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At least 1,063 records · Page 59

Space-Dependent Wielandt Shifts for Multigroup Diffusion Eigenvalue Problems

We present a new concept—the space-dependent Wielandt shift (SDWS)—for accelerating the convergence of the power iteration (PI) scheme for multigroup diffusion k-eigenvalue problems. The SDWS improves on standard Wielandt shift (WS) techniques, which are empirical in nature and are typically effective only when the current estimate of the solution is reasonably converged. By accounting for the physics of the problem through SDWS, we are able to improve the acceleration for the initial iterates when the current estimate of the solution is not close to convergence. Numerical results from one-dimensional problems suggest that, compared to standard WS techniques, the new SDWS techniques can provide upward of a 46% reduction in the number of PIs required for convergence and a 40% reduction in the computational time required. This improvement is sensitive to several problem-dependent factors, such as the geometry and energy-dependence of the problem, the spatial discretization, and the initial guess. The reduction in computational time is also dependent on the linear solver in the PI scheme, as it is well known that WSs can significantly worsen the conditioning of the diffusion linear system. In this paper, we provide a detailed study of the impact of WSs on the performance of several iterative linear solvers. Results from our implementation of SDWS in the three-dimensional (3D) code MPACT show that SDWS can provide similar speedups for 3D multigroup diffusion eigenvalue problems. These results also show that moderate speedups can be obtained by applying SDWS to the coarse mesh finite difference (CMFD) solver in a CMFD-accelerated transport scheme. However, the benefit of doing this may be limited because all but the first few CMFD solves are relatively easy to converge, regardless of the WS used.

Nuclear Science & Technology↗

Spatially Dependent Multiple Testing Under Model Misspecification, With Application to Detection of Anthropogenic Influence on Extreme Climate Events

The Weather Risk Attribution Forecast (WRAF) is a forecasting tool that uses output from global climate models to make simultaneous attribution statements about whether and how greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to extreme weather across the globe. However, in conducting a large number of simultaneous hypothesis tests, the WRAF is prone to identifying false “discoveries.” A common technique for addressing this multiple testing problem is to adjust the procedure in a way that controls the proportion of true null hypotheses that are incorrectly rejected, or the false discovery rate (FDR). Unfortunately, generic FDR procedures suffer from low power when the hypotheses are dependent, and techniques designed to account for dependence are sensitive to misspecification of the underlying statistical model. In this paper, we develop a Bayesian decision-theoretical approach for dependent multiple testing and a nonparametric hierarchical statistical model that flexibly controls false discovery and is robust to model misspecification. We illustrate the robustness of our procedure to model error with a simulation study, using a framework that accounts for generic spatial dependence and allows the practitioner to flexibly specify the decision criteria. Finally, we apply our procedure to several seasonal forecasts and discuss implementation for the WRAF workflow. Lastly, supplementary materials for this article, including a standardized description of the materials available for reproducing the work, are available as an online supplement.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

RESOLVING THE {xi} BOO BINARY WITH CHANDRA, AND REVEALING THE SPECTRAL TYPE DEPENDENCE OF THE CORONAL 'FIP EFFECT'

On 2008 May 2, Chandra observed the X-ray spectrum of {xi} Boo (G8 V+K4 V), resolving the binary for the first time in X-rays and allowing the coronae of the two stars to be studied separately. With the contributions of {xi} Boo A and B to the system's total X-ray emission now observationally established (88.5% and 11.5%, respectively), consideration of mass loss measurements for GK dwarfs of various activity levels (including one for {xi} Boo) leads to the surprising conclusion that {xi} Boo B may dominate the wind from the binary, with {xi} Boo A's wind being very weak despite its active corona. Emission measure (EM) distributions and coronal abundances are computed for both stars and compared with Chandra measurements of other moderately active stars with G8-K5 spectral types, all of which exhibit a narrow peak in EM near log T = 6.6, indicating that the coronal heating process in these stars has a strong preference for this temperature. As is the case for the Sun and many other stars, our sample of stars shows coronal abundance anomalies dependent on the first ionization potential (FIP) of the element. We see no dependence of the degree of 'FIP effect' on activity, but there is a dependence on spectral type, a correlation that becomes more convincing when moderately active main-sequence stars with a broader range of spectral types are considered. This clear dependence of coronal abundances on spectral type weakens if the stellar sample is allowed to be contaminated by evolved stars, interacting binaries, or extremely active stars with log L{sub X} >29, explaining why this correlation has not been recognized in the past.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

