arXiv subjects

Riccardo Murgia

Publications and source records attributed to Riccardo Murgia.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Constraining Dark Matter -- Dark Radiation interactions with CMB, BAO, and Lyman-$α$

Several interesting Dark Matter (DM) models invoke a dark sector leading to two types of relic particles, possibly interacting with each other: non-relativistic DM, and relativistic Dark Radiation (DR). These models have interesting consequences for cosmological observables, and could in principle solve problems like the small-scale cold DM crisis, Hubble tension, and/or low $σ_8$ value. Their cosmological behaviour is captured by the ETHOS parametrisation, which includes a DR-DM scattering rate scaling like a power-law of the temperature, $T^n$. Scenarios with $n=0$, $2$, or $4$ can easily be realised in concrete dark sector set-ups. Here we update constraints on these three scenarios using recent CMB, BAO, and high-resolution Lyman-$α$ data. We introduce a new Lyman-$α$ likelihood that is applicable to a wide range of cosmological models with a suppression of the matter power spectrum on small scales. For $n=2$ and $4$, we find that Lyman-$α$ data strengthen the CMB+BAO bounds on the DM-DR interaction rate by many orders of magnitude. However, models offering a possible solution to the missing satellite problem are still compatible with our new bounds. For $n=0$, high-resolution Lyman-$α$ data bring no stronger constraints on the interaction rate than CMB+BAO data, except for extremely small values of the DR density. Using CMB+BAO data and a theory-motivated prior on the minimal density of DR, we find that the $n=0$ model can reduce the Hubble tension from $4.1σ$ to $2.7σ$, while simultaneously accommodating smaller values of the $σ_8$ and $S_8$ parameters hinted by cosmic shear data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Novel constraints on non-cold (non-thermal) Dark Matter from Lyman-$α$ forest data

In this paper we present an efficient method for constraining both thermal and non-thermal Dark Matter (DM) scenarios with the Lyman-$α$ forest, based on a simple and flexible parametrisation capable to reproduce the small scale clustering signal of a large set of non-cold DM (nCDM) models. We extract new limits on the fundamental DM properties, through an extensive analysis of the high resolution, high redshift data obtained by the MIKE/HIRES spectrographs. By using a large suite of hydrodynamical simulations, we determine constraints on both astrophysical, cosmological, and nCDM parameters by performing a full Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) analysis. We obtain a marginalised upper limit on the largest possible scale at which a power suppression induced by nearly any nCDM scenario can occur, i.e. $α<0.03~{\rm{Mpc}}/h$ (2$σ$ C.L.). We explicitly describe how to test several of the most viable nCDM scenarios without the need to run any specific numerical simulations, due to the novel parametrisation proposed, and due to a new scheme that interpolates between the cosmological models explored. The shape of the linear matter power spectrum for standard thermal warm DM models appear to be in mild tension ($\sim 2σ$ C.L.) with the data, compared to non-thermal scenarios. We show that a DM fluid composed by both a warm (thermal) and a cold component is also in tension with the Lyman-$α$ forest, at least for large $α$ values. This is the first study that allows to probe the linear small scale shape of the DM power spectrum for a large set of nCDM models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Lyman-$α$ forest and non-linear structure characterization in Fuzzy Dark Matter cosmologies

Fuzzy Dark Matter (FDM) represents an alternative and intriguing description of the standard Cold Dark Matter (CDM) fluid, able to explain the lack of direct detection of dark matter particles in the GeV sector and to alleviate small scales tensions in the cosmic large-scale structure formation. Cosmological simulations of FDM models in the literature were performed either with very expensive high-resolution grid-based simulations of individual haloes or through N-body simulations encompassing larger cosmic volumes but resorting on significant approximations in the FDM non-linear dynamics to reduce their computational cost. With the use of the new N-body cosmological hydrodynamical code AX-GADGET, we are now able not only to overcome such numerical problems, but also to combine a fully consistent treatment of FDM dynamics with the presence of gas particles and baryonic physical processes, in order to quantify the FDM impact on specific astrophysical observables. In particular, in this paper we perform and analyse several hydrodynamical simulations in order to constrain the FDM mass by quantifying the impact of FDM on Lyman-$α$ forest observations, as obtained for the first time in the literature in a N-body setup without approximating the FDM dynamics. We also study the statistical properties of haloes, exploiting the large available sample, to extract information on how FDM affects the abundance, the shape, and density profiles of dark matter haloes.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Lyman-alpha Constraints on Ultralight Scalar Dark Matter: Implications for the Early and Late Universe

