Browsing by Subject "universe"
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Item Accretion Onto "Seed" Black Holes In The First Galaxies(2009-06) Milosavljevic, Milos; Bromm, Volker; Couch, Sean M.; Oh, S. Peng; Milosavljevic, Milos; Bromm, Volker; Couch, Sean M.The validity of the hypothesis that the massive black holes in high redshift quasars grew from stellar-sized "seeds" is contingent on a seed's ability to double its mass every few 10 million years. This requires that the seed accrete at approximately the Eddington-limited rate. In the specific case of radiatively efficient quasi-radial accretion in a metal-poor protogalactic medium, for which the Bondi accretion rate is often prescribed in cosmological simulations of massive black hole formation, we examine the effects of the radiation emitted near the black hole's event horizon on the structure of the surrounding gas flow. We find that photoheating and radiation pressure from photoionization significantly reduce the steady-Stateaccretion rate and potentially render the quasi-radial accretion flow unsteady and inefficient. The time-averaged accretion rate is always a small fraction of the "Bondi" accretion rate calculated ignoring radiative feedback. The pressure of Ly alpha photons trapped near the H II region surrounding the black hole may further attenuate the inflow. These results suggest that an alternative to quasi-radial, radiatively efficient Bondi-like accretion should be sought to explain the rapid growth of quasar-progenitor seed black holes.Item Bayesian Analysis Of An Anisotropic Universe Model: Systematics And Polarization(2010-10) Groeneboom, Nicolaas E.; Ackerman, Lotty; Wehus, Ingunn K.; Eriksen, Hans Kristian; Ackerman, LottyWe revisit the anisotropic universe model previously developed by Ackerman, Carroll, and Wise (ACW), and generalize both the theoretical and computational framework to include polarization and various forms of systematic effects. We apply our new tools to simulated Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data in order to understand the potential impact of asymmetric beams, noise misestimation, and potential zodiacal light emission. We find that neither has any significant impact on the results. We next show that the previously reported ACW signal is also present in the one-year WMAP temperature sky map presented by Liu & Li, where data cuts are more aggressive. Finally, we re-analyze the five-year WMAP data taking into account a previously neglected (-i)(l-l')-term in the signal covariance matrix. We still find a strong detection of a preferred direction in the temperature map. Including multipoles up to l = 400, the anisotropy amplitude for the W band is found to be g = 0.29 +/- 0.031, nonzero at 9 sigma. However, the corresponding preferred direction is also shifted very close to the ecliptic poles at (l, b) = (96, 30), in agreement with the analysis of Hanson & Lewis, indicating that the signal is aligned along the plane of the solar system. This strongly suggests that the signal is not of cosmological origin, but most likely is a product of an unknown systematic effect. Determining the nature of the systematic effect is of vital importance, as it might affect other cosmological conclusions from the WMAP experiment. Finally, we provide a forecast for the Planck experiment including polarization.Item Bullet Cluster: A Challenge To Lambda CDM Cosmology(2010-07) Lee, Jounghun; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Komatsu, EiichiroTo quantify how rare the bullet-cluster-like high-velocity merging systems are in the standard Lambda cold dark matter (CDM) cosmology, we use a large-volume (27 h(-3) Gpc(3)) cosmological N-body MICE simulation to calculate the distribution of infall velocities of subclusters around massive main clusters. The infall velocity distribution is given at (1-3) R(200) of the main cluster (where R(200) is similar to the virial radius), and thus it gives the distribution of realistic initial velocities of subclusters just before collision. These velocities can be compared with the initial velocities used by the non-cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of 1E0657-56 in the literature. The latest parameter search carried out by Mastropietro & Burkert has shown that an initial velocity of 3000 km s(-1) at about 2R(200) is required to explain the observed shock velocity, X-ray brightness ratio of the main and subcluster, X-ray morphology of the main cluster, and displacement of the X-ray peaks from the mass peaks. We show that such a high infall velocity at 2R(200) is incompatible with the prediction of a Lambda CDM model: the probability of finding 3000 km s(-1) in (2-3) R(200) is between 3.3 x 10(-11) and 3.6 x 10(-9). A lower velocity, 2000 km s(-1) at 2R(200), is also rare, and moreover, Mastropietro & Burkert have shown that such a low initial velocity does not reproduce the X-ray brightness ratio of the main and subcluster or morphology of the main cluster. Therefore, we conclude that the existence of 1E0657-56 is incompatible with the prediction of a Lambda CDM model, unless a lower infall velocity solution for 1E0657-56 with less than or similar to 1800 km s(-1) at 2R(200) is found.Item Cosmic Microwave Background-Weak Lensing Correlation: Analytical and Numerical Study of Nonlinearity and Implications for Dark Energy(2008-04) Nishizawa, Atushi J.; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Yoshida, Naoki; Takahashi, Ryuichi; Sugiyama, Naoshi; Komatsu, EiichiroEvolution of density fluctuations yields secondary anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background ( CMB), which are