Related papers: How Does CMB + BBN Constrain New Physics?
Since the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) was detected by the BICEP2 experiment and an unexpectedly large tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r=0.20^{+0.07}_{-0.05}$, was found, the base standard cosmology should at least…
A dark radiation term arises as a correction to the energy momentum tensor in the simplest five-dimensional RS-II brane-world cosmology. In this paper we revisit the constraints on dark radiation based upon the newest results for…
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy (spatial inhomogeneity) data provide the tightest constraints on the Hubble constant, matter density, spatial curvature, and dark energy dynamics. Other data, sensitive to the evolution of only…
We discuss the cosmological degeneracy between the Hubble parameter H(z), the age of the universe and cosmological parameters describing simple variations from the minimal LCDM model. We show that independent determinations of the Hubble…
In light of the improved sensitivities of cosmological observations, we examine the status of quasi-degenerate neutrino mass scenarios. Within the simplest extension of the standard cosmological model with massive neutrinos, we find that…
We investigate the observational constraints on the cosmic neutrino background (CNB) given by the extended $\Lambda$CDM scenario ($\Lambda$CDM $+ N_{\rm eff} + \sum m_{\nu} + c^2_{\rm eff} + c^2_{\rm vis} + \xi_{\nu}$) using the latest…
Cosmological measurements over the next decade will enable us to shed light on the content and evolution of the Universe. Complementary measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and Baryon Acoustic Oscillations are expected to…
Future Cosmic Microwave Background experiments together with upcoming galaxy and 21-cm surveys will provide extremely accurate measurements of different cosmological observables located at different epochs of the cosmic history. The new…
Recent observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) show some tension with a $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. For one, the cosmological parameters determined by the CMB are at odds with the expansion…
Over the last decade, cosmological observations have attained a level of precision which allows for very detailed comparison with theoretical predictions. We are beginning to learn the answers to some fundamental questions, using…
We perform a detailed analysis of the latest CMB measurements (including BOOMERaNG, DASI, Maxima and CBI), both alone and jointly with other cosmological data sets involving, e.g., galaxy clustering and the Lyman Alpha Forest. We first…
We revisit cosmological neutrino mass bounds when a fraction of dark matter is allowed to decay to massless dark radiation. By compensating the late-time increase in the matter density induced by neutrinos becoming non-relativistic,…
We investigate the radiative decay of the cosmic neutrino background, and its impact on the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) that is known to be a nearly perfect black body. We derive exact formulae for the decay of a…
The standard cosmological model, LCDM, provides an excellent fit to Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data. However, the model has well known problems. For example, the cosmological constant, is fine-tuned to 1 part in 10^100 and the cold…
The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) is an invaluable probe of the conditions of the early universe. Recent measurements of its spatial anisotropy have allowed accurate determinations of several fundamental cosmological…
We provide a fresh look at the cosmological constraints on axion-like particles (ALPs) that couple predominantly to photons, focusing on lifetimes $\tau_{a} \lesssim 10^{4}\, {\rm s}$ and masses $m_a\lesssim 10\,{\rm GeV}$. We consider Big…
The term dark radiation is used both to describe a noninteracting neutrino species and as a correction to the Friedmann Equation in the simplest five-dimensional RS-II brane-world cosmology. In this paper we consider the constraints on both…
Full suite of the present day Cosmic Microwave background (CMB) data, when combined with weak prior information on the Hubble constant and the age of the Universe, or the Large-Scale structure, provides strong indication for a non-zero…
We have performed a likelihood analysis of the recent data on the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropy taken by the Boomerang experiment. We find that this data places a strong upper bound on the radiation density present…
Dark sectors provide a compelling theoretical framework for thermally producing sub-GeV dark matter, and motivate an expansive new accelerator and direct-detection experimental program. We demonstrate the power of constraining such dark…