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DOE OSTI2015

The metagalactic ionizing background: A crisis in UV photon production or incorrect galaxy escape fractions?

Recent suggestions of a “photon underproduction crisis” have generated concern over the intensity and spectrum of ionizing photons in the metagalactic ultraviolet background (UVB). The balance of hydrogen photoionization and recombination determines the opacity of the low-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM). We calibrate the hydrogen photoionization rate (Γ{sub H}) by comparing Hubble Space Telescope spectroscopic surveys of the low-redshift column density distribution of H i absorbers and the observed (z<0.4) mean Lyα flux decrement, D{sub A}=(0.014)(1+z){sup 2.2}, to new cosmological simulations. The distribution, f(N{sub H I},z)≡d{sup 2}N/d(logN{sub H I})dz, is consistent with an increased UVB that includes contributions from both quasars and galaxies. Our recommended fit, Γ{sub H}(z)=(4.6×10{sup −14} s{sup −1})(1+z){sup 4.4} for 0<z<0.47, corresponds to unidirectional LyC photon flux Φ{sub 0}≈5700 cm{sup −2} s{sup −1} at z = 0. This flux agrees with observed IGM metal ionization ratios (C iii/C iv and Si iii/Si iv) and suggests a 25%–30% contribution of Lyα absorbers to the cosmic baryon inventory. The primary uncertainties in the low-redshift UVB are the contribution from massive stars in galaxies and the LyC escape fraction (f{sub esc}), a highly directional quantity that is difficult to constrain statistically. We suggest that both quasars and low-mass starburst galaxies are important contributors to the ionizing UVB at z<2. Their additional ionizing flux would resolve any crisis in photon underproduction.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

THE EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND LIGHT, THE HUBBLE CONSTANT, AND ANOMALIES: CONCLUSIONS FROM 20 YEARS OF TeV GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS

Ground-based observatories have been collecting 0.2–20 TeV gamma-rays from blazars for about twenty years. These gamma-rays can experience absorption along the line of sight due to interactions with the extragalactic background light (EBL). In this paper, we show that the gamma-ray optical depth can be reduced to the convolution product of an EBL kernel with the EBL intensity, assuming a particular form for the EBL evolution. We extract the absorption signal from the most extensive set of TeV spectra from blazars collected so far and unveil a broadband EBL spectrum from mid-ultraviolet to far-infrared. This spectrum is in good agreement with the accumulated emission of galaxies, constraining unresolved populations of sources. We propose a data-driven estimate of the Hubble constant based on the comparison of local and gamma-ray measurements of the EBL. After setting stringent upper-limits on the redshift of four TeV blazars, we investigate the 106 gamma-ray spectra in our sample and find no significant evidence for anomalies. The intrinsic TeV spectra are not harder than their GeV counterpart, and no spectral upturn is visible at the highest optical depths. Finally, we investigate a modification of the pair-creation threshold due to Lorentz invariance violation. A mild excess prevents us from ruling out an effect at the Planck energy, and we constrain for the first time the energy scale of the modification to values larger than 60% of the Planck energy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nearby galaxy filaments and the Lyα forest: Confronting simulations and the UV background with observations

Simulations of the formation of large-scale structures predict that dark matter, low density highly ionized gas, and galaxies form 10 to 40 Mpc scale filaments. These structures are easily recognized in the distribution of galaxies. Here we use Lyα absorption lines to study the gas in 30 × 6 Mpc filament at cz ∼ 3500 km s{sup −1}, defined using a new catalog of nearby (cz < 10,000 km s{sup −1}) galaxies, which is complete down to a luminosity of about 0.05 L{sub *} for the region of space analyzed here. Using Hubble Space Telescope spectra of 24 active galactic nuclei, we sample the gas in this filament. All of our sightlines pass outside the virial radius of any known filament galaxy. Within 500 kpc of the filament axis the detection rate is ∼80%, but no detections are seen more than 2.1 Mpc from the filament axis. The width of the Lyα lines correlates with filament impact parameter and the four BLAs in our sample occur within 400 kpc of the filament axis, indicating increased temperature and/or turbulence. Comparing to simulations, we find that the recent Haardt and Madau extragalactic ionizing background predicts a factor of 3–5 too few ionizing photons. Using a more intense radiation field matches the hydrogen density profile within 2.1 Mpc of the filament axis, but the simulations still overpredict the detection rate between 2.1 and 5 Mpc from the axis. The baryonic mass inside filament galaxies is 1.4 × 10{sup 13} M{sub ⊙}, while the mass of filament gas outside galaxy halos is found to be 5.2 × 10{sup 13} M{sub ⊙}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

