Quantum gravitational contributions to the cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectrum

We derive the primordial power spectrum of density fluctuations in the framework of quantum cosmology. For this purpose we perform a Born-Oppenheimer approximation to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for an inflationary universe with a scalar field. In this way, we first recover the scale-invariant power spectrum that is found as an approximation in the simplest inflationary models. We then obtain quantum gravitational corrections to this spectrum and discuss whether they lead to measurable signatures in the cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectrum. The nonobservation so far of such corrections translates into an upper bound on the energy scale of inflation.     

Enhanced polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation from thermal gravitational waves

If inflation was preceded by a radiation era, then at the time of inflation there will exist a decoupled thermal distribution of gravitons. Gravitational waves generated during inflation will be amplified by the process of stimulated emission into the existing thermal distribution of gravitons. Consequently, the usual zero temperature scale invariant tensor spectrum is modified by a temperature dependent factor. This thermal correction factor amplifies the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation by an order of magnitude at large angles, which may now be in the range of observability of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe.     

Estimate of the background of a gravitational-wave detector due to cosmic rays

Summary The authors examine once more the effect of cosmic rays on a resonating gravitational-wave antenna in view of the very high sensitivities that are required for detecting the supernovae of the Virgo Cluster. They show that, at sea-level, the secondaries generated in the bar by the electromagnetic interaction of high-energy muons produce signals with rates much larger than that expected from supernovae. This inconvenience is eliminated in an underground laboratory.

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Riassunto Gli autori esaminano nuovamente l'effetto dei raggi cosmici su di una antenna gravitazionale risonante, in considerazione della elevata sensibilità che è necessario raggiungere per rivelare le supernovae del Virgo Cluster. Essi mostrano che al livello del mare i secondari generati nella sbarra dalla interazione electtromagnetica dei muoni di alta energia producono segnali con frequenza statistica maggiore di quella prevista per le supernovae. Questo inconveniente è eliminato in un laboratorio sotterraneo.

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Резюме В работе исследуется влияние космических лучей на резонансную антенну гравитационнын волн, в виду высокой чувствиельности, необходимой для детектирования сверхновых в созвездии Девы. Доказывается, что на уровне моря вторичные частицы, образованные в результате электромагнитного взаимодействия высокоэнергетических мюонов произодят сигналы с интенсивностями, много большими, чем ожидаемые интенсивности сигналов от сверхновых. Это противоречие устраняется в подземной лабоатории.

     

Imprints of a primordial magnetic field upon the cosmic microwave background anisotropy and polarization

We review the imprints that a primordial magnetic field may have left upon the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy and polarization through Faraday rotation around the time of decoupling. Differential Faraday rotation reduces the degree of linear polarization acquired through anisotropic Thomson scattering. Depolarization reduces the damping due to photon diffusion, which results in an increase of the anisotropy on small angular scales. The effect is significant at frequencies around and below 10 GHz {ie2513-1} whereB ₀ is the present strength of the primordial magnetic field.     

Fitting cosmic microwave background data with cosmic strings and inflation

We perform a multiparameter likelihood analysis to compare measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectra with predictions from models involving cosmic strings. Adding strings to the standard case of a primordial spectrum with power-law tilt ns, we find a 2sigma detection of strings: f10=0.11+/-0.05, where f10 is the fractional contribution made by strings in the temperature power spectrum (at l=10). CMB data give moderate preference to the model ns=1 with cosmic strings over the standard zero-strings model with variable tilt. When additional non-CMB data are incorporated, the two models become on a par. With variable ns and these extra data, we find that f10<0.11, which corresponds to Gmicro<0.7x10(-6) (where micro is the string tension and G is the gravitational constant).     

Lorentz-violating electrodynamics and the cosmic microwave background

Possible Lorentz-violating effects in the cosmic microwave background are studied. We provide a systematic classification of renormalizable and nonrenormalizable operators for Lorentz violation in electrodynamics and use polarimetric observations to search for the associated violations.     

