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At least 181 records · Page 10

Joint Measurement of Lensing-Galaxy Correlations Using SPT and DES SV Data

We measure the correlation of galaxy lensing and cosmic microwave background lensing with a set of galaxies expected to trace the matter density field. The measurements are performed using pre-survey Dark Energy Survey (DES) Science Verification optical imaging data and millimeter-wave data from the 2500 square degree South Pole Telescope Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SPT-SZ) survey. The two lensing-galaxy correlations are jointly fit to extract constraints on cosmological parameters, constraints on the redshift distribution of the lens galaxies, and constraints on the absolute shear calibration of DES galaxy lensing measurements. We show that an attractive feature of these fits is that they are fairly insensitive to the clustering bias of the galaxies used as matter tracers. The measurement presented in this work confirms that DES and SPT data are consistent with each other and with the currently favored ΛCDM cosmological model. It also demonstrates that joint lensing-galaxy correlation measurement considered here contains a wealth of information that can be extracted using current and future surveys.

cosmic background radiation↗

Simultaneous measurement of forward-backward asymmetry and top polarization in dilepton final states from $t\bar t$ production at the Tevatron

We present a simultaneous measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry and the top-quark polarization in tt¯ production in dilepton final states using 9.7 fb –1 of proton-antiproton collisions at √s=1.96 TeV with the D0 detector. To reconstruct the distributions of kinematic observables we employ a matrix element technique that calculates the likelihood of the possible tt¯ kinematic configurations. After accounting for the presence of background events and for calibration effects, we obtain a forward-backward asymmetry of A tt¯ =(15.0±6.4(stat)±4.9(syst))% and a top-quark polarization times spin analyzing power in the beam basis of κP=(7.2±10.5(stat)±4.2(syst))%, with a correlation of –56% between the measurements. If we constrain the forward-backward asymmetry to its expected standard model value, we obtain a measurement of the top polarization of κP=(11.3±9.1(stat)±1.9(syst))%. If we constrain the top polarization to its expected standard model value, we measure a forward-backward asymmetry of A tt¯ =(17.5±5.6(stat)±3.1(syst))%. A combination with the D0 A tt¯ measurement in the lepton+jets final state yields an asymmetry of Att¯=(11.8±2.5(stat)±1.3(syst))%. Within their respective uncertainties, all these results are consistent with the standard model expectations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The proton form factor measurements at Jefferson Lab, past and future

