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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
131

The Spin of Ultralight Dark Matter: From Theory to Observation / 超軽量暗黒物質のスピン:理論から観測まで

Manita, Yusuke 25 March 2024 (has links)
京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第25114号 / 理博第5021号 / 新制||理||1716(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科物理学・宇宙物理学専攻 / (主査)教授 田中 貴浩, 教授 向山 信治, 教授 橋本 幸士 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM
132

Improvements to the Calculation of Indirect Signals of Diffuse Gamma-rays and Neutrinos from Dark Matter Annihilation

Campbell, Sheldon Scott 2012 August 1900 (has links)
A new formalism is presented for calculating the mean intensity spectrum and angular power spectrum of gamma-rays or neutrinos from extragalactic annihilating dark matter, taking into account the dependence of the relative motions of the annihilating particles on the annihilation cross section. To model the large scale dark matter distribution of mass and relative velocities, the halo distribution model is comprehensively summarized, and extended to include a universal radial profile of the particles' velocity variance, based on results from N-body computer simulations of dark matter halos. A velocity variance profile, associated with the NFW density profile, is proposed by enforcing a power-law profile of the pseudo phase-space density. This allows the large-scale velocity distribution to be described by virialized, gravitationally bound dark matter halos, as opposed to thermal motions used to describe the velocity distribution in the early Universe. The recent particle motion history of the Universe is presented for the described model. Sample extragalactic gamma-ray intensities from dark matter annihilation are shown for dark matter annihilating with p-wave, according to a relative-velocity-weighted annihilation cross section sigmav = a + bv^2, for constants a and b, with examples taken from supersymmetric models. For thermally produced dark matter, the p-wave suppresses the signal intensity. If b/a > 10^6, the p-wave hardens the intensity spectrum by an estimated factor of 1 + (6b/a)delta_I (E_gamma), and increases the angular power spectrum by a factor also depending on new coefficients (delta_Cl)^(1) (E_gamma ) and (delta_Cl)^(2) (E_gamma ). The energy-dependence of the new p-wave coefficients delta_I , (delta_Cl)^(1) (E_gamma ), and (delta_Cl)^(2) (E_gamma ) are shown for various annihilation spectra. Sample intensity spectra are also presented for Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation. The intensity of neutrinos from dark matter annihilation is also considered. The variations between the dark matter annihilation signals for different particle phenomenologies suggest that particle physics constraints are possible from an observed indirect detection signal. Calculations of the annihilation signal from the galactic halo are also shown. The extragalactic signal's intensity is found to be consistent in magnitude with the galactic intensity?within the uncertainty of the models of the dark matter distribution?when looking out from the galactic plane. This suggests that the total cosmic signal may have significant contributions from both components.
133

Cosmological Dark Matter and the Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background : Measurements and Upper Limits

Sellerholm, Alexander January 2010 (has links)
This thesis addresses the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray background, as measured by the Fermi gamma ray space telescope, and its implications for indirect detection of dark matter. We describe the measurement of the isotropic background, including also an alternative analysis method besides the one published by the Fermi-LAT collaboration. The measured isotropic diffuse background is compatible with a power law differential energy spectrum with a spectral index of  -2.41 ± 0.05 and -2.39 ± 0.08, for the two analysis methods respectively. This is a softer spectrum than previously reported by the EGRET experiment. This rules out any dominant contribution with a significantly different shape, e.g. from dark matter, in the energy range 20 MeV to 102.4 GeV. Instead we present upper limits on a signal originating from annihilating dark matter of extragalactic origin. The uncertainty in the dark matter signal is primarily dependent on the cosmological evolution of the dark matter distribution. We use recent N-body simulations of structure formation, as well as a semi-analytical calculation, to assess this uncertainty. We investigate three main annihilation channels and find that in some, but not in all, of our scenarios we can start to probe, and sometimes rule out, interesting parameter spaces of particle physics models beyond the standard model.We also investigate the possibility to use the angular anisotropies of the annihilation signal to separate it from a background originating from conventional sources, e.g. from active galactic nuclei. By carefully modelling the performance of the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope and galactic foregrounds we find that this method could be as sensitive as using information from the energy spectrum only. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>
134

