Current Cosmic Microwave Background Research Articles

Higgs inflation: Constraining the top quark mass and breaking the H0-σ8 correlation

Extending previous results, we explore aspects of the reheating mechanism for non-minimal Higgs inflation in the strong coupling regime. We constrain the radiative corrections for the inflaton's potential by considering the Coleman-Weinberg approximation and use the Renormalization Group Equations for the Higgs field to derive an upper limit on the top quark mass. Using the current Cosmic Microwave Background, Baryon Acoustic Oscillation, and Supernovae data, we obtain mt≤170.44 GeV, confirming the observational compatibility of the model with recent mt estimates reported by the CMS collaboration. We also analyze the breakdown of the well-known correlation involving the Hubble constant H0 and the clustering parameter σ8, which makes the model interesting in light of the cosmological tensions discussed over the last decade.

21 cm intensity mapping cross-correlation with galaxy surveys: Current and forecasted cosmological parameters estimation for the SKAO

ABSTRACT We present a comprehensive set of forecasts for the cross-correlation signal between 21 cm intensity mapping and galaxy redshift surveys. We focus on the data sets that will be provided by the SKAO for the 21 cm signal, DESI and Euclid for galaxy clustering. We build a likelihood which takes into account the effect of the beam for the radio observations, the Alcock–Paczynski effect, a simple parametrization of astrophysical nuisances, and fully exploit the tomographic power of such observations in the range z = 0.7–1.8 at linear and mildly non-linear scales (k < 0.25h Mpc−1). The forecasted constraints, obtained with Monte Carlo Markov Chains techniques in a Bayesian framework, in terms of the six base parameters of the standard ΛCDM model, are promising. The predicted signal-to-noise ratio for the cross-correlation can reach ∼50 for z ∼ 1 and k ∼ 0.1h Mpc−1. When the cross-correlation signal is combined with current Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from Planck, the error bar on $\Omega _{\rm c}\, h^2$ and H0 is reduced by factors 3 and 6, respectively, compared to CMB only data, due to the measurement of matter clustering provided by the two observables. The cross-correlation signal has a constraining power that is comparable to the autocorrelation one and combining all the clustering measurements a sub-per cent error bar of 0.33 per cent on H0 can be achieved, which is about a factor 2 better than CMB only measurements. Finally, as a proof of concept, we test the full pipeline on the real data measured by the MeerKat collaboration (Cunnington et al. 2022) presenting some (weak) constraints on cosmological parameters.

Is natural inflation in agreement with CMB data?

Natural inflation is a well-motivated model for the early universe in which an inflaton potential of the pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone form, V(ϕ) = Λ4[1 + cos(ϕ/f)], can naturally drive a cosmic accelerated epoch. This paper investigates the observational viability of the minimally and non-minimally coupled natural inflation scenarios in light of current Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations. We find that a small and negative coupling of the field with gravity can alleviate the well-known observational discrepancies of the minimally coupled model. We perform a Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis of the Planck 2018 CMB and BICEP/Keck Array B-mode polarization data to estimate how strong the coupling ξ should be to achieve concordance with data. We also briefly discuss the impact of these results on the physical interpretation of the natural inflation scenario.

Exploring modified gravity: constraints on the μ and Σ parametrization with WMAP, ACT, and SPT

ABSTRACT The cosmic acceleration problem remains one of the most significant challenges in cosmology. One of the proposed solutions to this problem is the modification of gravity on large scales. In this paper, we explore the well-known μ–Σ parametrization scenarios and confront them with observational data, including the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), and South Pole Telescope (SPT), as well as large-scale structure data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; baryon acoustic oscillation + redshift-space distortion) and Pantheon supernova (SN) catalogue. We employ a Bayesian framework to constrain the model parameters and discuss the implications of our results on the viability of modified gravity theories. Our analysis reveals the strengths and limitations of the μ–Σ parametrization and provides valuable insights into the nature of gravity on cosmological scales. From the joint analysis of the ACT + WMAP + SDSS + SN, we find μ0 − 1 = 0.02 ± 0.19 and Σ0 − 1 = 0.021 ± 0.068 at 68 per cent confidence level (CL). In light of the SPT + WMAP + SDSS + SN, we find μ0 − 1 = 0.07 ± 0.18 and $\Sigma _0 -1 = -0.009^{+0.078}_{-0.11}$ at 68 per cent CL. In all the analyses carried out, we do not find any deviations from the theory of general relativity. Our results represent an observational update on the well-known μ–Σ parametrization in view of current CMB data, independent of and competitive with the constraints obtained with the Planck data.

