

2018-05-01

Asymmetric dark matter (ADM) is motivated by the similar cosmological mass densities measured for ordinary and dark matter. We present a comprehensive theory for ADM that addresses the mass density similarity, going beyond the usual ADM explanations of similar number densities. It features an explicit matter-antimatter asymmetry generation mechanism, has one fully worked out thermal history and suggestions for other possibilities, and meets all phenomenological, cosmological and astrophysical constraints. Importantly, it incorporates a deep reason for why the dark matter mass scale is related to the proton mass, a key consideration in ADM models. Our starting point is the idea of mirror matter, which offers an explanation for dark matter by duplicating the standard model with a dark sector related by a Z2 parity symmetry. However, the dark sector need not manifest as a symmetric copy of the standard model in the present day. By utilizing the mechanism of "asymmetric symmetry breaking" with two Higgs doublets in each sector, we develop a model of ADM where the mirror symmetry is spontaneously broken, leading to an electroweak scale in the dark sector that is significantly larger than that of the visible sector. The weak sensitivity of the ordinary and dark QCD confinement scales to their respective electroweak scales leads to the necessary connection between the dark matter and proton masses. The dark matter is composed of either dark neutrons or a mixture of dark neutrons and metastable dark hydrogen atoms. Lepton asymmetries are generated by the C P -violating decays of heavy Majorana neutrinos in both sectors. These are then converted by sphaleron processes to produce the observed ratio of visible to dark matter in the universe. The dynamics responsible for the kinetic decoupling of the two sectors emerges as an important issue that we only partially solve.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robinson, Alan E.

Here, proposed dark matter detectors with eV-scale sensitivities will detect a large background of atomic (nuclear) recoils from coherent photon scattering of MeV-scale photons. This background climbs steeply below ~10 eV, far exceeding the declining rate of low-energy Compton recoils. The upcoming generation of dark matter detectors will not be limited by this background, but further development of eV-scale and sub-eV detectors will require strategies, including the use of low nuclear mass target materials, to maximize dark matter sensitivity while minimizing the coherent photon scattering background.

Astrophysics-independent bounds on the annual modulation of dark matter signals.

PubMed

Herrero-Garcia, Juan; Schwetz, Thomas; Zupan, Jure

2012-10-05

We show how constraints on the time integrated event rate from a given dark matter (DM) direct detection experiment can be used to bound the amplitude of the annual modulation signal in another experiment. The method requires only mild assumptions about the properties of the local DM distribution: that it is temporally stable on the scale of months and spatially homogeneous on the ecliptic. We apply the method to the annual modulation signal in DAMA/LIBRA, which we compare to the bounds derived from XENON10, XENON100, cryogenic DM search, and SIMPLE data. Assuming a DM mass of 10 GeV, we show that under the above assumptions about the DM halo, a DM interpretation of the DAMA/LIBRA signal is excluded for several classes of models: at 6.3σ (4.6σ) for elastic isospin conserving (violating) spin-independent interactions, and at 4.9σ for elastic spin-dependent interactions on protons.

Astrometric cosmology .

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lattanzi, M. G.

The accurate measurement of the motions of stars in our Galaxy can provide access to the cosmological signatures in the disk and halo, while astrometric experiments from within our Solar System can uniquely probe possible deviations from General Relativity. This article will introduce to the fact that astrometry has the potential, thanks also to impressive technological advancements, to become a key player in the field of local cosmology. For example, accurate absolute kinematics at the scale of the Milky Way can, for the first time in situ, account for the predictions made by the cold dark matter model for the Galactic halo, and eventually map out the distribution of dark matter, or other formation mechanisms, required to explain the signatures recently identified in the old component of the thick disk. Final notes dwell on to what extent Gaia can fulfill the expectations of astrometric cosmology and on what must instead be left to future, specifically designed, astrometric experiments.

Dynamical evolution of topology of large-scale structure. [in distribution of galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, Changbom; Gott, J. R., III

1991-01-01

The nonlinear effects of statistical biasing and gravitational evolution on the genus are studied. The biased galaxy subset is picked for the first time by actually identifying galaxy-sized peaks above a fixed threshold in the initial conditions, and their subsequent evolution is followed. It is found that in the standard cold dark matter (CDM) model the statistical biasing in the locations of galaxies produces asymmetry in the genus curve and coupling with gravitational evolution gives rise to a shift in the genus curve to the left in moderately nonlinear regimes. Gravitational evolution alone reduces the amplitude of the genus curve due to strong phase correlations in the density field and also produces asymmetry in the curve. Results on the genus of the mass density field for both CDM and hot dark matter models are consistent with previous work by Melott, Weinberg, and Gott (1987).

Spatial variability of concentrations of chlorophyll a, dissolved organic matter and suspended particles in the surface layer of the Kara Sea in September 2011 from lidar data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelevin, V. V.; Zavjalov, P. O.; Belyaev, N. A.; Konovalov, B. V.; Kravchishina, M. D.; Mosharov, S. A.

2017-01-01

The article presents results of underway remote laser sensing of the surface water layer in continuous automatic mode using the UFL-9 fluorescent lidar onboard the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh during cruise 59 in the Kara Sea in 2011. The description of the lidar, the approach to interpreting seawater fluorescence data, and certain methodical aspects of instrument calibration and measurement are presented. Calibration of the lidar is based on laboratory analysis of water samples taken from the sea surface during the cruise. Spatial distribution of chlorophyll a, total organic carbon and suspended matter concentrations in the upper quasi-homogeneous layer are mapped and the characteristic scales of the variability are estimated. Some dependencies between the patchiness of the upper water layer and the atmospheric forcing and freshwater runoff are shown.

The DiskMass Survey. VII. The distribution of luminous and dark matter in spiral galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinsson, Thomas P. K.; Verheijen, Marc A. W.; Westfall, Kyle B.; Bershady, Matthew A.; Andersen, David R.; Swaters, Rob A.

2013-09-01

We present dynamically-determined rotation-curve mass decompositions of 30 spiral galaxies, which were carried out to test the maximum-disk hypothesis and to quantify properties of their dark-matter halos. We used measured vertical velocity dispersions of the disk stars to calculate dynamical mass surface densities (Σdyn). By subtracting our observed atomic and inferred molecular gas mass surface densities from Σdyn, we derived the stellar mass surface densities (Σ∗), and thus have absolute measurements of all dominant baryonic components of the galaxies. Using K-band surface brightness profiles (IK), we calculated the K-band mass-to-light ratio of the stellar disks (Υ∗ = Σ∗/IK) and adopted the radial mean (overline{mls}) for each galaxy to extrapolate Σ∗ beyond the outermost kinematic measurement. The derived overline{mls} of individual galaxies are consistent with all galaxies in the sample having equal Υ∗. We find a sample average and scatter of mlab overline{mls}mrab = 0.31 ± 0.07. Rotation curves of the baryonic components were calculated from their deprojected mass surface densities. These were used with circular-speed measurements to derive the structural parameters of the dark-matter halos, modeled as either a pseudo-isothermal sphere (pISO) or a Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) halo. In addition to our dynamically determined mass decompositions, we also performed alternative rotation-curve decompositions by adopting the traditional maximum-disk hypothesis. However, the galaxies in our sample are submaximal, such that at 2.2 disk scale lengths (hR) the ratios between the baryonic and total rotation curves (Fb2.2hR) are less than 0.75. We find this ratio to be nearly constant between 1-6hR within individual galaxies. We find a sample average and scatter of mlab Fb2.2hRmrab = 0.57 ± 0.07, with trends of larger Fb2.2hR for more luminous and higher-surface-brightness galaxies. To enforce these being maximal, we need to scale Υ∗ by a factor 3.6 on average. In general, the dark-matter rotation curves are marginally better fit by a pISO than by an NFW halo. For the nominal-Υ∗ (submaximal) case, we find that the derived NFW-halo parameters have values consistent with ΛCDM N-body simulations, suggesting that the baryonic matter in our sample of galaxies has only had a minor effect on the dark-matter distribution. In contrast, maximum-Υ∗ decompositions yield halo-concentration parameters that are too low compared to the ΛCDM simulations. Appendix is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Asymmetric dark matter models in SO(10)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nagata, Natsumi; Olive, Keith A.; Zheng, Jiaming, E-mail: natsumi@hep-th.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: olive@physics.umn.edu, E-mail: zheng@physics.umn.edu

2017-02-01

We systematically study the possibilities for asymmetric dark matter in the context of non-supersymmetric SO(10) models of grand unification. Dark matter stability in SO(10) is guaranteed by a remnant Z{sub 2} symmetry which is preserved when the intermediate scale gauge subgroup of SO(10) is broken by a (\\bf 126) dimensional representation. The asymmetry in the dark matter states is directly generated through the out-of-equilibrium decay of particles around the intermediate scale, or transferred from the baryon/lepton asymmetry generated in the Standard Model sector by leptogenesis. We systematically classify possible asymmetric dark matter candidates in terms of their quantum numbers, andmore » derive the conditions for each case that the observed dark matter density is (mostly) explained by the asymmetry of dark matter particles.« less

Left-Hemispheric Microstructural Abnormalities in Children With High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Peterson, Daniel; Mahajan, Rajneesh; Crocetti, Deana; Mejia, Amanda; Mostofsky, Stewart

2014-01-01

Current theories of the neurobiological basis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) posit an altered pattern of connectivity in large-scale brain networks. Here we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging to investigate the microstructural properties of the white matter that mediates inter-regional connectivity in 36 high-functioning children with ASD (HF-ASD), as compared to 37 controls. By employing an atlas-based analysis using LDDMM registration, a widespread, but left-lateralized pattern of abnormalities was revealed. The Mean Diffusivity (MD) of water in the white matter of HF-ASD children was significantly elevated throughout the left hemisphere, particularly in the outer-zone cortical white matter. Across diagnostic groups there was a significant effect of age on left hemisphere MD, with a similar reduction in MD during childhood in both TD and HF-ASD children. The increased MD in children with HF-ASD suggests hypomyelination, and may reflect increased short-range cortico-cortical connections subsequent to early white matter overgrowth. These findings also highlight left hemispheric connectivity as relevant to the pathophysiology of ASD, and indicate that the spatial distribution of microstructural abnormalities in HF-ASD is widespread, and left-lateralized. This altered left-hemispheric connectivity may contribute to deficits in communication and praxis observed in ASD. PMID:25256103

On the Evolution of Dark Matter Halo Properties Following Major and Minor Mergers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Peter; Zhang, Shawn; Lee, Christoph; Primack, Joel

2018-01-01

We conducted an analysis on dark matter halo properties following major and minor mergers to advance our understanding of halo evolution. In this work, we analyzed ~80,000 dark matter halos from the Bolshoi-Planck cosmological simulation and studied halo evolution during relaxation after major mergers. We then applied a Gaussian filter to the property evolutions and characterized peak distributions, frequencies, and variabilities for several halo properties, including centering, spin, shape (prolateness), scale radius, and virial ratio. However, there were also halos that experienced relaxation without the presence of major mergers. We hypothesized that this was due to minor mergers unrecorded by the simulation analysis. By using property peaks to create a novel merger detection algorithm, we attempted to find minor mergers and match them to the unaccounted relaxed halos. Not only did we find evidence that minor mergers were the causes, but we also found similarities between major and minor merger effects, showing the significance of minor mergers for future studies. Through our dark matter merger statistics, we expect our work to ultimately serve as vital parameters towards better understanding galaxy formation and evolution. Most of this work was carried out by high school students working under the auspices of the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz.

Weakening gravity on redshift-survey scales with kinetic matter mixing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D'Amico, Guido; Huang, Zhiqi; Mancarella, Michele

We explore general scalar-tensor models in the presence of a kinetic mixing between matter and the scalar field, which we call Kinetic Matter Mixing. In the frame where gravity is de-mixed from the scalar this is due to disformal couplings of matter species to the gravitational sector, with disformal coefficients that depend on the gradient of the scalar field. In the frame where matter is minimally coupled, it originates from the so-called beyond Horndeski quadratic Lagrangian. We extend the Effective Theory of Interacting Dark Energy by allowing disformal coupling coefficients to depend on the gradient of the scalar field asmore » well. In this very general approach, we derive the conditions to avoid ghost and gradient instabilities and we define Kinetic Matter Mixing independently of the frame metric used to described the action. We study its phenomenological consequences for a ΛCDM background evolution, first analytically on small scales. Then, we compute the matter power spectrum and the angular spectra of the CMB anisotropies and the CMB lensing potential, on all scales. We employ the public version of COOP, a numerical Einstein-Boltzmann solver that implements very general scalar-tensor modifications of gravity. Rather uniquely, Kinetic Matter Mixing weakens gravity on short scales, predicting a lower σ{sub 8} with respect to the ΛCDM case. We propose this as a possible solution to the tension between the CMB best-fit model and low-redshift observables.« less

Dark matter in 3D

DOE PAGES

Alves, Daniele S. M.; El Hedri, Sonia; Wacker, Jay G.

2016-03-21

We discuss the relevance of directional detection experiments in the post-discovery era and propose a method to extract the local dark matter phase space distribution from directional data. The first feature of this method is a parameterization of the dark matter distribution function in terms of integrals of motion, which can be analytically extended to infer properties of the global distribution if certain equilibrium conditions hold. The second feature of our method is a decomposition of the distribution function in moments of a model independent basis, with minimal reliance on the ansatz for its functional form. We illustrate our methodmore » using the Via Lactea II N-body simulation as well as an analytical model for the dark matter halo. Furthermore, we conclude that O(1000) events are necessary to measure deviations from the Standard Halo Model and constrain or measure the presence of anisotropies.« less

Matter and charge distributions of 6He and 5,6,7,9Li within the dynamic-correlation model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tomaselli, M.; Hjorth-Jensen, M.; Fritzsche, S.; Egelhof, P.; Neumaier, S. R.; Mutterer, M.; Kühl, T.; Dax, A.; Wang, H.

2000-12-01

The matter and the charge distributions of the 6He and 5,6,7,9Li isotopes are investigated within the dynamic-correlation model (DCM) which describes the ground states of light nuclei in terms of microscopic correlated clusters: the valence particles and the intrinsic vacuum states. The amplitudes of these mixed-mode wave functions are calculated in the framework of nonperturbative solutions of the equation of motion method (EOMM). The matter and charge mean square radii are in good agreement with experimental results. The calculated matter distribution of the 6He nucleus is characterized by a halo structure less pronounced than that calculated by the three cluster models. The charge distribution of 6Li reproduces well the electron scattering data. Good agreement with experimental data has been also achieved for the proton scattering cross sections of p-6He at an energy of 0.7 GeV/nucleon.

Sterile neutrinos in cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abazajian, Kevork N.

2017-11-01

Sterile neutrinos are natural extensions to the standard model of particle physics in neutrino mass generation mechanisms. If they are relatively light, less than approximately 10 keV, they can alter cosmology significantly, from the early Universe to the matter and radiation energy density today. Here, we review the cosmological role such light sterile neutrinos can play from the early Universe, including production of keV-scale sterile neutrinos as dark matter candidates, and dynamics of light eV-scale sterile neutrinos during the weakly-coupled active neutrino era. We review proposed signatures of light sterile neutrinos in cosmic microwave background and large scale structure data. We also discuss keV-scale sterile neutrino dark matter decay signatures in X-ray observations, including recent candidate ∼3.5 keV X-ray line detections consistent with the decay of a ∼7 keV sterile neutrino dark matter particle.

