arXiv subjects

Yvonne Y. Y. Wong

Publications and source records attributed to Yvonne Y. Y. Wong.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Neutrino mass from future high redshift galaxy surveys: sensitivity and detection threshold

We calculate the sensitivity of future cosmic microwave background probes and large scale structure measurements from galaxy redshift surveys to the neutrino mass. We find that, for minimal models with few parameters, a measurement of the matter power spectrum over a large range of redshifts has more constraining power than a single measurement at low redshifts. However, this improvement in sensitivity does not extend to larger models. We also quantify how the non-Gaussian nature of the posterior distribution function with respect to the individual cosmological parameter influences such quantities as the sensitivity and the detection threshold. For realistic assumptions about future large scale structure data, the minimum detectable neutrino mass at 95 % C.L. is about 0.05 eV in the context of a minimal 8-parameter cosmological model. In a more general model framework, however, the detection threshold can increase by as much as a factor of three.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Cosmological constraints on neutrino plus axion hot dark matter

We use observations of the cosmological large-scale structure to derive limits on two-component hot dark matter consisting of mass-degenerate neutrinos and hadronic axions, both components having velocity dispersions corresponding to their respective decoupling temperatures. We restrict the data samples to the safely linear regime, in particular excluding the Lyman-alpha forest. Using standard Bayesian inference techniques we derive credible regions in the two-parameter space of m_a and sum(m_nu). Marginalising over sum(m_nu) provides m_a < 1.2 eV (95% C.L.). In the absence of axions the same data and methods give sum(m_nu) < 0.65 eV (95% C.L.). We also derive limits on m_a for a range of axion-pion couplings up to one order of magnitude larger or smaller than the hadronic value.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

How robust are inflation model and dark matter constraints from cosmological data?

High-precision data from observation of the cosmic microwave background and the large scale structure of the universe provide very tight constraints on the effective parameters that describe cosmological inflation. Indeed, within a constrained class of LambdaCDM models, the simple lambda phi^4 chaotic inflation model already appears to be ruled out by cosmological data. In this paper, we compute constraints on inflationary parameters within a more general framework that includes other physically motivated parameters such as a nonzero neutrino mass. We find that a strong degeneracy between the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and the neutrino mass prevents lambda phi^4 from being excluded by present data. Reversing the argument, if lambda phi^4 is the correct model of inflation, it predicts a sum of neutrino masses at 0.3-0.5 eV, a range compatible with present experimental limits and within the reach of the next generation of neutrino mass measurements. We also discuss the associated constraints on the dark matter density, the dark energy equation of state, and spatial curvature, and show that the allowed regions are significantly altered. Importantly, we find an allowed range of 0.094 < Omega_c h^2 < 0.136 for the dark matter density, a factor of two larger than that reported in previous studies. This expanded parameter space may have implications for constraints on SUSY dark matter models.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Measuring neutrino masses and dark energy with weak lensing tomography

Surveys of weak gravitational lensing of distant galaxies will be one of the key cosmological probes in the future. We study the ability of such surveys to constrain neutrino masses and the equation of state parameter of the dark energy, focussing on how tomographic information can improve the sensitivity to these parameters. We also provide a detailed discussion of systematic effects pertinent to weak lensing surveys, and the possible degradation of sensitivity to cosmological parameters due to these effects. For future probes such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope survey, we find that, when combined with cosmic microwave background data from the Planck satellite, a sensitivity to neutrino masses of sigma(sum m_nu) < 0.05 eV can be reached. This results is robust against variations in the running of the scalar spectral index, the time-dependence of dark energy equation of state, and/or the number of relativistic degrees of freedom.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2006

Probing cosmological parameters with the CMB: Forecasts from full Monte Carlo simulations

The Fisher matrix formalism has in recent times become the standard method for predicting the precision with which various cosmological parameters can be extracted from future data. This approach is fast, and generally returns accurate estimates for the parameter errors when the individual parameter likelihoods approximate a Gaussian distribution. However, where Gaussianity is not respected (due, for instance, to strong parameter degeneracies), the Fisher matrix formalism loses its reliability. In this paper, we compare the results of the Fisher matrix approach with those from Monte Carlo simulations. The latter method is based on the publicly available CosmoMC code, but uses synthetic realisations of data sets anticipated for future experiments. We focus on prospective cosmic microwave background (CMB) data from the Planck satellite, with or without CMB lensing information, and its implications for a minimal cosmological scenario with eight parameters and an extended model with eleven parameters. We show that in many cases, the projected sensitivities from the Fisher matrix and the Monte Carlo methods differ significantly, particularly in models with many parameters. Sensitivities to the neutrino mass and the dark matter fraction are especially susceptible to change.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Cosmological Lepton Asymmetry, Primordial Nucleosynthesis, and Sterile Neutrinos

