119513048
Observations of galactic and extra-galactic sources From the BOOMERANG and SEST telescopes
We present millimeter-wave observations of three extra-galactic and six Galactic sources in the Southern sky. Observations were made at 90, 150, 240 and 400 GHz with resolutions of 18, 10, 14 and 12 arcmin respectively during the 1998 Antarctic long duration balloon flight of BOOMERANG. Observations were also made with the SEST telescope, at 90 and 150 GHz with resolutions of 57 and 35 arcsec respectively. These observations can be used for calibrations of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) experiments as well as an understanding of the physical processes of the sources.
17460509
Simultaneous Estimation of Noise and Signal in Cosmic Microwave Background Experiments
To correctly analyse data sets from current microwave detection technology, one is forced to estimate the sky signal and experimental noise simultaneously. Given a time-ordered data set we propose a formalism and method for estimating the signal and associated errors without prior knowledge of the noise power spectrum. We derive the method using a Bayesian formalism and relate it to the standard methods; in particular we show how this leads to a change in the estimate of the noise covariance matrix of the sky signal. We study the convergence and accuracy of the method on two mock observational strategies and discuss its application to a currently-favoured calibration procedure.
122687802
Imaging the early universe with the BOOMERanG Experiment
The BOOMERanG experiment has recently detected temperature fluctuations the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the otherwise isotropic radiation coming from the early Universe. These anisotropies have a low contrast (about 30 ppm) and feature a peculiar angular power spectrum at angles corresponding to sub-horizon scales at recombination. In the current cosmological model, these structures result from acoustic oscillations in the primeval plasma. In the framework of the Hot Big Bang theory with the inflationary hypothesis, the statistical properties of the image of the CMB allow us to measure most of the cosmological parameters.
15621530
Constraining large–scale structure theories with the cosmic background radiation
The case is strong that cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure (LSS) observations can be combined to determine the theory of structure formation and the cosmological parameters that define it. We review: the relevant (10+) parameters associated with the inflation model of fluctuation generation and the matter content of the universe; the relation between LSS and primary and secondary CMB anisotropy probes as a function of wavenumber; how COBE constraints on energy injection rule out explosions as a dominant source of LSS; and how current anisotropy band–powers in multipole–space, at levels ca. 10−5)2, strongly support the gravitational instability theory and suggest the universe could not have reionized too early. We use Bayesian analysis methods to determine what current CMB and CMB+LSS data imply for inflation–based Gaussian fluctuations in tilted &Lgr;CDM, &Lgr;hCDM and oCDM model sequences with cosmological age 11 – 15 Gyr, consisting of mixtures of baryons, cold ‘c’ (and possibly hot ‘h’) dark matter, vacuum energy &Lgr;, and curvature energy ‘o’ in open cosmologies. For example, we find the slope of the initial spectrum is within about 5% of the (preferred) scale–invariant form when just the CMB data are used, and for &Lgr;CDM when LSS data are combined with CMB; with both, a non–zero value of Ω&Lgr; is strongly preferred (ca. ⅔ for a 13 Gyr sequence, similar to the value from SNIa). The oCDM sequence prefers Ωtot < 1, but is overall much less likely than the flat Ω&Lgr; ≠ 0 sequence with CMB+LSS. We also review the rosy forecasts of angular power spectra and parameter estimates from future balloon and satellite experiments when foreground and systematic effects are ignored to show where cosmic parameter determination can go with CMB information alone.
119468667
Gravitational Waves Probe the Coalescence Rate of Massive Black Hole Binaries
We calculate the expected nHz-μHz gravitational wave (GW) spectrum from coalescing massive black hole (MBH) binaries resulting from mergers of their host galaxies. We consider detection of this spectrum by precision pulsar timing and a future pulsar timing array. The spectrum depends on the merger rate of massive galaxies, the demographics of MBHs at low and high redshift, and the dynamics of MBH binaries. We apply recent theoretical and observational work on all of these fronts. The spectrum has a characteristic strain hc(f) ~ 10-15(f/yr-1)-2/3, just below the detection limit from recent analysis of precision pulsar timing measurements. However, the amplitude of the spectrum is still very uncertain owing to approximations in the theoretical formulation of the model, to our lack of knowledge of the merger rate and MBH population at high redshift, and to the dynamical problem of removing enough angular momentum from the MBH binary to reach a GW-dominated regime.
119408227
CMB likelihood functions for beginners and experts
Although the broad outlines of the appropriate pipeline for cosmological likelihood analysis with CMB data has been known for several years, only recently have we had to contend with the full, large-scale, computationally challenging problem involving both highly-correlated noise and extremely large datasets (N>1000). In this talk we concentrate on the beginning and end of this process. First, we discuss estimating the noise covariance from the data itself in a rigorous and unbiased way; this is essentially an iterated minimum-variance mapmaking approach. We also discuss the unbiased determination of cosmological parameters from estimates of the power spectrum or experimental bandpowers.
