A Spectacular Radio Flare from XRF 050416a at 40 Days and Implications for the Nature of X-Ray Flashes
We present detailed optical, near-infrared, and radio observations of the X-ray flash XRF 050416a obtained with Palomar and Siding Springs Observatories, as well as the HST and VLA, placing this event among the best-studied X-ray flashes to date. In addition, we present an optical spectrum from Keck LRIS from which we measure the redshift of the burst, z = 0.6528. At this redshift the isotropic-equivalent prompt energy release was about 1051 ergs, and using a standard afterglow synchrotron model, we find that the blast wave kinetic energy is a factor of 10 larger, EK,iso ≈ 1052 ergs. The lack of an observed jet break to t ~ 20 days indicates that the opening angle is θj 7° and the total beaming-corrected relativistic energy is 1050 ergs. We further show that the burst produced a strong radio flare at t ~ 40 days accompanied by an observed flattening in the X-ray band, which we attribute to an abrupt circumburst density jump or an episode of energy injection (from either a refreshed shock or off-axis ejecta). Late-time observations with HST show evidence for an associated supernova with peak optical luminosity roughly comparable to that of SN 1998bw. Next, we show that the host galaxy of XRF 050416a is actively forming stars at a rate of at least 2 M☉ yr-1 with a luminosity of LB ≈ 0.5L* and metallicity of Z ~ 0.2-0.8 Z☉. Finally, we discuss the nature of XRF 050416a in the context of short-hard GRBs and under the framework of off-axis and dirty fireball models for X-ray flashes.

title: Gravitational collapse of small scale structure as the origin of the Lyman alpha forest
abstract: If gravitational clustering is a hierarchical process, the present large-scale structure of the galaxy distribution implies that structures on smaller scales must have formed at high redshift. We simulate the formation of small-scale structure (average cell mass: (delta) bar m(sub b) = 10(sup 4.2) solar mass) and the evolution of photoionized gas, in the specific case of the CDM + Lambda model. The photoionized gas has a natural minimal scale of collapse, the Jeans scale (m(sub b,J) is approximately equal to 10(exp 9) solar mass). We find that low column density (N(sub HI) is less than or equal to 10(exp 14)/sq cm) lines originate in regions resembling Zel'dovich pancakes, where gas with overdensities in the range 3-30 is enclosed by two shocks but is typically reexpanding at approximately the Hubble velocity. However, higher column density lines stem from more overdense regions where the shocked gas is cooling. We show that this model can probably account for the observed number of lines, their distribution in column density and b-parameters, as well as the cloud physical sizes as observed in gravitationally lensed quasars. We find a redshift evolution that is too steep; however, this may be due to insufficient dynamical range in the simulation or because the specific model is incorrect. The model predicts that high signal-to-noise observations should find systematic deviations from Voigt profiles, mainly in the form of broad wings in the line profiles, and that a fluctuating Gunn-Peterson effect will be detected, which can be modeled as a superposition of weak lines with a wide range of b-parameters.

title: The Detection of Oxygen in the Low-Density Intergalactic Medium
abstract: The abundances of metals in the intergalactic medium (IGM) can be used to constrain the amount of star formation at high redshift and the spectral shape of the ionizing background radiation. For both purposes, it is essential to measure the abundances in regions of low density, away from local sources of metals and ionizing photons. Here we report the first detection of O VI in the low-density IGM at high redshift. We perform a pixel-by-pixel search for O VI absorption in eight high-quality quasar spectra spanning the redshift range z = 2.0-4.5. At 2 z 3, we clearly detect O VI in the form of a positive correlation between the H I Lyα optical depth and the optical depth in the corresponding O VI pixel, down to τ ~ 10-1. This is an order of magnitude lower in τ than the best C IV measurements can probe, and it constitutes the first clear detection of metals in underdense gas. The nondetection of O VI at z > 3 is consistent with the enhanced photoionization from a hardening of the UV background below z ~ 3 but could also be caused by the high level of contamination from Lyman series lines.

title: QSO Metal Absorption Systems at High Redshift and the Signature of Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
abstract: In a hierarchical cosmogony, galaxies build up by continuous merging of smaller structures. At z = 3, the matter content of a typical present-day galaxy is dispersed over several individual clumps embedded in sheetlike structures, often aligned along filaments. We have used hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the spatial distribution and absorption properties of metal-enriched gas in such regions of ongoing galaxy formation. The metal and hydrogen absorption features produced by the collapsing structures closely resemble observed QSO absorption systems over a wide range in H I column density. Strong C II and Si IV absorption occurs for lines of sight passing the densest regions close to the center of the protogalactic clumps, while C IV is a good tracer of the prominent filamentary structures and O VI becomes the strongest absorption feature for lines of sight passing through low-density regions far away from fully collapsed objects. The observed column density ratios of the different ionic species at z = 3 can be well reproduced if a mean metallicity [Z/H] = -2.5, relative abundances as found in metal-poor stars, a UV background with intensity J-22 = 3 at the Lyman limit, and either a power-law spectrum (J ∝ ν-1.5) or the spectral shape proposed by Haardt & Madau are assumed. The observed scatter in [C/H] is about a magnitude larger than that in the simulations, which suggests an inhomogeneous metal distribution. Observed and simulated Doppler parameter distributions of H I and C IV absorption lines are in good agreement, which indicates that shock heating due to gravitational collapse is a second important heating agent in addition to photoionization heating. The large velocity spreads seen in some C IV systems may be due to the occasional alignments of the observer's line of sight with expanding large-scale filaments. Both high-ionization multicomponent heavy-element absorbers and damped Lyα systems can arise from groups of moderately sized protogalactic clumps (Mbaryon ~ 109 M☉). Recent detections of star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts are consistent with this picture.

