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At least 487 records · Page 27

Cosmological signatures of anisotropic spatial curvature

If one is willing to give up the cherished hypothesis of spatial isotropy, many interesting cosmological models can be developed beyond the simple anisotropically expanding scenarios. One interesting possibility is presented by shear-free models in which the anisotropy emerges at the level of the curvature of the homogeneous spatial sections, whereas the expansion is dictated by a single scale factor. We show that such models represent viable alternatives to describe the large-scale structure of the inflationary universe, leading to a kinematically equivalent Sachs-Wolfe effect. Through the definition of a complete set of spatial eigenfunctions we compute the two-point correlation function of scalar perturbations in these models. In addition, we show how such scenarios would modify the spectrum of the CMB assuming that the observations take place in a small patch of a universe with anisotropic curvature.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An efficient probe of the cosmological CPT violation

We develop an efficient method based on the linear regression algorithm to probe the cosmological CPT violation using the CMB polarisation data. We validate this method using simulated CMB data and apply it to recent CMB observations. We find that a combined data sample of BICEP1 and BOOMERanG 2003 favours a nonzero isotropic rotation angle at 2.3σ confidence level, i.e., α-bar =−3.3{sup o}±1.4{sup o} (68% CL) with systematics included.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmological ensemble and directional averages of observables

We show that at second order, ensemble averages of observables and directional averages do not commute due to gravitational lensing—observing the same thing in many directions over the sky is not the same as taking an ensemble average. In principle this non-commutativity is significant for a variety of quantities that we often use as observables and can lead to a bias in parameter estimation. We derive the relation between the ensemble average and the directional average of an observable, at second order in perturbation theory. We discuss the relevance of these two types of averages for making predictions of cosmological observables, focusing on observables related to distances and magnitudes. In particular, we show that the ensemble average of the distance in a given observed direction is increased by gravitational lensing, whereas the directional average of the distance is decreased. For a generic observable, there exists a particular function of the observable that is not affected by second-order lensing perturbations. We also show that standard areas have an advantage over standard rulers, and we discuss the subtleties involved in averaging in the case of supernova observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Relativistic weak lensing from a fully non-linear cosmological density field

In this paper we examine cosmological weak lensing on non-linear scales and show that there are Newtonian and relativistic contributions and that the latter can also be extracted from standard Newtonian simulations. We use the post-Friedmann formalism, a post-Newtonian type framework for cosmology, to derive the full weak-lensing deflection angle valid on non-linear scales for any metric theory of gravity. We show that the only contributing term that is quadratic in the first order deflection is the expected Born correction and lens-lens coupling term. We use this deflection angle to analyse the vector and tensor contributions to the E- and B- mode cosmic shear power spectra. In our approach, once the gravitational theory has been specified, the metric components are related to the matter content in a well-defined manner. Specifying General Relativity, we write down a complete set of equations for a GR+ΛCDM universe for computing all of the possible lensing terms from Newtonian N-body simulations. We illustrate this with the vector potential and show that, in a GR+ΛCDM universe, its contribution to the E-mode is negligible with respect to that of the conventional Newtonian scalar potential, even on non-linear scales. Thus, under the standard assumption that Newtonian N-body simulations give a good approximation of the matter dynamics, we show that the standard ray tracing approach gives a good description for a ΛCDM cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmological solution moduli of bigravity

We construct the complete set of metric-configuration solutions of the ghost-free massive bigravity for the scenario in which the g−metric is the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) one, and the interaction Lagrangian between the two metrics contributes an effective ideal fluid energy-momentum tensor to the g-metric equations. This set corresponds to the exact background cosmological solution space of the theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Weak lensing of large scale structure in the presence of screening

A number of alternatives to general relativity exhibit gravitational screening in the non-linear regime of structure formation. We describe a set of algorithms that can produce weak lensing maps of large scale structure in such theories and can be used to generate mock surveys for cosmological analysis. By analysing a few basic statistics we indicate how these alternatives can be distinguished from general relativity with future weak lensing surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Friedmann-Lemaitre cosmologies via roulettes and other analytic methods

