• #### NGC628 with SITELLE : I. Imaging Spectroscopy of 4285 HII region candidatesver. 2

This is the first paper of a series dedicated to nebular physics and the chemical evolution of nearby galaxies by investigating large samples of HII regions with the CFHT imaging spectrograph SITELLE. We present a technique adapted to imaging spectroscopy to identify and extract parameters from 4285 HII region candidates found in the disc of NGC628. Using both the spatial and spectral capabilities of SITELLE, our technique enables the extraction of the position, dust extinction, velocity, Halpha profile, diffuse ionised gas (DIG) background, luminosity, size, morphological type, and the emission line fluxes for individual spaxels and the integrated spectrum for each region. We have produced a well-sampled HII region luminosity function and studied its variation with galactocentric radius and level of the DIG background. We found a slope of 1.12+/-0.03 with no evidence of a break at high luminosity. Based on the width of the region profile, bright regions are rather compact, while faint regions are seen over a wide range of sizes. The radius function reveals a slope of 1.81+/-0.02. BPT diagrams of the individual spaxels and integrated line ratios confirm that most detections are HII regions. Also, maps of the line ratios show complex variations of the ionisation conditions within HII regions. All this information is compiled in a new catalogue for HII regions. The objective of this database is to provide a complete sample which will be used to study the whole parameter space covered by the physical conditions in active star-forming regions.
ExtinctionLuminosityStellar populationsIntensityIonizationMilky WayGalaxyLuminosity functionCalibrationInterstellar medium...
• #### Analysis of Long Lived Particle Decays with the MATHUSLA Detectorver. 3

The MATHUSLA detector is a simple large-volume tracking detector to be located on the surface above one of the general-purpose experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. This detector was proposed in [1] to detect exotic, neutral, long-lived particles that might be produced in high-energy proton-proton collisions. In this paper, we consider the use of the limited information that MATHUSLA would provide on the decay products of the long-lived particle. For the case in which the long-lived particle is pair-produced in Higgs boson decays, we show that it is possible to measure the mass of this particle and determine the dominant decay mode with less than 100 observed events. We discuss the ability of MATHUSLA to distinguish the production mode of the long-lived particle and to determine its mass and spin in more general cases.
Long Lived ParticleMATHUSLA experimentTracking detectorProton-proton collisionsHiggs boson decayDecay productLarge Hadron ColliderDecay modeMassEvent...
• #### Graviton Scattering and a Sum Rule for the c Anomaly in 4D CFT

4D CFTs have a scale anomaly characterized by the coefficient $c$, which appears as the coefficient of logarithmic terms in momentum space correlation functions of the energy-momentum tensor. By studying the CFT contribution to 4-point graviton scattering amplitudes in Minkowski space we derive a sum rule for $c$ in terms of $TT\mathcal{O}$ OPE coefficients. The sum rule can be thought of as a version of the optical theorem, and its validity depends on the existence of the massless and forward limits of the $\langle TTTT \rangle$ correlation functions that contribute. The finiteness of these limits is checked explicitly for free scalar, fermion, and vector CFTs. The sum rule gives $c$ as a sum of positive terms, and therefore implies a lower bound on $c$ given any lower bound on $TT\mathcal{O}$ OPE coefficients. We compute the coefficients to the sum rule for arbitrary operators of spin 0 and 2, including the energy-momentum tensor.
Conformal field theoryGravitonTwo-point correlation functionOPE coefficientsMomentum spacePolarization tensorConformal invarianceHelicityOptical theoremOperator product expansion...
• #### Modeling Spatial Overdispersion with the Generalized Waring Process

Modeling spatial overdispersion requires point processes models with finite dimensional distributions that are overdisperse relative to the Poisson. Fitting such models usually heavily relies on the properties of stationarity, ergodicity, and orderliness. And, though processes based on negative binomial finite dimensional distributions have been widely considered, they typically fail to simultaneously satisfy the three required properties for fitting. Indeed, it has been conjectured by Diggle and Milne that no negative binomial model can satisfy all three properties. In light of this, we change perspective, and construct a new process based on a different overdisperse count model, the Generalized Waring Distribution. While comparably tractable and flexible to negative binomial processes, the Generalized Waring process is shown to possess all required properties, and additionally span the negative binomial and Poisson processes as limiting cases. In this sense, the GW process provides an approximate resolution to the conundrum highlighted by Diggle and Milne.
Point processPoisson processFinite-dimensional distributionMetric spaceErgodicityStatisticsNegative binomial distributionBounded setIntensityStructural properties...
• #### Consistent modelling of the meta-galactic UV background and the thermal/ionization history of the intergalactic medium

Recent observations suggest that hydrogen reionization ends late ($z \simeq 6$) and proceeds quickly. We present here a new model of the meta-galactic UV/X-ray background (UVB) that is consistent with this. It adopts the most recent determinations of the ionizing emissivity due to stars and AGN, as well as of the HI absorber column density distribution. Another major improvement is a new treatment of the intergalactic medium (IGM) opacity for ionizing photons that is able to consistently capture the transition from a neutral to an ionized IGM. Previous synthesis models of the UVB, when used in simulations, yield reionization and thermal histories that are inconsistent with the assumed ionizing emissivities. With our new treatment, this discrepancy is fully resolved. In our fiducial model, galaxies leaking $\lesssim 18\%$ of their Lyman continuum emission drive HI reionization, while AGN drive HeII reionization (completing at $z \simeq 6.2$ and $2.8$ respectively). Due to the limited time available for cooling between HI and HeII reionization, higher IGM temperatures are predicted for late reionization scenarios. In our fiducial model, the predicted temperatures agree well with observational constraints at $z \lesssim 4$, while being slightly high compared to (somewhat uncertain) data above that. Models with a larger contribution of AGN are instead disfavoured by the temperature data, as well as by measurements of the HI and HeII Lyman-$\alpha$ forest opacities. We also present "equivalent-equilibrium" ionization/heating rates that mimic our fiducial UVB model for use in simulation codes that assume ionization equilibrium.
ReionizationIntergalactic mediumActive Galactic NucleiIonizationOpacityIonizing radiationPhotoheatingIGM temperaturePhotoionizationCooling...
• #### Quantum gravity: a geometrical perspective

We present a theory of quantum gravity that combines a geometrical formulation of quantum field theory in space-time with classical Einstein's general relativity. This approach is based on the geometrization of quantum mechanics proposed in refs.[1,2] and combines quantum and gravitational effects into a global curvature of the Finsler's space associated to the 4N-dimensional configuration space of a N-particle system. In order to make this theory compatible with general relativity, the quantum effects are described in the framework of quantum field theory, where a covariant definition of 'simultaneity' for many-body systems is introduced through the definition of a suited foliation of space-time. As for Einstein's classical gravitation theory, the particles dynamics is finally described by means of a geodesic equation in a curved space-time manifold.
Quantum gravityGeneral relativityManifoldCurvatureTangent spaceField theoryFoliationQuantum field theoryWavefunctionGeodesic...
• #### Detecting Hidden Particles with MATHUSLAver. 2

A hidden sector containing light long-lived particles provides a well-motivated place to find new physics. The recently proposed MATHUSLA experiment has the potential to be extremely sensitive to light particles originating from rare meson decays in the very long lifetime region. In this work, we illustrate this strength with the specific example of a light scalar mixed with the standard model-like Higgs boson, a model where MATHUSLA can further probe unexplored parameter space from exotic Higgs decays. Design augmentations should be considered in order to maximize the ability of MATHUSLA to discover very light hidden sector particles.
MATHUSLA experimentHidden sectorHiggs bosonStandard ModelLarge Hadron ColliderBranching ratioExotic Higgs decaysLight scalarRare meson decayKaon...
• #### Measuring the tendency of CNNs to Learn Surface Statistical Regularities

