ΛCDM Predictions Research Articles

SMALL-SCALE STRUCTURE IN THE SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY AND ΛCDM: ISOLATED ∼L*GALAXIES WITH BRIGHT SATELLITES

We use a volume-limited spectroscopic sample of isolated galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to investigate the frequency and radial distribution of luminous (Mr ≲ −18.3) satellites like the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) around ∼L* Milky Way (MW) analogs and compare our results object-by-object to ΛCDM predictions based on abundance matching in simulations. We show that 12% of MW-like galaxies host an LMC-like satellite within 75 kpc (projected), and 42% within 250 kpc (projected). This implies ∼10% have a satellite within the distance of the LMC, and ∼40% of L* galaxies host a bright satellite within the virialized extent of their dark matter halos. Remarkably, the simulation reproduces the observed frequency, radial dependence, velocity distribution, and luminosity function of observed secondaries exceptionally well, suggesting that ΛCDM provides an accurate reproduction of the observed universe to galaxies as faint as L ∼ 109 L☉ on ∼50 kpc scales. When stacked, the observed projected pairwise velocity dispersion of these satellites is σ ≃ 160 km s−1, in agreement with abundance-matching expectations for their host halo masses. Finally, bright satellites around L* primaries are significantly redder than typical galaxies in their luminosity range, indicating that environmental quenching is operating within galaxy-size dark matter halos that typically contain only a single bright satellite. This redness trend is in stark contrast to the MW's LMC, which is unusually blue even for a field galaxy. We suggest that the LMC's discrepant color might be further evidence that it is undergoing a triggered star formation event upon first infall.

Reproducing neutrino effects on the matter power spectrum through a degenerate Fermi gas approach

Modifications on the predictions about the matter power spectrum based on the hypothesis of a tiny contribution from a degenerate Fermi gas (DFG) test-fluid to some dominant cosmological scenario are investigated. Reporting about the systematic way of accounting for all the cosmological perturbations, through the Boltzmann equation we obtain the analytical results for density fluctuation, δ, and fluid velocity divergence, θ, of the DFG. Small contributions to the matter power spectrum are analytically obtained for the radiation-dominated background, through an ultra-relativistic approximation, and for the matter-dominated and Λ-dominated eras, through a non-relativistic approximation. The results can be numerically reproduced and compared with those of considering non-relativistic and ultra-relativistic neutrinos into the computation of the matter power spectrum. Lessons concerning the formation of large scale structures of a DFG are depicted, and consequent deviations from standard ΛCDM predictions for the matter power spectrum (with and without neutrinos) are quantified.

Dark energy and matter perturbations in scalar-tensor theories of gravity

We solve analytically and numerically the generalized Einstein equations in scalar-tensor cosmologies to obtain the evolution of dark energy and matter linear perturbations. We compare our results with the corresponding results for minimally coupled quintessence perturbations. We find that Scalar-Tensor dark energy density perturbations are amplified by a factor of about 104 compared to minimally coupled quintessence perturbations on scales less than about 1000h−1Mpc (sub-Hubble scales). On these scales dark energy perturbations constitute a fraction of about 10% compared to matter density perturbations. Scalar-Tensor dark energy density perturbations are anti-correlated with matter linear perturbations on sub-Hubble scales. This anti-correlation of matter with negative pressure perturbations induces a mild amplification of matter perturbations by about 10% on sub-Hubble scales. The evolution of scalar field perturbations on sub-Hubble scales is scale independent and therefore corresponds to a vanishing effective speed of sound (csΦ = 0). We briefly discuss the observational implications of our results which may include predictions for galaxy and cluster halo profiles which are modified compared to ΛCDM. The observed properties of these profiles are known to be in some tension with the predictions of ΛCDM.

