Super Heavy Dark Matter in light of BICEP2, Planck and Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays Observations

The announcement by BICEP2 of the detection of B-mode polarization consistent with primordial gravitational waves with a tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r=0.2^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$, challenged predictions from most inflationary models of a lower value for $r$. More recent results by Planck on polarized dust emission show that the observed tensor modes signal is compatible with pure foreground emission. A more significant constraint on $r$ was then obtained by a joint analysis of Planck, BICEP2 and Keck Array data showing an upper limit to the tensor to scalar ratio $r\le 0.12$, excluding the case $r=0$ with low statistical significance. Forthcoming measurements by BICEP3, the Keck Array, and other CMB polarization experiments, open the possibility for making the fundamental measurement of $r$. Here we discuss how $r$ sets the scale for models where the dark matter is created at the inflationary epoch, the generically called super-heavy dark matter models. We also consider the constraints on such scenarios given by recent data from ultrahigh energy cosmic ray observatories which set the limit on super-heavy dark matter particles lifetime. We discuss how super-heavy dark matter can be discovered by a precise measurement of $r$ combined with future observations of ultra high energy cosmic rays.Comment: 17 pages, 14 eps figures, accepted for publication in JCA

Tests for primordial non-Gaussianity

We investigate the relative sensitivities of several tests for deviations from Gaussianity in the primordial distribution of density perturbations. We consider models for non-Gaussianity that mimic that which comes from inflation as well as that which comes from topological defects. The tests we consider involve the cosmic microwave background (CMB), large-scale structure (LSS), high-redshift galaxies, and the abundances and properties of clusters. We find that the CMB is superior at finding non-Gaussianity in the primordial gravitational potential (as inflation would produce), while observations of high-redshift galaxies are much better suited to find non-Gaussianity that resembles that expected from topological defects. We derive a simple expression that relates the abundance of high-redshift objects in non-Gaussian models to the primordial skewness.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS in press (minor changes to match the accepted version

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

Scale Dependence of Halo Bispectrum from Non-Gaussian Initial Conditions in Cosmological N-body Simulations

We study the halo bispectrum from non-Gaussian initial conditions. Based on a set of large $N$-body simulations starting from initial density fields with local type non-Gaussianity, we find that the halo bispectrum exhibits a strong dependence on the shape and scale of Fourier space triangles near squeezed configurations at large scales. The amplitude of the halo bispectrum roughly scales as $f_nl^2$. The resultant scaling on the triangular shape is consistent with that predicted by Jeong & Komatsu based on perturbation theory. We systematically investigate this dependence with varying redshifts and halo mass thresholds. It is shown that the $f_nl$ dependence of the halo bispectrum is stronger for more massive haloes at higher redshifts. This feature can be a useful discriminator of inflation scenarios in future deep and wide galaxy redshift surveys.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures; revised argument in section 6, added appendix C, JCAP accepted versio

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

Large-k Limit of Multi-Point Propagators in the RG Formalism

Renormalized versions of cosmological perturbation theory have been very successful in recent years in describing the evolution of structure formation in the weakly non-linear regime. The concept of multi-point propagators has been introduced as a tool to quantify the relation between the initial matter distribution and the final one and to push the validity of the approaches to smaller scales. We generalize the n-point propagators that have been considered until now to include a new class of multi-point propagators that are relevant in the framework of the renormalization group formalism. The large-k results obtained for this general class of multi-point propagators match the results obtained earlier both in the case of Gaussian and non-Gaussian initial conditions. We discuss how the large-k results can be used to improve on the accuracy of the calculations of the power spectrum and bispectrum in the presence of initial non-Gaussianities.Comment: 30 page

The Power Spectrum, Bias Evolution, and the Spatial Three-Point Correlation Function

