We review the analytical prescriptions in the literature to model the 21-cm (emission line surveys/intensity mapping experiments) and Damped Lyman-Alpha (DLA) observations of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the post-reionization universe. We attempt to reconcile the approaches towards a consistent model of the distribution and evolution of HI across redshifts. We find that a physically motivated, 21-cm based prescription, extended to account for the DLA observables provides a good fit to the majority of the available data, but predicts a bias parameter for the DLAs which is in tension with the recent estimates from the clustering of DLA systems at $z \sim 2.3$. On the other hand, the DLA-based prescriptions reproduce the high-redshift bias measurement but overpredict the values of the HI bias and density parameter at lower redshifts. We discuss the implications of our findings for the characteristic host halo masses of the DLAs and the power spectrum of 21-cm intensity fluctuations.
We propose a heuristic unification of dark matter and dark energy in terms of a single dark fluid with a logotropic equation of state $P=A\ln(\rho/\rho_P)$, where $\rho$ is the rest-mass density, $\rho_P$ is the Planck density, and $A$ is the logotropic temperature. The energy density $\epsilon$ is the sum of a rest-mass energy term $\rho c^2$ mimicking dark matter and an internal energy term $u(\rho)=-P(\rho)-A$ mimicking dark energy. The logotropic temperature is approximately given by $A \simeq \rho_{\Lambda}c^2/\ln(\rho_P/\rho_{\Lambda})\simeq\rho_{\Lambda}c^2/[123 \ln(10)]$, where $\rho_{\Lambda}$ is the cosmological density. More precisely, we obtain $A=2.13\times 10^{-9} \, {\rm g}\, {\rm m}^{-1}\, {\rm s}^{-2}$ that we interpret as a fundamental constant. At the cosmological scale, this model fullfills the same observational constraints as the $\Lambda$CDM model. However, it has a nonzero velocity of sound and a nonzero Jeans length which, at the beginning of the matter era, is about $\lambda_J=40.4\, {\rm pc}$, in agreement with the minimum size of the dark matter halos observed in the universe. At the galactic scale, the logotropic pressure balances gravitational attraction and solves the cusp problem and the missing satellite problem. The logotropic equation of state generates a universal rotation curve that agrees with the empirical Burkert profile of dark matter halos up to the halo radius. In addition, it implies that all the dark matter halos have the same surface density $\Sigma_0=\rho_0 r_h=141\, M_{\odot}/{\rm pc}^2$ and that the mass of dwarf galaxies enclosed within a sphere of fixed radius $r_{u}=300\, {\rm pc}$ has the same value $M_{300}=1.93\times 10^{7}\, M_{\odot}$, in remarkable agreement with the observations.
In this article we perform a fourth order perturbation analysis of the gravitational metric theory of gravity \( f(\chi) = \chi^{3/2} \) developed by \citet{bernal11a} and \citet{mendoza13}. We show that the theory accounts in detail for the mass from the observations of 12 {\textit{Chandra}} X-ray clusters of galaxies, without the need of dark matter. The dynamical observations can be synthesised in terms of the metric coefficients of the metric theory of gravity to the fourth order of approximation \(O(4)\), in perturbations of $v/c$. In this sense, we calculate the first relativistic correction of the theory, which is relevant at the outer regions of clusters of galaxies, in order to reproduce the observations. Also, we extended the computational MEXICAS (Metric EXtended-gravity Incorporated through a Computer Algebraic System) code, publicly available, developed for its usage in the Computer Algebraic System (CAS) Maxima for working out perturbations on any metric theory of gravity.
Lens modeling of resolved image data has advanced rapidly over the past two decades. More recently pixel-based approaches, wherein the source is reconstructed on an irregular or adaptive grid, have become popular. Generally, the source reconstruction takes place in a Bayesian framework and is guided by a set of sensible priors. We discuss the integration of a shapelets-based method into a Bayesian framework and quantify the required regularization. In such approaches, the source is reconstructed analytically, using a subset of a complete and orthonormal set of basis functions, known as shapelets. To calculate the flux in an image plane pixel, the pixel is split into two or more triangles (depending on the local magnification), and each shapelet basis function is integrated over the source plane. Source regularization (enforcement of priors on the source) can also be performed analytically. This approach greatly reduces the number of source parameters from the thousands to hundreds and results in a posterior probability distribution that is much less noisy than pixel-based approaches.
Understanding infrared (IR) luminosity is fundamental to understanding the cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution, since their most intense stages are often obscured by dust. Japanese infrared satellite, AKARI, provided unique data sets to probe this both at low and high redshifts. The AKARI performed all sky survey in 6 IR bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140, and 160$\mu$m) with 3-10 times better sensitivity than IRAS, covering the crucial far-IR wavelengths across the peak of the dust emission. Combined with a better spatial resolution, AKARI can much more precisely measure the total infrared luminosity ($L_{TIR}$) of individual galaxies, and thus, the total infrared luminosity density of the local Universe. In the AKARI NEP deep field, we construct restframe 8$\mu$m, 12$\mu$m, and total infrared (TIR) luminosity functions (LFs) at 0.15$<z<$2.2 using 4128 infrared sources. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR wavelength (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24$\mu$m) by the AKARI satellite allows us to estimate restframe 8$\mu$m and 12$\mu$m luminosities without using a large extrapolation based on a SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous work. By combining these two results, we reveal dust-hidden cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution from $z$=0 to $z$=2.2, all probed by the AKARI satellite.
We analyze the present status of sub-GeV thermal dark matter annihilating through Standard Model mixing and identify a small set of future experiments that can decisively test these scenarios.
The extragalactic background suggests half the energy generated by stars
reprocessed into the infrared (IR) by dust. At z$\sim$1.3, 90\% of star
formation is obscured by dust. To fully understand the cosmic star formation
history, it is critical to investigate infrared emission. AKARI has made deep
mid-IR observation using its continuous 9-band filters in the NEP field (5.4
deg$^2$), using $\sim$10\% of the entire pointed observations available
throughout its lifetime. However, there remain 11,000 AKARI's infrared sources
undetected with the previous CFHT/Megacam imaging ($r\sim$25.9ABmag). Redshift
and IR luminosity of these sources are unknown. These sources may contribute
significantly to the cosmic star-formation rate density (CSFRD). For example,
if they all lie at 1$<z<$2, the CSFRD will be twice as high at the epoch.
We are carrying out deep imaging of the NEP field in 5 broad bands
($g,r,i,z,$ and $y$) using Hyper Suprime-Camera (HSC), which has 1.5 deg field
of view in diameter on Subaru 8m telescope. This will provide photometric
redshift information, and thereby IR luminosity for the previously-undetected
11,000 faint AKARI IR sources. Combined with AKARI's mid-IR AGN/SF diagnosis,
and accurate mid-IR luminosity measurement, this will allow a complete census
of cosmic star-formation/AGN accretion history obscured by dust.
Context. A possible correlation between CO luminosity (L_CO ) and its line width (FWHM) has been suggested and denied in the literature. Such claims were often based on a small, or heterogeneous sample of galaxies, and thus inconclusive. Aims. We aim to prove or dis-prove the L_CO -FWHM correlation. Methods. We compile a large sample of submm galaxies at z>2 from the literature, and investigate the L_CO-FWHM relation. Results. After carefully evaluating the selection effects and uncertainties such as inclination and magnification via gravitational lensing, we show that there exist a weak but significant correlation between L_CO and FWHM. We also discuss a feasibility to measure the cosmological distance using the correlation.
