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Eleonora Di Valentino

Publications and source records attributed to Eleonora Di Valentino.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Forecasting Interacting Vacuum-Energy Models using Gravitational Waves

The physics of the dark sector has remained one of the controversial areas of modern cosmology at present and hence it naturally attracts massive attention to the scientific community. With the developments of the astronomical data, the physics of the dark sector is becoming much more transparent than it was some twenty years back. The detection of gravitational waves (GWs) has now opened a cluster of possibilities in the cosmological regime. Being motivated by the detection of GWs and its possible impact on the physics of dark matter and dark energy, in this work we focus on the interacting dark energy models. Assuming the simplest possibility in which the vacuum energy with equation-of-state $w_x =-1$ is allowed to interact with the pressureless dark matter, we have extracted the constraints of the cosmological parameters. We find that the addition of the GWs data to the CMB measurements significantly improves up to a factor 4 of the parameters space, and up to a factor 2 for the full combination of current cosmological datasets, namely CMB+BAO+Pantheon+RSD+R16+CC+WL. The most affected parameters by the inclusion of the GWs are $Ω_ch^2$, $θ_{MC}$, $ξ$, and the derived parameters $Ω_{m0}$, $σ_8$ and $H_0$.

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All-inclusive interacting dark sector cosmologies

In this paper we explore possible extensions of Interacting Dark Energy cosmologies, where Dark Energy and Dark Matter interact non-gravitationally with one another. In particular, we focus on the neutrino sector, analyzing the effect of both neutrino masses and the effective number of neutrino species. We consider the Planck 2018 legacy release data combined with several other cosmological probes, finding no evidence for new physics in the dark radiation sector. The current neutrino constraints from cosmology should be therefore regarded as robust, as they are not strongly dependent on the dark sector physics, once all the available observations are combined. Namely, we find a total neutrino mass $M_ν<0.15$ eV and a number of effective relativistic degrees of freedom of $N_{\rm eff}=3.03^{+0.33}_{-0.33}$, both at 95\% CL, which are close to those obtained within the $Λ$CDM cosmology, $M_ν<0.12$ eV and $N_{\rm eff}=3.00^{+0.36}_{-0.35}$ for the same data combination.

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Non-minimal dark sector physics and cosmological tensions

We explore whether non-standard dark sector physics might be required to solve the existing cosmological tensions. The properties we consider in combination are an interaction between the dark matter and dark energy components, and a dark energy equation of state $w$ different from that of the canonical cosmological constant $w=-1$. In principle, these two parameters are independent. In practice, to avoid early-time, superhorizon instabilities, their allowed parameter spaces are correlated. We analyze three classes of extended interacting dark energy models in light of the 2019 Planck CMB results and Cepheid-calibrated local distance ladder $H_0$ measurements of Riess et al. (R19), as well as recent BAO and SNeIa distance data. We find that in quintessence coupled dark energy models, where $w > -1$, the evidence for a non-zero coupling between the two dark sectors can surpass the $5σ$ significance. On the other hand, in phantom coupled dark energy models, there is no such preference for a non-zero dark sector coupling. All the models we consider significantly raise the value of the Hubble constant easing the $H_0$ tension. The addition of low-redshift BAO and SNeIa measurements leaves some residual tension with R19 but at a level that could be justified by a statistical fluctuation. Bayesian evidence considerations mildly disfavour both the coupled quintessence and phantom models, while mildly favouring a coupled vacuum scenario, even when late-time datasets are considered. We conclude that non-minimal dark energy cosmologies, such as coupled quintessence, phantom, or vacuum models, are still an interesting route towards softening existing cosmological tensions, even when low-redshift datasets and Bayesian evidence considerations are taken into account. (abstract severely abridged)

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Cosmological constraints in extended parameter space from the Planck 2018 Legacy release

