Big-bang nucleosynthesis and the baryon density of the universe

Fundamental Properties of the Dark and the Luminous Matter from the Low Surface Brightness Discs

Dark matter (DM) is one of the biggest mystery in the Universe. In this review, we start reporting the evidences for this elusive component and discussing about the proposed particle candidates and scenarios for such phenomenon. Then, we focus on recent results obtained for rotating disc galaxies, in particular for low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies. The main observational properties related to the baryonic matter in LSBs, investigated over the last decades, are briefly recalled. Next, these galaxies are analyzed by means of the mass modelling of their rotation curves both individual and stacked. The latter analysis, via the universal rotation curve (URC) method, results really powerful in giving a global or universal description of the properties of these objects. We report the presence in LSBs of scaling relations among their structural properties that result comparable with those found in galaxies of different morphologies. All this confirms, in disc systems, the existence of a strong entanglement between the luminous matter (LM) and the dark matter (DM). Moreover, we report how in LSBs the tight relationship between their radial gravitational accelerations g and their baryonic components gb results to depend also on the stellar disk length scale and the radius at which the two accelerations have been measured. LSB galaxies strongly challenge the ΛCDM scenario with the relative collisionless dark particle and, alongside with the non-detection of the latter, contribute to guide us towards a new scenario for the DM phenomenon.

What Is Temperature? Modern Outlook on the Concept of Temperature

The meaning and evolution of the notion of "temperature" (which is a key concept for the condensed and gaseous matter theories) are addressed from different points of view. The concept of temperature has turned out to be much more fundamental than conventionally thought. In particular, the temperature may be introduced for systems built of a "small" number of particles and particles at rest. The Kelvin temperature scale may be introduced into quantum and relativistic physics due to the fact that the efficiency of the quantum and relativistic Carnot cycles coincides with that of the classical one. The relation of temperature with the metrics of the configurational space describing the behavior of systems built from non-interacting particles is demonstrated. The role of temperature in constituting inertia and gravity forces treated as entropy forces is addressed. The Landauer principle asserts that the temperature of a system is the only physical value defining the energy cost of the isothermal erasure of a single bit of information. The fundamental role of the temperature of the cosmic microwave background in modern cosmology is discussed. The range of problems and controversies related to the negative absolute temperature is treated.

Low-Mass Dark Matter Search with the DarkSide-50 Experiment

We present the results of a search for dark matter weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) in the mass range below 20  GeV/c^{2} using a target of low-radioactivity argon with a 6786.0 kg d exposure. The data were obtained using the DarkSide-50 apparatus at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. The analysis is based on the ionization signal, for which the DarkSide-50 time projection chamber is fully efficient at 0.1  keVee. The observed rate in the detector at 0.5  keVee is about 1.5  event/keVee/kg/d and is almost entirely accounted for by known background sources. We obtain a 90% C.L. exclusion limit above 1.8  GeV/c^{2} for the spin-independent cross section of dark matter WIMPs on nucleons, extending the exclusion region for dark matter below previous limits in the range 1.8-6  GeV/c^{2}.

The Magellanic Clouds and the Primordial Helium Abundance

A new determination of the pregalactic helium abundance based on the Magellanic Clouds H II regions is discussed. This determination amounts to Yp = 0.2345 ± 0.0030 and is compared with those derived from giant extragalactic H II regions in systems with extremely low heavy elements content. It is suggested that the higher primordial value derived by other authors from giant H II region complexes could be due to two systematic effects: the presence of neutral hydrogen inside the helium Strömgren sphere and the presence of temperature variations inside the observed volume.

Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND): Observational Phenomenology and Relativistic Extensions

A wealth of astronomical data indicate the presence of mass discrepancies in the Universe. The motions observed in a variety of classes of extragalactic systems exceed what can be explained by the mass visible in stars and gas. Either (i) there is a vast amount of unseen mass in some novel form - dark matter - or (ii) the data indicate a breakdown of our understanding of dynamics on the relevant scales, or (iii) both. Here, we first review a few outstanding challenges for the dark matter interpretation of mass discrepancies in galaxies, purely based on observations and independently of any alternative theoretical framework. We then show that many of these puzzling observations are predicted by one single relation - Milgrom's law - involving an acceleration constant a₀ (or a characteristic surface density Σ_† = a₀/G) on the order of the square-root of the cosmological constant in natural units. This relation can at present most easily be interpreted as the effect of a single universal force law resulting from a modification of Newtonian dynamics (MOND) on galactic scales. We exhaustively review the current observational successes and problems of this alternative paradigm at all astrophysical scales, and summarize the various theoretical attempts (TeVeS, GEA, BIMOND, and others) made to effectively embed this modification of Newtonian dynamics within a relativistic theory of gravity.

Limits on neutrino mass from cosmic structure formation

We consider the effect of three species of neutrinos with nearly degenerate mass on the cosmic structure formation in a low-matter-density universe within a hierarchical clustering scenario with a flat Gaussian initial perturbation spectrum. The matching condition for fluctuation powers at the COBE scale and at the cluster scale leads to a strong upper limit on neutrino mass. For a flat universe with matter density parameter Omega = 0.3, we obtain m(nu)<0.6 eV for the Hubble constant H0<80 km s(-1) Mpc(-1). Allowing for the more generous parameter space limited by Omega<0.4, H0<80 km s(-1) Mpc(-1) and age t(0)>11.5 Gyr, the limit is 0.9 eV.

