Cosmological Fluctuations Research Articles

Searching for a matter bounce cosmology with low redshift observations

The matter bounce scenario allows for a sizable parameter space where cosmological fluctuations originally exited the Hubble radius when the background energy density was small. In this scenario and its extended versions, the low energy degrees of freedom are likely responsible for the statistical properties of the cosmic microwave background power spectrum at large length scales. An interesting consequence is that these modes might be observable only at relatively late times. Therefore low redshift observations could provide evidence for, or even falsify, various bouncing models. We provide an example where a recently hinted potential deviation from $\Lambda$-cold-dark-matter cosmology results from a dark matter and dark energy interaction. The same interaction allows matter bounce models to generate a red tilt for the primordial curvature perturbations in corroboration with cosmic microwave background experiments.

Quantum discord of cosmic inflation: Can we show that CMB anisotropies are of quantum-mechanical origin?

We investigate the quantumness of primordial cosmological fluctuations and its detectability. The quantum discord of inflationary perturbations is calculated for an arbitrary splitting of the system, and shown to be very large on super-Hubble scales. This entails the presence of large quantum correlations, due to the entangled production of particles with opposite momentums during inflation. To determine how this is reflected at the observational level, we study whether quantum correlators can be reproduced by a non-discordant state, i.e. a state with vanishing discord that contains classical correlations only. We demonstrate that this can be done for the power spectrum, the price to pay being twofold: first, large errors in other two-point correlation functions and second, the presence of intrinsic non-Gaussianity. The detectability of these two features remains to be determined but could possibly rule out a non-discordant description of the cosmic microwave background. If one abandons the idea that perturbations should be modeled by quantum mechanics and wants to use a classical stochastic formalism instead, we show that any two-point correlators on super-Hubble scales can be exactly reproduced regardless of the squeezing of the system. The latter becomes important only for higher-order correlation functions that can be accurately reproduced only in the strong squeezing regime.

Tension in Amplitudes of Cosmological Density Fluctuations Inferred by Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB)and Measured by Large Scale Structure(LSS)

Tension in Amplitudes of Cosmological Density Fluctuations Inferred by Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB)and Measured by Large Scale Structure(LSS)

Constraints on small-scale cosmological fluctuations from SNe lensing dispersion

We provide predictions on small-scale cosmological density power spectrum from supernova lensing dispersion. Parameterizing the primordial power spectrum with running $\alpha$ and running of running $\beta$ of the spectral index, we exclude large positive $\alpha$ and $\beta$ parameters which induce too large lensing dispersions over current observational upper bound. We ran cosmological N-body simulations of collisionless dark matter particles to investigate non-linear evolution of the primordial power spectrum with positive running parameters. The initial small-scale enhancement of the power spectrum is largely erased when entering into the non-linear regime. For example, even if the linear power spectrum at $k>10h {\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ is enhanced by $1-2$ orders of magnitude, the enhancement much decreases to a factor of $2-3$ at late time ($z \leq 1.5$). Therefore, the lensing dispersion induced by the dark matter fluctuations weakly constrains the running parameters. When including baryon-cooling effects (which strongly enhance the small-scale clustering), the constraint is comparable or tighter than the PLANCK constraint, depending on the UV cut-off. Further investigations of the non-linear matter spectrum with baryonic processes is needed to reach a firm constraint.

A note on trans-Planckian tail effects

We study the proposal by Mersini et al. [1] that the observed dark energy might be explained by the back-reaction of the set of tail modes in a theory with a dispersion relation in which the mode frequency decays exponentially in the trans-Planckian regime. The matter tail modes are frozen out, however they induce metric fluctuations. The energy-momentum tensor with which the tail modes effect the background geometry obtains contributions from both metric and matter fluctuations. We calculate the equation of state induced by the tail modes taking into account the gravitational contribution. We find that, in contrast to the case of frozen super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations, in this case the matter perturbations dominate, and they yield an equation of state which to leading order takes the form of a positive cosmological constant.

A note on trans-Planckian tail effects

We study the proposal by Mersini et al. [1] that the observed dark energy might be explained by the back-reaction of the set of tail modes in a theory with a dispersion relation in which the mode frequency decays exponentially in the trans-Planckian regime. The matter tail modes are frozen out, however they induce metric fluctuations. The energy-momentum tensor with which the tail modes effect the background geometry obtains contributions from both metric and matter fluctuations. We calculate the equation of state induced by the tail modes taking into account the gravitational contribution. We find that, in contrast to the case of frozen super-Hubble cosmological fluctuations, in this case the matter perturbations dominate, and they yield an equation of state which to leading order takes the form of a positive cosmological constant.

