arXiv subjects

Toyokazu Sekiguchi

Publications and source records attributed to Toyokazu Sekiguchi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Axion-like particle assisted strongly interacting massive particle

We propose a new realization of strongly interacting massive particles (SIMP) as self-interacting dark matter, where SIMPs couple to the Standard Model sector through an axion-like particle. Our model gets over major obstacles accompanying the original SIMP model, such as a missing mechanism of kinetically equilibrating SIMPs with the SM plasma as well as marginal perturbativity of the chiral Lagrangian density. Remarkably, the parameter region realizing $σ_{\rm self}/m_{\rm DM} \simeq 0.1 \textrm{--} 1 \, {\rm cm}^{2}/{\rm g}$ is within the reach of future beam dump experiments such as the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2017

Elucidating Dark Energy with Future 21 cm Observations at the Epoch of Reionization

We investigate how precisely we can determine the nature of dark energy such as the equation of state (EoS) and its time dependence by using future observations of 21 cm fluctuations at the epoch of reionization (6.8 <~ z <~ 10) such as Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and Omniscope in combination with those from cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillation, type Ia supernovae and direct measurement of the Hubble constant. We consider several parametrizations for the EoS and find that future 21 cm observations will be powerful in constraining models of dark energy, especially when its EoS varies at high redshifts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Cosmology with the Square Kilometre Array by SKA-Japan

In the past several decades, the standard cosmological model has been established and its parameters have been measured to a high precision, while there are still many of the fundamental questions in cosmology; such as the physics in the very early Universe, the origin of the cosmic acceleration and the nature of the dark matter. The future world's largest radio telescope, Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will be able to open the new frontier of cosmology and will be one of the most powerful tools for cosmology in the next decade. The cosmological surveys conducted by the SKA would have the potential not only to answer these fundamental questions but also deliver the precision cosmology. In this article we briefly review the role of the SKA from the view point of the modern cosmology. The cosmology science led by the SKA-Japan Consortium (SKA-JP) Cosmology Science Working Group is also discussed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Topological Defects and nano-Hz Gravitational Waves in Aligned Axion Models

We study the formation and evolution of topological defects in an aligned axion model with multiple Peccei-Quinn scalars, where the QCD axion is realized by a certain combination of the axions with decay constants much smaller than the conventional Peccei-Quinn breaking scale. When the underlying U(1) symmetries are spontaneously broken, the aligned structure in the axion field space exhibits itself as a complicated string-wall network in the real space. We find that the string-wall network likely survives until the QCD phase transition if the number of the Peccei-Quinn scalars is greater than two. The string-wall system collapses during the QCD phase transition, producing a significant amount of gravitational waves in the nano-Hz range at present. The typical decay constant is constrained to be below O(100) TeV by the pulsar timing observations, and the constraint will be improved by a factor of 2 in the future SKA observations.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2016

Cosmological Constraint on the Light Gravitino Mass from CMB Lensing and Cosmic Shear

Light gravitinos of mass $\lesssim \mathcal{O} (10)$ eV are of particular interest in cosmology, offering various baryogenesis scenarios without suffering from the cosmological gravitino problem. The gravitino may contribute considerably to the total matter content of the Universe and affect structure formation from early to present epochs. After the gravitinos decouple from other particles in the early Universe, they free-stream and consequently suppress density fluctuations of (sub-)galactic length scales. Observations of structure at the relevant length-scales can be used to infer or constrain the mass and the abundance of light gravitinos. We derive constraints on the light gravitino mass using the data of cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing from Planck and of cosmic shear from the Canada France Hawaii Lensing Survey, combined with analyses of the primary CMB anisotropies and the signature of baryon acoustic oscillations in galaxy distributions. The obtained constraint on the gravitino mass is $m_{3/2} < 4.7$ eV (95% C.L.), which is substantially tighter than the previous constraint from clustering analysis of Ly-$α$ forests.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

CMB Constraint on Dark Matter Annihilation after Planck 2015

We update the constraint on the dark matter annihilation cross section by using the recent measurements of the CMB anisotropy by the Planck satellite. We fully calculate the cascade of dark matter annihilation products and their effects on ionization, heating and excitation of the hydrogen, hence do not rely on any assumption on the energy fractions that cause these effects.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

A new constraint on millicharged dark matter from galaxy clusters

We propose a new constraint on millicharged dark matter from considerations on galaxy clusters. The charged dark matter moves under the influence of the randomly oriented magnetic fields in galaxy clusters, and the corresponding dark matter density profile can significantly differ from the concordance CDM predictions which are well supported from the galaxy cluster observations. With a typical amplitude of magnetic fields $B=\mathcal O(1)\,μ$G and dark matter velocity $v=\mathcal O(100)\,$km/sec at a cluster radius $R\simeq 1\,$Mpc, we claim that the charge $εe$ ($e$ is the elementary charge) of dark matter with mass $m$ should be bounded as $ε\lesssim 10^{-14}(m/{\rm GeV})$ which is substantially tighter than the other previous constraints.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Mixed Inflaton and Spectator Field Models: CMB constraints and $μ$ distortion

