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arXiv: 10 September 2012

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: constraints on the time variation of fundamental constants from the large-scale two-point correlation function

Claudia G. Scóccola, Ariel G. Sánchez, J. A. Rubiño-Martin, R. Génova-Santos, R. Rebolo, A. J. Ross, W. J. Percival, M. Manera, D. Bizyaev, J. R. Brownstein, G. Ebelke, E. Malanushenko, V. Malanushenko, D. Oravetz, K. Pan, D. P. Schneider, A. Simmons
arXiv:1209.1394v1
We obtain constraints on the variation of the fundamental constants from the full shape of the redshift-space correlation function of a sample of luminous galaxies drawn from the Data Release 9 of the Baryonic Oscillations Spectroscopic Survey. We combine this information with data from recent CMB, BAO and H_0 measurements. We focus on possible variations of the fine structure constant \alpha and the electron mass m_e in the early universe, and study the degeneracies between these constants and other cosmological parameters, such as the dark energy equation of state parameter w_DE, the massive neutrinos fraction f_\nu, the effective number of relativistic species N_eff, and the primordial helium abundance Y_He. When only one of the fundamental constants is varied, our final bounds are \alpha / \alpha_0 = 0.9957_{-0.0042}^{+0.0041} and m_e /(m_e)_0 = 1.006_{-0.013}^{+0.014}. For their joint variation, our results are \alpha / \alpha_0 = 0.9901_{-0.0054}^{+0.0055} and m_e /(m_e)_0 = 1.028 +/- 0.019. Although when m_e is allowed to vary our constraints on w_DE are consistent with a cosmological constant, when \alpha is treated as a free parameter we find w_DE = -1.20 +/- 0.13; more than 1 \sigma away from its standard value. When f_\nu and \alpha are allowed to vary simultaneously, we find f_\nu < 0.043 (95% CL), implying a limit of \sum m_\nu < 0.46 eV (95% CL), while for m_e variation, we obtain f_nu < 0.086 (95% CL), which implies \sum m_\nu < 1.1 eV (95% CL). When N_eff or Y_He are considered as free parameters, their simultaneous variation with \alpha provides constraints close to their standard values (when the H_0 prior is not included in the analysis), while when m_e is allowed to vary, their preferred values are significantly higher. In all cases, our results are consistent with no variations of \alpha or m_e at the 1 or 2 \sigma level.

A Quantum Gravity Extension of the Inflationary Scenario

Ivan Agullo, Abhay Ashtekar, William Nelson

arXiv:1209.1609v1
Since the standard inflationary paradigm is based on quantum field theory on classical space-times, it excludes the Planck era. Using techniques from loop quantum gravity, the paradigm is extended to a self-consistent theory from the Planck scale to the onset of slow roll inflation, covering some 11 orders of magnitude in energy density and curvature. This pre-inflationary dynamics also opens a small window for novel effects, e.g. a source for non-Gaussianities, which could extend the reach of cosmological observations to the deep Planck regime of the early universe.

arXiv: 9 July 2012

Physical properties underlying observed kinematics of satellite galaxies

Radoslaw Wojtak, Gary A. Mamon

arXiv:1207.1647v1  We study the kinematics of satellites around isolated galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic catalog. Using a model of the phase-space density previously measured for the halos of LCDM dark matter cosmological simulations, we determine the properties of the halo mass distribution and the orbital anisotropy of the satellites as a function of the colour-based morphological type and the stellar mass of the central host galaxy. We place constraints on the halo mass and the concentration parameter of dark matter and the satellite number density profiles. We obtain a concentration-mass relation for galactic dark matter haloes that is consistent with predictions of a standard LCDM cosmological model. The number density profile of the satellites appears to be shallower than of dark matter, with the scale radius typically 1.6 times larger than of dark matter. The orbital anisotropy around red hosts exhibits a mild excess of radial motions, in agreement with the typical anisotropy profiles found in cosmological simulations, whereas blue galaxies are found to be consistent with an isotropic velocity distribution. Our new constraints on the halo masses of galaxies are used to provide analytic approximations of the halo-to-stellar mass relation for red and blue galaxies.

arXiv: 6 July 2012

Do stochastic inhomogeneities affect dark-energy precision measurements?

Ido Ben-Dayan, Maurizio Gasperini, Giovanni Marozzi, Fabien Nugier, Gabriele Veneziano