Primordial non-Gaussianities after Planck 2015: An introductory review

Deviations from Gaussian statistics of the cosmological density fluctuations, so-called primordial non-Gaussianities (NG), are one of the most informative fingerprints of the origin of structures in the universe. Indeed, they can probe physics at energy scales inaccessible to laboratory experiments, and are sensitive to the interactions of the field(s) that generated the primordial fluctuations, contrary to the Gaussian linear theory. As a result, they can discriminate between inflationary models that are otherwise almost indistinguishable. In this short review, we explain how to compute the non-Gaussian properties in any inflationary scenario. We review the theoretical predictions of several important classes of models. We then describe the ways NG can be probed observationally, and we highlight the recent constraints from the Planck mission, as well as their implications. We finally identify well motivated theoretical targets for future experiments and discuss observational prospects.

Kinematic effects of velocity fluctuations for the dark-halo population in a ΛCDM model

It is known that ΛCDM cosmological models predict too many dark halos compared to the observed numbers. This excess is derived from the virialized mass in the Local Supercluster and its vicinity. Taking into account cosmological velocity fluctuations during the formation of the dark halo population makes it possible to eliminate this remaining contradiction in the ΛCDM model. Based on Press-Schechter formalism, a model describing the formation of the dark halo population is developed, taking into account kinematic effects in the dark matter. A quantitative explanation of the virialized-mass deficit in the local Universe is obtained in this model.

Experimental search for evaporating primordial black holes

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are black holes which may form in the early Universe through the gravitational collapse of primordial cosmological density fluctuations. Due to Hawking radiation these PBHs are supposed to evaporate by emitting particles. Recent developments in the experimental searching for evaporating PBHs in the local Universe are reviewed. The technique of searching for the gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) from evaporating PBHs on shower arrays is discussed.

Remapping simulated halo catalogues in redshift space

We discuss the extension to redshift space of a rescaling algorithm, designed to alter the effective cosmology of a pre-existing simulated particle distribution or catalogue of dark matter haloes. The rescaling approach was initially developed by Angulo & White and was adapted and applied to halo catalogues in real space in our previous work. This algorithm requires no information other than the initial and target cosmological parameters, and it contains no tuned parameters. It is shown here that the rescaling method also works well in redshift space, and that the rescaled simulations can reproduce the growth rate of cosmological density fluctuations appropriate for the target cosmology. Even when rescaling a grossly non-standard model with Λ = 0 and zero baryons, the redshift-space power spectrum of standard Λ cold dark matter can be reproduced to about 5 per cent error for k < 0.2 h Mpc−1. The ratio of quadrupole-to-monopole power spectra remains correct to the same tolerance up to k = 1 h Mpc−1, provided that the input halo catalogue contains measured internal velocity dispersions.

A small cosmological constant from Abelian symmetry breaking

We investigate some cosmological consequences of a vector–tensor theory where an Abelian symmetry in the vector sector is slightly broken by a mass term and by ghost-free derivative self-interactions. When studying cosmological expansion in the presence of large bare cosmological constant Λcc, we find that the theory admits branches of de Sitter solutions in which the scale of the Hubble parameter is inversely proportional to a power of Λcc. Hence, a large value of Λcc leads to a small size for the Hubble scale. In an appropriate limit, in which the symmetry breaking parameters are small, the theory recovers the Abelian symmetry plus an additional Galileon symmetry acting on the longitudinal vector polarization. The approximate Galileon symmetry can make the structure of this theory stable at the energy scales we are interested in. We also analyze the dynamics of linearized cosmological fluctuations around the de Sitter solutions, showing that no manifest instabilities arise, and that the transverse vector polarizations become massless around these configurations.

