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11 results on '"William Carithers"'

1. Reducing zero-point systematics in dark energy supernova experiments

Author

Chris Stoughton, Albert Stebbins, William Carithers, Ramon Miquel, Susana E. Deustua, David Tucker, Natalia Connolly, D. W. Gerdes, Eric V. Linder, Alain Bonissent, Gary Bernstein, Shawn McKee, Matthew Brown, G. Kushner, Hemant Shukla, Nick Mostek, Lorenzo Faccioli, L. Gladney, Jodi L. Christiansen, Alex G. Kim, Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies (LPNHE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), RENOIR, and Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Physics, Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Cosmic distance ladder, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Scalar field dark matter, FOS: Physical sciences, Zero-point energy, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Redshift, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Supernova, 0103 physical sciences, Calibration, Dark energy, Satellite, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

We study the effect of filter zero-point uncertainties on future supernova dark energy missions. Fitting for calibration parameters using simultaneous analysis of all Type Ia supernova standard candles achieves a significant improvement over more traditional fit methods. This conclusion is robust under diverse experimental configurations (number of observed supernovae, maximum survey redshift, inclusion of additional systematics). This approach to supernova fitting considerably eases otherwise stringent mission calibration requirements. As an example we simulate a space-based mission based on the proposed JDEM satellite; however the method and conclusions are general and valid for any future supernova dark energy mission, ground or space-based., 30 pages,8 figures, 5 table, one reference added, submitted to Astroparticle Physics

Published
2011
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2. IGM Constraints from the SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 Lyα Forest Transmission Probability Distribution Function

Author

Nao Suzuki, David N. Spergel, Matteo Viel, Britt Lundgren, Christophe Yèche, David H. Weinberg, David W. Hogg, William Carithers, Khee-Gan Lee, Matthew M. Pieri, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Joseph P. Hennawi, Donald P. Schneider, Stephen Bailey, James S. Bolton, and David J. Schlegel

Subjects
Physics, education.field_of_study, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Population, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Probability density function, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Redshift, Baryon, Distribution (mathematics), Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, 0103 physical sciences, Range (statistics), Continuum (set theory), education, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Abstract

The Ly$\alpha$ forest transmission probability distribution function (PDF) is an established probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) astrophysics, especially the temperature-density relationship of the IGM. We measure the transmission PDF from 3393 Baryon Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) quasars from SDSS Data Release 9, and compare with mock spectra that include careful modeling of the noise, continuum, and astrophysical uncertainties. The BOSS transmission PDFs, measured at $\langle z \rangle = [2.3,2.6,3.0]$, are compared with PDFs created from mock spectra drawn from a suite of hydrodynamical simulations that sample the IGM temperature-density relationship, $\gamma$, and temperature at mean-density, $T_0$, where $T(\Delta) = T_0 \Delta^{\gamma-1}$. We find that a significant population of partial Lyman-limit systems with a column-density distribution slope of $\beta_\mathrm{pLLS} \sim -2$ are required to explain the data at the low-transmission end of transmission PDF, while uncertainties in the mean Ly$\alpha$ forest transmission affect the high-transmission end. After modelling the LLSs and marginalizing over mean-transmission uncertainties, we find that $\gamma=1.6$ best describes the data over our entire redshift range, although constraints on $T_0$ are affected by systematic uncertainties. Within our model framework, isothermal or inverted temperature-density relationships ($\gamma \leq 1$) are disfavored at a significance of over 4$\sigma$, although this could be somewhat weakened by cosmological and astrophysical uncertainties that we did not model.