INTERSTELLAR NEUTRAL HELIUM IN THE HELIOSPHERE FROM IBEX OBSERVATIONS. I. UNCERTAINTIES AND BACKGROUNDS IN THE DATA AND PARAMETER DETERMINATION METHOD

This paper is one of three companion papers presenting the results of our in-depth analysis of the interstellar neutral helium (ISN He) observations carried out using IBEX-Lo during the first six Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) observation seasons. We derive corrections for losses due to the limited throughput of the interface buffer and determine the IBEX spin-axis pointing. We develop an uncertainty system for the data, taking into account the resulting correlations between the data points. This system includes uncertainties due to Poisson statistics, background, spin-axis determination, systematic deviation of the boresight from the prescribed position, correction for the interface buffer losses, and the expected Warm Breeze (WB) signal. Subsequently, we analyze the data from 2009 to examine the role of various components of the uncertainty system. We show that the ISN He flow parameters are in good agreement with the values obtained by the original analysis. We identify the WB as the principal contributor to the global χ{sup 2} values in previous analyses. Other uncertainties have a much milder role and their contributions are comparable to each other. The application of this uncertainty system reduced the minimum χ{sup 2} value 4-fold. The obtained χ{sup 2} value, still exceeding the expected value, suggests that either the uncertainty system may still be incomplete or the adopted physical model lacks a potentially important element, likely an imperfect determination of the WB parameters. The derived corrections and uncertainty system are used in the accompanying paper by Bzowski et al. in an analysis of the data from six seasons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mitigation of backgrounds from cosmogenic 137 Xe in xenon gas experiments using 3 He neutron capture

136 Xe is used as the target medium for many experiments searching for 0νββ. Despite underground operation, cosmic muons that reach the laboratory can produce spallation neutrons causing activation of detector materials. A potential background that is difficult to veto using muon tagging comes in the form of 137 Xe created by the capture of neutrons on 136 Xe. This isotope decays via beta decay with a half-life of 3.8 minutes and a Q β of ~4.16 MeV. This work proposes and explores the concept of adding a small percentage of 3 He to xenon as a means to capture thermal neutrons and reduce the number of activations in the detector volume. When using this technique we find the contamination from 137 Xe activation can be reduced to negligible levels in tonne and multi-tonne scale high pressure gas xenon neutrinoless double beta decay experiments running at any depth in an underground laboratory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Uncertainty quantification in density estimation from background-oriented Schlieren measurements

In this paper, we present an uncertainty quantification methodology for density estimation from background-oriented Schlieren (BOS) measurements, in order to provide local, instantaneous, a posteriori uncertainty bounds on each density measurement in the field of view. Displacement uncertainty quantification algorithms from cross-correlation-based particle image velocimetry are used to estimate the uncertainty in the dot pattern displacements obtained from cross-correlation for BOSs and assess their feasibility. In order to propagate the displacement uncertainty through the density integration procedure, we also develop a novel methodology via the Poisson solver using sparse linear operators. Testing the method using synthetic images of a Gaussian density field showed agreement between the propagated density uncertainties and the true uncertainty. Subsequently, the methodology is experimentally demonstrated for supersonic flow over a wedge, showing that regions with sharp changes in density lead to an increase in density uncertainty throughout the field of view, even in regions without these sharp changes. Lastly, the uncertainty propagation is influenced by the density integration scheme, and for the Poisson solver the density uncertainty on average increases on moving away from the regions where the Dirichlet boundary conditions are specified.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2014

