Cosmic dynamics in the era of Extremely Large Telescopes

The redshifts of all cosmologically distant sources are expected to experience a small, systematic drift as a function of time due to the evolution of the Universe's expansion rate. A measurement of this effect would represent a direct and entirely model-independent determination of the expansion history of the Universe over a redshift range that is inaccessible to other methods. Here we investigate the impact of the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes on the feasibility of detecting and characterizing the cosmological redshift drift. We consider the Lyα forest in the redshift range  2 < z < 5  and other absorption lines in the spectra of high-redshift QSOs as the most suitable targets for a redshift drift experiment. Assuming photon-noise-limited observations and using extensive Monte Carlo simulations we determine the accuracy to which the redshift drift can be measured from the Lyα forest as a function of signal-to-noise ratio and redshift. Based on this relation and using the brightness and redshift distributions of known QSOs we find that a 42-m telescope is capable of unambiguously detecting the redshift drift over a period of ∼20 yr using 4000 h of observing time. Such an experiment would provide independent evidence for the existence of dark energy without assuming spatial flatness, using any other cosmological constraints or making any other astrophysical assumption.     

Covariance of dark energy parameters and sound speed constraints from large H i surveys

An interesting probe of the nature of dark energy is the measure of its sound speed, c _s. We review the significance for constraining sound speed models of dark energy using large neutral hydrogen (H  i ) surveys with the square kilometre array (SKA). Our analysis considers the effect on the sound speed measurement that arises from the covariance of c _s with the dark energy density, Ω_de, and a time-varying equation of state,   w ( a ) = w ₀+ (1 − a ) w _a   . We find that the approximate degeneracy between dark energy parameters that arises in power spectrum observations is lifted through redshift tomography of the H  i -galaxy angular power spectrum, resulting in sound speed constraints that are not severely degraded. The cross-correlation of the galaxy and the integrated Sachs Wolfe (ISW) effect spectra contributes approximately 10 per cent of the information that is needed to distinguish variations in the dark energy parameters, and most of the discriminating signal comes from the galaxy auto-correlation spectrum. We also find that the sound speed constraints are weakly sensitive to the H  i bias model. These constraints do not improve substantially for a significantly deeper H  i survey since most of the clustering sensitivity to sound speed variations arises from   z ≲ 1.5  . A detection of models with sound speeds close to zero,   c _s≲ 0.01,  is possible for dark energy models with   w ≳−0.9  .     

Grain alignment in dense interstellar environments: spectropolarimetry of the 4.67-μm CO-ice feature in the field star Elias 16 (Taurus dark cloud)

We present spectropolarimetry of the solid CO feature at 4.67 μm along the line of sight to Elias 16, a field star background to the Taurus dark cloud. A clear increase in polarization is observed across the feature with the peak of polarization shifted in wavelength relative to the peak of absorption. This shows that dust grains in dense, cold environments (temperatures ∼20 K or less) can align and produce polarization by dichroic absorption. For a grain model, consisting of a core with a single mantle, the polarization feature is best modelled by a thick CO mantle, possibly including 10 per cent water-ice, with the volume ratio of mantle to bare grain of ∼5. Radiative torques could be responsible for the grain alignment provided the grain radius is at least 0.5 μm. This would require the grain cores to have a radius of at least 0.3 μm, much larger than grain sizes in the diffuse interstellar medium. Sizes of this order seem reasonable on the basis of independent evidence for grain growth by coagulation, as well as mantle formation, inside dense clouds.     

New insights on the QSO radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy: SDSS spectra in the context of the 4D eigenvector1 parameter space

We search for a dichotomy/bimodality between radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN). We examine several samples of Slogan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) with high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectra and matching Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm/NRAO VLA Sky Survey (FIRST/NVSS) radio observations. We use the radio data to identify the weakest RL sources with a Fanaroff–Riley type II (FR II) structure to define a RL/RQ boundary which corresponds to log   L _1.4 GHz= 31.6  erg s⁻¹ Hz⁻¹. We measure the properties of broad-line Hβ and Fe  ii emission to define the optical plane of a 4DE1 spectroscopic diagnostic space. The RL quasars occupy a much more restricted domain in this optical plane compared to the RQ sources, which a 2D Kolmogorov–Smirnov test finds to be highly significant. This tells us that the range of broad-line region kinematics and structure for RL sources is more restricted than for the RQ QSOs, which supports the notion of dichotomy. FR II and CD RL sources also show significant 4DE1 domain differences that likely reflect differences in line-of-sight orientation (inclined versus face-on, respectively) for these two classes. The possibility of a distinct radio-intermediate (RI) population between RQ and RL source is disfavoured because a 4DE1 diagnostic space comparison shows no difference between RI and RQ sources. We show that searches for dichotomy in radio versus bolometric luminosity diagrams will yield ambiguous results mainly because in a reasonably complete sample, the radio brightest RQ sources will be numerous enough to blur the gap between RQ and RL sources. Within resolution constraints of NVSS and FIRST, we find no FR I sources among the broad-line quasar population.     