Published
2015

3. The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III

Author

Dan Long, Jean-Paul Kneib, Timothée Delubac, Ricardo Genova-Santos, Oliver Steele, Guinevere Kauffmann, Rupert A. C. Croft, Nicolás G. Busca, Will J. Percival, Marcio A. G. Maia, Tomer Tal, James Rich, Cullen H. Blake, Stephen A. Smee, Adam S. Bolton, Ashley J. Ross, Yiping Shu, Beatrice Jordan, Janine Pforr, Andreas A. Berlind, John K. Parejko, Kevin Bundy, Hayley Finley, Joel R. Brownstein, Johan Comparat, David J. Schlegel, Stephanie A. Snedden, Ian D. McGreer, Shirley Ho, D. Kirkby, Howard Brewington, Anže Slosar, James E. Gunn, Michael R. Blanton, Nao Suzuki, Christopher P. Ahn, Karen L. Masters, Fritz Stauffer, Licia Verde, Russell Owen, Jeremy L. Tinker, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Anne Ealet, Éric Aubourg, M. Jordan Raddick, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Benjamin A. Weaver, Francisco Prada, Mark A. Klaene, Claudia G. Scóccola, Michael A. Strauss, Alina Streblyanska, Kaike Pan, Arnaud Borde, Craig Loomis, Adrian M. Price-Whelan, Natalia Connolly, Joe Huehnerhoff, Martin Makler, Daryl Haggard, Benjamin J. Weiner, Gong-Bo Zhao, Robert Pfaffenberger, A. Carnero, Martin White, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Antonio J. Cuesta, Jose Alberto Rubino-Martin, Stephen Bailey, Alessandra Beifiori, Patrick McDonald, Khee-Gan Lee, Jo Bovy, Nicholas P. Ross, Jean-Marc Le Goff, Francesco Montesano, Jon Brinkmann, Stephanie Escoffier, Matthew D. Olmstead, M. G. Watson, Natalie A. Roe, Michael A. Carr, Isabelle Pâris, Zheng Zheng, Rafael Rebolo, Gordon T. Richards, Hee-Jong Seo, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Britt Lundgren, Olga Mena, Yue Shen, Audrey Oravetz, Cameron K. McBride, Xiaohui Fan, Molly E. C. Swanson, Frances Cope, K. Honscheid, Graziano Rossi, Tracy Naugle, Matthew M. Pieri, David H. Weinberg, Robert H. Lupton, Viktor Malanushenko, Erin S. Sheldon, Michael Blomqvist, Donald P. Schneider, Luiz N. da Costa, Ben Harris, David W. Harris, Robert C. Nichol, Julian E. Bautista, James R. A. Davenport, Peter J. Brown, Saurav Dhital, Garrett Ebelke, Daniel Margala, Ignasi Pérez-Ràfols, Hong Guo, Robert H. Barkhouser, N. Filiz Ak, Demitri Muna, Scott F. Anderson, Andrew A. West, Elena Malanushenko, Patrick B. Hall, Alaina Shelden, Yanmei Chen, M. Vargas Magaña, Ariel G. Sánchez, William Carithers, Lado Samushia, Dmitry Bizyaev, Kyle S. Dawson, Christy Tremonti, Conor Sayres, Sebastián E. Nuza, Roland de Putter, Diana Holder, Sarah J. Schmidt, Eyal A. Kazin, Richard G. McMahon, Wendell P. Jordan, W. M. Wood-Vasey, Idit Zehavi, Andreu Font-Ribera, W. N. Brandt, Jean-Christophe Hamilton, Christophe Yèche, Patrick Petitjean, Daniel Oravetz, Nikhil Padmanabhan, Ismael Perez-Fournon, Antonio D. Montero-Dorta, Rita Tojeiro, David W. Hogg, Adam D. Myers, Daniel Thomas, Vaishali Bhardwaj, Matteo Viel, David A. Wake, Rachel Mandelbaum, Claudia Maraston, Constance M. Rockosi, Masayuki Tanaka, Marc Manera, University of St Andrews. School of Physics and Astronomy, APC - Cosmologie, AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU), BOSS, Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Surveys, 01 natural sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica, Observacions astronòmiques, 0103 physical sciences, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, observations [Cosmology], 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Observations, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Physics, Cosmologia, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Angular diameter distance, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Lyman-alpha forest, Redshift, Galaxy, Cosmology, Baryon, Boss, Space and Planetary Science, Astronomia, Baryon acoustic oscillations, Astronomical observations, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys of large-scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as i = 19.9 over 10,000 deg(2) to measure BAO to redshifts z < 0.7. Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Ly alpha forest in more than 150,000 quasar spectra (g < 22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15 < z < 3.5. Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale three-dimensional clustering of the Ly alpha forest and a strong detection from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield measurements of the angular diameter distance d(A) to an accuracy of 1.0% at redshifts z = 0.3 and z = 0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the same redshifts. Forecasts for Ly alpha forest constraints predict a measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate D-A(z) and H-1(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z similar to 2.5 when the survey is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of BOSS, The successful installation, commissioning, and operation of the Pierre Auger Observatory would not have been possible without the strong commitment and effort fromthe technical and administrative staff in Malarg¨ue. The authors are very grateful to the following agencies and organizations for financial support: Comisi´on Nacional de Energ´ıa At´omica, Fundaci ´on Antorchas, Gobierno De La Provincia de Mendoza, Municipalidad de Malarg¨ue, NDM Holdings and Valle Las Le˜nas, in gratitude for their continuing cooperation over land access,Argentina; theAustralian ResearchCouncil;Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient´ıfico e Tecnol´ogico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP), Minist´erio de Ciˆencia e Tecnologia (MCT), Brazil; AVCR AV0Z10100502 and AV0Z10100522, GAAV KJB100100904, MSMT-CR LA08016, LG11044, MEB111003, MSM0021620859, LA08015, and TACR TA01010517, Czech Republic; Centre de Calcul IN2P3/CNRS, CentreNational de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Conseil R´egional Ile-de- France, D´epartement Physique Nucleaire et Corpusculaire (PNC-IN2P3/CNRS), D´epartement Sciences de l’Univers (SDU-INSU/CNRS), France; Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Finanzministerium Baden-W¨urttemberg, Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren (HGF), Ministerium fur Wissenschaft und Forschung, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Ministerium f¨ur Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst, Baden-W¨urttemberg, Germany; Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Universita e della Ricerca (MIUR), Italy; Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnolog´ıa (CONACYT), Mexico; Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO), Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), The Netherlands; Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Grants no. N N202 200239 and N N202 2038, Poland; Fundacao para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia, Portugal; Ministry for Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Slovenian Research Agency, Slovenia; Comunidad de Madrid, Consejer´ıa de Educaci´on de la Comunidad de Castilla La Mancha, FEDER funds, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci´on and Consolider- Ingenio 2010 (CPAN), Xunta de Galicia, Spain; Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK; Department of Energy, Contract nos. DE-AC02-07CH11359 and DEFR02- 04ER41300, National Science Foundation, Grant no. 0450696, The Grainger Foundation, USA; NAFOSTED, Vietnam; ALFA-EC/HELEN and UNESCO.

