118626595
A MISMATCH IN THE ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRA BETWEEN LOW-REDSHIFT AND INTERMEDIATE-REDSHIFT TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE AS A POSSIBLE SYSTEMATIC UNCERTAINTY FOR SUPERNOVA COSMOLOGY
We present Keck high-quality rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) through optical spectra of 21 Type Ia supernovae (SNe?Ia) in the redshift range 0.11 ? z ? 0.37 and a mean redshift of 0.22 that were discovered during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey. Using the broadband photometry of the SDSS survey, we are able to reconstruct the SN host-galaxy spectral energy distributions (SEDs), allowing for a correction for the host-galaxy contamination in the SN Ia spectra. Comparison of composite spectra constructed from a subsample of 17 high-quality spectra to those created from a low-redshift sample with otherwise similar properties shows that the Keck/SDSS SNe?Ia have, on average, extremely similar rest-frame optical spectra but show a UV flux excess. This observation is confirmed by comparing synthesized broadband colors of the individual spectra, showing a difference in mean colors at the 2.4?-4.4? level for various UV colors. We further see a slight difference in the UV spectral shape between SNe with low-mass and high-mass host galaxies. Additionally, we detect a relationship between the flux ratio at 2770 and 2900 ? and peak luminosity that differs from that observed at low redshift. We find that changing the UV SED of an SN Ia within the observed dispersion can change the inferred distance moduli by ~0.1?mag. This effect only occurs when the data probe the rest-frame UV. We suggest that this discrepancy could be due to differences in the host-galaxy population of the two SN samples or to small-sample statistics.
118546402
Line Profiles of Intermediate Redshift Type Ia Supernovae
We present the temporal evolution of line profiles ranging from near ultraviolet to optical wavelengths by analyzing 59 Subaru telescope spectra of normal Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) in the intermediate redshift range (0.05 < z < 0.4) discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey. We derive line velocities, peak wavelengths and pseudo-equivalent widths (pEWs) of these lines. Additionally, we compare the line profiles around the date of maximum brightness with those from their nearby counterparts. We find that line profiles represented by their velocities and pEWs for intermediate redshift SNe Ia are consistent with their nearby counterparts within 2 $\sigma$. These findings support the picture that SNe Ia are a "standard" candle for the intermediate redshift range as has been shown between SNe Ia at nearby and high redshifts. There is a hint that the "MgII \lambda 4300" pEW distribution for intermediate redshift SNe Ia is larger than for the nearby sample, which could be interpreted as a difference in the progenitor abundance.
117036676
Dependences of Type Ia Supernovae Lightcurve Parameters on the Host Galaxy Star Formation Rate and Metallicity
We present the dependences of the properties of type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) on their host galaxies by analyzing the multi-band lightcurves of 118 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Supernova Survey and the spectra of their host galaxies. We derive the equivalent width of the \rm{H}$\alpha$ emission line, star formation rate, and gas-phase metallicity from the spectra and compare these with the lightcurve widths and colors of SNe Ia. In addition, we compare host properties with the deviation of the observed distance modulus corrected for lightcurve parameters from the distance modulus determined by the best fit cosmological parameters. This allows us to investigate uncorrected systematic effects in the magnitude standardization. We find that SNe Ia in host galaxies with a higher star formation rate have synthesized on average a larger $^{56}$Ni mass and show wider lightcurves. The $^{56}$Ni mass dependence on metallicity is consistent with a prediction of Timmes et al. 2003 based on nucleosynthesis. SNe Ia in metal-rich galaxies ({$\log_{10}(O/H)+12>8.9$) have become 0.13 $\pm$ 0.06 magnitude brighter after corrections for their lightcurve widths and colors, which corresponds to up to 6% uncertainty in the luminosity distance. We investigate whether parameters for standardizing SN Ia maximum magnitude differ among samples with different host characteristics. The coefficient of the color term is larger by 0.67 $\pm$ 0.19 for SNe Ia in metal-poor hosts than those in metal-rich hosts when no color cuts are imposed.
116998818
Circular Statistical Tests for Angular Distributions of Neutrino Burst from SN 1987A and Solar Neutrinos
7368712
SDSS J1029+2623: A Gravitationally Lensed Quasar with an Image Separation of 22.5 Arcseconds
The authors report the discovery of a cluster-scale lensed quasar, SDSS J1029+2623, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The lens system exhibits two lensed images of a quasar at z{sub s} = 2.197. The image separation of 22.5 makes it the largest separation lensed quasar discovered to date. The similarity of the optical spectra and the radio loudnesses of the two components support the lensing hypothesis. Images of the field show a cluster of galaxies at z{sub l} {approx} 0.55 that is responsible for the large image separation. The lensed images and the cluster light center are not collinear, which implies that the lensing cluster has a complex structure.