THREE-POINT CORRELATION FUNCTIONS OF SDSS GALAXIES: LUMINOSITY AND COLOR DEPENDENCE IN REDSHIFT AND PROJECTED SPACE

The three-point correlation function (3PCF) provides an important view into the clustering of galaxies that is not available to its lower order cousin, the two-point correlation function (2PCF). Higher order statistics, such as the 3PCF, are necessary to probe the non-Gaussian structure and shape information expected in these distributions. We measure the clustering of spectroscopic galaxies in the Main Galaxy Sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), focusing on the shape or configuration dependence of the reduced 3PCF in both redshift and projected space. This work constitutes the largest number of galaxies ever used to investigate the reduced 3PCF, using over 220,000 galaxies in three volume-limited samples. We find significant configuration dependence of the reduced 3PCF at 3-27 Mpc/h, in agreement with LCDM predictions and in disagreement with the hierarchical ansatz. Below 6 Mpc/h, the redshift space reduced 3PCF shows a smaller amplitude and weak configuration dependence in comparison with projected measurements suggesting that redshift distortions, and not galaxy bias, can make the reduced 3PCF appear consistent with the hierarchical ansatz. The reduced 3PCF shows a weaker dependence on luminosity than the 2PCF, with no significant dependence on scales above 9 Mpc/h. On scales less than 9 Mpc/h, the reduced 3PCF appears more affected by galaxy color than luminosty. We demonstrate the extreme sensitivity of the 3PCF to systematic effects such as sky completeness and binning scheme, along with the difficulty of resolving the errors. Some comparable analyses make assumptions that do not consistently account for these effects.

The PN.S Elliptical Galaxy Survey: a standard ΛCDM halo around NGC 4374?★

As part of our current programme to test LCDM predictions for dark matter (DM) haloes using extended kinematical observations of early-type galaxies, we present a dynamical analysis of the bright elliptical galaxy NGC 4374 (M84) based on ~450 Planetary Nebulae (PNe) velocities from the PN.Spectrograph, along with extended long-slit stellar kinematics. This is the first such analysis of a galaxy from our survey with a radially constant velocity dispersion profile. We find that the spatial and kinematical distributions of the PNe agree with the field stars in the region of overlap. The velocity kurtosis is consistent with zero at almost all radii. We construct a series of Jeans models, fitting both velocity dispersion and kurtosis to help break the mass-anisotropy degeneracy. Our mass models include DM halos either with shallow cores or with central cusps as predicted by cosmological simulations - along with the novel introduction in this context of adiabatic halo contraction from baryon infall. Both classes of models confirm a very massive dark halo around NGC 4374, demonstrating that PN kinematics data are well able to detect such haloes when present. Considering the default cosmological mass model, we confirm earlier suggestions that bright galaxies tend to have halo concentrations higher than LCDM predictions, but this is found to be solved if either a Salpeter IMF or adiabatic contraction with a Kroupa IMF is assumed. Thus for the first time a case is found where the PN dynamics may well be consistent with a standard dark matter halo. A cored halo can also fit the data, and prefers a stellar mass consistent with a Salpeter IMF. The less dramatic dark matter content found in lower-luminosity "ordinary" ellipticals suggests a bimodality in the halo properties which may be produced by divergent baryonic effects during their assembly histories.

Understanding the shape of the galaxy two-point correlation function at z ≃ 1 in the COSMOS field

We investigate how the shape of the galaxy two-point correlation function as measured in the zCOSMOS survey depends on local environment, quantified in terms of the density contrast on scales of 5 h−1 Mpc. We show that the flat shape previously observed at redshifts between z= 0.6 and 1 can be explained by this volume being simply 10 per cent overabundant in high-density environments, with respect to a universal density probability distribution function. When galaxies corresponding to the top 10 per cent tail of the distribution are excluded, the measured wp(rp) steepens and becomes indistinguishable from Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) predictions on all scales. This is the same effect recognized by Abbas & Sheth in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data at z≃ 0 and explained as a natural consequence of halo–environment correlations in a hierarchical scenario. Galaxies living in high-density regions trace dark matter haloes with typically higher masses, which are more correlated. If the density probability distribution function of the sample is particularly rich in high-density regions because of the variance introduced by its finite size, this produces a distorted two-point correlation function. We argue that this is the dominant effect responsible for the observed ‘peculiar’ clustering in the COSMOS field.

