Douglas H. Rudd

Fundamental differences between SPH and grid methods

We have carried out a comparison study of hydrodynamical codes by investigating their performance in modelling interacting multiphase fluids. The two commonly used techniques of grid and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) show striking differences in their ability to model processes that are fundamentally important across many areas of astrophysics. Whilst Eulerian grid based methods are able to resolve and treat important dynamical instabilities, such as Kelvin-Helmholtz or Rayleigh-Taylor, these processes are poorly or not at all resolved by existing SPH techniques. We show that the reason for this is that SPH, at least in its standard implementation, introduces spurious pressure forces on particles in regions where there are steep density gradients. This results in a boundary gap of the size of an SPH smoothing kernel radius over which interactions are severely damped.

Effects of Baryons and Dissipation on the Matter Power Spectrum

We study the importance of baryonic physics on predictions of the matter power spectrum as it is relevant for forthcoming weak-lensing surveys. We quantify the impact of baryonic physics using a set of cosmological numerical simulations. Each simulation has the same initial density field, but models a different set of physical processes. We find that baryonic processes significantly alter predictions for the matter power spectrum relative to models that include only gravitational interactions. Our results imply that future weak-lensing experiments such as LSST and SNAP will likely be sensitive to the uncertain physics governing the nonlinear evolution of the baryonic component of the universe if these experiments are primarily limited by statistical uncertainties. In particular, this effect could be important for forecasts of the constraining power of future surveys if information from scales l 1000 is included in the analysis. We find that deviations are caused primarily by the rearrangement of matter within individual dark matter halos relative to the gravity-only case, rather than a large-scale rearrangement of matter. Consequently, we propose a simple model, based on the phenomenological halo model of dark matter clustering, for baryonic effects that can be used to aid in the interpretation of forthcoming weak-lensing data.

Neutrinos Help Reconcile Planck Measurements with the Local Universe

Current measurements of the low and high redshift Universe are in tension if we restrict ourselves to the standard six parameter model of flat ΛCDM. This tension has two parts. First, the Planck satellite data suggest a higher normalization of matter perturbations than local measurements of galaxy clusters. Second, the expansion rate of the Universe today, H0, derived from local distanceredshift measurements is significantly higher than that inferred using the acoustic scale in galaxy surveys and the Planck data as a standard ruler. The addition of a sterile neutrino species changes the acoustic scale and brings the two into agreement; meanwhile, adding mass to the active neutrinos or to a sterile neutrino can suppress the growth of structure, bringing the cluster data into better concordance as well. For our fiducial dataset combination, with statistical errors for clusters, a model with a massive sterile neutrino shows 3.5σ evidence for a non-zero mass and an even stronger rejection of the minimal model. A model with massive active neutrinos and a massless sterile neutrino is similarly preferred. An eV-scale sterile neutrino mass – of interest for short baseline and reactor anomalies – is well within the allowed range. We caution that 1) unknown astrophysical systematic errors in any of the data sets could weaken this conclusion, but they would need to be several times the known errors to eliminate the tensions entirely; 2) the results we find are at some variance with analyses that do not include cluster measurements; and 3) some tension remains among the datasets even when new neutrino physics is included.

Neutrinos help reconcile Planck measurements with both the early and local Universe

In light of the recent BICEP2 B-mode polarization detection, which implies a large inflationary tensor-to-scalar ratio r_{0.05}=0.2^{+0.07}_{-0.05}, we re-examine the evidence for an extra sterile massive neutrino, originally invoked to account for the tension between the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature power spectrum and local measurements of the expansion rate H0 and cosmological structure. With only the standard active neutrinos and power-law scalar spectra, this detection is in tension with the upper limit of r<0.11 (95% confidence) from the lack of a corresponding low multipole excess in the temperature anisotropy from gravitational waves. An extra sterile species with the same energy density as is needed to reconcile the CMB data with H0 measurements can also alleviate this new tension. By combining data from the Planck and ACT/SPT temperature spectra, WMAP9 polarization, H_0, baryon acoustic oscillation and local cluster abundance measurements with BICEP2 data, we find the joint evidence for a sterile massive neutrino increases to DeltaNeff=0.98\pm 0.26 for the effective number and ms= 0.52\pm 0.13 eV for the effective mass or 3.8 sigma and 4 sigma evidence respectively. We caution the reader that these results correspond to a joint statistical evidence and, in addition, astrophysical systematic errors in the clusters and H0 measurements, and small-scale CMB data could weaken our conclusions.