arXiv:1207.1286v1 The effect of a stochastic background of cosmological perturbations on the luminosity-redshift relation is computed to second order through a recently proposed covariant and gauge-invariant light-cone averaging procedure. The resulting expressions are free from both ultraviolet and infrared divergences, implying that such perturbations cannot mimic a sizable fraction of dark energy. Different averages are estimated and depend on the particular function of the luminosity distance being averaged. The energy flux, being minimally affected by perturbations at large z, is proposed as the best choice for precision estimates of dark-energy parameters. Nonetheless, its irreducible (stochastic) variance induces statistical errors on \Omega_{\Lambda}(z) typically lying in the few-percent range. Signatures of Modified Gravity on the 21-cm Power Spectrum at Reionisation Philippe Brax, Sébastien Clesse, Anne-Christine Davis arXiv:1207.1273v1 Scalar modifications of gravity have an impact on the growth of structure. Baryon and Cold Dark Matter (CDM) perturbations grow anomalously for scales within the Compton wavelength of the scalar field. In the late time Universe when reionisation occurs, the spectrum of the 21cm brightness temperature is thus affected. We study this effect for chameleon-f(R) models, dilatons and symmetrons. Although the f(R) models are more tightly constrained by solar system bounds, and effects on dilaton models are negligible, we find that symmetrons where the phase transition occurs before z_* ~ 2 will be detectable for a scalar field range as low as 5 kpc. For all these models, the detection prospects of modified gravity effects are higher when considering modes parallel to the line of sight where very small scales can be probed. The study of the 21 cm spectrum thus offers a complementary approach to testing modified gravity with large scale structure surveys. Short scales, which would be highly non-linear in the very late time Universe when structure forms and where modified gravity effects are screened, appear in the linear spectrum of 21 cm physics, hence deviating from General Relativity in a maximal way. Cosmological parameter constraints from galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering with the SDSS DR7 Rachel Mandelbaum, Anze Slosar, Tobias Baldauf, Uros Seljak, Christopher M. Hirata, Reiko Nakajima, Reinabelle Reyes, Robert E. Smith arXiv:1207.1120v1 Recent studies have shown that the cross-correlation coefficient between galaxies and dark matter is very close to unity on scales outside a few virial radii of galaxy halos, independent of the details of how galaxies populate dark matter halos. This finding makes it possible to determine the dark matter clustering from measurements of galaxy-galaxy weak lensing and galaxy clustering. We present new cosmological parameter constraints based on large-scale measurements of spectroscopic galaxy samples from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7). We generalise the approach of Baldauf et al. (2010) to remove small scale information (below 2 and 4 Mpc/h for lensing and clustering measurements, respectively), where the cross-correlation coefficient differs from unity. We derive constraints for three galaxy samples covering 7131 sq. deg., containing 69150, 62150, and 35088 galaxies with mean redshifts of 0.11, 0.28, and 0.40. We clearly detect scale-dependent galaxy bias for the more luminous galaxy samples, at a level consistent with theoretical expectations. When we vary both \sigma_8 and \Omega_m with other cosmological parameters fixed (and marginalise over non-linear galaxy bias), the best-constrained quantity is \sigma_8 (\Omega_m/0.25)^{0.57}=0.80 +/- 0.05 (1-sigma, stat. + sys.), where statistical and systematic errors have comparable contributions. These strong constraints on the dark matter clustering suggest that this method is competitive with cosmic shear in current data, while having very complementary and in some ways less serious systematics. We therefore expect that this method will play a prominent role in future weak lensing surveys. When we combine these data with WMAP7 CMB data, constraints on \sigma_8, \Omega_m, H_0, w_{de} and \sum m_{\nu} become 30--80 per cent tighter than with CMB data alone, since our data break several parameter degeneracies. By Dawn's Early Light: CMB Polarization Impact on Cosmological Constraints Sudeep Das, Eric V. Linder arXiv:1207.1105v1 Cosmic microwave background polarization encodes information not only on the early universe but also dark energy, neutrino mass, and gravity in the late universe through CMB lensing. Ground based surveys such as ACTpol, PolarBear, SPTpol significantly complement cosmological constraints from the Planck satellite, strengthening the CMB dark energy figure of merit and neutrino mass constraints by factors of 3-4. This changes the dark energy probe landscape. We evaluate the state of knowledge in 2017 from ongoing experiments including dark energy surveys (supernovae, weak lensing, galaxy clustering), fitting for dynamical dark energy, neutrino mass, and a modified gravitational growth index. Adding a modest strong lensing time delay survey improves those dark energy constraints by a further 32%, and an enhanced low redshift supernova program improves them by 26%. Optimal Weighting in Galaxy Surveys: Application to Redshift-Space Distortions Nico Hamaus, Uroš Seljak, Vincent Desjacques arXiv:1207.1102v1  Using multiple tracers of large-scale structure allows to evade the limitations imposed by sampling variance for some parameters of interest in cosmology. We demonstrate the optimal way of carrying out a multitracer analysis in a galaxy redshift survey by considering the principal components of the shot noise matrix from two-point clustering statistics. We show how to construct two tracers that maximize the benefits of sampling variance and shot noise cancellation using optimal weights. On the basis of high-resolution N-body simulations of dark matter halos we apply this technique to the analysis of redshift-space distortions and demonstrate how constraints on the growth rate of structure formation can be substantially improved. The primary limitation are nonlinear effects, which cause significant biases in the method already at scales of k<0.1h/Mpc, suggesting the need to develop nonlinear models of redshift-space distortions in order to extract the maximum information from future redshift surveys.

arXiv: 5 June 2012

 Relativistic virialization in the Spherical Collapse model for Einstein-de Sitter and ΛCDM cosmologies

Authors: Sven Meyer, Francesco Pace, Matthias Bartelmann

arXiv:1206.0618v1

Spherical collapse has turned out to be a successful semi-analytic model to study structure formation in different DE models and theories of gravity. Nevertheless, the process of virialization is commonly studied on the basis of the virial theorem of classical mechanics. In the present paper, a fully generally-relativistic virial theorem based on the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) solution for homogeneous, perfect-fluid spheres is constructed for the Einstein-de Sitter and \Lambda CDM cosmologies. We investigate the accuracy of classical virialization studies on cosmological scales and consider virialization from a more fundamental point of view. Throughout, we remain within general relativity and the class of FLRW models. The virialization equation is set up and solved numerically for the virial radius, y_{vir}, from which the virial overdensity \Delta_{V} is directly obtained. Leading order corrections in the post-Newtonian framework are derived and quantified. In addition, problems in the application of this formalism to dynamical DE models are pointed out and discussed explicitly. We show that, in the weak field limit, the relative contribution of the leading order terms of the post-Newtonian expansion are of the order of 10^{-3}% and the solution of Wang & Steinhardt (1998) is precisely reproduced. Apart from the small corrections, the method could provide insight into the process of virialization from a more fundamental point of view.