We calculate perturbatively the normalized spatial skewness, $S_3$, and full three-point correlation function (3PCF), $\zeta$, induced by gravitational instability of Gaussian primordial fluctuations for a biased tracer-mass distribution in flat and open cold-dark-matter (CDM) models. We take into account the dependence on the shape and evolution of the CDM power spectrum, and allow the bias to be nonlinear and/or evolving in time, using an extension of Fry's (1996) bias-evolution model. We derive a scale-dependent, leading-order correction to the standard perturbative expression for $S_3$ in the case of nonlinear biasing, as defined for the unsmoothed galaxy and dark-matter fields, and find that this correction becomes large when probing positive effective power-spectrum indices. This term implies that the inferred nonlinear-bias parameter, as usually defined in terms of the smoothed density fields, might depend on the chosen smoothing scale. In general, we find that the dependence of $S_3$ on the biasing scheme can substantially outweigh that on the adopted cosmology. We demonstrate that the normalized 3PCF, $Q$, is an ill-behaved quantity, and instead investigate $Q_V$, the variance-normalized 3PCF. The configuration dependence of $Q_V$ shows similarly strong sensitivities to the bias scheme as $S_3$, but also exhibits significant dependence on the form of the CDM power spectrum. Though the degeneracy of $S_3$ with respect to the cosmological parameters and constant linear- and nonlinear-bias parameters can be broken by the full configuration dependence of $Q_V$, neither statistic can distinguish well between evolving and non-evolving bias scenarios. We show that this can be resolved, in principle, by considering the redshift dependence of $\zeta$.Comment: 41 pages, including 12 Figures. To appear in The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 521, #

Perturbations of spacetime: gauge transformations and gauge invariance at second order and beyond

We consider in detail the problem of gauge dependence that exists in relativistic perturbation theory, going beyond the linear approximation and treating second and higher order perturbations. We first derive some mathematical results concerning the Taylor expansion of tensor fields under the action of one-parameter families (not necessarily groups) of diffeomorphisms. Second, we define gauge invariance to an arbitrary order $n$. Finally, we give a generating formula for the gauge transformation to an arbitrary order and explicit rules to second and third order. This formalism can be used in any field of applied general relativity, such as cosmological and black hole perturbations, as well as in other spacetime theories. As a specific example, we consider here second order perturbations in cosmology, assuming a flat Robertson-Walker background, giving explicit second order transformations between the synchronous and the Poisson (generalized longitudinal) gauges.Comment: slightly revised version, accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravity. 27 pages including 4 figures, latex using 2 CQG style files: ioplppt.sty, iopl10.st

Signatures of Primordial non-Gaussianities in the Matter Power-Spectrum and Bispectrum: the Time-RG Approach

We apply the time-renormalization group approach to study the effect of primordial non-Gaussianities in the non-linear evolution of cosmological dark matter density perturbations. This method improves the standard perturbation approach by solving renormalization group-like equations governing the dynamics of gravitational instability. The primordial bispectra constructed from the dark matter density contrast and the velocity fields represent initial conditions for the renormalization group flow. We consider local, equilateral and folded shapes for the initial non-Gaussianity and analyze as well the case in which the non-linear parameter f_{NL} parametrizing the strength of the non-Gaussianity depends on the momenta in Fourier space through a power-law relation, the so-called running non-Gaussianity. For the local model of non-Gaussianity we compare our findings for the power-spectrum with those of recent N-body simulations and find that they accurately fit the N-body data up to wave-numbers k \sim 0.25 h/Mpc at z=0. We also present predictions for the (reduced) matter bispectra for the various shapes of non-Gaussianity.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures. Results and discussion for a particular case added. One figure and one reference added. Matches with the version accepted for publication in the JCAP

Light-cone averages in a swiss-cheese universe

We analyze a toy swiss-cheese cosmological model to study the averaging problem. In our model, the cheese is the EdS model and the holes are constructed from a LTB solution. We study the propagation of photons in the swiss-cheese model, and find a phenomenological homogeneous model to describe observables. Following a fitting procedure based on light-cone averages, we find that the the expansion scalar is unaffected by the inhomogeneities. This is because of spherical symmetry. However, the light-cone average of the density as a function of redshift is affected by inhomogeneities. The effect arises because, as the universe evolves, a photon spends more and more time in the (large) voids than in the (thin) high-density structures. The phenomenological homogeneous model describing the light-cone average of the density is similar to the concordance model. Although the sole source in the swiss-cheese model is matter, the phenomenological homogeneous model behaves as if it has a dark-energy component. Finally, we study how the equation of state of the phenomenological model depends on the size of the inhomogeneities, and find that the equation-of-state parameters w_0 and w_a follow a power-law dependence with a scaling exponent equal to unity. That is, the equation of state depends linearly on the distance the photon travels through voids. We conclude that within our toy model, the holes must have a present size of about 250 Mpc to be able to mimic the concordance model.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures; replaced to fit the version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.