Computational Eulerian hydrodynamics and Galilean invariance

Eulerian hydrodynamical simulations are a powerful and popular tool for modelling fluids in astrophysical systems. In this work, we critically examine recent claims that these methods violate Galilean invariance of the Euler equations. We demonstrate that Eulerian hydrodynamics methods do converge to a Galilean-invariant solution, provided a well-defined convergent solution exists. Specifically, we show that numerical diffusion, resulting from diffusion-like terms in the discretized hydrodynamical equations solved by Eulerian methods, accounts for the effects previously identified as evidence for the Galilean non-invariance of these methods. These velocity-dependent diffusive terms lead to different results for different bulk velocities when the spatial resolution of the simulation is kept fixed, but their effect becomes negligible as the resolution of the simulation is increased to obtain a converged solution. In particular, we find that Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities develop properly in realistic Eulerian calculations regardless of the bulk velocity provided the problem is simulated with sufficient resolution (a factor of 2–4 increase compared to the case without bulk flows for realistic velocities). Our results reiterate that high-resolution Eulerian methods can perform well and obtain a convergent solution, even in the presence of highly supersonic bulk flows.

EVOLUTION OF THE MERGER-INDUCED HYDROSTATIC MASS BIAS IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

In this work, we examine the effects of mergers on the hydrostatic mass estimate of galaxy clusters using high-resolution Eulerian cosmological simulations. We utilize merger trees to isolate the last merger for each cluster in our sample and follow the time evolution of the hydrostatic mass bias as the systems relax. We find that during a merger, a shock propagates outward from the parent cluster, resulting in an overestimate in the hydrostatic mass bias. After the merger, as a cluster relaxes, the bias in hydrostatic mass estimate decreases but remains at a level of ?5%-10% with 15%-20% scatter within r 500. We also investigate the post-merger evolution of the pressure support from bulk motions, a dominant cause of this residual mass bias. At r 500, the contribution from random motions peaks at 30% of the total pressure during the merger and quickly decays to ~10%-15% as a cluster relaxes. Additionally, we use a measure of the random motion pressure to correct the hydrostatic mass estimate. We discover that 4?Gyr after mergers, the direct effects of the merger event on the hydrostatic mass bias have become negligible. Thereafter, the mass bias is primarily due to residual bulk motions in the gas which are not accounted for in the hydrostatic equilibrium equation. We present a hydrostatic mass bias correction method that can recover the unbiased cluster mass for relaxed clusters with 9% scatter at r 500 and 11% scatter in the outskirts, within r 200.

Self-calibration of tomographic weak lensing for the physics of baryons to constrain dark energy

Recent numerical studies indicate that uncertainties in the treatment of baryonic physics can affect predictions for weak lensing shear power spectra at a level that is significant for several forthcoming surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES), the SuperNova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP), and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). Correspondingly, we show that baryonic effects can significantly bias dark energy parameter measurements. Elimination of such potential biases by neglecting information in multipoles beyond several hundred leads to weaker parameter constraints by a factor of ∼ 2 − 3 compared with using information out to multipoles of several thousand. Fortunately, the same numerical studies that explore the influence of baryons indicate that they primarily affect power spectra by altering halo structure through the relation between halo mass and mean effective halo concentration. We explore the ability of future weak lensing surveys to constrain both the internal structures of halos and the properties of the dark energy simultaneously as a first step toward self calibrating for the physics of baryons. In this approach, parameter biases are greatly reduced and no parameter constraint is degraded by more than ∼ 40% in the case of LSST or 30% in the cases of SNAP or DES. Modest prior knowledge of the halo concentration relation and its redshift evolution greatly improves even these forecasts. In addition, we find that these surveys can constrain effective halo concentrations themselves usefully with shear power spectra alone. In the most restrictive case of a power-law relation for halo concentration as a function of mass and redshift, the concentrations of halos of mass m ∼ 10 14 h −1 M⊙ at z ∼ 0.2 can be constrained to better than 10%. Our results suggest that inferring dark energy parameters through shear spectra can be made robust to baryonic physics and that this procedure may even provide useful constraints on galaxy formation models.