correlated with the same density fluctuations that can be measured by weak lensing (WL) surveys. We study the CMB-WL correlation induced by the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect and its nonlinear extension, the Rees-Sciama (RS) effect, using analytical models as well as N-body simulations. We show that an analytical model based on the time derivative of matter power spectrum agrees with simulations. All-sky cosmic-variance-limited CMB and WL surveys allow us to measure the correlation from the nonlinear RS effect with high significance (50 sigma) for l(max) = 10(4) whereas forthcoming missions such as Planck and LSST are expected to yield 4 l p 10 1.5 sigma detections, on the assumption of that the point-source contributions are negligible. We find that the CMB-WL correlation has a characteristic scale which is sensitive to the nature of dark energy.Item Dark Stars: Improved Models And First Pulsation Results(2015-02) Rindler-Daller, T.; Montgomery, Michael H.; Freese, K.; Winget, D. E.; Paxton, B.; Montgomery, Michael H.; Winget, D. E.We use the stellar evolution code MESA to study dark stars (DSs). DSs, which are powered by dark matter (DM) self-annihilation rather than by nuclear fusion, may be the first stars to form in the universe. We compute stellar models for accreting DSs with masses up to 10(6) M-circle dot. The heating due to DM annihilation is self-consistently included, assuming extended adiabatic contraction of DM within the minihalos in which DSs form. We find remarkably good overall agreement with previous models, which assumed polytropic interiors. There are some differences in the details, with positive implications for observability. We found that, in the mass range of 10(4)-10(5) M-circle dot, our DSs are hotter by a factor of 1.5 than those in Freese et al., are smaller in radius by a factor of 0.6, denser by a factor of three to four, and more luminous by a factor of two. Our models also confirm previous results, according to which supermassive DSs are very well approximated by (n = 3)-polytropes. We also perform a first study of DS pulsations. Our DS models have pulsation modes with timescales ranging from less than a day to more than two years in their rest frames, at z similar to 15, depending on DM particle mass and overtone number. Such pulsations may someday be used to identify bright, cool objects uniquely as DSs; if properly calibrated, they might, in principle, also supply novel standard candles for cosmological studies.Item Defying Gravity(The Texas Scientist, 2016) Airhart, MarcItem Detecting the Rise and Fall of the First Stars by Their Impact on Cosmic Reionization(2012-09) Ahn, Kyungjin; Iliev, Ilian T.; Shapiro, Paul R.; Mellema, Garrelt; Koda, Jun; Mao, Yi; Shapiro, Paul R.; Mao, YiThe intergalactic medium was reionized before redshift z similar to 6, most likely by starlight which escaped from early galaxies. The very first stars formed when hydrogen molecules (H-2) cooled gas inside the smallest galaxies, minihalos (MHs) of mass between 10(5) and 10(8) M-circle dot. Although the very first stars began forming inside these MHs before redshift z similar to 40, their contribution has, to date, been ignored in large-scale simulations of this cosmic reionization. Here we report results from the first reionization simulations to include these first stars and the radiative feedback that limited their Formation, in a volume large enough to follow the crucial spatial variations that influenced the process and its observability. We show that, while MH stars stopped far short of fully ionizing the universe, reionization began much earlier with MH sources than without, and was greatly extended, which boosts the intergalactic electron-scattering optical depth and the large-angle polarization fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background significantly. This boost should be readily detectable by Planck, although within current Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe uncertainties. If reionization ended as late as z(ov) less than or similar to 7, as suggested by other observations, Planck will thereby see the signature of the first stars at high redshift, currently undetectable by other probes.Item Effect of Streaming Motion of Baryons Relative to Dark Matter on the Formation of the First Stars(2011-03) Stacy, Athena; Bromm, Volker; Loeb, Abraham; Stacy, Athena; Bromm, VolkerWe evaluate the effect of a supersonic relative velocity between the baryons and dark matter on the thermal and density evolution of the first gas clouds at z less than or similar to 50. Through a series of cosmological simulations, initialized at z(i) = 100 with a range of relative streaming velocities and minihalo Formation redshifts, we find that the typical streaming velocities will have little effect on the gas evolution. Once the collapse begins, the subsequent evolution of the gas will be nearly indistinguishable from the case of no streaming, and star Formation will still proceed in the same way, with no change in the characteristic Pop III stellar masses. Reionization is expected to be dominated by halo masses of greater than or similar to 10(8)M(circle dot), for which the effect of streaming should be negligible.Item The First Stars: A Low-Mass Formation Mode(2014-04) Stacy, Athena; Bromm, Volker; Bromm, VolkerWe perform numerical simulations of the growth of a Population III stellar system under photodissociating feedback. We start from cosmological initial conditions at z = 100, self-consistently following the formation of a minihalo at z = 15 and the subsequent collapse of its central gas to high densities. The