The current most accepted paradigm for the early universe cosmology, the inflationary scenario, shows a good agreement with the recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and polarization data. However, when the inflation consistency relation is relaxed, these observational data exclude a larger range of red tensor tilt values, prevailing the blue ones which are not predicted by the minimal inflationary models. Recently, it has been shown that the assumption of spatial diffeomorphism invariance breaking (SDB) in the context of an effective field theory of inflation leads to interesting observational consequences. Among them, the possibility of generating a blue tensor spectrum, which can recover the specific consistency relation of the String Gas Cosmology, for a certain choice of parameters. We use the most recent CMB data to constrain the SDB model and test its observational viability through a Bayesian analysis assuming as reference an extended LCDM+tensor perturbation model, which considers a power-law tensor spectrum parametrized in terms of the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r, and the tensor spectral index, n_t. If the inflation consistency relation is imposed, r = -8n_t, we obtain a strong evidence in favor of the reference model whereas if such relation is relaxed, a weak evidence in favor of the model with diffeomorphism breaking is found. We also use the same CMB data set to make an observational comparison between the SDB model, standard inflation and String Gas Cosmology.
We estimate the magnitude today of the primordial magnetic field originating at the electroweak phase transition. We find that the field, which at the electroweak phase transition is originally of order $10^{23}-10^{24}$ G correlated over the Hubble scale, today is of order $10^{-14}$ G at a scale of order 2 kpc. This result is consistent with the lower limit on the strength of intergalactic magnetic fields obtained by Neronov and Vovk from observations of TeV blazars. The field is non-helical. We compare our results with the helical case discussed by Field and Carroll.
We use the hydrodynamical galaxy formation simulations from the Illustris suite to study the origin and properties of galaxy velocity bias, i.e., the difference between the velocity distributions of galaxies and dark matter inside halos. We find that galaxy velocity bias is a decreasing function of the ratio of galaxy stellar mass to host halo mass. In general, central galaxies are not at rest with respect to dark matter halos or the core of halos, with a velocity dispersion above 0.04 times that of the dark matter. The central galaxy velocity bias is found to be mostly caused by the close interactions between the central and satellite galaxies. For satellite galaxies, the velocity bias is related to their dynamical and tidal evolution history after being accreted onto the host halos. It depends on the time after the accretion and their distances from the halo centers, with massive satellites generally moving more slowly than the dark matter. The results are in broad agreements with those inferred from modeling small-scale redshift-space galaxy clustering data, and the study can help improve models of redshift-space galaxy clustering.
We have analyzed all available archival XMM-Newton observations of X Comae, a bright X-ray quasar behind the Coma cluster, to study the properties of the warm-hot intergalactic medium in the vicinity of the nearest massive galaxy cluster. The RGS observations confirm the possible presence of a Ne IX K-alpha absorption line at the redshift of Coma, although with a limited statistical significance. This analysis is therefore in line with the earlier analysis by Takei et al. (2007) based on a sub-set of these data. Its large column density and optical depth, however, point to implausible conditions for the absorbing medium, thereby casting serious doubts to its reality. Chandra has never observed X Comae and therefore cannot provide additional information on this source. We combine upper limits to the presence of other X-ray absorption lines (notably from O VII and O VIII) at the redshift of Coma with positive measurements of the soft excess emission from Coma measured by ROSAT (Bonamente et al. 2003). The combination of emission from warm-hot gas at kT~1/4 keV and upper limits from absorption lines provide useful constraints on the density and the sightline length of the putative WHIM towards Coma. We conclude that the putative warm-hot medium towards Coma is consistent with expected properties, with a baryon overdensity >=10 and a sightline extent of order of tens of Mpc.
Oscillating scalar fields are useful to model a variety of matter components in the universe. One or more scalar fields participate in the reheating process after inflation, while at much lower energies scalar fields are a robust dark matter candidates. It is well known that inhomogeneities of the Klein-Gordon field are unstable above the characteristic De Broglie wavelength. In this paper we show that such instability implies the existence of a threshold amplitude for the collapse of primordial fluctuations. We use this threshold to correctly predict the cut--off scale of the matter powerspectrum in the scalar field dark matter model. Furthermore, for a Klein-Gordon field during reheating, we show that this same threshold allows for abundant production of structure (oscillons but not necessarily black holes). Looking at the production of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) in this scenario we note that the sphericity condition yields a much lower probability of PBH formation at the end of inflation. Remarkably, even after meeting such stringent condition, PBHs may be overproduced during reheating. We finally constrain the epochs at which an oscillating Klein-Gordon field could dominate the early universe.
We analyse the distribution of position angles of 1 million galaxies from the Hyperleda catalogue, a sample that presents the galaxies coordinates in the celestial sphere, information that allows us to look for a possible privileged direction. Our analysis involves different tests and statistical methods, from which it is possible to infer with high probability ($p$-value extremely low) that the galactic planes are not randomly oriented in the sky. Whether this is an evidence of a cosmological anisotropy or an observational bias due to local effects is something deserving further studies.
On small scales the observable Universe is highly inhomogeneous, with galaxies and clusters forming a complex web of voids and filaments. The optical properties of such configurations can be quite different from the perfectly smooth Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) solutions that are frequently used in cosmology, and must be well understood if we are to make precise inferences about fundamental physics from cosmological observations. We investigate this problem by calculating redshifts and luminosity distances within a class of cosmological models that are constructed explicitly in order to allow for large density contrasts on small scales. Our study of optics is then achieved by propagating one hundred thousand null geodesics through such space-times, with matter arranged in opaque compact objects and transparent diffuse haloes. We find that in the absence of opaque objects, the mean of our ray tracing results faithfully reproduces the expectations from FLRW cosmology. When opaque objects with sizes similar to those of galactic bulges are introduced, however, we find that the mean of distance measures can be shifted from FLRW predictions by as much as $10\%$. This corresponds to a bias of order $10\%$ in the estimation of $\Omega_{\Lambda}$, and highlights the important consequences that astronomical selection effects can have on cosmological observables.
Delensing, the removal of the limiting lensing B-mode background, is crucial for the success of future cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys in constraining inflationary gravitational waves (IGWs). In recent work, delensing with large-scale structure tracers has emerged as a promising method both for improving constraints on IGWs and for testing delensing methods for future use. However, the delensing fractions (i.e., the fraction of the lensing-B mode power removed) achieved by recent efforts have been only $20-30\%$. In this work, we provide a detailed characterization of a full-sky, dust-cleaned cosmic infrared background (CIB) map for delensing and construct a further-improved delensing template by adding additional tracers to increase delensing performance. In particular, we build a multi-tracer delensing template by combining the dust-cleaned Planck CIB map with a reconstructed CMB lensing map from Planck and a galaxy number density map from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) satellite. For this combination, we calculate the relevant weightings by fitting smooth templates to measurements of all the cross- and auto-spectra of these maps. On a large fraction of the sky ($f_\mathrm{sky}=0.43$), we demonstrate that our maps are capable of providing a delensing factor of $43 \pm 1\%$; using a more restrictive mask ($f_\mathrm{sky}=0.11$), the delensing factor reaches $48 \pm 1\%$. For low-noise surveys, our delensing maps, which cover much of the sky, can thus improve constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio ($r$) by nearly a factor of 2. The delensing tracer maps are made publicly available and we encourage their use in ongoing and upcoming B-mode surveys.
We propose a new application of single molecule magnet crystals: their use as "magnetic bubble chambers" for the direct detection of sub-GeV dark matter. The spins in these macroscopic crystals effectively act as independent nano-scale magnets. When anti-aligned with an external magnetic field they form meta-stable states with a relaxation time that can be very long at sufficiently low temperatures. The Zeeman energy stored in this system can be released through localized heating, caused for example by the scattering or absorption of dark matter, resulting in a spin avalanche (or "magnetic deflagration") that amplifies the effects of the initial heat deposit, enabling detection. Much like the temperature and pressure in a conventional bubble chamber, the temperature and external magnetic field set the detection threshold for a single molecule magnet crystal. We discuss this detector concept for dark matter detection and propose ways to ameliorate backgrounds. If successfully developed, this detector concept can search for hidden photon dark matter in the meV - eV mass range with sensitivities exceeding current bounds by several orders of magnitude.