Probing small-scale cosmological fluctuations with the 21 cm forest: Effects of neutrino mass, running spectral index, and warm dark matter

Although the cosmological paradigm based on cold dark matter and adiabatic, nearly scale-invariant primordial fluctuations is consistent with a wide variety of existing observations, it has yet to be sufficiently tested on scales smaller than those of massive galaxies, and various alternatives have been proposed that differ significantly in the consequent small-scale power spectrum (SSPS) of large-scale structure. Here we show that a powerful probe of the SSPS at $k\gtrsim 10$ Mpc$^{-1}$ can be provided by the 21 cm forest, that is, systems of narrow absorption lines due to intervening, cold neutral hydrogen in the spectra of high-redshift background radio sources in the cosmic reionization epoch. Such features are expected to be caused predominantly by collapsed gas in starless minihalos, whose mass function can be very sensitive to the SSPS. As specific examples, we consider the effects of neutrino mass, running spectral index (RSI) and warm dark matter (WDM) on the SSPS, and evaluate the expected distribution in optical depth of 21 cm absorbers out to different redshifts. Within the current constraints on quantities such as the sum of neutrino masses $\sum m_\nu$, running of the primordial spectral index $d n_s/d \ln k$ and WDM particle mass $m_{\rm WDM}$, the statistics of the 21 cm forest manifest observationally significant differences that become larger at higher redshifts. In particular, it may be possible to probe the range of $m_{\rm WDM} \gtrsim 10$ keV that may otherwise be inaccessible. Future observations of the 21 cm forest by the Square Kilometer Array may offer a unique and valuable probe of the SSPS, as long as radio sources such as quasars or Population III gamma-ray bursts with sufficient brightness and number exist at redshifts of $z \gtrsim$ 10 - 20, and the astrophysical effects of reionization and heating can be discriminated.

Impact of quantum entanglement on spectrum of cosmological fluctuations

We investigate the effect of entanglement between two causally separated open charts in de Sitter space on the spectrum of vacuum fluctuations. We consider a free massive scalar field, and construct the reduced density matrix by tracing out the vacuum state for one of the open charts, as recently derived by Maldacena and Pimentel. We formulate the mean-square vacuum fluctuations by using the reduced density matrix and show that the scale invariant spectrum of massless scalar field is realized on small scales. On the other hand, we find that the quantum entanglement affects the shape of the spectrum on large scales comparable to or greater than the curvature radius.

Constraining warm dark matter with high-z supernova lensing

We propose a new method to constrain the warm dark matter (WDM) particle mass, $m_\chi$, based on the counts of multiply imaged, distant supernovae (SN) produced by strong lensing by intervening cosmological matter fluctuations. The counts are very sensitive to the WDM particle mass, assumed here to be $m_\chi=1, 1.5, 2$ keV. We use the analytic approach developed by Das & Ostriker to compute the probability density function of the cold dark matter (CDM) convergence ($\kappa$) on the lens plane; such method has been extensively tested against numerical simulations. We have extended this method generalizing it to the WDM case, after testing it against WDM $N$-body simulations. Using the observed cosmic star formation history we compute the probability for a distant SN to undergo a strong lensing event in different cosmologies. A minimum observing time of 2 yr (5 yr) is required for a future 100 square degrees survey reaching $z \approx 4$ ($z \approx 3$) to disentangle at 2$\sigma$ a WDM ($m_\chi=1$ keV) model from the standard CDM scenario. Our method is not affected by any astrophysical uncertainty (such as baryonic physics effects), and, in principle, it does not require any particular dedicated survey strategy, as it may come as a byproduct of a future SN survey.

Signatures of quantum gravity in a Born–Oppenheimer context

We solve a general equation describing the lowest order corrections arising from quantum gravitational effects to the spectrum of cosmological fluctuations. The spectra of scalar and tensor perturbations are calculated to first order in the slow roll approximation and the results are compared with the most recent observations. The slow roll approximation gives qualitatively new quantum gravitational effects with respect to the pure de Sitter case.

Cosmological fluctuations of a random field and radiation fluid

A generalization of the random fluid hydrodynamic fluctuation theorydue to Landau and Lifshitz is applied to describe cosmologicalfluctuations in systems with radiation and scalar fields. The viscouspressures, parametrized in terms of the bulk and shear viscositycoefficients, and the respective random fluctuations in the radiationfluid are combined with the stochastic and dissipative scalarevolution equation. This results in a complete set of equationsdescribing the perturbations in both scalar and radiationfluids. These derived equations are then studied, as an example, inthe context of warm inflation. Similar treatments can be done forother cosmological early universe scenarios involving thermal orstatistical fluctuations.

Quantum-to-classical transition of primordial cosmological perturbations in de Broglie-Bohm quantum theory: The bouncing scenario

In a previous work we have exhibited a clear description of the quantum-to-classical transition of cosmological quantum fluctuations in the inflationary scenario using the de Broglie--Bohm quantum theory. These fluctuations are believed to seed the small inhomogeneities, which are then responsible for the formation of large scale structures. In this work we show that using the de Broglie--Bohm theory, it is also possible to describe the quantum-to-classical transition of primordial perturbations which takes place around a bouncing phase, even if the latter is caused by quantum effects due to the quantization of the background geometry.

