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The redshifted 21-cm monopole is expected to be a powerful probe of the epoch of the first stars and galaxies ($10

The Dark Ages Radio Experiment (DARE) seeks to study the cosmic Dark Ages approximately 80 to 420 million years after the Big Bang. Observations require truly quiet radio conditions, shielded from Sun and Earth electromagnetic (EM) emissions, on the far side of the Moon. DARE's science orbit is a frozen orbit with respect to lunar gravitational perturbations. The altitude and orientation of the orbit remain nearly fixed indefinitely, maximizing science time without the need for maintenance. DARE's observation targets avoid the galactic center and enable investigation of the universe's first stars and galaxies., Comment: Conference proceedings for 27th AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, San Antonio, Texas

The cosmological global (sky-averaged) 21-cm signal is a powerful tool to probe the evolution of the intergalactic medium (IGM) in high-redshift Universe ($z \leq 6$). One of the biggest observational challenges is to remove the foreground spectrum which is at least four orders of magnitude brighter than the cosmological 21-cm emission. Conventional global 21-cm experiments rely on the spectral smoothness of the foreground synchrotron emission to separate it from the unique 21-cm spectral structures in a single total-power spectrum. However, frequency-dependent instrumental and observational effects are known to corrupt such smoothness and complicates the foreground subtraction. We introduce a polarimetric approach to measure the projection-induced polarization of the anisotropic foreground onto a stationary dual-polarized antenna. Due to Earth rotation, when pointing the antenna at a celestial pole, the revolving foreground will modulate this polarization with a unique frequency-dependent sinusoidal signature as a function of time. In our simulations, by harmonic decomposing this dynamic polarization, our technique produces two separate spectra in parallel from the same observation: (i) a total sky power consisting both the foreground and the 21-cm background, (ii) a model-independent measurement of the foreground spectrum at a harmonic consistent to twice the sky rotation rate. In the absence of any instrumental effects, by scaling and subtracting the latter from the former, we recover the injected global 21-cm model within assumed uncertainty. We further discuss several limiting factors and potential remedies for future implementation., Comment: 16 pages, 22 figures, 2 tables. Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal. This is the final version after addressing referee's comments

Additional physics beyond standard hydrodynamics is needed to fully model the intracluster medium (ICM); however, as we move to more sophisticated models, it is important to consider the role of magnetic fields and the way the fluid approximation breaks down. This paper represents a first step towards developing a self-consistent model of the ICM by characterizing the statistical properties of magnetic fields in cosmological simulations of galaxy clusters. We find that plasma conditions are largely homogeneous across a range of cluster masses and relaxation states. We also find that the magnetic field length scales are resolution dependent and not based on any particular physical process. Energy transfer mechanisms and scales are also identified, and imply the existence of small scale dynamo action. The scales of the small scale dynamo are resolution limited and driven by numerical resistivity and viscosity., Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, Submitted to ApJ

One approach to extracting the global 21-cm signal from total-power measurements at low radio frequencies is to parametrize the different contributions to the data and then fit for these parameters. We examine parametrizations of the 21-cm signal itself, and propose one based on modelling the Lyman-alpha background, IGM temperature and hydrogen ionized fraction using tanh functions. This captures the shape of the signal from a physical modelling code better than an earlier parametrization based on interpolating between maxima and minima of the signal, and imposes a greater level of physical plausibility. This allows less biased constraints on the turning points of the signal, even though these are not explicitly fit for. Biases can also be alleviated by discarding information which is less robustly described by the parametrization, for example by ignoring detailed shape information coming from the covariances between turning points or from the high-frequency parts of the signal, or by marginalizing over the high-frequency parts of the signal by fitting a more complex foreground model. The fits are sufficiently accurate to be usable for experiments gathering 1000 h of data, though in this case it may be important to choose observing windows which do not include the brightest areas of the foregrounds. Our assumption of pointed, single-antenna observations and very broad-band fitting makes these results particularly applicable to experiments such as the Dark Ages Radio Explorer, which would study the global 21-cm signal from the clean environment of a low lunar orbit, taking data from the far side., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

Following our previous work, which related generic features in the sky-averaged (global) 21-cm signal to properties of the intergalactic medium, we now investigate the prospects for constraining a simple galaxy formation model with current and near-future experiments. Markov-Chain Monte Carlo fits to our synthetic dataset, which includes a realistic galactic foreground, a plausible model for the signal, and noise consistent with 100 hours of integration by an ideal instrument, suggest that a simple four-parameter model that links the production rate of Lyman-$\alpha$, Lyman-continuum, and X-ray photons to the growth rate of dark matter halos can be well-constrained (to $\sim 0.1$ dex in each dimension) so long as all three spectral features expected to occur between $40 \lesssim \nu / \mathrm{MHz} \lesssim 120$ are detected. Several important conclusions follow naturally from this basic numerical result, namely that measurements of the global 21-cm signal can in principle (i) identify the characteristic halo mass threshold for star formation at all redshifts $z \gtrsim 15$, (ii) extend $z \lesssim 4$ upper limits on the normalization of the X-ray luminosity star-formation rate ($L_X$-SFR) relation out to $z \sim 20$, and (iii) provide joint constraints on stellar spectra and the escape fraction of ionizing radiation at $z \sim 12$. Though our approach is general, the importance of a broad-band measurement renders our findings most relevant to the proposed Dark Ages Radio Explorer, which will have a clean view of the global 21-cm signal from $\sim 40-120$ MHz from its vantage point above the radio-quiet, ionosphere-free lunar far-side., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Light and spectroscopy are among the most important and frequently taught topics in introductory, college-level, general education astronomy courses. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of observational data studied by astronomers arrives at Earth in the form of light. While there are many processes by which matter can emit and absorb light, Astro 101 courses typically limit their instruction to the Bohr model of the atom and electron energy level transitions. In this paper, we report on the development of a new Lecture-Tutorial to help students learn about other processes that are responsible for the emission and absorption of light, namely molecular rotations, molecular vibrations, and the acceleration of charged particles by magnetic fields., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures Accepted for publication in The Physics Teacher

