arXiv subjects

Licia Verde

Publications and source records attributed to Licia Verde.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

PT challenge: Validation of ShapeFit on large-volume, high-resolution mocks

The ShapeFit compression method has been shown to be a powerful tool to gain cosmological information from galaxy power spectra in an effective, model-independent way. Here we present its performance on the blind PT challenge mock products presented in [1]. Choosing a set-up similar to that of other participants to the blind challenge we obtained $Δ\ln\left(10^{10} A_s\right) = -0.018 \pm 0.014$, $ΔΩ_\mathrm{m} = 0.0039 \pm 0.0021$ and $Δh =-0.0009 \pm 0.0034$, remaining below $2σ$ deviations for a volume of $566 \left[ h^{-1}\mathrm{Gpc}\right]^3$. This corresponds to a volume 10 times larger than the volume probed by future galaxy surveys. We also present an analysis of these mocks oriented towards an actual data analysis using the full redshift evolution, using all three redshift bins $z_1 = 0.38$, $z_2=0.51$, and $z_3 = 0.61$, and exploring different set-ups to quantify the impact of choices or assumptions on noise, bias, scale range, etc. We find consistency across reasonable changes in set-up and across redshifts and that, as expected, mapping the redshift evolution of clustering helps constraining cosmological parameters within a given model.

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arXiv2022

Dark matter-baryon scattering effects on temperature perturbations and implications for cosmic dawn

The nature of dark matter remains unknown, but upcoming measurements probing the high-redshift Universe may provide invaluable insight. In the presence of dark matter-baryon scattering, the suppression in the matter power spectrum and the colder mean gas temperature are expected to modify the evolution of cosmic dawn and reionization. However, the contributions from such interactions to the baryon and dark matter temperature perturbations have been neglected thus far. In this work, we derive these contributions, evolve the cosmological perturbations until the end of the dark ages and show that they may have a significant impact in the beginning of cosmic dawn. In particular, we find that the amplitude of the temperature power spectrum at large scales can change by up to 1--2 orders of magnitude and that the matter power spectrum is further suppressed with respect to $Λ$CDM by $5$-$10\%$ at $k\sim 200\, {\rm Mpc^{-1}}$ compared to the computation ignoring these contributions for scattering cross sections at current CMB limits. As a case example, we also compute the HI power spectrum from the dark ages, finding significant differences due to the changes in the temperature and ionization fraction power spectra. We argue that these new contributions must be included in studies of this dark matter model relying on cosmic dawn and reionization observables.

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arXiv2021

ShapeFit: extracting the power spectrum shape information in galaxy surveys beyond BAO and RSD

In the standard (classic) approach, galaxy clustering measurements from spectroscopic surveys are compressed into baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift space distortions measurements, which in turn can be compared to cosmological models. Recent works have shown that avoiding this intermediate step and fitting directly the full power spectrum signal (full modelling) leads to much tighter constraints on cosmological parameters. Here we show where this extra information is coming from and extend the classic approach with one additional effective parameter, such that it captures, effectively, the same amount of information as the full modelling approach, but in a model-independent way. We validate this new method (ShapeFit) on mock catalogs, and compare its performance to the full modelling approach finding both to deliver equivalent results. The ShapeFit extension of the classic approach promotes the standard analyses at the level of full modelling ones in terms of information content, with the advantages of i) being more model independent; ii) offering an understanding of the origin of the extra cosmological information; iii) allowing a robust control on the impact of observational systematics.

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arXiv2021

Model-independent versus model-dependent interpretation of the SDSS-III BOSS power spectrum: Bridging the divide

The traditional clustering analyses of galaxy redshift surveys compress the clustering data into a set of late-time physical variables in a model-independent way. This approach has recently been extended by an additional shape variable encoding early-time physics information. We apply this new technique, ShapeFit, to SDSS-III BOSS data and show that it matches the constraining power of alternative, model-dependent approaches, which directly constrain the model's parameters adopting a cosmological model ab-initio. ShapeFit is $\sim30$ times faster, model-independent, naturally splits early- and late-time variables, and enables a better control of observational systematics.

