arXiv subjects

Miguel Zumalacarregui

Publications and source records attributed to Miguel Zumalacarregui.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Supernova microlensing as a probe of ultracompact minihalos and primordial cosmology

We propose using supernova microlensing to search for ultracompact minihalos and other extended dark structures seeded by enhanced primordial small-scale power. Unlike conventional microlensing searches, which are often optimized for primordial black holes, cosmological supernovae are sensitive to lenses with physical sizes comparable to their Einstein radii (up to $\sim {\rm pc}\left(M/10^4M_\odot\right)^{1/2}$ scale), opening a qualitatively different region of dark object parameter space. We compute the extended object detection efficiency relative to point lenses. We then show how projected limits on the abundance of ultracompact minihalos can be mapped, in benchmark formation scenarios, onto constraints on the primordial power spectrum. With the Vera C. Rubin Observatory expected to deliver an unprecedented LSST supernova sample, supernova microlensing is poised to become a timely and complementary probe of small-scale structure and the physics of the early Universe.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

Across the Universe: GW231123 as a magnified and diffracted black hole merger

GW231123 appears as the most massive binary black hole (BBH) ever observed by the LIGO interferometers with total mass $190-265 M_\odot$. A high observed mass can be explained by the combination of cosmological redshift and gravitational magnification if the source is aligned with a gravitational lens, such as a galaxy. Small-scale objects such as stars and remnants diffract the signal, distorting the wavefront and providing additional lensing signatures. Here we present an analysis of GW231123 combining for the first time the effects of diffraction by a small-scale lens and gravitational magnification by an external potential, modelled as an embedded point-mass lens (PL), finding an intriguing case for the lensing hypothesis. Lensing is favoured by the data, with a false alarm probability of the observed Bayes factors bounded below $<1\%$, or $\sim 2.6 σ$ confidence level. Including lensing lowers the total source mass of GW231123 to $100-180 M_\odot$, closer to BBHs reported so far, and also removes discrepancies between different waveform approximants and the need for high component spins. We reconstruct all source and lens properties, including the microlens mass $190-850 M_\odot$, its offset, the magnitude of the external gravitational potential and its orientation. The embedded PL analysis leads to a lighter microlens compared to the isolated PL. Within our assumptions, the reconstruction is complete up to an ambiguity between the distance and projected density (mass-sheet degeneracy). Assuming a single galaxy as the macroscopic lens allows us to infer the total amplification of the signal, placing the event at redshift $0.7-2$, and predict the probability $~55\%$ of forming an additional detectable image due to strong lensing by the macrolens. We discuss the implications of our findings on the source and nature of the microlens, including a possible dark matter origin.

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arXiv2025

Multi-messenger Gravitational Lensing

We introduce the rapidly emerging field of multi-messenger gravitational lensing - the discovery and science of gravitationally lensed phenomena in the distant universe through the combination of multiple messengers. This is framed by gravitational lensing phenomenology that has grown since the first discoveries in the 20th century, messengers that span 30 orders of magnitude in energy from high energy neutrinos to gravitational waves, and powerful "survey facilities" that are capable of continually scanning the sky for transient and variable sources. Within this context, the main focus is on discoveries and science that are feasible in the next 5-10 years with current and imminent technology including the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network of gravitational wave detectors, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and contemporaneous gamma/X-ray satellites and radio surveys. The scientific impact of even one multi-messenger gravitational lensing discovery will be transformational and reach across fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. We describe these scientific opportunities and the key challenges along the path to achieving them. This article is the introduction to the Theme Issue of the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A on the topic of Multi-messenger Gravitational Lensing, and describes the consensus that emerged at the associated Theo Murphy Discussion Meeting in March 2024.