Polarization angle accuracy for future CMB experiments

The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation offers a unique window into the early Universe, facilitating precise examinations of fundamental cosmological theories. However, the quest for detecting B-modes in the CMB, predicted by theoretical models of inflation, faces substantial challenges in terms of calibration and foreground modeling. The COSMOCal (COsmic Survey of Millimeter wavelengths Objects for CMB experiments Calibration) project aims at enhancing the accuracy of the absolute calibration of the polarization angle ψ of current and future CMB experiments. The concept includes the build of a very well known artificial source emitting in the frequency range [20-350] GHz that would act as an absolute calibrator for several polarization facilities on Earth. A feasibility study to place the artificial source in geostationary orbit, in the far field for all the telescopes on Earth, is ongoing. In the meanwhile ongoing hardware work is dedicated to build a prototype to test the technology, the precision and the stability of the polarization recovering in the 1 mm band (220-300 GHz). High-resolution experiments as the NIKA2 camera at the IRAM 30m telescope will be deployed for such use. Once carefully calibrated (Δψ < 0.1◦) it will be used to observe astrophysical sources such as the Crab nebula, which is the best candidate in the sky for the absolute calibration of CMB experiments.

Spectro-spatial evolution of the CMB. Part III. Transfer functions, power spectra and Fisher forecasts

In this paper, we provide the first computations for the distortion transfer functions of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) in the perturbed Universe, following up on paper I and II in this series. We illustrate the physical effects inherent to the solutions, discussing and demonstrating various limiting cases for the perturbed photon spectrum. We clarify the relationship between distortion transfer functions and the photon spectrum itself, providing the machinery that can then compute constrainable CMB signal power spectra including spectral distortions for single energy injection and decaying particle scenarios. Our results show that the μ × T and y × T power spectra reach levels that can be constrained with current and future CMB experiments without violating existing constraints from COBE/FIRAS. The amplitude of the cross-correlation signal directly depends on the average distortion level, therefore establishing a novel fundamental link between the state of the primordial plasma from redshift 103 ≲ z ≲ 3 × 106 and the frequency-dependent CMB sky. This providesa new method to constrain average early energy release using CMB imagers. As an example we derive constraints on single energy release and decaying particle scenarios. This shows that LiteBIRD may be able to improve the energy release limits of COBE/FIRAS by up to a factor of ≃ 2.5, while PICO could tighten the constraints by more than one order of magnitude. The signals considered here could furthermore provide a significant challenge to reaching cosmic variance-limited constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity from distortion anisotropy studies. Our work further highlights the immense potential for a synergistic spectroscopic approach to future CMB measurements and analyses.

Photonic Integrated Circuits for Microwave Astronomy

One of the main objectives of cosmology is the measurement of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization and, in particular, the so-called B-modes, which could demonstrate the existence of the primordial gravitational waves generated at the early stages of the Universe. For this reason, a new integrated version of the heterodyne polarimeter photonic part shown on a previously proposed scheme that can be used in both direct imaging and interferometric instruments is presented. We have tested its properties using specific commercial software, obtaining promising results. Working as a direct imaging instrument, it is shown that the proposed polarimeter can provide sufficiently low polarization angle and polarization efficiency systematic errors, which are considered acceptable for current ground-based CMB polarization experiments dedicated to the characterization of the foreground signals affecting the lowest part of the frequency spectrum.

Scale-invariant enhancement of gravitational waves during inflation

The inflationary 1-loop tensor power spectrum from a spectator scalar field with a sharp peak is calculated. Recent studies on primordial black holes suggest that the inflationary curvature perturbation may be huge on small scales. An enhanced curvature perturbation may arise from a drastic enhancement of spectator scalar field fluctuations. In this paper, using the in-in formalism, we calculate 1-loop quantum corrections to primordial gravitational waves by such a spectator field with a sharp peak in momentum space. We find scale-invariant loop corrections in this full quantum setup, in contrast to the sharply peaked corrections in the previously calculated scalar-induced tensor modes. Especially on super Hubble scales, the primordial gravitational waves are also amplified, which can be understood as a Bogoliubov transformation of the vacuum due to the enhanced scalar field. This mechanism allows us to probe the scalar field properties on extremely short-distance scales with the current and future cosmic microwave background and gravitational wave experiments, opening a novel window for inflationary cosmology.

