Paper pool 2¶
Interesting papers that are off-topic, controversial or for other reasons not suitable for journal club. We can still discuss them over coffee!
Cosmology and clusters¶
A Stacked Analysis of Brightest Cluster Galaxies Observed with the Fermi Large Area Telescope¶
K. L. Dutson, R. J. White, A. C. Edge, J. A. Hinton, M. T. Hogan
(Submitted on 27 Nov 2012)
We present the results of a search for high-energy gamma-ray emission from a large sample of galaxy clusters sharing the properties of three existing Fermi-LAT detections (in Perseus, Virgo and Abell 3392), namely a powerful radio source within their brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). From a parent, X-ray flux-limited sample of clusters, we select 114 systems with a core-dominated BCG radio flux above 50 or 75 mJy, stacking data from the first 45 months of the Fermi mission, to determine statistical limits on the gamma-ray fluxes of the ensemble of candidate sources. For a >300 MeV selection, the distribution of detection significance across the sample is consistent with that across control samples for significances <3 sigma, but has a tail extending to higher values, including three >4 sigma signals which are not associated with previously identified gamma-ray emission. Modelling of the data in these fields results in the detection of four non-2FGL Fermi sources, though none appear to be unambiguously associated with the BCG candidate. A search at energies >3 GeV hints at emission from the BCG in A 2055, which hosts a BL Lac object. There is no evidence for a signal in the stacked data, and the upper limit derived on the gamma-ray flux of an average radio-bright BCG in the sample is an order-of-magnitude more constraining than that calculated for individual objects. F(1 GeV)/F(1.4 GHz) <15, compared with ~120 for NGC 1275 in Perseus, which might indicate a special case for those objects detected at high energies; that beamed emission from member galaxies comprise the dominant bright gamma-ray sources in clusters.
Excess ellipticity of hot and cold spots in the WMAP data?¶
Eirik Berntsen, Frode K. Hansen
(Submitted on 22 Nov 2012)
We investigate claims of excess ellipticity of hot and cold spots in the WMAP data (Gurzadyan et al. 2005, 2007). Using the cosmic microwave background data from 7 years of observations by the WMAP satellite, we find, contrary to previous claims of a 10 sigma detection of excess ellipticity in the 3-year data, that the ellipticity of hot and cold spots are perfectly consistent with simulated CMB maps based on the concordance cosmology. We further test for excess obliquity and excess skewness/kurtosis of ellipticity and obliquity and find the WMAP7 data consistent with Gaussian simulated maps.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.5275
General interest: Astrophysics¶
"Galaxy," Defined¶
Beth Willman, Jay Strader
A growing number of low luminosity and low surface brightness astronomical objects challenge traditional notions of both galaxies and star clusters. To address this, we propose a definition of galaxy independent of the cold dark matter model of the universe: A galaxy is a gravitationally bound set of stars whose properties cannot be explained by a combination of baryons and Newton's laws of gravity. After exploring observational diagnostics of this definition, we examine the classification of ultra-faint dwarfs, globular clusters, ultra-compact dwarfs, and tidal dwarfs. While kinematic studies provide an effective galaxy diagnostic in many regimes, they can be less useful for compact or faint systems. To explore the use of [Fe/H] spread as a complementary diagnostic, we use published spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements of 16 Milky Way dwarfs and 24 globular clusters to calculate their [Fe/H] spreads and uncertainties. Our principal results are: (i) no old star cluster less luminous then M_V = -10 has a significant (> 0.1 dex) spread in iron; (ii) known ultra-faint dwarfs can be classified with a combination of kinematics and [Fe/H]; (iii) the observed [Fe/H] spreads in massive (> 10^6 M_Sun) globular clusters do not necessarily imply they are the stripped nuclei of dwarfs, nor a need for dark matter; and (iv) if ultra-compact dwarfs reside in dark matter halos akin to those of ultra-faint dwarfs of the same half-light radii, then they will show no clear dynamical signature of dark matter. We suggest measurements that may assist future classification of massive globular clusters, ultra-compact dwarfs, and ultra-faint galaxies. Our galaxy definition is designed to be independent of the details of current observations and models, while our proposed diagnostics can be refined or replaced as our understanding of the universe evolves.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1203.2608
Measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe from γ-ray attenuation¶
A. Domínguez (UC Riverside), F. Prada (UAM-CSIC & IAA-CSIC)
A measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe (that is the Hubble constant, $H_{0}$) is derived here using the \gamma-ray attenuation observed in the spectra of \gamma-ray sources produced by the interaction of extragalactic \gamma-ray photons with the photons of the extragalactic background light (EBL). The Hubble constant that is determined with our technique, for a \Lambda CDM cosmology, is H_{0}=70.2_{-5.9}^{+4.8}(stat)_{-16.0}^{+7.6}(syst) km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1}. This value is compatible with present-day measurements using well established methods such as local distance ladders and cosmological probes. The recent detection of the cosmic \gamma-ray horizon (CGRH) from multiwavelength observation of blazars, together with the advances in the knowledge of the EBL, allow us to measure the expansion rate of the Universe. This estimate of the Hubble constant shows that \gamma-ray astronomy has reached a mature enough state to provide cosmological measurements, which may become more competitive in the future with the construction of the Cherenkov Telescope Array. We find that the maximum dependence of the CGRH on the Hubble constant is approximately between redshifts 0.04 and 0.1, thus this is a smoking gun for planning future observational efforts. Other cosmological parameters, such as the total dark matter density \Omega_{m} and the dark energy equation of state w, are explored as well.
The imminent detection of gravitational waves from massive black-hole binaries with pulsar timing arrays¶
Sean T. McWilliams, Jeremiah P. Ostriker, Frans Pretorius
(Submitted on 19 Nov 2012)
Recent observations of massive galaxies indicate that they double in mass and quintuple in size between redshift z = 1 and the present, despite undergoing very little star formation, suggesting that galaxy mergers drive the evolution. Since these galaxies will contain supermassive black holes, this suggests a larger black hole merger rate, and therefore a larger gravitational-wave signal, than previously expected. We calculate the merger-driven evolution of the mass function, and find that merger rates are 10 to 30 times higher and gravitational waves are 3 to 5 times stronger than previously estimated, so that the gravitational-wave signal may already be detectable with existing data from pulsar timing arrays. We also provide an explanation for the disagreement with past estimates that were based on dark matter halo simulations.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1211.4590