arXiv subjects

William Giarè

Publications and source records attributed to William Giarè.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

New insights on $ν$-DM Interactions

We revisit the possibility of using cosmological observations to constrain models that involve interactions between neutrinos and dark matter. We show that small-scale measurements of the cosmic microwave background with a few per cent accuracy are critical to uncover unique signatures from models with tiny couplings that would require a much higher sensitivity at lower multipoles, such as those probed by the Planck satellite. We analyze the high-multipole data released by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, both independently and in combination with Planck and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements, finding a compelling preference for a non-vanishing coupling, $\log_{10}u_{ν\textrm{DM}}=-5.20^{+1.2}_{-0.74}$ at 68% CL. This aligns with other CMB-independent probes, such as Lyman-$α$. We illustrate how this coupling could be accounted for in the presence of dark matter interactions with a sterile neutrino.

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arXiv2023

Impact of the damping tail on neutrino mass constraints

Model-independent mass limits assess the robustness of current cosmological measurements of the neutrino mass scale. Consistency between high-multipole and low-multiple Cosmic Microwave Background observations measuring such scale further valuate the constraining power of present data. We derive here up-to-date limits on neutrino masses and abundances exploiting either the Data Release 4 of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) or the South Pole Telescope polarization measurements from SPT-3G, envisaging different non-minimal background cosmologies and marginalizing over them. By combining these high-$\ell$ observations with Supernova Ia, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO), Redshift Space Distortions (RSD) and a prior on the reionization optical depth from WMAP data, we find that the marginalized bounds are competitive with those from Planck analyses. We obtain $\sum m_ν<0.139$ eV and $N_{\textrm{eff}}= 2.82\pm 0.25$ in a dark energy quintessence scenario, both at $95\%$ CL. These limits translate into $\sum m_ν<0.20$ eV and $N_{\textrm{eff}}= 2.79^{+0.30}_{-0.28}$ after marginalizing over a plethora of well-motivated fiducial models. Our findings reassess both the strength and the reliability of cosmological neutrino mass constraints.

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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.

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arXiv2023

Extended Analysis of Neutrino-Dark Matter Interactions with Small-Scale CMB Experiments

We explore an extension of the standard $Λ$CDM model by including an interaction between neutrinos and dark matter, and making use of the ground based telescope data of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). An indication for a non-zero coupling between dark matter and neutrinos (both assuming a temperature independent and $T^2$ dependent cross-section) is obtained at the 1$σ$ level coming from the ACT CMB data alone and when combined with the Planck CMB and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) measurements. This result is confirmed by both fixing the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom in the early Universe to the Standard Model value of $N_{\rm eff}=3.044$, and allowing $N_{\rm eff}$ to be a free cosmological parameter. Furthermore, when performing a Bayesian model comparison, the interacting $ν$DM (+$N_{\rm eff}$) scenario is mostly preferred over a baseline $Λ$CDM (+$N_{\rm eff}$) cosmology. The preferred value is then used as a benchmark and the potential implications of dark matter's interaction with a sterile neutrino are discussed.

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arXiv2023

A Consistent View of Interacting Dark Energy from Multiple CMB Probes

We analyze a cosmological model featuring an interaction between dark energy and dark matter in light of the measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background released by three independent experiments: the most recent data by the Planck satellite and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope, and WMAP (9-year data). We show that different combinations of the datasets provide similar results, always favoring an interacting dark sector with a $95\%$~CL significance in the majority of the cases. Remarkably, such a preference remains consistent when cross-checked through independent probes, while always yielding a value of the expansion rate $H_0$ consistent with the local distance ladder measurements. We investigate the source of this preference by scrutinizing the angular power spectra of temperature and polarization anisotropies as measured by different experiments.

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arXiv2023

CMB Anomalies and the Hubble Tension

The standard $Λ$CDM model of cosmology is largely successful in describing many observations, including precise measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation. However, some intriguing anomalies remain currently unexplained within this theoretical framework. Such discrepancies can be broadly categorized into two groups: those involving CMB-independent probes and those within different CMB experiments. Examples of the former category include the $H_0$-tension between the value of the present-day expansion rate of the Universe inferred by CMB observations and local distance ladder measurements. The latter category involves anomalies between the values of cosmological parameters obtained by different CMB experiments, as well as their consistency with the predictions of $Λ$CDM. In this chapter, we primarily focus on this second category and study the agreement among the most recent CMB measurements to acquire a better understanding of the limitations and uncertainties underlying both the current data and the cosmological model. Finally, we discuss the implications for the $H_0$-tension.