Primordial Black Holes from Volkov–Akulov–Starobinsky Supergravity

AbstractWe study the formation of primordial black holes (PBH) in the Starobinsky supergravity coupled to the nilpotent superfield describing Volkov–Akulov goldstino. By using the no‐scale Kähler potential and a polynomial superpotential, we find that under certain conditions our model can describe effectively single‐field inflation with the ultra‐slow‐roll phase that appears near a critical (near‐inflection) point of the scalar potential. This can lead to the formation of PBH as part of (or whole) dark matter, while keeping the inflationary spectral tilt and the tensor‐to‐scalar ratio in good agreement with the current cosmic microwave background (CMB) bounds. After inflation, supersymmetry is spontaneously broken at the inflationary scale with the vanishing cosmological constant.

Fuzzy Dark Matter as a Solution to Reconcile the Stellar Mass Density of High-z Massive Galaxies and Reionization History

The JWST early release data show unexpected high stellar mass densities of massive galaxies at 7 < z < 11. A high star formation efficiency is probably needed to explain this. However, such a high star formation efficiency would greatly increase the number of ionizing photons, which would be in serious conflict with current cosmic microwave background (CMB) and other measurements of cosmic reionization history. To solve this problem, we explore fuzzy dark matter (FDM), which is composed of ultra-light scalar particles, e.g., ultra-light axions, and calculate its halo mass function and stellar mass density for different axion masses. We find that a FDM model with m a ≃ 5 × 10−23 eV and a possible uncertainty range ∼3 × 10−23–10−22 eV can effectively suppress the formation of small halos and galaxies, so that with higher star formation efficiency both the JWST data at z ∼ 8 and the reionization history measurements from optical depth of CMB scattering and ionization fraction can be simultaneously matched. We also find that the JWST data at z ∼ 10 are still too high to fit in this scenario. We note that the estimated mean redshift of the sample may have large uncertainty, that it can be as low as z ∼ 9 depending on adopted spectral energy distribution templates and photometric-redshift code. In addition, warm dark matter with ∼keV mass can also be an alternative choice, since it should have similar effects on halo formation as FDM.

Recovering Cosmic Microwave Background Polarization Signals with Machine Learning

Primordial B-mode detection is one of the main goals of current and future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. However, the weak B-mode signal is overshadowed by several Galactic polarized emissions, such as thermal dust emission and synchrotron radiation. Subtracting foreground components from CMB observations is one of the key challenges in searching for the primordial B-mode signal. Here, we construct a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model, called CMBFSCNN (Cosmic Microwave Background Foreground Subtraction with CNN), which can cleanly remove various foreground components from simulated CMB observational maps at the sensitivity of the CMB-S4 experiment. Noisy CMB Q (or U) maps are recovered with a mean absolute difference of 0.018 ± 0.023 μK (or 0.021 ± 0.028 μK). To remove the residual instrumental noise from the foreground-cleaned map, inspired by the needlet internal linear combination method, we divide the whole data set into two “half-split maps,” which share the same sky signal, but have uncorrelated noise, and perform a cross-correlation technique to reduce the instrumental noise effects at the power spectrum level. We find that the CMB EE and BB power spectra can be precisely recovered with significantly reduced noise effects. Finally, we apply this pipeline to current Planck observations. As expected, various foregrounds are cleanly removed from the Planck observational maps, with the recovered EE and BB power spectra being in good agreement with the official Planck results.

Probing the interaction between dark energy and dark matter with future fast radio burst observations

Interacting dark energy (IDE) scenario assumes that there exists a direct interaction between dark energy and cold dark matter, but this interaction is hard to be tightly constrained by the current data. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) will be seen in large numbers by future radio telescopes, and thus they have potential to become a promising low-redshift cosmological probe. In this work, we investigate the capability of future FRBs of constraining the dimensionless coupling parameter β in four phenomenological IDE models. If we fix the FRB properties, about 105 FRB data can give constraints on β tighter than the current cosmic microwave background data in the IDE models with the interaction proportional to the energy density of dark energy. In all the IDE models, about 106 FRB data can achieve the absolute errors of β to less than 0.10, providing a way to precisely measure β by only one cosmological probe. Jointly constraining the FRB properties and cosmological parameters would increase the constraint errors of β by a factor of about 0.5–2.

