The dependence of galaxy formation on cosmological parameters: can we distinguish between the WMAP1 and WMAP3 parameter sets?
We combine N-body simulations of structure growth with physical modelling of galaxy evolution to investigate whether the shift in cosmological parameters between the first- and third-year results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) affects predictions for the galaxy population. Structure formation is significantly delayed in the WMAP3 cosmology, because the initial matter fluctuation amplitude is lower on the relevant scales. The decrease in dark matter clustering strength is, however, almost entirely offset by an increase in halo bias, so predictions for galaxy clustering are barely altered. In both cosmologies, several combinations of physical parameters can reproduce observed, low-redshift galaxy properties; the star formation, supernova feedback and active galactic nucleus feedback efficiencies can be played off against each other to give similar results. Models which fit observed luminosity functions predict projected two-point correlation functions which scatter by about 10-20 per cent on large scale and by larger factors on small scale, depending both on cosmology and on details of galaxy formation. Measurements of the pairwise velocity distribution prefer the WMAP1 cosmology, but careful treatment of the systematics is needed. Given present modelling uncertainties, it is not easy to distinguish between the WMAP] and WMAP3 cosmologies on the basis of low-redshift galaxy properties. Model predictions diverge more dramatically at high redshift. Better observational data at z > 2 will better constrain galaxy formation and perhaps also cosmological parameters.

title: Substructure lensing: Effects of galaxies, globular clusters and satellite streams
abstract: Lensing flux-ratio anomalies have been frequently observed and taken as evidence for the presence of abundant dark matter substructures in lensing galaxies, as predicted by the cold dark matter (CDM) model of cosmogony. In previous work, we examined the cusp-caustic relations of the multiple images of background quasars lensed by galaxy-scale dark matter haloes, using a suite of high-resolution N-body simulations (the Aquarius simulations). In this work, we extend our previous calculations to incorporate both the baryonic and diffuse dark components in lensing haloes. We include in each lensing simulation: (1) a satellite galaxy population derived from a semi-analytic model applied to the Aquarius haloes; (2) an empirical Milky Way globular cluster population and (3) satellite streams (diffuse dark component) identified in the simulations. Accounting for these extra components, we confirm our earlier conclusion that the abundance of intrinsic substructures (dark or bright, bound or diffuse) is not sufficient to explain the observed frequency of cusp-caustic violations in the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS). We conclude that the observed effect could be the result of the small number statistics of CLASS, or intergalactic haloes along the line of sight acting as additional sources of lensing flux anomalies. Another possibility is that this discrepancy signals a failure of the CDM model.

title: Are mergers responsible for universal halo properties
abstract: N-body simulations of cold dark matter (CDM) have shown that, in this hierarchical structure formation model, dark matter halo properties, such as the density profile, the phase-space density profile, the distribution of axial ratio, the distribution of spin parameter and the distribution of internal specific angular momentum, follow 'universal' laws or distributions. Here, we study the properties of the first generation of haloes in a hot dark matter (HDM) dominated universe, as an example of halo formation through monolithic collapse. We find all these universalities to be present in this case also. Halo density profiles are very well fit by the Navarro, Frenk & White profile over two orders of magnitude in mass. The concentration parameter depends on mass as c α M 0.2 , reversing the dependence found in a hierarchical CDM universe. However, the concentration-formation time relation is similar in the two cases: earlier forming haloes tend to be more concentrated than their later forming counterparts. Halo formation histories are also characterized by two phases in the HDM case: an early phase of rapid accretion followed by slower growth. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between the HDM and CDM cases concerning the statistics of other halo properties: the phase-space density profile; the velocity anisotropy profile; the distribution of shape parameters; the distribution of spin parameter and the distribution of internal specific angular momentum are all similar in the two cases. Only substructure content differs dramatically. These results indicate that mergers do not play a pivotal role in establishing the universalities, thus contradicting models which explain them as consequences of mergers.

title: Phase‐space structure in the local dark matter distribution and its signature in direct detection experiments
abstract: We study predictions for dark matter phase-space structure near the Sun based on highresolution simulations of six galaxy halos taken from the Aquarius Project. The local DM density distribution is predicted to be remarkably smooth; the density at the Sun differs from the mean over a best-fit ellipsoidal equidensity contour by less than 15% at the 99.9% confidence level. The local velocity distribution is also very smooth, but it differs systematically from a (multivariate) Gaussian distribution. This is not due to th e presence of individual clumps or streams, but to broad features in the velocity modulus and energy distributions that are stable both in space and time and reflect the detailed assembly histo ry of each halo. These features have a significant impact on the signals predicted for WIMP an d axion searches. For example, WIMP recoil rates can deviate by � 10% from those expected from the best-fit multivariate Gaussian models. The axion spectra in our simulations typically peak at lower frequencies than in the case of multivariate Gaussian velocity distribu tions. Also in this case, the spectra show significant imprints of the formation of the halo. Th is implies that once direct DM detection has become routine, features in the detector sign al will allow us to study the dark matter assembly history of the Milky Way. A new field, “dark ma tter astronomy”, will then emerge.

title: Lattice SU(2) gauge-Higgs system in analytic treatment
abstract: The phase diagrams of SU(2) gauge-Higgs model with Higgs field of arbitrary length in the fundamental representation in four and five dimension are studied analytically. A method for determining phase transition lines is proposed. All qualitative features of the phase diagram obtained by Monte Carlo simulations are obtained analytically, and the order of phase transitions can be determined definitely.

title: Variational Treatment with the Third Order Corrections for SU(2) Lattice Gauge Theory
abstract: The variational method in Lagrangian formalism in lattice gauge theory in cumulant expansion is discussed. For SU(2) pure gauge Wi1son model to the third order corrections we show that there is no phase transition in four dimensions, but there exists the first order phase transition in five dimensions at βC=0.838 in agreement with the Monte Carlo results. The physical meaning of higher order corrections is discussed.