Published
2013
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4. The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

Author

Christopher P. Ahn, Rachael Alexandroff, Carlos Allende Prieto, Scott F. Anderson, Timothy Anderton, Brett H. Andrews, Éric Aubourg, Stephen Bailey, Eduardo Balbinot, Rory Barnes, Julian Bautista, Timothy C. Beers, Alessandra Beifiori, Andreas A. Berlind, Vaishali Bhardwaj, Dmitry Bizyaev, Cullen H. Blake, Michael R. Blanton, Michael Blomqvist, John J. Bochanski, Adam S. Bolton, Arnaud Borde, Jo Bovy, W. N. Brandt, J. Brinkmann, Peter J. Brown, Joel R. Brownstein, Kevin Bundy, N. G. Busca, William Carithers, Aurelio R. Carnero, Michael A. Carr, Dana I. Casetti-Dinescu, Yanmei Chen, Cristina Chiappini, Johan Comparat, Natalia Connolly, Justin R. Crepp, Stefano Cristiani, Rupert A. C. Croft, Antonio J. Cuesta, Luiz N. da Costa, James R. A. Davenport, Kyle S. Dawson, Roland de Putter, Nathan De Lee, Timothée Delubac, Saurav Dhital, Anne Ealet, Garrett L. Ebelke, Edward M. Edmondson, Daniel J. Eisenstein, S. Escoffier, Massimiliano Esposito, Michael L. Evans, Xiaohui Fan, Bruno Femenía Castellá, Emma Fernández Alvar, Leticia D. Ferreira, N. Filiz Ak, Hayley Finley, Scott W. Fleming, Andreu Font-Ribera, Peter M. Frinchaboy, D. A. García-Hernández, A. E. García Pérez, Jian Ge, R. Génova-Santos, Bruce A. Gillespie, Léo Girardi, Jonay I. González Hernández, Eva K. Grebel, James E. Gunn, Hong Guo, Daryl Haggard, Jean-Christophe Hamilton, David W. Harris, Suzanne L. Hawley, Frederick R. Hearty, Shirley Ho, David W. Hogg, Jon A. Holtzman, Klaus Honscheid, J. Huehnerhoff, Inese I. Ivans, Željko Ivezić, Heather R. Jacobson, Linhua Jiang, Jonas Johansson, Jennifer A. Johnson, Guinevere Kauffmann, David Kirkby, Jessica A. Kirkpatrick, Mark A. Klaene, Gillian R. Knapp, Jean-Paul Kneib, Jean-Marc Le Goff, Alexie Leauthaud, Khee-Gan Lee, Young Sun Lee, Daniel C. Long, Craig P. Loomis, Sara Lucatello, Britt Lundgren, Robert H. Lupton, Bo Ma, Zhibo Ma, Nicholas MacDonald, Claude E. Mack, Suvrath Mahadevan, Marcio A. G. Maia, Steven R. Majewski, Martin Makler, Elena Malanushenko, Viktor Malanushenko, A. Manchado, Rachel Mandelbaum, Marc Manera, Claudia Maraston, Daniel Margala, Sarah L. Martell, Cameron K. McBride, Ian D. McGreer, Richard G. McMahon, Brice Ménard, Sz. Meszaros, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Antonio D. Montero-Dorta, Francesco Montesano, Heather L. Morrison, Demitri Muna, Jeffrey A. Munn, Hitoshi Murayama, Adam D. Myers, A. F. Neto, Duy Cuong Nguyen, Robert C. Nichol, David L. Nidever, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Sebastián E. Nuza, Ricardo L. C. Ogando, Matthew D. Olmstead, Daniel J. Oravetz, Russell Owen, Nikhil Padmanabhan, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Kaike Pan, John K. Parejko, Prachi Parihar, Isabelle Pâris, Petchara Pattarakijwanich, Joshua Pepper, Will J. Percival, Ismael Pérez-Fournon, Ignasi Pérez-Ràfols, Patrick Petitjean, Janine Pforr, Matthew M. Pieri, Marc H. Pinsonneault, G. F. Porto de Mello, Francisco Prada, Adrian M. Price-Whelan, M. Jordan Raddick, Rafael Rebolo, James Rich, Gordon T. Richards, Annie C. Robin, Helio J. Rocha-Pinto, Constance M. Rockosi, Natalie A. Roe, Ashley J. Ross, Nicholas P. Ross, Graziano Rossi, J. A. Rubiño-Martin, Lado Samushia, J. Sanchez Almeida, Ariel G. Sánchez, Basílio Santiago, Conor Sayres, David J. Schlegel, Katharine J. Schlesinger, Sarah J. Schmidt, Donald P. Schneider, Mathias Schultheis, Axel D. Schwope, C. G. Scóccola, Uros Seljak, Erin Sheldon, Yue Shen, Yiping Shu, Jennifer Simmerer, Audrey E. Simmons, Ramin A. Skibba, M. F. Skrutskie, A. Slosar, Flavia Sobreira, Jennifer S. Sobeck, Keivan G. Stassun, Oliver Steele, Matthias Steinmetz, Michael A. Strauss, Alina Streblyanska, Nao Suzuki, Molly E. C. Swanson, Tomer Tal, Aniruddha R. Thakar, Daniel Thomas, Benjamin A. Thompson, Jeremy L. Tinker, Rita Tojeiro, Christy A. Tremonti, M. Vargas Magaña, Licia Verde, Matteo Viel, Shailendra K. Vikas, Nicole P. Vogt, David A. Wake, Ji Wang, Benjamin A. Weaver, David H. Weinberg, Benjamin J. Weiner, Andrew A. West, Martin White, John C. Wilson, John P. Wisniewski, W. M. Wood-Vasey, Brian Yanny, Christophe Yèche, Donald G. York, O. Zamora, Gail Zasowski, Idit Zehavi, Gong-Bo Zhao, Zheng Zheng, Guangtun Zhu, Joel C. Zinn, APC - Cosmologie, Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU), BOSS, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Elon University [NC, USA], Department of Astronomy [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], The University of Notre Dame [Sydney], Apache point observatory, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département de Physique des Particules (ex SPP) (DPhP), Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers (IRFU), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay, Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213) (UTINAM), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC), Unité Scientifique de la Station de Nançay (USN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université d'Orléans (UO), Universitat de Barcelona, Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
[SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Atles, Astrophysics, Surveys, 01 natural sciences, Astronomical spectroscopy, Via láctea, Observatory, Observacions astronòmiques, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, media_common, Mapeamentos astronômicos, Physics, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Atlases, Astrometry, Cosmology, atlases, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics, Astronomical observations, Cosmology and Gravitation, Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [PHYS.ASTR.IM]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysic [astro-ph.IM], media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, catalogs, surveys, Formacao de galaxias, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica, 0103 physical sciences, Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM), Spectrograph, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Cosmologia, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Espectroscòpia, Galaxy, Spectrum analysis, [SDU.ASTR.IM]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysic [astro-ph.IM], Stars, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, Catalogs, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]
Abstract

