Interacting universes and the cosmological constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alonso-Serrano, A.; Bastos, C.; Bertolami, O.; Robles-Pérez, S.

2013-01-01

In this Letter it is studied the effects that an interaction scheme among universes can have in the values of their cosmological constants. In the case of two interacting universes, the value of the cosmological constant of one of the universes becomes very close to zero at the expense of an increasing value of the cosmological constant of the partner universe. In the more general case of a chain of N interacting universes with periodic boundary conditions, the spectrum of the Hamiltonian splits into a large number of levels, each of them associated with a particular value of the cosmological constant, that can be occupied by single universes revealing a collective behavior that plainly shows that the multiverse is much more than the mere sum of its parts

Interacting universes and the cosmological constant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alonso-Serrano, A. [Centro de Física “Miguel Catalán”, Instituto de Física Fundamental, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Estación Ecológica de Biocosmología, Pedro de Alvarado 14, 06411 Medellín (Spain); Bastos, C. [Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Bertolami, O. [Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Avenida Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Robles-Pérez, S., E-mail: salvarp@imaff.cfmac.csic.es [Centro de Física “Miguel Catalán”, Instituto de Física Fundamental, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Estación Ecológica de Biocosmología, Pedro de Alvarado 14, 06411 Medellín (Spain); Física Teórica, Universidad del País Vasco, Apartado 644, 48080 Bilbao (Spain)

2013-02-12

In this Letter it is studied the effects that an interaction scheme among universes can have in the values of their cosmological constants. In the case of two interacting universes, the value of the cosmological constant of one of the universes becomes very close to zero at the expense of an increasing value of the cosmological constant of the partner universe. In the more general case of a chain of N interacting universes with periodic boundary conditions, the spectrum of the Hamiltonian splits into a large number of levels, each of them associated with a particular value of the cosmological constant, that can be occupied by single universes revealing a collective behavior that plainly shows that the multiverse is much more than the mere sum of its parts.

Cosmological D-instantons and cyclic universes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergshoeff, E A; Collinucci, A; Roest, D; Russo, J G; Townsend, P K

2005-01-01

For models of gravity coupled to hyperbolic sigma models, such as the metric-scalar sector of IIB supergravity, we show how smooth trajectories in the 'augmented target space' connect FLRW cosmologies to non-extremal D-instantons through a cosmological singularity. In particular, we find closed cyclic universes that undergo an endless sequence of big-bang to big-crunch cycles separated by instanton 'phases'. We also find 'big-bounce' universes in which a collapsing closed universe bounces off its cosmological singularity to become an open expanding universe

Quantum cosmology and baby universes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grishchuk, L.P.

1990-01-01

The contributed papers presented to the workshop on ''Quantum Cosmology and Baby Universes'' have demonstrated the great interest in, and rapid development of, the field of quantum cosmology. In my view, there are at least three areas of active research at present. The first area can be defined as that of practical calculations. Here researchers are dealing with the basic quantum cosmological equation, which is the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. They try to classify all possible solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation or seek a specific integration contour in order to select one particular wave function or generalize the simple minisuperspace models to more complicated cases, including various inhomogeneities, anisotropies, etc. The second area of research deals with the interpretational issues of quantum cosmology. There are still many questions about how to extract the observational consequences from a given cosmological wave function, the role of time in quantum cosmology, and how to reformulate the rules of quantum mechanics in such a way that they could be applicable to the single system which is our Universe. The third area of research is concerned with the so-called ''third quantization'' of gravity. In this approach a wave function satisfying the Wheeler-DeWitt equation becomes an operator acting on a Wave Function of the many-universes system. Within this approach one operates with Euclidean worm-holes joining different Lorentzian universes. (author)

The Universe Adventure - The Beginnings of Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

The Universe Adventure [ next ] [ home ] Go The Beginnings of Cosmology Since the beginning of of stars? What do the stars tell us about the future? Where did the Universe come from? Cosmology is will introduce you to Cosmology and the study of the structure, history, and fate of the Universe. In

Particle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.; Turner, M.S.

1982-06-01

work is described in these areas: cosmological baryon production; cosmological production of free quarks and other exotic particle species; the quark-hadron transition in the early universe; astrophysical and cosmological constraints on particle properties; massive neutrinos; phase transitions in the early universe; and astrophysical implications of an axion-like particle

Modern Cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Yuanzhong

2002-06-21

This book is one of a series in the areas of high-energy physics, cosmology and gravitation published by the Institute of Physics. It includes courses given at a doctoral school on 'Relativistic Cosmology: Theory and Observation' held in Spring 2000 at the Centre for Scientific Culture 'Alessandro Volta', Italy, sponsored by SIGRAV-Societa Italiana di Relativita e Gravitazione (Italian Society of Relativity and Gravitation) and the University of Insubria. This book collects 15 review reports given by a number of outstanding scientists. They touch upon the main aspects of modern cosmology from observational matters to theoretical models, such as cosmological models, the early universe, dark matter and dark energy, modern observational cosmology, cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, and numerical simulations in cosmology. In particular, the introduction to the basics of cosmology includes the basic equations, covariant and tetrad descriptions, Friedmann models, observation and horizons, etc. The chapters on the early universe involve inflationary theories, particle physics in the early universe, and the creation of matter in the universe. The chapters on dark matter (DM) deal with experimental evidence of DM, neutrino oscillations, DM candidates in supersymmetry models and supergravity, structure formation in the universe, dark-matter search with innovative techniques, and dark energy (cosmological constant), etc. The chapters about structure in the universe consist of the basis for structure formation, quantifying large-scale structure, cosmic background fluctuation, galaxy space distribution, and the clustering of galaxies. In the field of modern observational cosmology, galaxy surveys and cluster surveys are given. The chapter on gravitational lensing describes the lens basics and models, galactic microlensing and galaxy clusters as lenses. The last chapter, 'Numerical simulations in cosmology', deals with spatial and

Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Contopoulos, G.; Kotsakis, D.

1987-01-01

An extensive first part on a wealth of observational results relevant to cosmology lays the foundation for the second and central part of the book; the chapters on general relativity, the various cosmological theories, and the early universe. The authors present in a complete and almost non-mathematical way the ideas and theoretical concepts of modern cosmology including the exciting impact of high-energy particle physics, e.g. in the concept of the ''inflationary universe''. The final part addresses the deeper implications of cosmology, the arrow of time, the universality of physical laws, inflation and causality, and the anthropic principle

Cosmology in the plasma universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfven, H.

1987-05-01

Space observations have opened the spectral regions of X-rays and γ-rays, which are produced by plasma processes. The Plasma Universe derived from observations in these regions is drastically different from the now generally accepted 'Visual Light Universe' based on visual light observations alone. Historically this transitions can be compared only to the transition from the geocentric to the heliocentric cosmology. The purpose of this paper is to discuss what criteria a cosmological theory must satisfy in order to be acceptable in the Plasma Universe. (author)

Smoot Cosmology Group

Science.gov (United States)

. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Nobelist George Smoot to Direct Korean Cosmology Institute Nobel Laureate George Smoot has been appointed director of a new cosmology institute in South Korea that will work closely with the year-old Berkeley the Early Universe (IEU) at EWHA Womans University in Seoul, Korea will provide cosmology education

Anisotropic, nonsingular early universe model leading to a realistic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dechant, Pierre-Philippe; Lasenby, Anthony N.; Hobson, Michael P.

2009-01-01

We present a novel cosmological model in which scalar field matter in a biaxial Bianchi IX geometry leads to a nonsingular 'pancaking' solution: the hypersurface volume goes to zero instantaneously at the 'big bang', but all physical quantities, such as curvature invariants and the matter energy density remain finite, and continue smoothly through the big bang. We demonstrate that there exist geodesics extending through the big bang, but that there are also incomplete geodesics that spiral infinitely around a topologically closed spatial dimension at the big bang, rendering it, at worst, a quasiregular singularity. The model is thus reminiscent of the Taub-NUT vacuum solution in that it has biaxial Bianchi IX geometry and its evolution exhibits a dimensionality reduction at a quasiregular singularity; the two models are, however, rather different, as we will show in a future work. Here we concentrate on the cosmological implications of our model and show how the scalar field drives both isotropization and inflation, thus raising the question of whether structure on the largest scales was laid down at a time when the universe was still oblate (as also suggested by [T. S. Pereira, C. Pitrou, and J.-P. Uzan, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 9 (2007) 6.][C. Pitrou, T. S. Pereira, and J.-P. Uzan, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 4 (2008) 4.][A. Guemruekcueoglu, C. Contaldi, and M. Peloso, J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys. 11 (2007) 005.]). We also discuss the stability of our model to small perturbations around biaxiality and draw an analogy with cosmological perturbations. We conclude by presenting a separate, bouncing solution, which generalizes the known bouncing solution in closed FRW universes.

Weaving the universe is modern cosmology discovered or invented?

CERN Document Server

Wesson, Paul S

2011-01-01

This new book is a thorough but short review of the history and present status of ideas in cosmology. It is aimed at a broad audience, but will contain a few equations where needed to make the argument exact. The coverage of cosmological ideas will focus mainly on the period from the early 1900s when Einstein formulated relativity and when his colleague Sir Arthur Eddington was creating relativistic models of the universe. It ends with the completion of the Large Hadron Collider in late 2008, having surveyed modern ideas of particle physics and astrophysics. To organize the large body of infor

Development of the Universe and New Cosmology

CERN Document Server

Sakharov, Alexander S

2003-01-01

Cosmology is undergoing an explosive period of activity, fueled both by new, accurate astrophysical data and by innovative theoretical developments. Cosmological parameters such as the total density of the Universe and the rate of cosmological expansion are being precisely measured for the first time, and a consistent standard picture of the Universe is beginning to emerge. Recent developments in cosmology give rise the intriguing possibility that all structures in the Universe, from superclusters to planets, had a quantum-mechanical origin in its earliest moments. Furthermore, these ideas are not idle theorizing, but predictive, and subject to meaningful experimental test. We review the concordance model of the development of the Universe, as well as evidence for the observational revolution that this field is going through. This already provides us with important information on particle physics, which is inaccessible to accelerators.

Varying Gravitational Constant as Well as Cosmology from the Early Inflation to Late Acceleration and Future Universe

OpenAIRE

Srivastava, S. K.

2008-01-01

Here, cosmology is obtained from the variable gravitational constant $ G \\propto \\phi^{-2}$ with $ \\phi(x) $ being a scalar and its fluctuations around the ground state. The gravitational action contains Einstein-Hilbert like term with variable $ G $, kinetic energy and self-interaction potential for $ \\phi(x) $. Two phase transitions take place in this model. The first one takes place at the GUT (grand unified theory) scale $ \\sim 2.45 \\times 10^{14}{\\rm GeV} $, when the early universe exits...

Lyra’s cosmology of hybrid universe in Bianchi-V space-time

Science.gov (United States)

Yadav, Anil Kumar; Bhardwaj, Vinod Kumar

2018-06-01

In this paper we have searched for the existence of Lyra’s cosmology in a hybrid universe with minimal interaction between dark energy and normal matter using Bianchi-V space-time. To derive the exact solution, the average scale factor is taken as a={({t}n{e}kt)}\\frac{1{m}} which describes the hybrid nature of the scale factor and generates a model of the transitioning universe from the early deceleration phase to the present acceleration phase. The quintessence model makes the matter content of the derived universe remarkably able to satisfy the null, dominant and strong energy condition. It has been found that the time varying displacement β(t) co-relates with the nature of cosmological constant Λ(t). We also discuss some physical and geometrical features of the universe.

Is there a cosmological evidence for additional particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirilova, D.P.; Chizhov, M.V.

1998-05-01

An extended cosmological model of the early Universe with additional antisymmetric tensor particles is described. The cosmological effects of the additional particles, namely additional interactions of the early Universe plasma with the tensor particles, a shift of the early Universe temperature-time dependence and the total energy density increase are discussed. The efficiency of the tensor particles interactions with the early Universe plasma components and their corresponding cosmological time and temperature are determined. (author)

Precision Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Bernard J. T.

2017-04-01

Preface; Notation and conventions; Part I. 100 Years of Cosmology: 1. Emerging cosmology; 2. The cosmic expansion; 3. The cosmic microwave background; 4. Recent cosmology; Part II. Newtonian Cosmology: 5. Newtonian cosmology; 6. Dark energy cosmological models; 7. The early universe; 8. The inhomogeneous universe; 9. The inflationary universe; Part III. Relativistic Cosmology: 10. Minkowski space; 11. The energy momentum tensor; 12. General relativity; 13. Space-time geometry and calculus; 14. The Einstein field equations; 15. Solutions of the Einstein equations; 16. The Robertson-Walker solution; 17. Congruences, curvature and Raychaudhuri; 18. Observing and measuring the universe; Part IV. The Physics of Matter and Radiation: 19. Physics of the CMB radiation; 20. Recombination of the primeval plasma; 21. CMB polarisation; 22. CMB anisotropy; Part V. Precision Tools for Precision Cosmology: 23. Likelihood; 24. Frequentist hypothesis testing; 25. Statistical inference: Bayesian; 26. CMB data processing; 27. Parametrising the universe; 28. Precision cosmology; 29. Epilogue; Appendix A. SI, CGS and Planck units; Appendix B. Magnitudes and distances; Appendix C. Representing vectors and tensors; Appendix D. The electromagnetic field; Appendix E. Statistical distributions; Appendix F. Functions on a sphere; Appendix G. Acknowledgements; References; Index.

Mapping the early Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

1991-06-15

From its unique vantage point 900 kilometres above the earth's surface, NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite has a privileged view of cosmic background radiation - the remnants of the early (radiation-dominated) Universe which followed the Big Bang some ten Gigayears ago, and possibly some subsequent history. In this way astroparticle physicists get a first peek at the quantum cosmology which moulded the infant Universe.

Cosmological phase transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.

1993-10-01

If modern ideas about the role of spontaneous symmetry breaking in fundamental physics are correct, then the Universe should have undergone a series of phase transitions early in its history. The study of cosmological phase transitions has become an important aspect of early-Universe cosmology. In this lecture I review some very recent work on three aspects of phase transitions: the electroweak transition, texture, and axions

Mapping the early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

From its unique vantage point 900 kilometres above the earth's surface, NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite has a privileged view of cosmic background radiation - the remnants of the early (radiation-dominated) Universe which followed the Big Bang some ten Gigayears ago, and possibly some subsequent history. In this way astroparticle physicists get a first peek at the quantum cosmology which moulded the infant Universe

Primordial nucleosynthesis in the Rh = ct cosmology: pouring cold water on the simmering Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Geraint F.; Barnes, Luke A.; Kaushik, Rajesh

2016-07-01

Primordial nucleosynthesis is rightly hailed as one of the great successes of the standard cosmological model. Here we consider the initial forging of elements in the recently proposed Rh = ct universe, a cosmology that demands linear evolution of the scale factor. Such a universe cools extremely slowly compared to standard cosmologies, considerably depleting the available neutrons during nucleosynthesis; this has significant implications for the resultant primordial abundances of elements, predicting a minuscule quantity of helium which is profoundly at odds with observations. The production of helium can be enhanced in such a `simmering universe' by boosting the baryon to photon ratio, although more than an order of magnitude increase is required to bring the helium mass fraction into accordance with observations. However, in this scenario, the prolonged period of nucleosynthesis results of the efficient cooking of lighter into heavier elements, impacting the resultant abundances of all elements so that, other than hydrogen and helium, there are virtually no light elements present in the universe. Without the addition of substantial new physics in the early universe, it is difficult to see how the Rh = ct universe can be considered a viable cosmological model.

Bulk viscous cosmology in early Universe

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The effect of bulk viscosity on the early evolution of Universe for a spatially homogeneous and isotropic Robertson-Walker model is considered. Einstein's field equations are solved by using `gamma-law' equation of state = ( - 1)ρ, where the adiabatic parameter gamma () depends on the scale factor of the model.

Cosmology understanding the evolution of the universe

CERN Document Server

2015-01-01

Bridging astronomy and physics, cosmology seeks to examine the nature of the universe as a whole. Scientific investigation of cosmology began in ancient times and progressed rapidly after the Scientific Revolution, which produced the discovery of gravity and the heliocentric model of Copernicus. This volume examines the historical developments in the field of cosmology, the evidence supporting the Big Bang theory, and the future implications of dark matter and an expanding universe. Readers will also be introduced to the various thinkers who helped advance study of this endlessly fascinating f

The expanding Universe a primer on relativistic cosmology

CERN Document Server

Heacox, William D

2015-01-01

Cosmology - the science of the Universe at large - has experienced a renaissance in the decades bracketing the turn of the twenty-first century. Exploring our emerging understanding of cosmology, this text takes two complementary points of view: the physical principles underlying theories of cosmology, and the observable consequences of models of Universal expansion. The book develops cosmological models based on fundamental physical principles, with mathematics limited to the minimum necessary to keep the material accessible for students of physics and astronomy at the advanced undergraduate level. A substantial review of general relativity leading up to the Einstein field equations is included, with derivations of explicit formulations connecting observable features of the Universe to models of its expansion. Self-contained and up to date in respect of modern observations, the text provides a solid theoretical grounding in modern cosmology while preparing readers for the changes that will inevitably come fr...

The Physics of the Early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, Douglas

2007-01-01

The physics of the very small and the very large were successfully brought together in the 1980s through the idea of 'the universe as a particle accelerator'. The manifesto of this new campaign was laid out in the book 'The Early Universe' by Kolb and Turner in 1990. For at least the next decade that book was to be found on the shelves of every theorist (and many experimentalists) who professed an interest in this topic. But science marches on, and the last 10-15 years has seen an explosion in our understanding of the physics of the very earliest times and the very largest scales. Experimentally our world-view has changed utterly, through exquisitely precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background, galaxy clustering and supernova distances, with a refinement of the basic inflationary big bang paradigm into the new 'standard cosmological model'. And in tandem with these changes has been the development of new theoretical ideas, particularly involving dark energy and connections between string/brane theory and cosmology. So what is the new book for the shelves of today's cohort of young Rockys and Mikes? Despite a recent number of promising-sounding cosmology books, there is nothing at the advanced level which is broad enough to be a general introduction to the 'early universe' topic. Perhaps the best of the bunch is 'The Physics of the Early Universe', edited by E Papantonopoulos as part of Springer's series 'Lecture notes in physics'. This is a set of 9 review articles given as part of a 2003 summer school on Syros Island, Greece. Although far from perfect, the core of this book provides a solid introduction to current research in early universe physics, which should be useful for PhD students or postdoctoral researchers who want the real thing. The book starts with a competent introduction by Kyriakos Tamvakis, serving essentially as a summary of where we were in Kolb and Turner's text. We have learned since then, however, that inflation is really all

Particle cosmology

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2007-01-01

The understanding of the Universe at the largest and smallest scales traditionally has been the subject of cosmology and particle physics, respectively. Studying the evolution of the Universe connects today's large scales with the tiny scales in the very early Universe and provides the link between the physics of particles and of the cosmos. This series of five lectures aims at a modern and critical presentation of the basic ideas, methods, models and observations in today's particle cosmology.

Modern Cosmology

CERN Document Server

Zhang Yuan Zhong

2002-01-01

This book is one of a series in the areas of high-energy physics, cosmology and gravitation published by the Institute of Physics. It includes courses given at a doctoral school on 'Relativistic Cosmology: Theory and Observation' held in Spring 2000 at the Centre for Scientific Culture 'Alessandro Volta', Italy, sponsored by SIGRAV-Societa Italiana di Relativita e Gravitazione (Italian Society of Relativity and Gravitation) and the University of Insubria. This book collects 15 review reports given by a number of outstanding scientists. They touch upon the main aspects of modern cosmology from observational matters to theoretical models, such as cosmological models, the early universe, dark matter and dark energy, modern observational cosmology, cosmic microwave background, gravitational lensing, and numerical simulations in cosmology. In particular, the introduction to the basics of cosmology includes the basic equations, covariant and tetrad descriptions, Friedmann models, observation and horizons, etc. The ...

String Gas Cosmology

OpenAIRE

Brandenberger, Robert H.

2008-01-01

String gas cosmology is a string theory-based approach to early universe cosmology which is based on making use of robust features of string theory such as the existence of new states and new symmetries. A first goal of string gas cosmology is to understand how string theory can effect the earliest moments of cosmology before the effective field theory approach which underlies standard and inflationary cosmology becomes valid. String gas cosmology may also provide an alternative to the curren...

An introduction to modern cosmology

CERN Document Server

Liddle, Andrew

2015-01-01

An Introduction to Modern Cosmology Third Edition is an accessible account of modern cosmological ideas. The Big Bang Cosmology is explored, looking at its observational successes in explaining the expansion of the Universe, the existence and properties of the cosmic microwave background, and the origin of light elements in the universe. Properties of the very early Universe are also covered, including the motivation for a rapid period of expansion known as cosmological inflation. The third edition brings this established undergraduate textbook up-to-date with the rapidly evolving observation

Introduction to cosmology

CERN Document Server

Roos, Matts

2015-01-01

The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Cosmology provides a concise, authoritative study of cosmology at an introductory level. Starting from elementary principles and the early history of cosmology, the text carefully guides the student on to curved spacetimes, special and general relativity, gravitational lensing, the thermal history of the Universe, and cosmological models, including extended gravity models, black holes and Hawking's recent conjectures on the not-so-black holes.

Time variable cosmological constants from the age of universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Lixin; Lu Jianbo; Li Wenbo

2010-01-01

In this Letter, time variable cosmological constant, dubbed age cosmological constant, is investigated motivated by the fact: any cosmological length scale and time scale can introduce a cosmological constant or vacuum energy density into Einstein's theory. The age cosmological constant takes the form ρ Λ =3c 2 M P 2 /t Λ 2 , where t Λ is the age or conformal age of our universe. The effective equation of state (EoS) of age cosmological constant are w Λ eff =-1+2/3 (√(Ω Λ ))/c and w Λ eff =-1+2/3 (√(Ω Λ ))/c (1+z) when the age and conformal age of universe are taken as the role of cosmological time scales respectively. The EoS are the same as the so-called agegraphic dark energy models. However, the evolution histories are different from the agegraphic ones for their different evolution equations.

