Abstract: We measure the acoustic scale from the angular power spectra of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) Data Release 8 imaging catalog that includes 872, 921 galaxies over similar to 10,000 deg(2) between 0.45 < z < 0.65. The extensive spectroscopic training set of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey luminous galaxies allows precise estimates of the true redshift distributions of galaxies in our imaging catalog. Utilizing the redshift distribution information, we build templates and fit to the power spectra of the data, which are measured in our companion paper, to derive the location of Baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) while marginalizing over many free parameters to exclude nearly all of the non-BAO signal. We derive the ratio of the angular diameter distance to the sound horizon scale D-A(z)/r(s) = 9.212(-0.404)(+0.416) at z = 0.54, and therefore D-A(z) = 1411 +/- 65 Mpc at z = 0.54; the result is fairly independent of assumptions on the underlying cosmology. Our measurement of angular diameter distance D-A(z) is 1.4 sigma higher than what is expected for the concordance Lambda CDM, in accordance to the trend of other spectroscopic BAO measurements for z greater than or similar to 0.35. We report constraints on cosmological parameters from our measurement in combination with the WMAP7 data and the previous spectroscopic BAO measurements of SDSS and WiggleZ. We refer to our companion papers (Ho et al.; de Putter et al.) for investigations on information of the full power spectrum.

Abstract: Detection of the IceCube-170922A neutrino coincident with the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056, the first and only similar to 3 sigma high-energy neutrino source association to date, offers a potential breakthrough in our understanding of high-energy cosmic particles and blazar physics. We present a comprehensive analysis of TXS. 0506+056 during its flaring state, using newly collected Swift, NuSTAR, and X-shooter data with Fermi observations and numerical models to constrain the blazar's particle acceleration processes and multimessenger (electromagnetic (EM) and high-energy neutrino) emissions. Accounting properly for EM cascades in the emission region, we find a physically consistent picture only within a hybrid leptonic scenario, with gamma-rays produced by external inverse-Compton processes and high-energy neutrinos via a radiatively subdominant hadronic component. We derive robust constraints on the blazar's neutrino and cosmic-ray emissions and demonstrate that, because of cascade effects, the 0.1-100 keV emissions of TXS. 0506+056 serve as a better probe of its hadronic acceleration and highenergy neutrino production processes than its GeV-TeV emissions. If the IceCube neutrino association holds, physical conditions in the TXS. 0506+056 jet must be close to optimal for high-energy neutrino production, and are not favorable for ultrahigh-energy cosmic-ray acceleration. Alternatively, the challenges we identify in generating a significant rate of IceCube neutrino detections from TXS. 0506+056 may disfavor single-zone models, in which.-rays and high-energy neutrinos are produced in a single emission region. In concert with continued operations of the high-energy neutrino observatories, we advocate regular X-ray monitoring of TXS. 0506+056 and other blazars in order to test single-zone blazar emission models, clarify the nature and extent of their hadronic acceleration processes, and carry out the most sensitive possible search for additional multimessenger sources.

Abstract: Measuring temperature fluctuations in the 21 cm signal from the epoch of reionization and the cosmic dawn is one of the most promising ways to study the universe at high redshifts. Unfortunately, the 21 cm signal is affected by both cosmology and astrophysics processes in a nontrivial manner. We run a suite of 1000 numerical simulations with different values of the main astrophysical parameters. From these simulations we produce tens of thousands of 21 cm maps at redshifts 10 <= z <= 20. We train a convolutional neural network to remove the effects of astrophysics from the 21 cm maps and output maps of the underlying matter field. We show that our model is able to generate 2D matter fields not only that resemble the true ones visually but whose statistical properties agree with the true ones within a few percent down to scales 2 Mpc(-1). We demonstrate that our neural network retains astrophysical information that can be used to constrain the value of the astrophysical parameters. Finally, we use saliency maps to try to understand which features of the 21 cm maps the network is using in order to determine the value of the astrophysical parameters.

Abstract: We provide three Fortran programs which evaluate the QCD analytic (holomorphic) couplings A(v)(Q(2)) for complex or real squared momenta Q(2). These couplings are holomorphic analogs of the powers a(Q(2))(v) of the underlying perturbative QCD (pQCD) coupling a(Q(2)) equivalent to alpha(s)(Q(2))/pi, in three analytic QCD models (anQCD): Fractional Analytic Perturbation Theory (FAPT), Two-delta analytic QCD (2 delta anQCD), and Massive Perturbation Theory (MPT). The index v can be noninteger. The provided programs do basically the same job as the Mathematica package anQCD.m published by us previously (Ayala and Cvetic, 2015), but are now written in Fortran. Program summary Program title: AanQCDext Catalogue identifier: AEYKv10 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEYICv1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 12105 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 98822 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran. Computer: Any work-station or PC where Fortran 95/200312008 (gfortran) is running. Operating system: Operating system Linux (Ubuntu and Scientific Linux), Windows (in all cases using gfortran). Classification: 11.1, 11.5. Nature of problem: Calculation of values of the running analytic couplings A(v)(Q(2); N-f) for general complex squared momenta Q(2) equivalent to -q(2), in three analytic QCD models, where A(v)(Q(2); N-f) is the analytic (holomorphic) analog of the power (alpha(s)(Q(2); N-f)/pi)(v). Here, A(v)(Q(2); N-f) is a holomorphic function in the Q(2) complex plane, with the exception of the negative semiaxis (-infinity, -M-thr(2)], reflecting the analyticity properties of the spacelike renormalization invariant quantities D(Q(2)) in QCD. In contrast, the perturbative QCD power (alpha(s)(Q(2); N-f)/pi)(v) has singularities even outside the negative semiaxis (Landau ghosts). The three considered models are: Analytic Perturbation theory (APT); Two-delta analytic QCD (2 delta anQCD); Massive Perturbation Theory (MPT). We refer to Ref. [1] for more details and literature. Solution method: The Fortran programs for FAPT and 2 delta anQCD models contain routines and functions needed to perform two-dimensional numerical integrations involving the spectral function, in order to evaluate A(v)(Q(2)) couplings. In MPT model, one-dimensional numerical integration involving A(1)(Q(2)) is sufficient to evaluate any A(v)(Q(2)) coupling. Restrictions: For unphysical choices of the input parameters the results are meaningless. When Q(2) is close to the cut region of the couplings (Q(2) real negative), the calculations can take more time and can have less precision. Running time: For evaluation of a set of about 10 related couplings, the times vary in the range t similar to 10(1)-10(2) s. MPT requires less time, t similar to 1-10(1) s. References: [1] C. Ayala and G. Cvetic, anQCD: a Mathematica package for calculations in general analytic QCD models, Comput. Phys. Commun. 190 (2015) 182.

Abstract: We describe the Hybrid seeding, a stand-alone pattern recognition algorithm aiming at finding charged particle trajectories for the LHCb upgrade. A significant improvement to the charged particle reconstruction efficiency is accomplished by exploiting the knowledge of the LHCb magnetic field and the position of energy deposits in the scintillating fibre tracker detector. Moreover, we achieve a low fake rate and a small contribution to the overall timing budget of the LHCb real-time data processing.