Constraints on extended quintessence from high-redshift Supernovae

We obtain constraints on quintessence models from magnitude-redshift measurements of 176 type Ia Supernovae. The considered quintessence models are ordinary quintessence, with Ratra-Peebles and SUGRA potentials, and extended quintessence with a Ratra-Peebles potential. We compute confidence regions in the $\Omega_{m0}-\alpha$ plane and find that for SUGRA potentials it is not possible to obtain useful constraints on these parameters; for the Ratra-Peebles case, both for the extended and ordinary quintessence we find \alpha\mincir 0.8, at the $1\sigma$ level. We also consider simulated dataset for the SNAP satellite for the same models: again, for a SUGRA potential it will not be possible to obtain constraints on $\alpha$, while with a Ratra-Peebles potential its value will be determined with an error \mincir 0.6. We evaluate the inaccuracy made by approximating the time evolution of the equation of state with a linear or constant w\diz, instead of using its exact redshift evolution. Finally we discuss the effects of different systematic errors in the determination of quintessence parameters.Comment: 8 pages, ApJ in press. We added a discussion of the systematic errors and we updated the SNe catalogu

The bias field of dark matter haloes

This paper presents a stochastic approach to the clustering evolution of dark matter haloes in the Universe. Haloes, identified by a Press-Schechter-type algorithm in Lagrangian space, are described in terms of `counting fields', acting as non-linear operators on the underlying Gaussian density fluctuations. By ensemble averaging these counting fields, the standard Press-Schechter mass function as well as analytic expressions for the halo correlation function and corresponding bias factors of linear theory are obtained, thereby extending the recent results by Mo and White. The non-linear evolution of our halo population is then followed by solving the continuity equation, under the sole hypothesis that haloes move by the action of gravity. This leads to an exact and general formula for the bias field of dark matter haloes, defined as the local ratio between their number density contrast and the mass density fluctuation. Besides being a function of position and `observation' redshift, this random field depends upon the mass and formation epoch of the objects and is both non-linear and non-local. The latter features are expected to leave a detectable imprint on the spatial clustering of galaxies, as described, for instance, by statistics like bispectrum and skewness. Our algorithm may have several interesting applications, among which the possibility of generating mock halo catalogues from low-resolution N-body simulations.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX (included psfig.tex), 4 figures. Few comments and references have been added, and minor typos and errors corrected. This version matches the refereed one, in press in MNRA

The Variance of QSO Counts in Cells

{}From three quasar samples with a total of 1038 objects in the redshift range $1.0 \div 2.2$ we measure the variance $\sigma^2$ of counts in cells of volume $V_u$. By a maximum likelihood analysis applied separately on these samples we obtain estimates of $\sigma^2(\ell)$, with $\ell \equiv V_u^{1/3}$. The analysis from a single catalog for $\ell = ~40~h^{-1}$ Mpc and from a suitable average over the three catalogs for $\ell = ~60,~80$ and $100~h^{-1}$ Mpc, gives $\sigma^2(\ell) = 0.46^{+0.27}_{-0.27}$, $0.18^{+0.14}_{-0.15}$, $0.05^{+0.14}_{-0.05}$ and $0.12^{+0.13}_{-0.12}$, respectively, where the $70\%$ confidence ranges account for both sampling errors and statistical fluctuations in the counts. This allows a comparison of QSO clustering on large scales with analogous data recently obtained both for optical and IRAS galaxies: QSOs seem to be more clustered than these galaxies by a biasing factor $b_{QSO}/b_{gal} \sim 1.4 - 2.3$.Comment: 13 pages in plain Tex, 5 figures available in postscript in a separate file, submitted to ApJ, DAPD-33

High-Resolution Simulations of Cosmic Microwave Background non-Gaussian Maps in Spherical Coordinates

We describe a new numerical algorithm to obtain high-resolution simulated maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), for a broad class of non-Gaussian models. The kind of non-Gaussianity we account for is based on the simple idea that the primordial gravitational potential is obtained by a non-linear but local mapping from an underlying Gaussian random field, as resulting from a variety of inflationary models. Our technique, which is based on a direct realization of the potential in spherical coordinates and fully accounts for the radiation transfer function, allows to simulate non-Gaussian CMB maps down to the Planck resolution ($\ell_{\rm max} \sim 3,000$), with reasonable memory storage and computational time.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to ApJ. A version with higher quality figures is available at http://www.pd.infn.it/~liguori/content.htm

Detecting X-ray filaments in the low redshift Universe with XEUS and Constellation-X