 

 Impact of a Warm Dark Matter late-time velocity dispersion on large-scale structures

Authors: Patrick Valageas

arXiv:1206.0554v1

 We investigate whether the late-time (at $z\leq 100$) velocity dispersion expected in Warm Dark Matter scenarios could have some effect on the cosmic web (i.e., outside of virialized halos). We consider effective hydrodynamical equations, with a pressure-like term that agrees at the linear level with the analysis of the Vlasov equation. Then, using analytical methods, based on perturbative expansions and the spherical dynamics, we investigate the impact of this term for a 1 keV dark matter particle. We find that the late-time velocity dispersion has a negligible effect on the power spectrum on perturbative scales and on the halo mass function. However, it has a significant impact on the probability distribution function of the density contrast at $z \sim 3$ on scales smaller than $0.1 h^{-1}$Mpc, which correspond to Lyman-$\alpha$ clouds. Finally, we note that numerical simulations should start at $z_i\geq 100$ rather than $z_i \leq 50$ to avoid underestimating gravitational clustering at low redshifts.

 

The Distribution of Mass in the Orion Dwarf Galaxy

Authors: Noemi Frusciante, Paolo Salucci, Daniele Vernieri, John M. Cannon, Ed C. Elson

arXiv:1206.0314v1

 Dwarf galaxies are good candidates to investigate the nature of Dark Matter, because their kinematics are dominated by this component down to small galactocentric radii. We present here the results of detailed kinematic analysis and mass modelling of the Orion dwarf galaxy, for which we derive a high quality and high resolution rotation curve that contains negligible non-circular motions and we correct it for the asymmetric drift. Moreover, we leverage the proximity (D = 5.4 kpc) and convenient inclination (47{\deg}) to produce reliable mass models of this system. We find that the Universal Rotation Curve mass model (Freeman disk + Burkert halo + gas disk) fits the observational data accurately. In contrast, the NFW halo + Freeman disk + gas disk mass model is unable to reproduce the observed Rotation Curve, a common outcome in dwarf galaxies. Finally, we attempt to fit the data with a MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) prescription. With the present data and with the present assumptions on distance, stellar mass, constant inclination and reliability of the gaseous mass, the MOND "amplification" of the baryonic component appears to be too small to mimic the required "dark component". The Orion dwarf reveals a cored DM density distribution and a possible tension between observations and the canonical MOND formalism.

 

 

Gravitational Collapse in One Dimension

Authors: A.E. Schulz, Walter Dehnen, Gerard Jungman, Scott Tremaine

arXiv:1206.0299v1 

 We simulate the evolution of one-dimensional gravitating collisionless systems from non- equilibrium initial conditions, similar to the conditions that lead to the formation of dark- matter halos in three dimensions. As in the case of 3D halo formation we find that initially cold, nearly homogeneous particle distributions collapse to approach a final equilibrium state with a universal density profile. At small radii, this attractor exhibits a power-law behavior in density, {\rho}(x) \propto |x|^(-{\gamma}_crit), {\gamma}_crit \simeq 0.47, slightly but significantly shallower than the value {\gamma} = 1/2 suggested previously. This state develops from the initial conditions through a process of phase mixing and violent relaxation. This process preserves the energy ranks of particles. By warming the initial conditions, we illustrate a cross-over from this power-law final state to a final state containing a homogeneous core. We further show that inhomogeneous but cold power-law initial conditions, with initial exponent {\gamma}_i > {\gamma}_crit, do not evolve toward the attractor but reach a final state that retains their original power-law behavior in the interior of the profile, indicating a bifurcation in the final state as a function of the initial exponent. Our results rely on a high-fidelity event-driven simulation technique

 

 

arXiv: 4 June 2012

 The satellites of the Milky Way - Insights from semi-analytic modelling in a LambdaCDM cosmology

Authors: Else Starkenburg, Amina Helmi, Gabriella De Lucia, Yang-Shyang Li, Julio F. Navarro, Andreea S. Font, Carlos S. Frenk, Volker Springel, Carlos A. Vera-Ciro, Simon D. M. White

arXiv:1206.0020v1

 We combine the six high-resolution Aquarius dark matter simulations with a semi-analytic galaxy formation model to investigate the properties of the satellites of Milky Way-like galaxies. We find good correspondence with the observed luminosity function, luminosity-metallicity relation and radial distribution of the Milky Way satellites. The star formation histories of the dwarf galaxies in our model vary widely, in accordance with what is seen observationally. Ram-pressure stripping of hot gas from the satellites leaves a clear imprint of the environment on the characteristics of a dwarf galaxy. We find that the fraction of satellites dominated by old populations of stars matches observations well. However, the internal metallicity distributions of the model satellites appear to be narrower than observed. This may indicate limitations in our treatment of chemical enrichment, which is based on the instantaneous recycling approximation. Our model works best if the dark matter halo of the Milky Way has a mass of ~8 x 10^11 Msun, in agreement with the lower estimates from observations. The galaxy that resembles the Milky Way the most also has the best matching satellite luminosity function, although it does not contain an object as bright as the SMC or LMC. Compared to other semi-analytic models and abundance matching relations we find that central galaxies reside in less massive haloes, but the halo mass-stellar mass relation in our model is consistent both with hydrodynamical simulations and with recent observations.

 

 

arXiv: 24 May 2012

Universal upper limit on inflation energy scale from cosmic magnetic field

Authors: Tomohiro Fujita, Shinji Mukohyama

arXiv:1205.5031v1

Recently observational lower bounds on the strength of cosmic magnetic fields were reported, based on gamma-ray flux from distant blazars. If inflation is responsible for the generation of such magnetic fields then the inflation energy scale is bounded from above as rho_{inf}^{1/4} < 2.5 times 10^{-7}M_{Pl} times (B_{obs}/10^{-15}G)^{-2} in a wide class of inflationary magnetogenesis models, where B_{obs} is the observed strength of cosmic magnetic fields. The tensor-to-scalar ratio is correspondingly constrained as r< 10^{-19} times (B_{obs}/10^{-15}G)^{-8}. Therefore, if the reported strength B_{obs} \geq 10^{-15}G is confirmed and if any signatures of gravitational waves from inflation are detected in the near future, then our result indicates some tensions between inflationary magnetogenesis and observations.

