7268824
Precision Measurements of the Cluster Red Sequence Using an Error-Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model
The red sequence is an important feature of galaxy clusters and plays a crucial role in optical cluster detection. Measurement of the slope and scatter of the red sequence are affected both by selection of red sequence galaxies and measurement errors. In this paper, we describe a new error-corrected Gaussian Mixture Model for red sequence galaxy identification. Using this technique, we can remove the effects of measurement error and extract unbiased information about the intrinsic properties of the red sequence. We use this method to select red sequence galaxies in each of the 13,823 clusters in the maxBCG catalog, and measure the red sequence ridgeline location and scatter of each. These measurements provide precise constraints on the variation of the average red galaxy populations in the observed frame with redshift. We find that the scatter of the red sequence ridgeline increases mildly with redshift, and that the slope decreases with redshift. We also observe that the slope does not strongly depend on cluster richness. Using similar methods, we show that this behavior is mirrored in a spectroscopic sample of field galaxies, further emphasizing that ridgeline properties are independent of environment. These precise measurements serve as an important observational check on simulations and mock galaxy catalogs. The observed trends in the slope and scatter of the red sequence ridgeline with redshift are clues to possible intrinsic evolution of the cluster red sequence itself. Most importantly, the methods presented in this work lay the groundwork for further improvements in optically based cluster cosmology.
119458029
O(N) Quintessence with a Cosine-Type Potential
We propose a quintessence model with a cosine-type potential, in which the scalar field Φa possesses an O(N) internal symmetry. The most prominent feature of this model is that it will not reduce to a cosmological constant even when |Φa| is spatially uniform and time-independent. Since different values of the potential parameter will lead to different cosmic microwave background anisotropies, which may be detectable in future satellite experiments, one can decide by observations whether the cosine-type quintessence consists of one scalar field or many fields with a symmetry constraint.
199673346
Generalized quartessence cosmic dynamics: phantom or quintessence with de Sitter attractor
7857108
Cosmological dynamics of scalar fields with O(N) symmetry
In this paper, we study the cosmological dynamics of scalar fields with O(N) symmetry in general potentials. We compare the phase space of the dynamical systems of the quintessence and phantom and give the conditions for the existence of various attractors as well as their cosmological implications. We also show that the existence of a tracking attractor in O(N) phantom models requires the potential with Γ < 1/2, which makes the model with exponential potential possess no tracking attractor.
198140971
Charged D stars
We describe charged soliton stars with a solid angular deficit (charged boson D stars), and find the approximate solution in the external space. Besides, we discuss the stability of charged D stars and find when the number of bosons is less than certain value, charged D stars are quantum mechanically stable.
121863790
A New Exactly Solvable Inflation Model and Its Power Spectrum
We present a new exactly solvable inflation model in which inflation can stop automatically, and in the approximately de Sitter limit, we give its power spectrum which can be tested in the future observations of cosmic microwave background anisotropy.
14496803
LARGE-SCALE CAVITIES SURROUNDING MICROQUASARS INFERRED FROM EVOLUTION OF THEIR RELATIVISTIC JETS
The black hole (BH) X-ray transient XTE J1550-564 has undergone a strong outburst in 1998 and two relativistic X-ray jets have been detected years later with the Chandra X-ray observatory; the eastern jet was found previously to have decelerated after its first detection. Here, we report a full analysis of the evolution of the western jet; significant deceleration is also detected in the western side. Our analysis indicates that there is a cavity outside the central source and the jets first traveled with constant velocity and then were slowed down by the interactions between the jets and the interstellar medium. The best-fitted radius of the cavity is similar to 0.31 pc on the eastern side and similar to 0.44 pc on the western side, and the densities also show asymmetry, of similar to 0.034 cm(-3) on the east to similar to 0.12 cm(-3) on the west. The best-fitted magnetic fields on both sides are similar to 0.5 mG. Similar analysis is also applied to another microquasar system, H 1743-322, and a large-scale low-density region is also found. Based on these results and the comparison with other microquasar systems, we suggest a generic scenario for microquasar jets, classifying the observed jets into three main categories, with different jet morphologies (and sizes) corresponding to different scales of vacuous environments surrounding them. We also suggest that either continuous jets or accretion disk winds, or both may be responsible for creating these cavities. Therefore X-ray jets from microquasars provide us with a promising method of probing the environment of accreting BHs.