arXiv subjects

Axel de la Macorra

Publications and source records attributed to Axel de la Macorra.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR14 quasar sample: Anisotropic Baryon Acoustic Oscillations measurements in Fourier-space with optimal redshift weights

We present a measurement of the anisotropic and isotropic Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey Data Release 14 quasar sample with optimal redshift weights. Applying the redshift weights improves the constraint on the BAO dilation parameter $α(z_{\rm eff})$ by 17\%. We reconstruct the evolution history of the BAO distance indicators in the redshift range of $0.8<z<2.2$. This paper is part of a set that analyses the eBOSS DR14 quasar sample.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR14 quasar sample: Measuring the anisotropic Baryon Acoustic Oscillations with redshift weights

We present an anisotropic analysis of Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) signal from the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) Data Release 14 (DR14) quasar sample. The sample consists of 147,000 quasars distributed over a redshift range of $0.8 < z < 2.2$. We apply the redshift weights technique to the clustering of quasars in this sample and achieve a 4.6 per cent measurement of the angular distance measurement $D_M$ at $z = 2.2$ and Hubble parameter $H$ at $z=0.8$. We parameterize the distance-redshift relation, relative to a fiducial model, as a quadratic expansion. The coefficients of this expansion are used to reconstruct the distance-redshift relation and obtain distance and Hubble parameter measurements at all redshifts within the redshift range of the sample. Reporting the result at two characteristic redshifts, we determine $D_M(z=1) = 3405\pm305 \ (r_{\rm d} / r_{\rm d, fid}) \ {\rm Mpc}$, $H(z=1) = 120.7\pm 7.3 \ (r_{\rm d,fid} / r_{\rm d}) \ {\rm km} \ {\rm s}^{-1}{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ and $D_M(z=2) = 5325\pm249 \ (r_{\rm d} / r_{\rm d, fid}) \ {\rm Mpc}$, $H(z=2) = 189.9\pm 32.9 \ (r_{\rm d,fid} / r_{\rm d}) \ {\rm km} \ {\rm s}^{-1}{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. These measurements are highly correlated. We assess the outlook of BAO analysis from the final quasar sample by testing the method on a set of mocks that mimic the noise level in the final sample. We demonstrate on these mocks that redshift weighting shrinks the measurement error by over 25 per cent on average. We conclude redshift weighting can bring us closer to the cosmological goal of the final quasar sample.

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arXiv2017

The clustering of the SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR14 quasar sample: First measurement of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations between redshift 0.8 and 2.2

We present measurements of the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale in redshift-space using the clustering of quasars. We consider a sample of 147,000 quasars from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) distributed over 2044 square degrees with redshifts $0.8 < z < 2.2$ and measure their spherically-averaged clustering in both configuration and Fourier space. Our observational dataset and the 1400 simulated realizations of the dataset allow us to detect a preference for BAO that is greater than 2.8$σ$. We determine the spherically averaged BAO distance to $z = 1.52$ to 3.8 per cent precision: $D_V(z=1.52)=3843\pm147 \left(r_{\rm d}/r_{\rm d, fid}\right)\ $Mpc. This is the first time the location of the BAO feature has been measured between redshifts 1 and 2. Our result is fully consistent with the prediction obtained by extrapolating the Planck flat $Λ$CDM best-fit cosmology. All of our results are consistent with basic large-scale structure (LSS) theory, confirming quasars to be a reliable tracer of LSS, and provide a starting point for numerous cosmological tests to be performed with eBOSS quasar samples. We combine our result with previous, independent, BAO distance measurements to construct an updated BAO distance-ladder. Using these BAO data alone and marginalizing over the length of the standard ruler, we find $Ω_Λ > 0$ at 6.6$σ$ significance when testing a $Λ$CDM model with free curvature.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

The Thirteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-IV Survey MApping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in July 2014. It pursues three core programs: APOGEE-2, MaNGA, and eBOSS. In addition, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: TDSS and SPIDERS. This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13), which contains new data, reanalysis of existing data sets and, like all SDSS data releases, is inclusive of previously released data. DR13 makes publicly available 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA, the first data released from this survey. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing SEQUELS. In addition to targeting galaxies and quasars, SEQUELS also targeted variability-selected objects from TDSS and X-ray selected objects from SPIDERS. DR13 includes new reductions of the SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification. DR13 releases new reductions of the APOGEE-1 data from SDSS-III, with abundances of elements not previously included and improved stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. For the SDSS imaging data, DR13 provides new, more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Several value-added catalogs are being released in tandem with DR13, in particular target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS, and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE. This paper describes the location and format of the data now publicly available, as well as providing references to the important technical papers that describe the targeting, observing, and data reduction. The SDSS website, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials and examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ~6-year operations of SDSS-IV.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially-resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median redshift of z = 0.03). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between redshifts z = 0.6 and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGN and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5-meter Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5-meter du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in July 2016.

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arXiv2016

The DESI Experiment Part I: Science,Targeting, and Survey Design

DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. To trace the underlying dark matter distribution, spectroscopic targets will be selected in four classes from imaging data. We will measure luminous red galaxies up to $z=1.0$. To probe the Universe out to even higher redshift, DESI will target bright [O II] emission line galaxies up to $z=1.7$. Quasars will be targeted both as direct tracers of the underlying dark matter distribution and, at higher redshifts ($ 2.1 < z < 3.5$), for the Ly-$α$ forest absorption features in their spectra, which will be used to trace the distribution of neutral hydrogen. When moonlight prevents efficient observations of the faint targets of the baseline survey, DESI will conduct a magnitude-limited Bright Galaxy Survey comprising approximately 10 million galaxies with a median $z\approx 0.2$. In total, more than 30 million galaxy and quasar redshifts will be obtained to measure the BAO feature and determine the matter power spectrum, including redshift space distortions.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

The DESI Experiment Part II: Instrument Design

DESI (Dark Energy Spectropic Instrument) is a Stage IV ground-based dark energy experiment that will study baryon acoustic oscillations and the growth of structure through redshift-space distortions with a wide-area galaxy and quasar redshift survey. The DESI instrument is a robotically-actuated, fiber-fed spectrograph capable of taking up to 5,000 simultaneous spectra over a wavelength range from 360 nm to 980 nm. The fibers feed ten three-arm spectrographs with resolution $R= λ/Δλ$ between 2000 and 5500, depending on wavelength. The DESI instrument will be used to conduct a five-year survey designed to cover 14,000 deg$^2$. This powerful instrument will be installed at prime focus on the 4-m Mayall telescope in Kitt Peak, Arizona, along with a new optical corrector, which will provide a three-degree diameter field of view. The DESI collaboration will also deliver a spectroscopic pipeline and data management system to reduce and archive all data for eventual public use.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2016

Constraints on Steep Equation of State for the Dark Energy using BAO

We present a parametrization for the Dark Energy Equation of State "EoS" which has a rich structure. Our EoS has a transition at pivotal redshift $z_T$ between the present day value $w_0$ to an early time $w_i=w_a+w_0\equiv w(z>>0)$ and the steepness of this transition is given in terms of the $q$ parameter. The proposed parametrization is $w=w_0+w_a(z/z_T)^q/(1+(z/z_T))^q$, with $w_0$, $w_i$, $q $ and $z_T$ constant parameters. This transition is motivated by scalar field dynamics such as for example quintessence models. Our parametrization reduces to the widely used EoS $w=w_0+w_a(1-a)$ for $z_T=q=1$. We study if a late time transition is favored by BAO measurements and Planck priors. According to our results, an EoS with a present value of $w_0 = -0.91$ and a high redshifts value $w_i =-0.62$, featuring a transition at a redshift of $z_T = 1.16$ with an exponent $q = 9.95$ is a good fit to the observational data. We found good agreement between the model and the data reported by the different surveys. A "thawing" dynamics is preferred by the use of BAO data alone (including Lymman-$α$ forest measurements) and a "freezing" evolution of the EoS is preferred when we include the priors from Planck. The constraints imposed by the available BAO measurements (\cite{Beutler:2011hx, Ross:2014qpa, Anderson:2013oza, Kazin:2014qga, Font-Ribera:2013wce, Delubac:2014aqe, Gong:2015tta}) and its physical behavior are discussed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

The SDSS-IV extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Overview and Early Data

The Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) will conduct novel cosmological observations using the BOSS spectrograph at Apache Point Observatory. Observations will be simultaneous with the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) designed for variability studies and the Spectroscopic Identification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS) program designed for studies of X-ray sources. eBOSS will use four different tracers to measure the distance-redshift relation with baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO). Using more than 250,000 new, spectroscopically confirmed luminous red galaxies at a median redshift z=0.72, we project that eBOSS will yield measurements of $d_A(z)$ to an accuracy of 1.2% and measurements of H(z) to 2.1% when combined with the z>0.6 sample of BOSS galaxies. With ~195,000 new emission line galaxy redshifts, we expect BAO measurements of $d_A(z)$ to an accuracy of 3.1% and H(z) to 4.7% at an effective redshift of z= 0.87. A sample of more than 500,000 spectroscopically-confirmed quasars will provide the first BAO distance measurements over the redshift range 0.9 2.1; these new data will enhance the precision of $d_A(z)$ and H(z) by a factor of 1.44 relative to BOSS. Furthermore, eBOSS will provide improved tests of General Relativity on cosmological scales through redshift-space distortion measurements, improved tests for non-Gaussianity in the primordial density field, and new constraints on the summed mass of all neutrino species. Here, we provide an overview of the cosmological goals, spectroscopic target sample, demonstration of spectral quality from early data, and projected cosmological constraints from eBOSS.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory II: Study of an extended Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model with a Dynamical Coupling

We study the cosmological implications of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL model) when the coupling constant is field dependent. The NJL model has a four-fermion interaction describing two different phases due to quantum interaction effects and determined by the strength of the coupling constant g. It describes massless fermions for weak coupling and a massive fermions and strong coupling, where a fermion condensate is formed. In the original NJL model the coupling constant g is indeed constant, and in this work we consider a modified version of the NJL model by introducing a dynamical field dependent coupling motivated by string theory. The effective potential as a function of the varying coupling (aimed to implement a natural phase transition) is seen to develop a negative divergence, i.e. becomes a "bottomless well" in certain limit region. Although we explain how an lower unbounded potential is not necessarily unacceptable in a cosmological context, the divergence can be removed if we consider a mass term for the coupling-like field. We found that for a proper set of parameters, the total potential obtained has two minima, one located at the origin (the trivial solution, in which the fluid associated with the fields behave like matter); and the other related to the non-trivial solution. This last solution has three possibilities: 1) if the minimum is positive V_{min}>0, the system behave as a cosmological constant, thus leading eventually to an accelerated universe; 2) if the minimized potential vanishes V_{min}=0, then we have matter with no acceleration ; 3) finally a negative minimum V_{min}<0 leads an eventually collapsing universe, even though we have a flat geometry.Therefore, a possible interpretation as Dark Matter or Dark Energy is allowed among the behaviors implicated in the model.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Cosmology and Quantum Field Theory: A study of the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio Model

We review the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model (NJL), proposed long time ago, as a four-fermion interaction theory with chiral symmetry. The theory is not renormalizable and presents a symmetry breaking due to quantum corrections which depends on the strength of the coupling constant. We may associate a phase transition with this symmetry breaking, leading from a fermion massless states to fermion condensates. This condensates can be described effectively by a scalar field. We are interested in this paper in the cosmological dynamics of the NJL model, and in the possibility that it can be related to dark energy and/or dark matter, which form up to 95% of the energy content of the universe at present time. We consider exclusively gravitational interaction between the NJL and the SM particles.

