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Gert Hütsi

Publications and source records attributed to Gert Hütsi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Implications of Milky Way Substructures for the Nature of Dark Matter

We study how the indirect observation of dark matter substructures in the Milky Way, using recent stellar stream studies, translates into constraints for different dark matter models. Particularly, we use the measured number of dark subhalos in the mass range $10^7-10^9\,{\rm M_{\odot}}$ to constrain modifications of the subhalo mass function compared to the cold dark matter scenario. We obtain the lower bounds $m_{\rm WDM} > 3.2\,{\rm keV}$ and $m_{\rm FDM} > 5.2\times 10^{-21}\,{\rm eV}$ on the warm dark matter and fuzzy dark matter particle mass, respectively. When dark matter is coupled to a dark radiation bath, we find that kinetic decoupling must take place at temperatures higher than $T_{\rm kd} > 0.7\,{\rm keV}$. We also discuss future prospects of stellar stream observations.

astro-ph.CO↗

Small-scale structure of primordial black hole dark matter and its implications for accretion

Primordial black hole (PBH) dark matter (DM) nonlinear small-scale structure formation begins before the epoch of recombination due to large Poisson density fluctuations. Those small-scale effects still survive today, distinguishing physics of PBH DM structure formation from the one involving WIMP DM. We construct an analytic model for the small-scale PBH velocities that reproduces the velocity floor seen in numerical simulations, and investigate how these motions impact PBH accretion bounds at different redshifts. We find that the effect is small at the time of recombination, leaving the cosmic microwave background bounds on PBH abundance unchanged. However, already at $z=20$ the PBH internal motion significantly reduces their accretion due to the additional $1/v^6$ suppression, affecting the 21 cm bounds. Today the accretion bounds arising from dwarf galaxies or smaller PBH substructures are all reduced by the PBH velocity floor. We also investigate the feasibility for the PBH clusters to coherently accrete gas leading to a possible enhancement proportional to the cluster's occupation number but find this effect to be insignificant for PBH around $10 M_{\odot}$ or lighter. Those results should be reconsidered if the initial PBH distribution is not Poisson, for example, in the case of large initial PBH clustering.

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The influence of dark matter halo on the stellar stream asymmetry via dynamical friction

We study the effect of dynamical friction on globular clusters and on the stars evaporated from the globular clusters (stellar streams) moving in a galactic halo. Due to dynamical friction, the position of a globular cluster (GC) as a stream progenitor starts to shift with respect to its original position in the reference frame of initial GC orbit. Therefore the stars that have evaporated at different times have different mean position with respect to the GC position. This shifting results in a certain asymmetry in stellar density distribution between the leading and trailing arms of the stream. The degree of the asymmetry depends on the characteristics of the environment in which the GC and the stream stars move. As GCs are located mainly in outer parts of a galaxy, this makes dynamical friction a unique probe to constrain the underlying dark matter spatial density and velocity distributions. For a GC NGC 3201 we compared our theoretical shift estimates with available observations. Due to large uncertainties in current observation data, we can only conclude that the derived estimates have the same order of magnitude.

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Constraints on primordial black hole dark matter from Galactic center X-ray observations

Surprisingly high masses of the black holes inferred from the LIGO & Virgo gravitational wave measurements have lead to speculations that the observed mergers might be due to ${\cal O}(10) M_\odot$ primordial black holes (PBHs). Furthermore, it has been suggested that the whole amount of dark matter (DM) might be in that exotic form. We investigate constraints on the PBH DM using NuSTAR Galactic center (GC) X-ray data. We used a robust Monte Carlo approach in conjunction with a radiatively inefficient PBH accretion model with commonly accepted model parameters. Compared to previous studies we allowed for multiple forms of DM density profiles. Most importantly, our study includes treatment of the gas turbulence, which significantly modifies the relative velocity between PBHs and gas. We show that inclusion of the effects of gas turbulence and the uncertainties related to the DM density profile reduces significantly the gas accretion onto PBHs compared to the claimed values in previous papers. It is highly improbable to obtain accreting PBHs brighter than the NuSTAR point source limit using observationally determined gas velocities. As such, one can safely conclude that GC X-ray observations cannot rule out ${\cal O}(10) M_\odot$ PBH DM.