The leptonic bound states positronium and muonium are used to constrain galileon contributions to the Lamb shift of muonic hydrogen. Through the application of a variety of bounds on lepton compositeness, it is shown that the scale of galileons must be $M > 4.6$ GeV, incompatible with value required to solve the muon problem that assumes the proton charge radius is the same as the galileon scale radius. While not ruling out galileons as a solution, the phase space is restricted. The possibility of stronger constraints in the future from true muonium are discussed.
The invariance of physical observables under disformal transformations is considered. It is known that conformal transformations leave physical observables invariant. However, whether it is true for disformal transformations is still an open question. In this paper, it is shown that a pure disformal transformation without any conformal factor is equivalent to rescaling the time coordinate. Since this rescaling applies equally to all the physical quantities, physics must be invariant under a disformal transformation, that is, neither causal structure, propagation speed nor any other property of the fields are affected by a disformal transformation itself. This fact is presented at the action level for gravitational and matter fields and it is illustrated with some examples of observable quantities. We also find the physical invariance for cosmological perturbations at linear and high orders in perturbation, extending previous studies. Finally, a comparison with Horndeski and beyond Horndeski theories under a disformal transformation is made.
In Higgs-otic inflation a complex neutral scalar combination of the $h^0$ and $H^0$ MSSM Higgs fields plays the role of inflaton in a chaotic fashion. The potential is protected from large trans-Planckian corrections at large inflaton if the system is embedded in string theory so that the Higgs fields parametrize a D-brane position. The inflaton potential is then given by a DBI+CS D-brane action yielding an approximate linear behaviour at large field. The inflaton scalar potential is a 2-field model with specific non-canonical kinetic terms. Previous computations of the cosmological parameters (i.e. scalar and tensor perturbations) did not take into account the full 2-field character of the model, ignoring in particular the presence of isocurvature perturbations and their coupling to the adiabatic modes. It is well known that for generic 2-field potentials such effects may significantly alter the observational signatures of a given model. We perform a full analysis of adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations in the Higgs-otic 2-field model. We show that the predictivity of the model is increased compared to the adiabatic approximation. Isocurvature perturbations moderately feed back into adiabatic fluctuations. However, the isocurvature component is exponentially damped by the end of inflation. The tensor to scalar ratio varies in a region $r=0.08-0.12$, consistent with combined Planck/BICEP results.
It is not yet clear what triggers the activity of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but galaxy merging has been suspected to be one of the main mechanisms fuelling the activity. Using deep optical images taken at various ground-based telescopes, we investigate the fraction of galaxy mergers in 39 luminous AGNs (M$_{R}\, \lesssim$ -22.6 mag) at $z \leq$ 0.3 (a median redshift of 0.155), of which the host galaxies are generally considered as early-type galaxies. Through visual inspection of the images, we find that 17 of 39 AGN host galaxies (43.6%) show the evidence for current or past mergers like tidal tails, shells, and disturbed morphology. In order to see if this fraction is abnormally high, we also examined the merging fraction of normal early-type galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Strip 82 data (a median redshift of 0.04), of which the surface-brightness limit is comparable to our imaging data. To correct for the effects related to the redshift difference of the two samples, we performed an image simulation by putting a bright point source as an artificial AGN in the images of SDSS early-type galaxies and placing them onto the redshifts of AGNs. The merging fraction in this realistic sample of simulated AGNs is only $\sim 5 - 15\%$ ($1/4$ to $1/8$ of that of real AGNs). Our result strongly suggests that luminous AGN activity is associated with galaxy merging.
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If the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves is measured in the near-future, what could it tell us about bigravity? To address this question, we study massive bigravity theories by focusing on a region in parameter space which is safe from known instabilities. Similarly to investigations on late time constraints, we implicitly assume there is a successful implementation of the Vainshtein mechanism which guarantees that standard cosmological evolution is largely unaffected. We find that viable bigravity models are subject to far less stringent constraints than massive gravity, where there is only one set of (massive) tensor modes. In principle sensitive to the effective graviton mass at the time of recombination, we find that in our setup the primordial tensor spectrum is more responsive to the dynamics of the massless tensor sector rather than its massive counterpart. We further show there are intriguing windows in the parameter space of the theory which could potentially induce distinctive signatures in the B-modes spectrum.
We compare three methods to measure the count-in-cell probability density function of galaxies in a spectroscopic redshift survey. From this comparison we found that when the sampling is low (the average number of object per cell is around unity) it is necessary to use a parametric method to model the galaxy distribution. We used a set of mock catalogues of VIPERS, in order to verify if we were able to reconstruct the cell-count probability distribution once the observational strategy is applied. We find that in the simulated catalogues, the probability distribution of galaxies is better represented by a Gamma expansion than a Skewed Log-Normal. Finally, we correct the cell-count probability distribution function from the angular selection effect of the VIMOS instrument and study the redshift and absolute magnitude dependency of the underlying galaxy density function in VIPERS from redshift $0.5$ to $1.1$. We found very weak evolution of the probability density distribution function and that it is well approximated, independently from the chosen tracers, by a Gamma distribution.
Primordial fluctuations in the relative number densities of particles, or isocurvature perturbations, are generally well constrained by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. A less probed mode is the compensated isocurvature perturbation (CIP), a fluctuation in the relative number densities of cold dark matter and baryons. In the curvaton model, a sub-dominant field during inflation later sets the primordial curvature fluctuation $\zeta$. In some curvaton-decay scenarios, the baryon and cold dark matter isocurvature fluctuations nearly cancel, leaving a large CIP correlated with $\zeta$. This correlation can be used to probe these CIPs more sensitively than the uncorrelated CIPs considered in past work, essentially by measuring the squeezed bispectrum of the CMB for triangles whose shortest side is limited by the sound horizon. Here, the sensitivity of existing and future CMB experiments to correlated CIPs is assessed, with an eye towards testing specific curvaton-decay scenarios. The planned CMB Stage-4 experiment could detect the largest CIPs attainable in curvaton scenarios with more than 3$\sigma$ significance. The significance could improve if small-scale CMB polarization foregrounds can be effectively subtracted. As a result, future CMB observations could discriminate between some curvaton-decay scenarios in which baryon number and dark matter are produced during different epochs relative to curvaton decay. Independent of the specific motivation for the origin of a correlated CIP perturbation, cross-correlation of CIP reconstructions with the primary CMB can improve the signal-to-noise ratio of a CIP detection. For fully correlated CIPs the improvement is a factor of $\sim2-3$.
The highest redshift quasars at z>6 have mass estimates of about a billion M$_\odot$. One of the pathways to their formation includes direct collapse of gas, forming a supermassive star ($\sim 10^5\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$) precursor of the black hole seed. The conditions for direct collapse are more easily achievable in metal-free haloes, where atomic hydrogen cooling operates and molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) formation is inhibited by a strong external UV flux. Above a certain value of UV flux ($J_{\rm crit}$), the gas in a halo collapses isothermally at $\sim10^4$K and provides the conditions for supermassive star formation. However, H$_2$ can self-shield and the effect of photodissociation is reduced. So far, most numerical studies used the local Jeans length to calculate the column densities for self-shielding. We implement an improved method for the determination of column densities in 3D simulations and analyse its effect on the value of $J_{\rm crit}$. This new method captures the gas geometry and velocity field and enables us to properly determine the direction-dependent self-shielding factor of H$_2$ against the photodissociating radiation. We estimate $J_{\rm crit}$ for 4 different haloes and find that our method yields a value of $J_{\rm crit}$ that is a factor of two smaller than with the Jeans approach ($\sim\,2000\,J_{21}$ vs. $\sim\,4000\,J_{21}$ with $J_{21}=10^{-21}\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2}\,\mathrm{Hz}^{-1}\,\mathrm{sr}^{-1}$). The main reason for this difference is the strong directional dependence of the H$_2$ column density, which cannot be captured with one-dimensional approximations. With this lower value of $J_{\rm crit}$, the number of haloes exposed to a flux $>J_{\rm crit}$ is larger by more than an order of magnitude compared to previous studies. This may translate into a similar enhancement in the predicted number density of black hole seeds.