Chloride source delineation in an urban-agricultural watershed: Deicing agents versus agricultural contributions

Analyses (n = 525) of chloride (Cl⁻), bromide (Br⁻), nitrate as nitrogen (NO₃-N), sodium (Na⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺) and potassium (K⁺) in stream water, tile-drain water and groundwater were conducted in an urban-agricultural watershed (10% urban/impervious, 87% agriculture) to explore potential differences in the signature of Cl⁻ originating from an urban source as compared with an agricultural source. Only during winter recharge events did measured Cl⁻ concentrations exceed the 230 mg/L chronic threshold. At base flow, nearly all surface water and tile water samples had Cl⁻ concentrations above the calculated background threshold of 18 mg/L. Mann–Whitney U tests revealed ratios of Cl⁻ to Br⁻ (p = .045), to NO₃-N (p < .0001), to Ca²⁺ (p < .0001), and to Na⁺ (p < .0001) to be significantly different between urban and agricultural waters. While Cl⁻ ratios indicate that road salt was the dominant source of Cl⁻ in the watershed, potassium chloride fertilizer contributed as an important secondary source. Deicing in watersheds where urban land use is minimal had a profound impact on Cl⁻ dynamics; however, agricultural practices contributed Cl⁻ year-round, elevating stream base flow Cl⁻ concentrations above the background level.     

基于直线间几何属性特征相似性约束的组直线匹配算法

当影像中存在多个相同或相近的直线特征时,仅利用单直线特征间的相似性进行匹配容易导致算法失效,因此本文提出基于直线间几何属性特征相似性约束的组直线匹配算法。该算法利用直线间的拓扑关系分别对2幅影像上提取的直线进行编组得到特征直线组,并将其作为匹配基元;然后利用核线约束确定候选同名直线组的搜索范围,精简了候选直线组的数量;依据直线间几何属性特征向量的仿射不变性建立直线组的匹配关系,将仿射不变量交比作为基础几何不变性测度,并延伸设计仿射相似度参数,计算出目标直线组与每个候选直线组的仿射相似度或一般相似度,确定2种相似度下总体相似度值最大的特征直线组为其同名直线组,最后将同名直线组分裂为2对同名单直线,对分裂后的结果进行整合可以显著降低冗余匹配,得到“一对一”的匹配单直线。为了验证算法的可靠性,实验选取网上公开的5组典型近景影像进行测试,通过与其他匹配算法的对比分析,结果表明该算法应对影像间存在的视角、旋转和尺度变换等复杂条件均取得了较高的匹配精度,匹配正确率最高有14.5%的提升,且阈值的选择对匹配结果影响微弱,验证了基于直线间几何属性特征相似性约束的组直线算法鲁棒性和匹配稳定性较强。     

基于粒子滤波的行车轨迹路网匹配方法

行车轨迹是一种时间序列的地理空间位置采样数据,而传统的轨迹—路网匹配方法主要以全局或局部寻优的方式建立轨迹—路网匹配关系,影响了时空场景中数据的匹配计算过程的相对独立性。针对这个问题,本文基于粒子滤波（Particle Filter,PF）原理建立行车轨迹与道路网络之间的匹配关系。首先,沿轨迹中车辆运动方向在道路网络中搜索邻近道路节点,在与道路节点拓扑邻接的道路弧段上初始化随机生成粒子,根据轨迹中车辆运动模型将粒子沿所在道路弧段移动;然后,基于PF原理计算各时刻粒子运动状态及与行车轨迹采样点之间的距离误差,根据高斯概率密度函数计算粒子权重并利用随机重采样方法进行粒子重采样,迭代更新粒子运动状态;最后,计算与搜索到的道路节点拓扑邻接的每条道路弧段中累计粒子权重,通过各道路弧段累计权重计算轨迹—路网匹配关系。以行车轨迹进行实验表明,利用本文方法可以通过粒子时空变化反映采样点的移动,行车轨迹—路网匹配结果的正确率大于85%,能够实现行车轨迹和路网的准确匹配。