Jorge Noreña

The Effective Theory of Quintessence: the w<-1 Side Unveiled

We study generic single-field dark energy models, by a parametrization of the most general theory of their perturbations around a given background, including higher derivative terms. In appropriate limits this approach reproduces standard quintessence, k-essence and ghost condensation. We find no general pathology associated to an equation of state w{sub Q} < -1 or in crossing the phantom divide w{sub Q} = -1. Stability requires that the w{sub Q} < -1 side of dark energy behaves, on cosmological scales, as a k-essence fluid with a virtually zero speed of sound. This implies that one should set the speed of sound to zero when comparing with data models with w{sub Q} < -1 or crossing the phantom divide. We summarize the theoretical and stability constraints on the quintessential plane (1+w{sub Q}) vs. speed of sound squared.

Conformal consistency relations for single-field inflation

We generalize the single-field consistency relations to capture not only the leading term in the squeezed limit — going as 1/q3, where q is the small wavevector — but also the subleading one, going as 1/q2. This term, for an (n+1)-point function, is fixed in terms of the variation of the n-point function under a special conformal transformation; this parallels the fact that the 1/q3 term is related with the scale dependence of the n-point function. For the squeezed limit of the 3-point function, this conformal consistency relation implies that there are no terms going as 1/q2. We verify that the squeezed limit of the 4-point function is related to the conformal variation of the 3-point function both in the case of canonical slow-roll inflation and in models with reduced speed of sound. In the second case the conformal consistency conditions capture, at the level of observables, the relation among operators induced by the non-linear realization of Lorentz invariance in the Lagrangian. These results mean that, in any single-field model, primordial correlation functions of ζ are endowed with an SO(4,1) symmetry, with dilations and special conformal transformations non-linearly realized by ζ. We also verify the conformal consistency relations for any n-point function in models with a modulation of the inflaton potential, where the scale dependence is not negligible. Finally, we generalize (some of) the consistency relations involving tensors and soft internal momenta.

Single-Field Consistency Relations of Large Scale Structure

We derive consistency relations for the late universe (CDM and ΛCDM): relations between an n-point function of the density contrast δ and an (n+1)-point function in the limit in which one of the (n+1) momenta becomes much smaller than the others. These are based on the observation that a long mode, in single-field models of inflation, reduces to a diffeomorphism since its freezing during inflation all the way until the late universe, even when the long mode is inside the horizon (but out of the sound horizon). These results are derived in Newtonian gauge, at first and second order in the small momentum q of the long mode and they are valid non-perturbatively in the short-scale δ. In the non-relativistic limit our results match with [1]. These relations are a consequence of diffeomorphism invariance; they are not satisfied in the presence of extra degrees of freedom during inflation or violation of the Equivalence Principle (extra forces) in the late universe.

Galilean symmetry in the effective theory of inflation: new shapes of non-Gaussianity

We study the consequences of imposing an approximate Galilean symmetry on the Effective Theory of Inflation, the theory of small perturbations around the inflationary background. This approach allows us to study the effect of operators with two derivatives on each field, which can be the leading interactions due to non-renormalization properties of the Galilean Lagrangian. In this case cubic non-Gaussianities are given by three independent operators, containing up to six derivatives, two with a shape close to equilateral and one peaking on flattened isosceles triangles. The four-point function is larger than in models with small speed of sound and potentially observable with the Planck satellite.

The (not so) squeezed limit of the primordial 3-point function

We prove that, in a generic single-field model, the consistency relation for the 3-point function in the squeezed limit receives corrections that vanish quadratically in the ratio of the momenta, i.e. as (k L/k S) 2. This implies that a detection of a bispectrum signal going as 1/k L 2 in the squeezed limit, that is suppressed only by one power of k L compared with the local shape, would rule out all single-field models. The absence of this kind of terms in the bispectrum holds also for multifield models, but only if all the fields have a mass much smaller than H. The detection of any scale dependence of the bias, for scales much larger than the size of the haloes, would disprove all single-field models. We comment on the regime of squeezing that can be probed by realistic surveys.

Spherical collapse in quintessence models with zero speed of sound

We study the spherical collapse model in the presence of quintessence with negligible speed of sound. This case is particularly motivated for w < −1 as it is required by stability. As pressure gradients are negligible, quintessence follows dark matter during the collapse. The spherical overdensity behaves as a separate closed FLRW universe, so that its evolution can be studied exactly. We derive the critical overdensity for collapse and we use the extended Press-Schechter theory to study how the clustering of quintessence affects the dark matter mass function. The effect is dominated by the modification of the linear dark matter growth function. A larger effect occurs on the total mass function, which includes the quintessence overdensities. Indeed, here quintessence constitutes a third component of virialized objects, together with baryons and dark matter, and contributes to the total halo mass by a fraction ~ (1+w)ΩQ/Ωm. This gives a distinctive modification of the total mass function at low redshift.

The power spectrum and bispectrum of SDSS DR11 BOSS galaxies I:bias and gravity

We analyse the anisotropic clustering of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) CMASS Data Release 11 sample, which consists of

Resilience of the standard predictions for primordial tensor modes.

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Sachs-Wolfe at second order: the CMB bispectrum on large angular scales

galaxies in the redshift range 0.43 < z < 0.70 and has a sky coverage of 8498 deg2 corresponding to an effective volume of ˜ 6 Gpc3. We fit the Fourier space statistics, the power spectrum and bispectrum monopoles to measure the linear and quadratic bias parameters, b1 and b2, for a non-linear non-local bias model, the growth of structure parameter f and the amplitude of dark matter density fluctuations parametrized by sigma8. We obtain b1(zeff)1.40sigma8(zeff) = 1.672 ± 0.060 and b_2^{0.30}(z_eff)sigma _8(z_eff)=0.579± 0.082 at the effective redshift of the survey, zeff = 0.57. The main cosmological result is the constraint on the combination f 0.43(zeff)sigma8(zeff) = 0.582 ± 0.084, which is complementary to fsigma8 constraints obtained from two-point redshift-space distortion analyses. A less conservative analysis yields f 0.43(zeff)sigma8(zeff) = 0.584 ± 0.051. We ensure that our result is robust by performing detailed systematic tests using a large suite of survey galaxy mock catalogues and N-body simulations. The constraints on f 0.43sigma8 are useful for setting additional constraints on neutrino mass, gravity, curvature as well as the number of neutrino species from galaxy surveys analyses (as presented in a companion paper).

Action approach to cosmological perturbations: the second-order metric in matter dominance

We show that the prediction for the primordial tensor power spectrum cannot be modified at leading order in derivatives. Indeed, one can always set to unity the speed of propagation of gravitational waves during inflation by a suitable disformal transformation of the metric, while a conformal one can make the Planck mass time independent. Therefore, the tensor amplitude unambiguously fixes the energy scale of inflation. Using the effective field theory of inflation, we check that predictions are independent of the choice of frame, as expected. The first corrections to the standard prediction come from two parity violating operators with three derivatives. Also the correlator ⟨γγγ⟩ is standard and only receives higher derivative corrections. These results hold also in multifield models of inflation and in alternatives to inflation and make the connection between a (quasi-)scale-invariant tensor spectrum and inflation completely robust.