Absolute Luminosity Research Articles

The contribution of faint AGNs to the ionizing background at z ~ 4

Context. Finding the sources responsible for the hydrogen reionization is one of the most pressing issues in observational cosmology. Bright quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are known to ionize their surrounding neighborhood, but they are too few to ensure the required HI ionizing background. A significant contribution by faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs), however, could solve the problem, as recently advocated on the basis of a relatively large space density of faint active nuclei at z > 4. Aims. This work is part of a long-term project aimed at measuring the Lyman Continuum escape fraction for a large sample of AGNs at z ~ 4 down to an absolute magnitude of M1450 ~ −23. We have carried out an exploratory spectroscopic program to measure the HI ionizing emission of 16 faint AGNs spanning a broad U − I color interval, with I ~ 21–23, and 3.6 < z < 4.2. These AGNs are three magnitudes fainter than the typical SDSS QSOs (M1450 ≲−26) which are known to ionize their surrounding IGM at z ≳ 4. Methods. We acquired deep spectra of these faint AGNs with spectrographs available at the VLT, LBT, and Magellan telescopes, that is, FORS2, MODS1-2, and LDSS3, respectively. The emission in the Lyman Continuum region, close to 900 Å rest frame, has been detected with a signal to noise ratio of ~10–120 for all 16 AGNs. The flux ratio between the 900 Å rest-frame region and 930 Å provides a robust estimate of the escape fraction of HI ionizing photons. Results. We have found that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction is between 44 and 100% for all the observed faint AGNs, with a mean value of 74% at 3.6 < z < 4.2 and − 25.1 ≲ M1450 ≲−23.3, in agreement with the value found in the literature for much brighter QSOs (M1450 ≲−26) at the same redshifts. The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of our faint AGNs does not show any dependence on the absolute luminosities or on the observed U − I colors of the objects. Assuming that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction remains close to ~75% down to M1450 ~ − 18, we find that the AGN population can provide between 16 and 73% (depending on the adopted luminosity function) of the whole ionizing UV background at z ~ 4, measured through the Lyman forest. This contribution increases to 25–100% if other determinations of the ionizing UV background are adopted from the recent literature. Conclusions. Extrapolating these results to z ~ 5–7, there are possible indications that bright QSOs and faint AGNs can provide a significant contribution to the reionization of the Universe, if their space density is high at M1450 ~ −23.

Categorizing Stars with Known Properties Using the Expectation-Maximization Clustering Algorithm

Hertzsprung and Russell, created a diagram of then known stars with respect to absolute magnitudes or luminosities versus their stellar classifications or effective temperatures. This gave a clear clusters of star types, namely main sequence stars, from birth to maturity, followed by giants, supergiants and white dwarfs. With the rise of technology number of stars with known properties had been growing exponentially and manual categorization is futile. Using the same parameters of HR diagram, this paper analyzes the efficiency of unsupervised ML algorithm expectation-maximization clustering on a database containing 120 000 stars.

A Search for Water Maser Emission from Brown Dwarfs and Low-luminosity Young Stellar Objects

Abstract We present a survey for water maser emission toward a sample of 44 low-luminosity young objects, comprising (proto-)brown dwarfs, first hydrostatic cores (FHCs), and other young stellar objects (YSOs) with bolometric luminosities lower than 0.4 L ⊙. Water maser emission is a good tracer of energetic processes, such as mass-loss and/or accretion, and is a useful tool to study these processes with very high angular resolution. This type of emission has been confirmed in objects with L bol ≳ 1 L ⊙. Objects with lower luminosities also undergo mass-loss and accretion, and thus, are prospective sites of maser emission. Our sensitive single-dish observations provided a single detection when pointing toward the FHC L1448 IRS 2E. However, follow-up interferometric observations showed water maser emission associated with the nearby YSO L1448 IRS 2 (a Class 0 protostar of L bol ≃ 3.6–5.3 L ⊙) and did not find any emission toward L1448 IRS 2E. The upper limits for water maser emission determined by our observations are one order of magnitude lower than expected from the correlation between water maser luminosities and bolometric luminosities found for YSOs. This suggests that this correlation does not hold at the lower end of the (sub)stellar mass spectrum. Possible reasons are that the slope of this correlation is steeper at L bol ≤ 1 L ⊙ or that there is an absolute luminosity threshold below which water maser emission cannot be produced. Alternatively, if the correlation still stands at low luminosity, the detection rates of masers would be significantly lower than the values obtained in higher-luminosity Class 0 protostars.