Use of the double-polarization technique to obtain the elastic nucleon form factors has resulted in a dramatic improvement of the quality of two of the four nucleon electromagnetic form factors, G{sub Ep} and G{sub En}. It has also changed our understanding of the proton structure, having resulted in a distinctly different Q{sup 2}-dependence for both G{sub Ep} and G{sub Mp}, contradicting the prevailing wisdom of the 1990’s based on cross section measurements, namely that G{sub Ep} and G{sub Mp} obey a “scaling” relation μG{sub Ep} ∼ G{sub Mp}. A related consequence of the faster decrease of G{sub Ep} revealed by the Jefferson Lab (JLab) polarization results was the disappearance of the early scaling F{sub 2}/F{sub 1} ∼ 1/Q{sup 2} predicted by perturbative QCD. In three experiments, GEp(1), GEp(2) and GEp(3), in Halls A and C at JLab, the ratio of the proton’s electromagnetic elastic form factors, G{sub Ep}/G{sub Mp}, was measured up to four momentum transfer Q{sup 2} of 8.5 GeV{sup 2} with high precision, using the recoil polarization technique. The initial discovery that the proton form factor ratio measured in these three experiments decreases approximately linearly with four-momentum transfer, Q{sup 2}, for values above ∼ 1 GeV{sup 2}, was modified by the GEp(3) results, which suggests a slowing down of this decrease. There is an approved experiment, GEp(5), to continue these measurements to 15 GeV{sup 2}. A dedicated experimental setup, the super bigbite spectrometer (SBS), will be built for this purpose. It will be equipped with a new focal plane polarimeter to measure the polarization of the recoil protons. In this presentation, I will review the status of the proton elastic electromagnetic form factors, mention succinctly a number of theoretical approaches to describe results and show some features required for the future GEp(5) experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Measurement of the transverse momentum and Φ$*\atop{η}$ distributions of Drell–Yan lepton pairs in proton–proton collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Distributions of transverse momentum p$ℓℓ\atop{T}$ and the related angular variable Φ$*\atop{η}$ of DrellΓÇôYan lepton pairs are measured in 20.3$\perp$áfb -1 of protonΓÇôproton collisions at √s=8$\perp$áTeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Measurements in electron-pair and muon-pair final states are corrected for detector effects and combined. Compared to previous measurements in protonΓÇôproton collisions at √s=7$\perp$áTeV, these new measurements benefit from a larger data sample and improved control of systematic uncertainties. Measurements are performed in bins of lepton-pair mass above, around and below the Z-boson mass peak. The data are compared to predictions from perturbative and resummed QCD calculations. For values of Φ$*\atop{η}$<1 the predictions from the Monte Carlo generator ResBos are generally consistent with the data within the theoretical uncertainties. However, at larger values of Φ$*\atop{η}$ this is not the case. Monte Carlo generators based on the parton-shower approach are unable to describe the data over the full range of pℓℓTpTℓℓ while the fixed-order prediction of Dynnlo falls below the data at high values of p$ℓℓ\atop{T}$ . ResBos and the parton-shower Monte Carlo generators provide a much better description of the evolution of the Φ$*\atop{η}$ and p$ℓℓ\atop{T}$ distributions as a function of lepton-pair mass and rapidity than the basic shape of the data.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Determining the hubble constant from hubble parameter measurements

We use 28 measurements of the Hubble parameter, H(z), at intermediate redshifts 0.07⩽z⩽2.3 to determine the present-day Hubble constant H{sub 0} in four cosmological models. We measure H{sub 0}=68.3{sub −2.6}{sup +2.7},68.4{sub −3.3}{sup +2.9},65.0{sub −6.6}{sup +6.5}, and 67.9{sub −2.4}{sup +2.4} km s{sup −1} Mpc{sup −1} (1σ errors) in the ΛCDM (spatially flat and non-flat), ωCDM, and ϕCDM models, respectively. These measured H{sub 0} values are more consistent with the lower values determined from recent data on the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations, as well as with the value found from a median statistical analysis of Huchra’s compilation of H{sub 0} measurements, but include the higher local measurements of H{sub 0} within the 2σ confidence limits.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Measuring Alignments between Galaxies and the Cosmic Web at z ∼ 2–3 Using IGM Tomography

Many galaxy formation models predict alignments between galaxy spin and the cosmic web (i.e., directions of filaments and sheets), leading to an intrinsic alignment between galaxies that creates a systematic error in weak-lensing measurements. These effects are often predicted to be stronger at high redshifts (z ≳ 1) that are inaccessible to massive galaxy surveys on foreseeable instrumentation, but IGM tomography of the Lyα forest from closely spaced quasars and galaxies is starting to measure the z ∼ 2–3 cosmic web with requisite fidelity. Using mock surveys from hydrodynamical simulations, we examine the utility of this technique, in conjunction with coeval galaxy samples, to measure alignment between galaxies and the cosmic web at z ∼ 2.5. We show that IGM tomography surveys with ≲5 h {sup −1} Mpc sightline spacing can accurately recover the eigenvectors of the tidal tensor, which we use to define the directions of the cosmic web. For galaxy spins and shapes, we use a model parameterized by the alignment strength, Δ〈cos θ〉, with respect to the tidal tensor eigenvectors from the underlying density field, and also consider observational effects such as errors in the galaxy position angle, inclination, and redshift. Measurements using the upcoming ∼1 deg{sup 2} CLAMATO tomographic survey and 600 coeval zCOSMOS-Deep galaxies should place 3σ limits on extreme alignment models with Δ〈cos θ〉∼0.1, but much larger surveys encompassing >10,000 galaxies, such as Subaru PFS, will be required to constrain models with Δ〈cos θ〉∼0.03. These measurements will constrain models of galaxy–cosmic web alignment and test tidal torque theory at z ∼ 2, improving our understanding of the physics of intrinsic alignments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Shipboard Sunphotometer Measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth Spectra and Columnar Water Vapor During ACE-2 and Comparison with Selected Land, Ship, Aircraft, and Satellite Measurements

