arXiv subjects

Weiqiang Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Weiqiang Yang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Evidence of dynamical dark energy in a non-flat universe: current and future observations

We investigate the dark energy phenomenology in an extended parameter space where we allow the curvature density of our universe as a free-to-vary parameter. The inclusion of the curvature density parameter is motivated from the recently released observational evidences indicating the closed universe model at many standard deviations. Here we assume that the dark energy equation-of-state follows the PADE approximation, a generalized parametrization that may recover a variety of existing dark energy models. Considering three distinct PADE parametrizations, labeled as PADE-I, SPADE-I and PADE-II, we first constrain the cosmological scenarios driven by them using the joint analyses of a series of recently available cosmological probes, namely, Pantheon sample of Supernovae Type Ia, baryon acoustic oscillations, big bang nucleosynthesis, Hubble parameter measurements from cosmic chronometers, cosmic microwave background distance priors from Planck 2018 and then we include the future Gravitational Waves standard sirens (GWSS) data from the Einstein telescope with the combined analyses of these current cosmological probes. We find that the current cosmological probes indicate a very strong evidence of a dynamical dark energy at more than 99\% CL in both PADE-I, and PADE-II, but no significant evidence for the non-flat universe is found in any of these parametrizations. Interestingly, when the future GWSS data from the Einstein telescope are included with the standard cosmological probes an evidence of a non-flat universe is found in all three parametrizations together with a very strong preference of a dynamical dark energy at more than 99\% CL in both PADE-I, and PADE-II. Although from the information criteria analysis, namely, AIC, BIC, DIC, the non-flat $Λ$-Cold Dark Matter model remains the best choice, however, in the light of DIC, PADE parametrizations are still appealing.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

On the dynamics of a dark sector coupling

Interacting dark energy models may play a crucial role in explaining several important observational issues in modern cosmology and also may provide a solution to current cosmological tensions. Since the phenomenology of the dark sector could be extremely rich, one should not restrict the interacting models to have a coupling parameter which is constant in cosmic time, rather allow for its dynamical behavior, as it is common practice in the literature when dealing with other dark energy properties, as the dark energy equation of state. We present here a compendium of the current cosmological constraints on a large variety of interacting models, investigating scenarios where the coupling parameter of the interaction function and the dark energy equation of state can be either constant or dynamical. For the most general schemes, in which both the coupling parameter of the interaction function and the dark energy equation of state are dynamical, we find $95\%$~CL evidence for a dark energy component at early times and slightly milder evidence for a dynamical dark coupling for the most complete observational data set exploited here, which includes CMB, BAO and Supernova Ia measurements. Interestingly, there are some cases where a dark energy component different from the cosmological constant case at early times together with a coupling different from zero today, can alleviate both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tension for the full dataset combination considered here. Due to the energy exchange among the dark sectors, the current values of the matter energy density and of the clustering parameter $σ_8$ are shifted from their $Λ$CDM-like values. This fact makes future surveys, especially those focused on weak lensing measurements, unique tools to test the nature and the couplings of the dark energy sector.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Inflationary Potential as seen from Different Angles: Model Compatibility from Multiple CMB Missions

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies, as observed by independent astronomical missions such as WMAP, Planck, and most recently the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the South Pole Telescope have played a vital role in accurately constraining cosmological theories and models, establishing cosmic inflation as the most widely accepted theory for describing the physics of the early Universe. However, the absence of a definitive detection of B-mode polarization and the emerging discrepancies among different CMB experiments present a challenge in determining which inflationary models best explain the observed data. In this work, we further explore this difficulty and conduct a case study by analyzing four well-known inflationary potentials in light of the latest CMB temperature and polarization anisotropy measurements and lensing data released by the Planck satellite and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. Additionally, we incorporate B-modes polarization data from the BICEP/Keck Collaboration, as well as Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Redshift Space Distortions measurements from BOSS DR12 and eBOSS DR16. We show that the most typical models such as Starobinsky and $α$-attractors are in disagreement with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope small-scale CMB measurements, particularly when combined with B-modes polarization data. On the other hand, these potentials are in perfect agreement with the Planck measurements at larger angular scales. This dichotomy makes it challenging to identify a single model or a group of models that can be universally considered as the preferred choice based on all available CMB observations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

