Low Multipoles Research Articles

Can self-ordering scalar fields explain the BICEP2 B-mode signal?

We show that self-ordering scalar fields (SOSF), i.e. non-topological cosmic defects arising after a global phase transition, cannot explain the B-mode signal recently announced by BICEP2. We compute the full CℓB angular power spectrum of B-modes due to vector and tensor perturbations of SOSF, modeled in the large N limit of a spontaneously broken global O(N) symmetry. We conclude that the low ℓ multipoles detected by BICEP2 cannot be due mainly to SOSF, since they have the wrong spectrum at low multipoles. As a byproduct we derive the first cosmological constraints on this model, showing that the BICEP2 B-mode polarization data admits at most a 2-3% contribution from SOSF in the temperature anisotropies, similar to (but somewhat tighter than) the recently studied case of cosmic strings.

Steps to reconcile inflationary tensor and scalar spectra

The recent BICEP2 B-mode polarization determination of an inflationary tensor-scalar ratio $r=0.2^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$ is in tension with simple scale-free models of inflation due to a lack of a corresponding low multipole excess in the temperature power spectrum which places a limit of $r_{0.002}<0.11$ (95% CL) on such models. Single-field inflationary models that reconcile these two observations, even those where the tilt runs substantially, introduce a scale into the scalar power spectrum. To cancel the tensor excess, and simultaneously explain the excess already present in $\Lambda$CDM, ideally the model should introduce this scale as a relatively sharp transition in the tensor-scalar ratio around the horizon at recombination. We consider models which generate such a step in this quantity and find that they can improve the joint fit to the temperature and polarization data by up to $2\Delta \ln{\cal L} \approx -14$ without changing cosmological parameters. Precision E-mode polarization measurements should be able to test this explanation.

POWER SPECTRUM ANALYSIS OF POLARIZED EMISSION FROM THE CANADIAN GALACTIC PLANE SURVEY

Angular power spectra are calculated and presented for the entirety of the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey polarization dataset at 1.4 GHz covering an area of 1060 deg$^2$. The data analyzed are a combination of data from the 100-m Effelsberg Telescope, the 26-m Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, and the Synthesis Telescope at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, allowing all scales to be sampled down to arcminute resolution. The resulting power spectra cover multipoles from $\ell \approx 60$ to $\ell \approx 10^4$ and display both a power-law component at low multipoles and a flattening at high multipoles from point sources. We fit the power spectrum with a model that accounts for these components and instrumental effects. The resulting power-law indices are found to have a mode of 2.3, similar to previous results. However, there are significant regional variations in the index, defying attempts to characterize the emission with a single value. The power-law index is found to increase away from the Galactic plane. A transition from small-scale to large-scale structure is evident at $b= 9^{\circ}$, associated with the disk-halo transition in a 15$^{\circ}$ region around $l=108^{\circ}$. Localized variations in the index are found toward HII regions and supernova remnants, but the interpretation of these variations is inconclusive. The power in the polarized emission is anticorrelated with bright thermal emission (traced by H$\alpha$ emission) indicating that the thermal emission depolarizes background synchrotron emission.

Can topological defects mimic the BICEP2 B-mode signal?

We show that the B-mode polarization signal detected at low multipoles by BICEP2 cannot be entirely due to topological defects. This would be incompatible with the high-multipole B-mode polarization data and also with existing temperature anisotropy data. Adding cosmic strings to a model with tensors, we find that B modes on their own provide a comparable limit on the defects to that already coming from Planck satellite temperature data. We note that strings at this limit give a modest improvement to the best fit of the B-mode data, at a somewhat lower tensor-to-scalar ratio of r ≃ 0.15.

Spacetime correlators of perturbations in slow-roll de Sitter inflation

Two-point correlators and self-correlators of primordial perturbations in quasi--de Sitter spacetime backgrounds are considered. For large separations two-point correlators exhibit nearly scale invariance, while for short distances self-correlators need standard renormalization. We study the deformation of two-point correlators to smoothly match the self-correlators at coincidence. The corresponding angular power spectrum is evaluated in the Sachs-Wolfe regime of low multipoles. Scale invariance is maintained, but the amplitude of ${C}_{\ensuremath{\ell}}$ could change in a nontrivial way.