 

 Correlation of supernovae redshifts with temperature fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Authors: V. N. Yershov, V. V. Orlov, A. A. Raikov

arXiv:1205.5139v1

Redshifts of a supernova (SN) and gamma-ray burst (GRB) samples are compared with the pixel temperatures of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) seven-years data near the pixels locations corresponding to the SN and GRB sky coordinates. We have found a statistically significant correlation of the SNe redshifts with the WMAP data, the average temperature deviation being +29.9 +-4.4 microK for the redshifts z ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 and +8.6 +-1.3 microK for z within the range (0.0,0.4). The latter value accords with the theoretical estimates for the distortion of the cosmic microwave background due to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, whereas the larger anomaly for higher redshifts should be studied in more detail in the future.

 

 

arXiv: 23 May 2012

Confronting MOND and TeVeS with strong gravitational lensing over galactic scales: an extended survey

Authors: Ignacio Ferreras, Nick Mavromatos, Mairi Sakellariadou, Muhammad Furqaan Yusaf

arXiv:1205.4880v1

 The validity of MOND and TeVeS models of modified gravity has been recently tested by using lensing techniques, with the conclusion that a non-trivial component in the form of dark matter is needed in order to match the observations. In this work those analyses are extended by comparing lensing to stellar masses for a sample of nine strong gravitational lenses that probe galactic scales. The sample is extracted from a recent work that presents the mass profile out to a few effective radii, therefore reaching into regions that are dominated by dark matter in the standard (general relativity) scenario. A range of interpolating functions are explored to test the validity of MOND/TeVeS in these systems. Out of the nine systems, there are five robust candidates with a significant excess (higher that 50%) of lensing mass with respect to stellar mass, irrespective of the stellar initial mass function. One of these lenses (Q0957) is located at the centre of a galactic cluster. This system might be accommodated in MOND/TeVeS via the addition of a hot component, like a 2 eV neutrino, that contribute over cluster scales. However, the other four robust candidates (LBQS1009, HE1104, B1600, HE2149) are located in field/group regions, so that a cold component (CDM) would be required even within the MOND/TeVeS framework. Our results therefore do not support recent claims that these alternative scenarios to CDM can survive astrophysical data.

 

 Redshift-space correlation functions in large galaxy cluster surveys

Authors: Patrick Valageas, Nicolas Clerc

arXiv:1205.4847v1

 Large ongoing and upcoming galaxy cluster surveys in the optical, X-ray and millimetric wavelengths will provide rich samples of galaxy clusters at unprecedented depths. One key observable for constraining cosmological models is the correlation function of these objects, measured through their spectroscopic redshift. We study the redshift-space correlation functions of clusters of galaxies, averaged over finite redshift intervals, and their covariance matrices. Expanding as usual the angular anisotropy of the redshift-space correlation on Legendre polynomials, we consider the redshift-space distortions of the monopole as well as the next two multipoles, $2\ell=2$ and 4. Taking into account the Kaiser effect, we develop an analytical formalism to obtain explicit expressions of all contributions to these mean correlations and covariance matrices. We include both shot-noise and sample-variance effects, as well as Gaussian and non-Gaussian contributions. We obtain a reasonable agreement with numerical simulations for the mean correlations and covariance matrices on large scales ($r> 10 h^{-1}$Mpc). Redshift-space distortions amplify the monopole correlation by about 10-20%, depending on the halo mass, but the signal-to-noise ratio remains of the same order as for the real-space correlation. This distortion will be significant for surveys such as DES, Erosita and Euclid, which should also measure the quadrupole $2\ell=2$. The third multipole, $2\ell=4$, may only be marginally detected by Euclid.

 

The Origin of the Microlensing Events Observed Towards the LMC and the Stellar Counterpart of the Magellanic Stream

Authors: Gurtina Besla (Columbia), Lars Hernquist (CfA), Abraham Loeb (CfA)

arXiv:1205.4724v1

 We introduce a novel theory to explain the long-standing puzzle of the nature of the microlensing events reported towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) by the MACHO and OGLE collaborations. We propose that a population of tidally stripped stars from the Small Magellanic Clouds (SMC) located ~4-10 kpc behind a lensing population of LMC disk stars can naturally explain the observed event durations, event frequency and spatial distribution of the reported events. These results favor a scenario for the interaction history of the Magellanic Clouds wherein the Clouds are on their first infall towards the Milky Way and the SMC has recently collided with the LMC, leading to a large number of faint sources distributed non-uniformly behind the LMC disk. Owing to the tidal nature of the source population, the sources exhibit a range of distances and velocities with respect to the LMC lenses, naturally explaining the observed range of event durations (30-220 days). Assuming a detection efficiency of 30-50% we find event frequencies of ~1-2 /yr in the central regions of the LMC disk; comparable to the observed rate for the MACHO survey, ~2 /yr. A lower detection efficiency of 10% yields an event frequency of ~0.46 /yr across a larger area of the LMC disk; comparable to that reported by the less sensitive OGLE survey, ~0.33 /yr. In contrast to self-lensing models, microlensing events are also expected to occur in fields off the LMC's stellar bar since the stellar debris is not expected to be concentrated in the bar region. This scenario leads to a number of observational tests: the sources are low-metallicity SMC stars, they exhibit high velocities relative to LMC disk stars that may be detectable via proper motion studies, and, most notably, there should exist a stellar counterpart to the gaseous Magellanic Stream and Magellanic Bridge with a V-band surface brightness > 34 mag/arcsec^2.