Deep CNNs are known to exhibit the following peculiarity: on the one hand they generalize extremely well to a test set, while on the other hand they are extremely sensitive to so-called adversarial perturbations. The extreme sensitivity of high performance CNNs to adversarial examples casts serious doubt that these networks are learning high level abstractions in the dataset. We are concerned with the following question: How can a deep CNN that does not learn any high level semantics of the dataset manage to generalize so well? The goal of this article is to measure the tendency of CNNs to learn surface statistical regularities of the dataset. To this end, we use Fourier filtering to construct datasets which share the exact same high level abstractions but exhibit qualitatively different surface statistical regularities. For the SVHN and CIFAR-10 datasets, we present two Fourier filtered variants: a low frequency variant and a randomly filtered variant. Each of the Fourier filtering schemes is tuned to preserve the recognizability of the objects. Our main finding is that CNNs exhibit a tendency to latch onto the Fourier image statistics of the training dataset, sometimes exhibiting up to a 28% generalization gap across the various test sets. Moreover, we observe that significantly increasing the depth of a network has a very marginal impact on closing the aforementioned generalization gap. Thus we provide quantitative evidence supporting the hypothesis that deep CNNs tend to learn surface statistical regularities in the dataset rather than higher-level abstract concepts.
Convolutional neural networkStatisticsTraining setFourier imagingMachine learningArchitectureDiscrete Fourier transformRegularizationDeep Neural NetworksImage Processing...
• #### Understanding deep learning requires rethinking generalizationver. 2

Despite their massive size, successful deep artificial neural networks can exhibit a remarkably small difference between training and test performance. Conventional wisdom attributes small generalization error either to properties of the model family, or to the regularization techniques used during training. Through extensive systematic experiments, we show how these traditional approaches fail to explain why large neural networks generalize well in practice. Specifically, our experiments establish that state-of-the-art convolutional networks for image classification trained with stochastic gradient methods easily fit a random labeling of the training data. This phenomenon is qualitatively unaffected by explicit regularization, and occurs even if we replace the true images by completely unstructured random noise. We corroborate these experimental findings with a theoretical construction showing that simple depth two neural networks already have perfect finite sample expressivity as soon as the number of parameters exceeds the number of data points as it usually does in practice. We interpret our experimental findings by comparison with traditional models.
Deep learningRegularizationNeural networkClassificationGeneralization errorArtificial neural networkNetworks...
• #### Cool-Core Clusters : Role of BCG, Star Formation & AGN-Driven Turbulence

Recent analysis shows that it is important to explicitly include the gravitational potential of the central brightest central galaxy (BCG) to infer the acceleration due to gravity ($g$) and the free-fall time ($t_{\rm ff} \equiv [2r/g]^{1/2}$) in cool cluster cores. Accurately measuring $t_{\rm ff}$ is crucial because according to numerical simulations cold gas condensation and strong feedback occur in cluster cores with min($t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}$) below a threshold value close to 10. Recent observations which include the BCG gravity show that the observed threshold in min($t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}$) lies at a somewhat higher value, close to 20-30, there are only a few clusters in which this ratio falls below 10. In this paper we compare numerical simulations of feedback AGN (Active Galactic Nucleus) jets interacting with the intracluster medium (ICM) with and without a BCG potential. We find that, for a fixed feedback efficiency, the presence of a BCG does not significantly affect the temperature but increases (decreases) the core density (entropy) on average. Most importantly, min($t_{\rm cool}/t_{\rm ff}$) is not affected much by the inclusion of the BCG gravity. We also look at the role of depletion of cold gas due to star formation in cool core clusters using a simplified model for the removal of cold gas. We show that the depletion of cold gas affects only the rotationally dominant component (torus) while the radially dominant component (which regulates the feedback cycle) remains largely unaffected. Stellar gas depletion also increases the duty cycle of AGN jets. The distribution of metals due to AGN jets in our simulations is predominantly along the jet direction and the radial spread of metals is less compared to the observations. We also show that the turbulence in cool core clusters is weak, consistent with recent Hitomi results on Perseus cluster.
Navarro-Frenk-White profileCluster coreAGN jetsCoolingCool core galaxy clusterMetallicityStar formationActive Galactic NucleiTurbulenceLine-of-sight Velocity Dispersion...
• #### Feedack from Reorienting AGN Jets

Aims: We test the effects of re-orienting jets on the Intra-Cluster Medium in a cool-core galaxy cluster environment. We investigate both the appearance of the X-ray gas cavities and the heating they provide to the cool core. Methods: We test, making use of numerical simulations, four models of periodically re-orienting jets from the central AGN. We keep the jet power and duration fixed and change only the re-orientation angle prescription. We are able to produce realistic X-ray synthetic images and compare them qualitatively to real ones. We show the total energy of the gas and its thermodynamic properties, as well as the energy transfer from the AGN to the ICM. Results: Jets whose re-orientation is substantial (always above $20$ degrees) are able to produce several detached cavities, as opposed to a single, internally connected cavity system. The latter is usually larger and filled by hot plasma of different ages. Synthetic X-ray observations are able to reproduce many observed features, especially resembling real cool-core clusters when the re-orientation angle is constrained between $20$ and $30$ degrees. Jets in those same runs, though inflating smaller cavities, allow for a more efficient heating of the gas, most importantly on scales smaller than $50$ kpc. Re-orienting jets, over hundreds of Myr, can deposit up to $80\%$ of their energy into the ICM, against $60\%$ for jets along a single direction. These jets are finally the only ones in our models reaching an inflow/outflow balance, effectively counteracting cooling flows and keeping the gas' luminosity around the observed values.
CoolingBow shockOrientationCool core galaxy clusterActive Galactic NucleiAGN jetsSupermassive black holeLuminosityCooling flowSoft X-ray...
• #### ALMA observations of AGN fuelling: the case of PKS B1718-649

We present ALMA observations of the $^{12}$CO (2--1) line of the newly born ($t_\mathrm{radio}\sim10^2$ years) active galactic nucleus (AGN), PKS B1718-649. These observations reveal that the carbon monoxide in the innermost 15 kpc of the galaxy is distributed in a complex warped disk. In the outer parts of this disk, the CO gas follows the rotation of the dust lane and of the stellar body of the galaxy hosting the radio source. In the innermost kiloparsec, the gas abruptly changes orientation and forms a circumnuclear disk ($r\lesssim700$ pc) with its major axis perpendicular to that of the outer disk. Against the compact radio emission of PKS B1718-649 ($r\sim 2$ pc), we detect an absorption line at red-shifted velocities with respect to the systemic velocity ($\Delta v = +365\pm22$\kms). This absorbing CO gas could trace molecular clouds falling onto the central super-massive black hole. A comparison with the near-infra red H$_{\,2}$ 1-0 S(1) observations shows that the clouds must be close to the black hole ($r\lesssim 75$ pc). The physical conditions of these clouds are different from the gas at larger radii, and are in good agreement with the predictions for the conditions of the gas when cold chaotic accretion triggers an active galactic nucleus. These observations on the centre of PKS B1718-649 provide one of the best indications that a population of cold clouds is falling towards a radio AGN, likely fuelling its activity.
Active Galactic NucleiAccretionAtacama Large Millimeter ArrayRadio sourcesKinematicsMolecular cloudInterstellar mediumAbsorption lineMilky WayLuminosity...
• #### Sound wave generation by a spherically symmetric outburst and AGN feedback in galaxy clusters II: impact of thermal conduction