Analyses of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and colurnmn water vapor (CWV) measurements acquired with NASA Ames Research Center's 6-channel Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-6) operated aboard the R/V Professor Vodyanitskiy during the 2nd Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) are discussed. Data are compared with various in situ and remote measurements for selected cases. The focus is on 10 July, when the Pelican airplane flew within 70 km of the ship near the time of a NOAA-14/AVHRR satellite overpass and AOD measurements with the 14-channel Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14) above the marine boundary layer (MBL) permitted calculation of AOD within the MBL from the AATS-6 measurements. A detailed column closure test is performed for MBL AOD on 10 July by comparing the AATS-6 MBL AODs with corresponding values calculated by combining shipboard particle size distribution measurements with models of hygroscopic growth and radiosonde humidity profiles (plus assumptions on the vertical profile of the dry particle size distribution and composition). Large differences (30-80% in the mid-visible) between measured and reconstructed AODs are obtained, in large part because of the high sensitivity of the closure methodology to hygroscopic growth models, which vary considerably and have not been validated over the necessary range of particle size/composition distributions. The wavelength dependence of AATS-6 AODs is compared with the corresponding dependence of aerosol extinction calculated from shipboard measurements of aerosol size distribution and of total scattering mearured by a shipboard integrating nephelometer for several days. Results are highly variable, illustrating further the great difficulty of deriving column values from point measurements. AATS-6 CWV values are shown to agree well with corresponding values derived from radiosonde measurements during 8 soundings on 7 days and also with values calculated from measurements taken on 10 July with the AATS-14 and the University of Washington Passive Humidigraph aboard the Pelican.

Livingston, John M.↗

Measurement of the Dielectric Constant of Seawater at L-Band: Techniques and Measurements

Satellite instruments, that will monitor salinity from space in the near future, require an accurate relationship between salinity/temperature and seawater dielectric constant. This paper will review measurements that were made of the dielectric constant of seawater during the past several years. The objective of the measurements is to determine the dependence of the dielectric constant of seawater on salinity and on temperature, more accurately than in the past. by taking advantage of modem instrumentation. The measurements of seawater permittivity have been performed as a function of salinity and temperature using a transmission resonant cavity technique. The measurements have been made in the salinity range of 10 to 38 psu and in the temperature range of IOU C to 35 C. These results will be useful in algorithm development for sensor systems such as SMOS and Aquarius. The measurement system consists of a brass microwave cavity that is resonant at 1.413 GHz. The seawater is introduced into the cavity through a capillary glass tube having an inner diameter of 0.1 mm. The diameter of the tube has been made very small so that the amount of seawater introduced in the cavity is small - thus maintaining the sensitivity of the measurements and allowing the use of perturbation theory predicting the seawater permittivity. The change in resonant frequency and the change in cavity Q can be used to determine the real and imaginary pare of the dielectric constant of seawater introduced into the slender tube. The microwave measurements are made by an HPS722D network analyzer. The cavity has been immersed in a u~ateriethylene-glycol bath which is connected to a Lauda circulator. The circulator keeps the brass cavity at a temperature constant to within 0.01 degrees. The system is automated using a Visual Basic program to control the analyzer and to collect the data. The results of the dielectric constant measurements of seawater will be presented. The measurement results will be compared with permittivity values generated from the Kline and Swift relationship. Two methods of calibration will be discussed, The errors that each technique introduces into the measurement resulls will be reviewed. Temperature stability, frequency drift and the effect of increasing cavity transmission loss on the unloaded cavity Q will also be discussed.