We present new constraints on extended cosmological scenarios using the recent data from the Planck 2018 Legacy release. In addition to the six parameters of the standard LCDM model, we also simultaneously vary the dark energy equation of state, the neutrino mass, the neutrino effective number, the running of the spectral index and the lensing amplitude $A_L$. We confirm that a resolution of the Hubble tension is given by a dark energy equation of state with w<-1, ruling out quintessence models at high statistical significance. This solution is, however, not supported by BAO and Pantheon data. We find no evidence for evolving dark energy, i.e. $w_a \neq 0$. The neutrino effective number is always in agreement with the expectations of the standard model based on three active neutrinos. The running of the spectral index also is always consistent with zero. Despite the increase in the number of parameters, the $A_L$ lensing anomaly is still present at more than two standard deviations. The $A_L$ anomaly significantly affects the bounds on the neutrino mass that can be larger by a factor four with respect to those derived under standard $Λ$CDM. While the lensing data reduces the evidence for $A_L>1$, the inclusion of BAO and Pantheon increase its statistical significance.

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Dawn of the dark: unified dark sectors and the EDGES Cosmic Dawn 21-cm signal

While the origin and composition of dark matter and dark energy remains unknown, it is possible that they might represent two manifestations of a single entity, as occurring in unified dark sector models. On the other hand, advances in our understanding of the dark sector of the Universe might arise from Cosmic Dawn, the epoch when the first stars formed. In particular, the first detection of the global 21-cm absorption signal at Cosmic Dawn from the EDGES experiment opens up a new arena wherein to test models of dark matter and dark energy. Here, we consider generalized and modified Chaplygin gas models as candidate unified dark sector models. We first constrain these models against Cosmic Microwave Background data from the \textit{Planck} satellite, before exploring how the inclusion of the global 21-cm signal measured by EDGES can improve limits on the model parameters, finding that the uncertainties on the parameters of the Chaplygin gas models can be reduced by a factor between $1.5$ and $10$. We also find that within the generalized Chaplygin gas model, the tension between the CMB and local determinations of the Hubble constant $H_0$ is reduced from $\approx 4σ$ to $\approx 1.3σ$. In conclusion, we find that the global 21-cm signal at Cosmic Dawn can provide an extraordinary window onto the physics of unified dark sectors.

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Planck evidence for a closed Universe and a possible crisis for cosmology

The recent Planck Legacy 2018 release has confirmed the presence of an enhanced lensing amplitude in CMB power spectra compared to that predicted in the standard $Λ$CDM model. A closed universe can provide a physical explanation for this effect, with the Planck CMB spectra now preferring a positive curvature at more than $99 \%$ C.L. Here we further investigate the evidence for a closed universe from Planck, showing that positive curvature naturally explains the anomalous lensing amplitude and demonstrating that it also removes a well-known tension within the Planck data set concerning the values of cosmological parameters derived at different angular scales. We show that since the Planck power spectra prefer a closed universe, discordances higher than generally estimated arise for most of the local cosmological observables, including BAO. The assumption of a flat universe could, therefore, mask a cosmological crisis where disparate observed properties of the Universe appear to be mutually inconsistent. Future measurements are needed to clarify whether the observed discordances are due to undetected systematics, or to new physics, or simply are a statistical fluctuation.

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Interacting scenarios with dynamical dark energy: observational constraints and alleviation of the $H_0$ tension

We investigate interacting scenarios which belong to a wider class, since they include a dynamical dark energy component whose equation of state follows various one-parameter parametrizations. We confront them with the latest observational data from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), Joint light-curve (JLA) sample from Supernovae Type Ia, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), Hubble parameter measurements from Cosmic Chronometers (CC) and a gaussian prior on the Hubble parameter $H_0$. In all examined scenarios we find a non-zero interaction, nevertheless the non-interacting case is allowed within 2$σ$. Concerning the current value of the dark energy equation of state for all combination of datasets it always lies in the phantom regime at more than two/three standard deviations. Finally, for all interacting models, independently of the combination of datasets considered, the estimated values of the present Hubble parameter $H_0$ are greater compared to the $Λ$CDM-based Planck's estimation and close to the local measurements, thus alleviating the $H_0$ tension.