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arXiv2021

The Kaiser-Rocket effect: three decades and counting

The peculiar motion of the observer, if not accurately accounted for, is bound to induce a well-defined clustering signal in the distribution of galaxies. This signal is related to the Kaiser rocket effect. Here we examine the amplitude and form of this effect, both analytically and numerically, and discuss possible implications for the analysis and interpretation of forthcoming cosmological surveys. For an idealistic cosmic variance dominated full-sky survey with a Gaussian selection function peaked at $z\sim 1.5$ it is a $> 5σ$ effect and it can in principle bias very significantly the inference of cosmological parameters, especially for primordial non-Gaussianity. For forthcoming surveys, with realistic masks and selection functions, the Kaiser rocket is not a significant concern for cosmological parameter inference. However, it is a systematic effect whose origin, nature and imprint on galaxy maps are well known and thus should be subtracted or mitigated. We present several approaches to do so.

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arXiv2021

Breaking the Single Clock Symmetry: measuring single-field inflation non-Gaussian features

The Universe is not just cold dark matter and dark energy, it also contains baryons, radiation and neutrinos. The presence of these components, beyond the pressure-less cold dark matter and the quasi-uniform dark energy ones, imply that the single clock assumption from inflation is no longer preserved. Here we quantify this effect and show that the single-clock symmetry is ensured only on scales where baryonic effects, neutrinos effects, or sound speed are zero. These scales depend on the cosmic epoch and the Universe composition. Hence for all use and purposes of interpreting state-of-the-art and possibly forthcoming surveys, in the accessible scales, single clock symmetry cannot be said to be satisfied. Breaking the single-clock symmetry has key consequences for the study of non-Gaussian features generated by pure single-field inflation which arise from non-linearities in the metric yielding non-Gaussianities of the local type: the $n_{s}-1$ and the relativistic $-5/3$ term.

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arXiv2021

Detecting Neutrino Mass by Combining Matter Clustering, Halos, and Voids

We quantify the information content of the non-linear matter power spectrum, the halo mass function, and the void size function, using the Quijote $N$-body simulations. We find that these three statistics exhibit very different degeneracies amongst the cosmological parameters, and thus the combination of all three probes enables the breaking of degeneracies, in turn yielding remarkably tight constraints. We perform a Fisher analysis using the full covariance matrix, including all auto- and cross-correlations, finding that this increases the information content for neutrino mass compared to a correlation-free analysis. The multiplicative improvement of the constraints on the cosmological parameters obtained by combining all three probes compared to using the power spectrum alone are: 137, 5, 8, 20, 10, and 43, for $Ω_m$, $Ω_b$, $h$, $n_s$, $σ_8$, and $M_ν$, respectively. The marginalized error on the sum of the neutrino masses is $σ(M_ν)=0.018\,{\rm eV}$ for a cosmological volume of $1\,(h^{-1}{\rm Gpc})^3$, using $k_{\max}=0.5\,h{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$, and without CMB priors. We note that this error is an underestimate insomuch as we do not consider super-sample covariance, baryonic effects, and realistic survey noises and systematics. On the other hand, it is an overestimate insomuch as our cuts and binning are suboptimal due to restrictions imposed by the simulation resolution. Given upcoming galaxy surveys will observe volumes spanning $\sim 100\,(h^{-1}{\rm Gpc})^3$, this presents a promising new avenue to measure neutrino mass without being restricted by the need for accurate knowledge of the optical depth, which is required for CMB-based measurements. Furthermore, the improved constraints on other cosmological parameters, notably $Ω_m$, may also be competitive with CMB-based measurements.