Lang, R.↗

An AFM-based pit-measuring method for indirect measurements of cell-surface membrane vesicles

Highlights: • Air drying induced the transformation of cell-surface membrane vesicles into pits. • An AFM-based pit-measuring method was developed to measure cell-surface vesicles. • Our method detected at least two populations of cell-surface membrane vesicles. - Abstract: Circulating membrane vesicles, which are shed from many cell types, have multiple functions and have been correlated with many diseases. Although circulating membrane vesicles have been extensively characterized, the status of cell-surface membrane vesicles prior to their release is less understood due to the lack of effective measurement methods. Recently, as a powerful, micro- or nano-scale imaging tool, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been applied in measuring circulating membrane vesicles. However, it seems very difficult for AFM to directly image/identify and measure cell-bound membrane vesicles due to the similarity of surface morphology between membrane vesicles and cell surfaces. Therefore, until now no AFM studies on cell-surface membrane vesicles have been reported. In this study, we found that air drying can induce the transformation of most cell-surface membrane vesicles into pits that are more readily detectable by AFM. Based on this, we developed an AFM-based pit-measuring method and, for the first time, used AFM to indirectly measure cell-surface membrane vesicles on cultured endothelial cells. Using this approach, we observed and quantitatively measured at least two populations of cell-surface membrane vesicles, a nanoscale population (<500 nm in diameter peaking at ∼250 nm) and a microscale population (from 500 nm to ∼2 μm peaking at ∼0.8 μm), whereas confocal microscopy only detected the microscale population. The AFM-based pit-measuring method is potentially useful for studying cell-surface membrane vesicles and for investigating the mechanisms of membrane vesicle formation/release.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Turbulence Measurements from Compliant Moorings. Part II: Motion Correction

Acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) are a valuable tool for making highprecision measurements of turbulence, and moorings are a convenient and ubiquitous platform for making many kinds of measurements in the ocean. However—because of concerns that mooring motion can contaminate turbulence measurements and acoustic Doppler profilers are relatively easy to deploy—ADVs are not frequently deployed from moorings. This work details a method for measuring turbulence using moored ADVs that corrects for mooring motion using measurements from inertial motion sensors. Three distinct mooring platforms were deployed in a tidal channel with inertial motion-sensor-equipped ADVs. In each case, the motion correction based on the inertial measurements dramatically reduced contamination from mooring motion. The spectra from these measurements have a shape that is consistent with other measurements in tidal channels, and have a f^(5/3) slope at high frequencies—consistent with Kolmogorov’s theory of isotropic turbulence. Motion correction also improves estimates of cross-spectra and Reynold’s stresses. Comparison of turbulence dissipation with flow speed and turbulence production indicates a bottom boundary layer production-dissipation balance during ebb and flood that is consistent with the strong tidal forcing at the site. These results indicate that inertial-motion-sensor-equipped ADVs are a valuable new tool for measuring turbulence from moorings.

Kilcher, Levi F.↗

Correcting for filter-based aerosol light absorption biases at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Southern Great Plains site using photoacoustic measurements and machine learning