Enhanced peculiar velocities in brane-induced gravity

The mounting evidence for anomalously large peculiar velocities in our Universe presents a challenge for the LCDM paradigm. The recent estimates of the large scale bulk flow by Watkins et al. are inconsistent at the nearly 3 sigma level with LCDM predictions. Meanwhile, Lee and Komatsu have recently estimated that the occurrence of high-velocity merging systems such as the Bullet Cluster (1E0657-57) is unlikely at a 6.5-5.8 sigma level, with an estimated probability between 3.3x10^{-11} and 3.6x10^{-9} in LCDM cosmology. We show that these anomalies are alleviated in a broad class of infrared-modifed gravity theories, called brane-induced gravity, in which gravity becomes higher-dimensional at ultra large distances. These theories include additional scalar forces that enhance gravitational attraction and therefore speed up structure formation at late times and on sufficiently large scales. The peculiar velocities are enhanced by 24-34% compared to standard gravity, with the maximal enhancement nearly consistent at the 2 sigma level with bulk flow observations. The occurrence of the Bullet Cluster in these theories is 10^4 times more probable than in LCDM cosmology.

Imprints of dynamical dark energy on weak-lensing measurements

We show that simple models of scalar-field dark energy leave a generic enhancement in the weak-lensing power spectrum when compared to the LCDM prediction. In particular, we calculate the linear-scale enhancement in the convergence (or cosmic-shear) power spectrum for two best-fit models of scalar-field dark energy, namely, the Ratra-Peebles and SUGRA-type quintessence. Our calculations are based on linear perturbation theory, using gauge-invariant variables with carefully defined adiabatic initial conditions. We find that geometric effects enhance the lensing power spectrum on a broad range of scales, whilst the clustering of dark energy gives rise to additional power on large scales. The dark-energy power spectrum for these models are also explicitly obtained. On degree scales, the total enhancement may be as large as 30-40% for sources at redshift ~1. We argue that there are realistic prospects for detecting such an enhancement using the next generation of large telescopes.

Evolution of dark energy perturbations in scalar-tensor cosmologies

We solve analytically and numerically the generalized Einstein equations in scalar-tensor cosmologies to obtain the evolution of dark energy and matter linear perturbations. We compare our results with the corresponding results for minimally coupled quintessence perturbations. Our results for natural (O(1)) values of parameters in the Lagrangian which lead to a background expansion similar to LCDM are summarized as follows: 1. Scalar-Tensor dark energy density perturbations are amplified by a factor of about 10^6 compared to minimally coupled quintessence perturbations on scales less than about 100 h^{-1} Mpc. On these scales dark energy perturbations constitute a fraction of about 10% compared to matter density perturbations. 2. Scalar-Tensor dark energy density perturbations are anti-correlated with matter linear perturbations on sub-Hubble scales. Thus clusters of galaxies are predicted to overlap with voids of dark energy. 3. This anti-correlation of matter with negative pressure perturbations induces a mild amplification of matter perturbations by about 10% on sub-Hubble scales. 4. The evolution of scalar field perturbations on sub-Hubble scales, is scale independent and therefore it corresponds to a vanishing effective speed of sound (c_{s\Phi}=0). It also involves large oscillations at early times induced by the amplified effective mass of the field. This amplification is due to the non-minimal coupling of the field to the Ricci curvature scalar and (thus) to matter. No such oscillations are present in minimally coupled quintessence perturbations which are suppressed on sub-Hubble scales (c_{s\Phi}=1). Implications of our results include modified predictions for cluster halo profiles observed properties. These profiles are known to be in some tension with the predictions of LCDM.

Bayesian analysis and constraints on kinematic models from union SNIa

The kinematic expansion history of the universe is investigated by using the 307 supernovae type Ia from the Union Compilation set. Three simple model parameterizations for the deceleration parameter (constant, linear and abrupt transition) and two different models that are explicitly parametrized by the cosmic jerk parameter (constant and variable) are considered. Likelihood and Bayesian analyses are employed to find best fit parameters and compare models among themselves and with theflat ΛCDM model.Analytical expressions and estimates for the deceleration and cosmic jerk parameters today (q0 and j0) and for the transition redshift (zt) between a past phase of cosmic deceleration to a current phase of acceleration are given.All models characterize an accelerated expansion for theuniverse today and largely indicate that it was decelerating inthe past, having a transition redshift around 0.5.The cosmic jerk is not strongly constrained by the present supernovae data.For the most realistic kinematic models the 1σ confidence limitsimply the following ranges of values: q0 ∊ [−0.96, −0.46], j0 ∊ [−3.2, −0.3] and zt ∊ [0.36, 0.84],which are compatible with the ΛCDM predictions, q0 = −0.57 ± 0.04, j0 = −1 and zt = 0.71 ± 0.08.We find that even very simple kinematic models are equally good to describe the data compared to the concordance ΛCDM model, and that the current observations are not powerful enough to discriminate among all of them.