The trajectory design for the Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) mission con-cept involves launching the DARE spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) as a secondary payload. From GTO, the spacecraft then transfers to a lunar orbit that is stable (i.e., no station-keeping maneuvers are required with minimum perilune altitude always above 40 km) and allows for more than 1,000 cumulative hours for science measurements in the radio-quiet region located on the lunar farside., Comment: 15 pages, 17 Figures, To appear in the Proceedings of AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Williamsburg, VA, Jan 11-15, 2015

The harsh environment on the lunar surface presents unique technological challenges for space exploration. This paper presents research on the design and development of the Tele- scope-deployment High-vacuum teleOperated Rover (THOR), currently being built and tested in the Lunar and Airless Bodies Simulator (LABS) facility at the University of Colorado Boulder. This rover is fabricated entirely out of cost-effective commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and materials. THOR can potentially survive for more than one simulated year in conditions similar to that of the lunar environment, demonstrating the successful initial results of a first phase research study on material and electronic survivability in an extreme environment such as the Moon., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication at American Journal of Undergraduate Research (AJUR)

The period between the creation of the cosmic microwave background at a redshift of ~1000 and the formation of the first stars and black holes that re-ionize the intergalactic medium at redshifts of 10-20 is currently unobservable. The baryonic component of the universe during this period is almost entirely neutral hydrogen, which falls into local regions of higher dark matter density. This seeds the formation of large-scale structures including the cosmic web that we see today in the filamentary distribution of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. The only detectable signal from these dark ages is the 21-cm spectral line of hydrogen, redshifted down to frequencies of approximately 10-100 MHz. Space-based observations of this signal will allow us to determine the formation epoch and physics of the first sources of ionizing radiation, and potentially detect evidence for the decay of dark matter particles. JPL is developing deployable low frequency antenna and receiver prototypes to enable both all-sky spectral measurements of neutral hydrogen and ultimately to map the spatial distribution of the signal as a function of redshift. Such observations must be done from space because of Earth's ionosphere and ubiquitous radio interference. A specific application of these technologies is the Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) mission. This small Explorer class mission is designed to measure the sky-averaged hydrogen signal from the shielded region above the far side of the Moon. These data will complement ground-based radio observations of the final stages of intergalactic re-ionization at higher frequencies. DARE will also serve as a scientific percursor for space-based interferometry missions to image the distribution of hydrogen during the cosmic dark ages., Comment: 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference

Detection of the global HI 21 cm signal from Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionization is the key science driver for several ongoing ground-based and future ground/space-based experiments. The crucial spectral features in the global 21 cm signal (turning points) occur at low radio frequencies <100 MHz. In addition to the human-generated RFI, Earth's ionosphere drastically corrupts low-frequency radio observations from the ground. In this paper, we examine the effects of time-varying ionospheric refraction, absorption and thermal emission at these low radio frequencies and their combined effect on any ground-based global 21 cm experiment. It should be noted that this is the first study of the effect of a dynamic ionosphere on global 21 cm experiments. The fluctuations in the ionosphere are influenced by solar activity with flicker noise characteristics. The same characteristics are reflected in the ionospheric corruption to any radio signal passing through the ionosphere. As a result, any ground based observations of the faint global 21 cm signal are corrupted by flicker noise (or "$1/f$" noise, where "$f$" is the dynamical frequency) which scales as $\nu^{-2}$ (where $\nu$ is the frequency of observation) in the presence of a bright galactic foreground ($\propto \nu^{-s}$, where $s$ is radio spectral index). Hence, the calibration of the ionosphere for any such experiment is critical. Any attempt to calibrate the ionospheric effects will be subject to the inaccuracies in the current ionospheric measurements using GPS ionospheric measurements, riometer measurements, ionospheric soundings, etc. Even considering an optimistic improvement in the accuracy of GPS-TEC (Total Electron Content) measurements, we conclude that the detection of the global 21 cm signal below 100 MHz is best done from above the Earth's atmosphere in orbit of the Moon., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. This is an updated version after addressing the comments from the referee

