Prospects for constraining cosmology with the extragalactic cosmic microwave background temperature
Observers have demonstrated that it is now feasible to measure the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature at high redshifts. We explore the possible constraints on cosmology which might ultimately be derived from such measurements. In addition to providing a consistency check on standard and alternative cosmologies, possibilities include constraints on the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the universe at intermediate redshift $z\ensuremath{\lesssim}10,$ an independent probe of peculiar motions with respect to the Hubble flow, constraining the epoch of reionization, and the time variability of the fine structure constant. We argue that the best possibility is as a probe of peculiar motions. We show, however, that the current measurement uncertainty $(\ensuremath{\Delta}T=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.002\mathrm{K})$ in the local present absolute CMB temperature imposes intrinsic limits on the use of such CMB temperature measurements as a cosmological probe. At best, anisotropies at intermediate redshift could only be constrained at a level of $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}0.1%$ and peculiar motions could only be determined to an uncertainty of $\ensuremath{\gtrsim}311{\mathrm{km}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}.$ If the high z CMB temperature can only be measured with a precision comparable to the uncertainty of the local interstellar CMB temperature, then peculiar motions could be determined to an uncertainty of ${1101(1+z)}^{\ensuremath{-}1}[\ensuremath{\Delta}{T}_{\mathrm{CMB}}(z)/0.01\mathrm{K}]{\mathrm{km}\mathrm{}\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}.$

title: Dark Energy Search with Supernovae
abstract: To determine the nature of dark energy from observational data, it is important that we use model-independent and optimal methods. We should probe dark energy using its density (allowed to be a free function of cosmic time) instead of its equation of state. We should minimize gravitational lensing effect on supernovae by flux-averaging. We need to include complementary data (for example, from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure (LSS)) in a consistent manner to help break the degeneracy between the dark energy density and the matter density fraction. We should push for ambitious future supernova surveys that can observe a large number of supernovae at the highest possible redshifts. I discuss these and other issues that will be important in our quest to unravel the mystery of the nature of dark energy. Current supernova, CMB, and LSS data already rule out dark energy models with dark energy densities that vary greatly with time; with the cosmological constant model providing an excellent fit to the data. A precise measurement of dark energy density as a free function of cosmic time will have a fundamental impact on particle physics and cosmology.

title: Wavelets and WMAP non-Gaussianity
abstract: We study the statistical properties of the first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data on different scales using the spherical Mexican hat wavelet transform. Consistent with the 2004 results of Vielva et al., we find a deviation from Gaussianity in the form of kurtosis of wavelet coefficients on 3-4 scales in the southern Galactic hemisphere. This paper extends the work of Vielva et al. as follows: We find that the non-Gaussian signal shows up more strongly in the form of a larger than expected number of cold pixels and also in the form of scale-scale correlations among wavelet coefficients. We establish the robustness of the non-Gaussian signal under more wide-ranging assumptions regarding the Galactic mask applied to the data and the noise statistics. This signal is unlikely to be due to the usual quadratic term parameterized by the nonlinearity parameter fNL. We use the skewness of the spherical Mexican hat wavelet coefficients to constrain fNL with the first-year WMAP data. Our results constrain fNL to be 50+/-80 at 68% confidence and less than 280 at 99% confidence.

title: Constraints on generalized extended inflationary models.
abstract: We study the physical constraints on generalized extended inflationary theories, in which the Brans-Dicke field {Phi} couples to the inflaton sector in the form of two arbitrary power-law functions of {Phi}. We find that the most stringent constraints arise from the need to suppress large bubbles and from considerations of the density perturbations generated during extended inflation. We find that there are sizable portions of the parameter spaces in which all the constraints are satisfied.

title: A robust distance measurement and dark energy constraints from the spherically averaged correlation function of Sloan Digital Sky Survey luminous red Galaxies
abstract: We measure the effective distance to z = 0.26, DV (0.26), and mh 2 from the overall shape of the spherically-averaged two-point correlati on function of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) volume-limited luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample, without assuming a dark energy model or a flat Universe. We giv e the mean and covariance matrix of DV (0.26), mh 2 , bh 2 , and ns. We show that these provide an efficient and accurate summary of the volume-limited LRG data. With flat priors on bh 2 and ns (7σWMAP7), we find mh 2 = 0.131 ± 0.020, and rs/DV (0.26) = 0.1466 +0.0068 0.0073 (the ratio of the sound horizon at the drag epoch to the effective distance to z = 0.26). We find that measurements of mh 2 or m are biased low if flux-limited (instead of volume-limited) L RG sample is used. By scaling the spherically-averaged correlation fun ction, we find the Hubble parameter H(0.26) = 79 +12 13 km s 1 Mpc 1 and the angular diameter distance DA(0.26) = 848 +86 88 Mpc. Combining our results with the cosmic microwave background and supernova data, we obtain k = 0.0059 +0.0092 0.0093 andw = 1.023 +0.054 0.053 (assuming a constant dark energy equation of state). We use LasDamas SDSS mock catalogs to compute the covariance matrix of the correlation function, and investigate the use of lognormal catal ogs as an alternative. We find that the input correlation function can be accurately recovered from lognormal catalogs, although they give larger errors on all scales (especially on small sc ales) compared to the mock catalogs derived from cosmological N-body simulations.

