Amplitude Of non-Gaussianity Research Articles

Non-Gaussianity consistency relations and their consequences for the peaks

Strong deviations from scale invariance and the appearance of high peaks in the primordial power spectrum have been extensively studied for generating primordial black holes (PBHs) or gravitational waves (GWs). It is also well-known that the effect of non-linearities can be significant in both phenomena. In this paper, we advocate the existence of a general single-field consistency relation that relates the amplitude of non-Gaussianity in the squeezed limit f NL to the power spectrum and remains valid when almost all other consistency relations are violated. In particular, it is suitable for studying scenarios where scale invariance is strongly violated.We discuss the general and model-independent consequences of the consistency relation on the behavior of f NL at different scales.Specifically, we study the size, sign and slope of f NL at the scales where the power spectrum peaks and argue that generally the peaks of f NL and the power spectrum occur at different scales.As an implication of our results, we argue that non-linearities can shift or extend the range of scales responsible for the production of PBHs or GWs, relative to the window as determined by the largest peak of the power spectrum, and may also open up new windows for both phenomena.

Non-Gaussianity in rapid-turn multi-field inflation

We show that theories of inflation with multiple, rapidly turning fields can generate large amounts of non-Gaussianity. We consider a general theory with two fields, an arbitrary field-space metric, and a potential that supports sustained, rapidly turning field trajectories. Our analysis accounts for non-zero field cross-correlation and does not fix the power spectra of curvature and isocurvature perturbations to be equal at horizon crossing. Using the δN formalism, we derive a novel, analytical formula for bispectrum generated from multi-field mixing on super-horizon scales. Rapid-turn inflation can produce a bispectrum with several potentially large contributions that are not necessarily of the local shape. We exemplify the applicability of our formula with a fully explicit model and show that the new contributions indeed can generate a large amplitude of local non-Gaussianity, f NL loc ∼ 𝒪(1). These results will be important when interpreting the outcomes of future observations.

Primordial black hole isocurvature modes from non-Gaussianity

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are black holes that might have formed in high density regions in the early universe. The presence of local-type non-Gaussianity can lead to large-scale fluctuations in the PBH formation rate. If PBHs make up a non-negligible fraction of dark matter, these fluctuations can appear as isocurvature modes, and be used to constrain the amplitude of non-Gaussianity. Assuming that the parameters of non-Gaussianity are constant over all scales, we build upon the results of previous work by extending the calculation to include peaks theory and making use of the compaction C for the formation criteria, accounting for non-linearities between C and the curvature perturbation ζ. For quadratic models of non-Gaussianity, our updated calculation gives constraints that are largely unaltered compared to those previously found, while for cubic models the constraints worsen significantly. In case all of the DM is made up of PBHs, the parameters of non-Gaussianity are -2.9 · 10-4 < f < 3.8 · 10-4 and -1.5 · 10-3 < g < 1.9 · 10-3 for quadratic and cubic models respectively.

Primordial non-Gaussianity and non-Gaussian covariance

In the pursuit of primordial non-Gaussianities, we hope to access smaller scales across larger comoving volumes. At low redshift, the search for primordial non-Gaussianities is hindered by gravitational collapse, to which we often associate a scale $k_{\rm NL}$. Beyond these scales, it will be hard to reconstruct the modes sensitive to the primordial distribution. When forecasting future constraints on the amplitude of primordial non-Gaussianity, $f_{\rm NL}$, off-diagonal components are usually neglected in the covariance because these are small compared to the diagonal. We show that the induced non-Gaussian off-diagonal components in the covariance degrade forecast constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity, even when all modes are well within what is usually considered the linear regime. As a testing ground, we examine the effects of these off-diagonal components on the constraining power of the matter bispectrum on $f_{\rm NL}$ as a function of $k_{\rm max}$ and redshift, confirming our results against N-body simulations out to redshift $z=10$. We then consider these effects on the hydrogen bispectrum as observed from a PUMA-like 21-cm intensity mapping survey at redshifts $2<z<6$ and show that not including off-diagonal covariance over-predicts the constraining power on $f_{\rm NL}$ by up to a factor of $5$. For future surveys targeting even higher redshifts, such as Cosmic Dawn and the Dark Ages, which are considered ultimate surveys for primordial non-Gaussianity, we predict that non-Gaussian covariance would severely limit prospects to constrain $f_{\rm NL}$ from the bispectrum.