Precision Luminosity of LHC Proton–Proton Collisions at 13 TeV Using Hit Counting With TPX Pixel Devices

A network of Timepix (TPX) devices installed in the ATLAS cavern measures the LHC luminosity as a function of time as a stand-alone system. The data were recorded from 13 TeV proton-proton collisions in 2015. Using two TPX devices, the number of hits created by particles passing the pixel matrices was counted. A van der Meer scan of the LHC beams was analysed using bunch-integrated luminosity averages over the different bunch profiles for an approximate absolute luminosity normalization. It is demonstrated that the TPX network has the capability to measure the reduction of LHC luminosity with precision. Comparative studies were performed among four sensors (two sensors in each TPX device) and the relative short-term precision of the luminosity measurement was determined to be 0.1% for 10 s time intervals. The internal long-term time stability of the measurements was below 0.5% for the data-taking period.

Quantum efficiency calibration for low energy detector in hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite

Low energy X-ray telescope, working over 0.7-15 keV energy band, is one of the main payloads in the hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite. The primary scientific objectives are to survey large sky area to investigate galactic X-ray transient sources as well as the cosmic X-ray background, and to observe X-ray binaries or black holes for studying the dynamics and emission mechanism in strong gravitational or magnetic field. The detector of low energy X-ray telescope is CCD236, a new generation of swept charge device, which has good time and energy resolution. Quantum efficiency (QE) of the detector has a crucial influence on X-ray spectrum fitting and absolute luminosity calculation. To provide valuable scientific data, QE should be calibrated in detail. In this paper, QE calibration is accomplished with respect to a silicon drift detector (SDD), using an Fe-55 radioactive source, at energy points Mn-Kα (5.899 keV) and Mn-Kβ (6.497 keV). The energies of Mn-Kα and Mn-Kβ are near that of iron-K, which is an important line in X-ray observation. Additionally, Mn-Kα and Mn-Kβ X-ray will partially pass through the depletion region of CCD236, and these energy points can be used to measure the depletion thickness. This experiment is set up in a vacuum cooling chamber. The X-ray source perpendicularly illuminates SDD and CCD236 through a small hole, whose area is far less than those of two detectors; therefore, QE measurements are irrelevant to neither the distance nor the azimuth angle between the X-ray source and the detector. For CCD236, split events should be corrected. Energy spectra of SDD and CCD236 are fitted with two Gaussian distributions, respectively, to obtain peak positions and standard variations of Mn-Kα and Mn-Kβ. With known structure of SDD, the QE of CCD236 can be calculated. QE values at Mn-Kα and Mn-Kβ are 71% and 62%, respectively. QE and temperature are uncorrelated with each other in a temperature range from -95 ℃ to -30 ℃. According to the specific structure of CCD236 and the measured QE, without considering the effect of channel stop, the best-fit thickness of depletion region is obtained to be 38 μm. When CCD236 is applied with different driving or substrate voltages, no obvious variation of QE is observed. It indicates that the thickness values of depletion region with high and low level voltages are equal. Furthermore, it shows that working CCD236 is deep depleted, and the thickness of depletion region will not change because it reaches its maximum, the edge of epitaxial layer and substrate layer.