Assuming only statistical mechanics and general relativity, we calculate the maximal temperature of gas of particles placed in AdS space-time. If two particles with a given center of mass energy come close enough, according to classical gravity they will form a black hole. We focus only on the black holes with Hawking temperature lower than the environment, because they do not disappear. The number density of such black holes grows with the temperature in the system. At a certain finite temperature, the thermodynamical system will be dominated by black holes. This critical temperature is lower than the Planck temperature for the values of the AdS vacuum energy density below the Planck density. This result might be interesting from the AdS/CFT correspondence point of view, since it is different from the Hawking-Page phase transition, and it is not immediately clear what effect dynamically limits the maximal temperature of the thermal state on the CFT side of the correspondence.
Present-day clusters are massive halos containing mostly quiescent galaxies, while distant protoclusters are extended structures containing numerous star-forming galaxies. We investigate the implications of this fundamental change in a cosmological context using a set of N-body simulations and semi-analytic models. We find that the fraction of the cosmic volume occupied by all (proto)clusters increases by nearly three orders of magnitude from z=0 to z=7. We show that (proto)cluster galaxies are an important, and even dominant population at high redshift, as their expected contribution to the cosmic star-formation rate density rises (from 1% at z=0) to 20% at z=2 and 40% at z=7. Protoclusters thus provide a significant fraction of the cosmic ionizing photons, and may have been crucial in driving the timing and topology of cosmic reionization. Internally, the average history of cluster formation can be described by three distinct phases: at z~10-5, galaxy growth in protoclusters proceeded in an inside-out manner, with centrally dominant, compact cores that are excellent targets for JWST; at z~5-1.5, rapid star formation occurred within the entire 10-20 Mpc structures, forming half of their total stellar mass by z~2 (2 Gyr earlier than that of the Universe as a whole); at z~1.5, violent gravitational collapse drove these stellar contents into single cluster halos, largely erasing the details of cluster galaxy formation due to relaxation and virialization. Our results motivate observations of distant protoclusters in order to understand the rapid, extended stellar growth during Cosmic Noon, and their connection to reionization during Cosmic Dawn.
We perform a global Bayesian analysis of currently available neutrino data, putting data from oscillation experiments, neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$), and precision cosmology on an equal footing. We evaluate the discovery potential of future $0\nu\beta\beta$ experiments and the Bayes factor of the two possible neutrino mass ordering schemes for different prior choices. We show that the indication for normal ordering is still very mild and does not strongly depend on realistic prior assumptions or different combinations of cosmological data sets. We find a wide range for $0\nu\beta\beta$ discovery potential, depending on the absolute neutrino mass scale, mass ordering and achievable background level.
Using two-dimensional hybrid-kinetic simulations, we explore the nonlinear "interruption" of standing and traveling shear-Alfv\'en waves in collisionless plasmas. Interruption involves a self-generated pressure anisotropy removing the restoring force of a linearly polarized Alfv\'enic perturbation, and occurs for wave amplitudes $\delta B_{\perp}/B_{0}\gtrsim \beta^{\,-1/2}$ (where $\beta$ is the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure). We use highly elongated domains to obtain maximal scale separation between the wave and the ion gyroscale. For standing waves above the amplitude limit, we find that the large-scale magnetic field of the wave decays rapidly. The dynamics are strongly affected by the excitation of oblique firehose modes, which transition into long-lived parallel fluctuations at the ion gyroscale and cause significant particle scattering. Traveling waves are damped more slowly, but are also influenced by small-scale parallel fluctuations created by the decay of firehose modes. Our results demonstrate that collisionless plasmas cannot support linearly polarized Alfv\'en waves above $\delta B_{\perp}/B_{0}\sim \beta^{\,-1/2}$. They also provide a vivid illustration of two key aspects of low-collisionality plasma dynamics: (i) the importance of velocity-space instabilities in regulating plasma dynamics at high $\beta$, and (ii) how nonlinear collisionless processes can transfer mechanical energy directly from the largest scales into thermal energy and microscale fluctuations, without the need for a scale-by-scale turbulent cascade.
The effective field theory of dark energy and modified gravity is supposed to well describe, at low energies, the behaviour of the gravity modifications due to one extra scalar degree of freedom. The usual curvature perturbation is very useful when studying the conditions for the avoidance of ghost instabilities as well as the positivity of the squared speeds of propagation for both the scalar and tensor modes, or the St\"uckelberg field performs perfectly when investigating the evolution of linear perturbations. We show that the viable parameters space identified by requiring no-ghost instabilities and positive squared speeds of propagation does not change by performing a field redefinition, while the requirement of the avoidance of tachyonic instability might instead be different. Therefore, we find interesting to associate to the general modified gravity theory described in the effective field theory framework, a perturbation field which will inherit the whole properties of the theory. In the present paper we address the following questions: 1) how can we define such a field? and 2) what is the mass of such a field as the background approaches a final de Sitter state? We define a gauge invariant quantity which identifies the density of the dark energy perturbation field valid for any background. We derive the mass associated to the gauge invariant dark energy field on a de Sitter background, which we retain to be still a good approximation also at very low redshift ($z\simeq 0$). On this background we also investigate the value of the speed of propagation and we find that there exist classes of theories which admit a non-vanishing speed of propagation, even among the Horndeski model, for which in literature it has previously been found a zero speed. We finally apply our results to specific well known models.
In this paper, we study relic gravitational waves in a model of quintessential inflation with potential given by, $V(\phi) \sim Exp(-\lambda \phi^n/\Mpl^n)(n>1)$, which gives rise to slow-roll at early times and to scaling behavior in the post-inflationary regime. We examine the inflationary phase using the Planck 2015 data and study relic gravitational wave background in this model. The generic feature of the scenario includes the presence of kinetic regime after inflation which results into blue spectrum of gravitational wave background at high frequencies. We use instant preheating for generating larger temperatures necessary to restrict the duration of kinetic regime allowing us to satisfy the nucleosynthesis constraint. We discuss prospects of detection of relic gravitational wave background in the advanced LIGO and LISA space-born gravitational wave missions.
We describe a space-borne, multi-band, multi-beam polarimeter aiming at a precise and accurate measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The instrument is optimized to be compatible with the strict budget requirements of a medium-size space mission within the Cosmic Vision Programme of the European Space Agency. The instrument has no moving parts, and uses arrays of diffraction-limited Kinetic Inductance Detectors to cover the frequency range from 60 GHz to 600 GHz in 19 wide bands, in the focal plane of a 1.2 m aperture telescope cooled at 40 K, allowing for an accurate extraction of the CMB signal from polarized foreground emission. The projected CMB polarization survey sensitivity of this instrument, after foregrounds removal, is 1.7 {\mu}K$\cdot$arcmin. The design is robust enough to allow, if needed, a downscoped version of the instrument covering the 100 GHz to 600 GHz range with a 0.8 m aperture telescope cooled at 85 K, with a projected CMB polarization survey sensitivity of 3.2 {\mu}K$\cdot$arcmin.
We present accurate photometric redshifts for galaxies observed by the Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). CLASH observed 25 massive galaxy cluster cores with the Hubble Space Telescope in 16 filters spanning 0.2 - 1.7 $\mu$m. Photometry in such crowded fields is challenging. Compared to our previously released catalogs, we make several improvements to the photometry, including smaller apertures, ICL subtraction, PSF matching, and empirically measured uncertainties. We further improve the Bayesian Photometric Redshift (BPZ) estimates by adding a redder elliptical template and by inflating the photometric uncertainties of the brightest galaxies. The resulting photometric redshift accuracies are dz/(1+z) $\sim$ 0.8\%, 1.0\%, and 2.0\% for galaxies with I-band F814W AB magnitudes $<$ 18, 20, and 23, respectively. These results are consistent with our expectations. They improve on our previously reported accuracies by a factor of 4 at the bright end and a factor of 2 at the faint end. Our new catalog includes 1257 spectroscopic redshifts, including 382 confirmed cluster members. We also provide stellar mass estimates. Finally, we include lensing magnification estimates of background galaxies based on our public lens models. Our new catalog of all 25 CLASH clusters is available via MAST. The analysis techniques developed here will be useful in other surveys of crowded fields, including the Frontier Fields and surveys carried out with J-PAS and JWST.