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arXiv2015

Dark Energy Parametrization motivated by Scalar Field Dynamics

We propose a new Dark Energy parametrization based on the dynamics of a scalar field. We use an equation of state w=(x-1)/(x+1), with x=E_k/V, the ratio of kinetic energy E_k=\dotphi^2/2 and potential V. The equation of motion gives x=(L/6)(V/3H^2) and has a solution x=([(1+y)^2+2 L/3]^{1/2}-(1+y))/2 where y\equiv \rmm/V and L= (V'/V)^2 (1+q)^2, q=\ddotphi/V'. The resulting EoS is w=[6+ L- 6 \sqrt((1+y)^2+2L/3)]/(L+6y). Since the universe is accelerating at present time we use the slow roll approximation in which case we have |q|<< 1 and L\simeq (V'/V)^2. However, the derivation of w is exact and has no approximation. By choosing an appropriate ansatz for L we obtain a wide class of behavior for the evolution of Dark Energy without the need to specify the potential V. The EoS w can either grow and later decrease, or other way around, as a function of redshift and it is constraint between -1\leq w\leq 1 as for any canonical scalar field with only gravitational interaction. To determine the dynamics of Dark Energy we calculate the background evolution and its perturbations, since they are important to discriminate between different DE models. Our parametrization follows closely the dynamics of a scalar field scalar fields and the function L allow us to connect it with the potential V(phi) of the scalar field phi.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Cosmological scalar field perturbations can grow

It has been argued that the small perturbations to the homogeneous and isotropic configurations of a canonical scalar field in an expanding universe do not grow. We show that this is not true in general, and clarify the root of the misunderstanding. We revisit a simple model in which the zero-mode of a free scalar field oscillates with high frequency around the minimum of the potential. Under this assumption the linear perturbations grow like those in the standard cold dark matter scenario, but with a Jeans length at the scale of the Compton wavelength of the scalar particle. Contrary to previous analyses in the literature our results do not rely on time-averages and/or fluid identifications, and instead we solve both analytically (in terms of a well-defined series expansion) and numerically the linearized Einstein-Klein-Gordon system. Also, we use gauge-invariant fields, which makes the physical analysis more transparent and simplifies the comparison with previous works carried out in different gauges. As a byproduct of this study we identify a time-dependent modulation of the different physical quantities associated to the background as well as the perturbations with potential observational consequences in dark matter models.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Dark Matter Phase Transition Constrained at O(0.1) eV with LSB Rotation Curves

In order to unravel the nature of the dark matter (DM) we have proposed a particle-physics motivated model called Bound Dark Matter (BDM) that consist in DM massless particles above a threshold energy Ec that acquire mass below it due to nonperturbative methods. Therefore, the BDM model describes DM particles which are relativistic, hot dark matter (HDM) in the denser (inner) regions of galaxies and describes nonrelativistic, cold dark matter (CDM) where halo density is below rho_c = Ec^4. We test this model by fitting rotation curves from Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS). We use a particular DM cored profile that contains three parameters: a typical scale length (rs) and density (rho_0) of the halo, and a core radius (rc) stemming from the relativistic nature of the BDM model. Since the energy Ec parameterizes the phase transition due to the underlying particle physics model, it is independent on the details of galaxy and/or structure formation and therefore the DM profile parameters rs, rc, Ec are constrained, leaving only two free parameters. Through the results we agree with previous ones implying that cored profiles are preferred over the N-body motivated cuspy profiles. We also compute 2D likelihoods of the BDM parameters rc and Ec for the different galaxies and matter contents, and find an average galaxy core radius rc = 1.48kpc and a transition energy between hot and cold dark matter at Ec = 0.06 eV. The phase transition scale Ec is a new fundamental scale for our DM model well motivated theoretical origin from gauge group dynamics.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Extra relativistic degrees of freedom without extra particles using Planck data

A recent number of analysis of cosmological data have shown indications for the presence of extra radiation beyond the standard model at equality and nucleosynthesis epoch, which has been usually interpreted as an effective number of neutrinos, Neff > 3.046. In this work we establish the theoretical basis for a particle physics-motivated model (Bound Dark Matter, BDM) which explain the need of extra radiation. The BDM model describes dark matter particles which are relativistic at a scale below a < ac, these particles acquire mass with an initial velocity, vc, at scales a > ac due to non-perturbative methods, as protons and neutrons do, this process is described by a time dependent equation of state, w_bdm(a). Owing to this behavior the amount of extra radiation change as a function of the scale factor, this entail that the extra relativistic degrees of freedom Nex may also vary as a function of the scale factor. This is favored by data at CMB and BBN epochs. We compute the range of values of the BDM model parameters, xc = ac*vc, that explain the values obtained for the 4He at BBN and Neff at equality. Combining different analysis we compute the value xc = 4.13x10^{-5} and vc = 0.37. We conclude that we can account for the apparent extra neutrino degrees of freedom Nex using a phase transition in the dark matter with a time dependent equation of state with no need for introducing extra relativistic particles.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Testing modified gravity at large distances with the HI Nearby Galaxy Survey's rotation curves