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arXiv2025

Reconstructing the dark energy density in light of DESI BAO observations

In light of the evidence for dynamical dark energy (DE) found from the most recent Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements, we perform a non-parametric, model-independent reconstruction of the DE density evolution. To do so, we develop and validate a new framework that reconstructs the DE density through a third-degree piece-wise polynomial interpolation, allowing for direct constraints on its redshift evolution without assuming any specific functional form. The strength of our approach resides in the choice of directly reconstructing the DE density, which provides a more straightforward relation to the distances measured by BAO than the equation of state parameter. We investigate the constraining power of cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations combined with supernovae (SNe) and BAO measurements. In agreement with results from other works, we find a preference for deviations from $Λ$CDM, with a significance of $2.4σ$ when using the Dark Energy Survey Year 5 (DESY5) SNe data, and $1.3σ$ with PantheonPlus. In all the cases we consider, the derived DE equation of state parameter presents evidence for phantom crossing. By investigating potential systematic effects in the low-redshift samples of DESY5 observations, we confirm that correcting for the offset in apparent magnitude with respect to PantheonPlus data, as suggested in previous studies, completely removes the tension. Furthermore, we assess the risk of potentially overfitting the data by changing the number of interpolation nodes. As expected, we find that with lesser nodes we get a smoother reconstructed behavior of the DE density, although with similar overall features. The pipeline developed in this work is ready to be used with future high-precision data to further investigate the evidence for a non-standard background evolution.

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arXiv2024

To the Problem of Cosmic Expansion in Massive Gravity

We consider evolving, spatially flat isotropic and homogeneous (FLRW) cosmologies in ghost-free (dRGT) massive gravity. In this theory, no dynamical flat FLRW background exists if the reference metric is chosen to be Minkowski and the Stueckelberg fields are homogeneous. Relaxing the assumptions on the Stueckelberg profiles gives access to dynamical backgrounds. We propose a classification of the viable flat FLRW cosmological solutions of dRGT massive gravity. Instead of specifying an initial ansatz for the Stueckelberg fields $ϕ^a$ and the reference metric $f_{ab}$, we show that imposing homogeneity and isotropy on the square root tensor $X^μ_ν=\left(\sqrt{g^{-1}\partialϕ^a \partialϕ^bf_{ab}}\right)^μ_ν$ leads to dynamical cosmological solutions, and we characterize their properties. These solutions become dynamical only when the Stueckelberg fields acquire a sufficiently inhomogeneous and/or anisotropic profile. We explore the consequences for the minimal model and the complete dRGT theory, and show that perturbations are strongly coupled, at the quadratic level, on these backgrounds.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

wolensing: A Python package for computing the amplification factor for gravitational waves with wave-optics effects

The wolensing Python package offers a solution for gravitational wave lensing computations within the full wave-optics regime. This tool is primarily designed to calculate the gravitational lensing amplification factor including diffractive effects, an essential component for generating accurate lensed gravitational wave waveforms. These waveforms are integral to astrophysical and cosmological studies related to gravitational-wave lensing. Integrating with lensingGW (Pagano, Hannuksela, and Li 2020), wolensing provides solutions for image positions in the high-frequency regime where wave and geometrical optics converge. This functionality allows the amplification factor to be applicable across a wider frequency range. Another key feature of wolensing is its ability to plot time delay contours on the lens plane, offering researchers a visual tool to better understand the relationship between the lens system and the amplification factor. wolensing is compatible with various lens models in lenstronomy (Birrer et al. 2021). There are also built-in lens models including point mass, singular isothermal sphere (SIS),and nonsingular isothermal ellipsoid (NIE) with jax (Bradbury et al. 2018) supporting GPU computation. Users can accommodate different lens models in the code with jax. wolensing is available as an open-source package on PyPI and can be installed via pip.

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arXiv2023

Weakly Lensed Gravitational Waves: Probing Cosmic Structures with Wave-Optics Features

Every signal propagating through the universe is at least weakly lensed by the intervening gravitational field. In some situations, wave-optics phenomena (diffraction, interference) can be observed as frequency-dependent modulations of the waveform of gravitational waves (GWs). We will denote these signatures as Wave-Optics Features (WOFs) and analyze them in detail. Our framework can efficiently and accurately compute WOF in the single-image regime, of which weak lensing is a limit. The phenomenology of WOF is rich and offers valuable information: the dense cusps of individual halos appear as peaks in Green's function for lensing. If resolved, these features probe the number, effective masses, spatial distribution and inner profiles of substructures. High signal-to-noise GW signals reveal WOFs well beyond the Einstein radius, leading to a fair probability of observation by upcoming detectors such as LISA. Potential applications of WOF include reconstruction of the lens' projected density, delensing standard sirens and inferring large-scale structure morphology and the halo mass function. Because WOF are sourced by light halos with negligible baryonic content, their detection (or lack thereof) holds promise to test dark matter scenarios.

