16212970
Relative clustering and the joint halo occupation distribution of red-sequence and blue-cloud galaxies in COMBO-17
This paper studies the relative spatial distribution of red-sequence and blue-cloud galaxies, and their relation to the dark matter distribution in the COMBO-17 survey as function of scale down to z ~ 1. We measure the second-order auto- and cross-correlation functions of galaxy clustering and express the relative biasing by using aperture statistics. Also estimated is the relation between the galaxies and the dark matter distribution exploiting galaxy-galaxy lensing (GGL). All observables are further interpreted in terms of a halo model. To fully explain the galaxy clustering cross-correlation function with a halo model, we introduce a new parameter, R, that describes the statistical correlation between numbers of red and blue galaxies within the same halo. We find that red and blue galaxies are clearly differently clustered, a significant evolution of the relative clustering with redshift is not found. There is evidence for a scale-dependence of relative biasing: the linear relative bias factor varies slightly between b ~ 1.7 ± 0.5 and ~2.2 ± 0.1 on spatial scales between roughly 100 h -1 kpc and 7h -1 Mpc, respectively. The linear correlation coefficient of galaxy number densities drops from a value near unity on large scales to r ~ 0.6 ± 0.15. Both biasing trends, the GGL and with some tension the galaxy numbers can be explained consistently within a halo model. Red galaxies typically start to populate haloes with masses starting from ≥10 12.1 ±0.2 h -1 M ⊙ , blue galaxies from ≥10 11.2±0.1 h -1 M ⊙ . For the cross-correlation function, one requires a halo occupation distribution (HOD) variance that becomes Poisson even for relatively small occupancy numbers. This rules out for our samples with high confidence a 'Poisson satellite' scenario, as found in semi-analytical models. We compare different model flavours, with and without galaxies at the halo centres, using Bayesian evidence. The result is inconclusive. However, red galaxies have to be concentrated towards the halo centre either by a red central galaxy or by a concentration parameter above that of dark matter. The value of R depends on the presence or absence of central galaxies: if no central galaxies or only red central galaxies are allowed, R is consistent with zero, whereas a positive correlation R = +0.5 ± 0.2 is needed if both blue and red galaxies can have central galaxies.
54505515
Evidence of the accelerated expansion of the Universe from weak lensing tomography with COSMOS
We present a comprehensive analysis of weak gravitational lensing by large-scale structure in the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), in which we combine space-based galaxy shape measurements with ground-based photometric redshifts to study the redshift dependence of the lensing signal and constrain cosmological parameters. After applying our weak lensing-optimized data reduction, principal-component interpolation for the spatially, and temporally varying ACS point-spread function, and improved modelling of charge-transfer inefficiency, we measured a lensing signal that is consistent with pure gravitational modes and no significant shape systematics. We carefully estimated the statistical uncertainty from simulated COSMOS-like fields obtained from ray-tracing through the Millennium Simulation, including the full non-Gaussian sampling variance. We tested our lensing pipeline on simulated space-based data, recalibrated non-linear power spectrum corrections using the ray-tracing analysis, employed photometric redshift information to reduce potential contamination by intrinsic galaxy alignments, and marginalized over systematic uncertainties. We find that the weak lensing signal scales with redshift as expected from general relativity for a concordance ACDM cosmology, including the full cross-correlations between different redshift bins. Assuming a flat ACDM cosmology, we measure σ 8 (Ω m /0.3) 0.51 = 0.75 ± 0.08 from lensing, in perfect agreement with WMAP-5, yielding joint constraints Ω m = 0.266 +0.025 -0.023 σ 8 = 0.802 +0.028 -0.029 (all 68.3% conf.). Dropping the assumption of flatness and using priors from the HST Key Project and Big-Bang nucleosynthesis only, we find a negative deceleration parameter q 0 at 94.3% confidence from the tomographic lensing analysis, providing independent evidence of the accelerated expansion of the Universe. For a flat ωCDM cosmology and prior ω ∈ [-2, 0], we obtain ω < -0.41 (90% conf.). Our dark energy constraints are still relatively weak solely due to the limited area of COSMOS. However, they provide an important demonstration of the usefulness of tomographic weak lensing measurements from space.
