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.
119204401
First-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II supernova results: consistency and constraints with other intermediate-redshift data sets
ABSTRACT We present an analysis of the luminosity distances of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) SN Survey in conjunction with other intermediate-redshift (z 97 per cent level from this single data set. We find good agreement between the SN and BAO distance measurements, both consistent with a Λ-dominated cold dark matter cosmology, as demonstrated through an analysis of the distance duality relationship between the luminosity (dL) and angular diameter (dA) distance measures. We then use these data to estimate w within this restricted redshift range (z < 0.4). Our most stringent result comes from the combination of all our intermediate-redshift data (SDSS-II SNe, BAO, ISW and redshift-space distortions), giving w = -0.81+0.16-0.18 (stat) +/- 0.15 (sys) and ΩM = 0.22+0.09-0.08 assuming a flat universe. This value of w and associated errors only change slightly if curvature is allowed to vary, consistent with constraints from the cosmic microwave background. We also consider more limited combinations of the geometrical (SN, BAO) and dynamical (ISW, redshift-space distortions) probes.
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.
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.
53135988
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey - II:supernova survey: technical summary
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II (SDSS-II) has embarked on a multi-year project to identify and measure light curves for intermediate-redshift (0.05 < z < 0.35) Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using repeated five-band (ugriz) imaging over an area of 300 sq. deg. The survey region is a stripe 2.5° wide centered on the celestial equator in the Southern Galactic Cap that has been imaged numerous times in earlier years, enabling construction of a deep reference image for the discovery of new objects. Supernova imaging observations are being acquired between September 1 and November 30 of 2005-7. During the first two seasons, each region was imaged on average every five nights. Spectroscopic follow-up observations to determine supernova type and redshift are carried out on a large number of telescopes. In its first two three-month seasons, the survey has discovered and measured light curves for 327 spectroscopically confirmed SNe Ia, 30 probable SNe Ia, 14 confirmed SNe Ib/c, 32 confirmed SNe II, plus a large number of photometrically identified SNe Ia, 94 of which have host-galaxy spectra taken so far. This paper provides an overview of the project and briefly describes the observations completed during the first two seasons of operation.
17597272
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Photometry and Supernova IA Light Curves from the 2005 Data
We present ugriz light curves for 146 spectroscopically-confirmed or spectroscopically-probable Type Ia supernovae (SNe) from the 2005 season of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II Supernova (SN) survey. The light curves have been constructed using a photometric technique that we call scene modeling, which is described in detail here; the major feature is that SN brightnesses are extracted from a stack of images without spatial resampling or convolution of the image data. This procedure produces accurate photometry along with accurate estimates of the statistical uncertainty, and can be used to derive photometry taken with multiple telescopes. We discuss various tests of this technique that demonstrate its capabilities. We also describe the methodology used for the calibration of the photometry, and present calibrated magnitudes and fluxes for all of the spectroscopic SNe Ia from the 2005 season.
14780309
Non-Abelian monopoles and the vortices that confine them
Nonabelian magnetic monopoles of Goddard-Nuyts-Olive-Weinberg type have 
recently been shown to appear as the dominant infrared degrees of freedom in a 
class of softly broken ${\cal N}=2$ supersymmetric gauge theories in which the 
gauge group $G$ is broken to various nonabelian subgroups $H $ by an adjoint 
Higgs VEV. When the low-energy gauge group $H$ is further broken completely by 
e.g. squark VEVs, the monopoles representing $\pi_2(G/H)$ are confined by the 
nonabelian vortices arising from the breaking of $H$, discussed recently 
(hep-th/0307278). By considering the system with $G=SU(N+1)$, $ H = {SU(N) 
\times U(1) {\o}{\mathbb Z}_N}$, as an example, we show that the total magnetic 
flux of the minimal monopole agrees precisely with the total magnetic flux 
flowing along the single minimal vortex. 
 The possibility for such an analysis reflects the presence of free parameters 
in the theory - the bare quark mass $m$ and the adjoint mass $\mu$ - such that 
for $m \gg \mu$ the topologically nontrivial solutions of vortices and of 
unconfined monopoles exist at distinct energy scales.
27557728
Non-Abelian vortices with an Aharonov-Bohm effect
A bstractThe interplay of gauge dynamics and flavor symmetries often leads to remarkably subtle phenomena in the presence of soliton configurations. Non-Abelian vortices — vortex solutions with continuous internal orientational moduli — provide an example. Here we study the effect of weakly gauging a U(1)R subgroup of the flavor symmetry on such BPS vortex solutions. Our prototypical setting consists of an SU(2) × U(1) gauge theory with Nf = 2 sets of fundamental scalars that break the gauge symmetry to an “electromagnetic” U(1). The weak U(1)R gauging converts the well-known CP1 orientation modulus |B| of the non-Abelian vortex into a parameter characterizing the strength of the magnetic field that is responsible for the Aharonov-Bohm effect. As the phase of B remains a genuine zero mode while the electromagnetic gauge symmetry is Higgsed in the interior of the vortex, these solutions are superconducting strings.
119269771
New confinement phases from singular SCFT
A bstractNew types of confining phase emerge when some singular SCFT’s appearing as infrared fixed points of $ \mathcal{N}=2 $ supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) are deformed by an $ \mathcal{N}=1 $ adjoint mass term. We make further checks on the Gaiotto-Seiberg-Tachikawa (GST) description of these vacua against the symmetry and vacuum counting argument, and show that the GST variables correctly describe these systems, brought into confinement phase by the $ \mathcal{N}=1 $ perturbation. Several examples of such vacua, USp(2N) and SU(N) theories with four flavors and SO(N) theories with one or two flavors, are discussed.
34436586
Vortex zero modes, large flux limit and Ambjørn-Nielsen-Olesen magnetic instabilities
A bstractIn the large flux limit vortices become flux tubes with almost constant magnetic field in the interior region. This occurs in the case of non-Abelian vortices as well, and the study of such configurations allows us to reveal a close relationship between vortex zero modes and the gyromagnetic instabilities of vector bosons in a strong background magnetic field discovered by Nielsen, Olesen and Ambjørn. The BPS vortices are exactly at the onset of this instability, and the dimension of their moduli space is precisely reproduced in this way. We present a unifying picture in which, through the study of the linear spectrum of scalars, fermions and W bosons in the magnetic field background, the expected number of translational, orientational, fermionic as well as semilocal zero modes is correctly reproduced in all cases.
14377742
Light non-Abelian monopoles and generalized r-vacua in supersymmetric gauge theories
Abstract We study a class of N = 1 supersymmetric U ( N ) gauge theories and find that there exist vacua in which the low-energy magnetic effective gauge group contains multiple non-Abelian factors, ∏ i SU ( r i ) , supported by light monopoles carrying the associated non-Abelian charges. These nontrivially generalize the physics of the so-called r-vacua found in softly broken N = 2 supersymmetric SU ( N ) QCD, with an effective low-energy gauge group SU ( r ) × U ( 1 ) N − r . The matching between classical and quantum ( r 1 , r 2 , … ) vacua gives an interesting hint about the non-Abelian duality.