ΛCDM predictions for galaxy protoclusters - I. The relation between galaxies, protoclusters and quasars at

Motivated by recent observational studies of the environment of z ∼ 6 QSOs, we have used the Millennium Run (MR) simulations to construct a very large (∼4° x 4°) mock redshift survey of star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 6. We use this simulated survey to study the relation between density enhancements in the distribution of i 775 -dropouts and Lya emitters, and their relation to the most massive haloes and protocluster regions at z ∼ 6. Our simulation predicts significant variations in surface density across the sky with some voids and filaments extending over scales of 1°, much larger than probed by current surveys. Approximately one-third of all z ∼ 6 haloes hosting i-dropouts brighter than z = 26.5 mag (≈M* UV,z=6 ) become part of z = 0 galaxy clusters.;-dropouts associated with protocluster regions are found in regions where the surface density is enhanced on scales ranging from a few to several tens of arcminutes on the sky. We analyse two structures of ('-dropouts and Lya emitters observed with the Subaru Telescope and show that these structures must be the seeds of massive clusters in formation. In striking contrast, six z ∼ 6 QSO fields observed with Hubble Space Telescope show no significant enhancements in their i 775 -dropout number counts. With the present data, we cannot rule out the QSOs being hosted by the most massive haloes. However, neither can we confirm this widely used assumption. We conclude by giving detailed recommendations for the interpretation and planning of observations by current and future ground- and space-based instruments that will shed new light on questions related to the large-scale structure at z ∼ 6.

DWARF GALAXY CLUSTERING AND MISSING SATELLITES

At redshifts around 0.1 the CFHT Legacy Survey Deep fields contain some 6x10^4 galaxies spanning the mass range from 10^5 to 10^12 Msun. We measure the stellar mass dependence of the two point correlation using angular measurements to largely bypass the errors, approximately 0.02 in the median, of the photometric redshifts. Inverting the power-law fits with Limber's equation we find that the auto-correlation length increases from a very low 0.4hMpc at 10^5.5 Msun to the conventional 4.5hMpc at 10^10.5 Msun. The power law fit to the correlation function has a slope which increases from gamma approximately 1.6 at high mass to gamma approximately 2.3 at low mass. The spatial cross-correlation of dwarf galaxies with more massive galaxies shows fairly similar trends, with a steeper radial dependence at low mass than predicted in numerical simulations of sub-halos within galaxy halos. To examine the issue of missing satellites we combine the cross-correlation measurements with our estimates of the low mass galaxy number density. We find on the average there are 60+/-20 dwarfs in sub-halos with M(total) > 10^7 Msun for a typical Local Group M(total)/M(stars)=30, corresponding to M/L_V approximately 100 for a galaxy with no recent star formation. The number of dwarfs per galaxy is about a factor of two larger than currently found for the Milky Way. Nevertheless, the average dwarf counts are about a factor of 30 below LCDM simulation results. The divergence from LCDM predictions is one of slope of the relation, approximately dN/dlnM approximately -0.5 rather than the predicted -0.9, not sudden onset at some characteristic scale. The dwarf galaxy star formation rates span the range from passive to bursting, which suggests that there are few completely dark halos.

