@article{338, abstract = {The ample chemical and structural freedom of quaternary compounds permits engineering materials that fulfill the requirements of a wide variety of applications. In this work, the mechanisms to achieve unprecedented size, shape, and composition control in quaternary nanocrystals are detailed. The described procedure allows obtaining tetrahedral and penta-tetrahedral quaternary nanocrystals with tuned size distributions and controlled compositions from a plethora of I 2-II-IV-VI 4 semiconductors.}, author = {Ibáñez, Maria and Zamani, Reza and Li, Wenhua and Shavel, Alexey and Arbiol, Jordi and Morante, Joan and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Crystal Growth and Design }, number = {3}, pages = {1085 -- 1090}, publisher = {American Chemical Society (ACS)}, title = {{Extending the nanocrystal synthesis control to quaternary compositions}}, doi = {10.1021/cg201709c}, volume = {12}, year = {2012}, } @article{339, abstract = {A high-yield and upscalable colloidal synthesis route for the production of quaternary I 2-II-IV-VI 4 nanocrystals, particularly stannite Cu 2+xCd 1-xSnSe 4, with narrow size distribution and precisely controlled composition is presented. It is also shown here how the diversity of valences in the constituent elements allows an effective control of their electrical conductivity through the adjustment of the cation ratios. At the same time, while the crystallographic complexity of quaternary chalcogenides is associated with intrinsically low thermal conductivities, the reduction of the lattice dimensions to the nanoscale further reduces the materials thermal conductivity. In the specific case of the stannite crystal structure, a convenient slab distribution of the valence band maximum states permits a partial decoupling of the p-type electrical conductivity from both the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity. Combining these features, we demonstrate how an initial optimization of the nanocrystals Cd/Cu ratio allowed us to obtain low-temperature solution-processed materials with ZT values up to 0.71 at 685 K.}, author = {Ibáñez, Maria and Cadavid, Doris and Zamani, Reza and García Castelló, Nuria and Izquierdo Roca, Victora and Li, Wenhua and Fairbrother, Andrew and Prades, Joan and Shavel, Alexey and Arbiol, Jordi and Pérez Rodríguez, Alejandro and Morante, Joan and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Chemistry of Materials}, number = {3}, pages = {562 -- 570}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Composition control and thermoelectric properties of quaternary chalcogenide nanocrystals: The case of stannite Cu2CdSnSe4}}, doi = {10.1021/cm2031812}, volume = {24}, year = {2012}, } @article{345, abstract = {Nanocomposites are highly promising materials to enhance the efficiency of current thermoelectric devices. A straightforward and at the same time highly versatile and controllable approach to produce nanocomposites is the assembly of solution-processed nanocrystal building blocks. The convenience of this bottom-up approach to produce nanocomposites with homogeneous phase distributions and adjustable composition is demonstrated here by blending Ag2Te and PbTe colloidal nanocrystals to form Ag2Te–PbTe bulk nanocomposites. The thermoelectric properties of these nanocomposites are analyzed in the temperature range from 300 to 700 K. The evolution of their electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient is discussed in terms of the blend composition and the characteristics of the constituent materials. }, author = {Cadavid, Doris and Ibáñez, Maria and Gorsse, Stéphane and López, Antonio and Cirera, Albert and Morante, Joan and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Journal of Nanoparticle Research}, number = {12}, publisher = {Kluwer}, title = {{Bottom-up processing of thermoelectric nanocomposites from colloidal nanocrystal building blocks: The case of Ag2Te–PbTe}}, doi = {10.1007/s11051-012-1328-0}, volume = {14}, year = {2012}, } @article{346, abstract = {Arrays of vertically aligned ZnO : Cl/TiO2 and ZnO : Cl/ZnxTiOy/TiO2 core–shell nanowires (NWs) were prepared by means of the combination of two solution-growth processes. First, single-crystal ZnO NWs with controlled n-type doping were grown on conducting substrates by a low-cost, high-yield and seed-free electrochemical route. These NWs were covered by a titanium oxide shell of tunable thickness mediating successive adsorption-hydrolysis-condensation steps. Using this atomic-layer growth procedure, titania shells with controlled thickness and the