title: Omega (baryon) and the geometry of intermediate redshift Lyman alpha absorption systems
abstract: Estimates of Omega_baryon from primordial nucleosynthesis together with standard assumptions about the ionization state of low column density Lyman alpha forest clouds can be used to determine an upper limit for the cloud thickness along the line of sight. This upper limit provides significant constraints on the axis ratio of the absorbers and on the overall fraction of the baryonic matter contained in these objects if the recently measured large values for their transversal size are representative. The absorbers have to be considerably flattened structures and may possibly contain a substantial fraction of the baryonic matter at high redshift.

title: Metallic Absorbers and the Evolution of Galaxy Haloes and the Metagalactic Ionizing Background
abstract: An extremely careful separation of the weak metal-line systems relating to the Lyman forest absorbers into individual ``single-phase ionization'' components with accurate parameters has yielded a large sample in the wide redshift range 1.9 < z < 4.4. The systems typically span several hundred km/s and within each the components show a strong coherence in their ionization properties. No sudden evolution is found in the column density ratio N(Si IV)/N(C IV), contrary to previous indication of a large change near z = 3, although there is an apparent rise below z~2.2 and above z~3.8. A smooth not sudden spectral evolution is reflected in the z distribution of N(N V)/N(C IV). Comparisons of N(Si IV)/N(C IV) vs N(C II)/N(C IV) from the observations with CLOUDY derived values using several model ionizing spectra show the general dominance of a QSO ionizing background at the lower redshifts while an additional strong and eventually dominating stellar contribution is required progressively to higher redshifts.

title: Direct integration and non-perturbative effects in matrix models
abstract: We show how direct integration can be used to solve the closed amplitudes of multicut matrix models with polynomial potentials. In the case of the cubic matrix model, we give explicit expressions for the ring of nonholomorphic modular objects that are needed to express all closed matrix model amplitudes. This allows us to integrate the holomorphic anomaly equation up to holomorphic modular terms that we fix by the gap condition up to genus four. There is an onedimensional submanifold of the moduli space in which the spectral curve becomes the Seiberg-Witten curve and the ring reduces to the nonholomorphic modular ring of the group Γ(2). On that submanifold, the gap conditions completely fix the holomorphic ambiguity and the model can be solved explicitly to very high genus. We use these results to make precision tests of the connection between the large order behavior of the 1/N expansion and nonperturbative effects due to instantons. Finally, we argue that a full understanding of the large genus asymptotics in the multicut case requires a new class of nonperturbative sectors in the matrix model.

title: Quantum Effects in Higgs-Boson Production Processes at Hadron Colliders
abstract: The search for Higgs bosons and extensions of the Standard Model of Elementary Particle Physics are main tasks of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN which will start operation mid-2007. In this thesis processes which can be used to detect supersymmetric Higgs bosons at the LHC were considered. First a computer program was written which completes the toolbox for automatic calculations of hadronic cross sections. Using this program, the supersymmetric QCD corrections to associated H - W + -production and h 0 -production via vector-boson fusion and in association with heavy quarks were calculated. The corrections partly give significant contributions to the total cross section. Additionally, the possibility to measure the quartic Higgs self-coupling via triple-Higgs production was investigated and found to be challenging.

title: Wall-Crossing Holomorphic Anomaly and Mock Modularity of Multiple M5-Branes
abstract: Using wall-crossing formulae and the theory of mock modular forms we derive a holomorphic anomaly equation for the modified elliptic genus of two M5-branes wrapping a rigid divisor inside a Calabi–Yau manifold. The anomaly originates from restoring modularity of an indefinite theta-function capturing the wall-crossing of BPS invariants associated to D4-D2-D0 brane systems. We show the compatibility of this equation with anomaly equations previously observed in the context of $${{\mathcal{N}}=4}$$N=4 topological Yang–Mills theory on $${{\mathbbm{P}}^2}$$P2 and E-strings obtained from wrapping M5-branes on a del Pezzo surface. The non-holomorphic part is related to the contribution originating from bound-states of singly wrapped M5-branes on the divisor. We show in examples that the information provided by the anomaly is enough to compute the BPS degeneracies for certain charges. We further speculate on a natural extension of the anomaly to higher D4-brane charge.

title: Measuring extended Higgs sectors as a consistent free couplings model
abstract: A bstractExtended Higgs sectors appear in many models for physics beyond the Standard Model. Current Higgs measurements at the LHC are starting to significantly constrain them. We study their Higgs coupling patterns at tree level as well as including quantum corrections. Our benchmarks include a dark singlet-doublet extension and several twodoublet setups. Using SFitter we translate the current Higgs coupling measurements for one light Higgs state into their respective parameter spaces. Finally, we show how twoHiggs-doublet models can serve as a consistent ultraviolet completion of an assumed single Standard-Model-like Higgs boson with free couplings.

title: Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 3. Higgs Properties
abstract: This Report summarizes the results of the activities in 2012 and the first half of 2013 of the LHC Higgs Cross Section Working Group. The main goal of the working group was to present the state of the art of Higgs Physics at the LHC, integrating all new results that have appeared in the last few years. This report follows the first working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 1. Inclusive Observables (CERN-2011-002) and the second working group report Handbook of LHC Higgs Cross Sections: 2. Differential Distributions (CERN-2012-002). After the discovery of a Higgs boson at the LHC in mid-2012 this report focuses on refined prediction of Standard Model (SM) Higgs phenomenology around the experimentally observed value of 125-126 GeV, refined predictions for heavy SM-like Higgs bosons as well as predictions in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and first steps to go beyond these models. The other main focus is on the extraction of the characteristics and properties of the newly discovered particle such as couplings to SM particles, spin and CP-quantum numbers etc.