92 research outputs found
Detection of relic gravitational waves in the CMB: Prospects for CMBPol mission
Detection of relic gravitational waves, through their imprint in the cosmic
microwave background radiation, is one of the most important tasks for the
planned CMBPol mission. In the simplest viable theoretical models the
gravitational wave background is characterized by two parameters, the
tensor-to-scalar ratio and the tensor spectral index . In this paper,
we analyze the potential joint constraints on these two parameters, and
, using the potential observations of the CMBPol mission, which is
expected to detect the relic gravitational waves if . The
influence of the contaminations, including cosmic weak lensing, various
foreground emissions, and systematical errors, is discussed.Comment: 26 pages, 19 figures, 4 tables; JCAP in pres
Single-field inflation constraints from CMB and SDSS data
We present constraints on canonical single-field inflation derived from WMAP
five year, ACBAR, QUAD, BICEP data combined with the halo power spectrum from
SDSS LRG7. Models with a non-scale-invariant spectrum and a red tilt n_s < 1
are now preferred over the Harrison-Zel'dovich model (n_s = 1, tensor-to-scalar
ratio r = 0) at high significance. Assuming no running of the spectral indices,
we derive constraints on the parameters (n_s, r) and compare our results with
the predictions of simple inflationary models. The marginalised credible
intervals read n_s = 0.962^{+0.028}_{-0.026} and r < 0.17 (at 95% confidence
level). Interestingly, the 68% c.l. contours favour mainly models with a convex
potential in the observable region, but the quadratic potential model remains
inside the 95% c.l. contours. We demonstrate that these results are robust to
changes in the datasets considered and in the theoretical assumptions made. We
then consider a non-vanishing running of the spectral indices by employing
different methods, non-parametric but approximate, or parametric but exact.
With our combination of CMB and LSS data, running models are preferred over
power-law models only by a Delta chi^2 ~ 5.8, allowing inflationary stages
producing a sizable negative running -0.063^{+0.061}_{-0.049} and larger
tensor-scalar ratio r < 0.33 at the 95% c.l. This requires large values of the
third derivative of the inflaton potential within the observable range. We
derive bounds on this derivative under the assumption that the inflaton
potential can be approximated as a third order polynomial within the observable
range.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures. v2: additional references, some typos corrected,
passed to JCAP style. v3: minor changes, matches published versio
Implications of the Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements on annihilating or decaying Dark Matter
We analyze the recently published Fermi-LAT diffuse gamma-ray measurements in
the context of leptonically annihilating or decaying dark matter (DM) with the
aim to explain simultaneously the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray and the PAMELA,
Fermi and HESS (PFH) anomalous data. Five different DM
annihilation/decay channels , , , , or (the latter
two via an intermediate light particle ) are generated with PYTHIA. We
calculate both the Galactic and extragalactic prompt and inverse Compton (IC)
contributions to the resulting gamma-ray spectra. To find the Galactic IC
spectra we use the interstellar radiation field model from the latest release
of GALPROP. For the extragalactic signal we show that the amplitude of the
prompt gamma-emission is very sensitive to the assumed model for the
extragalactic background light. For our Galaxy we use the Einasto, NFW and
Isothermal DM density profiles and include the effects of DM substructure
assuming a simple subhalo model. Our calculations show that for the
annihilating DM the extragalactic gamma-ray signal can dominate only if rather
extreme power-law concentration-mass relation is used, while more
realistic relations make the extragalactic component comparable or
subdominant to the Galactic signal. For the decaying DM the Galactic signal
always exceeds the extragalactic one. In the case of annihilating DM the PFH
favored parameters can be ruled out only if power-law relation is
assumed. For DM decaying into or the PFH favored DM parameters
are not in conflict with the Fermi gamma-ray data. We find that, due to the
(almost) featureless Galactic IC spectrum and the DM halo substructure,
annihilating DM may give a good simultaneous fit to the isotropic diffuse
gamma-ray and to the PFH data without being in clear conflict with the
other Fermi-LAT gamma-ray measurements.Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP, added missing references, new Figs.
