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Book Precision Cosmology with Galaxy Cluster Surveys

Download or read book Precision Cosmology with Galaxy Cluster Surveys written by Hao-Yi Wu and published by Stanford University. This book was released on 2011 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acceleration of the universe, which is often attributed to "dark energy, " has posed one of the main challenges to fundamental physics. Galaxy clusters provide one of the most sensitive probes of dark energy because their abundance reflects the growth rate of large-scale structure and the expansion rate of the universe. Several large galaxy cluster surveys will soon provide tremendous statistical power to constrain the properties of dark energy; however, the constraining power of these surveys will be determined by how well systematic errors are controlled. Of these systematic errors, the dominant one comes from inferring cluster masses using observable signals of clusters, the so-called "observable--mass distribution." This thesis focuses on extracting dark energy information from forthcoming large galaxy cluster surveys, including how we maximize the cosmological information, how we control important systematics, and how precisely we need to calibrate theoretical models. We study how multi-wavelength follow-up observations can improve cluster mass calibration in optical surveys. We also investigate the impact of theoretical uncertainties in calibrating the spatial distributions of galaxy clusters on dark energy constraints. In addition, we explore how the formation history of galaxy clusters impacts the self-calibration of cluster mass. In addition, we use N-body simulations to develop a new statistical sample of cluster-size halos in order to further understand the observable--mass distribution. We study the completeness of subhalos in our cluster sample by comparing them with the satellite galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We also study how subhalo selections impact the inferred correlation between formation time and optical mass tracers, including cluster richness and velocity dispersion.

Book Cosmological Parameter Estimation Using SZ selected Galaxy Cluster Abundances

Download or read book Cosmological Parameter Estimation Using SZ selected Galaxy Cluster Abundances written by Jonathan Dudley and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The observational record of the growth of structure in the universe over cosmic time offers a unique and invaluable cosmological measure. The abundance and evolutionary history of structure in the universe are dependent upon the parameters which define the cosmological framework. In this work, we formulate a method for deriving cosmological constraints from the observed abundance of galaxy clusters. These objects are the most massive gravitationally collapsed structures in the universe and act as tracers of the underlying density field. We develop a technique for comparing theoretical cluster abundances with observed galaxy cluster catalogs. In this process, we explore and constrain the parameter space for departures from the canonical cosmological model. The motivation and framework for this investigation are presented in the opening chapters. An introduction to modern cosmological theory and methods for calculating theoretical galaxy cluster abundances are presented. A description of the physical observables associated with galaxy clusters follows, including a summary of detection methods. A cluster likelihood, defined through comparisons between observed cluster abundances with those predicted from theory, is developed.The focus of this work rests in the analysis of the cluster likelihood. The fiducial LCDM model is explored and parameter constraints are presented. The cluster dataset is shown to provide useful constraints on numerous parameters and the inclusion of supplementary data is investigated. The cluster-scale normalization parameter sigma_8 is well-constrained by this analysis, where we find sigma_8=0.745+-0.082 when considering only the cluster data and sigma_8=0.796+-0.026 for a combination of cluster and complementary datasets. The normalization of the scaling relation between the cluster observable and its mass and redshift is also constrained by this joint analysis such that, when compared with predictions from numerical simulations, we find A_SZ, meas./A_SZ, fid.=0.82+-0.17. Also explored are two extensions to the standard cosmological model, a non-cosmological-constant form of dark energy and non-Gaussian primordial fluctuations. In both cases the cluster likelihood is demonstrated to provide informative constraints, demonstrating consistency with a cosmological constant form of dark energy and Gaussian primordial fluctuations. Through a combination of cluster and complementary datasets we constrain the dark energy equation of state parameter to be w=-1.07+-0.12. The degree of non-Gaussianity inferred from a catalog of massive galaxy clusters is also constrained, finding f_NL=-36 (-491+456) at 68% confidence for a particular non-Gaussian model." --