INCLINATION-DEPENDENT ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS FLUX PROFILES FROM STRONG LENSING OF THE KERR SPACETIME

Recent quasar microlensing observations have constrained the X-ray emission sizes of quasars to be about 10 gravitational radii, one order of magnitude smaller than the optical emission sizes. Using a new ray-tracing code for the Kerr spacetime, we find that the observed X-ray flux is strongly influenced by the gravity field of the central black hole, even for observers at moderate inclination angles. We calculate inclination-dependent flux profiles of active galactic nuclei in the optical and X-ray bands by combining the Kerr lensing and projection effects for future reference. We further study the dependence of the X-ray-to-optical flux ratio on the inclination angle caused by differential lensing distortion of the X-ray and optical emission, assuming several corona geometries. The strong lensing X-ray-to-optical magnification ratio can change by a factor of {approx}10 for normal quasars in some cases, and a further factor of {approx}10 for broad absorption line (BAL) quasars and obscured quasars. Comparing our results with the observed distributions in normal and BAL quasars, we find that the inclination angle dependence of the magnification ratios can significantly change the X-ray-to-optical flux ratio distributions. In particular, the mean value of the spectrum slope parameter {alpha}{sub ox}, 0.3838log F {sub 2keV}/F {sub 2500A}, can differ by {approx}0.1-0.2 between normal and BAL quasars, depending on corona geometries, suggesting larger intrinsic absorptions in BAL quasars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

THE SL2S GALAXY-SCALE LENS SAMPLE. IV. THE DEPENDENCE OF THE TOTAL MASS DENSITY PROFILE OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES ON REDSHIFT, STELLAR MASS, AND SIZE

We present optical and near-infrared spectroscopy obtained at Keck, Very Large Telescope, and Gemini for a sample of 36 secure strong gravitational lens systems and 17 candidates identified as part of the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey. The deflectors are massive early-type galaxies in the redshift range z{sub d} = 0.2-0.8, while the lensed sources are at z{sub s} = 1-3.5. We combine these data with photometric and lensing measurements presented in the companion paper III and with lenses from the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys and Lènses Structure and Dynamics surveys to investigate the cosmic evolution of the internal structure of massive early-type galaxies over half the age of the universe. We study the dependence of the slope of the total mass density profile, γ' (ρ(r)∝r{sup -γ{sup '}}), on stellar mass, size, and redshift. We find that two parameters are sufficient to determine γ' with less than 6% residual scatter. At fixed redshift, γ' depends solely on the surface stellar mass density ∂γ'/∂Σ{sub *} = 0.38 ± 0.07, i.e., galaxies with denser stars also have steeper slopes. At fixed M{sub *} and R{sub eff}, γ' depends on redshift, in the sense that galaxies at a lower redshift have steeper slopes (∂γ'/∂z = –0.31 ± 0.10). However, the mean redshift evolution of γ' for an individual galaxy is consistent with zero dγ'/dz = –0.10 ± 0.12. This result is obtained by combining our measured dependencies of γ' on z, M{sub *},R{sub eff} with the evolution of the R{sub eff}-M{sub *} taken from the literature, and is broadly consistent with current models of the formation and evolution of massive early-type galaxies. Detailed quantitative comparisons of our results with theory will provide qualitatively new information on the detailed physical processes at work.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

No evidence for a dependence of the mass-size relation of early-type galaxies on environment in the local universe