anatase TiO2 phase were obtained after sintering at 450 °C. Higher sintering temperatures resulted in the formation of ZnO : Cl/ZnxTiOy/TiO2 core–shell NWs by the interdiffusion of Zn and Ti ions at the ZnO–TiO2 interface. The performance of ZnO : Cl/TiO2 and ZnO : Cl/ZnxTiOy/TiO2 core–shell NWs towards photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting was investigated as a function of the titania shell thickness. Furthermore, the performance of such core–shell NWs as photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells was also characterized. The TiO2 presence at the ZnO : Cl surface promoted a two-fold increase on the produced photocurrent densities, probing their potential for PEC and optoelectronic applications. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to corroborate the lower resistance for charge transfer between the NWs and the electrolyte in the presence of the TiO2 shell.}, author = {Fan, Jiandong and Zamani, Reza and Fábrega, Cristina and Shavel, Alexey and Flox, Cristina and Ibáñez, Maria and Andreu, Teresa and López, Amtonio and Arbiol, Jordi and Morante, Joan and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics}, number = {41}, publisher = {IOP Publishing Ltd.}, title = {{Solution-growth and optoelectronic performance of ZnO : Cl/TiO2 and ZnO : Cl/ZnxTiOy/TiO2 core–shell nanowires with tunable shell thickness}}, doi = {10.1088/0022-3727/45/41/415301}, volume = {45}, year = {2012}, } @article{347, abstract = {A synthetic route for producing Cu 2ZnGeSe 4 nanocrystals with narrow size distributions and controlled composition is presented. These nanocrystals were used to produce densely packed nanomaterials by hot-pressing. From the characterization of the thermoelectric properties of these nanomaterials, Cu 2ZnGeSe 4 is demonstrated to show excellent thermoelectric properties. A very preliminary adjustment of the nanocrystal composition has already resulted in a figure of merit of up to 0.55 at 450°C. }, author = {Ibáñez, Maria and Zamani, Reza and Lalonde, Aaron and Cadavid, Doris and Li, Wenhua and Shavel, Alexey and Arbiol, Jordi and Morante, Joan and Gorsse, Stéphane and Snyder, G Jeffrey and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Journal of the American Chemical Society}, number = {9}, pages = {4060 -- 4063}, publisher = {ACS}, title = {{Cu 2ZnGeSe 4 nanocrystals: Synthesis and thermoelectric properties}}, doi = {10.1021/ja211952z}, volume = {134}, year = {2012}, } @article{377, abstract = {The potential to control the composition and crystal phase at the nanometer scale enable the production of nanocrystalline materials with enhanced functionalities and new applications. In the present work, we detail a novel colloidal synthesis route to prepare nanoparticles of the ternary semiconductor Cu2GeSe3 (CGSe) with nanometer-scale control over their crystal phases. We also demonstrate the structural effect on the thermoelectric properties of bottom-up-prepared CGSe nanomaterials. By careful adjustment of the nucleation and growth temperatures, pure orthorhombic CGSe nanoparticles with cationic order or polytypic CGSe nanoparticles with disordered cation positions can be produced. In this second type of nanoparticle, a high density of twins can be created to periodically change the atomic plane stacking, forming a hexagonal wurtzite CGSe phase. The high yield of the synthetic routes reported here allows the production of single-phase and multiphase CGSe nanoparticles in the gram scale, which permits characterization of the thermoelectric properties of these materials. Reduced thermal conductivities and a related 2.5-fold increase of the thermoelectric figure of merit for multiphase nanomaterials compared to pure-phase CGSe are systematically obtained. These results are discussed in terms of the density and efficiency of phonon scattering centers in both types of materials.}, author = {Ibáñez, Maria and Zamani, Reza and Li, Wenhua and Cadavid, Doris and Gorse, Stéphane and Katchoi, Nebll and Shavel, Alexey and López, Antonioo and Morante, Joan and Arbiol, Jordi and Cabot, Andreu}, journal = {Chemistry of Materials}, number = {23}, pages = {4615 -- 4622}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Crystallographic control at the nanoscale to enhance functionality: Polytypic Cu2GeSe3 nanoparticles as thermoelectric materials}}, doi = {10.1021/cm303252q}, volume = {24}, year = {2012}, } @article{3836, abstract = {Hierarchical Timing Language (HTL) is a coordination language for distributed, hard real-time applications. HTL is a hierarchical extension of Giotto and, like