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In its weak field limit, Scalar-tensor-vector gravity theory introduces a Yukawa-correction to the gravitational potential. Such a correction depends on the two parameters, $\alpha$ which accounts for the modification of the gravitational constant, and $\mu^{*-1}$ which represents the scale length on which the scalar field propagates. These parameters were found to be universal when the modified gravitational potential was used to fit the galaxy rotation curves and the mass profiles of galaxy clusters, both without Dark Matter. We test the universality of these parameters using the the temperature anisotropies due to the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect. In our model the intra-cluster gas is in hydrostatic equilibrium within the modified gravitational potential well and it is described by a polytropic equation of state. We predict the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich temperature anisotropies produced by Coma cluster, and we compare them with those obtained using the Planck 2013 Nominal maps. In our analysis, we find $\alpha$ and the scale length, respectively, to be consistent and to depart from their universal values. Our analysis points out that the assumption of the universality of the Yukawa-correction to the gravitational potential is ruled out at more than $3.5\sigma$ at galaxy clusters scale, while demonstrating that such a theory of gravity is capable to fit the cluster profile if the scale dependence of the gravitational potential is restored.
We present the strongest constraints to date on anisotropies of CMB polarization rotation derived from $150$ GHz data taken by the BICEP2 & Keck Array CMB experiments up to and including the 2014 observing season (BK14). The definition of polarization angle in BK14 maps has gone through self-calibration in which the overall angle is adjusted to minimize the observed $TB$ and $EB$ power spectra. After this procedure, the $QU$ maps lose sensitivity to a uniform polarization rotation but are still sensitive to anisotropies of polarization rotation. This analysis places constraints on the anisotropies of polarization rotation, which could be generated by CMB photons interacting with axion-like pseudoscalar fields or Faraday rotation induced by primordial magnetic fields. The sensitivity of BK14 maps ($\sim 3\mu$K-arcmin) makes it possible to reconstruct anisotropies of polarization rotation angle and measure their angular power spectrum much more precisely than previous attempts. Our data are found to be consistent with no polarization rotation anisotropies, improving the upper bound on the amplitude of the rotation angle spectrum by roughly an order of magnitude compared to the previous best constraints. Our results lead to an order of magnitude better constraint on the coupling constant of the Chern-Simons electromagnetic term $f_a \geq 1.7\times 10^2\times (H_I/2\pi)$ ($2\sigma$) than the constraint derived from uniform rotation, where $H_I$ is the inflationary Hubble scale. The upper bound on the amplitude of the primordial magnetic fields is 30nG ($2\sigma$) from the polarization rotation anisotropies.
The large-scale matter distribution in the late-time Universe exhibits gravity-induced non-Gaussianity, and the bispectrum, three-point cumulant is expected to contain significant cosmological information. In particular, the measurement of the bispectrum helps to tighten the constraints on dark energy and modified gravity through the redshift-space distortions (RSD). In this paper, extending the work by Taruya, Nishimichi & Saito (2010, Phys.Rev.D 82, 063522), we present a perturbation theory (PT) based model of redshift-space matter bispectrum that can keep the non-perturbative damping effect under control. Characterizing this non-perturbative damping by a univariate function with single free parameter, the PT model of the redshift-space bispectrum is tested against a large set of cosmological $N$-body simulations, finding that the predicted monopole and quadrupole moments are in a good agreement with simulations at the scales of baryon acoustic oscillations (well beyond the range of agreement of standard PT). The validity of the univariate ansatz of the damping effect is also examined, and with the PT calculation at next-to-leading order, the fitted values of the free parameter is shown to consistently match those obtained from the PT model of power spectrum by Taruya, Nishimichi & Saito (2010).
We report on WIMP search results in the XENON100 detector using a non-relativistic effective field theory approach. The data from science run II (34 kg $\times$ 224.6 live days) was re-analyzed, with an increased recoil energy interval compared to previous analyses, ranging from $(6.6 - 240)~\mathrm{keV_\mathrm{nr}}$. The data is found to be compatible with the background-only hypothesis. We present 90% confidence level exclusion limits on the coupling constants of WIMP-nucleon effective operators using a binned profile likelihood method. We also consider the case of inelastic WIMP scattering, where incident WIMPs may up-scatter to a higher mass state, and set exclusion limits on this model as well.
Motivated by $\alpha$-attractor models, in this paper we consider a Gauss-Bonnet inflation with E-model type of potential. We consider the Gauss-Bonnet coupling function to be the same as the E-model potential. In the small $\alpha$ limit we obtain an attractor at $r=0$ as expected, and in the large $\alpha$ limit we recover the Gauss-Bonnet model with potential and coupling function of the form $\phi^{2n}$. We study perturbations and non-Gaussianity in this setup and we find some constraints on the model's parameters in comparison with PLANCK datasets. We study also the reheating epoch after inflation in this setup. For this purpose, we seek the number of e-folds and temperature during reheating epoch. These quantities depend on the model's parameter and the effective equation of state of the dominating energy density in the reheating era. We find some observational constraints on these parameters.
We explore the accuracy of the clustering-based redshift inference within the
MICE2 simulation. This method uses the spatial clustering of galaxies between a
spectroscopic reference sample and an unknown sample. The goal of this study is
to give a preview of the redshift accuracy one can reach with this method. To
do so, we first highlight the requirements of this technique in term of number
of objects in both the reference and unknown samples. We also confirm that this
method does not require a representative spectroscopic sample for calibration.
We estimate that a density of spectroscopic objects of $10^{-5}$
arcmin$^{-2}$ per redshift bin of width $\delta z = 0.01$ over $9000 \
\text{deg}^{2}$ allows to reach 0.1 \% accuracy in the mean redshift for a
galaxy density compatible with next generation of cosmological surveys. This
number is compatible with the density of the Quasi Stellar Objects in BOSS.
Second we demonstrate our ability to measure individual redshifts for galaxies
independently from the photometric redshifts procedure. The resulting
individual clustering redshifts have a bias=$-0.001$, an outlier fraction of
$\eta=3.57\%$ and a scatter of $\sigma=0.027$ to $i<25$. The advantage of this
procedure is threefold: i) it allows the use of clustering redshifts for any
field in astronomy, ii) it allows the possibility to combine photometric and
clustering based redshifts to get an improved redshift estimation, iii) it
allows the use of cluster-$z$ to define tomographic bins for weak lensing.
Finally we explore this last option and build 5 clustering redshift selected
tomographic bins from redshift 0.2 to 1. We found a bias on the mean redshift
estimate of $0.002$ per bin.
We demonstrate that the approximation for the number of inflationary e-folds commonly used in the literature can lead to highly inaccurate predictions for the amplitude of primordial gravitational waves. We show that such an approximation can lead to perfectly viable inflation models being falsely ruled out by direct or indirect gravitational-wave measurements. We illustrate this point using a new class of inflation models which include the power-law potential as the simplest limit. These models are simple to construct without using the slow-roll approximation, and are consistent with constraints from Planck. Crucially, these models may suffer from an order-of-magnitude error in the prediction for the gravitational-wave amplitude if the common definition of e-folding is used. Our findings have strong implications for the classes of inflation models that can be ruled out by future space-based laser interferometers such as BBO and DECIGO.
Thermal inflation is a second epoch of exponential expansion at typical energy scales $V^{1/4} \sim 10^{6 \sim 8} \mathrm{GeV}$. If the usual primordial inflation is followed by thermal inflation, the primordial power spectrum is only modestly redshifted on large scales, but strongly suppressed on scales smaller than the horizon size at the beginning of thermal inflation, $k > k_{\rm b} = a_{\rm b} H_{\rm b}$. We calculate the spectral distortion of the cosmic microwave background generated by the dissipation of acoustic waves in this context. For $k_{\rm b} \ll 10^3 \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, thermal inflation results in a large suppression of the $\mu$-distortion amplitude, predicting that it falls well below the standard value of $\mu \simeq 2\times 10^{-8}$. Thus, future spectral distortion experiments, similar to PIXIE, can place new limits on the thermal inflation scenario, constraining $k_{\rm b} \gtrsim 10^3 \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ if $\mu \simeq 2\times 10^{-8}$ were found.
While the observed nearly scale-invariant initial power spectrum is regarded as one of the favorable evidence of the standard inflationary cosmology, precision observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies also suggest possible existence of nontrivial features such as those observed around multipoles $\ell\sim120$ by WMAP. Here, we examine the Planck data and investigate the effects of these features on the cosmological parameter estimation performing the Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) analysis. We find that the features exist in the Planck data at the same position as the case of the WMAP data but they do not affect the cosmological parameter estimation significantly.