The galaxy cluster Abell 3667 is an ideal laboratory to study the plasma processes in the intracluster medium (ICM). High resolution Chandra X-ray observations show a cold front in Abell 3667. At radio wavelengths, Abell 3667 reveals a double radio-relic feature in the outskirts of the cluster. These suggest multiple merger events in this cluster. In this paper, we analyze the substantial archival X-ray observations of Abell 3667 from ChandraX-ray Observatory and compare these with existing radio observations as well as state-of-the-art AMR (Adaptive Mesh Refinement) MHD cosmological simulations using Enzo. We have used two temperature map making techniques, Weighted Voronoi Tessellation and Adaptive Circular Binning, to produce the high resolution and largest field-of-view temperature maps of Abell 3667. These high fidelity temperature maps allow us to study the X-ray shocks in the cluster using a new 2-dimensional shock-finding algorithm. We have also estimated the Mach numbers from the shocks inferred from previous ATCA radio observations. The combined shock statistics from the X-ray and radio data are in agreement with the shock statistics in a simulated MHD cluster. We have also studied the profiles of the thermodynamic properties across the cold front using 447 ksec from the combined Chandra observations on Abell 3667. Our results show that the stability of the cold front in Abell 3667 can be attributed to the suppression of the thermal conduction across the cold front by a factor of 100 - 700 compared to the classical Spitzer value., Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

X-ray observations were used to examine the complex temperature structure of Abell 85, a cool-core galaxy cluster. Temperature features can provide evidence of merging events which shock heat the intracluster gas. Temperature maps were made from both \textit{Chandra} and \textit{XMM-Newton} obervations. The combination of a new, long-exposure \textit{XMM} observation and an improved temperature map binning technique produced the highest fidelity temperature maps of A85 to date. Hot regions were detected near the subclusters to the South and Southwest in both the \textit{Chandra} and \textit{XMM} temperature maps. The presence of these structures implies A85 is not relaxed. The hot regions may indicate the presence of shocks. The Mach numbers were estimated to be $\sim$1.9 at the locations of the hot spots. Observational effects will tend to systematically reduce temperature jumps, so the measured Mach numbers are likely underestimated. Neither temperature map showed evidence for a shock in the vicinity of the presumed radio relic near the Southwest subcluster. However, the presence of a weak shock cannot be ruled out. There was tension between the temperatures measured by the two instruments., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures. Accepted by Astronomical Journal

The sky-averaged (global) 21-cm signal is a powerful probe of the intergalactic medium (IGM) prior to the completion of reionization. However, it has so far been unclear that even in the best case scenario, in which the signal is accurately extracted from the foregrounds, that it will provide more than crude estimates of when the Universe's first stars and black holes form. In contrast to previous work, which has focused on predicting the 21-cm signatures of the first luminous objects, we investigate an arbitrary realization of the signal, and attempt to translate its features to the physical properties of the IGM. Within a simplified global framework, the 21-cm signal yields quantitative constraints on the Lyman-alpha background intensity, net heat deposition, ionized fraction, and their time derivatives, without invoking models for the astrophysical sources themselves. The 21-cm absorption signal is most easily interpreted, setting strong limits on the heating rate density of the Universe with a measurement of its redshift alone, independent of the ionization history or details of the Lyman-alpha background evolution. In a companion paper we extend these results, focusing on the confidence with which one can infer source emissivities from IGM properties., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

A novel concept is presented in this paper for a human mission to the lunar L2 (Lagrange) point that would be a proving ground for future exploration missions to deep space while also overseeing scientifically important investigations. In an L2 halo orbit above the lunar farside, the astronauts aboard the Orion Crew Vehicle would travel 15% farther from Earth than did the Apollo astronauts and spend almost three times longer in deep space. Such a mission would serve as a first step beyond low Earth orbit and prove out operational spaceflight capabilities such as life support, communication, high speed re-entry, and radiation protection prior to more difficult human exploration missions. On this proposed mission, the crew would teleoperate landers and rovers on the unexplored lunar farside, which would obtain samples from the geologically interesting farside and deploy a low radio frequency telescope. Sampling the South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the oldest impact basins in the solar system, is a key science objective of the 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Observations at low radio frequencies to track the effects of the Universe's first stars/galaxies on the intergalactic medium are a priority of the 2010 Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey. Such telerobotic oversight would also demonstrate capability for human and robotic cooperation on future, more complex deep space missions such as exploring Mars., Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures; to appear in Advances in Space Research

Non-thermal radio emission from cosmic ray electrons in the vicinity of merging galaxy clusters is an important tracer of cluster merger activity, and is the result of complex physical processes that involve magnetic fields, particle acceleration, gas dynamics, and radiation. In particular, objects known as radio relics are thought to be the result of shock-accelerated electrons that, when embedded in a magnetic field, emit synchrotron radiation in the radio wavelengths. In order to properly model this emission, we utilize the adaptive mesh refinement simulation of the magnetohydrodynamic evolution of a galaxy cluster from cosmological initial conditions. We locate shock fronts and apply models of cosmic ray electron acceleration that are then input into radio emission models. We have determined the thermodynamic properties of this radio-emitting plasma and constructed synthetic radio observations to compare to observed galaxy clusters. We find a significant dependence of the observed morphology and radio relic properties on the viewing angle of the cluster, raising concerns regarding the interpretation of observed radio features in clusters. We also find that a given shock should not be characterized by a single Mach number. We find that the bulk of the radio emission comes from gas with T>5x10^7, \rho~10^(-28)-10^(-27) g/cm^3, with magnetic field strengths of 0.1-1.0 \mu G and shock Mach numbers of M~3-6. We present an analysis of the radio spectral index which suggests that the spatial variation of the spectral index can mimic synchrotron aging. Finally, we examine the polarization fraction and position angle of the simulated radio features, and compare to observations., Comment: 18 pages. Submitted to ApJ. Posted after first revision