We investigate constraints on scalar dark matter (DM) by analyzing the Lyman-alpha forest, which probes structure formation at medium and small scales, and also by studying its cosmological consequences at high and low redshift. For scalar DM that constitutes more than 30% of the total DM density, we obtain a lower limit m >~ 10^{-21} eV for the mass of scalar DM. This implies an upper limit on the initial field displacement (or the decay constant for an axion-like field) of phi <~ 10^{16} GeV. We also derive limits on the energy scale of cosmic inflation and establish an upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r < 10^{-3} in the presence of scalar DM. Furthermore, we show that there is very little room for ultralight scalar DM to solve the "small-scale crisis" of cold DM without spoiling the Lyman-alpha forest results. The constraints presented in this paper can be used for testing generic theories that contain light scalar fields.

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arXiv2017

A general approach for testing non-cold dark matter at small cosmological scales

We present a general approach for modelling the small-scale suppression in the linear matter power spectrum induced by the presence of non-cold dark matter. We show that the new parametrisation accurately describes a large variety of non-thermal scenarios, removing the need to individually test each of them. We discuss the first astrophysical constraints on its free parameters and we outline the next steps for pursuing a full statistical data analysis.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

"Non-cold" dark matter at small scales: a general approach

Structure formation at small cosmological scales provides an important frontier for dark matter (DM) research. Scenarios with small DM particle masses, large momenta or hidden interactions tend to suppress the gravitational clustering at small scales. The details of this suppression depend on the DM particle nature, allowing for a direct link between DM models and astrophysical observations. However, most of the astrophysical constraints obtained so far refer to a very specific shape of the power suppression, corresponding to thermal warm dark matter (WDM), i.e., candidates with a Fermi-Dirac or Bose-Einstein momentum distribution. In this work we introduce a new analytical fitting formula for the power spectrum, which is simple yet flexible enough to reproduce the clustering signal of large classes of non-thermal DM models, which are not at all adequately described by the oversimplified notion of WDM. We show that the formula is able to fully cover the parameter space of sterile neutrinos (whether resonantly produced or from particle decay), mixed cold and warm models, fuzzy dark matter, as well as other models suggested by effective theory of structure formation (ETHOS). Based on this fitting formula, we perform a large suite of N-body simulations and we extract important nonlinear statistics, such as the matter power spectrum and the halo mass function. Finally, we present first preliminary astrophysical constraints, based on linear theory, from both the number of Milky Way satellites and the Lyman-$α$ forest. This paper is a first step towards a general and comprehensive modeling of small-scale departures from the standard cold DM model.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Constraining the interaction between dark matter and dark energy with CMB data

We briefly discuss the intriguing case of a phenomenological non-gravitational coupling in the dark sector, where the interaction is parameterized as an energy transfer either from dark matter to dark energy or the opposite. We show that a non-zero coupling with an energy flow from the latter to the former leads to a full reconciliation of the tension between high- and low-redshift observations present in the standard cosmological model.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Constraints on the Coupling between Dark Energy and Dark Matter from CMB data

We investigate a phenomenological non-gravitational coupling between dark energy and dark matter, where the interaction in the dark sector is parameterized as an energy transfer either from dark matter to dark energy or the opposite. The models are constrained by a whole host of updated cosmological data: cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies and polarization, high-redshift supernovae, baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions and gravitational lensing. Both models are found to be compatible with all cosmological observables, but in the case where dark matter decays into dark energy, the tension with the independent determinations of $H_0$ and $σ_8$, already present for standard cosmology, increases: this model in fact predicts lower $H_0$ and higher $σ_8$, mostly as a consequence of the higher amount of dark matter at early times, leading to a stronger clustering during the evolution. Instead, when dark matter is fed by dark energy, the reconstructed values of $H_0$ and $σ_8$ nicely agree with their local determinations, with a full reconciliation between high- and low-redshift observations. A non-zero coupling between dark energy and dark matter, with an energy flow from the former to the latter, appears therefore to be in better agreement with cosmological data.

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