IWDM: The fate of an interacting non-cold dark matter $-$ vacuum scenario

In most cosmological models, the equation of state of the dark matter is assumed to be zero, which means that the dark matter is pressure-less or cold. While this hypothesis is based on the abundance of cold dark matter in the universe, however, there is no compelling reason to assume that the equation of state of dark matter is exactly zero. A more general approach would be to allow for a range of values for the dark matter equation of state and use the observational data to determine which values are most likely. With the increasing accuracy of experimental data, we have chosen to explore the possibility of interacting non-cold dark matter $-$ vacuum scenario, where the equation of state of the dark matter is constant but can take different values within a specific range. Using the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies and the CMB lensing reconstruction from the Planck legacy release, plus other non-CMB measurements, namely, the baryon acoustic oscillations distance measurements, and the Pantheon catalogue from Type Ia Supernovae, we have analyzed this scenario and found that a non-zero value for the dark matter equation of state is preferred with a confidence level of over 68\%. While this is not significant by itself, however, it does suggest that investigating the possibility of non-cold dark matter in the universe is worth exploring further to gain a better understanding of the nature of dark matter.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Revealing the effects of curvature on the cosmological models

In this paper we consider the effects of adding curvature in extended cosmologies involving a free-to-vary neutrino sector and different parametrizations of Dark Energy (DE). We make use of the Planck 2018 cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization data, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Pantheon type Ia Supernovae data. Our main result is that a non-flat Universe cannot be discarded in light of the current astronomical data, because we find an indication for a closed Universe in most of the DE cosmologies explored in this work. On the other hand, forcing the Universe to be flat can significantly bias the constraints on the equation of state of the DE component and its dynamical nature.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Exploring bulk viscous unified scenarios with Gravitational Waves Standard Sirens

We consider the unified bulk viscous scenarios and constrain them using the Cosmic Microwave Background observations from Planck 2018 and the Pantheon sample from Type Ia Supernovae. Then we generate the luminosity distance measurements from ${\cal O}(10^3)$ mock Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens (GWSS) events for the proposed Einstein Telescope. We then combine these mock luminosity distance measurements from the GWSS with the current cosmological probes in order to forecast how the mock GWSS data could be effective in constraining these bulk viscous scenarios. Our results show that a non-zero time dependent bulk viscosity in the universe sector is strongly preferred by the current cosmological probes and will possibly be confirmed at many standard deviations by the future GWSS measurements. We further mention that the addition of GWSS data can significantly reduce the uncertainties of the key cosmological parameters obtained from the usual cosmological probes employed in this work.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Observational constraints on soft dark energy and soft dark matter: challenging $Λ$CDM

Soft cosmology is an extension of standard cosmology allowing for a scale-dependent equation-of-state (EoS) parameter in the dark sectors, which is one of the properties of soft materials in condensed-matter physics, that may arise either intrinsically or effectively. We use data from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), Supernovae Type Ia (SNIa), and Redshift space distrotion (RSD) probes, in order to impose observational constraints on soft dark energy and soft dark matter. We examine three simple models, corresponding to the minimum extensions of $Λ$CDM scenario, namely we consider that at large scales the dark sectors have the EoS's of $Λ$CDM model (dust dark matter and cosmological constant respectively), while at intermediate scales either dark energy or dark matter or both, may have a different EoS according to constant "softness" parameters $s_{de}$ and $s_{dm}$. The observational confrontation shows that for almost all datasets the softness parameters deviate from their $Λ$CDM values, in a prominent way for soft dark energy and mildly for soft dark matter, and thus the data favor soft cosmology. Finally, performing a Bayesian evidence analysis we find that the examined models are certainly preferred over $Λ$CDM cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Acoustic Pornography Recognition Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Bag of Refinements

A large number of pornographic audios publicly available on the Internet seriously threaten the mental and physical health of children, but these audios are rarely detected and filtered. In this paper, we firstly propose a convolutional neural networks (CNN) based model for acoustic pornography recognition. Then, we research a collection of refinements and verify their effectiveness through ablation studies. Finally, we stack all refinements together to verify whether they can further improve the accuracy of the model. Experimental results on our newly-collected large dataset consisting of 224127 pornographic audios and 274206 normal samples demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed model and these refinements. Specifically, the proposed model achieves an accuracy of 92.46% and the accuracy is further improved to 97.19% when all refinements are combined.

cs.SD↗

arXiv2022

Do current observations support transient acceleration of our universe?

