165 research outputs found
Cosmological Models and Latest Observational Data
In this note, we consider the observational constraints on some cosmological
models by using the 307 Union type Ia supernovae (SNIa), the 32 calibrated
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) at , the updated shift parameter from WMAP
5-year data (WMAP5), and the distance parameter of the measurement of the
baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) peak in the distribution of SDSS luminous red
galaxies with the updated scalar spectral index from WMAP5. The tighter
constraints obtained here update the ones obtained previously in the
literature.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, revtex4; v2: discussions added,
accepted by Eur. Phys. J. C; v3: published versio
Separating the Early Universe from the Late Universe: cosmological parameter estimation beyond the black box
We present a method for measuring the cosmic matter budget without
assumptions about speculative Early Universe physics, and for measuring the
primordial power spectrum P*(k) non-parametrically, either by combining CMB and
LSS information or by using CMB polarization. Our method complements currently
fashionable ``black box'' cosmological parameter analysis, constraining
cosmological models in a more physically intuitive fashion by mapping
measurements of CMB, weak lensing and cluster abundance into k-space, where
they can be directly compared with each other and with galaxy and Lyman alpha
forest clustering. Including the new CBI results, we find that CMB measurements
of P(k) overlap with those from 2dF galaxy clustering by over an order of
magnitude in scale, and even overlap with weak lensing measurements. We
describe how our approach can be used to raise the ambition level beyond
cosmological parameter fitting as data improves, testing rather than assuming
the underlying physics.Comment: Replaced to match accepted PRD version. Refs added. Combined CMB data
and window functions at http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~max/pwindows.html or from
[email protected]. 18 figs, 19 journal page
Is cosmology consistent?
We perform a detailed analysis of the latest CMB measurements (including
BOOMERaNG, DASI, Maxima and CBI), both alone and jointly with other
cosmological data sets involving, e.g., galaxy clustering and the Lyman Alpha
Forest. We first address the question of whether the CMB data are internally
consistent once calibration and beam uncertainties are taken into account,
performing a series of statistical tests. With a few minor caveats, our answer
is yes, and we compress all data into a single set of 24 bandpowers with
associated covariance matrix and window functions. We then compute joint
constraints on the 11 parameters of the ``standard'' adiabatic inflationary
cosmological model. Out best fit model passes a series of physical consistency
checks and agrees with essentially all currently available cosmological data.
In addition to sharp constraints on the cosmic matter budget in good agreement
with those of the BOOMERaNG, DASI and Maxima teams, we obtain a heaviest
neutrino mass range 0.04-4.2 eV and the sharpest constraints to date on gravity
waves which (together with preference for a slight red-tilt) favors
``small-field'' inflation models.Comment: Replaced to match accepted PRD version. 14 pages, 12 figs. Tiny
changes due to smaller DASI & Maxima calibration errors. Expanded neutrino
and tensor discussion, added refs, typos fixed. Combined CMB data, window and
covariance matrix at http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~max/consistent.html or from
[email protected]
Neutrino Mass Inference from SZ Surveys
The growth of structure in the universe begins at the time of
radiation-matter equality, which corresponds to energy scales of .
All tracers of dark matter evolution are expected to be sensitive to neutrino
masses on this and smaller scales. Here we explore the possibility of using
cluster number counts and power spectrum obtained from ongoing SZ surveys to
constrain neutrino masses. Specifically, we forecast the capability of ongoing
measurements with the PLANCK satellite and the ground-based SPT experiment, as
well as measurements with the proposed EPIC satellite, to set interesting
bounds on neutrino masses from their respective SZ surveys. We also consider an
ACT-like CMB experiment that covers only a few hundred also to
explore the tradeoff between the survey area and sensitivity and what effect
this may have on inferred neutrino masses. We find that for such an experiment
a shallow survey is preferable over a deep and low-noise scanning scheme. We
also find that projected results from the PLANCK SZ survey can, in principle,
be used to determine the total neutrino mass with a () uncertainty of
, if the detection limit of a cluster is set at the
significance level. This is twice as large as the limits expected from PLANCK
CMB lensing measurements. The corresponding limits from the SPT and EPIC
surveys are and , respectively. Mapping an area of
200 deg, ACT measurements are predicted to attain a uncertainty
of 0.61 eV; expanding the observed area to 4,000 deg will decrease the
uncertainty to 0.36 eV.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 6 table
Constraints on the Neutrino Mass from SZ Surveys
Statistical measures of galaxy clusters are sensitive to neutrino masses in
the sub-eV range. We explore the possibility of using cluster number counts
from the ongoing PLANCK/SZ and future cosmic-variance-limited surveys to
constrain neutrino masses from CMB data alone. The precision with which the
total neutrino mass can be determined from SZ number counts is limited mostly
by uncertainties in the cluster mass function and intracluster gas evolution;
these are explicitly accounted for in our analysis. We find that projected
results from the PLANCK/SZ survey can be used to determine the total neutrino
mass with a (1\sigma) uncertainty of 0.06 eV, assuming it is in the range
0.1-0.3 eV, and the survey detection limit is set at the 5\sigma significance
level. Our results constitute a significant improvement on the limits expected
from PLANCK/CMB lensing measurements, 0.15 eV. Based on expected results from
future cosmic-variance-limited (CVL) SZ survey we predict a 1\sigma uncertainty
of 0.04 eV, a level comparable to that expected when CMB lensing extraction is
carried out with the same experiment. A few percent uncertainty in the mass
function parameters could result in up to a factor \sim 2-3 degradation of our
PLANCK and CVL forecasts. Our analysis shows that cluster number counts provide
a viable complementary cosmological probe to CMB lensing constraints on the
total neutrino mass.Comment: Replaced with a revised version to match the MNRAS accepted version.
arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1009.411
Cosmological Constraints on the Sign-Changeable Interactions
Recently, Cai and Su [Phys. Rev. D {\bf 81}, 103514 (2010)] found that the
sign of interaction in the dark sector changed in the approximate redshift
range of 0.45\,\lsim\, z\,\lsim\, 0.9, by using a model-independent method to
deal with the observational data. In fact, this result raises a remarkable
problem, since most of the familiar interactions cannot change their signs in
the whole cosmic history. Motivated by the work of Cai and Su, we have proposed
a new type of interaction in a previous work [H. Wei, Nucl. Phys. B {\bf 845},
381 (2011)]. The key ingredient is the deceleration parameter in the
interaction , and hence the interaction can change its sign when our
universe changes from deceleration () to acceleration (). In the
present work, we consider the cosmological constraints on this new type of
sign-changeable interactions, by using the latest observational data. We find
that the cosmological constraints on the model parameters are fairly tight. In
particular, the key parameter can be constrained to a narrow range.Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, 8 figures, revtex4; v2: published versio
Testing the viability of the interacting holographic dark energy model by using combined observational constraints
Using the data coming from the new 182 Gold type Ia supernova samples, the
shift parameter of the Cosmic Microwave Background given by the three-year
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe observations, and the baryon acoustic
oscillation measurement from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and lookback
time measurements, we have performed a statistical joint analysis of the
interacting holographic dark energy model. Consistent parameter estimations
show us that the interacting holographic dark energy model is a viable
candidate to explain the observed acceleration of our universe.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in JCA
First attempt at measuring the CMB cross-polarization
We compute upper limits on CMB cross-polarization by cross-correlating the
PIQUE and Saskatoon experiments. We also discuss theoretical and practical
issues relevant to measuring cross-polarization and illustrate them with
simulations of the upcoming BOOMERanG 2002 experiment. We present a method that
separates all six polarization power spectra (TT, EE, BB, TE, TB, EB) without
any other "leakage" than the familiar EE-BB mixing caused by incomplete sky
coverage. Since E and B get mixed, one might expect leakage between TE and TB,
between EE and EB and between BB and EB - our method eliminates this by
preserving the parity symmetry under which TB and EB are odd and the other four
power spectra are even.Comment: Polarization movies can be found at
http://www.hep.upenn.edu/~angelica/polarization.htm
Constraining Inflation
Slow roll reconstruction is derived from the Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of
inflationary dynamics. It automatically includes information from sub-leading
terms in slow roll, and facilitatesthe inclusion of priors based on the
duration on inflation. We show that at low inflationary scales the
Hamilton-Jacobi equations simplify considerably. We provide a new
classification scheme for inflationary models, based solely on the number of
parameters needed to specify the potential, and provide forecasts for likely
bounds on the slow roll parameters from future datasets. A minimal running of
the spectral index, induced solely by the first two slow roll parameters
(\epsilon and \eta) appears to be effectively undetectable by realistic Cosmic
Microwave Background experiments. However, we show that the ability to detect
this signal increases with the lever arm in comoving wavenumber, and we
conjecture that high redshift 21 cm data may allow tests of second order
consistency conditions on inflation. Finally, we point out that the second
order corrections to the spectral index are correlated with the inflationary
scale, and thus the amplitude of the CMB B-mode.Comment: 32 pages. v
Hessence: A New View of Quintom Dark Energy
Recently a lot of attention has been drawn to build dark energy model in
which the equation-of-state parameter can cross the phantom divide .
One of models to realize crossing the phantom divide is called quintom model,
in which two real scalar fields appears, one is a normal scalar field and the
other is a phantom-type scalar field. In this paper we propose a non-canonical
complex scalar field as the dark energy, which we dub ``hessence'', to
implement crossing the phantom divide, in a similar sense as the quintom dark
energy model. In the hessence model, the dark energy is described by a single
field with an internal degree of freedom rather than two independent real
scalar fields. However, the hessence is different from an ordinary complex
scalar field, we show that the hessence can avoid the difficulty of the Q-balls
formation which gives trouble to the spintessence model (An ordinary complex
scalar field acts as the dark energy). Furthermore, we find that, by choosing a
proper potential, the hessence could correspond to a Chaplygin gas at late
times.Comment: Latex2e, 12 pages, no figure; v2: discussions and references added,
14 pages, 3 eps figures; v3: published versio
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