We discuss mixed inflaton and spectator field models where both the fields are responsible for the observed density fluctuations. We use the current CMB data to constrain both the general mixed model as well as some specific representative scenarios, and collate the results with the model predictions for the CMB spectral $μ$ distortion. We find the posterior distribution of $μ$ using MCMC chains and demonstrate that the standard single-field inflaton model typically predicts $μ\sim 10^{-8}$ with a relatively narrow distribution, whereas for the mixed models, the distribution turns out to be much broader, and $μ$ could be larger by almost an order of magnitude. Hence future experiments of $μ$ distortion could provide a tool for the critical testing of the mixed source models of the primordial perturbation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Decaying dark matter and the tension in $σ_8$

We consider decaying dark matter (DDM) as a resolution to the possible tension between cosmic microwave background (CMB) and weak lensing (WL) based determinations of the amplitude of matter fluctuations, $σ_8$. We perform N-body simulations in a model where dark matter decays into dark radiation and develop an accurate fitting formula for the non-linear matter power spectrum, which enables us to test the DDM model by the combined measurements of CMB, WL and the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO). We employ a Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis to examine the overlap of posterior distributions of the cosmological parameters, comparing CMB alone with WL+BAO. We find an overlap that is significantly larger in the DDM model than in the standard CDM model. This may be hinting at DDM, although current data is not constraining enough to unambiguously favour a non-zero dark matter decay rate $Γ$. From the combined CMB+WL data, we obtain a lower bound $Γ^{-1}\ge 97$ Gyr at 95 % C.L, which is less tight than the constraint from CMB alone.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Axion dark matter from topological defects

The cosmological scenario where the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken after inflation is investigated. In this scenario, topological defects such as strings and domain walls produce a large number of axions, which contribute to the cold dark matter of the universe. The previous estimations of the cold dark matter abundance are updated and refined based on the field-theoretic simulations with improved grid sizes. The possible uncertainties originated in the numerical calculations are also discussed. It is found that axions can be responsible for the cold dark matter in the mass range $m_a=(0.8-1.3)\times 10^{-4}\mathrm{eV}$ for the models with the domain wall number $N_{\rm DW}=1$, and $m_a\approx\mathcal{O}(10^{-4}-10^{-2})\mathrm{eV}$ with a mild tuning of parameters for the models with $N_{\rm DW}>1$. Such higher mass ranges can be probed in future experimental studies.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

Primordial magnetic fields from self-ordering scalar fields

A symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe could have led to the formation of cosmic defects. Because these defects dynamically excite not only scalar and tensor type cosmological perturbations but also vector type ones, they may serve as a source of primordial magnetic fields. In this study, we calculate the time evolution and the spectrum of magnetic fields that are generated by a type of cosmic defects, called global textures, using the non-linear sigma (NLSM) model. Based on the standard cosmological perturbation theory, we show, both analytically and numerically, that a vector-mode relative velocity between photon and baryon fluids is induced by textures, which inevitably leads to the generation of magnetic fields over a wide range of scales. We find that the amplitude of the magnetic fields is given by $B\sim{10^{-9}}{((1+z)/10^3)^{-2.5}}({v}/{m_{\rm pl}})^2({k}/{\rm Mpc^{-1}})^{3.5}/{\sqrt{N}}$ Gauss in the radiation dominated era for $k\lesssim 1$ Mpc$^{-1}$, with $v$ being the vacuum expectation value of the O(N) symmetric scalar fields. By extrapolating our numerical result toward smaller scales, we expect that $B\sim {10^{-17}}((1+z)/1000)^{-1/2}({v}/{m_{\rm pl}})^2({k}/{\rm Mpc^{-1}})^{1/2}/{\sqrt{N}}$ Gauss on scales of $k\gtrsim 1$ Mpc$^{-1}$ at redshift $z\gtrsim 1100$. This might be a seed of the magnetic fields observed on large scales today.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Anisotropic CMB distortions from non-Gaussian isocurvature perturbations

We calculate the CMB $μ$-distortion and the angular power spectrum of its cross-correlation with the temperature anisotropy in the presence of the non-Gaussian neutrino isocurvature density (NID) mode. While the pure Gaussian NID perturbations give merely subdominant contribution to $<μ>$ and vanishing $< μT>$, the latter quantity can be large enough to be detected in the future when the NID perturbations $\mathcal S(\mathbf x)$ are proportional to the square of a Gaussian field $g(\mathbf x)$, i.e. $\mathcal S({\mathbf x})\propto g^2({\mathbf x})$. In particular, large $< μT>$ can be realized since Gaussian-squared perturbations can yield a relatively large bispectrum, satisfying the constraints from the power spectrum of CMB anisotropies, i.e. $\mathcal{P}_\mathcal{SS}(k_0) \sim\mathcal{P}_g^2(k_0)\lesssim10^{-10}$ at $k_0=0.05$ Mpc$^{-1}$. We also forecast constraints from the CMB temperature and E-mode polarisation bispectra, and show that $\mathcal{P}_g(k_0)\lesssim10^{-5}$ would be allowed from Planck data. We find that $< μ>$ and $|l(l+1)C^{μT}_l|$ can respectively be as large as $10^{-9}$ and $10^{-14}$ with uncorrelated scale-invariant NID perturbations for $\mathcal{P}_g(k_0)=10^{-5}$. When the spectrum of the Gaussian field is blue-tilted (with spectral index $n_g \simeq 1.5$), $< μT>$ can be enhanced by an order of magnitude.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