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Constraining Primordial Black Holes with the EDGES 21-cm Absorption Signal

The EDGES experiment has recently measured an anomalous global 21-cm spectrum due to hydrogen absorptions at redshifts of about $z\sim 17$. Model independently, the unusually low temperature of baryons probed by this observable sets strong constraints on any physical process that transfers energy into the baryonic environment at such redshifts. Here we make use of the 21-cm spectrum to derive bounds on the energy injection due to a possible population of ${\cal O}(1-100) M_\odot$ primordial black holes, which induce a wide spectrum of radiation during the accretion of the surrounding gas. After calculating the total radiative intensity of a primordial black hole population, we estimate the amount of heat and ionisations produced in the baryonic gas and compute the resulting thermal history of the Universe with a modified version of RECFAST code. Finally, by imposing that the temperature of the gas at $z\sim 17$ does not exceed the indications of EDGES, we constrain the possible abundance of primordial black holes. Depending on uncertainties related to the accretion model, we find that ${\cal O}(10) M_\odot$ primordial black holes can only contribute to a fraction $f_{\rm PBH}<(1-10^{-3})$ of the total dark matter abundance.

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Dark Matter Effects On Neutron Star Properties

We study possible effects of a dark matter (DM) core on the maximum mass of a neutron star (NS), on the mass-radius relation and on the NS tidal deformability parameter $Λ$. We show that all these quantities would in general be reduced in the presence of a DM core. In particular, our calculations indicate that the presence of a DM core with a mass fraction $\sim 5\%$ could affect significantly the interpretation of these NS data as constraints on the nuclear equation of state (EOS), potentially excluding some EOS models on the basis of the measured mass of PSR J0348+0432, while allowing other EOS models to become consistent with the LIGO/Virgo upper limit on $Λ$. Specific scenarios for generating such DM cores are explored in an Appendix.

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Constraints on ALPs and excited dark matter from the EDGES 21-cm absorption signal

The recent observation of the 21-cm absorption signal by the EDGES experiment provides a new observational window into the dynamics of the young Universe. Based on this result, we constrain the properties of ALPs and excited dark matter via the energy injections into the gaseous medium that these models produce. In particular, we derive bounds that outperform the present constraints for energy injections in the 10.2 eV to 50 keV range by analysing the intensity of Lyman-$α$ photons and the electron emissivity produced by ionising radiation. Our results also show that once the standard temperature of the soft radiation background is assumed, the explanations of the observed 3.5 keV photon signal within the considered dark matter model are excluded at 95\% confidence level.

hep-ph↗

Search for Dark Matter Effects on Gravitational Signals from Neutron Star Mergers

Motivated by the recent detection of the gravitational wave signal emitted by a binary neutron star merger, we analyse the possible impact of dark matter on such signals. We show that dark matter cores in merging neutron stars may yield an observable supplementary peak in the gravitational wave power spectral density following the merger, which could be distinguished from the features produced by the neutron components.

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Probing large-scale structure with large samples of X-ray selected AGN: I Baryonic acoustic oscillations

We investigate the potential of large X-ray-selected AGN samples for detecting baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO). Though AGN selection in X-ray band is very clean and efficient, it does not provide redshift information, and thus needs to be complemented with an optical follow-up. The main focus of this study is (i) to find the requirements needed for the quality of the optical follow-up and (ii) to formulate the optimal strategy of the X-ray survey, in order to detect the BAO. We demonstrate that redshift accuracy of $σ_0=10^{-2}$ at $z=1$ and the catastrophic failure rate of $f_{\rm fail}\lesssim 30\%$ are sufficient for a reliable detection of BAO in future X-ray surveys. Spectroscopic quality redshifts ($σ_0=10^{-3}$ and $f_{\rm fail}\sim 0$) will boost the confidence level of the BAO detection by a factor of $\sim 2$. For meaningful detection of BAO, X-ray surveys of moderate depth of $F_{\rm lim}\sim {\rm few~} 10^{-15}$ erg/s/cm$^2$ covering sky area from a few hundred to $\sim$ten thousand square degrees are required. The optimal strategy for the BAO detection does not necessarily require full sky coverage. For example, in a 1000-day long survey by an eROSITA type telescope, an optimal strategy would be to survey a sky area of $\sim 9000$ deg$^2$, yielding a $\sim 16σ$ BAO detection. A similar detection will be achieved by ATHENA+ or WFXT class telescopes in a survey with a duration of 100 days, covering a similar sky area. XMM-Newton can achieve a marginal BAO detection in a 100-day survey covering $\sim 400$ deg$^2$. These surveys would demand a moderate-to-high cost in terms the optical follow-ups, requiring determination of redshifts of $\sim 10^5$ (XMM-Newton) to $\sim 3\times 10^6$ objects (eROSITA, ATHENA+, and WFXT) in these sky areas.

