arXiv subjects

Douglas Scott

Publications and source records attributed to Douglas Scott.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources

arXiv1998

B1933+503, a dusty radio quasar at z>2: implications for blank field sub-mm surveys?

We present a detailed mm-wave and optical study of the gravitational lens system B1933+503, discovered by Sykes et al.(1998) in the radio. This object is probably the most complex lens system known, with 10 lensed components within a radius of one arcsecond. It is potentially important as a probe of the Hubble constant, although no optical counterpart has thus far been observed down to I=24.2. We have obtained new sub-millimetre detections at 450, 850 and 1350 microns. We have also constrained the possible dust emission from the proposed foreground lensing galaxy using a K-band adaptive optics image and CO(5-4) measurements. A lensing model is constructed, taking the foreground elliptical galaxy at z=0.755 as the lensing mass. From this we derive a scenario from which to model the sub-millimetre emission. Several arguments then point to the source in the B1933+503 system lying above a redshift of 2. We speculate that unlensed relatives of this source may constitute a sizable fraction of the 850 micron source counts.

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arXiv1998

MAP and Planck vs the Real Universe

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) and Planck Surveyor satellites promise to provide accurate maps of the sky at a range of frequencies and angular scales, from which it will be possible to extract estimates for cosmological parameters. But the real Universe is a nasty, messy place, full of non-linear astrophysics. It is certainly clear that MAP and Planck will fix the background cosmology at an unprecedented level. However, they will have to contend with everything that the Universe throws at them: multiple foregrounds; structure formation effects; and other complications we haven't even thought of yet. Some examples of such effects will be presented. Only an ideal, theorist's universe can be described by a number of free parameters in the single digits, while in reality it is likely that a greater wealth of information waits to be discovered. These `higher-order' processes should be considered as potentially measurable signals, rather than contaminants. The capabilities of Planck seem ideally suited to fully understanding the physics encoded in the microwave sky.

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arXiv1998

Using SCUBA to place upper limits on arcsecond scale CMB anisotropies at 850 microns

The SCUBA instrument on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope has already had an impact on cosmology by detecting relatively large numbers of dusty galaxies at high redshift. Apart from identifying well-detected sources, such data can also be mined for information about fainter sources and their correlations, as revealed through low level fluctuations in SCUBA maps. As a first step in this direction we analyse a small SCUBA data-set as if it were obtained from a Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) differencing experiment. This enables us to place limits on CMB anisotropy at 850 microns. Expressed as Q_{flat}, the quadrupole expectation value for a flat power spectrum, the limit is 152 microKelvin at 95 per cent confidence, corresponding to C_0^{1/2} < 355 microKelvin for a Gaussian autocorrelation function, with a coherence angle of about 20--25 arcsec; These results could easily be reinterpretted in terms of any other fluctuating sky signal. This is currently the best limit for these scales at high frequency, and comparable to limits at similar angular scales in the radio. Even with such a modest data-set, it is possible to put a constraint on the slope of the SCUBA counts at the faint end, since even randomly distributed sources would lead to fluctuations. Future analysis of sky correlations in more extensive data-sets ought to yield detections, and hence additional information on source counts and clustering.

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arXiv1997

The Cosmic Background Radiation

We summarise the current status of cosmic microwave background spectrum and anisotropy measurements, and their theoretical interpretation. This is the update of the mini-review for the 1997 web-version of the Review of Particle Properties.

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arXiv1996

Cold dark matter models with high baryon content

Recent results have suggested that the density of baryons in the Universe, OmegaB, is much more uncertain than previously thought, and may be significantly higher. We demonstrate that a higher OmegaB increases the viability of critical-density cold dark matter (CDM) models. High baryon fraction offers the twin benefits of boosting the first peak in the microwave anisotropy power spectrum and of suppressing short-scale power in the matter power spectrum. These enable viable CDM models to have a larger Hubble constant than otherwise possible. We carry out a general exploration of high OmegaB CDM models, varying the Hubble constant h and the spectral index n. We confront a variety of observational constraints and discuss specific predictions. Although some observational evidence may favour baryon fractions as high as 20 per cent, we find that values around 10 to 15 per cent provide a reasonable fit to a wide range of data. We suggest that models with OmegaB in this range, with h about 0.5 and n about 0.8, are currently the best critical-density CDM models.

