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Cosmic slowing down of acceleration for several dark energy parametrizations: We further investigate slowing down of acceleration of the universe scenario for five parametrizations of the equation of state of dark energy using four sets of supernovae data. In a maximal probability analysis we also use the baryon acoustic oscillation and cosmic microwave background observations. We found the low redshift transition of the deceleration parameter appears, independently of the parametrization, using supernovae data alone except for the Union 2.1 sample. This feature disappears once we combine the supernova data with high redshift data. We conclude that the rapid variation of the deceleration parameter is independent of the parametrization. We also found more evidence for a tension among the supernovae samples, as well as for the low and high redshift data.
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How large is the contribution of cosmic web to $Ω_Λ$ ? A preliminary study on a novel inhomogenous model: The distribution of matter in the universe shows a complex pattern, formed by cluster of galaxies, voids and filaments denoted as cosmic web. Different approaches have been proposed to model such structure in the framework of the general relativity. Recently, one of us has proposed a generalization ($\Lambda$FB model) of the Fractal Bubble model, proposed by Wiltshire, which accounts for such large scale structure. The $\Lambda$FB model is an evolution of FB model and includes in a consistent way a description of inhomogeneous matter distribution and a $\Lambda$ term. Here we analyze the $\Lambda$FB model focusing on the relation between cosmological parameters. The main result is the consistency of $\Lambda$CDM model values for $\Omega_{\Lambda0}$ ($\approx 0.7$) and $\Omega_{k0}$ ($|\Omega_{k0}|<\approx 0.01$) with a large fraction of voids. This allows to quantify to which extent the inhomogeneous structure could account for $\Lambda$ constant consistently with standard values of the other cosmological parameters.
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The Reionization of Carbon: Observations suggest that CII was more abundant than CIV in the intergalactic medium towards the end of the hydrogen reionization epoch. This transition provides a unique opportunity to study the enrichment history of intergalactic gas and the growth of the ionizing background (UVB) at early times. We study how carbon absorption evolves from z=10-5 using a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation that includes a self-consistent multifrequency UVB as well as a well-constrained model for galactic outflows to disperse metals. Our predicted UVB is within 2-4 times that of Haardt & Madau (2012), which is fair agreement given the uncertainties. Nonetheless, we use a calibration in post-processing to account for Lyman-alpha forest measurements while preserving the predicted spectral slope and inhomogeneity. The UVB fluctuates spatially in such a way that it always exceeds the volume average in regions where metals are found. This implies both that a spatially-uniform UVB is a poor approximation and that metal absorption is not sensitive to the epoch when HII regions overlap globally even at column densites of 10^{12} cm^{-2}. We find, consistent with observations, that the CII mass fraction drops to low redshift while CIV rises owing the combined effects of a growing UVB and continued addition of carbon in low-density regions. This is mimicked in absorption statistics, which broadly agree with observations at z=6-3 while predicting that the absorber column density distributions rise steeply to the lowest observable columns. Our model reproduces the large observed scatter in the number of low-ionization absorbers per sightline, implying that the scatter does not indicate a partially-neutral Universe at z=6.
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Needlet thresholding methods in component separation: Foreground components in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) are sparse in a needlet representation, due to their specific morphological features (anisotropy, non-Gaussianity). This leads to the possibility of applying needlet thresholding procedures as a component separation tool. In this work, we develop algorithms based on different needlet-thresholding schemes and use them as extensions of existing, well-known component separation techniques, namely ILC and template-fitting. We test soft- and hard-thresholding schemes, using different procedures to set the optimal threshold level. We find that thresholding can be useful as a denoising tool for internal templates in experiments with few frequency channels, in conditions of low signal-to-noise. We also compare our method with other denoising techniques, showing that thresholding achieves the best performance in terms of reconstruction accuracy and data compression while preserving the map resolution. The best results in our tests are in particular obtained when considering template-fitting in an LSPE like experiment, especially for B-mode spectra.
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Extended Fast Action Minimisation method: application to SDSS-DR12 Combined Sample: We present the first application of the extended Fast Action Minimization method (eFAM) to a real dataset, the SDSS-DR12 Combined Sample, to reconstruct galaxies orbits back-in-time, their two-point correlation function (2PCF) in real-space, and enhance the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) peak. For this purpose, we introduce a new implementation of eFAM that accounts for selection effects, survey footprint, and galaxy bias. We use the reconstructed BAO peak to measure the angular diameter distance, D_A(z)r^{fid}_s/r_s, and the Hubble parameter, H(z)r_s/r^{fid}_s, normalized to the sound horizon scale for a fiducial cosmology r^{fid}_s, at the mean redshift of the sample z=0.38, obtaining D_A(z=0.38)r^{fid}_s/r_s=1090 +/- 29 (Mpc)^{-1}, and H(z=0.38)r_s}/r^{fid}_s=83 +/- 3 (km s^{-1}Mpc^{-1}), in agreement with previous measurements on the same dataset. The validation tests, performed using 400 publicly available SDSS-DR12 mock catalogues, reveal that eFAM performs well in reconstructing the 2PCF down to separations of 25h^{-1}Mpc$, i.e. well into the non-linear regime. Besides, eFAM successfully removes the anisotropies due to redshift-space distortion at all redshifts including that of the survey, allowing us to decrease the number of free parameters in the model and fit the full-shape of the back-in-time reconstructed 2PCF well beyond the BAO peak. Recovering the real-space 2PCF, eFAM improves the precision on the estimates of the fitting parameters. When compared with the no-reconstruction case, eFAM reduces the uncertainty of the Alcock-Paczynski distortion parameters of about 40% and that on the non-linear damping scale of about 70%. These results show that eFAM can be successfully applied to existing redshift galaxy catalogues and should be considered as a reconstruction tool for next-generation surveys alternative to popular methods based on the Zel'dovich approximation.
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Suppressing hot gas accretion to supermassive black holes by stellar winds: We argue that one of the basic assumptions of the Bondi accretion process, that the accreting object has zero pressure, might not hold in many galaxies because of the pressure exerted by stellar winds of star orbiting the central super massive black hole (SMBH). Hence, the Bondi accretion cannot be used in these cases, such as in the galaxy NGC 3115. The winds of these high-velocity stars are shocked to temperatures above the virial temperature of the galaxy, leading to the formation of a hot bubble of size ~0.1-10 pc near the center. This hot bubble can substantially reduce the mass accretion rate by the SMBH. If the density of the hot bubble is lower than that of the interstellar medium (ISM), a density-inversion layer is formed. As the gas loses energy by X-ray radiation, eventually more mass of the cooling shocked stellar winds will be accreted to the SMBH. This accretion will be of cold clumps. After a period of millions of years of low AGN activity, therefore, a stronger AGN activity will occur that will heat and expel gas, much as in cooling flow clusters. Adding to other problems of the Bondi process, our results render the Bondi accretion irrelevant for AGN feedback in cooling flow in galaxies and small groups of galaxies and during galaxy formation.
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Constraining thawing and freezing models with cluster number counts: Measurements of the cluster abundance as a function of mass and redshift provide an important cosmological test that probe not only the expansion rate but also the growth of perturbations. In this paper we adopt a scalar field scenario which admits both thawing and freezing solutions from an appropriate choice of the model parameters and derived all relevant expressions to calculate the mass function and the cluster number density. We discuss the ability of cluster observations to distinguish between these scalar field behaviors and the standard $\Lambda$CDM scenario by considering the eROSITA and SPT cluster surveys.
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A new stochastic approach to cumulative weak lensing: We study the weak gravitational lensing effects caused by a stochastic distribution of dark matter halos. We develop a simple approach to calculate the magnification probability distribution function which allows us to easily compute the magnitude bias and dispersion for an arbitrary data sample and a given universe model. As an application we consider the effects of single-mass large-scale cosmic inhomogeneities to the SNe magnitude-redshift relation, and conclude that such structures could bias the PDF enough to affect the extraction of cosmological parameters from the limited size of present-day SNe data samples. We also release turboGL, a simple and very fast (<= 1s) Mathematica code based on the method here presented.
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Observations favor the redshift-evolutionary $L_X$-$L_{UV}$ relation of quasars from copula: We compare, with data from the quasars, the Hubble parameter measurements, and the Pantheon+ type Ia supernova, three different relations between X-ray luminosity ($L_X$) and ultraviolet luminosity ($L_{UV}$) of quasars. These three relations consist of the standard and two redshift-evolutionary $L_X$-$L_{UV}$ relations which are constructed respectively by considering a redshift dependent correction to the luminosities of quasars and using the statistical tool called copula. By employing the PAge approximation for a cosmological-model-independent description of the cosmic background evolution and dividing the quasar data into the low-redshift and high-redshift parts, we find that the constraints on the PAge parameters from the low-redshift and high-redshift data, which are obtained with the redshift-evolutionary relations, are consistent with each other, while they are not when the standard relation is considered. If the data are used to constrain the coefficients of the relations and the PAge parameters simultaneously, then the observations support the redshift-evolutionary relations at more than $3\sigma$. The Akaike and Bayes information criteria indicate that there is strong evidence against the standard relation and mild evidence against the redshift-evolutionary relation constructed by considering a redshift dependent correction to the luminosities of quasars. This suggests that the redshift-evolutionary $L_X$-$L_{UV}$ relation of quasars constructed from copula is favored by the observations.
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Understanding WIMP-baryon interactions with direct detection: A Roadmap: We study prospects of dark-matter direct-detection searches for probing non-relativistic effective theory for WIMP-baryon scattering. We simulate a large set of noisy recoil-energy spectra for different scattering scenarios (beyond the standard momentum-independent contact interaction), for Generation 2 and futuristic experiments. We analyze these simulations and quantify the probability of successfully identifying the operator governing the scattering, if a WIMP signal is observed. We find that the success rate depends on a combination of factors: the WIMP mass, the mediator mass, the type of interaction, and the experimental energy window. For example, for a 20 GeV WIMP, Generation 2 is only likely to identify the right operator if the interaction is Coulomb-like, and is unlikely to do so in any other case. For a WIMP with a mass of 200 GeV or higher, success is almost guaranteed. We also find that, regardless of the scattering model and the WIMP parameters, a single Generation 2 experiment is unlikely to successfully discern the momentum dependence of the underlying operator on its own, but prospects improve drastically when experiments with different target materials and energy windows are analyzed jointly. Furthermore, we examine the quality of parameter estimation and degeneracies in the multi-dimensional parameter space of the effective theory. We find in particular that the resulting WIMP mass estimates can be severely biased if data are analyzed assuming the standard (momentum-independent) operator while the actual operator has momentum-dependence. Finally, we evaluate the ultimate reach of direct detection, finding that the prospects for successful operator selection prior to reaching the irreducible backgrounds are excellent, if the signal is just below the current limits, but slim if Generation 2 does not report WIMP detection.
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Dwarf spheroidals in the M81 Group - Metallicity distribution functions and population gradients: We study the dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the nearby M81 group in order to construct their photometric metallicity distributions and to investigate the potential presence of population gradients. We select all the dwarf spheroidals with available Hubble Space Telescope / Advanced Camera for Surveys archival observations, nine in total. We interpolate isochrones so as to assign a photometric metallicity to each star within a selection box in the color-magnitude diagram of each dwarf galaxy. We assume that the dwarf spheroidals contain mainly an old stellar population. In order to search for metallicity gradients, we examine the spatial distribution of two stellar populations that we separate according to their metallicities. As a result, we present the photometric metallicity distribution functions, the cumulative histograms and smoothed density maps of the metal-poor and metal-rich stars as well as of the intermediate-age stars. From our photometric data we find that all the dwarf spheroidals show a wide range in metallicities, with mean values that are typical for old and metal-poor systems, with the exception of one dwarf spheroidal, namely IKN. Some of our dwarf spheroidals exhibit characteristics of transition-type dwarfs. Compared to the Local Group transition type dwarfs, the M81 group ones appear to have mean metallicity values slightly more metal-rich at a given luminosity. All the dwarf spheroidals considered here appear to exhibit either population gradients or spatial variations in the centroids of their metal-poor and metal-rich population. In addition, there are luminous AGB stars detected in all of them with spatial distributions suggesting that they are well mixed with the old stars.
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Latest data constraint of some parameterized dark energy models: Using various latest cosmological datasets including Type-Ia supernovae, cosmic microwave background radiation, baryon acoustic oscillations, and estimations of the Hubble parameter, we test some dark energy models with parameterized equations of state and try to distinguish or select observation-preferred models. We obtain the best fitting results of the six models and calculate their values of the Akaike Information Criteria and Bayes Information Criterion. And we can distinguish these dark energy models from each other by using these two information criterions. However, the $\Lambda $CDM model remains the best fit model. Furthermore, we perform geometric diagnostics including statefinder and Om diagnostics to understand the geometric behaviour of the dark energy models. We find that the six DE models can be distinguished from each other and from $\Lambda$CDM, Chaplygin gas, quintessence models after the statefinder and Om diagnostics were performed. Finally, we consider the growth factor of the dark energy models with comparison to $\Lambda $CDM model. Still, we find the models can be distinguished from each other and from $\Lambda $CDM model through the growth factor approximation.
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Deep radio observations of the radio halo of the bullet cluster 1E 0657-55.8: We present deep 1.1-3.1 GHz Australia Telescope Compact Array observations of the radio halo of the bullet cluster, 1E 0657-55.8. In comparison to existing images of this radio halo the detection in our images is at higher significance. The radio halo is as extended as the X-ray emission in the direction of cluster merger but is significantly less extended than the X-ray emission in the perpendicular direction. At low significance we detect a faint second peak in the radio halo close to the X-ray centroid of the smaller sub-cluster (the bullet) suggesting that, similarly to the X-ray emission, the radio halo may consist of two components. Finally, we find that the distinctive shape of the western edge of the radio halo traces out the X-ray detected bow shock. The radio halo morphology and the lack of strong point-to-point correlations between radio, X-ray and weak-lensing properties suggests that the radio halo is still being formed. The colocation of the X-ray shock with a distinctive radio brightness edge illustrates that the shock is influencing the structure of the radio halo. These observations support the theory that shocks and turbulence influence the formation and evolution of radio halo synchrotron emission.