Warm beta -exponential inflation and the swampland conjectures

We investigate theoretical and observational aspects of a warm inflation scenario driven by the beta -exponential potential, which generalizes the well-known power law inflation. In such a scenario, the decay of the inflaton field into radiation happens during the inflationary phase. In our study, we consider a dissipation coefficient (varGamma ) with cubic dependence on the temperature (T) and investigate the consequences in the inflationary dynamics, focusing on the impact on the spectral index n_s, its running n_{run} and tensor-to-scalar ratio r. We find it possible to realize inflation in agreement with current cosmic microwave background data in weak and strong dissipation regimes. We also investigate theoretical aspects of the model in light of the swampland conjectures, as warm inflation in the strong dissipation regime has been known as a way to satisfy the three conditions currently discussed in the literature. We find that when varGamma propto T^3, the beta -exponential model can be accommodated into the conjectures.

Kinetically stabilized inflation

In this work, we propose a string-inspired two fields inflation model to address the fine-tuning problem that the standard inflation model suffers. The fast-rolling tachyon mathcal{T} originated from the D-brane and anti-D-brane pair annihilation locks the inflaton φ slowly rolling on a Higgs-like potential Vleft(varphi right)=-{m}_{varphi}^2{varphi}^2+lambda {varphi}^4 and drives a kinetically stabilized (KS) inflation. Our numerical simulation confirms such a solution is a dynamic attractor. In particular, for λ < 0.8 × 10−3, the e-folding number contributed by the KS inflation phase can be larger than 62 to solve the horizon and flatness problems of Big Bang theory. Notably, this KS inflation generates a nearly scale-invariant primordial curvature perturbations spectrum consistent with current cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations. It predicts a low tensor-to-scalar ratio, which the current primordial gravitational wave background (the B-modes in CMB) searches favor.

E-models of inflation and primordial black holes

We propose and study the new (generalized) E-type α-attractor models of inflation, in order to include formation of primordial black holes (PBHs). The inflaton potential has a near-inflection point where slow-roll conditions are violated, thus leading to large scalar perturbations collapsing to PBHs later. An ultra-slow roll (short) phase exists between two (longer) phases of slow-roll inflation. We numerically investigate the phases of inflation, derive the power spectrum of scalar perturbations and calculate the PBHs masses. For certain values of the parameters, the asteroid-size PBHs can be formed with the masses of 1017 ÷ 1019 g, beyond the Hawking evaporation limit and in agreement with current Cosmic Microwave Background observations. Those PBHs are a candidate for (part of) dark matter in the present Universe, while the gravitational waves induced by the PBHs formation may be detectable by the future space-based gravitational interferometers.

Calibration of Transition-edge Sensor (TES) Bolometer Arrays with Application to CLASS

The current and future cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments fielding kilopixel arrays of transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers require accurate and robust gain calibration methods. We simplify and refactor the standard TES model to directly relate the detector responsivity calibration and optical time constant to the measured TES current I and the applied bias current I b. The calibration method developed for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) TES bolometer arrays relies on current versus voltage (I–V) measurements acquired daily prior to CMB observations. By binning Q-band (40 GHz) I–V measurements by optical loading, we find that the gain calibration median standard error within a bin is 0.3%. We test the accuracy of this I–V bin detector calibration method by using the Moon as a photometric standard. The ratio of measured Moon amplitudes between the detector pairs sharing the same feedhorn indicates a TES calibration error of 0.5%. We also find that, for the CLASS Q-band TES array, calibrating the response of individual detectors based solely on the applied TES bias current accurately corrects TES gain variations across time but introduces a bias in the TES calibration from data counts to power units. Since the TES current bias value is set and recorded before every observation, this calibration method can always be applied to the raw TES data and is not subject to I–V data quality or processing errors.