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arXiv1996

Direct Imaging of the CMB from Space

Fundamental information about the Universe is encoded in anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. To make full use of this information, an experiment must image the entire sky with the angular resolution, sensitivity, and spectral coverage necessary to reach the limits set by cosmic variance on angular scales >~10'. Recent progress in detector technology allows this to be achieved by a properly designed space mission that fits well within the scope of NASA's Medium-class Explorer program. An essential component of the mission design is an observing strategy that minimizes systematic effects due to instrumental offset drifts. The detector advances make possible a `spin chopping' approach that has significant technical and scientific advantages over the strategy used by COBE, which reconstructed an image of the sky via inversion of a large matrix of differential measurements. The advantages include increased angular resolution, increased sensitivity, and simplicity of instrumentation and spacecraft operations. For the parameters typical of experiments like the Primordial Structures Investigation (PSI) and the Far InfraRed Explorer (FIRE), we show that the spin-chopping strategy produces images of the sky and power spectra of CMB anisotropies that contain no significant systematic artifacts.

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arXiv1996

The Impact of the CMB on Large-Scale Structure

The COBE detection of microwave anisotropies provides the best way of fixing the amplitude of cosmological fluctuations on the largest scales. We discuss the impact of this new, precise normalization and give fitting formulae for the horizon-crossing amplitude as a function of Ω_0 and n for both open and flat cosmologies. We also discuss the relevant normalization (σ_8) at galaxy-clustering scales. Already it is clear that the inferred σ_8 can be unnaccepatably high for some of the simplest inflationary models, although many minor variants give an adequate fit. Generic topological defect models appear to fare rather badly, and it is unclear whether minor variants or improved calculations will help much. The detection and mapping of structure in the CMB anisotropy spectrum on smaller scales in the near future will enable us to achieve much stronger constraints on models.

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arXiv1995

CMB Anisotropies, Large-Scale Structure and the Future

We are now beginning to learn detailed information about cosmological parameters from the shapes of the matter and radiation power spectra, together with their relative normalization. As more high quality data are gathered from galaxy surveys and from microwave anisotropies, the range of allowed models is expected to get incrementally smaller. The amount of information potentially available from a high-resolution satellite experiment should allow a determination of essentially {\it all} currently discussed cosmological parameters to less than ~10%.

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arXiv1995

Why Not Consider Closed Universes?

We consider structure formation and CMB anisotropies in a closed universe, both with and without a cosmological constant. The CMB angular power spectrum and the matter transfer function are presented, along with a discussion of their relative normalization. This represents the first full numerical evolution of density perturbations and anisotropies in a spherical geometry. We extend the likelihood function vs. Omega from the COBE 2-year data to Omega>=1. For large Omega the presence of a very steep rise in the spectrum towards low ell allows us to put an upper limit of Omega<=1.5 (95%CL) for primordial spectra with n<=1. This compares favorably with existing limits on Omega. We show that there are a range of closed models which are consistent with observational constraints while being even older than the currently popular flat models with a cosmological constant. Future constraints from degree scale CMB data may soon probe this region of parameter space. A derivation of the perturbed Einstein, fluid and Boltzmann equations for open and closed geometries is presented in an appendix.

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arXiv1995

Cold Dark Matter Resuscitated?

The Cold Dark Matter (CDM) model has an elegant simplicitly which makes it very predictive, but when its parameters are fixed at their `canonical' values its predictions are in conflict with observational data. There is, however, much leeway in the initial conditions within the CDM framework. We advocate a re-examination of the CDM model, taking into account modest variation of parameters from their canonical values. We find that CDM models with $n=0.8$--0.9 and $h=0.45$--0.50 can fit the available data. Our ``best fit'' CDM model has $n=0.9$, $h=0.45$ and $C_2^{T}/C_2^{S}=0.7$. We discuss the current state of observations which could definitely rule out this model.

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arXiv1995

Echoes of Gravity

The study of anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation is progressing at a phenomenal rate, both experimentally and theoretically. These anisotropies can teach us an enormous amount about the way that fluctuations were generated and the way they subsequently evolved into the clustered galaxies which are observed today. In particular, on sub-degree scales the rich structure in the anisotropy spectrum is the consequence of gravity-driven acoustic oscillations occurring before the matter in the universe became neutral. The frozen-in phases of these sound waves imprint a dependence on many cosmological parameters, that we may be on the verge of extracting.