its predecessor, based on the logical execution time (LET) paradigm of real-time programming. Giotto is compiled into code for a virtual machine, called the EmbeddedMachine (or E machine). If HTL is targeted to the E machine, then the hierarchicalprogram structure needs to be flattened; the flattening makes separatecompilation difficult, and may result in E machinecode of exponential size. In this paper, we propose a generalization of the E machine, which supports a hierarchicalprogram structure at runtime through real-time trigger mechanisms that are arranged in a tree. We present the generalized E machine, and a modular compiler for HTL that generates code of linear size. The compiler may generate code for any part of a given HTL program separately in any order.}, author = {Ghosal, Arkadeb and Iercan, Daniel and Kirsch, Christoph and Henzinger, Thomas A and Sangiovanni Vincentelli, Alberto}, journal = {Science of Computer Programming}, number = {2}, pages = {96 -- 112}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Separate compilation of hierarchical real-time programs into linear-bounded embedded machine code}}, doi = {10.1016/j.scico.2010.06.004}, volume = {77}, year = {2012}, } @article{3846, abstract = {We summarize classical and recent results about two-player games played on graphs with ω-regular objectives. These games have applications in the verification and synthesis of reactive systems. Important distinctions are whether a graph game is turn-based or concurrent; deterministic or stochastic; zero-sum or not. We cluster known results and open problems according to these classifications.}, author = {Chatterjee, Krishnendu and Henzinger, Thomas A}, journal = {Journal of Computer and System Sciences}, number = {2}, pages = {394 -- 413}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{A survey of stochastic ω regular games}}, doi = {10.1016/j.jcss.2011.05.002}, volume = {78}, year = {2012}, } @article{387, abstract = {In this Letter we present detailed study of the density of states near defects in Bi 2Se 3. In particular, we present data on the commonly found triangular defects in this system. While we do not find any measurable quasiparticle scattering interference effects, we do find localized resonances, which can be well fitted by theory once the potential is taken to be extended to properly account for the observed defects. The data together with the fits confirm that while the local density of states around the Dirac point of the electronic spectrum at the surface is significantly disrupted near the impurity by the creation of low-energy resonance state, the Dirac point is not locally destroyed. We discuss our results in terms of the expected protected surface state of topological insulators. © 2012 American Physical Society.}, author = {Alpichshev, Zhanybek and Biswas, Rudro and Balatsky, Alexander and Analytis, James and Chu, Jiunhaw and Fisher, Ian and Kapitulnik, Aharon}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {20}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{STM imaging of impurity resonances on Bi 2Se 3}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.206402}, volume = {108}, year = {2012}, } @article{1725, abstract = {The spatial organization of cell fates during development involves the interpretation of morphogen gradients by cellular signaling cascades and transcriptional networks. Recent studies use biophysical models, genetics, and quantitative imaging to unravel how tissue-level morphogen behavior arises from subcellular events. Moreover, data from several systems show that morphogen gradients, downstream signaling, and the activity of cell-intrinsic transcriptional networks change dynamically during pattern formation. Studies from Drosophila and now also vertebrates suggest that transcriptional network dynamics are central to the generation of gene expression patterns. Together, this leads to the view that pattern formation is an emergent behavior that results from the coordination of events occurring across molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. The development of novel approaches to study this complex process remains a challenge.