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Kernel Selection for Gaussian Process in Cosmology: with Approximate Bayesian Computation Rejection and Nested Sampling: Gaussian Process (GP) has gained much attention in cosmology due to its ability to reconstruct cosmological data in a model-independent manner. In this study, we compare two methods for GP kernel selection: Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) Rejection and nested sampling. We analyze three types of data: cosmic Chronometer data (CC), Type Ia Supernovae (SNIa), and Gamma Ray Burst (GRB), using five kernel functions. To evaluate the differences between kernel functions, we assess the strength of evidence using Bayes factors. Our results show that, for ABC Rejection, the Mat\'ern kernel with $\nu$=5/2 (M52 kernel) outperformes the commonly used Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel in approximating all three datasets. Bayes factors indicate that the M52 kernel typically supports the observed data better than the RBF kernel, but with no clear advantage over other alternatives. However, nested sampling gives different results, with the M52 kernel losing its advantage. Nevertheless, Bayes factors indicate no significant dependence of the data on each kernel.
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Assessing the viability of successful reconstruction of the dynamics of dark energy using varying fundamental couplings: We assess the viability of successful reconstruction of the evolution of the dark energy equation of state using varying fundamental couplings, such as the fine structure constant or the proton-to-electron mass ratio. We show that the same evolution of the dark energy equation of state parameter with cosmic time may be associated with arbitrary variations of the fundamental couplings. Various examples of models with the same (different) background evolution and different (the same) time variation of fundamental couplings are studied in the letter. Although we demonstrate that, for a broad family of models, it is possible to redefine the scalar field in such a way that its dynamics is that of a standard quintessence scalar field, in general such redefinition leads to the breakdown of the linear relation between the scalar field and the variation of fundamental couplings. This implies that the assumption of a linear coupling is not sufficient to guarantee a successful reconstruction of the dark energy dynamics and consequently additional model dependent assumptions about the scalar field responsible for the dark energy need to be made.
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The Doppler effect on indirect detection of dark matter using dark matter only simulations: Indirect detection of dark matter is a major avenue for discovery. However, baryonic backgrounds are diverse enough to mimic many possible signatures of dark matter. In this work, we study the newly proposed technique of dark matter velocity spectroscopy\,\cite{speckhard2016}. The non-rotating dark matter halo and the Solar motion produce a distinct longitudinal dependence of the signal which is opposite in direction to that produced by baryons. Using collisionless dark matter only simulations of Milky Way like halos, we show that this new signature is robust and holds great promise. We develop mock observations by high energy resolution X-ray spectrometer on a sounding rocket, the Micro-X experiment, to our test case, the 3.5 keV line. We show that by using six different pointings, Micro-X can exclude a constant line energy over various longitudes at $\geq$ 3$\sigma$. The halo triaxiality is an important effect and it will typically reduce the significance of this signal. We emphasize that this new {\it smoking gun in motion} signature of dark matter is general, and is applicable to any dark matter candidate which produces a sharp photon feature in annihilation or decay.
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Constraints on the End of Reionization from the Density Fields Surrounding Two Highly Opaque Quasar Sightlines: The observed large-scale scatter in Lyman $\alpha$ opacity of the intergalactic medium at $z<6$ implies large fluctuations in the neutral hydrogen fraction that are unexpected long after reionization has ended. A number of models have emerged to explain these fluctuations that make testable predictions for the relationship between Ly$\alpha$ opacity and density. We present selections of $z=5.7$ Ly$\alpha$-emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the fields surrounding two highly opaque quasar sightlines with long Ly$\alpha$ troughs. The fields lie towards the $z=6.0$ quasar ULAS J0148+0600, for which we re-analyze previously published results using improved photometric selection, and towards the $z=6.15$ quasar SDSS J1250+3130, for which results are presented here for the first time. In both fields, we report a deficit of LAEs within 20 $h^{-1}$ Mpc of the quasar. The association of highly opaque sightlines with galaxy underdensities in these two fields is consistent with models in which the scatter in Ly$\alpha$ opacity is driven by large-scale fluctuations in the ionizing UV background, or by an ultra-late reionization that has not yet concluded at $z=5.7$.
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Enhanced curvature perturbations from spherical domain walls nucleated during inflation: We investigate spherical domain walls~(DWs) nucleated via quantum tunneling in multifield inflationary models and curvature perturbations induced by the inhomogeneous distribution of those DWs. We consider the case that the Euclidean action $S_{E}$ of DWs changes with time during inflation so that most of DWs nucleate when $S_{E}$ reaches the minimum value and the radii of DWs are almost the same. When the Hubble horizon scale exceeds the DW radius after inflation, DWs begin to annihilate and release their energy into background radiation. Because of the random nature of the nucleation process, the statistics of DWs is of the Poisson type and the power spectrum of curvature perturbations has a characteristic slope ${\cal P}_{\cal R}(k)\propto k^{3}$. The amplitude of ${\cal P}_{\cal R}(k)$ depends on the tension and abundance of DWs at the annihilation time while the peak mode depends on the mean separation of DWs. We also numerically obtain the energy spectra of scalar-induced gravitational waves from predicted curvature perturbations which are expected to be observed in multiband gravitational-wave detectors.
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The Quijote simulations: The Quijote simulations are a set of 44,100 full N-body simulations spanning more than 7,000 cosmological models in the $\{\Omega_{\rm m}, \Omega_{\rm b}, h, n_s, \sigma_8, M_\nu, w \}$ hyperplane. At a single redshift the simulations contain more than 8.5 trillions of particles over a combined volume of 44,100 $(h^{-1}{\rm Gpc})^3$; each simulation follow the evolution of $256^3$, $512^3$ or $1024^3$ particles in a box of $1~h^{-1}{\rm Gpc}$ length. Billions of dark matter halos and cosmic voids have been identified in the simulations, whose runs required more than 35 million core hours. The Quijote simulations have been designed for two main purposes: 1) to quantify the information content on cosmological observables, and 2) to provide enough data to train machine learning algorithms. In this paper we describe the simulations and show a few of their applications. We also release the Petabyte of data generated, comprising hundreds of thousands of simulation snapshots at multiple redshifts, halo and void catalogs, together with millions of summary statistics such as power spectra, bispectra, correlation functions, marked power spectra, and estimated probability density functions.
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Scale-dependent CMB power asymmetry from primordial speed of sound and a generalized $δ$N formalism: We explore a plausible mechanism that the hemispherical power asymmetry in the CMB is produced by the spatial variation of the primordial sound speed parameter. We suggest that in a generalized approach of the $\delta N$ formalism the local e-folding number may depend on some other primordial parameters besides the initial values of inflaton. Here the $\delta N$ formalism is extended by considering the effects of a spatially varying sound speed parameter caused by a super-Hubble perturbation of a light field. Using this generalized $\delta N$ formalism, we systematically calculate the asymmetric primordial spectrum in the model of multi-speed inflation by taking into account the constraints of primordial non-Gaussianities. We further discuss specific model constraints, and the corresponding asymmetry amplitudes are found to be scale-dependent, which can accommodate current observations of the power asymmetry at different length scales.
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Retrieving the three-dimensional matter power spectrum and galaxy biasing parameters from lensing tomography: With the availability of galaxy distance indicators in weak lensing surveys, lensing tomography can be harnessed to constrain the three-dimensional (3D) matter power spectrum over a range of redshift and physical scale. By combining galaxy-galaxy lensing and galaxy clustering, this can be extended to probe the 3D galaxy-matter and galaxy-galaxy power spectrum or, alternatively, galaxy biasing parameters. To achieve this aim, this paper introduces and discusses minimum variance estimators and a more general Bayesian approach to statistically invert a set of noisy tomography 2-point correlation functions, measured within a confined opening angle. Both methods are constructed such that they probe deviations of the power spectrum from a fiducial power spectrum, thereby enabling both a direct comparison of theory and data, and in principle the identification of the physical scale and redshift of deviations. By devising a new Monte Carlo technique, we quantify the measurement noise in the correlators for a fiducial survey, and test the performance of the inversion techniques. We conclude that a shear tomography analysis of near future weak lensing surveys promises fruitful insights into the effect of baryons on the nonlinear matter power spectrum at z<~0.3 around k~2 h/Mpc, and into galaxy biasing (z<~0.5). However, a proper treatment of anticipated systematics -- not included in the mock analysis but discussed here -- is likely to reduce the signal-to-noise in the analysis so that a robust assessment of the 3D matter power spectrum probably asks for a survey area of at least 1000 sdeg. [Abridged]
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The integrated angular bispectrum: We study the position-dependent power spectrum and the integrated bispectrum statistic for 2D cosmological fields on the sphere (integrated angular bispectrum). First, we derive a useful, $m$-independent, formula for the full-sky integrated angular bispectrum, based on the construction of azimuthally symmetric patches. We then implement a pipeline for integrated angular bispectrum estimation, including a mean-field correction to account for spurious isotropy-breaking effects in realistic conditions (e.g., inhomogenous noise, sky masking). Finally, we show examples of applications of this estimator to CMB analysis, both using simulations and actual Planck data. Such examples include $f_\mathrm{NL}$ estimation, analyses of non-Gaussianity from secondary anisotropies (ISW-lensing and ISW-tSZ-tSZ bispectra) and studies of non-Gaussian signatures from foreground contamination.
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A Halo Model of Local IRAS Galaxies Selected at 60 Micron Using Conditional Luminosity Functions: Using conditional luminosity functions (CLFs) which encode the luminosity distribution of galaxies as a function of halo mass, we construct a halo model of IRAS galaxies selected at 60 micron. An abundance matching technique is used to link galaxy luminosity to the host halo mass. The shape of the mass - light relation at 60 micron is different from those derived at r-, K- and B-band. This is because the 60 micron LF can not be fitted by a Schechter function with a sharp exponential cutoff. We then seek the parameters in the CLFs that best fit the LF and power spectrum. We find that the predicted galaxy bias as a function of L60 from the best-fit model agrees well with the clustering measurements. At the faint end of the LF where quiescent star-forming galaxies dominate, most IRAS galaxies are central galaxies in halos of M >~ 10^{10} h^{-1} M_sun but a non-negligible fraction are satellites typically hosted in more massive halos. The majority of IRAS galaxies with L60 >~ 10^{10} h^{-2} L_sun are M82 type starbursts which are central galaxies hosted in halos of M >~ 10^{12.5} h^{-1} M_sun. In comparison, optical galaxies generally reside in much more massive halos. The rate of change in L60 (an indicator of recent star formation) as a function of halo mass at M >~ 10^{12.5} h^{-1} M_sun is much larger that d L_optical / dM or d L_NIR / dM indicating the existence of physical mechanisms which are very efficient in converting cold gas into stars, possibly dynamical effects arising from interactions or mergers. We further calculate the space density of major mergers for halos massive enough to host ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) using the mean merger rate derived from the Millennium simulations. Compared to the space density of local ULIRGs, it implies that either the majority of major mergers at z~0 do not lead to ULIRGs or the ULIRG phase is relatively short.
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A Full Treatment of Peculiar Velocities on the Reionization Light Cone: Accurate simulations of the 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization require the generation of maps at specific frequencies given the values of astrophysical and cosmological parameters. The peculiar velocities of the hydrogen atoms producing the 21-cm radiation result in a shift in the observed frequency of the 21-cm radiation and changes the amplitude of the signal itself. This is not an effect we can remove but instead needs to be accurately modelled to ensure we infer the correct physical parameters from an observation. We describe the full calculation of the distortion of the 21-cm signal, and propose a new code that integrates the 21-cm intensity along the line of sight for each individual light cone pixel to fully capture the intensity contributions from multiple redshifts. This algorithm naturally deals with the typical divergences found in standard approaches, allowing for large optical depths and 21-cm absorption events at high redshifts. We find the new method results in up to a 60% decrease in power on the largest scales on the sky, and an increase of over 80% on the smallest scales on the sky. We find that the new implementation of the light cone results in a longer tail of bright temperatures in the brightness temperature distribution, as a result of the successful circumventing of a previous cap that had to be implemented to avoid a divergence in the brightness temperature. We conclude that this full treatment of the evolution of the light cone pixel can be an important effect.
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Magnetic fields in a hot dense neutrino plasma and the Gravitational Waves: In the present work, we have studied the spectrum of the primordial gravitational waves due to magnetic instability in the presence of neutrino asymmetry. The magnetic instability generates a helical magnetic field on a large scale. The anisotropic stress generated by the magnetic field shown to be a source of primordial gravitational waves (GWs) at the time of matter-neutrino decoupling. We expect that the theoretically predicted GWs by this mechanism may be detected by Square Kilometer Array (SKA) or pulsar time array (PTA) observations. We also compare our findings with the results obtained by the earlier work where the effect of magnetic instability was not considered.
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Planck 2015 results. IX. Diffuse component separation: CMB maps: We present foreground-reduced CMB maps derived from the full Planck data set in both temperature and polarization. Compared to the corresponding Planck 2013 temperature sky maps, the total data volume is larger by a factor of 3.2 for frequencies between 30 and 70 GHz, and by 1.9 for frequencies between 100 and 857 GHz. In addition, systematic errors in the forms of temperature-to-polarization leakage, analogue-to-digital conversion uncertainties, and very long time constant errors have been dramatically reduced, to the extent that the cosmological polarization signal may now be robustly recovered on angular scales $\ell\gtrsim40$. On the very largest scales, instrumental systematic residuals are still non-negligible compared to the expected cosmological signal, and modes with $\ell < 20$ are accordingly suppressed in the current polarization maps by high-pass filtering. As in 2013, four different CMB component separation algorithms are applied to these observations, providing a measure of stability with respect to algorithmic and modelling choices. The resulting polarization maps have rms instrumental noise ranging between 0.21 and 0.27$\,\mu\textrm{K}$ averaged over 55 arcmin pixels, and between 4.5 and 6.1$\,\mu\textrm{K}$ averaged over 3.4 arcmin pixels. The cosmological parameters derived from the analysis of temperature power spectra are in agreement at the $1\sigma$ level with the Planck 2015 likelihood. Unresolved mismatches between the noise properties of the data and simulations prevent a satisfactory description of the higher-order statistical properties of the polarization maps. Thus, the primary applications of these polarization maps are those that do not require massive simulations for accurate estimation of uncertainties, for instance estimation of cross-spectra and cross-correlations, or stacking analyses.
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Circular Polarization of the CMB: A probe of the First stars: While it is revealed that the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is linearly polarized at 10 % level, it is predicted that there exists no significant intrinsic source for circular polarization (CP) in the standard cosmology. However, during the propagation through a magnetised plasma, the CP of the CMB could be produced via the Faraday conversion (FC). The FC converts a pre-existing linear polarization into CP in presence of a magnetic field with relativistic electrons. In this paper, we focus on the FC due to supernova remnants of the first stars, also called Pop III stars. We derive an analytic form for the angular power spectrum of the CP of the CMB generated by the general FC. We apply this result to the case of the FC triggered by explosions of the first stars and evaluate the angular power spectrum, CV V . We show that the amplitude of l(l + 1)C_l^V V /(2pi) > 10^-2 micro Kelvin squared for l > 100, with only one Pop III star per halo, the age of Pop III SN remnants as 104 years and frequency of CMB observation as 1 GHz. We expect the CP of the CMB to be a very promising probe of the yet unobserved first stars, primarily due to the expected high signal along with an unique frequency dependence.