In the present article we have investigated a very natural question regarding the dynamics of the universe, namely, the possibility of its decelerating phase immediately after the present accelerating phase. To begin with, we have focused on the matter creation theory which is considered to be a viable alternative to dark energy and modified gravity models. Moreover, we have introduced the cosmographic approach which allows us to express the free parameters of a cosmological model in terms of the known cosmographic parameters. Assuming a generalized matter creation rate we have discussed the theoretical bounds on the model parameters allowing the future deceleration of the universe. Moreover, using the observational bounds on the cosmographic parameters obtained from the low redshifts observational probes, we have also examined the chance of a decelerating phase of the universe. Finally, considering a variety of known cosmological models and parametrizations, we have tested the same possibility. Our analysis shows that the chance of a future decelerating expansion of the universe is highly dependent on the choice of the cosmological models and parametrizations and also on the observational data. Even though the future decelerating expansion is allowed in some cosmological frameworks, but we do not see any strong evidence in favor of this. Perhaps, the future cosmological surveys could offer some more information regarding the fate of the universe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Minimal dark energy: key to sterile neutrino and Hubble constant tensions?

Minimal dark energy models, described by the same number of free parameters of the standard cosmological model with cold dark matter plus a cosmological constant to parameterize the dark energy component, constitute very appealing scenarios which may solve long-standing, pending tensions. On the one hand, they alleviate significantly the tension between cosmological observations and the presence of one sterile neutrino motivated by the short-baseline anomalies: we obtain a $95\%$ CL cosmological bound on the mass of a fully thermalized fourth sterile neutrino ($N_{\rm eff}=4$) equal to $m_s<0.65\ (1.3)$~eV within the PEDE (VM) scenarios under consideration. Interestingly, these limits are in agreement with the observations at short-baseline experiments, and the PEDE scenario is favored with respect to the $Λ$CDM case when the full data combination is considered. On the other hand, the Hubble tension is satisfactorily solved in almost all the minimal dark energy schemes explored here. These phenomenological scenarios may therefore shed light on differences arising from near and far universe probes, and also on discrepancies between cosmological and laboratory sterile neutrino searches.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Constraints from High-Precision Measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background: The Case of Disintegrating Dark Matter with $Λ$ or Dynamical Dark Energy

In recent years discrepancies have emerged in measurements of the present-day rate of expansion of the universe $H_0$ and in estimates of the clustering of matter $S_8$. Using the most recent cosmological observations we reexamine a novel model proposed to address these tensions, in which cold dark matter disintegrates into dark radiation. The disintegration process is controlled by its rate $Q = α\mathcal{H} ρ_{\rm ddm}$, where $α$ is a (constant) dimensionless parameter quantifying the strength of the disintegration mechanism and $\mathcal{H}$ is the conformal Hubble rate in the spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker universe and $ρ_{\rm ddm}$ is the energy density of the disintegrating cold dark matter. We constrain this model with the latest 2018 Planck temperature and polarization data, showing that there is no evidence for $α\neq 0$ and that it cannot solve the $H_0$ tension below $3σ$, clashing with the result obtained by analyzing the Planck 2015 temperature data. We also investigate two possible extensions of the model in which the dark energy equation-of-state parameter $w \neq -1$. In this case it is possible to combine Planck data with the SH0ES measurement, and we demonstrate that in both these models the $H_0$ tension is resolved at the $1σ$ level, but the condition $w \neq -1$ exacerbates the $S_8$ tension. We also demonstrate that the addition of intermediate-redshift data (from the Pantheon supernova type Ia dataset and baryon acoustic oscillations) weakens the effectiveness of all these models to address the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Dissecting the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions with Planck + BAO + supernova type Ia in multi-parameter cosmologies