Three-Hair Newtonian Relations for Rotating Stars

Astrophysical black holes can be completely described by their mass and spin due to the no-hair theorem. This was not expected to hold for stars because of their internal structure. We analytically find that arbitrarily uniformly rotating stars can still be completely described by only three numbers (mass, spin and quadrupole moment) in the Newtonian limit. Surprisingly, this description is approximately universal (independent of internal structure) for low multipole order, analytically confirming previous numerical results in full general relativity.

Multifield inflation after Planck: Isocurvature modes from nonminimal couplings

Recent measurements by the {\it Planck} experiment of the power spectrum of temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) reveal a deficit of power in low multipoles compared to the predictions from best-fit $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. The low-$\ell$ anomaly may be explained by the presence of primordial isocurvature perturbations in addition to the usual adiabatic spectrum, and hence may provide the first robust evidence that early-universe inflation involved more than one scalar field. In this paper we explore the production of isocurvature perturbations in nonminimally coupled two-field inflation. We find that this class of models readily produces enough power in the isocurvature modes to account for the \emph{Planck} low-$\ell$ anomaly, while also providing excellent agreement with the other {\it Planck} results.

Dipole leakage and low CMB multipoles

A number of studies of WMAP-7 have highlighted that the power at the low multipoles in CMB power spectrum is lower than their theoretically predicted value. Angular correlation between the orientations of these low multipoles have also been discovered. While these observations may have cosmological ramification, it is important to investigate possible observational artifacts that can mimic them. The CMB dipole, which is much higher than the quadrupole, can get leaked to the higher multipoles due to the non-circular beam of the CMB experiment. In this paper, an analytical method has been developed and simulations are carried out to study the effect of the non-circular beam on power leakage from the dipole. It has been shown that the small, but non-negligible power from the dipole can get transferred to the quadrupole and the higher multipoles due to the non-circular beam. Simulations have also been carried out for Planck scan strategy, and comparative results between WMAP and Planck have been presented.

Suppressing CMB low multipoles with ISW effect

Recent results of Planck data reveal that the power [1,2] in the low multipoles ofthe CMB angular power spectrum, approximately up to l = 30, is significantly lower thanthe theoretically predicted in the best fit ΛCDM model.There are different known physical effectsthat can affect the power at low multipoles, such as features in the primordial powerspectrum (PPS) in some models of inflationand ISW effect. In this paper we investigate the possibility of invoking the IntegratedSachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect to explain thepower deficit at low multipoles. The ISW effect thatoriginates from the late time expansion history of theuniverse is rich in possibilities given the limited understanding of the origin ofdark energy (DE). It is a common understandingthat the ISW effect adds to the power at the low multipoles of the CMB angular power spectrum. In thispaper we carry out an analytic study to show that there are some expansion historiesin which the ISW effect, instead of adding power, provides negativecontribution to the power at low multipoles.Guided by the analytic study, we present examples ofthe features required in the late time expansion history of theuniverse that could explain the power deficiency through the ISW effect.We also show that an ISW origin of power deficiency is consistent, at present, with othercosmological observations that probethe expansion history such as distance modulus, matter power spectrum and the evolution of clusternumber count. We also show that the ISW effect may be distinguished frompower deficit originating from features in the PPS using the measurements of the CMB polarizationspectrum at low multipoles expected from Planck. We conclude that the power at low multipolesof the CMB anisotropy could well be closely linked to Dark Energy puzzle in cosmology and thisobservation could be actually pointing to richer phenomenology of DE beyond the cosmologicalconstant Λ.

Constraining dark matter late-time energy injection: decays and p-wave annihilations

We use the latest cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations toprovide updated constraints on the dark matter lifetime as well as onp-wave suppressed annihilation cross sections in the 1 MeV to 1 TeVmass range. In contrast to scenarios with an s-wave dominatedannihilation cross section, which mainly affect the CMB close to thelast scattering surface, signatures associated with these scenariosessentially appear at low redshifts (z≲50) when structure began to form, and thus manifest at lower multipoles in the CMB powerspectrum. We use data from Planck, WMAP9, SPT and ACT, as well asLyman–α measurements of the matter temperature at z ∼ 4to set a 95% confidence level lower bound on the dark matter lifetimeof ∼ 4 × 1025 s for mχ = 100 MeV. This bound becomeslower by an order of magnitude at mχ = 1 TeV due to inefficientenergy deposition into the intergalactic medium. We also show thatstructure formation can enhance the effect of p-wave suppressed annihilation cross sections by many orders of magnitude with respectto the background cosmological rate, although even with thisenhancement, CMB constraints are not yet strong enough to reach thethermal relic value of the cross section.