We present Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations of two high-redshift systems (SMMJ02399-0136 and the Cloverleaf QSO) in their rest-frame 122 micron continuum (~650 GHz or ~450 micron on-sky) and [NII] 122 micron line emission. The continuum observations with a synthesized beam of ~0.25" resolve both sources and recover the expected flux. The Cloverleaf is resolved into a partial Einstein ring, while the SMMJ02399-0136 is unambiguously separated into two components; an AGN associated point source and an extend region at the location of a previously identified dusty starburst. We detect the [NII] line in both systems, though significantly weaker than our previous detections made with the 1st generation z(Redshift) and Early Universe Spectrometer. We show that this discrepancy is mostly explained if the line flux is resolved out due to significantly more extended emission and longer ALMA baselines than expected. Based on the ALMA observations we determine that greater than 75% of the total [NII] line flux in each source is produced via star formation. We use the [NII] line flux that is recovered by ALMA to constrain the N/H abundance, ionized gas mass, hydrogen ionizing photon rate, and star formation rate. In SMMJ02399-0136 we discover it contains a significant amount (~1000 solar masses per year) of unobscured star formation in addition to its dusty starburst and argue that SMMJ02399-0136 may be similar to the Antennae Galaxies (Arp 244) locally. In total these observations provide a new look at two well-studied systems while demonstrating the power and challenges of Band-9 ALMA observations of high-z systems.
The explosion of ultra-stripped stars in close binaries can lead to ejecta masses < 0.1 M_sun and may explain some of the recent discoveries of weak and fast optical transients. In Tauris et al. (2013), it was demonstrated that helium star companions to neutron stars (NSs) may experience mass transfer and evolve into naked ~1.5 M_sun metal cores, barely above the Chandrasekhar mass limit. Here we present a systematic investigation of the progenitor evolution leading to ultra-stripped supernovae (SNe). In particular, we examine the binary parameter space leading to electron-capture (EC SNe) and iron core-collapse SNe (Fe CCSNe), respectively, and determine the amount of helium ejected with applications to their observational classification as Type Ib or Type Ic. We mainly evolve systems where the SN progenitors are helium star donors of initial mass M_He = 2.5 - 3.5 M_sun in tight binaries with orbital periods of P_orb = 0.06 - 2.0 days, and hosting an accreting NS, but we also discuss the evolution of wider systems and of both more massive and lighter - as well as single - helium stars. In some cases we are able to follow the evolution until the onset of silicon burning, just a few days prior to the SN explosion. We find that ultra-stripped SNe are possible for both EC SNe and Fe CCSNe, and that the amount of helium ejected is correlated with P_orb - the tightest systems even having donors being stripped down to envelopes of less than 0.01 M_sun. We estimate the rise time of ultra-stripped SNe to be in the range 12 hr - 8 days, and light curve decay times between 1 and 50 days. Ultra-stripped SNe may produce NSs in the mass range 1.10 - 1.80 M_sun and are highly relevant for LIGO/VIRGO since most (possibly all) merging double NS systems have evolved through this phase. Finally, we discuss the low momentum kicks which might be imparted on these resulting NSs at birth. [Abridged]
We propose a new mechanism to suppress the axion isocurvature perturbation, while producing the right amount of axion dark matter, within the framework of supersymmetric axion models with the axion scale induced by supersymmetry breaking. The mechanism involves an intermediate phase transition to generate the Higgs \mu-parameter, before which the weak scale is comparable to the axion scale and the resulting stronger QCD yields an axion mass heavier than the Hubble scale over a certain period. Combined with that the Hubble-induced axion scale during the primordial inflation is well above the intermediate axion scale at present, the stronger QCD in the early Universe suppresses the axion fluctuation to be small enough even when the inflationary Hubble scale saturates the current upper bound, while generating an axion misalignment angle of order unity.
Analysis of strong gravitational lensing data is important in this era of precision cosmology. The objective of the present study is to directly compare the analysis of strong gravitational lens systems using different lens model software and similarly parameterized models to understand the differences and limitations of the resulting models. The software lens model translation tool, HydraLens, was used to generate multiple models for four strong lens systems including COSMOS J095930+023427, SDSS J1320+1644, SDSSJ1430+4105 and J1000+0021. All four lens systems were modeled with PixeLens, Lenstool, glafic, and Lensmodel. The input data and parameterization of each lens model was similar for the four model programs used to highlight differences in the output results. The calculation of the Einstein radius and enclosed mass for each lens model was comparable. The results were more dissimilar if the masses of more than one lens potential were free-parameters. The image tracing algorithms of the software are different, resulting in different output image positions and differences in time delay and magnification calculations, as well as ellipticity and position angle of the resulting lens model. In a comparison of different software versions using identical model input files, results differed significantly when using two versions of the same software. These results further support the need for future lensing studies to include multiple lens models, use of open software, availability of lens model files use in studies, and computer challenges to develop new approaches. Future studies need a standard nomenclature and specification of the software used to allow improved interpretation, reproducibility and transparency of results.
The pressuron is a specific case of a dilaton-like field that leads to a decoupling of the scalar-field in the field equation for pressureless fluids. Hence, the pressuron recovers general relativity in the limit of weak pressure. Here we review its basics.
The basic building block for Lorentz invariant and ghost free massive gravity is the square root of the combination $g^{-1}\eta\,$, where $g^{-1}$ is the inverse of the physical metric and $\eta$ is a reference metric. Since the square root of a matrix is not uniquely defined, it is possible to have physically inequivalent potentials corresponding to different branches. We show that around Minkowski background the only perturbatively well defined branch is the potential proposed by de Rham, Gabadadze and Tolley. On the other hand, if Lorentz symmetry is broken spontaneously, other potentials exist with a standard perturbative expansion. We show this explicitly building new Lorentz invariant, ghost-free massive gravity potentials for theories that in the background preserve rotational invariance, but break Lorentz boosts.
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We present an all sky map of the $y$-type distortion calculated from the full mission Planck HFI (High Frequency Instrument) data using the recently proposed approach to component separation based on parametric model fitting and model selection. This simple model selection approach allows us to distinguish between carbon monoxide (CO) line emission and $y$-type distortion, something that is not possible using the internal linear combination based methods. We create a mask to cover the regions of significant CO emission relying on the information in the $\chi^2$ map obtained when fitting for the $y$-distortion and CO emission to the lowest four HFI channels. We revisit the second Planck cluster catalog and try to quantify the quality of the cluster candidates in an approach that is similar in spirit to Aghanim et al. (2014). We find that at least $93\%$ of the clusters in the cosmology sample are free of CO contamination. We also find that $59\%$ of unconfirmed candidates may have significant contamination from molecular clouds. We agree with Planck collaboration (2015) for the worst offenders. We suggest an alternative validation strategy of measuring and subtracting the CO emission from the Planck cluster candidates using radio telescopes thus improving the reliability of the catalog. Our CO mask and annotations to the Planck cluster catalog identifying cluster candidates with possible CO contamination are made publicly available.
We explain the large scale correlations in radio polarization in terms of the correlations of primordial/source magnetic field. The radio waves are dominantly produced by the synchrotron mechanism and hence their polarization angle is deemed to be correlated with the magnetic field of the radio source. The primordial intergalactic magnetic field seeds the source magnetic field and hence it is possible that during the source evolution the correlations of primordial magnetic field survived. We model the intergalactic magnetic field in all $3D$ space and fit its correlations with JVAS/CLASS radio polarization alignments. We find that the radio polarization alignments are best fitted with the magnetic field spectral index given by $-2.43\pm 0.02$. We show that primordial magnetic field correlation provides a good explanation of the observed radio polarization alignment.