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014., 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr9

Published
2012
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5. The Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog: ninth data release

Author

Ismael Perez-Fournon, Nao Suzuki, Claudia Maraston, Richard G. McMahon, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Jian Ge, Eduard Arnau, Michael A. Strauss, Kyle S. Dawson, Andreu Font-Ribera, Khee-Gan Lee, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Scott F. Anderson, Adam S. Bolton, Nicholas P. Ross, Hayley Finley, Benjamin A. Weaver, Yue Shen, Kaike Pan, Matthew M. Pieri, Julian E. Bautista, Jeremy L. Tinker, Jo Bovy, Patrick B. Hall, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Martin White, David J. Schlegel, Jean-Marc Le Goff, Isabelle Pâris, Anze Slosar, Garrett Ebelke, Gordon T. Richards, Zeljko Ivezic, Éric Aubourg, D. Kirkby, Howard Brewington, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Donald P. Schneider, Joseph F. Hennawi, Robert R. Gibson, Demitri Muna, Amy Kimball, Xiaohui Fan, Ian D. McGreer, Viktor Malanushenko, Shirley Ho, Erin S. Sheldon, Britt Lundgren, Audrey Simmons, Emmanuel Rollinde, Stephen Bailey, Elena Malanushenko, Jessica A. Kirkpatrick, Alaina Shelden, Matteo Viel, Timothée Delubac, David H. Weinberg, W. Michael Wood-Vasey, William Carithers, W. N. Brandt, Chelsea L. MacLeod, Patrick Petitjean, Nur Filiz Ak, Daniel M. Capellupo, Dmitry Bizyaev, Fred Hamann, David W. Hogg, Rupert A. C. Croft, Joel R. Brownstein, Stephanie A. Snedden, Nicolás G. Busca, Adam D. Myers, Christophe Yèche, Daniel Oravetz, Linhua Jiang, Philip Engelke, AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), SDSS-III, APC - Cosmologie, Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Spectral line, Photometry (optics), [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica, surveys, quasars: general, 0103 physical sciences, Emission spectrum, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common, Physics, [PHYS]Physics [physics], general [quasars], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Redshift, Boss, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, astro-ph.CO, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Data release, Astronomical and Space Sciences, catalogs, Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

We present the Data Release 9 Quasar (DR9Q) catalog from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. The catalog includes all BOSS objects that were targeted as quasar candidates during the survey, are spectrocopically confirmed as quasars via visual inspection, have luminosities Mi[z=2]2.15$ (61,931) is ~2.8 times larger than the number of z>2.15 quasars previously known. Redshifts and FWHMs are provided for the strongest emission lines (CIV, CIII], MgII). The catalog identifies 7,533 broad absorption line quasars and gives their characteristics. For each object the catalog presents five-band (u,g,r,i,z) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains X-ray, ultraviolet, near-infrared, and radio emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, Catalog available online at http://www.sdss3.org/dr9/algorithms/qso_catalog.php