Design and Development of an Acoustic Calibrator for Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescopes and First Search for Secluded Dark Matter with ANTARES

Adrián Martínez, Silvia 16 April 2015 (has links)
[EN] Neutrino astronomy is a booming field in astroparticle physics. Due to the particular characteristics of neutrinos, these particles offer great advantages as probes for the study of the far and high-energy Universe. It is extensively accepted by the scientific community that a multi-messenger approach with the combination of information provided by neutrinos, photons and charged particles (cosmic rays) is possible to obtain a more complete image of the fundamental astrophysics processes taking place in our Universe. Since neutrinos are neutral and very weak interacting particles they can reach the Earth from astrophysical sources without deflection by magnetic fields and almost without energy losses and absorption, contrarily to the rest of messengers. The other side of the coin of neutrino properties is that detection of neutrinos is very challenging and big highly instrumented detection volumes are needed. Natural media (deep sea, lakes or ice in the Antarctica) host this kind of experiments using the water (or ice) as target material where the neutrino interaction is produced. ANTARES is the first undersea neutrino telescope, located at 2475 m depth in the Mediterranean Sea. ANTARES is optimized for optical detection of the Cerenkov light induced by relativistic muons produced by high energy neutrino interactions near the detector. The charge, position and arrival time of the photons to the optical modules which compose the detector allows the muon track reconstruction, and thus, knowing the neutrino coming direction. Some information of the event energy is also derived. ANTARES is also hosting the AMADEUS experiment which is investigating the feasibility of the acoustic detection of Ultra-High Energy (UHE) neutrinos. The framework of this thesis is the ANTARES experiment. As commonly done in the thesis developed in this experiment (and in this field), the work has been divided in two different areas. On the one hand, a part more devoted to technological aspects related to the detector and, on the other hand, a part dedicated to ANTARES data analysis. The first part of the thesis is focused in the development of a calibrator able to reproduce the acoustic signal generated in the UHE neutrino interaction with a water nucleus which, roughly speaking, generates a highly directive bipolar acoustic pulse. Having a good calibrator is crucial to test and tune the telescope response for this kind of signals. The second part of the thesis, the data analysis part, is centred in the analysis of the ANTARES data in order to constrain possible Dark Matter models. This work is focused on the detection of products resulting of the Dark Matter annihilation trapped in the centre of the Sun. Specifically, the Secluded Dark Matter (SDM) model has been tested by the detection of di-muons (co-linear muon pair) and/or neutrinos coming from Sun direction. Broadly speaking, this model is based on the idea of the existence of a mediator resulting of the Dark Matter annihilation which, subsequently, would decay into standard model particles as muons or neutrinos. These models have been proposed in order to explain some experimental "anomalies" observed, such as the electron-positron ratio spectrum detected in satellites, measured recently with high accuracy by AMS-II. The study of this thesis constitutes the first search of experimental evidences of this kind of models in neutrino telescopes. / [ES] La astronomía de neutrinos es un campo en auge dentro de la Física de Astropartículas. Los neutrinos ofrecen grandes ventajas como sondas para estudiar el Universo lejano y de alta energía. Es extensamente aceptado que mediante la combinación