Transcript Document

Primordial perturbations and precision cosmology
from the Cosmic Microwave Background
Antony Lewis
CITA, University of Toronto
http://cosmologist.info
Evolution of the universe
Opaque
Transparent
Hu & White, Sci. Am., 290 44 (2004)
Perturbation evolution
Early universe to last scattering
Contributions to cosmology
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Constraints on primordial perturbations
Observable primordial isocurvature and vector modes (identification and
predictions)
CMB polarization analysis: solution to E/B mode separation problem
Simulation and parameter estimation with CMB lensing
Ab initio quantum gravity calculation of primordial perturbations and CMB in
closed instanton model
Fastest and most accurate code for calculating CMB anisotropy power
spectra from initial conditions + parameters (CAMB)
Methods for fast Monte Carlo parameter estimation from cosmological data
(CosmoMC code)
Accurate parameter constraints from CMB + other data (e.g. galaxy lensing)
Evolution of dark matter and dark energy perturbations: efficient methods,
numerical predictions, parameter constraints
CMB signatures of primordial magnetic fields
CMB temperature power spectrum
Primordial perturbations + later physics
Redhead et al: astro-ph/0402359
Primordial Perturbations
fluid at redshift < 109
• Photons
• Neutrinos
• Baryons + electrons
• Cold Dark Matter
• Dark energy
probably negligible early on
General regular linear primordial perturbation
General regular perturbation
Scalar
Adiabatic
-isocurvature-
(observed)
Matter density
Cancelling matter density
(unobservable)
Neutrino density
(contrived)
Neutrino velocity
(very contrived)
Vector
Neutrino vorticity
(very contrived)
Tensor
Gravitational waves
+ irregular modes, neutrino n-pole modes, n-Tensor modes Rebhan and Schwarz: gr-qc/9403032
+ other possible components, e.g. defects, magnetic fields, exotic stuff…
Adiabatic modes
What is the primordial
power spectrum?
Bridle, Lewis, Weller, Efstathiou: astro-ph/0302306
Isocurvature modes
Curvaton model?
Gordon, Lewis: astro-ph/0212248
Primordial Gravitational Waves
(tensor modes)
• Well motivated by some inflationary models
- Amplitude measures inflaton potential at horizon crossing
- distinguish models of inflation
• Observation would rule out other models
- ekpyrotic scenario predicts exponentially small amplitude
- small also in many models of inflation, esp. two field e.g. curvaton
• Weakly constrained from CMB temperature anisotropy
Look at CMB polarization
E and B polarization
• E polarization from scalar, vector and tensor modes
• B polarization only from vector and tensor modes
B is ‘smoking gun’ for primordial vector and tensor modes
Vector and Tensor B mode spectrum
Non-linear scalar modes also give small B signal
B-modes
Lewis: astro-ph/0403583
Polarization complications
• E/B mixing
• Lensing of the CMB
E/B mixing and solution
Underlying B-modes
Part-sky mix with scalar E
Observation
Separation method
Lewis: astro-ph/0305545
Weak lensing of the CMB
Last scattering surface
Inhomogeneous universe
- photons deflected
Observer
• Lensing B-modes
• Changed power spectra
Lewis: PRD submitted; Challinor, Lewis: in preparation
Future work
• Cosmological parameters from forthcoming CMB data (Planck,
Clover, etc.) + galaxy lensing etc.
• Reconstruction of initial power spectrum and constraints on inflation
and other models
• Improved treatment of CMB lensing: lensing reconstruction, B-mode
cleaning, un-lensing the temperature
• Statistical methods: Monte Carlo methods for CMB map-making,
polarization analysis and weak lensing
• Cosmology from 21cm and galaxy weak lensing (+CMB)
• Tests of new physics, string theory, etc; early universe models
• New things…
Parameter estimation: sampling from P(parameters|data)
Samples in
6D parameter
space
CMB data alone
color = optical depth
Plot number density of samples as function of parameters
e.g. CMB+galaxy lensing +BBN prior
CosmoMC code at http://cosmologist.info/cosmomc
Lewis, Bridle: astro-ph/0205436
Contaldi, Hoekstra, Lewis: astro-ph/0302435
Conclusions
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CMB contains lots of useful information!
- primordial perturbations + well understood physics (cosmological parameters)
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Precision cosmology
- sampling methods used to constrain many parameters with full posterior distribution
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Currently no evidence for any deviations from standard near scale-invariant purely
adiabatic primordial spectrum
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B-mode polarization - primordial gravitational waves + vector modes:
- energy scale of inflation
- rule out most ekpyrotic and pure curvaton/
inhomogeneous reheating models and others
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Weak lensing of CMB :
- B-modes potentially confuse primordial signals
- Have to account for effect on power spectra
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Foregrounds, systematics, etc, may make things much more complicated!