We use the published Planck and SPT cluster catalogs and recently published $y$-distortion maps to put strong observational limits on the contribution of the fluctuating part of the $y$-type distortions to the $y$-distortion monopole. Our bounds are $5.4\times 10^{-8} < \langle y\rangle < 2.2\times 10^{-6}$. Our upper bound is a factor of 6.8 stronger than the currently best upper $95\%$ confidence limit from COBE of $\langle y\rangle <15\times 10^{-6}$. In the standard cosmology, large scale structure is the only source of such distortions and our limits therefore constrain the baryonic physics involved in the formation of the large scale structure. Our lower limit, from the detected clusters in the Planck and SPT catalogs, also implies that a Pixie-like experiment should detect the $y$-distortion monopole at $>27$-$\sigma$. The biggest sources of uncertainty in our upper limit are the monopole offsets between different HFI channel maps that we estimate to be $<10^{-6}$.
We investigate the utility and robustness of a new statistic, $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$, for analyzing Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO). We apply $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$, introduced in Xu et al. (2010), to mocks and data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) included in the SDSS Data Release Eleven (DR11). We fit the anisotropic clustering using the monopole and quadrupole of the $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ statistic in a manner similar to conventional multipole fitting methods using the correlation function as detailed in (Xu et al. 2012). To test the performance of the $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ statistic we compare our results to those obtained using the multipoles. The results are in agreement. We also conduct a brief investigation into some of the possible advantages of using the $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ statistic for BAO analysis. The $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ analysis matches the stability of the multipoles analysis in response to artificially introduced distortions in the data, without using extra nuisance parameters to improve the fit. When applied to data with systematics, the $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ statistic again matches the performance of fitting the multipoles without using nuisance parameters. In all the analyzed circumstances, we find that fitting the $\omega_{\ell}\left(r_{c}\right)$ statistic removes the requirement for extra nuisance parameters.
Interactions such as mergers and flybys play a fundamental role in shaping galaxy morphology. Using the Horizon Run 4 cosmological N-body simulation, we studied the frequency and type of halo interactions, and their redshift evolution as a function of the environment defined by the large-scale density, pair separation, mass ratio, and target halo mass. Most interactions happen at large-scale density contrast $\delta \approx 20$, regardless of the redshift, corresponding to groups and relatively dense part of filaments. However, the fraction of interacting target is maximum at $\delta \approx 1000$. We provide a new empirical fitting form for the interaction rate as a function of the halo mass, large-scale density, and redshift. We also report the existence of two modes of interactions from the distributions of mass ratio and relative distance, implying two different physical origins of the interaction. Satellite targets lose their mass as they proceed deeper into the host halo. The relative importance of these two trends strongly depends on the large-scale density, target mass, and redshift.
If one is willing to give up the cherished hypothesis of spatial isotropy, many interesting cosmological models can be developed beyond the simple anisotropically expanding scenarios. One interesting possibility is presented by shear-free models in which the anisotropy emerges at the level of the curvature of the homogeneous spatial sections, whereas the expansion is dictated by a single scale factor. We show that such models represent viable alternatives to describe the large-scale structure of the inflationary universe, leading to a kinematically equivalent Sachs-Wolfe effect. Through the definition of a complete set of spatial eigenfunctions we compute the two-point correlation function of scalar perturbations in these models. In addition, we show how such scenarios would modify the spectrum of the CMB assuming that the observations take place in a small patch of a universe with anisotropic curvature.
A class of inflation theories called $\alpha$-attractors has been investigated recently with interesting properties interpolating between quadratic potentials, the Starobinsky model, and an attractor limit. Here we examine their use for late time cosmic acceleration. We generalize the class and demonstrate how it can interpolate between thawing and freezing dark energy, and reduce the fine tuning of initial conditions, allowing $w\approx-1$ for a prolonged period or as a de Sitter attractor.
Cosmological observations have provided us with the measurement of just three numbers that characterize the very early universe: $ 1-n_{s} $, $ N $ and $\ln\Delta_R^2$. Although each of the three numbers individually carries limited information about the physics of inflation, one may hope to extract non-trivial information from relations among them. Invoking minimality, namely the absence of ad hoc large numbers, we find two viable and mutually exclusive inflationary scenarios. The first is the well-known inverse relation between $1- n_{s} $ and $ N $. The second implies a new relation between $ 1-n_{s} $ and $\ln\Delta_R^2$, which might provide us with a handle on the beginning of inflation and predicts the intriguing $\textit{lower}$ bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $ r> 0.007 $ ($ 95\% $ CL).
We present an optical analysis of a sample of 11 clusters built from the EXCPRES sample of X-ray selected clusters at intermediate redshift (z ~ 0.5). With a careful selection of the background galaxies we provide the mass maps reconstructed from the weak lensing by the clusters. We compare them with the light distribution traced by the early-type galaxies selected along the red sequence for each cluster. The strong correlations between dark matter and galaxy distributions are confirmed, although some discrepancies arise, mostly for merging or perturbed clusters. The average M/L ratio of the clusters is found to be: M/L_r = 160 +/- 60 in solar units (with no evolutionary correction), in excellent agreement with similar previous studies. No strong evolutionary effects are identified even if the small sample size reduces the significance of the result. We also provide a individual analysis of each cluster in the sample with a comparison between the dark matter, the galaxies and the gas distributions. Some of the clusters are studied for the first time in the optical.
Big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) describes the production of the lightest nuclides via a dynamic interplay among the four fundamental forces during the first seconds of cosmic time. We briefly overview the essentials of this physics, and present new calculations of light element abundances through li6 and li7, with updated nuclear reactions and uncertainties including those in the neutron lifetime. We provide fits to these results as a function of baryon density and of the number of neutrino flavors, N_nu. We review recent developments in BBN, particularly new, precision Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements that now probe the baryon density, helium content, and the effective number of degrees of freedom, n_eff. These measurements allow for a tight test of BBN and of cosmology using CMB data alone. Our likelihood analysis convolves the 2015 Planck data chains with our BBN output and observational data. Adding astronomical measurements of light elements strengthens the power of BBN. We include a new determination of the primordial helium abundance in our likelihood analysis. New D/H observations are now more precise than the corresponding theoretical predictions, and are consistent with the Standard Model and the Planck baryon density. Moreover, D/H now provides a tight measurement of N_nu when combined with the CMB baryon density, and provides a 2sigma upper limit N_nu < 3.2. The new precision of the CMB and of D/H observations together leave D/H predictions as the largest source of uncertainties. Future improvement in BBN calculations will therefore rely on improved nuclear cross section data. In contrast with D/H and he4, li7 predictions continue to disagree with observations, perhaps pointing to new physics.
In this paper we study the generation of primordial perturbations in a cosmological setting of bigravity during inflation. We consider a model of bigravity which can reproduce the Lambda-CDM background and large scale structure and a simple model of inflation with a single scalar field and a quadratic potential. Reheating is implemented with a toy-model in which the energy density of the inflaton is entirely dissipated into radiation. We present analytic and numerical results for the evolution of primordial perturbations in this cosmological setting. We find that even for low-scale inflation, the amplitude of tensor perturbations generated during inflation is not sufficiently suppressed to avoid the generation of the tensor instability discovered in Ref.[1] which develops during the cosmological evolution. We argue that, for viable reheating temperatures, this bigravity model is seriously affected by the power-law instability in the tensor sector on observable scales and therefore it is ruled out by present observations.
