16 research outputs found
Forecasting cosmological constraints from age of high-z galaxies
We perform Monte Carlo simulations based on current age estimates of high-z
objects to forecast constraints on the equation of state (EoS) of the dark
energy. In our analysis, we use two different EoS parameterizations, namely,
the so-called CPL and its uncorrelated form and calculate the improvements on
the figure of merit for both cases. Although there is a clear dependence of the
FoM with the size and accuracy of the synthetic age samples, we find that the
most substantial gain in FoM comes from a joint analysis involving age and
baryon acoustic oscillation data.Comment: 4 pages, 13 figures, late
Cosmic homogeneity: a spectroscopic and model-independent measurement
Cosmology relies on the Cosmological Principle, i.e., the hypothesis that the
Universe is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. This implies in
particular that the counts of galaxies should approach a homogeneous scaling
with volume at sufficiently large scales. Testing homogeneity is crucial to
obtain a correct interpretation of the physical assumptions underlying the
current cosmic acceleration and structure formation of the Universe. In this
Letter, we use the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey to make the first
spectroscopic and model-independent measurements of the angular homogeneity
scale . Applying four statistical estimators, we show that the
angular distribution of galaxies in the range 0.46 < z < 0.62 is consistent
with homogeneity at large scales, and that varies with
redshift, indicating a smoother Universe in the past. These results are in
agreement with the foundations of the standard cosmological paradigm.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Version accepted by MNRA
Cosmology with Phase 1 of the Square Kilometre Array Red Book 2018: Technical specifications and performance forecasts
We present a detailed overview of the cosmological surveys that we aim to carry out with Phase 1 of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA1) and the science that they will enable. We highlight three main surveys: a medium-deep continuum weak lensing and low-redshift spectroscopic HI galaxy survey over 5 000 deg2; a wide and deep continuum galaxy and HI intensity mapping (IM) survey over 20 000 deg2 from to 3; and a deep, high-redshift HI IM survey over 100 deg2 from to 6. Taken together, these surveys will achieve an array of important scientific goals: measuring the equation of state of dark energy out to with percent-level precision measurements of the cosmic expansion rate; constraining possible deviations from General Relativity on cosmological scales by measuring the growth rate of structure through multiple independent methods; mapping the structure of the Universe on the largest accessible scales, thus constraining fundamental properties such as isotropy, homogeneity, and non-Gaussianity; and measuring the HI density and bias out to . These surveys will also provide highly complementary clustering and weak lensing measurements that have independent systematic uncertainties to those of optical and near-infrared (NIR) surveys like Euclid, LSST, and WFIRST leading to a multitude of synergies that can improve constraints significantly beyond what optical or radio surveys can achieve on their own. This document, the 2018 Red Book, provides reference technical specifications, cosmological parameter forecasts, and an overview of relevant systematic effects for the three key surveys and will be regularly updated by the Cosmology Science Working Group in the run up to start of operations and the Key Science Programme of SKA1