CMB Neutrino Mass Bounds and Reionization

• Published in: Physical Review D
• Main Authors: Archidiacono M, Cooray A, Melchiorri A, Pandolfi S
• Other Authors: M. Archidiacono, A. Cooray, A. Melchiorri, S. Pandolfi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Microwave background anisotropies; Settore FIS/05 - Astronomia e Astrofisica; South Pole; South pole
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2434/704704; https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.82.087302

Current cosmic microwave background bounds on the sum of the neutrino masses assume a sudden reionization scenario described by a single parameter that determines the onset of reionization. We investigate the bounds on the neutrino mass in a more general reionization scenario based on a principal component approach. We found the constraint on the sum of the neutrino masses from cosmic microwave background data can be relaxed by similar to 40% in a generalized reionization scenario. Moreover, the amplitude of the rms mass fluctuations sigma(8) is also considerably lower providing a better consistency with the low amplitude of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signal recently found by the South Pole Telescope.