Flux limited X-ray surveys of galaxy clusters show that clusters come in two roughly equally proportioned varieties: "cool core" clusters (CCs) and non-"cool core" clusters (NCCs). In previous work, we have demonstrated using cosmological $N$-body + Eulerian hydrodynamic simulations that NCCs are often consistent with early major mergers events that destroy embryonic CCs. In this paper we extend those results and conduct a series of simulationsusing different methods of gas cooling, and of energy and metal feedback from supernovae, where we attempt to produce a population of clusters with realistic central cooling times, entropies, and temperatures. We find that the use of metallicity-dependent gas cooling is essential to prevent early overcooling,and that adjusting the amount of energy and metal feedback can have a significant impact on observable X-ray quantities of the gas. We are able to produce clusters with more realistic central observable quantities than have previously been attained. However, there are still significant discrepancies between the simulated clusters and observations, which indicates that a different approach to simulating galaxies in clusters is needed. We conclude by looking towards a promising subgrid method of modeling galaxy feedback in clusters which may help to ameliorate the discrepancies between simulations and observations., Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, 2 tables

[Abridged] The Moon is a unique platform from and on which to conduct astrophysical measurements. The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) and the Center for Lunar Origins and Evolution (CLOE) teams within the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) are illustrating how the Moon can be used as a platform to advance important goals in astrophysics. Of relevance to Astrophysics and aligned with NASA strategic goals, all three of the primary research themes articulated by New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy & Astrophysics are being addressed by LUNAR and CLOE, namely Probing Cosmic Dawn, Understanding New Worlds, and Physics of the Universe, Comment: 24 page white paper for NASA Lunar Science Institute

The recent implementation of radiative transfer algorithms in numerous hydrodynamics codes has led to a dramatic improvement in studies of feedback in various astrophysical environments. However, because of methodological limitations and computational expense, the spectra of radiation sources are generally sampled at only a few evenly-spaced discrete emission frequencies. Using one-dimensional radiative transfer calculations, we investigate the discrepancies in gas properties surrounding model stars and accreting black holes that arise solely due to spectral discretization. We find that even in the idealized case of a static and uniform density field, commonly used discretization schemes induce errors in the neutral fraction and temperature by factors of two to three on average, and by over an order of magnitude in certain column density regimes. The consequences are most severe for radiative feedback operating on large scales, dense clumps of gas, and media consisting of multiple chemical species. We have developed a method for optimally constructing discrete spectra, and show that for two test cases of interest, carefully chosen four-bin spectra can eliminate errors associated with frequency resolution to high precision. Applying these findings to a fully three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulation of the early universe, we find that the HII region around a primordial star is substantially altered in both size and morphology, corroborating the one-dimensional prediction that discrete spectral energy distributions can lead to sizable inaccuracies in the physical properties of a medium, and as a result, the subsequent evolution and observable signatures of objects embedded within it., Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) is a team of researchers and students at leading universities, NASA centers, and federal research laboratories undertaking investigations aimed at using the Moon as a platform for space science. LUNAR research includes Lunar Interior Physics & Gravitation using Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR), Low Frequency Cosmology and Astrophysics (LFCA), Planetary Science and the Lunar Ionosphere, Radio Heliophysics, and Exploration Science. The LUNAR team is exploring technologies that are likely to have a dual purpose, serving both exploration and science. There is a certain degree of commonality in much of LUNAR's research. Specifically, the technology development for a lunar radio telescope involves elements from LFCA, Heliophysics, Exploration Science, and Planetary Science; similarly the drilling technology developed for LLR applies broadly to both Exploration and Lunar Science., Comment: 59 pages

The Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR) undertakes investigations across the full spectrum of science within the mission of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI), namely science of, on, and from the Moon. The LUNAR team's work on science of and on the Moon, which is the subject of this white paper, is conducted in the broader context of ascertaining the content, origin, and evolution of the solar system., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

Efforts are being made to observe the 21-cm signal from the 'cosmic dawn' using sky-averaged observations with individual radio dipoles. In this paper, we develop a model of the observations accounting for the 21-cm signal, foregrounds, and several major instrumental effects. Given this model, we apply Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques to demonstrate the ability of these instruments to separate the 21-cm signal from foregrounds and quantify their ability to constrain properties of the first galaxies. For concreteness, we investigate observations between 40 and 120 MHz with the proposed DARE mission in lunar orbit, showing its potential for science return., Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures; accepted by MNRAS; minor edits to match accepted version

A concept for a new space-based cosmology mission called the Dark Ages Radio Explore (DARE) is presented in this paper. DARE's science objectives include (1) When did the first stars form? (2) When did the first accreting black holes form? (3) When did Reionization begin? (4) What surprises does the end of the Dark Ages hold (e.g., Dark Matter decay)? DARE will use the highly-redshifted hyperfine 21-cm transition from neutral hydrogen to track the formation of the first luminous objects by their impact on the intergalactic medium during the end of the Dark Ages and during Cosmic Dawn (redshifts z=11-35). It will measure the sky-averaged spin temperature of neutral hydrogen at the unexplored epoch 80-420 million years after the Big Bang, providing the first evidence of the earliest stars and galaxies to illuminate the cosmos and testing our models of galaxy formation. DARE's approach is to measure the expected spectral features in the sky-averaged, redshifted 21-cm signal over a radio bandpass of 40-120 MHz. DARE orbits the Moon for a mission lifetime of 3 years and takes data above the lunar farside, the only location in the inner solar system proven to be free of human-generated radio frequency interference and any significant ionosphere. The science instrument is composed of a three-element radiometer, including electrically-short, tapered, bi-conical dipole antennas, a receiver, and a digital spectrometer. The smooth frequency response of the antennas and the differential spectral calibration approach using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique will be applied to detect the weak cosmic 21-cm signal in the presence of the intense solar system and Galactic foreground emissions., Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures; submitted to Advances in Space Research