Fatigue Life Analysis of Aluminum Alloy Notched Specimens under Non-Gaussian Excitation based on Fatigue Damage Spectrum

In this study, a non-Gaussian excitation acceleration method is proposed, using aluminum alloy notched specimens as a research object and measured acceleration signal of a certain airborne bracket, during aircraft flight as input excitations, based on the fatigue damage spectrum (FDS) theory. The kurtosis and skewness of the input signal are calculated and the non-Gaussian characteristics and amplitude distribution are evaluated. Five task segments obey a non-Gaussian distribution, while one task segment obeys a Gaussian distribution. The fatigue damage spectrum calculation method of non-Gaussian excitation is derived. The appropriate FDS calculation method is selected for each task segment and the acceleration parameters are set to construct the acceleration power spectral density, which is equivalent to the pseudo-acceleration damage. A finite-element model is established, the notch stress concentration factor of the specimen is calculated, the large mass point method is used to simulate the shaking table excitation, and a random vibration analysis is carried out to calculate the accelerated fatigue life. The simulation results show that the relative error between the original cumulative damage and test original fatigue life is 15.7%. The shaking table test results show that the relative error of fatigue life before and after acceleration is less than 16.95%, and the relative error of test and simulation is 24.27%. The failure time of the specimen is accelerated from approximately 12 h to 1 h, the acceleration ratio reaches 12, and the average acceleration ideal factor is 1.125, which verifies the effectiveness of the acceleration method. It provides a reference for the compilation of the load spectrum and vibration endurance acceleration test of other airborne aircraft equipment.

Projected two- and three-point statistics: forecasts and mitigation of non-linear RSDs

ABSTRACT The combination of two- and three-point clustering statistics of galaxies and the underlying matter distribution has the potential to break degeneracies between cosmological parameters and nuisance parameters and can lead to significantly tighter constraints on parameters describing the composition of the Universe and the dynamics of inflation. Here, we investigate the relation between biases in the estimated parameters and inaccurate modelling of non-linear redshift-space distortions for the power spectrum and bispectrum of projected galaxy density fields and lensing convergence. Non-linear redshift-space distortions are one of the leading systematic uncertainties in galaxy clustering. Projections along the line of sight suppress radial modes and are thus allowing a trade-off between biases due to non-linear redshift-space distortions and statistical uncertainties. We investigate this bias-error trade-off for a CMASS-like survey with a varying number of redshift bins. Improved modelling of the non-linear redshift-space distortions allows the recovery of more radial information when controlling for biases. Not modelling non-linear redshift-space distortions inflates error bars for almost all parameters by $20{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$. The information loss for the amplitude of local non-Gaussianities is smaller, since it is best constrained from large scales. In addition, we show empirically that one can recover more than 99 per cent of the 3D power spectrum information if the depth of the tomographic bins is reduced to 10 h−1 Mpc.

Dirac-Born-Infeld realization of sound speed resonance mechanism for primordial black holes

We present a concrete realization of the sound speed resonance (SSR) mechanism for primordial black hole (PBH) formation within a specific model of Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) inflation. We perform a perturbative approach to phenomenologically construct such a viable DBI inflation model that involves the nonoscillating stage and the oscillating stage, with a type of specific forms of the warp factor and the potential. We show that the continuous but nonsmooth conjunction of sound speed between two stages does not yield manifest effects on the phenomenology of SSR, and thus, our model gives rise to the same PBH mass spectrum as the original predictions of SSR. Additionally, we also demonstrate that the violation of adiabaticity of the Mukhanov-Sasaki equation does not affect the comoving curvature perturbation after Hubble crossing in the nonresonant region. Making use of observational data, we derive various cosmological constraints on the parameter space. Our analyses show that the predicted tensor-to-scalar ratio is typically small, while the amplitude of primordial non-Gaussianity can meet with cosmic microwave background bounds, and additionally, the consistency relation for single-field slow-roll inflation is softly violated in our case due to the small sound speed variations.

