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Joseph Silk

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph Silk.

At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources
arXiv2001

Combined multi-frequency map for point source substraction

A method is proposed for combining multi-frequency maps in order to produce a catalogue of extragalactic point sources using data from future high-precision satellite experiments. We have found the optimal way for combining maps at different frequencies in order to maximize the signal (point sources) to noise (rest of the signal) ratio. Our approach is a natural multi-frequency generalization of the band-pass filter introduced by Tegmark and de Oliveira-Costa (1998). We show that combination of different frequency maps gives us the possibility of creating a more complete catalogue of point sources.

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arXiv2001

The Dark Side of the Universe

Most of the matter in the universe is invisible. I review the status of dark matter and describe how both the theory of galaxy formation and novel types of experimental searches are revitalizing attempts to find non-baryonic dark matter.

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arXiv2001

Supermassive Black Holes and Galaxy Formation

The formation of supermassive black holes (SMBH) is intimately related to galaxy formation, although precisely how remains a mystery. I speculate that formation of, and feedback from, SMBH may alleviate problems that have arisen in our understanding of the cores of dark halos of galaxies.

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arXiv2001

Heating of the intergalactic medium due to structure formation

We estimate the heating of the intergalactic medium due to shocks arising from structure formation. Heating of the gas outside the collapsed regions, with small overdensities (${n_b \over {\bar n_b}}\ll 200$) is considered here, with the aid of Zel'dovich approximation. We estimate the equation of state of this gas, relating the density with its temperature, and its evolution in time, considering the shock heating due to one-$σ$ density peaks as being the most dominant. We also estimate the mass fraction of gas above a given temperature as a function of redshift. We find that the baryon fraction above $10^6$ K at $z=0$ is $\sim 10 %$. We estimate the integrated Sunyaev-Zel'dovich distortion from this gas at present epoch to be of order $10^{-6}$.

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arXiv2001

On the Possible Sources of D/H Dispersion at High Redshift

Recent observations suggest the existence of a white dwarf population in the Galactic halo, while others suggest that deuterium has been astrated in systems at high redshift and low metallicity. We propose that these observations could be signatures of an early population of intermediate-mass stars. Such a population requires a Population III initial mass function different from that of the solar neighborhood, as perhaps also suggested by the observed cosmic infrared background. Also, to avoid overproduction of C and N, it is required that the Z=0 yields of these stars have low ($\sim 10^{-3}$ solar) abundances as suggested by some recent calculations. Under these assumptions, we present a model which reproduces the observed D vs Si trend, and predicts a high cosmic Type Ia supernova rate, while producing a white dwarf population that accounts for only $\sim$ 1.5% of the dark halo. This scenario can be tested by observations of the cosmic supernova rate, and by confirmation and further studies of the putative white dwarf halo population.

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arXiv2001

CO emission from high redshift

Future observations with ALMA will be able to detect star-forming primordial gal axies, and perhaps even their dwarf spheroidal satellites, in CO emission lines at redshifts approaching 10. These observations will compliment other tools designed to study the dawn of galaxy formation, such as NGST and FIRST.

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arXiv2001

On the Possibility of Observing H2 Emission from Primordial Molecular Cloud Kernels

We study the prospects for observing H$_2$ emission during the assembly of primordial molecular cloud kernels. The primordial molecular cloud cores, which resemble those at the present epoch, can emerge around $1+z=20$ according to recent numerical simulations. The kernels form inside the cores, and the first stars will appear inside the kernels. A kernel typically contracts to form one of the first generation stars with an accretion rate that is as large as $\sim 0.01 M_\odot$ year$^{-1}$. This occurs due to the primordial abundances that result in a kernel temperature of order 1000K, and the collapsing kernel emits H$_2$ line radiation at a rate $\sim 10^{35}$ erg sec$^{-1}$. Principally $J=5-3$ (v=0) rotational emission of H$_2$ is expected. At redshift $1+z=20$, the expected flux is $\sim 0.01~μ$Jy for a single kernel. While an individual object is not observable by any facilities available in the near future, the expected assembly of primordial star clusters on sub-galactic scales can result in fluxes at the sub-mJy level. This is marginally observable with ASTRO-F. We also examine the rotational $J=2-0$ (v=0) and vibrational $δv = 1$ emission lines. The former may possibly be detectable with ALMA.