WIDE FIELD CO MAPPING IN THE REGION OF IRAS 19312+1950

ABSTRACT We report the results of wide field CO mapping in the region of IRAS 19312+1950. This Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) object exhibits SiO/H2O/OH maser emission, and is embedded in a chemically rich molecular component, the origin of which is still unknown. In order to reveal the entire structure and gas mass of the surrounding molecular component for the first time, we have mapped a wide region around IRAS 19312+1950 in the 12CO J = 1–0, 13CO J = 1–0 and C18O J = 1–0 lines using the Nobeyama 45 m telescope. In conjunction with archival CO maps, we investigated a region up to 20′ × 20′ in size around this IRAS object. We calculated the CO gas mass assuming local thermal equilibrium, the stellar velocity through the interstellar medium assuming an analytic model of bow shock, and the absolute luminosity, using the latest archival data and trigonometric parallax distance. The derived gas mass (225 M ⊙–478 M ⊙) of the molecular component and the relatively large luminosity (2.63 × 104 L ☉) suggest that the central SiO/H2O/OH maser source is a red supergiant rather than an asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star or post-AGB star.

AN EXTREMELY FAST HALO HOT SUBDWARF STAR IN A WIDE BINARY SYSTEM

ABSTRACT New spectroscopic observations of the halo hyper-velocity star candidate SDSS J121150.27+143716.2 (V = 17.92 mag) revealed a cool companion to the hot subdwarf primary. The components have a very similar radial velocity and their absolute luminosities are consistent with the same distance, confirming the physical nature of the binary, which is the first double-lined hyper-velocity candidate. Our spectral decomposition of the Keck/ESI spectrum provided an sdB+K3V pair, analogous to many long-period subdwarf binaries observed in the Galactic disk. We found the subdwarf atmospheric parameters: T eff = 30 600 ± 500 K, log g = 5.57 ± 0.06 cm s−2, and He abundance log ( n He / n H ) = − 3.0 ± 0.2 . Oxygen is the most abundant metal in the hot subdwarf atmosphere, and Mg and Na lines are the most prominent spectral features of the cool companion, consistent with a metallicity of [ Fe / H ] = − 1.3 . The non-detection of radial velocity variations suggest the orbital period to be a few hundred days, in agreement with similar binaries observed in the disk. Using the SDSS-III flux calibrated spectrum we measured the distance to the system d = 5.5 ± 0.5 kpc , which is consistent with ultraviolet, optical, and infrared photometric constraints derived from binary spectral energy distributions. Our kinematic study shows that the Galactic rest-frame velocity of the system is so high that an unbound orbit cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, a bound orbit requires a massive dark matter halo. We conclude that the binary either formed in the halo or was accreted from the tidal debris of a dwarf galaxy by the Milky Way.

Potential and challenges of the physics measurements with very forward detectors at linear colliders

The instrumentation of the very forward region of a detector at a future linear collider (ILC, CLIC) is briefly reviewed. The status of the FCAL R&D activity is given with emphasis on physics and technological challenges. The current status of studies on absolute luminosity measurement, luminosity spectrum reconstruction and high-energy electron identification with the forward calorimeters is given. The impact of FCAL measurements on physics studies is illustrated with an example of the σHWW⋅BR(H→μ+μ−) measurement at 1.4 TeV CLIC.

Near-infrared spectro-interferometry of Mira variables and comparisons to 1D dynamic model atmospheres and 3D convection simulations