The Spin and Orientation of Dark Matter Halos Within Cosmic Filaments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Youcai; Yang, Xiaohu; Faltenbacher, Andreas; Springel, Volker; Lin, Weipeng; Wang, Huiyuan

2009-11-01

Clusters, filaments, sheets, and voids are the building blocks of the cosmic web. Forming dark matter halos respond to these different large-scale environments, and this in turn affects the properties of galaxies hosted by the halos. It is therefore important to understand the systematic correlations of halo properties with the morphology of the cosmic web, as this informs both about galaxy formation physics and possible systematics of weak lensing studies. In this study, we present and compare two distinct algorithms for finding cosmic filaments and sheets, a task which is far less well established than the identification of dark matter halos or voids. One method is based on the smoothed dark matter density field and the other uses the halo distributions directly. We apply both techniques to one high-resolution N-body simulation and reconstruct the filamentary/sheet like network of the dark matter density field. We focus on investigating the properties of the dark matter halos inside these structures, in particular, on the directions of their spins and the orientation of their shapes with respect to the directions of the filaments and sheets. We find that both the spin and the major axes of filament halos with masses lsim1013 h -1 M sun are preferentially aligned with the direction of the filaments. The spins and major axes of halos in sheets tend to lie parallel to the sheets. There is an opposite mass dependence of the alignment strength for the spin (negative) and major (positive) axes, i.e. with increasing halo mass the major axis tends to be more strongly aligned with the direction of the filament, whereas the alignment between halo spin and filament becomes weaker with increasing halo mass. The alignment strength as a function of the distance to the most massive node halo indicates that there is a transit large-scale environment impact: from the two-dimensional collapse phase of the filament to the three-dimensional collapse phase of the cluster/node halo at small separation. Overall, the two algorithms for filament/sheet identification investigated here agree well with each other. The method based on halos alone can be easily adapted for use with observational data sets.

The metal-poor stellar halo in RAVE-TGAS and its implications for the velocity distribution of dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herzog-Arbeitman, Jonah; Lisanti, Mariangela; Necib, Lina

2018-04-01

The local velocity distribution of dark matter plays an integral role in interpreting the results from direct detection experiments. We previously showed that metal-poor halo stars serve as excellent tracers of the virialized dark matter velocity distribution using a high-resolution hydrodynamic simulation of a Milky Way-like halo. In this paper, we take advantage of the first Gaia data release, coupled with spectroscopic measurements from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), to study the kinematics of stars belonging to the metal-poor halo within an average distance of ~5 kpc of the Sun. We study stars with iron abundances [Fe/H] < ‑1.5 and ‑1.8 that are located more than 1.5 kpc from the Galactic plane. Using a Gaussian mixture model analysis, we identify the stars that belong to the halo population, as well as some kinematic outliers. We find that both metallicity samples have similar velocity distributions for the halo component, within uncertainties. Assuming that the stellar halo velocities adequately trace the virialized dark matter, we study the implications for direct detection experiments. The Standard Halo Model, which is typically assumed for dark matter, is discrepant with the empirical distribution by ~6σ, predicts fewer high-speed particles, and is anisotropic. As a result, the Standard Halo Model overpredicts the nuclear scattering rate for dark matter masses below ~10 GeV. The kinematic outliers that we identify may potentially be correlated with dark matter substructure, though further study is needed to establish this correspondence.

Self-organizing biochemical cycle in dynamic feedback with soil structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasilyeva, Nadezda; Vladimirov, Artem; Smirnov, Alexander; Matveev, Sergey; Tyrtyshnikov, Evgeniy; Yudina, Anna; Milanovskiy, Evgeniy; Shein, Evgeniy

2016-04-01

In the present study we perform bifurcation analysis of a physically-based mathematical model of self-organized structures in soil (Vasilyeva et al., 2015). The state variables in this model included microbial biomass, two organic matter types, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water content and capillary pore size. According to our previous experimental studies, organic matter affinity to water is an important property affecting soil structure. Therefore, organic matter wettability was taken as principle distinction between organic matter types in this model. It considers general known biological feedbacks with soil physical properties formulated as a system of parabolic type non-linear partial differential equations with elements of discrete modeling for water and pore formation. The model shows complex behavior, involving emergence of temporal and spatial irregular auto-oscillations from initially homogeneous distributions. The energy of external impact on a system was defined by a constant oxygen level on the boundary. Non-linear as opposed to linear oxygen diffusion gives possibility of modeling anaerobic micro-zones formation (organic matter conservation mechanism). For the current study we also introduced population competition of three different types of microorganisms according to their mobility/feeding (diffusive, moving and fungal growth). The strongly non-linear system was solved and parameterized by time-optimized algorithm combining explicit and implicit (matrix form of Thomas algorithm) methods considering the time for execution of the evaluated time-step according to accuracy control. The integral flux of the CO2 state variable was used as a macroscopic parameter to describe system as a whole and validation was carried out on temperature series of moisture dependence for soil heterotrophic respiration data. Thus, soil heterotrophic respiration can be naturally modeled as an integral result of complex dynamics on microscale, arising from biological processes formulated as a sum of state variables products, with no need to introduce any saturation functions, such as Mikhaelis-Menten type kinetics, inside the model. Analyzed dynamic soil model is being further developed to describe soil structure formation and its effect on organic matter decomposition at macro-scale, to predict changes with external perturbations. To link micro- and macro-scales we additionally model soil particles aggregation process. The results from local biochemical soil organic matter cycle serve as inputs to aggregation process, while the output aggregate size distributions define physical properties in the soil profile, these in turn serve as dynamic parameters in local biochemical cycles. The additional formulation is a system of non-linear ordinary differential equations, including Smoluchowski-type equations for aggregation and reaction kinetics equations for coagulation/adsorption/adhesion processes. Vasilyeva N.A., Ingtem J.G., Silaev D.A. Nonlinear dynamical model of microbial growth in soil medium. Computational Mathematics and Modeling, vol. 49, p.31-44, 2015 (in Russian). English version is expected in corresponding vol.27, issue 2, 2016.

Settling Efficiency of Urban Particulate Matter Transported by Stormwater Runoff.

PubMed

Carbone, Marco; Penna, Nadia; Piro, Patrizia

2015-09-01

The main purpose of control measures in urban areas is to retain particulate matter washed out by stormwater over impermeable surfaces. In stormwater control measures, particulate matter removal typically occurs via sedimentation. Settling column tests were performed to examine the settling efficiency of such units using monodisperse and heterodisperse particulate matter (for which the particle size distributions were measured and modelled by the cumulative gamma distribution). To investigate the dependence of settling efficiency from the particulate matter, a variant of the evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR), a Microsoft Excel function based on multi-objective EPR technique (EPR-MOGA), called EPR MOGA XL, was used as a data-mining strategy. The results from this study have shown that settling efficiency is a function of the initial total suspended solids (TSS) concentration and of the median diameter (d50 index), obtained from the particle size distributions (PSDs) of the samples.

Modified dark matter: Relating dark energy, dark matter and baryonic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edmonds, Douglas; Farrah, Duncan; Minic, Djordje; Ng, Y. Jack; Takeuchi, Tatsu

Modified dark matter (MDM) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by gravitational thermodynamics. For an accelerating universe with positive cosmological constant (Λ), such phenomenological considerations lead to the emergence of a critical acceleration parameter related to Λ. Such a critical acceleration is an effective phenomenological manifestation of MDM, and it is found in correlations between dark matter and baryonic matter in galaxy rotation curves. The resulting MDM mass profiles, which are sensitive to Λ, are consistent with observational data at both the galactic and cluster scales. In particular, the same critical acceleration appears both in the galactic and cluster data fits based on MDM. Furthermore, using some robust qualitative arguments, MDM appears to work well on cosmological scales, even though quantitative studies are still lacking. Finally, we comment on certain nonlocal aspects of the quanta of modified dark matter, which may lead to novel nonparticle phenomenology and which may explain why, so far, dark matter detection experiments have failed to detect dark matter particles.

The effects of the small-scale behaviour of dark matter power spectrum on CMB spectral distortion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Abir; Sethi, Shiv. K.; Das, Subinoy

2017-07-01

After numerous astronomical and experimental searches, the precise particle nature of dark matter is still unknown. The standard Weakly Interacting Massive Particle(WIMP) dark matter, despite successfully explaining the large-scale features of the universe, has long-standing small-scale issues. The spectral distortion in the Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB) caused by Silk damping in the pre-recombination era allows one to access information on a range of small scales 0.3 Mpc < k < 104 Mpc-1, whose dynamics can be precisely described using linear theory. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using the Silk damping induced CMB spectral distortion as a probe of the small-scale power. We consider four suggested alternative dark matter candidates—Warm Dark Matter (WDM), Late Forming Dark Matter (LFDM), Ultra Light Axion (ULA) dark matter and Charged Decaying Dark Matter (CHDM); the matter power in all these models deviate significantly from the ΛCDM model at small scales. We compute the spectral distortion of CMB for these alternative models and compare our results with the ΛCDM model. We show that the main impact of alternative models is to alter the sub-horizon evolution of the Newtonian potential which affects the late-time behaviour of spectral distortion of CMB. The y-parameter diminishes by a few percent as compared to the ΛCDM model for a range of parameters of these models: LFDM for formation redshift zf = 105 (7%); WDM for mass mwdm = 1 keV (2%); CHDM for decay redshift zdecay = 105 (5%); ULA for mass ma = 10-24 eV (3%). This effect from the pre-recombination era can be masked by orders of magnitude higher y-distortions generated by late-time sources, e.g. the Epoch of Reionization and tSZ from the cluster of galaxies. We also briefly discuss the detectability of this deviation in light of the upcoming CMB experiment PIXIE, which might have the sensitivity to detect this signal from the pre-recombination phase.

The effects of the small-scale behaviour of dark matter power spectrum on CMB spectral distortion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarkar, Abir; Sethi, Shiv K.; Das, Subinoy, E-mail: abir@rri.res.in, E-mail: sethi@rri.res.in, E-mail: subinoy@iiap.res.in

After numerous astronomical and experimental searches, the precise particle nature of dark matter is still unknown. The standard Weakly Interacting Massive Particle(WIMP) dark matter, despite successfully explaining the large-scale features of the universe, has long-standing small-scale issues. The spectral distortion in the Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB) caused by Silk damping in the pre-recombination era allows one to access information on a range of small scales 0.3 Mpc < k < 10{sup 4} Mpc{sup −1}, whose dynamics can be precisely described using linear theory. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using the Silk damping induced CMB spectral distortion as amore » probe of the small-scale power. We consider four suggested alternative dark matter candidates—Warm Dark Matter (WDM), Late Forming Dark Matter (LFDM), Ultra Light Axion (ULA) dark matter and Charged Decaying Dark Matter (CHDM); the matter power in all these models deviate significantly from the ΛCDM model at small scales. We compute the spectral distortion of CMB for these alternative models and compare our results with the ΛCDM model. We show that the main impact of alternative models is to alter the sub-horizon evolution of the Newtonian potential which affects the late-time behaviour of spectral distortion of CMB. The y -parameter diminishes by a few percent as compared to the ΛCDM model for a range of parameters of these models: LFDM for formation redshift z {sub f} = 10{sup 5} (7%); WDM for mass m {sub wdm} = 1 keV (2%); CHDM for decay redshift z {sub decay} = 10{sup 5} (5%); ULA for mass m {sub a} = 10{sup −24} eV (3%). This effect from the pre-recombination era can be masked by orders of magnitude higher y -distortions generated by late-time sources, e.g. the Epoch of Reionization and tSZ from the cluster of galaxies. We also briefly discuss the detectability of this deviation in light of the upcoming CMB experiment PIXIE, which might have the sensitivity to detect this signal from the pre-recombination phase.« less

Inflatable Dark Matter.

PubMed

Davoudiasl, Hooman; Hooper, Dan; McDermott, Samuel D

2016-01-22

We describe a general scenario, dubbed "inflatable dark matter," in which the density of dark matter particles can be reduced through a short period of late-time inflation in the early Universe. The overproduction of dark matter that is predicted within many, otherwise, well-motivated models of new physics can be elegantly remedied within this context. Thermal relics that would, otherwise, be disfavored can easily be accommodated within this class of scenarios, including dark matter candidates that are very heavy or very light. Furthermore, the nonthermal abundance of grand unified theory or Planck scale axions can be brought to acceptable levels without invoking anthropic tuning of initial conditions. A period of late-time inflation could have occurred over a wide range of scales from ∼MeV to the weak scale or above, and could have been triggered by physics within a hidden sector, with small but not necessarily negligible couplings to the standard model.

Too hot to handle? Analytic solutions for massive neutrino or warm dark matter cosmologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slepian, Zachary; Portillo, Stephen K. N.

2018-05-01

We obtain novel closed-form solutions to the Friedmann equation for cosmological models containing a component whose equation of state is that of radiation (w = 1/3) at early times and that of cold pressureless matter (w = 0) at late times. The equation of state smoothly transitions from the early to late-time behavior and exactly describes the evolution of a species with a Dirac Delta function distribution in momentum magnitudes |p_0| (i.e. all particles have the same |p_0|). Such a component, here termed "hot matter", is an approximate model for both neutrinos and warm dark matter. We consider it alone and in combination with cold matter and with radiation, also obtaining closed-form solutions for the growth of super-horizon perturbations in each case. The idealized model recovers t(a) to better than 1.5% accuracy for all a relative to a Fermi-Dirac distribution (as describes neutrinos). We conclude by adding the second moment of the distribution to our exact solution and then generalizing to include all moments of an arbitrary momentum distribution in a closed-form solution.

Too hot to handle? Analytic solutions for massive neutrino or warm dark matter cosmologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slepian, Zachary; Portillo, Stephen K. N.

2018-07-01

We obtain novel closed-form solutions to the Friedmann equation for cosmological models containing a component whose equation of state is that of radiation (w = 1/3) at early times and that of cold pressureless matter (w= 0) at late times. The equation of state smoothly transitions from the early- to late-time behaviour and exactly describes the evolution of a species with a Dirac delta function distribution in momentum magnitudes |{p}_0| (i.e. all particles have the same |{p}_0|). Such a component, here termed `hot matter', is an approximate model for both neutrinos and warm dark matter. We consider it alone and in combination with cold matter and with radiation, also obtaining closed-form solutions for the growth of superhorizon perturbations in each case. The idealized model recovers t(a) to better than 1.5 per cent accuracy for all a relative to a Fermi-Dirac distribution (as describes neutrinos). We conclude by adding the second moment of the distribution to our exact solution and then generalizing to include all moments of an arbitrary momentum distribution in a closed-form solution.

Some intriguing aspects of multiparticle production processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilk, Grzegorz; Włodarczyk, Zbigniew

2018-04-01

Multiparticle production processes provide valuable information about the mechanism of the conversion of the initial energy of projectiles into a number of secondaries by measuring their multiplicity distributions and their distributions in phase space. They therefore serve as a reference point for more involved measurements. Distributions in phase space are usually investigated using the statistical approach, very successful in general but failing in cases of small colliding systems, small multiplicities, and at the edges of the allowed phase space, in which cases the underlying dynamical effects competing with the statistical distributions take over. We discuss an alternative approach, which applies to the whole phase space without detailed knowledge of dynamics. It is based on a modification of the usual statistics by generalizing it to a superstatistical form. We stress particularly the scaling and self-similar properties of such an approach manifesting themselves as the phenomena of the log-periodic oscillations and oscillations of temperature caused by sound waves in hadronic matter. Concerning the multiplicity distributions we discuss in detail the phenomenon of the oscillatory behavior of the modified combinants apparently observed in experimental data.

