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Barranco, L., Boubekeur, L., & Mena, O. (2014). Model-independent fit to Planck and BICEP2 data. Phys. Rev. D, 90(6), 063007–7pp.
Abstract: Inflation is the leading theory to describe elegantly the initial conditions that led to structure formation in our Universe. In this paper, we present a novel phenomenological fit to the Planck, WMAP polarization (WP) and the BICEP2 data sets using an alternative parametrization. Instead of starting from inflationary potentials and computing the inflationary observables, we use a phenomenological parametrization due to Mukhanov, describing inflation by an effective equation of state, in terms of the number of e-folds and two phenomenological parameters alpha and beta. Within such a parametrization, which captures the different inflationary models in a model-independent way, the values of the scalar spectral index n(s), its running and the tensor-to-scalar ratio r are predicted, given a set of parameters (alpha, beta). We perform a Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis of these parameters, and we show that the combined analysis of Planck and WP data favors the Starobinsky and Higgs inflation scenarios. Assuming that the BICEP2 signal is not entirely due to foregrounds, the addition of this last data set prefers instead the phi(2) chaotic models. The constraint we get from Planck and WP data alone on the derived tensor-to-scalar ratio is r < 0.18 at 95% C.L., value which is consistent with the one quoted from the BICEP2 Collaboration analysis, r = 0.16(-0.05)(+0-06), after foreground subtraction. This is not necessarily at odds with the 2 sigma tension found between Planck and BICEP2 measurements when analyzing data in terms of the usual n(s) and r parameters, given that the parametrization used here, for the preferred value n(s) similar or equal to 0.96, allows only for a restricted parameter space in the usual (n(s), r) plane.
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Barenboim, G., Fernandez-Martinez, E., Mena, O., & Verde, L. (2010). The dark side of curvature. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 03(3), 008–17pp.
Abstract: Geometrical tests such as the combination of the Hubble parameter H(z) and the angular diameter distance d(A)(z) can, in principle, break the degeneracy between the dark energy equation of state parameter w(z), and the spatial curvature Omega(k) in a direct, model-independent way. In practice, constraints on these quantities achievable from realistic experiments, such as those to be provided by Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) galaxy surveys in combination with CMB data, can resolve the cosmic confusion between the dark energy equation of state parameter and curvature only statistically and within a parameterized model for w(z). Combining measurements of both H(z) and d(A)(z) up to sufficiently high redshifts z similar to 2 and employing a parameterization of the redshift evolution of the dark energy equation of state are the keys to resolve the w(z) – Omega(k) degeneracy.
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Archidiacono, M., Lopez-Honorez, L., & Mena, O. (2014). Current constraints on early and stressed dark energy models and future 21 cm perspectives. Phys. Rev. D, 90(12), 123016–10pp.
Abstract: Despite the great progress of current cosmological measurements, the nature of the dominant component of the Universe, coined dark energy, is still an open question. Early dark energy is a possible candidate which may also alleviate some fine-tuning issues of the standard paradigm. Using the latest available cosmological data, we find that the 95% C.L. upper bound on the early dark energy density parameter is Tau(eDE) < 0.009. On the other hand, the dark energy component may be a stressed and inhomogeneous fluid. If this is the case, the effective sound speed and the viscosity parameters are unconstrained by current data. Future omniscopelike 21 cm surveys, combined with present cosmic microwave background data, could be able to distinguish between standard quintessence scenarios from other possible models with 2 sigma significance, assuming a non-negligible early dark energy contribution. The precision achieved on the Omega(eDE) parameter from these 21 cm probes could be below O(10%).
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Archidiacono, M., Giusarma, E., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2012). Dark radiation in extended cosmological scenarios. Phys. Rev. D, 86(4), 043509–7pp.
Abstract: Recent cosmological data have provided evidence for a “dark” relativistic background at high statistical significance. Parameterized in terms of the number of relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff, however, the current data seem to indicate a higher value than the one expected in the standard scenario based on three active neutrinos. This dark radiation component can be characterized not only by its abundance but also by its clustering properties, as its effective sound speed and its viscosity parameter. It is therefore crucial to study the correlations among the dark radiation properties and key cosmological parameters, as the dark energy equation of state or the running of the scalar spectral index, with current and future cosmic microwave background data. We find that dark radiation with viscosity parameters different from their standard values may be misinterpreted as an evolving dark energy component or as a running spectral index in the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations.
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Archidiacono, M., Giusarma, E., Hannestad, S., & Mena, O. (2013). Cosmic Dark Radiation and Neutrinos. Adv. High. Energy Phys., 2013, 191047–14pp.
Abstract: New measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) by the Planck mission have greatly increased our knowledge about the universe. Dark radiation, a weakly interacting component of radiation, is one of the important ingredients in our cosmological model which is testable by Planck and other observational probes. At the moment, the possible existence of dark radiation is an unsolved question. For instance, the discrepancy between the value of the Hubble constant, H-0, inferred from the Planck data and local measurements of H-0 can to some extent be alleviated by enlarging the minimal ACDM model to include additional relativistic degrees of freedom. From a fundamental physics point of view, dark radiation is no less interesting. Indeed, it could well be one of the most accessible windows to physics beyond the standard model, for example, sterile neutrinos. Here, we review the most recent cosmological results including a complete investigation of the dark radiation sector in order to provide an overview of models that are still compatible with new cosmological observations. Furthermore, we update the cosmological constraints on neutrino physics and dark radiation properties focusing on tensions between data sets and degeneracies among parameters that can degrade our information or mimic the existence of extra species.
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