simulations resolve scales as small as similar to 1 AU, corresponding to gas densities of 1016 cm(-3). Using sink particles to represent the growing protostars, we evolve the stellar system for the next 5000 yr. We find that this emerging stellar group accretes at an unusually low rate compared with minihalos which form at earlier times (z = 20-30), or with lower baryonic angular momentum. The stars in this unusual system will likely reach masses ranging from <1 M-circle dot to similar to 5 M-circle dot by the end of their main-sequence lifetimes, placing them in the mass range for which stars will undergo an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase. Based upon the simulation, we predict the rare existence of Population III stars that have survived to the present day and have been enriched by mass overflow from a previous AGB companion.Item Five-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe Observations: Cosmological interpretation(2009-02) Komatsu, Eiichiro; Dunkley, J.; Nolta, M. R.; Bennett, C. L.; Gold, B.; Hinshaw, G.; Jarosik, N.; Larson, D.; Limon, M.; Page, L.; Spergel, D. N.; Halpern, M.; Hill, R. S.; Kogut, A.; Meyer, S. S.; Tucker, G. S.; Weiland, J. L.; Wollack, E.; Wright, E. L.; Komatsu, EiichiroThe Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5-year data provide stringent limits on deviations from the minimal, six-parameter. cold dark matter model. We report these limits and use them to constrain the physics of cosmic inflation via Gaussianity, adiabaticity, the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations, gravitational waves, and spatial curvature. We also constrain models of dark energy via its equation of state, parity-violating interaction, and neutrino properties, such as mass and the number of species. We detect no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The six parameters and the corresponding 68% uncertainties, derived from the WMAP data combined with the distance measurements from the Type Ia supernovae (SN) and the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the distribution of galaxies, are: Omega(b)h(2) = 0.02267(-0.00059)(+0.00058), Omega(c)h(2) = 0.1131 +/- 0.0034, Omega(Lambda) = 0.726 +/- 0.015, n(s) = 0.960 +/- 0.013, tau = 0.084 +/- 0.016, and Delta(2)(R) = (2.445 +/- 0.096) x 10(-9) at k = 0.002 Mpc(-1). From these, we derive sigma(8) = 0.812 +/- 0.026, H-0 = 70.5 +/- 1.3 kms(-1) Mpc(-1), Omega(b) = 0.0456 +/- 0.0015, Omega(c) = 0.228 +/- 0.013, Omega(m)h(2) = 0.1358(-0.0036)(+0.0037), z(reion) = 10.9 +/- 1.4, and t(0) = 13.72 +/- 0.12 Gyr. With the WMAP data combined with BAO and SN, we find the limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r < 0.22 (95% CL), and that n(s) > 1 is disfavored even when gravitational waves are included, which constrains the models of inflation that can produce significant gravitational waves, such as chaotic or power-law inflation models, or a blue spectrum, such as hybrid inflation models. We obtain tight, simultaneous limits on the (constant) equation of state of dark energy and the spatial curvature of the universe: -0.14 < 1 + w(0) < 0.12 (95% CL) and -0.0179 < Omega(k) < 0.0081 (95% CL). We provide a set of "WMAP distance priors," to test a variety of dark energy models with spatial curvature. We test a time-dependent w with a present value constrained as -0.33 < 1 + w(0) < 0.21 (95% CL). Temperature and dark matter fluctuations are found to obey the adiabatic relation to within 8.9% and 2.1% for the axion-type and curvaton-type dark matter, respectively. The power spectra of TB and EB correlations constrain a parity-violating interaction, which rotates the polarization angle and converts E to B. The polarization angle could not be rotated more than -5 degrees.9 < Delta alpha < 2 degrees.4 (95% CL) between the decoupling and the present epoch. We find the limit on the total mass of massive neutrinos of Sigma m(v) < 0.67 eV (95% CL), which is free from the uncertainty in the normalization of the large-scale structure data. The number of relativistic degrees of freedom (dof), expressed in units of the effective number of neutrino species, is constrained as N-eff = 4.4 +/- 1.5 (68%), consistent with the standard value of 3.04. Finally, quantitative limits on physically-motivated primordial non-Gaussianity parameters are -9 < f(NL)(local) < 111 (95% CL) and -151 < f(NL)(equil) < 253 (95% CL) for the local and equilateral models, respectively.Item The Inhomogeneous Background Of H-2-Dissociating Radiation During Cosmic Reionization(2009-04) Ahn, Kyungjin; Shapiro, Paul R.; Iliev, Illian T.; Mellema, Garrelt; Pen, Ue-Li; Shapiro, Paul R.The first, self-consistent calculations are presented of the cosmological, H-2-dissociating UV background produced during the epoch of reionization by the sources of reionization. Large-scale radiative transfer simulations of reionization trace the impact of all the ionizing starlight on the intergalactic medium (IGM) from all the sources in our simulation volume down to dwarf galaxies of mass similar to 10(8) M-circle dot, identified by very high resolution N-body simulations, including the self-regulating effect of IGM photoheating on dwarf galaxy formation. The UV continuum emitted below 13.6 eV by each source is then transferred through the same IGM, attenuated by atomic H Lyman series resonance lines, to predict the evolution of the inhomogeneous radiation background in the Lyman-Werner (LW) bands of H-2 between 11 and 13.6 eV. On average, the intensity of this LW background is found to rise to the threshold level at which dissociation suppresses H-2 cooling and star formation inside minihalos, long