We analyze the impact of thermal conduction on the appearance of a shock-heated gas shell which is produced when a spherically symmetric outburst of a supermassive black hole inflates bubbles of relativistic plasma at the center of a galaxy cluster. The presence of the hot and low-density shell can be used as an ancillary indicator for a high rate of energy release during the outburst, which is required to drive strong shocks into the gas. Here we show that conduction can effectively erase such shell, unless the diffusion of electrons is heavily suppressed. We conclude that a more robust proxy to the energy release rate is the ratio between the shock radius and bubble radius. We also revisited the issue of sound waves dissipation induced by thermal conduction in a scenario, where characteristic wavelength of the sound wave is set by the total energy of the outburst. For a fiducial short outburst model, the dissipation length does not exceed the cooling radius in a typical cluster, provided that the conduction is suppressed by a factor not larger than $\sim$100. For quasi-continuous energy injection neither the shock-heated shell nor the outgoing sound wave are important and the role of conduction is subdominant.
Optical burstsEjectaAGN feedbackDissipationCluster of galaxiesPerseus galaxy clusterActive Galactic NucleiBuoyancyMessier 87Cooling...
• #### ALMA observation of the disruption of molecular gas in M87

We present the results from ALMA observations centred $40^{\prime\prime}$ (3 kpc in projection) southeast of the nucleus of M87. We report the detection of extended CO (2-1) line emission with a total flux of $(5.5 \pm 0.6) \times 10^{-18}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and corresponding molecular gas mass $M_{H_2}=(4.7 \pm 0.4) \times 10^5 M_\odot$, assuming a Galactic CO to H$_2$ conversion factor. ALMA data indicate a line-of-sight velocity of $-129\pm3$ km s$^{-1}$, in good agreement with measurements based on the [CII] and H$\alpha$+[NII] lines, and a velocity dispersion of $\sigma=27\pm3$ km s$^{-1}$. The CO(2-1) emission originates only outside the radio lobe of the AGN seen in the 6~cm VLA image, while the filament prolongs further inwards at other wavelengths. The molecular gas in M87 appears to be destroyed or excited by AGN activity, either by direct interaction with the radio plasma, or by the shock driven by the lobe into the X-ray emitting atmosphere. This is an important piece of the puzzle in understanding the impact of the central AGN on the amount of the coldest gas from which star formation can proceed.
Atacama Large Millimeter ArrayActive Galactic NucleiMessier 87Radio lobesIntra-cluster mediumVelocity dispersionGalaxyLine of sight velocityCool core galaxy clusterHubble Space Telescope...
• #### The independence of neutral and ionized gas outflows in low-z galaxiesver. 2

Using a large sample of emission line galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we investigate the kinematics of the neutral gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) based on the Na I$\lambda\lambda$5890,5896 (Na D) doublet absorption line. By removing the Na D contribution from stellar atmospheres, we isolate the line profile of the Na D excess, which represents the neutral gas in the ISM. The kinematics traced by the Na D excess show high velocity and velocity dispersion for a fraction of galaxies, indicating the presence of neutral gas outflows. We find that the kinematics measured from the Na D excess are similar between AGNs and star-forming galaxies. Moreover, by comparing the kinematics traced by the Na D excess and those by the [O III]$\lambda$5007 line taken from Woo et al. (2017), which traces ionized outflows driven by AGNs, we find no correlation between them. These results demonstrate that the neutral gas in the ISM traced by the Na D excess and the ionized gas traced by [O III] are kinematically independent, and AGN has no impact on the neutral gas outflows. In contrast to [O III], we find that the measured line-of-sight velocity shift and velocity dispersion of the Na D excess increase for more face-on galaxies due to the projection effect, supporting that Na D outflows are radially driven (i.e., perpendicular to the major axis of galaxies), presumably due to star formation.
NatriumActive Galactic NucleiKinematicsGalaxyInterstellar mediumVelocity dispersionInclinationHost galaxyStar formationAbsorption line...
• #### Discovery of an Ultraviolet Counterpart to an Ultra-Fast X-ray Outflow in the Quasar PG1211+143

We observed the quasar PG1211+143 using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope in April 2015 as part of a joint campaign with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Jansky Very Large Array. Our ultraviolet spectra cover the wavelength range 912-2100 A. We find a broad absorption feature (~1080 km/s) at an observed wavelength of 1240 A. Interpreting this as HI Ly alpha, in the rest frame of PG1211+143 (z=0.0809), this corresponds to an outflow velocity of -16,980 km/s (outflow redshift z_out ~ -0.0551), matching the moderate ionization X-ray absorption system detected in our Chandra observation and reported previously by Pounds et al. (2016). With a minimum HI column density of log N_HI > 14.5, and no absorption in other UV resonance lines, this Ly alpha absorber is consistent with arising in the same ultra-fast outflow as the X-ray absorbing gas. The Ly alpha feature is weak or absent in archival ultraviolet spectra of PG1211+143, strongly suggesting that this absorption is transient, and intrinsic to PG1211+143. Such a simultaneous detection in two independent wavebands for the first time gives strong confirmation of the reality of an ultra-fast outflow in an active galactic nucleus.
Cosmic Origins SpectrographIonizationQuasarLuminosityAbsorption featureActive Galactic NucleiFramesAbsorption lineSpace Telescope Imaging SpectrographHost galaxy...
• #### High-temperature fusion of a multi-electron levitonver. 2

The state of electrons injected onto the surface of the Fermi sea depends on temperature. The state is pure at zero temperature and is mixed at finite temperature. In the case of a single-electron injection, such a transformation can be detected as a decrease in shot noise with increasing temperature. In the case of a multi-electron injection, the situation is more subtle. The mixedness helps the development of quantum-mechanical exchange correlations between injected electrons, even if such correlations are absent at zero temperature. These correlations enhance the shot noise, what in part counteracts the reduction of noise with temperature. Moreover, at sufficiently high temperatures, the correlation contribution to noise predominates over the contribution of individual particles. As a result, in the system of $N$ electrons, the apparent charge (which is revealed via the shot noise) is changed from $e$ at zero temperature to $Ne$ at high temperatures. It looks like the exchange correlations glue up electrons into one particle of total charge and energy. This point of view is supported by both charge noise and heat noise. Interestingly, in the macroscopic limit, $N\to \infty$, the correlation contribution completely suppresses the effect of temperature on noise.
Two-point correlation functionFermi seaMixed statesCapacitorCross-correlationFermi energyElectronic correlationColliderCharged currentCross-correlation function...
• #### Nonuniqueness of weak solutions to the Navier-Stokes equationver. 2

For initial datum of finite kinetic energy, Leray has proven in 1934 that there exists at least one global in time finite energy weak solution of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations. In this paper we prove that weak solutions of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations are not unique in the class of weak solutions with finite kinetic energy. Moreover, we prove that Holder continuous dissipative weak solutions of the 3D Euler equations may be obtained as a strong vanishing viscosity limit of a sequence of finite energy weak solutions of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations.
Weak solutionNavier-Stokes equationsEuler equationsViscosityReynolds stressMollifierEmbeddingDilute magnetic semiconductorsEigenfunctionBernstein's inequality...
• #### SBNet: Sparse Blocks Network for Fast Inference