We use a Bayesian software package to analyze CARMA-8 data towards 19 unconfirmed Planck SZ-cluster candidates from Rodriguez-Gonzalvez et al. (2015), that are associated with significant overdensities in WISE. We used two cluster parameterizations, one based on a (fixed shape) generalized-NFW pressure profile and another based on a beta-gas-density profile (with varying shape parameters) to obtain parameter estimates for the nine CARMA-8 SZ-detected clusters. We find our sample is comprised of massive, Y_{500}=0.0010 \pm 0.0015 arcmin^2, relatively compact, theta_{500}= 3.9 \pm 2.0 arcmin systems. Results from the beta model show that our cluster candidates exhibit a heterogeneous set of brightness-temperature profiles. Comparison of Planck and CARMA-8 measurements showed good agreement in Y_{500} and an absence of obvious biases. We estimated the total cluster mass M_{500} as a function of z for one of the systems; at the preferred photometric redshift of 0.5, the derived mass, M_{500} \approx 0.8 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{15} Msun. Spectroscopic Keck/MOSFIRE data confirmed a galaxy member of one of our cluster candidates to be at z=0.565. Applying a Planck prior in Y_{500} to the CARMA-8 results reduces uncertainties for both parameters by a factor >4, relative to the independent Planck or CARMA-8 measurements. We here demonstrate a powerful technique to find massive clusters at intermediate z \gtrsim 0.5 redshifts using a cross-correlation between Planck and WISE data, with high-resolution follow-up with CARMA-8. We also use the combined capabilities of Planck and CARMA-8 to obtain a dramatic reduction by a factor of several, in parameter uncertainties.
We explore scalar dark matter that is part of a lepton flavor triplet satisfying symmetry requirements under the hypothesis of minimal flavor violation. Beyond the standard model, the theory contains in addition three right-handed neutrinos that participate in the seesaw mechanism for light neutrino mass generation. The dark-matter candidate couples to standard-model particles via Higgs-portal renormalizable interactions as well as to leptons through dimension-six operators, all of which have minimal flavor violation built-in. We consider restrictions on the new scalars from the Higgs boson measurements, observed relic density, dark-matter direct detection experiments, LEP II measurements on e+e- scattering into a photon plus missing energy, and searches for flavor-violating lepton decays. The viable parameter space can be tested further with future data. Also, we investigate the possibility of the new scalars' couplings accounting for the tentative hint of Higgs flavor-violating decay h -> mu tau recently detected in the CMS experiment. They are allowed by constraints from other Higgs data to produce a rate of this decay roughly compatible with the CMS finding.
We re-investigate how generic off-diagonal cosmological solutions depending, in general, on all spacetime coordinates can be constructed in massive and f-modified gravity using the anholonomic frame deformation method. There are constructed new classes of locally anisotropic and (in) homogeneous cosmological metrics with open and closed spatial geometries. By resorting such solutions, we show that they describe the late time acceleration due to effective cosmological terms induced by nonlinear off-diagonal interactions, possible modifications of the gravitational action and graviton mass. The cosmological metrics and related St\" uckelberg fields are constructed in explicit form up to nonholonomic frame transforms of the Friedmann-Lama\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) coordinates. The solutions include matter, graviton mass and other effective sources modelling nonlinear gravitational and matter fields interactions with polarization of physical constants and deformations of metrics, which may explain dark energy and dark matter effects. However, we argue that it is not obligatory always to modify gravity if we consider effective generalized Einstein equations with nontrivial vacuum and/or non-minimal coupling with matter. Indeed, we state certain conditions when such configurations mimic interesting solutions in general relativity and modifications, for instance, when we can extract the general Painlev\' e-Gullstrand and FLRW metrics. In a more general context, we elaborate on a reconstruction procedure for off-diagonal cosmological solutions which describe cyclic and ekpyrotic universes. Finally, there are discussed open issues and further perspectives.
Seitenzahl et al. (2009) have predicted that $\sim 3$ years after its explosion, the light we receive from a Type Ia supernova will come mostly from reprocessing of electrons and X-rays emitted by the radioactive decay chain $^{57}{\rm Co}~\to~^{57}{\rm Fe}$, instead of positrons from the decay chain $^{56}{\rm Co}~\to~^{56}{\rm Fe}$ that dominates the supernova light at earlier times. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we followed the light curve of the Type Ia supernova SN2012cg out to $1055$ days after maximum light. Our measurements are consistent with the light curves predicted by the contribution of energy from the reprocessing of electrons and X-rays emitted by the decay of $^{57}$Co. This provides conclusive evidence that $^{57}$Co is produced in Type Ia supernova explosions. The ratio of luminosities produced by the decays of $^{57}$Co and $^{56}$Co, a strong constraint on any Type Ia supernova explosion model, is in the range $(0.4$ - $8.5)\times10^{-3}$.
Using the spectral energy distribution of M87, a nearby radio galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and assuming a spike in the dark matter halo profile, we exclude any dark matter candidate with a velocity-independent (s-wave) annihilation cross-section of the order of sigma v ~ 10^{-26} cm^3/s and a mass up to O(100) TeV. These limits supersede all previous constraints on thermal, s-wave, annihilating dark matter candidates by orders of magnitude, and rule out the entire canonical mass range. We remark in addition that, under the assumption of a spike, dark matter particles with a mass of a few TeV and an annihilation cross-section of ~ 10^{-27} cm^3/s could explain the TeV gamma-ray emission observed in M87. A central dark matter spike is plausibly present around the supermassive black hole at the center of M87, for various, although not all, formation scenarios, and would have profound implications for our understanding of the dark matter microphysics.
We present nearly simultaneous Chandra and NuSTAR observations of two actively star-forming galaxies within 50 Mpc: NGC 3256 and NGC 3310. Both galaxies are detected by both Chandra and NuSTAR, which together provide the first-ever spectra of these two galaxies spanning 0.3-30 keV. The X-ray emission from both galaxies is spatially resolved by Chandra; we find that hot gas dominates the E < 1-3 keV emission while ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) dominate at E > 1-3 keV. The NuSTAR galaxy-wide spectra of both galaxies follow steep power-law distributions with Gamma ~ 2.6 at E > 5-7 keV, similar to the spectra of bright individual ULXs and other galaxies that have been studied by NuSTAR. We find that both NGC 3256 and NGC 3310 have X-ray detected sources coincident with nuclear regions; however, the steep NuSTAR spectra of both galaxies restricts these sources to be either low luminosity AGN or non-AGN in nature (e.g., ULXs or crowded X-ray sources that reach L2-10 keV ~ 10^40 erg/s cannot be ruled out). Combining our constraints on the 0.3-30 keV spectra of NGC 3256 and NGC 3310 with equivalent measurements for nearby star-forming galaxies M83 and NGC 253, we analyze the SFR-normalized spectra of these starburst galaxies. The spectra of all four galaxies show sharply declining power-law slopes above 3-6 keV due to ULX populations. Our observations therefore constrain the average spectra of luminous accreting binaries (i.e., ULXs). This result is similar to the super-Eddington accreting ULXs that have been studied individually in a targeted NuSTAR ULX program. We also find that NGC 3310 exhibits a factor of ~3-10 elevation of X-ray emission over the other star-forming galaxies. We argue that the excess is most likely explained by the relatively low metallicity of the young stellar population in NGC 3310.
We reconsider the possibility of a class of new kinetic terms in the first order (vielbein) formulation of massive gravity and multi-gravity. We find that new degrees of freedom emerge which are not associated with the Boulware--Deser ghost and are intrinsic to the vielbein formulation. These new degrees of freedom are associated with the Lorentz transformations which encode the additional variables contained in the vielbein over the metric. Although they are not guaranteed to be ghostly, they are nevertheless infinitely strongly coupled on Minkowski spacetime and are not part of the spin-2 multiplet. Hence their existence implies the uniqueness of the Einstein--Hilbert term as the kinetic term for a massive graviton.
