Martin Kunz

The Essence of Quintessence and the Cost of Compression

Standard two-parameter compressions of the infinite dimensional dark energy model space show crippling limitations even with current Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data unless strong priors are imposed. First, they cannot cope with rapid evolutionour best fit to the latest SN Ia data shows late and very rapid evolution to w0 = -2.85. However, all of the standard parameterizations (incorrectly) claim that this best fit is ruled out at more than 2 primarily because they track it well only at very low redshift, z 0.2. Furthermore, they incorrectly rule out the observationally compatible region w L -1 for z > 1. Second, the parameterizations give wildly different estimates for the redshift of acceleration, which vary from zacc = 0.14 to zacc = 0.59. Although these failings are largely cured by including higher order terms (3 parameters), this results in new degeneracies and opens up large regions of previously ruled out parameter space. All of this casts serious doubt on the usefulness of the standard two-parameter compressions in the coming era of high-precision dark energy cosmology and emphasizes the need for decorrelated compressions with at least three parameters.

CMB power spectrum contribution from cosmic strings using field-evolution simulations of the Abelian Higgs model

We present the first field-theoretic calculations of the contribution made by cosmic strings to the temperature power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Unlike previous work, in which strings were modeled as idealized one-dimensional objects, we evolve the simplest example of an underlying field theory containing local U(1) strings, the Abelian Higgs model. Limitations imposed by finite computational volumes are overcome using the scaling property of string networks and a further extrapolation related to the lessening of the string width in comoving coordinates. The strings and their decay products, which are automatically included in the field theory approach, source metric perturbations via their energy-momentum tensor, the unequal-time correlation functions of which are used as input into the CMB calculation phase. These calculations involve the use of a modified version of CMBEASY, with results provided over the full range of relevant scales. We find that the string tension required to normalize to the WMAP 3-year data at multipole [script-l]=10 is G=[2.040.06(stat.)0.12(sys.)]10-6, where we have quoted statistical and systematic errors separately, and G is Newtons constant. This is a factor 23 higher than values in current circulation.

Testing backreaction effects with observations

In order to quantitatively test the ability of averaged inhomogeneous cosmologies to correctly describe observations of the large-scale properties of the Universe, we introduce a smoothed template metric corresponding to a constant spatial curvature model at any time, but with an evolving curvature parameter. This metric is used to compute quantities along an approximate effective light cone of the averaged model of the Universe. As opposed to the standard Friedmann model, we parametrize this template metric by exact scaling properties of an averaged inhomogeneous cosmology, and we also motivate this form of the metric by results on a geometrical smoothing of inhomogeneous cosmological hypersurfaces. The purpose of the paper is not to demonstrate that the backreaction effect is actually responsible for the dark energy phenomenon by explicitly calculating the effect from a local model of the geometry and the distribution of matter, but rather to propose a way to deal with observations in the backreaction context, and to understand what kind of generic properties have to hold in order for a backreaction model to explain the observed features of the Universe on large scales. We test our hypothesis for the template metric against supernova data and the position of themorexa0» cosmic microwave background peaks, and infer the goodness of fit and parameter uncertainties. We find that averaged inhomogeneous models can reproduce the observations without requiring an additional dark energy component (though a volume acceleration is still needed), and that current data do not disfavor our main assumption on the effective light cone structure. We also show that the experimental uncertainties on the angular diameter distance and the Hubble parameter from baryon acoustic oscillations measurements--forseen in future surveys like the proposed EUCLID satellite project--are sufficiently small to distinguish between a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker template geometry and the template geometry with consistently evolving curvature.«xa0less

Cosmic structure formation with topological defects

Topological defects are ubiquitous in physics. Whenever a symmetry breaking phase transition occurs, topological defects may form. The best known examples are vortex lines in type II super conductors or in liquid Helium, and declination lines in liquid crystals. In an adiabatically expanding universe which cools down from a very hot initial state, it is quite natural to postulate that topological defects may have emerged during a phase transition in the early universe and that they may have played the role of initial inhomogeneities seeding the formation of cosmic structure. This basic idea goes back to Kibble (1976). In this report we summarize the progress made in the investigation of Kibbles idea during the last 25 years. Our understanding of the formation and evolution of topological defects is reported almost completely in the beautiful book by Vilenkin & Shellard or the excellent Review by Hindmarsh & Kibble, and we shall hence be rather short on that topic. Nevertheless, in order to be self contained, we have included a short chapter on spontaneous symmetry breaking and defect formation. Our main topic is however the calculation of structure formation with defects, results which are not included in the above references.

Degeneracy between the dark components resulting from the fact that gravity only measures the total energy-momentum tensor

We use that gravity probes only the total energy momentum tensor to show how this leads to a degeneracy for generalised dark energy models. Because of this degeneracy, Omega_m cannot be measured. We demonstrate this explicitely by showing that the CMB and supernova data is compatible with very large and very small values of Omega_m for a specific family of dark energy models. We also show that for the same reason interacting dark energy is always equivalent to a family of non-interacting models. We argue that it is better to face this degeneracy and to parametrise the actual observables.