}, author = {Anna Kicheva and Cohen, Michael H and Briscoe, James}, journal = {Science}, number = {6104}, pages = {210 -- 212}, publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science}, title = {{Developmental pattern formation: Insights from physics and biology}}, doi = {10.1126/science.1225182}, volume = {338}, year = {2012}, } @article{1756, abstract = {We report on the electronic transport properties of multiple-gate devices fabricated from undoped silicon nanowires. Understanding and control of the relevant transport mechanisms was achieved by means of local electrostatic gating and temperature-dependent measurements. The roles of the source/drain contacts and of the silicon channel could be independently evaluated and tuned. Wrap gates surrounding the silicide-silicon contact interfaces were proved to be effective in inducing a full suppression of the contact Schottky barriers, thereby enabling carrier injection down to liquid helium temperature. By independently tuning the effective Schottky barrier heights, a variety of reconfigurable device functionalities could be obtained. In particular, the same nanowire device could be configured to work as a Schottky barrier transistor, a Schottky diode, or a p-n diode with tunable polarities. This versatility was eventually exploited to realize a NAND logic gate with gain well above one.}, author = {Mongillo, Massimo and Spathis, Panayotis N and Georgios Katsaros and Gentile, Pascal and De Franceschi, Silvano}, journal = {Nano Letters}, number = {6}, pages = {3074 -- 3079}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, title = {{Multifunctional devices and logic gates with undoped silicon nanowires}}, doi = {10.1021/nl300930m}, volume = {12}, year = {2012}, } @article{1757, abstract = {Self-assembled Ge wires with a height of only 3 unit cells and a length of up to 2 micrometers were grown on Si(001) by means of a catalyst-free method based on molecular beam epitaxy. The wires grow horizontally along either the [100] or the [010] direction. On atomically flat surfaces, they exhibit a highly uniform, triangular cross section. A simple thermodynamic model accounts for the existence of a preferential base width for longitudinal expansion, in quantitative agreement with the experimental findings. Despite the absence of intentional doping, the first transistor-type devices made from single wires show low-resistive electrical contacts and single-hole transport at sub-Kelvin temperatures. In view of their exceptionally small and self-defined cross section, these Ge wires hold promise for the realization of hole systems with exotic properties and provide a new development route for silicon-based nanoelectronics.}, author = {Zhang, Jianjun and Georgios Katsaros and Montalenti, Francesco and Scopece, Daniele and Rezaev, Roman O and Mickel, Christine H and Rellinghaus, Bernd and Miglio, Leo P and De Franceschi, Silvano and Rastelli, Armando and Schmidt, Oliver G}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {8}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Monolithic growth of ultrathin Ge nanowires on Si(001) }}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.085502}, volume = {109}, year = {2012}, } @article{1758, abstract = {We studied the low-energy states of spin-1/2 quantum dots defined in InAs/InP nanowires and coupled to aluminum superconducting leads. By varying the superconducting gap Δ with a magnetic field B we investigated the transition from strong coupling Δ≪T K to weak-coupling Δ≫T K, where T K is the Kondo temperature. Below the critical field, we observe a persisting zero-bias Kondo resonance that vanishes only for low B or higher temperatures, leaving the room to more robust subgap structures at bias voltages between Δ and 2Δ. For strong and approximately symmetric tunnel couplings, a Josephson supercurrent is observed in addition to the Kondo peak. We ascribe the coexistence of a Kondo resonance and a superconducting gap to a significant density of intragap quasiparticle states, and the finite-bias subgap structures to tunneling through Shiba states. Our results, supported by numerical calculations, own relevance also in relation to tunnel-spectroscopy experiments aiming at the observation of Majorana fermions in hybrid nanostructures.}, author = {Lee, Eduardo J and Jiang, Xiaocheng and Aguado, Ramón and Georgios Katsaros and Lieber, Charles M and De Franceschi, Silvano}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {18}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Zero-bias anomaly in a nanowire quantum dot coupled to superconductors}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.186802}, volume = {109}, year = {2012}, } @article{17613, abstract = {We study the interaction of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary and a standard radiatively efficient thin accretion disk. We examine steady-state configurations of the disk and migrating SMBH system, self-consistently accounting for tidal and viscous torques and heating, radiative