9 \& 10, 35 page
Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources
We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples
The last stand before MAP: cosmological parameters from lensing, CMB and galaxy clustering
Cosmic shear measurements have now improved to the point where they deserve
to be treated on par with CMB and galaxy clustering data for cosmological
parameter analysis, using the full measured aperture mass variance curve rather
than a mere phenomenological parametrization thereof. We perform a detailed
9-parameter analysis of recent lensing (RCS), CMB (up to Archeops) and galaxy
clustering (2dF) data, both separately and jointly. CMB and 2dF data are
consistent with a simple flat adiabatic scale-invariant model with
Omega_Lambda=0.72+/-0.09, omega_cdm=0.115+/- 0.013, omega_b=0.024+/-0.003, and
a hint of reionization around z~8. Lensing helps further tighten these
constraints, but reveals tension regarding the power spectrum normalization:
including the RCS survey results raises sigma8 significantly and forces other
parameters to uncomfortable values. Indeed, sigma8 is emerging as the currently
most controversial cosmological parameter, and we discuss possible resolutions
of this sigma8 problem. We also comment on the disturbing fact that many recent
analyses (including this one) obtain error bars smaller than the Fisher matrix
bound. We produce a CMB power spectrum combining all existing experiments, and
using it for a "MAP versus world" comparison next month will provide a powerful
test of how realistic the error estimates have been in the cosmology community.Comment: Added references and Fisher error discussion. Combined CMB data,
window and covariance matrix for January "MAP vs World" contest at
http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~max/cmblsslens.html or from [email protected]
Planck early results. XXII. The submillimetre properties of a sample of Galactic cold clumps
We perform a detailed investigation of sources from the Cold Cores Catalogue of Planck Objects (C3PO). Our goal is to probe the reliability
of the detections, validate the separation between warm and cold dust emission components, provide the first glimpse at the nature, internal
morphology and physical characterictics of the Planck-detected sources. We focus on a sub-sample of ten sources from the C3PO list, selected to
sample different environments, from high latitude cirrus to nearby (150 pc) and remote (2 kpc) molecular complexes. We present Planck surface
brightness maps and derive the dust temperature, emissivity spectral index, and column densities of the fields. With the help of higher resolution
Herschel and AKARI continuum observations and molecular line data, we investigate the morphology of the sources and the properties of the
substructures at scales below the Planck beam size. The cold clumps detected by Planck are found to be located on large-scale filamentary (or
cometary) structures that extend up to 20 pc in the remote sources. The thickness of these filaments ranges between 0.3 and 3 pc, for column
densities NH2 ∼ 0.1 to 1.6 × 1022 cm−2, and with linear mass density covering a broad range, between 15 and 400 M pc−1. The dust temperatures
are low (between 10 and 15K) and the Planck cold clumps correspond to local minima of the line-of-sight averaged dust temperature in these
fields. These low temperatures are confirmed when AKARI and Herschel data are added to the spectral energy distributions. Herschel data reveal
a wealth of substructure within the Planck cold clumps. In all cases (except two sources harbouring young stellar objects), the substructures are
found to be colder, with temperatures as low as 7 K. Molecular line observations provide gas column densities which are consistent with those
inferred from the dust. The linewidths are all supra-thermal, providing large virial linear mass densities in the range 10 to 300 M pc−1, comparable
within factors of a few, to the gas linear mass densities. The analysis of this small set of cold clumps already probes a broad variety of structures
in the C3PO sample, probably associated with different evolutionary stages, from cold and starless clumps, to young protostellar objects still
embedded in their cold surrounding cloud. Because of the all-sky coverage and its sensitivity, Planck is able to detect and locate the coldest spots
in massive elongated structures that may be the long-searched for progenitors of stellar clusters
Planck Early Results XVIII: The power spectrum of cosmic infrared background anisotropies
Using Planck maps of six regions of low Galactic dust emission with a total area of about 140 deg2, we determine the angular power spectra of
cosmic infrared background (CIB) anisotropies from multipole â„“ = 200 to â„“ = 2000 at 217, 353, 545 and 857 GHz. We use 21-cm observations of
Hi as a tracer of thermal dust emission to reduce the already low level of Galactic dust emission and use the 143 GHz Planck maps in these fields
to clean out cosmic microwave background anisotropies. Both of these cleaning processes are necessary to avoid significant contamination of the
CIB signal. We measure correlated CIB structure across frequencies. As expected, the correlation decreases with increasing frequency separation,
because the contribution of high-redshift galaxies to CIB anisotropies increases with wavelengths. We find no significant difference between the
frequency spectrum of the CIB anisotropies and the CIB mean, with ∆I/I=15% from 217 to 857 GHz. In terms of clustering properties, the
Planck data alone rule out the linear scale- and redshift-independent bias model. Non-linear corrections are significant. Consequently, we develop
an alternative model that couples a dusty galaxy, parametric evolution model with a simple halo-model approach. It provides an excellent fit to
the measured anisotropy angular power spectra and suggests that a different halo occupation distribution is required at each frequency, which
is consistent with our expectation that each frequency is dominated by contributions from different redshifts. In our best-fit model, half of the
anisotropy power at â„“=2000 comes from redshifts z 2 at 353
and 217 GHz, respectively
Planck early results. XXV. Thermal dust in nearby molecular clouds
Planck allows unbiased mapping of Galactic sub-millimetre and millimetre emission from the most diffuse regions to the densest parts of molecular
clouds. We present an early analysis of the Taurus molecular complex, on line-of-sight-averaged data and without component separation. The
emission spectrum measured by Planck and IRAS can be fitted pixel by pixel using a single modified blackbody. Some systematic residuals are
detected at 353 GHz and 143 GHz, with amplitudes around −7% and +13%, respectively, indicating that the measured spectra are likely more
complex than a simple modified blackbody. Significant positive residuals are also detected in the molecular regions and in the 217 GHz and
100 GHz bands, mainly caused by the contribution of the J = 2 → 1 and J = 1 → 0 12CO and 13CO emission lines. We derive maps of the
dust temperature T, the dust spectral emissivity index β, and the dust optical depth at 250 μm τ250. The temperature map illustrates the cooling
of the dust particles in thermal equilibrium with the incident radiation field, from 16−17 K in the diffuse regions to 13−14 K in the dense parts.