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Challenging bulk viscous unified scenarios with cosmological observations

In a spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe, we investigate a unified cosmic fluid scenario endowed with bulk viscosity in which the coefficient of the bulk viscosity has a power law evolution. The power law in the bulk viscous coefficient is a general case in this study which naturally includes several choices as special cases. Considering such a general bulk viscous scenario, in the present work we have extracted the observational constraints using the latest cosmological datasets and examine their behaviour at the level of both background and perturbations. From the observational analyses, we find that a non-zero bulk viscous coefficient is always favored and some of the models in this series are able to weaken the current tension on $H_0$ for some dataset. However, from the Bayesian evidence analysis, $Λ$CDM is favored over the bulk viscous model.

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Dark sectors with dynamical coupling

Coupled dark matter-dark energy scenarios are modeled via a dimensionless parameter $ξ$, which controls the strength of their interaction. While this coupling is commonly assumed to be constant, there is no underlying physical law or symmetry that forbids a time-dependent $ξ$ parameter. The most general and complete interacting scenarios between the two dark sectors should therefore allow for such a possibility, and it is the main purpose of this study to constrain two possible and well-motivated coupled cosmologies by means of the most recent and accurate early and late-time universe observations. We find that CMB data alone prefers $ξ(z) >0$ and therefore a smaller amount of dark matter, alleviating some crucial and well-known cosmological data tensions. An objective assessment of the Bayesian evidence for the coupled models explored here shows no particular preference for the presence of a dynamical dark sector coupling.

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Late time transitions in the quintessence field and the $H_0$ tension

We consider a quintessence field which transitions from a matter-like to a cosmological constant behavior between recombination and the present time. We aim at easing the tension in the measurement of the present Hubble rate, and we assess the $Λ$CDM model properly enlarged to include our quintessence field against cosmological observations. The model does not address the scope we proposed. This result allows us to exclude a class of quintessential models as a solution to the tension in the Hubble constant measurements.

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Microwave Spectro-Polarimetry of Matter and Radiation across Space and Time

This paper discusses the science case for a sensitive spectro-polarimetric survey of the microwave sky. Such a survey would provide a tomographic and dynamic census of the three-dimensional distribution of hot gas, velocity flows, early metals, dust, and mass distribution in the entire Hubble volume, exploit CMB temperature and polarisation anisotropies down to fundamental limits, and track energy injection and absorption into the radiation background across cosmic times by measuring spectral distortions of the CMB blackbody emission. In addition to its exceptional capability for cosmology and fundamental physics, such a survey would provide an unprecedented view of microwave emissions at sub-arcminute to few-arcminute angular resolution in hundreds of frequency channels, a data set that would be of immense legacy value for many branches of astrophysics. We propose that this survey be carried-out with a large space mission featuring a broad-band polarised imager and a moderate resolution spectro-imager at the focus of a 3.5m aperture telescope actively cooled to about 8K, complemented with absolutely-calibrated Fourier Transform Spectrometer modules observing at degree-scale angular resolution in the 10-2000 GHz frequency range. We propose two observing modes: a survey mode to map the entire sky as well as a few selected wide fields, and an observatory mode for deeper observations of regions of specific interest.

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CMB-S4 Decadal Survey APC White Paper

We provide an overview of the science case, instrument configuration and project plan for the next-generation ground-based cosmic microwave background experiment CMB-S4, for consideration by the 2020 Decadal Survey.

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Listening to the sound of dark sector interactions with gravitational wave standard sirens

We consider two stable Interacting Dark Matter -- Dark Energy models and confront them against current Cosmic Microwave Background data from the \textit{Planck} satellite. We then generate luminosity distance measurements from ${\cal O}(10^3)$ mock Gravitational Wave events matching the expected sensitivity of the proposed Einstein Telescope. We use these to forecast how the addition of Gravitational Wave standard sirens data can improve current limits on the Dark Matter -- Dark Energy coupling strength ($ξ$). We find that the addition of Gravitational Waves data can reduce the current uncertainty by a factor of $5$. Moreover, if the underlying cosmological model truly features Dark Matter -- Dark Energy interactions with a value of $ξ$ within the currently allowed $1σ$ upper limit, the addition of Gravitational Wave data would help disentangle such an interaction from the standard case of no interaction at a significance of more than $3σ$.