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Cosmological dependence of the measurements of luminosity function, projected clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing signal: Observables such as the luminosity function of galaxies, \Phi(M), the projected clustering of galaxies, w_p(r_p), and the galaxy-galaxy lensing signal, \Delta\Sigma, are often measured from galaxy redshift surveys assuming a fiducial cosmological model for calculating distances to and between galaxies. There is a growing number of studies that perform joint analyses of these measurements and constrain cosmological parameters. We quantify the amount by which such measurements systematically vary as the fiducial cosmology used for the measurements is changed, and show that these effects can be significant at high redshifts (z~0.5). We present a simple way that maps the measurements made using a particular fiducial cosmological model to any other cosmological model. Cosmological constraints (or halo occupation distribution constraints) that use the luminosity function, clustering measurements and galaxy-galaxy lensing signal but ignore these systematic effects may underestimate the confidence intervals on the inferred parameters.
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Rapid onset of the 21-cm signal suggests a preferred mass range for dark matter particle: We are approaching a new era to probe the 21-cm neutral hydrogen signal from the period of cosmic dawn. This signal offers a unique window to the virgin Universe, e.g., to study dark matter models with different small-scale behaviours. The EDGES collaboration has recently published the first results of the global 21-cm spectrum. We demonstrate that such a signal can be used to set, unlike most observations concerning dark matter, both lower and upper limits for the mass of dark matter particles. We study the 21-cm signal resulting from a simple warm dark matter model with a sharp-$k$ window function calibrated for high redshifts. We tie the PopIII star formation to Lyman-alpha and radio background production. Using MCMC to sample the parameter space we find that to match the EDGES signal, a warm dark matter particle must have a mass of $7.3^{+1.6}_{-3.3}$ keV at 68\% confidence interval. This translates to $2.2^{+1.4}_{-1.7} \times 10^{-20}$ eV for fuzzy dark matter and $63^{+19}_{-35}$ keV for Dodelson-Widrow sterile neutrinos. Cold dark matter is unable to reproduce the signal due to its slow structure growth.
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Observational constraints on the unified dark matter and dark energy model based on the quark bag model: In this work we investigate if a small fraction of quarks and gluons, which escaped hadronization and survived as a uniformly spread perfect fluid, can play the role of both dark matter and dark energy. This fluid, as developed in \citep{Brilenkov}, is characterized by two main parameters: $\beta$, related to the amount of quarks and gluons which act as dark matter; and $\gamma$, acting as the cosmological constant. We explore the feasibility of this model at cosmological scales using data from type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa), Long Gamma-Ray Bursts (LGRB) and direct observational Hubble data. We find that: (i) in general, $\beta$ cannot be constrained by SNeIa data nor by LGRB or H(z) data; (ii) $\gamma$ can be constrained quite well by all three data sets, contributing with $\approx78\%$ to the energy-matter content; (iii) when a strong prior on (only) baryonic matter is assumed, the two parameters of the model are constrained successfully.
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A candidate tidal disruption event in the Galaxy cluster Abell 3571: Tidal disruption events are possible sources of temporary nuclear activity in galactic nuclei and can be considered as good indicators of the existence of super massive black holes in the centers of galaxies. A new X-ray source has been serendipitously detected with ROSAT in a PSPC pointed observation of the galaxy cluster A3571. Given the strong flux decay of the object in subsequent detections, the tidal disruption scenario is investigated as possible explanationof the event. We followed up the evolution of the X-ray transient with ROSAT, XMM-Newton and Chandra for a total period of ~13 years. We also obtained 7-band optical/NIR photometry with GROND at the ESO/MPI 2.2m telescope. We report a very large decay of the X-ray flux of ROSAT source identified with the galaxy LEDA 095953 a member of the cluster Abell 3571. We measured a maximum 0.3-2.4 keV luminosity Log(L_X)=42.8 erg s^-1. The high state of the source lasted at least 150 ks, afterwards L_X declined as ~t^-2. The spectrum of the brightest epoch is consistent with a black body with temperature kT ~0.12 keV. The total energy released by this event in 10 yr was estimated to be Delta_E>2x10^50 erg. We interpret this event as a tidal disruption of a solar type star by the central supermassive black hole (i.e. ~10^7 M_sun) of the galaxy.
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Reionization of the Intergalactic Medium: After recombination the cosmic gas was left in a cold and neutral state. However, as the first stars and black holes formed within early galactic systems, their UV and X-ray radiation induced a gradual phase transition of the intergalactic gas into the warm and ionized state we currently observe. This process is known as cosmic reionization. Understanding how the energy deposition connected with galaxy and star formation shaped the properties of the intergalactic gas is one of the primary goals of present-day cosmology. In addition, reionization back reacts on galaxy evolution, determining many of the properties of the high-redshift galaxy population that represent the current frontier of our discovery of the cosmos. In these two Lectures we provide a pedagogical overview of cosmic reionization and intergalactic medium and of some of the open questions in these fields.
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Phase-space structure of protohalos: Vlasov versus Particle-Mesh: The phase-space structure of primordial dark matter halos is revisited using cosmological simulations with three sine waves and Cold Dark Matter (CDM) initial conditions. The simulations are performed with the tessellation based Vlasov solver ColDICE and a Particle-Mesh (PM) $N$-body code. The analyses include projected density, phase-space diagrams, radial density and pseudo-phase space density. Particular attention is paid to force and mass resolution. Because the phase-space sheet complexity, estimated in terms of total volume and simplices count, increases very quickly, ColDICE can follow only the early violent relaxation phase of halo formation. During the latter, agreement between ColDICE and PM simulations having one particle per cell or more is excellent and halos have a power-law density profile, $\rho(r) \propto r^{-\alpha}$, $\alpha \in [1.5,1.8]$. This slope, measured prior to any merger, is slightly larger than in the literature. The phase-space diagrams evidence complex but coherent patterns with clear signatures of self-similarity in the sine wave simulations, while the CDM halos are somewhat scribbly. After additional mass resolution tests, the PM simulations are used to follow the next stages of evolution. The power-law progressively breaks down with a convergence of the density profile to the well known "NFW"-like universal attractor, irrespectively of initial conditions, that is even in the three-sine wave simulations. This demonstrates again that mergers do not represent a necessary condition for convergence to the dynamical attractor. Not surprisingly, the measured pseudo phase-space density is a power-law $Q(r) \propto r^{-\alpha_Q}$, with $\alpha_{\rm Q}$ close to the prediction of secondary spherical infall model, $\alpha_{\rm Q} \simeq 1.875$. However this property is also verified during the early relaxation phase, which is non trivial.
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Addressing the Hubble tension in Yukawa cosmology?: In Yukawa cosmology, a recent discovery revealed a relationship between baryonic matter and the dark sector. The relation is described by the parameter $\alpha$ and the long-range interaction parameter $\lambda$ - an intrinsic property of the graviton. Applying the uncertainty relation to the graviton raises a compelling question: Is there a quantum mechanical limit to the measurement precision of the Hubble constant ($H_0$)? We argue that the uncertainty relation for the graviton wavelength $\lambda$ can be used to explain a running of $H_0$ with redshift. We show that the uncertainty in time has an inverse correlation with the value of the Hubble constant. That means that the measurement of the Hubble constant is intrinsically linked to length scales (redshift) and is connected to the uncertainty in time. On cosmological scales, we found that the uncertainty in time is related to the look-back time quantity. For measurements with a high redshift value, there is more uncertainty in time, which leads to a smaller value for the Hubble constant. Conversely, there is less uncertainty in time for local measurements with a smaller redshift value, resulting in a higher value for the Hubble constant. Therefore, due to the uncertainty relation, the Hubble tension is believed to arise from fundamental limitations inherent in cosmological measurements. Finally, our findings indicate that the mass of the graviton fluctuates with specific scales, suggesting a possible mass-varying mechanism for the graviton.
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Probing the evolution of galaxy clusters with the SZ Effect: In galaxy clusters the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect from the hot intracluster medium (ICM) provides a direct, self-contained measure of the pressure integrated over crossing lines of sight, that is intrinsically independent of redshift and well suited for evolutionary studies. We show in detail how the size of the effect and its pattern on the sky plane are directly related to the entropy levels in the ICM, and how they characterize the cluster cores and outskirts independently. We find that at redshifts z<0.3 the signals to be expected in the cores considerably exceed those detected at 10' resolution with the Planck satellite. We propose that at 1' resolutions as implemented on recent ground instrumentation for mapping features in individual clusters, the average patterns of the SZ signals can provide a direct and effective way to find and count cool, low-entropy cores and hot, high-entropy outskirts out to z~2. Such counts will tell the timing and the mode of the processes that drive the evolution of the ICM from the distant to the local cluster population.
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Obtaining non-linear galaxy bias constraints from galaxy-lensing phase differences: We demonstrate the utility and constraining power of a new statistic for investigating galaxy bias: the galaxy-lensing phase difference. The statistic consists in taking the differences of the phases of the harmonic wave-modes between the weak lensing convergence field and the galaxy count field. We use dark matter simulations populated with galaxies up to redshift $z=1$ to test the performance of this estimator. We find that phase differences are sensitive to the absolute value of the second order bias ($c_2=b_2/b_1$), and demonstrate why this is the case. For a $\sim$1500 sq. deg. galaxy survey we recover $c_2$ with an error of approximately $0.1$ for a wide range of $c_2$ values; current constraints from redshift surveys have errors of 0.1-0.6 depending on redshift. This new statistic is therefore expected to provide constraints for $c_2$ which are complementary and competitive with constraining power by the conventional estimators from the power spectrum and bispectrum. For the Dark Energy Survey (DES), we predict leading measurements of second-order bias.
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The QSO HE0450-2958: Scantily dressed or heavily robed? A normal quasar as part of an unusual ULIRG: (Abridged) The luminous z=0.286 quasar HE0450-2958 is interacting with a companion galaxy at 6.5 kpc distance and the whole system is a ULIRG. A so far undetected host galaxy triggered the hypothesis of a mostly "naked" black hole (BH) ejected from the companion by three-body interaction. We present new HST/NICMOS 1.6micron imaging data at 0.1" resolution and VLT/VISIR 11.3micron images at 0.35" resolution that for the first time resolve the system in the near- and mid-infrared. We combine these with existing optical HST and CO maps. (i) At 1.6micron we find an extension N-E of the quasar nucleus that is likely a part of the host galaxy, though not its main body. If true, this places HE0450-2958 directly onto the M_BH-M_bulge-relation for nearby galaxies. (ii) HE0450-2958 is consistent with lying at the high-luminosity end of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies, and more exotic explanations like a "naked quasar" are unlikely. (iii) All 11.3micron radiation in the system is emitted by the quasar nucleus, which is radiating at super-Eddington rate, L/L_Edd=6.2+3.8-1.8, or 12 M_sun/yr. (iv) The companion galaxy is covered in optically thick dust and is not a collisional ring galaxy. It emits in the far infrared at ULIRG strength, powered by Arp220-like star formation (strong starburst-like). An M82-like SED is ruled out. (v) With its black hole accretion rate HE0450-2958 produces not enough new stars to maintain its position on the M_BH-M_bulge-relation, and star formation and black hole accretion are spatially disjoint; the bulge has to grow by redistribution of preexisting stars. (vi) Systems similar to HE0450-2958 with spatially disjoint ULIRG-strength star formation and quasar activity are rare. At z<0.43 we only find <4% (3/77) candidates for a similar configuration.
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X-ray Point Sources and Radio Galaxies in Clusters of Galaxies: Using Chandra imaging spectroscopy and VLA L-band maps, we have identified radio galaxies at P(1.4 GHz) >= 3x10^{23} W Hz^{-1} and X-ray point sources (XPSs) at L(0.3-8 keV) >= 10^{42} ergs s^{-1} in 11 moderate redshift (0.2<z<0.4) clusters of galaxies. Each cluster is uniquely chosen to have a total mass similar to predicted progenitors of the present-day Coma Cluster. Within a projected radius of 1 Mpc we detect 20 radio galaxies and 8 XPSs confirmed to be cluster members above these limits. 75% of these are detected within 500 kpc of the cluster center. This result is inconsistent with a random selection from bright, red sequence ellipticals at the > 99.999% level. All but one of the XPSs are hosted by luminous ellipticals which otherwise show no other evidence for AGN activity. These objects are unlikely to be highly obscured AGN since there is no evidence for large amounts of X-ray or optical absorption. The most viable model for these sources are low luminosity BL Lac Objects. The expected numbers of lower luminosity FR 1 radio galaxies and BL Lacs in our sample converge to suggest that very deep radio and X-ray images of rich clusters will detect AGN in a large fraction of bright elliptical galaxies in the inner 500 kpc. Because both the radio galaxies and the XPSs possess relativistic jets, they can inject heat into the ICM. Using the most recent scalings of P_jet ~ L_radio^{0.5} from Birzan et al. (2008), radio sources weaker than our luminosity limit probably contribute the majority of the heat to the ICM. If a majority of ICM heating is due to large numbers of low power radio sources, triggered into activity by the increasing ICM density as they move inward, this may be the feedback mechanism necessary to stabilize cooling in cluster cores.