The early-type galaxy (ETG) mass-size relation has largely been studied to understand how these galaxies assembled their mass. One key observational result of the last years is that massive galaxies increased their size by a factor of a few at fixed stellar mass from z ∼ 2. Hierarchical models favor minor mergers as a plausible driver of this size growth. Some of these models predict a significant environmental dependence in the sense that galaxies residing in more massive halos tend to be larger than galaxies in lower mass halos, at fixed stellar mass and redshift. At present, observational results of this environmental dependence are contradictory. In this paper we revisit this issue in the local universe, by investigating how the sizes of massive ETGs depend on a large-scale environment using an updated and accurate sample of ETGs in different environments—field, group, and clusters—from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7. Our analysis does not show any significant environmental dependence of the sizes of central and satellite ETGs at fixed stellar mass at z ∼ 0. The size-mass relation of early-type galaxies at z ∼ 0 seems to be universal, i.e., independent of the mass of the host halo and of the position of the galaxy in that halo (central or satellite). The result is robust to different galaxy selections based on star formation, morphology, or central density. Considering our observational errors and the size of the sample, any size ratio larger than 30%-40% between massive galaxies (log(M {sub *}/M {sub ☉}) > 11) living in clusters and in the field can be ruled out at 3σ level.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the necessity of composition-dependent low-temperature opacity in models of metal-poor asymptotic giant branch stars

The vital importance of composition-dependent low-temperature opacity in low-mass (M ≤ 3 M {sub ☉}) asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stellar models of metallicity Z ≥ 0.001 has recently been demonstrated. Its significance to more metal-poor, intermediate-mass (M ≥ 2.5 M {sub ☉}) models has yet to be investigated. We show that its inclusion in lower-metallicity models ([Fe/H] ≤–2) is essential and that there exists no threshold metallicity below which composition-dependent molecular opacity may be neglected. We find it to be crucial in all intermediate-mass models investigated ([Fe/H] ≤–2 and 2.5 ≤ M/M {sub ☉} ≤ 5), because of the evolution of the surface chemistry, including the orders of magnitude increase in the abundance of molecule-forming species. Its effect on these models mirrors that previously reported for higher-metallicity models—increase in radius, decrease in T {sub eff}, faster mass loss, shorter thermally pulsing AGB lifetime, reduced enrichment in third dredge-up products (by a factor of 3-10), and an increase in the mass limit for hot bottom burning. We show that the evolution of low-metallicity models with composition-dependent low-temperature opacity is relatively independent of initial metal abundance because its contribution to the opacity is far outweighed by changes resulting from dredge-up. Our results imply a significant reduction in the expected number of nitrogen-enhanced metal-poor stars, which may help explain their observed paucity. We note that these findings are partially a product of the macrophysics adopted in our models, in particular, the Vassiliadis and Wood mass loss rate which is strongly dependent on radius.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Reaction rate and composition dependence of the stability of thermonuclear burning on accreting neutron stars

The stability of thermonuclear burning of hydrogen and helium accreted onto neutron stars is strongly dependent on the mass accretion rate. The burning behavior is observed to change from Type I X-ray bursts to stable burning, with oscillatory burning occurring at the transition. Simulations predict the transition at a 10 times higher mass accretion rate than observed. Using numerical models we investigate how the transition depends on the hydrogen, helium, and CNO mass fractions of the accreted material, as well as on the nuclear reaction rates of 3α and the hot-CNO breakout reactions {sup 15}O(α, γ){sup 19}Ne and {sup 18}Ne(α, p){sup 21}Na. For a lower hydrogen content the transition is at higher accretion rates. Furthermore, most experimentally allowed reaction rate variations change the transition accretion rate by at most 10%. A factor 10 decrease of the {sup 15}O(α, γ){sup 19}Ne rate, however, produces an increase of the transition accretion rate of 35%. None of our models reproduce the transition at the observed rate, and depending on the true {sup 15}O(α, γ){sup 19}Ne reaction rate, the actual discrepancy may be substantially larger. We find that the width of the interval of accretion rates with marginally stable burning depends strongly on both composition and reaction rates. Furthermore, close to the stability transition, our models predict that X-ray bursts have extended tails where freshly accreted fuel prolongs nuclear burning.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Scale-dependent non-Gaussianity probes inflationary physics