Broadband Multi-layer Anti-reflection Coatings with Mullite and Duroid for Half-wave Plates and Alumina Filters for CMB Polarimetry

A broadband two-layer antireflection (AR) coating was developed for use on a sapphire half-wave plate (HWP) and an alumina infrared (IR) filter for cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarimetry. Measuring tiny CMB B-mode signals requires maximizing the number of photons reaching the detectors and minimizing spurious polarization due to reflection with an off-axis incident angle. However, a sapphire HWP and an alumina IR filter have high refractive indices of \(\simeq\) 3.1, and an AR coating must be applied to them. Thermally sprayed mullite and Duroid 5880LZ were selected in terms of index and coefficient of thermal expansion for use at cryogenic temperatures. With these materials, the reflectivity was reduced to about 2% at 90/150 GHz and <1% at 220/280 GHz. The design, fabrication, and optical performance evaluation of the AR coatings are described. The coatings were used in a current ground-based CMB experiment called the Simons Array. Also, they could be applied to next-generation CMB experiments, such as the Simons Observatory.

Revisiting small-scale fluctuations in α-attractor models of inflation

Cosmological α-attractors stand out as particularly compelling models to describe inflation in the very early universe, naturally meeting tight observational bounds from cosmic microwave background (CMB) experiments. We investigate α-attractor potentials in the presence of an inflection point, leading to enhanced curvature perturbations on small scales. We study both single- and multi-field models, driven by scalar fields living on a hyperbolic field space.In the single-field case, ultra-slow-roll dynamics at the inflection point is responsible for the growth of the power spectrum, while in the multi-field set-up we study the effect of geometrical destabilisation and non-geodesic motion in field space. The two mechanisms can in principle be distinguished through the spectral shape of the resulting scalar power spectrum on small scales. These enhanced scalar perturbations can lead to primordial black hole (PBH) production and second-order gravitational wave (GW) generation.Due to the existence of universal predictions in α-attractors, consistency with current CMB constraints on the large-scale spectral tilt implies that PBHs can only be produced with masses smaller than 108 g and are accompanied by ultra-high frequency GWs, with a peak expected to be at frequencies of order 10 kHz or above.

Recovering the CMB Signal with Machine Learning

The cosmic microwave background (CMB), carrying the inhomogeneous information of the very early universe, is of great significance for understanding the origin and evolution of our universe. However, observational CMB maps contain serious foreground contaminations from several sources, such as Galactic synchrotron and thermal dust emissions. Here, we build a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to recover the tiny CMB signal from various huge foreground contaminations. Focusing on CMB temperature fluctuations, we find that the CNN model can successfully recover the CMB temperature maps with high accuracy, and that the deviation of the recovered power spectrum C ℓ is smaller than the cosmic variance at ℓ > 10. We then apply this method to the current Planck observations, and find that the recovered CMB is quite consistent with that disclosed by the Planck Collaboration, which indicates that the CNN method can provide a promising approach to the component separation of CMB observations. Furthermore, we test the CNN method with simulated CMB polarization maps based on the CMB-S4 experiment. The result shows that both the EE and BB power spectra can be recovered with high accuracy. Therefore, this method will be helpful for the detection of primordial gravitational waves in current and future CMB experiments. The CNN is designed to analyze two-dimensional images, thus this method is not only able to process full-sky maps, but also partial-sky maps. Therefore, it can also be used for other similar experiments, such as radio surveys like the Square Kilometer Array.

Constraining Brans–Dicke Cosmology with the CSST Galaxy Clustering Spectroscopic Survey

The Brans–Dicke (BD) theory is the simplest Scalar-Tensor theory of gravity, which can be considered as a candidate of modified Einstein’s theory of general relativity. In this work, we forecast the constraints on BD theory in the CSST galaxy clustering spectroscopic survey with a magnitude limit ∼23 AB mag for point-source 5σ detection. We generate mock data based on the zCOSMOS catalog and consider the observational and instrumental effects of the CSST spectroscopic survey. We predict galaxy power spectra in the BD theory from z = 0 to 1.5, and the galaxy bias and other systematical parameters are also included. The Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique is employed to find the best-fits and probability distributions of the cosmological and systematical parameters. A BD parameter ζ is introduced, which satisfies . We find that the CSST spectroscopic galaxy clustering survey can give ∣ζ∣ < 10−2, or equivalently and , under the assumption ζ = 0. These constraints are almost at the same order of magnitude compared to the joint constraints using the current cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations and Type Ia supernova data, indicating that the CSST galaxy clustering spectroscopic survey would be powerful for constraining the BD theory and other modified gravity theories.