Nature of Dark Energy and Polarization Measurements

Abstract

High sensitivity polarization measures, on wide angular scales, together with data on anisotropy, can be used to fix DE parameters. In this paper, first of all, we aim to determine the sensitivity needed to provide significant limits. Our analysis puts in evidence that there is a class of DE models that polarization measures can possibly exclude soon. This class includes models with DE due to a Ratra-Peebles (RP) potential. Using a likelihood analysis, we show that it is possible to distinguish RP models from LCDM and other dynamical DE models, already with the sensitivity of experiments like SPOrt or WMAP, thanks to their negative TE correlation at low-l, when the optical depth tau is sufficiently large. On the contrary, fixing the energy scale Lambda for RP potentials or distinguishing between LCDM and other DE potentials requires a much lower pixel noise, that no planned polarization experiment will achieve. While reviewing this paper after the referee report, the first-year WMAP data were released. WMAP finds large positive anisotropy-polarization correlations at low l; this apparently excludes DE models with RP potentials.

arXiv comment28 pages, 16 figures, to be published in New Astronomy; replaced with accepted version

References in corpus (24)

• Observational Evidence from Supernovae for an Accelerating Universe and a Cosmological Constant
• Cosmology and the Fate of Dilatation Symmetry
• Discovery of a Supernova Explosion at Half the Age of the Universe and its Cosmological Implications
• Cosmological Perturbation Theory in the Synchronous and Conformal Newtonian Gauges
• Cosmological Perturbation Theory in the Synchronous vs. Conformal Newtonian Gauge
• Evidence for Reionization at z ~ 6: Detection of a Gunn-Peterson Trough in a z=6.28 Quasar
• How small were the first cosmological objects?
• A measurement by BOOMERANG of multiple peaks in the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background
• Detection of Polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background using DASI
• Reionization of the Universe and the Early Production of Metals
• The Radiative Feedback of the First Cosmological Objects
• Quintessence and Supergravity
• Parameter constraints for flat cosmologies from CMB and 2dFGRS power spectra
• Evidence for a non-zero Lambda and a low matter density from a combined analysis of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies
• Cosmological implications of the MAXIMA-I high resolution Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy measurement
• Reionization of Hydrogen and Helium by Early Stars and Quasars
• On the Threshold of the Reionization Epoch
• Reionization by Hard Photons: I. X-rays from the First Star Clusters
• Heating and Ionization of the Intergalactic Medium by an Early X-Ray Background
• Observational Constraints on General Relativistic Energy Conditions, Cosmic Matter Density and Dark Energy from X-Ray Clusters of Galaxies and Type-Ia Supernovae
• CMB Polarization Experiments
• The angular power spectra of polarized Galactic synchrotron
• How is the Reionization Epoch Defined?
• Cosmic opacity to CMB photons and polarization measurements

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Early structure formation in quintessence models and its implications for cosmic reionisation from first stars
• Dynamics of a Self-interacting Scalar Field Trapped in the Braneworld for a Wide Variety of Self-interaction Potentials
• Non-linear perturbations in scalar-tensor cosmologies
• The Sky Polarization Observatory