Spectral distortions in the cosmic microwave background polarization

We compute the spectral distortions of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization induced by non-linear effects in the Compton interactions between CMB photons and the flow of intergalactic electrons. This signal is of the y-type and is dominated by contributions arising from the reionized era. We stress that it is not shadowed by the thermal SZ effect which has no equivalent for polarization. We decompose its angular dependence into E- and B-modes, and we calculate the corresponding power spectra, both exactly and using a suitable Limber approximation that allows a simpler numerical evaluation. We find that B-modes are of the same order of magnitude as E-modes. Both spectra are relatively flat, peaking around ℓ = 280, and their overall amplitude is directly related to the optical depth to reionization. Moreover, we find this effect to be one order of magnitude larger than the non-linear kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in galaxy clusters. Finally, we discuss how to improve the detectability of our signal by cross-correlating it with other quantities sourced by the flow of intergalactic electrons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Signatures of anisotropic sources in the trispectrum of the cosmic microwave background

Soft limits of N-point correlation functions, in which one wavenumber is much smaller than the others, play a special role in constraining the physics of inflation. Anisotropic sources such as a vector field during inflation generate distinct angular dependence in all these correlators, and introduce a fix privileged direction in our sky. In this paper we focus on the four-point correlator (the trispectrum T). We adopt a parametrization motivated by models in which the inflaton φ is coupled to a vector field through a I{sup 2}(φ)F{sup 2} interaction, namely T{sub ζ}(k{sub 1},k{sub 2},k{sub 3},k{sub 4})≡∑{sub n}d{sub n}[P{sub n}( k-circumflex {sub 1}⋅ k-circumflex {sub 3})+P{sub n}( k-circumflex {sub 1}⋅ k-circumflex {sub 12})+P{sub n}( k-circumflex {sub 3}⋅ k-circumflex {sub 12})]P{sub ζ}(k{sub 1})P{sub ζ}(k{sub 3})P{sub ζ}(k{sub 12})+(23perm), where P{sub n} denotes the Legendre polynomials. This shape is enhanced when the wavenumbers of the diagonals of the quadrilateral are much smaller than the sides, k{sub i}. The coefficient of the isotropic part, d{sub 0}, is equal to τ{sub NL}/6 discussed in the literature. A I{sup 2}(φ)F{sup 2} interaction generates d{sub 2} = 2d{sub 0} which is, in turn, related to the quadrupole modulation parameter of the power spectrum, g{sub *}, as d{sub 2} ≈ 14|g{sub *}|N{sup 2} with N ≈ 60. We show that d{sub 0} and d{sub 2} can be equally well-constrained: the expected 68% CL error bars on these coefficients from a cosmic-variance-limited experiment measuring temperature anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background up to ℓ{sub max} = 2000 are δd{sub 2} ≈ 4δd{sub 0} = 105. Therefore, we can reach |g{sub *}| = 10{sup −3} by measuring the angle-dependent trispectrum. The current upper limit on τ{sub NL} from the Planck temperature maps yields |g{sub *}| < 0.02 (95% CL)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Probing non-standard gravity with the growth index: a background independent analysis

Measurements of the growth index of linear matter density fluctuations γ(z) provide a clue as to whether Einstein's field equations encompass gravity also on large cosmic scales, those where the expansion of the universe accelerates. We show that the information encoded in this function can be satisfactorily parameterized using a small set of coefficients γ{sub i}, in such a way that the true scaling of the growth index is recovered to better than 1% in most dark energy and dark gravity models. We find that the likelihood of current data, given this formalism and the Λ Cold Dark Matter (ΛCDM) expansion model of Planck, is maximal for γ{sub 0} = 0.74{sup +0.44}{sub −0.41} and γ{sub 1} = 0.01{sup +0.46}{sub −0.46}, a measurement compatible with the ΛCDM predictions (γ{sub 0} = 0.545, γ{sub 1} = −0.007). In addition, data tend to favor models predicting slightly less growth of structures than the Planck ΛCDM scenario. The main aim of the paper is to provide a prescription for routinely calculating, in an analytic way, the amplitude of the growth indices γ{sub i} in relevant cosmological scenarios, and to show that these parameters naturally define a space where predictions of alternative theories of gravity can be compared against growth data in a manner which is independent from the expansion history of the cosmological background. As the standard Ω-plane provides a tool to identify different expansion histories H(t) and their relation to various cosmological models, the γ-plane can thus be used to locate different growth rate histories f(t) and their relation to alternatives model of gravity. As a result, we find that the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati gravity model is rejected with a 95% confidence level. By simulating future data sets, such as those that a Euclid-like mission will provide, we also show how to tell apart ΛCDM predictions from those of more extreme possibilities, such as smooth dark energy models, clustering quintessence or parameterized post-Friedmann cosmological models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Dips in the diffuse supernova neutrino background