before reionization is complete. Spatial variations in the LW background are found which result from the clustering of sources associated with large-scale structure formation, such that intensity fluctuations correlate with matter density fluctuations. As a result, the LW background rises to the threshold level for H-2 suppression earlier in the vicinity of the reionization sources and their H II regions.Item The Kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'Dovich Effect As A Probe Of The Physics Of Cosmic Reionization: The Effect Of Self-Regulated Reionization(2013-06) Park, Hyunbae; Shapiro, Paul R.; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Iliev, Illian T.; Ahn, Kyungjin; Mellema, Garrelt; Park, Hyunbae; Shapiro, Paul R.; Komatsu, EiichiroWe calculate the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations induced by the kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect from the epoch of reionization (EOR). We use detailed N-body+radiative-transfer simulations to follow inhomogeneous reionization of the intergalactic medium. For the first time, we take into account the "self-regulation" of reionization: star formation in low-mass dwarf galaxies (10(8) M-circle dot less than or similar to M less than or similar to 10(9) M-circle dot) or minihalos (10(5) M-circle dot less than or similar to M less than or similar to 10(8) M-circle dot) is suppressed if these halos form in the regions that were already ionized or Lyman-Werner dissociated. Some previous work suggested that the amplitude of the kSZ power spectrum from the EOR can be described by a two-parameter family: the epoch of half-ionization and the duration of reionization. However, we argue that this picture applies only to simple forms of the reionization history which are roughly symmetric about the half-ionization epoch. In self-regulated reionization, the universe begins to be ionized early, maintains a low level of ionization for an extended period, and then finishes reionization as soon as high-mass atomically cooling halos dominate. While inclusion of self-regulation affects the amplitude of the kSZ power spectrum only modestly (similar to 10%), it can change the duration of reionization by a factor of more than two. We conclude that the simple two-parameter family does not capture the effect of a physical, yet complex, reionization history caused by self-regulation. When added to the post-reionization kSZ contribution, our prediction for the total kSZ power spectrum is below the current upper bound from the South Pole Telescope. Therefore, the current upper bound on the kSZ effect from the EOR is consistent with our understanding of the physics of reionization.Item The Milky Way Tomography With SDSS. II. Stellar Metallicity(2008-09) Ivezic, Zeljko; Sesar, Branimir; Juric, Mario; Bond, Nicholas; Dalcanton, Julianne; Rockosi, Constance M.; Yanny, Brian; Newberg, Heidi J.; Beers, Timothy C.; Prieto, Carlos Allende; Wilhelm, Ron; Lee, Young Sun; Sivarani, Thirupathi; Norris, John E.; Bailer-Jones, Coryn A. L.; Fiorentin, Paola Re; Schlegel, David; Uomoto, Alan; Lupton, Robert H.; Knapp, Gillian R.; Gunn, James E.; Covey, Kevin R.; Smith, J. Allyn; Miknaitis, Gajus; Doi, Mamoru; Tanaka, Masayuki; Fukugita, Masataka; Kent, Steve; Finkbeiner, Douglas; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Pier, Jeffrey R.; Quinn, Tom; Hawley, Suzanne; Anderson, Scott; Kiuchi, Furea; Chen, Alex; Bushong, James; Sohi, Harkirat; Haggard, Daryl; Kimball, Amy; Barentine, John; Brewington, Howard; Harvanek, Mike; Kleinman, Scott; Krzesinski, Jurek; Long, Dan; Nitta, Atsuko; Snedden, Stephanie; Lee, Brian; Harris, Hugh; Brinkmann, Jonathan; Schneider, Donald P.; York, Donald G.; Prieto, Carlos AllendeUsing effective temperature and metallicity derived from SDSS spectra for similar to 60,000 F- and G-type main-sequence stars (0.2 < g - r < 0.6), we develop polynomial models for estimating these parameters from the SDSS u - g and g - r colors. These photometric estimates have similar error properties as those determined from SDSS spectra. We apply this method to SDSS photometric data for over 2 million F/G stars and measure the unbiased metallicity distribution for a complete volume-limited sample of stars at distances between 500 pc and 8 kpc. The metallicity distribution can be exquisitely modeled using two components with a spatially varying number ratio, which correspond to disk and halo. The two components also possess the kinematics expected for disk and halo stars. The metallicity of the halo component is spatially invariant, while the median disk metallicity smoothly decreases with distance from the Galactic plane from -0.6 at 500 pc to -0.8 beyond several kiloparsecs. The absence of a correlation between metallicity and kinematics for disk stars is in a conflict with the traditional decomposition in terms of thin and thick disks. We detect coherent substructures in the kinematics-metallicity space, such as the Monoceros stream, which rotates faster than the LSR, and has a median metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.95, with an rms scatter of only similar to 0.15 dex. We extrapolate our results to the performance expected from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) and estimate that LSST will obtain metallicity measurements accurate to 0.2 dex or better, with proper-motion measurements accurate to similar to 0.5 mas yr(-1), for about 200 million F/G dwarf stars within a distance limit of similar to 100 kpc (g < 23.5).Item New Results From Bright Metal-Poor Stars In The Hamburg/Eso Survey(2008-03) Frebel, A.; Beers, T. C.; Marsteller, B.; Frebel, AnnaWe