Aspects of Dark Matter Annihilation in Cosmology

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) constraints on dark matter annihilation are a uniquely powerful tool in the quest to understand the nature of dark matter. Annihilation of dark matter to Standard Model particles between recombination and reionization heats baryons, ionizes neutral hydrogen, and alters the CMB visibility function. Surprisingly, CMB bounds on dark matter annihilation are not expected to improve significantly with the dramatic improvements in sensitivity expected in future cosmological surveys. In this paper, we will present a simple physical description of the origin of the CMB constraints and explain why they are nearly saturated by current observations. The essential feature is that dark matter annihilation primarily affects the ionization fraction which can only increase substantially at times when the universe was neutral. The resulting change to the CMB occurs on large angular scales and leads to a phenomenology similar to that of the optical depth to reionization. We will demonstrate this impact on the CMB both analytically and numerically. Finally, we will discuss the additional impact that changing the ionization fraction has on large scale structure.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure

Phases of New Physics in the CMB

Fluctuations in the cosmic neutrino background are known to produce a phase shift in the acoustic peaks of the cosmic microwave background. It is through the sensitivity to this effect that the recent CMB data has provided a robust detection of free-streaming neutrinos. In this paper, we revisit the phase shift of the CMB anisotropy spectrum as a probe of new physics. The phase shift is particularly interesting because its physical origin is strongly constrained by the analytic properties of the Green's function of the gravitational potential. For adiabatic fluctuations, a phase shift requires modes that propagate faster than the speed of fluctuations in the photon-baryon plasma. This possibility is realized by free-streaming relativistic particles, such as neutrinos or other forms of dark radiation. Alternatively, a phase shift can arise from isocurvature fluctuations. We present simple models to illustrate each of these effects. We then provide observational constraints from the Planck temperature and polarization data on additional forms of radiation. We also forecast the capabilities of future CMB Stage IV experiments. Whenever possible, we give analytic interpretations of our results.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables; v2: minor corrections, references added; v3: corrected Planck parameter constraints, conclusions unchange

Dark Radiation Emerging After Big Bang Nucleosynthesis?

We show how recent data from observations of the cosmic microwave background may suggest the presence of additional radiation density which appeared after big bang nucleosynthesis. We propose a general scheme by which this radiation could be produced from the decay of non-relativistic matter, we place constraints on the properties of such matter, and we give specific examples of scenarios in which this general scheme may be realized.Comment: v3: 5 pages, 1 figure. References added, typos corrected, notation changed throughout. v2: 5 pages, 1 figure. Reformatted, references added, acknowledgments updated, effect of radiation on CMB clarified. v1: 11 pages, 1 figur

Single-Field Inflation and the Local Ansatz: Distinguishability and Consistency

The single-field consistency conditions and the local ansatz have played separate but important roles in characterizing the non-Gaussian signatures of single- and multifield inflation respectively. We explore the precise relationship between these two approaches and their predictions. We demonstrate that the predictions of the single-field consistency conditions can never be satisfied by a general local ansatz with deviations necessarily arising at order $(n_s-1)^2$. This implies that there is, in principle, a minimum difference between single- and (fully local) multifield inflation in observables sensitive to the squeezed limit such as scale-dependent halo bias. We also explore some potential observational implications of the consistency conditions and its relationship to the local ansatz. In particular, we propose a new scheme to test the consistency relations. In analogy with delensing of the cosmic microwave background, one can deproject the coupling of the long wavelength modes with the short wavelength modes and test for residual anomalous coupling.Comment: 17 page