The Turning Point for the Recent Acceleration of the Universe with a Cosmological Constant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang T. X.

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The turning point and acceleration expansion of the universe are investigated according to the standard cosmological theory with a non-zero cosmological constant. Choosing the Hubble constant H 0 , the radius of the present universe R 0 , and the density parameter in matter Ω M , 0 as three independent parameters, we have analytically examined the other properties of the universe such as the density parameter in dark energy, the cosmologi- cal constant, the mass of the universe, the turning point redshift, the age of the present universe, and the time-dependent radius, expansion rate, velocity, and acceleration pa- rameter of the universe. It is shown that the turning point redshift is only dependent of the density parameter in matter, not explicitly on the Hubble constant and the radius of the present universe. The universe turned its expansion from past deceleration to recent acceleration at the moment when its size was about 3 / 5 of the present size if the density parameter in matter is about 0.3 (or the turning point redshift is 0.67. The expansion rate is very large in the early period and decreases with time to approach the Hubble constant at the present time. The expansion velocity exceeds the light speed in the early period. It decreases to the minimum at the turning point and then increases with time. The minimum and present expansion velocities are determined with the independent parameters. The solution of time-dependent radius shows the universe expands all the time. The universe with a larger present radius, smaller Hubble constant, and / or smaller density parameter in matter is elder. The universe with smaller density parameter in matter accelerates recently in a larger rate but less than unity.

Gravity, black holes and the very early Universe an introduction to general relativity and cosmology

CERN Document Server

Chow, Tai L

2008-01-01

In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein formulated two theories that would forever change the landscape of physics: the Special Theory of Relativity and the General Theory of Relativity. By 1925, quantum mechanics had been born out of the dissection of these two theories, and shortly after that, relativistic quantum field theory. We now had in place some important ties between the laws of physics and the types of particle interactions the new physics was uncovering. Gravity is one of the four types of forces that are found throughout the universe. In fact, although it is a relatively weak force, it operates at huge distances, and so must be accounted for in any cosmological system. Unfortunately, gravity continues to defy our neat categorization of how all the forces in nature work together. Professor Tai Chow, from the California State University at Stanislaus in Turlock, lays out for us the basic ideas of Einstein, including his law of gravitation, explains the physics behind black holes, and weaves into this a...

Classical and quantum cosmology of minimal massive bigravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darabi, F., E-mail: f.darabi@azaruniv.edu; Mousavi, M., E-mail: mousavi@azaruniv.edu

2016-10-10

In a Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) space–time background we study the classical cosmological models in the context of recently proposed theory of nonlinear minimal massive bigravity. We show that in the presence of perfect fluid the classical field equations acquire contribution from the massive graviton as a cosmological term which is positive or negative depending on the dynamical competition between two scale factors of bigravity metrics. We obtain the classical field equations for flat and open universes in the ordinary and Schutz representation of perfect fluid. Focusing on the Schutz representation for flat universe, we find classical solutions exhibiting singularities at early universe with vacuum equation of state. Then, in the Schutz representation, we study the quantum cosmology for flat universe and derive the Schrodinger–Wheeler–DeWitt equation. We find its exact and wave packet solutions and discuss on their properties to show that the initial singularity in the classical solutions can be avoided by quantum cosmology. Similar to the study of Hartle–Hawking no-boundary proposal in the quantum cosmology of de Rham, Gabadadze and Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity, it turns out that the mass of graviton predicted by quantum cosmology of the minimal massive bigravity is large at early universe. This is in agreement with the fact that at early universe the cosmological constant should be large.

Classical and quantum cosmology of minimal massive bigravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darabi, F.; Mousavi, M.

2016-01-01

In a Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) space–time background we study the classical cosmological models in the context of recently proposed theory of nonlinear minimal massive bigravity. We show that in the presence of perfect fluid the classical field equations acquire contribution from the massive graviton as a cosmological term which is positive or negative depending on the dynamical competition between two scale factors of bigravity metrics. We obtain the classical field equations for flat and open universes in the ordinary and Schutz representation of perfect fluid. Focusing on the Schutz representation for flat universe, we find classical solutions exhibiting singularities at early universe with vacuum equation of state. Then, in the Schutz representation, we study the quantum cosmology for flat universe and derive the Schrodinger–Wheeler–DeWitt equation. We find its exact and wave packet solutions and discuss on their properties to show that the initial singularity in the classical solutions can be avoided by quantum cosmology. Similar to the study of Hartle–Hawking no-boundary proposal in the quantum cosmology of de Rham, Gabadadze and Tolley (dRGT) massive gravity, it turns out that the mass of graviton predicted by quantum cosmology of the minimal massive bigravity is large at early universe. This is in agreement with the fact that at early universe the cosmological constant should be large.

Cosmology: The search for the order of the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caes, C.J.

1986-01-01

Cosmology is fast becoming a ''hot'' topic among physicists and astronomers, but few ''outsiders'' really understand what it's all about. This book discusses metaphysics and sheds an informative, nontechnical light on the roots of the universe and the mysteries that surround it. Focusing on the speculative nature of the sciences, the author brings together religion, theology, philosophy, and astronomy to provide a broad spectrum of theories and ideas that have evolved from the early cosmologies of the Babylonians, Egyptians, the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans, and other ancients. Highlighted is the work of men like Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton and the importance they played in the historical progression of discoveries. The author also examines theories on the origin of galaxies, stars, and the solar system - the sun, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and planets - and presents the latest evidence on how they were formed

Properties of the stars of early generations in the scale covariant cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeder, A.

1978-01-01

We examine here some consequences of cosmological propositions which accept that further invariances exist in the theory of gravitation. Several astrophysical tests have already been performed, with the noticeable and worrying results that astrophysics only supports scale invariance if matter creation still occurs in the Universe. Within this cosmological framework, stars being very different from the present ones would have existed in the past with higher rate of nuclear transformation and higher luminosity per unit of mass. The basic properties of these stars at an early epoch (t = 1/5 t 0 ) are examined with numerical models: the zero-age sequence, the central conditions in stars, the various critical stellar masses, the mass- and gravity-luminosity relation, the paths in the HR diagram, the changes of lifetimes, the evolution in the log Tsub(c) vs log rhosub(c) diagram. Useful expressions are also given for deriving by scaling the above properties at epochs other than the one considered in numerical applications. A major change occurs for the problem of the helium synthesis. In the scale covariant cosmology, the big-bang He-synthesis seems to be only of very marginal importance and the essential of the present He-content of the Universe could be accounted by stellar processes at the early generations of stars. This has for consequence that the ratio ΔY/ΔZ of Helium to the metals synthetized during the history of the Galaxy would be much larger than as predicted by standard cosmology. (orig.) [de

Higgs cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Rajantie, Arttu

2018-01-01

The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and other results from the Large Hadron Collider have confirmed the standard model of particle physics as the correct theory of elementary particles and their interactions up to energies of several TeV. Remarkably, the theory may even remain valid all the way to the Planck scale of quantum gravity, and therefore it provides a solid theoretical basis for describing the early Universe. Furthermore, the Higgs field itself has unique properties that may have allowed it to play a central role in the evolution of the Universe, from inflation to cosmological phase transitions and the origin of both baryonic and dark matter, and possibly to determine its ultimate fate through the electroweak vacuum instability. These connections between particle physics and cosmology have given rise to a new and growing field of Higgs cosmology, which promises to shed new light on some of the most puzzling questions about the Universe as new data from particle physics experiments and cosmological observations become available. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue `Higgs cosmology'.

WMAP - A Glimpse of the Early Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Wollack, Edward

2009-01-01

The early Universe was incredibly hot, dense, and homogeneous. A powerful probe of this time is provided by the relic radiation which we refer to today as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Images produced from this light contain the earliest glimpse of the Universe after the "Big Bang" and the signature of the evolution of its contents. By exploiting these clues, precise constraints on the age, mass density, and geometry of the early Universe can be derived. The history of this intriguing cosmological detective story will be reviewed. Recent results from NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) will be presented.

Anisotropic Bianchi-I universe with phantom field and cosmological ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We study an anisotropic Bianchi-I universe in the presence of a phantom field and a cosmological constant. Cosmological solutions are obtained when the kinetic energy of the phantom field is of the order of anisotropy and dominates over the potential energy of the field. The anisotropy of the universe decreases and the ...

An outline of cellular automaton universe via cosmological KdV equation

Science.gov (United States)

Christianto, V.; Smarandache, F.; Umniyati, Y.

2018-03-01

It has been known for long time that the cosmic sound wave was there since the early epoch of the Universe. Signatures of its existence are abound. However, such a sound wave model of cosmology is rarely developed fully into a complete framework. This paper can be considered as our second attempt towards such a complete description of the Universe based on soliton wave solution of cosmological KdV equation. Then we advance further this KdV equation by virtue of Cellular Automaton method to solve the PDEs. We submit wholeheartedly Robert Kuruczs hypothesis that Big Bang should be replaced with a finite cellular automaton universe with no expansion [4][5]. Nonetheless, we are fully aware that our model is far from being complete, but it appears the proposed cellular automaton model of the Universe is very close in spirit to what Konrad Zuse envisaged long time ago. It is our hope that the new proposed method can be verified with observation data. But we admit that our model is still in its infancy, more researches are needed to fill all the missing details.

Relativistic numerical cosmology with silent universes

Science.gov (United States)

Bolejko, Krzysztof

2018-01-01

Relativistic numerical cosmology is most often based either on the exact solutions of the Einstein equations, or perturbation theory, or weak-field limit, or the BSSN formalism. The silent universe provides an alternative approach to investigate relativistic evolution of cosmological systems. The silent universe is based on the solution of the Einstein equations in 1  +  3 comoving coordinates with additional constraints imposed. These constraints include: the gravitational field is sourced by dust and cosmological constant only, both rotation and magnetic part of the Weyl tensor vanish, and the shear is diagnosable. This paper describes the code simsilun (free software distributed under the terms of the reposi General Public License), which implements the equations of the silent universe. The paper also discusses applications of the silent universe and it uses the Millennium simulation to set up the initial conditions for the code simsilun. The simulation obtained this way consists of 16 777 216 worldlines, which are evolved from z  =  80 to z  =  0. Initially, the mean evolution (averaged over the whole domain) follows the evolution of the background ΛCDM model. However, once the evolution of cosmic structures becomes nonlinear, the spatial curvature evolves from ΩK =0 to ΩK ≈ 0.1 at the present day. The emergence of the spatial curvature is associated with ΩM and Ω_Λ being smaller by approximately 0.05 compared to the ΛCDM.

The Toy model: Understanding the early universe

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher, Peter H.; Price, Richard H.

2018-04-01

In many branches of science, progress is being made by taking advantage of insights from other branches of science. Cosmology, the structure and evolution of the universe, is certainly an area that is currently beset by problems in understanding. We show here that the scientific insights from the studies of early childhood development, in particular, those of Piaget, give a new way of looking at the early universe. This new approach can not only be invaluable in undergraduate teaching, but can even be the basis of semi-quantitative predictions.

Neutrino cosmology

CERN Document Server

Lesgourgues, Julien; Miele, Gennaro; Pastor, Sergio

2013-01-01

The role that neutrinos have played in the evolution of the Universe is the focus of one of the most fascinating research areas that has stemmed from the interplay between cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics. In this self-contained book, the authors bring together all aspects of the role of neutrinos in cosmology, spanning from leptogenesis to primordial nucleosynthesis, their role in CMB and structure formation, to the problem of their direct detection. The book starts by guiding the reader through aspects of fundamental neutrino physics, such as the standard cosmological model and the statistical mechanics in the expanding Universe, before discussing the history of neutrinos in chronological order from the very early stages until today. This timely book will interest graduate students and researchers in astrophysics, cosmology and particle physics, who work with either a theoretical or experimental focus.

Adventures in cosmology

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

This volume tells of the quest for cosmology as seen by some of the finest cosmologists in the world. It starts with "Galaxy Formation from Start to Finish" and ends with "The First Supermassive Black Holes in the Universe," exploring in between the grand themes of galaxies, the early universe, expansion of the universe, dark matter and dark energy. This up-to-date collection of review articles offers a general introduction to cosmology and is intended for all probing into the profound questions on where we came from and where we are going.

The Early Universe: Searching for Evidence of Cosmic Inflation

Science.gov (United States)

Chuss, David T.

2012-01-01

In the past two decades, our understanding of the evolution and fate of the universe has increased dramatically. This "Age of Precision Cosmology" has been ushered in by measurements that have both elucidated the details of the Big Bang cosmology and set the direction for future lines of inquiry. Our universe appears to consist of 5% baryonic matter; 23% of the universe's energy content is dark matter which is responsible for the observed structure in the universe; and 72% of the energy density is so-called "dark energy" that is currently accelerating the expansion of the universe. In addition, our universe has been measured to be geometrically flat to 1 %. These observations and related details of the Big Bang paradigm have hinted that the universe underwent an epoch of accelerated expansion known as "inflation" early in its history. In this talk, I will review the highlights of modern cosmology, focusing on the contributions made by measurements of the cosmic microwave background, the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. I will also describe new instruments designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in order to search for evidence of cosmic inflation.

Higgs cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajantie, Arttu

2018-03-06

The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 and other results from the Large Hadron Collider have confirmed the standard model of particle physics as the correct theory of elementary particles and their interactions up to energies of several TeV. Remarkably, the theory may even remain valid all the way to the Planck scale of quantum gravity, and therefore it provides a solid theoretical basis for describing the early Universe. Furthermore, the Higgs field itself has unique properties that may have allowed it to play a central role in the evolution of the Universe, from inflation to cosmological phase transitions and the origin of both baryonic and dark matter, and possibly to determine its ultimate fate through the electroweak vacuum instability. These connections between particle physics and cosmology have given rise to a new and growing field of Higgs cosmology, which promises to shed new light on some of the most puzzling questions about the Universe as new data from particle physics experiments and cosmological observations become available.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Higgs cosmology'. © 2018 The Author(s).

State of the art in cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zel'dovich, Ya.B.

1983-01-01

The present state of the art in cosmology is under discussion. The general picture of the Universe evolution is presented, and its main stages are outlined. The prooess of formation of the large scale Universe structure is considered. The possibility of investigation into the ''inflation'' period of the ''very-very early Universe'' from the view point of theoretical physics is sown. It is noted that cosmology will become a complete science only when physics gives an exhaustive answer to all issues raised by cosmology

Thermodynamics in Loop Quantum Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, L.F.; Zhu, J.Y.

2009-01-01

Loop quantum cosmology (LQC) is very powerful to deal with the behavior of early universe. Moreover, the effective loop quantum cosmology gives a successful description of the universe in the semiclassical region. We consider the apparent horizon of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe as a thermodynamical system and investigate the thermodynamics of LQC in the semiclassical region. The effective density and effective pressure in the modified Friedmann equation from LQC not only determine the evolution of the universe in LQC scenario but also are actually found to be the thermodynamic quantities. This result comes from the energy definition in cosmology (the Misner-Sharp gravitational energy) and is consistent with thermodynamic laws. We prove that within the framework of loop quantum cosmology, the elementary equation of equilibrium thermodynamics is still valid.

Cosmology the homogeneous universe and the evolution of structures

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva. Audiovisual Unit

2003-01-01

In my course I will first give and introduction to standard cosmology. I discuss the equations of the homogeneous and isotropic universe and I'll briefly summarize its thermal history. After that I want to concentrate on the fluctuations in the universe. We will study anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background, fluctuations of the matter density and the velocity field and weak lensing. I want to explain especially new cosmological data which are coming up right now and their implication for the cosmological model. N.B. This lecture series will be held in the Auditorium, bldg. 500 on 27, 28, 30, 31 January and in the Council room on 29 January.

Constraining holographic cosmology using Planck data

Science.gov (United States)

Afshordi, Niayesh; Gould, Elizabeth; Skenderis, Kostas

2017-06-01

Holographic cosmology offers a novel framework for describing the very early Universe in which cosmological predictions are expressed in terms of the observables of a three-dimensional quantum field theory (QFT). This framework includes conventional slow-roll inflation, which is described in terms of a strongly coupled QFT, but it also allows for qualitatively new models for the very early Universe, where the dual QFT may be weakly coupled. The new models describe a universe which is nongeometric at early times. While standard slow-roll inflation leads to a (near-) power-law primordial power spectrum, perturbative super-renormalizable QFTs yield a new holographic spectral shape. Here, we compare the two predictions against cosmological observations. We use CosmoMC to determine the best fit parameters, and MultiNest for Bayesian evidence, comparing the likelihoods. We find that the dual QFT should be nonperturbative at the very low multipoles (l ≲30 ), while for higher multipoles (l ≳30 ) the new holographic model, based on perturbative QFT, fits the data just as well as the standard power-law spectrum assumed in Λ CDM cosmology. This finding opens the door to applications of nonperturbative QFT techniques, such as lattice simulations, to observational cosmology on gigaparsec scales and beyond.

Cosmological red shift in the Seeliger-Einstein stationary Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kropotkin, P.N.

1988-01-01

A problem of Seeliger-Einstein stationary Universe is considered. Simple empirical relations between cosmological and physical constants to which attention was paid by Stanukovich K., Dikke R., Dirac P. testify to the supposition on stationary Universe. The Universe expansion being absent, a hypothesis of ''photon aging'' suggested in 1929 by Belopolskij A. and Zwicky F. must be accepted for explanation of Hubble effect. It is stated that abandon the Seeliger-Einstein stationary cosmological model would be premature. Study and comparison of different mechanisms suggested for validation of photon aging hypothesis is necessary

Gravitational particle production in braneworld cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bambi, C; Urban, F R

2007-11-09

Gravitational particle production in a time variable metric of an expanding universe is efficient only when the Hubble parameter H is not too small in comparison with the particle mass. In standard cosmology, the huge value of the Planck mass M{Pl} makes the mechanism phenomenologically irrelevant. On the other hand, in braneworld cosmology, the expansion rate of the early Universe can be much faster, and many weakly interacting particles can be abundantly created. Cosmological implications are discussed.

Towards a superstring cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.G.

1987-01-01

If superstring theory is a theory of everything then it must give a satisfactory description of the very early evolution of the universe. Since the very early universe is not directly observable, then by satisfactory it is mean that the later evolution following the earlier (pre-Planck time era) phase leads to agreement with prediction for the various observable phenomena such as (B-bar B), inflation, galaxy structure, the cosmological constant (infimum), etc. Moreover it is to be hoped that the initial singularity of classical general relativistic cosmology is also avoided. It is clear that superstring theory is not yet able to tackle these problems. This paper describes what has been done so far to construct very simplified versions of string theory relevant to the early universe, and discusses the critical questions still to be answered

Shocks in the Early Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Pen, Ue-Li; Turok, Neil

2016-09-23

We point out a surprising consequence of the usually assumed initial conditions for cosmological perturbations. Namely, a spectrum of Gaussian, linear, adiabatic, scalar, growing mode perturbations not only creates acoustic oscillations of the kind observed on very large scales today, it also leads to the production of shocks in the radiation fluid of the very early Universe. Shocks cause departures from local thermal equilibrium as well as create vorticity and gravitational waves. For a scale-invariant spectrum and standard model physics, shocks form for temperatures 1  GeVUniverse as early as 10^{-30}  sec after the big bang.

Cosmological Probes for Supersymmetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maxim Khlopov

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The multi-parameter character of supersymmetric dark-matter models implies the combination of their experimental studies with astrophysical and cosmological probes. The physics of the early Universe provides nontrivial effects of non-equilibrium particles and primordial cosmological structures. Primordial black holes (PBHs are a profound signature of such structures that may arise as a cosmological consequence of supersymmetric (SUSY models. SUSY-based mechanisms of baryosynthesis can lead to the possibility of antimatter domains in a baryon asymmetric Universe. In the context of cosmoparticle physics, which studies the fundamental relationship of the micro- and macro-worlds, the development of SUSY illustrates the main principles of this approach, as the physical basis of the modern cosmology provides cross-disciplinary tests in physical and astronomical studies.

Formation of structures in the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertolami Neto, O.; Marques, G.C.; Ventura, I.

1984-01-01

An alternative picture of cosmological phase transition is sketched and its implications to the formation of structures in the very early Universe is studied. It is shown that the condensation of walls at high temperatures leads to fluctuations which are in accordance to all necessary conditions to the formation of structures in the Universe. Furthermore the number of aglutination centers is roughly equal to the numbers of great structures observed in the Universe today. (Author) [pt

Cosmological models in the generalized Einstein action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arbab, A.I.

2007-12-01

We have studied the evolution of the Universe in the generalized Einstein action of the form R + β R 2 , where R is the scalar curvature and β = const. We have found exact cosmological solutions that predict the present cosmic acceleration. These models predict an inflationary de-Sitter era occurring in the early Universe. The cosmological constant (Λ) is found to decay with the Hubble constant (H) as, Λ ∝ H 4 . In this scenario the cosmological constant varies quadratically with the energy density (ρ), i.e., Λ ∝ ρ 2 . Such a variation is found to describe a two-component cosmic fluid in the Universe. One of the components accelerated the Universe in the early era, and the other in the present era. The scale factor of the Universe varies as a ∼ t n = 1/2 in the radiation era. The cosmological constant vanishes when n = 4/3 and n =1/2. We have found that the inclusion of the term R 2 mimics a cosmic matter that could substitute the ordinary matter. (author)

High energy physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.I.

