1,721,489 research outputs found
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies from Second Order Gravitational Perturbations
No full textThis paper presents a complete analysis of the effects of second order gravitational perturbations on cosmic microwave background anisotropies, taking explicitly into account scalar, vector and tensor modes. We also consider the second order perturbations of the metric itself obtaining them, for a universe dominated by a collisionless fluid, in the Poisson gauge, by transforming the known results in the synchronous gauge. We discuss the resulting second order anisotropies in the Poisson gauge, and analyze the possible relevance of the different terms. We expect that, in the simplest scenarios for structure formation, the main effect comes from the gravitational lensing by scalar perturbations that is known to give a few percent contribution to the anisotropies at small angular scales
Perturbations of spacetime: gauge ransformations and gauge invariance at second order and beyond
No full textWe consider in detail the problem of gauge dependence that exists in relativistic perturbation theory, going beyond the linear approximation and treating second- and higher-order perturbations. We first derive some mathematical results concerning the Taylor expansion of tensor fields under the action of one-parameter families (not necessarily groups) of diffeomorphisms. Secondly, we define gauge invariance to an arbitrary order n. Finally, we give a generating formula for the gauge transformation to an arbitrary order and explicit rules to second and third order. This formalism can be used in any field of applied general relativity, such as cosmological and black hole perturbations, as well as in other spacetime theories. As a specific example, we consider here second-order perturbations in cosmology, assuming a flat Robertson - Walker background, giving explicit second-order transformations between the synchronous and the Poisson (generalized longitudinal) gauges
Non scale-invariant density perturbations from chaotic extended inflation
Full text linkChaotic inflation is analyzed in the frame of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Fluctuations in the energy density arise from quantum fluctuations of the Brans-Dicke field and of the inflation field. The spectrum of perturbations is studied for a class of models: it is non scale-invarient and, for certain values of the parameters, it has a peak. If the peak appears at astrophysically interesting scales, it may help to reconcile the Cold Dark Matter scenario for structure formation with large scale observations
Relativistic Second-Order Perturbations of the Einstein-de Sitter Universe
No full textWe consider the evolution of relativistic perturbations in the Einstein-de Sitter cosmological model, including second-order effects. The perturbations are considered in two different settings: the widely used synchronous gauge and the Poisson (generalized longitudinal) one. Since, in general, perturbations are gauge dependent, we start by considering gauge transformations at second order. Next, we give the evolution of perturbations in the synchronous gauge, taking into account both scalar and tensor modes in the initial conditions. Using the second-order gauge transformation previously defined, we are then able to transform these perturbations to the Poisson gauge. The most important feature of second-order perturbation theory is mode mixing, which here also means, for instance, that primordial density perturbations act as a source for gravitational waves, while primordial gravitational waves give rise to second-order density fluctuations. Possible applications of our formalism range from the study of the evolution of perturbations in the mildly nonlinear regime to the analysis of secondary anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background
The gravitational wave contribution to cosmic microwave background anisotropies and the amplitude of mass fluctuations from COBE results
No full textA stochastic background of primordial gravitational waves may substantially contribute, via the SachsWolfe effect, to the large-scale cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies recently detected by COBE. This implies a bias in any resulting determination of the primordial amplitude of density fluctuations. We consider the constraints imposed on n < 1 ("tilted") power-law fluctuation spectra, taking into account the contribution from both scalar and tensor waves, as predicted by power-law inflation. The gravitational wave contribution to CMB anisotropies generally reduces the required rms level of mass fluctuation, thereby increasing the linear bias parameter, even in models where the spectral index is close to the Harrison-Zel'dovich value n = 1. This "gravitational wave bias" helps to reconcile the predictions of CDM models with observations on pairwise galaxy velocity dispersion on small scales
Blue perturbation spectra from inflation
No full textWe investigate inflationary models leading to density perturbations with a spectral index (``blue spectra"). These perturbation spectra may be useful to simultaneously account for both the amount of ultra large-scale power required to fit cosmic microwave background anisotropies, such as those measured by COBE, and that required to give bulk motions and structures on the Mpc scale.We investigate inflationary models leading to density perturbations with a spectral index (``blue spectra"). These perturbation spectra may be useful to simultaneously account for both the amount of ultra large-scale power required to fit cosmic microwave background anisotropies, such as those measured by COBE, and that required to give bulk motions and structures on the Mpc scale
Large-Scale Magnetic Fields from Density Perturbations
No full textWe derive the minimal seed magnetic field which unavoidably arises in the radiation and matter eras, prior to recombination, by the rotational velocity of ions and electrons, gravitationally induced by the nonlinear evolution of primordial density perturbations. The resulting magnetic field power spectrum is fully determined by the amplitude and spectral index of density perturbations. The rms amplitude of the seed field at recombination is B≈10-23(λ/Mpc)-2 G, on comoving scales λ≳1 Mpc
Stochastic Inflation in a Simple Two-Field Model
No full textThe dynamics of a nondominating scalar field during inflation is considered in the framework of the stochastic approach where its motion and that of the inflaton are described by two coupled Langevin equations. Curvature perturbations induced by the inflaton make the problem that of a Brownian motion in a random medium. The associated Fokker-Planck equation is solved for a free massless field in a power-law inflation driven by an inflaton with an exponential potential: this simple model could describe the dynamics of the axion, or any other pseudoGoldstone boson, during inflation. In spite of being free, the field shows a highly non-Gaussian behavior on scales much larger than the present horizon; on observable scales it gives rise to isocurvature perturbations which are both essentially Gaussian and scale-free
CMB Polarization from Secondary Vector and Tensor Modes
No full textWe consider a novel contribution to the polarization of the cosmic microwave background induced by vector and tensor modes generated by the nonlinear evolution of primordial scalar perturbations. Our calculation is based on relativistic second-order perturbation theory and allows us to estimate the effects of these secondary modes on the polarization angular power spectra. We show that a nonvanishing B-mode polarization unavoidably arises from pure scalar initial perturbations, thus limiting our ability to detect the signature of primordial gravitational waves generated during inflation. This secondary effect dominates over that of primordial tensors for an inflationary tensor-to-scalar ratio r<10-6. The magnitude of the effect is smaller than the contamination produced by the conversion of polarization of type E into type B, by weak gravitational lensing. However, the lensing signal can be cleaned, making the secondary modes discussed here the actual background limiting the detection of small amplitude primordial gravitational waves
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