Dark Energy, with Signatures

We propose a class of simple dark energy models which predict a late-time dark radiation component and a distinctive time-dependent equation of state $w(z)$ for redshift $z < 3$. The dark energy field can be coupled strongly enough to Standard Model particles to be detected in colliders, and the model requires only modest additional particle content and little or no fine-tuning other than a new energy scale of order milli-electron volts.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. Selected for Honorable Mention in the 2010 Gravity Research Foundation Essay award

Radiation can never again dominate Matter in a Vacuum Dominated Universe

We demonstrate that in a vacuum-energy-dominated expansion phase, surprisingly neither the decay of matter nor matter-antimatter annihilation into relativistic particles can ever cause radiation to once again dominate over matter in the future history of the universe.Comment: updated version, as it will appear in Phys. Rev D. Title change, and some other minor alteration

Predicting Big Bang Deuterium

We present new upper and lower bounds to the primordial abundances of deuterium and helium-3 based on observational data from the solar system and the interstellar medium. Independent of any model for the primordial production of the elements we find (at the 95\% C.L.): $1.5 \times 10^{-5} \le (D/H)_P \le 10.0 \times 10^{-5}$ and $(^3He/H)_P \le 2.6\times 10^{-5}$. When combined with the predictions of standard big bang nucleosynthesis, these constraints lead to a 95\% C.L. bound on the primordial abundance of deuterium: $(D/H)_{best} = (3.5^{+2.7}_{-1.8})\times 10^{-5}$. Measurements of deuterium absorption in the spectra of high redshift QSOs will directly test this prediction. The implications of this prediction for the primordial abundances of helium-4 and lithium-7 are discussed, as well as those for the universal density of baryons.Comment: Revised version of paper to reflect comments of the referee and reply to suggestions of Copi, Schramm, and Turner regarding the overall analysis and treatment of chemical evolution of D and He-3. Best-fit D/H abundance changes from (2.3 + 3.0 - 1.0)x10^{-5} to (3.5 +2.7 - 1.8) x10^{-5}. See also hep-ph/950531

Comprehensive maximum likelihood estimation of diffusion compartment models towards reliable mapping of brain microstructure

open4siDiffusion MRI is a key in-vivo non invasive imaging capability that can probe the microstructure of the brain. However,its limited resolution requires complex voxelwise generative models of the diffusion. Diffusion Compartment (DC) models divide the voxel into smaller compartments in which diffusion is homogeneous. We present a comprehensive framework for maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of such models that jointly features ML estimators of (i) the baseline MR signal,(ii) the noise variance,(iii) compartment proportions,and (iv) diffusion-related parameters. ML estimators are key to providing reliable mapping of brain microstructure as they are asymptotically unbiased and of minimal variance. We compare our algorithm (which efficiently exploits analytical properties of MLE) to alternative implementations and a state-of-theart strategy. Simulation results show that our approach offers the best reduction in computational burden while guaranteeing convergence of numerical estimators to the MLE. In-vivo results also reveal remarkably reliable microstructure mapping in areas as complex as the centrum semiovale. Our ML framework accommodates any DC model and is available freely for multi-tensor models as part of the ANIMA software (https://github.com/Inria-Visages/Anima-Public/wiki).Stamm, Aymeric; Commowick, Olivier; Warfield, Simon K.; Vantini, SimoneStamm, Aymeric; Commowick, Olivier; Warfield, Simon K.; Vantini, Simon

Post-hoc derivation of SOHO Michelson doppler imager flat fields

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Context:&lt;/b&gt; The SOHO satellite now offers a unique perspective on the Sun as it is the only space-based instrument that can provide large, high-resolution data sets over an entire 11-year solar cycle. This unique property enables detailed studies of long-term variations in the Sun. One significant problem when looking for such changes is determining what component of any variation is due to deterioration of the instrument and what is due to the Sun itself. One of the key parameters that changes over time is the apparent sensitivity of individual pixels in the CCD array. This can change considerably as a result of optics damage, radiation damage, and aging of the sensor itself. In addition to reducing the sensitivity of the telescope over time, this damage significantly changes the uniformity of the flat field of the instrument, a property that is very hard to recalibrate in space. For procedures such as feature tracking and intensity analysis, this can cause significant errors.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Aims:&lt;/b&gt; We present a method for deriving high-precision flat fields for high-resolution MDI continuum data, using analysis of existing continuum and magnetogram data sets.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; A flat field is constructed using a large set (1000-4000 frames) of cospatial magnetogram and continuum data. The magnetogram data is used to identify and mask out magnetically active regions on the continuum data, allowing systematic biases to be avoided. This flat field can then be used to correct individual continuum images from a similar time.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; This method allows us to reduce the residual flat field error by around a factor 6-30, depending on the area considered, enough to significantly change the results from correlation-tracking analysis. One significant advantage of this method is that it can be done retrospectively using archived data, without requiring any special satellite operations.&lt;/p&gt

Dirac Fields in Loop Quantum Gravity and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

Big Bang nucleosynthesis requires a fine balance between equations of state for photons and relativistic fermions. Several corrections to equation of state parameters arise from classical and quantum physics, which are derived here from a canonical perspective. In particular, loop quantum gravity allows one to compute quantum gravity corrections for Maxwell and Dirac fields. Although the classical actions are very different, quantum corrections to the equation of state are remarkably similar. To lowest order, these corrections take the form of an overall expansion-dependent multiplicative factor in the total density. We use these results, along with the predictions of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, to place bounds on these corrections.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures; v2: new discussion of relevance of quantum gravity corrections (Sec. II) and new estimates (Sec. V

Balltracking: an highly efficient method for tracking flow fields

We present a method for tracking solar photospheric flows that is highly efficient, and demonstrate it using high resolution MDI continuum images. The method involves making a surface from the photospheric granulation data, and allowing many small floating tracers or balls to be moved around by the evolving granulation pattern. The results are tested against synthesised granulation with known flow fields and compared to the results produced by Local Correlation tracking (LCT). The results from this new method have similar accuracy to those produced by LCT. We also investigate the maximum spatial and temporal resolution of the velocity field that it is possible to extract, based on the statistical properties of the granulation data. We conclude that both methods produce results that are close to the maximum resolution possible from granulation data. The code runs very significantly faster than our similarly optimised LCT code, making real time applications on large data sets possible. The tracking method is not limited to photospheric flows, and will also work on any velocity field where there are visible moving features of known scale length