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The impact of baryons on the matter power spectrum from the Horizon-AGN cosmological hydrodynamical simulation: Accurate cosmology from upcoming weak lensing surveys relies on knowledge of the total matter power spectrum at percent level at scales $k < 10$ $h$/Mpc, for which modelling the impact of baryonic physics is crucial. We compare measurements of the total matter power spectrum from the Horizon cosmological hydrodynamical simulations: a dark matter-only run, one with full baryonic physics, and another lacking Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback. Baryons cause a suppression of power at $k\simeq 10$ $h/$Mpc of $<15\%$ at $z=0$, and an enhancement of a factor of a few at smaller scales due to the more efficient cooling and star formation. The results are sensitive to the presence of the highest mass haloes in the simulation and the distribution of dark matter is also impacted up to a few percent. The redshift evolution of the effect is non-monotonic throughout $z=0-5$ due to an interplay between AGN feedback and gas pressure, and the growth of structure. We investigate the effectiveness of an analytic `baryonic correction model' in describing our results. We require a different redshift evolution and propose an alternative fitting function with $4$ free parameters that reproduces our results within $5\%$. Compared to other simulations, we find the impact of baryonic processes on the total matter power spectrum to be smaller at $z=0$. Correspondingly, our results suggest that AGN feedback is not strong enough in the simulation. Total matter power spectra from the Horizon simulations are made publicly available at https://www.horizon-simulation.org/catalogues.html
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A simple model linking galaxy and dark matter evolution: We construct a simple phenomenological model for the evolving galaxy population by incorporating pre-defined baryonic prescriptions into a dark matter hierarchical merger tree. Specifically the model is based on the simple gas-regulator model introduced by Lilly et al. 2013 coupled with the empirical quenching rules of Peng et al. 2010/12. The simplest model already does quite well in reproducing, without re-adjusting the input parameters, many observables including the Main Sequence sSFR-mass relation, the faint end slope of the galaxy mass function and the shape of the star-forming and passive mass functions. Compared with observations and/or the recent phenomenological model of Behroozi et al. 2013 based on epoch-dependent abundance-matching, our model also qualitatively reproduces the evolution of the Main Sequence sSFR(z) and SFRD(z) star formation rate density relations, the $M_s - M_h$ stellar-to-halo mass relation and also the $SFR - M_h$ relation. Quantitatively the evolution of sSFR(z) and SFRD(z) is not steep enough, the $M_s - M_h$ relation is not quite peaked enough and, surprisingly, the ratio of quenched to star-forming galaxies around M* is not quite high enough. We show that these deficiencies can simultaneously be solved by ad hoc allowing galaxies to re-ingest some of the gas previously expelled in winds, provided that this is done in a mass-dependent and epoch-dependent way. These allow the model galaxies to reduce an inherent tendency to saturate their star-formation efficiency. This emphasizes how efficient galaxies around M* are in converting baryons into stars and highlights the fact that quenching occurs just at the point when galaxies are rapidly approaching the maximum possible efficiency of converting baryons into stars.
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Lensing constraints on ultradense dark matter halos: Cosmological observations precisely measure primordial variations in the density of the Universe at megaparsec and larger scales, but much smaller scales remain poorly constrained. However, sufficiently large initial perturbations at small scales can lead to an abundance of ultradense dark matter minihalos that form during the radiation epoch and survive into the late-time Universe. Because of their early formation, these objects can be compact enough to produce detectable microlensing signatures. We investigate whether the EROS, OGLE, and HSC surveys can probe these halos by fully accounting for finite source size and extended lens effects. We find that current data may already constrain the amplitudes of primordial curvature perturbations in a new region of parameter space, but this conclusion is strongly sensitive to yet undetermined details about the internal structures of these ultradense halos. Under optimistic assumptions, current and future HSC data would constrain a power spectrum that features an enhancement at scales $k \sim 10^7/{\rm Mpc}$, and an amplitude as low as $\mathcal{P}_\zeta\simeq 10^{-4}$ may be accessible. This is a particularly interesting regime because it connects to primordial black hole formation in a portion of the LIGO/Virgo/Kagra mass range and the production of scalar-induced gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency range reachable by pulsar timing arrays. These prospects motivate further study of the ultradense halo formation scenario to clarify their internal structures.
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An updated Gamma Ray Bursts Hubble diagram: Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have recently attracted much attention as a possible way to extend the Hubble diagram to very high redshift. To this aim, the luminosity (or isotropic emitted energy) of a GRB at redshift z must be evaluated from a correlation with a distance independent quantity so that one can then solve for the luminosity distance D_L(z) and hence the distance modulus mu(z). Averaging over five different two parameters correlations and using a fiducial cosmological model to calibrate them, Schaefer (2007) has compiled a sample of 69 GRBs with measured mu(z) which has since then been widely used to constrain cosmological parameters. We update here that sample by many aspects. First, we add a recently found correlation for the X - ray afterglow and use a Bayesian inspired fitting method to calibrate the different GRBs correlations known insofar assuming a fiducial LCDM model in agreement with the recent WMAP5 data. Averaging over six correlations, we end with a new GRBs Hubble diagram comprising 83 objects. We also extensively explore the impact of varying the fiducial cosmological model considering how the estimated mu(z) change as a function of the $(\Omega_M, w_0, w_a)$ parameters of the Chevallier - Polarski - Linder phenomenological dark energy equation of state. In order to avoid the need of assuming an {\it a priori} cosmological model, we present a new calibration procedure based on a model independent local regression estimate of mu(z) using the Union SNeIa sample to calibrate the GRBs correlations. This finally gives us a GRBs Hubble diagram made out of 69 GRBs whose estimated distance modulus mu(z) is almost independent on the underlying cosmological model.
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Explaining Excess Dipole in NVSS Data Using Superhorizon Perturbation: Many observations in recent times have shown evidence against the standard assumption of isotropy in the Big Bang model. Introducing a superhorizon scalar metric perturbation has been able to explain some of these anomalies. In this work, we probe the net velocity arising due to the perturbation. We find that this extra component does not contribute to the CMB dipole amplitude while it does contribute to the dipole in large scale structures. Thus, within this model's framework, our velocity with respect to the large scale structure is not the same as that extracted from the CMB dipole, assuming it to be of purely kinematic origin. Taking this extra velocity component into account, we study the superhorizon mode's implications for the excess dipole observed in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). We find that the mode can consistently explain both the CMB and NVSS observations. We also find that the model leads to small contributions to the local bulk flow and the dipole in Hubble parameter, which are consistent with observations. The model leads to several predictions which can be tested in future surveys. In particular, it implies that the observed dipole in large scale structure should be redshift dependent and should show an increase in amplitude with redshift. We also find that the Hubble parameter should show a dipole anisotropy whose amplitude must increase with redshift in the CMB frame. Similar anisotropic behaviour is expected for the observed redshift as a function of the luminosity distance.
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Direct detection of galaxy stellar halos : NGC 3957 as a test case: We present a direct detection of the stellar halo of the edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 3957, using ultra-deep VLT/VIMOS V and R images. This is achieved with a sky subtraction strategy based on infrared techniques. These observations allow us to reach unprecedented high signal-to-noise ratios up to 15 kpc away from the galaxy center, rendering photon-noise negligible. The 1 sigma detection limits are R = 30.6 mag/arcsec^2 and V = 31.4 mag/arcsec^2. We conduct a thorough analysis of the possible sources of systematic errors that could affect the data: flat-fielding, differences in CCD responses, scaling of the sky background, the extended halo itself, and PSF wings. We conclude that the V-R colour of the NGC 3957 halo, calculated between 5 and 8 kpc above the disc plane where the systematic errors are modest, is consistent with an old and preferentially metal-poor normal stellar population, like that revealed in nearby galaxy halos from studies of their resolved stellar content. We do not find support for the extremely red colours found in earlier studies of diffuse halo emission, which we suggest might have been due to residual systematic errors.
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Mass of the universe in a black hole: If spacetime torsion couples to the intrinsic spin of matter according to the Einstein-Cartan-Sciama-Kibble theory of gravity, then the resulting gravitational repulsion at supranuclear densities prevents the formation of singularities in black holes. Consequently, the interior of every black hole becomes a new universe that expands from a nonsingular bounce. We consider gravitational collapse of fermionic spin-fluid matter with the stiff equation of state in a stellar black hole. Such a collapse increases the mass of the matter, which occurs through the Parker-Zel'dovich-Starobinskii quantum particle production in strong, anisotropic gravitational fields. The subsequent pair annihilation changes the stiff matter into an ultrarelativistic fluid. We show that the universe in a black hole of mass $M_\textrm{BH}$ at the bounce has a mass $M_\textrm{b}\sim M^2_\textrm{BH} m^{1/2}_\textrm{n}/m^{3/2}_\textrm{Pl}$, where $m_\textrm{n}$ is the mass of a neutron and $m_\textrm{Pl}$ is the reduced Planck mass. For a typical stellar black hole, $M_\textrm{b}$ is about $10^{32}$ solar masses, which is $10^6$ larger than the mass of our Universe. As the relativistic black-hole universe expands, its mass decreases until the universe becomes dominated by nonrelativistic heavy particles.
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C-GOALS: Chandra observations of a complete sample of luminous infrared galaxies from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Survey: We present X-ray data for a complete sample of 44 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These are the X-ray observations of the high luminosity portion of the Great Observatory All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), which includes the most luminous infrared selected galaxies, log (Lir/Lsun) > 11.73, in the local universe, z < 0.088. X-rays were detected from 43 out of 44 objects, and their arcsec-resolution images, spectra, and radial brightness distributions are presented. With a selection by hard X-ray colour and the 6.4 keV iron line, AGN are found in 37% of the objects, with higher luminosity sources more likely to contain an AGN. These AGN also tend to be found in late-stage mergers. The AGN fraction would increase to 48% if objects with mid-IR [Ne V] detection are included. Double AGN are clearly detected only in NGC 6240 among 24 double/triple systems. Other AGN are found either in single nucleus objects or in one of the double nuclei at similar rates. Objects without conventional X-ray signatures of AGN appear to be hard X-ray quiet, relative to the X-ray to far-IR correlation for starburst galaxies, as discussed elsewhere. Most objects also show extended soft X-ray emission, which is likely related to an outflow from the nuclear region, with a metal abundance pattern suggesting enrichment by core collapse supernovae, as expected for a starburst.
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Improving the Estimation of Star formation Rates and Stellar Population Ages of High-redshift Galaxies from Broadband Photometry: We explore methods to improve the estimates of star formation rates and mean stellar population ages from broadband photometry of high redshift star-forming galaxies. We use synthetic spectral templates with a variety of simple parametric star formation histories to fit broadband spectral energy distributions. These parametric models are used to infer ages, star formation rates and stellar masses for a mock data set drawn from a hierarchical semi-analytic model of galaxy evolution. Traditional parametric models generally assume an exponentially declining rate of star-formation after an initial instantaneous rise. Our results show that star formation histories with a much more gradual rise in the star formation rate are likely to be better templates, and are likely to give better overall estimates of the age distribution and star formation rate distribution of Lyman break galaxies. For B- and V-dropouts, we find the best simple parametric model to be one where the star formation rate increases linearly with time. The exponentially-declining model overpredicts the age by 100 % and 120 % for B- and V-dropouts, on average, while for a linearly-increasing model, the age is overpredicted by 9 % and 16 %, respectively. Similarly, the exponential model underpredicts star-formation rates by 56 % and 60 %, while the linearly-increasing model underpredicts by 15 % 22 %, respectively. For U-dropouts, the models where the star-formation rate has a peak (near z ~ 3) provide the best match for age -- overprediction is reduced from 110 % to 26 % -- and star-formation rate -- underprediction is reduced from 58 % to 22 %. We classify different types of star-formation histories in the semi-analytic models and show how the biases behave for the different classes. We also provide two-band calibration formulae for stellar mass and star formation rate estimations.
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MOND effects in the inner solar system: I pinpoint a previously unrecognized MOND effect that may act in the inner solar system, and is due to the galactic acceleration, g_g=eta*a0: a byproduct of the MOND external-field effect. Predictions of the effect are not generic to the MOND paradigm, but depend on the particular MOND formulation at hand. However, the modified-Poisson formulation, on which I concentrate, uniquely predicts a subtle anomaly that may be detected in planetary and spacecraft motions (and perhaps in other precision systems, such as binary pulsars), despite their very high accelerations, and even if the MOND interpolating function is arbitrarily close to unity at high accelerations. Near the sun, this anomaly appears as a quadrupole field, with the acceleration at position u from the sun being g_i(u)=-q_{ij}u^j, with q_{ij} diagonal, axisymmetric, and traceless: -2q_{xx}=-2q_{yy}=q_{zz}=q(eta)*(a0/R_M), where R_M=(MG/a0)^{1/2}=8*10^3 au is the MOND radius of the sun. The anomaly is described and analyzed as the Newtonian field of the fictitious cloud of ``phantom matter'' that hovers around the sun. I find, for the relevant range of eta values, and for a range of interpolating functions, mu(x), values of 10^{-2}<-q< 0.3, which turn out to be sensitive to the form of mu(x) around the MOND-to-Newtonian transition. This range verges on the present bounds from solar system measurements. There might thus exist favorable prospects for either measuring the effect, or constraining the theory and the relevant parameters.
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The Habitable Epoch of the Early Universe: In the redshift range 100<(1+z)<137, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) had a temperature of 273-373K (0-100 degrees Celsius), allowing early rocky planets (if any existed) to have liquid water chemistry on their surface and be habitable, irrespective of their distance from a star. In the standard LCDM cosmology, the first star-forming halos within our Hubble volume started collapsing at these redshifts, allowing the chemistry of life to possibly begin when the Universe was merely 10-17 million years old. The possibility of life starting when the average matter density was a million times bigger than it is today argues against the anthropic explanation for the low value of the cosmological constant.
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Turbocharging constraints on dark matter substructure through a synthesis of strong lensing flux ratios and extended lensed arcs: Strong gravitational lensing provides a purely gravitational means to infer properties of dark matter halos and thereby constrain the particle nature of dark matter. Strong lenses sometimes appear as four lensed images of a background quasar accompanied by spatially-resolved emission from the quasar host galaxy encircling the main deflector (lensed arcs). We present methodology to simultaneously reconstruct lensed arcs and relative image magnifications (flux ratios) in the presence of full populations of dark matter subhalos and line-of-sight halos. To this end, we develop a new approach for multi-plane ray tracing that accelerates lens mass and source light reconstruction by factors of $\sim 100-1000$. Using simulated data with a cold dark matter (CDM) ground truth, we show that simultaneous reconstruction of lensed arcs and flux ratios isolates small-scale perturbations to flux ratios by dark matter substructure from uncertainties associated with the main deflector mass profile on larger angular scales. Relative to analyses that use only image positions and flux ratios to constrain the lens model, incorporating arcs strengthens likelihood ratios penalizing warm dark matter (WDM) with a characteristic suppression scale $m_{\rm{hm}} / M_{\odot}$ in the range $\left[10^7 - 10^{7.5}\right]$, $\left[10^{7.5} - 10^{8}\right]$, $\left[10^8 - 10^{8.5}\right]$, $\left[10^{8.5} - 10^{9}\right]$ by factors of $1.3$, $2.5$, $5.6$, and $13.1$, respectively, and the $95\%$ exclusion limit improves by 0.5 dex in $\log_{10} m_{\rm{hm}}$. The enhanced sensitivity to low-mass halos enabled by these methods pushes the observational frontier of substructure lensing to the threshold of galaxy formation, enabling stringent tests of any theory that alters the properties of dark matter halos.
