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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Astrophysics and Astronomy

DePaul University

Journal

Astronomy

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Cataclysmic Variable Stars In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Sinead Humphrey, Samantha Smiley, Andres Munoz, Brian Saboriendo May 2018

Cataclysmic Variable Stars In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Sinead Humphrey, Samantha Smiley, Andres Munoz, Brian Saboriendo

DePaul Discoveries

The purpose of this study is to identify Cataclysmic Variables (CVs) using spectroscopic and photometric data. CVs are useful for studying plasma physics in extreme conditions such as the high temperature and strong magnetic fields seen in CV accretion disks. They are also critical for understanding the evolution of binary stars, both in the field and in globular clusters. This project used photometric and spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify and classify CVs. 6,000 objects were selected based on multi-color criteria and analyzed using spectral data. Approximately 1% of these objects in the sample were …


Detection Of Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations In The Matter Power Spectrum, Spencer Everett, Ian Johnson, Jon Murphy, Mary Tarpley May 2015

Detection Of Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations In The Matter Power Spectrum, Spencer Everett, Ian Johnson, Jon Murphy, Mary Tarpley

DePaul Discoveries

Using the spectra of 22,923 high-redshift quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectrosocpic Survey (BOSS) subset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the authors detect evidence of the primordial baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs) in the matter power spectrum. The detection further endorses the currently accepted Lambda-CDM model of cosmology based upon the existence of dark energy (Lambda) and cold dark matter (CDM). Additionally, the use of the continuous wavelet transform to calculate the power spectrum has many advantages over traditional Fourier methods and independently corroborates previous detections.