Book Cosmology with Clusters of Galaxies

Download or read book Cosmology with Clusters of Galaxies written by Sandor Mihaly Molnar and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a comprehensive review of the methods applied to derive cosmological parameters for a given model and test different cosmological models using the most massive collapsed structures in our Universe: clusters of galaxies. Clusters typically consist of hundreds of galaxies and high-temperature ionised gas trapped in their gravitational field dominated by dark matter extending out to 2-3 Mpc. The formation, evolution, and structure of these massive rare objects are sensitive probes of the assumed cosmology. This is a multidisciplinary field of astrophysics involving multi-wavelength observations, gravity theory, atomic physics, plasma physics, magneto-hydrodynamics, astrophysical cosmology and numerical simulations. Our understanding of the physics of clusters, which is essential when using them for cosmology, has been improved tremendously due to the recent advent of technology and observational strategy in multi-frequency observations, and enhanced by improved numerical simulations made possible by more advanced high performance computers. As a result of these developments, cosmology with clusters of galaxies has become a mature discipline recently, and provided an important contribution to establish our concordance cosmological constant dominated cold dark matter model. In the near future we expect a rapid expansion of this field due to results from new cluster surveys and multi-wavelength observations. This timely volume on this exciting newly established field discusses galaxy cluster physics and provides a detailed description of using clusters to derive cosmological parameters applying accurate measurements of individual clusters as well as using clusters as a statistical tool. A detailed discussion is given on degeneracies between derived parameters and the systematic effects, which are becoming a limiting factor. An account for using clusters to test different cosmological models is also presented. This volume provides an introduction to galaxy cluster cosmology for physics and astronomy graduate students and serves as a reference source for professionals.

Book Constraining Cosmology with the Halo Occupation Distribution

Download or read book Constraining Cosmology with the Halo Occupation Distribution written by Jeremy L. Tinker and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: The bias of galaxies with respect to the underlying matter distribution has long been an obstacle to constraining cosmology from measurements of galaxy clustering. Recent advancements in quantifying bias have made it possible to model galaxy clustering from linear to strongly non-linear scales, creating unique methods through which to constrain cosmological parameters that are complementary to more standard, large-scale techniques. These advances are encapsulated in the Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD), in which the bias of galaxies is described at the level of individual dark matter halos. For a given cosmological model, the parameters that specify the number of galaxies that reside in each halo can be constrained by measurements of the galaxy correlation function. With these HOD parameters, the given cosmology model can be tested through a number of other clustering measures that are more sensitive to the underlying dark matter distribution. The clustering measures I investigate in this thesis are mass-to-light ratios, redshift-space distortions, and galaxy void statistics. Mass-to-light ratios of galaxy clusters are uniquely suited to the halo occupation approach because the HOD can specify the number of galaxies in a halo as a function of luminosity. Galaxy bias directly influences the amount of light per unit mass in a cosmological model. I combine HOD models with observational measurements of cluster M/L ratios to test varying cosmologies. Using the HOD to model galaxy clustering in redshift-space allows one to combine data from small and large scales to break the degeneracies that govern the application of models based on linear theory alone. I use numerical simulations to calibrate a new analytic model and apply this model to observations of the redshift-space correlation function from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Galaxy voids prove to be insensitive to the details of halo occupation or the cosmological model assumed. This makes void statistics a sensitive test for the underlying assumption of the HOD, which states that galaxy occupation is a function of halo mass only, and not dependent on larger-scale environment. Quantifying the limits of this assumption are necessary for confidence in the constraints the HOD places on cosmology, and for testing our current picture of galaxy formation.

Book Merging Processes in Galaxy Clusters

Download or read book Merging Processes in Galaxy Clusters written by L. Feretti and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-04-18 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mergers are the mechanisms by which galaxy clusters are assembled through the hierarchical growth of smaller clusters and groups. Major cluster mergers are the most energetic events in the Universe since the Big Bang. Many of the observed properties of clusters depend on the physics of the merging process. These include substructure, shock, intra cluster plasma temperature and entropy structure, mixing of heavy elements within the intra cluster medium, acceleration of high-energy particles, formation of radio halos and the effects on the galaxy radio emission. This book reviews our current understanding of cluster merging from an observational and theoretical perspective, and is appropriate for both graduate students and researchers in the field.

Book Clusters of Galaxies  Physics and Cosmology

Download or read book Clusters of Galaxies Physics and Cosmology written by Andrei M. Bykov and published by Springer. This book was released on 2020-10-31 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clusters of galaxies are large assemblies of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter bound together by gravity. Galaxy clusters are now one of the most important cosmological probes to test the standard cosmological models. Constraints on the Dark Energy equation of state from the cluster number density measurements, deviations from the Gaussian perturbation models, the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect as well as the dark matter proles are among the issues to be studied with clusters. The baryonic composition of clusters is dominated by hot gas that is in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium within the dark matter-dominated gravitational potential well of the cluster. The hot gas is visible through spatially extended thermal X-ray emission, and it has been studied extensively both for assessing its physical properties and as a tracer of the large-scale structure of the Universe. Magnetic fields as well as a number of non-thermal plasma processes play a role in clusters of galaxies as we observe from radioastronomical observations. The goal of this volume is to review these processes and to investigate how they are interlinked. Overall, these papers provide a timely and comprehensive review of the multi-wavelength observations and theoretical understanding of clusters of galaxies in the cosmological context. Thus, the volume will be particularly useful to postgraduate students and researchers active in various areas of astrophysics and space science. Originally published in Space Science Reviews in the Topical Collection "Clusters of Galaxies: Physics and Cosmology"