Scalar (fermion) dark matter with mass in the MeV range coupled to ordinary neutrinos and another fermion (scalar) is motivated by scenarios that establish a link between radiatively generated neutrino masses and the dark matter relic density. With such a coupling, cosmic supernova neutrinos, on their way to us, could resonantly interact with the background dark matter particles, giving rise to a dip in their redshift-integrated spectra. Current and future neutrino detectors, such as Super-Kamiokande, LENA and Hyper-Kamiokande, could be able to detect this distortion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The intrinsic B-mode polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background

We estimate the B-polarisation induced in the Cosmic Microwave Background by the non-linear evolution of density perturbations. Using the second-order Boltzmann code SONG, our analysis incorporates, for the first time, all physical effects at recombination. We also include novel contributions from the redshift part of the Boltzmann equation and from the bolometric definition of the temperature in the presence of polarisation. The remaining line-of-sight terms (lensing and time-delay) have previously been studied and must be calculated non-perturbatively. The intrinsic B-mode polarisation is present independent of the initial conditions and might contaminate the signal from primordial gravitational waves. We find this contamination to be comparable to a primordial tensor-to-scalar ratio of r ≅ 10{sup −7} at the angular scale ℓ ≅ 100, where the primordial signal peaks, and r ≅ 5 × 10{sup −5} at ℓ ≅ 700, where the intrinsic signal peaks. Therefore, we conclude that the intrinsic B-polarisation from second-order effects is not likely to contaminate future searches of primordial gravitational waves.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

The cosmic ray antiproton background for AMS-02

The AMS-02 experiment is measuring the cosmic ray antiproton flux with high precision. The interpretation of the upcoming data requires a thorough understanding of the secondary antiproton background. In this work, we employ newly available data of the NA49 experiment at CERN, in order to recalculate the antiproton source term arising from cosmic ray spallations on the interstellar matter. We systematically account for the production of antiprotons via hyperon decay and discuss the possible impact of isospin effects on antineutron production. A detailed comparison of our calculation with the existing literature as well as with Monte Carlo based evaluations of the antiproton source term is provided. Our most important result is an updated prediction for the secondary antiproton flux which includes a realistic assessment of the particle physics uncertainties at all energies.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cosmic acceleration without dark energy: background tests and thermodynamic analysis

A cosmic scenario with gravitationally induced particle creation is proposed. In this model the Universe evolves from an early to a late time de Sitter era, with the recent accelerating phase driven only by the negative creation pressure associated with the cold dark matter component. The model can be interpreted as an attempt to reduce the so-called cosmic sector (dark matter plus dark energy) and relate the two cosmic accelerating phases (early and late time de Sitter expansions). A detailed thermodynamic analysis including possible quantum corrections is also carried out. For a very wide range of the free parameters, it is found that the model presents the expected behavior of an ordinary macroscopic system in the sense that it approaches thermodynamic equilibrium in the long run (i.e., as it nears the second de Sitter phase). Moreover, an upper bound is found for the Gibbons–Hawking temperature of the primordial de Sitter phase. Finally, when confronted with the recent observational data, the current 'quasi'-de Sitter era, as predicted by the model, is seen to pass very comfortably the cosmic background tests.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Multiple lensing of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies

We study the gravitational lensing effect on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies performing a ray-tracing of the primordial CMB photons through intervening large-scale structures (LSS) distribution predicted by N-Body numerical simulations with a particular focus on the precise recovery of the lens-induced polarized counterpart of the source plane. We apply both a multiple plane ray-tracing and an effective deflection approach based on the Born approximation to deflect the CMB photons trajectories through the simulated lightcone. We discuss the results obtained with both these methods together with the impact of LSS non-linear evolution on the CMB temperature and polarization power spectra. We compare our results with semi-analytical approximations implemented in Boltzmann codes like, e.g., CAMB. We show that, with our current N-body setup, the predicted lensing power is recovered with good accuracy in a wide range of multipoles while excess power with respect to semi-analytic prescriptions is observed in the lensing potential on scales ℓ ∼> 3000. We quantify the impact of the numerical effects connected to the resolution in the N-Body simulation together with the resolution and band-limit chosen to synthesise the CMB source plane. We found these quantities to be particularly important for the simulation of B-mode polarization power spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A new line-of-sight approach to the non-linear Cosmic Microwave Background

