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Steen Hannestad

Publications and source records attributed to Steen Hannestad.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Can dark matter see itself?

Many independent high-resolution simulations of structure formation in cold dark matter models show that galactic halos should have singular core profiles. This is in stark contrast with observations of both low- and high-surface brightness galaxies, which indicate that the dark matter has almost constant density in the central parts of halos. Basically there are three possible avenues to a solution to the problem, which we discuss in turn. Observations of halo profiles could be more uncertain than previously thought, and higher resolution observations could reveal that spirals do have a singular core feature. The highest resolution simulations do not include a baryonic component, and it is conceivable that violent star formation processes and similar phenomena can destroy the singular dark matter core and lead to an almost constant density core profile. Finally, we discuss in more detail the intriguing possibility that the discrepancy hints at some new exotic physics of the dark matter. Warm dark matter and self-interacting dark matter are two of the most promising candidates.

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Self-interacting Warm Dark Matter

It has been shown by many independent studies that the cold dark matter scenario produces singular galactic dark halos, in strong contrast with observations. Possible remedies are that either the dark matter is warm so that it has significant thermal motion or that the dark matter has strong self interactions. We have combined these ideas to calculate the linear mass power spectrum and the spectrum of cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations for self-interacting warm dark matter. Our results indicate that such models have more power on small scales than is the case for the standard warm dark matter model, with a CMB fluctuation spectrum which is nearly indistinguishable from standard cold dark matter. This enhanced small-scale power may provide better agreement with the observations than does standard warm dark matter.

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Updated Bounds on Milli-Charged Particles

We update the bounds on fermions with electric charge $εe$ and mass $m_ε$. For $m_ε\lsim m_e$ we find $10^{-15}\lsimε<1$ is excluded by laboratory experiments, astrophysics and cosmology. For larger masses, the limits are less restrictive and depend on $m_ε$. For milli-charged neutrinos, the limits are stronger, especially if the different flavors mix as suggested by current experimental evidence.

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Galactic halos of self-interacting dark matter

Recent, very accurate simulations of galaxy formation have revealed that the standard cold dark matter model has great difficulty in explaining the detailed structure of galaxies. One of the major problems is that galactic halos are too centrally concentrated. Dark matter self-interactions have been proposed as a possible means of resolving this inconsistency. Here, we investigate quantitatively the effect of dark matter self interactions on formation of galactic halos. Our numerical framework is extremely simple, while still keeping the essential physics. We confirm that strongly self-interacting dark matter leads to less centrally concentrated structures. Interestingly, we find that for a range of different interaction strengths, the dark matter halos are unstable to particle ejection on a timescale comparable to the Hubble time.

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Stochastic optimization methods for extracting cosmological parameters from CMBR power spectra

The reconstruction of the CMBR power spectrum from a map represents a major computational challenge to which much effort has been applied. However, once the power spectrum has been recovered there still remains the problem of extracting cosmological parameters from it. Doing this involves optimizing a complicated function in a many dimensional parameter space. Therefore efficient algorithms are necessary in order to make this feasible. We have tested several different types of algorithms and found that the technique known as simulated annealing is very effective for this purpose. It is shown that simulated annealing is able to extract the correct cosmological parameters from a set of simulated power spectra, but even with such fast optimization algorithms, a substantial computational effort is needed.

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Can Dust Segregation Mimic a Cosmological Constant?

Recent measurements of type Ia supernovae indicate that distant supernovae are substantially fainter than expected from the standard flat cold dark matter model. One possible explanation is that the energy density in our universe is in fact dominated by a cosmological constant. Another possible solution is that there are large amounts of grey dust in the intergalactic medium. Dust grains can be grey either because they are non-spherical or very large. We have numerically investigated whether grey dust can be emitted from high redshift galaxies without also emitting standard, reddening dust, which would have been visible in the spectra of high redshift objects. Our finding is that grain velocities are almost independent of ellipticity so that if greyness are due to the grains being elongated, it will not be possible to separate grey dust from ordinary dust. We also find that velocities are fairly independent of grain size, but we cannot rule out possible sputtering of small grains, so that large, grey dust grains could be preferentially emitted. Therefore, our conclusion is that grey dust is an unlikely explanation of the data, but we cannot rule it out if the grey dust consists of large, spherical grains.

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Combining the baryon budget with CMBR measurements

Measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) provide a powerful tool for measuring the primary cosmological parameters. However, there is a large degree of parameter degeneracy in simultaneous measurements of the matter density, Omega_m, and the Hubble parameter, H_0. In the present paper we use the presently available CMBR data together with measurements of the cosmological baryon-to-photon ratio, eta, from Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and the relative mass fraction of baryons in clusters to break the parameter degeneracy in measuring Omega_m and H_0. We find that present data is inconsistent with the standard Omega=1, matter dominated model. Our analysis favours a medium density universe with a rather low Hubble parameter. This is compatible with new measurements of type Ia supernovae, and the joint estimate of the two parameters is Omega_m = 0.45^{+0.07}_{-0.07} and H_0 = 39^{+14}_{-13} km s^-1 Mpc^-1. We stress that the upper bound on the Hubble parameter is likely to be much more uncertain than indicated here, because of the limited number of free parameters in our analysis.