astro-ph.CO↗

The EDGES 21 cm Anomaly and Properties of Dark Matter

The recently claimed anomaly in the measurement of the 21 cm hydrogen absorption signal by EDGES at $z\sim 17$, if cosmological, requires the existence of new physics. The possible attempts to resolve the anomaly rely on either (i) cooling the hydrogen gas via new dark matter-hydrogen interactions or (ii) modifying the soft photon background beyond the standard CMB one, as possibly suggested also by the ARCADE~2 excess. We argue that solutions belonging to the first class are generally in tension with cosmological dark matter probes once simple dark sector models are considered. Therefore, we propose soft photon emission by light dark matter as a natural solution to the 21 cm anomaly, studying a few realizations of this scenario. We find that the signal singles out a photophilic dark matter candidate characterised by an enhanced collective decay mechanism, such as axion mini-clusters.

hep-ph↗

Studying the ICM in clusters of galaxies via surface brightness fluctuations of the cosmic X-ray background

We study the surface brightness fluctuations of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) using Chandra data of XBOOTES. After masking out resolved sources we compute the power spectrum of fluctuations of the unresolved CXB for angular scales from ~2 arcsec to ~3 deg. The non-trivial large-scale structure (LSS) signal dominates over the shot-noise of unresolved point sources at all scales above ~1 arcmin and is produced mainly by the intracluster medium (ICM) of unresolved clusters and groups of galaxies, as shown in our previous publication. The shot-noise-subtracted power spectrum of CXB fluctuations has a power-law shape with the slope of $Γ= 0.96 \pm 0.06$. Its energy spectrum is well described by the redshifted emission spectrum of optically-thin plasma with the best-fit temperature of $T \approx 1.3$ keV and the best-fit redshift of $z \approx 0.40$. They are in good agreement with theoretical expectations based on the X-ray luminosity function and scaling relations of clusters. From these values we estimate the typical mass and luminosity of the objects responsible for CXB fluctuations, $M_{500} \sim 10^{13.6}\,{\rm M}_{\odot}/h$ and $L_{0.5-2.0\,{\rm keV}} \sim 10^{42.5}$ erg/s. On the other hand, the flux-weighted mean temperature and redshift of resolved clusters are $T \approx 2.4$ keV and $z \approx 0.23$, confirming that fluctuations of unresolved CXB are caused by cooler (i.e. less massive) and more distant clusters, as expected. We show that the power spectrum shape is sensitive to the ICM structure all the way to the outskirts, out to $\sim{\rm few}\times R_{500}$. We also look for possible contribution of the warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) to the observed CXB fluctuations. Our results underline the significant diagnostics potential of the CXB fluctuation analysis in studying the ICM structure in clusters.

astro-ph.HE↗

Can AGN and galaxy clusters explain the surface brightness fluctuations of the cosmic X-ray background?