 

Orbit-based dynamical models of the Sculptor dSph galaxy

Authors: Maarten A. Breddels, A. Helmi, R. C. E. van den Bosch, G. van de Ven, G. Battaglia

arXiv:1205.4712v1

We have developed spherically symmetric dynamical models of dwarf spheroidal galaxies using Schwarzschild's orbit superposition method. This type of modelling yields constraints both on the total mass distribution (e.g. enclosed mass and scale radius) as well as on the orbital structure of the system (e.g. velocity anisotropy). This method is thus less prone to biases introduced by assumptions in comparison to the more commonly used Jeans modelling, and it allows us to derive the dark matter content in a robust way. Here we present our results for the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy, after testing our methods on mock data sets. We fit both the second and fourth velocity moment profile to break the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. We find that the mass of Sculptor within 1 kpc is M_1kpc = (1.03 \pm 0.07) \times 10^8 M\odot, and that its velocity anisotropy profile is tangentially biased and nearly constant with radius. For an NFW dark matter profile, the preferred concentration (c \sim 15) is low for its dark matter mass but consistent within the scatter found in N-body cosmological simulations. Very cuspy density profiles with logarithmic central slopes {\alpha} < -1.5 are strongly disfavoured for Sculptor. However, a firm distinction between a central core ({\alpha} = 0) or a shallower cusp ({\alpha} >=-1) cannot be made.

 

 

arXiv: 22 May 2012

Evolution of the baryon fraction in the Local Group: accretion versus feedback at low and high z

Authors: Sébastien Peirani (IAP), Intae Jung (IAP), Joe Silk (IAP), Christophe Pichon (IAP)

arXiv:1205.4694v1

 Using hydrodynamical zoom simulations in the standard LCDM cosmology, we investigate the evolution of the distribution of baryons (gas and stars) in a local group-type universe. First, with standard star formation and supernova feedback prescriptions, we find that the mean baryonic fraction value estimated at the virial radius of the two main central objects (i.e. the Milky Way and Andromeda) is decreasing over time, and is 10-15% lower than the universal value, 0.166, at z=0. This decrease is mainly due to the fact that the amount of accretion of dissipative gas onto the halo, especially at low redshift, is in general much lower than that of the dissipationless dark matter. Indeed, a significant part of the baryons does not collapse onto the haloes and remains in their outskirts, mainly in the form of warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). Moreover, during the formation of each object, some dark matter and baryons are also be expelled through merger events via tidal disruption. In contrast to baryons, expelled dark matter can be more efficiently re-accreted onto the halo, enhancing both the reduction of fb inside Rv, and the increase of the mass of WHIM outside Rv. Varying the efficiency of supernovae feedback at low redshift does not seem to significantly affect these trends. Alternatively, when a significant fraction of the initial gas in the main objects is released at high redshifts by more powerful sources of feedback, such as AGN from intermediate mass black holes in lower mass galaxies, the baryonic fraction at the virial radius can have a lower value (fb~0.12) at low redshift. Hence physical mechanisms able to slow down the accretion of gas at high redshifts will have a stronger impact on the deficit of baryons in the mass budget of Milky Way type-galaxies at present times than those that expel the gas in the longer, late phases of galaxy formation.

 

 Is the transition redshift a new cosmological number?

Authors: J. A. S. Lima, J. F. Jesus, R. C. Santos, M. S. S. Gill

arXiv:1205.4688v1

 Observations from Supernovae Type Ia (SNe Ia) provided strong evidence for an expanding accelerating Universe at intermediate redshifts. This means that the Universe underwent a dynamic phase transition from deceleration to acceleration at a transition redshift $z_t$ of the order unity whose value in principle depends on the cosmology as well as on the assumed gravitational theory. Since cosmological accelerating models endowed with a transition redshift are extremely degenerated, in principle, it is interesting to know whether the value of $z_t$ itself can be observationally used as a new cosmic discriminator. After a brief discussion of the potential dynamic role played by the transition redshift, it is argued that future observations combining SNe Ia, the line-of-sight (or "radial") baryon acoustic oscillations, the differential age of galaxies, as well as the redshift drift of the spectral lines may tightly constrain $z_t$, thereby helping to narrow the parameter space for the most realistic models describing the accelerating Universe.

 

 A combined measurement of cosmic growth and expansion from clusters of galaxies, the CMB and galaxy clustering

Authors: David Rapetti, Chris Blake, Steven W. Allen, Adam Mantz, David Parkinson, Florian Beutler

arXiv:1205.4679v1

 Combining galaxy cluster data from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey and the Chandra X-ray Observatory, cosmic microwave background data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, and galaxy clustering data from the WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey, the 6-degree Field Galaxy Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, we test for consistency the cosmic growth of structure predicted by General Relativity (GR) and the cosmic expansion history predicted by the cosmological constant plus cold dark matter paradigm (LCDM). The combination of these three independent, well studied measurements of the evolution of the mean energy density and its fluctuations is able to break strong degeneracies between model parameters. We model the key properties of cosmic growth with the normalization of the matter power spectrum, sigma_8, and the cosmic growth index, gamma, and those of cosmic expansion with the mean matter density, Omega_m, the Hubble constant, H_0, and a kinematical parameter equivalent to that for the dark energy equation of state, w. To further tighten constraints on the expansion parameters, we also include supernova, baryon acoustic oscillation and Cepheid variable data. For a spatially flat geometry, w=-1, and allowing for systematic uncertainties, we obtain sigma_8=0.787+-0.019 and gamma=0.576+0.058-0.059 (at the 68.3 per cent confidence level). Allowing w to vary, we find Omega_m=0.256+-0.011, H_0=71.5+-1.3 km s^-1 Mpc^-1 and w=-0.968+-0.049 for the expansion parameters, and sigma_8=0.783+0.020-0.019 and gamma=0.546+0.071-0.072 for the growth parameters. These results are in excellent agreement with GR+LCDM (gamma~0.55; w=-1) and represent the tightest and most robust simultaneous constraint on cosmic growth and expansion to date.

