arXiv subjects

Shiv K. Sethi

Publications and source records attributed to Shiv K. Sethi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Cosmological magnetic braking and the formation of high-redshift, super-massive black holes

We study the effect of magnetic braking due to a primordial magnetic field in the context of the formation of massive ($\gtrsim 10^{4} M_\odot$) direct collapse black holes (DCBHs) at high redshifts. Under the assumption of axial symmetry, we analytically compute the effect of magnetic braking on the angular momentum of gas collapsing into the potential well of massive dark matter haloes ($\simeq 10^{7-9} M_\odot$) which are spun up by gravitational tidal torques. We find that a primordial magnetic field of strength $B_0\simeq 0.1$~nG (comoving) can remove the initial angular momentum gained by the in-falling gas due to tidal torques, thus significantly lowering the angular momentum barrier to the formation of DCBHs. These magnetic field strengths are consistent with the bounds on primordial fields from astrophysical and cosmological measurements and they are large enough to seed observed galactic magnetic fields.

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arXiv2018

Observing the influence of growing black holes on the pre-reionization IGM

We consider cosmological implications of the formation of first stellar size black holes (BHs) in the universe. Such BHs form and grow by accretion in minihaloes of masses $\simeq 10^5-10^7~M_\odot$, and emit non-thermal radiation which impact the ionization and thermal state of the IGM. We compute the implications of this process. We show that the influence regions for hydrogen increase to 10kpc (physical length) for non-growing BHs to more than 0.3--1Mpc for accreting BHs, the influence regions are ten times smaller for singly ionized helium. We consider three possible observables from the influence zones around accreting BHs during $8.5<z<25$: HI 21cm line, hyperfine line of $^3$HeII, and HI recombination lines. We show that the 21cm emitting region around a growing BH could produce brightness temperatures $\simeq 15$mK across an evolving structure of 1Mpc in size with hot, ionized gas closer to the BH and much cooler in outer regions. We show that the ongoing and upcoming radio interferometers such as LOFAR and SKA1-LOW might be able to detect these regions. $^3$HeII emission from regions surrounding the growing BH is weak: the corresponding brightness temperatures reaches tens of nano-Kelvin, which is below the range of upcoming SKA1-MED. We show that for growing BHs H$α$ line could be detected by JWST with $S/N=10$ in $10^4$~seconds of integration. In light on the recent EDGES result, we show that with additional cooling of baryons owing to collision with dark matter the HI signal could be enhanced by more than an order of magnitude.

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arXiv2017

The mysterious $6565\,Å$ absorption feature of the Galactic halo

We consider various possible scenarios to explain the recent observation of a claimed broad H$α$ absorption in our Galactic halo with peak optical depth $τ\simeq 0.01$ and equivalent width $W \simeq 0.17 \, \rm Å$. We show that the absorbed feature cannot arise from the circumgalactic and ISM H$α$ absorption. As the observed absorption feature is quite broad $Δλ\simeq 30 \, \rm Å$, we also consider CNO lines that lie close to H$α$ as possible alternatives to explain the feature. We show such lines could also not account for the observed feature. Instead, we suggest that it can arise from diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) carriers or polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) absorption. While we identify several such lines close to the H$α$ transition, we are unable to determine the molecule responsible for the observed feature, partly because of selection effects that prevents us from identifying DIBs/PAHs features close to H$α$ using local observations. Deep integration on a few extragalactic sources with high spectral resolution might allow us to distinguish between different possible explanations.

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arXiv2017

The effects of the small-scale behaviour of dark matter power spectrum on CMB spectral distortion