We calculate the scale dependence of the bispectrum and trispectrum in (quasi) local models of non-Gaussian primordial density perturbations, and characterize this scale dependence in terms of new observable parameters. They can help to discriminate between models of inflation, since they are sensitive to properties of the inflationary physics that are not probed by the standard observables. We find consistency relations between these parameters in certain classes of models. We apply our results to a scenario of modulated reheating, showing that the scale dependence of non-Gaussianity can be significant. We also discuss the scale dependence of the bispectrum and trispectrum, in cases where one varies the shape as well as the overall scale of the figure under consideration. We conclude providing a formulation of the curvature perturbation in real space, which generalises the standard local form by dropping the assumption that f{sub NL} and g{sub NL} are constants.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Thermal conduction by dark matter with velocity and momentum-dependent cross-sections

We use the formalism of Gould and Raffelt [1] to compute the dimensionless thermal conduction coefficients for scattering of dark matter particles with standard model nucleons via cross-sections that depend on the relative velocity or momentum exchanged between particles. Motivated by models invoked to reconcile various recent results in direct detection, we explicitly compute the conduction coefficients α and κ for cross-sections that go as v{sub rel}{sup 2}, v{sub rel}{sup 4}, v{sub rel}{sup −2}, q{sup 2}, q{sup 4} and q{sup −2}, where v{sub rel} is the relative DM-nucleus velocity and q is the momentum transferred in the collision. We find that a v{sub rel}{sup −2} dependence can significantly enhance energy transport from the inner solar core to the outer core. The same can true for any q-dependent coupling, if the dark matter mass lies within some specific range for each coupling. This effect can complement direct searches for dark matter; combining these results with state-of-the-art solar simulations should greatly increase sensitivity to certain DM models. It also seems possible that the so-called Solar Abundance Problem could be resolved by enhanced energy transport in the solar core due to such velocity- or momentum-dependent scatterings.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Constraining time dependent dark matter signals from the Sun

Dark matter (DM) particles captured by the Sun can produce high-energy electrons outside the Sun through annihilating into meta-stable mediators. The corresponding cosmic-ray electron signals observed by the space-based experiments will be time dependent due to the orbital motion of the space-based detectors. The shape of this time dependence is predictable given the orbital information of the detectors. Since the high-energy CR electron (with energy E > 100 GeV) fluxes are expected to be constant in time, non-observation of such time variation can be used to place upper limits on the DM annihilation cross section. Here we analyze the time dependence of dark matter cosmic-ray signals in three space-based experiments: AMS-02, DAMPE and CALET. Under the assumption that no time dependent signal is observed, we derive the 95% C.L. exclusion limits on the signal strength from the current data. We map our limits onto the parameter space of the dark photon model and find that the constraints are comparable with that derived from the supernova SN1987A.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Blinding scheme for the scale-dependence bias signature of local primordial non-Gaussianity for DESI 2024

The next generation of spectroscopic surveys is expected to achieve an unprecedented level of accuracy in the measurement of cosmological parameters. To avoid confirmation bias and thereby improve the reliability of these results, blinding procedures become a standard practice in the cosmological analyses of such surveys. Blinding is especially crucial when the impact of observational systematics is important relative to the cosmological signal, and a detection of that signal would have significant implications. This is the case for local primordial non-gaussianity, as probed by the scale-dependent bias of the galaxy power spectrum at large scales that are heavily sensitive to the dependence of the target selection on the imaging quality, known as imaging systematics. We propose a blinding method for the scale-dependent bias signature of local primordial non-gaussianity at the density field level which consists in generating a set of weights for the data that replicate the scale-dependent bias. The applied blinding is predictable, and can be straightforwardly combined with other catalog-level blinding procedures that have been designed for the baryon acoustic oscillation and redshift space distortion signals. The procedure is validated through simulations that replicate data from the first year of observation of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, but may find applications to other upcoming spectroscopic surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Time-dependent collisional radiative modeling of tungsten in the magnetic sheath for erosion diagnosis