1991-01-01

This research will focus on the implications of recent theories and experiments in high energy physics of the evolution of the early universe, and on the constraints that cosmological considerations can place on such theories. Several problems are under investigation, including studies of the nature of dark matter and the signature of annihilations in the galactic halo, where the resulting γ-ray fluxes are potentially observable, and in stars, where stellar evolution may be affects. We will develop constraints on the inflationary predictions of scale-free primordial fluctuations in a universe at critical closure density by studying their linear and non-linear evolution after they re-enter the particle horizon, examining the observable imprint of primordial density fluctuations on the cosmic microwave background radiation in both flat and curved cosmological models, and implications for observations of large-scale galaxy clustering and structure formation theories. We will also study spectral distortions in the microwave background radiation that are produced by exotic particle decays in the very early universe. We expect such astrophysical considerations to provide fruitful insights both into high-energy particle physics and into possible cosmological for the early universe

Elements of the universe in Philo’s De Vita Mosis: Cosmological theology or theological cosmology?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gert J. Steyn

2013-11-01

Full Text Available It is the intention of this article to investigate how Philo’s understanding of the universe, and particularly its four basic elements as taught by the Greek philosophers, influenced his description of the God of Israel’s world in which the Moses narrative unfolds. Given the fact that Philo was a theologian par excellence, the question can be asked whether Philo’s approach is closer to what one might call ‘theological cosmology’ or rather closer to ‘cosmological theology’? After a brief survey of Philo’s inclination to interpret Jewish history in the light of Greek cosmology, the study proceeds with his universe as symbolised in the high priest’s vestments. The τετρακτύςwith its 10 points of harmony is a key to Philo’s symbolism and numerology. The article concludes that Philo is not writing cosmology per se in his De Vita Mosis, but he is rather writing a theology that sketches the cosmic superiority and involvement of Israel’s God against the backdrop of Greek cosmology as it was influenced by Pythagoras’ geometry and numerology as well as by Plato’s philosophy. In this sense his account in the De Vita Mosisis closer to a cosmological theology. He utilises the cosmological picture of the Greco-Hellenistic world in order to introduce and present the powerful nature and qualities of Israel’s God.

How universe evolves with cosmological and gravitational constants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

She-Sheng Xue

2015-08-01

Full Text Available With a basic varying space–time cutoff ℓ˜, we study a regularized and quantized Einstein–Cartan gravitational field theory and its domains of ultraviolet-unstable fixed point gir≳0 and ultraviolet-stable fixed point guv≈4/3 of the gravitational gauge coupling g=(4/3G/GNewton. Because the fundamental operators of quantum gravitational field theory are dimension-2 area operators, the cosmological constant is inversely proportional to the squared correlation length Λ∝ξ−2. The correlation length ξ characterizes an infrared size of a causally correlate patch of the universe. The cosmological constant Λ and the gravitational constant G are related by a generalized Bianchi identity. As the basic space–time cutoff ℓ˜ decreases and approaches to the Planck length ℓpl, the universe undergoes inflation in the domain of the ultraviolet-unstable fixed point gir, then evolves to the low-redshift universe in the domain of ultraviolet-stable fixed point guv. We give the quantitative description of the low-redshift universe in the scaling-invariant domain of the ultraviolet-stable fixed point guv, and its deviation from the ΛCDM can be examined by low-redshift (z≲1 cosmological observations, such as supernova Type Ia.

Hawking radiation from the cosmological horizon in a FRW universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Yapeng

2011-01-01

It is well known that there is a Hawking radiation from the cosmological horizon of the de Sitter spacetime, and the de Sitter spacetime can be a special case of a FRW universe. Therefore, there may be a corresponding Hawking radiation in a FRW universe. Indeed, there have been several clues showing that there is a Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of a FRW universe. In our Letter, however, we find that the Hawking radiation may come from the cosmological horizon. Moreover, we also find that the Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of a FRW universe in some previous works can be a special case in our result, and the condition is that the variation rate of cosmological horizon r . H is zero. Note that, this condition is also consistent with the underlying integrable condition in these works from the apparent horizon.

Quantum cosmology of an anisotropic universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duncan, M.J.; Jensen, L.G.

1989-01-23

Surveys of the microwave background indicate that the universe is isotropic to more than one part in 10/sup 5/. Due to the arbitrariness of the initial conditions of the universe at the big bang singularity one cannot predict this; it is usually put in by hand. We therefore construct the quantum cosmology of an anisotropic universe according to the 'no-boundary' prescription of Hartle and Hawking. Such a model has a well-defined behavior at the classical singularity. We then show it also implies that a large universe, such as ours, is isotropic.

Particle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.

1986-10-01

This series of lectures is about the role of particle physics in physical processes that occurred in the very early stages of the bug gang. Of particular interest is the role of particle physics in determining the evolution of the early Universe, and the effect of particle physics on the present structure of the Universe. The use of the big bang as a laboratory for placing limits on new particle physics theories will also be discussed. Section 1 reviews the standard cosmology, including primordial nucleosynthesis. Section 2 reviews the decoupling of weakly interacting particles in the early Universe, and discusses neutrino cosmology and the resulting limits that may be placed on the mass and lifetime of massive neutrinos. Section 3 discusses the evolution of the vacuum through phase transitions in the early Universe and the formation of topological defects in the transitions. Section 4 covers recent work on the generation of the baryon asymmetry by baryon-number violating reactions in Grand Unified Theories, and mentions some recent work on baryon number violation effects at the electroweak transition. Section 5 is devoted to theories of cosmic inflation. Finally, Section 6 is a discussion of the role of extra spatial dimensions in the evolution of the early Universe. 78 refs., 32 figs., 6 tabs

Einstein and modern cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stabell, R.

1979-01-01

Einstein applied his gravitation theory to a universe model with positively curved space in 1917. In order to maintain a static universe he introduced the cosmological constant, which in the light of later nonstatic universe models, he described as his life's greatest mistake. The best known such model is the Einstein-de Sitter model, which is here discussed in some detail. The 'big bang' theory is also discussed leading to the cosmic background radiation. The early phase of the 'big bang' cosmology, the first ten seconds, and the first minutes are discussed, leading to the transparent stage. (JIW)

Inflationary Cosmology: Is Our Universe Part of a Multiverse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guth, Alan

2008-01-01

In 1981, Guth proposed the theory of the inflationary universe, a modification of the Big Bang theory, which is generally accepted by scientists to explain how the universe began. Nevertheless, the Big Bang theory leaves some questions, and the theory of inflation attempts to answer them. Guth states that a repulsive gravitational force generated by an exotic form of matter brought about the expansion of the universe. He postulates that the universe underwent an expansion of astronomical proportions within the first trillionth of a second of its existence, during which the seeds for its large-scale structure were generated. Guth and colleagues have further explored the possibility of mimicking inflation in a hypothetical laboratory, thereby creating a new universe, and they concluded that it might be theoretically possible. If it happened, the new universe would not endanger our own universe. Instead, it would slip through a wormhole, a hypothetical space-time travel shortcut, and rapidly disconnect from our universe. In this talk, Guth will explain the inflationary theory and review the features that make it scientifically plausible. In addition, he will discuss the biggest mystery in cosmology: Why is the value of the cosmological constant, sometimes called the 'anti-gravity' effect, so remarkably small compared to theoretical expectations? Guth will explain how the inflationary theory, combined with other ideas from elementary particle physics and cosmology, can provide a possible explanation for this discrepancy.

Elements of the universe in Philo's De Vita Mosis: Cosmological theology or theological cosmology?

OpenAIRE

Steyn, Gert J.

2013-01-01

It is the intention of this article to investigate how Philo's understanding of the universe, and particularly its four basic elements as taught by the Greek philosophers, influenced his description of the God of Israel's world in which the Moses narrative unfolds. Given the fact that Philo was a theologian par excellence, the question can be asked whether Philo's approach is closer to what one might call 'theological cosmology' or rather closer to 'cosmological theology'? After a brief surve...

Supersymmetry in the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, S.

1995-06-01

Supersymmetric flat directions can have a number of important consequences in the very early universe. Depending on the form of the SUSY breaking potential arising from the finite energy density at early times, coherent production of scalar condensates can result along such directions. This leads a cosmological disaster for Polonyi type flat directions with only Planck suppressed couplings, but can give rise to the baryon asymmetry for standard model flat directions. Flat directions are also natural candidates to act as inflatons. Achieving density fluctuations of the correct magnitude generally requires an additional hidden SUSY breaking sector

Bursts from the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.; Stodolsky, L.

2006-01-01

Bursts of weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos or even more weakly interacting particles such as wimps and gravitons from the very early universe would offer a much deeper 'look back time' to early epochs than is possible with photons. We consider some of the issues related to the existence of such bursts and their detectability. Characterizing the burst rate by a probability P per Hubble four-volume we find, for events in the radiation-dominated era, that the natural unit of description is the present intensity of the CMB times P. The existence of such bursts would make the observation of phenomena associated with very early times in cosmology at least conceptually possible. One might even hope to probe the transplanckian epoch if complexes more weakly interacting than the graviton can exist. Other conceivable applications include the potential detectability of the formation of 'pocket universes' in a multiverse

Perturbations in loop quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, W; Agullo, I; Ashtekar, A

2014-01-01

The era of precision cosmology has allowed us to accurately determine many important cosmological parameters, in particular via the CMB. Confronting Loop Quantum Cosmology with these observations provides us with a powerful test of the theory. For this to be possible, we need a detailed understanding of the generation and evolution of inhomogeneous perturbations during the early, quantum gravity phase of the universe. Here, we have described how Loop Quantum Cosmology provides a completion of the inflationary paradigm, that is consistent with the observed power spectra of the CMB

Gravitational lensing limits on the cosmological constant in a flat universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, E.L.

1990-01-01

Inflationary cosmological theories predict, and some more general aesthetic criteria suggest, that the large-scale spatial curvature of the universe k should be accurately zero (i.e., flat), a condition which is satisfied when the universe's present mean density and the value of the cosmological constant Lambda have certain pairs of values. Available data on the frequency of multiple image-lensing of high-redshift quasars by galaxies suggest that the cosmological constant cannot make a dominant contribution to producing a flat universe. In particular, if the mean density of the universe is as small as the baryon density inferred from standard cosmic nucleosynthesis calculations or as determined from typical dynamical studies of galaxies and galaxy clusters, then a value of Lambda large enough to produce a k = 0 universe would result in a substantially higher frequency of multiple-image lensing of quasars than has been observed so far. Shortcomings of the available lens data and uncertainties concerning galaxy properties allow some possibility of escaping this conclusion, but systematic searches for a gravitational lenses and continuing investigations of galaxy mass distributions should soon provide decisive information. It is also noted that nonzero-curvature cosmological models can account for the observed frequency of galaxy-quasar lens systems and for a variety of other constraints. 61 refs

Quantum theories of the early universe - a critical appraisal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, B.L.

1988-01-01

A critical appraisal of certain general problems in the study of quantum processes in curved space as applied to the construction of theories of the early universe is presented. Outstanding issues in different cosmological models and the degree of success of different quantum processes in addressing these issues are summarized. (author)

The quantum cosmology of an anisotropic universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, M.J.; Jensen, L.G.

1989-01-01

Surveys of the microwave background indicate that the universe is isotropic to more than one part in 10 5 . Due to the arbitrariness of the initial conditions of the universe at the big bang singularity one cannot predict this; it is usually put in by hand. We therefore construct the quantum cosmology of an anisotropic universe according to the 'no-boundary' prescription of Hartle and Hawking. Such a model has a well-defined behavior at the classical singularity. We then show it also implies that a large universe, such as ours, is isotropic. (orig.)

Cosmology and particle physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steigman, G [California Univ., Santa Barbara (USA). Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Bartol Research Foundation, Newark, Delaware (USA))

1982-01-29

The cosmic connections between physics on the very largest and very smallest scales are reviewed with an emphasis on the symbiotic relation between elementary particle physics and cosmology. After a review of the early Universe as a cosmic accelerator, various cosmological and astrophysical constraints on models of particle physics are outlined. To illustrate this approach to particle physics via cosmology, reference is made to several areas of current research: baryon non-conservation and baryon asymmetry; free quarks, heavy hadrons and other exotic relics; primordial nucleosynthesis and neutrino masses.

The Cosmology Gallery: Unity through diversity in a vast and awe-inspiring universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, John

2011-06-01

Scientists, artists, religious and cultural leaders have come together to create the Cosmology Gallery at the Gravity Discovery Centre (GDC) located 70 km north of Perth, Western Australia. The Cosmology Gallery exhibitions include the multicultural cosmology artworks, Celestial Visions astronomical photography exhibition and the Timeline of the Universe. The multicultural cosmology artworks are new artworks inspired by Australian Indigenous, Christian, Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, scientific and technological perspectives of the universe. The Celestial Visions exhibition features astronomical events above famous landmarks, including Stonehenge and the Pyramids. The AUD 400,000+ project was funded by Lotterywest, Western Australia and the Cosmology Gallery was officially opened in July 2008 by the Premier of Western Australia.

Cosmic Explosions, Life in the Universe, and the Cosmological Constant

Science.gov (United States)

Piran, Tsvi; Jimenez, Raul; Cuesta, Antonio J.; Simpson, Fergus; Verde, Licia

2016-02-01

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are copious sources of gamma rays whose interaction with a planetary atmosphere can pose a threat to complex life. Using recent determinations of their rate and probability of causing massive extinction, we explore what types of universes are most likely to harbor advanced forms of life. We use cosmological N -body simulations to determine at what time and for what value of the cosmological constant (Λ ) the chances of life being unaffected by cosmic explosions are maximized. Life survival to GRBs favors Lambda-dominated universes. Within a cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant, the likelihood of life survival to GRBs is governed by the value of Λ and the age of the Universe. We find that we seem to live in a favorable point in this parameter space that minimizes the exposure to cosmic explosions, yet maximizes the number of main sequence (hydrogen-burning) stars around which advanced life forms can exist.

Cosmic Explosions, Life in the Universe, and the Cosmological Constant.

Science.gov (United States)

Piran, Tsvi; Jimenez, Raul; Cuesta, Antonio J; Simpson, Fergus; Verde, Licia

2016-02-26

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are copious sources of gamma rays whose interaction with a planetary atmosphere can pose a threat to complex life. Using recent determinations of their rate and probability of causing massive extinction, we explore what types of universes are most likely to harbor advanced forms of life. We use cosmological N-body simulations to determine at what time and for what value of the cosmological constant (Λ) the chances of life being unaffected by cosmic explosions are maximized. Life survival to GRBs favors Lambda-dominated universes. Within a cold dark matter model with a cosmological constant, the likelihood of life survival to GRBs is governed by the value of Λ and the age of the Universe. We find that we seem to live in a favorable point in this parameter space that minimizes the exposure to cosmic explosions, yet maximizes the number of main sequence (hydrogen-burning) stars around which advanced life forms can exist.

Brane gases in the early Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexander, S.; Brandenberger, R.; Easson, D.

2000-01-01

Over the past decade it has become clear that fundamental strings are not the only fundamental degrees of freedom in string theory. D-branes are also part of the spectrum of fundamental states. In this paper we explore some possible effects of D-branes on early Universe string cosmology, starting with two key assumptions: firstly that the initial state of the Universe corresponded to a dense, hot gas in which all degrees of freedom were in thermal equilibrium, and secondly that the topology of the background space admits one-cycles. We argue by t duality that in this context the cosmological singularities are not present. We derive the equation of state of the brane gases and apply the results to suggest that, in an expanding background, the winding modes of fundamental strings will play the most important role at late times. In particular, we argue that the string winding modes will only allow four space-time dimensions to become large. The presence of brane winding modes with p>1 may lead to a hierarchy in the sizes of the extra dimensions

Ekpyrotic and cyclic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehners, Jean-Luc

2008-01-01

Ekpyrotic and cyclic cosmologies provide theories of the very early and of the very late universe. In these models, the big bang is described as a collision of branes - and thus the big bang is not the beginning of time. Before the big bang, there is an ekpyrotic phase with equation of state w=P/(ρ) >>1 (where P is the average pressure and ρ the average energy density) during which the universe slowly contracts. This phase resolves the standard cosmological puzzles and generates a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological perturbations containing a significant non-Gaussian component. At the same time it produces small-amplitude gravitational waves with a blue spectrum. The dark energy dominating the present-day cosmological evolution is reinterpreted as a small attractive force between our brane and a parallel one. This force eventually induces a new ekpyrotic phase and a new brane collision, leading to the idea of a cyclic universe. This review discusses the detailed properties of these models, their embedding in M-theory and their viability, with an emphasis on open issues and observational signatures

Topics in quantum field theory and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandenberger, R.H.

1983-01-01

This thesis contains a study of topics in quantum field theory and cosmology in the context of the new inflationary universe scenario. It presents a review of the quantum field theory methods used in the new cosmological models. The following chapters are a detailed study of energy density fluctuations in the early universe. Hawking radiation is derived as the source of initial perturbations in two complementary ways. The following section presents a new gauge invariant framework to study the growth of fluctuations outside the horizon. This framework is applied to the new inflationary universe in the final chapter. The introduction gives a brief outline of the new cosmological models

Bursts from the very early universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silk, J. [Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3RH (United Kingdom); Stodolsky, L. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Foehringer Ring 6, 80805 Munich (Germany)]. E-mail: les@mppmu.mpg.de

2006-07-27

Bursts of weakly interacting particles such as neutrinos or even more weakly interacting particles such as wimps and gravitons from the very early universe would offer a much deeper 'look back time' to early epochs than is possible with photons. We consider some of the issues related to the existence of such bursts and their detectability. Characterizing the burst rate by a probability P per Hubble four-volume we find, for events in the radiation-dominated era, that the natural unit of description is the present intensity of the CMB times P. The existence of such bursts would make the observation of pheno associated with very early times in cosmology at least conceptually possible. One might even hope to probe the transplanckian epoch if complexes more weakly interacting than the graviton can exist. Other conceivable applications include the potential detectability of the formation of 'pocket universes' in a multiverse.

The philosophy of cosmology

CERN Document Server

Silk, Joseph; Barrow, John D; Saunders, Simon

2017-01-01

Following a long-term international collaboration between leaders in cosmology and the philosophy of science, this volume addresses foundational questions at the limit of science across these disciplines, questions raised by observational and theoretical progress in modern cosmology. Space missions have mapped the Universe up to its early instants, opening up questions on what came before the Big Bang, the nature of space and time, and the quantum origin of the Universe. As the foundational volume of an emerging academic discipline, experts from relevant fields lay out the fundamental problems of contemporary cosmology and explore the routes toward finding possible solutions. Written for graduates and researchers in physics and philosophy, particular efforts are made to inform academics from other fields, as well as the educated public, who wish to understand our modern vision of the Universe, related philosophical questions, and the significant impacts on scientific methodology.

How fabulous is Fab 5 cosmology?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linder, Eric V.

2013-01-01

Extended gravity origins for cosmic acceleration can solve some fine tuning issues and have useful characteristics, but generally have little to say regarding the cosmological constant problem. Fab 5 gravity can be ghost free and stable, have attractor solutions in the past and future, and possess self tuning that solves the original cosmological constant problem. Here we show however it does not possess all these qualities at the same time. We also demonstrate that the self tuning is so powerful that it not only cancels the cosmological constant but also all other energy density, and we derive the scalings of its approach to a renormalized de Sitter cosmology. While this strong cancellation is bad for the late universe, it greatly eases early universe inflation

How fabulous is Fab 5 cosmology?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linder, Eric V., E-mail: evlinder@lbl.gov [Berkeley Center for Cosmological Physics and Berkeley Lab, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720 (United States)

2013-12-01

Extended gravity origins for cosmic acceleration can solve some fine tuning issues and have useful characteristics, but generally have little to say regarding the cosmological constant problem. Fab 5 gravity can be ghost free and stable, have attractor solutions in the past and future, and possess self tuning that solves the original cosmological constant problem. Here we show however it does not possess all these qualities at the same time. We also demonstrate that the self tuning is so powerful that it not only cancels the cosmological constant but also all other energy density, and we derive the scalings of its approach to a renormalized de Sitter cosmology. While this strong cancellation is bad for the late universe, it greatly eases early universe inflation.

Dynamics of stringy congruence in the early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Yong Seung; Hong, Soon-Tae

2011-01-01

We study twist and shear aspects of the stingy geodesic surface congruence. Under some natural conditions we derive the equations of the twist and shear in terms of the expansion of the Universe. We observe in this higher dimensional cosmology that, as the early universe evolves with expansion rate, the twist of the stringy congruence decreases exponentially and the initial twist value should be large enough to sustain the rotations of the ensuing universe, while the effects of the shear are negligible to produce the isotropic and homogeneous universe. We also investigate the twist and shear of the geodesic surface congruence of the null strings.

GUTs and supersymmetric GUTs in the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.

1983-01-01

This talk is intended as background material for many of the other talks treating the possible applications of GUTs to the very early universe. It starts with a review of the present theoretical and phenomenological status of GUTs and then goes on to raise some new issues for their prospective cosmological applications which arise in supersymmetric (susy) GUTs. (author)

Effective cosmological constant within the expanding axion universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pierpoint, M.P., E-mail: M.Pierpoint@lboro.ac.uk; Kusmartsev, F.V., E-mail: F.Kusmartsev@lboro.ac.uk

2014-09-12

We show that the value of an effective cosmological constant, Λ{sub eff}, is influenced by the dimensionality of the space. Results were obtained in the framework of the axion model describing expansion of the inhomogeneous universe. Λ{sub eff} determines the tension of the space (i.e. elasticity), and is relaxed when extra dimensions are accessible. We demonstrate that the effective value of the cosmological constant may be tuned to be consistent with experimental observation. Inhomogeneities considered are representative of temperature fluctuations observed within the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Towards the edge of the universe a review of modern cosmology

CERN Document Server

Clark, Stuart

1999-01-01

Towards the Edge of the Universe is the second edition of a successful textbook, previously published by Wiley-Praxis. It reviews the latest discoveries and ideas, discusses areas of controversy, and presents a variety of observational data, in a way suitable as an introduction to cosmology for university students studying the following courses: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Partical Physics, Theoretical Physics and Space Science. The author considers the most contemporary views of cosmology by describing the Big Bang model (its problems as well as its usefulness), and begins with a comprehensive account of the universe and its components, providing a sound introduction for the student. A generally descriptive (rather than purely mathematical) approach makes the book accessible to all levels of students Priced at an affordable level for students - despite the inclusion of many illustrations and some full colour photographs - the previous Wiley-Praxis (1997) edition was successful in Europe and America. ...

