1444110
The Lens Galaxy in PG 1115+080 is an Ellipse
We use the structure of the Einstein ring image of the quasar host galaxy in the four-image quasar lens PG 1115+080 to determine the angular structure of the gravitational potential of the lens galaxy. We find that it is well described as an ellipsoid and that the best-fit nonellipsoidal models are consistent with the ellipsoidal model. We find upper limits on the standard parameters for the deviation from an ellipse of |a/a0| < 0.035 and |a/a0| < 0.064. We also find that the position of the center of mass is consistent with the center of light, with an upper limit of |Δ| < 0005 on the offset between them. Neither the ellipsoidal nor the nonellipsoidal models can reproduce the observed image flux ratios while simultaneously maintaining a reasonable fit to the Einstein ring, so the anomalous flux ratio of the A1 and A2 quasar images must be due to substructure in the gravitational potential such as compact satellite galaxies or stellar microlenses rather than odd angular structure in the lens galaxy.
14820775
THE END OF THE MACHO ERA: LIMITS ON HALO DARK MATTER FROM STELLAR HALO WIDE BINARIES
We simulate the evolution of halo wide binaries in the presence of the massive compact halo objects (MACHOs) and compare our results to the sample of wide binaries in a companion paper. The observed distribution is well fitted by a single power law for angular separations, 35 43 M☉ at the standard local halo density ρH. This all but removes the last permitted window for a full MACHO halo for masses M > 10-7.5 M☉.
73543566
Complete treatment of galaxy two-point statistics: Gravitational lensing effects and redshift-space distortions
We present a coherent theoretical framework for computing gravitational lensing effects and redshift-space distortions in an inhomogeneous universe and investigate their impacts on galaxy two-point statistics. Adopt- ing the linearized Friedmann-Lemaˆ itre-Robertson-Walker metric, we derive the gravitational lensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects that include the weak lensing distortion, magnification, and time delay effects, and the redshift-space distortion, Sachs-Wolfe, and integ rated Sachs-Wolfe effects, respectively. Based on this framework, we first compute their effects on observed source fluctuations, separating them as two physically distinct origins: the volume effect that involves the chang e of volume and is always present in galaxy two-point statistics, and the source effect that depends on the intrin sic properties of source populations. Then we identify several terms that are ignored in the standard method, and we compute the observed galaxy two-point statistics, an ensemble average of all the combinations of the intrinsic source fluctuations and the additional contributions from the gravitational lensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects. This unified treatment of galaxy two- point statistics clarifies the relation of the gravitationa l lensing and the generalized Sachs-Wolfe effects to the metric perturbations and the underlying matter fluctuation s. For near future dark energy surveys, we compute additional contributions to the observed galaxy two-point statistics and analyze their impact on the anisotropic structure. Thorough theoretical modeling of galaxy two-point statistics would be not only necessary to analyze precision measurements from upcoming dark energy surveys, but also provide further discriminatory power in understanding the underlying physical mechanisms.
119340160
Big bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background constraints on the time variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value
We derive constraints on the time variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value $ $ through the effects on Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the former case, we include the (previously-neglected) effect of the change in the deuteron binding energy, which alters both the $^4$He and deuterium abundances significantly. We find that the current BBN limits on the relative change in \higgs are $-(0.6 - 0.7) \times 10^{-2} / < (1.5 - 2.0) \times 10^{-2}$, where the exact limits depend on the model we choose for the dependence of the deuteron binding energy on \higgs.The limits from the current CMB data are much weaker.
