Cosmology

About: Cosmology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 18004 publications have been published within this topic receiving 631028 citations. The topic is also known as: physical cosmology & cosmologies.

Full Calculation of Clumpiness Boost factors for Antimatter Cosmic Rays in the light of Lambda-CDM N-body simulation results. Abandoning hope in clumpiness enhancement?

Abstract: Context. Anti-proton and positron Galactic cosmic ray spectra are among the key targets for indirect detection of dark matter. The boost factors, corresponding to an enhancement of the signal, and linked to the clumpiness properties of the dark matter distribution, have been taken as high as thousands in the past. The dramatic impact of these boost factors for indirect detection of antiparticles, for instance with the PAMELA satellite or the coming AMS-02 experiment, asks for their detailed calculation. Aims. We take into account the state-of-the-art results of high resolution N-body dark matter simulations to calculate the most likely energy dependent boost factors, which are linked to the cosmic ray propagation properties, for anti-protons and positrons. The results from extreme, but still possible, configurations of the clumpy dark matter component are also discussed. Methods. Starting from the mass and space distributions of sub-halos, the anti-proton and positron propagators are used to calculate the mean value and the variance of the boost factor for the primary fluxes. We take advantage of the statistical method introduced in Lavalle et al. (2007) and cross-check the results with Monte Carlo computations. Results. By spanning some extreme configurations of sub-halo and propagation properties, we find that the average contribution of the clumps is negligible compared to that of the smooth dark matter component. Dark matter clumps do not lead to enhancement of the signals, unless they are taken with some extreme (unexpected) properties. This result is independent of the nature of the self-annihilating dark matter candidate considered, and provides precise estimates of the theoretical and the statistical uncertainties of the antimatter flux from sub-halos. Conclusions. Spectral distortions can still be expected in antimatter flux measurements, but scenarios invoking large and even mild clumpiness boost factors are strongly disfavoured by our analysis. Some very extreme configurations could still lead to large enhancements, e. g. (i) very small clumps with masses less than or similar to 10(-6) M-circle dot following a M-alpha mass distribution with alpha greater than or similar to 2, highly concentrated with internal r(-beta) profiles with beta greater than or similar to 1.5, and spatially distributed according to the smooth component; or (ii) a big sub-halo of mass greater than or similar to 0(7) M-circle dot within a distance of less than or similar to 1 kpc from the Earth. However, they are very unlikely from either theoretical or statistical arguments.

Experimental limits on primordial black hole dark matter from the first 2 yr of kepler data

Abstract: We present our analysis on new limits of the dark matter (DM) halo consisting of primordial black holes (PBHs) or massive compact halo objects. We present a search of the first two yr of publicly available Kepler mission data for potential signatures of gravitational microlensing caused by these objects as well as an extensive analysis of the astrophysical sources of background error. These include variable stars, flare events, and comets or asteroids that are moving through the Kepler field. We discuss the potential of detecting comets using the Kepler light curves, presenting measurements of two known comets and one unidentified object, most likely an asteroid or comet. After removing the background events with statistical cuts, we find no microlensing candidates. We therefore present our Monte Carlo efficiency calculation in order to constrain the PBH DM with masses in the range of 2 × 10{sup –9} M {sub ☉} to 10{sup –7} M {sub ☉}. We find that PBHs in this mass range cannot make up the entirety of the DM, thus closing a full order of magnitude in the allowed mass range for PBH DM.

Confirmation of the Copernican Principle at Gpc Radial Scale and above from the Kinetic Sunyaev-Zel’dovich Effect Power Spectrum

Abstract: The Copernican principle, a cornerstone of modern cosmology, remains largely unproven at Gpc radial scale and above. Violations of this type will inevitably cause a first order anisotropic kinetic Sunyaev Zel'dovich (kSZ) effect. Here we show that, if large scale radial inhomogeneities have amplitude large enough to explain the 'dark energy' phenomena, the induced kSZ power spectrum will be orders of magnitude larger than the ACT/SPT upper limit. This single test rules out the void model as a viable alternative to dark energy to explain the apparent cosmic acceleration, confirms the Copernican principle on Gpc radial scale and above and closes a loophole in the standard cosmology.

Weak lensing analysis in three dimensions

Abstract: We present a comprehensive full-sky 3-dimensional analysis of the weak lensing fields and their corresponding power spectra. Using the formalism of spin-weight spherical harmonics and spherical Bessel functions, we relate the two-point statistics of the harmonic expansion coefficients of the weak lensing shear and convergence to the power spectrum of the matter density perturbations, and derive small-angle limits. Such a study is relevant in view of the next generation of large-scale weak lensing surveys which will provide distance information about the sources through photometric redshifts. This opens up the possibility of accurate cosmological parameter estimation via weak lensing, with an emphasis on the equation of state of dark energy.

The Dawn of Chemistry

Abstract: Within the precise cosmological framework provided by the Λ-cold dark matter model and standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis, the chemical evolution of the pregalactic gas can now be followed with accuracy limited only by the uncertainties on the reaction rates. Starting during the recombination era, the formation of the first molecules and molecular ions containing hydrogen, deuterium, helium, and lithium was severely hindered by the low density of the expanding Universe, the intensity of the cosmic radiation field, and the absence of solid catalyzers. Molecular hydrogen and deuterated hydrogen, the most abundant species formed in the gas phase prior to structure formation, played a fundamental role in the cooling of the gas clouds that gave birth to the first stellar generation, contributing to determine the scale of fragmentation. Primordial molecules also interacted with the photons of the cosmic background via resonant scattering, absorption, and emission. In this review, we examine the current status of...