After numerous astronomical and experimental searches, the precise particle nature of dark matter is still unknown. The standard Weakly Interacting Massive Particle(WIMP) dark matter, despite successfully explaining the large-scale features of the universe, has long-standing small-scale issues. The spectral distortion in the Cosmic Microwave Background(CMB) caused by Silk damping in the pre-recombination era allows one to access information on a range of small scales $0.3 \, {\rm Mpc} < k < 10^4 \, \rm Mpc^{-1}$, whose dynamics can be precisely described using linear theory. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using the Silk damping induced CMB spectral distortion as a probe of the small-scale power. We consider four suggested alternative dark matter candidates---Warm Dark Matter (WDM), Late Forming Dark Matter, Ultra Light Axion dark matter and Charged Decaying Dark Matter; the matter power in all these models deviate significantly from the $Λ$CDM model at small scales. We compute the spectral distortion of CMB for these alternative models and compare our results with the $Λ$CDM model. We show that the main impact of alternative models is to alter the sub-horizon evolution of the Newtonian potential which affects the late-time behaviour of spectral distortion of CMB. The $y$-parameter diminishes by a few percent as compared to the $Λ$CDM model for a range of parameters of these models: LFDM for formation redshift $z_f = 10^5$ (7\%); WDM for mass $m_{\rm wdm} = 1 \, \rm keV$ (2\%); CHDM for decay redshift $z_{\rm decay} = 10^5$ (5\%); ULA for mass $m_a = 10^{-24} \, \rm eV$ (3\%). We also briefly discuss the detectability of this deviation in light of the upcoming CMB experiment PIXIE, which might have the sensitivity to detect this signal from the pre-recombination phase.

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arXiv2016

Delay Spectrum with Phase-Tracking Arrays: Extracting the HI power spectrum from the Epoch of Reionization

The Detection of redshifted 21 cm emission from the epoch of reionization (EoR) is a challenging task owing to strong foregrounds that dominate the signal. In this paper, we propose a general method, based on the delay spectrum approach, to extract HI power spectra that is applicable to tracking observations using an imaging radio interferometer (Delay Spectrum with Imaging Arrays (DSIA)). Our method is based on modelling the HI signal taking into account the impact of wide field effects such as the $w$-term which are then used as appropriate weights in cross-correlating the measured visibilities. Our method is applicable to any radio interferometer that tracks a phase center and could be utilized for arrays such as MWA, LOFAR, GMRT, PAPER and HERA. In the literature the delay spectrum approach has been implemented for near-redundant baselines using drift scan observations. In this paper we explore the scheme for non-redundant tracking arrays, and this is the first application of delay spectrum methodology to such data to extract the HI signal. We analyze 3 hours of MWA tracking data on the EoR1 field. We present both 2-dimensional ($k_\parallel,k_\perp$) and 1-dimensional (k) power spectra from the analysis. Our results are in agreement with the findings of other pipelines developed to analyse the MWA EoR data.

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arXiv2016

First Season MWA EoR Power Spectrum Results at Redshift 7

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) has collected hundreds of hours of Epoch of Reionization (EoR) data and now faces the challenge of overcoming foreground and systematic contamination to reduce the data to a cosmological measurement. We introduce several novel analysis techniques such as cable reflection calibration, hyper-resolution gridding kernels, diffuse foreground model subtraction, and quality control methods. Each change to the analysis pipeline is tested against a two dimensional power spectrum figure of merit to demonstrate improvement. We incorporate the new techniques into a deep integration of 32 hours of MWA data. This data set is used to place a systematic-limited upper limit on the cosmological power spectrum of $Δ^2 \leq 2.7 \times 10^4$ mK$^2$ at $k=0.27$ h~Mpc$^{-1}$ and $z=7.1$, consistent with other published limits, and a modest improvement (factor of 1.4) over previous MWA results. From this deep analysis we have identified a list of improvements to be made to our EoR data analysis strategies. These improvements will be implemented in the future and detailed in upcoming publications.

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arXiv2016

The Murchison Widefield Array 21 cm Power Spectrum Analysis Methodology

We present the 21 cm power spectrum analysis approach of the Murchison Widefield Array Epoch of Reionization project. In this paper, we compare the outputs of multiple pipelines for the purpose of validating statistical limits cosmological hydrogen at redshifts between 6 and 12. Multiple, independent, data calibration and reduction pipelines are used to make power spectrum limits on a fiducial night of data. Comparing the outputs of imaging and power spectrum stages highlights differences in calibration, foreground subtraction and power spectrum calculation. The power spectra found using these different methods span a space defined by the various tradeoffs between speed, accuracy, and systematic control. Lessons learned from comparing the pipelines range from the algorithmic to the prosaically mundane; all demonstrate the many pitfalls of neglecting reproducibility. We briefly discuss the way these different methods attempt to handle the question of evaluating a significant detection in the presence of foregrounds.

