Day 374

Thursday.  JC is on holiday (medical recuperation).

1302.4640
TASI lectures on cosmological perturbations
Lesgourgues

[a review] Present self-contained summary of the theory of linear cosmo perturbations.  Emphasize the effect of the 6 parameters of the minimal cosmological model on (1) the CMB temperature anisotropy, and (2) on linear matter power spectrum.  Briefly review at the end the possible impact of a few non-minimal DM and DE models.

1302.4171
Ole Romer's method still on the stage.  The study of two bound eclipsing binaries in quintuple system V994 Her
Zasche, Uhlar

Measure c by observing the periodic shifting of the observed eclipse arrival times of Jupiter's moons arising from the varying Earth-Jupiter distance---a method still used.  Ideal labs are eclipsing binaries.  Till now it was not certain whether these are gravitationally bound and what their orbital period is.  Show that the system is in fact quintuple and the two eclipsing binaries are orbiting each other with period of ~6.3 years.  Analysis made only from studying the periodic modulation of the two periods, when during the periastron passage one binary has an apparently shorter period, while the other one longer, as required by theory.  Found that both inner eclipsing pairs orbit with slightly eccentric orbits undergoing a slow apsidal motions with a period of the order of centuries. 

1302.4232
On the effects of the evolution of microbal mats and land plants on the Earth as a planet.  Photometric and spectroscopic light curves of paleo-Earths
Sanroma, Palle, Garcia-Munoz

Understanding the spectral and photometric variability of the Earth and the rest of the SS planets is important for future characterization of rocky exoplanets.  Also of interest from planetary evolution PoV: evolution of microbial mats and plants over land can be observed from afar, modifying reflective properties of the ground as well as distribution of moisture and cloudiness.  use radiative transfer model of Earth with geological paleo-records of the continental distribution and reconstructed cloud distribution to simulate NIR radiation by Earth as a function of its rotation.  Find: evolution from deserts to microbial mats to land plants produce detectable changes in globally-averaged Earth's reflectance.  Conclude: using photometric observations of Earth-like planet at different photometric bands can distriminate between different surface types.  Recent literature propose the redge edge feature of vegetation near 0.7 um as a signature for land plants, observations in inear IR can be equally or even better suited for this purpose.

1302.2631
On the star formation-AGN connection at $z /lessim 0.3$
LaMassa, Heckman, Ptak, Urry

Using 28k DR7 SDSS obscured AGN spectra, probe the connection between AGN and SF over a range of radial scales in the host galaxy.  Use the extinction-corrected luminosity of the OIII 5007 A line as a proxy of intrinsic AGN power and SMBH accretion rate; SFRs taken from MPA-JHU VAC and are measured through 3" SDSS aperture.  Construct matched samples of galaxies covering a range in z.  With increasing z, the projected aperture size encompasses increasing amounts of the host galaxy; allows tracing the radial distribution of SF as a function of AGN luminosity.  Find that the SF becomes more centrally concentrated with increasing AGN luminosity and Eddington ratio.  This implies that such circumnuclear SF is associated with AGN activity, and that it increasingly dominates over omnipresent disk SF at higher AGN luminosities, placing critical constraints on the theoretical models that link host galaxy SF and SMBH fueling.  Parameterize this relationship and find that the SF on radial scales < 1.7 kpc, when including a constant disk component, has a sub-linear dependence on SMBH accretion rate: SFR protp Mdot^0.36, suggesting that angular momentum transfer through the disk limits accretion efficiency rather than the supply from stellar mass loss.

1302.3371
Type Ia supernova models and progenitor scenarios
Nomoto, Kamiya, Nakasato

Review recent developments of SNIa progenitor and explosion mechanisms theoretical studies.  DD/SD and Chandra/sub-Chandra explosion cases, yields different elemental abundances.

1302.3474
Recent developments in astrophysical and cosmological exploitation of microwave surveys
Burigana et al

Recent microwave survey impact on astrophysics (emphasis on Planck results).  Systematics: separation of cosmic microwave background from astrophysical emissions and other components.  Review state of the art in diffuse emissions, extragalactic sources, CIB, and galaxy clusters---how it affects cosmo params, neutrino mass.  Present 3 different kinds of scientific perspectives for fundamental physics and cosmology offered by the analysis of on-going and future CMB projects at different angular scales in total intensity and polarization and to absolute temperature.