We obtained a total of 20 near-infrared K-band spectro-interferometric snapshot observations of the Mira variables o Cet, R Leo, R Aqr, X Hya, W Vel, and R Cnc with a spectral resolution of about 1500. We compared observed flux and visibility spectra with predictions by CODEX 1D dynamic model atmospheres and with azimuthally averaged intensities based on CO5BOLD 3D dynamic model atmospheres including convection. Our visibility data confirm the presence of spatially extended molecular atmospheres located above the continuum radii with large-scale inhomogeneities or clumps that contribute a few percent of the total flux. The detailed structure of the inhomogeneities or clumps show a variability on time scales of 3 months and above. Both modeling attempts provided satisfactory fits to our data. In particular, they are both consistent with the observed decrease in the visibility function at molecular bands of water vapor and CO, indicating a spatially extended molecular atmosphere. Observational variability phases are mostly consistent with those of the best-fit CODEX models, except for near-maximum phases, where data are better described by near-minimum models. Rosseland angular diameters derived from the model fits are broadly consistent between those based on the 1D and the 3D models and with earlier observations. We derived fundamental parameters including absolute radii, effective temperatures, and luminosities for our sources. Our results provide a first observational support for theoretical results that shocks induced by convection and pulsation in the 3D CO5BOLD models of AGB stars are roughly spherically expanding and of similar nature to those of self-excited pulsations in 1D CODEX models. Unlike for red supergiants, the pulsation- and shock-induced dynamics can levitate the molecular atmospheres of Mira variables to extensions that are consistent with observations.

ISOTROPY CONSTRAINTS ON POWERFUL SOURCES OF ULTRAHIGH-ENERGY COSMIC RAYS AT 1019 eV

ABSTRACT Anisotropy in the arrival direction distribution of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) produced by powerful sources is numerically evaluated. We show that nondetection of significant anisotropy at ≈ 10 19 ?> eV at present and in future experiments imposes general upper limits on UHECR proton luminosity of steady sources as a function of source redshifts. The upper limits constrain the existence of typical steady 10 19 ?> eV UHECR sources in the local universe and limit their local density to ≳ 10 − 3 ?> Mpc − 3 , ?> assuming average intergalactic magnetic fields less than 10 − 9 ?> G. This isotropy, being stronger than that measured at the highest energies, may indicate the transient generation of UHECRs. Our calculations are applied for extreme high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae objects 1ES 0229+200, 1ES 1101–232, and 1ES 0347–121, to test the UHECR-induced cascade model, in which beamed UHECR protons generate TeV radiation in transit from sources. While the magnetic-field structure surrounding the sources affects the required absolute cosmic-ray luminosity of the blazars, the magnetic-field structure surrounding the Milky Way directly affects the observed anisotropy. If these magnetic fields are weak enough, significant UHECR anisotropy from these blazars is detectable by the Pierre Auger Observatory unless the maximum energy of UHECR protons is below 1019 eV. Furthermore, if these are the sources of UHECRs above 1019 eV, a local magnetic structure surrounding the Milky Way is needed to explain the observed isotropy at ∼ 10 19 ?> eV, which may be incompatible with large magnetic structures around all galaxies for the UHECR-induced cascade model to work with reasonable jet powers.

Supernova 1987A: neutrino-driven explosions in three dimensions and light curves

The well-studied type IIP SN 1987A, produced by the explosion of a blue supergiant (BSG) star, is a touchstone for massive-star evolution, simulations of neutrino-driven explosions, and modeling of light curves and spectra. In the framework of the neutrino-driven mechanism, we study the dependence of explosion properties on the structure of four different BSGs and compare the corresponding light curves with observations of SN 1987A. We perform 3D simulations with the PROMETHEUS code until about one day and map the results to the 1D code CRAB for the light curve calculations. All of our 3D models with explosion energies compatible with SN 1987A produce 56Ni in rough agreement with the amount deduced from fitting the radioactively powered light-curve tail. One of the progenitors yields maximum velocities of ~3000 km/s for the bulk of ejected 56Ni, consistent with observations. In all of our models inward mixing of hydrogen during the 3D evolution leads to minimum H-velocities below 100 km/s, in good agreement with spectral observations. The considered BSG models, 3D explosion simulations, and light-curve calculations can thus explain basic observational features of SN 1987A. However, all progenitors have too large pre-SN radii to reproduce the narrow initial luminosity peak, and the structure of their outer layers is not suitable to match the observed light curve during the first 30-40 days. Only one stellar model has a structure of the He core and the He/H composition interface that enables sufficient outward mixing of 56Ni and inward mixing of hydrogen to produce a good match of the dome-like shape of the observed light-curve maximum. But this model falls short of the He-core mass of 6 Msun inferred from the absolute luminosity of the pre-SN star. The lack of an adequate pre-SN model for SN 1987A is a pressing challenge for the theory of massive-star evolution. (Abridged)