We explore inflationary cosmology in a theory where there are two scalar fields which non-minimally couple to the Ricci scalar and an additional $R^2$ term, which breaks the conformal invariance. Particularly, we investigate the slow-roll inflation in the case of one dynamical scalar field and that of two dynamical scalar fields. It is explicitly demonstrated that the spectral index of scalar mode of the density perturbations and the tensor-to-scalar ratio can be consistent with the observations acquired by the recent Planck satellite. The graceful exit from the inflationary stage is achieved as in convenient $R^2$ gravity. We also propose the generalization of the model under discussion with three scalar fields.
Recently, some over-luminous Ia supernovaes are found, suggesting that their progenitors are white dwarfs more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit, which perhaps result from ultra-strong magnetic field inside the white dwarfs. We present an equation of state, explicitly magnetic-dependent and analytically practicable, and observe that the change of equation of states due to magnetic field waning along radium will so significantly influence the configuration of a white dwarf as that its density does not monotonically decrease, but goes down at first, re-peaks near the crust and falls off again. As a supernovae will, in the single degenerate Ia supernovae system, leave the remnant of its companion and a neutron star (pulsar star), we point out that the observations of these objects can put our model into tests
We consider a complex scalar field as SIMP dark matter in models with gauged Z_3 discrete symmetry appearing as a remnant of dark local U(1). Dark matter (DM) annihilates dominantly by the 3-to-2 scattering, due to the DM cubic coupling in combination with the DM quartic coupling or the Z' gauge coupling. We show that a light Z' gauge boson makes DM in kinetic equilibrium with thermal plasma at freeze-out and it affects the DM relic density and perturbativity/unitarity constraints for DM self-interactions. We show that the large DM self-interactions could solve the small-scale problems in galaxies and explain the DM halo separation recently observed in Abell 3827 cluster. Various bounds on the model from the SIMP conditions, DM self-interactions, and Z' and DM direct detection experiments are also discussed.
We present data for LSQ14bdq, a hydrogen-poor super-luminous supernova (SLSN) discovered by the La Silla QUEST survey and classified by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects. The spectrum and light curve are very similar to slow-declining SLSNe such as PTF12dam. However, detections within $\sim1$ day after explosion show a bright and relatively fast initial peak, lasting for $\sim15$ days, prior to the usual slow rise to maximum light. The broader, main peak can be fit with either central engine or circumstellar interaction models. We discuss the implications of the precursor peak in the context of these models. It is too bright and narrow to be explained as a normal \Ni-powered SN, and we suggest that interaction models may struggle to fit the precursor and main peak simultaneously. We propose that the initial peak is from the post-shock cooling of an extended stellar envelope, and reheating by a central engine drives the second peak. In this picture, we show that an explosion energy of $\sim2\times10^{52}$\,erg and a progenitor radius of a few hundred solar radii are required to power the early emission. The two competing engine models involve rapidly spinning magnetars (neutron stars) or fall-back accretion onto a central black hole. The prompt energy required may favour the black hole scenario. The remarkably bright initial peak effectively rules out a compact Wolf-Rayet star as a progenitor, since the inferred energies and ejected masses become unphysical.
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We construct a set of model spectra specifically designed to match the colours of the BOSS CMASS galaxies and to be used with photometric redshift template fitting techniques. As a basis we use a set of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of single and composite stellar population models. These models cannot describe well the whole colour range populated by the CMASS galaxies at all redshifts, wherefore we modify them by multiplying the SEDs with $\lambda^{-\beta}$ for $\lambda>\lambda_i$ for different values of $\lambda_i$ and $\beta$. When fitting these SEDs to the colours of the CMASS sample, with a burst and dust components in superposition, we can recreate the location in colour spaces inhabited by the CMASS galaxies. From the best fitting models we select a small subset in a two-dimensional plane, whereto the galaxies were mapped by a self-organizing map. These models are used for the estimation of photometric redshifts with a Bayesian template fitting code. The photometric redshifts with the novel templates have a very small outlier rate of $0.22\,\%$, a low bias $\langle\Delta z/(1+z)\rangle=2.0\cdot10^{-3}$, and scatter of $\sigma_{68}=0.026$ in the restframe. Using our models, the galaxy colours are reproduced to a better extent with the photometric redshifts of this work than with photometric redshifts of SDSS.
Redshift-space clustering anisotropies caused by cosmic peculiar velocities provide a powerful probe to test the gravity theory on large scales. However, to extract unbiased physical constraints, the clustering pattern has to be modelled accurately, taking into account the effects of non-linear dynamics at small scales, and properly describing the link between the selected cosmic tracers and the underlying dark matter field. We use a large hydrodynamic simulation to investigate how the systematic error on the linear growth rate, $f$, caused by model uncertainties, depends on sample selections and comoving scales. Specifically, we measure the redshift-space two-point correlation function of mock samples of galaxies, galaxy clusters and Active Galactic Nuclei, extracted from the Magneticum simulation, in the redshift range 0.2 < z < 2, and adopting different sample selections. We estimate $f\sigma_8$ by modelling both the monopole and the full two-dimensional anisotropic clustering, using the dispersion model. We find that the systematic error on $f\sigma_8$ depends significantly on the range of scales considered for the fit. If the latter is kept fixed, the error depends on both redshift and sample selection, due to the scale-dependent impact of non-linearities, if not properly modelled. On the other hand, we show that it is possible to get unbiased constraints on $f\sigma_8$ provided that the analysis is restricted to a proper range of scales, that depends non trivially on the properties of the sample. This can have a strong impact on multiple tracers analyses, and when combining catalogues selected at different redshifts.
An interaction between the vacuum energy and dark matter is an intriguing possibility which may offer a way of solving the cosmological constant problem. Adopting a general prescription for momentum exchange between the two dark components, we reconstruct the temporal evolution of the coupling strength between dark matter and vacuum energy, $\alpha(a)$ in a non-parametric Bayesian approach using the combined observational datasets from the cosmic microwave background, supernovae and large scale structure. An evolving interaction between the vacuum energy and dark matter removes some of the tensions between different types of datasets, and is favoured at $\sim95\%$ CL if we include the baryon acoustic oscillations measurements of the BOSS Lyman-$\alpha$ forest sample.
We study weak-field solutions having spherical symmetry in $f(T)$ gravity; to this end, we solve the field equations for a non diagonal tetrad, starting from Lagrangian in the form $f(T)=T+\alpha T^{n}$, where $\alpha$ is a small constant, parameterizing the departure of the theory from GR. We show that the classical spherically symmetric solutions of GR, i.e. the Schwarzschild and Schwarzschild-de Sitter solutions, are perturbed by terms in the form $\propto r^{2-2n}$ and discuss the impact of these perturbations in observational tests.
We present photometry and derived redshifts from up to eleven bandpasses for 9927 galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep field (UDF), covering an observed wavelength range from the near-ultraviolet (NUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) with Hubble Space Telescope observations. Our Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)/UV F225W, F275W, and F336W image mosaics from the ultra-violet UDF (UVUDF) imaging campaign are newly calibrated to correct for charge transfer inefficiency, and use new dark calibrations to minimize background gradients and pattern noise. Our NIR WFC3/IR image mosaics combine the imaging from the UDF09 and UDF12 campaigns with CANDELS data to provide NIR coverage for the entire UDF field of view. We use aperture-matched point-spread function corrected photometry to measure photometric redshifts in the UDF, sampling both the Lyman break and Balmer break of galaxies at z~0.8-3.4, and one of the breaks over the rest of the redshift range. Our comparison of these results with a compilation of robust spectroscopic redshifts shows an improvement in the galaxy photometric redshifts by a factor of two in scatter and a factor three in outlier fraction over previous UDF catalogs. The inclusion of the new NUV data is responsible for a factor of two decrease in the outlier fraction compared to redshifts determined from only the optical and NIR data, and improves the scatter at z<0.5 and at z>2. The panchromatic coverage of the UDF from the NUV through the NIR yields robust photometric redshifts of the UDF, with the lowest outlier fraction available.