Published
2012
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6. Column density distribution and cosmological mass density of neutral gas: Sloan Digital Sky Survey-III Data Release 9

Author

Hayley Finley, V. Malanushenko, Éric Aubourg, Adam D. Myers, K. Pan, Patrick Petitjean, Nicholas P. Ross, Stephen Bailey, Daniel Oravetz, Isabelle Pâris, Garrett Ebelke, Donald P. Schneider, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Matthew M. Pieri, Andreu Font-Ribera, William Carithers, Donald G. York, Dmitry Bizyaev, Audrey Simmons, Elena Malanushenko, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Jian Ge, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), SDSS-III, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), APC - Cosmologie, Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, and PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], media_common.quotation_subject, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Spectral line, law.invention, Telescope, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], law, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, media_common, Physics, [PHYS]Physics [physics], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Oscillation, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Billion years, Galaxy, Baryon, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Sky, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

We present the first results from an ongoing survey for Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs) in the spectra of z>2 quasars observed in the course of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III. Our full (non-statistical) sample, based on Data Release 9, comprises 12,081 systems with log N(HI)>=20, out of which 6,839 have log N(HI)>=20.3. This is the largest DLA sample ever compiled, superseding that from SDSS-II by a factor of seven. Using a statistical sub-sample and estimating systematics from realistic mock data, we probe the N(HI) distribution at = 2.5. Contrary to what is generally believed, the distribution extends beyond 10^22 cm^-2 with a moderate slope of index\approx-3.5. This result matches surprisingly well the opacity-corrected distribution observed at z = 0. The cosmological mass density of neutral gas in DLAs is found to be Omega_g_DLA~10^-3, evolving only mildly over the past 12 billion years., Accepted for publication as Letter to the Editor in A&A

Published
2012
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7. The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Quasar Target Selection for Data Release Nine

Author

Khee-Gan Lee, James Rich, Nao Suzuki, Jo Bovy, Michael R. Blanton, David J. Schlegel, Kyle S. Dawson, David Schiminovich, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Joseph F. Hennawi, Anže Slosar, Christophe Yèche, Shirley Ho, A. Weyant, Donald P. Schneider, Michael A. Strauss, Éric Aubourg, Richard G. McMahon, Gordon T. Richards, Adam D. Myers, David H. Weinberg, Matthew M. Pieri, W. Michael Wood-Vasey, William Carithers, Britt Lundgren, Nicholas P. Ross, Patrick Petitjean, Jessica A. Kirkpatrick, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Robert L. da Silva, Martin White, Jeremy L. Tinker, W. N. Brandt, Rupert A. C. Croft, David W. Hogg, Isabelle Paris, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Natalie A. Roe, Erin S. Sheldon, APC - Cosmologie, AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), SDSS-III, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)

Subjects
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO), [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Spectral line, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], surveys, quasars: general, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Oscillation, Angular diameter distance, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, First light, quasars: absorption lines, Baryon, Boss, techniques: miscellaneous, Space and Planetary Science, cosmology: observations, intergalactic medium, Baryon acoustic oscillations, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Abstract

The SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), a five-year spectroscopic survey of 10,000 deg^2, achieved first light in late 2009. One of the key goals of BOSS is to measure the signature of baryon acoustic oscillations in the distribution of Ly-alpha absorption from the spectra of a sample of ~150,000 z>2.2 quasars. Along with measuring the angular diameter distance at z\approx2.5, BOSS will provide the first direct measurement of the expansion rate of the Universe at z > 2. One of the biggest challenges in achieving this goal is an efficient target selection algorithm for quasars over 2.2 < z < 3.5, where their colors overlap those of stars. During the first year of the BOSS survey, quasar target selection methods were developed and tested to meet the requirement of delivering at least 15 quasars deg^-2 in this redshift range, out of 40 targets deg^-2. To achieve these surface densities, the magnitude limit of the quasar targets was set at g 2.2 quasars were spectroscopically confirmed by BOSS. Our current algorithms select an average of 15 z > 2.2 quasars deg^-2 from 40 targets deg^-2 using single-epoch SDSS imaging. Multi-epoch optical data and data at other wavelengths can further improve the efficiency and completeness of BOSS quasar target selection. [Abridged], 33 pages, 26 figures, 12 tables and a whole bunch of quasars. Submitted to ApJ

Published
2011
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8. Supernova / Acceleration Probe: a Satellite Experiment to Study the Nature of the Dark Energy