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arXiv2023

Exploring the $H_0$ tension and the evidence of dark sector interaction from 2D BAO measurements

We explore observational constraints on a cosmological model with an interaction between dark energy (DE) and dark matter (DM), using a compilation of 15 measurements of the 2D BAO (i.e., transversal) scale in combination with Planck-CMB data, to explore the parametric space of a class of interacting DE models. We find that 2D BAO measurements can generate different observational constraints compared to the traditional approach of studying the matter clustering in the 3D BAO measurements. Contrary to the observations for the $Λ$CDM and IDE models when analyzed with Planck-CMB + 3D BAO data, we note that Planck-CMB + 2D BAO data favor high values of the Hubble constant $H_0$. From the joint analysis with Planck-CMB + 2D BAO + Gaussian prior on $H_0$, we find $H_0 = 73.4 \pm 0.88$ km/s/Mpc. We conclude that the $H_0$ tension is solved in the IDE model with strong statistical evidence (more than 3$σ$) for the IDE cosmologies.

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arXiv2023

A novel model-marginalized cosmological bound on the QCD axion mass

We present model-marginalized limits on mixed hot dark matter scenarios, which consider both thermal neutrinos and thermal QCD axions. A novel aspect of our analyses is the inclusion of small-scale Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT), together with those from the Planck satellite and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) data. After marginalizing over a number of well-motivated non-minimal background cosmologies, the tightest $95\%$ CL upper bound we obtain is $0.21$ eV, both for $\sum m_ν$ and $m_{\rm a}$, from the combination of ACT, Planck and BAO measurements. Restricting the analyses to the standard $Λ$CDM picture, we find $\sum m_ν<0.16$ eV and $m_{\rm a}<0.18$ eV, both at $95\%$ CL. Interestingly, the best background cosmology is never found within the minimal $Λ$CDM plus hot relics, regardless of the data sets exploited in the analyses. The combination of Planck with either BAO, SPT or ACT prefers a universe with a non-zero value of the running in the primordial power spectrum with strong evidence. Small-scale CMB probes, both alone and combined with BAO, either prefer, with substantial evidence, non-flat universes (as in the case of SPT) or a model with a time varying dark energy component (as in the case of ACT).

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arXiv2023

Is the Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum coming back? ACT preference for $n_s \sim 1$ and its discordance with Planck

The Data Release 4 of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) shows an agreement with an Harrison-Zel'dovich primordial spectrum ($n_s=1.009 \pm 0.015$), introducing a tension with a significance of $99.3\%$ CL with the results from the Planck satellite. The discrepancy on the value of the scalar spectral index is neither alleviated with the addition of large scale structure information nor with the low multipole polarization data. We discuss possible avenues to alleviate the tension relying on either neglecting polarization measurements from ACT or in extending different sectors of the theory.

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arXiv2023

Towards a reliable calculation of relic radiation from primordial gravitational waves

Inflationary gravitational waves, behaving as additional radiation in the Early Universe, can increase the effective number of relativistic species ($N_{\rm eff}$) by a further correction that depends on the integrated energy-density in gravitational waves over all scales. This effect is typically used to constrain (blue-tilted) models of inflation in light of the bounds resulting from the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. In this paper, we recompute this contribution, discussing some caveats of the state-of-the-art analyses. Through a parametric investigation, we first demonstrate that the calculation is dominated by the ultraviolet frequencies of the integral and therefore by the behavior of the tensor spectrum on scales corresponding to modes that cross the horizon very close to the end of inflation, when the slow-roll dynamics breaks down and the production of gravitational waves becomes strongly model dependent. Motivated by these results, we realize a theoretical Monte Carlo and, working within the framework of the Effective Field Theory of inflation, we investigate the observable predictions of a very broad class of models. For each model, we solve a system of coupled differential equations whose solution completely specifies the evolution of the spectrum up to the end of inflation. We prove the calculation of $ΔN_{\rm eff}^{\rm GW}$ to be remarkably model-dependent and therefore conclude that accurate analyses are needed to infer reliable information on the inflationary Universe.