Capturing non-Gaussianity of the large-scale structure with weighted skew-spectra

The forthcoming generation of wide-field galaxy surveys will probe larger volumes and galaxy densities, thus allowing for a much larger signal-to-noise ratio for higher-order clustering statistics, in particular the galaxy bispectrum. Extracting this information, however, is more challenging than using the power spectrum due to more complex theoretical modeling, as well as significant computational cost of evaluating the bispectrum signal and the error budget. To overcome these challenges, several proxy statistics have been proposed in the literature, which partially or fully capture the information in the bispectrum, while being computationally less expensive than the bispectrum. One such statistics are weighted skew-spectra, which are cross-spectra of the density field and appropriately weighted quadratic fields. Using Fisher forecasts, we show that the information in these skew-spectra is equivalent to that in the bispectrum for parameters that appear as amplitudes in the bispectrum model, such as galaxy bias parameters or the amplitude of primordial non-Gaussianity. We consider three shapes of the primordial bispectrum: local, equilateral and that due to massive particles with spin two during inflation. To obtain constraints that match those from a measurement of the full bispectrum, we find that it is crucial to account for the full covariance matrix of the skew-spectra.

Reformative translation model for probability density functions of amplitude processes of crosswind-excited super-tall buildings

At the vicinity of vortex lock-in wind speed, the nonlinear aerodynamic damping effect of super-tall buildings is significant, which can greatly promote the surge of vortex-induced vibration in the crosswind direction, where the crosswind response characterized by harmonic amplitude shows narrow-band hardening non-Gaussian characteristic with the kurtosis well below 3, and the corresponding probability distribution of amplitude process distinctly differs from that of typical random buffeting response. Although the moment-based Hermite translation model has been widely used for estimating the extreme value distribution of non-Gaussian process, it fails to represent the probability distribution of hardening non-Gaussian amplitude process, notably for the response with a kurtosis close to 1.5. In this study, a new translation model based on orthogonal expansion of random processes is developed for obtaining the non-Gaussian amplitude process from an underlying Gaussian amplitude process, and the probability density function of the non-Gaussian amplitude process is derived by mapping the cumulative distribution function. The coefficients of translation model are determined by minimizing the errors between the estimated probability density functions and target values through nonlinear optimization, and the closed-form semi-empirical formulations, which connect the model coefficients with response kurtosis, are also proposed using least-square curve fitting. Moreover, the effectiveness and monotonicity of the proposed translation model are examined. This model can be readily incorporated into the extreme value analysis of crosswind response and facilitate the evaluation of wind-induced fatigue of super-tall buildings.

Towards detection of relativistic effects in galaxy number counts using kSZ tomography

High-resolution, low-noise observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) planned for the near-future will enable new cosmological probes based on re-scattered CMB photons—the secondary CMB . At the same time, enormous galaxy surveys will map out huge volumes of the observable Universe. Using the technique of kinetic Sunyaev Zel'dovich (kSZ) tomography these new probes can be combined to reconstruct the remote dipole field, the CMB dipole as observed from different vantage points in our Universe. The volume accessible to future galaxy surveys is large enough that general relativistic corrections to the observed distribution of galaxies must be taken into account. These corrections are interesting probes of gravity in their own right, but can also obscure potential signatures of primordial non-Gaussianity. In this paper, we demonstrate that correlations between the reconstructed remote dipole field and the observed galaxy number counts can in principle be used to detect general relativistic corrections. We show that neglecting general relativistic corrections leads to an \U0001d4aa(1) bias on the inferred amplitude of primordial non-Gaussianity, fNL. In addition, we demonstrate that the reconstructed remote dipole field can provide useful constraining power on various bias parameters appearing in the galaxy number counts, and can significantly mitigate the effects of alignment bias.

Optimizing primordial non-Gaussianity measurements from galaxy surveys

Galaxy clustering data from current and upcoming large scale structure surveys can provide strong constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity through the scale-dependent halo bias. To fully exploit the information from galaxy surveys, optimal analysis methods need to be developed and applied to the data. Since the halo bias is sensitive to local non-Gaussianity predominately at large scales, the volume of a given survey is crucial. Consequently, for such analyses we do not want to split into redshift bins, which would lead to information loss due to edge effects, but instead analyse the full sample. We present an optimal technique to directly constrain local non-Gaussianity parametrised by $f_\mathrm{NL}^\mathrm{loc}$, from galaxy clustering by applying redshift weights to the galaxies. We derive a set of weights to optimally measure the amplitude of local non-Gaussianity, $f_\mathrm{NL}^\mathrm{loc}$, discuss the redshift weighted power spectrum estimators, outline the implementation procedure and test our weighting scheme against Lognormal catalogs for two different surveys: the quasar sample of the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) and the emission line galaxy sample of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We find an improvement of 30 percent for eBOSS and 6 percent for DESI compared to the standard Feldman, Kaiser $\&$ Peacock weights, although these predictions are sensitive to the bias model assumed.

