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G. Benevento

Publications and source records attributed to G. Benevento.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Euclid preparation. Review of forecast constraints on dark energy and modified gravity

The Euclid mission has been designed to provide, as one of its main deliverables, information on the nature of the gravitational interaction, which determines the expansion of the Universe and the formation of structures. Thus, Euclid has the potential to test deviations from general relativity that will allow us to shed light on long-lasting problems in the standard cosmological model, $\Lambda$CDM. Euclid will mainly do this by using two complementary probes: weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering. In this paper we review pre-launch Euclid analyses for dark energy and modified gravity. These include forecast constraints with future Euclid data on cosmological parameters for different cosmological models, such as a time-varying dark energy component, phenomenological modifications of the perturbation sector and specific modified gravity models, with further extensions that include neutrino physics and the coupling to the electromagnetic sector through the fine-structure constant. We review the study of the impact of nonlinear clustering methods on beyond-$\Lambda$CDM constraints with Euclid. This is of fundamental importance to efficiently predict the large-scale clustering of matter and dark matter halos, given that we will have access to a wealth of information on scales beyond the linear regime. We inspect the extension of theoretical predictions for observable quantities in alternative cosmologies to $\Lambda$CDM at fully nonlinear scales by means of $N$-body simulations. We discuss the impact of relativistic corrections in extended cosmological models. Overall, this review highlights the significant potential of the Euclid mission to tightly constrain parameters of dark energy and modified gravity models, or perhaps to detect possible signatures of a $\Lambda$CDM failure.

astro-ph.CO

An ultraviolet burst oscillation candidate from the low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748-676

X-ray burst oscillations are quasi-coherent periodic signals at frequencies close to the neutron star spin frequency. They are observed during thermonuclear Type I X-ray bursts from a number of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) hosting a fast-spinning, weakly magnetic neutron star. Besides measuring the spin frequencies, burst oscillations hold the potential to accurately measure neutron star mass and radius, thus providing constraints on the equation of state of matter at nuclear densities. Based on far-ultraviolet (FUV) observations of the X-ray binary EXO 0748-676 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope in 2003, we report a possible indication of ultraviolet burst oscillations at the neutron star spin frequency ($\sim$552 Hz), potentially the first such case for an LMXB. The candidate signal is observed during an $\sim$8 s interval in the rising phase of an FUV burst, which occurred $\sim$4 s after a Type I X-ray burst. Through simulations, we estimated that the probability of detecting the observed signal power from pure random noise is 3.7$\%$, decreasing to 0.3$\%$ if only the burst rise interval is considered, during which X-ray burst oscillations had already been observed in this source. The background-subtracted folded pulse profile of the candidate FUV oscillations in the (120-160 nm) band is nearly sinusoidal with a $\sim$16$\%$ pulsed fraction, corresponding to a pulsed luminosity of $\sim$8$\times$10$^{33}$ erg/s. Interpreting the properties of this candidate FUV burst oscillations in the light of current models for optical-ultraviolet emission from neutron star LMXBs faces severe problems. If signals of this kind are confirmed in future observations, they might point to an unknown coherent emission process as the origin of the FUV burst oscillations observed in EXO 0748-676.

astro-ph.HE

Euclid. I. Overview of the Euclid mission

The current standard model of cosmology successfully describes a variety of measurements, but the nature of its main ingredients, dark matter and dark energy, remains unknown. Euclid is a medium-class mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) that will provide high-resolution optical imaging, as well as near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, over about 14,000 deg^2 of extragalactic sky. In addition to accurate weak lensing and clustering measurements that probe structure formation over half of the age of the Universe, its primary probes for cosmology, these exquisite data will enable a wide range of science. This paper provides a high-level overview of the mission, summarising the survey characteristics, the various data-processing steps, and data products. We also highlight the main science objectives and expected performance.

astro-ph.CO

Euclid: Constraining linearly scale-independent modifications of gravity with the spectroscopic and photometric primary probes

The future Euclid space satellite mission will offer an invaluable opportunity to constrain modifications to Einstein's general relativity at cosmic scales. We focus on modified gravity models characterised, at linear scales, by a scale-independent growth of perturbations while featuring different testable types of derivative screening mechanisms at smaller non-linear scales. We considered three specific models, namely JBD, a scalar-tensor theory with a flat potential, the nDGP gravity, a braneworld model in which our Universe is a four-dimensional brane embedded in a five-dimensional Minkowski space-time, and $k$-mouflage (KM) gravity, an extension of $k$-essence scenarios with a universal coupling of the scalar field to matter. In preparation for real data, we provide forecasts from spectroscopic and photometric primary probes by Euclid on the cosmological parameters and the additional parameters of the models, respectively, $\omega_{\rm BD}$, $\Omega_{\rm rc}$ and $\epsilon_{2,0}$. The forecast analysis employs the Fisher matrix method applied to weak lensing (WL); photometric galaxy clustering (GCph), spectroscopic galaxy clustering (GCsp) and the cross-correlation (XC) between GCph and WL. In an optimistic setting at 68.3\% confidence interval, we find the following percentage relative errors with Euclid alone: for $\log_{10}{\omega_{\rm BD}}$, with a fiducial value of $\omega_{\rm BD}=800$, 27.1\% using GCsp alone, 3.6\% using GCph+WL+XC and 3.2\% using GCph+WL+XC+GCsp; for $\log_{10}{\Omega_{\rm rc}}$, with a fiducial value of $\Omega_{\rm rc}=0.25$, we find 93.4\%, 20\% and 15\% respectively; and finally, for $\epsilon_{2,0}=-0.04$, we find 3.4\%, 0.15\%, and 0.14\%. (abridged)

astro-ph.CO