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Register a new userThe galaxy power spectrum take on spatial curvature and cosmic concordance
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The concordance of the $Lambda$CDM cosmological model in light of current observations has been the subject of an intense debate in recent months. The 2018 Planck Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy power spectrum measurements appear at face value to favour a spatially closed Universe with curvature parameter $Omega_K<0$. This preference disappears if Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) measurements are combined with Planck data to break the geometrical degeneracy, although the reliability of this combination has been questioned due to the strong tension present between the two datasets when assuming a curved Universe. Here, we approach this issue from yet another point of view, using measurements of the full-shape (FS) galaxy power spectrum, $P(k)$, from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey DR12 CMASS sample. By combining Planck data with FS measurements, we break the geometrical degeneracy and find $Omega_K=0.0023 pm 0.0028$. This constrains the Universe to be spatially flat to sub-percent precision, in excellent agreement with results obtained using BAO measurements. However, as with BAO, the overall increase in the best-fit $chi^2$ suggests a similar level of tension between Planck and $P(k)$ under the assumption of a curved Universe. While the debate on spatial curvature and the concordance between cosmological datasets remains open, our results provide new perspectives on the issue, highlighting the crucial role of FS measurements in the era of precision cosmology.
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The question of whether Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization data from Planck favor a spatially closed Universe with curvature parameter $Omega_K<0$ has been the subject of recent intense discussions. Attempts to break the geometrical degeneracy combining Planck data with external datasets such as Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) measurements all point towards a spatially flat Universe, at the cost of significant tensions with Planck, which make the resulting dataset combination problematic. Settling this issue requires identifying a dataset which can break the geometrical degeneracy while not incurring in these tensions. We argue that cosmic chronometers (CC), measurements of the expansion rate $H(z)$ from the relative ages of massive early-type passively evolving galaxies, are the dataset we are after. Furthermore, CC come with the additional advantage of being virtually free of cosmological model assumptions. Combining Planck 2018 CMB temperature and polarization data with the latest CC measurements, we break the geometrical degeneracy and find $Omega_K=-0.0054 pm 0.0055$, consistent with a spatially flat Universe and competitive with the Planck+BAO constraint. Our results are stable against minimal parameter space extensions and CC systematics, and we find no substantial tension between Planck and CC data within a non-flat Universe, making the resulting combination reliable. Our results allow us to assert with confidence that the Universe is spatially flat to the ${cal O}(10^{-2})$ level, a finding which might possibly settle the ongoing spatial curvature debate, and lends even more support to the already very successful inflationary paradigm.
An approach to estimate the spatial curvature $Omega_k$ from data independently of dynamical models is suggested, through kinematic parameterizations of the comoving distance ($D_{C}(z)$) with third degree polynomial, of the Hubble parameter ($H(z)$) with a second degree polynomial and of the deceleration parameter ($q(z)$) with first order polynomial. All these parameterizations were done as function of redshift $z$. We used SNe Ia dataset from Pantheon compilation with 1048 distance moduli estimated in the range $0.01<z<2.3$ with systematic and statistical errors and a compilation of 31 $H(z)$ data estimated from cosmic chronometers. The spatial curvature found for $D_C(z)$ parametrization was $Omega_{k}=-0.03^{+0.24+0.56}_{-0.30-0.53}$. The parametrization for deceleration parameter $q(z)$ resulted in $Omega_{k}=-0.08^{+0.21+0.54}_{-0.27-0.45}$. The $H(z)$ parametrization has shown incompatibilities between $H(z)$ and SNe Ia data constraints, so these analyses were not combined. The $D_C(z)$ and $q(z)$ parametrizations are compatible with the spatially flat Universe as predicted by many inflation models and data from CMB. This type of analysis is very appealing as it avoids any bias because it does not depend on assumptions about the matter content of the Universe for estimating $Omega_k$.
The possibility that primordial black holes constitute a fraction of dark matter motivates a detailed study of possible mechanisms for their production. Black holes can form by the collapse of primordial curvature fluctuations, if the amplitude of their small scale spectrum gets amplified by several orders of magnitude with respect to CMB scales. Such enhancement can for example occur in single-field inflation that exhibit a transient non-attractor phase: in this work, we make a detailed investigation of the shape of the curvature spectrum in this scenario. We make use of an analytical approach based on a gradient expansion of curvature perturbations, which allows us to follow the changes in slope of the spectrum during its way from large to small scales. After encountering a dip in its amplitude, the spectrum can acquire steep slopes with a spectral index up to $n_s-1,=,8$, to then relax to a more gentle growth with $n_s-1,lesssim,3$ towards its peak, in agreement with the results found in previous literature. For scales following the peak associated with the presence of the non-attractor phase, the spectrum amplitude then mildly decays, during a transitional stage from non-attractor back to attractor evolution. Our analysis indicates that this gradient approach offers a transparent understanding of the contributions controlling the slope of the curvature spectrum. As an application of our findings, we characterise the slope in frequency of a stochastic gravitational wave background generated at second order from curvature fluctuations, using the more accurate information we gained on the shape of curvature power spectrum.
We derive constraints on primordial power spectrum, for the first time, from galaxy UV luminosity functions (LFs) at high redshifts. Since the galaxy LFs reflect an underlying halo mass function which depends on primordial fluctuations, one can constrain primordial power spectrum, particularly on small scales. We perform a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis by varying parameters for primordial power spectrum as well as those describing astrophysics. We adopt the UV LFs derived from Hubble Frontier Fields data at $z = 6 -10$, which enable us to probe primordial fluctuations on the scales of $k sim 10 - 10^3~{rm Mpc}^{-1}$. Our analysis also clarifies how the assumption on cosmology such as primordial power spectrum affects the determination of astrophysical parameters.
Inflation predicts that the Universe is spatially flat. The Planck 2018 measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy favour a spatially closed universe at more than 2$sigma$ confidence level. We use model independent methods to study the issue of cosmic curvature. The method reconstructs the Hubble parameter $H(z)$ from cosmic chronometers data with the Gaussian process method. The distance modulus is then calculated with the reconstructed function $H(z)$ and fitted by type Ia supernovae data. Combining the cosmic chronometers and type Ia supernovae data, we obtain $Omega_{k0}h^2=0.102pm 0.066$ which is consistent with a spatially flat universe at the 2$sigma$ confidence level. By adding the redshift space distortions data to the type Ia supernovae data with a proposed novel model independent method, we obtain $Omega_{k0}h^2=0.117^{+0.058}_{-0.045}$ and no deviation from $Lambda$CDM model is found.
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