Flattened non-Gaussianities from the effective field theory of inflation with imaginary speed of sound

Inflationary perturbations in multi-field theories can exhibit a transient tachyonic instability as a consequence of their non-trivial motion in the internal field space. When an effective single-field description is applicable, the resulting theory is characterized by fluctuations that propagate with an imaginary speed of sound. We use the effective field theory of fluctuations to study such a set-up in a model-independent manner, highlighting the peculiarities and subtleties that make it different from the standard case. In particular, perturbations feature exponentially growing and decaying modes whose relative amplitude is undetermined within the effective field theory. Nevertheless, we prove that in an interesting limit the dimensionless bispectrum is in fact universal, depending only on the speed of sound and on the cutoff scale that limits the validity of the effective theory. Contrary to the power spectrum, we find that the bispectrum does not display an exponential enhancement. The amplitude of non-Gaussianities in the equilateral configuration is similar to the one of conventional models, but it is enhanced in flattened configurations in a way that is ultraviolet sensitive.

Tensor non-Gaussianity from axion-gauge-fields dynamics: parameter search

We calculate the bispectrum of scale-invariant tensor modes sourced by spectator SU(2) gauge fields during inflation in a model containing a scalar inflaton, a pseudoscalar axion and SU(2) gauge fields. A large bispectrum is generated in this model at tree-level as the gauge fields contain a tensor degree of freedom, and its production is dominated by self-coupling of the gauge fields. This is a unique feature of non-Abelian gauge theory. The shape of the tensor bispectrum is approximately an equilateral shape for 3≲ mQ≲ 4, where mQ is an effective dimensionless mass of the SU(2) field normalised by the Hubble expansion rate during inflation. The amplitude of non-Gaussianity of the tensor modes, characterised by the ratio Bh/P2h, is inversely proportional to the energy density fraction of the gauge field. This ratio can be much greater than unity, whereas the ratio from the vacuum fluctuation of the metric is of order unity. The bispectrum is effective at constraining large mQ regions of the parameter space, whereas the power spectrum constrains small mQ regions.

Matter bounce cosmology with a generalized single field: non-Gaussianity and an extended no-go theorem

We extend the matter bounce scenario to a more general theory in which the background dynamics and cosmological perturbations are generated by a k-essence scalar field with an arbitrary sound speed. When the sound speed is small, the curvature perturbation is enhanced, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio, which is excessively large in the original model, can be sufficiently suppressed to be consistent with observational bounds. Then, we study the primordial three-point correlation function generated during the matter-dominated contraction stage and find that it only depends on the sound speed parameter. Similar to the canonical case, the shape of the bispectrum is mainly dominated by a local form, though for some specific sound speed values a new shape emerges and the scaling behaviour changes. Meanwhile, a small sound speed also results in a large amplitude of non-Gaussianities, which is disfavored by current observations. As a result, it does not seem possible to suppress the tensor-to-scalar ratio without amplifying the production of non-Gaussianities beyond current observational constraints (and vice versa). This suggests an extension of the previously conjectured no-go theorem in single field nonsingular matter bounce cosmologies, which rules out a large class of models. However, the non-Gaussianity results remain as a distinguishable signature of matter bounce cosmology and have the potential to be detected by observations in the near future.

Non-Gaussian amplitude PDF modeling of ultrasound images based on a novel generalized Cauchy-Rayleigh mixture

In this paper, a mixture of generalized Cauchy distribution and Rayleigh distribution that possesses a closed-form expression is proposed for modeling the heavy-tailed Rayleigh (HTR) distribution. This new approach is developed for analytically modeling the amplitude distribution of ultrasound images based on the HTR distribution. HTR as a non-Gaussian distribution is basically the amplitude probability density function (PDF) of the complex isotropic symmetric α-stable (S α S) distribution which appears in the envelope distribution of ultrasonic images. Analytic expression for HTR distribution is a momentous consideration in signal processing with stable random variables. Furthermore, we introduce a mixture ratio estimator based on the energy of amplitude PDF which contains both α and γ parameters. For a quantitative assessment, we compare the accuracy and computational complexity of the proposed mixture with other approximations of HTR distribution through several numeral simulations on synthetic random samples. Experimental results obtained from the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) distance and Kullback-Leibler (K-L) divergence as the goodness-of-fit tests on real ultrasound images reveal the favor of the new mixture model.

