Dark energy and dark matter

Chris Blake , Swinburne

Introduction
 S. Harris Astronomy Cartoons

The dark
Our current
energy
model
puzzle
of cosmology Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Move your mouse pointer over the thumbnails on the left to display the cartoons.

• We have a superbly detailed

picture of the early Universe
[e.g. CMB, nucleosynthesis]

• We have a model for the

evolution of the Universe
that matches a range of data
[e.g. supernovae, galaxy clustering]
Copyright © 2006 by Sidney Harris. No reproduction other than for personal enjoyment without written permission.

• This model invokes 3 new

pieces of physics : inflation,
dark matter and dark energy
Why is the dark sector interesting?

• Dark matter and energy

show that our understanding
of physics is incomplete

• Astronomy can provide

fundamental physical insights
into quantum theory, gravity,
and particle physics

• We are working in the

breakthrough era where new
data should be revolutionary!
The dark
Dark energy
energy
: evidence
puzzle 2

F IG . 1.— Stacked regions on the CMB corresponding to supervoid and supercluster structures identified in th
averaged CMB cut-outs around 50 supervoids (left) and 50 superclusters (center), and the combined sample (righ
to align each structure’s major axis with the vertical direction. Our statistical analysis uses the raw images, bu
them with a Gaussian kernel with FWHM 1.4◦ . Hot and cold spots appear in the cluster and void stacks, respec
radius of 4◦ , corresponding to spatial scales of 100 h−1 Mpc. The inner circle (4◦ radius) and equal-area outer
compensated filter used in our analysis. Given the uncertainty in void and cluster orientations, small-scale fea
cautiously.
with previous results (Giannantonio et al. 2008), we measured cluster and void lists, we discard
a cross-correlation amplitude between our two data sets on 1◦ lapped LRG survey holes by ≥1
scales of 0.7µK. stripe width) from the footprint b
To find supervoids in the galaxy sample, we used the on a WMAP point source, or tha
parameter-free, publicly available ZOBOV (ZOnes Bordering boundaries of the WMAP mask.
On Voidness; Neyrinck 2008) algorithm. For each galaxy, We found 631 voids and 2836
ZOBOV estimates the density and set of neighbors using the cance level, evaluated by compari
parameter-free Voronoi tessellation (Okabe et al. 2000; van de those of voids and clusters in a un
Weygaert & Schaap 2007). Then, around each density mini- There are so many structures bec
mum, ZOBOV finds density depressions, i.e. voids. We used of the Voronoi tessellation. Most o
VOBOZ (Neyrinck, Gnedin & Hamilton 2005) to detect clus- from discreteness noise. We use
ters, the same algorithm applied to the inverse of the density. contrast structures in our analysis
In 2D, if density were represented as height, the density de- sample below.
pressions ZOBOV finds would correspond to catchment basins We defined the centers of struc
(e.g. Platen, van de Weygaert & Jones 2007). Large voids tions of member galaxies, weighti
can include multiple depressions, joined together to form a the case of voids. The mean radiu
most-probable extent. This requires judging the significance erage distance of member galaxie
of a depression; for this, we use its density contrast, compar- for clusters, the mean radius was 0
ing against density contrasts of voids from a uniform Poisson distance between void galaxies an
point sample. Most of the voids and clusters in our catalog ters, it was 1.1◦ . For each structu
consist of single depressions. ticity is measured using the mome
We estimated the density of the galaxy sample in 3D, con- though it is not expected that this
The dark
Dark energy
energy
: what
puzzle
do we know?

• Dark energy smoothly fills

space with a roughly
constant energy density

• Dark energy dominates the

Universe today but is
insignificant at high redshift

• Dark energy propels the

cosmos into a phase of
accelerating expansion
The dark
Dark energy
energy
: what
puzzle
don’t we know?

• Physically, is it a manifestation of
gravity or matter-energy?

• Why now? - why does dark energy

become important billions of years
after the Big Bang?

• If dark energy is vacuum energy,

how can we explain its magnitude?

• How are our observations of dark

energy affected by inhomogeneity?
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: evidence
puzzle
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: what
puzzle
do we know?

• Weakly interacting

• Non-baryonic [e.g.
nucleosynthesis, CMB acoustic
peaks, microlensing searches]

• Mostly cold [e.g. clumpiness of

structure formation]

• Average mass density [from

CMB]

• There is no candidate in
the standard model of
particle physics
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: what
puzzle
don’t we know?