The dependence of the AV prior for SN Ia on host mass and disc inclination

Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are used as ‘standard candles’ for cosmological distance scales. To fit their light-curve shape–absolute luminosity relation, one needs to assume an intrinsic colour and a likelihood of host galaxy extinction or aconvolution of these, acolour distribution prior. The host galaxy extinction prior is typically assumed to be an exponential drop-off for the current supernova programmes (P(AV) ∝ e −AV /τ0). We explore the validity of this prior using the distribution of extinction values inferred when two galaxies accidentally overlap (an occulting galaxy pair). We correct the supernova luminosity distances from the SDSS-III supernova projects (SDSS-SN) by matching the host galaxies to one of three templates from occulting galaxy pairs based on the host galaxy mass and the AV-bias–prior-scale (τ0) relation from Jha et al. We find that introducing an AV prior that depends on host mass results in lowered luminosity distances for the SDSS-SN on average but it does not reduce the scatter in individual measurements. This points, in our view, to the need for many more occulting galaxy templates to match to SN Ia host galaxies to rule out this possible source of scatter in the SN Ia distance measurements. We match occulting galaxy templates based on both mass and projected radius and we find that one should match by stellar mass first with radius as a secondary consideration. We discuss the caveats of the current approach: the lack of enough radial coverage, the small sample of priors (occulting pairs with HST data), the effect of gravitationally interacting as well as occulting pairs, and whether an exponential distribution is appropriate. Our aim is to convince the reader that a library of occulting galaxy pairs observed with HST will provide sufficient priors to improve (optical) SN Ia measurements to the next required accuracy in cosmology.

Metallicity gradients in local field star-forming galaxies: insights on inflows, outflows, and the coevolution of gas, stars and metals

We present metallicity gradients in 49 local field star-forming galaxies. We derive gas-phase oxygen abundances using two widely adopted metallicity calibrations based on the [O iii]/Hβ, [N ii]/Hα, and [N ii]/[O ii] line ratios. The two derived metallicity gradients are usually in good agreement within |$\pm 0.14\ {\rm dex} R_{25}^{-1}$| (R25 is the B-band iso-photoal radius), but the metallicity gradients can differ significantly when the ionization parameters change systematically with radius. We investigate the metallicity gradients as a function of stellar mass (⁠|$8 {<} \log (M_\ast /M_\odot) {<} 11$|⁠) and absolute B-band luminosity (−16 > MB > −22). When the metallicity gradients are expressed in dex kpc−1, we show that galaxies with lower mass and luminosity, on average, have steeper metallicity gradients. When the metallicity gradients are expressed in |${\rm dex} R_{25}^{-1}$|⁠, we find no correlation between the metallicity gradients, and stellar mass and luminosity. We provide a local benchmark metallicity gradient of field star-forming galaxies useful for comparison with studies at high redshifts. We investigate the origin of the local benchmark gradient using simple chemical evolution models and observed gas and stellar surface density profiles in nearby field spiral galaxies. Our models suggest that the local benchmark gradient is a direct result of the coevolution of gas and stellar disc under virtually closed-box chemical evolution when the stellar-to-gas mass ratio becomes high (≫0.3). These models imply low current mass accretion rates ( ≲ 0.3 × SFR), and low-mass outflow rates ( ≲ 3 × SFR) in local field star-forming galaxies.