 

The Correlated Formation Histories of Massive Galaxies and Their Dark Matter Halos

Authors: Jeremy L. Tinker, Matthew R. George, Alexie Leauthaud, Kevin Bundy, Alexis Finoguenov, Richard Massey, Jason Rhodes, Risa H. Wechsler

arXiv:1205.4245v1

Using observations in the COSMOS field, we report an intriguing correlation between the star formation activity of massive (~10^{11.4}\msol) central galaxies, their stellar masses, and the large-scale (~10 Mpc) environments of their group-mass (~10^{13.6}\msol) dark matter halos. Probing the redshift range z=[0.2,1.0], our measurements come from two independent sources: an X-ray detected group catalog and constraints on the stellar-to-halo mass relation derived from a combination of clustering and weak lensing statistics. At z=1, we find that the stellar mass in star-forming centrals is a factor of two less than in passive centrals at the same halo mass. This implies that the presence or lack of star formation in group-scale centrals cannot be a stochastic process. By z=0, the offset reverses, probably as a result of the different growth rates of these objects. A similar but weaker trend is observed when dividing the sample by morphology rather than star formation. Remarkably, we find that star-forming centrals at z~1 live in groups that are significantly more clustered on 10 Mpc scales than similar mass groups hosting passive centrals. We discuss this signal in the context of halo assembly and recent simulations, suggesting that star-forming centrals prefer halos with higher angular momentum and/or formation histories with more recent growth; such halos are known to evolve in denser large-scale environments. If confirmed, this would be evidence of an early established link between the assembly history of halos on large scales and the future properties of the galaxies that form inside them.

 

Self-accelerating Massive Gravity: Exact solutions for any isotropic matter distribution

Authors: Pierre Gratia, Wayne Hu, Mark Wyman

arXiv:1205.4241v1

 We present an exact solution to the equations of massive gravity that display cosmological constant-like behavior for any spherically symmetric distribution of matter, including arbitrary time dependence. On this solution, the new degrees of freedom from the massive graviton generate a cosmological constant-like contribution to stress-energy that does not interact directly with other matter sources. When the effective cosmological constant contribution dominates over other sources of stress energy the cosmological expansion self-accelerates, even when no other dark-energy-like ingredients are present. The new degrees of freedom introduced by giving the graviton the mass do not respond to arbitrarily large radial or homogeneous perturbations from other matter fields on this solution. We comment on possible implications of this result.

 

 

arXiv: 17 May 2012

 Effective field theory for perturbations in dark energy and modified gravity

Authors: Jonathan A. Pearson

arXiv:1205.3611v1

When recent observational evidence and the GR+FRW+CDM model are combined we obtain the result that the Universe is accelerating, where the acceleration is due to some not-yet-understood "dark sector". There has been a considerable number of theoretical models constructed in an attempt to provide an "understanding" of the dark sector: dark energy and modified gravity theories. The proliferation of modified gravity and dark energy models has brought to light the need to construct a "generic" way to parameterize the dark sector. We will discuss our new way of approaching this problem. We write down an effective action for linearized perturbations to the gravitational field equations for a given field content; crucially, our formalism does not require a Lagrangian to be presented for calculations to be performed and observational predictions to be extracted. Our approach is inspired by that taken in particle physics, where the most general modifications to the standard model are written down for a given field content that is compatible with some assumed symmetry (which we take to be isotropy of the background spatial sections).

 

 

arXiv: 16 May 2012

 Using H(z) data as a probe of the concordance model

Authors: Marina Seikel, Sahba Yahya, Roy Maartens, Chris Clarkson (Cape Town & Western Cape)

arXiv:1205.3431v1

 Direct observations of the Hubble rate, from cosmic chronometers and the radial baryon acoustic oscillation scale, can out-perform supernovae observations in understanding the expansion history, because supernovae observations need to be differentiated to extract H(z). We use existing H(z) data and smooth the data using a new Gaussian Processes package, GaPP, from which we can also estimate derivatives. The obtained Hubble rate and its derivatives are used to reconstruct the equation of state of dark energy and to perform consistency tests of the LCDM model, some of which are newly devised here. Current data is consistent with the concordance model, but is rather sparse. Future observations will provide a dramatic improvement in our ability to constrain or refute the concordance model of cosmology. We produce simulated data to illustrate how effective H(z) data will be in combination with Gaussian Processes.

 

Scale dependent halo bias in the excursion set approach

Authors: Marcello Musso (CP3-Univ.Louvain), Aseem Paranjape (ICTP), Ravi K. Sheth (ICTP, U.Penn)

arXiv:1205.3401v1

 If one accounts for correlations between scales, then nonlocal, k-dependent halo bias is part and parcel of the excursion set approach, and hence of halo model predictions for galaxy bias. We present an analysis that distinguishes between a number of different effects, each one of which contributes to scale-dependent bias in real space. We show how to isolate these effects and remove the scale dependence, order by order, by cross-correlating the halo field with suitably transformed versions of the mass field. These transformations may be thought as simple one-point, two-scale measurements that allow one to estimate quantities which are usually constrained using n-point statistics. As part of our analysis, we present a simple analytic approximation for the first crossing distribution of walks with correlated steps which are constrained to pass through a specified point, and demonstrate its accuracy. Although we concentrate on nonlinear, nonlocal bias with respect to a Gaussian random field, we show how to generalize our analysis to more general fields.

 

 Vector and Tensor Contributions to the Luminosity Distance

Authors: Enea Di Dio, Ruth Durrer

arXiv:1205.3366v1

 We compute the vector and tensor contributions to the luminosity distance fluctuations in first order perturbation theory and we expand them in spherical harmonics. This work presents the formalism with a first application to a stochastic background of primordial gravitational waves.

