169 research outputs found
The Cluster Abundance in Flat and Open Cosmologies
We use the galaxy cluster X-ray temperature distribution function to
constrain the amplitude of the power spectrum of density inhomogeneities on the
scale corresponding to clusters. We carry out the analysis for critical density
universes, for low density universes with a cosmological constant included to
restore spatial flatness and for genuinely open universes. That clusters with
the same present temperature but different formation times have different
virial masses is included. We model cluster mergers using two completely
different approaches, and show that the final results from each are extremely
similar. We give careful consideration to the uncertainties involved, carrying
out a Monte Carlo analysis to determine the cumulative errors. For critical
density our result agrees with previous papers, but we believe the result
carries a larger uncertainty. For low density universes, either flat or open,
the required amplitude of the power spectrum increases as the density is
decreased. If all the dark matter is taken to be cold, then the cluster
abundance constraint remains compatible with both galaxy correlation data and
the {\it COBE} measurement of microwave background anisotropies for any
reasonable density.Comment: Uuencoded package containing LaTeX file (uses mn.sty) plus 7
postscript figures incorporated using epsf. Total length 10 pages. Final
version, to appear MNRAS. COBE comparison changed to 4yr data. No change to
results or conclusion
Cold dark matter models with high baryon content
Recent results have suggested that the density of baryons in the Universe,
OmegaB, is much more uncertain than previously thought, and may be
significantly higher. We demonstrate that a higher OmegaB increases the
viability of critical-density cold dark matter (CDM) models. High baryon
fraction offers the twin benefits of boosting the first peak in the microwave
anisotropy power spectrum and of suppressing short-scale power in the matter
power spectrum. These enable viable CDM models to have a larger Hubble constant
than otherwise possible. We carry out a general exploration of high OmegaB CDM
models, varying the Hubble constant h and the spectral index n. We confront a
variety of observational constraints and discuss specific predictions. Although
some observational evidence may favour baryon fractions as high as 20 per cent,
we find that values around 10 to 15 per cent provide a reasonable fit to a wide
range of data. We suggest that models with OmegaB in this range, with h about
0.5 and n about 0.8, are currently the best critical-density CDM models.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, with 9 included figures, to appear in MNRAS. Revised
version includes updated references, some changes to section 4. Conclusions
unchange
Apparent and actual galaxy cluster temperatures
The redshift evolution of the galaxy cluster temperature function is a
powerful probe of cosmology. However, its determination requires the
measurement of redshifts for all clusters in a catalogue, which is likely to
prove challenging for large catalogues expected from XMM--Newton, which may
contain of order 2000 clusters with measurable temperatures distributed around
the sky. In this paper we study the apparent cluster temperature, which can be
obtained without cluster redshifts. We show that the apparent temperature
function itself is of limited use in constraining cosmology, and so concentrate
our focus on studying how apparent temperatures can be combined with other
X-ray information to constrain the redshift. We also briefly study the
circumstances in which non-thermal spectral features can give redshift
information.Comment: 7 pages LaTeX file with 13 figures incorporated (uses mn.sty and
epsf). Minor changes to match MNRAS accepted versio
Pursuing Parameters for Critical Density Dark Matter Models
We present an extensive comparison of models of structure formation with
observations, based on linear and quasi-linear theory. We assume a critical
matter density, and study both cold dark matter models and cold plus hot dark
matter models. We explore a wide range of parameters, by varying the fraction
of hot dark matter , the Hubble parameter and the spectral
index of density perturbations , and allowing for the possibility of
gravitational waves from inflation influencing large-angle microwave background
anisotropies. New calculations are made of the transfer functions describing
the linear power spectrum, with special emphasis on improving the accuracy on
short scales where there are strong constraints. For assessing early object
formation, the transfer functions are explicitly evaluated at the appropriate
redshift. The observations considered are the four-year {\it COBE} observations
of microwave background anisotropies, peculiar velocity flows, the galaxy
correlation function, and the abundances of galaxy clusters, quasars and damped
Lyman alpha systems. Each observation is interpreted in terms of the power
spectrum filtered by a top-hat window function. We find that there remains a
viable region of parameter space for critical-density models when all the dark
matter is cold, though must be less than 0.5 before any fit is found and
significantly below unity is preferred. Once a hot dark matter component is
invoked, a wide parameter space is acceptable, including . The
allowed region is characterized by \Omega_\nu \la 0.35 and 0.60 \la n \la
1.25, at 95 per cent confidence on at least one piece of data. There is no
useful lower bound on , and for curious combinations of the other parameters
it is possible to fit the data with as high as 0.65.Comment: 19 pages LaTeX file (uses mn.sty). Figures *not* included due to
length. We strongly recommend obtaining the full paper, either by WWW at
http://star-www.maps.susx.ac.uk/papers/lsstru_papers.html (UK) or
http://www.bartol.udel.edu/~bob/papers (US), or by e-mailing ARL. Final
version, to appear MNRAS. Main revision is update to four-year COBE data.