Conventional deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) apply convolution operators uniformly in space across all feature maps for hundreds of layers - this incurs a high computational cost for real time applications. For many problems such as object detection and semantic segmentation, we are able to obtain a low-cost computation mask, either from a priori problem knowledge, or from a low resolution segmentation network. We show that such computation masks can be used to reduce computation in the high resolution main network. Variants of sparse activation CNNs have previously been explored on small scale tasks, and showed no degradation in terms of object classification accuracy, but often measured gains in terms of theoretical FLOPs without realizing a practical speed-up when compared to highly optimized dense convolution implementations. In this work, we leverage the sparsity structure of computation masks and propose a novel tiling-based sparse convolution algorithm. We verified the effectiveness of our sparse CNN on LiDAR based 3D object detection, and we report significant wall-clock speed-ups compared to dense convolution, as well as improved detection accuracy.
InferenceConvolutional neural networkObject detectionClassificationArchitectureSemantic segmentationFramesAutonomous drivingDeep Neural NetworksImage Processing...
• #### From MPI to MPI+OpenACC: Conversion of a legacy FORTRAN PCG solver for the spherical Laplace equationver. 2

A real-world example of adding OpenACC to a legacy MPI FORTRAN Preconditioned Conjugate Gradient code is described, and timing results for multi-node multi-GPU runs are shown. The code is used to obtain three-dimensional spherical solutions to the Laplace equation. Its application is finding potential field solutions of the solar corona, a useful tool in space weather modeling. We highlight key tips, strategies, and challenges faced when adding OpenACC. Performance results are shown for running the code with MPI-only on multiple CPUs, and with MPI+OpenACC on multiple GPUs and CPUs.
Fortran 90High Performance ComputingSolar coronaApplication programming interfaceRankSoftwareSolar surfaceStencilFinite difference methodSun...
• #### Eight Ultra-faint Galaxy Candidates Discovered in Year Two of the Dark Energy Surveyver. 2

We report the discovery of eight new ultra-faint dwarf galaxy candidates in the second year of optical imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Six of these candidates are detected at high confidence, while two lower-confidence candidates are identified in regions of non-uniform survey coverage. The new stellar systems are found by three independent automated search techniques and are identified as overdensities of stars, consistent with the isochrone and luminosity function of an old and metal-poor simple stellar population. The new systems are faint (Mv > -4.7 mag) and span a range of physical sizes (17 pc < $r_{1/2}$ < 181 pc) and heliocentric distances (25 kpc < D < 214 kpc). All of the new systems have central surface brightnesses consistent with known ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (\mu < 27.5 mag arcsec$^{-2}$). Roughly half of the DES candidates are more distant, less luminous, and/or have lower surface brightnesses than previously known Milky Way satellite galaxies. Most of the candidates are found in the southern part of the DES footprint close to the Magellanic Clouds. We find that the DES data alone exclude (p < 0.001) a spatially isotropic distribution of Milky Way satellites and that the observed distribution can be well, though not uniquely, described by an association between several of the DES satellites and the Magellanic system. Our model predicts that the full sky may hold ~100 ultra-faint galaxies with physical properties comparable to the DES satellites and that 20-30% of these would be spatially associated with the Magellanic Clouds.
Dark Energy SurveyStarStar systemsMagellanic CloudsMilky Way satelliteLarge Magellanic CloudFaint galaxiesSmall Magellanic CloudSloan Digital Sky SurveyCalibration...
• #### WordRep: A Benchmark for Research on Learning Word Representations

WordRep is a benchmark collection for the research on learning distributed word representations (or word embeddings), released by Microsoft Research. In this paper, we describe the details of the WordRep collection and show how to use it in different types of machine learning research related to word embedding. Specifically, we describe how the evaluation tasks in WordRep are selected, how the data are sampled, and how the evaluation tool is built. We then compare several state-of-the-art word representations on WordRep, report their evaluation performance, and make discussions on the results. After that, we discuss new potential research topics that can be supported by WordRep, in addition to algorithm comparison. We hope that this paper can help people gain deeper understanding of WordRep, and enable more interesting research on learning distributed word representations and related topics.
Machine learningLatent Dirichlet allocationArchitectureComputational linguisticsStatisticsDeep learningNeural networkCosine similarityCompressibilityRegularization...
• #### Solving the Vlasov equation in two spatial dimensions with the Schr\"odinger methodver. 2

We demonstrate that the Vlasov equation describing collisionless self-gravitating matter may be solved with the so-called Schr\"odinger method (ScM). With the ScM, one solves the Schr\"odinger-Poisson system of equations for a complex wave function in d dimensions, rather than the Vlasov equation for a 2d-dimensional phase space density. The ScM also allows calculating the d-dimensional cumulants directly through quasi-local manipulations of the wave function, avoiding the complexity of 2d-dimensional phase space. We perform for the first time a quantitive comparison of the ScM and a conventional Vlasov solver in d=2 dimensions. Our numerical tests were carried out using two types of cold cosmological initial conditions: the classic collapse of a sine wave and those of a gaussian random field as commonly used in cosmological cold dark matter N-body simulations. We compare the first three cumulants, that is, the density, velocity and velocity dispersion, to those obtained by solving the Vlasov equation using the publicly available code ColDICE. We find excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement between these codes, demonstrating the feasibility and advantages of the ScM as an alternative to N-body simulations. We discuss, the emergence of effective vorticity in the ScM through the winding number around the points where the wave function vanishes. As an application we evaluate the background pressure induced by the non-linearity of large scale structure formation, thereby estimating the magnitude of cosmological backreaction. We find that it is negligibly small and has time dependence and magnitude compatible with expectations from the effective field theory of large scale structure.
Vlasov equationCold dark matterCoarse grainingPhase spacePhase space densityShell crossingVorticityDegree of freedomZeldovich approximationN-body simulation...
• #### Radiatively induced CPT-odd Chern-Simons term in massless QED

In this work, we study the radiative generation of the CPT-odd Lorentz-violating Chern-Simons term, arising from massless fermions. For this, we calculate the vacuum polarization tensor using the 't Hooft-Veltman regularization scheme, in which the result obtained for the coefficient of the Chern-Simons term is $(k_{AF})_\mu=-\frac{e^2}{4\pi^2}\,b_\mu$. This result leads us precisely to the same conductivity found in Weyl semimetals, i.e., the 't Hooft-Veltman regularization scheme is the correct one to be used in this context. We also discuss the temperature dependence of $(k_{AF})_\mu$, in which at high temperature, $(k_{AF})_0\to0$ and $(k_{AF})_i\to-\frac{e^2}{4\pi^2}b_i$. In the context of Weyl semimetals, these results are in accordance with the fact that the chiral magnetic current $j^\alpha=(k_{AF})_0\epsilon^{0\alpha\lambda\rho}\partial_\lambda A_\rho$ vanishes at high temperature, whereas the anomalous Hall current $j^\alpha=(k_{AF})_i\epsilon^{i\alpha\lambda\rho}\partial_\lambda A_\rho$ remains unaffected by the finite temperature.
Chern-Simons termCPT-symmetryCPT-odd termRegularization schemeWeyl semimetalPolarization tensorLorentz-violatingVacuum polarizationChiralityQuantum electrodynamics...
• #### The Lyman-beta forest as a cosmic thermometerver. 2