ΛCDM SATELLITES AND H I COMPANIONS—THE ARECIBO ALFA SURVEY OF NGC 2903

We have conducted a deep, complete HI survey, using Arecibo/ALFA, of a field centered on the nearby, isolated galaxy, NGC 2903, which is similar to the Milky Way in its properties. The field size was 150 kpc x 260 kpc and the final velocity range spanned from 100 to 1133 km/s. The ALFA beams have been mapped as a function of azimuth and cleaned from each azimuth-specific cube prior to forming final cubes. The final HI data are sensitive down to an HI mass of 2 x 10^5 Mo and column density of 2 x 10^{17} cm^{-2} at the 3sigma x 2deltaV level, where sigma is the rms noise level and deltaV is the velocity resolution. NGC 2903 is found to have an HI envelope that is larger than previously known, extending to at least 3 times the optical diameter of the galaxy. Our search for companions yields one new discovery with an HI mass of 2.6 x 10^6 Mo. The companion is 64 kpc from NGC 2903 in projection, is likely associated with a small optical galaxy of similar total stellar mass, and is dark matter dominated, with a total mass >10^8 Mo. In the region surveyed, there are now two known companions: our new discovery and a previously known system that is likely a dwarf spheroidal, lacking HI content. If HI constitutes 1% of the total mass in all possible companions, then we should have detected 230 companions, according to LCDM predictions. Consequently, if this number of dark matter clumps are indeed present, then they contain less than 1% HI content, possibly existing as very faint dwarf spheroidals or as starless, gasless dark matter clumps.

HALO DENSITY REDUCTION BY BARYONIC SETTLING?

We test the proposal by El-Zant et al that the dark matter density of halos could be reduced through dynamical friction acting on heavy baryonic clumps in the early stages of galaxy formation. Using N-body simulations, we confirm that the inner halo density cusp is flattened to 0.2 of the halo break radius by the settling of a single clump of mass \ga 0.5% of the halo mass. We also find that an ensemble of 50 clumps each having masses \ga 0.2% can flatten the cusp to almost the halo break radius on a time scale of \sim9 Gyr, for an NFW halo of concentration 15. We summarize some of the difficulties that need to be overcome if this mechanism is to resolve the apparent conflict between the observed inner densities of galaxy halos and the predictions of LCDM.

Comparison of Cluster Lensing Profiles with ΛCDM Predictions

We derive lens distortion and magnification profiles of four well known clusters observed with Subaru. Each cluster is very well fitted by the general form predicted for Cold Dark Matter (CDM) dominated halos, with good consistency found between the independent distortion and magnification measurements. The inferred level of mass concentration is surprisingly high, 8<c_{vir}<15 (<c_{vir}> = 10.4 \pm 0.9), compared to the relatively shallow profiles predicted by the Lambda CDM model, c_{vir}=5.1 \pm 1.1 (for <M_{vir}> =1.25\times 10^{15}M_{\odot}/h). This represents a 4sigma discrepancy, and includes the relatively modest effects of projection bias and profile evolution derived from N-body simulations, which oppose each other with little residual effect. In the context of CDM based cosmologies, this discrepancy implies clusters collapse earlier (z\geq 1) than predicted (z<0.5), when the Universe was correspondingly denser.

The shape of galaxy cluster dark matter haloes: systematics of its imprint on cluster gas and comparison to observations

Abstract We study predictions for galaxy cluster observables that can test the statistics of dark matter halo shapes expected in a flat Λ cold dark matter (CDM) universe. We present a simple analytical model for the prediction of cluster-scale X-ray observations, approximating clusters as isothermal systems in hydrostatic equilibrium, and dark matter haloes as ellipsoids with uniform axial ratios (homeoidal ellipsoids). We test the model against high-resolution, hydrodynamic cluster simulations to gauge its reliability. We find that this simple prescription does a good job of predicting cluster X-ray ellipticities compared to the simulations as long as one focuses on cluster regions that are less sensitive to recent mergers. Based on this simple model, the distribution of cluster-size halo shapes expected in the concordance ΛCDM cosmology implies an X-ray ellipticity distribution with a mean 〈εX〉= 0.32 ± 0.01, and a scatter σε= 0.14 ± 0.01 for the mass range (1–4) × 1014h−1 M⊙. We find it important to include the mass dependence of halo shape when making comparisons to observational samples. We analyse the systematics of four observational samples of cluster ellipticities and find that our results are statistically compatible with these observations. In particular, we find remarkably good agreement between two recent ROSAT samples and ΛCDM predictions that do not include gas cooling. We also test how well our analytical model can predict Sunyaev–Zel'dovich decrement maps and find that it is less successful although still useful; the model does not perform as well as a function of flux level in this case because of the changing triaxiality of dark matter haloes as a function of radial distance. Both this effect and the changing alignment of isodensity shells of dark matter haloes leave an imprint on cluster gas that appears to be seen in observational data. Thus, dark matter haloes cannot be accurately characterized as homeoidal ellipsoids for all comparisons.

