34 research outputs found
The 6dF galaxy survey: fundamental plane data
We report the 6dFGS Fundamental Plane (6dFGSv) catalogue that is used to estimate distances and peculiar velocities for nearly 9000 early-type galaxies in the local (z < 0.055) universe. Velocity dispersions are derived by cross-correlation from 6dF V-band spectra with typical S/N of 12.9âĂ
â1 for a sample of 11 315 galaxies; the median velocity dispersion is 163âkmâsâ1 and the median measurement error is 12.9 per cent. The photometric Fundamental Plane (FP) parameters (effective radii and surface brightnesses) are determined from the JHK 2MASS images for 11 102 galaxies. Comparison of the independent J- and K-band measurements implies that the average uncertainty in XFP, the combined photometric parameter that enters the FP, is 0.013âdex (3 per cent) for each band. Visual classification of morphologies was used to select a sample of nearly 9000 early-type galaxies that form 6dFGSv. This catalogue has been used to study the effects of stellar populations on galaxy scaling relations, to investigate the variation of the FP with environment and galaxy morphology, to explore trends in stellar populations through, along and across the FP, and to map and analyse the local peculiar velocity field
The 6dF galaxy survey: cosmological constraints from the velocity power spectrum
We present scale-dependent measurements of the normalized growth rate of structure fÏ8(k, z = 0) using only the peculiar motions of galaxies. We use data from the 6-degree Field Galaxy Survey velocity sample together with a newly compiled sample of low-redshift (z 300âhâ1âMpc, which represents one of the largest scale growth rate measurement to date. We find no evidence for a scale-dependence in the growth rate, or any statistically significant variation from the growth rate as predicted by the Planck cosmology. Bringing all the scales together, we determine the normalized growth rate at z = 0 to âŒ15 per cent in a manner independent of galaxy bias and in excellent agreement with the constraint from the measurements of redshift-space distortions from 6-degree Field Galaxy Survey. We pay particular attention to systematic errors. We point out that the intrinsic scatter present in Fundamental Plane and TullyâFisher relations is only Gaussian in logarithmic distance units; wrongly assuming it is Gaussian in linear (velocity) units can bias cosmological constraints. We also analytically marginalize over zero-point errors in distance indicators, validate the accuracy of all our constraints using numerical simulations, and demonstrate how to combine different (correlated) velocity surveys using a matrix âhyperparameterâ analysis. Current and forthcoming peculiar velocity surveys will allow us to understand in detail the growth of structure in the low-redshift universe, providing strong constraints on the nature of dark energy
Average luminosity distance in inhomogeneous universes
The paper studies the correction to the distance modulus induced by
inhomogeneities and averaged over all directions from a given observer. The
inhomogeneities are modeled as mass-compensated voids in random or regular
lattices within Swiss-cheese universes. Void radii below 300 Mpc are
considered, which are supported by current redshift surveys and limited by the
recently observed imprint such voids leave on CMB. The averaging over all
directions, performed by numerical ray tracing, is non-perturbative and
includes the supernovas inside the voids. Voids aligning along a certain
direction produce a cumulative gravitational lensing correction that increases
with their number. Such corrections are destroyed by the averaging over all
directions, even in non-randomized simple cubic void lattices. At low
redshifts, the average correction is not zero but decays with the peculiar
velocities and redshift. Its upper bound is provided by the maximal average
correction which assumes no random cancelations between different voids. It is
described well by a linear perturbation formula and, for the voids considered,
is 20% of the correction corresponding to the maximal peculiar velocity. The
average correction calculated in random and simple cubic void lattices is
severely damped below the predicted maximal one after a single void diameter.