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arXiv2016

First Limits on the 21 cm Power Spectrum during the Epoch of X-ray heating

We present first results from radio observations with the Murchison Widefield Array seeking to constrain the power spectrum of 21 cm brightness temperature fluctuations between the redshifts of 11.6 and 17.9 (113 and 75 MHz). Three hours of observations were conducted over two nights with significantly different levels of ionospheric activity. We use these data to assess the impact of systematic errors at low frequency, including the ionosphere and radio-frequency interference, on a power spectrum measurement. We find that after the 1-3 hours of integration presented here, our measurements at the Murchison Radio Observatory are not limited by RFI, even within the FM band, and that the ionosphere does not appear to affect the level of power in the modes that we expect to be sensitive to cosmology. Power spectrum detections, inconsistent with noise, due to fine spectral structure imprinted on the foregrounds by reflections in the signal-chain, occupy the spatial Fourier modes where we would otherwise be most sensitive to the cosmological signal. We are able to reduce this contamination using calibration solutions derived from autocorrelations so that we achieve an sensitivity of $10^4$ mK on comoving scales $k\lesssim 0.5 h$Mpc$^{-1}$. This represents the first upper limits on the $21$ cm power spectrum fluctuations at redshifts $12\lesssim z \lesssim 18$ but is still limited by calibration systematics. While calibration improvements may allow us to further remove this contamination, our results emphasize that future experiments should consider carefully the existence of and their ability to calibrate out any spectral structure within the EoR window.

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arXiv2016

The Importance of Wide-field Foreground Removal for 21 cm Cosmology: A Demonstration With Early MWA Epoch of Reionization Observations

In this paper we present observations, simulations, and analysis demonstrating the direct connection between the location of foreground emission on the sky and its location in cosmological power spectra from interferometric redshifted 21 cm experiments. We begin with a heuristic formalism for understanding the mapping of sky coordinates into the cylindrically averaged power spectra measurements used by 21 cm experiments, with a focus on the effects of the instrument beam response and the associated sidelobes. We then demonstrate this mapping by analyzing power spectra with both simulated and observed data from the Murchison Widefield Array. We find that removing a foreground model which includes sources in both the main field-of-view and the first sidelobes reduces the contamination in high k_parallel modes by several percent relative to a model which only includes sources in the main field-of-view, with the completeness of the foreground model setting the principal limitation on the amount of power removed. While small, a percent-level amount of foreground power is in itself more than enough to prevent recovery of any EoR signal from these modes. This result demonstrates that foreground subtraction for redshifted 21 cm experiments is truly a wide-field problem, and algorithms and simulations must extend beyond the main instrument field-of-view to potentially recover the full 21 cm power spectrum.

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arXiv2016

CHIPS: The Cosmological HI Power Spectrum Estimator

Detection of the cosmological neutral hydrogen signal from the Epoch of Reionization, and estimation of its basic physical parameters, is the principal scientific aim of many current low-frequency radio telescopes. Here we describe the Cosmological HI Power Spectrum Estimator (CHIPS), an algorithm developed and implemented with data from the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), to compute the two-dimensional and spherically-averaged power spectrum of brightness temperature fluctuations. The principal motivations for CHIPS are the application of realistic instrumental and foreground models to form the optimal estimator, thereby maximising the likelihood of unbiased signal estimation, and allowing a full covariant understanding of the outputs. CHIPS employs an inverse-covariance weighting of the data through the maximum likelihood estimator, thereby allowing use of the full parameter space for signal estimation ("foreground suppression"). We describe the motivation for the algorithm, implementation, application to real and simulated data, and early outputs. Upon application to a set of 3 hours of data, we set a 2$σ$ upper limit on the EoR dimensionless power at $k=0.05$~h.Mpc$^{-1}$ of $Δ_k^2<7.6\times{10^4}$~mK$^2$ in the redshift range $z=[6.2-6.6]$, consistent with previous estimates.