Evolution of the cosmological horizons in a concordance universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Margalef-Bentabol, Berta; Cepa, Jordi [Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de la Laguna, E-38205 La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain); Margalef-Bentabol, Juan, E-mail: bmb@cca.iac.es, E-mail: juanmargalef@estumail.ucm.es, E-mail: jcn@iac.es [Facultad de Ciencias Matemáticas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid (Spain)

2012-12-01

The particle and event horizons are widely known and studied concepts, but the study of their properties, in particular their evolution, have only been done so far considering a single state equation in a decelerating universe. This paper is the first of two where we study this problem from a general point of view. Specifically, this paper is devoted to the study of the evolution of these cosmological horizons in an accelerated universe with two state equations, cosmological constant and dust. We have obtained simple expressions in terms of their respective recession velocities that generalize the previous results for one state equation only. With the equations of state considered, it is proved that both velocities remain always positive.

Problems in quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amsterdamski, P.

1986-01-01

The standard cosmological model is reviewed and shown not to be self-sufficient in that it requires initial conditions most likely to be supplied by quantum cosmology. The possible approaches to the issue of initial conditions for cosmology are then discussed. In this thesis, the author considers three separate problems related to this issue. First, the possibility of inflation is investigated in detail by analyzing the evolution of metric perturbations and fluctuations in the expectation value of a scalar field prior to a phase transition; finite temperature effects are also included. Since the inhomogeneities were damped well before the onset of a phase transition. It is concluded that an inflation was possible. Next, the effective action of neutrino and photon fields is calculated for homogeneous spacetimes with small anisotropy; it is shown that quantum corrections to the action due to these fields influence the evolution of an early Universe in the Same way as do the analogous correction terms arising from a conformally invariant scalar which has been previously studied. Finally, the question of an early anisotropy is also discussed in a framework of Hartle-Hawking wave function of the Universe. A wave function of a Bianchi IX type Universe is calculated in a semiclassical approximation

Behavior of varying-alpha cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrow, John D.; Sandvik, Haavard Bunes; Magueijo, Joao

2002-01-01

We determine the behavior of a time-varying fine structure 'constant' α(t) during the early and late phases of universes dominated by the kinetic energy of changing α(t), radiation, dust, curvature, and lambda, respectively. We show that after leaving an initial vacuum-dominated phase during which α increases, α remains constant in universes such as our own during the radiation era, and then increases slowly, proportional to a logarithm of cosmic time, during the dust era. If the universe becomes dominated by a negative curvature or a positive cosmological constant then α tends rapidly to a constant value. The effect of an early period of de Sitter or power-law inflation is to drive α to a constant value. Various cosmological consequences of these results are discussed with reference to recent observational studies of the value of α from quasar absorption spectra and to the existence of life in expanding universes

Early Universe synthesis of asymmetric dark matter nuggets

Science.gov (United States)

Gresham, Moira I.; Lou, Hou Keong; Zurek, Kathryn M.

2018-02-01

We compute the mass function of bound states of asymmetric dark matter—nuggets—synthesized in the early Universe. We apply our results for the nugget density and binding energy computed from a nuclear model to obtain analytic estimates of the typical nugget size exiting synthesis. We numerically solve the Boltzmann equation for synthesis including two-to-two fusion reactions, estimating the impact of bottlenecks on the mass function exiting synthesis. These results provide the basis for studying the late Universe cosmology of nuggets in a future companion paper.

Theoretical cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raychaudhuri, A.K.

1979-01-01

The subject is covered in chapters, entitled; introduction; Newtonian gravitation and cosmology; general relativity and relativistic cosmology; analysis of observational data; relativistic models not obeying the cosmological principle; microwave radiation background; thermal history of the universe and nucleosynthesis; singularity of cosmological models; gravitational constant as a field variable; cosmological models based on Einstein-Cartan theory; cosmological singularity in two recent theories; fate of perturbations of isotropic universes; formation of galaxies; baryon symmetric cosmology; assorted topics (including extragalactic radio sources; Mach principle). (U.K.)

Observing the very early universe

CERN Document Server

Steinhardt, Paul Joseph

1995-01-01

Cosmology is entering an historic epoch in which a dazzling array of new observations will decisively test our theories of the origin and evolution of the Universe. Many of the theoretical proposals have profound implications for our understanding of high-energy physics. This lecture series will review some of the leading ideas, especially the inflationary model of the universe, and explain the astrophysical and cosmological observations anticipated for the next decade that will be critical in determining their validity.

Cosmological Imprints of a Generalized Chaplygin Gas Model for the Early Universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam; /Lisbon, CENTRA; Chen, Pisin; /Taiwan, Natl. Taiwan U. /KIPAC, Menlo Park /SLAC; Liu, Yen-Wei; /Taiwan, Natl. Taiwan U.

2012-06-06

We propose a phenomenological model for the early universe where there is a smooth transition between an early quintessence phase and a radiation-dominated era. The matter content is modeled by an appropriately modified Chaplygin gas for the early universe. We constrain the model observationally by mapping the primordial power spectrum of the scalar perturbations to the latest data of WMAP7. We compute as well the spectrum of the primordial gravitational waves as would be measured today. We show that the high frequencies region of the spectrum depends on the free parameter of the model and most importantly this region of the spectrum can be within the reach of future gravitational waves detectors.

The Age of Precision Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Chuss, David T.

2012-01-01

In the past two decades, our understanding of the evolution and fate of the universe has increased dramatically. This "Age of Precision Cosmology" has been ushered in by measurements that have both elucidated the details of the Big Bang cosmology and set the direction for future lines of inquiry. Our universe appears to consist of 5% baryonic matter; 23% of the universe's energy content is dark matter which is responsible for the observed structure in the universe; and 72% of the energy density is so-called "dark energy" that is currently accelerating the expansion of the universe. In addition, our universe has been measured to be geometrically flat to 1 %. These observations and related details of the Big Bang paradigm have hinted that the universe underwent an epoch of accelerated expansion known as Uinflation" early in its history. In this talk, I will review the highlights of modern cosmology, focusing on the contributions made by measurements of the cosmic microwave background, the faint afterglow of the Big Bang. I will also describe new instruments designed to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background in order to search for evidence of cosmic inflation.

Cosmological models - in which universe do we live

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartvigsen, Y.

1976-01-01

A general discussion of the present state of cosmological models is introduced with a brief presentation of the expanding universe theory, the red shift and Hubble's Law. Hubble's Constant lies between 30 and 105 km/sec/Mpc, and a value of 55 km/sec/Mpc is assumed in this article. The arguments for the big bang and steady state theories are presented and the reasons for the present acceptance of the former given. Friedmann models are briefly discussed and 'universe density', rho, and 'space curvature',k, and the 'cosmological constant', Λ, are presented. These are shown on the Stabell-Refsdal diagram and the density parameter, sigma 0 , and the retardation parameter, q 0 , are related to Hubble's Constant. These parameters are then discussed and their values restricted such that the part of the Stabell-Refsdal diagram which is of interest may be defined. (JIW)

Cosmology in time asymmetric extensions of general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leon, Genly; Saridakis, Emmanuel N.

2015-01-01

We investigate the cosmological behavior in a universe governed by time asymmetric extensions of general relativity, which is a novel modified gravity based on the addition of new, time-asymmetric, terms on the Hamiltonian framework, in a way that the algebra of constraints and local physics remain unchanged. Nevertheless, at cosmological scales these new terms can have significant effects that can alter the universe evolution, both at early and late times, and the freedom in the choice of the involved modification function makes the scenario able to produce a huge class of cosmological behaviors. For basic ansatzes of modification, we perform a detailed dynamical analysis, extracting the stable late-time solutions. Amongst others, we find that the universe can result in dark-energy dominated, accelerating solutions, even in the absence of an explicit cosmological constant, in which the dark energy can be quintessence-like, phantom-like, or behave as an effective cosmological constant. Moreover, it can result to matter-domination, or to a Big Rip, or experience the sequence from matter to dark energy domination. Additionally, in the case of closed curvature, the universe may experience a cosmological bounce or turnaround, or even cyclic behavior. Finally, these scenarios can easily satisfy the observational and phenomenological requirements. Hence, time asymmetric cosmology can be a good candidate for the description of the universe

Cosmological implications of grand unified theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanopoulos, D.V.

1982-01-01

These lectures, mainly devoted to the cosmological implications of GUTs, also include the essential ingredients of GUTs and some of their important applications to particle physics. Section 1 contains some basic points concerning the structure of the standard strong and electroweak interactions prior to grand unification. A detailed expose of GUTs is attempted in sect. 2, including their basci principles and their consequences for particle physics. The minimal, simplest GUT, SU 5 is analysed in some detail and it will be used throughout these lectures as the GUT prototype. Finally, sect. 3 contains the most important cosmological implications of GUTs, including baryon number generation in the early Universe (in rather lengthy detail), dissipative processes in the very early Universe, grand unified monopoles, etc. (orig./HSI)

Conservative constraints on early cosmology with MONTE PYTHON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audren, Benjamin; Lesgourgues, Julien; Benabed, Karim; Prunet, Simon

2013-01-01

Models for the latest stages of the cosmological evolution rely on a less solid theoretical and observational ground than the description of earlier stages like BBN and recombination. As suggested in a previous work by Vonlanthen et al., it is possible to tweak the analysis of CMB data in such way to avoid making assumptions on the late evolution, and obtain robust constraints on ''early cosmology parameters''. We extend this method in order to marginalise the results over CMB lensing contamination, and present updated results based on recent CMB data. Our constraints on the minimal early cosmology model are weaker than in a standard ΛCDM analysis, but do not conflict with this model. Besides, we obtain conservative bounds on the effective neutrino number and neutrino mass, showing no hints for extra relativistic degrees of freedom, and proving in a robust way that neutrinos experienced their non-relativistic transition after the time of photon decoupling. This analysis is also an occasion to describe the main features of the new parameter inference code MONTE PYTHON, that we release together with this paper. MONTE PYTHON is a user-friendly alternative to other public codes like COSMOMC, interfaced with the Boltzmann code CLASS

Julien Lesgourgues presents his book "Neutrino Cosmology"

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

The role that neutrinos have played in the evolution of the Universe is the focus of one of the most fascinating research areas that has stemmed from the interplay between cosmology, astrophysics and particle physics.   In this self-contained book, the authors bring together all aspects of the role of neutrinos in cosmology, spanning from leptogenesis to primordial nucleosynthesis and from their role in CMB and structure formation, to the problem of their direct detection. The book starts by guiding the reader through aspects of fundamental neutrino physics, such as the standard cosmological model and statistical mechanics in the expanding Universe, before discussing the history of neutrinos chronologically from the very early stages until today. "Neutrino Cosmology" by Julien Lesgourgues, Gianpiero Mangano, Gennaro Miele, Sergio Pastor, Cambridge University Press, 2013, ISBN 9781107013957. Monday 22 April 2013 at 4 p.m. in the Library, 52-1-052. Tea and coffee will be served...

Hybrid petacomputing meets cosmology: The Roadrunner Universe project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habib, Salman; Pope, Adrian; Lukic, Zarija; Daniel, David; Fasel, Patricia; Desai, Nehal; Heitmann, Katrin; Hsu, Chung-Hsing; Ankeny, Lee; Mark, Graham; Bhattacharya, Suman; Ahrens, James

2009-01-01

The target of the Roadrunner Universe project at Los Alamos National Laboratory is a set of very large cosmological N-body simulation runs on the hybrid supercomputer Roadrunner, the world's first petaflop platform. Roadrunner's architecture presents opportunities and difficulties characteristic of next-generation supercomputing. We describe a new code designed to optimize performance and scalability by explicitly matching the underlying algorithms to the machine architecture, and by using the physics of the problem as an essential aid in this process. While applications will differ in specific exploits, we believe that such a design process will become increasingly important in the future. The Roadrunner Universe project code, MC 3 (Mesh-based Cosmology Code on the Cell), uses grid and direct particle methods to balance the capabilities of Roadrunner's conventional (Opteron) and accelerator (Cell BE) layers. Mirrored particle caches and spectral techniques are used to overcome communication bandwidth limitations and possible difficulties with complicated particle-grid interaction templates.

Introduction to the theory of the early universe hot Big Bang theory

CERN Document Server

Rubakov, Valery A

2018-01-01

This book is written from the viewpoint that a deep connection exists between cosmology and particle physics. It presents the results and ideas on both the homogeneous and isotropic Universe at the hot stage of its evolution and in later stages. The main chapters describe in a systematic and pedagogical way established facts and concepts on the early and the present Universe. The comprehensive treatment, hence, serves as a modern introduction to this rapidly developing field of science. To help in reading the chapters without having to constantly consult other texts, essential materials from General Relativity and the theory of elementary particles are collected in the appendices. Various hypotheses dealing with unsolved problems of cosmology, and often alternative to each other, are discussed at a more advanced level. These concern dark matter, dark energy, matter–antimatter asymmetry, etc. Particle physics and cosmology underwent rapid development between the first and the second editions of this book. I...

Is the Universe expanding? Fritz Zwicky and the early tired-light hypothesis

Science.gov (United States)

Kragh, Helge

2017-04-01

The recognition that the Universe is in a state of expansion is a milestone in modern astronomy and cosmology. The discovery dates from the early 1930s but was not unanimously accepted by either astronomers or physicists. The relativistic theory of the expanding Universe rested empirically on the redshift-distance law established by Edwin Hubble in 1929. However, although the theory offered a natural explanation of the observed galactic redshifts, these could be explained also on the assumption of a Static Universe. This was what Fritz Zwicky did when he introduced the idea of "tired light" in the fall of 1929. Hypotheses of a similar kind were proposed by several other scientists but their impact on mainstream astronomy and cosmology was limited. The paper offers a survey of tired-light hypotheses in the 1930s and briefly alludes to the later development.

The Search for Cosmological Antimatter

Science.gov (United States)

Streitmatter, Robert E.

2004-01-01

For more than 40 years, experimentalists have searched in the cosmic radiation for evidence of antimatter which may have been created in the early Universe. The experimental evidence for cosmologically significant amounts of antimatter in the Universe is reviewed. There is no compelling evidence, either theoretical of experimental. However, the possibility is not completely ruled out.

The Jungle Universe: coupled cosmological models in a Lotka-Volterra framework

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Jérôme; Füzfa, André; Carletti, Timoteo; Mélot, Laurence; Guedezounme, Lazare

2014-06-01

In this paper, we exploit the fact that the dynamics of homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Lemaître universes is a special case of generalized Lotka-Volterra system where the competitive species are the barotropic fluids filling the Universe. Without coupling between those fluids, Lotka-Volterra formulation offers a pedagogical and simple way to interpret usual Friedmann-Lemaître cosmological dynamics. A natural and physical coupling between cosmological fluids is proposed which preserves the structure of the dynamical equations. Using the standard tools of Lotka-Volterra dynamics, we obtain the general Lyapunov function of the system when one of the fluids is coupled to dark energy. This provides in a rigorous form a generic asymptotic behavior for cosmic expansion in presence of coupled species, beyond the standard de Sitter, Einstein-de Sitter and Milne cosmologies. Finally, we conjecture that chaos can appear for at least four interacting fluids.

Cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, I.D.

1979-01-01

Progress made by this Commission over the period 1976-1978 is reviewed. Topics include the Hubble constant, deceleration parameter, large-scale distribution of matter in the universe, radio astronomy and cosmology, space astronomy and cosmology, formation of galaxies, physics near the cosmological singularity, and unconventional cosmological models. (C.F.)

Tensors, relativity, and cosmology

CERN Document Server

Dalarsson, Mirjana

2015-01-01

Tensors, Relativity, and Cosmology, Second Edition, combines relativity, astrophysics, and cosmology in a single volume, providing a simplified introduction to each subject that is followed by detailed mathematical derivations. The book includes a section on general relativity that gives the case for a curved space-time, presents the mathematical background (tensor calculus, Riemannian geometry), discusses the Einstein equation and its solutions (including black holes and Penrose processes), and considers the energy-momentum tensor for various solutions. In addition, a section on relativistic astrophysics discusses stellar contraction and collapse, neutron stars and their equations of state, black holes, and accretion onto collapsed objects, with a final section on cosmology discussing cosmological models, observational tests, and scenarios for the early universe. This fully revised and updated second edition includes new material on relativistic effects, such as the behavior of clocks and measuring rods in m...

One-loop quantum gravity repulsion in the early Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Broda, Bogusław

2011-03-11

Perturbative quantum gravity formalism is applied to compute the lowest order corrections to the classical spatially flat cosmological Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker solution (for the radiation). The presented approach is analogous to the approach applied to compute quantum corrections to the Coulomb potential in electrodynamics, or rather to the approach applied to compute quantum corrections to the Schwarzschild solution in gravity. In the framework of the standard perturbative quantum gravity, it is shown that the corrections to the classical deceleration, coming from the one-loop graviton vacuum polarization (self-energy), have (UV cutoff free) opposite to the classical repulsive properties which are not negligible in the very early Universe. The repulsive "quantum forces" resemble those known from loop quantum cosmology.

Probing Models of Dark Matter and the Early Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Orlofsky, Nicholas David

This thesis discusses models for dark matter (DM) and their behavior in the early universe. An important question is how phenomenological probes can directly search for signals of DM today. Another topic of investigation is how the DM and other processes in the early universe must evolve. Then, astrophysical bounds on early universe dynamics can constrain DM. We will consider these questions in the context of three classes of DM models--weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), axions, and primordial black holes (PBHs). Starting with WIMPs, we consider models where the DM is charged under the electroweak gauge group of the Standard Model. Such WIMPs, if generated by a thermal cosmological history, are constrained by direct detection experiments. To avoid present or near-future bounds, the WIMP model or cosmological history must be altered in some way. This may be accomplished by the inclusion of new states that coannihilate with the WIMP or a period of non-thermal evolution in the early universe. Future experiments are likely to probe some of these altered scenarios, and a non-observation would require a high degree of tuning in some of the model parameters in these scenarios. Next, axions, as light pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone bosons, are susceptible to quantum fluctuations in the early universe that lead to isocurvature perturbations, which are constrained by observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We ask what it would take to allow axion models in the face of these strong CMB bounds. We revisit models where inflationary dynamics modify the axion potential and discuss how isocurvature bounds can be relaxed, elucidating the difficulties in these constructions. Avoiding disruption of inflationary dynamics provides important limits on the parameter space. Finally, PBHs have received interest in part due to observations by LIGO of merging black hole binaries. We ask how these PBHs could arise through inflationary models and investigate the opportunity

Long wavelength limit of evolution of cosmological perturbations in the universe where scalar fields and fluids coexist

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamazaki, Takashi

2008-01-01

We present the LWL formula which represents the long wavelength limit of the solutions of evolution equations of cosmological perturbations in terms of the exactly homogeneous solutions in the most general case where multiple scalar fields and multiple perfect fluids coexist. We find the conserved quantity which has origin in the adiabatic decaying mode, and by regarding this quantity as the source term we determine the correction term which corrects the discrepancy between the exactly homogeneous perturbations and the k→0 limit of the evolutions of cosmological perturbations. This LWL formula is useful for investigating the evolutions of cosmological perturbations in the early stage of our universe such as reheating after inflation and the curvaton decay in the curvaton scenario. When we extract the long wavelength limits of evolutions of cosmological perturbations from the exactly homogeneous perturbations by the LWL formula, it is more convenient to describe the corresponding exactly homogeneous system with not the cosmological time but the scale factor as the evolution parameter. By applying the LWL formula to the reheating model and the curvaton model with multiple scalar fields and multiple radiation fluids, we obtain the S formula representing the final amplitude of the Bardeen parameter in terms of the initial adiabatic and isocurvature perturbations

The early universe: facts and fiction (astronomy and astrophysics library)

CERN Document Server

Börner, Gerhard

2013-01-01

This fourth edition of Börner's "The Early Universe" is practically a new book, not just updated version. In particular, it is now organized so as to make it more useful as a textbook. And problem sections are also added. In the centre are the connections between particle physics and cosmology: The standard model, some basic implications of quantum field theory and the questions of structure formation. Special emphasis is given to the observed anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background and the consequences drawn for cosmology and for the structure formation models. Nuclear and particle physicists and astrophysicists, researchers and teachers as well as graduate students will welcome this new edition of a classic text and reference.

THE CHALLENGE OF THE LARGEST STRUCTURES IN THE UNIVERSE TO COSMOLOGY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Changbom; Choi, Yun-Young; Kim, Sungsoo S.; Kim, Kap-Sung; Kim, Juhan; Gott III, J. Richard

2012-01-01

Large galaxy redshift surveys have long been used to constrain cosmological models and structure formation scenarios. In particular, the largest structures discovered observationally are thought to carry critical information on the amplitude of large-scale density fluctuations or homogeneity of the universe, and have often challenged the standard cosmological framework. The Sloan Great Wall (SGW) recently found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) region casts doubt on the concordance cosmological model with a cosmological constant (i.e., the flat ΛCDM model). Here we show that the existence of the SGW is perfectly consistent with the ΛCDM model, a result that only our very large cosmological N-body simulation (the Horizon Run 2, HR2) could supply. In addition, we report on the discovery of a void complex in the SDSS much larger than the SGW, and show that such size of the largest void is also predicted in the ΛCDM paradigm. Our results demonstrate that an initially homogeneous isotropic universe with primordial Gaussian random phase density fluctuations growing in accordance with the general relativity can explain the richness and size of the observed large-scale structures in the SDSS. Using the HR2 simulation we predict that a future galaxy redshift survey about four times deeper or with 3 mag fainter limit than the SDSS should reveal a largest structure of bright galaxies about twice as big as the SGW.

Final Scientific/Technical Report-Quantum Field Theories for Cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nicolis, Alberto [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Physics Dept.