The distribution of spectral indices is centred at 1.78, with a standard deviation of 0.08 and a systematic error of 0.07. We detect a significant
T − β anti-correlation. The dust optical depth map reveals the spatial distribution of the column density of the molecular complex from the densest
molecular regions to the faint diffuse regions.We use near-infrared extinction and Hi data at 21-cm to perform a quantitative analysis of the spatial
variations of the measured dust optical depth at 250 μm per hydrogen atom τ250/NH. We report an increase of τ250/NH by a factor of about 2
between the atomic phase and the molecular phase, which has a strong impact on the equilibrium temperature of the dust particles
Planck early results. XVII. Origin of the submillimetre excess dust emission in the Magellanic Clouds
The integrated spectral energy distributions (SED) of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and SmallMagellanic Cloud (SMC) appear significantly
flatter than expected from dust models based on their far-infrared and radio emission. The still unexplained origin of this millimetre excess is
investigated here using the Planck data. The integrated SED of the two galaxies before subtraction of the foreground (Milky Way) and background
(CMB fluctuations) emission are in good agreement with previous determinations, confirming the presence of the millimetre excess. In the context
of this preliminary analysis we do not propose a full multi-component fitting of the data, but instead subtract contributions unrelated to the galaxies
and to dust emission.
The background CMB contribution is subtracted using an internal linear combination (ILC) method performed locally around the galaxies. The
foreground emission from the Milky Way is subtracted as a Galactic Hi template, and the dust emissivity is derived in a region surrounding the
two galaxies and dominated by Milky Way emission. After subtraction, the remaining emission of both galaxies correlates closely with the atomic
and molecular gas emission of the LMC and SMC. The millimetre excess in the LMC can be explained by CMB fluctuations, but a significant
excess is still present in the SMC SED. The Planck and IRAS–IRIS data at 100 μm are combined to produce thermal dust temperature and optical
depth maps of the two galaxies. The LMC temperature map shows the presence of a warm inner arm already found with the Spitzer data, but which also shows the existence of a
previously unidentified cold outer arm. Several cold regions are found along this arm, some of which are associated with known molecular clouds.
The dust optical depth maps are used to constrain the thermal dust emissivity power-law index (β). The average spectral index is found to be
consistent with β =1.5 and β =1.2 below 500 μm for the LMC and SMC respectively, significantly flatter than the values observed in the Milky
Way. Also, there is evidence in the SMC of a further flattening of the SED in the sub-mm, unlike for the LMC where the SED remains consistent
with β =1.5. The spatial distribution of the millimetre dust excess in the SMC follows the gas and thermal dust distribution. Different models are
explored in order to fit the dust emission in the SMC. It is concluded that the millimetre excess is unlikely to be caused by very cold dust emission
and that it could be due to a combination of spinning dust emission and thermal dust emission by more amorphous dust grains than those present
in our Galaxy
Planck early results. IX. XMM-Newton follow-up for validation of Planck cluster candidates
We present the XMM-Newton follow-up for confirmation of Planck cluster candidates. Twenty-five candidates have been observed to date using
snapshot (∼10 ks) exposures, ten as part of a pilot programme to sample a low range of signal-to-noise ratios (4 < S/N < 6), and a further 15 in a
programme to observe a sample of S/N > 5 candidates. The sensitivity and spatial resolution of XMM-Newton allows unambiguous discrimination
between clusters and false candidates. The 4 false candidates have S/N ≤ 4.1. A total of 21 candidates are confirmed as extended X-ray sources.
Seventeen are single clusters, the majority of which are found to have highly irregular and disturbed morphologies (about ∼70%). The remaining
four sources are multiple systems, including the unexpected discovery of a supercluster at z = 0.45. For 20 sources we are able to derive a redshift
estimate from the X-ray Fe K line (albeit of variable quality). The new clusters span the redshift range 0.09 <∼ z <∼ 0.54, with a median redshift
of z ∼ 0.37. A first determination is made of their X-ray properties including the characteristic size, which is used to improve the estimate of
the SZ Compton parameter, Y500. The follow-up validation programme has helped to optimise the Planck candidate selection process. It has also
provided a preview of the X-ray properties of these newly-discovered clusters, allowing comparison with their SZ properties, and to the X-ray
and SZ properties of known clusters observed in the Planck survey. Our results suggest that Planck may have started to reveal a non-negligible
population of massive dynamically perturbed objects that is under-represented in X-ray surveys. However, despite their particular properties, these
new clusters appear to follow the Y500–YX relation established for X-ray selected objects, where YX is the product of the gas mass and temperature
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