120686550
Instantons in aU(1) lattice gauge theory: A Coulomb dipole gas
We study the decompositionA=AI+ASW of aU(1) lattice gauge field into instanton and spin wave parts. The action also decomposes,A=AI+ASW+R. HereAI is a Coulomb dipole gas,ASW is a zero mass free field, andR is a higher order remainder. We studyAI in detail, ford≧4, in the dilute gas case (which corresponds to the low temperature limit of the gauge field theory). We establish the leading behavior of the free energy:f ∼ ɛ−daζ. Here ɛ is the lattice spacing,a is a geometrical constant and ζ is an activity defined in terms of a small number of instanton configurations. Our methods suggest the absence of screening in the dilute dipole gas,d≧4, in contrast to Debye screening for the dilute monopole gas.
195613437
A Tutorial Course in Constructive Field Theory
Prior to 1970, the major focus of constructive field theory was the mathematical framework required to establish the existence of quantum fields [1,2]. Since 1970, the emphasis has gradually shifted, first toward verifying physical properties of the known models, and more recently toward bringing constructive field theory closer to the mainstream of physics [3]. In fact, by 1973 it had become more or less clear that the mathematical framework developed to give the first examples in d = 2, 3 space-time dimensions would be adequate to study d = 4. However, it was also clear that to solve the ultraviolet problem in d = 4, it would be necessary to incorporate into mathematical physics a deeper physical understanding of the questions being studied. In particular ideas of scaling and of critical behavior may be useful to select and analyze a suitable nontrivial critical point as the first step in dealing with the d = 4 ultraviolet problem. An infinite scaling transformation connects the problem of removing the ultraviolet cutoff with the problem of existence of scaling behavior at the critical point.
14969784
Quantum Invariants
Abstract:In earlier work, we derived an expression for a partition function ?(λ), and gave a set of analytic hypotheses under which ?(λ) does not depend on a parameter λ. The proof that ?(λ) is invariant involved entire cyclic cohomology and K-theory. Here we give a direct proof that . The considerations apply to non-commutative geometry, to super-symmetric quantum theory, to string theory, and to generalizations of these theories to underlying quantum spaces.
16492814
CONSTRUCTIVE QUANTUM FIELD THEORY
The pioneering work of early non-relativistic quantum theory led to the understanding that quantum dynamics on Hilbert space is a comprehensive predictive framework for microscopic phenomena. From the Bohr atom, through the nonrelativistic quantum theory of Schrödinger and Heisenberg, and the relativistic Dirac equation for hydrogen, agreement between calculation and experiment improved rapidly over time. The incorporation of special relativity and field theory into quantum theory extended the scope of perturbative calculations, and these were tested through precision measurements of spectra and magnetic moments. Beginning in the 1940’s, experimental tests of the Lamb shift and the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron detected effects that one can ascribe to fluctuations in quantum electrodynamics. These effects deviated numerically from the predictions arising from equations that describe a fixed number of particles, so they were accurate tests of the quantum field hypothesis. Today these experiments have evolved to yield quantitative agreement with the most precise observations and calculations achieved in physics. For example, the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron is known theoretically and experimentally to amazing precision: (g − 2)/2 = 0.001159652200(±40). The success of this work, as well as the success of other less accurate, but compelling, predictions for weak and strong interactions, convince us to accept quantum field theory as the correct physical arena to describe particle physics down to the Planck scale. But the success of relativistic field theory calculations and of perturbative renormalization also led to a logical puzzle: is there any physically-relevant, relativistic quantum field theory that is also mathematically consistent? Put differently, can one give a mathematically complete example of any non-linear theory, relevant for the description of interacting particles, whose solutions incorporate relativistic covariance, positive energy, and causality? One must understand perturbative renormalization in order to resolve this problem, and have control over renormalization from a non-perturbative (or “exact”) point of view. In fact, one needs to overcome sophisticated problems, such as whether a field theory may appear correct on a perturbative level, while it may have no meaning at a non-perturbative level. Doubts about quantum electrodynamics or scalar meson theory were raised early by Dyson and Landau. They recur from the point of view of the renormalization group in the work of Kadanoff and Wilson, as well as in the analysis of “asymptotic
49335927
Index of a family of Dirac operators on loop space
We use methods of constructive field theory to generalize index theory to an infinite-dimensional setting. We study a family of Dirac operatorsQ on loop space. These operators arise in the context of supersymmetric nonlinear quantum field models with HamiltoniansH=Q2. In these modelsQ is self-adjoint and Fredholm. A natural grading operator Γ exists such that ΓQ+QΓ=0. We studyQ+=P−QP+, whereP±=1/2 (1±Γ) are the orthogonal projections onto the eigenspaces of Γ. We calculate the indexi(Q+) for Wess-Zumino models defined by a superpotentialV(ω). HereV is a polynomial of degreen≧2. We establish thati(Q+)=n−1=degδV. In particular, the field theory models have unbroken supersymmetry, and (forn≧3) they have degenerate vacua. We believe that this is the first index theorem for a Dirac operator that couples infinitely many degrees of freedom.