2018-03-10

The research funded by this award spanned a wide range of subjects in theoretical cosmology and in field theory. In the first part, the PI and his collaborators applied effective field theory techniques to the study of macroscopic media and of cosmological perturbations. Such an approach—now standard in particle physics—is quite unconventional for theoretical cosmology. They addressed several concrete questions where this formalism proved valuable, both within and outside the cosmological context, concerning for instance macroscopic physical phenomena for fluids, superfluids, and solids, and their relationship to the dynamics of cosmological perturbations. A particularly successful outcome of this line of research has been the development of “solid inflation”: a cosmological model for primordial inflation where the expansion of the universe is driven by an exotic solid substance. In the second part, the PI and his collaborators investigated more fundamental questions and ideas, for the present universe as well as for the very early one, using quantum field theory as a guide. The questions addressed include: Is the present cosmic acceleration due to a new, ‘dark’ form of energy, or are we instead observing a breakdown of Einstein’s general relativity at cosmological distances? Is the cosmic acceleration accelerating? Is the Big Bang unavoidable? Related to this, is early inflation the only sensible cure for the shortcomings of the standard Big Bang model, and the only possible source for the observed scale-invariant cosmological perturbations?

Highlights in gravitation and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iyer, B.R.; Kembhavi, Ajit; Narlikar, J.V.; Vishveshwara, C.V.

1988-01-01

This book assesses research into gravitation and cosmology by examining the subject from various viewpoints: the classical and quantum pictures, along with the cosmological and astrophysical applications. There are 35 articles by experts of international standing. Each defines the state of the art and contains a concise summary of our present knowledge of a facet of gravitational physics. These edited papers are based on those first given at an international conference held in Goa, India at the end of 1987. The following broad areas are covered: classical relativity, quantum gravity, cosmology, black holes, compact objects, gravitational radiation and gravity experiments. In this volume there are also summaries of discussions on the following special topics: exact solutions of cosmological equations, mathematical aspects of general relativity, the early universe, and quantum gravity. For research workers in cosmology and gravitation this reference book provides a broad view of present achievements and current problems. (author)

Cosmological reconstruction of realistic modified F(R) gravities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nojiri, Shin'ichi; Odintsov, Sergei D.; Saez-Gomez, Diego

2009-01-01

The cosmological reconstruction scheme for modified F(R) gravity is developed in terms of e-folding (or, redshift). It is demonstrated how any FRW cosmology may emerge from specific F(R) theory. The specific examples of well-known cosmological evolution are reconstructed, including ΛCDM cosmology, deceleration with transition to phantom superacceleration era which may develop singularity or be transient. The application of this scheme to viable F(R) gravities unifying inflation with dark energy era is proposed. The additional reconstruction of such models leads to non-leading gravitational correction mainly relevant at the early/late universe and helping to pass the cosmological bounds (if necessary). It is also shown how cosmological reconstruction scheme may be generalized in the presence of scalar field.

Cosmological principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wesson, P.S.

1979-01-01

The Cosmological Principle states: the universe looks the same to all observers regardless of where they are located. To most astronomers today the Cosmological Principle means the universe looks the same to all observers because density of the galaxies is the same in all places. A new Cosmological Principle is proposed. It is called the Dimensional Cosmological Principle. It uses the properties of matter in the universe: density (rho), pressure (p), and mass (m) within some region of space of length (l). The laws of physics require incorporation of constants for gravity (G) and the speed of light (C). After combining the six parameters into dimensionless numbers, the best choices are: 8πGl 2 rho/c 2 , 8πGl 2 rho/c 4 , and 2 Gm/c 2 l (the Schwarzchild factor). The Dimensional Cosmological Principal came about because old ideas conflicted with the rapidly-growing body of observational evidence indicating that galaxies in the universe have a clumpy rather than uniform distribution

Cosmological footprints of loop quantum gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Grain, J; Barrau, A

2009-02-27

The primordial spectrum of cosmological tensor perturbations is considered as a possible probe of quantum gravity effects. Together with string theory, loop quantum gravity is one of the most promising frameworks to study quantum effects in the early universe. We show that the associated corrections should modify the potential seen by gravitational waves during the inflationary amplification. The resulting power spectrum should exhibit a characteristic tilt. This opens a new window for cosmological tests of quantum gravity.

Observable cosmology and cosmological models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kardashev, N.S.; Lukash, V.N.; Novikov, I.D.

1987-01-01

Modern state of observation cosmology is briefly discussed. Among other things, a problem, related to Hibble constant and slowdown constant determining is considered. Within ''pancake'' theory hot (neutrino) cosmological model explains well the large-scale structure of the Universe, but does not explain the galaxy formation. A cold cosmological model explains well light object formation, but contradicts data on large-scale structure

Galaxy Formation Efficiency and the Multiverse Explanation of the Cosmological Constant with EAGLE Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Luke A.; Elahi, Pascal J.; Salcido, Jaime; Bower, Richard G.; Lewis, Geraint F.; Theuns, Tom; Schaller, Matthieu; Crain, Robert A.; Schaye, Joop

2018-04-01

Models of the very early universe, including inflationary models, are argued to produce varying universe domains with different values of fundamental constants and cosmic parameters. Using the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation code from the EAGLE collaboration, we investigate the effect of the cosmological constant on the formation of galaxies and stars. We simulate universes with values of the cosmological constant ranging from Λ = 0 to Λ0 × 300, where Λ0 is the value of the cosmological constant in our Universe. Because the global star formation rate in our Universe peaks at t = 3.5 Gyr, before the onset of accelerating expansion, increases in Λ of even an order of magnitude have only a small effect on the star formation history and efficiency of the universe. We use our simulations to predict the observed value of the cosmological constant, given a measure of the multiverse. Whether the cosmological constant is successfully predicted depends crucially on the measure. The impact of the cosmological constant on the formation of structure in the universe does not seem to be a sharp enough function of Λ to explain its observed value alone.

Dynamics of cosmological perturbations and reheating in the anamorphic universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graef, L.L.; Ferreira, Elisa G.M.; Brandenberger, Robert [Physics Department, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T8 (Canada); Hipólito-Ricaldi, W.S., E-mail: leilagraef@on.br, E-mail: wiliam.ricaldi@ufes.br, E-mail: elisa.ferreira@mail.mcgill.ca, E-mail: rhb@physics.mcgill.ca [Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Rodovia BR 101 Norte, km. 60, São Mateus, ES (Brazil)

2017-04-01

We discuss scalar-tensor realizations of the Anamorphic cosmological scenario recently proposed by Ijjas and Steinhardt [1]. Through an analysis of the dynamics of cosmological perturbations we obtain constraints on the parameters of the model. We also study gravitational Parker particle production in the contracting Anamorphic phase and we compute the fraction between the energy density of created particles at the end of the phase and the background energy density. We find that, as in the case of inflation, a new mechanism is required to reheat the universe.

Cosmological models in energy-momentum-squared gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Board, Charles V. R.; Barrow, John D.

2017-12-01

We study the cosmological effects of adding terms of higher order in the usual energy-momentum tensor to the matter Lagrangian of general relativity. This is in contrast to most studies of higher-order gravity which focus on generalizing the Einstein-Hilbert curvature contribution to the Lagrangian. The resulting cosmological theories give rise to field equations of similar form to several particular theories with different fundamental bases, including bulk viscous cosmology, loop quantum gravity, k -essence, and brane-world cosmologies. We find a range of exact solutions for isotropic universes, discuss their behaviors with reference to the early- and late-time evolution, accelerated expansion, and the occurrence or avoidance of singularities. We briefly discuss extensions to anisotropic cosmologies and delineate the situations where the higher-order matter terms will dominate over anisotropies on approach to cosmological singularities.

Growth of matter perturbation in quintessence cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Mulki, Fargiza A. M.; Wulandari, Hesti R. T.

2017-01-01

Big bang theory states that universe emerged from singularity with very high temperature and density, then expands homogeneously and isotropically. This theory gives rise standard cosmological principle which declares that universe is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. However, universe is not perfectly homogeneous and isotropic on small scales. There exist structures starting from clusters, galaxies even to stars and planetary system scales. Cosmological perturbation theory is a fundamental theory that explains the origin of structures. According to this theory, the structures can be regarded as small perturbations in the early universe, which evolves as the universe expands. In addition to the problem of inhomogeneities of the universe, observations of supernovae Ia suggest that our universe is being accelerated. Various models of dark energy have been proposed to explain cosmic acceleration, one of them is cosmological constant. Because of several problems arise from cosmological constant, the alternative models have been proposed, one of these models is quintessence. We reconstruct growth of structure model following quintessence scenario at several epochs of the universe, which is specified by the effective equation of state parameters for each stage. Discussion begins with the dynamics of quintessence, in which exponential potential is analytically derived, which leads to various conditions of the universe. We then focus on scaling and quintessence dominated solutions. Subsequently, we review the basics of cosmological perturbation theory and derive formulas to investigate how matter perturbation evolves with time in subhorizon scales which leads to structure formation, and also analyze the influence of quintessence to the structure formation. From analytical exploration, we obtain the growth rate of matter perturbation and the existence of quintessence as a dark energy that slows down the growth of structure formation of the universe.

Astrophysical cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Bardeen, J. M.

The last several years have seen a tremendous ferment of activity in astrophysical cosmology. Much of the theoretical impetus has come from particle physics theories of the early universe and candidates for dark matter, but what promise to be even more significant are improved direct observations of high z galaxies and intergalactic matter, deeper and more comprehensive redshift surveys, and the increasing power of computer simulations of the dynamical evolution of large scale structure. Upper limits on the anisotropy of the microwave background radiation are gradually getting tighter and constraining more severely theoretical scenarios for the evolution of the universe.

Astrophysical cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bardeen, J.M.

1986-01-01

The last several years have seen a tremendous ferment of activity in astrophysical cosmology. Much of the theoretical impetus has come from particle physics theories of the early universe and candidates for dark matter, but what promise to be even more significant are improved direct observations of high z galaxies and intergalactic matter, deeper and more comprehensive redshift surveys, and the increasing power of computer simulations of the dynamical evolution of large scale structure. Upper limits on the anisotropy of the microwave background radiation are gradually getting tighter and constraining more severely theoretical scenarios for the evolution of the universe. 47 refs

Attractor behaviour in ELKO cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basak, Abhishek; Bhatt, Jitesh R.; Shankaranarayanan, S.; Varma, K.V. Prasantha

2013-01-01

We study the dynamics of ELKO in the context of accelerated phase of our universe. To avoid the fine tuning problem associated with the initial conditions, it is required that the dynamical equations lead to an early-time attractor. In the earlier works, it was shown that the dynamical equations containing ELKO fields do not lead to early-time stable fixed points. In this work, using redefinition of variables, we show that ELKO cosmology admits early-time stable fixed points. More interestingly, we show that ELKO cosmology admit two sets of attractor points corresponding to slow and fast-roll inflation. The fast-roll inflation attractor point is unique for ELKO as it is independent of the form of the potential. We also discuss the plausible choice of interaction terms in these two sets of attractor points and constraints on the coupling constant

Anisotropic Bianchi-I universe with phantom field and cosmological ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

India. *Corresponding author. E-mail: bcpaul@iucaa.ernet.in. MS received 23 May ... We study an anisotropic Bianchi-I universe in the presence of a phantom ... The phantom cosmology has been analysed adopting phase space analysis ... the second part we study the critical points corresponding to the set of autonomous.

Quantum cosmology - science of Genesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padmanabhan, Thanu

1987-01-01

Quantum cosmology, the marriage between the theories of the microscopic and macroscopic Universe, is examined in an attempt to explain the birth of the Universe in the 'big bang'. A quantum cosmological model of the Universe does not exist, but a rough approximation, or 'poor man's' version of quantum cosmology has been developed. The idea is to combine the theory of quantum mechanics with the classical cosmological solutions to obtain a quantum mechanical version of cosmology. Such a model of quantum cosmology is described -here the quantum universe behaves like a hydrogen atom with the Planck length replacing the Bohr radius. Properties of quantum cosmologies and the significance of the Planck length are both discussed. (UK)

Cosmology and particle physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.

1986-01-01

Progress in cosmology has become linked to progress in elementary particle physics. In these six lectures, the author illustrates the two-way nature of the interplay between these fields by focusing on a few selected topics. In the next section the author reviews the standard cosmology, especially concentrating on primordial nucleosynthesis and discusses how the standard cosmology has been used to place constraints on the properties of various particles. Grand Unification makes two striking predictions: (i) B non-conservation; (ii) the existence of stable, superheavy magnetic monopoles. Both have had great cosmological impact. In the following section the author discusses baryogenesis, the very attractive scenario in which the B,C,CP violating interactions in GUTs provide a dynamical explanation for the predominance of matter over antimatter and the present baryon-to-photon ratio. Monopoles are a cosmological disaster and an astrophysicist's delight. In Section 4 discusses monopoles, cosmology, and astrophysics. In the fourth lecture the author discusses how a very early (t≤10/sup -34/ sec) phase transition associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) has the potential to explain a handful of very fundamental cosmological facts, facts which can be accommodated by the standard cosmology, but which are not ''explained'' by it. The fifth lecture is devoted to a discussion of structure formation in the universe

Cosmology of Universe Particles and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wei

2016-06-01

For the first time in history, all properties of cosmology particles are uncovered and described concisely and systematically, known as the elementary particles in contemporary physics.Aligning with the synthesis of the virtual and physical worlds in a hierarchical taxonomy of the universe, this theory refines the topology framework of cosmology, and presents a new perspective of the Yin Yang natural laws that, through the processes of creation and reproduction, the fundamental elements generate an infinite series of circular objects and a Yin Yang duality of dynamic fields that are sequenced and transformed states of matter between the virtual and physical worlds.Once virtual objects are transformed, they embody various enclaves of energy states, known as dark energy, quarks, leptons, bosons, protons, and neutrons, characterized by their incentive oscillations of timestate variables in a duality of virtual realities: energy and time, spin and charge, mass and space, symmetry and antisymmetry.As a consequence, it derives the fully-scaled quantum properties of physical particles in accordance with numerous historical experiments, and has overcome the limitations of uncertainty principle and the Standard Model, towards concisely exploring physical nature and beyond...

Understanding Creation: Cosmology at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Andrew E.

1997-01-01

Cosmology attempts to answer questions concerning the origin of the universe, the way in which it evolves, and the way in which it will end. These are ancient questions that fascinate humanity and attendant metaphysical answers predate recorded history. The dawn of the 21st century has witnessed the first scientific answers. The goal of modern cosmology is to determine the basic properties of the universe. Numerous discoveries have been made in the last century which have had a profound influence on cosmology such as the expansion of the universe and the existence of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). CMB and other phenomena act as fossils for cosmologists who attempt to characterize the early universe through an interpretive methodology similar to that of archaeologists. Programs and tools such as NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) have been designed to illuminate the morphologic history of the universe including the big bang theory and the current density of the universe. In this primer for cosmology, these and other discoveries and postulations are discussed.

On the philosophy of cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, George Francis Rayner

2014-05-01

This paper gives an overview of significant issues in the philosophy of cosmology, starting off by emphasizing the uniqueness of the universe and the way models are used in description and explanation. It then considers, basic limits on observations; the need to test alternatives; ways to test consistency; and implications of the uniqueness of the universe as regards distinguishing laws of physics from contingent conditions. It goes on to look at the idea of a multiverse as a scientific explanation of facts about fine-tuning, in particular considering criteria for a scientific theory and for justifying unseen entities. It considers the relation between physical laws and the natures of existence, and emphasizes limits on our knowledge of the physics relevant to the early universe (the physics horizon), and the non-physical nature of some claimed infinities. The final section looks briefly at deeper issues, commenting on the scope of enquiry of cosmological theory and the limits of science in relation to the creation of the universe.

Cosmological constant, inflation and no-cloning theorem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang Qingguo, E-mail: huangqg@itp.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100190 (China); Lin Fengli, E-mail: linfengli@phy.ntnu.edu.tw [Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States); Department of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, 116, Taiwan (China)

2012-05-30

From the viewpoint of no-cloning theorem we postulate a relation between the current accelerated expansion of our universe and the inflationary expansion in the very early universe. It implies that the fate of our universe should be in a state with accelerated expansion. Quantitatively we find that the no-cloning theorem leads to a lower bound on the cosmological constant which is compatible with observations.

Large scale geometry and evolution of a universe with radiation pressure and cosmological constant

CERN Document Server

Coquereaux, Robert; Coquereaux, Robert; Grossmann, Alex

2000-01-01

In view of new experimental results that strongly suggest a non-zero cosmological constant, it becomes interesting to revisit the Friedmann-Lemaitre model of evolution of a universe with cosmological constant and radiation pressure. In this paper, we discuss the explicit solutions for that model, and perform numerical explorations for reasonable values of cosmological parameters. We also analyse the behaviour of redshifts in such models and the description of ``very large scale geometrical features'' when analysed by distant observers.

Entropy - Some Cosmological Questions Answered by Model of Expansive Nondecelerative Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Sukenik

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract: The paper summarizes the background of Expansive Nondecelerative Universe model and its potential to offer answers to some open cosmological questions related to entropy. Three problems are faced in more detail, namely that of Hawkings phenomenon of black holes evaporation, maximum entropy of the Universe during its evolution, and time evolution of specific entropy.

Ground State of the Universe and the Cosmological Constant. A Nonperturbative Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Husain, Viqar; Qureshi, Babar

2016-02-12

The physical Hamiltonian of a gravity-matter system depends on the choice of time, with the vacuum naturally identified as its ground state. We study the expanding Universe with scalar field in the volume time gauge. We show that the vacuum energy density computed from the resulting Hamiltonian is a nonlinear function of the cosmological constant and time. This result provides a new perspective on the relation between time, the cosmological constant, and vacuum energy.

Current cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeldovich, Ya.

1984-01-01

The knowledge is summed up of contemporary cosmology on the universe and its development resulting from a great number of highly sensitive observations and the application of contemporary physical theories to the entire universe. The questions are assessed of mass density in the universe, the structure and origin of the universe, its baryon asymmetry and the quantum explanation of the origin of the universe. Physical problems are presented which should be resolved for the future development of cosmology. (Ha)

How self-interactions can reconcile sterile neutrinos with cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Hannestad, Steen; Hansen, Rasmus Sloth; Tram, Thomas

2014-01-24

Short baseline neutrino oscillation experiments have shown hints of the existence of additional sterile neutrinos in the eV mass range. However, such neutrinos seem incompatible with cosmology because they have too large of an impact on cosmic structure formation. Here we show that new interactions in the sterile neutrino sector can prevent their production in the early Universe and reconcile short baseline oscillation experiments with cosmology.

Probing cosmology with the homogeneity scale of the Universe through large scale structure surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ntelis, Pierros

2017-01-01

This thesis exposes my contribution to the measurement of homogeneity scale using galaxies, with the cosmological interpretation of results. In physics, any model is characterized by a set of principles. Most models in cosmology are based on the Cosmological Principle, which states that the universe is statistically homogeneous and isotropic on a large scales. Today, this principle is considered to be true since it is respected by those cosmological models that accurately describe the observations. However, while the isotropy of the universe is now confirmed by many experiments, it is not the case for the homogeneity. To study cosmic homogeneity, we propose to not only test a model but to test directly one of the postulates of modern cosmology. Since 1998 the measurements of cosmic distances using type Ia supernovae, we know that the universe is now in a phase of accelerated expansion. This phenomenon can be explained by the addition of an unknown energy component, which is called dark energy. Since dark energy is responsible for the expansion of the universe, we can study this mysterious fluid by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe. The universe has imprinted in its matter distribution a standard ruler, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) scale. By measuring this scale at different times during the evolution of our universe, it is then possible to measure the rate of expansion of the universe and thus characterize this dark energy. Alternatively, we can use the homogeneity scale to study this dark energy. Studying the homogeneity and the BAO scale requires the statistical study of the matter distribution of the universe at large scales, superior to tens of Mega-parsecs. Galaxies and quasars are formed in the vast over densities of matter and they are very luminous: these sources trace the distribution of matter. By measuring the emission spectra of these sources using large spectroscopic surveys, such as BOSS and eBOSS, we can measure their positions

Does Cosmological Scale Expansion Explain the Universe?

Science.gov (United States)

Masreliez, C. J.

2009-12-01

The idea of the creation of the world has been central in Western civilization since the earliest recorded history some 6000 years ago and it still prevails, supported by religious dogma. If the creation idea is wrong and the universe is eternal we might wonder why science has not yet revealed this fundamental truth. To understand why, we have to review how the Big Bang theory came to be the dominant cosmological paradigm in spite of many clear indications that the theory might be fundamentally flawed.

EDITORIAL: Non-linear and non-Gaussian cosmological perturbations Non-linear and non-Gaussian cosmological perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Misao; Wands, David

2010-06-01

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the study of non-linear perturbations of cosmological models. This has been the result of both theoretical developments and observational advances. New theoretical challenges arise at second and higher order due to mode coupling and the need to develop new gauge-invariant variables beyond first order. In particular, non-linear interactions lead to deviations from a Gaussian distribution of primordial perturbations even if initial vacuum fluctuations are exactly Gaussian. These non-Gaussianities provide an important probe of models for the origin of structure in the very early universe. We now have a detailed picture of the primordial distribution of matter from surveys of the cosmic microwave background, notably NASA's WMAP satellite. The situation will continue to improve with future data from the ESA Planck satellite launched in 2009. To fully exploit these data cosmologists need to extend non-linear cosmological perturbation theory beyond the linear theory that has previously been sufficient on cosmological scales. Another recent development has been the realization that large-scale structure, revealed in high-redshift galaxy surveys, could also be sensitive to non-linearities in the primordial curvature perturbation. This focus section brings together a collection of invited papers which explore several topical issues in this subject. We hope it will be of interest to theoretical physicists and astrophysicists alike interested in understanding and interpreting recent developments in cosmological perturbation theory and models of the early universe. Of course it is only an incomplete snapshot of a rapidly developing field and we hope the reader will be inspired to read further work on the subject and, perhaps, fill in some of the missing pieces. This focus section is dedicated to the memory of Lev Kofman (1957-2009), an enthusiastic pioneer of inflationary cosmology and non-Gaussian perturbations.