847496
All-sky analysis of the general relativistic galaxy power spectrum
We perform an all-sky analysis of the general relativistic galaxy power spectrum using the well-developed spherical Fourier decomposition. Spherical Fourier analysis expresses the observed galaxy fluctuation in terms of the spherical harmonics and spherical Bessel functions that are angular and radial eigenfunctions of the Helmholtz equation, providing a natural orthogonal basis for all-sky analysis of the large-scale mode measurements. Accounting for all the relativistic effects in galaxy clustering, we compute the spherical power spectrum and its covariance matrix and compare it to the standard three-dimensional power spectrum to establish a connection. The spherical power spectrum recovers the three-dimensional power spectrum at each wave number k with its angular dependence μk encoded in angular multipole l, and the contributions of the line-of-sight projection to galaxy clustering such as the gravitational lensing effect can be readily accommodated in the spherical Fourier analysis. A complete list of formulas for computing the relativistic spherical galaxy power spectrum is also presented.
51120946
Relativistic effects in galaxy clustering in a parametrized post-Friedmann universe
We explore the signatures of quintessence and modified gravity theories in the relativistic description of galaxy clustering within a parametrized post-Friedmann framework. For this purpose, we develop a calibration method to consistently account for horizon-scale effects in the linear parametrized post-Friedmann perturbations of minimally and nonminimally coupled scalar-tensor theories and test it against the full model-specific fluctuations. We further study the relativistic effects in galaxy clustering for the normal and self-accelerating branches of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati braneworld model as well as for phenomenological modifications of gravity. We quantify the impact of modified gravity and dark energy models on galaxy clustering by computing the velocity-to-matter density ratio F , the velocity contribution R , and the potential contribution P and give an estimate of their detectability in future galaxy surveys. Our results show that, in general, the relativistic correction contains additional information on gravity and dark energy, which needs to be taken into account in consistent horizon-scale tests of departures from ΛCDM using the galaxy-density field.
118941632
Search for periodic modulations of the solar neutrino flux in Super-Kamiokande-I
A search for periodic modulations of the solar neutrino flux was performed using the Super-Kamiokande-I data taken from May 31st, 1996 to July 15th, 2001. The detector's capability of measuring the exact time of events, combined with a relatively high yield of solar neutrino events, allows a search for short-time variations in the observed flux. We employed the Lomb test to look for periodic modulations of the observed solar neutrino flux. The obtained periodogram is consistent with statistical fluctuation and no significant periodicity was found.
125983626
Photon asymmetry and neutral current effect in bremsstrahlung
18278613
Search for axionlike particles using a variable-baseline photon-regeneration technique.
We report the first results of the GammeV experiment, a search for milli-eV mass particles with axionlike couplings to two photons. The search is performed using a "light shining through a wall" technique where incident photons oscillate into new weakly interacting particles that are able to pass through the wall and subsequently regenerate back into detectable photons. The oscillation baseline of the apparatus is variable, thus allowing probes of different values of particle mass. We find no excess of events above background and are able to constrain the two-photon couplings of possible new scalar (pseudoscalar) particles to be less than 3.1x10;(-7) GeV-1 (3.5x10;(-7) GeV-1) in the limit of massless particles.
18442902
Tracking Performance of the Scintillating Fiber Detector in the K2K Experiment
The K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment uses a Scintillating Fiber Detector (SciFi) to reconstruct charged particles produced in neutrino interactions in the near detector. We describe the track reconstruction algorithm and the performance of the SciFi after 3 years of operation.
15315
Results from the CDMS 5-Tower Operation
Astrophysical observations strongly suggest that non-luminous, nonbaryonic components, so called 'Dark Matter', may constitute most of the matter in the Universe. The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment is designed to detect Dark Matter interaction events through nuclear recoils from elastic scattering. The detector is capable of reading out both phonon and ionization energy of an interaction in Ge or Si crystals. We present results from the CDMS five-tower detector arrays. The data were collected in the period between October 2006 and July 2007 (with an effective exposure of 121.3 kg-days). No WIMP signal was observed. The results, when combined with previous CDMS Soudan data, set a 90% confidence level upper bound on the WIMP-nucleon cross section of 4.6 x 10{sup -44} cm{sup 2} at 60 Gev/c{sup 2} WIMP mass.