Lopez-Honorez, L., Mena, O., & Rigolin, S. (2012). Biases on cosmological parameters by general relativity effects. Phys. Rev. D, 85(2), 023511–12pp.
Abstract: General relativistic corrections to the galaxy power spectrum appearing at the horizon scale, if neglected, may induce biases on the measured values of the cosmological parameters. In this paper, we study the impact of general relativistic effects on non standard cosmologies such as scenarios with a time dependent dark energy equation of state, with a coupling between the dark energy and the dark matter fluids or with non-Gaussianities. We then explore whether general relativistic corrections affect future constraints on cosmological parameters in the case of a constant dark energy equation of state and of non-Gaussianities. We find that relativistic corrections on the power spectrum are not expected to affect the foreseen errors on the cosmological parameters nor to induce large biases on them.
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Martinelli, M., Melchiorri, A., Mena, O., Salvatelli, V., & Girones, Z. (2012). Future constraints on the Hu-Sawicki modified gravity scenario. Phys. Rev. D, 85(2), 024006–7pp.
Abstract: We present current and future constraints on the Hu and Sawicki modified gravity scenario. This model can reproduce a late time accelerated universe and evade Solar System constraints. While current cosmological data still allows for distinctive deviations from the cosmological constant picture, future measurements of the growth of structure combined with supernova Ia luminosity distance data will greatly improve present constraints.
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Norena, J., Verde, L., Jimenez, R., Pena-Garay, C., & Gomez, C. (2012). Cancelling out systematic uncertainties. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 419(2), 1040–1050.
Abstract: We present a method to minimize, or even cancel out, the nuisance parameters affecting a measurement. Our approach is general and can be applied to any experiment or observation where systematic errors are a concern e.g. are larger than statistical errors. We compare it with the Bayesian technique used to deal with nuisance parameters: marginalization, and show how the method compares and improves by avoiding biases. We illustrate the method with several examples taken from the astrophysics and cosmology world: baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAOs), cosmic clocks, Type Ia supernova (SNIa) luminosity distance, neutrino oscillations and dark matter detection. By applying the method we not only recover some known results but also find some interesting new ones. For BAO experiments we show how to combine radial and angular BAO measurements in order to completely eliminate the dependence on the sound horizon at radiation drag. In the case of exploiting SNIa as standard candles we show how the uncertainty in the luminosity distance by a second parameter modelled as a metallicity dependence can be eliminated or greatly reduced. When using cosmic clocks to measure the expansion rate of the universe, we demonstrate how a particular combination of observables nearly removes the metallicity dependence of the galaxy on determining differential ages, thus removing the agemetallicity degeneracy in stellar populations. We hope that these findings will be useful in future surveys to obtain robust constraints on the dark energy equation of state.
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Restrepo, D., Taoso, M., Valle, J. W. F., & Zapata, O. (2012). Gravitino dark matter and neutrino masses with bilinear R-parity violation. Phys. Rev. D, 85(2), 023523–7pp.
Abstract: Bilinear R-parity violation provides an attractive origin for neutrino masses and mixings. In such schemes the gravitino is a viable decaying dark matter particle whose R-parity violating decays lead to monochromatic photons with rates accessible to astrophysical observations. We determine the parameter region allowed by gamma-ray line searches, dark matter relic abundance, and neutrino oscillation data, obtaining a limit on the gravitino mass m((G) over tilde) less than or similar to 1-10 GeV corresponding to a relatively low reheat temperature T-R less than or similar to few x 10(7)-10(8) GeV. Neutrino mass and mixing parameters may be reconstructed at accelerator experiments like the Large Hadron Collider.
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Calore, F., De Romeri, V., & Donato, F. (2012). Conservative upper limits on WIMP annihilation cross section from Fermi-LAT gamma rays. Phys. Rev. D, 85(2), 023004–9pp.
Abstract: The spectrum of an isotropic extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) has been measured by the Fermi-LAT telescope at high latitudes. Two new models for the EGB are derived from the subtraction of unresolved point sources and extragalactic diffuse processes, which could explain from 30% to 70% of the Fermi-LAT EGB. Within the hypothesis that the two residual EGBs are entirely due to the annihilation of dark matter (DM) particles in the Galactic halo, we obtain stringent upper limits on their annihilation cross section. Severe bounds on a possible Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation cross section are set as well. Finally, we consider models for DM annihilation depending on the inverse of the velocity and associate the EGBs to photons arising from the annihilation of DM in primordial halos. Given our choices for the EGB and the minimal DM modeling, the derived upper bounds are claimed to be conservative.
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