Supersymmetric theories, including the minimal supersymmetric standard model, usually contain many scalar fields whose potentials are absent in the exact supersymmetric limit and within the renormalizable level. Since their potentials are vulnerable to the finite energy density of the Universe through supergravity effects, these flat directions have nontrivial dynamics in the early Universe. Recently, we have pointed out that a flat direction may have a positive Hubble induced mass term during inflation whereas a negative one after inflation. In this case, the flat direction stays at the origin of the potential during inflation and then obtain a large vacuum expectation value after inflation. After that, when the Hubble parameter decreases down to the mass of the flat direction, it starts to oscillate around the origin of the potential. In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of the flat direction with and without higher dimensional superpotentials and show that topological defects, such as cosmic strings and domain walls, form at the end of inflation and disappear at the beginning of oscillation of the flat direction. We numerically calculate their gravitational signals and find that the observation of gravitational signals would give us information of supersymmetric scale, the reheating temperature of the Universe, and higher dimensional operators.
The TMT Detailed Science Case describes the transformational science that the
Thirty Meter Telescope will enable. Planned to begin science operations in
2024, TMT will open up opportunities for revolutionary discoveries in
essentially every field of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology, seeing much
fainter objects much more clearly than existing telescopes. Per this
capability, TMT's science agenda fills all of space and time, from nearby
comets and asteroids, to exoplanets, to the most distant galaxies, and all the
way back to the very first sources of light in the Universe.
More than 150 astronomers from within the TMT partnership and beyond offered
input in compiling the new 2015 Detailed Science Case. The contributing
astronomers represent the entire TMT partnership, including the California
Institute of Technology (Caltech), the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA),
the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
(NAOC), the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the University
of California, the Association of Canadian Universities for Research in
Astronomy (ACURA) and US associate partner, the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy (AURA).
We explain the excess of the antiproton fraction recently reported by the AMS-02 experiment by considering collisions between cosmic-ray protons accelerated by a local supernova remnant (SNR) and the surrounding dense cloud. The same "pp collisions" provide the right branching ratio to fit the observed positron excess simultaneously without a fine tuning. The supernova happened in relatively lower metalicity than the major cosmic-ray sources. The cutoff energy of electrons marks the supernova age of ~10^{5} years, while the antiproton excess may extend to higher energy. Both antiproton and positron fluxes are completely consistent with our predictions in Fujita, Kohri, Yamazaki and Ioka (2009).
Axion in the Peccei-Quinn (PQ) mechanism provides a promising solution to the strong CP problem in the standard model of particle physics. Coherently generated PQ scalar fields could dominate the energy density in the early Universe and decay into relativistic axions, which would confront with the current dark radiation constraints. We study the possibility that a thermal inflation driven by a $U(1)$ gauged Higgs field dilutes such axions. A well motivated extra gauged $U(1)$ would be the local $B-L$ symmetry. We also discuss the implication for the case of $U(1)_{B-L}$ and available baryogenesis mechanism in such cosmology.
While general relativity is an extremely robust theory to describe the gravitational interaction in our Universe, it is expected to fail close to singularities like the cosmological ones. On the other hand, it is well known that some dark energy models might induce future singularities; this can be the case for example within the setup of the Holographic Ricci Dark Energy model (HRDE). On this work, we perform a cosmological quantisation of the HRDE model and obtain under which conditions a cosmic doomsday can be avoided within the quantum realm. We show as well that this quantum model not only avoid future singularities but also the past Big Bang.
The recent detection of a convective core in a main-sequence solar-type star is used here to test particular models of dark matter (DM) particles, those with masses and scattering cross sections in the range of interest for the DM interpretation of the positive results in several DM direct detection experiments. If DM particles do not effectively self-annihilate after accumulating inside low-mass stars (e.g. in the asymmetric DM scenario) their conduction provides an efficient mechanism of energy transport in the stellar core. For main-sequence stars with masses between 1.1 and 1.3 Msun, this mechanism may lead to the suppression of the inner convective region expected to be present in standard stellar evolution theory. The asteroseismic analysis of the acoustic oscillations of a star can prove the presence/absence of such a convective core, as it was demonstrated for the first time with the Kepler field main-sequence solar-like pulsator, KIC 2009505. Studying this star we found that the asymmetric DM interpretation of the results in the CoGeNT experiment is incompatible with the confirmed presence of a small convective core in KIC 2009505.
Today, observers find that the universe is large, broadly isotropic and appears to have undergone a period of expansion characterised by w = -1. We show that such observations are typical for any system whereby physical parameters are distributed at a high energy scale, due to the conservation of the Liouville measure and the gauge nature of volume. This inverts the usual problem of fine-tuning in initial conditions; it is hard to avoid large, isotropic universes which undergo a period of slow-roll inflation.
Non-minimal matter couplings have recently been considered in the context of massive gravity and multi-gravity. These couplings are free of the Boulware-Deser ghost in the decoupling limit and can thus be considered within an Effective Field Theory setup. Beyond the decoupling limit the ghost was shown to reemerge in the metric formulation of the theory. Recently it was argued that this pathology is absent when formulated in terms of unconstrained vielbeins. We investigate this possibility and show that the Boulware-Deser ghost is always present beyond the decoupling limit in any dimension larger than two. We also show that the metric and vielbein formulations have an identical ghost-free decoupling limit. Finally we extend these arguments to more generic multi-gravity theories and argue that for any dimension larger than two a ghost is also present in the vielbein formulation whenever the symmetric vielbein condition is spoiled and the equivalence with the metric formulation is lost.
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In the standard perturbation theory (SPT) of self-gravitating Newtonian fluid in an expanding universe, recurrence relations for the solutions of higher-order perturbations are known and play an important role in practice. The recurrence relations in Lagrangian perturbation theory (LPT), however, have not been known for a long time, except a hybrid method in which solutions of LPT are derived from the recursive solutions of SPT. In this paper, monolithic recurrence relations in LPT, without referring to the results of SPT, are obtained for the first time. Recursive solutions of LPT can be derived up to any order of perturbations.
We study the accretion along streams from the cosmic web into high-redshift massive galaxies using three sets of AMR hydro-cosmological simulations. We find that the streams keep a roughly constant accretion rate as they penetrate into the halo centre. The mean accretion rate follows the mass and redshift dependence predicted for haloes by the EPS approximation, dM / dt is proportional to Mvir^{1.25} (1 + z)^{2.5}. The distribution of the accretion rates can well be described by a sum of two Gaussians, the primary corresponding to "smooth inflow" and the secondary to "mergers". The same functional form was already found for the distributions of specific star formation rates in observations. The mass fraction in the smooth component is 60 - 90 %, insensitive to redshift or halo mass. The simulations with strong feedback show clear signs of re-accretion due to recycling of galactic winds. The mean accretion rate for the mergers is a factor 2 - 3 larger than that of the smooth component. The standard deviation of the accretion rate is 0.2 - 0.3 dex, showing no trend with mass or redshift. For the smooth component it is 0.12 - 0.24 dex.