de la información que proporcionan los neutrinos junto a la obtenida mediante fotones de alta energía (rayos gamma) y partículas cargadas (rayos cósmicos) se podría obtener una imagen más completa de los procesos astrofísicos fundamentales que tienen lugar a lo largo de nuestro Universo.La razón fundamental por la que los neutrinos son tan altamente valorados como mensajeros es la baja interacción con el medio que los rodea. Al ser partículas sin carga interactúan muy débilmente con la materia, por ello pueden escaparse de la fuente donde se han producido y, al contrario de lo que ocurre con el resto de mensajeros, pueden llegar a la Tierra sin ser desviados por los campo magnéticos y sin prácticamente pérdida de energía. Esta misma razón que los hace tan valorados es a su vez la que los hace tan difíciles de detectar. Se impone la necesidad de construir detectores de grandes volúmenes, del orden del km3, altamente instrumentados. Se utilizan medios naturales (en el fondo del mar, en lagos o en enterrados en el hielo de la Antártida) aprovechando el agua (o hielo) como material diana donde se espera que interaccione el neutrino. ANTARES es el primer telescopio submarino de neutrinos construido en el fondo del mar Mediterráneo. Está optimizado para la detección óptica de la luz Cherenkov inducida por los muones relativistas producidos en la interacción de neutrinos de alta energía en los alrededores del detector. La información de la carga, posición y tiempo de llegada de los fotones a los fotomultiplicadores que componen el detector permite tanto la reconstrucción de la trayectoria del neutrino como el conocimiento de su energía. Además, ANTARES acoge el experimento AMADEUS mediante el cual se está investigando y testeando la detección acústica de neutrinos de muy alta energía que, al interaccionar en el agua, producen un pulso termo-acústico que se pretende registrar con una red de hidrófonos. El trabajo desarrollado en esta tesis se engloba bajo el marco del experimento ANTARES. Como es común en las tesis desarrolladas en este experimento, el trabajo se ha dividido en dos áreas diferenciadas: por un lado, una parte de enfoque más tecnológico y, por otro lado, una parte analítica de datos tomados por el telescopio. La primera parte de la tesis está centrada en el desarrollo de un calibrador capaz de reproducir la señal acústica que se emite en la interacción de un neutrino de alta energía con un núcleo de agua que, generalizando, es un pulso bipolar altamente directivo. El disponer de un buen calibrador es clave a la hora de testear la detección acústica en el telescopio y poder sintonizar y "entrenar" los los receptores para este tipo de señales. La segunda parte de la tesis se ha centrado en el análisis de datos registrados por ANTARES con el fin de contrastar posibles modelos astrofísicos para la búsqueda de materia oscura. Este trabajo ha focalizado en la detección de los productos de la aniquilación de materia oscura atrapada en el centro del Sol. Se ha testeado el modelo de Secluded Dark Matter (SDM) a través de la detección de di-muones (pareja de muones co-lineales) y neutrinos en la dirección del Sol. A grandes rasgos, este modelo se basa en la idea de la existencia de un mediador resultado de la aniquilación de materia oscura que posteriormente decaería en partículas del modelo estándar como muones o neutrinos. Estos modelos han sido propuestos con el fin de explicar ciertas 'anomalías' experimentales observadas, tales como el espectro del flujo de positrones detectado en satélites, medido recientemente con gran precisión por AMS-II. realizado en esta tesis constituye la primera búsqueda de evidencias / [CA] L'astronomia de neutrins és un camp en auge dins la Física d'Astropartícules. Els neutrins ofereixen grans avantatges com a sondes per estudiar l'Univers llunyà i d'alta energia. Es extensament acceptat que mitjançant