Galaxy triplets in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 – III. Analysis of configuration and dynamics

We analyse the spatial configuration and the dynamical properties of a sample of 92 galaxy triplets obtained from the SDSS-DR7 (SDSS-triplets) restricted to have members with spectroscopic redshifts in the range $0.01\le z \le 0.14 $ and absolute r-band luminosities brighter than $M_r=-20.5$. The configuration analysis was performed through Agekyan & Anosova map (AA-map). We estimated dynamical parameters, namely the radius of the system, the velocity dispersion, a dimensionless crossing-time and the virial mass. We compared our results with those obtained for a sample of triplets from the catalogue "Isolated Triplets of Galaxies" (K-triplets) and a sample of Compact Groups. We have also studied a mock catalogue in order to compare real and projected configurations, and to estimate the three dimensional dynamical parameters of the triple systems. We found that the SDSS-triplets prefer alignment configurations while K-triplets present an uniform distribution in the AA-map. From the dynamical analysis we conclude that the SDSS-triplets, K-triplets and Compact Groups present a similar behaviour comprising compact systems with low crossing-time values, with velocity dispersions and virial masses similar to those of low mass loose groups. Moreover, we found that observed and simulated triplets present similar dynamical parameters. We also performed an analysis of the dark matter content of galaxy triplets finding that member galaxies of mock triplets belong to the same dark matter halo, showing a dynamical co-evolution of the system. These results suggest that the configuration and dynamics of triple systems favour galaxy interactions and mergers.

PHOTOMETRIC AND SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF MASSIVE BINARIES IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD. II. THREE O-TYPE SYSTEMS IN THE 30 Dor REGION

This is the second paper in a series devoted to the study of massive binary systems in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We mainly aim to provide accurate data that constrains the mass-luminosity relation for the most massive stars but also to address the long lasting problem known as the 'mass discrepancy'. We present here our results for three binaries (LMC 169782, LMC 171520, and [P93] 921) harboring the earliest O-type components—ranging from O4 V to O6.5 V—among our sample of 17 systems. Our photometry provided accurate periods for the studied systems, allowing the spectroscopic observations to be performed at selected phases where the radial velocity separation between binary components is larger. Following the procedure outlined in our first paper of this series, after solving the radial velocity curves for orbital parameters, we used tomographic reconstruction to obtain the individual spectra of each star, from which we determined effective temperatures via a model atmosphere fitting with FASTWIND. This information, combined with the light-curve analysis that was performed with GENSYN, enabled the determination of absolute masses, radii, and bolometric luminosities that are compared with those predicted by modern stellar evolutionary models finding that they agree within the uncertainties. Nevertheless, the comparisonmore » seems to confirm the small differences found in the first paper of this series in the sense that the evolutionary masses are slightly larger than the Keplerian ones, with differences averaging ∼10%, or alternatively, the stellar evolutionary models predict luminosities that are somewhat lower than observed. Still, the overall agreement between the current evolutionary models and the empirically determined stellar parameters is remarkable.« less

Quasars as tracers of cosmic flows

AbstractQuasars, as the most luminous persistent sources in the Universe, have broad applications for cosmological studies. In particular, they can be employed to directly measure the expansion history of the Universe, similarly to SNe Ia. The advantage of quasars is that they are numerous, cover a broad range of redshifts, up to z = 7, and do not show significant evolution of metallicity with redshift. The idea is based on the relation between the time delay of an emission line and the continuum, and the absolute monochromatic luminosity of a quasar. For intermediate redshift quasars, the suitable line is Mg II. Between December 2012 and March 2014, we performed five spectroscopic observations of the QSO CTS C30.10 (z = 0.900) using the South African Large Telesope (SALT), supplemented with photometric monitoring, with the aim of determining the variability of the line shape, changes in the total line intensity and in the continuum. We show that the method is very promising.