13518930
Why your model parameter confidences might be too optimistic. Unbiased estimation of the inverse covariance matrix
Aims. The maximum-likelihood method is the standard approach to obtain model fits to observational data and the corresponding confidence regions. We investigate possible sources of bias in the log-likelihood function and its subsequent analysis, focusing on estimators of the inverse covariance matrix. Furthermore, we study under which circumstances the estimated covariance matrix is invertible. Methods. We perform Monte-Carlo simulations to investigate the behaviour of estimators for the inverse covariance matrix, depending on the number of independent data sets and the number of variables of the data vectors. Results. We find that the inverse of the maximum-likelihood estimator of the covariance is biased, the amount of bias depending on the ratio of the number of bins (data vector variables), p , to the number of data sets, n . This bias inevitably leads to an – in extreme cases catastrophic – underestimation of the size of confidence regions. We report on a method to remove this bias for the idealised case of Gaussian noise and statistically independent data vectors. Moreover, we demonstrate that marginalisation over parameters introduces a bias into the marginalised log-likelihood function. Measures of the sizes of confidence regions suffer from the same problem. Furthermore, we give an analytic proof for the fact that the estimated covariance matrix is singular if $p>n$.
53611492
Spatial matter density mapping of the STAGES Abell A901/2 supercluster field with 3D lensing
We present weak lensing data from the Hubble Space Telescope(HST)/Space Telescope A901/902 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES) survey1 to study the three-dimensional spatial distribution of matter and galaxies in the Abell 901/902 supercluster complex. Our method improves over the existing 3D lensing mapping techniques by calibrating and removing redshift bias and accounting for the effects of the radial elongation of 3D structures. We also include the first detailed noise analysis of a 3D lensing map, showing that even with deep HST-quality data, only the most massive structures, for example M200≳ 1015 M⊙ h−1 at z∼ 0.8, can be resolved in 3D with any reasonable redshift accuracy (Δz≈ 0.15). We compare the lensing map to the stellar mass distribution and find luminous counterparts for all mass peaks detected with a peak significance >3σ. We see structures in and behind the z= 0.165 foreground supercluster, finding structure directly behind the A901b cluster at z∼ 0.6 and also behind the south-west (SW) group at z∼ 0.7. This 3D structure viewed in projection has no significant impact on recent mass estimates of A901b or the SW group components SWa and SWb
119192089
Cosmic shear tomography and efficient data compression using COSEBIs
Context. Gravitational lensing is one of the leading tools in understanding the dark side of the Universe. The need for accurate, efficient and effective methods, which are able to extract this information along with other cosmological parameters from cosmic shear data is ever growing. Complete Orthogonal Sets of E-/B-Integrals (COSEBIs) is a recently developed statistical measure that encompasses the complete E-/B-mode separable information contained in the shear correlation functions measured on a finite angular range. Aims. The aim of the present work is to test the properties of this newly developed statistics for a higher-dimensional parameter space and to generalize and test it for shear tomography. Methods. We use Fisher analysis to study the effectiveness of COSEBIs. We show our results in terms of figure-of-merit quantities, based on Fisher matrices. Results. We find that a relatively small number of COSEBIs modes is always enough to saturate to the maximum information level. This number is always smaller for “logarithmic COSEBIs” than for “linear COSEBIs”, and also depends on the number of redshift bins, the number and choice of cosmological parameters, as well as the survey characteristics. Conclusions. COSEBIs provide a very compact way of analyzing cosmic shear data, i.e., all the E-/B-mode separable second-order statistical information in the data is reduced to a small number of COSEBIs modes. Furthermore, with this method the arbitrariness in data binning is no longer an issue since the COSEBIs modes are discrete. Finally, the small number of modes also implies that covariances, and their inverse, are much more conveniently obtainable, e.g., from numerical simulations, than for the shear correlation functions themselves.
8253626
The non-Gaussianity of the cosmic shear likelihood or How odd is the Chandra Deep Field South?