la combinació de la informació proporcionada pels neutrins junt a la obtinguda mitjançant fotons d'alta energia (rajos gamma) i partícules carregades (rajos còsmics) es podria obtindre una imatge més completa dels processos astrofísics fonamentals que es donen al llarg del nostre Univers. La raó fonamental per la qual els neutrins són altament valorats com a missatgers és la baixa interacció amb el medi que els envolta. Al ser partícules sense càrrega interactuen molt dèbilment amb la matèria, per això poden escapar-se de la font on s'han produït i, al contrari del que ocorre amb la resta de missatgers, poden arribar a La Terra sense desviar-se pels camps electromagnètics i sense pràcticament pèrdua d'energia. Aquesta mateixa raó que els fan tan valorats és al mateix temps la que els fa tan difícil de detectar. S'imposa la necessitat de construir detectors amb grans volums de detecció, de l'ordre del km3, altament instrumentats. S'utilitzen medis naturals (al fons de la mar, en llacs, al gel de l'Antàrtida) aprofitant l'aigua (o el gel) com a material diana on interaccionen el neutrins. ANTARES és el primer telescopi submarí de neutrins construït al fons de la mar Mediterrània. Està optimitzat per a la detecció òptica de la llum de Cherenkov induïda pels muons relativistes produïts en la interacció de neutrins d'alta energia als voltants del detector. La informació de la carrega, posició i temps d'arribada dels fotons als fotomultiplicadors que composen el detector permet tant la reconstrucció de la trajectòria del neutrí, amb gran resolució angular, com el coneixement de la seua energia. A més, ANTARES acull l'experiment AMADEUS mitjançant el qual s'està investigant i testejant la detecció acústica de neutrins de molt alta energia, que, al interaccionar a l'aigua produeixen un pols termo-acústic que es pretén registrar amb una xarxa d'hidròfons. El treball dut a terme en esta tesi s'engloba baix el marc de l'experiment ANTARES. Com es comú en les tesis desenvolupades en aquest experiment, el treball s'ha dividit en dues àrees diferenciades: per una banda una part d'enfocament mes tecnològic i, d'altra banda, una part analítica de les dades preses pel telescopi. La primera part de la tesi està centrada en el desenvolupament d'un calibrador capaç de reproduir la senyal acústica que es genera en la interacció d'un neutrí d'alta energia amb un nucli de l'aigua que, generalitzant, és un pols bipolar altament directiu. Disposar d'un bon calibrador es clau a l'hora de testejar la detecció acústica al telescopi i poder sintonitzar i "entrenar" els receptors a aquest tipus de senyals. La segona part de la tesi, amb caràcter d'anàlisi de dades, s'ha centrat en l'anàlisi de les dades registrades per ANTARES amb el fi de contrastar possibles models astrofísics per a la recerca de matèria fosca. Aquest treball es centra en la detecció dels productes d'aniquilació de matèria fosca atrapada al centre del Sol. En concret, s'ha testejat el model de Secluded Dark Matter (SDM) a través de la detecció de di-muons (parell de muons co-lineals) i neutrins en la direcció del Sol. A grans trets, aquest model es basa en la idea de l'existència d'un mediador resultat de l'aniquilació de matèria fosca que posteriorment decauria en partícules del model estàndard com muons o neutrins. Aquests models han sigut proposats amb la fi d'explicar certes "anomalies" experimentals observades, tals com l'espectre del flux de positrons detectat en satèl¿lits, mesurat recentment amb gran precisió per AMS-II. L'estudi realitzat en esta tesi constitueix la primera recerca d'evidències experimentals d'aquest tipus de models en telescopis de neutrins. / Adrián Martínez, S. (2015). Design and Development of an Acoustic Calibrator for Deep-Sea Neutrino Telescopes and First Search for Secluded Dark Matter with ANTARES [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/48877
135

