Cold Dark Matter Density Research Articles

The SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey

Context. The spatial distribution of galaxy clusters provides a reliable tracer of the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe. The clustering signal depends on intrinsic cluster properties and cosmological parameters. Aims. The ability of eROSITA on board Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) to discover galaxy clusters allows the association of extended X-ray emission with dark matter haloes to be probed. We measured the projected two-point correlation function to study the occupation of dark matter haloes by clusters and groups detected by the first eROSITA all-sky survey (eRASS1). Methods. We created five volume-limited samples probing clusters with different redshifts and X-ray luminosity values. We interpreted the correlation function with halo occupation distribution (HOD) and halo abundance matching (HAM) models. We simultaneously fit the cosmological parameters and halo bias of a flux-limited sample of 6493 clusters with purity > 96%. Results. We obtained a detailed view of the halo occupation for eRASS1 clusters. The fainter population at low redshift (S0: L̄X = 4.63 × 1043 erg s−1, 0.1 < z < 0.2) is the least biased compared to dark matter, with b = 2.95 ± 0.21. The brightest clusters up to higher redshift (S4: L̄X = 1.77 × 1044 erg s−1, 0.1 < z < 0.6) exhibit a higher bias b = 4.34 ± 0.62. Satellite groups are rare, with a satellite fraction < 14.9% (8.1) for the S0 (S4) sample. We combined the HOD prediction with a HAM procedure to constrain the scaling relation between LX and mass in a new way, and find a scatter of ⟨σLx⟩ = 0.36. We obtain cosmological constraints for the physical cold dark matter density ωc = 0.12−0.02+0.03 and an average halo bias b = 3.63−0.85+1.02. Conclusions. We modelled the clustering of galaxy clusters with a HOD approach for the first time, paving the way for future studies combining eROSITA with 4MOST, SDSS, Euclid, Rubin, and DESI to unravel the cluster distribution in the Universe.

Postinflationary production of particle dark matter: Hilltop and Coleman-Weinberg inflation

We investigate the production of nonthermal dark matter (DM), χ, during the postinflationary reheating era. For inflation, we consider two slow roll single field inflationary scenarios—generalized version of Hilltop (GH) inflation, and Coleman-Weinberg (CW) inflation. Using a set of benchmark values that comply with the current constraints from cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) data for each inflationary model, we explored the parameter space involving mass of dark matter particles, mχ, and coupling between inflaton and χ, yχ. For these benchmarks, we find that tensor-to-scalar ratio r can be as small as 2.69×10−6 for GH and 1.91×10−3 for CW inflation, both well inside 1−σ contour on scalar spectral index versus r plane from 2018+BICEP3+2018 dataset, and testable by future cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations, e.g., Simons Observatory. For the production of χ from the inflaton decay satisfying CMB and other cosmological bounds and successfully explaining total cold dark matter density of the present universe, we find that yχ should be within this range O(10−4)≳yχ≳O(10−20) for both inflationary scenarios. We also show that, even for the same inflationary scenario, the allowed parameter space on reheating temperature versus mχ plane alters with inflationary parameters including scalar spectral index, r, and energy scale of inflation. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Prospects for Probing the Interaction between Dark Energy and Dark Matter Using Gravitational-wave Dark Sirens with Neutron Star Tidal Deformation

Gravitational wave (GW) standard siren observations provide a rather useful tool to explore the evolution of the Universe. In this work, we wish to investigate whether dark sirens with neutron star (NS) deformation from third-generation GW detectors could help probe the interaction between dark energy and dark matter. We simulate the GW dark sirens of four detection strategies based on 3 yr observation and consider four phenomenological interacting dark energy (IDE) models to perform cosmological analysis. We find that GW dark sirens could provide tight constraints on Ωm and H 0 in the four IDE models but do not perform well in constraining the dimensionless coupling parameter β in models of the interaction proportional to the energy density of cold dark matter. Nevertheless, the parameter degeneracy orientations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) and GW are almost orthogonal, and thus, the combination of them could effectively break cosmological parameter degeneracies, with the constraint errors of β being 0.00068–0.018. In addition, we choose three typical equations of state (EoSs) of an NS, i.e., SLy, MPA1, and MS1, to investigate the effect of an NS’s EoS on cosmological analysis. The stiffer EoS could give tighter constraints than the softer EoS. Nonetheless, the combination of CMB and GW dark sirens (using different EoSs of an NS) shows basically the same constraint results of cosmological parameters. We conclude that the dark sirens from 3G GW detectors would play a crucial role in helping probe the interaction between dark energy and dark matter, and the CMB+GW results are basically not affected by the EoS of an NS.