A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING EXTRAGALACTIC DISTANCES

We have pioneered a new method for the measurement of extragalactic distances. This method uses the time-lag between variations in the short wavelength and long wavelength light from an active galactic nucleus (AGN), based on a quantitative physical model of dust reverberation that relates the time-lag to the absolute luminosity of the AGN. We use the large homogeneous data set from intensive monitoring observations in optical and near-infrared wavelength bands with the dedicated 2-m MAGNUM telescope to obtain the distances to 17 AGNs in the redshift range z=0.0024 to z=0.0353. These distance measurements are compared with distances measured using Cepheid variable stars, and are used to infer that H_0= 73 +- 3 (random) km/s/Mpc. The systematic error in H_0 is examined, and the uncertainty in the size distribution of dust grains is the largest source of the systematic error, which is much reduced for a sample of AGNs for which their parameter values in the model of dust reverberation are individually measured. This AGN time-lag method can be used beyond 30 Mpc, the farthest distance reached by extragalactic Cepheids, and can be extended to high-redshift quasi-stellar objects.

A redshift-dependent colour–luminosity relation in Type 1a supernovae

Abstract Type 1a supernova magnitudes are used to fit cosmological parameters under the assumption that the model will fit the observed redshift dependence. We test this assumption with the Union 2.1 compilation of 580 sources. Several independent tests find that the existing model fails to account for a significant correlation of supernova colour and redshift. The correlation of magnitude residuals relative to the Λ CDM model and colour × redshift has a significance equivalent to 13 standard deviations, as evaluated by randomly shuffling the data. Extending the existing B − V colour correction to a relation linear in redshift improves the goodness of fit χ2 by more than 50 units, an equivalent 7σ significance, while adding only one parameter. The colour−redshift correlation is quite robust, cannot be attributed to outliers and passes several tests of consistency. We review previous hints of redshift dependence in colour parameters found in bin-by-bin fits interpreted as parameter bias. We show that neither the bias nor the change Δχ2 of our study can be explained by those effects. The previously known relation that bluer supernovae have larger absolute luminosity tends to empirically flatten out with increasing redshift. The best-fitting cosmological dark energy density parameter is revised from ΩΛ = 0.71 ± 0.02 to ΩΛ = 0.74 ± 0.02 assuming a flat universe. One possible physical interpretation is that supernovae or their environments evolve significantly with increasing redshift.

Luminosity measurement method for the LHC: Event selection and absolute luminosity determination

In our earlier papers Krasny et al. [1,2] have proposed a new luminosity measurement method which uses lepton pairs produced in peripheral collisions of the LHC beam particles, and identified the requirements for a new, specialized luminosity detector which is indispensable for their efficient on-line selection. In this paper we use the base-line detector model, with no precise timing capabilities, to evaluate the statistical and systematic accuracy of the method. We propose the complete event selection procedure and demonstrate that it allows to collect a sufficiently large sample of e+e− pairs to achieve a better than 1% statistical accuracy of the luminosity measurement over less than one-month-long running time intervals. We argue that the absolute luminosity measurement systematic errors can be kept below 1%. The proposed method can be directly applied to the LHC running periods for which the machine instantaneous luminosity does not exceed the L=1033s−1cm−2 value. Two ways extending the method to the large pile-up periods corresponding to higher instantaneous luminosities are proposed.

Towards equation of state of dark energy from quasar monitoring: Reverberation strategy

High redshift quasars can be used to deduce the distribution of dark energy in the Universe, as a complementary tool to SN Ia. The method is based on determination of the size of the Broad Line Region from the emission line delay, determination of the absolute monochromatic luminosity either from the observed statistical relation or from a model of the formation of the Broad Line Region, and determination of the observed monochromatic flux from photometry. This allows to obtain the luminosity distance to a quasar independently from its redshift. The accuracy of the measurements is however, a key issue. We model the expected accuracy of the measurements by creating artificial quasar monochromatic lightcurves and responses from the Broad Line Region under various assumptions about the variability of a quasar, Broad Line Region extension, distribution of the measurements in time, accuracy of the measurements and the intrinsic line variability. We show that the five year monitoring based on Mg II line should give the accuracy of 0.06 - 0.32 magnitude in the distance modulus which allows to put interesting constraints on the cosmological models. Monitoring of higher redshift quasars based on CIV lines is problematic due to much higher level of the intrinsic variability of CIV in comparison with Mg II.