Author

William W. Craig, Eric Prieto, A. L. Spadafora, A. S. Fruchter, T. Diehl, Gregory Tarle, M. E. Levi, N. Palaio, Susana E. Deustua, Josh Frieman, G. Samdja, Alain Mazure, M. L. Lampton, L. Gladney, Armin Karcher, H. Heetderks, N. Kuznetsova, Eric V. Linder, Edvard Mörtsell, D. W. Gerdes, Douglas L. Tucker, Christopher Stoughton, O. Le Fevre, Saul Perlmutter, Michael L. Brown, Steven E. Kahn, J. I. Lamoureux, Guofeng Wang, Scott Dodelson, Roger F. Malina, D. Rusin, Natalie A. Roe, C. Baltay, Nick Mostek, Dragan Huterer, G. Goldhaber, S. C. Loken, J. P. Marriner, R. Lafever, Hakeem M. Oluseyi, Ralph C. Bohlin, S. T. Holland, A. D. Tomasch, H. von der Lippe, Bhuvnesh Jain, Patrick N. Jelinsky, G. Kushner, E. Basa, John Peoples, Peter Nugent, Jason Rhodes, J. Annis, Greg Aldering, R. Pain, B. Krieger, Alain Bonissent, Keith Taylor, C. R. Bower, F. DeJongh, S. L. Mufson, V. Scarpine, E. Barrelet, D. E. Groom, J.-P. Walder, W. Emmet, Michael Sholl, L. Hui, Lars Bergström, Gary Bernstein, J. A. Musser, W. C. Wester, D. Rabinowitz, M. Hoff, Shawn McKee, J. Snyder, Andrew Szymkowiak, Eugene D. Commins, David H. Pankow, Philip J. Marshall, Timothy A. McKay, N. Morgan, Manfred Bester, Wolfgang Lorenzon, C. T. Day, Andre Tilquin, M.E. Huffer, Roger Smith, Dominique Fouchez, D. Vincent, M. Campbell, A. Goobar, Steve Kent, A. Stebbine, Richard Ellis, Ramon Miquel, William Carithers, Richard Massey, Roger Blandford, Alex G. Kim, P. Limon, H. Lin, A. Refregier, Chris Bebek, Anne Ealet, Pierre Astier, W. Althouse, William F. Kolbe, Michael Schubnell, Rahman Amanullah, George F. Smoot, and C. Bigelow

Subjects
Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astronomy, Shape of the universe, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Cosmological constant, Astrophysics, 7. Clean energy, 01 natural sciences, Galaxy, Redshift, Gravitational lens, Vacuum energy, 13. Climate action, 0103 physical sciences, Dark energy, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Weak gravitational lensing
Abstract

The Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) is a proposed space-based experiment designed to study the dark energy and alternative explanations of the acceleration of the Universe's expansion by performing a series of complementary systematics-controlled astrophysical measurements. We here describe a self-consistent reference mission design that can accomplish this goal with the two leading measurement approaches being the Type Ia supernova Hubble diagram and a wide-area weak gravitational lensing survey. This design has been optimized to first order and is now under study for further modification and optimization. A 2-m three-mirror anastigmat wide-field telescope feeds a focal plane consisting of a 0.7 square-degree imager tiled with equal areas of optical CCDs and near infrared sensors, and a high-efficiency low-resolution integral field spectrograph. The instrumentation suite provides simultaneous discovery and light-curve measurements of supernovae and then can target individual objects for detailed spectral characterization. The SNAP mission will discover thousands of Type Ia supernovae out to z = 3 and will obtain high-signal-to-noise calibrated light-curves and spectra for a subset of > 2000 supernovae at redshifts between z = 0.1 and 1.7 in a northern field and in a southern field. A wide-field survey covering one thousand square degrees in both northern and southern fields resolves {approx} 100 galaxies per square arcminute, or a total of more than 300 million galaxies. With the PSF stability afforded by a space observatory, SNAP will provide precise and accurate measurements of gravitational lensing. The high-quality data available in space, combined with the large sample of supernovae, will enable stringent control of systematic uncertainties. The resulting data set will be used to determine the energy density of dark energy and parameters that describe its dynamical behavior. The data also provide a direct test of theoretical models for the dark energy, including discrimination of vacuum energy due to the cosmological constant and various classes of dynamical scalar fields. If we assume we live in a cosmological-constant-dominated Universe, the matter density, dark energy density, and flatness of space can all be measured with SNAP supernova and weak-lensing measurements to a systematics-limited accuracy of 1%. For a flat universe, the density-to-pressure ratio of dark energy or equation of state w(z) can be similarly measured to 5% for the present value w{sub 0} and {approx} 0.1 for the time variation w' {triple_bond} dw/d ln a|{sub z=1}. For a fiducial SUGRA-inspired universe, w{sub 0} and w' can be measured to an even tighter uncertainty of 0.03 and 0.06 respectively. Note that no external priors are needed. As more accurate theoretical predictions for the small-scale weak-lensing shear develop, the conservative estimates adopted here for space-based systematics should improve, allowing even tighter constraints. While the survey strategy is tailored for supernova and weak gravitational lensing observations, the large survey area, depth, spatial resolution, time-sampling, and nine-band optical to NIR photometry will support additional independent and/or complementary dark-energy measurement approaches as well as a broad range of auxiliary science programs.