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arXiv1995

The Effect of Physical Assumptions on the Calculation of Microwave Background Anisotropies

As the data on CMB anisotropies improve and potential cosmological applications are realized, it will be increasingly important for theoretical calculations to be as accurate as possible. All modern calculations for inflationary-inspired fluctuations involve the numerical solution of coupled Boltzmann equations. There are many assumptions and choices to be made when carrying out such calculations. We go through each in turn, pointing out the best selections to make, and the level of inaccuracy expected through incorrect choice: (1) neglecting the effects of neutrinos or polarization has a 10% effect; (2) varying radiation temperature and He fraction can have smaller, but noticeable effects; (3) numerical issues, such as k-range and smoothing are discussed; (4) short-cut methods, e.g. free-streaming and tilt approximations, are generally inadequate at the few % level; (5) at the 1% level somewhat baroque effects are important, such as He recombination and even minimal reionization; (6) at smaller angular scales there are secondary effects which will ultimately have to be considered. Extracting information from the subsidiary acoustic peaks and the damping region will be an extremely challenging problem. However, given the prospect of measuring just such information on the sky, it will be important to meet this challenge. In principle we can obtain details about reionization history, neutrino contribution, helium abundance, non-power-law initial conditions etc.

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arXiv1995

From Microwave Anisotropies to Cosmology

Fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background have now been detected over a wide range of angular scales, and a consistent picture seems to be emerging. This article describes some of the implications for cosmology. Analysis of all the published detections suggests the existence of a peak on degree scales of height 2.4 to 10 (90%CL) relative to the amplitude of the power spectrum at large angular scales. This result confirms an early prediction, implies that the universe did in fact recombine, and limits theories of structure formation. Illustrative examples are provided of how the comparison of microwave background and large-scale structure data will be a potentially powerful means of answering fundamental questions about the universe.

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arXiv1995

CMB ANISOTROPIES: AN OVERVIEW

A brief outline of the current status of CMB anisotropies and what they might mean, heavily biased towards the perspective of Berkeley theorists. Based on a talk presented at the 17th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics held in Munich, December 1994.

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arXiv1994

BIMA observations of possible microwave background sources

We present sensitive upper limits on the 90 GHz flux of known radio and infrared sources in regions associated with possible cosmic microwave background fluctuations at 0.5--1 degree scales. Specifically we look at the MAX GUM region and the region of strongest fluctuation in the MSAM scan. None of the known sources can account for the levels of anisotropy seen.

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arXiv1994

The Existence of Baryons at z=1000

Fluctuations in the CMB have now been detected over a wide range of angular scales, and a consistent picture seems to be emerging. The data cannot currently constrain a large number of cosmological parameters, but it is clear that there is more information than just the normalization of the models. Here we use the data to constrain a second parameter, namely the amplitude of the Doppler peak, using a phenomenological approach to the power spectrum. We find that the data prefer a peak of height ~3, with a purely flat spectrum ruled out at the 95%CL. Although there are concerns about possible foregrounds and non-Gaussian fluctuations, we believe that the existence of a peak at degree-scales is established by the data. This immediately implies that reionization was unimportant for the CMB. It also potentially leads to difficulties for models where the fluctuations were produced by topological defects. Independent constraints on Omega_B, on the slope n, etc. will need to wait for further data. At the moment, the simple presence of a Doppler peak should be seen as strong supporting evidence for standard dark matter-dominated models with some few percent of baryons at z=1000.

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arXiv1994

Quoting Experimental Information

There was a question raised at this meeting as to the best way to present the results of experiments measuring anisotropies in the CMB. Here we will make some simple comments about the 3 main competing methods and some suggestions. In particular we will give an over-simplified but hopefully useful method of comparing GACF numbers with other power spectra, and a simple rule-of-thumb for converting between the two main conventions.

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arXiv1994

Power Spectrum Constraints from Spectral Distortions in the Cosmic Microwave Background

%The content of this replacement paper is identical to the original. %We have attempted to fix the postscript so that it will print out on %a larger number of printers. Using recent experimental limits on $μ$ distortions from COBE FIRAS, and the large lever-arm spanning the damping of sub-Jeans scale fluctuations to the scale of the COBE DMR fluctuations, we set a constraint on the slope of the primordial power spectrum $n$. It is possible to analytically calculate the contribution over the full range of scales and redshifts, correctly taking into account fluctuation growth and damping as well as thermalization processes. We find that the 95\% upper limit is weakly dependent on cosmological parameters, e.g. $n<1.54 (h=0.5)$ and $n<1.56 (h=1.0)$ for $Ω_0=1$ with marginally weaker constraints for $Ω_0<1$ in a flat $Ω_0 +Ω_Λ=1$ universe.

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