Multifield Inflation after Planck: The Case for Nonminimal Couplings

Multifield models of inflation with nonminimal couplings are in excellent agreement with the recent results from Planck. Across a broad range of couplings and initial conditions, such models evolve along an effectively single-field attractor solution and predict values of the primordial spectral index and its running, the tensor-to-scalar ratio, and non-Gaussianities squarely in the observationally most-favored region. Such models can also amplify isocurvature perturbations, which could account for the low power recently observed in the cosmic microwave background power spectrum at low multipoles. Future measurements of primordial isocurvature perturbations could distinguish between the currently viable possibilities.

Development of a Low Power Multipole Confined Microwave Plasma Ion Thruster

A modified magnetic multipolar plasma source is developed and tested for application as an ion thruster for space propulsion. The configuration consists of eight samarium-cobalt bar-magnets, symmetrically surrounding a cylindrical discharge volume of 21 mm diameter, with their magnetization in the radial direction. A donut magnet is placed at one axial end of the discharge volume with its magnetization along the cylindrical axis. A short monopole antenna, coaxial with the donut magnet is used for launching microwaves in the discharge volume. The resulting magnetic configuration due to the radial and axial magnetic fields, help in generation and sustenance of microwave induced electron cyclotron resonance plasma. Ions are extracted from the plasma by high voltage grids, attached to the end, opposite to the donut magnet. Two different magnetic configurations obtained by reversing the magnetization direction of the donut magnet are compared. Three dimensional magnetic field simulations and ion saturation current measurements at various microwave frequencies are used to determine the optimum magnetic configuration. Ion beam current extraction measurements, using the grids is carried out. Typical ion beam current of 9.9 mA is obtained, with calculated thrust of 0.63 mN at 8 W for 1600 MHz, with a Xenon mass flow rate of 20 Pg/s.

Super-inflation, non-singular bounce, and low multipoles

In this paper we present a simple argument that shows a non-singular bouncing cosmology naturally yields an era of super-inflation which can precede the phase of normal potential driven inflation. One of the consequences of a super-inflation phase is that it might be able to account for suppressing the low multipole in the amplitude of the cosmic microwave background radiation. We estimate that the number of e-folds of super-inflation required to explain the current Planck data to be roughly three e-folds.

Large-scale anomalies from primordial dissipation

We analyze an inflationary model in which part of the power in density perturbations arises due to particle production. The amount of particle production is modulated by an auxiliary field. Given an initial gradient for the auxiliary field, this model produces a hemispherical power asymmetry and a suppression of power at low multipoles similar to those observed by WMAP and Planck in the CMB temperature. It also predicts an additive contribution to δT with support only at very small l that is aligned with the direction of the power asymmetry and has a definite sign, as well as small oscillations in the power spectrum at all l.

ISW effect as probe of features in the expansion history of the Universe

In this paper, using and implementing a new line of sight CMB code, called CMBAns [1], that allows us to modify H(z) for any given feature at any redshift we study the effect of changes in the expansion history of the Universeon the CMB power spectrum. Motivated by the detailed analytical calculations of the effects of the changes in H(z) on ISW plateau and CMB low multipoles, we study two phenomenological parametric form of the expansion history using WMAP data and through MCMC analysis. Our MCMC analysis shows that the standard ΛCDM cosmological model is consistent with the CMB data allowing the expansion history of the Universe vary around this model at different redshifts. However, our analysis also shows that a decaying dark energy model proposed in [2] has in fact a marginally better fit than the standard cosmologicalconstant model to CMB data. Concordance of our studies here with the previous analysis showing that Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) and supernovae data (SN Ia) also prefer mildly this decaying dark energy model to ΛCDM, makes this finding interesting and worth further investigation.