Aims. We study the validity of the approximation of a Gaussian cosmic shear likelihood. We estimate the true likelihood for a fiducial cosmological model from a large set of ray-tracing simulations and investigate the impact of non-Gaussianity on cosmological parameter estimation. We investigate how odd the recently reported very low value of σ8 really is as derived from the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) using cosmic shear by taking the non-Gaussianity of the likelihood into account, as well as the possibility of biases coming from the way the CDFS was selected. Methods. A brute force approach to estimating the likelihood from simulations must fail because of the high dimensionality of the problem. We therefore use independent component analysis to transform the cosmic shear correlation functions to a new basis, in which the likelihood approximately factorises into a product of one-dimensional distributions. Results. We find that the cosmic shear likelihood is significantly non-Gaussian. This leads to both a shift of the maximum of the posterior distribution and a significantly smaller credible region compared to the Gaussian case. We re-analyse the CDFS cosmic shear data using the non-Gaussian likelihood in combination with conservative galaxy selection criteria that minimise calibration uncertainties. Assuming that the CDFS is a random pointing, we find σ8 = 0.68 +0.09 −0.16 for fixed Ωm = 0.25. In a WMAP5-like cosmology, a value equal to or lower than this would be expected in ≈5% of the times. Taking biases into account arising from the way the CDFS was selected, which we model as being dependent on the number of haloes in the CDFS, we obtain σ8 = 0.71 +0.10 −0.15 . Combining the CDFS data with the parameter constraints from WMAP5 yields Ωm = 0.26 +0.03 −0.02 and σ8 = 0.79 +0.04 −0.03 for a flat universe.
15453015
Interplay between classical magnetic moments and superconductivity in quantum one-dimensional conductors: toward a self-sustained topological Majorana phase.
We study a one-dimensional interacting electronic liquid coupled to a 1D array of classical magnetic moments and to a superconductor. We show that at low energy and temperature the magnetic moments and the electrons become strongly entangled and that a magnetic spiral structure emerges. For strong enough coupling between the electrons and magnetic moments, the 1D electronic liquid is driven into a topological superconducting phase supporting Majorana fermions without any fine-tuning of external parameters. Our analysis applies at low enough temperature to a quantum wire in proximity to a superconductor when the hyperfine interaction between electrons and nuclear spins is taken into account, or to a chain of magnetic adatoms adsorbed on a superconducting surface.
119377774
2D FRACTIONAL SUPERSYMMETRY FOR RATIONAL CONFORMAL FIELD THEORY : APPLICATION FOR THIRD-INTEGER SPIN STATES
A 2D fractional supersymmetry theory is algebraically constructed. The Lagrangian is derived using an adapted superspace including, in addition to a scalar field, two fields with spins 13, 23 This theory turns out to be a rational conformal field theory. The symmetry of this model goes beyond the super-Virasoro algebra and connects these third-integer spin states. Besides the stress-momentum tensor, we obtain a supercurrent of spin 43. Cubic relations are involved in order to close the algebra; the basic algebra is no longer a Lie or a super-Lie algebra. The central charge of this model is found to be 53 Finally, we analyze the form that a local invariant action should take.
117969814
Mutation of Andreev into Majorana bound states in long superconductor-normal and superconductor-normal-superconductor junctions
We study one-dimensional topological SN and SNS long junctions obtained by placing a topological insulating nanowire in the proximity of either one or two SC finite-size leads. Using the Majorana Polarization order parameter (MP) introduced in Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 096802 (2012)(arxiv:1109.5697) we find that the extended Andreev bound states (ABS) of the normal part of the wire acquire a finite MP: for a finite-size SN junction the ABS spectrum exhibits a zero-energy extended state which carries a full Majorana fermion, while the ABS of long SNS junctions with phase difference $\pi$ transform into two zero-energy states carrying two Majorana fermions with the same MP. Given their extended character inside the whole normal link, and not only close to an interface, these Majorana-Andreev states can be directly detected in tunneling spectroscopy experiments.
7559852
A renormalization group study of asymmetrically coupled minimal models
Abstract We investigate the renormalization group flows and fixed point structure of many coupled minimal models. The models are coupled two by two by energy-energy couplings. We take the general approach where the bare couplings are all taken to be independent. New fixed points are found for N models ( N ≥3). At these fixed points, the coupling constants all have the same magnitude, but some are positive while others are negative. By analogy with spin lattices, these can be interpreted as non-frustrated configurations with a maximal number of antiferromagnetic links. The stability of the different fixed points is studied. We compute the critical exponents and spin-spin correlation functions between different models. Our classification is shown to be complete.
119500460
Coupled critical models: application to Ising-Potts models
Abstract We discuss the critical behaviour of 2 D Ising and q -states Potts models coupled by their energy density. We found new tricritical points. The procedure employed is the renormalisation approach of the perturbations series around conformal field theories representing pure models as already used for disordered spins models. This analysis could be useful to understand the physics of coupled critical models like the fully frustrated XY model.