In this work a series of methods are developed for understanding the Friedmann equation when it is beyond the reach of the Chebyshev theorem. First it will be demonstrated that every solution of the Friedmann equation admits a representation as a roulette such that information on the latter may be used to obtain that for the former. Next the Friedmann equation is integrated for a quadratic equation of state and for the Randall-Sundrum II universe, leading to a harvest of a rich collection of new interesting phenomena. Finally an analytic method is used to isolate the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the Friedmann equation, when the equation of state is of an extended form which renders the integration impossible, and to establish a universal exponential growth law.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Search for features in the spectrum of primordial perturbations using Planck and other datasets

We reconstruct the power spectrum of primordial curvature perturbations by applying a well-validated non-parametric technique employing Tikhonov regularisation to the first data release from the Planck satellite. To improve the reconstruction on small spatial scales we include data from the ground-based ACT and SPT experiments, the WiggleZ galaxy redshift survey, the CFHTLenS tomographic weak lensing survey, and spectral analysis of the Lyman-α forest. The reconstructed scalar spectrum (assuming the standard ΛCDM cosmology) is not scale-free but has an infrared cutoff at k ≲ 5 × 10{sup -4} Mpc{sup -1} and several (2−3)σ features, of which two at wavenumber k/Mpc{sup -1} 0.0018 and 0.057 had been seen already in WMAP data. A higher significance feature at k ∼ 0.12 Mpc{sup -1} is indicated by Planck data, but may be sensitive to the systematic uncertainty around multipole ℓ ∼ 1800 in the 217×217 GHz cross-spectrum. In any case accounting for the 'look elsewhere' effect decreases its global significance to ∼2σ.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Intricacies of cosmological bounce in polynomial metric f(R) gravity for flat FLRW spacetime

In this paper we present the techniques for computing cosmological bounces in polynomial f(R) theories, whose order is more than two, for spatially flat FLRW spacetime. In these cases the conformally connected Einstein frame shows up multiple scalar potentials predicting various possibilities of cosmological evolution in the Jordan frame where the f(R) theory lives. We present a reasonable way in which one can associate the various possible potentials in the Einstein frame, for cubic f(R) gravity, to the cosmological development in the Jordan frame. The issue concerning the energy conditions in f(R) theories is presented. We also point out the very important relationships between the conformal transformations connecting the Jordan frame and the Einstein frame and the various instabilities of f(R) theory. All the calculations are done for cubic f(R) gravity but we hope the results are sufficiently general for higher order polynomial gravity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Bi-scalar modified gravity and cosmology with conformal invariance

We investigate the cosmological applications of a bi-scalar modified gravity that exhibits partial conformal invariance, which could become full conformal invariance in the absence of the usual Einstein-Hilbert term and introducing additionally either the Weyl derivative or properly rescaled fields. Such a theory is constructed by considering the action of a non-minimally conformally-coupled scalar field, and adding a second scalar allowing for a nonminimal derivative coupling with the Einstein tensor and the energy-momentum tensor of the first field. At a cosmological framework we obtain an effective dark-energy sector constituted from both scalars. In the absence of an explicit matter sector we extract analytical solutions, which for some parameter regions correspond to an effective matter era and/or to an effective radiation era, thus the two scalars give rise to 'mimetic dark matter' or to 'dark radiation' respectively. In the case where an explicit matter sector is included we obtain a cosmological evolution in agreement with observations, that is a transition from matter to dark energy era, with the onset of cosmic acceleration. Furthermore, for particular parameter regions, the effective dark-energy equation of state can transit to the phantom regime at late times. These behaviors reveal the capabilities of the theory, since they arise purely from the novel, bi-scalar construction and the involved couplings between the two fields.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmological perturbations on the phantom brane

We obtain a closed system of equations for scalar perturbations in a multi-component braneworld. Our braneworld possesses a phantom-like equation of state at late times, w {sub eff} < −1, but no big-rip future singularity. In addition to matter and radiation, the braneworld possesses a new effective degree of freedom—the 'Weyl fluid' or 'dark radiation'. Setting initial conditions on super-Hubble spatial scales at the epoch of radiation domination, we evolve perturbations of radiation, pressureless matter and the Weyl fluid until the present epoch. We observe a gradual decrease in the amplitude of the Weyl-fluid perturbations after Hubble-radius crossing, which results in a negligible effect of the Weyl fluid on the evolution of matter perturbations on spatial scales relevant for structure formation. Consequently, the quasi-static approximation of Koyama and Maartens provides a good fit to the exact results during the matter-dominated epoch. We find that the late-time growth of density perturbations on the brane proceeds at a faster rate than in ΛCDM. Additionally, the gravitational potentials Φ and Ψ evolve differently on the brane than in ΛCDM, for which Φ = Ψ. On the brane, by contrast, the ratio Φ/Ψ exceeds unity during the late matter-dominated epoch ( z ∼< 50). These features emerge as smoking gun tests of phantom brane cosmology and allow predictions of this scenario to be tested against observations of galaxy clustering and large-scale structure.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Linear response to long wavelength fluctuations using curvature simulations