The Einstein static universe with torsion and the sign problem of the cosmological constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehmer, C G

2004-01-01

In the field equations of Einstein-Cartan theory with cosmological constant a static spherically symmetric perfect fluid with spin density satisfying the Weyssenhoff restriction is considered. This serves as a rough model of space filled with (fermionic) dark matter. From this the Einstein static universe with constant torsion is constructed, generalizing the Einstein cosmos to Einstein-Cartan theory. The interplay between torsion and the cosmological constant is discussed. A possible way out of the cosmological constant's sign problem is suggested

Academic Training: Cosmology for particle physicists

CERN Multimedia

Françoise Benz

2005-01-01

2004-2005 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 May from 11.00 to 12.00 hrs - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 on 9, 10, 12 and 13 May, Council Chamber, bldg. 503, on 11 May Cosmology for particle physicists S. CARROLL / Enrico Fermi Institute, Univ. of Chicago, USA The past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. We know much about the universe, but understand very little. Open questions include the nature of the dark matter and dark energy, the origin of the matter/antimatter asymmetry, the possibility of inflation, and the role of string theory and extra dimensions in the early universe. All of these issues impact strongly on, and will be heavily influenced by, upcoming experiments in particle physics. I will give an overview of current questions at the overlap of cosmology and particle physics, and discuss some theoretical and experimental questions likely to be important in the near future. ENSEIG...

Academic Training: Cosmology for particle physicists

CERN Multimedia

Françoise Benz

2005-01-01

2004-2005 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMMELECTURE SERIES9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 Mayfrom 11.00 to 12.00 hrs - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 on 9, 10, 12 and 13 May, Council Chamber, bldg. 503, on 11 MayCosmology for particle physicistsS. CARROLL / Enrico Fermi Institute, Univ. of Chicago, USAThe past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. We know much about the universe, but understand very little. Open questions include the nature of the dark matter and dark energy, the origin of the matter/antimatter asymmetry, the possibility of inflation, and the role of string theory and extra dimensions in the early universe. All of these issues impact strongly on, and will be heavily influenced by, upcoming experiments in particle physics. I will give an overview of current questions at the overlap of cosmology and particle physics, and discuss some theoretical and experimental questions likely to be important in the near future.ENSEIGNEMENT ACADEMIQUEAC...

Academic Training: Cosmology for particle physicists

CERN Multimedia

Françoise Benz

2005-01-01

2004-2005 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13 May from 11.00 to 12.00 hrs - Main Auditorium, bldg. 500 on 9, 10, 12 and 13 May, Council Chamber, bldg. 503, on 11 May Cosmology for particle physicists S. CARROLL / Enrico Fermi Institute, Univ. of Chicago, USA The past few years have seen dramatic breakthroughs and spectacular and puzzling discoveries in astrophysics and cosmology. We know much about the universe, but understand very little. Open questions include the nature of the dark matter and dark energy, the origin of the matter/antimatter asymmetry, the possibility of inflation, and the role of string theory and extra dimensions in the early universe. All of these issues impact strongly on, and will be heavily influenced by, upcoming experiments in particle physics. I will give an overview of current questions at the overlap of cosmology and particle physics, and discuss some theoretical and experimental questions likely to be important in the near future. ENSEIGNEME...

Emergence of a classical Universe from quantum gravity and cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiefer, Claus

2012-09-28

I describe how we can understand the classical appearance of our world from a universal quantum theory. The essential ingredient is the process of decoherence. I start with a general discussion in ordinary quantum theory and then turn to quantum gravity and quantum cosmology. There is a whole hierarchy of classicality from the global gravitational field to the fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background, which serve as the seeds for the structure in the Universe.

GUTs and supersymmetric GUTs in the very early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.

1982-10-01

This talk is intended as background material for many of the other talks treating the possible applications of GUTs to the very early universe. I start with a review of the present theoretical and phenomenological status of GUTs before going on to raise some new issues for their prospective cosmological applications which arise in supersymmetric (susy) GUTs. The first section is an update on conventional GUTs, which is followed by a reminder of some of the motivations for going supersymmetric. There then follows a simple primer on susy and a discussion of the structure and phenomenology of simple sysy GUTs. Finally we come to the cosmological issues, including problems arising from the degeneracy of susy minima, baryosynthesis and supersymmetric inflation, the possibility that gravity is an essential complication in constructing susy GUTs and discussing their cosmology, and the related question of what mass range is allowed for the gravitino. Several parts of this write-up contain new material which has emerged either during the Workshop or subsequently. They are included here for completeness and the convenience of the prospective reader. Wherever possible, these anachronisms will be flagged so as to keep straight the historical record

The cosmic microwave background data and their implications for cosmology

CERN Document Server

Tudose, V

2003-01-01

Recently the results from three projects (BOOMERANG, DASI and MAXIMA) dealing with the observation of the temperature and isotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) were published. It was a real breakthrough for cosmology since these data established a new level in understanding the universe. Here we present a review of the main results obtained by the projects mentioned above, emphasizing their significance to the nowadays status of cosmology. In this respect we report on the increasing evidence for an inflationary period in the very early stages after the Big Bang, we discuss at large the values of the cosmological parameters and we acknowledge the picture of the universe as it appears from the CMB data. (authors)

Magnetic monopoles in particle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preskill, J.

1986-01-01

Hardly any topic better illustrates the connection between particle physics and cosmology than the topic of magnetic monopoles. While there is no persuasive evidence that a monopole has ever been detected, the existence of monopoles is implied by deeply cherished beliefs about the structure of matter at extremely short distances. And the fact that monopoles are so rare as to have escaped detection has profound implications concerning the very early history of the universe. This article gives a brief overview of the theory of magnetic monopoles and its relevance to cosmology. In Section II, the author explains the connection between monopoles and the unification of the fundamental interactions. In Section III, he describes how monopoles might have been produced in the very early universe. Theoretical limits on the abundance of monopoles derived from astrophysical considerations are the subject of Section IV. Section V contains conclusions

Introduction. Cosmology meets condensed matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Kibble, T W B; Pickett, G R

2008-08-28

At first sight, low-temperature condensed-matter physics and early Universe cosmology seem worlds apart. Yet, in the last few years a remarkable synergy has developed between the two. It has emerged that, in terms of their mathematical description, there are surprisingly close parallels between them. This interplay has been the subject of a very successful European Science Foundation (ESF) programme entitled COSLAB ('Cosmology in the Laboratory') that ran from 2001 to 2006, itself built on an earlier ESF network called TOPDEF ('Topological Defects: Non-equilibrium Field Theory in Particle Physics, Condensed Matter and Cosmology'). The articles presented in this issue of Philosophical Transactions A are based on talks given at the Royal Society Discussion Meeting 'Cosmology meets condensed matter', held on 28 and 29 January 2008. Many of the speakers had participated earlier in the COSLAB programme, but the strength of the field is illustrated by the presence also of quite a few new participants.

Topics in particle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, S.D.H.

1991-01-01

The Standard Model of particle physics, together with the Big Bang model of the early universe, constitute a framework which encompasses our current understanding of fundamental laws and beginning of our universe. Despite recent speculative trends, quantum field theory remains the theoretical tool of choice for investigating new physics either at high energy colliders, or in the early universe. In this dissertation, several field theoretic phenomena relevant to cosmology or particle physics are explored. A common theme in these explorations is the structure of the vacuum state in quantum field theory. First, we discuss first-order phase transitions in the early universe, in which the effective vacuum state of the universe shifts discontinuously as the temperature drops below some critical point. We find that the dynamics of a certain type of first-order phase transition can lead to production of primordial black holes, which could constitute the dark matter of our universe. Alternatively, supercooled first-order phase transitions may be the cause of an extended inflationary epoch in the early universe, which is generally regarded as necessary to solve several cosmological puzzles. We derive limits on such scenarios based on nearly model-independent percolation properties of the transition. We also study some nonperturbative aspects of the field theory vacuum. We show that non-topological solitons of a single fermion and Higgs fields can only exist in strongly coupled theories. In particular, we find that at the lowest fermionic excitations in the Standard Model are single fermions, and not bound states of fermion plugs Higgs. Finally, we investigate the intriguing behavior of instanton-induced cross sections. We discover Higgs-Higgs cross sections which increase exponentially with center of mass energy due to the presence of instanton solutions related to vacuum instability

Particle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.; Schramm, D.N.

1985-01-01

During the past year, the research of the members of our group has spanned virtually all the topics at the interface of cosmology and particle physics: inflationary Universe scenarios, astrophysical and cosmological constraints on particle properties, ultra-high energy cosmic ray physics, quantum field theory in curved space-time, cosmology with extra dimensions, superstring cosmology, neutrino astronomy with large, underground detectors, and the formation of structure in the Universe

Cosmology in antiquity

CERN Document Server

Wright, Rosemary

1995-01-01

The popularity of Stephen Hawking's work has put cosmology back in the public eye. The question of how the universe began, and why it hangs together, still puzzles scientists. Their puzzlement began two and a half thousand years ago when Greek philosophers first 'looked up at the sky and formed a theory of everything.' Though their solutions are little credited today, the questions remain fresh.The early Greek thinkers struggled to come to terms with and explain the totality of their surroundings; to identitify an original substance from which the universe was compounded; and to reconcil

Effects of heavy fields on inflationary cosmology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ortiz, Pablo

2014-01-01

Cosmological inflation is the most successful theory that explains the homogeneity and flatness of the early universe. It also provides a quantum origin for the primordial perturbations that we observe in the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB). The simplest models make use of a single

Assumptions of the primordial spectrum and cosmological parameter estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafieloo, Arman; Souradeep, Tarun

2011-01-01

The observables of the perturbed universe, cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy and large structures depend on a set of cosmological parameters, as well as the assumed nature of primordial perturbations. In particular, the shape of the primordial power spectrum (PPS) is, at best, a well-motivated assumption. It is known that the assumed functional form of the PPS in cosmological parameter estimation can affect the best-fit-parameters and their relative confidence limits. In this paper, we demonstrate that a specific assumed form actually drives the best-fit parameters into distinct basins of likelihood in the space of cosmological parameters where the likelihood resists improvement via modifications to the PPS. The regions where considerably better likelihoods are obtained allowing free-form PPS lie outside these basins. In the absence of a preferred model of inflation, this raises a concern that current cosmological parameter estimates are strongly prejudiced by the assumed form of PPS. Our results strongly motivate approaches toward simultaneous estimation of the cosmological parameters and the shape of the primordial spectrum from upcoming cosmological data. It is equally important for theorists to keep an open mind towards early universe scenarios that produce features in the PPS. (paper)

Implications of an absolute simultaneity theory for cosmology and universe acceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kipreos, Edward T

2014-01-01

An alternate Lorentz transformation, Absolute Lorentz Transformation (ALT), has similar kinematics to special relativity yet maintains absolute simultaneity in the context of a preferred reference frame. In this study, it is shown that ALT is compatible with current experiments to test Lorentz invariance only if the proposed preferred reference frame is locally equivalent to the Earth-centered non-rotating inertial reference frame, with the inference that in an ALT framework, preferred reference frames are associated with centers of gravitational mass. Applying this theoretical framework to cosmological data produces a scenario of universal time contraction in the past. In this scenario, past time contraction would be associated with increased levels of blueshifted light emissions from cosmological objects when viewed from our current perspective. The observation that distant Type Ia supernovae are dimmer than predicted by linear Hubble expansion currently provides the most direct evidence for an accelerating universe. Adjusting for the effects of time contraction on a redshift-distance modulus diagram produces a linear distribution of supernovae over the full redshift spectrum that is consistent with a non-accelerating universe.

Implications of an absolute simultaneity theory for cosmology and universe acceleration.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edward T Kipreos

Full Text Available An alternate Lorentz transformation, Absolute Lorentz Transformation (ALT, has similar kinematics to special relativity yet maintains absolute simultaneity in the context of a preferred reference frame. In this study, it is shown that ALT is compatible with current experiments to test Lorentz invariance only if the proposed preferred reference frame is locally equivalent to the Earth-centered non-rotating inertial reference frame, with the inference that in an ALT framework, preferred reference frames are associated with centers of gravitational mass. Applying this theoretical framework to cosmological data produces a scenario of universal time contraction in the past. In this scenario, past time contraction would be associated with increased levels of blueshifted light emissions from cosmological objects when viewed from our current perspective. The observation that distant Type Ia supernovae are dimmer than predicted by linear Hubble expansion currently provides the most direct evidence for an accelerating universe. Adjusting for the effects of time contraction on a redshift-distance modulus diagram produces a linear distribution of supernovae over the full redshift spectrum that is consistent with a non-accelerating universe.

Cosmology or Catastrophe? A non-minimally coupled scalar in an inhomogeneous universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caputa, Paweł; Haque, Sheikh Shajidul; Olson, Joseph; Underwood, Bret

2013-01-01

A non-minimally coupled scalar field can have, in principle, a negative effective Planck mass squared which depends on the scalar field. Surprisingly, an isotropic and homogeneous cosmological universe with a non-minimally coupled scalar field is perfectly smooth as the rolling scalar field causes the effective Planck mass to change sign and pass through zero. However, we show that any small deviations from homogeneity diverge as the effective Planck mass vanishes, with catastrophic consequences for the cosmology. The physical origin of the divergence is due to the presence of non-zero scalar anisotropic stress from the non-minimally coupled scalar field. Thus, while the homogeneous and isotropic cosmology appears surprisingly sensible when the effective Planck mass vanishes, inhomogeneities tell a different story. (paper)

Einstein and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gekman, O.

1982-01-01

The brief essay of the development of the main ideas of relativistic cosmology is presented. The Einstein's cosmological work about the Universe - ''Cosmological considerations in connection with the general relativity theory'' - gave the basis to all further treatments in this field. In 1922 A. Friedman's work appeared, in which the first expanding Universe model was proposed as a solution of the Einstein field equations. The model was spherically closed, but its curvature radius was a function of time. About 1955 the searches for anisotropic homogeneous solutions to Einstein field equation began. It turned out that isotropic cosmological models are unstable in general. The predominant part of them transform to anisotropic at insignificant breaking of isotropy. The discovery of isotropic background cosmic radiation in 1965, along with the Hubble low of the Universe expansion, served as the direct confirmation of cosmology based on the Einstein theory

On the cosmological gravitational waves and cosmological distances

Science.gov (United States)

Belinski, V. A.; Vereshchagin, G. V.

2018-03-01

We show that solitonic cosmological gravitational waves propagated through the Friedmann universe and generated by the inhomogeneities of the gravitational field near the Big Bang can be responsible for increase of cosmological distances.

The evolution of modern cosmology as seen through a personal walk across six decades

Science.gov (United States)

Narlikar, Jayant V.

2018-05-01

This highly personal account of evolution of cosmology spans a period of approximately six decades 1959-2017. It begins when in 1959 the author, as an undergraduate at Cambridge, was attracted to the subject by the thought provoking lectures by Fred Hoyle as well as by his popular books The Nature of Universe and The Frontiers of Astronomy. The result was that after a successful performance at the Mathematical Tripos (Part III) examination, he enrolled as a research student of Hoyle. In this article the author describes the interesting works in cosmology that kept him busy both in Cambridge and in India. The issues pertinent to cosmological research in the 1960s and 1970s included the Mach's principle, the Wheeler-Feynman theory relating the local electromagnetic arrow of time to the cosmological one, the observational tests of specific expanding universe models, and issues like singularity in quantum cosmology. However, post-1965, the nature of cosmological research changed dramatically with the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). Given the assumption that the CMBR is a relic of big bang there has been a host of papers on the early universe, going as close to the big bang as the very early universe would permit: around just 10-36 s. The author argues that despite the popularity of the standard hot big bang cosmology (SBBC) it rests on rather shaky foundations. On the theoretical side there is no well established physical framework to support the SBBC; nor is there independent observational support for its assumptions like the nonbaryonic dark matter, inflation and dark energy. While technological progress has made it possible to explore the universe in greater detail with open mind, today's cosmologists seem caught in a range of speculations in support of the big bang dogma. Thus, in modern times cosmology appears to have lost the Camelot spirit encouraging adventurous studies of the unknown. A spirit of openness is advocated to restore

The evolution of modern cosmology as seen through a personal walk across six decades

Science.gov (United States)

Narlikar, Jayant V.

2018-02-01

This highly personal account of evolution of cosmology spans a period of approximately six decades 1959-2017. It begins when in 1959 the author, as an undergraduate at Cambridge, was attracted to the subject by the thought provoking lectures by Fred Hoyle as well as by his popular books The Nature of Universe and The Frontiers of Astronomy. The result was that after a successful performance at the Mathematical Tripos (Part III) examination, he enrolled as a research student of Hoyle. In this article the author describes the interesting works in cosmology that kept him busy both in Cambridge and in India. The issues pertinent to cosmological research in the 1960s and 1970s included the Mach's principle, the Wheeler-Feynman theory relating the local electromagnetic arrow of time to the cosmological one, the observational tests of specific expanding universe models, and issues like singularity in quantum cosmology. However, post-1965, the nature of cosmological research changed dramatically with the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). Given the assumption that the CMBR is a relic of big bang there has been a host of papers on the early universe, going as close to the big bang as the very early universe would permit: around just 10-36 s. The author argues that despite the popularity of the standard hot big bang cosmology (SBBC) it rests on rather shaky foundations. On the theoretical side there is no well established physical framework to support the SBBC; nor is there independent observational support for its assumptions like the nonbaryonic dark matter, inflation and dark energy. While technological progress has made it possible to explore the universe in greater detail with open mind, today's cosmologists seem caught in a range of speculations in support of the big bang dogma. Thus, in modern times cosmology appears to have lost the Camelot spirit encouraging adventurous studies of the unknown. A spirit of openness is advocated to restore

Cosmology from quantum potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farag Ali, Ahmed, E-mail: ahmed.ali@fsc.bu.edu.eg [Center for Fundamental Physics, Zewail City of Science and Technology, Giza, 12588 (Egypt); Dept. of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Benha University, Benha, 13518 (Egypt); Das, Saurya, E-mail: saurya.das@uleth.c [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1K 3M4 (Canada)

2015-02-04

It was shown recently that replacing classical geodesics with quantal (Bohmian) trajectories gives rise to a quantum corrected Raychaudhuri equation (QRE). In this article we derive the second order Friedmann equations from the QRE, and show that this also contains a couple of quantum correction terms, the first of which can be interpreted as cosmological constant (and gives a correct estimate of its observed value), while the second as a radiation term in the early universe, which gets rid of the big-bang singularity and predicts an infinite age of our universe.

Cosmological special relativity the large scale structure of space, time and velocity

CERN Document Server

Carmeli, Moshe

1997-01-01

This book deals with special relativity theory and its application to cosmology. It presents Einstein's theory of space and time in detail, and describes the large scale structure of space, time and velocity as a new cosmological special relativity. A cosmological Lorentz-like transformation, which relates events at different cosmic times, is derived and applied. A new law of addition of cosmic times is obtained, and the inflation of the space at the early universe is derived, both from the cosmological transformation. The book will be of interest to cosmologists, astrophysicists, theoretical

Cosmological special relativity the large scale structure of space, time and velocity

CERN Document Server

Carmeli, Moshe

2002-01-01

This book presents Einstein's theory of space and time in detail, and describes the large-scale structure of space, time and velocity as a new cosmological special relativity. A cosmological Lorentz-like transformation, which relates events at different cosmic times, is derived and applied. A new law of addition of cosmic times is obtained, and the inflation of the space at the early universe is derived, both from the cosmological transformation. The relationship between cosmic velocity, acceleration and distances is given. In the appendices gravitation is added in the form of a cosmological g

A tale of two timescales: Mixing, mass generation, and phase transitions in the early universe

Science.gov (United States)

Dienes, Keith R.; Kost, Jeff; Thomas, Brooks

2016-02-01

Light scalar fields such as axions and string moduli can play an important role in early-universe cosmology. However, many factors can significantly impact their late-time cosmological abundances. For example, in cases where the potentials for these fields are generated dynamically—such as during cosmological mass-generating phase transitions—the duration of the time interval required for these potentials to fully develop can have significant repercussions. Likewise, in scenarios with multiple scalars, mixing amongst the fields can also give rise to an effective timescale that modifies the resulting late-time abundances. Previous studies have focused on the effects of either the first or the second timescale in isolation. In this paper, by contrast, we examine the new features that arise from the interplay between these two timescales when both mixing and time-dependent phase transitions are introduced together. First, we find that the effects of these timescales can conspire to alter not only the total late-time abundance of the system—often by many orders of magnitude—but also its distribution across the different fields. Second, we find that these effects can produce large parametric resonances which render the energy densities of the fields highly sensitive to the degree of mixing as well as the duration of the time interval over which the phase transition unfolds. Finally, we find that these effects can even give rise to a "reoverdamping" phenomenon which causes the total energy density of the system to behave in novel ways that differ from those exhibited by pure dark matter or vacuum energy. All of these features therefore give rise to new possibilities for early-universe phenomenology and cosmological evolution. They also highlight the importance of taking into account the time dependence associated with phase transitions in cosmological settings.

Extragalactic astronomy and cosmology an introduction

CERN Document Server

Schneider, Peter

2015-01-01

Accounting for the astonishing developments in the field of Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, this second edition has been updated and substantially expanded. Starting with the description of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, this cogently written textbook introduces the reader to the astronomy of galaxies, their structure, active galactic nuclei, evolution and large scale distribution in the Universe. After an extensive and thorough introduction to modern observational and theoretical cosmology, the focus turns to the formation of structures and astronomical objects in the early Universe. The basics of classical astronomy and stellar astrophysics needed for extragalactic astronomy are provided in the appendix. The new edition incorporates some of the most spectacular results from new observatories like the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Herschel, ALMA, WMAP and Planck, as well as new instruments and multi-wavelength campaigns which have expanded our understanding of the Universe and the objects populating it....

