Extragalactic X‐ray surveys: AGN physics and evolution

We review the most important findings on AGN physics and cosmological evolution as obtained by extragalactic X‐ray surveys and associated multiwavelength observations. We briefly discuss the perspectives for future enterprises and in particular the scientific case for an extremely deep (2–3 Ms) XMM survey. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Testing isotropy of cosmic microwave background radiation

We introduce new symmetry-based methods to test for isotropy in cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Each angular multipole is factored into unique products of power eigenvectors, related multipoles and singular values that provide two new rotationally invariant measures mode by mode. The power entropy and directional entropy are new tests of randomness that are independent of the usual CMB power. Simulated Galactic plane contamination is readily identified. The ILC– WMAP data maps show seven axes well aligned with one another and the direction Virgo. Parameter free statistics find 12 independent cases of extraordinary axial alignment, low power entropy, or both having 5 per cent probability or lower in an isotropic distribution. Isotropy of the ILC maps is ruled out to confidence levels of better than 99.9 per cent, whether or not coincidences with other puzzles coming from the Virgo axis are included. Our work shows that anisotropy is not confined to the low l region, but extends over a much larger l range.     

CMB temperature polarization correlation and primordial gravitational waves

We examine the use of the TE cross-correlation power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as a complementary test to detect primordial gravitational waves (PGWs). The first method used is based on the determination of the lowest multipole, ℓ₀, where the TE power spectrum,   C ^TE_ℓ  , first changes sign. The second method uses Wiener filtering on the CMB TE data to remove the density perturbations contribution to the TE power spectrum. In principle this leaves only the contribution of PGWs. We examine two toy experiments (one ideal and another more realistic) to see their ability to constrain PGWs using the TE power spectrum alone. We found that an ideal experiment, one limited only by cosmic variance, can detect PGWs with a ratio of tensor to scalar metric perturbation power spectra   r = 0.3  at 99.9 per cent confidence level using only the TE correlation. This value is comparable with current constraints obtained by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe based on the 2σ upper limits to the B-mode amplitude. We demonstrate that to measure PGWs by their contribution to the TE cross-correlation power spectrum in a realistic ground-based experiment when real instrumental noise is taken into account, the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r , should be approximately three times larger.     

Exact reconstruction with directional wavelets on the sphere

A new formalism is derived for the analysis and exact reconstruction of band-limited signals on the sphere with directional wavelets. It represents an evolution of a previously developed wavelet formalism developed by Antoine & Vandergheynst and Wiaux et al. The translations of the wavelets at any point on the sphere and their proper rotations are still defined through the continuous three-dimensional rotations. The dilations of the wavelets are directly defined in harmonic space through a new kernel dilation, which is a modification of an existing harmonic dilation. A family of factorized steerable functions with compact harmonic support which are suitable for this kernel dilation are first identified. A scale-discretized wavelet formalism is then derived, relying on this dilation. The discrete nature of the analysis scales allows the exact reconstruction of band-limited signals. A corresponding exact multi-resolution algorithm is finally described and an implementation is tested. The formalism is of interest notably for the denoising or the deconvolution of signals on the sphere with a sparse expansion in wavelets. In astrophysics, it finds a particular application for the identification of localized directional features in the cosmic microwave background data, such as the imprint of topological defects, in particular, cosmic strings, and for their reconstruction after separation from the other signal components.     

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  .     

The integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect in cosmologies with coupled dark matter and dark energy

The subject of this paper is the derivation of the integrated Sachs–Wolfe (iSW) effect in cosmologies with coupled dark matter and dark energy fluids. These couplings influence the iSW effect in three ways: the Hubble function assumes a different scaling, the structure growth rate shows a different time evolution and, in addition, the Poisson equation, which relates the density perturbations to fluctuations in the gravitational potential, is changed, due to the violation of the scaling  ρ∝ a ⁻³  of the matter density ρ with scalefactor a . Exemplarily, I derive the iSW spectra for a model in which dark matter decays into dark energy, investigate the influence of the dark matter decay rate and the dark energy equation of state on the iSW signal, and discuss the analogies for gravitational lensing. Quite generally, iSW measurements should reach similar accuracy in determining the dark energy equation of state parameter and the coupling constant.     