Fluctuations of the surface brightness of cosmic X-ray background (CXB) carry unique information about faint and low luminosity source populations, which is inaccessible for conventional large-scale structure (LSS) studies based on resolved sources. We used Chandra data of the XBOOTES field ($\sim9\,\mathrm{deg^2}$) to conduct the most accurate measurement to date of the power spectrum of fluctuations of the unresolved CXB on the angular scales of $\sim3\,$arcsec $-$ $\sim17\,$arcmin. We find that at sub-arcmin angular scales, the power spectrum is consistent with the AGN shot noise, without much need for any significant contribution from their one-halo term. This is consistent with the theoretical expectation that low-luminosity AGN reside alone in their dark matter halos. However, at larger angular scales we detect a significant LSS signal above the AGN shot noise. Its power spectrum, obtained after subtracting the AGN shot noise, follows a power law with the slope of $-0.8\pm0.1$ and its amplitude is much larger than what can be plausibly explained by the two-halo term of AGN. We demonstrate that the detected LSS signal is produced by unresolved clusters and groups of galaxies. For the flux limit of the XBOOTES survey, their flux-weighted mean redshift equals $\left \sim0.3$, and the mean temperature of their intracluster medium (ICM), $\left \approx 1.4$ keV, corresponds to the mass of $M_{500} \sim 10^{13.5}\,\mathrm{M}_\odot$. The power spectrum of CXB fluctuations carries information about the redshift distribution of these objects and the spatial structure of their ICM on the linear scales of up to $\sim$Mpc, i.e. of the order of the virial radius.

astro-ph.HE↗

Dynamically Induced Planck Scale and Inflation

Theories where the Planck scale is dynamically generated from dimensionless interactions provide predictive inflationary potentials and super-Planckian field variations. We first study the minimal single-field realisation in the low-energy effective field theory limit, finding the predictions $n_s \approx 0.96$ for the spectral index and $r \approx 0.13$ for the tensor-to-scalar ratio, which can be reduced down to $\approx 0.04$ in presence of large couplings. Next we consider agravity as a dimensionless quantum gravity theory finding a multi-field inflation that converges towards an attractor trajectory that predicts $n_s\approx 0.96$ and $0.003<r<0.13$, interpolating between the quadratic and Starobinsky inflation. These theories relate the smallness of the weak scale to the smallness of inflationary perturbations: both arise naturally because of small couplings, implying a reheating temperature of $10^{7-9}$ GeV. A measurement of $r$ by Keck/Bicep3 would give us information on quantum gravity in the dimensionless scenario.

astro-ph.CO↗

Linking X-ray AGN with dark matter halos: a model compatible with AGN luminosity function and large-scale clustering properties

Our goal is to find a minimalistic model that describes the luminosity function and large-scale clustering bias of the X-ray-selected AGN in the general framework of the concordance LCDM model. We assume that a simple population-averaged scaling relation between the AGN X-ray luminosity L_X and the host dark matter halo mass M_h exists. With such a relation, the AGN X-ray luminosity function can be computed from the halo mass function. Using the concordance LCDM halo mass function for the latter, we obtain the M_h-L_X relation required to match the redshift-dependent AGN X-ray luminosity function known from X-ray observations. We find that with a simple power-law-scaling M_h \propto L_X^Γ(z), our model can successfully reproduce the observed X-ray luminosity function. Furthermore, we automatically obtain predictions for the large-scale AGN clustering amplitudes and their dependence on the luminosity and redshift, which seem to be compatible with AGN clustering measurements. Our model also includes the redshift-dependent AGN duty cycle which peaks at the redshift z ~ 1, and its peak value is consistent with unity, suggesting that on average there is no more than one AGN per dark matter halo. For a typical X-ray-selected AGN at z ~ 1, our best-fit M_h-L_X scaling implies low Eddington ratio L_X/L_Edd ~ 10^{-4}-10^{-3} (2-10 keV band, no bolometric correction applied) and correspondingly large mass growth e-folding times, suggesting that the typical X-ray AGN are dominantly fueled via relatively inefficient 'hot-halo' accretion mode.

astro-ph.CO↗

Window effect in the power spectrum analysis of a galaxy redshift survey

We investigate the effect of the window function on the multipole power spectrum in two different ways. First, we consider the convolved power spectrum including the window effect, which is obtained by following the familiar (FKP) method developed by Feldman, Kaiser and Peacock. We show how the convolved multipole power spectrum is related to the original power spectrum, using the multipole moments of the window function. Second, we investigate the deconvolved power spectrum, which is obtained by using the Fourier deconvolution theorem. In the second approach, we measure the multipole power spectrum deconvolved from the window effect. We demonstrate how to deal with the window effect in these two approaches, applying them to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) luminous red galaxy (LRG) sample.