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FAST-PT II: an algorithm to calculate convolution integrals of general tensor quantities in cosmological perturbation theory: Cosmological perturbation theory is a powerful tool to predict the statistics of large-scale structure in the weakly non-linear regime, but even at 1-loop order it results in computationally expensive mode-coupling integrals. Here we present a fast algorithm for computing 1-loop power spectra of quantities that depend on the observer's orientation, thereby generalizing the FAST-PT framework (McEwen et al., 2016) that was originally developed for scalars such as the matter density. This algorithm works for an arbitrary input power spectrum and substantially reduces the time required for numerical evaluation. We apply the algorithm to four examples: intrinsic alignments of galaxies in the tidal torque model; the Ostriker-Vishniac effect; the secondary CMB polarization due to baryon flows; and the 1-loop matter power spectrum in redshift space. Code implementing this algorithm and these applications is publicly available at https://github.com/JoeMcEwen/FAST-PT .
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Cosmological neutrino entropy changes due to flavor statistical mixing: Entropy changes due to delocalization and decoherence effects should modify the predictions for the cosmological neutrino background (C$\nu$B) temperature when one treats neutrino flavors in the framework of composite quantum systems. Assuming that the final stage of neutrino interactions with the $\gamma e^{-}e^{+}$ radiation plasma before decoupling works as a measurement scheme that projects neutrinos into flavor quantum states, the resulting free-streaming neutrinos can be described as a statistical ensemble of flavor-mixed neutrinos. Even not corresponding to an electronic-flavor pure state, after decoupling the statistical ensemble is described by a density matrix that evolves in time with the full Hamiltonian accounting for flavor mixing, momentum delocalization and, in case of an open quantum system approach, decoherence effects. Since the statistical weights, $w$, shall follow the electron elastic scattering cross section rapport given by $0.16\,w_{e} = w_{\mu} = w_{\tau}$, the von-Neumann entropy will deserve some special attention. Depending on the quantum measurement scheme used for quantifying the entropy, mixing associated to dissipative effects can lead to an increasing of the flavor associated von-Neumann entropy for free-streaming neutrinos. The production of von-Neumann entropy mitigates the constraints on the predictions for energy densities and temperatures of a cosmologically evolving isentropic fluid, in this case, the cosmological neutrino background. The effects of entropy changes on the cosmological neutrino temperature are quantified, and the {\em constraint} involving the number of neutrino species, $N_{\nu} \approx 3$, in the phenomenological confront with Big Bang nucleosynthesis parameters is consistently relieved.
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GRB Probes of the High-z Universe with EXIST: The Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST) mission concept is optimized for study of high-z GRBs as probes of the early Universe. With a High Energy Telescope (HET) incorporating a 4.5m^2 5-600keV (CZT; 0.6mm pixels) detector plane for coded aperture imaging a 90deg x 70deg (>10% coding fraction) field of view with 2' resolution and <20" (90% conf.) positions for >5 sigma sources, EXIST will perform rapid (<200sec) slews onto GRBs. Prompt images and spectra are obtained with a co-aligned soft X-ray telescope (SXI; 0.1 - 10keV) and with a 1.1m optical-IR telescope (IRT) simultaneously in 4 bands (0.3 - 0.52micron, 0.52 - 0.9micron, 0.9 - 1.38micron, and 1.38 - 2.3micron). An initial image (100s) will yield prompt identification within the HET error circle from a <2" prompt SXI position; or from VIS vs. IR dropouts or variability. An autonomous spacecraft re-point (<30") will then put the GRB on a 0.3" x 4" slit for either R = 3000 (for AB <21) or R =30 (for AB ~21-25) prompt spectra over the 0.3 - 0.9 micron and 0.9 - 2.3 micron bands. This will provide onboard redshifts within ~500-2000sec for most GRBs, reaching z ~20 (for Lyman-alpha breaks) if such GRBs exist, and spectra for studies of the host galaxy and local re-ionization patchiness as well as intervening cosmic structure. With ~600 GRBs/yr expected, including ~7-10% expected at z >7, EXIST will open a new era in studies of the early Universe as well as carry out a rich program of AGN and transient-source science. An overview of the GRB science objectives and a brief discussion of the overall mission design and operations is given, and example high-z GRB IRT spectra are shown. EXIST is being proposed to the Astro2010 Decadal Survey as a 5 year Medium Class mission that could be launched as early as 2017.
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HSC Year 1 cosmology results with the minimal bias method: HSC$\times$BOSS galaxy-galaxy weak lensing and BOSS galaxy clustering: We present cosmological parameter constraints from a blinded joint analysis of galaxy-galaxy weak lensing, $\Delta\!\Sigma(R)$, and projected correlation function, $w_\mathrm{p}(R)$, measured from the first-year HSC (HSC-Y1) data and SDSS spectroscopic galaxies over $0.15<z<0.7$. We use luminosity-limited samples as lens samples for $\Delta\!\Sigma$ and as large-scale structure tracers for $w_\mathrm{p}$ in three redshift bins, and use the HSC-Y1 galaxy catalog to define a secure sample of source galaxies at $z_\mathrm{ph}>0.75$ for the $\Delta\!\Sigma$ measurements, selected based on their photometric redshifts. For theoretical template, we use the "minimal bias" model for the cosmological clustering observables for the flat $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model. We compare the model predictions with the measurements in each redshift bin on large scales, $R>12$ and $8~h^{-1}\mathrm{Mpc}$ for $\Delta\!\Sigma(R)$ and $w_\mathrm{p}(R)$, respectively, where the perturbation theory-inspired model is valid. When we employ weak priors on cosmological parameters, without CMB information, we find $S_8=0.936^{+0.092}_{-0.086}$, $\sigma_8=0.85^{+0.16}_{-0.11}$, and $\Omega_\mathrm{m}=0.283^{+0.12}_{-0.035}$ for the flat $\Lambda$CDM model. Although the central value of $S_8$ appears to be larger than those inferred from other cosmological experiments, we find that the difference is consistent with expected differences due to sample variance, and our results are consistent with the other results to within the statistical uncertainties. (abriged)
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Phenomenology of fermion production during axion inflation: We study the production of fermions through a derivative coupling with a pseudoscalar inflaton and the effects of the produced fermions on the scalar primordial perturbations. We present analytic results for the modification of the scalar power spectrum due to the produced fermions, and we estimate the amplitude of the non-Gaussianities in the equilateral regime. Remarkably, we find a regime where the effect of the fermions gives the dominant contribution to the scalar spectrum while the amplitude of the bispectrum is small and in agreement with observation. We also note the existence of a regime in which the backreaction of the fermions on the evolution of the zero-mode of the inflaton can lead to inflation even if the potential of the inflaton is steep and does not satisfy the slow-roll conditions.
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Snowmass2021 CMB-HD White Paper: CMB-HD is a proposed millimeter-wave survey over half the sky that would be ultra-deep (0.5 uK-arcmin) and have unprecedented resolution (15 arcseconds at 150 GHz). Such a survey would answer many outstanding questions about the fundamental physics of the Universe. Major advances would be 1.) the use of gravitational lensing of the primordial microwave background to map the distribution of matter on small scales (k~10 h Mpc^(-1)), which probes dark matter particle properties. It will also allow 2.) measurements of the thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects on small scales to map the gas density and velocity, another probe of cosmic structure. In addition, CMB-HD would allow us to cross critical thresholds: 3.) ruling out or detecting any new, light (< 0.1 eV) particles that were in thermal equilibrium with known particles in the early Universe, 4.) testing a wide class of multi-field models that could explain an epoch of inflation in the early Universe, and 5.) ruling out or detecting inflationary magnetic fields. CMB-HD would also provide world-leading constraints on 6.) axion-like particles, 7.) cosmic birefringence, 8.) the sum of the neutrino masses, and 9.) the dark energy equation of state. The CMB-HD survey would be delivered in 7.5 years of observing 20,000 square degrees of sky, using two new 30-meter-class off-axis crossed Dragone telescopes to be located at Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert. Each telescope would field 800,000 detectors (200,000 pixels), for a total of 1.6 million detectors.
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Primordial magnetic fields in the $f^{2}FF$ model in large field inflation under de Sitter and power law expansion: We use the $f^{2}FF$ model to study the generation of primordial magnetic fields (PMF) in the context of large field inflation (LFI), described by the potential, $V \sim M \phi^{p}$. We compute the magnetic and electric spectra for all possible values of the model parameters under de Sitter and power law expansion. We show that scale invariant PMF are not obtained in LFI to first order in the slow roll approximation, if we impose the constraint $V(\phi=0)\sim 0$. Alternatively, if these constraints are relaxed, the scale invariant PMF can be generated. The associated electric field energy can fall below the energy density of inflation, $\rho_{\rm{Inf}}$ for the ranges of comoving wavenumbers, $ k > 8 \times 10^{-7} \rm{Mpc^{-1}}$ and $ k > 4 \times 10^{-6} \rm{Mpc^{-1}}$ in de Sitter and power law (PL) expansion. Further, it can drop below $\rho_{\rm{Inf}}$ on the ranges, e-foldings $N > 51$, $p<1.66$, $p >2.03$, $l_0 > 3 \times 10^5 {M_{\rm{Pl}}}^{-1} (H_i < 3.3 \times 10^{-6} M_{\rm{Pl}})$, and $M > 2.8 \times 10^{-3} M_{\rm{Pl}}$. All of the above ranges fit with the observational constraints.
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Revealing modified gravity signal in matter and halo hierarchical clustering: We use a set of N-body simulations employing a modified gravity (MG) model with Vainshtein screening to study matter and halo hierarchical clustering. As test-case scenarios we consider two normal branch Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (nDGP) gravity models with mild and strong growth rate enhancement. We study higher-order correlation functions $\xi_n(R)$ up to $n=9$ and associated hierarchical amplitudes $S_n(R)\equiv\xi_n(R)/\sigma(R)^{2n-2}$. We find that the matter PDFs are strongly affected by the fifth-force on scales up to $50h^{-1}$Mpc, and the deviations from GR are maximised at $z=0$. For reduced cumulants $S_n$, we find that at small scales $R\leq10h^{-1}$Mpc the MG is characterised by lower values, with the deviation growing from $7\%$ in the reduced skewness up to even $40\%$ in $S_5$. To study the halo clustering we use a simple abundance matching and divide haloes into thee fixed number density samples. The halo two-point functions are weakly affected, with a relative boost of the order of a few percent appearing only at the smallest pair separations ($r\leq 5h^{-1}$Mpc). In contrast, we find a strong MG signal in $S_n(R)$'s, which are enhanced compared to GR. The strong model exhibits a $>3\sigma$ level signal at various scales for all halo samples and in all cumulants. In this context, we find that the reduced kurtosis to be an especially promising cosmological probe of MG. Even the mild nDGP model leaves a $3\sigma$ imprint at small scales $R\leq3h^{-1}$Mpc, while the stronger model deviates from a GR-signature at nearly all scales with a significance of $>5\sigma$. Since the signal is persistent in all halo samples and over a range of scales, we advocate that the reduced kurtosis estimated from galaxy catalogues can potentially constitute a strong MG-model discriminatory as well as GR self-consistency test.
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New insight on galaxy structure from GALPHAT I. Motivation, methodology, and benchmarks for Sersic models: We introduce a new galaxy image decomposition tool, GALPHAT (GALaxy PHotometric ATtributes), to provide full posterior probability distributions and reliable confidence intervals for all model parameters. GALPHAT is designed to yield a high speed and accurate likelihood computation, using grid interpolation and Fourier rotation. We benchmark this approach using an ensemble of simulated Sersic model galaxies over a wide range of observational conditions: the signal-to-noise ratio S/N, the ratio of galaxy size to the PSF and the image size, and errors in the assumed PSF; and a range of structural parameters: the half-light radius $r_e$ and the Sersic index $n$. We characterise the strength of parameter covariance in Sersic model, which increases with S/N and $n$, and the results strongly motivate the need for the full posterior probability distribution in galaxy morphology analyses and later inferences. The test results for simulated galaxies successfully demonstrate that, with a careful choice of Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms and fast model image generation, GALPHAT is a powerful analysis tool for reliably inferring morphological parameters from a large ensemble of galaxies over a wide range of different observational conditions. (abridged)
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Probing Physics Beyond the Standard Model: Limits from BBN and the CMB Independently and Combined: We present new Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) limits on the cosmic expansion rate or relativistic energy density, quantified via the number $N_\nu$ of equivalent neutrino species. We use the latest light element observations, neutron mean lifetime, and update our evaluation for the nuclear rates $d+d \rightarrow He3 + n$ and $d+d \rightarrow H3 + p$. Combining this result with the independent constraints from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) yields tight limits on new physics that perturbs $N_\nu$ and $\eta$ prior to cosmic nucleosynthesis: a joint BBN+CMB analysis gives $N_\nu = 2.898 \pm 0.141$, resulting in $N_\nu < 3.180$ at $2\sigma$. We apply these limits to a wide variety of new physics scenarios including right-handed neutrinos, dark radiation, and a stochastic gravitational wave background. We also search for limits on potential {\em changes} in $N_\nu$ and/or the baryon-to-photon ratio $\eta$ between the two epochs. The present data place strong constraints on the allowed changes in $N_\nu$ between BBN and CMB decoupling; for example, we find $-0.708 < N_\nu^{\rm CMB}-N_\nu^{\rm BBN} < 0.328$ in the case where $\eta$ and the primordial helium mass fraction $Y_p$ are unchanged between the two epochs; we also give limits on the allowed variations in $\eta$ or in $(\eta,N_\nu)$ jointly. Looking to the future, we forecast the tightened precision for $N_\nu$ arising from both CMB Stage 4 measurements as well as improvements in astronomical \he4 measurements. We find that CMB-S4 combined with present BBN and light element observation precision can give $\sigma(N_\nu) \simeq 0.03$. Such future precision would reveal the expected effect of neutrino heating ($N_{\rm eff}-3=0.044$) of the CMB during BBN, and would be near the level to reveal any particle species ever in thermal equilibrium with the standard model.
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Discovering a new well: Decaying dark matter with profile likelihoods: A large number of studies, all using Bayesian parameter inference from Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods, have constrained the presence of a decaying dark matter component. All such studies find a strong preference for either very long-lived or very short-lived dark matter. However, in this letter, we demonstrate that this preference is due to parameter volume effects that drive the model towards the standard $\Lambda$CDM model, which is known to provide a good fit to most observational data. Using profile likelihoods, which are free from volume effects, we instead find that the best-fitting parameters are associated with an intermediate regime where around $3 \%$ of cold dark matter decays just prior to recombination. With two additional parameters, the model yields an overall preference over the $\Lambda$CDM model of $\Delta \chi^2 \approx -2.8$ with \textit{Planck} and BAO and $\Delta \chi^2 \approx -7.8$ with the SH0ES $H_0$ measurement, while only slightly alleviating the $H_0$ tension. Ultimately, our results reveal that decaying dark matter is more viable than previously assumed, and illustrate the dangers of relying exclusively on Bayesian parameter inference when analysing extensions to the $\Lambda$CDM model.