Nonresonant effects and hydrogen transition line shape in cosmological recombination problems

Data on the fluctuations in cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, whose accuracy is expected to increase in the immediate future, allow the cosmological recombination of atomic hydrogen and its interaction with the CMB radiation to be studied. Nonresonant effects play an important role in these recombination processes. We consider the quantum-mechanical foundations of the nonresonant processes and present our calculations for the differential two-photon decay rates of the 3s and 3d levels in the hydrogen atom. This article was submitted by the authors in English.     

中蒙跨境阿尔泰地区铍区域地球化学特征

本文收集了中蒙边界1∶100万地球化学铍数据,探讨其在不同构造单元内的背景值及区域地球化学异常特征。全区铍元素总体中位值和平均值分别是1. 93×10~(-6)和2. 08×10~(-6),中国境内铍元素中位值(1. 99×10~(-6))和平均值(2. 14×10~(-6))分别高于蒙古国境内铍元素中位值(1. 90×10~(-6))和平均值(2. 02×10~(-6));对于划分的构造单元而言,阿尔泰南缘弧盆系和阿尔泰构造带是铍元素富集区,且产出大量稀有金属矿床;根据85%累频圈定出8个铍异常区并优选出6个铍地球化学省,为该区寻找稀有金属矿床提供重要选区;该项研究填补了中蒙跨境阿尔泰地区铍地球化学分布的空白,同时为两国边境上重要矿床对比提供重要数据。     

扬子板块西缘稀散金属超常富集的地球化学背景

稀散矿产资源作为"三稀"矿产(稀散、稀有、稀土)的重要组成部分,对国民经济、国家安全和科技发展具有"四两拨千斤"的重要战略意义,是新一代信息技术、新能源生物、高端装备制造、新材料、新能源汽车等重点培育发展战略性新兴产业的功能材料和结构材料,也是现代工业、国防和尖端科技领域不可缺少的支撑材料。相对其它大宗金属,稀散金属往往分散难以成矿,需在特殊的地球化学背景下,经过更复杂地质过程才能富集成矿。初步研究表明,扬子板块西缘铟、锗、镓等稀散金属均发生了超常富集,构成了全球罕见的稀散金属聚集区,是研究稀散金属矿床的天然实验室和理想基地,扬子板块西缘具有什么样的特殊地球化学背景才能导致众多稀散矿床聚集。为了解决这一科学问题,本文以扬子西缘为研究区,实测了扬子西缘典型代表区(贵州)的元古界-中生界剖面,系统地对不同时代的地层样品进行了测试。结果表明,元古界地层的Ga、Ge、Se、Cd、In、Te、Re、Tl均值分别为9. 71×10~(-6)、0. 30×10~(-6)、1. 71×10~(-6)、0. 48×10~(-6)、0. 07×10~(-6)、0. 10×10~(-6)、0. 015×10~(-6)、0. 29×10~(-6);古生界地层的Ga、Ge、Se、Cd、In、Te、Re、Tl均值分别为14. 70×10~(-6)、0. 35×10~(-6)、2. 36×10~(-6)、0. 23×10~(-6)、0. 06×10~(-6)、0. 08×10~(-6)、0. 014×10~(-6)、0. 69×10~(-6);中生界地层的Ga、Ge、Se、Cd、In、Te、Re、Tl均值分别为9. 06×10~(-6)、0. 22×10~(-6)、2. 48×10~(-6)、0. 07×10~(-6)、0. 04×10~(-6)、0. 07×10~(-6)、0. 003×10~(-6)、0. 11×10~(-6)。结合稀散元素矿床分布特征,发现扬子板块西缘基底地层(除Ge),稀散元素背景总体不高,早寒武世是重要的稀散元素富集阶段,可能与这一时期发育的黑色岩系成矿系统有关,广泛分布的峨眉山玄武岩层一般有较高的稀散元素背景,可能是重要的矿源,Se或Cd或Ga的赋矿层位与高地球化学背景层位对应关系较好,其它元素虽然对应关系不明显,但赋矿层位下部一般为高背景层,反映了成矿物质浅源或就近的特点。本文只是报道了扬子板块西缘的绝大部分不同时代地层的地球化学背景值,初步探讨了稀散元素地球化学背景与稀散矿床的耦合关系。随着稀散矿床的研究不断深入,更多的地质信息和成矿规律会逐渐被揭示,本研究可为后续以上工作的开展奠定背景基础。