Primordial power spectrum versus extension parameters beyond the standard model

TL;DR

This paper reconstructs the primordial power spectrum using recent CMB data, examining how extended cosmological models with additional parameters affect the spectrum's shape and constraints.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed reconstruction of the primordial power spectrum within extended cosmological models, incorporating massive neutrinos, extra relativistic species, and helium abundance variations.

Findings

A scale-invariant spectrum is disfavored at 95% CL even with massive neutrinos.

Constraints on neutrino mass sum are below 0.48 eV at 95% CL.

Effective number of relativistic species and helium abundance are constrained with specific values.

Abstract

We reconstruct the shape of the primordial power spectrum of curvature perturbations in extended cosmological models, including addition of massive neutrinos, extra relativistic species or varying primordial helium abundance, from the latest cosmic microwave background data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the South Pole Telescope. We find that a scale-invariant primordial spectrum is disfavored by the data at 95% confidence level even in the presence of massive neutrinos, however it can lie within the 95% confidence region if the effective number of relativistic species or the primordial helium abundance is allowed to vary freely. The constraints on the extension parameters from WMAP7+ACT+H0+BAO, are the total mass of neutrinos sum(m_nu) < 0.48 eV (95% CL), the effective number of relativistic species N_eff = 4.50 +/- 0.81 and the primordial helium abundance Y_p = 0.303 +/- 0.075. The constraints from WMAP7+SPT+H0+BAO, are sum(m_nu) < 0.45 eV (95% CL), N_eff = 3.86 +/- 0.63 and Y_p = 0.277 +/- 0.050.