We present a comprehensive analysis of high resolution hydrodynamic simulations in terms of Lyman-alpha and Lyman-beta one dimensional flux power spectra ($P_{\alpha\alpha}$ and $P_{\beta\beta}$). In particular, we focus on the behaviour that the flux auto-power spectra and cross-power spectra ($P_{\alpha\beta}$) display when the intergalactic medium (IGM) thermal history is changed in a range of values that bracket a reference model, while cosmological parameters are kept fixed to best fit the cosmic microwave background data. We present empirical fits that describe at the sub-percent level the dependence of the power spectra on the thermal parameters. At the largest scales, the power spectra show a constant bias between each other that is set by the parameters describing the IGM thermal state. The cross-power spectrum has an oscillatory pattern and crosses zero at a scale which depends on $T_0$, the IGM temperature at the mean density, for reasonable values of the power-law index $\gamma$ of the IGM temperature-density relation ($T=T_0(1+\delta)^{\gamma-1}$). By performing a Fisher matrix analysis, we find that the power spectrum $P_{\beta\beta}$ is more sensitive to the thermal history than $P_{\alpha\alpha}$ alone, due to the fact that it probes denser regions than Lyman-alpha. When we combine the power and cross spectra the constraints on $\gamma$ can be improved by a factor $\sim 4$, while the constraints on $T_0$ improve by a factor of $\sim 2$. We address the role of signal-to-noise and resolution by mocking realistic observations and we conclude that the framework presented in this work can significantly improve the knowledge of the IGM thermal state, which will in turn guarantee better constraints on IGM-derived cosmological parameters.
ThermalisationIntergalactic mediumFlux power spectrumLine of sightCosmological parametersEquation of stateIGM temperatureAbsorptivityCosmologyTemperature-density relation...
• #### Large Opacity Variations in the High-Redshift Lyman-alpha Forest: the Signature of Relic Temperature Fluctuations from Patchy Reionizationver. 2

Recent observations of the Lyman-alpha forest show large-scale spatial variations in the intergalactic Lyman-alpha opacity that grow rapidly with redshift at z>5, far in excess of expectations from empirically motivated models. Previous studies have attempted to explain this excess with spatial fluctuations in the ionizing background, but found that this required either extremely rare sources or problematically low values for the mean free path of ionizing photons. Here we report that much -- or potentially all -- of the observed excess likely arises from residual spatial variations in temperature that are an inevitable byproduct of a patchy and extended reionization process. The amplitude of opacity fluctuations generated in this way depends on the timing and duration of reionization. If the entire excess is due to temperature variations alone, the observed fluctuation amplitude favors a late-ending but extended reionization process that was roughly half complete by z~9 and that ended at z~6. In this scenario, the highest opacities occur in regions that reionized earliest, since they have had the most time to cool, while the lowest opacities occur in the warmer regions that reionized most recently. This correspondence potentially opens a new observational window into patchy reionization.
ReionizationOpacityIonizationReionization redshiftPatchy reionizationLyman-alpha forestIonizing radiationMean free pathCoolingCosmology...
• #### Space and time in a quantized world

Rather than an a priori arena in which events take place, space-time is a construction of our mind making possible a particular kind of ordering of events. As quantum entanglement is a property of states independent of classical distances, the notion of space and time has to be revised to represent the holistic interconnection of quanta. We also speculate about various forms of reprogramming, or reconfiguring, the propagation of information for multipartite statistics and in quantum field theory.
EntanglementStatisticsQuantizationCausalityQuantum field theoryQuantum entanglementReprogrammedPermutationQuantum mechanicsExtra dimensions...
• #### Conceptual Problems Related to Time and Mass in Quantum Theory

The concept of proper time cannot be just taken over from classical theory and applied to quantum theory. There are a number of serious ambiguities related to it. Similarly, the concept of mass has some inconsistencies attached to it. We argue that both of these concepts only make sense if they are included in the theory as dynamical variables, and subsequently as conjugate operators. We discuss the necessary uncertainty principle between them.
Quantum theoryUncertainty principleProper timeDynamical variableMassTheory...
• #### An Elementary Dyadic Riemann Hypothesis

The connection zeta function of a finite abstract simplicial complex G is defined as zeta_L(s)=sum_x 1/lambda_x^s, where lambda_x are the eigenvalues of the connection Laplacian L defined by L(x,y)=1 if x and y intersect and 0 else. (I) As a consequence of the spectral formula chi(G)=sum_x (-1)^dim(x) = p(G)-n(G), where p(G) is the number of positive eigenvalues and n(G) is the number of negative eigenvalues of L, both the Euler characteristic chi(G)=zeta(0)-2 i zeta'(0)/pi as well as determinant det(L)=e^zeta'(0)/pi can be written in terms of zeta. (II) As a consequence of the generalized Cauchy-Binet formula for the coefficients of the characteristic polynomials of a product of matrices we show that for every one-dimensional simplicial complex G, the functional equation zeta(s)=zeta(-s) holds, where zeta(s) is the Zeta function of the positive definite squared connection operator L^2 of G. Equivalently, the spectrum sigma of the integer matrix L^2 for a 1-dimensional complex always satisfies the symmetry sigma = 1/sigma and the characteristic polynomial of L^2 is palindromic. The functional equation extends to products of one-dimensional complexes. (III) Explicit expressions for the spectrum of circular connection Laplacian lead to an explicit entire zeta function in the Barycentric limit. The situation is simpler than in the Hodge Laplacian H=D^2 case where no functional equation was available. In the connection Laplacian case, the limiting zeta function is a generalized hypergeometric function which for an integer s is given by an elliptic integral over the real elliptic curve w^2=(1+z)(1-z)(z^2-4z-1), which has the analytic involutive symmetry (z,w) to (1/z,w/z^2).
Zeta functionGraphRiemann zeta functionRiemann hypothesisCohomologyFramesRiemann sumEllipticityDensity of statesEuler characteristic...
• #### The clock paradox in a static homogeneous gravitational fieldver. 3

The gedanken experiment of the clock paradox is solved exactly using the general relativistic equations for a static homogeneous gravitational field. We demonstrate that the general and special relativistic clock paradox solutions are identical and in particular that they are identical for finite acceleration. Practical expressions are obtained for proper time and coordinate time by using the destination distance as the key observable parameter. This solution provides a formal demonstration of the identity between the special and general relativistic clock paradox with finite acceleration and where proper time is assumed to be the same in both formalisms. By solving the equations of motion for a freely falling clock in a static homogeneous field elapsed times are calculated for realistic journeys to the stars.
Proper timeGravitational fieldsStarLine elementGeneral relativityChristoffel symbolsSpecial relativityRicci tensorRelativistic astrophysicsEquivalence principle...
• #### Differential aging from acceleration, an explicit formula

We consider a clock 'paradox' framework where an observer leaves an inertial frame, is accelerated and after an arbitrary trip comes back. We discuss a simple equation that gives, in the 1+1 dimensional case, an explicit relation between the time elapsed on the inertial frame and the acceleration measured by the accelerating observer during the trip. A non-closed trip with respect to an inertial frame appears closed with respect to another suitable inertial frame. Using this observation we define the differential aging as a function of proper time and show that it is non-decreasing. The reconstruction problem of special relativity is also discussed showing that its, at least numerical, solution would allow the construction of an 'inertial clock'.
• #### A unifying mechanical equation with applications to non-holonomic constraints and dissipative phenomenaver. 2