present an abundance analysis of BE 1327-2326, currently the most iron-poor star known, based on a newly acquired VLT spectrum. The ID abundance pattern is corrected for 3D effects. The 3D iron abundance is [Fe/H] = -5.9, while the CNO elements of the star are extremely overabundant [CNO[Fe] similar to 3 to 4). The cosmologically important element Li is still not detected; the new upper limit is A (Li) < 0.6. A new analysis of the medium-resolution data of the sample of bright metal-poor stars from the Hamburg/ESO Survey (HES) was carried out. We are using this sample to obtain clues to the chemical nature of the early Universe by investigating the kinematic properties of the sample. Based on estimated [Fe/H] and [C/Fe], we are also able to use the sample to test a formation mechanism for low-mass metal-poor stars.Item Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Parameter Results(2013-10) Hinshaw, G.; Larson, D.; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Spergel, D. N.; Bennett, C. L.; Dunkley, J.; Nolta, M. R.; Halpern, M.; Hill, R. S.; Odegard, N.; Page, L.; Smith, K. M.; Weiland, J. L.; Gold, B.; Jarosik, N.; Kogut, A.; Limon, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Tucker, G. S.; Wollack, E.; Wright, E. L.; Komatsu, EiichiroWe present cosmological parameter constraints based on the final nine-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data, in conjunction with a number of additional cosmological data sets. The WMAP data alone, and in combination, continue to be remarkably well fit by a six-parameter Delta CDM model. When WMAP data are combined with measurements of the high-l cosmic microwave background anisotropy, the baryon acoustic oscillation scale, and the Hubble constant, the matter and energy densities, Omega(b)h(2), Omega(c)h(2), and Omega(Lambda), are each determined to a precision of similar to 1.5%. The amplitude of the primordial spectrum is measured to within 3%, and there is now evidence for a tilt in the primordial spectrum at the 5 sigma level, confirming the first detection of tilt based on the five-year WMAP data. At the end of the WMAP mission, the nine-year data decrease the allowable volume of the six-dimensional Delta CDM parameter space by a factor of 68,000 relative to pre-WMAP measurements. We investigate a number of data combinations and show that their Delta CDM parameter fits are consistent. New limits on deviations from the six-parameter model are presented, for example: the fractional contribution of tensor modes is limited to r < 0.13 (95% CL); the spatial curvature parameter is limited to Omega(k) = -0.0027(-0.0038)(+0.0039); the summed mass of neutrinos is limited to Sigma m(nu) < 0.44 eV (95% CL); and the number of relativistic species is found to lie within N-eff = 3.84 +/- 0.40, when the full data are analyzed. The joint constraint on N-eff and the primordial helium abundance, Y-He, agrees with the prediction of standard big bang nucleosynthesis. We compare recent Planck measurements of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect with our seven-year measurements, and show their mutual agreement. Our analysis of the polarization pattern around temperature extrema is updated. This confirms a fundamental prediction of the standard cosmological model and provides a striking illustration of acoustic oscillations and adiabatic initial conditions in the early universe.Item Nine-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Final Maps and Results(2013-10) Bennett, C. L.; Larson, D.; Weiland, J. L.; Jarosik, N.; Hinshaw, G.; Odegard, N.; Smith, K. M.; Hill, R. S.; Gold, B.; Halpern, M.; Komatsu, Eiichiro; Nolta, M. R.; Page, L.; Spergel, D. N.; Wollack, E.; Dunkley, J.; Kogut, A.; Limon, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Tucker, G. S.; Wright, E. L.; Komatsu, EiichiroWe present the final nine-year maps and basic results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) mission. The full nine-year analysis of the time-ordered data provides updated characterizations and calibrations of the experiment. We also provide new nine-year full sky temperature maps that were processed to reduce the asymmetry of the effective beams. Temperature and polarization sky maps are examined to separate cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy from foreground emission, and both types of signals are analyzed in detail. We provide new point source catalogs as well as new diffuse and point source foreground masks. An updated template-removal process is used for cosmological analysis; new foreground fits are performed, and new foreground reduced CMB maps are presented. We now implement an optimal C-1 weighting to compute the temperature angular power spectrum. The WMAP mission has resulted in a highly constrained Delta CDM cosmological model with precise and accurate parameters in agreement with a host of other cosmological measurements. When WMAP data are combined with finer scale CMB, baryon acoustic oscillation, and Hubble constant measurements, we find that big bang nucleosynthesis is well supported and there is no compelling evidence for a non-standard number of neutrino species (N-eff = 3.84 +/- 0.40). The model fit also implies that the age of the universe is t(0) = 13.772 +/- 0.059 Gyr, and the fit Hubble constant is H-0 = 69.32 +/- 0.80 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). Inflation is also supported: the fluctuations are adiabatic, with Gaussian random phases; the detection of a deviation of the scalar spectral index from unity, reported earlier by the WMAP team, now has high statistical significance (n(s) = 0.9608 +/- 0.0080); and the universe