We study the local response to long wavelength fluctuations in cosmological N -body simulations, focusing on the matter and halo power spectra, halo abundance and non-linear transformations of the density field. The long wavelength mode is implemented using an effective curved cosmology and a mapping of time and distances. The method provides an alternative, more direct, way to measure the isotropic halo biases. Limiting ourselves to the linear case, we find generally good agreement between the biases obtained from the curvature method and the traditional power spectrum method at the level of a few percent. We also study the response of halo counts to changes in the variance of the field and find that the slope of the relation between the responses to density and variance differs from the naïve derivation assuming a universal mass function by approximately 8–20%. This has implications for measurements of the amplitude of local non-Gaussianity using scale dependent bias. We also analyze the halo power spectrum and halo-dark matter cross-spectrum response to long wavelength fluctuations and derive second order halo bias from it, as well as the super-sample variance contribution to the galaxy power spectrum covariance matrix.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Generalized teleparallel cosmology and initial singularity crossing

We present a class of cosmological solutions for a generalized teleparallel gravity with f ( T )= T +α̃ (− T ) {sup n} , where α̃ is some parameter and n is an integer or half-integer. Choosing α̃ ∼ G {sup n} {sup −1}, where G is the gravitational constant, and working with an equation of state p = w ρ, one obtains a cosmological solution with multiple branches. The dynamics of the solution describes standard cosmology at late times, but the higher-torsion correction changes the nature of the initial singularity from big bang to a sudden singularity. The milder behavior of the sudden singularity enables us to extend timelike or lightlike curves, through joining two disconnected branches of solution at the singularity, leaving the singularity traversable. We show that this extension is consistent with the field equations through checking the known junction conditions for generalized teleparallel gravity. This suggests that these solutions describe a contracting phase a prior to the expanding phase of the universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Exploring JLA supernova data with improved flux-averaging technique

In this work, we explore the cosmological consequences of the ''Joint Light-curve Analysis'' (JLA) supernova (SN) data by using an improved flux-averaging (FA) technique, in which only the type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at high redshift are flux-averaged. Adopting the criterion of figure of Merit (FoM) and considering six dark energy (DE) parameterizations, we search the best FA recipe that gives the tightest DE constraints in the ( z {sub cut}, Δ z ) plane, where z {sub cut} and Δ z are redshift cut-off and redshift interval of FA, respectively. Then, based on the best FA recipe obtained, we discuss the impacts of varying z {sub cut} and varying Δ z , revisit the evolution of SN color luminosity parameter β, and study the effects of adopting different FA recipe on parameter estimation. We find that: (1) The best FA recipe is ( z {sub cut} = 0.6, Δ z =0.06), which is insensitive to a specific DE parameterization. (2) Flux-averaging JLA samples at z {sub cut} ≥ 0.4 will yield tighter DE constraints than the case without using FA. (3) Using FA can significantly reduce the redshift-evolution of β. (4) The best FA recipe favors a larger fractional matter density Ω {sub m} . In summary, we present an alternative method of dealing with JLA data, which can reduce the systematic uncertainties of SNe Ia and give the tighter DE constraints at the same time. Our method will be useful in the use of SNe Ia data for precision cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Joint Bayesian analysis of large angular scale CMB temperature anomalies