First observational constraints on tensor non-Gaussianity sourced by primordial magnetic fields from cosmic microwave background

Primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) create a large squeezed-type non-Gaussianity in tensor perturbation, which generates non-Gaussian temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We for the first time derive an observational constraint on such a tensor non-Gaussianity from observed CMB maps. Analyzing temperature maps of the WMAP 7-year data, we find that such a tensor non-Gaussianity is consistent with zero. This gives an upper bound on PMF strength smoothed on $1 ~ {\rm Mpc}$ as $B_{1 ~ \rm Mpc} < 3.1 ~{\rm nG}$ at $95%$ C.L.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Isocurvature perturbations and tensor mode in light of Planck and BICEP2

We investigate the degeneracy of the isocurvature perturbations and the primordial gravitational waves, by using recent observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) reported by Planck and BICEP2 collaborations. We show that the tension in the bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ between Planck and BICEP2 can be resolved by introducing the anti-correlated isocurvature perturbations. Quantitatively, we find that with the anti-correlated isocurvature perturbations the constraints on $r$ from Planck alone and BICEP2 results can be consistent at 68 % C.L.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Constraining warm dark matter with 21 cm line fluctuations due to minihalos

Warm dark matter (WDM) with mass m_WDM = O(1) keV has long been discussed as a promising solution for discrepancies between cosmic structures observed at small scales and predications of the concordance CDM model. Though several cosmological observations such as the Lyman-alpha forest have already begun to constrain the range of m_WDM, WDM is yet to be fully excluded as a solution for these so-called small-scale problems. In this paper, we study 21 cm line fluctuations from minihalos in a WDM model and evaluate constraints on m_WDM for future cosmological 21 cm surveys, such as SKA and FFTT. We show that, since WDM with mass m_WDM>10 keV decreases the abundance of minihalos by suppressing the matter power spectrum on small scales via free-streaming, such WDM can significantly affect the resultant 21 cm line fluctuations from minihalos. We find that if the 21 cm signal from minihalos can be observed above z>5, SKA and FFTT can give lower bounds m_WDM>24 keV and 31 keV, respectively, which are tighter than the current constraint. These future 21 cm surveys might be able to rule out a WDM model as a solution of small-scale problems.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Evolution of perturbations and cosmological constraints in decaying dark matter models with arbitrary decay mass products

Decaying dark matter (DDM) is a candidate which can solve the discrepancies between predictions of the concordance $Λ$CDM model and observations at small scales such as the number counts of companion galaxies of the Milky Way and the density profile at the center of galaxies. Previous studies are limited to the cases where the decay particles are massless and/or have almost degenerate masses with that of mother particles. Here we expand the DDM models so that one can consider the DDM with arbitrary lifetime and the decay products with arbitrary masses. We calculate the time evolutions of perturbed phase-space distribution functions of decay products for the first time and study effects of DDM on the temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background and the matter power spectrum at present. From a recent observational estimate of $σ_{8}$, we derive constraints on the lifetime of DDM and the mass ratio between the decay products and DDM. We also discuss implications of the DDM model for the discrepancy in the measurements of $σ_8$ recently claimed by the Planck satellite collaboration.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Precise Measurements of Primordial Power Spectrum with 21 cm Fluctuations

We discuss the issue of how precisely we can measure the primordial power spectrum by using future observations of 21 cm fluctuations and cosmic microwave background (CMB). For this purpose, we investigate projected constraints on the quantities characterizing primordial power spectrum: the spectral index n_s, its running alpha_s and even its higher order running beta_s. We show that future 21 cm observations in combinations with CMB would accurately measure above mentioned observables of primordial power spectrum. We also discuss its implications to some explicit inflationary models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

Probing Lepton Asymmetry with 21 cm Fluctuations

We investigate the issue of how accurately we can constrain the lepton number asymmetry xi_nu = mu_nu/T_nu in the Universe by using future observations of 21 cm line fluctuations and cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that combinations of the 21 cm line and the CMB observations can constrain the lepton asymmetry better than big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Additionally, we also discuss constraints on xi_nu in the presence of some extra radiation, and show that the 21 cm line observations can substantially improve the constraints obtained by CMB alone, and allow us to distinguish the effects of the lepton asymmetry from the ones of extra radiation.

astro-ph.CO↗