Features about pion production in 2.1A and 3.7AGeV 4He-nucleus interactions up to and out of kinematical limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdelsalam, A.; Badawy, B. M.; Amer, H. A.; Osman, W.; El-Ashmawy, M. M.; Abdallah, N.

The shower particle multiplicity characteristics are studied in 2.1A and 3.7A GeV 4He interactions with emulsion nuclei. The dependencies on emission direction, energy, target size, and centrality are examined. The data are compared with the simulation of the modified FRITIOF model. The forward emitted pion multiplicity distributions exhibit KNO scaling. The decay or peaking shaped curves characterize the pion multiplicity distributions. The decay shape is suggested to be due to a single source contribution and the peaking one results from a multisource superposition. The forward emitted pion is created from fireball or hadronic matter. The target nucleus is the origin of the backward one, regarding the nuclear limiting fragmentation hypothesis.

Mapping the universe.

PubMed

Geller, M J; Huchra, J P

1989-11-17

Maps of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe reveal large coherent structures. The extent of the largest features is limited only by the size of the survey. Voids with a density typically 20 percent of the mean and with diameters of 5000 km s(-1) are present in every survey large enough to contain them. Many galaxies lie in thin sheet-like structures. The largest sheet detected so far is the "Great Wall" with a minimum extent of 60 h(-1) Mpc x 170 h(-1) Mpc, where h is the Hubble constant in units of 100 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). The frequent occurrence of these structures is one of several serious challenges to our current understanding of the origin and evolution of the large-scale distribution of matter in the universe.

Aerodynamic size distribution of suspended particulate matter in the ambient air in the city of Cleveland, Ohio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leibecki, H. F.; King, R. B.; Fordyce, J. S.

1974-01-01

The City of Cleveland Division of Air Pollution Control and NASA jointly investigated the chemical and physical characteristics of the suspended particulate matter in Cleveland, and as part of the program, measurements of the particle size distribution of ambient air samples at five urban locations during August and September 1972 were made using high-volume cascade impactions. The distributions were evaluated for lognormality, and the mass median diameters were compared between locations and as a function of resultant wind direction. Junge-type distributions were consistent with dirty continental aerosols. About two-thirds of the suspended particulate matter observed in Cleveland is less than 7 microns in diameter.

The dark matter distribution of M87 and NGC 1399

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsai, John C.

1993-01-01

Recent X-ray observations of clusters of galaxies indicate that, outside the innermost about 100 kpc region, the ratio of dark matter density to baryonic matter density declines with radius. We show that this result is consistent with a cold dark matter simulation, suggesting the presence of dissipationless dark matter in the observed clusters. This is contrary to previous suggestions that dissipational baryonic dark matter is required to explain the decline in the density ratio. The simulation further shows that, in the inner 100 kpc region, the density ratio should rise with radius. We confirm this property in M87 and NGC 1399, which are close enough to allow the determination of the density ratio in the required inner region. X-ray mappings of the dark matter distribution in clusters of galaxies are therefore consistent with the presence of dissipationless dark matter.

Does Scale Really Matter? Ultra-Large-Scale Systems Seven Years after the Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-24

Beyonce Knowles releases second consecutive No.1 album and fourth No.1 single in the US BlackBerry users numbered 4,900,000 in March, 2006...And yet…there is a fast growing gap between our research and reality. 75 Does Scale Really Matter?: ULS Systems Seven Years Later Linda Northrop

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of normal appearing white matter in early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: correlations between disability and spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Ruiz-Peña, Juan Luis; Piñero, Pilar; Sellers, Guillermo; Argente, Joaquín; Casado, Alfredo; Foronda, Jesus; Uclés, Antonio; Izquierdo, Guillermo

2004-01-01

Background What currently appears to be irreversible axonal loss in normal appearing white matter, measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy is of great interest in the study of Multiple Sclerosis. Our aim is to determine the axonal damage in normal appearing white matter measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy and to correlate this with the functional disability measured by Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite scale, Neurological Rating Scale, Ambulation Index scale, and Expanded Disability Scale Score. Methods Thirty one patients (9 male and 22 female) with relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis and a Kurtzke Expanded Disability Scale Score of 0–5.5 were recruited from four hospitals in Andalusia, Spain and included in the study. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy scans and neurological disability assessments were performed the same day. Results A statistically significant correlation was found (r = -0.38 p < 0.05) between disability (measured by Expanded Disability Scale Score) and N-Acetyl Aspartate (NAA/Cr ratio) levels in normal appearing white matter in these patients. No correlation was found between the NAA/Cr ratio and disability measured by any of the other disability assessment scales. Conclusions There is correlation between disability (measured by Expanded Disability Scale Score) and the NAA/Cr ratio in normal appearing white matter. The lack of correlation between the NAA/Cr ratio and the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite score indicates that the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite is not able to measure irreversible disability and would be more useful as a marker in stages where axonal damage is not a predominant factor. PMID:15191618

On Antimatter and Cosmology.

PubMed

Kevane, C J

1961-02-24

A cosmological model based on a gravitational plasma of matter and antimatter is discussed. The antigravitational interaction of matter and antimatter leads to segregation and an expansion of the plasma universe. The expansion time scale is controlled by the aggregation time scale.

Understanding the spatial distribution of subtidal reef assemblages in the southern Baltic Sea using towed camera platform imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beisiegel, Kolja; Darr, Alexander; Zettler, Michael L.; Friedland, René; Gräwe, Ulf; Gogina, Mayya

2018-07-01

Quantitative sampling of sessile assemblages on temperate subtidal rocky reefs is expensive and severely time-limited by logistics. However, knowledge about distribution patterns of critical and endangered species and habitats at different spatial scales is needed for effective marine management strategies. To gain information of sessile community distribution on broader spatial scales (>1 km), visual imaging was employed for the first time on a reef complex in the south-western Baltic Sea. Analysis of 3000 images along 6 transects (in total 18 km long) from 10 to 40 m depth revealed high natural variation in reef physical structure, with well-defined changes in sessile species richness, cover and composition. Overall 14 morphological groups could be distinguished by imaging and 4 distinct community groups associated with specific habitat requirements were identified. Depth remained the best descriptor. However, data indicate that light intensity, concentration of organic carbon and suspended particulate matter have an effect on reef community distribution. Compared to fully marine conditions, the study revealed a unique zonation pattern in the circalittoral zone of the Fehmarnbelt brackish transition area, with an unexpected reef habitat in the trench. We conclude that towed camera platform imagery might help to close the information gap regarding rocky reefs in the temperate subtidal. It provides a valuable tool to assess the main distribution patterns of sessile assemblages on rough terrain, potentially applicable for management and conservation planning.

VORTICAL MOTIONS OF BARYONIC GAS IN THE COSMIC WEB: GROWTH HISTORY AND SCALING RELATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Weishan; Feng, Long-long

The vortical motions of the baryonic gas residing in large-scale structures are investigated by cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. Proceeding in the formation of the cosmic web, the vortical motions of baryonic matter are pumped up by baroclinity in two stages, i.e., the formation of sheets and filaments. The mean curl velocities are about <1, 1–10, 10–150, and 5–50 km s{sup −1} in voids, sheets, filaments, and knots at z = 0, respectively. The scaling of the vortical velocity of gas can be well described by the She–Leveque hierarchical turbulence model in the range of l < 0.65(1.50) h{sup −1} Mpc inmore » a simulation with a box of size 25(100) h{sup −1} Mpc. The fractal Hausdorff dimension of vortical motions, d, revealed by velocity structure functions, is ∼2.1–2.3(∼1.8–2.1). It is slightly larger than the fractal dimension of mass distribution in filaments, D{sup f} ∼ 1.9–2.2, and smaller than the fractal dimension of sheets, D{sup s} ∼ 2.4–2.7. The vortical kinetic energy of baryonic gas is mainly transported by filaments. Both scalings of mass distribution and vortical velocity increments show distinctive transitions at the turning scale of ∼0.65(1.50) h{sup −1} Mpc, which may be closely related to the characteristic radius of density filaments.« less

A Soil Service Index: Potential Soil Services to Society under Scenarios of Human Land Use and Population Growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugelius, G.; Ahlström, A.; Loisel, J.; Harden, J. W.

2017-12-01

Soils provide numerous and indispensable services to ecological systems and human societies. As human populations and human land use changes, the capacity of soils to maintain these services may also change. To investigate this we provide the first global scale study based on the soil service index (SSI; see presentations by Harden et al. and Loisel et al. in this session for more details). In this index multiple soil services are numerically or quantitatively assessed, normalized to a unit-less scale for purposes of intercomparability. Soil services assessed under the SSI include organic matter and/or organic carbon storage; plant productivity; CO2 or GHG exchange with the atmosphere; water storage capacity; and nutrient storage and/or availability. The SSI may be applied at any scale. Here we present a first global application of the SSI and provide broad-scale analyses of soil service spatial distributions. We assess how the SSI will change under projected changes in human societies populations and human land use (following representative concentration pathway scenarios). Present and future potential utilization and vulnerability of soil resources are analyzed in the context of human population distributions and its projected changes. The SSI is designed to be broadly useful across scientific, governance and resource management organizations. To exemplify this, the parameterization of this is global soil service estimate is based on only open source input data.

Scale dependence of galaxy biasing investigated by weak gravitational lensing: An assessment using semi-analytic galaxies and simulated lensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Patrick; Hilbert, Stefan

2018-05-01

Galaxies are biased tracers of the matter density on cosmological scales. For future tests of galaxy models, we refine and assess a method to measure galaxy biasing as a function of physical scale k with weak gravitational lensing. This method enables us to reconstruct the galaxy bias factor b(k) as well as the galaxy-matter correlation r(k) on spatial scales between 0.01 h Mpc-1 ≲ k ≲ 10 h Mpc-1 for redshift-binned lens galaxies below redshift z ≲ 0.6. In the refinement, we account for an intrinsic alignment of source ellipticities, and we correct for the magnification bias of the lens galaxies, relevant for the galaxy-galaxy lensing signal, to improve the accuracy of the reconstructed r(k). For simulated data, the reconstructions achieve an accuracy of 3-7% (68% confidence level) over the above k-range for a survey area and a typical depth of contemporary ground-based surveys. Realistically the accuracy is, however, probably reduced to about 10-15%, mainly by systematic uncertainties in the assumed intrinsic source alignment, the fiducial cosmology, and the redshift distributions of lens and source galaxies (in that order). Furthermore, our reconstruction technique employs physical templates for b(k) and r(k) that elucidate the impact of central galaxies and the halo-occupation statistics of satellite galaxies on the scale-dependence of galaxy bias, which we discuss in the paper. In a first demonstration, we apply this method to previous measurements in the Garching-Bonn Deep Survey and give a physical interpretation of the lens population.

Effects of Large-Scale Solar Installations on Dust Mobilization and Air Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pratt, J. T.; Singh, D.; Diffenbaugh, N. S.

2012-12-01

Large-scale solar projects are increasingly being developed worldwide and many of these installations are located in arid, desert regions. To examine the effects of these projects on regional dust mobilization and air quality, we analyze aerosol product data from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) at annual and seasonal time intervals near fifteen photovoltaic and solar thermal stations ranging from 5-200 MW (12-4,942 acres) in size. The stations are distributed over eight different countries and were chosen based on size, location and installation date; most of the installations are large-scale, took place in desert climates and were installed between 2006 and 2010. We also consider air quality measurements of particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 micrometers (PM10) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitoring sites near and downwind from the project installations in the U.S. We use monthly wind data from the NOAA's National Center for Atmospheric Prediction (NCEP) Global Reanalysis to select the stations downwind from the installations, and then perform statistical analysis on the data to identify any significant changes in these quantities. We find that fourteen of the fifteen regions have lower aerosol product after the start of the installations as well as all six PM10 monitoring stations showing lower particulate matter measurements after construction commenced. Results fail to show any statistically significant differences in aerosol optical index or PM10 measurements before and after the large-scale solar installations. However, many of the large installations are very recent, and there is insufficient data to fully understand the long-term effects on air quality. More data and higher resolution analysis is necessary to better understand the relationship between large-scale solar, dust and air quality.

Dynamic field theory and equations of motion in cosmology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kopeikin, Sergei M., E-mail: kopeikins@missouri.edu; Petrov, Alexander N., E-mail: alex.petrov55@gmail.com

2014-11-15

We discuss a field-theoretical approach based on general-relativistic variational principle to derive the covariant field equations and hydrodynamic equations of motion of baryonic matter governed by cosmological perturbations of dark matter and dark energy. The action depends on the gravitational and matter Lagrangian. The gravitational Lagrangian depends on the metric tensor and its first and second derivatives. The matter Lagrangian includes dark matter, dark energy and the ordinary baryonic matter which plays the role of a bare perturbation. The total Lagrangian is expanded in an asymptotic Taylor series around the background cosmological manifold defined as a solution of Einstein’s equationsmore » in the form of the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) metric tensor. The small parameter of the decomposition is the magnitude of the metric tensor perturbation. Each term of the series expansion is gauge-invariant and all of them together form a basis for the successive post-Friedmannian approximations around the background metric. The approximation scheme is covariant and the asymptotic nature of the Lagrangian decomposition does not require the post-Friedmannian perturbations to be small though computationally it works the most effectively when the perturbed metric is close enough to the background FLRW metric. The temporal evolution of the background metric is governed by dark matter and dark energy and we associate the large scale inhomogeneities in these two components as those generated by the primordial cosmological perturbations with an effective matter density contrast δρ/ρ≤1. The small scale inhomogeneities are generated by the condensations of baryonic matter considered as the bare perturbations of the background manifold that admits δρ/ρ≫1. Mathematically, the large scale perturbations are given by the homogeneous solution of the linearized field equations while the small scale perturbations are described by a particular solution of these equations with the bare stress–energy tensor of the baryonic matter. We explicitly work out the covariant field equations of the successive post-Friedmannian approximations of Einstein’s equations in cosmology and derive equations of motion of large and small scale inhomogeneities of dark matter and dark energy. We apply these equations to derive the post-Friedmannian equations of motion of baryonic matter comprising stars, galaxies and their clusters.« less

The human cerebral cortex is neither one nor many: neuronal distribution reveals two quantitatively different zones in the gray matter, three in the white matter, and explains local variations in cortical folding

PubMed Central

Ribeiro, Pedro F. M.; Ventura-Antunes, Lissa; Gabi, Mariana; Mota, Bruno; Grinberg, Lea T.; Farfel, José M.; Ferretti-Rebustini, Renata E. L.; Leite, Renata E. P.; Filho, Wilson J.; Herculano-Houzel, Suzana

2013-01-01

The human prefrontal cortex has been considered different in several aspects and relatively enlarged compared to the rest of the cortical areas. Here we determine whether the white and gray matter of the prefrontal portion of the human cerebral cortex have similar or different cellular compositions relative to the rest of the cortical regions by applying the Isotropic Fractionator to analyze the distribution of neurons along the entire anteroposterior axis of the cortex, and its relationship with the degree of gyrification, number of neurons under the cortical surface, and other parameters. The prefrontal region shares with the remainder of the cerebral cortex (except for occipital cortex) the same relationship between cortical volume and number of neurons. In contrast, both occipital and prefrontal areas vary from other cortical areas in their connectivity through the white matter, with a systematic reduction of cortical connectivity through the white matter and an increase of the mean axon caliber along the anteroposterior axis. These two parameters explain local differences in the distribution of neurons underneath the cortical surface. We also show that local variations in cortical folding are neither a function of local numbers of neurons nor of cortical thickness, but correlate with properties of the white matter, and are best explained by the folding of the white matter surface. Our results suggest that the human cerebral cortex is divided in two zones (occipital and non-occipital) that differ in how neurons are distributed across their gray matter volume and in three zones (prefrontal, occipital, and non-occipital) that differ in how neurons are connected through the white matter. Thus, the human prefrontal cortex has the largest fraction of neuronal connectivity through the white matter and the smallest average axonal caliber in the white matter within the cortex, although its neuronal composition fits the pattern found for other, non-occipital areas. PMID:24032005

Feshbach Prize: New Phenomena and New Physics from Strongly-Correlated Quantum Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlson, Joseph A.