Cosmology from the thermal Sunyaev-Zel’dovich power spectrum: Primordial non-Gaussianity and massive neutrinos

We carry out a comprehensive analysis of the possible constraints on cosmological and astrophysical parameters achievable with measurements of the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) power spectrum from upcoming full-sky CMB observations, with a particular focus on one-parameter extensions to the LCDM standard model involving local primordial non-Gaussianity (described by fNL) and massive neutrinos (described by Mnu). We include all of the relevant physical effects due to these additional parameters, including the change to the halo mass function and the scale-dependent halo bias induced by local primordial non-Gaussianity. [...] We compute forecasts for Planck, PIXIE, and a cosmic variance (CV)-limited experiment, using multifrequency subtraction to remove foregrounds and implementing two masking criteria based on the ROSAT and eROSITA cluster catalogs to reduce the significant CV errors at low multipoles. We find that Planck can detect the tSZ power spectrum with >30-sigma significance, regardless of the masking scenario. However, neither Planck or PIXIE is likely to provide competitive constraints on fNL from the tSZ power spectrum due to CV noise at low-ell overwhelming the unique signature of the scale-dependent bias. A future CV-limited experiment could provide a 3-sigma detection of fNL~37, which is the WMAP9 maximum-likelihood result. The outlook for neutrino masses is more optimistic: Planck can reach levels comparable to the current upper bounds ~<0.3 eV with conservative assumptions about the intracluster medium (ICM); stronger ICM priors could allow Planck to provide 1-2-sigma evidence for massive neutrinos from the tSZ power spectrum, depending on the true value of the sum of the neutrino masses. We also forecast a ~<10% constraint on the outer slope of the ICM pressure profile using the unmasked Planck tSZ power spectrum.

Low & high scale MSSM inflation, gravitational waves and constraints from Planck

In this paper we will analyze generic predictions of an inflection-point model of inflation with Hubble-induced corrections and study them in light of the Planck data. Typically inflection-point models of inflation can be embedded within Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM)where inflation can occur below the Planck scale. The flexibility of the potential allows us to match the observed amplitude of the TT-power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation with low and high multipoles, spectral tilt, and virtually mild running of the spectral tilt, which can put a bound on an upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r ⩽ 0.12.Since the inflaton within MSSM carries the Standard Model charges, therefore it is the minimal model of inflation beyond the Standard Model which can reheat the universe with the right thermal degrees of freedom without any dark-radiation.

Constraints on the annihilation cross section of dark matter particles from anisotropies in the diffuse gamma-ray background measured with Fermi-LAT

Annihilation of dark matter particles in cosmological halos (including the halo of the Milky Way) contributes to the diffuse gamma-ray background (DGRB). As this contribution will appear anisotropic in the sky, one can use the angular power spectrum of anisotropies in the DGRB to constrain the properties of dark matter particles. By comparing the updated analytic model of the angular power spectrum of the DGRB from dark matter annihilation with the power spectrum recently measured from the 22-month data of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), we place upper limits on the annihilation cross section of dark matter particles as a function of dark matter masses. We find that the current data exclude $⟨\ensuremath{\sigma}v⟩\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}25}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}\text{ }{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ for annihilation into $b\overline{b}$ at the dark matter mass of 10 GeV, which is a factor of 3 times larger than the canonical cross section. The limits are weaker for larger dark matter masses. The limits can be improved further with more Fermi-LAT data as well as by using the power spectrum at lower multipoles ($\ensuremath{\ell}\ensuremath{\lesssim}150$), which are currently not used due to a potential Galactic foreground contamination.

Local properties of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe cold spot

We investigate the local properties of WMAP Cold Spot (CS) by defining the local statistics: mean temperature, variance, skewness and kurtosis. We find that, compared with the \emph{coldest spots} in random Gaussian simulations, WMAP CS deviates from Gaussianity at $\sim 99%$ significant level. In the meanwhile, when compared with the spots at the same position in the simulated maps, the values of local variance and skewness around CS are all systematically larger in the scale of $R>5^{\circ}$, which implies that WMAP CS is a large-scale non-Gaussian structure, rather than a combination of some small structures. This is consistent with the finding that the non-Gaussianity of CS is totally encoded in the WMAP low multipoles. Furthermore, we find that the cosmic texture can excellently explain all the anomalies in these statistics.

Effect of our Galaxy's motion on weak-lensing measurements of shear and convergence

In this work we investigate the effect on weak-lensing shear and convergence measurements due to distortions from the Lorentz boost induced by our Galaxy's motion. While no ellipticity is induced in an image from the Lorentz boost to first order in beta = v/c, the image is magnified. This affects the inferred convergence at a 10 per cent level, and is most notable for low multipoles in the convergence power spectrum C {\kappa}{\kappa} and for surveys with large sky coverage like LSST and DES. Experiments which image only small fractions of the sky and convergence power spectrum determinations at l > 5 can safely neglect the boost effect to first order in beta.