Cosmology with cosmic microwave background anisotropy

Measurements of CMB anisotropy and, more recently, polarization have played a very important role in allowing precise determination of various parameters of the ‘standard’ cosmological model. The expectation of the paradigm of inflation and the generic prediction of the simplest realization of inflationary scenario in the early Universe have also been established — ‘acausally’ correlated initial perturbations in a flat, statistically isotropic Universe, adiabatic nature of primordial density perturbations. Direct evidence for gravitational instability mechanism for structure formation from primordial perturbations has been established. In the next decade, future experiments promise to strengthen these deductions and uncover the remaining crucial signature of inflation — the primordial gravitational wave background.     

New cosmic microwave background constraint to primordial gravitational waves

Primordial gravitational waves (GWs) with frequencies > or approximately equal to 10(-15) Hz contribute to the radiation density of the Universe at the time of decoupling of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). This affects the CMB and matter power spectra in a manner identical to massless neutrinos, unless the initial density perturbation for the GWs is nonadiabatic, as may occur if such GWs are produced during inflation or some post-inflation phase transition. In either case, current observations provide a constraint to the GW amplitude that competes with that from big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), although it extends to much lower frequencies (approximately 10(-15) Hz rather than the approximately 10(-10) Hz from BBN): at 95% confidence level, omega(gw)h(2) 相似文献   

Signatures of a hidden cosmic microwave background

If there is a light Abelian gauge boson gamma' in the hidden sector its kinetic mixing with the photon can produce a hidden cosmic microwave background (HCMB). For meV masses, resonant oscillations gamma<-->gamma' happen after big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) but before CMB decoupling, increasing the effective number of neutrinos Nnu(eff) and the baryon to photon ratio, and distorting the CMB blackbody spectrum. The agreement between BBN and CMB data provides new constraints. However, including Lyman-alpha data, Nnu(eff) > 3 is preferred. It is tempting to attribute this effect to the HCMB. The interesting parameter range will be tested in upcoming laboratory experiments.     

Polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation

In re-ionized models, the measurement of polarization of CMBR can be a good criterion to narrow down the parameter space for cosmological models. A Vishniac-type effect in second order polarization over arc minute scales has been calculated. It has been shown that while the effect is very small (∼10⁻² μK) for CDM models, it can be significant (∼0.3μK) for some isocurvature models.     

Statistical isotropy of the cosmic microwave background

The breakdown of statistical homogeneity and isotropy of cosmic perturbations is a generic feature of ultra-large scale structure of the cosmos, in particular, of non-trivial cosmic topology. The statistical isotropy (SI) of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations (CMB anisotropy) is sensitive to this breakdown on the largest scales comparable to, and even beyond the cosmic horizon. We propose a set of measures,K _l (l = 1, 2,3,...) which for non-zero values indicate and quantify statistical isotropy violations in a CMB map. We numerically compute the predictedK _l spectra for CMB anisotropy in flat torus universe models. Characteristic signatures of different models in theK _l spectrum are noted.     

Systematic distortion in cosmic microwave background maps

To minimize instrumentally the induced systematic errors, cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy experiments measure temperature differences across the sky using pairs of horn antennas, temperature map is recovered from temperature difference obtained in sky survey through a map-making procedure. To inspect and calibrate residual systematic errors in the recovered temperature maps is important as most previous studies of cosmology are based on these maps. By analyzing pixel-ring coupling and latitude dependence of CMB temperatures, we find notable systematic deviation from CMB Gaussianity in released Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) maps. The detected deviation cannot be explained by the best-fit LCDM cosmological model at a confidence level above 99% and cannot be ignored for a precision cosmology study. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10533020), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB-824800), and the Directional Research Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KJCX2-YW-T03) Contributed by LI TiPei     

Dark energy and the cosmic microwave background radiation

We find that current cosmic microwave background anisotropy data strongly constrain the mean spatial curvature of the Universe to be near zero, or, equivalently, the total energy density to be near critical-as predicted by inflation. This result is robust to editing of data sets, and variation of other cosmological parameters (totaling seven, including a cosmological constant). Other lines of argument indicate that the energy density of nonrelativistic matter is much less than critical. Together, these results are evidence, independent of supernovae data, for dark energy in the Universe.