title: Modeling and design of an X-band rf photoinjector
abstract: A design for an X-band rf photoinjector that was developed jointly by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is presented. The photoinjector is based around a 5.59 cell rf gun that has state-of-the-art features including: elliptical contoured irises; improved mode separation; an optimized initial half cell length; a racetrack input coupler; and coupling that balances pulsed heating with cavity fill time. Radio-frequency and beam dynamics modeling have been done using a combination of codes including PARMELA, HFSS, IMPACT-T, ASTRA, and the ACE3P suite of codes developed at SLAC. The impact of lower gradient operation, magnet misalignment, solenoid multipole errors, beam offset, mode beating, wakefields, and beam line symmetry have been analyzed and are described. Fabrication and testing plans at both LLNL and SLAC are discussed.

title: A DEEP CHANDRA ACIS STUDY OF NGC 4151. I. THE X-RAY MORPHOLOGY OF THE 3 kpc DIAMETER CIRCUM-NUCLEAR REGION AND RELATION TO THE COLD INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM
abstract: We report on the imaging analysis of ~200 ks sub-arcsecond resolution Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS-S) observations of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4151. Bright, structured soft X-ray emission is observed to extend from 30 pc to 1.3 kpc in the southwest from the nucleus, much farther than seen in earlier X-ray studies. The terminus of the northeastern X-ray emission is spatially coincident with a CO gas lane, where the outflow likely encounters dense gas in the host galactic disk. X-ray emission is also detected outside the boundaries of the ionization cone, which indicates that the gas there is not completely shielded from the nuclear continuum, as would be the case for a molecular torus collimating the bicone. In the central r < 200 pc region, the subpixel processing of the ACIS data recovers the morphological details on scales of <30 pc (<05) first discovered in Chandra High Resolution Camera images. The X-ray emission is more absorbed toward the boundaries of the ionization cone, as well as perpendicular to the bicone along the direction of a putative torus in NGC 4151. The innermost region where X-ray emission shows the highest hardness ratio is spatially coincident with the near-infrared-resolved H2 emission and dusty spirals we find in an Hubble Space Telescope V – H color image. The agreement between the observed H2 line flux and the value predicted from X-ray-irradiated molecular cloud models supports photo-excitation by X-rays from the active nucleus as the origin of the H2 line, although contribution from UV fluorescence or collisional excitation cannot be ruled out with current data. The discrepancy between the mass of cold molecular gas inferred from recent CO and near-infrared H2 observations may be explained by the anomalous CO abundance in this X-ray-dominated region. The total H2 mass derived from the X-ray observation agrees with the recent measurement by Storchi-Bergmann et al.

title: Ensemble Learning for Independent Component Analysis of Normal Galaxy Spectra
abstract: In this paper, we employ a new statistical analysis technique, ensemble learning for independent component analysis (EL-ICA), on the synthetic galaxy spectra from a newly released high-resolution evolutionary model by Bruzual & Charlot. We find that EL-ICA can sufficiently compress the synthetic galaxy spectral library to six nonnegative independent components (ICs), which are good templates for modeling huge amounts of normal galaxy spectra, such as the galaxy spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Important spectral parameters, such as starlight reddening, stellar velocity dispersion, stellar mass, and star formation histories, can be given simultaneously by the fit. Extensive tests show that the fit and the derived parameters are reliable for galaxy spectra with the typical quality of the SDSS.

title: Search for light resonances decaying into pairs of muons as a signal of new physics
abstract: A search for groups of collimated muons is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV, and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb−1. The analysis searches for production of new low-mass states decaying into pairs of muons and is designed to achieve high sensitivity to a broad range of models predicting leptonic jet signatures. With no excess observed over the background expectation, upper limits on the production cross section times branching fraction times acceptance areset, ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 pb at the 95% CL depending on event topology. In addition, the results are interpreted in several benchmark models in the context of supersymmetry with a new light dark sector exploring previously inaccessible parameter space.

title: Constraints on the star formation histories of galaxies from z∼ 1 to 0
abstract: We present a new method to estimate the average star formation rate per unit stellar mass (SSFR) of a stacked population of galaxies. We combine the spectra of 600-1000 galaxies with similar stellar masses and parametrize the star formation history of this stacked population using a set of exponentially declining functions. The strength of the hydrogen Balmer absorption-line series in the rest-frame wavelength range 3750-4150 A is used to constrain the SSFR by comparing with a library of models generated using the BC03 stellar population code. Our method, based on a principal component analysis, can be applied in a consistent way to spectra drawn from local galaxy surveys and from surveys at z ∼ 1, and is only weakly influenced by attenuation due to dust. We apply our method to galaxy samples drawn from Sloan Digital Sky Survey and DEEP2 to study the mass-dependent growth of galaxies from z ∼ 1 to 0. We find that (i) high-mass galaxies have lower SSFRs than low-mass galaxies and (ii) the average SSFR has decreased from z = 1 to 0 by a factor of ∼3-4, independent of galaxy mass. Additionally, at z ∼ 1, our average SSFRs are a factor of 2-2.5 lower than those derived from multiwavelength photometry using similar data sets. We then compute the average time [in units of the Hubble time, t H (z)] needed by galaxies of a given mass to form their stars at their current rate. At both z = 0 and 1, this time-scale decreases strongly with stellar mass from values close to unity for galaxies with masses ∼10 10 M ⊙ , to more than 10 for galaxies more massive than 10 11 M ⊙ . Our results are in good agreement with models in which active galactic nuclei feedback is more efficient at preventing gas from cooling and forming stars in high-mass galaxies.