Abstract Tungsten is the material of choice for the divertors in ITER, SPARC and future fusion reactors. Accurate diagnosis of tungsten erosion and migration is important for first wall life time, slag production and core performance. The addition of a magnetic presheath requires time-dependent collisional radiative effects to be included for accurate neutral tungsten collisional radiative modeling. Gross erosion measurements could be modified by a factor of 10 due to the inclusion of time-dependent effects for ITER relevant divertor conditions. A simple sputtering model and sheath density model are developed to investigate time-dependent collisional radiative effects. Neutral tungsten spectral lines populated from different metastable levels depend on model parameters leading to potential spectroscopic diagnostics of plasma parameters. Electron temperatures inferred from spectroscopic line ratios are in agreement with Langmuir probe measurements in the Compact Toroidal Hybrid.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

An energy-dependent electro-thermal response model of CUORE cryogenic calorimeter

The Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) is the most sensitive experiment searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay (0νββ) in 130 Te. CUORE uses a cryogenic array of 988 TeO 2 calorimeters operated at ~10 mK with a total mass of 741 kg. To further increase the sensitivity, the detector response must be well understood. Here, we present a non-linear thermal model for the CUORE experiment on a detector-by-detector basis. We have examined both equilibrium and dynamic electro-thermal models of detectors by numerically fitting non-linear differential equations to the detector data of a subset of CUORE channels which are well characterized and representative of all channels. Further, we demonstrate that the hot-electron effect and electric-field dependence of resistance in NTD-Ge thermistors alone are inadequate to describe our detectors' energy-dependent pulse shapes. We introduce an empirical second-order correction factor in the exponential temperature dependence of the thermistor, which produces excellent agreement with energy-dependent pulse shape data up to 6 MeV. We also present a noise analysis using the fitted thermal parameters and show that the intrinsic thermal noise is negligible compared to the observed noise for our detectors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Physicochemical signatures of nanoparticle-dependent complement activation

Nanoparticles are potentially powerful therapeutic tools that have the capacity to target drug payloads and imaging agents. However, some nanoparticles can activate complement, a branch of the innate immune system, and cause adverse side-effects. Recently, we developed an in vitro hemolytic assay protocol for measuring the nanoparticle-dependent complement activity of serum samples and applied this protocol to several nanoparticle formulations that differed in size, surface charge, and surface chemistry; quantifying the nanoparticle-dependent complement activity using a metric called Residual Hemolytic Activity (RHA). In the present work, we have used a decision tree learning algorithm to derive the rules for estimating nanoparticle-dependent complement response based on the data generated from the hemolytic assay studies. Our results indicate that physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, namely, size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and mole percentage of the active surface ligand of a nanoparticle, can serve as good descriptors for prediction of nanoparticle-dependent complement activation in the decision tree modeling framework. The robustness and predictability of the model can be improved by training the model with additional data points that are uniformly distributed in the RHA/physicochemical descriptor space and by incorporating instability effects on nanoparticle physicochemical properties into the model.