We report an improved measurement of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) $B$-mode polarization power spectrum with the POLARBEAR experiment. By adding new data collected during the second season of observations (2013-2014) to re-analyzed data from the first season (2012-2013), we have reduced twofold the band-power uncertainties. The band powers are reported over angular multipoles $500 \leq \ell \leq 2100$, where the dominant $B$-mode signal is expected to be due to the gravitational lensing of $E$-modes. We reject the null hypothesis of no $B$-mode polarization at a confidence of 3.1$\sigma$ including both statistical and systematic uncertainties. We test the consistency of the measured $B$-modes with the $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) framework by fitting for a single lensing amplitude parameter $A_L$ relative to the Planck best-fit model prediction. We obtain $A_L = 0.60 ^{+0.26} _{-0.24} ({\rm stat}) ^{+0.00} _{-0.04}({\rm inst}) \pm 0.14 ({\rm foreground}) \pm 0.04 ({\rm multi})$, where $A_{L}=1$ is the fiducial $\Lambda$CDM value, and the details of the reported uncertainties are explained later in the manuscript.
We study quintessential inflation using a generalized exponential potential $V(\phi)\propto exp(-\lambda \phi^n/Mpl^n), n>1$, the model admits slow-roll inflation at early times and leads to close-to-scaling behaviour in the post inflationary era with an exit to dark energy at late times. We present detailed investigations of the inflationary stage in the light of the Planck 2015 results, study post-inflationary dynamics and analytically confirm the existence of an approximately scaling solution. Additionally, assuming that standard massive neutrinos are non-minimally coupled, makes the field $\phi$ dominant once again at late times giving rise to present accelerated expansion of the Universe. We derive observational constraints on the field and time-dependent neutrino masses. In particular, for $n=6 (8)$, the parameter $\lambda$ is constrained to be,$\log \lambda > -7.29 (-11.7)$; the model produces the spectral index of the power spectrum of primordial scalar (matter density) perturbations as $ n_s = 0.959 \pm 0.001 (0.961 \pm 0.001)$ and tiny tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r<1.72 \times 10^{-2} (2.32 \times 10^{-2})$ respectively. Consequently, the upper bound on possible values of the sum of neutrino masses $\Sigma m_{\nu} \lesssim 2.5$ eV significantly enhances compared to that in the standard $\Lambda$CDM model.
Giant radio halos are Mpc-scale diffuse radio sources associated with the central regions of galaxy clusters. The most promising scenario to explain the origin of these sources is that of turbulent re-acceleration, in which MeV electrons injected throughout the formation history of galaxy clusters are accelerated to higher energies by turbulent motions mostly induced by cluster mergers. In this Letter, we use the amplitude of density fluctuations in the intracluster medium as a proxy for the turbulent velocity and apply this technique to a sample of 51 clusters with available radio data. Our results indicate a segregation in the turbulent velocity of radio halo and radio quiet clusters, with the turbulent velocity of the former being on average higher by about a factor of two. The velocity dispersion recovered with this technique correlates with the measured radio power through the relation $P_{\rm radio}\propto\sigma_v^{3.3\pm0.7}$, which implies that the radio power is nearly proportional to the turbulent energy rate. Our results provide an observational confirmation of a key prediction of the turbulent re-acceleration model and possibly shed light on the origin of radio halos.
We review theories of dark matter (DM) beyond the collisionless paradigm, known as self-interacting dark matter (SIDM), and their observable implications for astrophysical structure in the Universe. Self-interactions are motivated, in part, due to the potential to explain long-standing (and more recent) small scale structure observations that are in tension with collisionless cold DM (CDM) predictions. Simple particle physics models for SIDM can provide a universal explanation for these observations across a wide range of mass scales spanning dwarf galaxies, low and high surface brightness spiral galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. At the same time, SIDM leaves intact the success of $\Lambda$CDM cosmology on large scales. This report covers the following topics: (1) small scale structure issues, including the core-cusp problem, the diversity problem for rotation curves, the missing satellites problem, and the too-big-to-fail problem, as well as recent progress in hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation; (2) N-body simulations for SIDM, including implications for density profiles, halo shapes, substructure, and the interplay between baryons and self-interactions; (3) semi-analytic Jeans-based methods that provide a complementary approach for connecting particle models with observations; (4) constraints from mergers, such as cluster mergers (e.g., the Bullet Cluster) and minor infalls, along with recent simulation results for mergers; (5) particle physics models, including light mediator models and composite DM models; and (6) complementary probes for SIDM, including indirect and direct detection experiments, particle collider searches, and cosmological observations. We provide a summary and critical look for all current constraints on DM self-interactions and an outline for future directions.
We derive a lower bound on the field excursion for the tachyon inflation, which is determined by the amplitude of the scalar perturbation and the number of $e$-folds before the end of inflation. Using the relation between the observables like $n_s$ and $r$ with the slow-roll parameters, we reconstruct three classes of tachyon potentials. The model parameters are determined from the observations before the potentials are reconstructed, and the observations prefer the concave potential. We also discuss the constraints from the reheating phase preceding the radiation domination for the three classes of models by assuming the equation of state parameter $w_{re}$ during reheating is a constant. Depending on the model parameters and the the value of $w_{re}$, the constraints on $N_{re}$ and $T_{re}$ are different. As $n_s$ increases, the allowed reheating epoch becomes longer for $w_{re}=-1/3$, 0 and $1/6$ while the allowed reheating epoch becomes shorter for $w_{re}=2/3$.
In this paper we perform a systematic study of spatially flat $[(3+D)+1]$-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet cosmological models with $\Lambda$-term. We consider models that topologically are the product of two flat isotropic subspaces with different scale factors. One of these subspaces is three-dimensional and represents our space and the other is $D$-dimensional and represents extra dimensions. We consider no {\it ansatz} of the scale factors, which makes our results quite general. With both Einstein-Hilbert and Gauss-Bonnet contributions in play, $D=3$ and the general $D\geqslant 4$ cases have slightly different dynamics due to the different structure of the equations of motion. We analytically study equations of motion in both cases and describe all possible regimes with special interest on the realistic regimes. Our analysis suggests that the only realistic regime is the transition from high-energy (Gauss-Bonnet) Kasner regime, which is the standard cosmological singularity in that case, to the anisotropic exponential regime with expanding three and contracting extra dimensions. Availability of this regime allows us to put constraint on the value of Gauss-Bonnet coupling $\alpha$ and the $\Lambda$-term -- this regime appears in two regions on $(\alpha, \Lambda)$ plane: $\alpha < 0$, $\Lambda > 0$, $\alpha\Lambda \leqslant 1/2$ and $\alpha > 0$, $\alpha\Lambda \leqslant (3D^2 - 7D + 6)/(4D(D-1))$, including entire $\Lambda < 0$ region. The obtained bounds are confronted with the restrictions on $\alpha$ and $\Lambda$ from other considerations, like causality, entropy-to-viscosity ratio in AdS/CFT and others. Joint analysis constraints ($\alpha$, $\Lambda$) even further: $\alpha > 0$, $D \geqslant 2$ with $(3D^2 - 7D + 6)/(4D(D-1)) \geqslant \alpha \Lambda \geqslant - (D+2)(D+3)(D^2 + 5D + 12)/(8(D^2 + 3D + 6)^2)$.
We present HST WFC3 F160W imaging and infrared spectral energy distributions for twelve extremely luminous, obscured AGN at $1.8<z<2.7$, selected via "Hot, Dust Obscured" mid-infrared colors. Their infrared luminosities span $2-15\times10^{13}$L$_{\odot}$, making them among the most luminous objects in the Universe at $z\sim2$. In all cases the infrared emission is consistent with arising at least in most part from AGN activity. The AGN fractional luminosities are higher than those in either sub-millimeter galaxies, or AGN selected via other mid-infrared criteria. Adopting the $G$, M$_{20}$ and $A$ morphological parameters, together with traditional classification boundaries, infers that three quarters of the sample as mergers. Our sample do not, however, show any correlation between the considered morphological parameters and either infrared luminosity or AGN fractional luminosity. Moreover, their asymmetries and effective radii are distributed identically to those of massive galaxies at $z\sim2$. We conclude that our sample is not preferentially associated with mergers, though a significant merger fraction is still plausible. Instead, we propose that our sample are examples of the massive galaxy population at $z\sim2$ that harbor a briefly luminous, "flickering" AGN, and in which the $G$ and M$_{20}$ values have been perturbed, due to either the AGN, and/or the earliest formation stages of a bulge in an inside-out manner. Furthermore, we find that the mass assembly of the central black holes in our sample leads the mass assembly of any bulge component. Finally, we speculate that our sample represent a small fraction of the immediate antecedents of compact star-forming galaxies at $z\sim2$.