is close to flat/Euclidean (Omega(k) = -0.0027(-0.0038)(+0.0039)). Overall, the WMAP mission has resulted in a reduction of the cosmological parameter volume by a factor of 68,000 for the standard six-parameter Delta CDM model, based on CMB data alone. For a model including tensors, the allowed seven-parameter volume has been reduced by a factor 117,000. Other cosmological observations are in accord with the CMB predictions, and the combined data reduces the cosmological parameter volume even further. With no significant anomalies and an adequate goodness of fit, the inflationary flat Delta CDM model and its precise and accurate parameters rooted in WMAP data stands as the standard model of cosmology.Item Presentation: Origins of the Universe(Environmental Science Institute, 2001-03-30) Bash, Frank; Environmental Science Institute; PDF and PPT updated 10/12/17.Item Search For Gravitational-Wave Bursts Associated With Gamma-Ray Bursts Using Data From LIGO Science Run 5 And Virgo Science Run 1(2010-06) Abbott, B. P.; Abbott, R.; Acernese, F.; Adhikari, R.; Ajith, P.; Allen, B.; Allen, G.; Alshourbagy, M.; Amin, R. S.; Anderson, S. B.; Anderson, W. G.; Antonucci, F.; Aoudia, S.; Arain, M. A.; Araya, M.; Armandula, H.; Armor, P.; Arun, K. G.; Aso, Y.; Aston, S.; Astone, P.; Aufmuth, P.; Aulbert, C.; Babak, S.; Baker, P.; Ballardin, G.; Ballmer, S.; Barker, C.; Barker, D.; Barone, F.; Barr, B.; Barriga, P.; Barsotti, L.; Barsuglia, M.; Barton, M. A.; Bartos, I.; Bassiri, R.; Bastarrika, M.; Bauer, T. S.; Behnke, B.; Beker, M.; Benacquista, M.; Betzwieser, J.; Beyersdorf, P. T.; Bigotta, S.; Bilenko, I. A.; Billingsley, G.; Birindelli, S.; Biswas, R.; Bizouard, M. A.; Black, E.; Blackburn, J. K.; Blackburn, L.; Blair, D.; Bland, B.; Boccara, C.; Bodiya, T. P.; Bogue, L.; Bondu, F.; Bonelli, L.; Bork, R.; Boschi, V.; Bose, S.; Bosi, L.; Braccini, S.; Bradaschia, C.; Brady, P. R.; Braginsky, V. B.; Brau, J. E.; Bridges, D. O.; Brillet, A.; Brinkmann, M.; Brisson, V.; Brooks, A. F.; Brown, D. A.; Brummit, A.; Brunet, G.; Budzynski, R.; Bulik, T.; Bullington, A.; Bulten, H. J.; Buonanno, A.; Burmeister, O.; Buskulic, D.; Byer, R. L.; Cadonati, L.; Cagnoli, G.; Calloni, E.; Camp, J. B.; Campagna, E.; Cannizzo, J.; Cannon, K. C.; Canuel, B.; Cao, J.; Carbognani, F.; Cardenas, L.; Caride, S.; Castaldi, G.; Caudill, S.; Cavaglia, M.; Cavalier, F.; Cavalieri, R.; Cella, G.; Cepeda, C.; Cesarini, E.; Chalermsongsak, T.; Chalkley, E.; Charlton, P.; Chassande-Mottin, E.; Chatterji, S.; Chelkowski, S.; Chen, Y.; Chincarini, A.; Christensen, N.; Chung, C. T. Y.; Clark, D.; Clark, J.; Clayton, J. H.; Cleva, F.; Coccia, E.; Cokelaer, T.; Colacino, C. N.; Colas, J.; Colla, A.; Colombini, M.; Conte, R.; Cook, D.; Corbitt, T. R. C.; Corda, C.; Cornish, N.; Corsi, A.; Coulon, J. P.; Coward, D.; Coyne, D. C.; Creighton, J. D. E.; Creighton, T. D.; Cruise, A. M.; Culter, R. M.; Cumming, A.; Cunningham, L.; Cuoco, E.; Danilishin, S. L.; D'Antonio, S.; Danzmann, K.; Dari, A.; Dattilo, V.; Daudert, B.; Davier, M.; Davies, G.; Daw, E. J.; Day, R.; De Rosa, R.; DeBra, D.; Degallaix, J.; del Prete, M.; Dergachev, V.; Desai, S.; DeSalvo, R.; Dhurandhar, S.; Di Fiore, L.; Di Lieto, A.; Emilio, M. D.; Di Virgilio, A.; Diaz, M.; Dietz, A.; Donovan, F.; Dooley, K. L.; Doomes, E. E.; Drago, M.; Drever, R. W. P.; Dueck, J.; Duke, I.; Dumas, J. C.; Dwyer, J. G.; Echols, C.; Edgar, M.; Edwards, M.; Effler, A.; Ehrens, P.; Espinoza, E.; Etzel, T.; Evans, M.; Evans, T.; Fafone, V.; Fairhurst, S.; Faltas, Y.; Fan, Y.; Fazi, D.; Fehrmann, H.; Ferrante, I.; Fidecaro, F.; Finn, L. S.; Fiori, I.; Flaminio, R.; Flasch, K.; Foley, S.; Forrest, C.; Fotopoulos, N.; Fournier, J. D.; Franc, J.; Franzen, A.; Frasca, S.; Frasconi, F.; Frede, M.; Frei, M.; Frei, Z.; Freise, A.; Frey, R.; Fricke, T.; Fritschel, P.; Frolov, V. V.; Fyffe, M.; Galdi, V.; Gammaitoni, L.; Garofoli, J. A.; Garufi, F.; Gemme, G.; Genin, E.; Gennai, A.; Gholami, I.; Giaime, J. A.; Giampanis, S.; Giardina, K. D.; Giazotto, A.; Goda, K.; Goetz, E.; Goggin, L. M.; Gonzalez, G.; Gorodetsky, M. L.; Goezetler, S.; Gossler, S.; Gouaty, R.; Granata, M.; Granata, V.; Grant, A.; Gras, S.; Gray, C.; Gray, M.; Greenhalgh, R. J. S.; Gretarsson, A. M.; Greverie, C.; Grimaldi, F.; Grosso, R.; Grote, H.; Grunewald, S.; Guenther, M.; Guidi, G.; Gustafson, E. K.; Gustafson, R.; Hage, B.; Hallam, J. M.; Hammer, Derek; Hammond, G. D.; Hanna, C.; Hanson, J.; Harms, J.; Harry, G. M.; Harry, I. W.; Harstad, E. D.; Haughian, K.; Hayama, K.; Heefner, J.; Heitmann, H.; Hello, P.; Heng, I. S.; Heptonstall, A.; Hewitson, M.; Hild, S.; Hirose, E.; Hoak, D.; Hodge, K. A.; Holt, K.; Hosken, D. J.; Hough, J.; Hoyland, D.; Huet, D.; Hughey, B.; Huttner, S. H.; Ingram, D. R.; Isogai, T.; Ito, M.; Ivanov, A.; Jaranowski, P.; Johnson, B.; Johnson, W. W.; Jones, D. I.; Jones, G.; Jones, R.; Ju, L.; Kalmus, P.; Kalogera, V.; Kandhasamy, S.; Kanner, J.; Kasprzyk, D.; Katsavounidis, E.; Kawabe, K.; Kawamura, S.; Kawazoe, F.; Kells, W.; Keppel, D. G.; Khalaidovski, A.; Khalili, F. Y.; Khan, R.; Khazanov, E.; King, P.; Kissel, J. S.; Klimenko, S.; Kokeyama, K.; Kondrashov, V.; Kopparapu, R.; Koranda, S.; Kowalska, I.; Kozak, D.; Krishnan, B.; Krolak, A.; Kumar, R.; Kwee, P.; La