The acceleration of electrons at shock fronts is thought to be responsible for radio relics, extended radio features in the vicinity of merging galaxy clusters. By combining high resolution Adaptive Mesh Refinement Hydro/N-body cosmological simulations with an accurate shock-finding algorithm and a model for electron acceleration, we calculate the expected synchrotron emission resulting from cosmological structure formation. From these simulations, we produce radio, SZE and X-ray images for a large sample of galaxy clusters along with radio luminosity functions and scaling relationships. We find that with upcoming radio arrays, we expect to see an abundance of radio emission associated with merger shocks in the intracluster medium. By producing observationally motivated statistics, we provide predictions that can be compared with observations to further our understanding of electron shock acceleration and kinematic structure of galaxy clusters., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in proceedings of "Non-thermal phenomena in colliding galaxy clusters" (Nice, France, Nov 2010)

We examine the incidence of cold fronts in a large sample of galaxy clusters extracted from a (512h^-1 Mpc) hydrodynamic/N-body cosmological simulation with adiabatic gas physics computed with the Enzo adaptive mesh refinement code. This simulation contains a sample of roughly 4000 galaxy clusters with M > 10^14 M_sun at z=0. For each simulated galaxy cluster, we have created mock 0.3-8.0 keV X-ray observations and spectroscopic-like temperature maps. We have searched these maps with a new automated algorithm to identify the presence of cold fronts in projection. Using a threshold of a minimum of 10 cold front pixels in our images, corresponding to a total comoving length L_cf > 156h^-1 kpc, we find that roughly 10-12% of all projections in a mass-limited sample would be classified as cold front clusters. Interestingly, the fraction of clusters with extended cold front features in our synthetic maps of a mass-limited sample trends only weakly with redshift out to z=1.0. However, when using different selection functions, including a simulated flux limit, the trending with redshift changes significantly. The likelihood of finding cold fronts in the simulated clusters in our sample is a strong function of cluster mass. In clusters with M>7.5x10^14 M_sun the cold front fraction is 40-50%. We also show that the presence of cold fronts is strongly correlated with disturbed morphology as measured by quantitative structure measures. Finally, we find that the incidence of cold fronts in the simulated cluster images is strongly dependent on baryonic physics., Comment: 16 pages, 21 figures, Accepted to ApJ

Cosmological shocks are a critical part of large-scale structure formation, and are responsible for heating the intracluster medium in galaxy clusters. In addition, they are also capable of accelerating non-thermal electrons and protons. In this work, we focus on the acceleration of electrons at shock fronts, which is thought to be responsible for radio relics - extended radio features in the vicinity of merging galaxy clusters. By combining high resolution AMR/N-body cosmological simulations with an accurate shock finding algorithm and a model for electron acceleration, we calculate the expected synchrotron emission resulting from cosmological structure formation. We produce synthetic radio maps of a large sample of galaxy clusters and present luminosity functions and scaling relationships. With upcoming long wavelength radio telescopes, we expect to see an abundance of radio emission associated with merger shocks in the intracluster medium. By producing observationally motivated statistics, we provide predictions that can be compared with observations to further improve our understanding of magnetic fields and electron shock acceleration., Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures, further discussion and appendix added, accepted to ApJ

Recently, Suzaku has produced temperature and entropy profiles, along with profiles of gas density, gas fraction, and mass, for multiple galaxy clusters out to ~r_200 (~= virial radius). In this paper, we compare these novel X-ray observations with results from N-body + hydrodynamic adaptive mesh refinement cosmological simulations using the Enzo code. There is excellent agreement in the temperature, density, and entropy profiles between a sample of 27 mostly substructure-free massive clusters in the simulated volume and the observed clusters. This supports our previous contention that clusters have "universal" outer temperature profiles. Furthermore, it appears that the simplest adiabatic gas physics used in these Enzo simulations is adequate to model the outer regions of these clusters without other mechanisms (e.g., non-gravitational heating, cooling, magnetic fields, or cosmic rays). However, the outskirts of these clusters are not in hydrostatic equilibrium. There is significant bulk flow and turbulence in the outer intracluster medium created by accretion from filaments. Thus, the gas is not fully supported by thermal pressure. The implications for mass estimation from X-ray data are discussed., Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, submitted to ApJ