Abstract. Measurement of light absorption of solar radiation by aerosols is vital for assessing direct aerosol radiative forcing, which affects local and global climate. Low-cost and easy-to-operate filter-based instruments, such as the Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), that collect aerosols on a filter and measure light attenuation through the filter are widely used to infer aerosol light absorption. However, filter-based absorption measurements are subject to artifacts that are difficult to quantify. These artifacts are associated with the presence of the filter medium and the complex interactions between the filter fibers and accumulated aerosols. Various correction algorithms have been introduced to correct for the filter-based absorption coefficient measurements toward predicting the particle-phase absorption coefficient (Babs). However, the inability of these algorithms to incorporate into their formulations the complex matrix of influencing parameters such as particle asymmetry parameter, particle size, and particle penetration depth results in prediction of particle-phase absorption coefficients with relatively low accuracy. The analytical forms of corrections also suffer from a lack of universal applicability: different corrections are required for rural and urban sites across the world. In this study, we analyzed and compared 3 months of high-time-resolution ambient aerosol absorption data collected synchronously using a three-wavelength photoacoustic absorption spectrometer (PASS) and PSAP. Both instruments were operated on the same sampling inlet at the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's Southern Great Plains (SGP) user facility in Oklahoma. We implemented the two most commonly used analytical correction algorithms, namely, Virkkula (2010) and the average of Virkkula (2010) and Ogren (2010)–Bond et al. (1999) as well as a random forest regression (RFR) machine learning algorithm to predict Babs values from the PSAP's filter-based measurements. The predicted Babs was compared against the reference Babs measured by the PASS. The RFR algorithm performed the best by yielding the lowest root mean square error of prediction. The algorithm was trained using input datasets from the PSAP (transmission and uncorrected absorption coefficient), a co-located nephelometer (scattering coefficients), and the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (mass concentration of non-refractory aerosol particles). A revised form of the Virkkula (2010) algorithm suitable for the SGP site has been proposed; however, its performance yields approximately 2-fold errors when compared to the RFR algorithm. To generalize the accuracy and applicability of our proposed RFR algorithm, we trained and tested it on a dataset of laboratory measurements of combustion aerosols. Input variables to the algorithm included the aerosol number size distribution from the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer, absorption coefficients from the filter-based Tricolor Absorption Photometer, and scattering coefficients from a multiwavelength nephelometer. The RFR algorithm predicted Babs values within 5 % of the reference Babs measured by the multiwavelength PASS during the laboratory experiments. Thus, we show that machine learning approaches offer a promising path to correct for biases in long-term filter-based absorption datasets and accurately quantify their variability and trends needed for robust radiative forcing determination.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

An International Laboratory Comparison Study of Volumetric and Gravimetric Hydrogen Adsorption Measurements

In order to determine a material's hydrogen storage potential, capacity measurements must be robust, reproducible, and accurate. Commonly, research reports focus on the gravimetric capacity, and often times the volumetric capacity is not reported. Determining volumetric capacities is not as straight-forward, especially for amorphous materials. This is the first study to compare measurement reproducibility across laboratories for excess and total volumetric hydrogen sorption capacities based on the packing volume. The use of consistent measurement protocols, common analysis, and figure of merits for reporting data in this study, enable the comparison of the results for two different materials. Importantly, the results show good agreement for excess gravimetric capacities amongst the laboratories. Irreproducibility for excess and total volumetric capacities is attributed to real differences in the measured packing volume of the material.

H2 storage↗

Evaluation of experimentally measured and model-calculated pH for rock-brine-CO2 systems under geologic CO2 sequestration conditions

pH is an essential parameter for understanding the geochemical reactions that occur in rock-brine-CO2 systems when CO2 is injected into deep geologic formations for long-term storage. Due to a lack of reliable experimental methods, most laboratory studies conducted under geological CO2 sequestration (GCS) conditions have relied on thermodynamic modeling to estimate pH. The accuracy of these model predictions is typically uncertain. In our previous work, we have developed a method for pH determination by in-situ spectrophotometry. In the present work, we expanded the applicable pH range for this method and measured the pH of several rock-brine-CO2 systems at GCS conditions for five rock samples collected from ongoing GCS demonstration projects. Experimental measurements were compared with pH values calculated using several geochemical modeling approaches. The effect of different thermodynamic databases on the accuracy of model prediction was evaluated. Results indicate that the accuracy of model calculations is rock-dependent. For rocks comprised of carbonate and sandstone, model results generally agreed well with experimentally measured pH; however, for basalt, significant differences were observed. These discrepancies may be due to the models’ failure to fully account for certain reaction occurring between the basalt minerals the CO2-saturated brine solutions.