title: Dark Energy Constraints from Baryon Acoustic Oscillations
abstract: Baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) in the galaxy power spectrum allow us to extract the scale of the comoving sound horizon at recombination, a cosmological standard ruler accurately determined by the cosmic microwave background anisotropy data. We examine various issues important in the use of BAOs to probe dark energy. We find that if we assume a flat universe and priors on ?m, ?mh2, and ?bh2 as expected from the Planck mission, the constraints on dark energy parameters (w0, w') scale much less steeply with survey area than (area)-1/2 for a given redshift range. The constraints on the dark energy density ?X(z), however, do scale roughly with (area)-1/2 due to the strong correlation between H(z) and ?m (which reduces the effect of priors on ?m). Dark energy constraints from BAOs are very sensitive to the assumed linear scale of matter clustering and the redshift accuracy of the survey. For a BAO survey with 0.5 ? z ? 2, ? (R) = 0.4 [corresponding to kmax (z = 0) = 0.086 h Mpc-1], and ?z/ (1 + z) = 0.001, we find = (0.115,0.183) and (0.069, 0.104) for survey areas of 1000 and 10,000 deg2, respectively. We find that it is critical to minimize the bias in the scale estimates in order to derive reliable dark energy constraints. For a 1000 (10,000) deg2 BAO survey, a 1 ? bias in ln H (z) leads to a 2 ? (3 ?) bias in w'. The bias in w' due to the same scale bias from ln DA (z) is slightly smaller and opposite in sign. The results from this paper will be useful in assessing different proposed BAO surveys and guiding the design of optimal dark energy detection strategies.

title: Cosmological constraints on the generalized holographic dark energy
abstract: We use the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to investigate global constraints on the generalized holographic (GH) dark energy with flat and non-flat universe from the current observed data: the Union2 dataset of type supernovae Ia (SNIa), high-redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), the observational Hubble data (OHD), the cluster X-ray gas mass fraction, the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. The most stringent constraints on the GH model parameter are obtained. In addition, it is found that the equation of state for this generalized holographic dark energy can cross over the phantom boundary wde=−1.

title: Bakelite RPCs for Digital Hadron Calorimeter
abstract: This paper presents the test results of Bakelite RPCs using readout pads with an area of 1 cm×1 cm and 1-bit resolution per pad (binary readout). The results include noise rate, detection efficiency and pad multiplicity as well as comparisons of different surface treatments for Bakelite plates. Pad multiplicity’s dependence on surface resistivity at the readout side is also reported. This study shows Bakelite RPCs can be used as the active elements of digital hadron calorimeter.

title: L3P: Lepton and photon precision physics

title: A Theory of a Spot
abstract: We present a simple inflationary scenario that can produce arbitrarily large spherical underdense or overdense regions embedded in a standard Λ cold dark matter paradigm, which we refer to as bubbles. We analyze the effect such bubbles would have on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). For super-horizon sized bubble in the vicinity of the last scattering surface, a signal is imprinted onto CMB via a combination of Sach-Wolfe and an early integrated Sach-Wolfe (ISW) effects. Smaller, sub-horizon sized bubbles at lower redshifts (during matter domination and later) can imprint secondary anisotropies on the CMB via Rees-Sciama, late-time ISW and Ostriker-Vishniac effects. Our scenario, and arguably most similar inflationary models, produce bubbles which are over/underdense in potential: in density such bubbles are characterized by having a distinct wall with the interior staying at the cosmic mean density. We show that such models can potentially, with only moderate fine tuning, explain the cold spot, a non-Gaussian feature identified in the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data by several authors. However, more detailed comparisons with current and future CMB data are necessary to confirm (or rule out) this scenario.

title: CHANDRA STUDY OF X-RAY POINT SOURCES IN THE EARLY-TYPE GALAXY NGC 4552 (M89)
abstract: We present a Chandra ACIS study of the early-type galaxy NGC 4552. We detect 47 X-ray point sources, most of which are likely low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), within four effective radii (Re). The brightest X-ray source coincides with the optical, UV, and radio center of the galaxy and shows variability on >1 hr timescales, indicating the possible existence of a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN). The 46 off-center sources and the unresolved point sources contribute about 29% and 20% to the total luminosity of the galaxy, respectively. We find that after correcting for the incompleteness at the low-luminosity end, the observed cumulative X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of the off-center sources is best fitted by a broken power-law model with a break at Lb = 4.4 × 1038 ergs s-1. We identified 210 globular cluster (GC) candidates in a HST WFPC2 optical image of the galaxy's central region. Of the 25 off-center LMXBs that fall within the WFPC2 field of view, 10 sources are coincident with a GC. Thus, the fraction of the GCs hosting bright LMXBs and the fraction of the LMXBs associated with GCs are 4.8% and 40%, respectively. In the V and I bands, the GCs hosting bright LMXBs are typically 1-2 mag brighter than the GCs with no detected LMXBs. There are about 1.9 ± 0.4 times as many LMXBs in the red, metal-rich GCs as there are in the blue, metal-poor ones. We find no obvious difference between the luminosity distributions of LMXBs in GCs and in the field, but the cumulative spectrum of the LMXBs in GCs tends to be softer than that of the LMXBs in field. We detected three X-ray sources that have isotropic luminosities larger than 1039 ergs s-1. Only one of these is located in the joint Chandra-HST field and is found to be associated with a GC. By studying its ACIS spectra we infer that the this may be a candidate black hole system with a mass of 15-135 M☉. One of the other sources with a luminosity brighter than 1039 ergs s-1 reveals temporal variations in brightness on timescales greater than 1 hr.