arXiv subjects

Hamsa Padmanabhan

Publications and source records attributed to Hamsa Padmanabhan.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Constraining a halo model for cosmological neutral hydrogen

We describe a combined halo model to constrain the distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the post-reionization universe. We combine constraints from the various probes of HI at different redshifts: the low-redshift 21-cm emission line surveys, intensity mapping experiments at intermediate redshifts, and the Damped Lyman-Alpha (DLA) observations at higher redshifts. We use a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach to combine the observations and place constraints on the free parameters in the model. Our best-fit model involves a relation between neutral hydrogen mass $M_{\rm HI}$ and halo mass $M$ with a non-unit slope, and an upper and a lower cutoff. We find that the model fits all the observables but leads to an underprediction of the bias parameter of DLAs at $z \sim 2.3$. We also find indications of a possible tension between the HI column density distribution and the mass function of HI-selected galaxies at $z\sim 0$. We provide the central values of the parameters of the best-fit model so derived. We also provide a fitting form for the derived evolution of the concentration parameter of HI in dark matter haloes, and discuss the implications for the redshift evolution of the HI-halo mass relation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Photon Number Conserving Models of H II Bubbles during Reionization

Traditional excursion set based models of H II bubble growth during the epoch of reionization are known to violate photon number conservation, in the sense that the mass fraction in ionized bubbles in these models does not equal the ratio of the number of ionizing photons produced by sources and the number of hydrogen atoms in the intergalactic medium. E.g., for a Planck13 cosmology with electron scattering optical depth $τ\simeq0.066$, the discrepancy is $\sim15$ per cent for $x_{\rm HII}=0.1$ and $\sim5$ per cent for $x_{\rm HII}=0.5$. We demonstrate that this problem arises from a fundamental conceptual shortcoming of the excursion set approach (already recognised in the literature on this formalism) which only tracks average mass fractions instead of the exact, stochastic source counts. With this insight, we build an approximately photon number conserving Monte Carlo model of bubble growth based on partitioning regions of dark matter into halos. Our model, which is formally valid for white noise initial conditions (ICs), shows dramatic improvements in photon number conservation, as well as substantial differences in the bubble size distribution, as compared to traditional models. We explore the trends obtained on applying our algorithm to more realistic ICs, finding that these improvements are robust to changes in the ICs. Since currently popular semi-numerical schemes of bubble growth also violate photon number conservation, we argue that it will be worthwhile to pursue new, explicitly photon number conserving approaches. Along the way, we clarify some misconceptions regarding this problem that have appeared in the literature.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Modelling the cosmic neutral hydrogen from DLAs and 21 cm observations

We review the analytical prescriptions in the literature to model the 21-cm (emission line surveys/intensity mapping experiments) and Damped Lyman-Alpha (DLA) observations of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the post-reionization universe. While these two sets of prescriptions have typically been applied separately for the two probes, we attempt to connect these approaches to explore the consequences for the distribution and evolution of HI across redshifts. We find that a physically motivated, 21-cm based prescription, extended to account for the DLA observables provides a good fit to the majority of the available data, but cannot accommodate the recent measurement of the clustering of DLAs at $z \sim 2.3$. This highlights a tension between the DLA bias and the 21-cm measurements, unless there is a very significant change in the nature of HI-bearing systems across redshifts 0-3. We discuss the implications of our findings for the characteristic host halo masses of the DLAs and the power spectrum of 21-cm intensity fluctuations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Measuring the equation of state of the high-z intergalactic medium using curvature statistics

Using hydrodynamical simulations, we explore the use of the mean and percentiles of the curvature distribution function to recover the equation of state of the high-$z$ ($2 < z < 4$) intergalactic medium (IGM). We find that the mean and percentiles of the absolute curvature distribution exhibit tight correlation with the temperatures measured at respective characteristic overdensities $\barΔ_i$'s at each redshift. Hence, they provide complementary probes of the same underlying temperature-density distribution, and can in principle be used to simultaneously recover both parameters $T_0$ and $γ$ of the IGM effective equation of state. We quantify the associated errors in the recovered parameters $T_0$ and $γ$ from the intrinsic scatter in the characteristic overdensities and the uncertainties in the curvature measurement.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Theoretical and observational constraints on the HI intensity power spectrum

