Abstract: We present a study of tau(-) -> pi(-KsKs0)-K-0(pi(0))nu(tau) and tau(-) -> (K-KsKs0)-K-0(pi(0))nu(tau) decays using a data set of 430 million tau lepton pairs, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 468 fb(-1), collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy e(+)e(-) storage rings. We measure branching fractions of (2.31 +/- 0.04 +/- 0.08) x 10(-4) and (1.60 +/- 0.20 +/- 0.22) x 10(-5) for the tau(-) -> pi(-KsKs0)-K-0 nu(tau) and tau(-) -> pi(-KsKs0)-K-0 pi(0)nu(tau) decays, respectively. We find no evidence for tau(-) -> (K-KsKs0)-K-0 nu(tau) and tau(-) -> (K-KsKs0)-K-0 pi(0)nu(tau) decays and place upper limits on the branching fractions of 6.3 x 10(-7) and 4.0 x 10(-7) at the 90% confidence level.

Abstract: We present a method to minimize, or even cancel out, the nuisance parameters affecting a measurement. Our approach is general and can be applied to any experiment or observation where systematic errors are a concern e.g. are larger than statistical errors. We compare it with the Bayesian technique used to deal with nuisance parameters: marginalization, and show how the method compares and improves by avoiding biases. We illustrate the method with several examples taken from the astrophysics and cosmology world: baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs), cosmic clocks, Type Ia supernova (SNIa) luminosity distance, neutrino oscillations and dark matter detection. By applying the method we not only recover some known results but also find some interesting new ones. For BAO experiments we show how to combine radial and angular BAO measurements in order to completely eliminate the dependence on the sound horizon at radiation drag. In the case of exploiting SNIa as standard candles we show how the uncertainty in the luminosity distance by a second parameter modelled as a metallicity dependence can be eliminated or greatly reduced. When using cosmic clocks to measure the expansion rate of the universe, we demonstrate how a particular combination of observables nearly removes the metallicity dependence of the galaxy on determining differential ages, thus removing the agemetallicity degeneracy in stellar populations. We hope that these findings will be useful in future surveys to obtain robust constraints on the dark energy equation of state.

Abstract: We explore the interplay between renormalization, charge independence and charge symmetry breaking (CIB and CSB) in S-wave nucleon-nucleon scattering. The renormalizability requirement generates universality functions, that is, correlations between the low-energy scattering observables in the neutron-neutron, neutron-proton, and proton-proton systems. The universality functions only depend on the (known) form of the nucleon-nucleon potential at long distances and, in particular, they do not require any assumptions about short-range CIB and CSB effects. In addition, the inclusion of Coulomb effects is trivial for the particular case of proton-proton scattering, allowing us to relate strong and Coulomb scattering observables. Within this approach, and using a one-boson-exchange potential, the previous correlations are shown to be phenomenologically satisfied without the need to introduce further parameters.

Abstract: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) surveyed 14,555 deg(2), and delivered over a trillion pixels of imaging data. We present a study of galaxy clustering using 900,000 luminous galaxies with photometric redshifts, spanning between z = 0.45 and z = 0.65, constructed from the SDSS using methods described in Ross et al. This data set spans 11,000 deg(2) and probes a volume of 3 h(-3) Gpc(3), making it the largest volume ever used for galaxy clustering measurements. We describe in detail the construction of the survey window function and various systematics affecting our measurement. With such a large volume, high-precision cosmological constraints can be obtained given careful control and understanding of the observational systematics. We present a novel treatment of the observational systematics and its applications to the clustering signals from the data set. In this paper, we measure the angular clustering using an optimal quadratic estimator at four redshift slices with an accuracy of similar to 15%, with a bin size of delta(l) = 10 on scales of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs; at l similar to 40-400). We also apply corrections to the power spectra due to systematics and derive cosmological constraints using the full shape of the power spectra. For a flat Lambda CDM model, when combined with cosmic microwave background Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 7 (WMAP7) and H-0 constraints from using 600 Cepheids observed by Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3; HST), we find Omega(Lambda) = 0.73 +/- 0.019 and H-0 to be 70.5 +/- 1.6 s(-1) Mpc(-1) km. For an open Lambda CDM model, when combined with WMAP7 + HST, we find Omega(K) = 0.0035 +/- 0.0054, improved over WMAP7+HST alone by 40%. For a wCDM model, when combined with WMAP7+HST+ SN, we find w = -1.071 +/- 0.078, and H-0 to be 71.3 +/- 1.7 s(-1) Mpc(-1) km, which is competitive with the latest large-scale structure constraints from large spectroscopic surveys such as the SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7) and WiggleZ. We also find that systematic-corrected power spectra give consistent constraints on cosmological models when compared with pre-systematic correction power spectra in the angular scales of interest. The SDSS-III Data Release 8 (SDSS-III DR8) Angular Clustering Data allow a wide range of investigations into the cosmological model, cosmic expansion (via BAO), Gaussianity of initial conditions, and neutrino masses. Here, we refer to our companion papers for further investigations using the clustering data. Our calculation of the survey selection function, systematics maps, and likelihood function for the COSMOMC package will be released at http://portal.nersc.gov/project/boss/galaxy/photoz/.

Abstract: Many models of dark matter contain more than one new particle beyond those in the Standard Model. Often, heavier particles decay into the lightest dark matter particle as the Universe evolves. Here, we explore the possibilities which arise if one of the products in a (heavy particle) -> (dark matter) decay is a positron, and the lifetime is shorter than the age of the Universe. The positrons cool down by scattering off the cosmic microwave background and eventually annihilate when they fall into Galactic potential wells. The resulting 511 keV flux not only places constraints on this class of models, but might even be consistent with that observed by the INTEGRAL satellite.