Unveiling the Dynamics of the Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Avelino

2016-07-01

Full Text Available We explore the dynamics and evolution of the Universe at early and late times, focusing on both dark energy and extended gravity models and their astrophysical and cosmological consequences. Modified theories of gravity not only provide an alternative explanation for the recent expansion history of the universe, but they also offer a paradigm fundamentally distinct from the simplest dark energy models of cosmic acceleration. In this review, we perform a detailed theoretical and phenomenological analysis of different modified gravity models and investigate their consistency. We also consider the cosmological implications of well motivated physical models of the early universe with a particular emphasis on inflation and topological defects. Astrophysical and cosmological tests over a wide range of scales, from the solar system to the observable horizon, severely restrict the allowed models of the Universe. Here, we review several observational probes—including gravitational lensing, galaxy clusters, cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization, supernova and baryon acoustic oscillations measurements—and their relevance in constraining our cosmological description of the Universe.

Value of H, space-time patterns, vacuum, matter, expansion of the Universe, alternative cosmologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonzalez-Mestres Luis

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To the experimental uncertainties on the present value H0 of the Lundmark - Lemaître-Hubble constant, fundamental theoretical uncertainties of several kinds should also be added. In standard Cosmology, consistency problems are really serious. The cosmological constant is a source of well-known diffculties while the associated dark energy is assumed to be at the origin of the observed acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. But in alternative cosmologies, possible approaches without these problems exist. An example is the pattern based on the spinorial space-time (SST we introduced in 1996-97 where the H t = 1 relation (t = cosmic time = age of the Universe is automatically generated by a pre-existing cosmic geometry before standard matter and conventional forces, including gravitation and relativity, are introduced. We analyse present theoretical, experimental and observational uncertainties, focusing also on the possible sources of the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe as well as on the structure of the physical vacuum and its potential cosmological role. Particular attention is given to alternative approaches to both Particle Physics and Cosmology including possible preonic constituents of the physical vacuum and associated pre-Big Bang patterns. A significant example is provided by the cosmic SST geometry together with the possibility that the expanding cosmological vacuum releases energy in the form of standard matter and dark matter, thus modifying the dependence of the matter energy density with respect to the age and size of our Universe. The SST naturally generates a new leading contribution to the value of H. If the matter energy density decreases more slowly than in standard patterns, it can naturally be at the origin of the observed acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. The mathematical and dynamical structure of standard Physics at very short distances can also be modified by an underlying preonic

Value of H, space-time patterns, vacuum, matter, expansion of the Universe, alternative cosmologies

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

2017-12-01

To the experimental uncertainties on the present value H0 of the Lundmark - Lemaître-Hubble constant, fundamental theoretical uncertainties of several kinds should also be added. In standard Cosmology, consistency problems are really serious. The cosmological constant is a source of well-known diffculties while the associated dark energy is assumed to be at the origin of the observed acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. But in alternative cosmologies, possible approaches without these problems exist. An example is the pattern based on the spinorial space-time (SST) we introduced in 1996-97 where the H t = 1 relation (t = cosmic time = age of the Universe) is automatically generated by a pre-existing cosmic geometry before standard matter and conventional forces, including gravitation and relativity, are introduced. We analyse present theoretical, experimental and observational uncertainties, focusing also on the possible sources of the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe as well as on the structure of the physical vacuum and its potential cosmological role. Particular attention is given to alternative approaches to both Particle Physics and Cosmology including possible preonic constituents of the physical vacuum and associated pre-Big Bang patterns. A significant example is provided by the cosmic SST geometry together with the possibility that the expanding cosmological vacuum releases energy in the form of standard matter and dark matter, thus modifying the dependence of the matter energy density with respect to the age and size of our Universe. The SST naturally generates a new leading contribution to the value of H. If the matter energy density decreases more slowly than in standard patterns, it can naturally be at the origin of the observed acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. The mathematical and dynamical structure of standard Physics at very short distances can also be modified by an underlying preonic structure. If preons are

The inflationary cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Misao

1983-01-01

We review the recent status of the inflationary cosmology. After exhibiting the essence of difficulties associated with the horizon, flatness and baryon number problems in the standard big-bang cosmology, we discuss that the inflationary universe scenario is one of the most plausible solutions to these fundamental cosmological problems. Since there are two qualitatively different versions of the inflationary universe scenario, we review each of them separately and discuss merits and demerits of each version. The Hawking radiation in de Sitter space is also reviewed since it may play an essential role in the inflationary cosmology. (author)

Fermionic cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chimento, L P; Forte, M; Devecchi, F P; Kremer, G M; Ribas, M O; Samojeden, L L

2011-01-01

In this work we review if fermionic sources could be responsible for accelerated periods during the evolution of a FRW universe. In a first attempt, besides the fermionic source, a matter constituent would answer for the decelerated periods. The coupled differential equations that emerge from the field equations are integrated numerically. The self-interaction potential of the fermionic field is considered as a function of the scalar and pseudo-scalar invariants. It is shown that the fermionic field could behave like an inflaton field in the early universe, giving place to a transition to a matter dominated (decelerated) period. In a second formulation we turn our attention to analytical results, specifically using the idea of form-invariance transformations. These transformations can be used for obtaining accelerated cosmologies starting with conventional cosmological models. Here we reconsider the scalar field case and extend the discussion to fermionic fields. Finally we investigate the role of a Dirac field in a Brans-Dicke (BD) context. The results show that this source, in combination with the BD scalar, promote a final eternal accelerated era, after a matter dominated period.

No-scale supergravity and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deruelle, N.

1988-01-01

The confrontation of current unified theories with cosmoly may prove to be very fruteful. Indeed the demand that the cosmological models they induce match the standard scenario and be free of manifest pathologies imposes severe constraints on them. We thus show that no-scale supergravity (at least its simplest incarnation) may not provide acceptable models of the early universe [fr

The Dirac-Milne cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Benoit-Lévy, Aurélien; Chardin, Gabriel

2014-05-01

We study an unconventional cosmology, in which we investigate the consequences that antigravity would pose to cosmology. We present the main characteristics of the Dirac-Milne Universe, a cosmological model where antimatter has a negative active gravitational mass. In this non-standard Universe, separate domains of matter and antimatter coexist at our epoch without annihilation, separated by a gravitationally induced depletion zone. We show that this cosmology does not require a priori the Dark Matter and Dark Energy components of the standard model of cosmology. Additionally, inflation becomes an unnecessary ingredient. Investigating this model, we show that the classical cosmological tests such as primordial nucleosynthesis, Type Ia supernovæ and Cosmic Microwave Background are surprisingly concordant.

Newton law corrections and instabilities in f(R) gravity with the effective cosmological constant epoch

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nojiri, Shin'ichi; Odintsov, Sergei D.

2007-01-01

We consider class of modified f(R) gravities with the effective cosmological constant epoch at the early and late universe. Such models pass most of solar system tests as well they satisfy to cosmological bounds. Despite their very attractive properties, it is shown that one realistic class of such models may lead to significant Newton law corrections at large cosmological scales. Nevertheless, these corrections are small at solar system as well as at the future universe. Another realistic model with acceptable Newton law regime shows the matter instability

Cosmology with torsion: An alternative to cosmic inflation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poplawski, Nikodem J.

2010-01-01

We propose a simple scenario which explains why our Universe appears spatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic. We use the Einstein-Cartan-Kibble-Sciama (ECKS) theory of gravity which naturally extends general relativity to include the spin of matter. The torsion of spacetime generates gravitational repulsion in the early Universe filled with quarks and leptons, preventing the cosmological singularity: the Universe expands from a state of minimum but finite radius. We show that the dynamics of the closed Universe immediately after this state naturally solves the flatness and horizon problems in cosmology because of an extremely small and negative torsion density parameter, Ω S ∼-10 -69 . Thus the ECKS gravity provides a compelling alternative to speculative mechanisms of standard cosmic inflation. This scenario also suggests that the contraction of our Universe preceding the bounce at the minimum radius may correspond to the dynamics of matter inside a collapsing black hole existing in another universe, which could explain the origin of the Big Bang.

de Broglie-Bohm FRW universes in quantum string cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marto, J.; Moniz, P. Vargas

2002-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to establish possible implications of the de Broglie-Bohm interpretation of quantum mechanics towards superstring cosmological dynamics. In this context, we investigate spatially flat FRW models retrieved from scalar-tensor theories of gravity with a cosmological constant present in the gravitational sector. These models are further characterized by the presence of different types of de Broglie-Bohm quantum potential terms. These are constructed from various classes of wave packets formed by superpositions of Bessel functions of different imaginary orders. As far as pre-big-bang scenarios are concerned, we find that quantum potentials yield varied types of an amplified influence of the singular classical boundary into the FRW early dynamics. Some consequences of the de Broglie-Bohm program towards pre-big-bang inflation and the graceful exit problem are then discussed. Other cosmological scenarios are also studied by means of modulation effects extracted from additional wave packets. We subsequently obtain a broader set of new solutions. Among the new solutions we find that they could still be related by duality properties, although a separation into pre- and post-big-bang classes is less clear. Some solutions show a cyclical behavior. Inflationary solutions can be identified and some of their dynamical features are subsequently analyzed. In particular, we discuss some of the differences between string inspired inflationary cosmologies with quantum potentials. The results suggest that de Broglie-Bohm quantum gravitational terms slow down inflation, constituting an effect similar to others previously described in the literature

Questions of Modern Cosmology Galileo's Legacy

CERN Document Server

D'Onofrio, Mauro

2009-01-01

Are we living in the "golden age" of cosmology? Are we close to understanding the nature of the unknown ingredients of the currently most accepted cosmological model and the physics of the early Universe? Or are we instead approaching a paradigm shift? What is dark matter and does it exist? How is it distributed around galaxies and clusters? Is the scientific community open to alternative ideas that may prompt a new scientific revolution - as the Copernican revolution did in Galileo's time? Do other types of supernovae exist that can be of interest for cosmology? Why have quasars never been effectively used as standard candles? Can you tell us about the scientific adventure of COBE? How does the extraction of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy depend on the subtraction of the various astrophysical foregrounds? These, among many others, are the astrophysical, philosophical and sociological questions surrounding modern cosmology and the scientific community that Mauro D'Onofrio and Carlo Burigana pose t...

On the cosmological problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, M.

1986-01-01

It is proposed to understand cosmology as a non-local physics. Non-local methods, when developed from locally performed observations, imply a considerable extrapolation, which in turn is possible without some unverifiable assumptions. Cosmology is, therefore, not only a science on the Universe but also about assumptions that render such a science possible. As far as theoretical aspects of cosmology are concerned, cosmology can be treated as a theory of the space of all solutions to Einstein's field equations (called the ensemble of universes). The very distinction is touched upon between solutions of differential equations, expressing laws of nature, and boundary conditions identifying particular instances of the law's operation. Both observational and theoretical studies demonstrate that our Universe occupies a distinguished position within the ensemble of universes. This fact remains in a close relationship with the existence and developing of structures in the Universe. Possible philosophies aimed at justifying or neutralizing our distinguished situation in the ensemble of universes are discussed at some length. 60 refs. (author)

Resonant Production of Sterile Neutrinos in the Early Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Lauren; Grohs, Evan; Fuller, George M.

2016-06-01

This study examines the cosmological impacts of a light resonantly produced sterile neutrino in the early universe. Such a neutrino could be produced through lepton number-driven Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein (MSW) conversion of active neutrinos around big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), resulting in a non-thermal spectrum of both sterile and electron neutrinos. During BBN, the neutron-proton ratio depends sensitively on the electron neutrino flux. If electron neutrinos are being converted to sterile neutrinos, this makes the n/p ratio a probe of possible new physics. We use observations of primordial Yp and D/H to place limits on this process.

Nonsingular solutions and instabilities in Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Sberna, Laura; Pani, Paolo

2017-12-01

It is generically believed that higher-order curvature corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action might cure the curvature singularities that plague general relativity. Here we consider Einstein-scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, the only four-dimensional, ghost-free theory with quadratic curvature terms. For any choice of the coupling function and of the scalar potential, we show that the theory does not allow for bouncing solutions in the flat and open Friedmann universe. For the case of a closed universe, using a reverse-engineering method, we explicitly provide a bouncing solution which is nevertheless linearly unstable in the scalar gravitational sector. Moreover, we show that the expanding, singularity-free, early-time cosmologies allowed in the theory are unstable. These results rely only on analyticity and finiteness of cosmological variables at early times.

Antimatter and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stecker, F.W.

1989-01-01

This paper discusses two aspects of antimatter and cosmology: 1. the fundamental cosmological question as to whether antimatter plays an equally important role as matter in the universe (overall baryon symmetry), and 2. cosmic-ray antimatter tests for the nature of the dark matter in the universe. (orig.)

Astrophysics, cosmology and high energy physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rees, M.J.

1983-01-01

A brief survey is given of some topics in astrophysics and cosmology, with special emphasis on the inter-relation between the properties of the early Universe and recent ideas in high energy physics, and on simple order-of-magnitude arguments showing how the scales and dimensions of cosmic phenomena are related to basic physical constants. (orig.)

A cosmological solution to the Impossibly Early Galaxy Problem

Science.gov (United States)

Yennapureddy, Manoj K.; Melia, Fulvio

2018-06-01

To understand the formation and evolution of galaxies at redshifts 0 ≲ z ≲ 10, one must invariably introduce specific models (e.g., for the star formation) in order to fully interpret the data. Unfortunately, this tends to render the analysis compliant to the theory and its assumptions, so consensus is still somewhat elusive. Nonetheless, the surprisingly early appearance of massive galaxies challenges the standard model, and the halo mass function estimated from galaxy surveys at z ≳ 4 appears to be inconsistent with the predictions of ΛCDM, giving rise to what has been termed "The Impossibly Early Galaxy Problem" by some workers in the field. A simple resolution to this question may not be forthcoming. The situation with the halos themselves, however, is more straightforward and, in this paper, we use linear perturbation theory to derive the halo mass function over the redshift range 0 ≲ z ≲ 10 for the Rh = ct universe. We use this predicted halo distribution to demonstrate that both its dependence on mass and its very weak dependence on redshift are compatible with the data. The difficulties with ΛCDM may eventually be overcome with refinements to the underlying theory of star formation and galaxy evolution within the halos. For now, however, we demonstrate that the unexpected early formation of structure may also simply be due to an incorrect choice of the cosmology, rather than to yet unknown astrophysical issues associated with the condensation of mass fluctuations and subsequent galaxy formation.

Hořava–Lifshitz gravity inspired Bianchi-II cosmology and the mixmaster universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giani, Leonardo; Kamenshchik, Alexander Y

2017-01-01

We study different aspects of the Hořava-Lifshitz inspired Bianchi-II cosmology and its relations with the mixmaster universe model. First, we present exact solutions for a toy model, where only the cubic in spatial curvature terms are present in the action; then we briefly discuss some exotic singularities, which can appear in this toy model. We study also the toy model where only the quadratic in spatial curvature terms are present in the action. We establish relations between our results and those obtained by using the Hamiltonian formalism. Finally, we apply the results obtained by studying Bianchi-II cosmology to describe the evolution of the mixmaster universe in terms of the Belinsky–Khalatnikov–Lifshitz formalism. Generally, our analysis gives some arguments in favour of the existence of the oscillatory approach to the singularity in a universe governed by the Hořava–Lifshitz type gravity. (paper)

Cosmological constraints on spontaneous R-symmetry breaking models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamada, Yuta; Kobayashi, Tatsuo [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Physics; Kamada, Kohei [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Ookouchi, Yutaka [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Physics; Kyoto Univ. (Japan). The Hakubi Center for Advanced Research and Dept. of Physics

2012-11-15

We study general constraints on spontaneous R-symmetry breaking models coming from the cosmological effects of the pseudo Nambu-Goldstone bosons, R-axions. They are substantially produced in the early Universe and may cause several cosmological problems. We focus on relatively long-lived R-axions and find that in a wide range of parameter space, models are severely constrained. In particular, R-axions with mass less than 1 MeV are generally ruled out for relatively high reheating temperature, T{sub R}>10 GeV.

Mathematical cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landsberg, P.T.; Evans, D.A.

1977-01-01

The subject is dealt with in chapters, entitled: cosmology -some fundamentals; Newtonian gravitation - some fundamentals; the cosmological differential equation - the particle model and the continuum model; some simple Friedmann models; the classification of the Friedmann models; the steady-state model; universe with pressure; optical effects of the expansion according to various theories of light; optical observations and cosmological models. (U.K.)

Cosmological D-instantons and cyclic universes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergshoeff, EA; Collinucci, A; Roest, D; Russo, JG; Townsend, PK

2005-01-01

For models of gravity coupled to hyperbolic sigma models, such as the metric-scalar sector of IIB supergravity, we show how smooth trajectories in the 'augmented target space' connect FLRW cosmologies to non-extremal D-instantons through a cosmological singularity. In particular, we find closed

Elements of the universe in Philo’s De Vita Mosis: Cosmological theology or theological cosmology?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gert J. Steyn

2013-11-01

Full Text Available It is the intention of this article to investigate how Philo’s understanding of the universe, and particularly its four basic elements as taught by the Greek philosophers, influenced his description of the God of Israel’s world in which the Moses narrative unfolds. Given the fact that Philo was a theologian par excellence, the question can be asked whether Philo’s approach is closer to what one might call ‘theological cosmology’ or rather closer to ‘cosmological theology’? After a brief survey of Philo’s inclination to interpret Jewish history in the light of Greek cosmology, the study proceeds with his universe as symbolised in the high priest’s vestments. The τετρακτύς with its 10 points of harmony is a key to Philo’s symbolism and numerology. The article concludes that Philo is not writing cosmology per se in his De Vita Mosis, but he is rather writing a theology that sketches the cosmic superiority and involvement of Israel’s God against the backdrop of Greek cosmology as it was influenced by Pythagoras’ geometry and numerology as well as by Plato’s philosophy. In this sense his account in the De Vita Mosis is closer to a cosmological theology. He utilises the cosmological picture of the Greco-Hellenistic world in order to introduce and present the powerful nature and qualities of Israel’s God. Hierdie artikel het ten doel om ondersoek in te stel na Philo se begrip van die heelal en veral die vier basiese elemente soos dit deur die Griekse filosowe geleer is. Dit het verder ten doel om vas te stel tot watter mate hierdie denke sy beskrywing van die God van Israel se wêreld, waarbinne die Moses-vertelling ontvou, beïnvloed het. Gegewe die feit dat Philo ’n teoloog par excellence is, kan die vraag gevra word of Philo se benadering nader is aan wat ’n mens ’n ‘teologiese kosmologie’ kan noem, of eerder nader aan ’n ‘kosmologiese teologie’ is? Na ’n kort oorsig oor Philo se neiging om die

Trends in cosmology: Universal truths

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horgan, J.

1990-01-01

In June more than 30 prominent cosmologist, astronomers and physicists gathered for six days at an isolated resort in northern Sweden. Their topic: the origin of the universe. While most agreed the big bang theory is still sound, new data are challenging a more detailed scenario: the cold dark matter model. Recent observations are squeezing this model from two sides. First, ever more sensitive probes of the so-called cosmic microwave background, a cool bath of microwaves that is thought to be the faint afterglow of the big bang, have yet to reveal any regional variations in intensity. That has forced modelers to assume the early universe was exceptionally smooth, or homogeneous, with matter spread uniformly through space. At the same time, maps of the universe have revealed ever larger thickets of galaxies surrounded by larger voids. If the universe was so smooth early on, how did it come to be so clumpy? This article addresses how cosmologist at this meeting addressed the big questions

Big-bang nucleosynthesis in the new cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fields, B.D.

2005-01-01

Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) describes the production of the lightest elements in the first minutes of cosmic time. I will review the physics of cosmological element production, and the observations of the primordial element abundances. The comparison between theory and observation has heretofore provided our earliest probe of the universe, and given the best measure of the cosmic baryon content. However, BBN has now taken a new role in cosmology, in light of new precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Recent CMB anisotropy data yield a wealth of cosmological parameters; in particular, the baryon-to-photon ratio η = n B /n γ is measured to high precision. The confrontation between the BBN and CMB 'baryometers' poses a new and stringent test of the standard cosmology; the status of this test will be discussed. Moreover, it is now possible to recast the role of BBN by using the CMB to fix the baryon density and even some light element abundances. This strategy sharpens BBN into a more powerful probe of early universe physics, and of galactic nucleosynthesis processes. The impact of the CMB results on particle physics beyond the Standard Model, and on non-standard cosmology, will be illustrated. Prospects for improvement of these bounds via additional astronomical observations and nuclear experiments will be discussed, as will the lingering 'lithium problem.' (author)

Precision cosmology the first half million years

CERN Document Server

Jones, Bernard J T

2017-01-01

Cosmology seeks to characterise our Universe in terms of models based on well-understood and tested physics. Today we know our Universe with a precision that once would have been unthinkable. This book develops the entire mathematical, physical and statistical framework within which this has been achieved. It tells the story of how we arrive at our profound conclusions, starting from the early twentieth century and following developments up to the latest data analysis of big astronomical datasets. It provides an enlightening description of the mathematical, physical and statistical basis for understanding and interpreting the results of key space- and ground-based data. Subjects covered include general relativity, cosmological models, the inhomogeneous Universe, physics of the cosmic background radiation, and methods and results of data analysis. Extensive online supplementary notes, exercises, teaching materials, and exercises in Python make this the perfect companion for researchers, teachers and students i...

Tunneling in quantum cosmology and holographic SYM theory

Science.gov (United States)

Ghoroku, Kazuo; Nakano, Yoshimasa; Tachibana, Motoi; Toyoda, Fumihiko

2018-03-01

We study the time evolution of the early Universe, which is developed by a cosmological constant Λ4 and supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) fields in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-time. The renormalized vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor of the SYM theory is obtained in a holographic way. It includes a radiation of the SYM field, parametrized as C . The evolution is controlled by this radiation C and the cosmological constant Λ4. For positive Λ4, an inflationary solution is obtained at late time. When C is added, the quantum mechanical situation at early time is fairly changed. Here we perform the early time analysis in terms of two different approaches, (i) the Wheeler-DeWitt equation and (ii) Lorentzian path integral with the Picard-Lefschetz method by introducing an effective action. The results of two methods are compared.

Newtonian cosmology Newton would understand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemons, D.S.