The mismatch between the locally measured expansion rate of the universe and the one inferred from observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) assuming the canonical $Λ$CDM model has become the new cornerstone of modern cosmology, and many new-physics set ups are rising to the challenge. Concomitant with the so-called $H_0$ problem, there is evidence of a growing tension between the CMB-preferred value and the local determination of the weighted amplitude of matter fluctuations $S_8$. It would be appealing and compelling if both the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions were resolved at once, but as yet none of the proposed new-physics models have done so to a satisfactory degree. Herein, we adopt a systematic approach to investigate the possible interconnection among the free parameters in several classes of models that typify the main theoretical frameworks tackling the tensions on the universe expansion rate and the clustering of matter. Our calculations are carried out using the publicly available Boltzmann solver CAMB in combination with the sampler CosmoMC. We show that even after combining the leading classes of models sampling modifications of both the early and late time universe a simultaneous solution to the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions remains elusive.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

2021-$H_0$ Odyssey: Closed, Phantom and Interacting Dark Energy Cosmologies

Up-to-date cosmological data analyses have shown that \textit{(a)} a closed universe is preferred by the Planck data at more than $99\%$ CL, and \textit{(b)} interacting scenarios offer a very compelling solution to the Hubble constant tension. In light of these two recent appealing scenarios, we consider here an interacting dark matter-dark energy model with a non-zero spatial curvature component and a freely varying dark energy equation of state in both the quintessential and phantom regimes. When considering Cosmic Microwave Background data only, a phantom and closed universe can perfectly alleviate the Hubble tension, without the necessity of a coupling among the dark sectors. Accounting for other possible cosmological observations compromises the viability of this very attractive scenario as a global solution to current cosmological tensions, either by spoiling its effectiveness concerning the $H_0$ problem, as in the case of Supernovae Ia data, or by introducing a strong disagreement in the preferred value of the spatial curvature, as in the case of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Generalized Emergent Dark Energy Model and the Hubble Constant Tension

We investigate a generalized form of the phenomenologically emergent dark energy model, known as generalized emergent dark energy (GEDE), introduced by Li and Shafieloo [Astrophys. J. {\bf 902}, 58 (2020)] in light of a series of cosmological probes and considering the evolution of the model at the level of linear perturbations. This model introduces a free parameter $Δ$ that can discriminate between the $Λ$CDM (corresponds to $Δ=0$) or the phenomenologically emergent dark energy (PEDE) (corresponds to $Δ=1$) models, allowing us to determine which model is preferred most by the fit of the observational datasets. We find evidence in favor of the GEDE model for Planck alone and in combination with R19, while the Bayesian model comparison is inconclusive when Supernovae Type Ia or BAO data are included. In particular, we find that $Λ$CDM model is disfavored at more than $2σ$ CL for most of the observational datasets considered in this work and PEDE is in agreement with Planck 2018+BAO+R19 combination within $1σ$ CL.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

In the Realm of the Hubble tension $-$ a Review of Solutions

The $Λ$CDM model provides a good fit to a large span of cosmological data but harbors areas of phenomenology. With the improvement of the number and the accuracy of observations, discrepancies among key cosmological parameters of the model have emerged. The most statistically significant tension is the $4-6σ$ disagreement between predictions of the Hubble constant $H_0$ by early time probes with $Λ$CDM model, and a number of late time, model-independent determinations of $H_0$ from local measurements of distances and redshifts. The high precision and consistency of the data at both ends present strong challenges to the possible solution space and demand a hypothesis with enough rigor to explain multiple observations--whether these invoke new physics, unexpected large-scale structures or multiple, unrelated errors. We present a thorough review of the problem, including a discussion of recent Hubble constant estimates and a summary of the proposed theoretical solutions. Some of the models presented are formally successful, improving the fit to the data in light of their additional degrees of freedom, restoring agreement within $1-2σ$ between {\it Planck} 2018, using CMB power spectra data, BAO, Pantheon SN data, and R20, the latest SH0ES Team measurement of the Hubble constant ($H_0 = 73.2 \pm 1.3{\rm\,km\,s^{-1}\,Mpc^{-1}}$ at 68\% confidence level). Reduced tension might not simply come from a change in $H_0$ but also from an increase in its uncertainty due to degeneracy with additional physics, pointing to the need for additional probes. While no specific proposal makes a strong case for being highly likely or far better than all others, solutions involving early or dynamical dark energy, neutrino interactions, interacting cosmologies, primordial magnetic fields, and modified gravity provide the best options until a better alternative comes along.[Abridged]

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Touch of Neutrinos on the Vacuum Metamorphosis: is the $H_0$ Solution Back?