Book Optical Galaxy Cluster Detection Across a Wide Redshift Range

Download or read book Optical Galaxy Cluster Detection Across a Wide Redshift Range written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past decade is one of the most exciting period in the history of physics and astronomy. The discovery of cosmic acceleration dramatically changed our understanding about the evolution and constituents of the Universe. To accommodate the new acceleration phase into our well established Big Bang cosmological scenario under the frame work of General Relativity, there must exist a very special substance that has negative pressure and make up about 73% of the total energy density in our Universe. It is called Dark Energy. For the first time people realized that the vast majority of our Universe is made of things that are totally different from the things we are made of. Therefore, one of the major endeavors in physics and astronomy in the coming years is trying to understand, if we can, the nature of dark energy. Understanding dark energy cannot be achieved from pure logic. We need empirical evidence to finally determine about what is dark energy. The better we can constrain the energy density and evolution of the dark energy, the closer we will get to the answer. There are many ways to constrain the energy density and evolution of dark energy, each of which leads to degeneracy in certain directions in the parameter space. Therefore, a combination of complimentary methods will help to reduce the degeneracies and give tighter constraints. Dark energy became dominate over matter in the Universe only very recently (at about z (almost equal to) 1.5) and will affect both the cosmological geometry and large scale structure formation. Among the various experiments, some of them constrain the dark energy mainly via geometry (such as CMB, Supernovae) while some others provides constraints from both structures and geometry (such as BAO, Galaxy Clusters) Galaxy clusters can be used as a sensitive probe for cosmology. A large cluster catalog that extends to high redshift with well measured masses is indispensable for precisely constraining cosmological parameters. Detecting clusters in optical bands is very efficient. Multi-color CCD photometry allows combined detection and redshift estimation for clusters across broad redshift ranges. However, the lack of precise information about galaxy positions along the line of sight leads to contamination by projection, which plagues both cluster detection and the measurement of their properties. The dominance of red sequence galaxies, tightly clustered along the E/S0 ridgeline, provides a powerful method for de-projecting field galaxies. We developed an Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model to fit the galaxies color distribution around clusters by taking into account the measurement errors. By this technique, we can detect the red sequence color clustering and extract unbiased information about the evolution of the red sequence ridgeline and its width. Precision measurements of ridgelines yields better estimates of cluster richness and possibly their dynamical state, leading to better estimates of cluster mass. By using the red sequence clustering in color space identified from the Error Corrected Gaussian Mixture Model, together with the projected NFW filter in the projected RA/DEC plane, we developed a new and efficient cluster finding algorithm that can reliably detect galaxy clusters across the redshift range from 0.1 to 1.4. We have also run the cluster finder on legacy SDSS DR7 data and assembled an approximately volume limited cluster catalog across redshifts from 0.1 to 0.5. The algorithm has been tested against a Monte Carlo mock catalog, showing the identified clusters are highly complete and pure. With the completion of this thesis, we build the first and essential step towards precision cluster cosmology. Meanwhile, the large optical cluster catalog across a wide redshift range makes possible the systematic and detailed investigation of cluster formation and evolution.

Book Forecasting and Extracting Cosmological Information from Galaxy Cluster Peculiar Velocities

Download or read book Forecasting and Extracting Cosmological Information from Galaxy Cluster Peculiar Velocities written by Alan Campbell Peel and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Fundamental Parameters in Cosmology

Download or read book Fundamental Parameters in Cosmology written by J. Thanh Van Tran and published by Atlantica Séguier Frontières. This book was released on 1998 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book The X ray Background

    Book Details:
  • Author : Xavier Barcons
  • Publisher : Cambridge University Press
  • Release : 1992-07-31
  • ISBN : 9780521416511
  • Pages : 328 pages

Download or read book The X ray Background written by Xavier Barcons and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1992-07-31 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A review of the current observational knowledge and understanding of the cosmic X-ray background.