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Possible Constraints on the Time Variation of the Fine Structure Constant from Cosmic Microwave Background Data

The formation of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) provides a very powerful probe of the early universe at the epoch of recombination. Specifically, it is possible to constrain the variation of fundamental physical constants in the early universe. We have calculated the effect of a varying electromagnetic coupling constant (α) on the CMBR and find that new satellite experiments should provide a tight constraint on the value of αat recombination which is complementary to existing constraints. An estimate of the obtainable precision is |\dotα/α| \leq 7 x 10^{-13} y^{-1} in a realistic experiment.

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Probing neutrino decays with the cosmic microwave background

We investigate in detail the possibility of constraining neutrino decays with data from the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). Two generic decays are considered ν_H -> ν_L ϕand ν_H -> ν_L ν_L_bar ν_L. We have solved the momentum dependent Boltzmann equation in order to account for possible relativistic decays. Doing this we estimate that any neutrino with mass m > 1 eV decaying before the present should be detectable with future CMBR data. Combining this result with other results on stable neutrinos, any neutrino mass of the order 1 eV should be detectable.

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Post freeze-out annihilations in the early universe

We investigate the possible effect of the residual annihilations of heavy particles after freeze-out from equilibrium in the early universe. An error in previous work on this subject is pointed out and the correct method of solving the Boltzmann equation for this case is developed. For Majorana particles there are significant differences relative to previous work.

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Non-equilibrium effects on particle freeze-out in the early universe

We investigate the possible effects that deviations from kinetic equilibrium can have on massive particles as they decouple from chemical equilibrium. Different methods of solving the Boltzmann equation yield significantly different relic number densities of such particles. General considerations concerning the Dirac or Majorana structure of the particles are discussed. It is shown that non-equilibrium effects are small for particles decoupling while strongly non-relativistic, as will be the case for most cold dark matter candidates.

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Imprint of Sterile Neutrinos in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

The existence of low-mass sterile neutrinos is suggested by the current status of solar and atmospheric neutrinos together with the LSND experiment. In typical four-flavor scenarios, neutrinos would contribute to a cosmic hot dark matter component and to an increased radiation content at the epoch of matter-radiation equality. These effects leave their imprint in sky maps of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) and may thus be detectable with the precision measurements of the upcoming MAP and PLANCK missions.

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Supernova Neutrino Opacity from Nucleon-Nucleon Bremsstrahlung and Related Processes

Elastic scattering on nucleons, νN -> N ν, is the dominant supernova (SN) opacity source for μand τneutrinos. The dominant energy- and number-changing processes were thought to be νe^- -> e^- νand ν\bar ν<-> e^+ e^- until Suzuki (1993) showed that the bremsstrahlung process ν\bar νNN <-> NN was actually more important. We find that for energy exchange, the related ``inelastic scattering process'' νNN <-> NN νis even more effective by about a factor of 10. A simple estimate implies that the ν_μand ν_τspectra emitted during the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling phase are much closer to that of ν\bar_e than had been thought previously. To facilitate a numerical study of the spectra formation we derive a scattering kernel which governs both bremsstrahlung and inelastic scattering and give an analytic approximation formula. We consider only neutron-neutron interactions, we use a one-pion exchange potential in Born approximation, nonrelativistic neutrons, and the long-wavelength limit, simplifications which appear justified for the surface layers of a SN core. We include the pion mass in the potential and we allow for an arbitrary degree of neutron degeneracy. Our treatment does not include the neutron-proton process and does not include nucleon-nucleon correlations. Our perturbative approach applies only to the SN surface layers, i.e. to densities below about 10^{14} g cm^{-3}.

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Constraining neutrino decays with CMBR data

The decay of massive neutrinos to final states containing only invisible particles is poorly constrained experimentally. In this letter we describe the constraints that can be put on neutrino mass and lifetime using CMBR measurements. We find that very tight lifetime limits on neutrinos in the mass range 10 eV - 100 keV can be derived using CMBR data from upcoming satellite measurements.

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Decay-Produced Neutrino Hot Dark Matter

We investigate different types of neutrino hot dark matter with respect to structure formation and anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The possibility of neutrino hot dark matter produced through the decay of a heavier neutrino by the process nu_H -> nu_L + phi, where phi is a scalar particle, is discussed in detail. This type of dark matter can possibly be distinguished observationally from the standard neutrino dark matter by using new CMBR data from the upcoming satellite missions MAP and PLANCK.

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A Cosmological Three Level Neutrino Laser

We present a calculation of a neutrino decay scenario in the early Universe. The specific decay is ν_{2} \to ν_{1} + ϕ, where ϕis a boson. If there is a neutrino mass hierarchy, m_{ν_{e}} < m_{ν_μ} < m_{ν_τ}, we show that it is possible to generate stimulated decay and effects similar to atomic lasing without invoking new neutrinos, even starting from identical neutrino distributions. Under the right circumstances the decay can be to very low momentum boson states thereby producing something similar to a Bose condensate, with possible consequences for structure formation. Finally, we argue that this type of decay may also be important other places in early Universe physics.

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Can Neutrinos be Majorana Particles

It was recently claimed that the observed physical neutrinos cannot be of Majorana type because such particles lack vector interactions. Contrary to this claim we show that if the Majorana neutrino is massless it is indistinguishable from the Dirac neutrino so that observed physical neutrinos may equally well be of Majorana or Dirac type.

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Nucleosynthesis and the mass of the tau neutrino---ERRATUM

Our results for the primordial abundance of a massive Majorana tau neutrino (hep-ph/9603201) published in PRL76, 2848 (1996) were incorrect due to a trivial (but annoying) error in the numerical code. In this ERRATUM we present the corrected results.

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