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relensing: Reconstructing the mass profile of galaxy clusters from gravitational lensing: In this work we present relensing, a package written in python whose goal is to model galaxy clusters from gravitational lensing. With relensing we extend the amount of software available, which provides the scientific community with a wide range of models that help to compare and therefore validate the physical results that rely on them. We implement a free-form approach which computes the gravitational deflection potential on an adaptive irregular grid, from which one can characterize the cluster and its properties as a gravitational lens. Here, we use two alternative penalty functions to constrain strong lensing. We apply relensing to two toy models, in order to explore under which conditions one can get a better performance in the reconstruction. We find that by applying a smoothing to the deflection potential, we are able to increase the capability of this approach to recover the shape and size of the mass profile of galaxy clusters, as well as its magnification map. This translates into a better estimation of the critical and caustic curves. The power that the smoothing provides is also tested on the simulated clusters Ares and Hera, for which we get an rms on the lens plane of ~0.17 arcsec and ~0.16 arcsec, respectively. Our results represent an improvement with respect to reconstructions that were carried out with methods of the same nature as relensing. At the same time, the smoothing also increases the stability of our implementation, and decreases the computation time. In its current state, relensing is available upon request.
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Lensed Type Ia Supernovae as Probes of Cluster Mass Models: Using three magnified Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) detected behind CLASH clusters, we perform a first pilot study to see whether standardizable candles can be used to calibrate cluster mass maps created from strong lensing observations. Such calibrations will be crucial when next generation HST cluster surveys (e.g. FRONTIER) provide magnification maps that will, in turn, form the basis for the exploration of the high redshift Universe. We classify SNe using combined photometric and spectroscopic observations, finding two of the three to be clearly of type SN Ia and the third probable. The SNe exhibit significant amplification, up to a factor of 1.7 at $\sim5\sigma$ significance (SN-L2). We conducted this as a blind study to avoid fine tuning of parameters, finding a mean amplification difference between SNe and the cluster lensing models of $0.09 \pm 0.09^{stat} \pm 0.05^{sys}$ mag. This impressive agreement suggests no tension between cluster mass models and high redshift standardized SNe Ia. However, the measured statistical dispersion of $\sigma_{\mu}=0.21$ mag appeared large compared to the dispersion expected based on statistical uncertainties ($0.14$). Further work with the supernova and cluster lensing models, post unblinding, reduced the measured dispersion to $\sigma_{\mu}=0.12$. An explicit choice should thus be made as to whether SNe are used unblinded to improve the model, or blinded to test the model. As the lensed SN samples grow larger, this technique will allow improved constraints on assumptions regarding e.g. the structure of the dark matter halo.
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An ALMA survey of Sub-millimetre Galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South: Detection of [C II] at z=4.4: We present ALMA 870-um (345GHz) observations of two sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) drawn from an ALMA study of the 126 sub-millimeter sources from the LABOCA Extended Chandra Deep Field South Survey (LESS). The ALMA data identify the counterparts to these previously unidentified sub-millimeter sources and serendipitously detect bright emission lines in their spectra which we show are most likely to be [C II]157.74um emission yielding redshifts of z=4.42 and z=4.44. This blind detection rate within the 7.5-GHz bandpass of ALMA is consistent with the previously derived photometric redshift distribution of SMGs and suggests a modest, but not dominant (<25%), tail of 870-um selected SMGs at z>4. We find that the ratio of L_CII/L_FIR in these SMGs is much higher than seen for similarly far-infrared-luminous galaxies at z~0, which is attributed to the more extended gas reservoirs in these high-redshift ULIRGs. Indeed, in one system we show that the [C II] emission shows hints of extended emission on >3kpc scales. Finally, we use the volume probed by our ALMA survey to show that the bright end of the [C II] luminosity function evolves strongly between z=0 and z~4.4, reflecting the increased ISM cooling in galaxies as a result of their higher star-formation rates. These observations demonstrate that even with short integrations, ALMA is able to detect the dominant fine structure cooling lines from high-redshift ULIRGs, measure their energetics and trace their evolution with redshift.
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A Very Large ($θ_{E}\gtrsim40$") Strong Gravitational Lens Selected with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Effect: PLCK G287.0+32.9 ($z$ = 0.38): Since galaxy clusters sit at the high-end of the mass function, the number of galaxy clusters both massive and concentrated enough to yield particularly large Einstein radii poses useful constraints on cosmological and structure formation models. To date, less than a handful of clusters are known to have Einstein radii exceeding $\sim40$" (for a source at $z_{s}\simeq2$, nominally). Here, we report an addition to that list of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) selected cluster, PLCK G287.0+32.9 ($z=0.38$), the second-highest SZ-mass ($M_{500}$) cluster from the Planck catalog. We present the first strong lensing analysis of the cluster, identifying 20 sets of multiply-imaged galaxies and candidates in new \emph{Hubble Space Telescope} data, including a long, $l\sim22$" giant arc, as well as a quadruply-imaged, apparently bright (magnified to J$_{F110W}=$25.3 AB), likely high-redshift dropout galaxy at $z_{phot}=6.90$ [6.13--8.43] (95\% C.I.). Our analysis reveals a very large critical area (1.55 arcmin$^{2}$, $z_{s}\simeq2$), corresponding to an effective Einstein radius of $\theta_{E}\sim42$". The model suggests the critical area will expand to 2.58 arcmin$^{2}$ ($\theta_{E}\sim54$") for sources at $z_{s}\sim10$. Our work adds to recent efforts to model very massive clusters towards the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, in order to identify the most useful cosmic lenses for studying the early Universe. Spectroscopic redshifts for the multiply-imaged galaxies and additional HST data will be necessary for refining the lens model and verifying the nature of the $z\sim7$ dropout.
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Cosmic Filaments from Cosmic Strings: Cosmic strings are generically predicted in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle physics. We propose a new avenue for detecting cosmic strings through their effect on the filamentary structure in the cosmic web. Using cosmological simulations of the density wake from a cosmic string, we examine a variety of filament structure probes. We show that the largest effect of the cosmic string is an overdensity in the filament distribution around the string wake. The signal from the overdensity is stronger at higher redshift, and more robust with a wider field. We analyze the spatial distribution of filaments from a publicly available catalog of filaments built from SDSS galaxies. With existing data, we find no evidence for the presence of a cosmic string wake with string tension parameter $G\mu$ above $5\times 10^{-6}$. However, we project WFIRST will be able to detect a signal from such a wake at the $99\%$ confidence level at redshift $z=2$, with significantly higher confidence and the possibility of probing lower tensions ($G\mu \sim 10^{-6}$), at $z=10$. The sensitivity of this method is not competitive with constraints derived from the CMB. However, it provides an independent discovery channel at low redshift, which could be a smoking-gun in scenarios where the CMB bound can be weakened.
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LoCuSS: The Mass Density Profile of Massive Galaxy Clusters at z=0.2: We present a stacked weak-lensing analysis of an approximately mass-selected sample of 50 galaxy clusters at 0.15<z<0.3, based on observations with Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope. We develop a new method for selecting lensed background galaxies from which we estimate that our sample of red background galaxies suffers just 1% contamination. We detect the stacked tangential shear signal from the full sample of 50 clusters, based on this red sample of background galaxies, at a total signal-to-noise ratio of S/N=32.7. The Navarro-Frenk-White model is an excellent fit to the data, yielding sub-10% statistical precision on mass and concentration: Mvir=7.19^{+0.53}_{-0.50}\times10^{14}h^{-1}Msol, cvir=5.41^{+0.49}_{-0.45} (c_{200}=4.22^{+0.40}_{-0.36}). Tests of a range of possible systematic errors, including shear calibration and stacking-related issues, indicate that they are sub-dominant to the statistical errors. The concentration parameter obtained from stacking our approximately mass-selected cluster sample is broadly in line with theoretical predictions. Moreover, the uncertainty on our measurement is comparable with the differences between the different predictions in the literature. Overall our results highlight the potential for stacked weak-lensing methods to probe the mean mass density profile of cluster-scale dark matter halos with upcoming surveys, including Hyper-Suprime-Cam, Dark Energy Survey, and KIDS.
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$Λ_{\rm s}$CDM cosmology from a type-II minimally modified gravity: We have successfully integrated $\Lambda_{\rm s}$CDM, a promising model for alleviating cosmological tensions, into a theoretical framework by endowing it with a specific Lagrangian from the VCDM model, a type-II minimally modified gravity. In this theory, we demonstrate that an auxiliary scalar field with a linear potential induces an effective cosmological constant, enabling the realization of an abrupt mirror AdS-dS transition in the late universe through a piecewise linear potential. To eliminate the sudden singularity in this setup and ensure stable transitions, we smooth out this potential. Realized within the VCDM theory, the $\Lambda_{\rm s}$CDM model facilitates two types of rapid smooth mirror AdS-dS transitions: (i) the agitated transition, associated with a smooth jump in the potential, where $\Lambda_{\rm s}$, and consequently $H$, exhibits a bump around the transition's midpoint; and (ii) the quiescent transition, associated with a smooth change in the slope of the potential, where $\Lambda_{\rm s}$ transitions gracefully. These transitions are likely to leave distinct imprints on the background and perturbation dynamics, potentially allowing the observational data to distinguish between them. This novel theoretical framework propels $\Lambda_{\rm s}$CDM into a fully predictive model capable of exploring the evolution of the Universe including the late-time AdS-dS transition epoch, and extends the applicability of the model. We believe further research is crucial in establishing $\Lambda_{\rm s}$CDM as a leading candidate or guide for a new concordance cosmological model.
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Mg II Absorption Characteristics of a Volume-Limited Sample of Galaxies at z ~ 0.1: We present an initial survey of Mg II absorption characteristics in the halos of a carefully constructed, volume-limited subsample of galaxies embedded in the spectroscopic part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We observed quasars near sightlines to 20 low-redshift (z ~ 0.1), luminous M_r <= -20.5 galaxies in SDSS DR4 and DR6 with the LRIS-B spectrograph on the Keck I telescope. The primary systematic criteria for the targeted galaxies are a redshift z >~ 0.1 and the presence of an appropriate bright background quasar within a projected 75 kpc/h of its center, although we preferentially sample galaxies with lower impact parameters and slightly more star formation within this range. Of the observed systems, six exhibit strong [EW(2796) >= 0.3 Ang.] Mg II absorption at the galaxy's redshift, six systems have upper limits which preclude strong Mg II absorption, while the remaining observations rule out very strong [EW(2796) >= 1-2 Ang] absorption. The absorbers fall at higher impact parameters than many non-absorber sightlines, indicating a covering fraction f_c <~ 0.4 for >= 0.3-Angstrom absorbers at z ~ 0.1, even at impact parameters <= 35 kpc/h (f_c ~ 0.25). The data are consistent with a possible dependence of covering fraction and/or absorption halo size on the environment or star-forming properties of the central galaxy.
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Convergence properties of fine structure constant measurements using quasar absorption systems: Searches for spacetime variations of fundamental constants have entered an era of unprecedented precision. New, high quality quasar spectra require increasingly refined analytic methods. In this article, a continuation in a series to establish robust and unbiased methodologies, we explore how convergence criteria in non-linear least squares optimisation impact on quasar absorption system measurements of the fine structure constant alpha. Given previous claims for high-precision constraints, we critically examine the veracity of a so-called ``blinding'' approach, in which alpha is fixed at the terrestrial value during the model building process, releasing it as a free parameter only after the ``final'' absorption system kinematic structure has been obtained. We show that this approach results in an extended flat canyon in chi squared-alpha space, such that convergence is unlikely to be reached, even after as many as 1000 iterations. The fix is straightforward: alpha must be treated as a free parameter from the earliest possible stages of absorption system model building. The implication of the results presented here is that all previous measurements that have used initially-fixed alpha should be reworked.
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Rastall gravity extension of the standard $Λ$CDM model: theoretical features and observational constraints: We present a detailed investigation of the Rastall gravity extension of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. We review the model for two simultaneous modifications of different nature in the Friedmann equation due to the Rastall gravity: the new contributions of the material (actual) sources (considered as effective source) and the altered evolution of the material sources. We discuss the role/behavior of these modifications with regard to some low redshift tensions, including the so-called $H_0$ tension, prevailing within the standard $\Lambda$CDM. We constrain the model at the level of linear perturbations, and obtain the first constraints through a robust and accurate analysis using the latest full Planck CMB data, with and without including BAO data. We find that the Rastall parameter $\epsilon$ (null for general relativity) is consistent with zero at 68\% CL (with a tendency towards positive values, $-0.0001 < \epsilon < 0.0007$ (CMB+BAO) at 68\% CL), which in turn implies no significant statistical evidence for deviation from general relativity, and also a precision of $\mathcal{O}(10^{-4})$ for the coefficient $-1/2$ of the term $g_{\mu\nu}R$ in the Einstein field equations of general relativity (guaranteeing the local energy-momentum conservation). We explore the consequences led by the Rastall gravity on the cosmological parameters in the light of the observational analyses. It turns out that the effective source dynamically screens the usual vacuum energy at high redshifts, but this mechanism barely works due to the opposition by the altered evolution of CDM. Consequently, two simultaneous modifications of different nature in the Friedmann equation act against each other, and do not help to considerably relax the so-called low redshift tensions. Our results may offer a guide for the research community that studies the Rastall gravity in various aspects of gravitation and cosmology.