The Moon is a unique platform for fundamental astrophysical measurements of gravitation, the Sun, and the Universe. Lacking a permanent ionosphere and, on the farside, shielded from terrestrial radio emissions, a radio telescope on the Moon will be an unparalleled heliospheric and astrophysical observatory. Crucial stages in particle acceleration near the Sun can be imaged and tracked. The evolution of the Universe before and during the formation of the first stars will be traced, yielding high precision cosmological constraints. Lunar Laser Ranging of the Earth-Moon distance provides extremely high precision constraints on General Relativity and alternative models of gravity, and also reveals details about the interior structure of the Moon. With the aim of providing additional perspective on the Moon as a scientific platform, this white paper describes key research projects in these areas of astrophysics from the Moon that are being undertaken by the NLSI-funded LUNAR consortium. The NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) recently funded 7 mostly university-based teams to study science of, on, and from the Moon. The LUNAR consortium was selected by the NLSI for astrophysical research and education that focuses on the key, unique instruments that most effectively take scientific advantage of sites on the lunar surface - low frequency heliophysics and cosmology, and lunar laser ranging. We are submitting this white paper to the Planetary Sciences Decadal Survey to provide additional perspective on the value of Moon for conducting cutting-edge research in astrophysics and gravitational physics by describing our key projects for LUNAR. This program of astrophysics from the Moon complements as well as takes advantage of expected scientific infrastructure on the Moon during the next few decades., Comment: 8 Pages: Submitted as a white paper to the planetary sciences decadal review

The feasibility of making highly redshifted HI 21-cm (rest frame) measurements from an early epoch of the Universe between the Dark Ages and Reionization (i.e., z>6 and nu<200 MHz) to probe the effects of feedback from the first stars and quasars is assessed in this paper. It may be possible to determine the distribution of hydrogen through the Universe and to constrain the birth of the first stars and black holes via HI tomography. Such observations may also place limits on the properties of Inflation and any exotic heating mechanisms before the first star formation begins (e.g., dark matter decay). The global (all-sky) HI signal after Recombination has distinct features at different frequencies between 30 and 200 MHz that changes as the relative balance between the CMB and spin temperatures changes due to the expansion of the Universe and the ignition of stars and/or black holes. A technology roadmap to approach these observations beginning with ground-based arrays and ending with a low frequency radio array on the lunar farside is described., Comment: 4 pages, to appear in proceedings of "The Monster's Fiery Breath: Feedback in galaxies, groups, and clusters" meeting, June 1-5 2009 in Madison, WI

To better constrain models of cool core galaxy cluster formation, we have used X-ray observations taken from the Chandra and ROSAT archives to examine the properties of cool core and non-cool core clusters, especially beyond the cluster cores. We produced X-ray images, surface brightness profiles, and hardness ratio maps of 30 nearby rich Abell clusters (17 cool cores and 13 non-cool cores). We show that the use of double beta-models with cool core surface brightness profiles and single beta-models for non-cool core profiles yield statistically significant differences in the slopes (i.e., beta values) of the outer surface brightness profiles, but similar cluster core radii, for the two types of clusters. Hardness ratio profiles as well as spectroscopically-fit temperatures suggest that non-cool core clusters are warmer than cool core clusters of comparable mass beyond the cluster cores. We compared the properties of these clusters with the results from analogously reduced simulations of 88 numerical clusters created by the AMR Enzo code. The simulated surface brightness profiles have steeper beta-model fits in the outer cluster regions for both cool cores and non-cool cores, suggesting additional ICM heating is required compared to observed cluster ICMs. Temperature and surface brightness profiles reveal that the simulated clusters are over-cooled in their cores. As in the observations, however, simulated hardness ratio and temperature profiles indicate that non-cool core clusters are warmer than cool core clusters of comparable mass far beyond the cluster cores. The general similarities between observations and simulations support a model described in Burns et al. 2008 suggesting that non-cool core clusters suffered early major mergers destroying nascent cool cores., Comment: 22 emulateapj pages, 16 figures, 4 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Detection of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM) using Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) surveys is an intriguing possibility, and one that may allow observers to quantify the amount of "missing baryons" in the WHIM phase. We estimate the necessary sensitivity for detecting low density WHIM gas with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and Planck Surveyor for a synthetic 100 square degree sky survey. This survey is generated from a very large, high dynamic range adaptive mesh refinement cosmological simulation performed with the Enzo code. We find that for a modest increase in the SPT survey sensitivity (a factor of 2-4), the WHIM gas makes a detectable contribution to the integrated sky signal. For a Planck-like satellite, similar detections are possible with a more significant increase in sensitivity (a factor of 8-10). We point out that for the WHIM gas, the kinematic SZE signal can sometimes dominate the thermal SZE where the thermal SZE decrement is maximal (150 GHz), and that using the combination of the two increases the chance of WHIM detection using SZE surveys. However, we find no evidence of unique features in the thermal SZE angular power spectrum that may aid in its detection. Interestingly, there are differences in the power spectrum of the kinematic SZE, which may not allow us to detect the WHIM directly, but could be an important contaminant in cosmological analyses of the kSZE-derived velocity field. Corrections derived from numerical simulations may be necessary to account for this contamination., Comment: 9 pages, submitted to Astrophysical Journal

One of the next decade's most exciting prospects is to explore the cosmic "dark ages," during which the first stars in the Universe formed, with the 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen. At z>6, this light redshifts into the low-frequency radio regime and can be observed with new generations of wide-field arrays. These experiments have the potential to observe enormous volumes and to improve both cosmological and astrophysical constraints dramatically. In this white paper, we describe how the next decade will see the first steps toward unlocking this potential, allowing us to answer two key questions about the fundamental physics of our Universe and the intergalactic medium: Does the standard cosmological model describe the Universe during the "dark ages?" How did the intergalactic medium evolve during this important time, ending with the reionization of hydrogen?, Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, science white paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey "Cosmology and Fundamental Physics" Science Frontier Panel

