No Arabic abstract
Based on the dynamics of single scalar field slow-roll inflation and the theory of reheating, we investigate the generalized natural inflationary (GNI) model. Concretely, we give constraints on the scalar spectral index $n_{s}$ and tensor-to scalar ratio $r$ for $Lambda$CDM $+r$ model according to the latest data from Plack 2018 TT,TE,EE+lowE+lensing (P18) and BICEP2/Keck 2015 season (BK15), i.e., $n_{s}=0.9659pm0.0044$ at $68%$ confidence level (CL) and $r<0.0623$ at $95%$CL. We find that the GNI model is favored by P18 plus BK15 in the ranges of $log_{10}(f/M_{p})=0.62^{+0.17}_{-0.18}$ and $m=0.35^{+0.13}_{-0.23}$ at $68%$CL. In addition, the corresponding predictions of the general and two-phase reheating are respectively discussed. It follows that the parameter $m$ has the significant effect on the model behaviors.
We calculate high-precision constraints on Natural Inflation relative to current observational constraints from Planck 2018 + BICEP/Keck(BK15) Polarization + BAO on $r$ and $n_S$, including post-inflationary history of the universe. We find that, for conventional post-inflationary dynamics, Natural Inflation with a cosine potential is disfavored at greater than 95% confidence out by current data. If we assume protracted reheating characterized by $overline{w}>1/3,$ Natural Inflation can be brought into agreement with current observational constraints. However, bringing unmodified Natural Inflation into the 68% confidence region requires values of $T_{mathrm{re}}$ below the scale of electroweak symmetry breaking. The addition of a SHOES prior on the Hubble Constant $H_0$ only worsens the fit.
We report on the implications for cosmic inflation of the 2018 Release of the Planck CMB anisotropy measurements. The results are fully consistent with the two previous Planck cosmological releases, but have smaller uncertainties thanks to improvements in the characterization of polarization at low and high multipoles. Planck temperature, polarization, and lensing data determine the spectral index of scalar perturbations to be $n_mathrm{s}=0.9649pm 0.0042$ at 68% CL and show no evidence for a scale dependence of $n_mathrm{s}.$ Spatial flatness is confirmed at a precision of 0.4% at 95% CL with the combination with BAO data. The Planck 95% CL upper limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r_{0.002}<0.10$, is further tightened by combining with the BICEP2/Keck Array BK15 data to obtain $r_{0.002}<0.056$. In the framework of single-field inflationary models with Einstein gravity, these results imply that: (a) slow-roll models with a concave potential, $V (phi) < 0,$ are increasingly favoured by the data; and (b) two different methods for reconstructing the inflaton potential find no evidence for dynamics beyond slow roll. Non-parametric reconstructions of the primordial power spectrum consistently confirm a pure power law. A complementary analysis also finds no evidence for theoretically motivated parameterized features in the Planck power spectrum, a result further strengthened for certain oscillatory models by a new combined analysis that includes Planck bispectrum data. The new Planck polarization data provide a stringent test of the adiabaticity of the initial conditions. The polarization data also provide improved constraints on inflationary models that predict a small statistically anisotropic quadrupolar modulation of the primordial fluctuations. However, the polarization data do not confirm physical models for a scale-dependent dipolar modulation.
Sterile neutrinos can affect the evolution of the universe, and thus using the cosmological observations can search for sterile neutrinos. In this work, we use the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data from the Planck 2018 release, combined with the latest baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), type Ia supernova (SN), and Hubble constant ($H_0$) data, to constrain the cosmological models with considering sterile neutrinos. In order to test the influences of the properties of dark energy on the constraint results of searching for sterile neutrinos, in addition to the $Lambda$ cold dark matter ($Lambda$CDM) model, we also consider the $w$CDM model and the holographic dark energy (HDE) model. We find that sterile neutrinos cannot be detected when the $H_0$ local measurement is not included in the data combination. When the $H_0$ measurement is included in the joint constraints, it is found that $Delta N_{rm eff}>0$ is detected at about 2.7$sigma$ level for the $Lambda$CDM model and at about 1--1.7$sigma$ level for the $w$CDM model. However, $m_{ u,{rm{sterile}}}^{rm{eff}}$ still cannot be well constrained and only upper limits can be given. In addition, we find that the HDE model is definitely ruled out by the current data. We also discuss the issue of the Hubble tension, and we conclude that involving sterile neutrinos in the cosmological models cannot truly resolve the Hubble tension.
We analyse the Planck full-mission cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature and E-mode polarization maps to obtain constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (NG). We compare estimates obtained from separable template-fitting, binned, and modal bispectrum estimators, finding consistent values for the local, equilateral, and orthogonal bispectrum amplitudes. Our combined temperature and polarization analysis produces the following results: f_NL^local = -0.9 +- 5.1; f_NL^equil = -26 +- 47; and f_NL^ortho = - 38 +- 24 (68%CL, statistical). These results include the low-multipole (4 <= l < 40) polarization data, not included in our previous analysis, pass an extensive battery of tests, and are stable with respect to our 2015 measurements. Polarization bispectra display a significant improvement in robustness; they can now be used independently to set NG constraints. We consider a large number of additional cases, e.g. scale-dependent feature and resonance bispectra, isocurvature primordial NG, and parity-breaking models, where we also place tight constraints but do not detect any signal. The non-primordial lensing bispectrum is detected with an improved significance compared to 2015, excluding the null hypothesis at 3.5 sigma. We present model-independent reconstructions and analyses of the CMB bispectrum. Our final constraint on the local trispectrum shape is g_NLl^local = (-5.8 +-6.5) x 10^4 (68%CL, statistical), while constraints for other trispectra are also determined. We constrain the parameter space of different early-Universe scenarios, including general single-field models of inflation, multi-field and axion field parity-breaking models. Our results provide a high-precision test for structure-formation scenarios, in complete agreement with the basic picture of the LambdaCDM cosmology regarding the statistics of the initial conditions (abridged).
We study Planck 2015 cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data using the energy density inhomogeneity power spectrum generated by quantum fluctuations during an early epoch of inflation in the non-flat XCDM model. Here dark energy is parameterized using a fluid with a negative equation of state parameter but with the speed of fluid acoustic inhomogeneities set to the speed of light. We use this simple parameterization of dynamical dark energy, that is relatively straightforward to use in a computation, in a first attempt to gain some insight into how dark energy dynamics and non-zero spatial curvature jointly affect the CMB anisotropy data constraints. Unlike earlier analyses of non-flat models, we use a physically consistent power spectrum for energy density inhomogeneities. We find that the Planck 2015 data in conjunction with baryon acoustic oscillation measurements are reasonably well fit by a closed XCDM model in which spatial curvature contributes a percent of the current cosmological energy density budget. In this model, the measured Hubble constant and non-relativistic matter density parameter are in good agreement with values determined using most other data. Depending on parameter values, the closed XCDM model has reduced power, relative to the tilted, spatially-flat $Lambda$CDM case, and appears to partially alleviate the low multipole CMB temperature anisotropy deficit and can help partially reconcile the CMB anisotropy and weak lensing $sigma_8$ constraints, at the expense of somewhat worsening the fit to higher multipole CMB temperature anisotropy data. However, the closed XCDM inflation model does not seem to improve the agreement much, if at all, compared to the closed $Lambda$CDM inflation case, even though it has one more free parameter. Our results are interesting but tentative; a more thorough analysis is needed to properly gauge their significance.