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arXiv2001

Bumpy Power Spectra and Galaxy Clusters

The evolution of the abundance of galaxy clusters is not a reliable measure of Omega if there are features on scales of a few Mpc in the primordial power spectrum. Conversely, if we know the cosmological model parameters from other measurements, the cluster abundance evolution permits us to probe features in the power spectrum that are in the nonlinear regime at the present epoch, and hence difficult to discern directly from current epoch measurements. We have investigated the influence of an artificially introduced Gaussian feature on an otherwise unperturbed SCDM power spectrum. Using these modified spectra as an input to cosmological N-body simulations, we are able to show that in terms of the cluster abundance evolution, a SCDM model displays characteristics similar to an OCDM model. However, strong modifications would also be visible at a redshift z=0 in the dark matter power spectrum whereas minor alterations to the usual SCDM spectrum are washed away by non-linear evolution effects. We therefore conclude that features with characteristics such as discussed here might not be detectable using observations of the galaxy power spectrum, the local cluster abundance or the large-scale velocity field as measured by the velocity distribution of galaxy clusters. The only quantity that shows a pronounced difference at the present epoch between our models under investigation is the halo-halo correlation function which appears to be strongly biased with respect to an unmodified SCDM model. This is due to a lack of power on certain scales which subsequently modifies the relative amplitude of high-and low-k waves. Apart from observations of the evolution of cluster abundance, measurements of the Lyman-alpha forest at high redshift could put constraints on possible features in the power spectrum, too.

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arXiv2001

CMB Constraints on a Baryonic Dark Matter-Dominated Universe

In recent years, upper limits on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies combined with predictions made by theories of galaxy formation, have been extremely powerful in ruling out purely baryonic dark matter (BDM) universes. However, it has recently been argued that the absence of a prominent second peak in the anisotropy spectrum measured by the BOOMERanG-98 and MAXIMA-1 experiments seems to favour a $Λ$BDM model when combined with standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) constraints. In this {\it Letter}, we further investigate this result showing that, using the CMB data {\it alone}, a purely baryonic adiabatic model of structure formation seems unlikely if the universe is flat ($Ω=1$). Combining the CMB data with supernova type Ia (SNIa) data renders purely baryonic models inconsistent with flatness at high significance and more than $3 σ$ away from both the BBN constraints and the HST key project result $h=0.72 \pm 0.08$. These results indicate that only a radical revision of cosmology with {\it ad hoc} properties could bring baryonic models such as those advocated by MOND enthusiasts back into agreement with current observations.

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arXiv2001

Bumpy Power Spectra and dT/T

With the recent publication of the measurements of the radiation angular power spectrum from the BOOMERanG Antarctic flight (de Bernardis et al. 2000), it has become apparent that the currently favoured spatially-flat cold dark matter model (matter density parameter $Ω_{\rm m}=0.3$, flatness being restored by a cosmological constant $Ω_Λ=0.7$, Hubble parameter $h=0.65$, baryon density parameter $Ω_{\rm b}h^2=0.02$) no longer provides a good fit to the data. We describe a phenomenological approach to resurrecting this paradigm. We consider a primordial power spectrum which incorporates a bump, arbitrarily placed at $k_{\rm b}$, and characterized by a Gaussian in log $k$ of standard deviation $σ_{\rm b}$ and amplitude ${\rm A}_{\rm b}$, that is superimposed onto a scale-invariant power spectrum. We generate a range of theoretical models that include a bump at scales consistent with cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure observations, and perform a simple $χ^2$ test to compare our models with the $COBE$ DMR data and the recently published BOOMERanG and MAXIMA data. Unlike models that include a high baryon content, our models predict a low third acoustic peak. We find that low $\ell$ observations (20 $< \ell <$ 200) are a critical discriminant of the bumps because the transfer function has a sharp cutoff on the high $\ell$ side of the first acoustic peak...

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arXiv2000

Star Formation-Regulated Growth of Black Holes in Protogalactic Spheroids

The observed relation between central black hole mass and spheroid velocity dispersion is interpreted in terms of a self-regulation model that incorporates a viscous Keplerian accretion disk to feed the black hole, embedded in a massive, self-gravitating star forming disk that eventually populates the spheroid. The model leads to a constant ratio between black hole mass and spheroid mass which is equal to the inverse of the critical Reynolds number for the onset of turbulence in the accretion disk surrounding the central black hole. Applying the fundamental plane correlation for spheroids, we find that the black hole mass has a power-law dependence on the spheroid velocity dispersion with a slope in the range of 4-5. We explain the larger scatter in the Magorrian relation with respect to the black hole mass-spheroid velocity dispersion relationship as a result of secular evolution of the spheroid that primarily affects its luminosity and to a much lesser extent its velocity dispersion.