Lyman-αforest constraints on decaying dark matter

We present an analysis of high-resolution $N$-body simulations of decaying dark matter cosmologies focusing on the statistical properties of the transmitted Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ ($\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$) forest flux in the high-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM). In this type of model a dark matter particle decays into a slightly less massive stable dark matter daughter particle and a comparably light particle. The small mass splitting provides a nonrelativistic kick velocity ${V}_{k}=c\ensuremath{\Delta}M/M$ to the daughter particle resulting in free-streaming and subsequent damping of small-scale density fluctuations. Current $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest power spectrum measurements probe comoving scales up to $\ensuremath{\sim}2--3{h}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Mpc}$ at redshifts $z\ensuremath{\sim}2--4$, providing one of the most robust ways to probe cosmological density fluctuations on relatively small scales. The suppression of structure growth due to the free-streaming of dark matter daughter particles also has a significant impact on the neutral hydrogen cloud distribution, which traces the underlying dark matter distribution well at high redshift. We exploit $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest power spectrum measurements to constrain the amount of free-streaming of dark matter in such models and thereby place limits on decaying dark matter based only on the dynamics of cosmological perturbations without any assumptions about the interactions of the decay products. We use a suite of dark-matter-only simulations together with the fluctuating Gunn-Peterson approximation to derive the $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ flux distribution. We argue that this approach should be sufficient for our main purpose, which is to demonstrate the power of the $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest to constrain decaying dark matter models. We find that Sloan Digital Sky Survey 1D $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest power spectrum data place a lifetime-dependent upper limit ${V}_{k}\ensuremath{\lesssim}30--70\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{km}/\mathrm{s}$ for decay lifetimes $\ensuremath{\lesssim}10\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Gyr}$. This is the most stringent model-independent bound on invisible dark matter decays with small mass splittings. For larger mass splittings (large ${V}_{k}$), $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ forest data restrict the dark matter lifetime to ${\ensuremath{\Gamma}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}40\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{Gyr}$. We leave the calibration of IGM properties using high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations for future work, which might become necessary if we consider data with higher precision such as the Baryon Oscillation and Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) $\mathrm{Ly}\ensuremath{\alpha}$ data. Forthcoming BOSS data should be able to provide more stringent constraints on exotic dark matter, mainly because the larger BOSS quasar spectrum sample will significantly reduce statistical errors.

Machian classical and semiclassical emergent time

Classical and semiclassical schemes are presented that are timeless at the primary level and recover time from Mach’s ‘time is to be abstracted from change’ principle at the emergent secondary level. The semiclassical scheme is a Machian variant of the semiclassical approach to the problem of time in quantum gravity. The classical scheme is Barbour’s, cast here explicitly as the classical precursor of the semiclassical approach. Thus the two schemes have been married up, as equally-Machian and necessarily distinct, since the latter’s timestandard is abstracted in part from quantum change. I provide perturbative schemes for these in which the timefunction is to be determined rather than assumed. This paper is useful modelling as regards the Halliwell–Hawking arena for the quantum origin of the inhomogeneous cosmological fluctuations.

Dimensional reduction in momentum space and scale-invariant cosmological fluctuations

We adopt a framework where quantum gravity's dynamical dimensional reduction of spacetime at short distances is described in terms of modified dispersion relations. We observe that by subjecting such models to a momentum-space diffeomorphism one obtains a ``dual picture'' with unmodified dispersion relations, but a modified measure of integration over momenta. We then find that the UV Hausdorff dimension of momentum space which can be inferred from this modified integration measure coincides with the short-distance spectral dimension of spacetime. This result sheds light into why scale-invariant fluctuations are obtained if the original model for two UV spectral dimensions is combined with Einstein gravity. By studying the properties of the inner product we derive the result that it is only in two energy-momentum dimensions that microphysical vacuum fluctuations are scale invariant. This is true ignoring gravity, but then we find that if Einstein gravity is postulated in the original frame, in the dual picture gravity switches off, since all matter becomes conformally coupled. We argue that our findings imply that the following concepts are closely connected: scale invariance of vacuum quantum fluctuations, conformal invariance of the gravitational coupling, UV reduction to spectral dimension two in position space, and UV reduction to Hausdorff dimension two in energy-momentum space.