Miscellaneous other changes and reference updates. No significant changes to
principal conclusion
Constraining the Matter Power Spectrum Normalization using the SDSS/RASS and REFLEX Cluster surveys
We describe a new approach to constrain the amplitude of the power spectrum
of matter perturbations in the Universe, parametrized by sigma_8 as a function
of the matter density Omega_0. We compare the galaxy cluster X-ray luminosity
function of the REFLEX survey with the theoretical mass function of Jenkins et
al. (2001), using the mass-luminosity relationship obtained from weak lensing
data for a sample of galaxy clusters identified in Sloan Digital Sky Survey
commissioning data and confirmed through cross-correlation with the ROSAT
all-sky survey. We find sigma_8 = 0.38 Omega_0^(-0.48+0.27 Omega_ 0), which is
significantly different from most previous results derived from comparable
calculations that used the X-ray temperature function. We discuss possible
sources of systematic error that may cause such a discrepancy, and in the
process uncover a possible inconsistency between the REFLEX luminosity function
and the relation between cluster X-ray luminosity and mass obtained by Reiprich
& Bohringer (2001).Comment: Accepted to ApJ Letters. 4 pages using emulateapj.st
Open Cold Dark Matter Models
Motivated by recent developments in inflationary cosmology indicating the
possibility of obtaining genuinely open universes in some models, we compare
the predictions of cold dark matter (CDM) models in open universes with a
variety of observational information. The spectrum of the primordial curvature
perturbation is taken to be scale invariant (spectral index ),
corresponding to a flat inflationary potential. We allow arbitrary variation of
the density parameter and the Hubble parameter , and take full
account of the baryon content assuming standard nucleosynthesis. We normalize
the power spectrum using the recent analysis of the two year {\it COBE} DMR
data by G\'{o}rski et al. We then consider a variety of observations, namely
the galaxy correlation function, bulk flows, the abundance of galaxy clusters
and the abundance of damped Lyman alpha systems. For the last two of these, we
provide a new treatment appropriate to open universes. We find that, if one
allows an arbitrary , then a good fit is available for any
greater than 0.35, though for close to 1 the required is
alarmingly low. Models with seem unable to fit observations
while keeping the universe over Gyr old; this limit is somewhat higher
than that appearing in the literature thus far. If one assumes a value of , as favoured by recent measurements, concordance with the data is only
possible for the narrow range . We have also
investigated ; the extra freedom naturally widens the allowed
parameter region. Assuming a range , the allowed range of
assuming is at most .Comment: 12 pages, uuencoded package containing LaTeX file (using mn.sty) plus
4 postscript figures incorporated using epsf. Main change is an improved
cluster abundance calculation. Overall conclusions almost unchanged though.
Also two equations corrected, references updated etc. Final version, to
appear MNRA
The power spectrum amplitude from clusters revisited: Ï8 using simulations with preheating and cooling
The amplitude of density perturbations, for the currently-favoured CDM cosmology, is constrained using the observed properties of galaxy clusters. The catalogue used is that of Ikebe et al. The relation of cluster temperature to mass is obtained via N-body/hydrodynamical simulations including radiative cooling and pre-heating of cluster gas, which we have previously shown to reproduce well the observed temperatureâmass relation in the innermost parts of clusters. We generate and compare mock catalogues via a Monte Carlo method, which allows us to constrain the relation between X-ray temperature and luminosity, including its scatter, simultaneously with cosmological parameters. We find a luminosityâtemperature relation in good agreement with the results of Ikebe et al., while for the matter power spectrum normalization, we find Ï8 = 0.78+0.30 â0.06 at 95 per cent confidence for 0 = 0.35. Scaling to the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe central value of 0 = 0.27 would give a best-fitting value of Ï8 â 0.9
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