No Arabic abstract
We study soft limits of correlation functions for the density and velocity fields in the theory of structure formation. First, we re-derive the (resummed) consistency conditions at unequal times using the eikonal approximation. These are solely based on symmetry arguments and are therefore universal. Then, we explore the existence of equal-time relations in the soft limit which, on the other hand, depend on the interplay between soft and hard modes. We scrutinize two approaches in the literature: The time-flow formalism, and a background method where the soft mode is absorbed into a locally curved cosmology. The latter has been recently used to set up (angular averaged) `equal-time consistency relations. We explicitly demonstrate that the time-flow relations and `equal-time consistency conditions are only fulfilled at the linear level, and fail at next-to-leading order for an Einstein de-Sitter universe. While applied to the velocities both proposals break down beyond leading order, we find that the `equal-time consistency conditions quantitatively approximates the perturbative results for the density contrast. Thus, we generalize the background method to properly incorporate the effect of curvature in the density and velocity fluctuations on short scales, and discuss the reasons behind this discrepancy. We conclude with a few comments on practical implementations and future directions.
We derive a non-perturbative equation for the large scale structure power spectrum of long-wavelength modes. Thereby, we use an operator product expansion together with relations between the three-point function and power spectrum in the soft limit. The resulting equation encodes the coupling to ultraviolet (UV) modes in two time-dependent coefficients, which may be obtained from response functions to (anisotropic) parameters, such as spatial curvature, in a modified cosmology. We argue that both depend weakly on fluctuations deep in the UV. As a byproduct, this implies that the renormalized leading order coefficient(s) in the effective field theory (EFT) of large scale structures receive most of their contribution from modes close to the non-linear scale. Consequently, the UV dependence found in explicit computations within standard perturbation theory stems mostly from counter-term(s). We confront a simplified version of our non-perturbative equation against existent numerical simulations, and find good agreement within the expected uncertainties. Our approach can in principle be used to precisely infer the relevance of the leading order EFT coefficient(s) using small volume simulations in an `anisotropic separate universe framework. Our results suggest that the importance of these coefficient(s) is a $sim 10 %$ effect, and plausibly smaller.
The statistics of primordial curvature fluctuations are our window into the period of inflation, where these fluctuations were generated. To date, the cosmic microwave background has been the dominant source of information about these perturbations. Large scale structure is however from where drastic improvements should originate. In this paper, we explain the theoretical motivations for pursuing such measurements and the challenges that lie ahead. In particular, we discuss and identify theoretical targets regarding the measurement of primordial non-Gaussianity. We argue that when quantified in terms of the local (equilateral) template amplitude $f_{rm NL}^{rm loc}$ ($f_{rm NL}^{rm eq}$), natural target levels of sensitivity are $Delta f_{rm NL}^{rm loc, eq.} simeq 1$. We highlight that such levels are within reach of future surveys by measuring 2-, 3- and 4-point statistics of the galaxy spatial distribution. This paper summarizes a workshop held at CITA (University of Toronto) on October 23-24, 2014.
Magnetic fields are everywhere in nature and they play an important role in every astronomical environment which involves the formation of plasma and currents. It is natural therefore to suppose that magnetic fields could be present in the turbulent high temperature environment of the big bang. Such a primordial magnetic field (PMF) would be expected to manifest itself in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and polarization anisotropies, and also in the formation of large- scale structure. In this review we summarize the theoretical framework which we have developed to calculate the PMF power spectrum to high precision. Using this formulation, we summarize calculations of the effects of a PMF which take accurate quantitative account of the time evolution of the cut off scale. We review the constructed numerical program, which is without approximation, and an improvement over the approach used in a number of previous works for studying the effect of the PMF on the cosmological perturbations. We demonstrate how the PMF is an important cosmological physical process on small scales. We also summarize the current constraints on the PMF amplitude $B_lambda$ and the power spectral index $n_B$ which have been deduced from the available CMB observational data by using our computational framework.
Cosmological perturbations of sufficiently long wavelength admit a fluid dynamic description. We consider modes with wavevectors below a scale $k_m$ for which the dynamics is only mildly non-linear. The leading effect of modes above that scale can be accounted for by effective non-equilibrium viscosity and pressure terms. For mildly non-linear scales, these mainly arise from momentum transport within the ideal and cold but inhomogeneous fluid, while momentum transport due to more microscopic degrees of freedom is suppressed. As a consequence, concrete expressions with no free parameters, except the matching scale $k_m$, can be derived from matching evolution equations to standard cosmological perturbation theory. Two-loop calculations of the matter power spectrum in the viscous theory lead to excellent agreement with $N$-body simulations up to scales $k=0.2 , h/$Mpc. The convergence properties in the ultraviolet are better than for standard perturbation theory and the results are robust with respect to variations of the matching scale.
We study the interaction of an electrically charged component of the dark matter with a magnetized galactic interstellar medium (ISM) of (rotating) spiral galaxies. For the observed ordered component of the field, $Bsim mu$G, we find that the accumulated Lorentz interactions between the charged particles and the ISM will extract an order unity fraction of the disk angular momentum over the few Gyr Galactic lifetime unless $q/e lesssim 10^{-13pm 1},m,c^2/$ GeV if all the dark matter is charged. The bound is weakened by factor $f_{rm qdm}^{-1/2}$ if only a mass fraction $f_{rm qdm}gtrsim0.13$ of the dark matter is charged. Here $q$ and $m$ are the dark matter particle mass and charge. If $f_{rm qdm}approx1$ this bound excludes charged dark matter produced via the freeze-in mechanism for $m lesssim$ TeV/$c^2$. This bound on $q/m$, obtained from Milky Way parameters, is rough and not based on any precise empirical test. However this bound is extremely strong and should motivate further work to better model the interaction of charged dark matter with ordered and disordered magnetic fields in galaxies and clusters of galaxies; to develop precise tests for the presence of charged dark matter based on better estimates of angular momentum exchange; and also to better understand how charged dark matter might modify the growth of magnetic fields, and the formation and interaction histories of galaxies, galaxy groups, and clusters.