Kinematics and Dynamics of Giant Stars in the Solar Neighbourhood

Famaey, Benoit 29 September 2004 (has links)
We study the motion of giant stars in the Solar neighbourhood and what they tell us about the dynamics of the Galaxy: we thus contribute to the huge project of understanding the structure and evolution of the Galaxy as a whole. We present a kinematic analysis of 5952 K and 739 M giant stars which includes for the first time radial velocity data from an important survey performed with the CORAVEL spectrovelocimeter at the Observatoire de Haute Provence. Parallaxes from the Hipparcos catalogue and proper motions from the Tycho-2 catalogue are also used. A maximum-likelihood method, based on a bayesian approach, is applied to the data, in order to make full use of all the available stars, and to derive the kinematic properties of the subgroups forming a rich small-scale structure in velocity space. Isochrones in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram reveal a very wide range of ages for stars belonging to these subgroups, which are thus most probably related to the dynamical perturbation by transient spiral waves rather than to cluster remnants. A possible explanation for the presence of young group/clusters in the same area of velocity space is that they have been put there by the spiral wave associated with their formation, while the kinematics of the older stars of our sample has also been disturbed by the same wave. The emerging picture is thus one of "dynamical streams" pervading the Solar neighbourhood and travelling in the Galaxy with a similar spatial velocity. The term "dynamical stream" is more appropriate than the traditional term "supercluster" since it involves stars of different ages, not born at the same place nor at the same time. We then discuss, in the light of our results, the validity of older evaluations of the Solar motion in the Galaxy. We finally argue that dynamical modeling is essential for a better understanding of the physics hiding behind the observed kinematics. An accurate axisymmetric model of the Galaxy is a necessary starting point in order to understand the true effects of non-axisymmetric perturbations such as spiral waves. To establish such a model, we develop new galactic potentials that fit some fundamental parameters of the Milky Way. We also develop new component distribution functions that depend on three analytic integrals of the motion and that can represent realistic stellar disks.
136

The mass of the Coma cluster.

The, Lih-Sin. January 1989 (has links)
The dynamical mass determination of galaxies and systems of galaxies shows a large excess of mass above what one observes directly. This excess of mass indicates the presence of dark matter. The nature of this dark matter is still unknown and dark matter in the outer regions of large stellar structures such as clusters of galaxies might provide enough matter to close the universe. In this dissertation we investigate in detail the mass distribution of the Coma cluster. We show that optical data alone are unable to distinguish between a wide range of possible mass distribution for the Coma cluster. Low-mass models must have larger central density than high-mass models and require that the galaxies move on near-circular orbits, whereas high-mass models require the galaxy orbits to be predominantly radial. The optical data constrain the amount of dark matter very poorly. The X-ray data can also be used for a mass determination of the Coma cluster. These data may require the mass of the cluster to be more concentrated to the core than a light-traces-mass model if the central temperature of the gas is high. However, they do not put any constraint on the mass distribution beyond a Mpc or two. The above analysis, and most other approaches, assume the existence of dark matter. An alternative approach has been proposed by Milgrom (1983a,b,c): in his theory, the Newtonian law of motion breaks down in a weak field, and must be modified. The present analysis shows that this model is also consistent with optical and X-ray data on the Coma cluster, although a good fit required values for Milgrom's "universal" parameter aₒ to be 2h¹·⁵ (Hₒ = 50 h km/s/Mpc) higher than those inferred from the rotation curves of spiral galaxies. Finally, we investigate whether the model of an expanding cluster dominated by a massive binary galaxy, first suggested by Valtonen and Byrd (1979), is consistent with optical data on the surface density and velocity dispersion of the Coma cluster. We simulate the evolution of this model for a wide variety of initial conditions. We find that galaxy counts in the model can be made to agree with observation, but that the observed velocity dispersion profile cannot be reproduced. A number of other arguments suggest that the central galaxies in Coma cannot be as massive as required by the model. This model is not a viable representation of the Coma cluster.
137