We propose a possible way to detect baryons at low redshifts from the analysis of X-ray absorption spectra of bright AGN pairs. A simple semi-analytical model to simulate the spectra is presented. We model the diffuse warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) component, responsible for the X-ray absorption, using inputs from high-resolution hydro-dynamical simulations and analytical prescriptions. We show that the number of OVII absorbers per unit redshift with column density larger than $10^{13.5}$ cm$^{-2}$ - corresponding to an equivalent width of $\sim$ 1 km/s - which will be possibly detectable by {\it XEUS}, is \magcir 30 per unit redshift. {\it Constellation-X} will detect $\sim 6$ OVII absorptions per unit redshift with an equivalent width of 10 km/s. Our results show that, in a $\Lambda$CDM Universe, the characteristic size of these absorbers at $z\sim 0.1$ is $\sim 1$ $h^{-1}$ Mpc. The filamentary structure of WHIM can be probed by finding coincident absorption lines in the spectra of background AGN pairs. We estimate that at least 20 AGN pairs at separation \mincir 20 arcmin are needed to detect this filamentary structure at a 3$\sigma$ level. Assuming observations of distant sources using {\it XEUS} for exposure times of 500 ksec, we find that the minimum source flux to probe the filamentary structure is $\sim 2\times 10^{-12}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, in the 0.1-2.4 keV energy band. Thus, most pairs of these extragalactic X-ray bright sources have already been identified in the {\it ROSAT} All-Sky Survey. Re-observation of these objects by future missions could be a powerful way to search for baryons in the low redshift Universe.Comment: 18 pages, 10 Figures. Two figures added, Sections 2 and 3 expanded. More optimistic results for Constellation-X. Accepted by MNRA

On the spatial distribution of dark matter halos

We study the spatial distribution of dark matter halos in the Universe in terms of their number density contrast, related to the underlying dark matter fluctuation via a non-local and non-linear bias random field. The description of the matter dynamics is simplified by adopting the `truncated' Zel'dovich approximation to obtain both analytical results and simulated maps. The halo number density field in our maps and its probability distribution reproduce with excellent accuracy those of halos in a high-resolution N-body simulation with the same initial conditions. Our non-linear and non-local bias prescription matches the N-body halo distribution better than any Eulerian linear and local bias.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX (uses emulateapj; included psfig.tex), 3 figures, 1 table. Shortened version, matching the size requirements of ApJ Letters. Accepted for publicatio

The time-evolution of bias

We study the evolution of the bias factor b and the mass-galaxy correlation coefficient r in a simple analytic model for galaxy formation and the gravitational growth of clustering. The model shows that b and r can be strongly time-dependent, but tend to approach unity even if galaxy formation never ends as the gravitational growth of clustering debiases the older galaxies. The presence of random fluctuations in the sites of galaxy formation relative to the mass distribution can cause large and rapidly falling bias values at high redshift.Comment: 4 pages, with 2 figures included. Typos corrected to match published ApJL version. Color figure and links at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~max/bias.html or from [email protected]

General Relativistic Dynamics of Irrotational Dust: Cosmological Implications

The non--linear dynamics of cosmological perturbations of an irrotational collisionless fluid is analyzed within General Relativity. Relativistic and Newtonian solutions are compared, stressing the different role of boundary conditions in the two theories. Cosmological implications of relativistic effects, already present at second order in perturbation theory, are studied and the dynamical role of the magnetic part of the Weyl tensor is elucidated.Comment: 12 pages , DFPD 93/A/6

Clustering of Lyman alpha emitters at z ~ 4.5

We present the clustering properties of 151 Lyman alpha emitting galaxies at z ~ 4.5 selected from the Large Area Lyman Alpha (LALA) survey. Our catalog covers an area of 36' x 36' observed with five narrowband filters. We assume that the angular correlation function w(theta) is well represented by a power law A_w = Theta^(-beta) with slope beta = 0.8, and we find A_w = 6.73 +/- 1.80. We then calculate the correlation length r_0 of the real-space two-point correlation function xi(r) = (r/r_0)^(-1.8) from A_w through the Limber transformation, assuming a flat, Lambda-dominated universe. Neglecting contamination, we find r_0 = 3.20 +/- 0.42 Mpc/h. Taking into account a possible 28% contamination by randomly distributed sources, we find r_0 = 4.61 +/- 0.6 Mpc/h. We compare these results with the expectations for the clustering of dark matter halos at this redshift in a Cold Dark Matter model, and find that the measured clustering strength can be reproduced if these objects reside in halos with a minimum mass of 1-2 times 10^11 Solar masses/h. Our estimated correlation length implies a bias of b ~ 3.7, similar to that of Lyman-break galaxies (LBG) at z ~ 3.8-4.9. However, Lyman alpha emitters are a factor of ~ 2-16 rarer than LBGs with a similar bias value and implied host halo mass. Therefore, one plausible scenario seems to be that Lyman alpha emitters occupy host halos of roughly the same mass as LBGs, but shine with a relatively low duty cycle of 6-50%.Comment: 23 pages in preprint format, 4 figures, ApJ accepte

CMB Anisotropies at Second Order I

We present the computation of the full system of Boltzmann equations at second-order describing the evolution of the photon, baryon and cold dark matter fluids. These equations allow to follow the time evolution of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies at second-order at all angular scales from the early epoch, when the cosmological perturbations were generated, to the present through the recombination era. This paper sets the stage for the computation of the full second-order radiation transfer function at all scales and for a a generic set of initial conditions specifying the level of primordial non-Gaussianity. In a companion paper, we will present the computation of the three-point correlation function at recombination which is so relevant for the issue of non-Gaussianity in the CMB anisotropies.Comment: 26 pages, LaTeX file, typos correcte