diffusion limited cooling, gas and radiation pressure, and the decay of the binary's orbit. We obtain a "phase diagram" of the system as a function of binary parameters, showing regimes in which both the disk structure and migration have a different character. Although massive binaries can create a central gap in the disk at large radii, the tidal barrier of the secondary causes a significant pile-up of gas outside of its orbit, which can lead to the closing of the gap. We find that this spillover occurs at an orbital separation as large as ~200 M_7^{-1/2} gravitational radii, where M = 10^7 M_7 Msun is the total binary mass. If the secondary is less massive than ~10^6 Msun, then the gap is closed before gravitational waves (GWs) start dominating the orbital decay. In this regime, the disk is still strongly perturbed, but the piled-up gas continuously overflows as in a porous dam, and crosses inside the secondary's orbit. The corresponding migration rate, which we label Type 1.5, is slower than the usual limiting cases known as Type I and II migration. Compared to an unperturbed disk, the steady-state disk in the overflowing regime is up to several hundred times brighter in the optical bands. Surveys such as PanSTARRS or LSST may discover the periodic variability of this population of binaries. Our results imply that the circumbinary disks around SMBHs can extend to small radii during the last stages of their merger, when they are detectable by LISA, and may produce coincident electromagnetic (EM) emission similar to active galactic nuclei (AGN).}, author = {Kocsis, Bence and Haiman, Zoltán and Loeb, Abraham}, issn = {0035-8711}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, pages = {2680--2700}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Gas pile-up, gap overflow and Type 1.5 migration in circumbinary discs: Application to supermassive black hole binaries}}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.22118.x}, volume = {427}, year = {2012}, } @article{17636, abstract = {It is commonly believed that the earliest stages of star formation in the Universe were self-regulated by global radiation backgrounds - either by the ultraviolet (UV) Lyman-Werner (LW) photons emitted by the first stars (directly photodissociating H2), or by the X-rays produced by accretion on to the black hole (BH) remnants of these stars (heating the gas but catalysing H2 formation). Recent studies have suggested that a significant fraction of the first stars may have had low masses (a few M⊙). Such stars do not leave BH remnants and they have softer spectra, with copious infrared (IR) radiation at photon energies ∼1 eV. Similar to LW and X-ray photons, these photons have a mean-free path comparable to the Hubble distance, building up an early IR background. Here we show that if soft-spectrum stars, with masses of a few M⊙, contributed ≳0.3 per cent of the UV background (or their mass fraction exceeded ∼80 per cent), then their IR radiation dominated radiative feedback in the early Universe. The feedback is different from the UV feedback from high-mass stars, and occurs through the photodetachment of H− ions, necessary for efficient H2 formation. Nevertheless, we find that the baryon fraction which must be incorporated into low-mass stars in order to suppress H2 cooling is only a factor of a few higher than for high-mass stars.}, author = {Wolcott-Green, J. and Haiman, Zoltán}, issn = {1745-3925}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters}, number = {1}, pages = {L51--L55}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Feedback from the infrared background in the early universe}}, doi = {10.1111/j.1745-3933.2012.01298.x}, volume = {425}, year = {2012}, } @inproceedings{17651, abstract = {A decade after their first discovery, the origin of giant supermassive black holes (SMBHs), with masses in excess of 109 Msolar, at redshifts as early as z > 6, remains a puzzle. One possibility is that stellar-mass ``seed'' BHs, left behind by the first stars, accrete gas at close to the Eddington limit during a large fraction (>~ 50%) of the time. While maintaining such a high accretion rate may itself be difficult, here we focus on another, less commonly discussed problem in this scenario: unless BH seed formation and growth are preferentially suppressed in less massive protogalaxies, the mass density in M~106Msolar SMBHs at z ~ 6 already exceeds the locally observed SMBH mass density by several orders of magnitude. We show that the X-rays from the earliest accreting BHs themselves can cause a self-regulation, by partially ionizing and heating the intergalactic medium (IGM). This ``global warming'' suppresses the formation and growth of subsequent generations of BHs in low-mass halos, and can produce excellent agreement with recent estimates of the z = 6 SMBH mass function, without impeding the growth of the largest (M>~109Msolar) holes, which reside in the most massive galaxies that formed first. The proposed gravitational-wave observatory eLISA could detect several tens of major mergers between SMBHs at z > 6.