2017-01-01

Strongly correlated quantum matter is ubiquitous in physics from cold atoms to nuclei to the cold dense matter found in neutron stars. Experiments from table-top to the extremely large scale experiments including FRIB and LIGO will help determine the properties of matter across an incredible scale of distances and energies. Questions to be addressed include the existence of exotic states of matter in cold atoms and nuclei, the response of this correlated matter to external probes, and the behavior of matter in extreme astrophysical environments. A more complete understanding is required, both to understand these diverse phenomena and to employ this understanding to probe for new underlying physics in experiments including neutrinoless double beta decay and accelerator neutrino experiments. I will summarize some aspects of our present understanding and highlight several important prospects for the future.

Correlation Analysis between Spin, Velocity Shear, and Vorticity of Baryonic and Dark Matter Halos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Li-li

2017-04-01

Based on the cosmological hydrodynamic simulations, we investigate the correlations between the spin, velocity shear and vorticity in dark matter halos, as well as the relationship between the baryonic matter and the dark matter. We find that (1) the difference between the vorticity of baryonic matter and that of dark matter is evident on the scales of < 0.2 h-1 Mpc; (2) the vorticity of baryonic matter exhibits a stronger correlation with the tensor of velocity shear than the vorticity of dark matter does; and (3) the spinning direction of small-mass dark matter halos tends to be parallel to the direction of their host filaments, while the spinning direction of massive dark matter halos tends to be perpendicular to the direction of their host filaments, and the intensity of this kind correlation depends on the size of simulation box, and the simulation accuracy. These factors may cause the relationship between the the spins of dark matter halos and those of galaxies to be complicated, and affect the correlation between the galaxy spins and the nearby large-scale structures.

Small scale temporal distribution of radiocesium in undisturbed coniferous forest soil: Radiocesium depth distribution profiles.

PubMed

Teramage, Mengistu T; Onda, Yuichi; Kato, Hiroaki

2016-04-01

The depth distribution of pre-Fukushima and Fukushima-derived (137)Cs in undisturbed coniferous forest soil was investigated at four sampling dates from nine months to 18 months after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. The migration rate and short-term temporal variability among the sampling profiles were evaluated. Taking the time elapsed since the peak deposition of pre-Fukushima (137)Cs and the median depth of the peaks, its downward displacement rates ranged from 0.15 to 0.67 mm yr(-1) with a mean of 0.46 ± 0.25 mm yr(-1). On the other hand, in each examined profile considerable amount of the Fukushima-derived (137)Cs was found in the organic layer (51%-92%). At this moment, the effect of time-distance on the downward distribution of Fukushima-derived (137)Cs seems invisible as its large portion is still found in layers where organic matter is maximal. This indicates that organic matter seems the primary and preferential sorbent of radiocesium that could be associated with the physical blockage of the exchanging sites by organic-rich dusts that act as a buffer against downward propagation of radiocesium, implying radiocesium to be remained in the root zone for considerable time period. As a result, this soil section can be a potential source of radiation dose largely due to high radiocesium concentration coupled with its low density. Generally, such kind of information will be useful to establish a dynamic safety-focused decision support system to ease and assist management actions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Spatial Distribution of Organic Matter and Mineralogical Relationships in Carbonaceous Chondrites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clemett, S. J.; Messenger, S.; Thomas-Keprta, K. L.; Nakamura-Messenger, K.

2012-01-01

Organic matter present within primitive carbonaceous meteorites represents the complex conglomeration of species formed in a variety of physically and temporally distinct environments including circumstellar space, the interstellar medium, the Solar Nebula & Jovian sub-nebulae and asteroids. In each case, multiple chemical pathways would have been available for the synthesis of organic molecules. Consequently these meteorites constitute a unique record of organic chemical evolution in the Universe and one of the biggest challenges in organic cosmochemistry has been in deciphering this record. While bulk chemical analysis has provided a detailed description of the range and diversity of organic species present in carbonaceous chondrites, there is virtually no hard experimental data as to how these species are spatially distributed and their relationship to the host mineral matrix, (with one exception). The distribution of organic phases is nevertheless critical to understanding parent body processes. The CM and CI chondrites all display evidence of low temperature (< 350K) interaction with aqueous fluids, which based on O isotope data, flowed along thermal gradients within the respective parent bodies. This pervasive aqueous alteration may have led to aqueous geochromatographic separation of organics and synthesis of new organics coupled to aqueous mineral alteration. To address such issues we have applied the technique of microprobe two-step laser desorption / photoionization mass spectrometry (L2MS) to map in situ the spatial distribution of a broad range of organic species at the micron scale in the freshly exposed matrices of the Bells, Tagish Lake and Murchison (CM2) carbonaceous chondrites.

Testing the Bose-Einstein Condensate dark matter model at galactic cluster scale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harko, Tiberiu; Liang, Pengxiang; Liang, Shi-Dong

The possibility that dark matter may be in the form of a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) has been extensively explored at galactic scale. In particular, good fits for the galactic rotations curves have been obtained, and upper limits for the dark matter particle mass and scattering length have been estimated. In the present paper we extend the investigation of the properties of the BEC dark matter to the galactic cluster scale, involving dark matter dominated astrophysical systems formed of thousands of galaxies each. By considering that one of the major components of a galactic cluster, the intra-cluster hot gas, is describedmore » by King's β-model, and that both intra-cluster gas and dark matter are in hydrostatic equilibrium, bound by the same total mass profile, we derive the mass and density profiles of the BEC dark matter. In our analysis we consider several theoretical models, corresponding to isothermal hot gas and zero temperature BEC dark matter, non-isothermal gas and zero temperature dark matter, and isothermal gas and finite temperature BEC, respectively. The properties of the finite temperature BEC dark matter cluster are investigated in detail numerically. We compare our theoretical results with the observational data of 106 galactic clusters. Using a least-squares fitting, as well as the observational results for the dark matter self-interaction cross section, we obtain some upper bounds for the mass and scattering length of the dark matter particle. Our results suggest that the mass of the dark matter particle is of the order of μ eV, while the scattering length has values in the range of 10{sup −7} fm.« less

Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock Approach to Nuclear Pasta at Finite Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuetrumpf, B.; Klatt, M. A.; Iida, K.; Maruhn, J. A.; Mecke, K.; Reinhard, P.-G.

2013-03-01

We present simulations of neutron-rich matter at subnuclear densities, like supernova matter, with the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation at temperatures of several MeV. The initial state consists of α particles randomly distributed in space that have a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution in momentum space. Adding a neutron background initialized with Fermi distributed plane waves the calculations reflect a reasonable approximation of astrophysical matter. This matter evolves into spherical, rod-like, and slab-like shapes and mixtures thereof. The simulations employ a full Skyrme interaction in a periodic three-dimensional grid. By an improved morphological analysis based on Minkowski functionals, all eight pasta shapes can be uniquely identified by the sign of only two valuations, namely the Euler characteristic and the integral mean curvature.

Understanding the brain through its spatial structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, Will Zachary

The spatial location of cells in neural tissue can be easily extracted from many imaging modalities, but the information contained in spatial relationships between cells is seldom utilized. This is because of a lack of recognition of the importance of spatial relationships to some aspects of brain function, and the reflection in spatial statistics of other types of information. The mathematical tools necessary to describe spatial relationships are also unknown to many neuroscientists, and biologists in general. We analyze two cases, and show that spatial relationships can be used to understand the role of a particular type of cell, the astrocyte, in Alzheimer's disease, and that the geometry of axons in the brain's white matter sheds light on the process of establishing connectivity between areas of the brain. Astrocytes provide nutrients for neuronal metabolism, and regulate the chemical environment of the brain, activities that require manipulation of spatial distributions (of neurotransmitters, for example). We first show, through the use of a correlation function, that inter-astrocyte forces determine the size of independent regulatory domains in the cortex. By examining the spatial distribution of astrocytes in a mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease, we determine that astrocytes are not actively transported to fight the disease, as was previously thought. The paths axons take through the white matter determine which parts of the brain are connected, and how quickly signals are transmitted. The rules that determine these paths (i.e. shortest distance) are currently unknown. By measurement of axon orientation distributions using three-point correlation functions and the statistics of axon turning and branching, we reveal that axons are restricted to growth in three directions, like a taxicab traversing city blocks, albeit in three-dimensions. We show how geometric restrictions at the small scale are related to large-scale trajectories. Finally we discuss the implications of this finding for experimental and theoretical connectomics.

Multi-scale analysis of the occurrence of Pb, Cr and Mn in the NIST standards: Urban dust (SRM 1649a) and indoor dust (SRM 2584)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Mingyu; Nakamatsu, Yuki; Jensen, Keld A.; Utsunomiya, Satoshi

2014-01-01

Adverse health effects of ambient particulate matters are closely related to the speciation of the constituting organic matters and toxic metals. To determine multi-parameters of the metal speciation in urban and indoor dusts, we have performed systematic bulk- to nano-scale (“multi-scale”) analysis on the speciation of Pb, Mn, and Cr in two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference materials (SRMs): urban dust (SRM 1649a) and indoor dust (SRM 2584), utilizing X-ray absorption near-edge structure, powder X-ray diffraction analysis, electron microprobe analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Major crystalline phases are quartz, gypsum, kaolinite, and muscovite in SRM 1649a, while quartz, gypsum, calcite, and possibly muscovite (or chabazite) in SRM 2584. A number of Pb sulfate nanoparticles (50-200 nm) occur in SRM 1649a, whereas micron-sized Pb carbonate is present containing various concentrations of Zn and Ti in the complex texture in SRM 2584. Relatively soluble Mn(II) sulfate is the bulk-averaged Mn speciation in SRM 1649a, although discrete Mn sulfate particles are not characterized by individual particle analysis, implying the diluted Mn distribution within other sulfate. In SRM 2584, Mn speciation includes a mixture of oxides and carbonates, and trace Mn in chromite. Chromite (FeCr2O4) is the major Cr speciation in SRM1694a, while unidentified Cr(III) phases with minor chromite and Pb chromate are present in SRM 2584, among which the Pb chromate is composed of Cr(VI). A significant number of the metal-bearing particles are distributed to the submicron-size fraction in the urban dust, SRM 1649a, suggesting that these metal nanoparticles can potentially penetrate into the deep respiratory system. This study demonstrates that multi-scale analysis combining nano and bulk analytical techniques is a powerful approach to investigate the multi-parameters of metal-bearing nanoparticles in heterogeneous PM samples.

Dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies and indirect detection: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strigari, Louis E.

2018-05-01

Indirect dark matter searches targeting dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) have matured rapidly during the past decade. This has been because of the substantial increase in kinematic data sets from the dSphs, the new dSphs that have been discovered, and the operation of the Fermi-LAT and many ground-based gamma-ray experiments. Here we review the analysis methods that have been used to determine the dSph dark matter distributions, in particular the ‘J-factors’, comparing and contrasting them, and detailing the underlying systematics that still affect the analysis. We discuss prospects for improving measurements of dark matter distributions, and how these interplay with future indirect dark matter searches.

Dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies and indirect detection: a review.

PubMed

Strigari, Louis E

2018-05-01

Indirect dark matter searches targeting dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) have matured rapidly during the past decade. This has been because of the substantial increase in kinematic data sets from the dSphs, the new dSphs that have been discovered, and the operation of the Fermi-LAT and many ground-based gamma-ray experiments. Here we review the analysis methods that have been used to determine the dSph dark matter distributions, in particular the 'J-factors', comparing and contrasting them, and detailing the underlying systematics that still affect the analysis. We discuss prospects for improving measurements of dark matter distributions, and how these interplay with future indirect dark matter searches.

Scale matters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Margolin, L. G.

The applicability of Navier–Stokes equations is limited to near-equilibrium flows in which the gradients of density, velocity and energy are small. Here I propose an extension of the Chapman–Enskog approximation in which the velocity probability distribution function (PDF) is averaged in the coordinate phase space as well as the velocity phase space. I derive a PDF that depends on the gradients and represents a first-order generalization of local thermodynamic equilibrium. I then integrate this PDF to derive a hydrodynamic model. Finally, I discuss the properties of that model and its relation to the discrete equations of computational fluid dynamics.

Scale matters

DOE PAGES

Margolin, L. G.

2018-03-19

The applicability of Navier–Stokes equations is limited to near-equilibrium flows in which the gradients of density, velocity and energy are small. Here I propose an extension of the Chapman–Enskog approximation in which the velocity probability distribution function (PDF) is averaged in the coordinate phase space as well as the velocity phase space. I derive a PDF that depends on the gradients and represents a first-order generalization of local thermodynamic equilibrium. I then integrate this PDF to derive a hydrodynamic model. Finally, I discuss the properties of that model and its relation to the discrete equations of computational fluid dynamics.

White matter pathology in ALS and lower motor neuron ALS variants: a diffusion tensor imaging study using tract-based spatial statistics.

PubMed

Prudlo, Johannes; Bißbort, Charlotte; Glass, Aenne; Grossmann, Annette; Hauenstein, Karlheinz; Benecke, Reiner; Teipel, Stefan J

2012-09-01

The aim of this work was to investigate white-matter microstructural changes within and outside the corticospinal tract in classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and in lower motor neuron (LMN) ALS variants by means of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We investigated 22 ALS patients and 21 age-matched controls utilizing a whole-brain approach with a 1.5-T scanner for DTI. The patient group was comprised of 15 classical ALS- and seven LMN ALS-variant patients (progressive muscular atrophy, flail arm and flail leg syndrome). Disease severity was measured by the revised version of the functional rating scale. White matter fractional anisotropy (FA) was assessed using tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) and a region of interest (ROI) approach. We found significant FA reductions in motor and extra-motor cerebral fiber tracts in classical ALS and in the LMN ALS-variant patients compared to controls. The voxel-based TBSS results were confirmed by the ROI findings. The white matter damage correlated with the disease severity in the patient group and was found in a similar distribution, but to a lesser extent, among the LMN ALS-variant subgroup. ALS and LMN ALS variants are multisystem degenerations. DTI shows the potential to determine an earlier diagnosis, particularly in LMN ALS variants. The statistically identical findings of white matter lesions in classical ALS and LMN variants as ascertained by DTI further underline that these variants should be regarded as part of the ALS spectrum.

Discovery of small-scale-structure in the large molecule/dust distribution in the diffuse ISM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cordiner, Martin A.; Fossey, Stephen J.; Sarre, Peter J.

