Supernova Pencil Beam Survey
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can be calibrated to be good standard candles at cosmological distances. We propose a supernova pencil beam survey that could yield between dozens and hundreds of SNe Ia in redshift bins of 0.1 up to z = 1.5, which would complement space-based supernova searches and enable the proper consideration of the systematic uncertainties of SNe Ia as standard candles, in particular, luminosity evolution and gravitational lensing. We simulate SNe Ia luminosities by adding weak lensing noise (using empirical fitting formulae) and scatter in SN Ia absolute magnitudes to standard candles placed at random redshifts. We show that flux averaging is powerful in reducing the combined noise due to gravitational lensing and scatter in SN Ia absolute magnitudes. The supernova number count is not sensitive to matter distribution in the universe; it can be used to test models of cosmology or to measure the supernova rate. The supernova pencil beam survey can yield a wealth of data which should enable accurate determination of the cosmological parameters and the supernova rate, and provide valuable information on the formation and evolution of galaxies. The supernova pencil beam survey can be accomplished on a dedicated 4 m telescope with a square degree field of view. This telescope can be used to conduct other important observational projects compatible with the supernova pencil beam survey, such as QSOs, Kuiper belt objects, and, in particular, weak lensing measurements of field galaxies, and the search for gamma-ray burst afterglows.

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: 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: 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: 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: 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: The jet-disk symbiosis model for gamma ray bursts: cosmic ray and neutrino background contribution
abstract: The relation between the cosmological evolution of the jet-disk symbiosis model for GRBs and the cosmic rays energy distribution is presented. We used two different Star Formation Rates (SFR) as a function of redshift and a Luminosity Function (LF) distribution to obtain the distribution in fluence of GRBs in our model and compare it with the data. We show a good agreement between the fluence distribution we obtain and the corrected data for the 4B BATSE catalogue. The results we obtain are generally valid for models that use jet physics to explain GRB properties.

title: A fast programmable trigger for pattern recognition
abstract: We have built a fast programmable trigger processor based on a state-of-the-art Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) IC for the Palo Verde Neutrino Oscillation Experiment. The trigger processor can accommodate 160 ECL input signals, 8 NIM input signals, 16 ECL output signals and 8 NIM output signals. Our two-level trigger logic is designed asynchronously to maximize speed. We have attained trigger times of 40 ns for level 1 and 100 ns for level 2 with 132 asynchronous inputs. The trigger processor can be upgraded by replacing the FPGA with more advanced versions of the chip as they appear.

title: Cosmic constraint to DGP brane model: Geometrical and dynamical perspectives
abstract: In this paper, the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) brane model is confronted by current cosmic observational data sets from geometrical and dynamical perspectives. On the geometrical side, the recently released Union2 557 of type Ia supernovae (SN Ia), the baryon acoustic oscillation from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Two Degree Galaxy Redshift Survey (transverse and radial to line-of-sight data points), the cosmic microwave background measurement given by the seven-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe observations [shift parameters R, l{sub a}(z{sub *}) and redshift at the last scatter surface z{sub *}], ages of high redshifts galaxies, i.e., the lookback time and the high redshift gamma ray bursts are used. On the dynamical side, data points about the growth function of matter linear perturbations are used. Using the same data set combination, we also constrain the flat {Lambda}CDM model as a comparison. The results show that current geometrical and dynamical observational data sets much favor the flat {Lambda}CDM model and the departure from it is above 4{sigma}(6{sigma}) for the spatially flat DGP model with (without) SN systematic errors. The consistence of growth function data points is checked in terms of a relative departure of redshift-distance relation.

title: A Water \v{C}erenkov Calorimeter as the Next Generation Neutrino Detector
abstract: We propose here a large homogeneous calorimeter as the next generation neutrino detector for $\nu$ factories and/or conventional $\nu$ beams. The active media is chosen to be water for obvious economical reasons. The \v Cerenkov light produced in water is sufficient to have good energy resolution, and the pattern recognition is realized by a modular water tank structure. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the detector performance is excellent for identifying neutrino CC events while rejecting background events.

title: A LOW COST AND HIGH EFFICIENCT FACILITY FOR REMOVAL OF SO2 AND NOx IN THE FLUE GAS FROM COAL FIRE POWER PLANT
abstract: The emission of toxic gas, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides has become serious issue in the world. A review of EB method to remove the SOx and NOx in flue gas from coal-fired power plants was described in this paper. A design of an electron curtain accelerator of 600 keV was given, and a facility for purification of flue gas from coal combustion power plant of 10MW was described here.