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Improving Dark Energy Constraints with High Redshift Type Ia Supernovae from CANDELS and CLASH: Aims. We investigate the degree of improvement in dark energy constraints that can be achieved by extending Type Ia Supernova (SN Ia) samples to redshifts z > 1.5 with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), particularly in the ongoing CANDELS and CLASH multi-cycle treasury programs. Methods. Using the popular CPL parametrization of the dark energy, w = w0 +wa(1-a), we generate mock SN Ia samples that can be projected out to higher redshifts. The synthetic datasets thus generated are fitted to the CPL model, and we evaluate the improvement that a high-z sample can add in terms of ameliorating the statistical and systematic uncertainties on cosmological parameters. Results. In an optimistic but still very achievable scenario, we find that extending the HST sample beyond CANDELS+CLASH to reach a total of 28 SN Ia at z > 1.0 could improve the uncertainty in the wa parameter by up to 21%. The corresponding improvement in the figure of merit (FoM) would be as high as 28%. Finally, we consider the use of high-redshift SN Ia samples to detect non-cosmological evolution in SN Ia luminosities with redshift, finding that such tests could be undertaken by future spacebased infrared surveys using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
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Tomography-based observational measurements of the halo mass function via the submillimeter magnification bias: Aims. The main goal of this paper is to derive observational constraints on the halo mass fuction (HMF) by performing a tomographic analysis of the magnification bias signal on a sample of background submillimeter galaxies. The results can then be compared with those from a non-tomographic study. Methods. We measure the cross-correlation function between a sample of foreground GAMA galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range $0.1 < z < 0.8$ (and divided up into four bins) and a sample of background submillimeter galaxies from H-ATLAS with photometric redshifts in the range $1.2 < z < 4.0$. We model the weak lensing signal within the halo model formalism and carry out a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm to obtain the posterior distribution of all HMF parameters, which we assume to follow the Sheth and Tormen (ST) three-parameter and two-parameter fits. Results. While the observational constraints on the HMF from the non-tomographic analysis are not stringent, there is a remarkable improvement in terms of uncertainty reduction when tomography is adopted. Moreover, with respect to the traditional ST triple of values from numerical simulations, the results from the three-parameter fit predict a higher number density of halos at masses below $10^{12}M_{\odot}/h$ at 95% credibility. The two-parameter fit yields even more restricting results, with a larger number density of halos below $10^{13}M_{\odot}/h$ and a lower one above $10^{14}M_{\odot}/h$, this time at more than 3$\sigma$ credibility. Our results are therefore in disagreement with the standard N-body values for the ST fit at 2$\sigma$ and 3$\sigma$, respectively.
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Constraints on active and sterile neutrinos in an interacting dark energy cosmology: We investigate the impacts of dark energy on constraining massive (active/sterile) neutrinos in interacting dark energy (IDE) models by using the current observations. We employ two typical IDE models, the interacting $w$ cold dark matter (I$w$CDM) model and the interacting holographic dark energy (IHDE) model, to make an analysis. To avoid large-scale instability, we use the parameterized post-Friedmann approach to calculate the cosmological perturbations in the IDE models. The cosmological observational data used in this work include the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies data, the baryon acoustic oscillation data, the type Ia supernovae data, the direct measurement of the Hubble constant, the weak lensing data, the redshift-space distortion data, and the CMB lensing data. We find that the dark energy properties could influence the constraint limits of active neutrino mass and sterile neutrino parameters in the IDE models. We also find that the dark energy properties could influence the constraints on the coupling strength parameter $\beta$, and a positive coupling constant, $\beta>0$, can be detected at the $2.5\sigma$ statistical significance for the IHDE+$\nu_s$ model by using the all-data combination. In addition, we also discuss the "Hubble tension" issue in these scenarios. We find that the $H_0$ tension can be effectively relieved by considering massive sterile neutrinos, and in particular in the IHDE+$\nu_s$ model the $H_0$ tension can be reduced to be at the $1.28\sigma$ level.
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The impact of sloshing on the intra-group medium and old radio lobe of NGC 5044: We present temperature and abundance maps of the central 125 kpc of the NGC 5044 galaxy group, based an a deep XMM-Newton observation. The abundance map reveals an asymmetrical abundance structure, with the centroid of the highest abundance gas offset ~22 kpc northwest of the galaxy centre, and moderate abundances extending almost twice as far to the southeast than in any other direction. The abundance distribution is closely correlated with two previously-identified cold fronts and an arc--shaped region of surface brightness excess, and it appears that sloshing, induced by a previous tidal encounter, has produced both the abundance and surface brightness features. Sloshing dominates the uplift of heavy elements from the group core on large scales, and we estimate that the southeast extension (the tail of the sloshing spiral) contains at least 1.2x10^5 solar masses more iron than would be expected of gas at its radius. Placing limits on the age of the encounter we find that if, as previously suggested, the disturbed spiral galaxy NGC 5054 was the perturber, it must have been moving supersonically when it transited the group core. We also examine the spectral properties of emission from the old, detached radio lobe southeast of NGC 5044, and find that they are consistent with a purely thermal origin, ruling out this structure as a significant source of spectrally hard inverse-Compton emission.
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Precision cosmology with a combination of wide and deep Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster surveys: We show the advantages of a wedding cake design for Sunyaev-Zel'dovich cluster surveys. We show that by dividing up a cluster survey into a wide and a deep survey, one can essentially recover the cosmological information that would be diluted in a single survey of the same duration due to the uncertainties in our understanding of cluster physics. The parameter degeneracy directions of the deep and wide surveys are slightly different, and combining them breaks these degeneracies effectively. A variable depth survey with a few thousand clusters is as effective at constraining cosmological parameters as a single depth survey with a much larger cluster sample.
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Multipole vectors of completely random microwave skies for $l \leq 50$: The statistical cosmological principle states that observables on the celestial sphere are sampled from a rotationally invariant distribution. Previously certain large scale anomalies which violate this principle have been found, for example an alignment of the lowest multipoles with the cosmic dipole direction. In this work we continue the search for possible anomalies using multipole vectors which represent a convenient tool for this purpose. In order to study the statistical behavior of multipole vectors, we revisit several construction methods. We investigate all four full-sky foreground-cleaned maps from the Planck 2015 release with respect to four meaningful physical directions using computationally cheap statistics that have a simple geometric interpretation. We find that the full-sky SEVEM map deviates from all the other cleaned maps, as it shows a strong correlation with the Galactic Pole and Galactic Center. The other three maps COMMANDER, NILC and SMICA show a consistent behavior. On the largest angular scales, $l \leq 5$, as well as on intermediate scales, $l = 20, 21, 22, 23, 24$, all of them are unusually correlated with the cosmic dipole direction. These scales coincide with the scales on which the angular power spectrum deviates from the Planck 2015 best-fit {\Lambda}CDM model. In the range $2 \leq l \leq 50$ as a whole there is no unusual behavior visible globally. We do not find abnormal intramultipole correlation, i.e. correlation of multipole vectors inside a given multipole without reference to any outer direction.
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Active and Sterile Neutrino Emission and SN1987A Pulsar Velocity: Recently estimates have been made of the velocities of pulsars produced by the emission of sterile neutrinos during the first 10 seconds and by active neutrinos during the second 10 seconds after a supernova event reaches thermal equilibrium. Neutrinos produced with electrons in the lowest Landau level are emitted in the direction of the magnetic field, and the resulting pulsar velocity depends mainly on the temperature. Using measurements of the neutrino energies emitted from SN1987A, the temperature can be estimated, and from this we estimate the velocity of the resulting pulsar from both active and large mixing-angle sterile neutrinos.
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Ionized nitrogen at high redshift: We present secure [NII[ detections in two mm-bright, strongly lensed objects at high redshift, APM08279+5255 (z=3.911) and MM18423+5938 (z=3.930), using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. Due to its ionization energy [NII] is a good tracer of the ionized gas phase in the interstellar medium. The measured fluxes are S([NII])=(4.8+/-0.8) Jy km/s and (7.4+/-0.5) Jy km/s respectively, yielding line luminosities of L([NII]) =(1.8+/-0.3) x 10^9 \mu^{-1} Lsun for APM08279+5255 and L([NII]) =(2.8+/-0.2) x 10^9 \mu^{-1} Lsun for MM18423+5938. Our high-resolution map of the [NII] and 1 mm continuum emission in MM18423+5938 clearly resolves an Einstein ring in this source, and reveals a velocity gradient in the dynamics of the ionized gas. A comparison of these maps with high-resolution EVLA CO observations enables us to perform the first spatially-resolved study of the dust continuum-to-molecular gas surface brightness (Sigma_{FIR} Sigma_{CO}^N, which can be interpreted as the star formation law) in a high-redshift object. We find a steep relation (N=1.4+/-0.2), consistent with a starbursting environment. We measure a [NII]/FIR luminosity ratio in APM0828+5255 and MM18423+5938 of 9.0 x 10^{-6} and 5.8 x 10^{-6}, respectively. This is in agreement with the decrease of the [NII]/FIR ratio at high FIR luminosities observed in local galaxies.
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Making Galaxies in a Cosmological Context: The Need for Early Stellar Feedback: We introduce the Making Galaxies in a Cosmological Context (MaGICC) program of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations. We describe a parameter study of galaxy formation simulations of an L* galaxy that uses early stellar feedback combined with supernova feedback to match the stellar mass--halo mass relationship. While supernova feedback alone can reduce star formation enough to match the stellar mass--halo mass relationship, the galaxy forms too many stars before z=2 to match the evolution seen using abundance matching. Our early stellar feedback is purely thermal and thus operates like a UV ionization source as well as providing some additional pressure from the radiation of massive, young stars. The early feedback heats gas to >10^6 K before cooling to 10^4 K. The pressure from this hot gas creates a more extended disk and prevents more star formation prior to z=1 than supernovae feedback alone. The resulting disk galaxy has a flat rotation curve, an exponential surface brightness profile, and matches a wide range of disk scaling relationships. The disk forms from the inside-out with an increasing exponential scale length as the galaxy evolves. Overall, early stellar feedback helps to simulate galaxies that match observational results at low and high redshifts.
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SkyMapper Southern Survey: Data Release 4: We present the fourth data release (DR4) of the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS), the last major step in our hemispheric survey with six optical filters: u, v, g, r, i, z. SMSS DR4 covers 26,000 sq.deg from over 400,000 images acquired by the 1.3m SkyMapper telescope between 2014-03 and 2021-09. The 6-band sky coverage extends from the South Celestial Pole to Dec = +16deg, with some images reaching Dec ~ +28deg. In contrast to previous DRs, we include all good-quality images from the facility taken during that time span, not only those explicitly taken for the public Survey. From the image dataset, we produce a catalogue of nearly 13 billion detections made from ~700 million unique astrophysical objects. The typical 10sigma depths for each field range between 18.5 and 20.5 mag, depending on the filter, but certain sky regions include longer exposures that reach as deep as 22 mag in some filters. As with previous SMSS catalogues, we have cross-matched with a host of other imaging and spectroscopic datasets to facilitate additional science outcomes. SMSS DR4 is now available to the worldwide astronomical community.
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Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars in the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy: JHK_S photometry is presented for a 35 arcmin square field centred on the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. With the aid of published kinematic data definite galaxy members are identified and the width in J-K of the colour-magnitude diagram is shown to be consistent with an old population of stars with a large range in metal abundance. We identify two Asymptotic Giant Branch variables, both carbon Miras, with periods of 189 and 554 days, respectively, and discuss their ages, metallicities and mass loss as well as their positions in the Mira period-luminosity diagram. There is evidence for a general period-age relation for Local Group Miras. The mass-loss rate for the 554-day variable, MAG29, appears to be consistent with that found for Miras of comparable period in other Local Group galaxies.
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Optical Spectra of SNR Candidates in NGC 300: We present moderate-resolution (<5A) long-slit optical spectra of 51 nebular objects in the nearby Sculptor Group galaxy NGC 300 obtained with the 2.3 meter Advanced Technology Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. Adopting the criterion of [SII]/Ha>=0.4 to confirm supernova remnants (SNRs) from optical spectra, we find that of 28 objects previously proposed as SNRs from optical observations, 22 meet this criterion with six showing [SII]/Ha of less than 0.4. Of 27 objects suggested as SNRs from radio data, four are associated with the 28 previously proposed SNRs. Of these four, three (included in the 22 above) meet the criterion. In all, 22 of the 51 nebular objects meet the [SII]/Ha criterion as SNRs while the nature of the remaining 29 objects remains undetermined by these observations.
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N-body simulation of the Stephan's Quintet: The evolution of compact groups of galaxies may represent one of the few places in the nearby universe in which massive galaxies are being forged through a complex set of processes involving tidal interaction, ram-pressure stripping, and perhaps finally "dry-mergers" of galaxies stripped of their cool gas. Using collisionless N-body simulations, we propose a possible scenario for the formation of one of the best studied compact groups: Stephan's Quintet. We define a serial approach which allows us to consider the history of the group as sequence of galaxy-galaxy interactions seen as relatively separate events in time, but chained together in such a way as to provide a plausible scenario that ends in the current configuration of the galaxies. By covering a large set of parameters, we claim that it is very unlikely that both major tidal tails of the group have been created by the interaction between the main galaxy and a single intruder. We propose instead a scenario based on two satellites orbiting the main disk, plus the recent involvement of an additional interloper, coming from the background at high speed. This purely N-body study of the quintet will provide a parameter-space exploration of the basic dynamics of the group that can be used as a basis for a more sophisticated N-body/hydrodynamic study of the group that is necessary to explain the giant shock structure and other purely gaseous phenomena observed in both the cold, warm and hot gas in the group.
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Radiation and energy release in a background field of axion-like dark matter: We find that a fuzzy dark matter background and the mG scale magnetic field in the galactic center can give rise to a radiation with a very large energy release. The frequency of the radiation field is the same as the frequency of the oscillating axion-like background field. We show that there is an energy transfer between the fuzzy dark matter sector and the electromagnetic sector because of the presence of the generated radiation field and the galactic magnetic field. The energy release rate of radiation is found to be very slow in comparison with the energy of fuzzy dark matter but could be significant comparing with the energy of galactic magnetic field in the source region. Using this example, we show that the fuzzy dark matter together with a large scale magnetic field is possible to give rise to fruitful physics.
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Fast shimming algorithm based on Bayesian optimization for magnetic resonance based dark matter search: The sensitivity and accessible mass range of magnetic resonance searches for axionlike dark matter depends on the homogeneity of applied magnetic fields. Optimizing homogeneity through shimming requires exploring a large parameter space which can be prohibitively time consuming. We have automated the process of tuning the shim-coil currents by employing an algorithm based on Bayesian optimization. This method is especially suited for applications where the duration of a single optimization step prohibits exploring the parameter space extensively or when there is no prior information on the optimal operation point. Using the Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment (CASPEr)-gradient low-field apparatus, we show that for our setup this method converges after approximately 30 iterations to a sub-10 parts-per-million field homogeneity which is desirable for our dark matter search.