The cosmic dark ages and the epoch of reionization, during which the first generations of stars and galaxies formed, are among the most compelling frontiers of extragalactic astrophysics and cosmology. Here we describe an exciting new probe of these eras: the 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen, which will allow us to map the neutral intergalactic medium throughout the era of first galaxy formation. In this white paper, we describe how these studies can answer two key questions about galaxy formation: What were the properties of high-redshift galaxies? How did they affect the Universe around them?, Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, science white paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey "Galaxies across Cosmic Time" Science Frontier Panel

We present new results characterizing cosmological shocks within adaptive mesh refinement N-Body/hydrodynamic simulations that are used to predict non-thermal components of large-scale structure. This represents the first study of shocks using adaptive mesh refinement. We propose a modified algorithm for finding shocks from those used on unigrid simulations that reduces the shock frequency of low Mach number shocks by a factor of ~3. We then apply our new technique to a large, (512 Mpc/h)^3, cosmological volume and study the shock Mach number (M) distribution as a function of pre-shock temperature, density, and redshift. Because of the large volume of the simulation, we have superb statistics that results from having thousands of galaxy clusters. We find that the Mach number evolution can be interpreted as a method to visualize large-scale structure formation. Shocks with Mach<5 typically trace mergers and complex flows, while 520 generally follow accretion onto filaments and galaxy clusters, respectively. By applying results from nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration models using the first-order Fermi process, we calculate the amount of kinetic energy that is converted into cosmic ray protons. The acceleration of cosmic ray protons is large enough that in order to use galaxy clusters as cosmological probes, the dynamic response of the gas to the cosmic rays must be included in future numerical simulations., Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, Accepted to ApJ, minor changes made

Flux-limited X-ray samples indicate that about half of rich galaxy clusters have cool cores. Why do only some clusters have cool cores while others do not? In this paper, cosmological N-body + Eulerian hydrodynamic simulations, including radiative cooling and heating, are used to address this question as we examine the formation and evolution of cool core (CC) and non-cool core (NCC) clusters. These adaptive mesh refinement simulations produce both CC and NCC clusters in the same volume. They have a peak resolution of 15.6 h^{-1} kpc within a (256 h^{-1} Mpc)^3 box. Our simulations suggest that there are important evolutionary differences between CC clusters and their NCC counterparts. Many of the numerical CC clusters accreted mass more slowly over time and grew enhanced cool cores via hierarchical mergers; when late major mergers occurred, the CC's survived the collisions. By contrast, NCC clusters experienced major mergers early in their evolution that destroyed embryonic cool cores and produced conditions that prevented CC re-formation. As a result, our simulations predict observationally testable distinctions in the properties of CC and NCC beyond the core regions in clusters. In particular, we find differences between CC versus NCC clusters in the shapes of X-ray surface brightness profiles, between the temperatures and hardness ratios beyond the cores, between the distribution of masses, and between their supercluster environs. It also appears that CC clusters are no closer to hydrostatic equilibrium than NCC clusters, an issue important for precision cosmology measurements., Comment: 17 emulateapj pages, 17 figures, replaced with version accepted to ApJ

We use Enzo, a hybrid Eulerian AMR/N-body code including non-gravitational heating and cooling, to explore the morphology of the X-ray gas in clusters of galaxies and its evolution in current generation cosmological simulations. We employ and compare two observationally motivated structure measures: power ratios and centroid shift. Overall, the structure of our simulated clusters compares remarkably well to low-redshift observations, although some differences remain that may point to incomplete gas physics. We find no dependence on cluster structure in the mass-observable scaling relations, T_X-M and Y_X-M, when using the true cluster masses. However, estimates of the total mass based on the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium, as assumed in observational studies, are systematically low. We show that the hydrostatic mass bias strongly correlates with cluster structure and, more weakly, with cluster mass. When the hydrostatic masses are used, the mass-observable scaling relations and gas mass fractions depend significantly on cluster morphology, and the true relations are not recovered even if the most relaxed clusters are used. We show that cluster structure, via the power ratios, can be used to effectively correct the hydrostatic mass estimates and mass-scaling relations, suggesting that we can calibrate for this systematic effect in cosmological studies. Similar to observational studies, we find that cluster structure, particularly centroid shift, evolves with redshift. This evolution is mild but will lead to additional errors at high redshift. Projection along the line of sight leads to significant uncertainty in the structure of individual clusters: less than 50% of clusters which appear relaxed in projection based on our structure measures are truly relaxed., Comment: 57 pages, 18 figures, accepted to ApJ, updated definition of T_X and M_gas but results unchanged, for version with full resolution figures, see http://www.ociw.edu/~tesla/sims.ps.gz

We have analyzed a large sample of numerically simulated clusters to demonstrate the adverse effects resulting from use of X-ray fitted beta-model parameters with Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) data. There is a fundamental incompatibility between model fits to X-ray surface brightness profiles and those done with SZE profiles. Since observational SZE radial profiles are in short supply, the X-ray parameters are often used in SZE analysis. We show that this leads to biased estimates of the integrated Compton y-parameter inside r_{500} calculated from clusters. We suggest a simple correction of the method, using a non-isothermal beta-model modified by a universal temperature profile, which brings these calculated quantities into closer agreement with the true values., Comment: Accepted to The Astrophysical Journal, 10 pages, 9 figures, emulateapj style