Mapping of the neutral hydrogen (HI) 21-cm intensity fluctuations across redshifts promises a novel and powerful probe of cosmology. The neutral hydrogen gas mass density, $Ω_{\rm HI}$ and bias parameter, $b_{\rm HI}$ are key astrophysical inputs to the HI intensity fluctuation power spectrum. We compile the latest theoretical and observational constraints on $Ω_{\rm HI}$ and $b_{\rm HI}$ at various redshifts in the post-reionization universe. Constraints are incorporated from galaxy surveys, HI intensity mapping experiments, damped Lyman-$α$ system observations, theoretical prescriptions for assigning HI to dark matter halos, and the results of numerical simulations. Using a minimum variance interpolation scheme, we obtain the predicted uncertainties on the HI intensity fluctuation power spectrum across redshifts 0-3.5 for three different confidence scenarios. We provide a convenient tabular form for the interpolated values of $Ω_{\rm HI}$, $b_{\rm HI}$ and the HI power spectrum amplitude and their uncertainties. We discuss the consequences for the measurement of the power spectrum by current and future intensity mapping experiments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Probing reionization using quasar near-zones at redshift z ~ 6

Using hydrodynamical simulations coupled to a radiative transfer code, we study the additional heating effects in the intergalactic medium (IGM) produced by $z\sim 6$ quasars in their near-zones. If helium is predominantly in HeII to begin with, both normalization ($T_0$) and slope ($γ$) of the IGM effective equation-of-state get modified by the excess ionization from the quasars. Using the available constraints on $T_0$ at $z\sim6$, we discuss implications for the nature and epoch of HI and HeII reionization. We study the extent of the HeIII region as a function of quasar age and show, for a typical inferred age of $z \sim 6$ quasars (i.e. $\sim 10^8$ yrs), it extends up to 80% of the HI proximity region. For these long lifetimes, the heating effects can be detected even when all the HI lines from the proximity region are used. Using the flux and curvature probability distribution functions (PDFs), we study the statistical detectability of heating effects as a function of initial physical conditions in the IGM. For the present sample size, cosmic variance dominates the flux PDF. The curvature statistics is more suited to capturing the heating effects beyond the cosmic variance, even if the sample size is half of what is presently available.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Cosmological Constant from the Emergent Gravity Perspective

Observations indicate that our universe is characterized by a late-time accelerating phase, possibly driven by a cosmological constant $Λ$, with the dimensionless parameter $ΛL_P^2 \simeq 10^{-122}$, where $L_P = (G \hbar /c^3)^{1/2}$ is the Planck length. In this review, we describe how the emergent gravity paradigm provides a new insight and a possible solution to the cosmological constant problem. After reviewing the necessary background material, we identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for solving the cosmological constant problem. We show that these conditions are naturally satisfied in the emergent gravity paradigm in which (i) the field equations of gravity are invariant under the addition of a constant to the matter Lagrangian and (ii) the cosmological constant appears as an integration constant in the solution. The numerical value of this integration constant can be related to another dimensionless number (called CosMIn) that counts the number of modes inside a Hubble volume that cross the Hubble radius during the radiation and the matter dominated epochs of the universe. The emergent gravity paradigm suggests that CosMIn has the numerical value $4 π$, which, in turn, leads to the correct, observed value of the cosmological constant. Further, the emergent gravity paradigm provides an alternative perspective on cosmology and interprets the expansion of the universe itself as a quest towards holographic equipartition. We discuss the implications of this novel and alternate description of cosmology.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Towards reconstruction of unlensed, intrinsic CMB power spectra from lensed map

We propose a method to extract the unlensed, intrinsic CMB temperature and polarization power spectra from the observed (i.e., lensed) spectra. Using a matrix inversion technique, we demonstrate how one can reconstruct the intrinsic CMB power spectra directly from lensed data for both flat sky and full sky analyses. The delensed spectra obtained by the technique are calibrated against the Code for Anisotropies in the Microwave Background (CAMB) using WMAP 7-year best-fit data and applied to WMAP 9-year unbinned data as well. In principle, our methodology may help in subtracting out the E-mode lensing contribution in order to obtain the intrinsic B-mode power.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