Electroweak loop contributions to the direct detection of wino dark matter

Electroweak loop corrections to the matrix elements for the spin-independent scattering of cold dark matter particles on nuclei are generally small, typically below the uncertainty in the local density of cold dark matter. However, as shown in this paper, there are instances in which the electroweak loop corrections are relatively large, and change significantly the spin-independent dark matter scattering rate. An important example occurs when the dark matter particle is a wino, e.g., in anomaly-mediated supersymmetry breaking (AMSB) and pure gravity mediation (PGM) models. We find that the one-loop electroweak corrections to the spin-independent wino LSP scattering cross section generally interfere constructively with the tree-level contribution for AMSB models with negative Higgsino mixing, mu < 0, and in PGM-like models for both signs of mu , lifting the cross section out of the neutrino fog and into a range that is potentially detectable in the next generation of direct searches for cold dark matter scattering.

Interferometric H i intensity mapping: perturbation theory predictions and foreground removal effects

ABSTRACT We provide perturbation theory predictions for the H i intensity mapping power spectrum multipoles using the Effective Field Theory of Large Scale Structure, which should allow us to exploit mildly non-linear scales. Assuming survey specifications typical of proposed interferometric H i intensity mapping experiments like Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio transient Detector and PUMA, and realistic ranges of validity for the perturbation theory modelling, we run mock full shape Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analyses at z = 0.5, and compare with Stage-IV optical galaxy surveys. We include the impact of 21cm foreground removal using simulations-based prescriptions, and quantify the effects on the precision and accuracy of the parameter estimation. We vary 11 parameters in total: three cosmological parameters, seven bias and counter terms parameters, and the H i brightness temperature. Amongst them, the four parameters of interest are: the cold dark matter density, ωc, the Hubble parameter, h, the primordial amplitude of the power spectrum, As, and the linear H i bias, b1. For the best-case scenario, we obtain unbiased constraints on all parameters with $\lt 3{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ errors at $68{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ confidence level. When we include the foreground removal effects, the parameter estimation becomes strongly biased for ωc, h, and b1, while As is less biased (&amp;lt;2σ). We find that scale cuts $k_{\rm min} \ge 0.03 \ h\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ are required to return accurate estimates for ωc and h, at the price of a decrease in the precision, while b1 remains strongly biased. We comment on the implications of these results for real data analyses.

Irreducible Axion Background.

Searches for dark matter decaying into photons constrain its lifetime to be many orders of magnitude larger than the age of the Universe. A corollary statement is that the abundance of any particle that can decay into photons over cosmological timescales is constrained to be much smaller than the cold dark-matter density. We show that an irreducible freeze-in contribution to the relic density of axions is in violation of that statement in a large portion of the parameter space. This allows us to set stringent constraints on axions in the mass range 100eV-100MeV. At 10keV our constraint on a photophilic axion is g_{aγγ}≲8.1×10^{-14} GeV^{-1}, almost 3 orders of magnitude stronger than the bounds established using horizontal branch stars; at 100keV our constraint on a photophobic axion coupled to electrons is g_{aee}≲8.0×10^{-15}, almost 4 orders of magnitude stronger than the present results. Although we focus on axions, our argument is more general and can be extended to, for instance, sterile neutrinos.