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arXiv2021

The Quijote simulations

The Quijote simulations are a set of 44,100 full N-body simulations spanning more than 7,000 cosmological models in the $\{Ω_{\rm m}, Ω_{\rm b}, h, n_s, σ_8, M_ν, w \}$ hyperplane. At a single redshift the simulations contain more than 8.5 trillions of particles over a combined volume of 44,100 $(h^{-1}{\rm Gpc})^3$; each simulation follow the evolution of $256^3$, $512^3$ or $1024^3$ particles in a box of $1~h^{-1}{\rm Gpc}$ length. Billions of dark matter halos and cosmic voids have been identified in the simulations, whose runs required more than 35 million core hours. The Quijote simulations have been designed for two main purposes: 1) to quantify the information content on cosmological observables, and 2) to provide enough data to train machine learning algorithms. In this paper we describe the simulations and show a few of their applications. We also release the Petabyte of data generated, comprising hundreds of thousands of simulation snapshots at multiple redshifts, halo and void catalogs, together with millions of summary statistics such as power spectra, bispectra, correlation functions, marked power spectra, and estimated probability density functions.

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arXiv2021

The Age of the Universe with Globular Clusters: Reducing Systematic Uncertainties

The dominant systematic uncertainty in the age determination of galactic globular clusters is the depth of the convection envelope of the stars. This parameter is partially degenerate with metallicity which is in turn degenerate with age. However, if the metal content, distance and extinction are known, the position and morphology of the red giant branch in a color-magnitude diagram are mostly sensitive to the value of the depth of the convective envelope. Therefore, using external, precise metallicity determinations this degeneracy and thus the systematic error in age, can be reduced. Alternatively, the morphology of the red giant branch of globular clusters color magnitude diagram can also be used to achieve the same. We demonstrate that globular cluster red giant branches are well fitted by values of the depth of the convection envelope consistent with those obtained for the Sun and this finding is robust to the adopted treatment of the stellar physics. With these findings, the uncertainty in the depth of the convection envelope is no longer the dominant contribution to the systematic error in the age determination of the oldest globular clusters, reducing it from $0.5$ to $0.23$ or $0.33$ Gyr, depending on the methodology adopted: i.e., whether resorting to external data (spectroscopic metallicity determinations) or relying solely on the morphology of the clusters's color-magnitude diagrams. This results in an age of the Universe $t_{\rm U}=13.5^{+0.16}_{-0.14} {\rm (stat.)} \pm 0.23(0.33) ({\rm sys.})$ at 68\% confidence level, accounting for the formation time of globular clusters and its uncertainty. An uncertainty of 0.27(0.36) Gyr if added in quadrature. This agrees well with $13.8 \pm 0.02$ Gyr, the cosmological model-dependent value inferred by the Planck mission assuming the $Λ$CDM model.

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arXiv2021

Joint analysis of anisotropic power spectrum, bispectrum and trispectrum: application to N-body simulations

We perform for the first time a joint analysis of the monopole and quadrupoles for power spectrum, bispectrum and integrated trispectrum (i-trispectrum) from the redshift space matter field in N-body simulations. With a full Markov Chain Monte Carlo exploration of the posterior distribution, we quantify the constraints on cosmological parameters for an object density of $n_\mathrm{p}=5\times10^{-4} (h\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1})^{3}$, redshift $z=0.5$, and a covariance corresponding to a survey volume of $V_\mathrm{survey} =25\,(h^{-1}\mathrm{Gpc})^3$, a set up which is representative of forthcoming galaxy redshift surveys. We demonstrate the complementarity of the bispectrum and i-trispectrum in constraining key cosmological parameters. In particular, compared to the state-of-the-art power spectrum (monopole plus quadrupole) and bispectrum (monopole) analyses, we find 1D $68\%$ credible regions smaller by a factor of $(72\%,78\%,72\%,47\%,46\%)$ for the parameters $(f,σ_8,f_\mathrm{nl},α_\parallel,α_\perp)$ respectively. This work motivates the additional effort necessary to include the redshift-space anisotropic signal of higher-order statistics in the analysis and interpretation of ongoing and future galaxy surveys.