A Modified Detector Concept for SuperCDMS: The HiZIP and Its Charge Performance

Page, Kedar Mohan 03 October 2013 (has links)
SuperCDMS is a leading direct dark matter search experiment which uses solid state detectors (Ge crystals) at milliKelvin temperatures to look for nuclear recoils caused by dark matter interactions in the detector. ‘Weakly Interacting Massive Particles’ (WIMPs) are the most favoured dark matter candidate particles. SuperCDMS, like many other direct dark matter search experiments, primarily looks for WIMPs. The measurement of both the ionization and the lattice vibration (phonon) signals from an interaction in the detector allow it to discriminate against electron recoils which are the main source of background for WIMP detection. SuperCDMS currently operates about 9 kgs worth of germanium detectors at the Soudan underground lab in northern Minnesota. In its next phase, SuperCDMS SNOLAB, it plans to use 100-200 kg of target mass (Ge) which would allow it to probe more of the interesting and unexplored parameter space for WIMPs predicted by theoretical models. The SuperCDMS Queen’s Test Facility is a detector testing facility which is intended to serve detector testing and detector research and development purposes for the SuperCDMS experiment. A modified detector called the ‘HiZIP’ (Half-iZIP), which is reduced in complexity in comparison to the currently used iZIP (interleaved Z-sensitive Ionization and Phonon mediated) detectors, is studied in this thesis. The HiZIP detector design also serves to discriminate against background from multiple scatter events occurring close to the surfaces in a single detector. Studies carried out to compare the surface event leakage in the HiZIP detector using limited information from iZIP data taken at SuperCDMS test facility at UC Berkley produce a highly conservative upper limit of 5 out of 10,000 events at 90% confidence level. This upper limit is the best among many different HiZIP configurations that were investigated and is comparable to the upper limit calculated for an iZIP detector in the same way using the same data. A real HiZIP device operated at Queen’s Test Facility produced an exposure limited 90% upper limit of about 1 in 100 events for surface event leakage. The data used in these studies contain true nuclear recoil events from cosmogenic and ambient neutrons. This background was not subtracted in the calculation of the upper limits stated above and hence they are highly conservative. A surface event source was produced by depositing lead-210 from radon exposure onto a copper plate. This source was then used to take data for a surface event discrimination study of the HiZIP detector operated at Queen’s Test Facility. A study of the contribution of the noise from capacitive crosstalk between charge sensors in a HiZIP detector configuration was investigated, confirming the expectation that no significant drop in performance is to be expected due to this effect. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-30 23:48:49.375
138

An Investigation of Backgrounds in the DEAP-3600 Dark Matter Direct Detection Experiment

Veloce, LAURELLE 11 October 2013 (has links)
Astronomical and cosmological observations reveal that the majority of the matter in our universe is made of an unknown, non-luminous substance called dark matter. Many experimental attempts are underway to directly detect particle dark matter, which is very difficult to measure due to the expected low interaction rate with normal matter. DEAP-3600 is a direct dark matter search experiment located two kilometres underground at SNOLAB, in Sudbury, Ontario. DEAP-3600 will make use of liquid argon as the detector material, which scintillates as charged particles pass through. The work presented here is an investigation of expected background sources in the DEAP detector. Because DEAP-3600 is a noble liquid-based experiment, a thin film of [1,1,4,4]-tetraphenyl-[1,3]-butadiene (TPB) is coated on the detector walls to shift the scintillation peak from the UV to visible regime for detection. However, alphas passing through TPB produce scintillation signals which can mimic recoil events. Because scintillation properties can change with temperature, we have conducted an investigation of alpha-induced TPB scintillation at temperatures ranging from 300 K to 3.4 K. We were able to characterize the light yield and decay times, and demonstrated that these background events should be distinguishable from true recoil events in liquid argon, thus enabling DEAP-3600 to achieve higher dark matter sensitivity. Additionally, we investigate the performance of the liquid argon purification systems, specifically the activated charcoal used for radon filtration. Previous measurements with the DEAP prototype experiment have demonstrated the necessity of removing radon from the argon prior to filling the detector, due to the release of contaminates from the argon storage systems. Charcoal radon filters are extremely efficient, however, if the emanation rate of the charcoal is too high, there is the possibility of re-contamination. We performed a measurement of the radon emanation rate of a charcoal sample using a radon emanation and extraction system at Queens University. We demonstrated that the emanation rate of the charcoal was consistent with zero. We also show that the number of residual radon atoms which reach the detector would not be an issue for DEAP-3600. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2013-10-10 18:36:40.2
139