There is mounting evidence that far from being homogeneously distributed, interstellar matter can have a clumpy or filamentary structure on the scale of 10s to a few 1000s of AU and which is commonly described as small scale structure (SSS). Initially confined to VLBI HI observations and HI observations of high-velocity pulsars, evidence for SSS has also come indirectly from molecular radio studies of e.g. HCO+ and infrared absorption by H3+. Much of the recent data on SSS has been obtained through optical/UV detection of atomic and diatomic molecular lines. Is there small scale structure in the large molecule/dust distribution? While this question could in principle be explored by measuring differences in the interstellar extinction towards the components of binary stars, in practice this would be difficult. Rather we chose to investigate this by recording very high signal-to-noise spectra of diffuse interstellar absorption bands. Although the carriers remain unidentified, the diffuse bands are generally considered to be tracers of the large molecule/dust distribution and scale well with reddening. Using the Anglo-Australian Telescope we have made UCLES observations of pairs of stars with separations ranging between 500 and 30000 AU. The signal-to-noise achieved was up to 2000, thus allowing variations in central depth of less than a few tenths of a percent to be discernible. Striking differences in diffuse band strengths for closely spaced lines of sight are found showing clearly that there exists small-scale-structure in the large molecule/dust distribution. For example, in the Ophiuchus star-formation region the central depths for the λ6614 diffuse band towards the ρ Oph stars A, B, C and D/E all differ and range between 0.966 and 0.930. Further interesting behaviour is found when comparing the relative strengths of diffuse bands between closely parallel lines of sight. Taking again the ρ Oph group, for λ5797 the strengths follow the order DE > B > C > A whereas the λ5850 band, which has been associated with λ5797 as a member of the same 'family', follows a very different intensity pattern with C > B > A > DE. This opens a new avenue of diffuse band research in its own right and provides a rigorous test for models and theories of diffuse band carrier structure and behaviour.

Strong-lensing analysis of MACS J0717.5+3745 from Hubble Frontier Fields observations: How well can the mass distribution be constrained?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limousin, M.; Richard, J.; Jullo, E.; Jauzac, M.; Ebeling, H.; Bonamigo, M.; Alavi, A.; Clément, B.; Giocoli, C.; Kneib, J.-P.; Verdugo, T.; Natarajan, P.; Siana, B.; Atek, H.; Rexroth, M.

2016-04-01

We present a strong-lensing analysis of MACSJ0717.5+3745 (hereafter MACS J0717), based on the full depth of the Hubble Frontier Field (HFF) observations, which brings the number of multiply imaged systems to 61, ten of which have been spectroscopically confirmed. The total number of images comprised in these systems rises to 165, compared to 48 images in 16 systems before the HFF observations. Our analysis uses a parametric mass reconstruction technique, as implemented in the Lenstool software, and the subset of the 132 most secure multiple images to constrain a mass distribution composed of four large-scale mass components (spatially aligned with the four main light concentrations) and a multitude of galaxy-scale perturbers. We find a superposition of cored isothermal mass components to provide a good fit to the observational constraints, resulting in a very shallow mass distribution for the smooth (large-scale) component. Given the implications of such a flat mass profile, we investigate whether a model composed of "peaky" non-cored mass components can also reproduce the observational constraints. We find that such a non-cored mass model reproduces the observational constraints equally well, in the sense that both models give comparable total rms. Although the total (smooth dark matter component plus galaxy-scale perturbers) mass distributions of both models are consistent, as are the integrated two-dimensional mass profiles, we find that the smooth and the galaxy-scale components are very different. We conclude that, even in the HFF era, the generic degeneracy between smooth and galaxy-scale components is not broken, in particular in such a complex galaxy cluster. Consequently, insights into the mass distribution of MACS J0717 remain limited, emphasizing the need for additional probes beyond strong lensing. Our findings also have implications for estimates of the lensing magnification. We show that the amplification difference between the two models is larger than the error associated with either model, and that this additional systematic uncertainty is approximately the difference in magnification obtained by the different groups of modelers using pre-HFF data. This uncertainty decreases the area of the image plane where we can reliably study the high-redshift Universe by 50 to 70%.

Evidence for Functional Networks within the Human Brain's White Matter.

PubMed

Peer, Michael; Nitzan, Mor; Bick, Atira S; Levin, Netta; Arzy, Shahar

2017-07-05

Investigation of the functional macro-scale organization of the human cortex is fundamental in modern neuroscience. Although numerous studies have identified networks of interacting functional modules in the gray-matter, limited research was directed to the functional organization of the white-matter. Recent studies have demonstrated that the white-matter exhibits blood oxygen level-dependent signal fluctuations similar to those of the gray-matter. Here we used these signal fluctuations to investigate whether the white-matter is organized as functional networks by applying a clustering analysis on resting-state functional MRI (RSfMRI) data from white-matter voxels, in 176 subjects (of both sexes). This analysis indicated the existence of 12 symmetrical white-matter functional networks, corresponding to combinations of white-matter tracts identified by diffusion tensor imaging. Six of the networks included interhemispheric commissural bridges traversing the corpus callosum. Signals in white-matter networks correlated with signals from functional gray-matter networks, providing missing knowledge on how these distributed networks communicate across large distances. These findings were replicated in an independent subject group and were corroborated by seed-based analysis in small groups and individual subjects. The identified white-matter functional atlases and analysis codes are available at http://mind.huji.ac.il/white-matter.aspx Our results demonstrate that the white-matter manifests an intrinsic functional organization as interacting networks of functional modules, similarly to the gray-matter, which can be investigated using RSfMRI. The discovery of functional networks within the white-matter may open new avenues of research in cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychiatry. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In recent years, functional MRI (fMRI) has revolutionized all fields of neuroscience, enabling identifications of functional modules and networks in the human brain. However, most fMRI studies ignored a major part of the brain, the white-matter, discarding signals from it as arising from noise. Here we use resting-state fMRI data from 176 subjects to show that signals from the human white-matter contain meaningful information. We identify 12 functional networks composed of interacting long-distance white-matter tracts. Moreover, we show that these networks are highly correlated to resting-state gray-matter networks, highlighting their functional role. Our findings enable reinterpretation of many existing fMRI datasets, and suggest a new way to explore the white-matter role in cognition and its disturbances in neuropsychiatric disorders. Copyright © 2017 the authors 0270-6474/17/376394-14$15.00/0.

Extended general relativity: Large-scale antigravity and short-scale gravity with ω=-1 from five-dimensional vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madriz Aguilar, José Edgar; Bellini, Mauricio

2009-08-01

Considering a five-dimensional (5D) Riemannian spacetime with a particular stationary Ricci-flat metric, we obtain in the framework of the induced matter theory an effective 4D static and spherically symmetric metric which give us ordinary gravitational solutions on small (planetary and astrophysical) scales, but repulsive (anti gravitational) forces on very large (cosmological) scales with ω=-1. Our approach is an unified manner to describe dark energy, dark matter and ordinary matter. We illustrate the theory with two examples, the solar system and the great attractor. From the geometrical point of view, these results follow from the assumption that exists a confining force that make possible that test particles move on a given 4D hypersurface.

Cosmological simulations of decaying dark matter: implications for small-scale structure of dark matter haloes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Mei-Yu; Peter, Annika H. G.; Strigari, Louis E.; Zentner, Andrew R.; Arant, Bryan; Garrison-Kimmel, Shea; Rocha, Miguel

2014-11-01

We present a set of N-body simulations of a class of models in which an unstable dark matter particle decays into a stable dark matter particle and a non-interacting light particle with decay lifetime comparable to the Hubble time. We study the effects of the recoil kick velocity (Vk) received by the stable dark matter on the structures of dark matter haloes ranging from galaxy-cluster to Milky Way-mass scales. For Milky Way-mass haloes, we use high-resolution, zoom-in simulations to explore the effects of decays on Galactic substructure. In general, haloes with circular velocities comparable to the magnitude of kick velocity are most strongly affected by decays. We show that models with lifetimes Γ-1 ˜ H_0^{-1} and recoil speeds Vk ˜ 20-40 km s-1 can significantly reduce both the abundance of Galactic subhaloes and their internal densities. We find that decaying dark matter models that do not violate current astrophysical constraints can significantly mitigate both the `missing satellites problem' and the more recent `too big to fail problem'. These decaying models predict significant time evolution of haloes, and this implies that at high redshifts decaying models exhibit the similar sequence of structure formation as cold dark matter. Thus, decaying dark matter models are significantly less constrained by high-redshift phenomena than warm dark matter models. We conclude that models of decaying dark matter make predictions that are relevant for the interpretation of small galaxies observations in the Local Group and can be tested as well as by forthcoming large-scale surveys.

Ghost dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Furukawa, Tomonori; Yokoyama, Shuichiro; Ichiki, Kiyotomo

2010-05-01

We revisit ghost dark matter, the possibility that ghost condensation may serve as an alternative to dark matter. In particular, we investigate the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) background evolution and the large-scale structure (LSS) in the ΛGDM universe, i.e. a late-time universe dominated by a cosmological constant and ghost dark matter. The FRW background of the ΛGDM universe is indistinguishable from that of the standard ΛCDM universe if M∼>1eV, where M is the scale of spontaneous Lorentz breaking. From the LSS we find a stronger bound: M∼>10eV. For smaller M, ghost dark matter would have non-negligible sound speed after the matter-radiation equality,more » and thus the matter power spectrum would significantly differ from observation. These bounds are compatible with the phenomenological upper bound M∼<100GeV known in the literature.« less

The fraternal WIMP miracle

DOE PAGES

Craig, Nathaniel; Katz, Andrey

2015-10-27

We identify and analyze thermal dark matter candidates in the fraternal twin Higgs model and its generalizations. The relic abundance of fraternal twin dark matter is set by twin weak interactions, with a scale tightly tied to the weak scale of the Standard Model by naturalness considerations. As such, the dark matter candidates benefit from a "fraternal WIMP miracle'', reproducing the observed dark matter abundance for dark matter masses between 50 and 150 GeV . However, the couplings dominantly responsible for dark matter annihilation do not lead to interactions with the visible sector. The direct detection rate is instead setmore » via fermionic Higgs portal interactions, which are likewise constrained by naturalness considerations but parametrically weaker than those leading to dark matter annihilation. Finally, the predicted direct detection cross section is close to current LUX bounds and presents an opportunity for the next generation of direct detection experiments.« less

Reduced-Order Biogeochemical Flux Model for High-Resolution Multi-Scale Biophysical Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Katherine; Hamlington, Peter; Pinardi, Nadia; Zavatarelli, Marco

2017-04-01

Biogeochemical tracers and their interactions with upper ocean physical processes such as submesoscale circulations and small-scale turbulence are critical for understanding the role of the ocean in the global carbon cycle. These interactions can cause small-scale spatial and temporal heterogeneity in tracer distributions that can, in turn, greatly affect carbon exchange rates between the atmosphere and interior ocean. For this reason, it is important to take into account small-scale biophysical interactions when modeling the global carbon cycle. However, explicitly resolving these interactions in an earth system model (ESM) is currently infeasible due to the enormous associated computational cost. As a result, understanding and subsequently parameterizing how these small-scale heterogeneous distributions develop and how they relate to larger resolved scales is critical for obtaining improved predictions of carbon exchange rates in ESMs. In order to address this need, we have developed the reduced-order, 17 state variable Biogeochemical Flux Model (BFM-17) that follows the chemical functional group approach, which allows for non-Redfield stoichiometric ratios and the exchange of matter through units of carbon, nitrate, and phosphate. This model captures the behavior of open-ocean biogeochemical systems without substantially increasing computational cost, thus allowing the model to be combined with computationally-intensive, fully three-dimensional, non-hydrostatic large eddy simulations (LES). In this talk, we couple BFM-17 with the Princeton Ocean Model and show good agreement between predicted monthly-averaged results and Bermuda testbed area field data (including the Bermuda-Atlantic Time-series Study and Bermuda Testbed Mooring). Through these tests, we demonstrate the capability of BFM-17 to accurately model open-ocean biochemistry. Additionally, we discuss the use of BFM-17 within a multi-scale LES framework and outline how this will further our understanding of turbulent biophysical interactions in the upper ocean.

Weak mixing below the weak scale in dark-matter direct detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brod, Joachim; Grinstein, Benjamin; Stamou, Emmanuel; Zupan, Jure

2018-02-01

If dark matter couples predominantly to the axial-vector currents with heavy quarks, the leading contribution to dark-matter scattering on nuclei is either due to one-loop weak corrections or due to the heavy-quark axial charges of the nucleons. We calculate the effects of Higgs and weak gauge-boson exchanges for dark matter coupling to heavy-quark axial-vector currents in an effective theory below the weak scale. By explicit computation, we show that the leading-logarithmic QCD corrections are important, and thus resum them to all orders using the renormalization group.

Is dark matter with long-range interactions a solution to all small-scale problems of Λ cold dark matter cosmology?

PubMed

van den Aarssen, Laura G; Bringmann, Torsten; Pfrommer, Christoph

2012-12-07

The cold dark matter paradigm describes the large-scale structure of the Universe remarkably well. However, there exists some tension with the observed abundances and internal density structures of both field dwarf galaxies and galactic satellites. Here, we demonstrate that a simple class of dark matter models may offer a viable solution to all of these problems simultaneously. Their key phenomenological properties are velocity-dependent self-interactions mediated by a light vector messenger and thermal production with much later kinetic decoupling than in the standard case.

On Suspended matter grain size in Baltic sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bubnova, Ekaterina; Sivkov, Vadim; Zubarevich, Victor

2016-04-01

Suspended matter grain size data were gathered during the 25th research vessel "Akademik Mstislav Keldysh" cruise (1991, September-October). Initial quantitative data were obtained with a use of the Coulter counter and subsequently modified into volume concentrations (mm3/l) for size intervals. More than 80 samples from 15 stations were analyzed (depth range 0-355 m). The main goal of research was to illustrate the spatial variability of suspended matter concentration and dispersion in Baltic Sea. The mutual feature of suspended matter grain size distribution is the logical rise of particle number along with descending of particle's size. Vertical variability of grain size distribution was defined by Baltic Sea hydrological structure, including upper mixed layer - from the surface to the thermocline - with 35 m thick, cold intermediate layer - from the thermocline to the halocline- and bottom layer, which lied under the halocline. Upper layer showed a rise in total suspended matter concentration (up to 0.6 mm3/l), while cold intermediate level consisted of far more clear water (up to 0.1 mm3/l). Such a difference is caused by the thermocline boarding role. Meanwhile, deep bottom water experienced surges in suspended matter concentration owing to the nepheloid layer presence and "liquid bottom" effect. Coastal waters appeared to have the highest amount of particles (up to 5.0 mm3/l). Suspended matter grain size distribution in the upper mixed layer revealed a peak of concentration at 7 μ, which can be due to autumn plankton bloom. Another feature in suspended matter grain size distribution appeared at the deep layer below halocline, where both O2 and H2S were observed and red/ox barrier is. The simultaneous presence of Fe and Mn (in solutions below red/ox barrier) and O2 leads to precipitation of oxyhydrates Fe and Mn and grain size distribution graph peaking at 4.5 μ.