}, author = {Haiman, Zoltán and Tanaka, Takamitsu and Perna, Rosalba}, booktitle = {AIP Conference Proceedings}, issn = {0094-243X}, location = {Kyoto, Japan}, pages = {303--308}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, title = {{Self-regulating the early growth of black holes through global warming}}, doi = {10.1063/1.4754372}, volume = {1480}, year = {2012}, } @article{17660, abstract = {Many astrophysical binaries, from planets to black holes, exert strong torques on their circumbinary accretion discs, and are expected to significantly modify the disc structure. Despite the several decade long history of the subject, the joint evolution of the binary + disc system has not been modelled with self-consistent assumptions for arbitrary mass ratios and accretion rates. Here, we solve the coupled binary–disc evolution equations analytically in the strongly perturbed limit, treating the azimuthally averaged angular momentum exchange between the disc and the binary and the modifications to the density, scaleheight, and viscosity self-consistently, including viscous and tidal heating, diffusion limited cooling, radiation pressure and the orbital decay of the binary. We find a solution with a central cavity and a migration rate similar to those previously obtained for Type II migration, applicable for large masses and binary separations, and near-equal mass ratios. However, we identify a distinct new regime, applicable at smaller separations and masses, and mass ratio in the range 10−3 ≲ q ≲ 0.1. For these systems, gas piles up outside the binary's orbit, but rather than creating a cavity, it continuously overflows as in a porous dam. The disc profile is intermediate between a weakly perturbed disc (producing Type I migration) and a disc with a gap (with Type II migration). However, the migration rate of the secondary is typically slower than both Type I and Type II rates. We term this new regime ‘Type 1.5’ migration.}, author = {Kocsis, Bence and Haiman, Zoltán and Loeb, Abraham}, issn = {0035-8711}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {3}, pages = {2660--2679}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Gas pile-up, gap overflow and Type 1.5 migration in circumbinary discs: General theory}}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.22129.x}, volume = {427}, year = {2012}, } @article{17674, abstract = {The power spectrum of cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies is sensitive to the connection between star formation and dark matter haloes over the entire cosmic star formation history. Here we develop a model that associates star‐forming galaxies with dark matter haloes and their subhaloes. The model is based on a parametrized relation between the dust‐processed infrared luminosity and (sub)halo mass. By adjusting three free parameters, we attempt to simultaneously fit the four frequency bands of the Planck measurement of the CIB anisotropy power spectrum. To fit the data, we find that the star formation efficiency must peak on a halo mass scale of ≈5 × 10^12 M⊙ and the infrared luminosity per unit mass must increase rapidly with redshift. By comparing our predictions with a well‐calibrated phenomenological model for shot noise, and with a direct observation of source counts, we show that the mean duty cycle of the underlying infrared sources must be near unity, indicating that the CIB is dominated by long‐lived quiescent star formation, rather than intermittent short ‘starbursts’. Despite the improved flexibility of our model, the best simultaneous fit to all four Planck channels remains relatively poor. We discuss possible further extensions to alleviate the remaining tension with the data. Our model presents a theoretical framework for a future joint analysis of both background anisotropy and source count measurements.