Cosmological applications of weak gravitational flexion

Rowe, Barnaby Thomas Peter January 2008 (has links)
Modern cosmology has reached an important juncture, at which the ability to make measurements of unprecedented accuracy has led to conclusions that are a fundamental challenge to natural science. The discovery that, in our current best model, the dynamics of the Universe are completely dominated by unseen dark matter and dark energy can do little but completely alter the shape of physics research in the 21st Century. Unfortunately,much of our insight into these phenomenamust come from observations of visible matter alone; this raises serious problems, as the tracing of dark matter by visible matter is as yet poorly understood. Gravitational lensing offers strong prospects for probing the interwoven history of dark and visible matter, as mass in any form may be detected where it exists untraced by baryons. In this Thesis I describe advances made in the field of weak gravitational lensing, which constrains the properties of the matter distribution on cosmological scales using a statistical analysis of the coherent gravitational distortions of distant galaxy images. I summarize the development of gravitational flexion, a higher order extension to traditional weak lensing, and describe my work done to bring the study of flexion to a stage where it may be employed to make accurate cosmological measurements. I show how flexion is sensitive to matter structure on smaller physical scales than existing lensing techniques and, therefore, promises to shed new light upon key untested predictions of cosmological models if it can be measured to sufficient accuracy. I discuss the success of my efforts in this direction, and describe the issues to be encountered in the careful analysis of this subtle gravitational signal. This research has involved advances in many areas: the calculation of theoretical flexion predictions, the refinement of image analysis methods for accurate galaxy shape estimation, and the practical application of these new flexion techniques to extragalactic imaging data. The culmination of these efforts is a new maximum likelihood analysis of the galaxy-galaxy lensing signal in the Hubble Space Telescope Galaxy Evolution from Morphology and SEDs (GEMS) Survey, incorporating improvements and modifications necessary for the combination of flexion with traditional weak lensing measurements. The results of this work, and particularly the extent to which measurements of flexion provide extra cosmological insight, are discussed in detail. The conclusion is a summary of all that has been learned about the use of flexion as an accurate probe of cosmology, and a discussion of its prospects for answering some of the many questions that remain about dark matter. Within the next few year wide-area survey telescopes will begin imaging huge volumes of deep space, with the measurement of the gravitational lensing signal being given high priority in the analysis of these data. Within this context, the primary inquiry of this Thesis is the extent to which the application of flexion measurement techniques will help shed new light upon the unseen, and currently poorly understood, components of the Universe.
140

CODEX weak lensing: concentration of galaxy clusters at z ∼ 0.5

Cibirka, N., Cypriano, E. S., Brimioulle, F., Gruen, D., Erben, T., van Waerbeke, L., Miller, L., Finoguenov, A., Kirkpatrick, C., Henry, J. Patrick, Rykoff, E., Rozo, E., Dupke, R., Kneib, J.-P., Shan, H., Spinelli, P. 06 1900 (has links)
We present a stacked weak-lensing analysis of 27 richness selected galaxy clusters at 0.40 <= z <= 0.62 in the COnstrain Dark Energy with X-ray galaxy clusters (CODEX) survey. The fields were observed in five bands with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). We measure the stacked surface mass density profile with a 14 sigma significance in the radial range 0.1 < R Mpc h(-1) < 2.5. The profile is well described by the halo model, with the main halo term following a Navarro-Frenk-White profile (NFW) profile and including the off-centring effect. We select the background sample using a conservative colour-magnitude method to reduce the potential systematic errors and contamination by cluster member galaxies. We perform a Bayesian analysis for the stacked profile and constrain the best-fitting NFW parameters M-200c = 6.6(- 0.8)(+1.0) x 10(14) h(-1)M(circle dot) and c(200c) = 3.7(+0.7) (-0.6). The off-centring effect was modelled based on previous observational results found for redMaPPer Sloan Digital Sky Survey clusters. Our constraints on M(200)c and c(200)c allow us to investigate the consistency with numerical predictions and select a concentration-mass relation to describe the high richness CODEX sample. Comparing our best-fitting values forM(200c) and c(200c) with other observational surveys at different redshifts, we find no evidence for evolution in the concentration-mass relation, though it could be mitigated by particular selection functions. Similar to previous studies investigating the X-ray luminosity-mass relation, our data suggest a lower evolution than expected from self-similarity.

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