Recently a new -quantum motivated- theory of gravity has been proposed that modifies the standard Newtonian potential at large distances when spherical symmetry is considered. Accordingly, Newtonian gravity is altered by adding an extra Rindler acceleration term that has to be phenomenologically determined. Here we consider a standard and a power-law generalization of the Rindler modified Newtonian potential. The new terms in the gravitational potential are hypothesized to play the role of dark matter in galaxies. Our galactic model includes the mass of the integrated gas, and stars for which we consider three stellar mass functions (Kroupa, diet-Salpeter, and free mass model). We test this idea by fitting rotation curves of seventeen low surface brightness galaxies from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS). We find that the Rindler parameters do not perform a suitable fit to the rotation curves in comparison to standard dark matter profiles (Navarro-Frenk-White and Burkert) and, in addition, the computed parameters of the Rindler gravity show a high spread, posing the model as a nonacceptable alternative to dark matter.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Addressing Decadal Survey Science through Community Access to Highly Multiplexed Spectroscopy with BigBOSS on the KPNO Mayall Telescope

This document summarizes the results of a community-based discussion of the potential science impact of the Mayall+BigBOSS highly multiplexed multi-object spectroscopic capability. The KPNO Mayall 4m telescope equipped with the DOE- and internationally-funded BigBOSS spectrograph offers one of the most cost-efficient ways of accomplishing many of the pressing scientific goals identified for this decade by the "New Worlds, New Horizons" report. The BigBOSS Key Project will place unprecedented constraints on cosmological parameters related to the expansion history of the universe. With the addition of an open (publicly funded) community access component, the scientific impact of BigBOSS can be extended to many important astrophysical questions related to the origin and evolution of galaxies, stars, and the IGM. Massive spectroscopy is the critical missing ingredient in numerous ongoing and planned ground- and space-based surveys, and BigBOSS is unique in its ability to provide this to the US community. BigBOSS data from community-led projects will play a vital role in the education and training of students and in maintaining US leadership in these fields of astrophysics. We urge the NSF-AST division to support community science with the BigBOSS multi-object spectrograph through the period of the BigBOSS survey in order to ensure public access to the extraordinary spectroscopic capability.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Core-Cusp revisited and Dark Matter Phase Transition Constrained at O(0.1) eV with LSB Rotation Curve

Recently a new particle physics model called Bound Dark Matter (BDM) has been proposed in which dark matter (DM) particles are massless above a threshold energy (Ec) and acquire mass below it due to nonperturbative methods. Therefore, the BDM model describes DM particles which are relativistic, hot dark matter, in the inner regions of galaxies and describes nonrelativistic, cold dark matter, where halo density is below rho_c = Ec^4. To realize this idea in galaxies we use a particular DM cored profile that contains three parameters: a scale length (rs) and density (rho_0) of the halo, and a core radius (rc) stemming from the relativistic nature of the BDM model. We test this model by fitting rotation curves of seventeen Low Surface Brightness galaxies from The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS). Since the energy Ec parameterizes the phase transition due to the underlying particle physics model, it is independent on the details of galaxy or structure formation and therefore the DM profile parameters rs, rc, Ec are constrained, leaving only two free parameters. The high spatial and velocity resolution of this sample allows to derive the model parameters through the numerical implementation of the chi^2-goodness-of-fit test to the mass models. We compare the fittings with those of Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW), Burkert, and Pseudo-Isothermal (ISO) profiles. Through the results we conclude that the BDM profile fits better, or equally well, than NFW, Burkert, and ISO profiles and agree with previous results implying that cored profiles are preferred over the N-body motivated cuspy profile. We also compute 2D likelihoods of the BDM parameters rc and Ec for the different galaxies and matter contents, and find an average galaxy core radius rc=300 pc and a transition energy Ec = 0.11 eV when the DM halo is the only component. In Kroupa mass model, we obtain a core rc=1.48 kpc, and energy Ec=0.06 eV.

astro-ph.CO↗