• No direct detection

• Specific properties : mass,

couplings of particles

• The details of galaxy

formation when baryon
physics is important

• In what way does dark

matter extend the
standard model?
[supersymmetry? axions? sterile
neutrinos?]
The
Is thisdark
all due
energy
to apuzzle
failure of gravity?
Modified Newtonian dynamics ... Higher-dimensional
theories ...

Effects of cosmic inhomogeneity ...

Dark energy
Dark energy : is it a cosmological constant?

A cosmological
constant matches
the data so far, but
its amplitude is
inexplicable
The dark
Dark energy
energy
: thepuzzle
“w” parameter
Key values ...
Matter :
Radiation :
Cosmological constant :
Accelerating fluid :

Physics of dark energy ...

Equation of state :
Conservation of energy :
Re-arranging :
Friedmann equation :
The dark
Dark energy
energy
: negative
puzzlepressure?

Dark energy can be cast as a general scalar field

sometimes known as quintessence
Dark energy : determining its nature

Cosmic
expansion
history

Cosmic
growth
history
A powerful tool : galaxy redshift surveys
Can measure cosmic expansion and
growth history simultaneously

2-degree Field Galaxy

Redshift Survey
Cosmic expansion : standard candles and rulers
Cosmic expansion : baryon oscillations

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations 5

Fig. 3.— As Figure 2, but plotting the correlation function times

s2 . This shows the variation of the peak at 20h−1 Mpc scales that is
The 6-degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey
Measurement of baryon acoustic
peak in local Universe
See poster by Florian Beutler !
H0 = 67.0 +/- 3.2 km s-1 Mpc-1

D(z=0.1) = 456 +/- 27 Mpc

0.05 70
6dFGS data

H0 [km s-1Mpc-1]
0.04 best fit
"mh2 = 0.12
0.03 "mh2 = 0.15
no-baryon fit
60
0.02
!(s)

0.01

0
6dFGS
50 !mh2 prior
-0.01
6dFGS + !mh2 prior
-0.02 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
s [h-1 Mpc] !m
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey

• 1000 sq deg , 0.2 < z < 1.0

• 200,000 redshifts
• blue star-forming galaxies
• Aug 2006 - Jan 2011
The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey

Figure thieved from Simon Driver ...

WiggleZ : baryon oscillations
WiggleZ : the distance-redshift relation
WiggleZ : the value of “w”
WiggleZ : Alcock-Paczynski measurement
True appearance of Appearance in assumed
cluster of galaxies : cosmological model :
ht
sig
of
ine
’s l
er
rv
se
Ob
WiggleZ : the expansion rate over time

Physical evidence for the

accelerating Universe!
Cosmic growth : redshift-space distortions
infalling virialized coherent
galaxies motions flows

observer
WiggleZ : growth of structure
WiggleZ : what have we learnt?
WiggleZ : what have we learnt?

• Baryon acoustic oscillations measure cosmic distances

to z=0.8 and provide cross-check with supernovae

• Alcock-Paczynski effect allows direct measurement of

the cosmic expansion [H(z)] at high redshift

• Redshift-space distortions provide accurate

measurement of growth of structure to high redshift

• General Relativity + cosmological constant models

have been tested in a new way and remain a good fit

• If dark energy behaves as Lambda, what is its physics?

Dark matter
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: mapping
puzzleit out with astronomy
4

In a
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its val
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Appen
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log. T
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tion in
push fr
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tained
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in Fig.
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: direct
puzzle
detection

• Observe direct interactions

between dark matter
particles and detector

• Constrain interaction
cross-section and mass

• Would reveal presence of

dark matter particles, but
not necessarily physics

• No clear detections yet,

but intriguing hints!
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: indirect
puzzledetection

• Excess gamma ray

annihilation products seen
at the Galactic centre?

• Excess energetic neutrinos

resulting from WIMPs
gravitationally captured in
the Sun or the Earth?
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: prospects
puzzle from the LHC

• Large Hadron Collider

should produce an
abundance of dark matter

• Potential to directly
detect supersymmetric
particles and determine
parameters of SUSY

• Missing energy in
reactions correspond to
escaped WIMPs
The dark
Dark matter
energy
: summary
puzzle and outlook

• WIMPs are excellent dark matter candidates,

consistent with astronomical observations

• Supersymmetric extensions to the standard model of

particle physics provide good theoretical framework

• WIMPs can be detected directly , indirectly or at

colliders , within the grasp of current experiments

• Other plausible candidates : axions, sterile neutrinos

• Very good prospects for convincing detections!

The dark energy puzzle
Conclusions

• Dark matter and dark energy are amongst the few

direct observational probes of fundamental theory

• Data coming available over the next few years could

provide revolutionary breakthroughs

• Australia will continue to contribute, particularly via

survey science