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Testing Predictions of the Quantum Landscape Multiverse 3: The Hilltop Inflationary Potential

Here we test the predictions of the theory of the origin of the universe from the landscape multiverse, against the 2015 Planck data, for the case of the Hilltop class of inflationary models, for $p=4$ and $p=6$. By considering the quantum entanglement correction of the multiverse, we can place just a lower limit on the local 'SUSY-breaking' scale, respectively $b>8.7\times10^6 GeV$ at $95 \%$ c.l. and $b>1.3\times10^8 GeV$ at $95 \%$ c.l. from Planck TT+lowP, so the case with multiverse correction is statistically indistinguishable from the case with an unmodified inflation. We find that the series of anomalies predicted by the quantum landscape multiverse for the allowed range of $b$, is consistent with Planck's tests of the anomalies. In addition, the friction between the two cosmological probes of the Hubble parameter and with the weak lensing experiments goes away for a particular subset, the $p=6$ case of Hilltop models.

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Gravitational wave cosmology and astrophysics with large spectroscopic galaxy surveys

During the next decade, gravitational waves will be observed from hundreds of binary inspiral events. When the redshifts of the host galaxies are known, these events can be used as `standard sirens', sensitive to the expansion rate of the Universe. Measurements of the Hubble constant $H_0$ from standard sirens can be done independently of other cosmological probes, and events occurring at $z<0.1$ will allow us to infer $H_0$ independently of cosmological models. The next generation of spectroscopic galaxy surveys will play a crucial role in reducing systematic uncertainties in $H_0$ from standard sirens, particularly for the numerous `dark sirens' which do not have an electromagnetic counterpart. In combination with large spectroscopic data sets, standard sirens with an EM counterpart are expected to constrain $H_0$ to $\sim 1-2\%$ precision within the next decade. This is competitive with the best estimates of $H_0$ obtained to date and will help illuminate the current tension between existing measurements. Information on the galaxies that host the gravitational wave events will also shed light on the origin and evolution of compact object binaries.

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Dark Matter Science in the Era of LSST

Astrophysical observations currently provide the only robust, empirical measurements of dark matter. In the coming decade, astrophysical observations will guide other experimental efforts, while simultaneously probing unique regions of dark matter parameter space. This white paper summarizes astrophysical observations that can constrain the fundamental physics of dark matter in the era of LSST. We describe how astrophysical observations will inform our understanding of the fundamental properties of dark matter, such as particle mass, self-interaction strength, non-gravitational interactions with the Standard Model, and compact object abundances. Additionally, we highlight theoretical work and experimental/observational facilities that will complement LSST to strengthen our understanding of the fundamental characteristics of dark matter.

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PICO: Probe of Inflation and Cosmic Origins

The Probe of Inflation and Cosmic Origins (PICO) is an imaging polarimeter that will scan the sky for 5 years in 21 frequency bands spread between 21 and 799 GHz. It will produce full-sky surveys of intensity and polarization with a final combined-map noise level of 0.87 $μ$K arcmin for the required specifications, equivalent to 3300 Planck missions, and with our current best-estimate would have a noise level of 0.61 $μ$K arcmin (6400 Planck missions). PICO will either determine the energy scale of inflation by detecting the tensor to scalar ratio at a level $r=5\times 10^{-4}~(5σ)$, or will rule out with more than $5σ$ all inflation models for which the characteristic scale in the potential is the Planck scale. With LSST's data it could rule out all models of slow-roll inflation. PICO will detect the sum of neutrino masses at $>4σ$, constrain the effective number of light particle species with $ΔN_{\rm eff}<0.06~(2σ)$, and elucidate processes affecting the evolution of cosmic structures by measuring the optical depth to reionization with errors limited by cosmic variance and by constraining the evolution of the amplitude of linear fluctuations $σ_{8}(z)$ with sub-percent accuracy. Cross-correlating PICO's map of the thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect with LSST's gold sample of galaxies will precisely trace the evolution of thermal pressure with $z$. PICO's maps of the Milky Way will be used to determine the make up of galactic dust and the role of magnetic fields in star formation efficiency. With 21 full sky legacy maps in intensity and polarization, which cannot be obtained in any other way, the mission will enrich many areas of astrophysics. PICO is the only single-platform instrument with the combination of sensitivity, angular resolution, frequency bands, and control of systematic effects that can deliver this compelling, timely, and broad science.

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