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High quality reconstructions of the three dimensional velocity and density fields of the local Universe are essential to study the local Large Scale Structure. In this paper, the Wiener Filter reconstruction technique is applied to galaxy radial peculiar velocity catalogs to understand how the Hubble constant (H0) value and the grouping scheme affect the reconstructions. While H0 is used to derive radial peculiar velocities from galaxy distance measurements and total velocities, the grouping scheme serves the purpose of removing non linear motions. Two different grouping schemes (based on the literature and a systematic algorithm) as well as five H0 values ranging from 72 to 76 km/s/Mpc are selected. The Wiener Filter is applied to the resulting catalogs. Whatever grouping scheme is used, the larger H0 is, the larger the infall onto the local Volume is. However, this conclusion has to be strongly mitigated: a bias minimization scheme applied to the catalogs after grouping suppresses this effect. At fixed H0, reconstructions obtained with catalogs grouped with the different schemes exhibit structures at the proper location in both cases but the latter are more contrasted in the less aggressive scheme case: having more constraints permits an infall from both sides onto the structures to reinforce their overdensity. Such findings highlight the importance of a balance between grouping to suppress non linear motions and preserving constraints to produce an infall onto structures expected to be large overdensities. Such an observation is promising to perform constrained simulations of the local Universe including its massive clusters.
The cosmic web is one of the most striking features of the distribution of galaxies and dark matter on the largest scales in the Universe. It is composed of dense regions packed full of galaxies, long filamentary bridges, flattened sheets and vast low density voids. The study of the cosmic web has focused primarily on the identification of such features, and on understanding the environmental effects on galaxy formation and halo assembly. As such, a variety of different methods have been devised to classify the cosmic web -- depending on the data at hand, be it numerical simulations, large sky surveys or other. In this paper we bring twelve of these methods together and apply them to the same data set in order to understand how they compare. In general these cosmic web classifiers have been designed with different cosmological goals in mind, and to study different questions. Therefore one would not {\it a priori} expect agreement between different techniques however, many of these methods do converge on the identification of specific features. In this paper we study the agreements and disparities of the different methods. For example, each method finds that knots inhabit higher density regions than filaments, etc. and that voids have the lowest densities. For a given web environment, we find substantial overlap in the density range assigned by each web classification scheme. We also compare classifications on a halo-by-halo basis; for example, we find that 9 of 12 methods classify around a third of group-mass haloes (i.e. $M_{\rm halo}\sim10^{13.5}h^{-1}M_{\odot}$) as being in filaments. Lastly, so that any future cosmic web classification scheme can be compared to the 12 methods used here, we have made all the data used in this paper public.
We present AMICO (Adaptive Matched Identifier of Clustered Objects), a new algorithm for the detection of galaxy clusters in photometric surveys. AMICO is based on the Optimal Filtering technique, which allows to maximise the signal-to-noise ratio of the clusters. In this work we focus on the new iterative approach to the extraction of cluster candidates from the map produced by the filter. In particular, we provide a definition of membership probability for the galaxies close to any cluster candidate, which allows us to remove its imprint from the map, allowing the detection of smaller structures. As demonstrated in our tests, this method allows the deblending of close-by and aligned structures in more than $50\%$ of the cases for objects at radial distance equal to $0.5 \times R_{200}$ or redshift distance equal to $2 \times \sigma_z$, being $\sigma_z$ the typical uncertainty of photometric redshifts. Running AMICO on realistic mocks, we obtain a consistent mass-amplitude relation through the redshift range $0.3 < z < 1$, with a logarithmic slope $\sim 0.55$ and a logarithmic scatter $\sim 0.14$. The fraction of false detections is steeply decreasing with S/N, and negligible at S/N > 5.
A common explanation for the CMB power asymmetry is to introduce a dipolar modulation at the stage of inflation, where the primordial power spectrum is spatially varying. If the universe in the stage of inflation is Finslerian, and if the Finsler spacetime is non-reversible under parity flip, $x\rightarrow-x$, then a three dimensional spectrum which is the function of wave vector and direction is valid. In this paper, a three dimensional primordial power spectrum with preferred direction is derived in the framework of Finsler spacetime. It is found that the amplitude of dipolar modulation is related to the Finslerian parameter, which in turn is a function of wave vector. The angular correlation coefficients are presented, and the numerical results for the anisotropic correlation coefficients over the multipole range $2<l<600$ are given.
In recent years, the autocorrelation of the Lyman-{\alpha} forest has been used to observe the baryon acoustic peak at redshift 2 < z < 3.5 using tens of thousands of QSO spectra from the BOSS survey. However, the interstellar medium of the Milky-Way introduces absorption lines into the spectrum of any extragalactic source. These lines, while weak and undetectable in a single BOSS spectrum, could potentially bias the cosmological signal. In order to examine this, we generate absorption line maps by stacking over a million spectra of galaxies and QSOs. We find that the systematics introduced are too small to affect the current accuracy of the baryon acoustic peak, but are comparable to the statistical noise level expected from future surveys such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). We outline a method to account for this with future datasets.
We present experimental constraints on the spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon elastic cross sections from the total 129.5 kg-year exposure acquired by the Large Underground Xenon experiment (LUX), operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota (USA). A profile likelihood ratio analysis allows 90% CL upper limits to be set on the WIMP-neutron (WIMP-proton) cross section of $\sigma_n$ = 1.6$\times 10^{-41}$ cm$^{2}$ ($\sigma_p$ = 5$\times 10^{-40}$ cm$^{2}$) at 35 GeV$c^{-2}$, almost a sixfold improvement over the previous LUX spin-dependent results. The spin-dependent WIMP-neutron limit is the most sensitive constraint to date.
We introduce a new cosmic emulator for the matter power spectrum covering eight cosmological parameters. Targeted at optical surveys, the emulator provides accurate predictions out to a wavenumber k~5/Mpc and redshift z<=2. Besides covering the standard set of LCDM parameters, massive neutrinos and a dynamical dark energy of state are included. The emulator is built on a sample set of 36 cosmological models, carefully chosen to provide accurate predictions over the wide and large parameter space. For each model, we have performed a high-resolution simulation, augmented with sixteen medium-resolution simulations and TimeRG perturbation theory results to provide accurate coverage of a wide k-range; the dataset generated as part of this project is more than 1.2Pbyte. With the current set of simulated models, we achieve an accuracy of approximately 4%. Because the sampling approach used here has established convergence and error-control properties, follow-on results with more than a hundred cosmological models will soon achieve ~1% accuracy. We compare our approach with other prediction schemes that are based on halo model ideas and remapping approaches. The new emulator code is publicly available.
We study a model of a keV-scale sterile neutrino with a relatively large mixing with the Standard Model sector. Usual considerations predict active generation of such particles in the early Universe, which leads to constraints from the total Dark Matter density and absence of X-ray signal from sterile neutrino decay. These bounds together may deem any attempt of creation of the keV scale sterile neutrino in the laboratory unfeasible. We argue that for models with a hidden sector coupled to the sterile neutrino these bounds can be evaded, opening new perspectives for the direct studies at neutrino experiments such as Troitsk $\nu$-mass and KATRIN. We estimate the generation of sterile neutrinos in scenarios with the hidden sector dynamics keeping the sterile neutrinos either massless or superheavy in the early Universe. In both cases the generation by oscillations from active neutrinos in plasma is suppressed.
We examine the nature, possible orbits and physical properties of the progenitor of the North-western stellar stream (NWS) in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The progenitor is assumed to be an accreting dwarf galaxy with globular clusters (GCs). It is, in general, difficult to determine the progenitor's orbit precisely because of many necessary parameters. Recently, Veljanoski et al. 2014 reported five GCs whose positions and radial velocities suggest an association with the stream. We use this data to constrain the orbital motions of the progenitor using test-particle simulations. Our simulations split the orbit solutions into two branches according to whether the stream ends up in the foreground or in the background of M31. Upcoming observations that will determine the distance to the NWS will be able to reject one of the two branches. In either case, the solutions require that the pericentric radius of any possible orbit be over 2 kpc. We estimate the efficiency of the tidal disruption and confirm the consistency with the assumption for the progenitor being a dwarf galaxy. The progenitor requires the mass $\ga 2\times10^6 M_{\sun}$ and half-light radius $\ga 30$ pc. In addition, $N$-body simulations successfully reproduce the basic observed features of the NWS and the GCs' line-of-sight velocities.