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arXiv2023

Quantifying the global "CMB tension" between the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Planck satellite in extended models of cosmology

We study the global agreement between the most recent observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature and polarization anisotropies angular power spectra released by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Planck satellite in various cosmological models that differ by the inclusion of different combinations of additional parameters. By using the Suspiciousness statistic, we show that the global "CMB tension" between the two experiments, quantified at the Gaussian equivalent level of $\sim 2.5\,σ$ within the baseline $Λ$CDM, is reduced at the level of $1.8σ$ when the effective number of relativistic particles ($N_{\rm eff}$) is significantly less than the standard value, while it ranges between $2.3\,σ$ and $3.5\,σ$ in all the other extended models.

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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.

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arXiv2022

Health checkup test of the standard cosmological model in view of recent Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies experiments

We present an updated data-analysis comparison of the most recent observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature anisotropies and polarization angular power spectra released by four different experiments: the Planck satellite on one side, and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACTPol) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT-3G), combined with the WMAP satellite 9-years observation data in order to be "Planck-independent" on the other side. We investigate in a systematic way 8 extended cosmological models that differ from the baseline $Λ$CDM case by the inclusion of many different combinations of additional degrees of freedom, with the aim of finding a viable minimal extended model that can bring all the CMB experiments in agreement. Our analysis provides several hints for anomalies in the CMB angular power spectra in tension with the standard cosmological model that persist even in these multi-parameter spaces. This indicates that either significant unaccounted-for systematics in the CMB data are producing biased results or that $Λ$CDM is an incorrect/incomplete description of Nature. We conclude that only future independent high-precision CMB temperature and polarization measurements could provide a definitive answer.

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arXiv2022

Cosmological Bound on the QCD Axion Mass, Redux

We revisit the joint constraints in the mixed hot dark matter scenario in which both thermally produced QCD axions and relic neutrinos are present. Upon recomputing the cosmological axion abundance via recent advances in the literature, we improve the state-of-the-art analyses and provide updated bounds on axion and neutrino masses. By avoiding approximate methods, such as the instantaneous decoupling approximation, and limitations due to the limited validity of the perturbative approach in QCD that forced to artificially divide the constraints from the axion-pion and the axion-gluon production channels, we find robust and self-consistent limits. We investigate the two most popular axion frameworks: KSVZ and DFSZ. From Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) light element abundances data we find for the KSVZ axion $ΔN_{\rm eff}<0.31$ and an axion mass bound $m_a < 0.53 $ eV (i.e., a bound on the axion decay constant $f_a > 1.07 \times 10^7$ GeV) both at $95\%$ CL. These BBN bounds are improved to $ΔN_{\rm eff}<0.14$ and $m_a< 0.16$ eV ($f_a > 3.56 \times 10^7$ GeV) if a prior on the baryon energy density from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data is assumed. When instead considering cosmological observations from the CMB temperature, polarization and lensing from the Planck satellite combined with large scale structure data we find $ΔN_{\rm eff}<0.23$, $m_a< 0.28$ eV ($f_a > 2.02 \times 10^7$ GeV) and $\sum m_ν< 0.16$ eV at $95\%$ CL. This corresponds approximately to a factor of $5$ improvement in the axion mass bound with respect to the existing limits. Very similar results are obtained for the DFSZ axion. We also forecast upcoming observations from future CMB and galaxy surveys, showing that they could reach percent level errors for $m_a\sim 1$ eV.