We develop the transport operator formalism, a new line-of-sight integration framework to calculate the anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at the linear and non-linear level. This formalism utilises a transformation operator that removes all inhomogeneous propagation effects acting on the photon distribution function, thus achieving a split between perturbative collisional effects at recombination and non-perturbative line-of-sight effects at later times. The former can be computed in the framework of standard cosmological perturbation theory with a second-order Boltzmann code such as SONG, while the latter can be treated within a separate perturbative scheme allowing the use of non-linear Newtonian potentials. We thus provide a consistent framework to compute all physical effects contained in the Boltzmann equation and to combine the standard remapping approach with Boltzmann codes at any order in perturbation theory, without assuming that all sources are localised at recombination.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Constraints on decaying dark matter from the extragalactic gamma-ray background

If dark matter is unstable and the mass is within GeV–TeV regime, its decays produce high-energy photons that give contribution to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB). We constrain dark matter decay by analyzing the 50-month EGRB data measured with Fermi satellite, for different decay channels motivated with several supersymmetric scenarios featuring R-parity violation. We adopt the latest astrophysical models for various source classes such as active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies, and take associated uncertainties properly into account. The lower limits for the lifetime are very stringent for a wide range of dark matter mass, excluding the lifetime shorter than 10{sup 28} s for mass between a few hundred GeV and ∼1 TeV, e.g., for b b-bar decay channel. Furthermore, most dark matter models that explain the anomalous positron excess are also excluded. These constraints are robust, being little dependent on astrophysical uncertainties, unlike other probes such as Galactic positrons or anti-protons.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Constraints on primordial magnetic fields from the optical depth of the cosmic microwave background

Damping of magnetic fields via ambipolar diffusion and decay of magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) turbulence in the post decoupling era heats the intergalactic medium (IGM). Delayed recombination of hydrogen atoms in the IGM yields an optical depth to scattering of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). The optical depth generated at z >> 10 does not affect the ''reionization bump'' of the CMB polarization power spectrum at low multipoles, but affects the temperature and polarization power spectra at high multipoles. Writing the present-day energy density of fields smoothed over the damping scale at the decoupling epoch as ρ{sub B,0}=B{sub 0}{sup 2}/2, we constrain B{sub 0} as a function of the spectral index, n{sub B}. Using the Planck 2013 likelihood code that uses the Planck temperature and lensing data together with the WMAP 9-year polarization data, we find the 95% upper bounds of B{sub 0}<0.63, 0.39, and 0.18 nG for n{sub B}=−2.9, −2.5, and −1.5, respectively. For these spectral indices, the optical depth is dominated by dissipation of the decaying MHD turbulence that occurs shortly after the decoupling epoch. Our limits are stronger than the previous limits ignoring the effects of the fields on ionization history. Inverse Compton scattering of CMB photons off electrons in the heated IGM distorts the thermal spectrum of CMB. Our limits on B{sub 0} imply that the y-type distortion from dissipation of fields in the post decoupling era should be smaller than 10{sup −9}, 4×10{sup −9}, and 10{sup −9}, respectively.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

CMB anisotropies generated by a stochastic background of primordial magnetic fields with non-zero helicity

We consider the impact of a stochastic background of primordial magnetic fields with non-vanishing helicity on CMB anisotropies in temperature and polarization. We compute the exact expressions for the scalar, vector and tensor part of the energy-momentum tensor including the helical contribution, by assuming a power-law dependence for the spectra and a comoving cutoff which mimics the damping due to viscosity. We also compute the parity-odd correlator between the helical and non-helical contribution which generate the TB and EB cross-correlation in the CMB pattern. We finally show the impact of including the helical term on the power spectra of CMB anisotropies up to multipoles with ℓ ∼ O(10{sup 3})

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