CosmoSIS: modular cosmological parameter estimation

Cosmological parameter estimation is entering a new era. Large collaborations need to coordinate high-stakes analyses using multiple methods; furthermore such analyses have grown in complexity due to sophisticated models of cosmology and systematic uncertainties. In this paper we argue that modularity is the key to addressing these challenges: calculations should be broken up into interchangeable modular units with inputs and outputs clearly defined. We present a new framework for cosmological parameter estimation, CosmoSIS, designed to connect together, share, and advance development of inference tools across the community. We describe the modules already available in CosmoSIS, including CAMB, Planck, cosmic shear calculations, and a suite of samplers. We illustrate it using demonstration code that you can run out-of-the-box with the installer available at this http URL

DECONSTRUCTING THE KINETIC SZ POWER SPECTRUM

We present a detailed investigation of the impact of astrophysical processes on the shape and amplitude of the kinetic SZ (kSZ) power spectrum from the post-reionization epoch. This is achieved by constructing a new model of the kSZ power spectrum which we calibrate to the results of hydrodynamic simulations. By construction, our method accounts for all relevant density and velocity modes and so is unaffected by the limited box size of our simulations. We find that radiative cooling and star formation can reduce the amplitude of the kSZ power spectrum by up to 33% or 1 μK2 at l = 3000. This is driven by a decrease in the mean gas density in groups and clusters due to the conversion of gas into stars. Variations in the redshifts at which helium reionization occurs can effect the amplitude by a similar fraction, while current constraints on cosmological parameters (namely σ8) translate to a further ±15% uncertainty on the kSZ power spectrum. We demonstrate how the models presented in this work can be constrained—reducing the astrophysical uncertainty on the kSZ signal—by measuring the redshift dependence of the signal via kSZ tomography. Finally, we discuss how the results of this work can help constrain the duration of reionization via measurements of the kSZ signal sourced by inhomogeneous (or patchy) reionization.

PREDICTING MERGER-INDUCED GAS MOTIONS IN ΛCDM GALAXY CLUSTERS

In the hierarchical structure formation model, clusters of galaxies form through a sequence of mergers and continuous mass accretion, which generate significant random gas motions especially in their outskirts where material is actively accreting. Non-thermal pressure provided by the internal gas motions affects the thermodynamic structure of the X-ray emitting intracluster plasma and introduces biases in the physical interpretation of X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect observations. However, we know very little about the nature of gas motions in galaxy clusters. The ASTRO-H X-ray mission, scheduled to launch in 2015, will have a calorimeter capable of measuring gas motions in galaxy clusters at the level of 100 km s–1. In this work, we predict the level of merger-induced gas motions expected in the ΛCDM model using hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy cluster formation. We show that the gas velocity dispersion is larger in more massive clusters, but exhibits a large scatter. We show that systems with large gas motions are morphologically disturbed, while early forming, relaxed groups show a smaller level of gas motions. By analyzing mock ASTRO-H observations of simulated clusters, we show that such observations can accurately measure the gas velocity dispersion out to the outskirts of nearby relaxed galaxy clusters. ASTRO-H analysis of merging clusters, on the other hand, requires multi-component spectral fitting and enables unique studies of substructures in galaxy clusters by measuring both the peculiar velocities and the velocity dispersion of gas within individual sub-clusters.