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arXiv2015

Confirmation of Wide-Field Signatures in Redshifted 21 cm Power Spectra

We confirm our recent prediction of the "pitchfork" foreground signature in power spectra of high-redshift 21 cm measurements where the interferometer is sensitive to large-scale structure on all baselines. This is due to the inherent response of a wide-field instrument and is characterized by enhanced power from foreground emission in Fourier modes adjacent to those considered to be the most sensitive to the cosmological H I signal. In our recent paper, many signatures from the simulation that predicted this feature were validated against Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) data, but this key pitchfork signature was close to the noise level. In this paper, we improve the data sensitivity through the coherent averaging of 12 independent snapshots with identical instrument settings and provide the first confirmation of the prediction with a signal-to-noise ratio > 10. This wide-field effect can be mitigated by careful antenna designs that suppress sensitivity near the horizon. Simple models for antenna apertures that have been proposed for future instruments such as the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and the Square Kilometre Array indicate they should suppress foreground leakage from the pitchfork by ~40 dB relative to the MWA and significantly increase the likelihood of cosmological signal detection in these critical Fourier modes in the three-dimensional power spectrum.

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arXiv2015

Reionization constraints on primordial magnetic fields

We study the impact of the extra density fluctuations induced by primordial magnetic fields on the reionization history in the redshift range: $6 < z < 10$. We perform a comprehensive MCMC physical analysis allowing the variation of parameters related to primordial magnetic fields (strength, $B_0$, and power-spectrum index $n_{\scriptscriptstyle \rm B}$), reionization, and $Λ$CDM cosmological model. We find that magnetic field strengths in the range: $B_0 \simeq 0.05{-}0.3$ nG (for nearly scale-free power spectra) can significantly alter the reionization history in the above redshift range and can relieve the tension between the WMAP and quasar absorption spectra data. Our analysis puts upper-limits on the magnetic field strength $B_0 < 0.358, 0.120, 0.059$ nG (95 % c.l.) for $n_{\scriptscriptstyle \rm B} = -2.95, -2.9, -2.85$, respectively. These represent the strongest magnetic field constraints among those available from other cosmological observables.

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arXiv2015

Foregrounds in Wide-Field Redshifted 21 cm Power Spectra

Detection of 21~cm emission of HI from the epoch of reionization, at redshifts z>6, is limited primarily by foreground emission. We investigate the signatures of wide-field measurements and an all-sky foreground model using the delay spectrum technique that maps the measurements to foreground object locations through signal delays between antenna pairs. We demonstrate interferometric measurements are inherently sensitive to all scales, including the largest angular scales, owing to the nature of wide-field measurements. These wide-field effects are generic to all observations but antenna shapes impact their amplitudes substantially. A dish-shaped antenna yields the most desirable features from a foreground contamination viewpoint, relative to a dipole or a phased array. Comparing data from recent Murchison Widefield Array observations, we demonstrate that the foreground signatures that have the largest impact on the HI signal arise from power received far away from the primary field of view. We identify diffuse emission near the horizon as a significant contributing factor, even on wide antenna spacings that usually represent structures on small scales. For signals entering through the primary field of view, compact emission dominates the foreground contamination. These two mechanisms imprint a characteristic "pitchfork" signature on the "foreground wedge" in Fourier delay space. Based on these results, we propose that selective down-weighting of data based on antenna spacing and time can mitigate foreground contamination substantially by a factor ~100 with negligible loss of sensitivity.

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arXiv2015

How Late can the Dark Matter form in our universe?

We put constraints on the epoch of dark matter formation for a class of non-WIMP (Weakly Interacting Massive Particle) dark matter candidates. These models allow a fraction of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) to be formed between the epoch of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the matter radiation equality. We show that for such models the matter power spectra might get strong suppression even on scales that could be probed by linear perturbation theory at low redshifts. Unlike the case of Warm Dark Matter (WDM), where the mass of the dark matter particle controls the suppression scale, in Late Forming Dark Matter (LFDM) scenario, it is the redshift of the dark matter formation which determines the form of the matter power spectra. We use the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxy clustering data and the linear matter power spectrum reconstructed from the Lyman-$α$ data to find the latest epoch of the dark matter formation in our universe. If all the observed dark matter is late forming, we find lower bounds on the redshift of dark matter formation $z_f > 1.08 \times 10^5 $ at 99.73 $\%$ C.L from the SDSS data and $z_f > 9 \times 10^5$, at the same C.L, from the Lyman-$α$ data. If onlya fraction of the dark matter is late forming then we find tentative evidence of the presence of LFDM from the Lyman-$α$ data. Upcoming data from SDSS-III/BOSS (Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey) will allow us to explore this issue in more detail.