We study post weak decoupling coherent active-sterile and active-active matter-enhanced neutrino flavor transformation in the early universe. We show that flavor conversion efficiency at Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonances is likely to be high (adiabatic evolution) for relevant neutrino parameters and energies. However, we point out that these resonances cannot sweep smoothly and continuously with the expansion of the universe. We show how neutrino flavor conversion in this way can leave both the active and sterile neutrinos with non-thermal energy spectra, and how, in turn, these distorted energy spectra can affect the neutron-to-proton ratio, primordial nucleosynthesis, and cosmological mass/closure constraints on sterile neutrinos. We demonstrate that the existence of a light sterile neutrino which mixes with active neutrinos can change fundamentally the relationship between the cosmological lepton numbers and the primordial nucleosynthesis He-4 yield.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Z-bursts from the Virgo cluster

Resonant annihilation of ultra-high energy cosmic neutrinos (UHECnu) on the cosmic neutrino background (CnuB) into Z bosons--the Z-burst mechanism--and its associated absorption and emission phenomenology provide a unique, albeit indirect, probe of the CnuB in its present state. In this paper, we examine the implications of gravitational clustering of the CnuB in nearby galaxy clusters for the Z-burst phenomenology. In particular, we study the emission features of the Z-decay products originating from the Virgo cluster, and the potential of future cosmic ray experiments to observe clustering-enhanced Z-burst rates. We find that a detector with an exposure equivalent to three years of observations at the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) will very likely measure these enhanced rates together with the associated UHECnu flux, provided that the latter saturates current observational limits and the neutrino masses are quasi-degenerate, m_nu_i < 0.1 eV. In the case of UHECnu fluxes below the electromagnetic cascade limit, or a hierarchical neutrino mass spectrum, an experimental sensitivity exceeding that of EUSO by at least two orders of magnitude is required to detect the clustering enhancements with any certainty.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Is it possible to tell the difference between fermionic and bosonic hot dark matter?

We study the difference between thermally produced fermionic and bosonic hot dark matter in detail. In the linear regime of structure formation, their distinct free-streaming behaviours can lead to pronounced differences in the matter power spectrum. While not detectable with current cosmological data, such differences will be clearly observable with upcoming large scale weak lensing surveys for particles as light as m_HDM ~ 0.2 eV. In the nonlinear regime, bosonic hot dark matter is not subject to the same phase space constraints that severely limit the amount of fermionic hot dark matter infall into cold dark matter halos. Consequently, the overdensities in fermionic and bosonic hot dark matter of equal particle mass can differ by more than a factor of five in the central part of a halo. However, this unique manifestation of quantum statistics may prove very difficult to detect unless the mass of the hot dark matter particle and its decoupling temperature fall within a very narrow window, 1 < m_HDM/eV < 4 and g* < 30. In this case, hot dark matter infall may have some observable consequences for the nonlinear power spectrum and hence the weak lensing convergence power spectrum at l ~ 10^3 - 10^4 at the percent level.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Relic neutrino clustering and implications for their detection

We study the gravitational clustering of big bang relic neutrinos onto existing cold dark matter and baryonic structures within the flat $Λ$CDM model. We then discuss the implications of clustering for scattering-based relic neutrino detection methods, ranging from flux detection via Cavendish-type torsion balances, to target detection using accelerator beams and cosmic rays.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2004

Gravitational clustering of relic neutrinos and implications for their detection

We study the gravitational clustering of big bang relic neutrinos onto existing cold dark matter (CDM) and baryonic structures within the flat $Λ$CDM model, using both numerical simulations and a semi-analytical linear technique, with the aim of understanding the neutrinos' clustering properties for direct detection purposes. In a comparative analysis, we find that the linear technique systematically underestimates the amount of clustering for a wide range of CDM halo and neutrino masses. This invalidates earlier claims of the technique's applicability. We then compute the exact phase space distribution of relic neutrinos in our neighbourhood at Earth, and estimate the large scale neutrino density contrasts within the local Greisen--Zatsepin--Kuzmin zone. With these findings, we discuss the implications of gravitational neutrino clustering for scattering-based detection methods, ranging from flux detection via Cavendish-type torsion balances, to target detection using accelerator beams and cosmic rays. For emission spectroscopy via resonant annihilation of extremely energetic cosmic neutrinos on the relic neutrino background, we give new estimates for the expected enhancement in the event rates in the direction of the Virgo cluster.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

State permutations from manipulation of near level-crossings

We discuss some systematic methods for implementing state manipulations in systems formally similar to chains of a few spins with nearest-neighbor interactions, arranged such that there are strong and weak scales of coupling links. States are permuted by means of bias potentials applied to a few selected sites. This generic structure is then related to an atoms-in-a-cavity model that has been proposed in the literature as a way of achieving a decoherence free subspace. A new method using adiabatically varying laser detuning to implement a CNOT gate in this model is proposed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

