skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Constraints on cosmology from the cosmic microwave background power spectrum of the 2500 deg{sup 2} SPT-SZ survey

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
;  [1]; ;  [2]; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [3];  [4];  [5]; ; ;  [6];  [7];  [8] more »; « less
  1. Department of Physics, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  3. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
  4. University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States)
  5. NIST Quantum Devices Group, 325 Broadway Mailcode 817.03, Boulder, CO 80305 (United States)
  6. Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 Rue University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T8 (Canada)
  7. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
  8. Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309 (United States)

We explore extensions to the ΛCDM cosmology using measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the recent SPT-SZ survey, along with data from WMAP7 and measurements of H {sub 0} and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO). We check for consistency within ΛCDM between these data sets, and find some tension. The CMB alone gives weak support to physics beyond ΛCDM, due to a slight trend relative to ΛCDM of decreasing power toward smaller angular scales. While it may be due to statistical fluctuation, this trend could also be explained by several extensions. We consider running of the primordial spectral index (dn{sub s} /dln k), as well as two extensions that modify the damping tail power (the primordial helium abundance Y{sub p} and the effective number of neutrino species N {sub eff}) and one that modifies the large-scale power due to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect (the sum of neutrino masses ∑m {sub ν}). These extensions have similar observational consequences and are partially degenerate when considered simultaneously. Of the six one-parameter extensions considered, we find CMB to have the largest preference for dn{sub s} /dln k with –0.046 < dn{sub s} /dln k < –0.003 at 95% confidence, which strengthens to a 2.7σ indication of dn{sub s} /dln k < 0 from CMB+BAO+H {sub 0}. Detectable dn{sub s} /dln k ≠ 0 is difficult to explain in the context of single-field, slow-roll inflation models. We find N {sub eff} = 3.62 ± 0.48 for the CMB, which tightens to N {sub eff} = 3.71 ± 0.35 from CMB+BAO+H {sub 0}. Larger values of N {sub eff} relieve the mild tension between CMB, BAO, and H {sub 0}. When the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich selected galaxy cluster abundances (SPT{sub CL}) data are also included, we obtain N {sub eff} = 3.29 ± 0.31. Allowing for ∑m {sub ν} gives a 3.0σ detection of ∑m {sub ν} > 0 from CMB+BAO+H {sub 0} +SPT{sub CL}. The median value is (0.32 ± 0.11) eV, a factor of six above the lower bound set by neutrino oscillation observations. All data sets except H {sub 0} show some preference for massive neutrinos; data combinations including H {sub 0} favor nonzero masses only if BAO data are also included. We also constrain the two-parameter extensions N {sub eff} + ∑m {sub ν} and N {sub eff} + Y{sub p} to explore constraints on additional light species and big bang nucleosynthesis, respectively.

OSTI ID:
22351443
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 782, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Revised cosmological parameters after BICEP 2 and BOSS
Journal Article · Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics · OSTI ID:22351443

Planck 2018 results. VI. Cosmological parameters
Journal Article · Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Astronomy and Astrophysics · OSTI ID:22351443

THE ATACAMA COSMOLOGY TELESCOPE: COSMOLOGICAL PARAMETERS FROM THE 2008 POWER SPECTRUM
Journal Article · Tue Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22351443