 

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Cosmological Constant Problem (But Were Afraid To Ask)

Authors: Jerome Martin (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris)

arXiv:1205.3365v1

This article aims at discussing the cosmological constant problem at a pedagogical but fully technical level. We review how the vacuum energy can be regularized in flat and curved space-time and how it can be understood in terms of Feynman bubble diagrams. In particular, we show that the properly renormalized value of the zero-point energy density today (for a free theory) is in fact far from being 122 orders of magnitude larger than the critical energy density, as often quoted in the literature. We mainly consider the case of scalar fields but also treat the cases of fermions and gauge bosons which allows us to discuss the question of vacuum energy in super-symmetry. Then, we discuss how the cosmological constant can be measured in cosmology and constrained with experiments such as measurements of planet orbits in our solar system or atomic spectra. We also review why the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect seem to indicate that the quantum zero-point fluctuations are not an artifact of the quantum field theory formalism. We investigate how experiments on the universality of free fall can constrain the gravitational properties of vacuum energy and we discuss the status of the weak equivalence principle in quantum mechanics, in particular the Collela, Overhausser and Werner experiment and the quantum Galileo experiment performed with a Salecker-Wigner-Peres clock. Finally, we briefly conclude with a discussion on the solutions to the cosmological constant problem that have been proposed so far.

 

Screening Modifications of Gravity through Disformally Coupled Fields

Authors: Tomi S. Koivisto, David F. Mota, Miguel Zumalacarregui

arXiv:1205.3167v1

 It is shown that extensions to General Relativity, which introduce a strongly coupled scalar field, can be viable if the interaction has a non-conformal form. Such disformal coupling depends upon the gradients of the scalar field. Thus, if the field is locally static and smooth, the coupling becomes invisible in the solar system: this is the disformal screening mechanism. A cosmological model is considered where the disformal coupling triggers the onset of accelerated expansion after a scaling matter era, giving a good fit to a wide range of observational data. Moreover, the interaction leaves signatures in the formation of large-scale structure that can be used to probe such couplings.

 

 Can we really measure fnl from the galaxy power spectrum?

Authors: Nina Roth, Cristiano Porciani

arXiv:1205.3165v1

 The scale-dependent galaxy bias generated by primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) can be used to detect and constrain deviations from standard single-field inflation. The strongest signal is expected in the local model for PNG, where the amplitude of non-Gaussianity can be expressed by a set of parameters (fnl, gnl, ...). Current observational constraints from galaxy clustering on fnl and gnl assume that the others PNG parameters are vanishing. Using two sets of cosmological N-body simulations where both fnl and gnl are non-zero, we show that this strong assumption generally leads to biased estimates and spurious redshift dependencies of the parameters. Additionally, if the signs of fnl and gnl are opposite, the amplitude of the scale-dependent bias is reduced, possibly leading to a false null detection. Finally we show that model selection techniques like the Bayesian evidence can (and should) be used to determine if more than one PNG parameter is required by the data.

 

 

arXiv: 15 May 2012

An Alternative String Landscape Cosmology: Eliminating Bizarreness

L. Clavelli, G. Goldstein

arXiv:1205.3138v1

In what has become a standard eternal inflation picture of the string landscape there are many problematic consequences and a difficulty defining probabilities for the occurrence of each type of universe. One feature in particular that might be philosophically disconcerting is the infinite cloning of each individual and each civilization in infinite numbers of separated regions of the multiverse. Even if this is not ruled out due to causal separation one might ask whether the infinite cloning is a universal prediction of string landscape models or whether there are scenarios in which it is avoided. If a viable alternative cosmology can be constructed one might search for predictions that might allow one to discriminate experimentally between the models. We present one such scenario although, in doing so, we are forced to give up several popular presuppositions. We also consider the future lifetime of the current universe before becoming a light trapping region.

Gamma-Ray Bursts are precise distance indicators similar to Type Ia Supernovae?

Ryo Tsutsui, Takashi Nakamura, Daisuke Yonetoku, Keitaro Takahashi, Yoshiyuki Morihara

arXiv:1205.2954v1

We estimate the distance modulus to long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) using the Type I Fundamental Plane, a correlation between the spectral peak energy $E_{\rm p}$, the peak luminosity $L_{\rm p}$, and the luminosity time $T_{\rm L}$ ($\equiv E_{\rm iso}/L_{\rm p}$ where $E_{\rm iso}$ is isotropic energy) for small Absolute Deviation from Constant Luminosity(ADCL). The Type I Fundamental Plane of LGRBs is calibrated using 8 LGRBs with redshift $z<1.4$. To avoid any assumption on the cosmological model, we use the distance modulus of 557 Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) from the Union 2 sample. This calibrated Type I Fundamental Plane is used to measure the distance moduli to 9 high-redshift LGRBs with the mean error $\bar \sigma_{\mu}=0.31$, which is comparable with that of SNe Ia $\bar \sigma_{\mu}=0.26$ where $\mu$ stands for the distance modulus. The Type I Fundamental Plane is so tight that our distance moduli have very small uncertainties. From those distance moduli, we obtained the constraint $\Omega_{\rm M}=0.22\pm0.04$ for flat $\Lambda$CDM universe. Adding 9 LGRBs distance moduli ($z>1.4$) to 557 SNeIa distance moduli ($z<1.4$) significantly improves the constraint for non-flat $\Lambda$CDM universe from ($\Omega_{\rm M}, \Omega_{\rm \Lambda}$)=($0.29\pm0.10$, $0.76\pm0.13$) for SNeIa only to ($\Omega_{\rm M}, \Omega_{\rm \Lambda}$)=($0.23\pm0.06$, $0.68\pm0.08$) for SNeIa and 9 LGRBs.