We present ALMA CO (2-1) detections in eleven gas-rich cluster galaxies at z~1.6, constituting the largest sample of molecular gas measurements in z>1 clusters to date. The observations span three galaxy clusters, derived from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS). We augment the >5{\sigma} detections of the CO (2-1) fluxes with multi-band photometry, yielding stellar masses and infrared-derived star formation rates, to place some of the first constraints on molecular gas properties in z~1.6 cluster environments. We measure sizable gas reservoirs of 0.5-2x10^11 solar masses in these objects, with high gas fractions (f_gas) and long depletion timescales ({\tau}), averaging 62% and 1.6 Gyr, respectively. We compare our cluster galaxies to the scaling relations of the coeval field, in the context of how gas fractions and depletion timescales vary with respect to the star-forming main sequence. We find that our cluster galaxies lie systematically off the field scaling relations at z=1.6, at a level of ~5{\sigma} (3{\sigma}), toward enhanced values of f_gas ({\tau}). Exploiting CO detections in lower-redshift clusters from the literature, we investigate the evolution of the gas fraction in cluster galaxies, finding it to mimic the strong rise with redshift in the field. We emphasize the utility of detecting abundant gas-rich galaxies in high-redshift clusters, deeming them as crucial laboratories for future statistical studies.
The weak lensing of cosmic web filaments is investigated in modified gravity (MOG) and it is demonstrated that the detected galaxies and baryonic gas of order $5-15 \%$ in filaments can with the enhanced value of the strength of gravity agree with the lensing data for filaments without dark matter.
We test the bandpass smoothness performance of two prototype Square Kilometre Array (SKA) SKA1-Low log-periodic dipole antennas, the SKALA2 and SKALA3 (`SKA Log-periodic Antenna'), and the current dipole from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) precursor telescope. Throughout this paper, we refer to the output complex-valued voltage response of an antenna when connected to a low noise amplifier (LNA), as the dipole bandpass. In Paper I (de Lera Acedo et al. 2017), the bandpass spectral response of the log-periodic antenna being developed for the SKA1-Low was estimated using numerical electromagnetic simulations and analyzed using low-order polynomial fittings and it was compared with the HERA antenna against the delay spectrum metric. In this work, realistic simulations of the SKA1-Low instrument, including frequency-dependent primary beams and array configuration, are used with a weighted least-squares polynomial estimator to assess the ability of prototype antennas to perform the SKA Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) statistical experiments. This work complements the ideal estimator tolerances computed for the proposed EoR science experiments in Trott & Wayth (2016), with the realised performance of an optimal and standard estimation (calibration) procedure. With a sufficient sky calibration model at higher frequencies, all antennas have bandpasses that are sufficiently smooth to meet the tolerances described in Trott & Wayth (2016) to perform the EoR statistical experiments, and these are primarily limited by an adequate sky calibration model, and the thermal noise level in the calibration data. At frequencies of the Cosmic Dawn (CD), which is of principal interest to SKA as one of the first next-generation telescopes capable of accessing higher redshifts, the MWA dipole and SKALA3 antenna have adequate performance, while the SKALA2 design will impede the ability to explore this era.
Based on the effective field theory (EFT) of nonsingular cosmologies, recently it has been found that the operator $R^{(3)}\delta g^{00}$ is significant for the stability of nonsingular bounce. In this paper, based on the covariant description of the $R^{(3)}\delta g^{00}$ operator, we propose a covariant effective theory for stable nonsingular bounce, which has the quadratic order of the second order derivative of the field $\phi$ but the background set only by $P(\phi,X)$. With this covariant effective theory, we construct a fully stable nonsingular bounce model for the ekpyrotic scenario.
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We use three different cosmological dark matter simulations to study how the orientation of the angular momentum vector (AM) in dark matter haloes evolve with time. We find that haloes in this kind of simulations are constantly affected by a spurious change of mass, which translates into an artificial change in the orientation of the AM. After removing the haloes affected by artificial mass change, we found that the change in the orientation of the AM vector is correlated with time. The change in its angle and direction (i.e. the angle subtended by the AM vector in two consecutive timesteps) that affect the AM vector has a dependence on the change of mass that affects a halo, the time elapsed in which the change of mass occurs and the halo mass. We create a Monte-Carlo simulation that reproduces the change of angle and direction of the AM vector. We reproduce the angular separation of the AM vector since a look back time of 8.5 Gyrs to today ( $\rm \alpha$) with an accuracy of approximately 0.05 in $\rm cos(\alpha)$. We are releasing this Monte-Carlo simulation together with this publication. We also create a Monte Carlo simulation that reproduces the change of the AM modulus. We find that haloes in denser environments display the most dramatic evolution in their AM direction, as well as haloes with a lower specific AM modulus. These relations could be used to improve the way we follow the AM vector in low-resolution simulations.
We investigate the three-point correlation function (3PCF) in the squeezed limit by considering galaxy pairs as discrete objects and cross-correlating them with the galaxy field. We develop an efficient algorithm using Fast Fourier Transforms to compute such cross-correlations and their associated pair-galaxy bias bpg and the squeezed 3PCF coefficient Qeff. We implement our method using N-body cosmological simulations and a fiducial Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) and present the results in both the real space and redshift space. In real space, we observe a peak in bpg and Qeff at pair separation of ~ 2 Mpc, attributed to the fact that galaxy pairs at 2 Mpc separation trace the most massive dark matter halos. We also see strong anisotropy in the bpg and Qeff signals that track the large-scale filamentary structure. In redshift space, both the 2 Mpc peak and the anisotropy are significantly smeared out along the line-of-sight due to Finger-of-God effect. In both the real space and redshift space, the squeezed 3PCF shows a factor of 2 variation, contradicting the hierarchical ansatz but offering rich information on the galaxy-halo connection. Thus, we explore the possibility of using the squeezed 3PCF to constrain the HOD. When we compare two simple HOD models that are closely matched in their projected two-point correlation function (2PCF), we do not yet see a strong variation in the 3PCF that is clearly disentangled from variations in the projected 2PCF. Nevertheless, we propose that more complicated HOD models, e.g. those incorporating assembly bias, can break degeneracies in the 2PCF and show a distinguishable squeezed 3PCF signal.
The cosmic 21 cm signal is set to revolutionise our understanding of the early Universe, allowing us to probe the 3D temperature and ionisation structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM). It will open a window onto the unseen first galaxies, showing us how their UV and X-ray photons drove the cosmic milestones of the epoch of reionisation (EoR) and epoch of heating (EoH). To facilitate parameter inference from the 21 cm signal, we previously developed 21CMMC: a Monte Carlo Markov Chain sampler of 3D EoR simulations. Here we extend 21CMMC to include simultaneous modelling of the EoH, resulting in a complete Bayesian inference framework for the astrophysics dominating the observable epochs of the cosmic 21 cm signal. We demonstrate that second generation interferometers, the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionisation Array (HERA) and Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be able to constrain ionising and X-ray source properties of the first galaxies with a fractional precision of order $\sim1$-10 per cent (1$\sigma$). The ionisation history of the Universe can be constrained to within a few percent. Using our extended framework, we quantify the bias in EoR parameter recovery incurred by the common simplification of a saturated spin temperature in the IGM. Depending on the extent of overlap between the EoR and EoH, the recovered astrophysical parameters can be biased by $\sim3-10\sigma$.
As modern precision cosmological measurements continue to show agreement with the broad features of the standard $\Lambda$-Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmological model, we are increasingly motivated to look for small departures from the standard model's predictions which might not be detected with standard approaches. While searches for extensions and modifications of $\Lambda$CDM have to date turned up no convincing evidence of beyond-the-standard-model cosmology, the list of models compared against $\Lambda$CDM is by no means complete and is often governed by readily-coded modifications to standard Boltzmann codes. Also, standard goodness-of-fit methods such as a naive $\chi^2$ test fail to put strong pressure on the null $\Lambda$CDM hypothesis, since modern datasets have orders of magnitudes more degrees of freedom than $\Lambda$CDM. Here we present a method of tuning goodness-of-fit tests to detect potential sub-dominant extra-$\Lambda$CDM signals present in the data through compressing observations in a way that maximizes extra-$\Lambda$CDM signal variation over noise and $\Lambda$CDM variation. This method, based on a Karhunen-Lo\`{e}ve transformation of the data, is tuned to be maximally sensitive to particular types of variations characteristic of the tuning model; but, unlike direct model comparison, the test is also sensitive to features that only partially mimic the tuning model. As an example of its use, we apply this method in the context of a nonstandard primordial power spectrum compared against the $2015$ $Planck$ CMB temperature and polarization power spectrum. We find weak evidence of extra-$\Lambda$CDM physics, conceivably due to known systematics in the 2015 Planck polarization release.