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arXiv2023

Probing lens-induced gravitational-wave birefringence as a test of general relativity

Theories beyond general relativity (GR) modify the propagation of gravitational waves (GWs). In some, inhomogeneities (aka. gravitational lenses) allow interactions between the metric and additional fields to cause lens-induced birefringence (LIB): a different speed of the two linear GW polarisations ($+$ and $\times$). Inhomogeneities then act as non-isotropic crystals, splitting the GW signal into two components whose relative time delay depends on the theory and lens parameters. Here we study the observational prospects for GW scrambling, i.e when the time delay between both GW polarisations is smaller than the signal's duration and the waveform recorded by a detector is distorted. We analyze the latest LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA catalog, GWTC-3, and find no conclusive evidence for LIB. The highest log Bayes factor that we find in favour of LIB is $3.21$ for GW$190521$, a particularly loud but short event. However, when accounting for false alarms due to (Gaussian) noise fluctuations, this evidence is below 1-$σ$. The tightest constraint on the time delay is $<0.51$ ms (90% C.L.) from GW$200311\_115853$. From the non-observation of GW scrambling, we constrain the optical depth for LIB, accounting for the chance of randomly distributed lenses (eg. galaxies) along the line of sight. Our LIB constraints on a (quartic) scalar-tensor Horndeski theory are more stringent than solar system tests for a wide parameter range and comparable to GW170817 in some limits. Interpreting GW190521 as an AGN binary (i.e. taking an AGN flare as a counterpart) allows even more stringent constraints. Our results demonstrate the potential and high sensitivity achievable by tests of GR, based on GW lensing.

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arXiv2021

The Next Generation Global Gravitational Wave Observatory: The Science Book

The next generation of ground-based gravitational-wave detectors will observe coalescences of black holes and neutron stars throughout the cosmos, thousands of them with exceptional fidelity. The Science Book is the result of a 3-year effort to study the science capabilities of networks of next generation detectors. Such networks would make it possible to address unsolved problems in numerous areas of physics and astronomy, from Cosmology to Beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, and how they could provide insights into workings of strongly gravitating systems, astrophysics of compact objects and the nature of dense matter. It is inevitable that observatories of such depth and finesse will make new discoveries inaccessible to other windows of observation. In addition to laying out the rich science potential of the next generation of detectors, this report provides specific science targets in five different areas in physics and astronomy and the sensitivity requirements to accomplish those science goals. This report is the second in a six part series of reports by the GWIC 3G Subcommittee: i) Expanding the Reach of Gravitational Wave Observatories to the Edge of the Universe, ii) The Next Generation Global Gravitational Wave Observatory: The Science Book (this report), iii) 3G R&D: R&D for the Next Generation of Ground-based Gravitational Wave Detectors, iv) Gravitational Wave Data Analysis: Computing Challenges in the 3G Era, v) Future Ground-based Gravitational-wave Observatories: Synergies with Other Scientific Communities, and vi) An Exploration of Possible Governance Models for the Future Global Gravitational-Wave Observatory Network.

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arXiv2020

The Observational Future of Cosmological Scalar-Tensor Theories

The next generation of surveys will greatly improve our knowledge of cosmological gravity. In this paper we focus on how Stage IV photometric redshift surveys, including weak lensing and multiple tracers of the matter distribution and radio experiments combined with measurements of the cosmic microwave background will lead to precision constraints on deviations from General Relativity. We use a broad subclass of Horndeski scalar-tensor theories to forecast the accuracy with which we will be able to determine these deviations and their degeneracies with other cosmological parameters. Our analysis includes relativistic effects, does not rely on the quasi-static evolution and makes conservative assumptions about the effect of screening on small scales. We define a figure of merit for cosmological tests of gravity and show how the combination of different types of surveys, probing different length scales and redshifts, can be used to pin down constraints on the gravitational physics to better than a few percent, roughly an order of magnitude better than present probes. Future cosmological experiments will be able to constrain the Brans-Dicke parameter at a level comparable to Solar System and astrophysical tests