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Moving mesh cosmology: tracing cosmological gas accretion: We investigate the nature of gas accretion onto haloes and galaxies at z=2 using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations run with the moving mesh code AREPO. Implementing a Monte Carlo tracer particle scheme to determine the origin and thermodynamic history of accreting gas, we make quantitative comparisons to an otherwise identical simulation run with the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code GADGET-3. Contrasting these two numerical approaches, we find significant physical differences in the thermodynamic history of accreted gas in haloes above 10^10.5 solar masses. In agreement with previous work, GADGET simulations show a cold fraction near unity for galaxies forming in massive haloes, implying that only a small percentage of accreted gas heats to an appreciable fraction of the virial temperature during accretion. The same galaxies in AREPO show a much lower cold fraction, <20% in haloes above 10^11 solar masses. This results from a hot gas accretion rate which, at this same halo mass, is an order of magnitude larger than with GADGET, while the cold accretion rate is also lower. These discrepancies increase for more massive systems, and we explain both as due to numerical inaccuracies in the standard formulation of SPH. We also observe that the relatively sharp transition from cold to hot mode dominated accretion, at a halo mass of ~10^11, is a consequence of comparing past gas temperatures to a constant threshold value independent of virial temperature. Examining the spatial distribution of accreting gas, we find that gas filaments in GADGET tend to remain collimated and flow coherently to small radii, or artificially fragment and form a large number of purely numerical "blobs". Similar gas streams in AREPO show increased heating and disruption at 0.25-0.5 virial radii and contribute to the hot gas accretion rate in a manner distinct from classical cooling flows.
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On the Correlations between Galaxy Properties and Supermassive Black Hole Mass: We use a large sample of upper limits and accurate estimates of supermassive black holes masses coupled with libraries of host galaxy velocity dispersions, rotational velocities and photometric parameters extracted from Sloan Digital Sky Survey i-band images to establish correlations between the SMBH and host galaxy parameters. We test whether the mass of the black hole, MBH, is fundamentally driven by either local or global galaxy properties. We explore correlations between MBH and stellar velocity dispersion sigma, bulge luminosity, bulge mass Sersic index, bulge mean effective surface brightness, luminosity of the galaxy, galaxy stellar mass, maximum circular velocity Vc, galaxy dynamical and effective masses. We verify the tightness of the MBH-sigma relation and find that correlations with other galaxy parameters do not yield tighter trends. We do not find differences in the MBH-sigma relation of barred and unbarred galaxies. The MBH-sigma relation of pseudo-bulges is also coarser and has a different slope than that involving classical bulges. The MBH-bulge mass is not as tight as the MBH-sigma relation, despite the bulge mass proving to be a better proxy of MBH than bulge luminosity. We find a rather poor correlation between MBH and Sersic index suggesting that MBH is not related to the bulge light concentration. The correlations between MBH and galaxy luminosity or mass are not a marked improvement over the MBH sigma relation. If Vc is a proxy for the dark matter halo mass, the large scatter of the MBH-Vc relation then suggests that MBH is more coupled to the baryonic rather than the dark matter. We have tested the need for a third parameter in the MBH scaling relations, through various linear correlations with bulge and galaxy parameters, only to confirm that the fundamental plane of the SMBH is mainly driven by sigma, with a small tilt due to the effective radius. (Abridged)
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$f(R)$ gravity modifications: from the action to the data: It is a very well established matter nowadays that many modified gravity models can offer a sound alternative to General Relativity for the description of the accelerated expansion of the universe. But it is also equally well known that no clear and sharp discrimination between any alternative theory and the classical one has been found so far. In this work, we attempt at formulating a different approach starting from the general class of $f(R)$ theories as test probes: we try to reformulate $f(R)$ Lagrangian terms as explicit functions of the redshift, i.e., as $f(z)$. In this context, the $f(R)$ setting to the consensus cosmological model, the $\Lambda$CDM model, can be written as a polynomial including just a constant and a third-order term. Starting from this result, we propose various different polynomial parameterizations $f(z)$, including new terms which would allow for deviations from $\Lambda$CDM, and we thoroughly compare them with observational data. While on the one hand we have found no statistically preference for our proposals (even if some of them are as good as $\Lambda$CDM by using Bayesian Evidence comparison), we think that our novel approach could provide a different perspective for the development of new and observationally reliable alternative models of gravity.
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Gravitational Waves Notes, Issue #3 : "Stellar cusps in galactic nuclei - How stars distribute around a massive black hole": GW Notes was born from the need for a journal where the distinct communities involved in gravitation wave research might gather. While these three communities - Astrophysics, General Relativity and Data Analysis - have made significant collaborative progress over recent years, we believe that it is indispensable to future advancement that they draw closer, and that they speak a common idiom. For this GW Notes issue we have approached Miguel Preto (Heidelberg University) to expand a recent work on how stars distribute around massive black holes for our highlight article.
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Solar-system tests of the inflation model with a Weyl term: Recently, there has been an interest in inflation and modified gravity with a Weyl term added to the general-relativistic action (N. Derulle, M. Sasaki, Y. Sendouda and A. Youssef, JCAP, 3, 040 (2011)). In this paper we study empirical constraint on this modified gravity from solar-system experiments/observations. We first derive linearized equation of motion in the weak field limit and solve it for isolated system in the slow motion limit. We then use it to derive the light propagation equations, and obtain the relativistic Shapiro time delay and the light deflection in one-body central problem. Applying these results to the solar-system measurements, we obtain constraints on the Weyl term parameter {\gamma}_W; the most stringent constraint, which comes from the Cassini relativistic time delay experiment, is for {\gamma}_W to be less than 0.0015 AU^2, or |{\gamma}_W|^(1/2) less than 0.039 AU (19 s). Analysis of precision laboratory gravity experiments put further limit on the Weyl term parameter {\gamma}_W to below the laboratory scale.
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Understanding the neutrino mass constraints achievable by combining CMB lensing and spectroscopic galaxy surveys: We perform a thorough examination of the neutrino mass ($M_\nu$) constraints achievable by combining future spectroscopic galaxy surveys with cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments, focusing on the contribution of CMB lensing and galaxy-CMB lensing. CMB lensing can help by breaking the $M_\nu$-curvature degeneracy when combined with baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO)-only measurements, but we demonstrate this combination wastes a great deal of constraining power, as the broadband shape of the power spectrum contributes significantly to constraints. We also expand on previous work to demonstrate how cosmology-independent constraints on $M_\nu$ can be extracted by combining measurements of the scale-dependence in the power spectrum caused by neutrino free-streaming with the full power of future CMB surveys. These free-streaming constraints are independent of the optical depth to the CMB ($\tau$) and competitive with constraints from BAOs for extended cosmologies, even when both are combined with CMB lensing and galaxy-CMB lensing.
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Probing cluster formation under extreme conditions: massive star clusters in blue compact galaxies: The numerous and massive young star clusters in blue compact galaxies (BCGs) are used to investigate the properties of their hosts. We test whether BCGs follow claimed relations between cluster populations and their hosts, such as the the fraction of the total luminosity contributed by the clusters as function of the mean star formation rate density; the $V$ band luminosity of the brightest youngest cluster as related to the mean host star formation rate; and the cluster formation efficiency (i.e., the fraction of star formation happening in star clusters) versus the density of the SFR. We find that BCGs follow the trends, supporting a scenario where cluster formation and environmental properties of the host are correlated. They occupy, in all the diagrams, the regions of higher SFRs, as expected by the extreme nature of the starbursts operating in these systems. We find that the star clusters contribute almost to the 20 % of the UV luminosity of the hosts. We suggest that the BCG starburst environment has most likely favoured the compression and collapse of the giant molecular clouds, enhancing the local star formation efficiency, so that massive clusters have been formed. The estimated cluster formation efficiency supports this scenario. BCGs have a cluster formation efficiency comparable to luminous IR galaxies and spiral starburst nuclei (the averaged value is about 35 %) which is much higher than the 8 - 10 % reported for quiescent spirals and dwarf star-forming galaxies.
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Constraining dark sector perturbations II: ISW and CMB lensing tomography: Any Dark Energy (DE) or Modified Gravity (MG) model that deviates from a cosmological constant requires a consistent treatment of its perturbations, which can be described in terms of an effective entropy perturbation and an anisotropic stress. We have considered a recently proposed generic parameterisation of DE/MG perturbations and compared it to data from the Planck satellite and six galaxy catalogues, including temperature-galaxy (Tg), CMB lensing-galaxy and galaxy-galaxy (gg) correlations. Combining these observables of structure formation with tests of the background expansion allows us to investigate the properties of DE/MG both at the background and the perturbative level. Our constraints on DE/MG are mostly in agreement with the cosmological constant paradigm, while we also find that the constraint on the equation of state w (assumed to be constant) depends on the model assumed for the perturbation evolution. We obtain $w=-0.92^{+0.20}_{-0.16}$ (95% CL; CMB+gg+Tg) in the entropy perturbation scenario; in the anisotropic stress case the result is $w=-0.86^{+0.17}_{-0.16}$. Including the lensing correlations shifts the results towards higher values of w. If we include a prior on the expansion history from recent Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) measurements, we find that the constraints tighten closely around $w=-1$, making it impossible to measure any DE/MG perturbation evolution parameters. If, however, upcoming observations from surveys like DES, Euclid or LSST show indications for a deviation from a cosmological constant, our formalism will be a useful tool towards model selection in the dark sector.
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First results from the IllustrisTNG simulations: radio haloes and magnetic fields: We introduce the IllustrisTNG project, a new suite of cosmological magnetohydrodynamical simulations performed with the moving-mesh code AREPO employing an updated Illustris galaxy formation model. Here we focus on the general properties of magnetic fields and the diffuse radio emission in galaxy clusters. Magnetic fields are prevalent in galaxies, and their build-up is closely linked to structure formation. We find that structure formation amplifies the initial seed fields ($10^{-14}$ comoving Gauss) to the values observed in low-redshift galaxies ($1-10\,\mu{\rm G}$). The magnetic field topology is closely connected to galaxy morphology such that irregular fields are hosted by early-type galaxies, while large-scale, ordered fields are present in disc galaxies. Using two simple models for the energy distribution of relativistic electrons we predict the diffuse radio emission of $280$ clusters with a baryonic mass resolution of $1.1\times 10^{7}\,{\rm M_{\odot}}$, and generate mock observations for VLA, LOFAR, ASKAP and SKA. Our simulated clusters show extended radio emission, whose detectability correlates with their virial mass. We reproduce the observed scaling relations between total radio power and X-ray emission, $M_{500}$, and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich $Y_{\rm 500}$ parameter. The radio emission surface brightness profiles of our most massive clusters are in reasonable agreement with VLA measurements of Coma and Perseus. Finally, we discuss the fraction of detected extended radio haloes as a function of virial mass and source count functions for different instruments. Overall our results agree encouragingly well with observations, but a refined analysis requires a more sophisticated treatment of relativistic particles in large-scale galaxy formation simulations.
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Submillimetre Cosmology at High Angular Resolution: Over the last decade observations at submillimetre (submm) and millimetre (mm) wavelengths, with their unique ability to trace molecular gas and dust, have attained a central role in our exploration of galaxies at all redshifts. Due to the limited sensitivities and angular resolutions of current submm/mm telescopes, however, only the most luminous objects have been uncovered at high redshifts, with interferometric follow-up observations succeeding in resolving the dust and gas reservoirs in only a handful of cases. The coming years will witness a drastic improvement in the current situation, thanks to the arrival of a new suite of powerful submm observatories (single-dish and interferometers) with an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity and resolution. In this overview I outline a few of what I expect to be the major advances in the field of galaxy formation and evolution that these new ground-breaking facilities will facilitate.
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An interacting model for the cosmological dark sector: We discuss a new interacting model for the cosmological dark sector in which the attenuated dilution of cold dark matter scales as $a^{-3}f(a)$, where f(a) is an arbitrary function of the cosmic scale factor $a$. From thermodynamic arguments, we show that f(a) is proportional to entropy source of the particle creation process. In order to investigate the cosmological consequences of this kind of interacting models, we expand f(a) in a power series and viable cosmological solutions are obtained. Finally, we use current observational data to place constraints on the interacting function f(a).
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Influence of early dark matter halos on the primordial black holes merger rate: Primordial black hole (PBH) binaries forming in the early Universe may contribute to the merger events observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaborations. Moreover, the inferred merger rate constraints the fraction of PBH with masses $m \sim 10 \, M_{\odot}$ in the dark matter (DM) to $f_{PBH} \lesssim 10^{-3}$. This constraint assumes that after the formation of PBH binaries, they do not get destroyed or their parameters are not perturbed until the merger. However, PBHs themselves contribute to the formation of early DM structures in which the interactions between PBHs take place actively. This leads to the fact that the binaries can be perturbed in such a way that their lifetime becomes longer than the Hubble time $t_H$. In this work, we consider the effect of the initial spatial Poisson distribution of PBHs on the structure formation at the high redshifts $z \gtrsim 10$. Next, we explore the evolution of such halos due to the interaction of PBHs with each other and with DM particles. We show that the early halos evolve on timescales much shorter than the age of the Universe. Furthermore, for fractions of PBHs $f_{PBH} < 1$, the internal dynamics of a halo is significantly accelerated due to the dynamical friction of PBHs against DM particles. As a result, a significant fraction of binaries will be perturbed in such structures, and the gravitational waves constraints on PBHs with masses $m \sim 10 \, M_{\odot}$ can be weakened to $f_{PBH} \sim 0.1$.
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Constraints on the velocity of gravitational waves from NANOGrav 15-year data set: General relativity predicts that gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light. Although ground-based gravitational-wave detectors have successfully constrained the velocity of gravitational waves in the high-frequency range, extending this constraint to the lower frequency range remains a challenge. In this work, we utilize the deviations in the overlap reduction function for a gravitational-wave background within pulsar timing arrays to investigate the velocity of gravitational waves in the nanohertz frequency band. By analyzing the NANOGrav 15-year data set, we obtain a well-constrained lower bound for the velocity of gravitational waves that $v \gtrsim 0.87\,c$, where $c$ is the speed of light.
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Planck Early Results XXVI: Detection with Planck and confirmation by XMM-Newton of PLCK G266.6-27.3, an exceptionally X-ray luminous and massive galaxy cluster at z~1: We present first results on PLCK G266.6-27.3, a galaxy cluster candidate detected at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5 in the Planck All Sky survey. An XMM-Newton validation observation has allowed us to confirm that the candidate is a bona fide galaxy cluster. With these X-ray data we measure an accurate redshift, z = 0.94 +/- 0.02, and estimate the cluster mass to be M_500 = (7.8 +/- 0.8)e+14 solar masses. PLCK G266.6-27.3 is an exceptional system: its luminosity of L_X(0.5-2.0 keV)=(1.4 +/- 0.05)e+45 erg/s, equals that of the two most luminous known clusters in the z > 0.5 universe, and it is one of the most massive clusters at z~1. Moreover, unlike the majority of high-redshift clusters, PLCK G266.6-27.3 appears to be highly relaxed. This observation confirms Planck's capability of detecting high-redshift, high-mass clusters, and opens the way to the systematic study of population evolution in the exponential tail of the mass function.
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