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arXiv2021

The trouble beyond $H_0$ and the new cosmic triangles

The distance ladder using supernovae yields higher values of the Hubble constant $H_0$ than those inferred from measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and galaxy surveys, a discrepancy that has come to be known as the `Hubble tension'. This has motivated the exploration of extensions to the standard cosmological model in which higher values of $H_0$ can be obtained from CMB measurements and galaxy surveys. The trouble, however, goes beyond $H_0$; such modifications affect other quantities, too. In particular, their effects on cosmic times are usually neglected. We explore here the implications that measurements of the age $t_{\rm U}$ of the Universe, such as a recent inference from the age of the oldest globular clusters, can have for potential solutions to the $H_0$ tension. The value of $H_0$ inferred from the CMB and galaxy surveys is related to the sound horizon at CMB decoupling (or at radiation drag), but it is also related to the matter density and to $t_{\rm U}$. Given this observation, we show how model-independent measurements may support or disfavor proposed new-physics solutions to the Hubble tension. Finally, we argue that cosmological measurements today provide constraints that, within a given cosmological model, represent an over-constrained system, offering a powerful diagnostic tool of consistency. We propose the use of ternary plots to simultaneously visualize independent constraints on key quantities related to $H_0$ like $t_{\rm U}$, the sound horizon at radiation drag, and the matter density parameter. We envision that this representation will help find a solution to the trouble of and beyond $H_0$.

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arXiv2021

Including beyond-linear halo bias in halo models

We derive a simple prescription for including beyond-linear halo bias within the standard, analytical halo-model power spectrum calculation. This results in a corrective term that is added to the usual two-halo term. We measure this correction using data from $N$-body simulations and demonstrate that it can boost power in the two-halo term by a factor of $\sim2$ at scales $k\sim0.7\,h Mpc^{-1}$, with the exact magnitude of the boost determined by the specific pair of fields in the two-point function. How this translates to the full power spectrum depends on the relative strength of the one-halo term, which can mask the importance of this correction to a greater or lesser degree, again depending on the fields. Generally we find that our correction is more important for signals that arise from lower-mass haloes. When comparing our calculation to simulated data we find that the under-prediction of power in the transition region between the two- and one-halo terms, which typically plagues halo-model calculations, is almost completely eliminated when including the full non-linear halo bias. We show improved results for the auto and cross spectra of galaxies, haloes and matter. In the specific case of matter-matter or matter-halo power we note that a large fraction of the improvement comes from the non-linear biasing between low- and high-mass haloes. We envisage our model being useful in the analytical modelling of cross correlation signals. Our non-linear bias halo-model code is available at https://github.com/alexander-mead/BNL

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arXiv2021

Matter trispectrum: theoretical modelling and comparison to N-body simulations

The power spectrum has long been the workhorse summary statistics for large-scale structure cosmological analyses. However, gravitational non-linear evolution moves precious cosmological information from the two-point statistics (such as the power spectrum) to higher-order correlations. Moreover, information about the primordial non-Gaussian signal lies also in higher-order correlations. Without tapping into these, that information remains hidden. While the three-point function (or the bispectrum), even if not extensively, has been studied and applied to data, there has been only limited discussion about the four point/trispectrum. This is because the high-dimensionality of the statistics (in real space a skew-quadrilateral has 6 degrees of freedom), and the high number of skew-quadrilaterals, make the trispectrum numerically and algorithmically very challenging. Here we address this challenge by introducing the i-trispectrum, an integrated trispectrum that only depends on four $k$-modes moduli. We model and measure the matter i-trispectrum from a set of 5000 \textsc{Quijote} N-body simulations both in real and redshift space, finding good agreement between simulations outputs and model up to mildly non-linear scales. Using the power spectrum, bispectrum and i-trispectrum joint data-vector covariance matrix estimated from the simulations, we begin to quantify the added-value provided by the i-trispectrum. In particular, we forecast the i-trispectrum improvements on constraints on the local primordial non-Gaussianity amplitude parameters $f_\mathrm{nl}$ and $g_\mathrm{nl}$. For example, using the full joint data-vector, we forecast $f_\mathrm{nl}$ constraints up to two times ($\sim32\%$) smaller in real (redshift) space than those obtained without i-trispectrum.