The discovery of a large number of supermassive black holes at redshifts $z> 6$, when the Universe was only nine hundred million years old, has raised the fundamental question of how such massive compact objects could form in a (cosmologically) short time interval. Each of the proposed standard scenarios for black hole formation, involving rapid accretion of seed black holes, or black hole mergers, faces severe theoretical difficulties in explaining the short time formation of supermassive objects. In the present Letter, we propose an alternative scenario for the formation of supermassive black holes in the early Universe in which energy transfer from superconducting cosmic strings, piercing small seed black holes, is the main physical process leading to rapid mass increase. The increase in mass of a primordial seed black hole pierced by two antipodal strings is estimated and it is shown that this increases linearly in time. Due to the high energy transfer rate from the cosmic strings, we find that supermassive black holes with masses of order $10^{10}M_{\odot}$ could have been formed in the early Universe at redshifts greater than six.
One of the key issues in cosmology is to establish the nature of dark energy, and to determine whether the equation of state evolves with time. When estimating this from distance measurements there is a degeneracy with the matter density. We show that there exists a simple function of the dark energy equation of state and its first derivative which is independent of this degeneracy at all redshifts, and so is a much more robust determinant of the evolution of dark energy than just its derivative. We show that this function can be well determined at low redshift from supernovae using Gaussian Processes, and that this method is far superior to a variety of parameterisations which are also subject to priors on the matter density. This shows that parametrised models give very biased constraints on the evolution of dark energy.
All cosmological observations to date are consistent with adiabatic, Gaussian and nearly scale invariant initial conditions. These findings provide strong evidence for a particular symmetry breaking pattern in the very early universe (with a close to vanishing order parameter, $\epsilon$), widely accepted as conforming to the predictions of the simplest realizations of the inflationary paradigm. However, given that our observations are only privy to perturbations, in inferring something about the background that gave rise to them, it should be clear that many different underlying constructions project onto the same set of cosmological observables. Features in the primordial correlation functions, if present, would offer a unique and discriminating window onto the parent theory in which the mechanism that generated the initial conditions is embedded. In certain contexts, simple linear response theory allows us to infer new characteristic scales from the presence of features that can break the aforementioned degeneracies among different background models, and in some cases can even offer a limited spectroscopy of the heavier degrees of freedom that couple to the inflaton. In this review, we offer a pedagogical survey of the diverse, theoretically well grounded mechanisms which can imprint features into primordial correlation functions in addition to reviewing the techniques one can employ to probe observations. These observations include cosmic microwave background anisotropies and spectral distortions as well as the matter two and three point functions as inferred from large-scale structure and potentially, 21 cm surveys.
Effective theories of a scalar $\phi$ invariant under the internal \textit{galileon symmetry} $\phi\to\phi+b_\mu x^\mu$ have been extensively studied due to their special theoretical and phenomenological properties. In this paper, we introduce the notion of \textit{weakly broken galileon invariance}, which characterizes the unique class of couplings of such theories to gravity that maximally retain their defining symmetry. The curved-space remnant of the galileon's quantum properties allows to construct (quasi) de Sitter backgrounds largely insensitive to loop corrections. We exploit this fact to build novel cosmological models with interesting phenomenology, relevant for both inflation and late-time acceleration of the universe.
The properties of galaxies in the local universe have been shown to depend upon their environment. Future large scale photometric surveys such as DES and Euclid will be vital to gain insight into the evolution of galaxy properties and the role of environment. Large samples come at the cost of redshift precision and this affects the measurement of environment. We study this by measuring environments using SDSS spectroscopic and photometric redshifts and also simulated photometric redshifts with a range of uncertainties. We consider the Nth nearest neighbour and fixed aperture methods and evaluate the impact of the aperture parameters and the redshift uncertainty. We find that photometric environments have a smaller dynamic range than spectroscopic measurements because uncertain redshifts scatter galaxies from dense environments into less dense environments. At the expected redshift uncertainty of DES, 0.1, there is Spearman rank correlation coefficient of 0.4 between the measurements using the optimal parameters. We examine the galaxy red fraction as a function of mass and environment using photometric redshifts and find that the bivariate dependence is still present in the SDSS photometric measurements. We show that photometric samples with a redshift uncertainty of 0.1 must be approximately 6-16 times larger than spectroscopic samples to detect environment correlations with equivalent fractional errors.
The quantization of arbitrary free scalar fields in spatially homogeneous and isotropic space-times is considered. The quantum representation allowing a unitary evolution for the fields is taken as a requirement for the theory. Studying the group of linear canonical transformations, we show the relations between unitary evolution and choice of canonical variables. From these relations we obtain the conditions on the Hamiltonian such that there are canonical variables for which the field has unitary evolution. We then compute the linear transformation leading to these variables, also proving that they are unique. We obtain these results by developing the asymptotic analysis of the fields using the action angle variables, which proves to be a generalization of the usual Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation. These tools allow us to re-frame the adiabatic vacuum condition in a extensible format by using the action angle variables to relate these vacuum choices to those where the particle number density does not depend on angle (fast) variables. Finally, we develop a larger set of canonical variables relating the adiabatic vacuum conditions with the smearing of the quantum fields. This set of canonical variables also connects the adiabatic vacuum conditions with the instantaneous Hamiltonian diagonalization vacuum choice.
Considering perturbation growth in spherical Top-Hat model of structure formation in a generalized Chaplygin gas dominated universe, we want to study this scenario with modified Chaplygin gas model. Different parameters of this scenario for positive and negative values of A are computed. The evolution of background and collapsed region parameters are found for different cases. The stability of the model and the collapse time rate are considered in different cases. The turn-around redshifts for different values of alpha are computed; the results are in relatively good agreement with current observational data.
A noise based non parametric technique to detect nebulous objects, for example irregular or clumpy galaxies, and their structure in noise is introduced. Noise based and non parametric imply that it imposes negligible constraints on the properties of the targets and that it employs no regression analysis or fittings. The sub-sky detection threshold is defined, and initial detections are found, independent of the sky value. False detections are then estimated and removed using the ambient noise as a reference. This results in a purity level of 0.86 for the final detections as compared to 0.27 for SExtractor when a completeness of 1 is desired for a sample extremely faint and diffuse identical mock galaxy profiles. The dispersion in their measured magnitudes is less by one magnitude, allowing much more accurate photometry. Defining the accuracy of detection as the difference of the measured sky with the known background of mock images, an order of magnitude less biased sky measurement is achieved. A non parametric approach to defining substructure over a detected region is also introduced. NoiseChisel is our software implementation of this new technique. Contrary to the existing signal based approach to detection, in its various implementations, signal related parameters such as the image point spread function or known object shapes and models are irrelevant here. Such features make this technique very useful in astrophysical applications such as detection, photometry or morphological analysis of nebulous objects buried in noise like galaxies which don't generically have a known shape when imaged.
We consider the simplest extension to the Starobinsky model, by allowing an extra scalar field to help drive inflation. We perform our analysis in the Einstein frame and calculate the power spectra at the end of inflation to second order in the slow--roll parameters. We find that the model gives predictions in great agreement with the current Planck data without the need for fine-tuning. Our results encourage current efforts to embed the model in a supergravity setting.
The search for non-Newtonian forces has been pursued following many different paths. Recently it was suggested that hypothetical chameleon interactions, which might explain the mechanisms behind dark energy, could be detected in a high-precision force measurement. In such an experiment, interactions between parallel plates kept at constant separation could be measured as a function of the pressure of an ambient gas, thereby identifying chameleon interactions by their unique inverse dependence on the local mass density. During the past years we have been developing a new kind of setup complying with the high requirements of the proposed experiment. In this article we present the first and most important part of this setup -- the force sensor. We discuss its design, fabrication, and characterization. From the results of the latter we derive limits on chameleon interaction parameters that could be set by the forthcoming experiment. Finally, we describe the opportunity to use the same setup to measure Casimir forces at large surface separations with unprecedented accuracy, thereby potentially giving unambiguous answers to long standing open questions.
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