Day 42

Saturday 3pm.  Finally finished new binning code for GGLens.  Will go running in the gym (it's raining) after I finish this astro-ph thing.


1107.2651
Spatially-resolved spectroscopy of SDSS J0952+2552: a confirmed dual AGN
McGurk, Max, Rosario, Shields, Smith, Wright


This object is a double AGN, as suspected from SDSS spectra of OIII doublet, and confirmed by Keck 2 laser AO spatially-resolved spectroscopy.  They are nucleus of galaxies separated by 1", and the two AGNs are separated by 4.8 kpc.  The double OIII lines confirm AGN photoionization characteristics.  Unique opportunity to study galaxy mergers and their effect on BH growth.


1107.2654
Testin the WMAP cosmology via Planck radio catalogues
Whibourn, Shanks, Sawangwit


WMAP CMB power specrum is highly sensitive to the beam profile.  Use Planck early data release to further test WMAP beam profiles; QVW appear wider than expected compared to Jupiter beam, from direct radio source profile normalization, using Planck fluxes, or using NVSS source catalogues.  WMAP source fluxs and that of Planck show a non-linear relation.  Applying this non-linear relation to the Jupiter beam profile results in an excellent fit to the observed radio source profile.  The stacked SZ decrement profile of ~160 cluster still has a problem, so this problem is not entirely due to the beam profile.  Beam profile systematics can have significant effects on both the amplitude and position of the first acoustic peak---a wider beam can move the position of the first peak to significantly larger wavenumbers.


* sounds like a good study on CMB beam systematics.


1107.2673
On the prior dependence of constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio
Cortez, Liddle, Parkinson


Cosmic tensor perturbation constraints has prior dependence, which is studied here.  Common prior: single-field inflationary consistency equation, which relates the tensor spectral index nT to the tensor-to-scalar ratio r.  Dropping it leads to significantly different constraints on nT and on the upper limit of r on scales 0.01<k<0.05 Mpc^{-1} by a factor of >10.  Even with consistency equation adopted, dependence on pivot scale exists.  Determine the optimal scale for constraining the tensor amplitude.  


* what are the "consistency relations?"


1107.2163
Higgs-Dilaton cosmology: from the early to the late universe
Garcia-Bellido, Rubio, Shaposhnikov, Zenhäusern


* Dilaon: a hypothetical partical of scalar field phi that always comes with gravity.  Generated by promoting Planck mass (assumed to be a constant) to a dynamic field.
* Higgs: hypothetical massive elementary particle predicted from the Standard Model of particle physics.  


Minimal scale-invariant extension of the SM, combined with Unimodular Gravity: has inflationary stage related to the SM Higgs field, but a late period of DE domination, associated with an almost massless dilaton.  Derive relation between tilt (n_s) and the present value of w.  Find bounds for scalar tilt n_s < 0.97, associated running ln n_s/ d ln k ~0, and scalar-to-tensor ratio r < 0.0033, which can be tested by Planck.  Model predicts w>-1.  The relation between n_s and w (or: omega_DE^0) allows bounds on n_s to constrain omega_DE.