A comparison of CMB lensing efficiency of gravitational waves and large scale structure

We provide a detailed treatment and comparison of the weak lensing effects due to large-scale structure (LSS), or scalar density perturbations and those due to gravitational waves(GW) or tensor perturbations, on the temperature and polarization power spectra of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We carry out the analysis both in real space by using the correlation function method, as well as in the spherical harmonic space. We find an intriguing similarity between the lensing kernels associated with LSS lensing and GW lensing. It is found that the lensing kernels only differ in relative negative signs and their form is very reminiscent of even and odd parity bipolar spherical harmonic coefficients. Through a numerical study of these lensing kernels, we establish that lensing due to GW is more efficient at distorting the CMB spectra as compared to LSS lensing, particularly for the polarization power spectra. Finally we argue that the CMB B-mode power spectra measurements can be used to place interesting constraints on GW energy densities.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

CosMIn: The Solution to the Cosmological Constant Problem

The current acceleration of the universe can be modeled in terms of a cosmological constant. We show that the extremely small value of ΛL_P^2 ~ 3.4 x 10^{-122}, the holy grail of theoretical physics, can be understood in terms of a new, dimensionless, conserved number CosMIn (N), which counts the number of modes crossing the Hubble radius during the three phases of evolution of the universe. Theoretical considerations suggest that N ~ 4π. This single postulate leads us to the correct, observed numerical value of the cosmological constant! This approach also provides a unified picture of cosmic evolution relating the early inflationary phase to the late-time accelerating phase.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Non-relativistic limit of quantum field theory in inertial and non-inertial frames and the Principle of Equivalence

We discuss the non-relativistic limit of quantum field theory in an inertial frame, in the Rindler frame and in the presence of a weak gravitational field, highlighting and clarifying several subtleties. We study the following topics: (a) While the action for a relativistic free particle is invariant under the Lorentz transformation, the corresponding action for a non-relativistic free particle is not invariant under the Galilean transformation, but picks up extra contributions at the end points. This leads to an extra phase in the non-relativistic wave function under a Galilean transformation, which can be related to the rest energy of the particle even in the non-relativistic limit. (b) We show how the solution to the generally covariant Klein-Gordon equation in a non-inertial frame, which has a time-dependent acceleration, reduces to the quantum mechanical wave function in the presence of an appropriate (time-dependent) gravitational field, in the non-relativistic limit. The extra phase acquired by the non-relativistic wave function in an accelerated frame actually arises from the gravitational time dilation and survives in the non-relativistic limit. (c) We provide a detailed description of the non-relativistic limit of the Feynman propagator in a weak gravitational field, and discuss related issues. [Abridged Abstract]

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Aspects of electrostatics in a weak gravitational field

Several features of electrostatics of point charged particles in a weak, homogeneous, gravitational field are discussed using the Rindler metric to model the gravitational field. Some previously known results are obtained by simpler and more transparent procedures and are interpreted in an intuitive manner. Specifically: (i) We show that the electrostatic potential of a charge at rest in the Rindler frame is expressible as A_0=(q/l) where l is the affine parameter distance along the null geodesic from the charge to the field point. (ii) We obtain the sum of the electrostatic forces exerted by one charge on another in the Rindler frame and discuss its interpretation. (iii) We show how a purely electrostatic term in the Rindler frame appears as a radiation term in the inertial frame. (In part, this arises because charges at rest in a weak gravitational field possess additional weight due to their electrostatic energy. This weight is proportional to the acceleration and falls inversely with distance -- which are the usual characteristics of a radiation field.) (iv) We also interpret the origin of the radiation reaction term by extending our approach to include a slowly varying acceleration. Many of these results might have possible extensions for the case of electrostatics in an arbitrary static geometry. [Abridged Abstract]

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

A simple derivation of the electromagnetic field of an arbitrarily moving charge

The expression for the electromagnetic field of a charge moving along an arbitrary trajectory is obtained in a direct, elegant, and Lorentz invariant manner without resorting to more complicated procedures such as differentiation of the Lienard-Wiechert potentials. The derivation uses arguments based on Lorentz invariance and a physically transparent expression originally due to J.J.Thomson for the field of a charge that experiences an impulsive acceleration.

physics.class-ph↗