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arXiv2022

The resilience of the Etherington-Hubble relation

The Etherington reciprocity theorem, or distance duality relation (DDR), relates the mutual scaling of cosmic distances in any metric theory of gravity where photons are massless and propagate on null geodesics. In this paper, we make use of the DDR to build a consistency check based on its degeneracy with the Hubble constant, $H_0$. We parameterise the DDR using the form $η(z) = 1+ εz$, thus only allowing small deviations from its standard value. We use a combination of late time observational data to provide the first joint constraints on the Hubble parameter and $ε$ with percentage accuracy: $H_0 = 68.6 \pm 2.5$ kms$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$ and $ε= 0.001^{+0.023}_{-0.026}$. We build our consistency check using these constraints and compare them with the results obtained in extended cosmological models using cosmic microwave background data. We find that extensions to $Λ$CDM involving massive neutrinos and/or additional dark radiation are in perfect agreement with the DDR, while models with non-zero spatial curvature show a preference for DDR violation, i.e., $ε\ne 0 $ at the level of $\sim 1.5 σ$. Most importantly, we find a mild 2$σ$ discrepancy between the validity of the DDR and the latest publicly available Cepheid-calibrated SNIa constraint on $H_0$. We discuss the potential consequences of this for both the Etherington reciprocity theorem and the $H_0$ tension.

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arXiv2022

Cosmology Intertwined: A Review of the Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Associated with the Cosmological Tensions and Anomalies

In this paper we will list a few important goals that need to be addressed in the next decade, also taking into account the current discordances between the different cosmological probes, such as the disagreement in the value of the Hubble constant $H_0$, the $σ_8$--$S_8$ tension, and other less statistically significant anomalies. While these discordances can still be in part the result of systematic errors, their persistence after several years of accurate analysis strongly hints at cracks in the standard cosmological scenario and the necessity for new physics or generalisations beyond the standard model. In this paper, we focus on the $5.0\,σ$ tension between the {\it Planck} CMB estimate of the Hubble constant $H_0$ and the SH0ES collaboration measurements. After showing the $H_0$ evaluations made from different teams using different methods and geometric calibrations, we list a few interesting new physics models that could alleviate this tension and discuss how the next decade's experiments will be crucial. Moreover, we focus on the tension of the {\it Planck} CMB data with weak lensing measurements and redshift surveys, about the value of the matter energy density $Ω_m$, and the amplitude or rate of the growth of structure ($σ_8,fσ_8$). We list a few interesting models proposed for alleviating this tension, and we discuss the importance of trying to fit a full array of data with a single model and not just one parameter at a time. Additionally, we present a wide range of other less discussed anomalies at a statistical significance level lower than the $H_0$--$S_8$ tensions which may also constitute hints towards new physics, and we discuss possible generic theoretical approaches that can collectively explain the non-standard nature of these signals.[Abridged]

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arXiv2022

Cosmological forecasts on thermal axions, relic neutrinos and light elements

One of the targets of future Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryon Acoustic Oscillation measurements is to improve the current accuracy in the neutrino sector and reach a much better sensitivity on extra dark radiation in the Early Universe. In this paper we study how these improvements can be translated into constraining power for well motivated extensions of the Standard Model of elementary particles that involve axions thermalized before the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) phase transition by scatterings with gluons. Assuming a fiducial $Λ$CDM cosmological model, we simulate future data for Stage-IV CMB-like and Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI)-like surveys and analyze a mixed scenario of axion and neutrino hot dark matter. We further account also for the effects of these QCD axions on the light element abundances predicted by Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. The most constraining forecasted limits on the hot relic masses are $m_{\rm a} \lesssim 0.92$ eV and $\sum m_ν\lesssim 0.12$ eV at 95 per cent Confidence Level, showing that future cosmic observations can substantially improve the current bounds, supporting multi-messenger analyses of axion, neutrino and primordial light element properties.

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arXiv2021

Cosmological constraints on slow-roll inflation: an update

In light of the most recent cosmological observations, we provide new updated constraints on the slow-roll inflation in different extended scenarios beyond the $Λ\rm{CDM}$ cosmological model. Along with the usual six parameters, we simultaneously vary different combinations of additional parameters, including the running of the scalar spectral index $α_s$, its running of running $β_s$, the tensor amplitude $r$ and the spatial curvature $Ω_k$. From the Planck 2018 data, we find no evidence for a scalar running or a running of running, while analyzing the Atacama Cosmology Telescope data combined with WMAP 9-years observations data we find a preference for non-zero $α_s$ and $β_s$ at the level of 2.9$σ$ and 2.7$σ$, respectively. Anyway, this preference is reduced when the tensor amplitude can vary in the model or $β_s$ is fixed to zero. The upper bound on $r$ is only slightly affected by the additional parameters while the differences in the datasets can remarkably change the compatibility among the different inflationary models, sometimes leading to discordant conclusions.

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