T-violation in flavour oscillations as a test for relativity principles at a neutrino factory

We study the effects of violation of the equivalence principle (VEP) or violation of Lorentz invariance (LIV) in the neutrino sector on the asymmetry between T-conjugate oscillation probabilities, $ΔP_T \equiv P(ν_α \to ν_β) - P(ν_β \to ν_α)$, in a three-flavour framework. We find that additional mixing due to these mechanisms, while obeying all present bounds, can lead to an observable enhancement, suppression, and/or sign change in $ΔP_T$ for the preferred energies and baselines of a neutrino factory. The measurement of this asymmetry can be used to establish a new upper limit of order $10^{-26}$ on VEP or LIV in the $(ν_e, ν_μ)$ and $(ν_e, ν_τ)$ sectors.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2003

Application of Padé interpolation to stationary state problems

If the small and large coupling behavior of a physical system can be computed perturbatively and expressed respectively as power series in a coupling parameter $g$ and $1/g$, a Padé approximant embracing the two series can interpolate between these two limits and provide an accurate estimate of the system's behavior in the generally intractable intermediate coupling regime. The methodology and validity of this approach are illustrated by considering several stationary state problems in quantum mechanics.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2003

T-violation tests for relativity principles

We consider the implications of a violation of the equivalence principle or of Lorentz invariance in the neutrino sector for the T-asymmetry $ΔP_T \equiv P(ν_α \to ν_β) - P(ν_β \to ν_α)$ in a three-flavour framework. We find that additional mixing due to these mechanisms, while obeying all present bounds, can lead to a substantial enhancement, suppression, and/or sign change in $ΔP_T$ for the preferred energies and baselines of a neutrino factory. This in turn allows for the possibility of improving existing constraints by several orders of magnitude.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Synchronised neutrino oscillations from self interaction and associated applications

A recent revival of interest in synchronised oscillations due to neutrino--neutrino forward scattering in dense gases has led to two interesting applications with notable outcomes: (i) cosmological bounds on neutrino--antineutrino asymmetries are improved owing to flavour equilibration prior to the onset of big bang nucleosynthesis, and (ii) a neutron-rich environment required for $r$-process nucleosynthesis is shown to be always maintained in a supernova hot bubble irrespective of flavour oscillations, contrary to results from previous studies. I present in this talk a pedagogical review of these works.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Analytical treatment of neutrino asymmetry equilibration from flavour oscillations in the early universe

A recent numerical study by A. D. Dolgov, S. H. Hansen, S. Pastor, S. T. Petcov, G. G. Raffelt, and D. V. Semikoz (DHPPRS) [hep-ph/0201287] found that complete or partial equilibrium between all active neutrino flavours can be achieved before the big bang nucleosynthesis epoch via flavour oscillations, if the oscillation parameters are those inferred from the atmospheric and solar neutrino data, and, in some cases, if $θ_{13}$ is also sizeable. As such, cosmological constraints on the electron neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry are now applicable in all three neutrino sectors. In the present work, we provide an analytical treatment of the scenarios considered in DHPPRS, and demonstrate that their results are stable even for very large initial asymmetries. The equilibration mechanism can be understood in terms of an MSW-like effect for a maximally mixed and effectively monochromatic system. We also comment on DHPPRS's choices of mixing parameters, and their handling of collisional effects, both of which could impinge on the extent of flavour equilibrium.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2002

Generation of entangled states and error protection from adiabatic avoided level crossings

We consider the environment-affected dynamics of $N$ self-interacting particles living in one-dimensional double wells. Two topics are dealt with. First, we consider the production of entangled states of two-level systems. We show that by adiabatically varying the well biases we may dynamically generate maximally entangled states, starting from initially unentangled product states. Entanglement degradation due to a common type of environmental influence is then computed by solving a master equation. However, we also demonstrate that entanglement production is unaffected if the system-environment coupling is of the type that induces ``motional narrowing''. As our second but related topic, we construct a different master equation that seamlessly merges error protection/detection dynamics for quantum information with the environmental couplings responsible for producing the errors in the first place. Adiabatic avoided crossing schemes are used in both topics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2000

Relic neutrino asymmetry generation from $ν_α- ν_s$ oscillations

Active--sterile neutrino oscillations provide a mechanism by which large differences in the neutrino and antineutrino number densities can be created in the early universe. The quantum kinetic equations are employed in the study of these asymmetries, which, when solved analytically in the adiabatic limit, generate physically transparent evolution equations that are very useful for the understanding of the nature of the asymmetry growth.

hep-ph↗