Cosmic microwave background measurements show an agreement with the concordance cosmology model except for a few notable anomalies: Power Suppression , the lack of large scale power in the temperature data compared to what is expected in the concordance model, and Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry , a dipolar breakdown of statistical isotropy. An expansion of the CMB covariance in Bipolar Spherical Harmonics naturally parametrizes both these large-scale anomalies, allowing us to perform an exhaustive, fully Bayesian joint analysis of the power spectrum and violations of statistical isotropy up to the dipole level. Our analysis sheds light on the scale dependence of the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry. Assuming a scale-dependent dipole modulation model with a two-parameter power law form, we explore the posterior pdf of amplitude A($l$ = 16) and the power law index α and find the maximum a posteriori values A * (l = 16) = 0.064 ± 0.022 and $α_*$ = -0.92 ± 0.22. The maximum a posteriori direction associated with the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry is ($l,b$) = (247.8 o , -19.6 o ) in Galactic coordinates, consistent with previous analyses. We evaluate the Bayes factor BSI-DM to compare the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry model with the isotropic model. The data prefer but do not substantially favor the anisotropic model (BSI-DM=0.4). We consider several priors and find that this evidence ratio is robust to prior choice. The large-scale power suppression does not soften when jointly inferring both the isotropic power spectrum and the parameters of the asymmetric model, indicating no evidence that these anomalies are coupled.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Limits on wCDM from the EFTofLSS with the PyBird code

We apply the Effective Field Theory of Large-Scale Structure to analyze the wCDM cosmological model. By using the full shape of the power spectrum and the BAO post-reconstruction measurements from BOSS, the Supernovae from Pantheon, and a prior from BBN, we set the competitive CMB-independent limit $w=-1.046_{-0.052}^{+0.055}$ at 68% C.L. After adding the Planck CMB data, we find $w=-1.023_{-0.030}^{+0.033}$ at 68% C.L. Our results are obtained using PyBird, a new, fast Python-based code which we make publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A measurement of the Hubble constant from Type II supernovae

ABSTRACT Progressive increases in the precision of the Hubble-constant measurement via Cepheid-calibrated Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have shown a discrepancy of ∼4.4σ with the current value inferred from Planck satellite measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation and the standard $\Lambda $cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological model. This disagreement does not appear to be due to known systematic errors and may therefore be hinting at new fundamental physics. Although all of the current techniques have their own merits, further improvement in constraining the Hubble constant requires the development of as many independent methods as possible. In this work, we use SNe II as standardisable candles to obtain an independent measurement of the Hubble constant. Using seven SNe II with host-galaxy distances measured from Cepheid variables or the tip of the red giant branch, we derive H$_0= 75.8^{+5.2}_{-4.9}$ km s−1 Mpc−1 (statistical errors only). Our value favours that obtained from the conventional distance ladder (Cepheids + SNe Ia) and exhibits a difference of 8.4 km s−1 Mpc−1 from the Planck + ΛCDM value. Adding an estimate of the systematic errors (2.8 km s−1 Mpc−1) changes the ∼1.7σ discrepancy with Planck +ΛCDM to ∼1.4σ. Including the systematic errors and performing a bootstrap simulation, we confirm that the local H0 value exceeds the value from the early Universe with a confidence level of 95 per cent. As in this work, we only exchange SNe II for SNe Ia to measure extragalactic distances, we demonstrate that there is no evidence that SNe Ia are the source of the H0 tension.

de Jaeger, T.↗

Increasing the power of weak lensing data with multipole-based intrinsic alignment estimators

ABSTRACT It has long been known that galaxy shapes align coherently with the large-scale density field. Characterizing this effect is essential to interpreting measurements of weak gravitational lensing, the deflection of light from distant galaxies by matter overdensities along the line of sight, as it also produces coherent galaxy alignments that we wish to interpret in terms of a cosmological model. Existing direct measurements of intrinsic alignments using galaxy samples with high-quality shape and redshift measurements typically use well-understood but sub-optimal projected estimators, which do not make good use of the information in the data when comparing those estimators to theoretical models. We demonstrate a more optimal estimator, based on a multipole expansion of the correlation functions or power spectra, for direct measurements of galaxy intrinsic alignments. We show that even using the lowest order multipole alone increases the significance of inferred model parameters using simulated and real data, without any additional modelling complexity. We apply this estimator to measurements of parameters of the non-linear alignment model using data from the Sloan Digital Sky survey, demonstrating consistent results with a factor of ∼2 greater precision in parameter fits to intrinsic alignments models. This result is functionally equivalent to quadrupling the survey area, but without the attendant costs – thereby demonstrating the value in using this new estimator in current and future intrinsic alignments measurements using spectroscopic galaxy samples.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