A new null diagnostic customized for reconstructing the properties of dark energy from BAO data

Arman Shafieloo, Varun Sahni, Alexei A. Starobinsky

arXiv:1205.2870v1 

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) provide an important standard ruler which can be used to probe the recent expansion history of our universe. We show how a simple extension of the Om diagnostic, which we call Om3, can combine standard ruler information from BAO with standard candle information from type Ia supernovae (SNIa) to yield a powerful novel null diagnostic of the cosmological constant hypothesis. A unique feature of Om3 is that it requires minimal cosmological assumptions since its determination does not rely upon prior knowledge of either the current value of the matter density and the Hubble constant, or the distance to the last scattering surface. Observational uncertainties in these quantities therefore do not affect the reconstruction of Om3. We reconstruct Om3 using the Union 2.1 SNIa data set and BAO data from SDSS, WiggleZ and 6dFGS. Our results are consistent with dark energy being the cosmological constant. We show how Om and Om3 can be used to obtain accurate model independent constraints on the properties of dark energy from future data sets such as BigBOSS.

An Efficient Parameter Space Search as an Alternative to Markov Chain Monte Carlo

Scott F. Daniel, Andrew J. Connolly, Jeff Schneider

We consider the problem of inferring constraints on a high-dimensional parameter space with a computationally expensive likelihood function. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods offer significant improvements in efficiency over grid-based searches and are easy to implement in a wide range of cases. However, MCMCs offer few guarantees that all of the interesting regions of parameter space are explored. We propose a machine learning algorithm that improves upon the performance of MCMC by intelligently targeting likelihood evaluations so as to quickly and accurately characterize the likelihood surface in both low- and high-likelihood regions. We compare our algorithm to MCMC on toy examples and the 7-year WMAP cosmic microwave background data release. Our algorithm finds comparable parameter constraints to MCMC in fewer calls to the likelihood function and with greater certainty that all of the interesting regions of parameter space have been explored.

Redshift space distortions in f(R) gravity

Elise Jennings (1,2), Carlton M. Baugh (3), Baojiu Li (3), Gong-Bo Zhao (4,5), Kazuya Koyama (4) ((1) KICP, University of Chicago, (2) The Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, (3) ICC, Durham University, (4) ICG, University of Portsmouth, (5) NAOC, Beijing)

We use large volume, high resolution N-body simulations to predict the clustering of dark matter in redshift space in f(R) modified gravity cosmologies. This is the first time that the nonlinear matter and velocity fields have been resolved to such a high level of accuracy over a broad range of scales in this class of models. We find significant deviations from the clustering signal in standard gravity, with an enhanced boost in power on large scales and stronger damping on small scales in the f(R) models compared to GR at redshifts z<1. We measure the velocity divergence (P_\theta \theta) and matter (P_\delta \delta) power spectra and find a large deviation in the ratios \sqrt{P_\theta \theta/P_\delta \delta} and P_\delta \theta/P_\delta\delta, between the f(R) models and GR for 0.03<k/(h/Mpc)<0.5. In linear theory these ratios equal the growth rate of structure on large scales. Our results show that the simulated ratios agree with the growth rate for each cosmology (which is scale dependent in the case of modified gravity) only for extremely large scales, k<0.06h/Mpc at z=0. The velocity power spectrum is substantially different in the f(R) models compared to GR, suggesting that this observable is a sensitive probe of modified gravity. We demonstrate how to extract the matter and velocity power spectra from the 2D redshift space power spectrum, P(k,\mu), and can recover the nonlinear matter power spectrum to within a few percent for k<0.1h/Mpc. The same model can match the monopole moment to within 3% for GR and 10% for the f(R) cosmology at k<0.2 h/Mpc at z=1. Our results suggest that the extraction of the velocity power spectrum from future galaxy surveys is a promising method to constrain deviations from GR.

Shaping the galaxy stellar mass function with supernova- and AGN-driven winds

Ewald Puchwein, Volker Springel

arXiv:1205.2694v1

Cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation in representative regions of the Universe typically need to resort to subresolution models to follow some of the feedback processes crucial for galaxy formation. Here, we show that an energy-driven outflow model in which the wind velocity decreases and the wind mass loading increases in low-mass galaxies, as suggested by observations, can produce a good match to the low-mass end of the observed galaxy stellar mass function. The high-mass end can be recovered simultaneously if feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) and a correction for diffuse stellar light plausibly missed in observations are included. At the same time, our model is in good agreement with the stellar mass functions at redshifts z=1 and z=2, and with the observed redshift evolution of the cosmic star formation rate density. In addition, it accurately reproduces the observed gas to stellar mass ratios and specific star formation rates of galaxies as a function of their stellar mass. This agreement with a diverse set of data marks significant progress in hydrodynamically modelling the formation of a representative galaxy population. It also suggests that the mass flux in real galactic winds should strongly increase towards low-mass galaxies. Without this assumption, an overproduction of galaxies at the faint-end of the galaxy luminosity function seems inevitable in our models.

Modified gravity as a common cause for cosmic acceleration and flat galaxy rotation curves

Priti Mishra, Tejinder P. Singh

arXiv:1205.3088v1 Flat galaxy rotation curves and the accelerating Universe both imply the existence of a critical acceleration, which is of the same order of magnitude in both the cases, in spite of the galactic and cosmic length scales being vastly different. Yet, it is customary to explain galactic acceleration by invoking gravitationally bound dark matter, and cosmic acceleration by invoking a `repulsive` dark energy. Instead, might it not be the case that the flatness of rotation curves and the acceleration of the Universe have a common cause? In this essay we propose a modified theory of gravity. By applying the theory on galactic scales we demonstrate flat rotation curves without dark matter, and by applying it on cosmological scales we demonstrate cosmic acceleration without dark energy.