astro-ph.CO↗

AGN and QSOs in the eROSITA All-Sky Survey -- Part II: The large-scale structure

The four-year X-ray all-sky survey (eRASS) of the eROSITA telescope aboard the Spektrum-Roentgen-Gamma satellite will detect ~3 million active galactic nuclei (AGN) with a median redshift of z~1 and a typical luminosity of L_(0.5-2.0 keV) ~ 10^(44) erg/s. We show that this unprecedented AGN sample, complemented with redshift information, will supply us with outstanding opportunities for large-scale structure research. For the first time, detailed redshift- and luminosity-resolved studies of the bias factor for X-ray selected AGN will become possible. The eRASS AGN sample will not only improve the redshift- and luminosity-resolution of these studies, but will also expand their luminosity range beyond L_(0.5-2.0 keV) ~ 10^(44) erg/s, thus enabling a direct comparison of the clustering properties of luminous X-ray AGN and optical quasars. These studies will dramatically improve our understanding of the AGN environment, triggering mechanisms, the growth of supermassive black holes and their co-evolution with dark matter halos. The eRASS AGN sample will become a powerful cosmological probe. It will enable detecting baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs) for the first time with X-ray selected AGN. With the data from the entire extragalactic sky, BAO will be detected at a >~10sigma confidence level in the full redshift range and with ~8sigma confidence in the 0.8 < z < 2.0 range, which is currently not covered by any existing BAO surveys. To exploit the full potential of the eRASS AGN sample, photometric and spectroscopic surveys of large areas and a sufficient depth will be needed.

astro-ph.CO↗

Angular fluctuations in the CXB: Is Fe 6.4 keV line tomography of the large-scale structure feasible?

AGN are known to account for a major portion, if not all, of the cosmic X-ray background radiation. The dominant sharp spectral feature in their spectra is the 6.4 keV fluorescent line of iron, which may contribute to as much as ~ 5-10 % of the CXB spectral intensity at ~ 2-6 keV. Owing to cosmological redshift, the line photons detected at the energy E carry information about objects located at the redshift z=6.4/E-1. In particular, imprinted in their angular fluctuations is the information about the large-scale structure at redshift z. This opens the possibility of performing the Fe K_alpha line tomography of the cosmic large-scale structure. We show that detection of the tomographic signal at ~100 sigma confidence requires an all-sky survey by an instrument with an effective area of ~10 m^2 and field of view of ~1 deg^2. The signal is strongest for objects located at the redshift z~1 and at the angular scales corresponding to l ~ 100-300, therefore an optimal detection can be achieved with an instrument having a rather modest angular resolution of ~ 0.1-0.5 deg. For such an instrument, the CCD-type energy resolution of ~ 100-200 eV FWHM is entirely sufficient for the optimal separation of the signals coming from different redshifts. The gain in the signal strength that could potentially be achieved with energy resolution comparable to the line width is nullified by the photon counting and AGN discreteness noise. Among the currently planned and proposed missions, these requirements are best satisfied by LOFT, even though it was proposed for an entirely different purpose. Among others, clear detection should be achieved by WFXT (~ 20-35 sigma) and ATHENA (~ 10-20 sigma). eROSITA, in the course of its 4 years all-sky survey, will detect the tomographic signal only marginally.

astro-ph.CO↗

PPPC 4 DM ID: A Poor Particle Physicist Cookbook for Dark Matter Indirect Detection

We provide ingredients and recipes for computing signals of TeV-scale Dark Matter annihilations and decays in the Galaxy and beyond. For each DM channel, we present the energy spectra of electrons and positrons, antiprotons, antideuterons, gamma rays, neutrinos and antineutrinos e, mu, tau at production, computed by high-statistics simulations. We estimate the Monte Carlo uncertainty by comparing the results yielded by the Pythia and Herwig event generators. We then provide the propagation functions for charged particles in the Galaxy, for several DM distribution profiles and sets of propagation parameters. Propagation of electrons and positrons is performed with an improved semi-analytic method that takes into account position-dependent energy losses in the Milky Way. Using such propagation functions, we compute the energy spectra of electrons and positrons, antiprotons and antideuterons at the location of the Earth. We then present the gamma ray fluxes, both from prompt emission and from Inverse Compton scattering in the galactic halo. Finally, we provide the spectra of extragalactic gamma rays. All results are available in numerical form and ready to be consumed.

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