Published
2005
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9. Weak lensing from space I: instrumentation and survey strategy

Author

S. Harris, H. von der Lippe, Dominique Fouchez, Lars Bergström, C. T. Day, Alex G. Kim, B. Bigelow, Chris Bebek, Myron Campbell, A. L. Spadafora, Saul Perlmutter, Eric Prieto, R. Pratt, M. L. Lampton, S.E. Holland, G. Smadja, A. S. Fruchter, Armin Karcher, B. Krieger, J.-P. Walder, N. Morgan, Gary Bernstein, Peter Nugent, C. Baltay, Eric V. Linder, Shawn McKee, Ariel Goobar, Justin Albert, William E. Johnston, Timothy A. McKay, Hakeem M. Oluseyi, N. Palaio, Susana E. Deustua, Greg Aldering, J. Bercovitz, Nick Mostek, George F. Smoot, David Rabinowitz, Roger F. Malina, Pierre Astier, David Bacon, Keith Taylor, C. R. Bower, William F. Kolbe, R. Lafever, Andrew Szymkowiak, H. Heetderks, David H. Pankow, A. D. Tomasch, G. Kushner, J. A. Musser, Wolfgang Lorenzon, Peter Harvey, D. Rusin, Natalie A. Roe, W. Emmet, Anne Ealet, Roger Smith, S. C. Loken, Ramon Miquel, Edvard Mörtsell, Gerson Goldhaber, E. Barrelet, R. DiGennaro, Alain Bonissent, M. E. Levi, Andre Tilquin, S. L. Mufson, Alexandre Refregier, M. Eriksson, Michael Sholl, Manfred Bester, Richard S. Ellis, Bhuvnesh Jain, D. W. Gerdes, William Carithers, Richard Massey, L. Gladney, D. Vincent, Guofeng Wang, Alain Mazure, Michael Schubnell, Carl W. Akerlof, Rahman Amanullah, Eugene D. Commins, Reynald Pain, Donald E. Groom, J. F. Genat, K. Robinson, Gregory Tarle, Dragan Huterer, Michael E. Brown, J. I. Lamoureux, Ralph C. Bohlin, J. Snyder, N. Kuznetsova, Jason Rhodes, Centre de Physique des Particules de Marseille (CPPM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Physique Nucléaire de Lyon (IPNL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Department of Mathematics [Berkeley], University of California [Berkeley] (UC Berkeley), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Département d'Astrophysique, de physique des Particules, de physique Nucléaire et de l'Instrumentation Associée (DAPNIA), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies (LPNHE), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), School of Engineering [Edinburgh], University of Edinburgh, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Physics, Stockholm University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [Berkeley] (LBNL), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Dispositifs et Instrumentation en Optoélectronique et micro-ondes (DIOM), Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne (UJM), Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Zhejiang University, California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, University of California [Berkeley], University of California-University of California, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES), Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, DIOM (DIOM), and Université Jean Monnet [Saint-Étienne] (UJM)

Subjects
Point spread function, [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, Dark matter, FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Cosmology, law.invention, Telescope, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Spitzer Space Telescope, law, 0103 physical sciences, Dark energy, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Instrumentation, Weak gravitational lensing, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, Physics, [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics (astro-ph), Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Supernova
Abstract

A wide field space-based imaging telescope is necessary to fully exploit the technique of observing dark matter via weak gravitational lensing. This first paper in a three part series outlines the survey strategies and relevant instrumental parameters for such a mission. As a concrete example of hardware design, we consider the proposed Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP). Using SNAP engineering models, we quantify the major contributions to this telescope's Point Spread Function (PSF). These PSF contributions are relevant to any similar wide field space telescope. We further show that the PSF of SNAP or a similar telescope will be smaller than current ground-based PSFs, and more isotropic and stable over time than the PSF of the Hubble Space Telescope. We outline survey strategies for two different regimes - a ``wide'' 300 square degree survey and a ``deep'' 15 square degree survey that will accomplish various weak lensing goals including statistical studies and dark matter mapping., 25 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, replaced with Published Version

Published
2004
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10. SNAP NIR detectors

Author

Eric V. Linder, Guobin Wang, Saul Perlmutter, Steven E. Holland, S. Harris, Dragan Huterer, Greg Aldering, Eric Prieto, R. Lafever, A. L. Spadafora, Jason Rhodes, J.F. Genat, George F. Smoot, Michael Levi, H. von der Lippe, S. C. Loken, Mark L. Brown, Alex G. Kim, Anne Ealet, Pierre Astier, B. Krieger, Daniel Levin, William F. Kolbe, Michael Schubnell, Ariel Goobar, R. DiGennaro, Peter Harvey, E. Barrelet, Richard S. Ellis, Alain Bonissent, Alexandre Refregier, Michael Sholl, Timothy A. McKay, David H. Pankow, R. Pratt, E. Moertsell, Michael Lampton, Susana E. Deustua, H. Heetderks, Rahman Amanullah, Donald E. Groom, M. Eriksson, Nicholas P. Palaio, Manfred Bester, Carl W. Akerlof, K. Robinson, Ramon Miquel, Peter Nugent, J.-P. Walder, Gary Bernstein, Shawn McKee, S. Mufson, Gerson Goldhaber, William Carithers, Richard Massey, Roger F. Malina, Andrew S. Fruchter, A. D. Tomasch, D. Vincent, J. I. Lamoureux, Armin Karcher, C. R. Bower, Gregory Tarle, Natalie A. Roe, J. A. Musser, Lars Bergström, C. T. Day, G. Smadja, Hakeem M. Oluseyi, Chris Bebek, Eugene D. Commins, Reynald Pain, J. Bercovitz, Nick Mostek, Institut de Physique Nucléaire de Lyon (IPNL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), and Flores, Sylvie