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arXiv2020

Inferring the Age of the Universe with Globular Clusters

We present an estimate of the absolute age of 68 galactic globular clusters obtained by exploiting the distribution of stars in the full color-magnitude diagram. In particular, we jointly estimate the absolute age, distance, reddening, metallicity ([Fe/H]) and [$α$/Fe] of each cluster, imposing priors motivated by independent observations; we also estimate possible systematics from stellar modeling. Our derived distances for the globular cluster sample are in agreement with those obtained from GAIA using main-sequence dwarf stars (where available), and the inferred ages are in good agreement with those previously published. The novelty of our approach is that, with the adopted priors, we are able to estimate robustly these parameters from the globular cluster color-magnitude diagram. We find that the average age of the oldest globular clusters is $t_{\rm GC}=13.32 \pm 0.1 {\rm (stat.)} \pm 0.5 {\rm (sys.)}$, at 68\% confidence level, including systematic uncertainties from stellar modeling. These measurements can be used to infer the age of the Universe, largely independently of the cosmological parameters: we find an age of the Universe $t_{\rm U}=13.5^{+0.16}_{-0.14} {\rm (stat.)} \pm 0.5 ({\rm sys.})$ at 68\% confidence level, accounting for the formation time of globular clusters and its uncertainty. This value is compatible with $13.8 \pm 0.02$ Gyr, the cosmological model-dependent value inferred by the Planck mission assuming the $Λ$CDM model.

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arXiv2020

Cosmology Intertwined III: $f σ_8$ and $S_8$

The standard $Λ$ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model provides a wonderful fit to current cosmological data, but a few tensions and anomalies became statistically significant with the latest data analyses. While these anomalies could be due to the presence of systematic errors in the experiments, they could also indicate the need for new physics beyond the standard model. In this Letter of Interest we focus on the tension of the Planck data with weak lensing measurements and redshift surveys, about the value of the matter energy density $Ω_m$, and the amplitude or rate of the growth of structure ($σ_8,fσ_8$). We list a few interesting models for solving this tension, and we discuss the importance of trying to fit with a single model a full array of data and not just one parameter at a time.

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arXiv2020

Cosmology Intertwined II: The Hubble Constant Tension

The current cosmological probes have provided a fantastic confirmation of the standard $Λ$ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model, that has been constrained with unprecedented accuracy. However, with the increase of the experimental sensitivity a few statistically significant tensions between different independent cosmological datasets emerged. While these tensions can be in portion the result of systematic errors, the persistence after several years of accurate analysis strongly hints at cracks in the standard cosmological scenario and the need for new physics. In this Letter of Interest we will focus on the $4.4σ$ tension between the Planck estimate of the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the SH0ES collaboration measurements. After showing the $H_0$ evaluations made from different teams using different methods and geometric calibrations, we will list a few interesting new physics models that could solve this tension and discuss how the next decade experiments will be crucial.

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arXiv2020

Cosmology Intertwined I: Perspectives for the Next Decade

The standard $Λ$ Cold Dark Matter cosmological model provides an amazing description of a wide range of astrophysical and astronomical data. However, there are a few big open questions, that make the standard model look like a first-order approximation to a more realistic scenario that still needs to be fully understood. In this Letter of Interest we will list a few important goals that need to be addressed in the next decade, also taking into account the current discordances present between the different cosmological probes, as the Hubble constant $H_0$ value, the $σ_8 - S_8$ tension, and the anomalies present in the Planck results. Finally, we will give an overview of upgraded experiments and next-generation space-missions and facilities on Earth, that will be of crucial importance to address all these questions.

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arXiv2020

Cosmology Intertwined IV: The Age of the Universe and its Curvature

A precise measurement of the curvature of the Universe is of primeval importance for cosmology since it could not only confirm the paradigm of primordial inflation but also help in discriminating between different early Universe scenarios. The recent observations, while broadly consistent with a spatially flat standard $Λ$ Cold Dark Matter ($Λ$CDM) model, are showing tensions that still allow (and, in some cases, even suggest) a few percent deviations from a flat universe. In particular, the Planck Cosmic Microwave Background power spectra, assuming the nominal likelihood, prefer a closed universe at more than 99\% confidence level. While new physics could be in action, this anomaly may be the result of an unresolved systematic error or just a statistical fluctuation. However, since a positive curvature allows a larger age of the Universe, an accurate determination of the age of the oldest objects provides a smoking gun in confirming or falsifying the current flat $Λ$CDM model.

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