Rotation Curves of Dwarf Irregulars: Still a Big Challenge for ΛCDM

AbstractI present the analysis of HI data of two nearby dwarf irregular galaxies: DDO 47 and NGC 3741, whose rotation curves are best fitted by a cored halo, while they are inconsistent with an NFW halo. In DDO 47 non-circular motions are too small to explain the discrepancy with the ΛCDM predictions. NGC 3741 has the most extended rotation curve ever observed, in terms of the optical size.

AChandraView of Dark Matter in Early‐Type Galaxies

We present a Chandra study of mass profiles in seven elliptical galaxies, of which three have galaxy-scale and four have group-scale halos, demarcated at 1013 M☉. These represent the best available data for nearby objects with comparable X-ray luminosities. We measure approximately flat mass-to-light (M/L) profiles within an optical half-light radius (Reff), rising by an order of magnitude at ~10 Reff, which confirms the presence of dark matter (DM). The data indicate hydrostatic equilibrium, which is also supported by agreement with studies of stellar kinematics in elliptical galaxies. The data are well fitted by a model comprising an NFW DM profile and a baryonic component following the optical light. The distribution of DM halo concentration parameters (c) versus Mvir agrees with ΛCDM predictions and our observations of bright groups. Concentrations are slightly higher than expected, which is most likely a selection effect. Omitting the stellar mass drastically increases c, possibly explaining large concentrations found by some past observers. The stellar M/LK agree with population synthesis models, assuming a Kroupa IMF. Allowing adiabatic compression (AC) of the DM halo by baryons made M/L more discrepant, casting some doubt on AC. Our best-fitting models imply total baryon fractions ~0.04-0.09, consistent with models of galaxy formation incorporating strong feedback. The groups exhibit positive temperature gradients, consistent with the "universal" profiles found in other groups and clusters, whereas the galaxies have negative gradients, suggesting a change in the evolutionary history of the systems around Mvir ≃ 1013 M☉.

Mass Distribution and Bulge Formation in the Milky Way Galaxy

In its first part, this paper summarizes recent work on the mass and shape of the Galactic dark halo. The second part presents a review of the large-scale structure of the Milky Way, and of the evidence that the inner Galaxy is dominated by baryonic matter. This is briefly compared with the predictions of LCDM and MOND. Finally, a summary is given of bulge formation from clumpy, gas-rich disks, a process which may give rise to old, disk-like, alpha-rich bulges similar to the Galactic bulge.

Kinematical and Dynamical Modeling of Elliptical Galaxies

Elements of kinematical and dynamical modeling of elliptical galaxies (Es) are presented. In projection, NFW models resemble Sersic models, but with a very narrow range of shapes (m=3+/-1). The total density profile of Es cannot be NFW-like because the predicted local M/L and aperture velocity dispersion within an effective radius (Re) are much lower than observed. Stars must then dominate Es out to a few Re. Fitting an NFW model to the total density profile of Sersic+NFW (stars+dark matter [DM]) Es results in very high concentration parameters, as found by X-ray observers. Kinematical modeling of Es assuming an isotropic NFW DM model underestimates M/L at the virial radius by a factor of 1.6 to 2.4, because dissipationless LCDM halos have slightly different density profiles and slightly radial velocity anisotropy. In N-body+gas simulations of Es as merger remnants of spirals embedded in DM halos, the slope of the DM density profile is steeper when the initial spiral galaxies are gas-rich. The Hansen & Moore (2006) relation between anisotropy and the slope of the density profile breaks down for gas and DM, but the stars follow an analogous relation with slightly less radial anisotropies for a given density slope. Using kurtosis (h_4) to infer anisotropy in Es is dangerous, as h_4 is also sensitive to small levels of rotation. The stationary Jeans equation provides accurate masses out to 8 Re. The discrepancy between the modeling of Romanowsky et al. (2003), indicating a dearth of DM in Es, and the simulations analyzed by Dekel et al. (2005), which match the spectroscopic observations of Es, is partly due to radial anisotropy and to observing oblate Es face-on. However, one of the 15 solutions to the orbit modeling of Romanowsky et al. is found to have an amount and concentration of DM consistent with LCDM predictions.