Subjects
Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena, media_common.quotation_subject, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, [SDU.ASTR] Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], 01 natural sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], 010309 optics, Photometry (optics), Acceleration, Integral field spectrograph, Optics, 0103 physical sciences, Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics, media_common, Physics, Zodiacal light, [SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], business.industry, Near-infrared spectroscopy, Universe, Cardinal point, [PHYS.ASTR.CO] Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Dark energy, business
Abstract

The SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) will measure precisely the cosmological expansion history over both the acceleration and deceleration epochs and thereby constrain the nature of the dark energy that dominates our universe today. The SNAP focal plane contains equal areas of optical CCDs and NIR sensors and an integral field spectrograph. Having over 150 million pixels and a field-of-view of 0.34 square degrees, the SNAP NIR system will be the largest yet constructed. With sensitivity in the range 0.9-1.7 μm, it will detect Type Ia supernovae between z = 1 and 1.7 and will provide follow-up precision photometry for all supernovae. HgCdTe technology, with a cut-off tuned to 1.7 μm, will permit passive cooling at 140 K while maintaining noise below zodiacal levels. By dithering to remove the effects of intrapixel variations and by careful attention to other instrumental effects, we expect to control relative photometric accuracy below a few hundredths of a magnitude. Because SNAP continuously revisits the same fields we will be able to achieve outstanding statistical precision on the photometry of reference stars in these fields, allowing precise monitoring of our detectors. The capabilities of the NIR system for broadening the science reach of SNAP are discussed.

Published
2003
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11. THE BOSS Lyα FOREST SAMPLE FROM SDSS DATA RELEASE 9

Author

Nao Suzuki, Nicholas P. Ross, Stephen Bailey, David N. Spergel, Elena Malanushenko, Nicolás G. Busca, Rupert A. C. Croft, Éric Aubourg, Matteo Viel, Pasquier Noterdaeme, Garrett Ebelke, Britt Lundgren, Jian Ge, Khee-Gan Lee, Adam D. Myers, Jean-Marc Le Goff, Stephanie A. Snedden, Timothée Delubac, William Carithers, Daniel Margala, David J. Schlegel, Kyle S. Dawson, James Rich, Dmitry Bizyaev, Jean-Christophe Hamilton, Christophe Yèche, Patrick Petitjean, Daniel Oravetz, Joseph F. Hennawi, Benjamin A. Weaver, Julian E. Bautista, Viktor Malanushenko, Michael Blomqvist, Donald P. Schneider, Graziano Rossi, David H. Weinberg, Daniel J. Eisenstein, Matthew M. Pieri, Kaike Pan, Jordi Miralda-Escudé, Audrey Simmons, Anze Slosar, Arnaud Borde, D. Kirkby, Howard Brewington, Adam S. Bolton, Emmanuel Rollinde, Shirley Ho, Leslie E. Bartsch, Isabelle Paris, Andreu Font-Ribera, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, K. Honscheid, APC - Cosmologie, AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3), SDSS-III, Physique Corpusculaire et Cosmologie - Collège de France (PCC), Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Collège de France (CdF)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-AstroParticule et Cosmologie (APC (UMR_7164)), Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules du CNRS (IN2P3)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Cosmology and Gravitation, [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Continuum (design consultancy), Flux, Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO], Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica, 0103 physical sciences, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Physics, 010308 nuclear & particles physics, Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Quasar, Lyman-alpha forest, methods: data analysis, Redshift, quasars: absorption lines, quasars: emission lines, Data set, Boss, Space and Planetary Science, intergalactic medium, Baryon acoustic oscillations
Abstract

We present the BOSS Lyman-α (Lyα) Forest Sample from SDSS Data Release 9, comprising 54,468 quasar spectra with z qso > 2.15 suitable for Lyα forest analysis. This data set probes the intergalactic medium with absorption redshifts 2.0 < z α < 5.7 over an area of 3275 deg2, and encompasses an approximate comoving volume of 20 h –3 Gpc3. With each spectrum, we have included several products designed to aid in Lyα forest analysis: improved sky masks that flag pixels where data may be unreliable, corrections for known biases in the pipeline estimated noise, masks for the cores of damped Lyα systems and corrections for their wings, and estimates of the unabsorbed continua so that the observed flux can be converted to a fractional transmission. The continua are derived using a principal component fit to the quasar spectrum redward of rest-frame Lyα (λ > 1216 Å), extrapolated into the forest region and normalized by a linear function to fit the expected evolution of the Lyα forest mean flux. The estimated continuum errors are 5% rms. We also discuss possible systematics arising from uncertain spectrophotometry and artifacts in the flux calibration; global corrections for the latter are provided. Our sample provides a convenient starting point for users to analyze clustering in BOSS Lyα forest data, and it provides a fiducial data set that can be used to compare results from different analyses of baryon acoustic oscillations in the Lyα forest. The full data set is available from the SDSS-III DR9 Web site.

Published
2013
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