119248886
Subaru Spectroscopy of SDSS-II Supernovae
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey II (SDSS-II) Supernova Survey discovered Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) in an almost unexplored intermediate redshift range of $0.05 < z < 0.4$ and provided densely sampled multi-color light curves for SN candidates. Followup spectroscopy of this survey was carried out with the Subaru telescope and spectra of 71 SN Ia candidates were obtained. One spectrum was observed per candidate except for a peculiar variable. This paper presents the method for processing these spectra. The observed wavelength ranges of our spectra are 4000 to 9000 {\AA} for Year 2005 and 3600 to 9000 {\AA} for Year 2006. Most SN Ia spectra have signal to noise ratios (S/N) between 4 and 10 per 2 {\AA} averaged over the entire wavelength region. We developed a new code to extract the SN spectral component from spectra contaminated by the host galaxy. Of 71 SN Ia candidates, 59 are identified as normal SNe Ia and 3 are peculiar SNe Ia. The range of spectral phases varies from -7 days to +30 days from maximum brightness. There are also 7 SNe II, 1 possible hypernova and 1 AGN.
125940869
VACUUM FLUCTUATION AND HARD PROCESSES IN QCD
1174889
On the moduli space of semilocal strings and lumps
We study BPS non-abelian semilocal vortices in U(Nc) gauge theory with Nf 
flavors, Nf > Nc, in the Higgs phase. The moduli space for arbitrary winding 
number is described using the moduli matrix formalism. We find a relation 
between the moduli spaces of the semilocal vortices in a Seiberg-like dual 
pairs of theories, U(Nc) and U(Nf-Nc). They are two alternative regularizations 
of a "parent" non-Hausdorff space, which tend to the same moduli space of 
sigma-model lumps in the infinite gauge coupling limits. We examine the 
normalizability of the zero-modes and find the somewhat surprising phenomenon 
that the number of normalizable zero-modes, dynamical fields in the effective 
action, depends on the point of the moduli space we are considering. We find, 
in the lump limit, an effective action on the vortex worldsheet, which we 
compare to that found by Shifman and Yung.
10104399
Nonabelian Monopoles and Confinement: New Prospects
We discuss quantum mechanical aspects of non abelian monopoles in relation to the phenomena of confinement and dynamical symmetry breaking. In supersymmetric theories there are three types of confining vacua have been found: (i) abelian dual superconductor; (ii) weakly-coupled nonabelian dual superconductor; and (iii) strongly-coupled, nonabelian Argyres-Douglas vacua. The last class of systems occur very generally in supersymmetric theories; they are characterized by strongly-coupled nonabelian monopoles and dyons: confinement and dynamical symmetry breaking are caused by the condensation of monopole composites, rather than by condensation of single weakly-coupled monopoles. There are strong constraints on which kind of monopoles can appear as the infrared degrees of freedom, related to the proper realization of the global symmetry of the theory. Drawing analogies to some of the phenomena found here, we make a speculation on the ground state of the standard QCD.
15123745
On Confinement Index
The smallest integer t for which the Wilson loop W^{t} fails to exhibit area 
law is known as the confinement index of a given field theory. The confinement 
index provides us with subtle information on the vacuum properties of the 
system. We study the behavior of the Wilson and 't Hooft loops and compute the 
confinement index in a wide class of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theories. All 
possible electric and magnetic screenings are taken into account. The results 
found are consistent with the theta periodicity, and whenever such a check is 
available, with the factorization property of Seiberg-Witten curves.
14389566
Non-Abelian Vortices of Higher Winding Numbers
We make a detailed study of the moduli space of winding number two (k=2) 
axially symmetric vortices (or equivalently, of co-axial composite of two 
fundamental vortices), occurring in U(2) gauge theory with two flavors in the 
Higgs phase, recently discussed by Hashimoto-Tong (hep-th/0506022) and 
Auzzi-Shifman-Yung (hep-th/0511150). We find that it is a weighted projective 
space WCP^2_(2,1,1)=CP^2/Z_2. This manifold contains an A_1-type (Z_2) orbifold 
singularity even though the full moduli space including the relative position 
moduli is smooth. The SU(2) transformation properties of such vortices are 
studied. Our results are then generalized to U(N) gauge theory with N flavors, 
where the internal moduli space of k=2 axially symmetric vortices is found to 
be a weighted Grassmannian manifold. It contains singularities along a 
submanifold.