That is traced to cancellations between the corrections from the fronts and
backs of different voids. All that implies that voids cannot imitate the effect
of dark energy unless they have radii and peculiar velocities much larger than
the currently observed. The results obtained allow one to readily predict the
redshift above which the direction-averaged fluctuation in the Hubble diagram
falls below a required precision and suggest a method to extract the background
Hubble constant from low redshift data without the need to correct for peculiar
velocities.Comment: 34 pages, 21 figures, matches the version accepted in JCA
Constraining the Power Spectrum using Clusters
(Shortened Abstract). We analyze a redshift sample of Abell/ACO clusters and
compare them with numerical simulations based on the truncated Zel'dovich
approximation (TZA), for a list of eleven dark matter (DM) models. For each
model we run several realizations, on which we estimate cosmic variance
effects. We analyse correlation statistics, the probability density function,
and supercluster properties from percolation analysis. As a general result, we
find that the distribution of galaxy clusters provides a constraint only on the
shape of the power spectrum, but not on its amplitude: a shape parameter 0.18 <
\Gamma < 0.25 and an effective spectral index at 20Mpc/h in the range
[-1.1,-0.9] are required by the Abell/ACO data. In order to obtain
complementary constraints on the spectrum amplitude, we consider the cluster
abundance as estimated using the Press--Schechter approach, whose reliability
is explicitly tested against N--body simulations. We conclude that, of the
cosmological models considered here, the only viable models are either Cold+Hot
DM ones with \Omega_\nu = [0.2-0.3], better if shared between two massive
neutrinos, and flat low-density CDM models with \Omega_0 = [0.3-0.5].Comment: 37 pages, Latex file, 9 figures; New Astronomy, in pres
Dark Energy and Gravity
I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as
the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1
briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises
the evidence for dark energy. It also provides the observational and
theoretical arguments in favour of the cosmological constant as the candidate
and emphasises why no other approach really solves the conceptual problems
usually attributed to the cosmological constant. Part 2 describes some of the
approaches to understand the nature of the cosmological constant and attempts
to extract the key ingredients which must be present in any viable solution. I
argue that (i)the cosmological constant problem cannot be satisfactorily solved
until gravitational action is made invariant under the shift of the matter
lagrangian by a constant and (ii) this cannot happen if the metric is the
dynamical variable. Hence the cosmological constant problem essentially has to
do with our (mis)understanding of the nature of gravity. Part 3 discusses an
alternative perspective on gravity in which the action is explicitly invariant
under the above transformation. Extremizing this action leads to an equation
determining the background geometry which gives Einstein's theory at the lowest
order with Lanczos-Lovelock type corrections. (Condensed abstract).Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen.Rel.Grav. issue on Dark Energy,
edited by G.F.R.Ellis, R.Maartens and H.Nicolai; revtex; 22 pages; 2 figure
Cosmic Microwave Background constraint on residual annihilations of relic particles
Energy injected into the Cosmic Microwave Background at redshifts z<10^6 will
distort its spectrum permanently. In this paper we discuss the distortion
caused by annihilations of relic particles. We use the observational bounds on
deviations from a Planck spectrum to constrain a combination of annihilation
cross section, mass, and abundance. For particles with (s-wave) annihilation
cross section, =\sigma_0, the bound is
f[(\sigma_0/6e-27cm^3/s)(\Omega_{X\bar{X}}h^2)^2]/(m_X/MeV)<0.2, where m_X is
the particle mass, \Omega_{X\bar{X}} is the fraction of the critical density
the particle and its antiparticle contribute if they survive to the present
time, h=H_0/(100km/s/Mpc), H_0 is the Hubble constant, and f is the fraction of
the annihilation energy that interacts electromagnetically. We also compute the
less stringent limits for p-wave annihilation. We update other bounds on
residual annihilations and compare them to our CMB bound.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale
Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in
astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because
of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of
methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical
distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to
homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on
the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend
this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration
based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational
lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive
outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys,
missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly
reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press
(chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ
workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age
Allan Sandage and the Cosmic Expansion
This is an account of Allan Sandage's work on (1) The character of the
expansion field. For many years he has been the strongest defender of an
expanding Universe. He later explained the CMB dipole by a local velocity of
220 +/- 50 km/s toward the Virgo cluster and by a bulk motion of the Local
supercluster (extending out to ~3500 km/s) of 450-500 km/s toward an apex at
l=275, b=12. Allowing for these streaming velocities he found linear expansion
to hold down to local scales (~300 km/s). (2) The calibration of the Hubble
constant. Probing different methods he finally adopted - from
Cepheid-calibrated SNe Ia and from independent RR Lyr-calibrated TRGBs - H_0 =
62.3 +/- 1.3 +/- 5.0 km/s/Mpc.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, Submitted to Astrophysics and Space
Science, Special Issue on the Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale in the Gaia
Er
Assessing the hydrological suitability of floodplains for species-rich meadow restoration: a case study of the Thames floodplain, UK
The physical and chemical environment of a floodplain needs to be assessed to define conservation targets for restoring it to species-rich meadows from agricultural land. A straightforward technique, widely applicable by site managers for assessing the suitability of the hydrological and hydro-chemical regime of a floodplain for wet grassland restoration, has been tested by examining the feasibility of restoring plants characteristic of NVC MG4 and MG8 communities to the Castle Meadows, Wallingford (Oxfordshire, UK). Hydro-chemical suitability has been assessed by comparing phosphorus concentrations with species-rich meadows nearby. The flooding regime was estimated based on a rating curve and a digital elevation model and groundwater levels were measured monthly in dipwells and piezometers. The hydrological regime was then compared with published reference guidelines for communities of conservation interest. For the Castle Meadows, the maximum duration of flood events in autumn and winter exceeded MG4 and MG8 species requirements across half of the site, while the depth of the groundwater table in summer exceeded species requirements in the other half. It was shown that, depending on topography, MG5 or MG13 may be more realistic vegetation targets