We present the first results from a new generation of simulated large sky coverage (~100 square degrees) Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) cluster surveys using the cosmological adaptive mesh refinement N-body/hydro code Enzo. We have simulated a very large (512^3h^{-3}Mpc^3) volume with unprecedented dynamic range. We have generated simulated light cones to match the resolution and sensitivity of current and future SZE instruments. Unlike many previous studies of this type, our simulation includes unbound gas, where an appreciable fraction of the baryons in the universe reside. We have found that cluster line-of-sight overlap may be a significant issue in upcoming single-dish SZE surveys. Smaller beam surveys (~1 arcmin) have more than one massive cluster within a beam diameter 5-10% of the time, and a larger beam experiment like Planck has multiple clusters per beam 60% of the time. We explore the contribution of unresolved halos and unbound gas to the SZE signature at the maximum decrement. We find that there is a contribution from gas outside clusters of ~16% per object on average for upcoming surveys. This adds both bias and scatter to the deduced value of the integrated SZE, adding difficulty in accurately calibrating a cluster Y-M relationship. Finally, we find that in images where objects with M > 5x10^{13} M_{\odot} have had their SZE signatures removed, roughly a third of the total SZE flux still remains. This gas exists at least partially in the Warm Hot Intergalactic Medium (WHIM), and will possibly be detectable with the upcoming generation of SZE surveys., Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, version accepted to ApJ. Major revisions made

We present preliminary results from simulated large sky coverage (~100 square degrees) Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) cluster surveys using the cosmological adaptive mesh refinement N-body/hydro code Enzo. We have generated simulated light cones to match the resolution and sensitivity of current and future SZE instruments. These simulations are the most advanced calculations of their kind. The simulated sky surveys allow a direct comparison of large N-body/hydro cosmological simulations to current and pending sky surveys. Our synthetic surveys provide an indispensable guide for observers in the interpretation of large area sky surveys, and will develop the tools necessary to discriminate between models for cluster baryonic physics, and to accurately determine cosmological parameters., Comment: 3 pages, to appear in proceedings of Heating vs. Cooling in Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies, MPA/ESO/MPE/USM Joint Astronomy Conference

Why do some clusters have cool cores while others do not? In this paper, cosmological simulations, including radiative cooling and heating, are used to examine the formation and evolution of cool core (CC) and non-cool core (NCC) clusters. Numerical CC clusters at z=0 accreted mass more slowly over time and grew enhanced cool cores via hierarchical mergers; when late major mergers occurred, the CCs survived the collisions. By contrast, NCC clusters of similar mass experienced major mergers early in their evolution that destroyed embryonic cool cores and produced conditions that prevent CC re-formation. We discuss observational consequences., Comment: 6 pages, to appear in proceedings of Heating vs. Cooling in Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies, MPA/ESO/MPE/USM Joint Astronomy Conference

Withdrawn at the current time due to errors., Comment: Withdrawn due to calculation errors. A longer paper is in progress containing some of these results and corrections

We critically analyze the measurement of galaxy cluster gas masses, which is central to cosmological studies that rely on the galaxy cluster gas mass fraction. Using synthetic observations of numerically simulated clusters viewed through their X-ray emission and thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE), we reduce the observations to obtain measurements of the cluster gas mass. We are thus able to quantify the possible sources of uncertainty and systematic bias associated with the common simplifying assumptions used in reducing real cluster observations including isothermality and hydrostatic equilibrium. We find that intrinsic variations in clusters limit the precision of observational gas mass estimation to ~10% to 1 sigma confidence excluding instrumental effects. Gas mass estimates performed via all methods surprisingly show little or no trending in the scatter as a function of cluster redshift. For the full cluster sample, methods that use SZE profiles out to roughly the virial radius are the simplest, most accurate, and unbiased way to estimate cluster mass. X-ray methods are systematically more precise mass estimators than are SZE methods if merger and cool core systems are removed, but X-ray methods slightly overestimate (5-10%) the cluster gas mass on average. We find that cool core clusters in our samples are particularly poor candidates for observational mass estimation, even when excluding emission from the core region. The effects of cooling in the cluster gas alter the radial profile of the X-ray and SZE surface brightness outside the cool core region, leading to poor gas mass estimates in cool core clusters. Finally, we find that methods using a universal temperature profile estimate cluster masses to higher precision than those assuming isothermality., Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal major changes made during refereeing

We investigate empirical scaling relations between the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect (SZE) and cluster mass in simulated clusters of galaxies. The simulated clusters have been compiled from four different samples that differ only in their assumed baryonic physics. We show that the strength of the thermal SZE integrated over a significant fraction of the virialized region of the clusters is relatively insensitive to the detailed heating and cooling processes in the cores of clusters by demonstrating that the derived scaling relations are nearly identical between the four cluster samples considered. For our synthetic images, the central Comptonization parameter shows significant boosting during transient merging events, but the integrated SZE appears to be relatively insensitive to these events. Most importantly, the integrated SZE closely tracks the underlying cluster mass. Observations through the thermal SZE allow a strikingly accurate mass estimation from relatively simple measurements that do not require either parametric modeling or geometric deprojection and thus avoid assumptions regarding the physics of the ICM or the symmetry of the cluster. This result offers significant promise for precision cosmology using clusters of galaxies., Comment: 4+ pages, 2 figures, accepted to ApJ Letters; minor changes to text, added references