Universal fitting formulae for baryon oscillation surveys

The next generation of galaxy surveys will attempt to measure the baryon oscillations in the clustering power spectrum with high accuracy. These oscillations encode a preferred scale which may be used as a standard ruler to constrain cosmological parameters and dark energy models. In this paper we present simple analytical fitting formulae for the accuracy with which the preferred scale may be determined in the tangential and radial directions by future spectroscopic and photometric galaxy redshift surveys. We express these accuracies as a function of survey parameters such as the central redshift, volume, galaxy number density and (where applicable) photometric redshift error. These fitting formulae should greatly increase the efficiency of optimizing future surveys, which requires analysis of a potentially vast number of survey configurations and cosmological models. The formulae are calibrated using a grid of Monte Carlo simulations, which are analysed by dividing out the overall shape of the power spectrum before fitting a simple decaying sinusoid to the oscillations. The fitting formulae reproduce the simulation results with a fractional scatter of 7 per cent (10 per cent) in the tangential (radial) directions over a wide range of input parameters. We also indicate how sparse-sampling strategies may enhance the effective survey area if the sampling scale is much smaller than the projected baryon oscillation scale.

A late-time transition in the cosmic dark energy?

We study constraints from the latest cosmic microwave background (CMB), large-scale structure (2dF, Abell/ACO, PSCz) and SN1a data on dark energy models with a sharp transition in their equation of state, w(z). Such a transition is motivated by models like vacuum metamorphosis where non-perturbative quantum effects are important at late times. We allow the transition to occur at a specific redshift, z t , to a final negative pressure -1 ≤ w f 5 the likelihood becomes flat, asymptoting to the standard ACDM model.

Cosmic acceleration versus axion-photon mixing

Axion-photon mixing has been proposed as an alternative to acceleration as the explanation for supernovae dimming. We point out that the loss of photons due to this mixing will induce a strong asymmetry between the luminosity, dL(z), and angular diameter distance, dA(z), since the latter is unaffected by mixing. In a first search for such an asymmetry, we introduce a dimensionless mixing amplitude λ such that λ = 0 if no photons are lost and λ ≈ 1 if axion-photon mixing occurs. The best fit to Type Ia supernovae and radio galaxy data is λ = -0.3 (95% confidence level), corresponding to an unphysical, negative mixing length. This same argument limits the attenuation of light from supernovae due to dust. We show that future dL and dA data from the Supernova/Acceleration Probe and galaxy surveys such as DEEP2 and KAOS will detect or rule out mixing at more than 5 σ almost independently of the dark energy dynamics. Finally, we discuss the constraints from the near-maximal polarization of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) GRB 021206. Since mixing reduces the polarization of distant sources, future observations of high-redshift GRBs will provide orthogonal constraints on axion-photon mixing and related scenarios.

Cosmic string parameter constraints and model analysis using small scale Cosmic Microwave Background data

We present a significant update of the constraints on the Abelian Higgs cosmic string tension by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data, enabled both by the use of new high-resolution CMB data from suborbital experiments as well as the latest results of the WMAP satellite, and by improved predictions for the impact of Abelian Higgs cosmic strings on the CMB power spectra. The new cosmic string spectra [1] were improved especially for small angular scales, through the use of larger Abelian Higgs string simulations and careful extrapolation. If Abelian Higgs strings are present then we find improved bounds on their contribution to the CMB anisotropies, AH < 0.095, and on their tension, GμAH < 0.57 × 10−6, both at 95% confidence level using WMAP7 data; and AH < 0.048 and GμAH < 0.42 × 10−6 using all the CMB data. We also find that using all the CMB data, a scale invariant initial perturbation spectrum, ns = 1, is now disfavoured at 2.4σ even if strings are present. A Bayesian model selection analysis no longer indicates a preference for strings.

Cosmic microwave anisotropies from BPS semilocal strings

We present the first ever calculation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy power spectra from semilocal cosmic strings, obtained via simulations of a classical field theory. Semilocal strings are a type of non-topological defect arising in some models of inflation motivated by fundamental physics, and are thought to relax the constraints on the symmetry breaking scale as compared to models with (topological) cosmic strings. We derive constraints on the model parameters, including the string tension parameter mu, from fits to cosmological data, and find that in this regard Bogomolnyi-Prasad -Sommerfield (BPS) semilocal strings resemble global textures more than topological strings. The observed microwave anisotropy at l = 10 is reproduced if mu = 5.3 x 10(-6) (G is Newtons constant). However as with other defects the spectral shape does not match observations, and in models with inflationary perturbations plus semilocal strings the 95% confidence level upper bound is G mu < 2.0 x 10(-6) when CMB, Hubble key project and big bang nucleosynthesis data are used (cf G mu < 0.9 x 10(-6) for cosmic strings). We additionally carry out a Bayesian model comparison of several models with and without defects, showing that models with defects are neither conclusively favoured nor disfavoured at present.