A mechanical covariant equation is introduced which retains all the effectingness of the Lagrange equation while being able to describe in a unified way other phenomena including friction, non-holonomic constraints and energy radiation (Lorentz-Abraham-Dirac force equation). A quantization rule adapted to the dissipative degrees of freedom is proposed which does not pass through the variational formulation.
DissipationQuantizationDegree of freedomCovarianceHamiltonianVariational principleProper timeFirst variationVariational methodAbraham-Lorentz force...
• #### On the Quantization Procedure in Classical Mechanics and the Reality of Bohm's Psi-Field

Using Chetaev's theorem on stable trajectories in dynamics in the presence of perturbation forces we obtain a generalized stability condition for Hamiltonian systems that has the form of the Schrodinger equation. We show that the energy of the perturbation forces generating generalized Chetaev's stability condition is of electromagnetic nature and exactly coincides with Bohm's "quantum" potential. We stress that not taking into account the reality of Bohm's electromagnetic Psi-field turns out to be the fundamental reason of violation of the famous Bell inequality, in the recent most precise direct experiments, as well as in theoretical calculations based on the simple Wigner model. We discuss the possibility of direct experiments, alternative to Bell's ideology and related, e.g. with observation of nuclear stochastic resonance during the alpha-decay process, which cannot occur in the framework of the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics, but has to occur in the alternative Bohm interpretation.
QuantizationInterpretations of quantum mechanicsHamiltonianAlpha decayBohm interpretationBell's inequalityClassical mechanicsElectromagnetForceTrajectory...
• #### Wigner-Moyal description of free variable mass Klein-Gordon fields

A system of coupled kinetic transport equations for the Wigner distributions of a free variable mass Klein-Gordon field is derived. This set of equations is formally equivalent to the full wave equation for electromagnetic waves in nonlinear dispersive media, thus allowing for the description of broadband radiation-matter interactions and the associated instabilities. The standard results for the classical wave action are recovered in the short wavelength limit of the generalized Wigner-Moyal formalism for the wave equation.
Wave equationHamiltonianVlasov equationTransport equationPlane wavePhase spacePhase space densityInterferenceInstabilityPlasma frequency...
• #### Constraining warm dark matter with 21 cm line fluctuations due to minihalosver. 2

Warm dark matter (WDM) with mass m_WDM = O(1) keV has long been discussed as a promising solution for discrepancies between cosmic structures observed at small scales and predications of the concordance CDM model. Though several cosmological observations such as the Lyman-alpha forest have already begun to constrain the range of m_WDM, WDM is yet to be fully excluded as a solution for these so-called small-scale problems. In this paper, we study 21 cm line fluctuations from minihalos in a WDM model and evaluate constraints on m_WDM for future cosmological 21 cm surveys, such as SKA and FFTT. We show that, since WDM with mass m_WDM>10 keV decreases the abundance of minihalos by suppressing the matter power spectrum on small scales via free-streaming, such WDM can significantly affect the resultant 21 cm line fluctuations from minihalos. We find that if the 21 cm signal from minihalos can be observed above z>5, SKA and FFTT can give lower bounds m_WDM>24 keV and 31 keV, respectively, which are tighter than the current constraint. These future 21 cm surveys might be able to rule out a WDM model as a solution of small-scale problems.
Warm dark matterHydrogen 21 cm lineUltracompact minihaloWDM particlesLambda-CDM modelMass functionFree streaming of particlesSquare Kilometre ArrayAbundanceCold dark matter...
• #### Improved measurements of the intergalactic medium temperature around quasars: possible evidence for the initial stages of He-II reionisation at z~6

We present measurements of the intergalactic medium (IGM) temperature within ~5 proper Mpc of seven luminous quasars at z~6. The constraints are obtained from the Doppler widths of Lyman-alpha absorption lines in the quasar near-zones and build upon our previous measurement for the z=6.02 quasar SDSS J0818+1722. The expanded data set, combined with an improved treatment of systematic uncertainties, yields an average temperature at the mean density of log (T_0/K) = 4.21 \pm 0.03 (\pm^0.06_0.07) at 68 (95) per cent confidence for a flat prior distribution over 3.2 < log (T_0/K) < 4.8. In comparison, temperatures measured from the general IGM at z~5 are ~0.3 dex cooler, implying an additional source of heating around these quasars which is not yet present in the general IGM at slightly lower redshift. This heating is most likely due to the recent reionisation of He-II in vicinity of these quasars, which have hard, non-thermal ionising spectra. The elevated temperatures may therefore represent evidence for the earliest stages of He-II reionisation in the most biased regions of the high-redshift Universe. The temperature as a function of distance from the quasars is consistent with being constant, log(T_0/K)~4.2, with no evidence for a line-of-sight thermal proximity effect. However, the limited extent of the quasar near-zones prevents the detection of He-III regions larger than ~5 proper Mpc. Under the assumption the quasars have reionised the He-II in their vicinity, we infer the data are consistent with an average optically bright phase of duration in excess of 10^6.5 yr. These measurements represent the highest-redshift IGM temperature constraints to date, and thus provide a valuable data set for confronting models of H-I reionisation.
QuasarIntergalactic mediumReionizationThermalisationIGM temperatureLine of sightTemperature measurementAbsorptivityAbsorption lineMean mass density...
• #### A Flat Photoionization Rate at 2<z<4.2: Evidence for a Stellar-Dominated UV Background and Against a Decline of Cosmic Star Formation Beyond z~3ver. 3

We investigate the implications of our measurement of the Lyman-alpha forest opacity at redshifts 2<z<4.2 from a sample of 86 high-resolution quasar spectra for the evolution of the cosmic ultraviolet luminosity density and its sources. The derived hydrogen photoionization rate is remarkably flat over this redshift range, implying an increasing comoving ionizing emissivity with redshift. Because the quasar luminosity function is strongly peaked near z~2, star-forming galaxies likely dominate the ionizing emissivity at z>~3. Our measurement argues against a star formation rate density declining beyond z~3, in contrast with existing state-of-the-art determinations of the cosmic star formation history from direct galaxy counts. Stellar emission from galaxies therefore likely reionized the Universe.
Star formation rateQuasarUltraviolet backgroundPhotoionization rateLuminosityLuminosity functionGalaxyLyman break galaxyStar-forming galaxyOpacity...
• #### Formation times and masses of dark matter haloes

The most commonly used definition of halo formation is the time when a halo's most massive progenitor first contains at least half the final mass of its parent. Reasonably accurate formulae for the distribution of formation times of haloes of fixed mass have been available for some time. We use numerical simulations of hierarchical gravitational clustering to test the accuracy of formulae for the mass at formation. We also derive and test a formula for the joint distribution of formation masses and times. The structure of a halo is expected to be related to its accretion history. Our tests show that our formulae for formation masses and times are reasonably accurate, so we expect that they will aid future analytic studies of halo structure.
White noiseHalo formation historyDark matter haloGravitational clusteringAccretionNumerical simulationUniform distributionMass distributionSpherical collapse modelCosmology...
• #### Cosmological Hydrodynamics with Adaptive Mesh Refinement: a new high resolution code called RAMSES