Two new high-precision measurements of the deuterium abundance from absorbers along the line of sight to the quasar PKS1937--1009 were presented. The absorbers have lower neutral hydrogen column densities (N(HI) $\approx$ 18\,cm$^{-2}$) than for previous high-precision measurements, boding well for further extensions of the sample due to the plenitude of low column density absorbers. The total high-precision sample now consists of 12 measurements with a weighted average deuterium abundance of D/H = $2.55\pm0.02\times10^{-5}$. The sample does not favour a dipole similar to the one detected for the fine structure constant. The increased precision also calls for improved nucleosynthesis predictions. For that purpose we have updated the public AlterBBN code including new reactions, updated nuclear reaction rates, and the possibility of adding new physics such as dark matter. The standard Big Bang Nucleosynthesis prediction of D/H = $2.456\pm0.057\times10^{-5}$ is consistent with the observed value within 1.7 standard deviations.
We study the generation and evolution of magnetic field in the presence chiral imbalance and gravitational anomaly which gives an additional contribution to the vortical current. The contribution due to gravitational anomaly is proportional to $T^2$. This contribution to the current can generate seed magnetic field of the order of $10^{30}$~G at $T\sim 10^9$ GeV, with a typical length scale of the order of $10^6/ T$, even in absence of chiral charges (when chiral chemical potential is zero). Moreover, such a system possess scaling symmetry. We show that the $T^2$ term in the vorticity current along with scaling symmetry leads to more power transfer from lower to higher length scale as compared to only chiral anomaly without scaling symmetry.
We propose a new semi-Lagrangian Vlasov-Poisson solver. It employs elements of metric to follow locally the flow and its deformation, allowing one to find quickly and accurately the initial phase-space position $Q(P)$ of any test particle $P$, by expanding at second order the geometry of the motion in the vicinity of the closest element. It is thus possible to reconstruct accurately the phase-space distribution function at any time $t$ and position $P$ by proper interpolation of initial conditions, following Liouville theorem. When distorsion of the elements of metric becomes too large, it is necessary to create new initial conditions along with isotropic elements and repeat the procedure again until next resampling. To speed up the process, interpolation of the phase-space distribution is performed at second order during the transport phase, while third order splines are used at the moments of remapping. We also show how to compute accurately the region of influence of each element of metric with the proper percolation scheme. The algorithm is tested here in the framework of one-dimensional gravitational dynamics but is implemented in such a way that it can be extended easily to four or six-dimensional phase-space. It can also be trivially generalised to plasmas.
We discuss the possibility of a feature in the spectrum of inflationary gravitational waves sourced by a scalar field $\chi$ whose vacuum fluctuations are amplified by a rapidly time dependent mass. Unlike previous work which has focused on the case in which the mass of the field $\chi$ vanishes only for an instant before becoming massive again, we study a system where the scalar field becomes and remains massless through the end of inflation as the consequence of the restoration of a shift symmetry. After applying appropriate constraints to our parameters, we find, for future CMB experiments, a small contribution to the tensor-to-scalar ratio which can be at most of the order $r \sim 10^{-5}$. At smaller scales probed by gravitational interferometers, on the other hand, the energy density in the gravitational waves produced this way might be above the projected sensitivity of LISA, $\Omega_{GW}\,h^2 \sim 10^{-13}$, in a narrow region of parameter space. If there is more than one $\chi$ species, then these amplitudes are enhanced by a factor equal to the number of those species.
We study a variant of Gauge-flation where the gauge symmetry is spontaneously broken by a Higgs sector. We work in the Stueckelberg limit and demonstrate that the dynamics remain (catastrophically) unstable for cases where the gauge field masses satisfy $\gamma < 2$, where $\gamma = g^2\psi^2/H^2$, $g$ is the gauge coupling, $\psi$ is the gauge field vacuum expectation value, and $H$ is the Hubble rate. We compute the spectrum of density fluctuations and gravitational waves, and show that the model can produce observationally viable spectra. The background gauge field texture violates parity, resulting in a chiral gravitational wave spectrum. This arises due to an exponential enhancement of one polarization of the spin-2 fluctuation of the gauge field. Higgsed Gauge-flation can produce observable gravitational waves at inflationary energy scales well below the GUT scale.
Recently several papers have been published, where "a new mechanism" of dark matter burning and freezing is suggested. The usual two-body annihilation process is generalized to multi-body initial states, mostly three-body. These processes have quite a few interesting cosmological implications. I want to indicate here that such a process was studied in 1980 to determine the cosmological number density of the so called theta-particles. The file of the translated into English original paper and the reference to the published English version are attached.
We propose a realization of cosmic inflation with the Higgs field when the Higgs potential has degenerate vacua by employing the recently proposed idea of hillclimbing inflation. The resultant inflationary predictions exhibit a sizable deviation from those of the ordinary Higgs inflation.
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Secondary halo bias, commonly known as "assembly bias," is the dependence of halo clustering on a halo property other than mass. This prediction of the Lambda-Cold Dark Matter cosmology is essential to modelling the galaxy distribution to high precision and interpreting clustering measurements. As the name suggests, different manifestations of secondary halo bias have been thought to originate from halo assembly histories. We show conclusively that this is incorrect for cluster-size haloes. We present an up-to-date summary of secondary halo biases of high-mass haloes due to various halo properties including concentration, spin, several proxies of assembly history, and subhalo properties. While concentration, spin, and the abundance and radial distribution of subhaloes exhibit significant secondary biases, properties that directly quantify halo assembly history do not. In fact, the entire assembly histories of haloes in pairs are nearly identical to those of isolated haloes. In general, a global correlation between two halo properties does not predict whether or not these two properties exhibit similar secondary biases. For example, assembly history and concentration (or subhalo abundance) are correlated for both paired and isolated haloes, but follow slightly different conditional distributions in these two cases. This results in a secondary halo bias due to concentration (or subhalo abundance), despite the lack of assembly bias in the strict sense for cluster-size haloes. Due to this complexity, caution must be exercised in using any one halo property as a proxy to study the secondary bias due to another property.
Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) today allow us to answer detailed questions about the properties of our Universe, targeting both standard and non-standard physics. In this paper, we study the effects of varying fundamental constants (i.e., the fine-structure constant, $\alpha_{\rm EM}$, and electron rest mass, $m_{\rm e}$) around last scattering using the recombination codes CosmoRec and Recfast++. We approach the problem in a pedagogical manner, illustrating the importance of various effects on the free electron fraction, Thomson visibility function and CMB power spectra, highlighting various degeneracies. We demonstrate that the simpler Recfast++ treatment (based on a three-level atom approach) can be used to accurately represent the full computation of CosmoRec. We also include explicit time-dependent variations using a phenomenological power-law description. Assuming constant variations relative to the standard values, in agreement with earlier studies we find $\alpha_{\rm EM}/\alpha_{\rm EM,0}=0.9988\pm 0.0033$ and $m_{\rm e}/m_{\rm e,0}= 0.9974\pm 0.0094$ using Planck 2015 data. For a redshift-dependent variation of $\alpha_{\rm EM}(z)=\alpha_{\rm EM,0}\,[(1+z)/1100]^p$ we obtain $p=0.0005\pm 0.0022$. Allowing simultaneous variations of $\alpha_{\rm EM}$ and $p$, we find $\alpha_{\rm EM}/\alpha_{\rm EM,0} = 0.9989 \pm 0.0053$ and $p = -0.0001\pm 0.0036$. Our analysis thus shows that existing data is not only sensitive to the value of the fundamental constants around recombination but also its first time derivative.