New Models and Methods for the Electroweak Scale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carpenter, Linda

2017-09-26

This is the Final Technical Report to the US Department of Energy for grant DE-SC0013529, New Models and Methods for the Electroweak Scale, covering the time period April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2017. The goal of this project was to maximize the understanding of fundamental weak scale physics in light of current experiments, mainly the ongoing run of the Large Hadron Collider and the space based satellite experiements searching for signals Dark Matter annihilation or decay. This research program focused on the phenomenology of supersymmetry, Higgs physics, and Dark Matter. The properties of the Higgs boson are currently beingmore » measured by the Large Hadron collider, and could be a sensitive window into new physics at the weak scale. Supersymmetry is the leading theoretical candidate to explain the natural nessof the electroweak theory, however new model space must be explored as the Large Hadron collider has disfavored much minimal model parameter space. In addition the nature of Dark Matter, the mysterious particle that makes up 25% of the mass of the universe is still unknown. This project sought to address measurements of the Higgs boson couplings to the Standard Model particles, new LHC discovery scenarios for supersymmetric particles, and new measurements of Dark Matter interactions with the Standard Model both in collider production and annihilation in space. Accomplishments include new creating tools for analyses of Dark Matter models in Dark Matter which annihilates into multiple Standard Model particles, including new visualizations of bounds for models with various Dark Matter branching ratios; benchmark studies for new discovery scenarios of Dark Matter at the Large Hardon Collider for Higgs-Dark Matter and gauge boson-Dark Matter interactions; New target analyses to detect direct decays of the Higgs boson into challenging final states like pairs of light jets, and new phenomenological analysis of non-minimal supersymmetric models, namely the set of Dirac Gaugino Models.« less

Scale-Invariant Form of the Planck Law of Energy Distribution and its Connection to the Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sohrab, Siavash

2004-03-01

Scale-invariant form of the Planck law of energy distribution is introduced as belE:first fracɛ_νN_νV=ρ_νdν=frac8π m_β^2k fracν^3dνe^hν/kT-1 that at the chromodynamic scale β = γ for photon gas involves the gravitational mass of photon m_γ = (hk/c^3)^1/2. At a constant T, (1) describes the size spectrum of photon clusters of energy ɛ_cj = N_γ jhν_γ j = N_γ jɛ_γ j where N_γ j is the number of photons in cluster j (energy level j) per unit volume and ɛ_γ j is the energy of photon in cluster j. Similarly, at molecular-dynamic scale, Eq.(1) with m_β = M_β/No = M_βm_γc^2 gives the spectrum of size of molecular clusters acting as composite bosons with energy ɛ_cj = N_mjhν_mj = N_mjɛ_mj and matter wavelength and frequency given by h_β = p_βλ_β = h (de Broglie) and k_β = p_βν_β = k. Particles are suggested to oscillate in two directions (x^+, x^-) such that mm < u^2 > = 2mm < u^2_x^+ > = 3kT leading to calculated rms molecular speeds (1346, 336, 360, 300, 952, 287) m/s that are comparable with the observed velocity of sound (1286, 332, 337, 308, 972, 268) m/s for gases (H_2, O_2, N_2, Ar, He, CO_2) at s.t.p. as initially suspected by Newton.

Planck data versus large scale structure: Methods to quantify discordance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charnock, Tom; Battye, Richard A.; Moss, Adam

2017-06-01

Discordance in the Λ cold dark matter cosmological model can be seen by comparing parameters constrained by cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements to those inferred by probes of large scale structure. Recent improvements in observations, including final data releases from both Planck and SDSS-III BOSS, as well as improved astrophysical uncertainty analysis of CFHTLenS, allows for an update in the quantification of any tension between large and small scales. This paper is intended, primarily, as a discussion on the quantifications of discordance when comparing the parameter constraints of a model when given two different data sets. We consider Kullback-Leibler divergence, comparison of Bayesian evidences and other statistics which are sensitive to the mean, variance and shape of the distributions. However, as a byproduct, we present an update to the similar analysis in [R. A. Battye, T. Charnock, and A. Moss, Phys. Rev. D 91, 103508 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.103508], where we find that, considering new data and treatment of priors, the constraints from the CMB and from a combination of large scale structure (LSS) probes are in greater agreement and any tension only persists to a minor degree. In particular, we find the parameter constraints from the combination of LSS probes which are most discrepant with the Planck 2015 +Pol +BAO parameter distributions can be quantified at a ˜2.55 σ tension using the method introduced in [R. A. Battye, T. Charnock, and A. Moss, Phys. Rev. D 91, 103508 (2015), 10.1103/PhysRevD.91.103508]. If instead we use the distributions constrained by the combination of LSS probes which are in greatest agreement with those from Planck 2015 +Pol +BAO this tension is only 0.76 σ .

Does scale matter? The costs of HIV-prevention interventions for commercial sex workers in India.

PubMed Central

Guinness, Lorna; Kumaranayake, Lilani; Rajaraman, Bhuvaneswari; Sankaranarayanan, Girija; Vannela, Gangadhar; Raghupathi, P.; George, Alex

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To explore how the scale of a project affects both the total costs and average costs of HIV prevention in India. METHODS: Economic cost data and measures of scale (coverage and service volume indicators for number of cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) referred, number of STIs treated, condoms distributed and contacts made with target groups) were collected from 17 interventions run by nongovernmental organizations aimed at commercial sex workers in southern India. Nonparametric methods and regression analyses were used to look at the relationship between total costs, unit costs and scale. FINDINGS: Coverage varied from 250 to 2008 sex workers. Annual costs ranged from US$ 11 274 to US$ 52 793. The median cost per sex worker reached was US$ 19.21 (range = US$ 10.00-51.00). The scale variables explain more than 50% of the variation in unit costs for all of the unit cost measures except cost per contact. Total costs and unit costs have non-linear relationships to scale. CONCLUSION: Average costs vary with the scale of the project. Estimates of resource requirements based on a constant average cost could underestimate or overestimate total costs. The results highlight the importance of improving scale-specific cost information for planning. PMID:16283051

Distribution and stable isotope composition of leaf wax n-alkanes as tracers for organic matter transport along hydrological transects in the NW Argentine Andes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tofelde, Stefanie; Sachse, Dirk; Schildgen, Taylor; Strecker, Manfred R.

2015-04-01

The burial of organic matter in marine sediments represents the main long-term sink for reduced carbon in the global carbon cycle, with the fluvial system being the predominant transport mechanism. Organic matter deposited in marine and continental sediments contains valuable information on ecological and climatic conditions, and organic proxy data is thus often used in paleoclimate research. To use sedimentary records to investigate past environmental conditions in the terrestrial realm, processes dictating the transport of organic matter, including spatial and temporal resolution as well as the influence of climatic and tectonic processes, have to be understood. In this study, we test if a lipid biomarker based approach can be used to trace present-day organic matter sources in a fluvial watershed draining two intermontane basins in the southern-central Andes of NW Argentina, a tectonically active region with pronounced topographic, rainfall, and vegetation gradients. We investigated the distribution of long-chain leaf-wax n-alkanes, a terrestrial plant biomarker (and as such representative of terrestrially sourced carbon), in river sediments and coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) along two altitudinal and hydrological gradients. We used n-alkane abundances and their stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic values as three independent parameters for source discrimination. Additionally, we analyzed the control of environmental parameters on the isotopic signatures in leaf-wax n-alkanes. The general pattern of n-alkane distribution in river sediments and CPOM samples in our study area suggest that vascular plants are the major source of riverine organic matter. The stable carbon isotopic composition of nC29 alkanes suggests a nearly exclusive input of C3 vegetation. Although C4 plants are present in the lower catchment areas, the total percentage is too low to have a detectable influence on the carbon isotopic composition in river sediment and CPOM samples. Considering environmental parameters, nC29 alkane δ13C values are significantly correlated with mean annual rainfall in the respective catchment area, with less negative δ13C values in drier areas (r = - 0.63, p < 0.01). The variability in stable hydrogen isotopic composition (δD) of nC29 alkanes is determined mostly by the δD value of the source water and aridity. We find that the apparent fractionation (?app), defined as the difference in hydrogen isotopic composition of plant source waters and synthesized leaf-wax n-alkanes, is significantly correlated with aridity (r = -0.65, p < 0.005), with a smaller apparent fractionation in drier areas, as well as with mean annual rainfall (r = -0.59, p < 0.01), relative humidity (r = -0.56, p < 0.02), and actual evapotranspiration (r = -0.53, p < 0.05). Our data indicate that vascular plants are the major source of riverine organic matter, with their stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions influenced by climatic parameters. Thus, on spatial scales covering large gradients in environmental parameters, the analysis of leaf-wax n-alkanes can be used for organic matter source assessment in orogenic settings.

Results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Komatsu, E.; Bennett, Charles L.; Komatsu, Eiichiro

2015-01-01

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) mapped the distribution of temperature and polarization over the entire sky in five microwave frequency bands. These full-sky maps were used to obtain measurements of temperature and polarization anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background with the unprecedented accuracy and precision. The analysis of two-point correlation functions of temperature and polarization data gives determinations of the fundamental cosmological parameters such as the age and composition of the universe, as well as the key parameters describing the physics of inflation, which is further constrained by three-point correlation functions. WMAP observations alone reduced the flat ? cold dark matter (Lambda Cold Dark Matter) cosmological model (six) parameter volume by a factor of > 68, 000 compared with pre-WMAP measurements. The WMAP observations (sometimes in combination with other astrophysical probes) convincingly show the existence of non-baryonic dark matter, the cosmic neutrino background, flatness of spatial geometry of the universe, a deviation from a scale-invariant spectrum of initial scalar fluctuations, and that the current universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. The WMAP observations provide the strongest ever support for inflation; namely, the structures we see in the universe originate from quantum fluctuations generated during inflation.

Cold-nuclear-matter effects on heavy-quark production at forward and backward rapidity in d + Au collisions at √sNN = 200  GeV.

PubMed

Adare, A; Aidala, C; Ajitanand, N N; Akiba, Y; Akimoto, R; Al-Bataineh, H; Al-Ta'ani, H; Alexander, J; Andrews, K R; Angerami, A; Aoki, K; Apadula, N; Appelt, E; Aramaki, Y; Armendariz, R; Aschenauer, E C; Atomssa, E T; Averbeck, R; Awes, T C; Azmoun, B; Babintsev, V; Bai, M; Baksay, G; Baksay, L; Bannier, B; Barish, K N; Bassalleck, B; Basye, A T; Bathe, S; Baublis, V; Baumann, C; Bazilevsky, A; Belikov, S; Belmont, R; Ben-Benjamin, J; Bennett, R; Bhom, J H; Blau, D S; Bok, J S; Boyle, K; Brooks, M L; Broxmeyer, D; Buesching, H; Bumazhnov, V; Bunce, G; Butsyk, S; Campbell, S; Caringi, A; Castera, P; Chen, C-H; Chi, C Y; Chiu, M; Choi, I J; Choi, J B; Choudhury, R K; Christiansen, P; Chujo, T; Chung, P; Chvala, O; Cianciolo, V; Citron, Z; Cole, B A; Conesa Del Valle, Z; Connors, M; Csanád, M; Csörgő, T; Dahms, T; Dairaku, S; Danchev, I; Das, K; Datta, A; David, G; Dayananda, M K; Denisov, A; Deshpande, A; Desmond, E J; Dharmawardane, K V; Dietzsch, O; Dion, A; Donadelli, M; Drapier, O; Drees, A; Drees, K A; Durham, J M; Durum, A; Dutta, D; D'Orazio, L; Edwards, S; Efremenko, Y V; Ellinghaus, F; Engelmore, T; Enokizono, A; En'yo, H; Esumi, S; Fadem, B; Fields, D E; Finger, M; Finger, M; Fleuret, F; Fokin, S L; Fraenkel, Z; Frantz, J E; Franz, A; Frawley, A D; Fujiwara, K; Fukao, Y; Fusayasu, T; Gal, C; Garishvili, I; Glenn, A; Gong, H; Gong, X; Gonin, M; Goto, Y; Granier de Cassagnac, R; Grau, N; Greene, S V; Grim, G; Grosse Perdekamp, M; Gunji, T; Guo, L; Gustafsson, H-Å; Haggerty, J S; Hahn, K I; Hamagaki, H; Hamblen, J; Han, R; Hanks, J; Harper, C; Hashimoto, K; Haslum, E; Hayano, R; He, X; Heffner, M; Hemmick, T K; Hester, T; Hill, J C; Hohlmann, M; Hollis, R S; Holzmann, W; Homma, K; Hong, B; Horaguchi, T; Hori, Y; Hornback, D; Huang, S; Ichihara, T; Ichimiya, R; Iinuma, H; Ikeda, Y; Imai, K; Inaba, M; Iordanova, A; Isenhower, D; Ishihara, M; Issah, M; Ivanischev, D; Iwanaga, Y; Jacak, B V; Jia, J; Jiang, X; Jin, J; John, D; Johnson, B M; Jones, T; Joo, K S; Jouan, D; Jumper, D S; Kajihara, F; Kamin, J; Kaneti, S; Kang, B H; Kang, J H; Kang, J S; Kapustinsky, J; Karatsu, K; Kasai, M; Kawall, D; Kawashima, M; Kazantsev, A V; Kempel, T; Khanzadeev, A; Kijima, K M; Kikuchi, J; Kim, A; Kim, B I; Kim, D J; Kim, E-J; Kim, Y-J; Kim, Y K; Kinney, E; Kiss, A; Kistenev, E; Kleinjan, D; Kline, P; Kochenda, L; Komkov, B; Konno, M; Koster, J; Kotov, D; Král, A; Kravitz, A; Kunde, G J; Kurita, K; Kurosawa, M; Kwon, Y; Kyle, G S; Lacey, R; Lai, Y S; Lajoie, J G; Lebedev, A; Lee, D M; Lee, J; Lee, K B; Lee, K S; Lee, S H; Lee, S R; Leitch, M J; Leite, M A L; Li, X; Lichtenwalner, P; Liebing, P; Lim, S H; Linden Levy, L A; Liška, T; Liu, H; Liu, M X; Love, B; Lynch, D; Maguire, C F; Makdisi, Y I; Malik, M D; Manion, A; Manko, V I; Mannel, E; Mao, Y; Masui, H; Matathias, F; McCumber, M; McGaughey, P L; McGlinchey, D; McKinney, C; Means, N; Mendoza, M; Meredith, B; Miake, Y; Mibe, T; Mignerey, A C; Miki, K; Milov, A; Mitchell, J T; Miyachi, Y; Mohanty, A K; Moon, H J; Morino, Y; Morreale, A; Morrison, D P; Motschwiller, S; Moukhanova, T V; Murakami, T; Murata, J; Nagamiya, S; Nagle, J L; Naglis, M; Nagy, M I; Nakagawa, I; Nakamiya, Y; Nakamura, K R; Nakamura, T; Nakano, K; Nam, S; Newby, J; Nguyen, M; Nihashi, M; Nouicer, R; Nyanin, A S; Oakley, C; O'Brien, E; Oda, S X; Ogilvie, C A; Oka, M; Okada, K; Onuki, Y; Oskarsson, A; Ouchida, M; Ozawa, K; Pak, R; Pantuev, V; Papavassiliou, V; Park, B H; Park, I H; Park, S K; Park, W J; Pate, S F; Patel, L; Pei, H; Peng, J-C; Pereira, H; Peressounko, D Yu; Petti, R; Pinkenburg, C; Pisani, R P; Proissl, M; Purschke, M L; Qu, H; Rak, J; Ravinovich, I; Read, K F; Rembeczki, S; Reygers, K; Riabov, V; Riabov, Y; Richardson, E; Roach, D; Roche, G; Rolnick, S D; Rosati, M; Rosen, C A; Rosendahl, S S E; Ružička, P; Sahlmueller, B; Saito, N; Sakaguchi, T; Sakashita, K; Samsonov, V; Sano, S; Sarsour, M; Sato, T; Savastio, M; Sawada, S; Sedgwick, K; Seele, J; Seidl, R; Seto, R; Sharma, D; Shein, I; Shibata, T-A; Shigaki, K; Shim, H H; Shimomura, M; Shoji, K; Shukla, P; Sickles, A; Silva, C L; Silvermyr, D; Silvestre, C; Sim, K S; Singh, B K; Singh, C P; Singh, V; Slunečka, M; Sodre, T; Soltz, R A; Sondheim, W E; Sorensen, S P; Sourikova, I V; Stankus, P W; Stenlund, E; Stoll, S P; Sugitate, T; Sukhanov, A; Sun, J; Sziklai, J; Takagui, E M; Takahara, A; Taketani, A; Tanabe, R; Tanaka, Y; Taneja, S; Tanida, K; Tannenbaum, M J; Tarafdar, S; Taranenko, A; Tennant, E; Themann, H; Thomas, D; Thomas, T L; Togawa, M; Toia, A; Tomášek, L; Tomášek, M; Torii, H; Towell, R S; Tserruya, I; Tsuchimoto, Y; Utsunomiya, K; Vale, C; Valle, H; van Hecke, H W; Vazquez-Zambrano, E; Veicht, A; Velkovska, J; Vértesi, R; Virius, M; Vossen, A; Vrba, V; Vznuzdaev, E; Wang, X R; Watanabe, D; Watanabe, K; Watanabe, Y; Watanabe, Y S; Wei, F; Wei, R; Wessels, J; White, S N; Winter, D; Woody, C L; Wright, R M; Wysocki, M; Yamaguchi, Y L; Yamaura, K; Yang, R; Yanovich, A; Ying, J; Yokkaichi, S; Yoo, J S; You, Z; Young, G R; Younus, I; Yushmanov, I E; Zajc, W A; Zelenski, A; Zhou, S

2014-06-27

The PHENIX experiment has measured open heavy-flavor production via semileptonic decay over the transverse momentum range 1 < p(T) < 6  GeV/c at forward and backward rapidity (1.4 < |y| < 2.0) in d+Au and p + p collisions at √sNN = 200  GeV. In central d+Au collisions, relative to the yield in p + p collisions scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, a suppression is observed at forward rapidity (in the d-going direction) and an enhancement at backward rapidity (in the Au-going direction). Predictions using nuclear-modified-parton-distribution functions, even with additional nuclear-p(T) broadening, cannot simultaneously reproduce the data at both rapidity ranges, which implies that these models are incomplete and suggests the possible importance of final-state interactions in the asymmetric d + Au collision system. These results can be used to probe cold-nuclear-matter effects, which may significantly affect heavy-quark production, in addition to helping constrain the magnitude of charmonia-breakup effects in nuclear matter.