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arXiv2014

Study of Redshifted HI from the Epoch of Reionization with Drift scan

The detection of the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) in the redshifted 21-cm line is a challenging task. Here we formulate the detection of the EoR signal using the drift scan strategy. This method potentially has better instrumental stability as compared to the case where a single patch of sky is tracked. We demonstrate that the correlation time between measured visibilities could extend up to 1-2 hr for an interferometer array such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), which has a wide primary beam. We estimate the EoR power based on cross-correlation of visibilities across time and show that the drift scan strategy is capable of the detection of the EoR signal with comparable/better signal-to-noise as compared to the tracking case. We also estimate the visibility correlation for a set of bright point sources and argue that the statistical inhomogeneity of bright point sources might allow their separation from the EoR signal.

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arXiv2014

HI absorption from the epoch of reionization and primordial magnetic fields

We study the impact of primordial magnetic fields on the HI absorption from the Epoch of Reionization. The presence of these fields result in two distinct effects: (a) the heating of the haloes from the decay of magnetic fields owing to ambipolar diffusion, and (b) an increase in the number of haloes owing to additional matter fluctuations induced by magnetic fields. We analyse both these effects and show that the latter is potentially observable because the number of haloes along of line of sight can increase by many orders of magnitude. While this effect is not strongly dependent on the magnetic field strength in the range $0.3\hbox{--}0.6$ nG, it is extremely sensitive to the magnetic field power spectral index for the near scale-free models. Therefore the detection of such absorption features could be a sensitive probe of the primordial magnetic field and its power spectrum. We discuss the detectability of these features with the ongoing and future radio interferometers. In particular, we show that LOFAR might be able to detect these absorption features at $z \simeq 10$ in less than 10 hrs of integration if the flux of the background source is 400 mJy.

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arXiv2013

Probable detection of HI at $z\simeq 1.3$ from DEEP2 galaxies using the GMRT

We have observed the DEEP2 galaxies using the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope in the frequency band of 610 MHz. There are $\simeq 400$ galaxies in the redshift range $1.24 < z < 1.36$ and within the field of view $\simeq 44'$, of the GMRT dishes. We have coadded the HI 21 cm-line emissions at the locations of these DEEP2 galaxies. We apply stacking on three different data cubes: primary beam uncorrected, primary beam corrected (uniform weighing ) and primary beam corrected (optimal weighing). We obtain a peak signal strength in the range $8\hbox{--}25 \, \rm μ$Jy/beam for a velocity width in the range $270\hbox{--} 810 \, \rm km \, sec^{-1}$. The error on the signal, computed by bootstrapping, lies in the range $2.5\hbox{--}6 \, \rm μ$Jy/beam, implying a 2.5--4.7-$σ$ detection of the signal at $z \simeq 1.3$. We compare our results with N-body simulations of the signal at $z\simeq 1$ and find reasonable agreement. We also discuss the impact of residual continuum and systematics.

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arXiv2012

Probing Primordial Magnetic Fields Using Ly-alpha Clouds

From previous studies of the effect of primordial magnetic fields on early structure formation, we know that the presence of primordial magnetic fields during early structure formation could induce more perturbations at small scales (at present 1-10 Mpc/h) as compared to the usual LCDM theory. Matter power spectrum over these scales are effectively probed by cosmological observables such as shear correlation and Ly-alpha clouds, In this paper we discuss the implications of primordial magnetic fields on the distribution of Ly-alpha clouds. We simulate the line of sight density fluctuation including the contribution coming from the primordial magnetic fields. We compute the evolution of Ly-alpha opacity for this case and compare our theoretical estimates of Ly-alpha opacity with the existing data to constrain the parameters of the primordial magnetic fields. We also discuss the case when the two density fields are correlated. Our analysis yields an upper bounds of roughly 0.3-0.6 nG on the magnetic field strength for a range of nearly scale invariant models, corresponding to magnetic field power spectrum index n \simeq -3.

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