Enhanced power on small scales and evolution of quantum state of perturbations in single and two field inflationary models

With the detection of gravitational waves from merging binary black holes, over the last few years, there has been a considerable interest in the literature to understand if these black holes could have originated in the early universe. If the primordial scalar power over small scales is boosted considerably when compared to the COBE normalized amplitude over large scales, then, such an increased power can lead to a copious production of primordial black holes that can constitute a significant fraction of the cold dark matter density today. Recently, many models of inflation involving single or two scalar fields have been constructed which lead to enhanced power on small scales. In this work, we examine the evolution of the quantum state of the curvature perturbations in such single and two field models of inflation using measures of squeezing, entanglement entropy or quantum discord. We find that, in the single as well as the two field models, the extent of squeezing of the modes is enhanced to a certain extent (when compared to the scenarios involving only slow roll) over modes which exhibit increased scalar power. Moreover, we show that, in the two field models, the entanglement entropy associated with the curvature perturbation, arrived at when the isocurvature perturbation has been traced out, is also enhanced over the small scales. We also take the opportunity to discuss the relation between entanglement entropy and quantum discord in the case of the two field model. We conclude with a brief discussion on the wider implications of the results.

Interacting dark sector from the trace-free Einstein equations: Cosmological perturbations with no instability

In trace-free Einstein gravity, the stress-energy tensor of matter is not necessarily conserved and so the theory offers a natural framework for interacting dark energy models where dark energy has a constant equation of state $w=-1$. We derive the equations of motion for linear cosmological perturbations in interacting dark energy models of this class, focusing on the scalar sector. Then, we consider a specific model where the energy-momentum transfer potential is proportional to the energy density of cold dark matter; this transfer potential has the effect of inducing an effective equation of state $w_{\rm eff}\neq0$ for cold dark matter. We analyze in detail the evolution of perturbations during radiation domination on super-Hubble scales, finding that the well-known large-scale instability that affects a large class of interacting dark energy models is absent in this model. To avoid a gradient instability, energy must flow from dark matter to dark energy. Finally, we show that interacting dark energy models with $w=-1$ are equivalent to a class of generalized dark matter models.

On the asymptotic behaviour of cosmic density-fluctuation power spectra of cold dark matter

ABSTRACTWe study the small-scale asymptotic behaviour of the cold dark matter density fluctuation power spectrum in the Zel’dovich approximation, without introducing an ultraviolet cut-off. Assuming an initially correlated Gaussian random field and spectral index 0 &amp;lt; ns &amp;lt; 1, we derive the small-scale asymptotic behaviour of the initial momentum–momentum correlations. This result is then used to derive the asymptotics of the power spectrum in the Zel’dovich approximation. Our main result is an asymptotic series, dominated by a k−3 tail at large wave-numbers, containing higher-order terms that differ by integer powers of $k^{n_\mathrm{ s}-1}$ and logarithms of k. Furthermore, we show that dark matter power spectra with an ultraviolet cut-off develop an intermediate range of scales where the power spectrum is accurately described by the asymptotics of dark matter without a cut-off. These results reveal information about the mathematical structure that underlies the perturbative terms in kinetic field theory and thus the non-linear power spectrum. We also discuss the sensitivity of the small-scale asymptotics to the spectral index ns.

Freeze-in from preheating

We consider the production of dark matter during the process of reheating after inflation. The relic density of dark matter from freeze-in depends on both the energy density and energy distribution of the inflaton scattering or decay products composing the radiation bath. We compare the perturbative and non-perturbative calculations of the energy density in radiation. We also consider the (likely) possibility that the final state scalar products are unstable. Assuming either thermal or non-thermal energy distribution functions, we compare the resulting relic density based on these different approaches. We show that the present-day cold dark matter density can be obtained through freeze-in from preheating for a large range of dark matter masses.

The Phantom Dark Matter Halos of the Local Volume in the Context of Modified Newtonian Dynamics