pH, carbon sequestration↗

Zirconium Nuclear Data Campaign: Measurement of 90 Zr ( n, γ ) Cross Section

The isotopes of Zr with A = [90, 91, 92, 94] make up more than 97% of naturally occurring Zr and are important to many nuclear applications such as nuclear reactors. One of the attractive qualities of naturally occurring Zr isotopes is that they have a low σ γ /σ t ratio at most neutron energies. Thus, they improve the neutron economy in reactors by preferentially scattering neutrons rather than absorbing them. This same quality also presents a challenge to measuring the capture cross section, σ γ , of Zr isotopes. The ENDF/B VIII.0 library has a relative uncertainty of approximately 10–20% for incident neutron energies < 0.1 MeV and an uncertainty greater than 20% for energies > 0.1 MeV for the majority of natural Zr isotopes. This motivated the Nuclear Criticality Safety Program to embark on a campaign to accurately measure and evaluate these Zr isotopes. In this work, we demonstrate energy-dependent neutron capture cross section measurements for the first enriched sample to be measured: 90 Zr.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Measuring the 2{gamma} Exchange Effect in Electron-Proton Scattering at CLAS

Recent results from experiments at Jefferson Laboratory, Newport News VA, which measure the ratio of the electric to magnetic form factors of the proton, G{sub E}/G{sub M}, have forced us to reexamine the single photon exchange approximation in lepton-proton elastic scattering. Discrepancies between the ratio obtained via the time-tested Rosenbluth separation method and new polarization transfer measurements, which differ by as much as a factor of three, may be resolved by considering the effect of two photon exchange (TPE). Theoretical corrections for the TPE effect are difficult due to the large number of excited nucleon states that can contribute to the process. The TPE effect can, however, be determined directly by measuring the ratio of the positron-proton to electron-proton elastic scattering cross sections, R = {sigma}(e{sup +})/{sigma}(e{sup -}), since the TPE effect changes sign with the charge of the incident particle. The CLAS TPE experiment at Jefferson Laboratory, will determine the effect of two-photon exchange in elastic lepton-proton scattering by precisely measuring the ratio of positron-proton to electron-proton elastic cross sections over a large kinematic range (0.1<{epsilon}<0.96, 0.02{<=}Q{sup 2}{<=}2.0). We will accomplish this by directing the 5.5 GeV primary electron beam, provided by the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF), onto a set of radiators and converters to produce simultaneous and identical beams of electron and positrons. Acceptance and efficiency concerns are minimized by only considering the ratios of the elastic cross sections and switching polarity of magnets in the beam line and the spectrometer. Guided by the results of a short 2006 test run and extensive GEANT based modeling, new shielding and beam line components were designed to maximize luminosity. The unique experimental design and challenges of the TPE experiment and the projected luminosities will be presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

The equation of state of 5-nitro-2,4-dihydro-1,2,4,-triazol-3-one determined via in-situ optical microscopy and interferometry measurements

Quasi-hydrostatic high-pressure equations of state (EOS) are typically determined, for crystalline solids, by measuring unit-cell volumes using x-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. However, when characterizing low-symmetry materials with large unit cells, conventional XRD approaches may become problematic. To overcome this issue, we examined the utility of a “direct” approach toward determining high pressure material volume by measuring surface area and sample thickness using optical microscopy and interferometry (OMI), respectively. We have validated this experimental approach by comparing results obtained for 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene TATB with an EOS determined from synchrotron XRD measurements; and, a good match is observed. We have measured the high pressure EOS of 5-nitro-2,4-dihydro-1,2,4,-triazol-3-one (α-NTO) up to 28 GPa. No high-pressure XRD EOS data have been published on α-NTO, probably due to its complex crystal structure. The results of this study suggest that OMI is a reliable and versatile alternative for determining EOSs, especially when conventional methodologies are impractical.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