Penna, P.; Lam, P. K.; Landry, M.; Lantz, B.; Lazzarini, A.; Lei, H.; Lei, M.; Leindecker, N.; Leonor, I.; Leroy, N.; Letendre, N.; Li, C.; Lin, H.; Lindquist, P. E.; Littenberg, T. B.; Lockerbie, N. A.; Lodhia, D.; Longo, M.; Lorenzini, M.; Loriette, V.; Lormand, M.; Losurdo, G.; Lu, P.; Lubinski, M.; Lucianetti, A.; Luck, H.; Machenschalk, B.; MacInnis, M.; Mackowski, J. M.; Mageswaran, M.; Mailand, K.; Majorana, E.; Man, N.; Mandel, I.; Mandic, V.; Mantovani, M.; Marchesoni, F.; Marion, F.; Marka, S.; Marka, Z.; Markosyan, A.; Markowitz, J.; Maros, E.; Marque, J.; Martelli, F.; Martin, I. W.; Martin, R. M.; Marx, J. N.; Mason, K.; Masserot, A.; Matichard, F.; Matone, L.; Matzner, R. A.; Mavalvala, N.; McCarthy, R.; McClelland, D. E.; McGuire, S. C.; McHugh, M.; McIntyre, G.; McKechan, D. J. A.; McKenzie, K.; Mehmet, M.; Melatos, A.; Melissinos, A. C.; Mendell, G.; Menendez, D. F.; Menzinger, F.; Mercer, R. A.; Meshkov, S.; Messenger, C.; Meyer, M. S.; Michel, C.; Milano, L.; Miller, J.; Minelli, J.; Minenkov, Y.; Mino, Y.; Mitrofanov, V. P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Mittleman, R.; Miyakawa, O.; Moe, B.; Mohan, M.; Mohanty, S. D.; Mohapatra, S. R. P.; Moreau, J.; Moreno, G.; Morgado, N.; Morgia, A.; Morioka, T.; Mors, K.; Mosca, S.; Moscatelli, V.; Mossavi, K.; Mours, B.; MowLowry, C.; Mueller, G.; Muhammad, D.; Mukherjee, S.; Mukhopadhyay, H.; Mullavey, A.; Uller-Ebhardt, H. M.; Munch, J.; Murray, P. G.; Myers, E.; Myers, J.; Nash, T.; Nelson, J.; Neri, I.; Newton, G.; Nishizawa, A.; Nocera, F.; Numata, K.; Ochsner, E.; O'Dell, J.; Ogin, G. H.; O'Reilly, B.; O'Shaughnessy, R.; Ottaway, D. J.; Ottens, R. S.; Overmier, H.; Owen, B. J.; Pagliaroli, G.; Palomba, C.; Pan, Y.; Pankow, C.; Paoletti, F.; Papa, M. A.; Parameshwaraiah, V.; Pardi, S.; Pasqualetti, A.; Passaquieti, R.; Passuello, D.; Patel, P.; Pedraza, M.; Penn, S.; Perreca, A.; Persichetti, G.; Pichot, M.; Piergiovanni, F.; Pierro, V.; Pietka, M.; Pinard, L.; Pinto, I. M.; Pitkin, M.; Pletsch, H. J.; Plissi, M. V.; Poggiani, R.; Postiglione, F.; Prato, M.; Principe, M.; Prix, R.; Prodi, G. A.; Prokhorov, L.; Puncken, O.; Punturo, M.; Puppo, P.; Quetschke, V.; Raab, F. J.; Rabaste, O.; Rabeling, D. S.; Radkins, H.; Raffai, P.; Raics, Z.; Rainer, N.; Rakhmanov, M.; Rapagnani, P.; Raymond, V.; Re, V.; Reed, C. M.; Reed, T.; Regimbau, T.; Rehbein, H.; Reid, S.; Reitze, D. H.; Ricci, F.; Riesen, R.; Riles, K.; Rivera, B.; Roberts, P.; Robertson, N. A.; Robinet, F.; Robinson, C.; Robinson, Edward L.; Rocchi, A.; Roddy, S.; Rolland, L.; Rollins, J.; Romano, J. D.; Romano, R.; Romie, J. H.; Rosinska, D.; Rover, C.; Rowan, S.; Rudiger, A.; Ruggi, P.; Russell, P.; Ryan, K.; Sakata, S.; Salemi, F.; de la Jordana, L. S.; Sandberg, V.; Sannibale, V.; Santamaria, L.; Saraf, S.; Sarin, P.; Sassolas, B.; Sathyaprakash, B. S.; Sato, S.; Satterthwaite, M.; Saulson, P. R.; Savage, R.; Savov, P.; Scanlan, M.; Schilling, R.; Schnabel, R.; Schofield, R.; Schulz, B.; Schutz, B. F.; Schwinberg, P.; Scott, J.; Scott, S. M.; Searle, A. C.; Sears, B.; Seifert, F.; Sellers, D.; Sengupta, A. S.; Sentenac, D.; Sergeev, A.; Shapiro, B.; Shawhan, P.; Shoemaker, D. H.; Sibley, A.; Siemens, X.; Sigg, D.; Sinha, S.; Sintes, A. M.; Slagmolen, B. J. J.; Slutsky, J.; Smith, J. R.; Smith, Mathew R.; Smith, N. D.; Somiya, K.; Sorazu, B.; Stein, A.; Stein, L. C.; Steplewski, S.; Stochino, A.; Stone, R.; Strain, K. A.; Strigin, S.; Stroeer, A.; Sturani, R.; Stuver, A. L.; Summerscales, T. Z.; Sun, K. X.; Sung, M.; Sutton, P. J.; Swinkels, B.; Szokoly, G. P.; Talukder, D.; Tang, L.; Tanner, D. B.; Tarabrin, S. P.; Taylor, J. R.; Taylor, R.; Terenzi, R.; Thacker, J.; Thorne, K. A.; Thorne, K. S.; Thuring, A.; Tokmakov, K. V.; Toncelli, A.; Tonelli, M.; Torres, C.; Torrie, C.; Tournefier, E.; Travasso, F.; Traylor, G.; Trias, M.; Trummer, J.; Ugolini, D.; Ulmen, J.; Urbanek, K.; Vahlbruch, H.; Vajente, G.; Vallisneri, M.; van den Brand, J. F. J.; Van Den Broeck, C.; van der Putten, S.; van der Sluys, M. V.; van Veggel, A. A.; Vass, S.; Vaulin, R.; Vavoulidis, M.; Vecchio, A.; Vedovato, G.; Veitch, J.; Veitch, P.; Veltkamp, C.; Verkindt, D.; Vetrano, F.; Vicere, A.; Villar, A.; Vinet, J. Y.; Vocca, H.; Vorvick, C.; Vyachanin, S. P.; Waldman, S. J.; Wallace, L.; Ward, R. L.; Was, M.; Weidner, A.; Weinert, M.; Weinstein, A. J.; Weiss, R.; Wen, L.; Wen, S.; Wette, K.; Whelan, J. T.; Whitcomb, S. E.; Whiting, B. F.; Wilkinson, C.; Willems, P. A.; Williams, H. R.; Williams, L.; Willke, B.; Wilmut, I.; Winkelmann, L.; Winkler, W.; Wipf, C. C.; Wiseman, A. G.; Woan, G.; Wooley, R.; Worden, J.; Wu, W.; Yakushin, I.; Yamamoto, H.; Yan, Z.; Yoshida, S.; Yvert, M.; Zanolin, M.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhao, C.; Zotov, N.; Zucker, M. E.; zur Muhlen, H.; Zweizig, J.; Ligo Sci Collaboration; Virgo, Collaboration; Frei, M.; Matzner, R.A.We present the results of a search for gravitational-wave bursts (GWBs) associated with 137 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that were detected by satellite-based gamma-ray experiments during the fifth LIGO science run and first Virgo science run. The data used in this analysis were collected from 2005 November 4 to 2007 October 1, and most of the GRB triggers were from the Swift satellite. The search uses a coherent network analysis method that takes into account the different locations and orientations of the interferometers at the three LIGO-Virgo sites. We find no evidence for GWB signals associated with this sample of GRBs. Using simulated short-duration (<1 s) waveforms, we set upper limits on the amplitude of gravitational waves associated with each GRB. We also place lower bounds on the distance to each GRB under the assumption of a fixed energy emission in gravitational waves, with a median limit of D similar to 12 Mpc(E-GW(iso)/0.01 M(circle dot)c(2))(1/2) for emission at frequencies around 150 Hz, where the LIGO-Virgo detector network has best sensitivity. We present astrophysical interpretations and implications of these results, and prospects for corresponding searches during