A new N-body and hydrodynamical code, called RAMSES, is presented. It has been designed to study structure formation in the universe with high spatial resolution. The code is based on Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) technique, with a tree based data structure allowing recursive grid refinements on a cell-by-cell basis. The N-body solver is very similar to the one developed for the ART code (Kravtsov et al. 97), with minor differences in the exact implementation. The hydrodynamical solver is based on a second-order Godunov method, a modern shock-capturing scheme known to compute accurately the thermal history of the fluid component. The accuracy of the code is carefully estimated using various test cases, from pure gas dynamical tests to cosmological ones. The specific refinement strategy used in cosmological simulations is described, and potential spurious effects associated to shock waves propagation in the resulting AMR grid are discussed and found to be negligible. Results obtained in a large N-body and hydrodynamical simulation of structure formation in a low density LCDM universe are finally reported, with 256^3 particles and 4.1 10^7 cells in the AMR grid, reaching a formal resolution of 8192^3. A convergence analysis of different quantities, such as dark matter density power spectrum, gas pressure power spectrum and individual haloes temperature profiles, shows that numerical results are converging down to the actual resolution limit of the code, and are well reproduced by recent analytical predictions in the framework of the halo model.
Numerical simulationAdaptive mesh refinementFluid dynamicsRAMSES codeGalaxy filamentRelaxationNavarro-Frenk-White profileEuler equationsRegularizationDark matter particle...
• #### Neutrino Signatures on the High Transmission Regions of the Lyman-alpha Forestver. 2

We quantify the impact of massive neutrinos on the statistics of low density regions in the intergalactic medium (IGM) as probed by the Lyman-alpha forest at redshifts z=2.2--4. Based on mock but realistic quasar (QSO) spectra extracted from hydrodynamic simulations with cold dark matter, baryons and neutrinos, we find that the probability distribution of weak Lyman-alpha absorption features, as sampled by Lyman-alpha flux regions at high transmissivity, is strongly affected by the presence of massive neutrinos. We show that systematic errors affecting the Lyman-alpha forest reduce but do not erase the neutrino signal. Using the Fisher matrix formalism, we conclude that the sum of the neutrino masses can be measured, using the method proposed in this paper, with a precision smaller than 0.4 eV using a catalog of 200 high resolution (S/N~100) QSO spectra. This number reduces to 0.27 eV by making use of reasonable priors in the other parameters that also affect the statistics of the high transitivity regions of the Lyman-alpha forest. The constraints obtained with this method can be combined with independent bounds from the CMB, large scale structures and measurements of the matter power spectrum from the Lyman-alpha forest to produce tighter upper limits on the sum of the masses of the neutrinos.
NeutrinoNeutrino massQuasarLyman-alpha forestStatisticsIntergalactic mediumCold dark matterVoidMassive neutrinoLarge scale structure...
• #### The Warm DM halo mass function below the cut-off scalever. 2

Warm Dark Matter (WDM) cosmologies are a viable alternative to the Cold Dark Matter (CDM) scenario. Unfortunately, an accurate scrutiny of the WDM predictions with N-body simulations has proven difficult due to numerical artefacts. Here, we report on cosmological simulations that, for the first time, are devoid of those problems, and thus, are able to accurately resolve the WDM halo mass function well below the cut-off. We discover a complex picture, with perturbations at different evolutionary stages populating different ranges in the halo mass function. On the smallest mass scales we can resolve, identified objects are typically centres of filaments that are starting to collapse. On intermediate mass scales, objects typically correspond to fluctuations that have collapsed and are in the process of relaxation, whereas the high mass end is dominated by objects similar to haloes identified in CDM simulations. We then explicitly show how the formation of low-mass haloes is suppressed, which translates into a strong cut-off in the halo mass function. This disfavours some analytic formulations that predict a halo mass function that would extend well below the free streaming mass. We argue for a more detailed exploration of the formation of the smallest structures expected to form in a given cosmology, which, we foresee, will advance our overall understanding of structure formation.
Warm dark matterHalo mass functionCold dark matterGalaxy filamentCutoff scaleCosmologyDark matter haloAbundanceStructure formationPhase space caustic...
• #### The observed ionization rate of the intergalactic medium and the ionizing emissivity at z >5: Evidence for a photon starved and extended epoch of reionizationver. 2

We use a large set of hydrodynamical simulations, combined with measurements of the Lyman alpha opacity of the IGM taken from the literature, to obtain robust estimates for the photoionization rate per hydrogen atom at z=5 and 6. We find the photoionization rate drops by a factor of two and four, respectively, compared to our recent measurements at z = 2 - 4. The number of ionizing photons emitted by known sources at z=5 and 6, based on an extrapolation of source numbers below the detection limit and standard assumptions for the relationship between the ionizing emissivity and observed luminosity density at 1500 Angstroms, are in reasonable agreement with the photoionization rates inferred from the Lyman alpha forest if the escape fraction of ionizing photons from galaxies is large (>= 20 per cent). Claims to the contrary may be attributed to the adoption of an unduly high value for the clumping factor of ionized hydrogen. Using physically motivated assumptions for the mean free path of ionizing photons our measurements of the photoionization rate can be turned into an estimate of the ionizing emissivity. In comoving units the inferred ionizing emissivity is nearly constant over the redshift range 2-6 and corresponds to 1.5-3 photons emitted per hydrogen atom over a time interval corresponding to the age of the Universe at z=6. This strongly suggests that the epoch of reionization was photon-starved and extended. [Abridged]
IonizationIntergalactic mediumQuasarMean free pathGalaxyReionizationLyman break galaxyLuminosity functionLyman limitPhotoionization rate...
• #### Galaxy star formation in different environmentsver. 3

We use a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation to study signatures of large-scale modulations in the star formation (SF) activity in galaxies. In order to do this we carefully define local and global estimators of the density around galaxies. The former are computed using a voronoi tessellation technique and the latter are parameterised by the normalised distance to haloes and voids, in terms of the virial and void radii, respectively. As a function of local density, galaxies show a strong modulation in their SF, a result that is in agreement with those from several authors. When taking subsamples of equal local density at different large-scale environments, we find relevant global effects whereby the fraction of red galaxies diminishes for galaxies in equal local density environments farther away from clusters and closer to voids. In general, the semianalytic simulation is in good agreement with the available observational results, and offers the possibility to disentangle many of the processes responsible for the variation of galaxy properties with the environment; we find that the changes found in samples of galaxies with equal local environment but different distances to haloes or voids come from the variations in the underlying mass function of dark-matter haloes. There is an additional possible effect coming from the host dark-matter halo ages, indicating that halo assembly also plays a small but significant role ($1.14\sigma$) in shaping the properties of galaxies, and in particular, hints at a possible spatial correlation in halo/stellar mass ages.
Dark matter haloStar-forming galaxyVirial massGalaxy colorSloan Digital Sky SurveyStar formationVoidNumerical simulationVirial radiusGalaxy filament...
• #### Cosmic web alignments with the shape, angular momentum and peculiar velocities of dark matter haloesver. 2

We study the alignment of dark matter haloes with the cosmic web characterized by the tidal and velocity shear fields. We focus on the alignment of their shape, angular momentum and peculiar velocities. We use a cosmological N-body simulation that allows to study dark matter halos spanning almost five orders of magnitude in mass ($10^{9}$-$10^{14}$) h^{-1}M_{\odot} and spatial scales of (0.5-1.0) h^{-1} Mpc to define the cosmic web. We find that the halo shape presents the strongest alignment along the smallest tidal eigenvector, e.g. along filaments and walls, with a signal that gets stronger as the halo mass increases. In the case of the velocity shear field only massive halos >10^{12} h^{-1}M_{\odot} tend to have their shapes aligned along the largest tidal eigenvector; that is, perpendicular to filaments and walls. For the angular momentum we find alignment signals only for halos more massive than $10^{12}$ h^{-1}M_{\odot} both in the tidal and velocity shear webs where the preferences are for it to be parallel to the middle eigenvector; perpendicular to filaments and parallel to walls. Finally, the peculiar velocities show a strong alignment along the smallest tidal eigenvector for all halo masses; halos move along filaments and walls. In the velocity shear the same alignment is present but weaker and only for haloes less massive than 10^{12} h^{-1}M_{\odot}. Our results clearly show that the two different algorithms we used to define the cosmic web describe different physical aspects of non-linear collapse and should be used in a complementary way to understand the effect of the cosmic web on galaxy evolution.
Galaxy filamentCosmic webPeculiar velocityVirial massDark matter haloMajor axisStatisticsHigh massHalo populationN-body simulation...
• #### Automated detection of filaments in the large scale structure of the universever. 2