The dark halo of the milky Way

Most of the matter in the Milky Way is invisible to astronomers. Precise numbers are elusive, but it appears that the dark component is 20 times as massive as the visible disk of stars and gas. This dark matter is distributed in space differently than the stars, forming a vast, diffuse halo, more spherical than disklike, which occupies more than 1000 times the volume of the disk of stars. The composition of this dark halo is unknown, but it may comprise a mixture of ancient, degenerate dwarf stars and exotic, hypothetical elementary particles.

The Cosmic Microwave Background

We present a brief review of current theory and observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). New predictions for cosmological defect theories and an overview of the inflationary theory are discussed. Recent results from various observations of the anisotropies of the microwave background are described and a summary of the proposed experiments is presented. A new analysis technique based on Bayesian statistics that can be used to reconstruct the underlying sky fluctuations is summarised. Current CMB data is used to set some preliminary constraints on the values of fundamental cosmological parameters Ω and H_o using the maximum likelihood technique. In addition, secondary anisotropies due to the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect are described.

Primordial nucleosynthesis

With the advent of the new extragalactic deuterium observations, Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) is on the verge of undergoing a transformation. In the past, the emphasis has been on demonstrating the concordance of the BBN model with the abundances of the light isotopes extrapolated back to their primordial values by using stellar and galactic evolution theories. As a direct measure of primordial deuterium is converged upon, the nature of the field will shift to using the much more precise primordial D/H to constrain the more flexible stellar and galactic evolution models (although the question of potential systematic error in 4He abundance determinations remains open). The remarkable success of the theory to date in establishing the concordance has led to the very robust conclusion of BBN regarding the baryon density. This robustness remains even through major model variations such as an assumed first-order quark-hadron phase transition. The BBN constraints on the cosmological baryon density are reviewed and demonstrate that the bulk of the baryons are dark and also that the bulk of the matter in the universe is nonbaryonic. Comparison of baryonic density arguments from Lyman-alpha clouds, x-ray gas in clusters, and the microwave anisotropy are made.

Is there a Population II analogy to the F star lithium dip?

Observers have found a small number of lithium-depleted halo stars in the temperature range of the Spite plateau. The current status of the mass-loss hypothesis for producing the observed lithium dip in Population (Pop) I stars is briefly discussed and extended to Pop II stars as a possible explanation for these halo objects. Based on detections of F-type main-sequence variables, mass loss is assumed to occur in a narrow temperature region corresponding to this "instability strip." As Pop II main-sequence stars evolve to the blue, they enter this narrow temperature region, then move back through the lower temperature area of the Spite plateau. If 0.05 M. (solar mass) or more have been lost, they will show lithium depletion. This hypothesis affects the lithium-to- beryllium abundance, the ratio of high- to low-lithium stars, and the luminosity function. Constraints on the mass-loss hypothesis due to these effects are discussed. Finally, mass loss in this temperature range would operate in stars near the turnoff of metal-poor globular clusters, resulting in apparent ages 2 to 3 Gyr (gigayears) older than they actually are.

The history of the galaxies

Astronomical observations now reach far enough back in time, in enough depth and detail, to reveal the history of galaxies since their formation. The early Universe contained a network of gas clouds that filled much of the space between the young galaxies, where stars were forming at a high rate. Since then, intergalactic space has been swept clean, and galaxies have continued to convert the dwindling supply of gas slow into stars.

Cosmological baryon density derived from the deuterium abundance at redshift z = 3.57

The primordial ratio of deuterium to hydrogen nuclei (D/H), created as a result of the Big Bang, provides the most sensitive measure of the cosmological density of baryons. Measurements of the D/H ratio in the interstellar medium of our Galaxy place a strict lower limit on the primordial ratio, because processing of gas by stars reduces the abundance of deuterium relative to hydrogen. Absorption of radiation from distant quasars by intervening clouds of gas offers a means of probing D/H ratios at large redshifts, where the effects of stellar processing should be negligible. Measurements on one absorption system have indicated an extremely high primordial abundance ratio of 24 x 10(-5). Here we report a measurement of the D/H ratio in another high-redshift absorption system, and obtain a value that is an order of magnitude lower than that reported previously. The measured ratio of 2.3 x 10(-5) is consistent with that in the interstellar medium (after allowing for Galactic chemical evolution), and indicates that the absorption spectra on which the earlier estimates are based may have been subject to strong contamination. We calculate a baryon density that is 5% of the critical density required to close the Universe.

The Case for a Hubble Constant of 30 km s –1 Mpc –1

Although recent determinations of the distance to the Virgo cluster based on Cepheid variable stars represent an important step in pinning down the Hubble constant, after 65 years a definitive determination of the Hubble constant still eludes cosmologists. At present, most of the observational determinations place the Hubble constant between 40 and 90 kilometers per second per megaparsec (km s(-1) Mpc(-1)). The case is made here for a Hubble constant that is even smaller than the lower bound of the accepted range on the basis of the great advantages, all theoretical in nature, of a Hubble constant of around 30 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Such a value for the Hubble cures all of the ills of the current theoretical orthodoxy, that is, a spatially flat universe composed predominantly of cold dark matter.