With the entrance of cosmology in its new era of high precision experiments, low- and high-redshift observations set off tensions in the measurements of both the present-day expansion rate ($H_0$) and the clustering of matter ($S_8$). We provide a simultaneous explanation of these tensions using the Parker-Raval Vacuum Metamorphosis (VM) model with the neutrino sector extended beyond the three massless Standard Model flavours and the curvature of the universe considered as a model parameter. To estimate the effect on cosmological observables we implement various extensions of the VM model in the standard \texttt{CosmoMC} pipeline and establish which regions of parameter space are empirically viable to resolve the $H_0$ and $S_8$ tensions. We find that the likelihood analyses of the physically motivated VM model, which has the same number of free parameters as in the spatially-flat $Λ$CDM model, always gives $H_0$ in agreement with the local measurements (even when BAO or Pantheon data are included) at the price of much larger $χ^2$ than $Λ$CDM. The inclusion of massive neutrinos and extra relativistic species quantified through two well known parameters $\sum m_ν$ and $N_{\rm eff}$, does not modify this result, and in some cases improves the goodness of the fit. In particular, for the original VM+$\sum m_ν$+$N_{\rm eff}$ and the Planck+BAO+Pantheon dataset combination, we find evidence for $\sum m_ν=0.80^{+0.18}_{-0.22}~{\rm eV}$ at more than $3σ$, no indication for extra neutrino species, $H_0=71.0\pm1.2$~km/s/Mpc in agreement with local measurements, and $S_8=0.755\pm0.032$ that solves the tension with the weak lensing measurements. [Abridged]

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations: an instrument to observe the 21cm hydrogen line in the redshift range 0.13 $<$ z $<$ 0.45 -- status update

BINGO (BAO from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations) is a unique radio telescope designed to map the intensity of neutral hydrogen distribution at cosmological distances, making the first detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the frequency band 980 MHz - 1260 MHz, corresponding to a redshift range $0.127 < z < 0.449$. BAO is one of the most powerful probes of cosmological parameters and BINGO was designed to detect the BAO signal to a level that makes it possible to put new constraints on the equation of state of dark energy. The telescope will be built in Paraíba, Brazil and consists of two $\thicksim$ 40m mirrors, a feedhorn array of 28 horns, and no moving parts, working as a drift-scan instrument. It will cover a $15^{\circ}$ declination strip centered at $\sim δ=-15^{\circ}$, mapping $\sim 5400$ square degrees in the sky. The BINGO consortium is led by University of São Paulo with co-leadership at National Institute for Space Research and Campina Grande Federal University (Brazil). Telescope subsystems have already been fabricated and tested, and the dish and structure fabrication are expected to start in late 2020, as well as the road and terrain preparation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

Theoretical and observational bounds on some interacting vacuum energy scenarios

The dynamics of interacting dark matter-dark energy models is characterized through an interaction rate function quantifying the energy flow between these dark sectors. In most of the interaction functions, the expansion rate Hubble function is considered and sometimes it is argued that, as the interaction function is a local property, the inclusion of the Hubble function may influence the overall dynamics. This is the starting point of the present article where we consider a very simple interacting cosmic scenario between vacuum energy and the cold dark matter characterized by various interaction functions originated from a general interaction function: $Q= Γρ_{c}^{α}ρ_{x}^{1-α-β}(ρ_{c}+ρ_{x})^β$, where $ρ_c$, $ρ_x$ are respectively the cold dark matter density and vacuum energy density; $α$, $β$ are real numbers and $Γ$ is the coupling parameter with dimension equal to the dimension of the Hubble rate. We investigate four distinct interacting cosmic scenarios and constrain them both theoretically and observationally. Our analyses clearly reveal that the interaction models should be carefully handled.

astro-ph.CO↗