We present a new method to identify large scale filaments and apply it to a cosmological simulation. Using positions of haloes above a given mass as node tracers, we look for filaments between them using the positions and masses of all the remaining dark-matter haloes. In order to detect a filament, the first step consists in the construction of a backbone linking two nodes, which is given by a skeleton-like path connecting the highest local dark matter (DM) density traced by non-node haloes. The filament quality is defined by a density and gap parameters characterising its skeleton, and filament members are selected by their binding energy in the plane perpendicular to the filament. This membership condition is associated to characteristic orbital times; however if one assumes a fixed orbital timescale for all the filaments, the resulting filament properties show only marginal changes, indicating that the use of dynamical information is not critical for the method. We test the method in the simulation using massive haloes($M>10^{14}$h$^{-1}M_{\odot}$) as filament nodes. The main properties of the resulting high-quality filaments (which corresponds to $\simeq33%$ of the detected filaments) are, i) their lengths cover a wide range of values of up to $150$h$^{-1}$Mpc, but are mostly concentrated below 50h$^{-1}$Mpc; ii) their distribution of thickness peaks at $d=3.0$h$^{-1}$Mpc and increases slightly with the filament length; iii) their nodes are connected on average to $1.87\pm0.18$ filaments for $\simeq 10^{14.1}M_{\odot}$ nodes; this number increases with the node mass to $\simeq 2.49\pm0.28$ filaments for $\simeq 10^{14.9}M_{\odot}$ nodes.
Galaxy filamentGalaxyDark matterNumerical simulationLarge scale structureVoidSloan Digital Sky Survey2dF Galaxy Redshift SurveyPeculiar velocitySimulations of structure formation...
• #### Fundamental parameters of RR Lyrae stars from multicolour photometry and Kurucz atmospheric models -- II. Adaptation to double-mode starsver. 2

Our photometric-hydrodynamic method is generalized to determine fundamental parameters of multiperiodic radially pulsating stars. We report 302 UBV(RI)_C Johnson-Kron-Cousins observations of GSC 4868-0831. Using these and published photometric data of V372 Ser, their metallicity, reddening, distance, mass, radius, equilibrium luminosity, effective temperature are determined. The results underline the necessity of using multicolour photometry including an ultraviolet band to classify properly subgroups of RR Lyrae stars: our U observations could reveal that GSC 4868-0831 is a subgiant star pulsating in two radial modes, V372 Ser is a giant star with size and mass of an RRd star.
StarPhotometryRR Lyrae starReddeningFluid dynamicsLuminosityEffective temperatureComparison starsRadial pulsationsSubgroup...
• #### The Lyman-alpha forest opacity and the metagalactic hydrogen ionization rate at z~2-4ver. 2

Estimates of the metagalactic hydrogen ionization rate from the Lyman-alpha forest opacity in QSO absorption spectra depend on the complex density distribution of neutral hydrogen along the line-of-sight. We use a large suite of high resolution hydrodynamical simulations to investigate in detail the dependence of such estimates on physical and numerical parameters in the context of Lambda-CDM models. Adopting fiducial values for cosmological parameters together with published values of the temperature of the IGM and the effective optical depth, the metagalactic ionization rates which reproduce the Lyman-alpha effective optical depth at z=[2,3,4] are Gamma_HI=[1.3\pm^0.8_0.5, 0.9\pm0.3, 1.0\pm^0.5_0.3] \times 10^-12 s^-1, respectively. The errors include estimates of uncertainties in the relevant physical parameters and the numerical accuracy of the simulations. We find the errors are dominated by the uncertainty in the temperature of the low-density IGM. The estimated metagalactic hydrogen ionization rate for the neutral hydrogen distribution in the current concordance Lambda-CDM model is more than four times the value inferred for that in an Einstein-de Sitter model of the same r.m.s. density fluctuation amplitude sigma_8. The estimated ionization rate is also more than double that expected from updated estimates of the emissivity of observed QSOs alone. A substantial contribution from galaxies appears to be required at all redshifts.
• #### A consistent determination of the temperature of the intergalactic medium at redshift z=2.4ver. 2

We present new measurements of the thermal state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at $z\sim2.4$ derived from absorption line profiles in the Ly$\alpha$ forest. We use a large set of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations to calibrate the relationship between the temperature-density ($T$--$\Delta$) relation in the IGM and the distribution of HI column densities, $N_{\rm HI}$, and velocity widths, $b_{\rm HI}$, of discrete Ly$\alpha$ forest absorbers. This calibration is then applied to the measurement of the lower cut-off of the $b_{\rm HI}$--$N_{\rm HI}$ distribution recently presented by Rudie et al. (2012). We infer a power-law $T$--$\Delta$ relation, $T=T_{0}\Delta^{\gamma-1}$, with a temperature at mean density, $T_{0}=[1.00^{+0.32}_{-0.21}]\times10^{4}\rm\,K$ and slope $(\gamma-1)=0.54\pm0.11$. The slope is fully consistent with that advocated by the analysis of Rudie et al (2012); however, the temperature at mean density is lower by almost a factor of two, primarily due to an adjustment in the relationship between column density and physical density assumed by these authors. These new results are in excellent agreement with the recent temperature measurements of Becker et al. (2011), based on the curvature of the transmitted flux in the Ly$\alpha$ forest. This suggests that the thermal state of the IGM at this redshift is reasonably well characterised over the range of densities probed by these methods.
Intergalactic mediumThermalisationMean mass densityIGM temperatureHydrodynamical simulationsCalibrationReionizationAbsorption lineTemperature-density relationCurvature...
• #### On Modeling and Measuring the Temperature of the z~5 IGM

The temperature of the low-density intergalactic medium (IGM) at high redshift is sensitive to the timing and nature of hydrogen and HeII reionization, and can be measured from Lyman-alpha forest absorption spectra. Since the memory of intergalactic gas to heating during reionization gradually fades, measurements as close as possible to reionization are desirable. In addition, measuring the IGM temperature at sufficiently high redshifts should help to isolate the effects of hydrogen reionization since HeII reionization starts later, at lower redshift. Motivated by this, we model the IGM temperature at z>5 using semi-numeric models of patchy reionization. We construct mock Lyman-alpha forest spectra from these models and consider their observable implications. We find that the small-scale structure in the Lyman-alpha forest is sensitive to the temperature of the IGM even at redshifts where the average absorption in the forest is as high as 90%. We forecast the accuracy at which the z~5 IGM temperature can be measured using existing samples of high resolution quasar spectra, and find that interesting constraints are possible. For example, an early reionization model in which reionization ends at z~10 should be distinguishable -- at high statistical significance -- from a lower redshift model where reionization completes at z~6. We discuss improvements to our modeling that may be required to robustly interpret future measurements.
ReionizationWaveletIonizationIntergalactic mediumIGM temperatureCoolingThermalisationMean transmitted fluxReionization redshiftReionization models...