Abstract We explore the predictions of Milgromian gravity (MOND) in the local universe by considering the distribution of the “phantom” dark matter (PDM) that would source the MOND gravitational field in Newtonian gravity, allowing an easy comparison with the dark matter framework. For this, we specifically deal with the quasi-linear version of MOND (QUMOND). We compute the “stellar-to-(phantom)halo mass relation” (SHMR), a monotonically increasing power law resembling the SHMR observationally deduced from spiral galaxy rotation curves in the Newtonian context. We show that the gas-to-(phantom)halo mass relation is flat. We generate a map of the Local Volume in QUMOND, highlighting the important influence of distant galaxy clusters, in particular Virgo. This allows us to explore the scatter of the SHMR and the average density of PDM around galaxies in the Local Volume, ΩPDM ≈ 0.1, below the average cold dark matter density in a ΛCDM universe. We provide a model of the Milky Way in its external field in the MOND context, which we compare to an observational estimate of the escape velocity curve. Finally, we highlight the peculiar features related to the external field effect in the form of negative PDM density zones in the outskirts of each galaxy, and test a new analytic formula for computing galaxy rotation curves in the presence of an external field in QUMOND. While we show that the negative PDM density zones would be difficult to detect dynamically, we quantify the weak-lensing signal they could produce for lenses at z ∼ 0.3.

Cosmological constraints of interacting phantom dark energy models

In this paper, we consider three phantom dark energy models, in the context of interaction between the dark components namely cold dark matter (CDM) and dark energy (DE). The first model, known as wdCDM can induce a big rip singularity (BR) while the two remaining induce future abrupt events known as the Little Rip (LR) and Little Sibling of the Big Rip (LSBR). These phantom DE models can be distinguished by their equation of state. We invoke a new phenomenon such as the interaction between CDM and DE given that it could solve or alleviate some of the problems encountered in standard cosmology. We aim to find out the effect of such an interaction on the cosmological parameters of the studied models, as well as, the persistence or the disappearance of the singularity and the abrupt events induced by the models under study. We choose an interaction term proportional to DE density, i.e. Q=λHρd, since the case where Q∝ρm could lead to a large scale instability at early time. We also do not claim at all that Q=λHρd is the ideal choice since it suffers from a negative CDM density in the future. By the use of a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach, and by assuming a flat FLRW Universe, we constrain the cosmological parameters of each of the three phantom DE models studied. Furthermore, by the aid of the corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) tool, we compare our phantom DE models. Finally, a perturbative analysis of phantom DE models under consideration is performed based on the best fit background parameters.

Information content in the redshift-space galaxy power spectrum and bispectrum

We present a Fisher information study of the statistical impact of galaxy bias and selection effects on the estimation of key cosmological parameters from galaxy redshift surveys; in particular, the angular diameter distance, Hubble parameter, and linear growth rate at a given redshift, the cold dark matter density, and the tilt and running of the primordial power spectrum. The line-of-sight-dependent selection contributions we include here are known to exist in real galaxy samples. We determine the maximum wavenumber included in the analysis by requiring that the next-order corrections to the galaxy power spectrum or bispectrum, treated here at next-to-leading and leading order, respectively, produce shifts of ≲ 0.25σ on each of the six cosmological parameters. With the galaxy power spectrum alone, selection effects can deteriorate the constraints severely, especially on the linear growth rate. Adding the galaxy bispectrum helps break parameter degeneracies significantly. We find that a joint power spectrum-bispectrum analysis of a Euclid-like survey can still measure the linear growth rate to 10% precision after complete marginalization over selection bias. We also discuss systematic parameter shifts arising from ignoring selection effects and/or other bias parameters, and emphasize that it is necessary to either control selection effects at the percent level or marginalize over them. We obtain similar results for the Roman Space Telescope and HETDEX.

Quantifying the impact of baryon-CDM perturbations on halo clustering and baryon fraction

Baryons and cold dark matter (CDM) did not comove prior to recombination. This leads to differences in the local baryon and CDM densities, the so-called baryon-CDM isocurvature perturbations δ_bc. These perturbations are usually neglected in the analysis of Large-Scale Structure data but taking them into account might become important in the era of high precision cosmology. Using gravity-only 2-fluid simulations we assess the impact of such perturbations on the dark matter halos distribution. In particular, we focus on the baryon fraction in halos as a function of mass and large-scale δbc, which also allows us to study details of the nontrivial numerical setup required for such simulations. We further measure the cross-power spectrum between the halo field and δbc over a wide range of mass. This cross-correlation is nonzero and negative which shows that halo formation is impacted by δbc. We measure the associated bias parameter bδbc and compare it to recent results, finding good agreement. Finally we quantify the impact of such perturbations on the halo-halo power spectrum and show that this effect can be degenerate with the one of massive neutrinos for surveys like DESI.