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Gravity in the Era of Equality: Towards solutions to the Hubble problem without fine-tuned initial conditions

Discrepant measurements of the Universe's expansion rate ($H_0$) may signal physics beyond the standard cosmological model. Here I describe two early modified gravity mechanisms that reconcile the value of $H_0$ by increasing the expansion rate in the era of matter-radiation equality. These mechanisms, based on viable Horndeski theories, require significantly less fine-tuned initial conditions than early dark energy with oscillating scalar fields. In Imperfect Dark Energy at Equality (IDEE), the initial energy density dilutes slower than radiation but faster than matter, naturally peaking around the era of equality. The minimal IDEE model, a cubic Galileon, is too constrained by the cosmic microwave background (Planck) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) to relieve the $H_0$ tension. In Enhanced Early Gravity (EEG), the scalar field value modulates the cosmological strength of gravity. The minimal EEG model, an exponentially coupled cubic Galileon, gives a Planck+BAO value $H_0=68.7 \pm 1.5$ (68\% c.l.), reducing the tension with SH0ES from $4.4σ$ to $2.6σ$. Additionally, Galileon contributions to cosmic acceleration may reconcile $H_0$ via Late-Universe Phantom Expansion (LUPE). Combining LUPE, EEG and $Λ$ reduces the tension between Planck, BAO and SH0ES to $2.5σ$. I will also describe additional tests of coupled Galileons based on local gravity tests, primordial element abundances and gravitational waves. While further model building is required to fully resolve the $H_0$ problem and satisfy all available observations, these examples show the wealth of possibilities to solve cosmological tensions beyond Einstein's General Relativity.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Extreme Gravity and Fundamental Physics

Future gravitational-wave observations will enable unprecedented and unique science in extreme gravity and fundamental physics answering questions about the nature of dynamical spacetimes, the nature of dark matter and the nature of compact objects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Unveiling the Gravitational Universe at μ-Hz Frequencies

We propose a space-based interferometer surveying the gravitational wave (GW) sky in the milli-Hz to $μ$-Hz frequency range. By the 2040s', the $μ$-Hz frequency band, bracketed in between the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and pulsar timing arrays, will constitute the largest gap in the coverage of the astrophysically relevant GW spectrum. Yet many outstanding questions related to astrophysics and cosmology are best answered by GW observations in this band. We show that a $μ$-Hz GW detector will be a truly overarching observatory for the scientific community at large, greatly extending the potential of LISA. Conceived to detect massive black hole binaries from their early inspiral with high signal-to-noise ratio, and low-frequency stellar binaries in the Galaxy, this instrument will be a cornerstone for multimessenger astronomy from the solar neighbourhood to the high-redshift Universe.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2018

Limits on stellar-mass compact objects as dark matter from gravitational lensing of type Ia supernovae

The nature of dark matter (DM) remains unknown despite very precise knowledge of its abundance in the universe. An alternative to new elementary particles postulates DM as made of macroscopic compact halo objects (MACHO) such as black holes formed in the very early universe. Stellar-mass primordial black holes (PBHs) are subject to less robust constraints than other mass ranges and might be connected to gravitational-wave signals detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). New methods are therefore necessary to constrain the viability of compact objects as a DM candidate. Here we report bounds on the abundance of compact objects from gravitational lensing of type Ia supernovae (SNe). Current SNe datasets constrain compact objects to represent less than 35.2% (Joint Lightcurve Analisis) and 37.2% (Union 2.1) of the total matter content in the universe, at 95% confidence-level. The results are valid for masses larger than $\sim 0.01M_\odot$ (solar-masses), limited by the size SNe relative to the lens Einstein radius. We demonstrate the mass range of the constraints by computing magnification probabilities for realistic SNe sizes and different values of the PBH mass. Our bounds are sensitive to the total abundance of compact objects with $M \lesssim 0.01M_\odot$ and complementary to other observational tests. These results are robust against cosmological parameters, outlier rejection, correlated noise and selection bias. PBHs and other MACHOs are therefore ruled out as the dominant form of DM for objects associated to LIGO gravitational wave detections. These bounds constrain early-universe models that predict stellar-mass PBH production and strengthen the case for lighter forms of DM, including new elementary particles.