informatics↗

H{alpha} EQUIVALENT WIDTHS FROM THE 3D-HST SURVEY: EVOLUTION WITH REDSHIFT AND DEPENDENCE ON STELLAR MASS

We investigate the evolution of the H{alpha} equivalent width, EW(H{alpha}), with redshift and its dependence on stellar mass, using the first data from the 3D-HST survey, a large spectroscopic Treasury program with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. Combining our H{alpha} measurements of 854 galaxies at 0.8 < z < 1.5 with those of ground-based surveys at lower and higher redshift, we can consistently determine the evolution of the EW(H{alpha}) distribution from z = 0 to z = 2.2. We find that at all masses the characteristic EW(H{alpha}) is decreasing toward the present epoch, and that at each redshift the EW(H{alpha}) is lower for high-mass galaxies. We find EW(H{alpha}) {approx}(1 + z){sup 1.8} with little mass dependence. Qualitatively, this measurement is a model-independent confirmation of the evolution of star-forming galaxies with redshift. A quantitative conversion of EW(H{alpha}) to specific star formation rate (sSFR) is model dependent because of differential reddening corrections between the continuum and the Balmer lines. The observed EW(H{alpha}) can be reproduced with the characteristic evolutionary history for galaxies, whose star formation rises with cosmic time to z {approx} 2.5 and then decreases to z = 0. This implies that EW(H{alpha}) rises to 400 A at z = 8. The sSFR evolves faster than EW(H{alpha}), as the mass-to-light ratio also evolves with redshift. We find that the sSFR evolves as (1 + z){sup 3.2}, nearly independent of mass, consistent with previous reddening insensitive estimates. We confirm previous results that the observed slope of the sSFR-z relation is steeper than the one predicted by models, but models and observations agree in finding little mass dependence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

MASS-DEPENDENT BARYON ACOUSTIC OSCILLATION SIGNAL AND HALO BIAS

We characterize the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) feature in halo two-point statistics using N-body simulations. We find that nonlinear damping of the BAO signal is less severe for halos in the mass range we investigate than for dark matter. The amount of damping depends weakly on the halo mass. The correlation functions show a mass-dependent drop of the halo clustering bias below roughly 90 h {sup -1} Mpc, which coincides with the scale of the BAO trough. The drop of bias is 4% for halos with mass M > 10{sup 14} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun} and reduces to roughly 2% for halos with mass M > 10{sup 13} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun }. In contrast, halo biases in simulations without BAO change more smoothly around 90 h {sup -1} Mpc. In Fourier space, the bias of M > 10{sup 14} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun} halos decreases smoothly by 11% from wavenumber k = 0.012 h Mpc{sup -1} to 0.2 h Mpc{sup -1}, whereas that of M > 10{sup 13} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun} halos decreases by less than 4% over the same range. By comparing the halo biases in pairs of otherwise identical simulations, one with and the other without BAO, we also observe a modulation of the halo bias. These results suggest that precise calibrations of the mass-dependent BAO signal and scale-dependent bias on large scales would be needed for interpreting precise measurements of the two-point statistics of clusters or massive galaxies in the future.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Correcting correlation functions for redshift-dependent interloper contamination

ABSTRACT The construction of catalogues of a particular type of galaxy can be complicated by interlopers contaminating the sample. In spectroscopic galaxy surveys this can be due to the misclassification of an emission line; for example in the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) low-redshift [O ii] emitters may make up a few per cent of the observed Ly α emitter (LAE) sample. The presence of contaminants affects the measured correlation functions and power spectra. Previous attempts to deal with this using the cross-correlation function have assumed sources at a fixed redshift, or not modelled evolution within the adopted redshift bins. However, in spectroscopic surveys like HETDEX, where the contamination fraction is likely to be redshift dependent, the observed clustering of misclassified sources will appear to evolve strongly due to projection effects, even if their true clustering does not. We present a practical method for accounting for the presence of contaminants with redshift-dependent contamination fractions and projected clustering. We show using mock catalogues that our method, unlike existing approaches, yields unbiased clustering measurements from the upcoming HETDEX survey in scenarios with redshift-dependent contamination fractions within the redshift bins used. We show our method returns autocorrelation functions with systematic biases much smaller than the statistical noise for samples with at least as high as 7 per cent contamination. We also present and test a method for fitting for the redshift-dependent interloper fraction using the LAE–[O ii] galaxy cross-correlation function, which gives less biased results than assuming a single interloper fraction for the whole sample.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