Non-oscillatory no-scale inflation

We propose a non-oscillatory no-scale supergravity model of inflation (NO-NO inflation) in which the inflaton does not oscillate at the end of the inflationary era. Instead, the Universe is then dominated by the inflaton kinetic energy density (kination). During the transition from inflation to kination, the Universe preheats instantly through a coupling to Higgs-like fields. These rapidly annihilate and scatter into ultra-relativistic matter particles, which subsequently dominate the energy density, and reheating occurs at a temperature far above that of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. After the electroweak transition, the inflaton enters a tracking phase as in some models of quintessential inflation. The model predictions for cosmic microwave background observables are consistent with Planck 2018 data, and the density of gravitational waves is below the upper bound from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We also find that the density of supersymmetric cold dark matter produced by gravitino decay is consistent with Planck 2018 data over the expected range of supersymmetric particle masses.

Low-energy probes of no-scale SU(5) super-GUTs

We explore the possible values of the mu rightarrow e gamma branching ratio, text {BR}(mu rightarrow egamma ), and the electron dipole moment (eEDM), d_e, in no-scale SU(5) super-GUT models with the boundary conditions that soft supersymmetry-breaking matter scalar masses vanish at some high input scale, M_mathrm{in}, above the GUT scale, M_{mathrm{GUT}}. We take into account the constraints from the cosmological cold dark matter density, Omega _{CDM} h^2, the Higgs mass, M_h, and the experimental lower limit on the lifetime for p rightarrow K^+ bar{nu }, the dominant proton decay mode in these super-GUT models. Reconciling this limit with Omega _{CDM} h^2 and M_h requires the Higgs field responsible for the charge-2/3 quark masses to be twisted, and possibly also that responsible for the charge-1/3 and charged-lepton masses, with model-dependent soft supersymmetry-breaking masses. We consider six possible models for the super-GUT initial conditions, and two possible choices for quark flavor mixing, contrasting their predictions for proton decay with versions of the models in which mixing effects are neglected. We find that tau left( prightarrow K^+ bar{nu }right) may be accessible to the upcoming Hyper-Kamiokande experiment, whereas all the models predict text {BR}(mu rightarrow egamma ) and d_e below the current and prospective future experimental sensitivities or both flavor choices, when the dark matter density, Higgs mass and current proton decay constraints are taken into account. However, there are limited regions with one of the flavor choices in two of the models where mu rightarrow e conversion on a heavy nucleus may be observable in the future. Our results indicate that there is no supersymmetric flavor problem in the class of no-scale models we consider.

Current bounds and future prospects of light neutralino dark matter in the NMSSM

Unlike its minimal counterpart, the Next to Minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM) allows the possibility that the lightest neutralino could have a mass as small as $\sim 1 {\rm GeV}$ while still providing a significant component of relic dark matter (DM). Such a neutralino can provide an invisible decay mode to the Higgs as well. Further, the observed SM-like Higgs boson ($H_{125}$) could also have an invisible branching fraction as high as $\sim 19\%$. Led by these facts, we first delineate the region of parameter space of the NMSSM with a light neutralino ($M_{{\tilde{\chi}}_{1}^{0}} < 62.5 {\rm GeV}$) that yields a thermal neutralino relic density smaller than the measured relic density of cold dark matter, and is also compatible with constraints from collider searches, searches for dark matter, and from flavor physics. We then examine the prospects for probing the NMSSM with a light neutralino via direct DM detection searches, via invisible Higgs boson width experiments at future $e^+e^-$ colliders, via searches for a light singlet Higgs boson in $2b2\mu$, $2b2\tau$ and $2\mu2\tau$ channels and via pair production of winos or doublet higgsinos at the high luminosity LHC and its proposed energy upgrade. For this last-mentioned electroweakino search, we perform a detailed analysis to map out the projected reach in the $3l+{\rm E{\!\!\!/}_T}$ channel, assuming that chargino decays to $W {\tilde{\chi}}_{1}^{0}$ and the neutralino(s) decay to $Z$ or $H_{125}$ + ${\tilde{\chi}}_{1}^{0}$. We find that the HL-LHC can discover SUSY in just part of the parameter space in each of these channels, which together can probe almost the entire parameter space. The HE-LHC probes essentially the entire region with higgsinos (winos) lighter than 1 TeV (2 TeV) independently of how the neutralinos decay, and leads to significantly larger signal rates.