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arXiv2000

The Formation of Galaxy Disks

Galaxy disk formation must incorporate the multiphase nature of the interstellar medium. The resulting two-phase structure is generated and maintained by gravitational instability and supernova energy input, which yield a source of turbulent viscosity that is able to effectively compete in the protodisk phase with early angular momentum loss of the baryonic component via dynamical friction in the dark halo. Provided that star formation occurs on the viscous drag time-scale, this mechanism provides a means of accounting for disk sizes and radial profiles. The star formation feedback is self-regulated by turbulent gas pressure-limited percolation of the supernova remnant-heated hot phase, but can run away in gas-rich protodisks to generate compact starbursts. A simple analytic model is derived for a Schmidt-like global star formation law in terms of the cold gas volume density.

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arXiv2000

Star Formation in Viscous Galaxy Disks

The Lin and Pringle model (1987) of galactic disk formation postulates that if star formation proceeds on the same timescale as the viscous redistribution of mass and angular momentum in disk galaxies, then the stars attain an exponential density profile. Their claim is that this result holds generally: regardless of the disk galaxy's initial gas and dark matter distribution and independent of the nature of the viscous processes acting in the disk. We present new results from a set of 2D hydro-simulations which investigate their analytic result.

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arXiv2000

Amplitude-Phase Analysis of Cosmic Microwave Background maps

We propose a novel method for the extraction of unresolved point sources from CMB maps. This method is based on the analysis of the phase distribution of the Fourier components for the observed signal and unlike most other methods of denoising does not require any significant assumptions about the expected CMB signal. The aim of our paper is to show how, using our algorithm, the contribution from point sources can be separated from the resulting signal on all scales. We believe that this technique is potentially a very powerful tool for extracting this type of noise from future high resolution maps.

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arXiv2000

Constraining Primordial Non-Gaussianity With the Abundance of High Redshift Clusters

We show how observations of the evolution of the galaxy cluster number abundance can be used to constrain primordial non-Gaussianity in the universe. We carry out a maximum likelihood analysis incorporating a number of current datasets and accounting for a wide range of sources of systematic error. Under the assumption of Gaussianity, the current data prefer a universe with matter density $Ω_m\simeq 0.3$ and are inconsistent with $Ω_m=1$ at the $2σ$ level. If we assume $Ω_m=1$, the predicted degree of cluster evolution is consistent with the data for non-Gaussian models where the primordial fluctuations have at least two times as many peaks of height $3σ$ or more as a Gaussian distribution does. These results are robust to almost all sources of systematic error considered: in particular, the $Ω_m=1$ Gaussian case can only be reconciled with the data if a number of systematic effects conspire to modify the analysis in the right direction. Given an independent measurement of $Ω_m$, the techniques described here represent a powerful tool with which to constrain non-Gaussianity in the primordial universe, independent of specific details of the non-Gaussian physics. We discuss the prospects and strategies for improving the constraints with future observations.

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arXiv2000

The Polytropic Equation of State of Interstellar Gas Clouds

Models are presented for the polytropic equation of state of self-gravitating, quiescent interstellar gas clouds. A detailed analysis, including chemistry, thermal balance, and radiative transfer, is performed for the physical state of the gas as a function of density, metallicity, velocity field, and background radiation field. It is found that the stiffness of the equation of state strongly depends on all these physical parameters, and the adiabatic index varies between 0.2-1.4. The implications for star formation, in particular at high redshift and in starburst galaxies, and the initial stellar mass function are discussed.

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arXiv2000

Models of Disk Evolution: Confrontation with Observations

We present simple models for disk evolution based on two different approaches: a forward approach based on predictions generic to hierarchical models for structure formation (e.g., Mo, Mao, & White 1998) and a backwards approach based on detailed modeling of the Milky Way galaxy (e.g., Bouwens, Cayon, & Silk 1997). We normalize these models to local observations and predict high-redshift luminosities, sizes, circular velocities, and surface brightnesses. Both approaches yield somewhat similar predictions for size, surface brightness, and luminosity evolution though they clearly differ in the amount of number evolution. These predictions seem to be broadly consistent with the high-redshift observations of Simard et al. (1999), suggesting that the B-band surface brightness of disks has indeed evolved by ~1.5 mag from z~0 to z~1 similar to the models and is not an artifact of selection effects as previously claimed. We also find a lack of low surface brightness galaxies in several high redshift samples relative to model predictions based on local samples (de Jong & van der Kruit 1994; Mathewson, Ford, & Buchhorn 1992).

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