Probing phase-separation in Bose-Fermi mixtures by the critical superfluid velocity

We investigate the effect exerted by spin-polarized fermions on the interaction between superfluid bosons for a Bose-Fermi mixture residing on an optical lattice, with particular emphasis on the possibility of an induced phase-separation. Using a set of microscopic parameters relevant to a $^{40}$K-$^{87}$Rb mixture, we show how the phase-separation criterion may be directly probed by means of the critical superfluid velocity of the bosonic condensate. We report quantitative results for the magnitude of the superfluid velocity and its dependence on the trap depth, the boson-fermion interaction, and the fermionic filling fraction. All of these parameters can be controlled experimentally in a well-defined manner. We propose an experimental setup for probing the critical superfluid velocity.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Strong Gravitational Lensing and Dark Energy Complementarity

In the search for the nature of dark energy most cosmological probes measure simple functions of the expansion rate. While powerful, these all involve roughly the same dependence on the dark energy equation of state parameters, with anticorrelation between its present value w_0 and time variation w_a. Quantities that have instead positive correlation and so a sensitivity direction largely orthogonal to, e.g., distance probes offer the hope of achieving tight constraints through complementarity. Such quantities are found in strong gravitational lensing observations of image separations and time delays. While degeneracy between cosmological parameters prevents full complementarity, strong lensing measurements to 1% accuracy can improve equation of state characterization by 15-50%. Next generation surveys should provide data on roughly 10^5 lens systems, though systematic errors will remain challenging.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Single stage experimental evaluation of slotted rotor and stator blading. Part I - Analysis and design

Analysis and design of slotted rotor and stator blading for application to compressors in advanced airbreathing propulsion system

Measuring dark energy properties with 3D cosmic shear

We present parameter estimation forecasts for present and future 3D cosmic shear surveys. We demonstrate that, in conjunction with results from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, the properties of dark energy can be estimated with very high precision with large-scale, fully 3D weak lensing surveys. In particular, a 5-band, 10,000 square degree ground-based survey to a median redshift of zm=0.7 could achieve 1-$\sigma$ marginal statistical errors, in combination with the constraints expected from the CMB Planck Surveyor, of $\Delta$w0=0.108 and $\Delta$wa=0.099 where we parameterize w by w(a)=w0+wa(1-a) where a is the scale factor. Such a survey is achievable with a wide-field camera on a 4 metre class telescope. The error on the value of w at an intermediate pivot redshift of z=0.368 is constrained to $\Delta$w(z=0.368)=0.0175. We compare and combine the 3D weak lensing constraints with the cosmological and dark energy parameters measured from planned Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and supernova Type Ia experiments, and find that 3D weak lensing significantly improves the marginalized errors. A combination of 3D weak lensing, CMB and BAO experiments could achieve $\Delta$w0=0.037 and $\Delta$wa=0.099. Fully 3D weak shear analysis avoids the loss of information inherent in tomographic binning, and we show that the sensitivity to systematic errors is much less. In conjunction with the fact that the physics of lensing is very soundly based, this analysis demonstrates that deep, wide-angle 3D weak lensing surveys are extremely promising for measuring dark energy properties.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures. Accepted to MNRAS. Figures now in grayscale. Further discussions on non-Gaussianity and photometric redshift errors. Some references adde

Testing LCDM with the Growth Function \delta(a): Current Constraints

We have compiled a dataset consisting of 22 datapoints at a redshift range (0.15,3.8) which can be used to constrain the linear perturbation growth rate f=\frac{d\ln\delta}{d\ln a}. Five of these data-points constrain directly the growth rate f through either redshift distortions or change of the power spectrum with redshift. The rest of the datapoints constrain f indirectly through the rms mass fluctuation \sigma_8(z) inferred from Ly-\alpha at various redshifts. Our analysis tests the consistency of the LCDM model and leads to a constraint of the Wang-Steinhardt growth index \gamma (defined from f=\Omega_m^\gamma) as \gamma=0.67^{+0.20}_{-0.17}. This result is clearly consistent at $1\sigma$ with the value \gamma={6/11}=0.55 predicted by LCDM. A first order expansion of the index \gamma in redshift space leads to similar results.We also apply our analysis on a new null test of LCDM which is similar to the one recently proposed by Chiba and Nakamura (arXiv:0708.3877) but does not involve derivatives of the expansion rate $H(z)$. This also leads to the fact that LCDM provides an excellent fit to the current linear growth data.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. Added comments on the data of Table I (after eq. (2.16)). Corrected a typo on eq. (2.15). The mathematica files with the numerical analysis of this study may be found at http://nesseris.physics.uoi.gr/growth/growth.ht