Book Large Scale Structure  Tracks And Traces   Proceedings Of 12th Potsdam Cosmology Workshop

Download or read book Large Scale Structure Tracks And Traces Proceedings Of 12th Potsdam Cosmology Workshop written by Volker Muller and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 1998-08-08 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding the largest physical structures in the universe is essential for the comprehension of the cosmos as a whole. We want to know how our world is formed, what it is made of and how it evolves.Galaxies, as the most visible constituents of the universe, are interesting probes for the cosmic time sequence. Their formation and development provides us with unique clues to the cosmic evolution. This is tightly connected with the hierarchical cosmic structure: groups and clusters of galaxies and their embedding into the large scale structure offer the opportunity to study the dependencies.Galaxy redshift surveys delineate most impressively a large cosmic web, which is composed of sheets and filaments. Grand simulations of the cosmic evolution complement these observations from the theoretical side and allow one quantify and compare various model universes.Quasar absorption line studies, gravitational lensing and even the X-ray background radiation provide important quantitative measures of the history of matter clustering. Finally, the microwave radiation traces very early structures, which are supposed to originate in the phase of inflationary expansion shortly after the big bang.This volume constituting the proceedings of the 12th Potsdam Cosmology Workshop, deals with the basic aspects of cosmological structure formation on the largest physical scales.

Book Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology

Download or read book Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology written by Peter Schneider and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-08 with total page 637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition has been updated and substantially expanded. Starting with the description of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution in the Universe. After an extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the focus turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early Universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are provided in the appendix. While this book has grown out of introductory university courses on astronomy and astrophysics and includes a set of problems and solutions, it will not only benefit undergraduate students and lecturers; thanks to the comprehensive coverage of the field, even graduate students and researchers specializing in related fields will appreciate it as a valuable reference work.

Book Cosmological Constraints from the SDSS MaxBCG Cluster Catalog

Download or read book Cosmological Constraints from the SDSS MaxBCG Cluster Catalog written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We use the abundance and weak lensing mass measurements of the SDSS maxBCG cluster catalog to simultaneously constrain cosmology and the richness-mass relation of the clusters. Assuming a flat?CDM cosmology, we find?(?{sub m}/0.25){sup 0.41} = 0.832 ± 0.033 after marginalization over all systematics. In common with previous studies, our error budget is dominated by systematic uncertainties, the primary two being the absolute mass scale of the weak lensing masses of the maxBCG clusters, and uncertainty in the scatter of the richness-mass relation. Our constraints are fully consistent with the WMAP five-year data, and in a joint analysis we find?8 = 0.807 ± 0.020 and?{sub m} = 0.265 ± 0.016, an improvement of nearly a factor of two relative to WMAP5 alone. Our results are also in excellent agreement with and comparable in precision to the latest cosmological constraints from X-ray cluster abundances. The remarkable consistency among these results demonstrates that cluster abundance constraints are not only tight but also robust, and highlight the power of optically-selected cluster samples to produce precision constraints on cosmological parameters.

Book An Introduction to the Theory of Point Processes

Download or read book An Introduction to the Theory of Point Processes written by D.J. Daley and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-04-10 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Point processes and random measures find wide applicability in telecommunications, earthquakes, image analysis, spatial point patterns, and stereology, to name but a few areas. The authors have made a major reshaping of their work in their first edition of 1988 and now present their Introduction to the Theory of Point Processes in two volumes with sub-titles Elementary Theory and Models and General Theory and Structure. Volume One contains the introductory chapters from the first edition, together with an informal treatment of some of the later material intended to make it more accessible to readers primarily interested in models and applications. The main new material in this volume relates to marked point processes and to processes evolving in time, where the conditional intensity methodology provides a basis for model building, inference, and prediction. There are abundant examples whose purpose is both didactic and to illustrate further applications of the ideas and models that are the main substance of the text.

Book Quasars  Clusters and Cosmology

Download or read book Quasars Clusters and Cosmology written by Neelam Dhanda and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book X Ray Emission from Clusters of Galaxies

Download or read book X Ray Emission from Clusters of Galaxies written by Craig L. Sarazin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1988-03-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1988, this book is a comprehensive survey of the astrophysical characteristics of the hot gas which pervades clusters of galaxies. In our universe, clusters of galaxies are the largest organised structures. Typically they comprise hundreds of galaxies moving through a region of space ten million light years in diameter. The volume between the galaxies is filled with gas having a temperature of 100 million degrees. This material is a strong source of cosmic X-rays. Dr Sarazin describes the theoretical description of the origin, dynamics, and physical state of the cluster gas. Observations by radio and optical telescopes are also summarised. This account is addressed to professional astronomers and to graduate students. It is an exhaustive summary of a rapidly expanding field of research in modern astrophysics.