We present the first CMB power spectra from numerical simulations of the global O(N) linear $\sigma$-model with N = 2,3, which have global strings and monopoles as topological defects. In order to compute the CMB power spectra we compute the unequal time correlators (UETCs) of the energy-momentum tensor, showing that they fall off at high wave number faster than naive estimates based on the geometry of the defects, indicating non-trivial (anti-)correlations between the defects and the surrounding Goldstone boson field. We obtain source functions for Einstein-Boltzmann solvers from the UETCs, using a recent method that improves the modelling at the radiation- matter transition. We show that the interpolation function that mimics the transition is similar to other defect models, but not identical, confirming the non-universality of the interpolation function. The CMB power spectra for global strings and monopoles have the same overall shape as those obtained using the non-linear $\sigma$-model approximation, which is well captured by a large-N calculation. However, the amplitudes are larger than the large-N calculation predict, and in the case of global strings much larger: a factor of 20 at the peak. Finally we compare the CMB power spectra with the latest CMB data to put limits on the allowed contribution to the temperature power spectrum at multipole $\ell$ = 10 of 1.7% for global strings and 2.4% for global monopoles. These limits correspond to symmetry-breaking scales of 2.9x1015 GeV (6.3x1014 GeV with the expected logarithmic scaling of the effective string tension between the simulation time and decoupling) and 6.4x1015 GeV respectively. The bound on global strings is a significant one for the ultra-light axion scenario with axion masses ma 10-28 eV. These upper limits indicate that gravitational wave from global topological defects will not be observable at the GW observatory LISA.
The SKA and its pathfinders will enable studies of HI emission at higher redshifts than ever before. In moving beyond the local Universe, this will require the use of cosmologically appropriate formulae that have traditionally been simplified to their low-redshift approximations. In this paper, we summarise some of the most important relations for tracing HI emission in the SKA era, and present an online calculator to assist in the planning and analysis of observations (hifi.icrar.org).
We consider methods for improving the estimation of constraints on a high-dimensional parameter space with a computationally expensive likelihood function. In such cases Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) can take a long time to converge and concentrates on finding the maxima rather than the often-desired confidence contours for accurate error estimation. We employ DALE$\chi$ (Direct Analysis of Limits via the Exterior of $\chi^2$) for determining confidence contours by minimizing a cost function parametrized to incentivize points in parameter space which are both on the confidence limit and far from previously sampled points. We compare DALE$\chi$ to the nested sampling algorithm implemented in MultiNest on a toy likelihood function that is highly non-Gaussian and non-linear in the mapping between parameter values and $\chi^2$. We find that in high-dimensional cases DALE$\chi$ finds the same confidence limit as MultiNest using roughly an order of magnitude fewer evaluations of the likelihood function. DALE$\chi$ is open-source and available at https://github.com/danielsf/Dalex.git.
We study how a minimal generalization of Einstein's equations, where the speed of light ($c$), gravitational constant ($G$) and the cosmological constant ($\Lambda$) are allowed to vary, might generate a dynamical mechanism to explain the special initial condition necessary to obtain the homogeneous and flat universe we observe today. Our construction preserves general covariance of the theory, which yields a general dynamical constraint in $c$, $G$ and $\Lambda$. We re-write the conditions necessary in order to solve the horizon and flatness problems in this framework. This is given by the shrinking of the comoving particle horizon of this theory which leads to $\omega < -1/3$, but not necessarily to accelerated expansion like in inflation, allowing also a decelerated expansion, contraction and a phase transition in $c$, in the case of null $\Lambda$. We are able to construct the action of this theory, that describes the dynamics of a scalar field that represents $c$ or $G$ (and $\Lambda$). This action is general and can be applied to describe different cosmological solutions. We present here how the dynamics of the field can be used to solve the problems of the early universe cosmology by means of different ways to c-inflate the horizon in the early universe, solving the old puzzles of the cosmological standard model. Without a cosmological constant, we show that we can describe the dynamics of the scalar field representing $c$ given a potential, and derive the slow-roll conditions that this potential should obey. In this setup we do not have to introduce an extra unknown scalar field, since the degree of freedom associated to the varying constants plays this role, naturally being the field that is going to be responsible for inflating the horizon in the early universe.
We study a broad class of vector portal models where the Standard Model (SM) gauge symmetry is extended with a new abelian group $U(1)'$. We augment the SM field content by an arbitrary number of scalars and fermions that are singlets under the SM and charged only under the $U(1)'$, potentially including dark matter (DM) candidates. We emphasize the importance of theoretical issues such as the classical gauge invariance of the full Lagrangian, anomaly cancellation and S-matrix unitarity, which apply to $U(1)'$ spontaneously broken at different mass scales. These considerations are shown to generally have profound consequences on the phenomenology. The condition of cancelling gauge anomalies leads to compact relations among the $U(1)'$ charges of the SM fields and dark fermion fields, and puts a lower bound on the number of dark fermion species. Contrary to naive expectations, the generically present DM annihilation to $Z h$ is found to be p-wave suppressed, as hinted by perturbative unitarity of S-matrix, with dramatic implications for DM thermal relic density and indirect searches. Finally, we specify a UV-complete benchmark model, and explore its phenomenology, including DM direct and indirect detections and searches at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Within this framework, the interplay between dark matter, new vector boson and Higgs physics is rather natural and generic.
We present a combined strong and weak lensing analysis of the J085007.6+360428 (J0850) field, which contains the massive cluster Zwicky 1953. This field was selected as a candidate lens due to its high concentration of luminous red galaxies on the sky. Using Subaru/Suprime-Cam $BVR_{c}I_{c}i^{\prime}z^{\prime}$ imaging along with redshifts from MMT/Hectospec, we first perform a weak lensing shear analysis to constrain the mass distribution in this field, including the massive cluster at $z = 0.3774$, a smaller foreground halo at $z = 0.2713$, and galaxies projected along the line of sight. We then add a strong lensing constraint from a multiply-imaged galaxy identified in the Suprime-Cam imaging data with a photometric redshift of $z \approx 5.03$. In contrast with past cluster analyses that use only lensed image positions as constraints, we use the full surface brightness distribution of the lensed images. This method predicts that the source galaxy crosses a lensing caustic such that one image is a highly magnified "fold arc" from the galaxy's outskirts. This fold arc could be used to probe the source galaxy's structure at ultra-high spatial resolution ($< 30$ pc). Unlike past analyses of cluster-scale lenses, our new technique uses multi-plane lensing to account for the full three-dimensional mass structure in the beam. We calculate the virial mass of the primary cluster to be $\mathrm{M_{vir}} = 2.93_{-0.65}^{+0.71} \times 10^{15}~\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ with a concentration of $\mathrm{c_{vir}} = 3.46_{-0.59}^{+0.70}$, consistent with the most massive clusters at a similar redshift. The cluster is highly elliptical, indicating a high lensing efficiency. The large mass of this cluster makes J0850 an excellent field for taking advantage of lensing magnification to search for high-redshift galaxies, complementary to that of well-studied clusters such as the HST Frontier Fields.
We consider the eternal inflation scenario with the additional element of an objective collapse of the wave function. The incorporation of this new agent to the traditional inflationary setting responds to the necessity of addressing the lack of an explanation for the generation of the primordial anisotropies and inhomogeneities, starting from a perfectly symmetric background and invoking symmetric dynamics. We adopt the continuous spontaneous localization model, in the context of inflation, as the dynamical reduction mechanism that generates the primordial inhomogeneities. Furthermore, when enforcing the objective reduction mechanism, the condition for eternal inflation can be bypassed. In particular, the collapse mechanism incites the wave function, corresponding to the inflaton, to localize itself around the zero mode of the field. Then, the zero mode will evolve essentially unperturbed, driving inflation to an end in any region of the Universe where inflation occurred. Also, our approach achieves a primordial spectrum with an amplitude and shape consistent with the one that best fits the observational data.
Using the existing simplified model framework, we build several dark matter models which have suppressed spin-independent scattering cross section. We show that the scattering cross section can vanish due to interference effects with models obtained by simple combinations of simplified models. For weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) masses $\gtrsim$10 GeV, collider limits are usually much weaker than the direct detection limits coming from LUX or XENON100. However, for our model combinations, LHC analyses are more competitive for some parts of the parameter space. The regions with direct detection blind spots can be strongly constrained from the complementary use of several Large Hadron Collider (LHC) searches like mono-jet, jets + missing transverse energy, heavy vector resonance searches, etc. We evaluate the strongest limits for combinations of scalar + vector, "squark" + vector, and scalar + "squark" mediator, and present the LHC 14 TeV projections.
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