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arXiv2017

hi_class: Horndeski in the Cosmic Linear Anisotropy Solving System

We present the public version of hi_class (www.hiclass-code.net), an extension of the Boltzmann code CLASS to a broad ensemble of modifications to general relativity. In particular, hi_class can calculate predictions for models based on Horndeski's theory, which is the most general scalar-tensor theory described by second-order equations of motion and encompasses any perfect-fluid dark energy, quintessence, Brans-Dicke, $f(R)$ and covariant Galileon models. hi_class has been thoroughly tested and can be readily used to understand the impact of alternative theories of gravity on linear structure formation as well as for cosmological parameter extraction.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Gravity at the horizon: on relativistic effects, CMB-LSS correlations and ultra-large scales in Horndeski's theory

We address the impact of consistent modifications of gravity on the largest observable scales, focusing on relativistic effects in galaxy number counts and the cross-correlation between the matter large scale structure (LSS) distribution and the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Our analysis applies to a very broad class of general scalar-tensor theories encoded in the Horndeski Lagrangian and is fully consistent on linear scales, retaining the full dynamics of the scalar field and not assuming quasi-static evolution. As particular examples we consider self-accelerating Covariant Galileons, Brans-Dicke theory and parameterizations based on the effective field theory of dark energy, using the \hiclass\, code to address the impact of these models on relativistic corrections to LSS observables. We find that especially effects which involve integrals along the line of sight (lensing convergence, time delay and the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect -- ISW) can be considerably modified, and even lead to $\mathcal{O}(1000\%)$ deviations from General Relativity in the case of the ISW effect for Galileon models, for which standard probes such as the growth function only vary by $\mathcal{O}(10\%)$. These effects become dominant when correlating galaxy number counts at different redshifts and can lead to $\sim 50\%$ deviations in the total signal that might be observable by future LSS surveys. Because of their integrated nature, these deep-redshift cross-correlations are sensitive to modifications of gravity even when probing eras much before dark energy domination. We further isolate the ISW effect using the cross-correlation between LSS and CMB temperature anisotropies and use current data to further constrain Horndeski models (abridged).

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arXiv2015

Non-linear evolution of the BAO scale in alternative theories of gravity

The scale of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) imprinted in the matter power spectrum provides an almost-perfect standard ruler: it only suffers sub-percent deviations from fixed comoving length due to non-linear effects. We study the BAO shift in the large Horndeski class of gravitational theories and compute its magnitude in momentum space using second-order perturbation theory and a peak-background split. The standard prediction is affected by the modified linear growth, as well as by non-linear gravitational effects that alter the mode-coupling kernel. For covariant Galileon models, we find a $14-45\%$ enhancement of the BAO shift with respect to standard gravity and a distinct time evolution depending on the parameters. Despite the larger values, the shift remains well below the forecasted precision of next-generation galaxy surveys. Models that produce significant BAO shift would cause large redshift-space distortions or affect the bispectrum considerably. Our computation therefore validates the use of the BAO scale as a comoving standard ruler for tests of general dark energy models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Surfing gravitational waves: can bigravity survive growing tensor modes?

The theory of bigravity offers one of the simplest possibilities to describe a massive graviton while having self-accelerating cosmological solutions without a cosmological constant. However, it has been shown recently that bigravity is affected by early-time fast growing modes on the tensor sector. Here we argue that we can only trust the linear analysis up to when perturbations are in the linear regime and use a cut-off to stop the growing of the metric perturbations. This analysis, although more consistent, still leads to growing tensor modes that are unacceptably large for the theory to be compatible with measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB), both in temperature and polarization spectra. In order to suppress the growing modes and make the model compatible with CMB spectra, we find it necessary to either fine-tune the initial conditions, modify the theory or set the cut-off for the tensor perturbations of the second metric much lower than unity. Initial conditions such that the growing mode is sufficiently suppresed can be achieved in scenarios in which inflation ends at the GeV scale.

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