}, author = {Shang, Cien and Haiman, Zoltán and Knox, Lloyd and Oh, S. Peng}, issn = {0035-8711}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {4}, pages = {2832--2845}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Improved models for cosmic infrared background anisotropies: New constraints on the infrared galaxy population}}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20510.x}, volume = {421}, year = {2012}, } @article{17675, abstract = {In this paper, we show that Minkowski Functionals (MFs) of weak gravitational lensing (WL) convergence maps contain significant non-Gaussian, cosmology-dependent information. To do this, we use a large suite of cosmological ray-tracing N-body simulations to create mock WL convergence maps, and study the cosmological information content of MFs derived from these maps. Our suite consists of 80 independent 512^3 N-body runs, covering seven different cosmologies, varying three cosmological parameters Omega_m, w, and sigma_8 one at a time, around a fiducial LambdaCDM model. In each cosmology, we use ray-tracing to create a thousand pseudo-independent 12 deg^2 convergence maps, and use these in a Monte Carlo procedure to estimate the joint confidence contours on the above three parameters. We include redshift tomography at three different source redshifts z_s=1, 1.5, 2, explore five different smoothing scales theta_G=1, 2, 3, 5, 10 arcmin, and explicitly compare and combine the MFs with the WL power spectrum. We find that the MFs capture a substantial amount of information from non-Gaussian features of convergence maps, i.e. beyond the power spectrum. The MFs are particularly well suited to break degeneracies and to constrain the dark energy equation of state parameter w (by a factor of ~ three better than from the power spectrum alone). The non-Gaussian information derives partly from the one-point function of the convergence (through V_0, the "area" MF), and partly through non-linear spatial information (through combining different smoothing scales for V_0, and through V_1 and V_2, the boundary length and genus MFs, respectively). In contrast to the power spectrum, the best constraints from the MFs are obtained only when multiple smoothing scales are combined.}, author = {Kratochvil, Jan M. and Lim, Eugene A. and Wang, Sheng and Haiman, Zoltán and May, Morgan and Huffenberger, Kevin}, issn = {1550-7998}, journal = {Physical Review D}, number = {10}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Probing cosmology with weak lensing Minkowski functionals}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevd.85.103513}, volume = {85}, year = {2012}, } @article{17678, abstract = {The spectra of several high-redshift (z>6) quasars have shown evidence for a Gunn-Peterson (GP) damping wing, indicating a substantial mean neutral hydrogen fraction (x_HI > 0.03) in the z ~ 6 intergalactic medium (IGM). However, previous analyses assumed that the IGM was uniformly ionized outside of the quasar's HII region. Here we relax this assumption and model patchy reionization scenarios for a range of IGM and quasar parameters. We quantify the impact of these differences on the inferred x_HI, by fitting the spectra of three quasars: SDSS J1148+5251 (z=6.419), J1030+0524 (z=6.308), and J1623+3112 (z=6.247). We find that the best-fit values of x_HI in the patchy models agree well with the uniform case. More importantly, we confirm that the observed spectra favor the presence of a GP damping wing, with peak likelihoods decreasing by factors of > few - 10 when the spectra are modeled without a damping wing. We also find that the Ly alpha absorption spectra, by themselves, cannot distinguish the damping wing in a relatively neutral IGM from a damping wing in a highly ionized IGM, caused either by an isolated neutral patch, or by a damped Ly alpha absorber (DLA). However, neutral patches in a highly ionized universe (x_HI < 0.01), and DLAs with the large required column densities (N_HI > few x 10^{20} cm^{-2}) are both rare. As a result, when we include reasonable prior probabilities for the line of sight (LOS) to intercept either a neutral patch or a DLA at the required distance of ~ 40-60 comoving Mpc away from the quasar, we find strong lower limits on the neutral fraction in the IGM, x_HI > 0.1 (at 95% confidence). This strengthens earlier claims that a substantial global fraction of hydrogen in the z~6 IGM is in neutral form.}, author = {Schroeder, Joshua and Mesinger, Andrei and Haiman, Zoltán}, issn = {0035-8711}, journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {4}, pages = {3058--3071}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Evidence of Gunn–Peterson damping wings in high-z quasar spectra: Strengthening the case for incomplete reionization at z ∼ 6–7}}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/sts253}, volume = {428}, year = {2012}, }