future LIGO-Virgo runs.Item Seven-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological interpretation(2011-02) Komatsu, Eiichiro; Smith, K. M.; Dunkley, J.; Bennett, C. L.; Gold, B.; Hinshaw, G.; Jarosik, N.; Larson, D.; Nolta, M. R.; Page, L.; Spergel, D. N.; Halpern, M.; Hill, R. S.; Kogut, A.; Limon, M.; Meyer, S. S.; Odegard, N.; Tucker, G. S.; Weiland, J. L.; Wollack, E.; Wright, E. L.; Komatsu, EiichiroThe combination of seven-year data from WMAP and improved astrophysical data rigorously tests the standard cosmological model and places new constraints on its basic parameters and extensions. By combining the WMAP data with the latest distance measurements from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the distribution of galaxies and the Hubble constant (H-0) measurement, we determine the parameters of the simplest six-parameter Lambda CDM model. The power-law index of the primordial power spectrum is n(s) = 0.968 +/- 0.012 (68% CL) for this data combination, a measurement that excludes the Harrison-Zel'dovich-Peebles spectrum by 99.5% CL. The other parameters, including those beyond the minimal set, are also consistent with, and improved from, the five-year results. We find no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The seven-year temperature power spectrum gives a better determination of the third acoustic peak, which results in a better determination of the redshift of the matter-radiation equality epoch. Notable examples of improved parameters are the total mass of neutrinos, Sigma m(nu) < 0.58 eV (95% CL), and the effective number of neutrino species, N-eff = 4.34(-0.88)(+0.86) (68% CL), which benefit from better determinations of the third peak and H-0. The limit on a constant dark energy equation of state parameter from WMAP+BAO+H-0, without high-redshift Type Ia supernovae, is w = -1.10 +/- 0.14 (68% CL). We detect the effect of primordial helium on the temperature power spectrum and provide a new test of big bang nucleosynthesis by measuring Y-p = 0.326 +/- 0.075 (68% CL). We detect, and show on the map for the first time, the tangential and radial polarization patterns around hot and cold spots of temperature fluctuations, an important test of physical processes at z = 1090 and the dominance of adiabatic scalar fluctuations. The seven-year polarization data have significantly improved: we now detect the temperature-E-mode polarization cross power spectrum at 21 sigma, compared with 13 sigma from the five-year data. With the seven-year temperature-B-mode cross power spectrum, the limit on a rotation of the polarization plane due to potential parity-violating effects has improved by 38% to Delta a = -1 degrees.1 +/- 1 degrees.4(statistical) +/- 1 degrees.5(systematic) (68% CL). We report significant detections of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect at the locations of known clusters of galaxies. The measured SZ signal agrees well with the expected signal from the X-ray data on a cluster-by-cluster basis. However, it is a factor of 0.5-0.7 times the predictions from "universal profile" of Arnaud et al., analytical models, and hydrodynamical simulations. We find, for the first time in the SZ effect, a significant difference between the cooling-flow and non-cooling-flow clusters (or relaxed and non-relaxed clusters), which can explain some of the discrepancy. This lower amplitude is consistent with the lower-than-theoretically expected SZ power spectrum recently measured by the South Pole Telescope Collaboration.Item The Theory And Simulation Of The 21-Cm Background From The Epoch Of Reionization(2008-08) Shapiro, P. R.; Iliev, I. T.; Mellerna, G.; Pen, U. L.; Merz, H.; Shapiro, Paul R.The redshifted 21-cm line of distant neutral H atoms provides a probe of the cosmic >dark ages> and the epoch of reionization (>EOR>) which ended them, within die first billion years of cosmic time. The radio continuum produced by this redshifted line can be seen in absorption or emission against die cosmic microwave background (>CMB>) at meterwaves, yielding information about tire thermal and ionization history of the universe and the primordial density perturbation spectrum that led to galaxy and large-scale structure formation. Observing this 21-cm background is a great challenge,as it is necessary to detect a diffuse signal at a brightness temperature that differs from that of die CM B at millikelvin levels and distinguish this from foreground continuum sources. A new generation of low-frequency radio arrays is currently under development to search for this background. Accurate theoretical predictions of tire spectrum and anisotropy of this back-ground, necessary to guide and interpret future observations, are also quite challenging. Toward this end, it is necessary to model the inhomogeneous reionization of the intergalactic medium and determine the spin temperature of the 21-cm transition and its variations in time and space as it decouples from the temperature of the CMB, In my talk, I summarized some of the theoretical progress in this area. Here, I will focus on just a few of the predictions for the 21-cm background from the EOR, based on our newest, large-scale simulations of patchy reionization. These simulations are the first with enough N-body particles (from 5 to 29 billion) and radiative transfer rays to resolve the formation of and trace the ionizing radiation front each of the millions of dwarf galaxies believed responsible for reionization, down to 10(8) M-circle dot, in a cubic volume large enough (90 and 163 comoving Mpc on a side) to make meaningful statistical predictions of the fluctuating 21-cm background.