Action Video Game Experience Related to Altered Large-Scale White Matter Networks.

PubMed

Gong, Diankun; Ma, Weiyi; Gong, Jinnan; He, Hui; Dong, Li; Zhang, Dan; Li, Jianfu; Luo, Cheng; Yao, Dezhong

2017-01-01

With action video games (AVGs) becoming increasingly popular worldwide, the cognitive benefits of AVG experience have attracted continuous research attention over the past two decades. Research has repeatedly shown that AVG experience can causally enhance cognitive ability and is related to neural plasticity in gray matter and functional networks in the brain. However, the relation between AVG experience and the plasticity of white matter (WM) network still remains unclear. WM network modulates the distribution of action potentials, coordinating the communication between brain regions and acting as the framework of neural networks. And various types of cognitive deficits are usually accompanied by impairments of WM networks. Thus, understanding this relation is essential in assessing the influence of AVG experience on neural plasticity and using AVG experience as an interventional tool for impairments of WM networks. Using graph theory, this study analyzed WM networks in AVG experts and amateurs. Results showed that AVG experience is related to altered WM networks in prefrontal networks, limbic system, and sensorimotor networks, which are related to cognitive control and sensorimotor functions. These results shed new light on the influence of AVG experience on the plasticity of WM networks and suggested the clinical applicability of AVG experience.

Black Hole Foraging: Feedback Drives Feeding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehnen, Walter; King, Andrew

2013-11-01

We suggest a new picture of supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth in galaxy centers. Momentum-driven feedback from an accreting hole gives significant orbital energy, but little angular momentum to the surrounding gas. Once central accretion drops, the feedback weakens and swept-up gas falls back toward the SMBH on near-parabolic orbits. These intersect near the black hole with partially opposed specific angular momenta, causing further infall and ultimately the formation of a small-scale accretion disk. The feeding rates into the disk typically exceed Eddington by factors of a few, growing the hole on the Salpeter timescale and stimulating further feedback. Natural consequences of this picture include (1) the formation and maintenance of a roughly toroidal distribution of obscuring matter near the hole; (2) random orientations of successive accretion disk episodes; (3) the possibility of rapid SMBH growth; (4) tidal disruption of stars and close binaries formed from infalling gas, resulting in visible flares and ejection of hypervelocity stars; (5) super-solar abundances of the matter accreting on to the SMBH; and (6) a lower central dark-matter density, and hence annihilation signal, than adiabatic SMBH growth implies. We also suggest a simple subgrid recipe for implementing this process in numerical simulations.

The New Worlds Observer: The Astrophysics Strategic Mission Concept Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-01

of galaxies and galaxy clusters • Tracing the cosmic evolution of dark energy • Mapping the distribution of dark matter • Characterization of the...imaging of these fields will be used to map the distribution of dark matter us- ing the distortions of galaxy images produced by weak gravitational...dedicated to specific science goals such as mapping dark matter , tracing dark energy, or prob- ing star formation in the local Universe. In the dif

36 CFR 2.51 - Demonstrations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Demonstrations. 2.51 Section... available for demonstrations under this section, and for the sale or distribution of printed matter under... demonstrations and the sale or distribution of printed matter. (d) Application for permit. A permit application...

Paris vs. Murchison: Impact of hydrothermal alteration on organic matter in CM chondrites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinogradoff, V.; Le Guillou, C.; Bernard, S.; Binet, L.; Cartigny, P.; Brearley, A. J.; Remusat, L.

2017-09-01

Unravelling the origin of organic compounds that were accreted into asteroids requires better constraining the impact of asteroidal hydrothermal alteration on their isotopic signatures, molecular structures, and spatial distribution. Here, we conducted a multi-scale/multi-technique comparative study of the organic matter (OM) from two CM chondrites (that originate from the same parent body or from identical parent bodies that accreted the same mixture of precursors) and underwent a different degree of hydrothermal alteration: Paris (a weakly altered CM chondrite - CM 2.8) and Murchison (a more altered one - CM 2.5). The Paris insoluble organic matter (IOM) shows a higher aliphatic/aromatic carbon ratio, a higher radical abundance and a lower oxygen content than the Murchison IOM. Analysis of the OM in situ shows that two texturally distinct populations of organic compounds are present within the Paris matrix: sub-micrometric individual OM particles and diffuse OM finely distributed within phyllosilicates and amorphous silicates. These results indicate that hydrothermal alteration on the CM parent body induced aromatization and oxidation of the IOM, as well as a decrease in radical and nitrogen contents. Some of these observations were also reported by studies of variably altered fragment of Tagish Lake (C2), although the hydrothermal alteration of the OM in Tagish Lake was apparently much more severe. Finally, comparison with data available in the literature suggests that the parent bodies of other chondrite petrologic groups could have accreted a mixture of organic precursors different from that accreted by the parent body of CMs.

White matter and cognition: making the connection

PubMed Central

Fields, R. Douglas

2016-01-01

Whereas the cerebral cortex has long been regarded by neuroscientists as the major locus of cognitive function, the white matter of the brain is increasingly recognized as equally critical for cognition. White matter comprises half of the brain, has expanded more than gray matter in evolution, and forms an indispensable component of distributed neural networks that subserve neurobehavioral operations. White matter tracts mediate the essential connectivity by which human behavior is organized, working in concert with gray matter to enable the extraordinary repertoire of human cognitive capacities. In this review, we present evidence from behavioral neurology that white matter lesions regularly disturb cognition, consider the role of white matter in the physiology of distributed neural networks, develop the hypothesis that white matter dysfunction is relevant to neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease and the newly described entity chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and discuss emerging concepts regarding the prevention and treatment of cognitive dysfunction associated with white matter disorders. Investigation of the role of white matter in cognition has yielded many valuable insights and promises to expand understanding of normal brain structure and function, improve the treatment of many neurobehavioral disorders, and disclose new opportunities for research on many challenging problems facing medicine and society. PMID:27512019

Calculation of momentum distribution function of a non-thermal fermionic dark matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biswas, Anirban; Gupta, Aritra, E-mail: anirbanbiswas@hri.res.in, E-mail: aritra@hri.res.in

The most widely studied scenario in dark matter phenomenology is the thermal WIMP scenario. Inspite of numerous efforts to detect WIMP, till now we have no direct evidence for it. A possible explanation for this non-observation of dark matter could be because of its very feeble interaction strength and hence, failing to thermalise with the rest of the cosmic soup. In other words, the dark matter might be of non-thermal origin where the relic density is obtained by the so-called freeze-in mechanism. Furthermore, if this non-thermal dark matter is itself produced substantially from the decay of another non-thermal mother particle,more » then their distribution functions may differ in both size and shape from the usual equilibrium distribution function. In this work, we have studied such a non-thermal (fermionic) dark matter scenario in the light of a new type of U(1){sub B−L} model. The U(1){sub B−L} model is interesting, since, besides being anomaly free, it can give rise to neutrino mass by Type II see-saw mechanism. Moreover, as we will show, it can accommodate a non-thermal fermionic dark matter as well. Starting from the collision terms, we have calculated the momentum distribution function for the dark matter by solving a coupled system of Boltzmann equations. We then used it to calculate the final relic abundance, as well as other relevant physical quantities. We have also compared our result with that obtained from solving the usual Boltzmann (or rate) equations directly in terms of comoving number density, Y . Our findings suggest that the latter approximation is valid only in cases where the system under study is close to equilibrium, and hence should be used with caution.« less

Calculation of momentum distribution function of a non-thermal fermionic dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biswas, Anirban; Gupta, Aritra

2017-03-01

The most widely studied scenario in dark matter phenomenology is the thermal WIMP scenario. Inspite of numerous efforts to detect WIMP, till now we have no direct evidence for it. A possible explanation for this non-observation of dark matter could be because of its very feeble interaction strength and hence, failing to thermalise with the rest of the cosmic soup. In other words, the dark matter might be of non-thermal origin where the relic density is obtained by the so-called freeze-in mechanism. Furthermore, if this non-thermal dark matter is itself produced substantially from the decay of another non-thermal mother particle, then their distribution functions may differ in both size and shape from the usual equilibrium distribution function. In this work, we have studied such a non-thermal (fermionic) dark matter scenario in the light of a new type of U(1)B-L model. The U(1)B-L model is interesting, since, besides being anomaly free, it can give rise to neutrino mass by Type II see-saw mechanism. Moreover, as we will show, it can accommodate a non-thermal fermionic dark matter as well. Starting from the collision terms, we have calculated the momentum distribution function for the dark matter by solving a coupled system of Boltzmann equations. We then used it to calculate the final relic abundance, as well as other relevant physical quantities. We have also compared our result with that obtained from solving the usual Boltzmann (or rate) equations directly in terms of comoving number density, Y. Our findings suggest that the latter approximation is valid only in cases where the system under study is close to equilibrium, and hence should be used with caution.

Beyond the bump-hunt: A game plan for discovering dynamical dark matter at the LHC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dienes, Keith R.; Su, Shufang; Thomas, Brooks

2016-06-01

Dynamical Dark Matter (DDM) is an alternative framework for dark-matter physics in which an ensemble of individual constituent fields with a spectrum of masses, lifetimes, and cosmological abundances collectively constitute the dark-matter candidate, and in which the traditional notion of dark-matter stability is replaced by a balancing between lifetimes and abundances across the ensemble. In this talk, we discuss the prospects for distinguishing between DDM ensembles and traditional dark-matter candidates at hadron colliders - and in particular, at the upgraded LHC - via the analysis of event-shape distributions of kine-matic variables. We also examine the correlations between these kinematic variables and other relevant collider variables in order to assess how imposing cuts on these additional variables may distort - for better or worse - their event-shape distributions.

Feasibility of using sodium chloride as a tracer for the characterization of the distribution of matter in complex multi-compartment 3D bioreactors for stem cell culture.

PubMed

Gerlach, Jörg C; Witaschek, Tom; Strobel, Catrin; Brayfield, Candace A; Bornemann, Reinhard; Catapano, Gerardo; Zeilinger, Katrin

2010-06-01

The experimental characterization of the distribution of matter in complex multi-compartment three-dimensional membrane bioreactors for human cell culture is complicated by tracer interactions with the membranes and other bioreactor constituents. This is due to the fact that membranes with a high specific surface area often feature a hydrophobic chemical backbone that may adsorb tracers often used to this purpose, such as proteins and dyes. Membrane selectivity, and its worsening caused by protein adsorption, may also hinder tracer transfer across neighboring compartments, thus preventing effective characterization of the distribution of matter in the whole bioreactor. Tracer experiments with sodium chloride (NaCl) may overcome some of these limitations and be effectively used to characterize the distribution of matter in complex 3D multi-compartments membrane bioreactors for stem cell culture. NaCl freely permeates most used membranes, it does not adsorb on uncharged membranes, and its concentration may be accurately measured in terms of solution conductivity. In this preliminary study, the feasibility of complex multi-compartment membrane bioreactors was investigated with a NaCl concentration pulse challenge to characterize how their distribution of matter changes when they are operated under different conditions. In particular, bioreactors consisting of three different membrane types stacked on top of one another to form a 3D network were characterized under different feed conditions.

Research Progress on Dark Matter Model Based on Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Yu; Lin, Wen-bin

2017-04-01

The cosmological model of cold dark matter (CDM) with the dark energy and a scale-invariant adiabatic primordial power spectrum has been considered as the standard cosmological model, i.e. the ΛCDM model. Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) become a prominent candidate for the CDM. Many models extended from the standard model can provide the WIMPs naturally. The standard calculations of relic abundance of dark matter show that the WIMPs are well in agreement with the astronomical observation of ΩDM h2 ≈0.11. The WIMPs have a relatively large mass, and a relatively slow velocity, so they are easy to aggregate into clusters, and the results of numerical simulations based on the WIMPs agree well with the observational results of cosmic large-scale structures. In the aspect of experiments, the present accelerator or non-accelerator direct/indirect detections are mostly designed for the WIMPs. Thus, a wide attention has been paid to the CDM model based on the WIMPs. However, the ΛCDM model has a serious problem for explaining the small-scale structures under one Mpc. Different dark matter models have been proposed to alleviate the small-scale problem. However, so far there is no strong evidence enough to exclude the CDM model. We plan to introduce the research progress of the dark matter model based on the WIMPs, such as the WIMPs miracle, numerical simulation, small-scale problem, and the direct/indirect detection, to analyze the criterion for discriminating the ;cold;, ;hot;, and ;warm; dark matter, and present the future prospects for the study in this field.

On physical scales of dark matter halos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zemp, Marcel, E-mail: mzemp@pku.edu.cn

2014-09-10

It is common practice to describe formal size and mass scales of dark matter halos as spherical overdensities with respect to an evolving density threshold. Here, we critically investigate the evolutionary effects of several such commonly used definitions and compare them to the halo evolution within fixed physical scales as well as to the evolution of other intrinsic physical properties of dark matter halos. It is shown that, in general, the traditional way of characterizing sizes and masses of halos dramatically overpredicts the degree of evolution in the last 10 Gyr, especially for low-mass halos. This pseudo-evolution leads to themore » illusion of growth even though there are no major changes within fixed physical scales. Such formal size definitions also serve as proxies for the virialized region of a halo in the literature. In general, those spherical overdensity scales do not coincide with the virialized region. A physically more precise nomenclature would be to simply characterize them by their very definition instead of calling such formal size and mass definitions 'virial'. In general, we find a discrepancy between the evolution of the underlying physical structure of dark matter halos seen in cosmological structure formation simulations and pseudo-evolving formal virial quantities. We question the importance of the role of formal virial quantities currently ubiquitously used in descriptions, models, and relations that involve properties of dark matter structures. Concepts and relations based on pseudo-evolving formal virial quantities do not properly reflect the actual evolution of dark matter halos and lead to an inaccurate picture of the physical evolution of our universe.« less

Progress of organic matter degradation and maturity of compost produced in a large-scale composting facility.