Linear response to long wavelength fluctuations using curvature simulations

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

Constraints on single-field inflation

Many alternatives to canonical slow-roll inflation have been proposed over the years, one of the main motivations being to have a model, capable of generating observable values of non-Gaussianity. In this work, we (re-)explore the physical implications of a great majority of such models within a single, effective field theory framework (including novel models with large non-Gaussianity discussed for the first time below). The constraints we apply—both theoretical and experimental—are found to be rather robust, determined to a great extent by just three parameters: the coefficients of the quadratic EFT operators (δN)2 and δNδE, and the slow-roll parameter ε. This allows to significantly limit the majority of single-field alternatives to canonical slow-roll inflation. While the existing data still leaves some room for most of the considered models, the situation would change dramatically if the current upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio decreased down to r < 10−2. Apart from inflationary models driven by plateau-like potentials, the single-field model that would have a chance of surviving this bound is the recently proposed slow-roll inflation with weakly-broken galileon symmetry. In contrast to canonical slow-roll inflation, the latter model can support r < 10−2 even if driven by a convex potential, as well as generate observable values for the amplitude of non-Gaussianity.

Primordial non-Gaussianities of gravitational waves beyond Horndeski theories

We clarify the features of primordial non-Gaussianities of tensor perturbations in Gao's unifying framework of scalar-tensor theories. The general Lagrangian is given in terms of the ADM variables so that the framework maintains spatial covariance and includes the Horndeski theory and Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi (GLPV) generalization as specific cases. It is shown that the GLPV generalization does not give rise to any new terms in the cubic action compared to the case of the Horndeski theory, but four new terms appear in more general theories beyond GLPV. We compute the tensor 3-point correlation functions analytically by treating the modification to the dispersion relation as a perturbation. The relative change in the 3-point functions due to the modified dispersion relation is only mildly configuration-dependent. When the effect of the modified dispersion relation is small, there is only a single cubic term generating squeezed non-Gaussianity, which is the only term present in general relativity. The corresponding non-Gaussian amplitude has a fixed and universal feature, and hence offers a "consistency relation" for primordial tensor modes in a quite wide class of single-field inflation models. All the other cubic interactions are found to give peaks at equilateral shapes.

Imprint of inflation on galaxy shape correlations

We show that intrinsic (not lensing-induced) correlations between galaxy shapes offer a new probe of primordial non-Gaussianity and inflationary physics which is complementary to galaxy number counts. Specifically, intrinsic alignment correlations are sensitive to an anisotropic squeezed limit bispectrum of the primordial perturbations. Such a feature arises in solid inflation, as well as more broadly in the presence of light higher spin fields during inflation (as pointed out recently by Arkani-Hamed and Maldacena). We present a derivation of the all-sky two-point correlations of intrinsic shapes and number counts in the presence of non-Gaussianity with general angular dependence, and show that a quadrupolar (spin-2) anisotropy leads to the analog in galaxy shapes of the well-known scale-dependent bias induced in number counts by isotropic (spin-0) non-Gaussianity. Moreover, in the presence of non-zero anisotropic non-Gaussianity, the quadrupole of galaxy shapes becomes sensitive to far superhorizon modes. These effects come about because long-wavelength modes induce a local anisotropy in the initial power spectrum, with which galaxies will correlate. We forecast that future imaging surveys could provide constraints on the amplitude of anisotropic non-Gaussianity that are comparable to those from the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). These are complementary as they probe different physical scales. The constraints, however, depend on the sensitivity of galaxy shapes to the initial conditions which we only roughly estimate from observed tidal alignments.

Effective field theory of non-attractor inflation

We present the model-independent studies of non attractor inflation in the context of effective field theory (EFT) of inflation. Within the EFT approach two independent branches of non-attractor inflation solutions are discovered in which a near scale-invariant curvature perturbation power spectrum is generated from the interplay between the variation of sound speed and the second slow roll parameter η. The first branch captures and extends the previously studied models of non-attractor inflation in which the curvature perturbation is not frozen on super-horizon scales and the single field non-Gaussianity consistency condition is violated. We present the general expression for the amplitude of local-type non-Gaussianity in this branch. The second branch is new in which the curvature perturbation is frozen on super-horizon scales and the single field non-Gaussianity consistency condition does hold in the squeezed limit. Depending on the model parameters, the shape of bispectrum in this branch changes from an equilateral configuration to a folded configuration while the amplitude of non-Gaussianity is less than unity.