Standard Candles and Sirens Rescue H0

Abstract We show that future observations of binary neutron star systems with electromagnetic counterparts together with the traditional probes of low- and high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) can help resolve the Hubble tension. The luminosity distance inferred from these probes and its scatter depend on the underlying cosmology. By using the gravitational lensing of light or gravitational waves emitted by, and peculiar motion of, these systems we derive constraints on the sum of neutrino masses, the equation of state of dark energy parameterized in the form , along with the Hubble constant and cold dark matter density in the universe. We show that even after marginalizing over poorly constrained physical quantities, such as the sum of neutrino masses and the nature of dark energy, low-redshift gravitational-wave observations, in combination with SNe Ia, have the potential to rule out new physics as the underlying cause of the Hubble tension at ≳5.5σ.

General formulation of cosmological perturbations in scalar-tensor dark energy coupled to dark matter

For a scalar field ϕ coupled to cold dark matter (CDM), we provide a general framework for studying the background and perturbation dynamics on the isotropic cosmological background. The dark energy sector is described by a Horndeski Lagrangian with the speed of gravitational waves equivalent to that of light, whereas CDM is dealt as a perfect fluid characterized by the number density nc and four-velocity ucμ. For a very general interacting Lagrangian f(nc, ϕ, X, Z), where f depends on nc, ϕ, X=−∂μ ϕ ∂μ ϕ/2, and Z=ucμ ∂μ ϕ, we derive the full linear perturbation equations of motion without fixing any gauge conditions. To realize a vanishing CDM sound speed for the successful structure formation, the interacting function needs to be of the form f=−f1(ϕ, X, Z)nc+f2(ϕ, X, Z). Employing a quasi-static approximation for the modes deep inside the sound horizon, we obtain analytic formulas for the effective gravitational couplings of CDM and baryon density perturbations as well as gravitational and weak lensing potentials. We apply our general formulas to several interacting theories and show that, in many cases, the CDM gravitational coupling around the quasi de-Sitter background can be smaller than the Newton constant G due to a momentum transfer induced by the Z-dependence in f2.

A Lagrangian perturbation theory in the presence of massive neutrinos

We develop a Lagrangian Perturbation Theory (LPT) framework to study the clustering of cold dark matter (CDM) in cosmologies with massive neutrinos. We follow the trajectories of CDM particles with Lagrangian displacements fields up to third order in perturbation theory. Once the neutrinos become non-relativistic, their density fluctuations are modeled as being proportional to the CDM density fluctuations, with a scale-dependent proportionality factor. This yields a gravitational back-reaction that introduces additional scales to the linear growth function, which is accounted for in the higher order LPT kernels. Through non-linear mappings from Eulerian to Lagrangian frames, we ensure that our theory has a well behaved large scale behavior free of unwanted UV divergences, which are common when neutrino and CDM densities are not treated on an equal footing, and in resummation schemes that manifestly break Galilean invariance. We use our theory to construct correlation functions for both the underlying matter field, as well as for biased tracers using Convolution-LPT. Redshift-space distortions effects are modeled using the Gaussian Streaming Model. When comparing our analytical results to simulated data from the \ extsc{Quijote} simulation suite, we find good accuracy down to r=20 Mpc h−1 at redshift z=0.5, for the real space and redshift space monopole particle correlation functions with no free parameters. The same accuracy is reached for the redshift space quadrupole if we additionally consider an effective field theory parameter that shifts the pairwise velocity dispersion. For modeling the correlation functions of tracers we adopt a simple Lagrangian biasing scheme with only density and curvature operators, which we find sufficient to reach down to r=20 Mpc h−1 when comparing to simulated halos.