PubMed

Nakasaki, Kiyohiko; Marui, Taketoshi

2011-06-01

To monitor the progress of organic matter degradation in a large-scale composting facility, the percentage of organic matter degradation was determined by measuring CO(2) evolution during recomposting of compost samples withdrawn from the facility. The percentage of organic matter degradation was calculated as the ratio of the amount of CO(2) evolved from compost raw material to that evolved from each sample during recomposting in the laboratory composting apparatus. It was assumed that the difference in the cumulative emission of CO(2) between the compost raw material and a sample corresponds to the amount of CO( 2) evolved from the sample in the composting facility. Using this method, the changes in organic matter degradation during composting in practical large-scale composting facilities were estimated and it was found that the percentage of organic matter degradation increased more vigorously in the earlier stages than in the later stages of composting. The percentage of organic matter degradation finally reached 78 and 55% for the compost produced from garbage-animal manure mixture and distillery waste (shochu residue), respectively. It was thus ascertained that organic matter degradation progressed well in both composting facilities. Furthermore, by performing a plant growth assay, it was observed that the compost products of both the facilities did not inhibit seed germination and thus were useful in promoting plant growth.

Intrinsic uncertainty on the nature of dark energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valkenburg, Wessel; Kunz, Martin; Marra, Valerio

2013-12-01

We argue that there is an intrinsic noise on measurements of the equation of state parameter w = p/ρ from large-scale structure around us. The presence of the large-scale structure leads to an ambiguity in the definition of the background universe and thus there is a maximal precision with which we can determine the equation of state of dark energy. To study the uncertainty due to local structure, we model density perturbations stemming from a standard inflationary power spectrum by means of the exact Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi solution of Einstein’s equation, and show that the usual distribution of matter inhomogeneities in a ΛCDM cosmology causes a variation of w - as inferred from distance measures - of several percent. As we observe only one universe, or equivalently because of the cosmic variance, this uncertainty is systematic in nature.

Common origin of 3.55 keV x-ray line and gauge coupling unification with left-right dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borah, Debasish; Dasgupta, Arnab; Patra, Sudhanwa

2017-12-01

We present a minimal left-right dark matter framework that can simultaneously explain the recently observed 3.55 keV x-ray line from several galaxy clusters and gauge coupling unification at high energy scale. Adopting a minimal dark matter strategy, we consider both left and right handed triplet fermionic dark matter candidates which are stable by virtue of a remnant Z2≃(-1 )B -L symmetry arising after the spontaneous symmetry breaking of left-right gauge symmetry to that of the standard model. A scalar bitriplet field is incorporated whose first role is to allow radiative decay of right handed triplet dark matter into the left handed one and a photon with energy 3.55 keV. The other role this bitriplet field at TeV scale plays is to assist in achieving gauge coupling unification at a high energy scale within a nonsupersymmetric S O (10 ) model while keeping the scale of left-right gauge symmetry around the TeV corner. Apart from solving the neutrino mass problem and giving verifiable new contributions to neutrinoless double beta decay and charged lepton flavor violation, the model with TeV scale gauge bosons can also give rise to interesting collider signatures like diboson excess, dilepton plus two jets excess reported recently in the large hadron collider data.

Nonthermal production of dark matter from primordial black holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allahverdi, Rouzbeh; Dent, James; Osinski, Jacek

2018-03-01

We present a scenario for nonthermal production of dark matter from evaporation of primordial black holes. A period of very early matter domination leads to formation of black holes with a maximum mass of ≃2 ×108 g , whose subsequent evaporation prior to big bang nucleosynthesis can produce all of the dark matter in the Universe. We show that the correct relic abundance can be obtained in this way for thermally underproduced dark matter in the 100 GeV-10 TeV mass range. To achieve this, the scalar power spectrum at small scales relevant for black hole formation should be enhanced by a factor of O (105) relative to the scales accessible by the cosmic microwave background experiments.

On the uniqueness of the non-minimal matter coupling in massive gravity and bigravity

DOE PAGES

Huang, Qing-Guo; Ribeiro, Raquel H.; Xing, Yu-Hang; ...

2015-07-03

In de Rham–Gabadadze–Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity and bi-gravity, a non-minimal matter coupling involving both metrics generically reintroduces the Boulware–Deser (BD) ghost. A non-minimal matter coupling via a simple, yet specific composite metric has been proposed, which eliminates the BD ghost below the strong coupling scale. Working explicitly in the metric formulation and for arbitrary spacetime dimensions, we show that this composite metric is the unique consistent non-minimal matter coupling below the strong coupling scale, which emerges out of two diagnostics, namely, the absence of Ostrogradski ghosts in the decoupling limit and the absence of the BD ghost from matter quantummore » loop corrections.« less

Scale-chiral symmetry, ω meson, and dense baryonic matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Yong-Liang; Rho, Mannque

2018-05-01

It is shown that explicitly broken scale symmetry is essential for dense skyrmion matter in hidden local symmetry theory. Consistency with the vector manifestation fixed point for the hidden local symmetry of the lowest-lying vector mesons and the dilaton limit fixed point for scale symmetry in dense matter is found to require that the anomalous dimension (|γG2| ) of the gluon field strength tensor squared (G2 ) that represents the quantum trace anomaly should be 1.0 ≲|γG2|≲3.5 . The magnitude of |γG2| estimated here will be useful for studying hadron and nuclear physics based on the scale-chiral effective theory. More significantly, that the dilaton limit fixed point can be arrived at with γG2≠0 at some high density signals that scale symmetry can arise in dense medium as an "emergent" symmetry.

Bromine accumulation in acidic black colluvial soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez Cortizas, Antonio; Ferro Vázquez, Cruz; Kaal, Joeri; Biester, Harald; Costa Casais, Manuela; Taboada Rodríguez, Teresa; Rodríguez Lado, Luis

2016-02-01

Recent investigations showed that bromine is incorporated to soil organic matter (SOM), its content increasing with humification. But few research was done on its long-term accumulation and the role played by pedogenetic processes, as those involved in organic matter stabilization. We investigated bromine content and distribution in four deep, acidic, organic-rich, Holocene soils from an oceanic area of Western Europe. Bromine concentrations (93-778 μg g-1) in the silt + clay (<50 μm) fraction were on average 3-times higher than those (17-250 μg g-1) in the fine earth (<2 mm), the former containing almost all bromine (90 ± 5%). Inventories were between 148 and 314 g m-2, indicating a rather large variability in a small area, and total estimated retention was low (6-16%). The degree of SOM bromination, expressed as the Br/C molar ratio, varied between 0.03 and 1.20 mmol Br/mol C. The ratio was highly correlated (n = 23, r2 0.88, p < 0.01) with the age of the SOM for the last ∼12 ka. Partial least squares modeling indicates that bromine concentration depends on the amount of organic matter stabilized as aluminium-OM associations, and to a lesser extent on soil acidity (pH) and iron-OM associations. Thus, at scales of thousands of years, bromine accumulation in acidic soils is linked to the pool of metal-clay-stabilized organic matter.

Dispersion Distance and the Matter Distribution of the Universe in Dispersion Space.

PubMed

Masui, Kiyoshi Wesley; Sigurdson, Kris

2015-09-18

We propose that "standard pings," brief broadband radio impulses, can be used to study the three-dimensional clustering of matter in the Universe even in the absence of redshift information. The dispersion of radio waves as they travel through the intervening plasma can, like redshift, be used as a cosmological distance measure. Because of inhomogeneities in the electron density along the line of sight, dispersion is an imperfect proxy for radial distance and we show that this leads to calculable dispersion-space distortions in the apparent clustering of sources. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a new class of radio transients that are the prototypical standard ping and, due to their high observed dispersion, have been interpreted as originating at cosmological distances. The rate of fast radio bursts has been estimated to be several thousand over the whole sky per day and, if cosmological, the sources of these events should trace the large-scale structure of the Universe. We calculate the dispersion-space power spectra for a simple model where electrons and FRBs are biased tracers of the large-scale structure of the Universe, and we show that the clustering signal could be measured using as few as 10 000 events. Such a survey is in line with what may be achieved with upcoming wide-field radio telescopes.

Dispersion Distance and the Matter Distribution of the Universe in Dispersion Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masui, Kiyoshi Wesley; Sigurdson, Kris

2015-09-01

We propose that "standard pings," brief broadband radio impulses, can be used to study the three-dimensional clustering of matter in the Universe even in the absence of redshift information. The dispersion of radio waves as they travel through the intervening plasma can, like redshift, be used as a cosmological distance measure. Because of inhomogeneities in the electron density along the line of sight, dispersion is an imperfect proxy for radial distance and we show that this leads to calculable dispersion-space distortions in the apparent clustering of sources. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are a new class of radio transients that are the prototypical standard ping and, due to their high observed dispersion, have been interpreted as originating at cosmological distances. The rate of fast radio bursts has been estimated to be several thousand over the whole sky per day and, if cosmological, the sources of these events should trace the large-scale structure of the Universe. We calculate the dispersion-space power spectra for a simple model where electrons and FRBs are biased tracers of the large-scale structure of the Universe, and we show that the clustering signal could be measured using as few as 10 000 events. Such a survey is in line with what may be achieved with upcoming wide-field radio telescopes.

Review of the fermionic dark matter model applied to galactic structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krut, A.; Argüelles, C. R.; Rueda, J.; Ruffini, R.

2015-12-01

Baryonic components (e.g. bulge and disk) of galactic structures are assumed to be embedded in an isothermal dark matter halo of fermionic nature. Besides the Pauli principle only gravitational interaction is considered. Using the underlying Fermi-Dirac phase space distribution, typical of collisionless relaxation processes, it yields an one-parameter family of scaled solutions which reproduces the observed flat rotation curves in galaxies, and additionally predicts a degenerate core through their centers. In order to provide the right DM halo properties of galaxies a set of four parameters (particle mass, degeneracy parameter at the galactic center, central density and the velocity dispersion) is necessary. The more general density profile shows three regimes depending on radius: an almost uniform very dense quantum core followed by a steep fall, a plateau in the diluted regime and a Boltzmannian tail representing the halo. In contrast to purely Boltzmannian configurations the fermionic DM model containing a quantum core allows to determine the particle mass. We show that the quantum core can be well approximated by a polytrope of index n = 3/2, while the halo can be perfectly described by an isothermal sphere with a halo scale length radius equal to approximately 3/4 of the King-radius.

Review of the fermionic dark matter model applied to galactic structures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krut, A.; Argüelles, C. R.; Rueda, J.

2015-12-17

Baryonic components (e.g. bulge and disk) of galactic structures are assumed to be embedded in an isothermal dark matter halo of fermionic nature. Besides the Pauli principle only gravitational interaction is considered. Using the underlying Fermi-Dirac phase space distribution, typical of collisionless relaxation processes, it yields an one-parameter family of scaled solutions which reproduces the observed flat rotation curves in galaxies, and additionally predicts a degenerate core through their centers. In order to provide the right DM halo properties of galaxies a set of four parameters (particle mass, degeneracy parameter at the galactic center, central density and the velocity dispersion)more » is necessary. The more general density profile shows three regimes depending on radius: an almost uniform very dense quantum core followed by a steep fall, a plateau in the diluted regime and a Boltzmannian tail representing the halo. In contrast to purely Boltzmannian configurations the fermionic DM model containing a quantum core allows to determine the particle mass. We show that the quantum core can be well approximated by a polytrope of index n = 3/2, while the halo can be perfectly described by an isothermal sphere with a halo scale length radius equal to approximately 3/4 of the King-radius.« less

Interfacial mixing in high-energy-density matter with a multiphysics kinetic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haack, Jeffrey R.; Hauck, Cory D.; Murillo, Michael S.

2017-12-01

We have extended a recently developed multispecies, multitemperature Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook model [Haack et al., J. Stat. Phys. 168, 822 (2017), 10.1007/s10955-017-1824-9], to include multiphysics capabilities that enable modeling of a wider range of physical conditions. In terms of geometry, we have extended from the spatially homogeneous setting to one spatial dimension. In terms of the physics, we have included an atomic ionization model, accurate collision physics across coupling regimes, self-consistent electric fields, and degeneracy in the electronic screening. We apply the model to a warm dense matter scenario in which the ablator-fuel interface of an inertial confinement fusion target is heated, but for larger length and time scales and for much higher temperatures than can be simulated using molecular dynamics. Relative to molecular dynamics, the kinetic model greatly extends the temperature regime and the spatiotemporal scales over which we are able to model. In our numerical results we observe hydrogen from the ablator material jetting into the fuel during the early stages of the implosion and compare the relative size of various diffusion components (Fickean diffusion, electrodiffusion, and barodiffusion) that drive this process. We also examine kinetic effects, such as anisotropic distributions and velocity separation, in order to determine when this problem can be described with a hydrodynamic model.

The edge of galaxy formation - I. Formation and evolution of MW-satellite analogues before accretion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macciò, Andrea V.; Frings, Jonas; Buck, Tobias; Penzo, Camilla; Dutton, Aaron A.; Blank, Marvin; Obreja, Aura

2017-12-01

The satellites of the Milky Way and Andromeda represent the smallest galaxies we can observe in our Universe. In this series of papers, we aim to shed light on their formation and evolution using cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. In this first paper, we focus on the galaxy properties before accretion, by simulating 27 haloes with masses between 5 × 108 and 1010 M⊙. Out of this set 19 haloes successfully form stars, while 8 remain dark. The simulated galaxies match quite well present day observed scaling relations between stellar mass, size and metallicity, showing that such relations are in place before accretion. Our galaxies show a large variety of star formation histories, from extended star formation periods to single bursts. As in more massive galaxies, large star formation bursts are connected with major mergers events, which greatly contribute to the overall stellar mass build up. The intrinsic stochasticity of mergers induces a large scatter in the stellar mass-halo mass relation, up to two orders of magnitude. Despite the bursty star formation history, on these mass scales baryons are very ineffective in modifying the dark matter profiles, and galaxies with a stellar mass below ≈106 M⊙ retain their cuspy central dark matter distribution, very similar to results from pure N-body simulations.

Multiscale pore structure and its effect on gas transport in organic-rich shale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Tianhao; Li, Xiang; Zhao, Junliang; Zhang, Dongxiao

2017-07-01

A systematic investigation of multiscale pore structure in organic-rich shale by means of the combination of various imaging techniques is presented, including the state-of-the-art Helium-Ion-Microscope (HIM). The study achieves insight into the major features at each scale and suggests the affordable techniques for specific objectives from the aspects of resolution, dimension, and cost. The pores, which appear to be isolated, are connected by smaller pores resolved by higher-resolution imaging. This observation provides valuable information, from the microscopic perspective of pore structure, for understanding how gas accumulates and transports from where it is generated. A comprehensive workflow is proposed based on the characteristics acquired from the multiscale pore structure analysis to simulate the gas transport process. The simulations are completed with three levels: the microscopic mechanisms should be taken into consideration at level I; the spatial distribution features of organic matter, inorganic matter, and macropores constitute the major issue at level II; and the microfracture orientation and topological structure are dominant factors at level III. The results of apparent permeability from simulations agree well with the values acquired from experiments. By means of the workflow, the impact of various gas transport mechanisms at different scales can be investigated more individually and precisely than conventional experiments.