1988-01-01

Isaac Newton envisioned a static, infinite, and initially uniform, zero field universe that was gravitationally unstable to local condensations of matter. By postulating the existence of such a universe and using it as a boundary condition on Newtonian gravity, a new field equation for gravity is derived, which differs from the classical one by a time-dependent cosmological term proportional to the average mass density of the universe. The new field equation not only makes Jeans' analysis of the gravitational instability of a Newtonian universe consistent, but also gives rise to a family of Newtonian evolutionary cosmologies parametrized by a time-invariant expansion velocity. This Newtonian cosmology contrasts with both 19th-century ones and with post general relativity Newtonian cosmology

Quantum gravity and quantum cosmology

CERN Document Server

Papantonopoulos, Lefteris; Siopsis, George; Tsamis, Nikos

2013-01-01

Quantum gravity has developed into a fast-growing subject in physics and it is expected that probing the high-energy and high-curvature regimes of gravitating systems will shed some light on how to eventually achieve an ultraviolet complete quantum theory of gravity. Such a theory would provide the much needed information about fundamental problems of classical gravity, such as the initial big-bang singularity, the cosmological constant problem, Planck scale physics and the early-time inflationary evolution of our Universe.   While in the first part of this book concepts of quantum gravity are introduced and approached from different angles, the second part discusses these theories in connection with cosmological models and observations, thereby exploring which types of signatures of modern and mathematically rigorous frameworks can be detected by experiments. The third and final part briefly reviews the observational status of dark matter and dark energy, and introduces alternative cosmological models.   ...

Projective relativity, cosmology and gravitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcidiacono, G.

1986-01-01

This book describes the latest applications of projective geometry to cosmology and gravitation. The contents of the book are; the Poincare group and Special Relativity, the thermodynamics and electromagnetism, general relativity, gravitation and cosmology, group theory and models of universe, the special projective relativity, the Fantappie group and Big-Bang cosmology, a new cosmological projective mechanics, the plasma physics and cosmology, the projective magnetohydrodynamics field, projective relativity and waves propagation, the generalizations of the gravitational field, the general projective relativity, the projective gravitational field, the De Sitter Universe and quantum physics, the conformal relativity and Newton gravitation

Cosmology for physicists

CERN Document Server

Lyth, David

2016-01-01

Written by an award-winning cosmologist, this brand new textbook provides advanced undergraduate and graduate students with coverage of the very latest developments in the observational science of cosmology. The book is separated into three parts; part I covers particle physics and general relativity, part II explores an account of the known history of the universe, and part III studies inflation. Full treatment of the origin of structure, scalar fields, the cosmic microwave background and the early universe are provided. Problems are included in the book with solutions provided in a separate solutions manual. More advanced extension material is offered in the Appendix, ensuring the book is fully accessible to students with a wide variety of background experience.

Supersymmetry, Cosmological Constant and Inflation: Towards a fundamental cosmic picture via "running vacuum"

CERN Document Server

Mavromatos, Nick E

2016-01-01

On the occasion of a century from the proposal of General relativity by Einstein, I attempt to tackle some open issues in modern cosmology, via a toy but non-trivial model. Specifically, I would like to link together: (i) the smallness of the cosmological constant today, (ii) the evolution of the universe from an inflationary era after the big-bang till now, and (iii) local supersymmetry in the gravitational sector (supergravity) with a broken spectrum at early eras, by making use of the concept of the "running vacuum" in the context of a simple toy model of four-dimensional N=1 supergravity. The model is characterised by dynamically broken local supersymmetry, induced by the formation of gravitino condensates in the early universe. As I will argue, there is a Starobinsky-type inflationary era characterising the broken supersymmetry phase in this model, which is compatible with the current cosmological data, provided a given constraint is satisfied among some tree-level parameters of the model and the renorma...

Multi-dimensional cosmology and GUP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeynali, K.; Motavalli, H.; Darabi, F.

2012-01-01

We consider a multidimensional cosmological model with FRW type metric having 4-dimensional space-time and d-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space sectors with a higher dimensional cosmological constant. We study the classical cosmology in commutative and GUP cases and obtain the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that for negative cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in finite size universes with smaller size and longer ages, and larger size and shorter age, respectively. For positive cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in infinite size universes having late time accelerating behavior in good agreement with current observations. The accelerating phase starts in the GUP case sooner than the commutative case. In both commutative and GUP cases, and for both negative and positive cosmological constants, the internal space is stabilized to the sub-Planck size, at least within the present age of the universe. Then, we study the quantum cosmology by deriving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, and obtain the exact solutions in the commutative case and the perturbative solutions in GUP case, to first order in the GUP small parameter, for both negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that good correspondence exists between the classical and quantum solutions

Multi-dimensional cosmology and GUP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeynali, K.; Motavalli, H. [Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Tabriz, 51666-16471, Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Darabi, F., E-mail: k.zeinali@arums.ac.ir, E-mail: f.darabi@azaruniv.edu, E-mail: motavalli@tabrizu.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, 53714-161, Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-12-01

We consider a multidimensional cosmological model with FRW type metric having 4-dimensional space-time and d-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space sectors with a higher dimensional cosmological constant. We study the classical cosmology in commutative and GUP cases and obtain the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that for negative cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in finite size universes with smaller size and longer ages, and larger size and shorter age, respectively. For positive cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in infinite size universes having late time accelerating behavior in good agreement with current observations. The accelerating phase starts in the GUP case sooner than the commutative case. In both commutative and GUP cases, and for both negative and positive cosmological constants, the internal space is stabilized to the sub-Planck size, at least within the present age of the universe. Then, we study the quantum cosmology by deriving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, and obtain the exact solutions in the commutative case and the perturbative solutions in GUP case, to first order in the GUP small parameter, for both negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that good correspondence exists between the classical and quantum solutions.

A New Cosmological Model: Black Hole Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang T. X.

2009-07-01

Full Text Available A new cosmological model called black hole universe is proposed. According to this model, the universe originated from a hot star-like black hole with several solar masses, and gradually grew up through a supermassive black hole with billion solar masses to the present state with hundred billion-trillion solar masses by accreting ambient mate- rials and merging with other black holes. The entire space is structured with infinite layers hierarchically. The innermost three layers are the universe that we are living, the outside called mother universe, and the inside star-like and supermassive black holes called child universes. The outermost layer is infinite in radius and limits to zero for both the mass density and absolute temperature. The relationships among all layers or universes can be connected by the universe family tree. Mathematically, the entire space can be represented as a set of all universes. A black hole universe is a subset of the en- tire space or a subspace. The child universes are null sets or empty spaces. All layers or universes are governed by the same physics - the Einstein general theory of relativity with the Robertson-walker metric of spacetime - and tend to expand outward physically. The evolution of the space structure is iterative. When one universe expands out, a new similar universe grows up from its inside. The entire life of a universe begins from the birth as a hot star-like or supermassive black hole, passes through the growth and cools down, and expands to the death with infinite large and zero mass density and absolute temperature. The black hole universe model is consistent with the Mach principle, the observations of the universe, and the Einstein general theory of relativity. Its various aspects can be understood with the well-developed physics without any difficulty. The dark energy is not required for the universe to accelerate its expansion. The inflation is not necessary because the black hole universe

The fissioning universe: Topological inflation and Kaluza-Klein cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaku, Michio; Lykken, J.

1986-01-01

We propose a Kaluza-Klein cosmology by reversing the usual scenario: instead of starting with a flat 4+N dimensional universe in which N of the dimensions curl up into a compact manifold, we start with a compact 3+N dimensional manifold in which 3 of the dimensions are allowed to peel off and expand into the known universe. We reverse the usual ''spontaneous compactification'' scenario begin with a closed manifold Msup(3+N) which undergoes ''spontaneous fissioning'' into a product manifold M 3 xMsup(N). Remarkably, the 3-dimensional universe M 3 can undergo a rapid de Sitter expansion large enough to solve the horizon and flatness problem. We call this ''topological inflation'', which we propose as an alternative to the usual GUT inflation. The inflationary phase automatically terminates into a big bang phase. (orig.)

Weird universe exploring the most bizarre ideas in cosmology

CERN Document Server

Seargent, David A J

2015-01-01

As new discoveries complicate the scientific picture of the universe, the evolving theories about the nature of space and time and the origins and fate of the universe threaten to become overwhelming. Enter David Seargent. Continuing the author's series of books popularizing strange astronomy facts and knowledge, Weird Universe explains the bizarre, complicated terrain of modern cosmology for lay readers.  From exploring some of the strange consequences of the theories of special and general relativity, to probing time dilation and the twin and mother-and-baby “paradoxes” and the theory that the universe can be mathematically considered as a hologram, all of the latest findings and conjectures are clearly described in non-technical language. The development of quantum physics and the more recent developments of string and M-theory are looked at, in addition to several hypotheses that have not won wide acceptance from the scientific community, such as modified gravity. Enter the wonderfully weird worl...

Friedman's cosmological views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, M.

1985-01-01

Two Friedman's cosmological papers (1922, 1924) and his own interpretation of the obtained results are briefly reviewed. Discussion follows of Friedman's role in the early development of relativistic cosmology. 18 refs. (author)

Precision Cosmology: The First Half Million Years

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Bernard J. T.

2017-06-01

Cosmology seeks to characterise our Universe in terms of models based on well-understood and tested physics. Today we know our Universe with a precision that once would have been unthinkable. This book develops the entire mathematical, physical and statistical framework within which this has been achieved. It tells the story of how we arrive at our profound conclusions, starting from the early twentieth century and following developments up to the latest data analysis of big astronomical datasets. It provides an enlightening description of the mathematical, physical and statistical basis for understanding and interpreting the results of key space- and ground-based data. Subjects covered include general relativity, cosmological models, the inhomogeneous Universe, physics of the cosmic background radiation, and methods and results of data analysis. Extensive online supplementary notes, exercises, teaching materials, and exercises in Python make this the perfect companion for researchers, teachers and students in physics, mathematics, and astrophysics.

Universal subhalo accretion in cold and warm dark matter cosmologies

Science.gov (United States)

Kubik, Bogna; Libeskind, Noam I.; Knebe, Alexander; Courtois, Hélène; Yepes, Gustavo; Gottlöber, Stefan; Hoffman, Yehuda

2017-12-01

The influence of the large-scale structure on host haloes may be studied by examining the angular infall pattern of subhaloes. In particular, since warm dark matter (WDM) and cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies predict different abundances and internal properties for haloes at the low-mass end of the mass function, it is interesting to examine if there are differences in how these low-mass haloes are accreted. The accretion events are defined as the moment a halo becomes a substructure, namely when it crosses its host's virial radius. We quantify the cosmic web at each point by the shear tensor and examine where, with respect to its eigenvectors, such accretion events occur in ΛCDM and ΛWDM (1 keV sterile neutrino) cosmological models. We find that the CDM and WDM subhaloes are preferentially accreted along the principal axis of the shear tensor corresponding to the direction of weakest collapse. The beaming strength is modulated by the host and subhalo masses and by the redshift at which the accretion event occurs. Although strongest for the most massive hosts and subhaloes at high redshift, the preferential infall is found to be always aligned with the axis of weakest collapse, thus we say that it has universal nature. We compare the strength of beaming in the ΛWDM cosmology with the one found in the ΛCDM scenario. While the main findings remain the same, the accretion in the ΛWDM model for the most massive host haloes appears more beamed than in ΛCDM cosmology across all the redshifts.

Physical and Relativistic Numerical Cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Anninos, Peter

1998-01-01

In order to account for the observable Universe, any comprehensive theory or model of cosmology must draw from many disciplines of physics, including gauge theories of strong and weak interactions, the hydrodynamics and microphysics of baryonic matter, electromagnetic fields, and spacetime curvature, for example. Although it is difficult to incorporate all these physical elements into a single complete model of our Universe, advances in computing methods and technologies have contributed significantly towards our understanding of cosmological models, the Universe, and astrophysical processes within them. A sample of numerical calculations addressing specific issues in cosmology are reviewed in this article: from the Big Bang singularity dynamics to the fundamental interactions of gravitational waves; from the quark-hadron phase transition to the large scale structure of the Universe. The emphasis, although not exclusively, is on those calculations designed to test different models of cosmology against the observed Universe.

Physical and Relativistic Numerical Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Anninos

1998-01-01

Full Text Available In order to account for the observable Universe, any comprehensive theory or model of cosmology must draw from many disciplines of physics, including gauge theories of strong and weak interactions, the hydrodynamics and microphysics of baryonic matter, electromagnetic fields, and spacetime curvature, for example. Although it is difficult to incorporate all these physical elements into a single complete model of our Universe, advances in computing methods and technologies have contributed significantly towards our understanding of cosmological models, the Universe, and astrophysical processes within them. A sample of numerical calculations addressing specific issues in cosmology are reviewed in this article: from the Big Bang singularity dynamics to the fundamental interactions of gravitational waves; from the quark--hadron phase transition to the large scale structure of the Universe. The emphasis, although not exclusively, is on those calculations designed to test different models of cosmology against the observed Universe.

Identifying and eliminating the problem with Einstein's cosmological constant

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Zachary

2005-12-01

The cosmological constant, L, was first introduced into Einstein's field equations in the early 20 th century. It was introduced as a quantity of outward-pushing energy in space that would counteract the contracting force of gravity thereby keeping the universe in a balanced and static state. Einstein willingly removed it once the universe was observed to be dynamic rather than static. However, as the decades have gone by, L has maintained its supporters and has continually been reintroduced to solve problems in cosmology. Presently, there is good reason to believe that L or something like it is indeed present in our universe. In the 1960s, in an effort to provide a physical basis for L, particle physicists turned to quantum vacuum energy and have since estimated a value for L to be ~ 10 110 erg/cm 3 , which happens to be significantly greater than its observationally constrained value of ~ 10 10 erg/cm 3 . This discrepancy of 120 orders of magnitude has come to be known as the cosmological constant problem. Any effort to resolve the inconsistency must also account for the various observations we attribute to L, such as cosmic inflation and cosmic acceleration. To date, there are two basic approaches to resolving the cosmological constant problem that we may call the Identity approach and the Eliminativist approach. The Identity approach entails that vacuum energy is responsible for all the relevant observations and the problem is to be solved by some cancellation mechanism within the internal components of the vacuum. The Eliminativist approach explicitly rejects the reality and cosmological efficacy of vacuum energy, seeks alternative explanations for the observations and eliminates the cosmological constant problem by eliminating the cosmological constant. The benefit of having a crisis between these two views at this particular stage in cosmology's history is that they can be tested against each other in an experimental situation. Whatever the outcome of the

The Coyote Universe II: Cosmological Models and Precision Emulation of the Nonlinear Matter Power Spectrum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heitmann, Katrin [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Habib, Salman [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Higdon, David [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Williams, Brian J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; White, Martin [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Wagner, Christian [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2008-01-01

The power spectrum of density fluctuations is a foundational source of cosmological information. Precision cosmological probes targeted primarily at investigations of dark energy require accurate theoretical determinations of the power spectrum in the nonlinear regime. To exploit the observational power of future cosmological surveys, accuracy demands on the theory are at the one percent level or better. Numerical simulations are currently the only way to produce sufficiently error-controlled predictions for the power spectrum. The very high computational cost of (precision) N-body simulations is a major obstacle to obtaining predictions in the nonlinear regime, while scanning over cosmological parameters. Near-future observations, however, are likely to provide a meaningful constraint only on constant dark energy equation of state 'wCDM' cosmologies. In this paper we demonstrate that a limited set of only 37 cosmological models -- the 'Coyote Universe' suite -- can be used to predict the nonlinear matter power spectrum at the required accuracy over a prior parameter range set by cosmic microwave background observations. This paper is the second in a series of three, with the final aim to provide a high-accuracy prediction scheme for the nonlinear matter power spectrum for wCDM cosmologies.

Dark matter as the Bose-Einstein condensation in loop quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atazadeh, K.; Mousavi, M.; Darabi, F.

2016-01-01

We consider the FLRW universe in a loop quantum cosmological model filled with radiation, baryonic matter (with negligible pressure), dark energy, and dark matter. The dark matter sector is supposed to be of Bose-Einstein condensate type. The Bose-Einstein condensation process in a cosmological context by supposing it as an approximate first-order phase transition, has already been studied in the literature. Here, we study the evolution of the physical quantities related to the early universe description such as the energy density, temperature, and scale factor of the universe, before, during, and after the condensation process. We also consider in detail the evolution era of the universe in a mixed normal-condensate dark matter phase. The behavior and time evolution of the condensate dark matter fraction is also analyzed. (orig.)

Fundamental Particle Structure in the Cosmological Dark Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Khlopov, Maxim

2013-11-01

The nonbaryonic dark matter of the universe is assumed to consist of new stable forms of matter. Their stability reflects symmetry of micro-world and mechanisms of its symmetry breaking. Particle candidates for cosmological dark matter are lightest particles that bear new conserved quantum numbers. Dark matter particles may represent ideal gas of noninteracting particles. Self-interacting dark matter weakly or superweakly coupled to ordinary matter is also possible, reflecting nontrivial pattern of particle symmetry in the hidden sector of particle theory. In the early universe the structure of particle symmetry breaking gives rise to cosmological phase transitions, from which macroscopic cosmological defects or primordial nonlinear structures can be originated. Primordial black holes (PBHs) can be not only a candidate for dark matter, but also represent a universal probe for superhigh energy physics in the early universe. Evaporating PBHs turn to be a source of even superweakly interacting particles, while clouds of massive PBHs can serve as nonlinear seeds for galaxy formation. The observed broken symmetry of the three known families may provide a simultaneous solution for the problems of the mass of neutrino and strong CP-violation in the unique framework of models of horizontal unification. Dark matter candidates can also appear in the new families of quarks and leptons and the existence of new stable charged leptons and quarks is possible, hidden in elusive "dark atoms." Such possibility, strongly restricted by the constraints on anomalous isotopes of light elements, is not excluded in scenarios that predict stable double charged particles. The excessive -2 charged particles are bound in these scenarios with primordial helium in O-helium "atoms," maintaining specific nuclear-interacting form of the dark matter, which may provide an interesting solution for the puzzles of the direct dark matter searches. In the context of cosmoparticle physics, studying

On the creation of scalar particles in an early stage of the Friedmann closed-universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishihara, Hideki; Nariai, Hidekazu.

1982-03-01

Under impetus of the two experimental studies on neutrinos by Reines-group and Lyubimov's, it has been shown by Zel'dovich et al. that the cosmological universe is closed, provided that the neutrino masses m sub(#betta#sub(i)) (i = e, μ, tau) satisfy the inequality μ/i m sub(#betta#sub(i))c 2 >= 20 ev. In a previous paper, the senior author dealt with the creation of scalar particles in an expanding universe with non-flat 3-space, but the case of a closed universe was practically ignored owing to the situation that the positive frequency part (in the sense of the author) of a quantized scalar field is not well-defined in that universe. In view of these circumstances, the creation of scalar particles in an early stage of the Friedmann closed-universe is searched for, on the supposition that the Fulling condition is preferable to define the positive frequency part in question near the early stage (as well as the later one). (author)

Crucial test of the Dirac cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steigman, G.

1978-01-01

In a cosmology consistent with the Cosmological Principle (large scale, statistical isotropy and homogeneity of the universe), a Planck spectrum is not preserved as the universe evolves unless the number of photons in a comoving volume is conserved. It is shown that a large class of cosmological models based on Dirac's Large Numbers Hypothesis (LNH) violate this constraint. The observed isotropy and spectral distribution of the microwave background radiation thus provide a crucial test of such cosmologies. After reviewing the LNH, the general evolution of radiation spectra in cosmologies consistent with the cosmological principle is outlined. It is shown that the predicted deviations from a Planck spectrum for Dirac cosmologies (as well as for ''tired-light'' cosmologies) are enormous. The Planckian (or near-Planckian) spectral form for the microwave radiation provides a crucial test, failed by such cosmologies

Current observations with a decaying cosmological constant allow for chaotic cyclic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, George F.R.; Platts, Emma; Weltman, Amanda; Sloan, David

2016-01-01

We use the phase plane analysis technique of Madsen and Ellis [1] to consider a universe with a true cosmological constant as well as a cosmological 'constant' that is decaying. Time symmetric dynamics for the inflationary era allows eternally bouncing models to occur. Allowing for scalar field dynamic evolution, we find that if dark energy decays in the future, chaotic cyclic universes exist provided the spatial curvature is positive. This is particularly interesting in light of current observations which do not yet rule out either closed universes or possible evolution of the cosmological constant. We present only a proof of principle, with no definite claim on the physical mechanism required for the present dark energy to decay

Supersymmetric GUTs and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazarides, G.; Shafi, Q.

1982-06-01

By examining the behaviour of supersymmetric GUTs in the very early universe we find two classes of realistic models. In one of them supersymmetry is broken at or near the superheavy GUT scale. The cosmological implications of such models are expected to be similar to those of nonsupersymmetric GUTs. In the second class of models, the superheavy GUT scale is related to the supersymmetry breaking scale a la Witten. Two types of cosmological scenarios appear possible in this case, either with or without an intermediate (new) inflationary phase. They can be experimentally distinguished, since the former predicts an absence and the latter an observable number density of superheavy monopoles. A mechanism for generating baryon asymmetry in such models is pointed out. Further constraint on model building appears if global R invariance is employed to resolve the strong CP problem. (author)

Quintom cosmology: Theoretical implications and observations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Yifu; Saridakis, Emmanuel N.; Setare, Mohammad R.; Xia Junqing

2010-01-01

We review the paradigm of quintom cosmology. This scenario is motivated by the observational indications that the equation-of-state of dark energy across the cosmological constant boundary is mildly favored, although the data are still far from being conclusive. As a theoretical setup we introduce a no-go theorem existing in quintom cosmology, and based on it we discuss the conditions for the equation-of-state of dark energy realizing the quintom scenario. The simplest quintom model can be achieved by introducing two scalar fields with one being quintessence and the other phantom. Based on the double-field quintom model we perform a detailed analysis of dark energy perturbations and we discuss their effects on current observations. This type of scenario usually suffers from a manifest problem due to the existence of a ghost degree-of-freedom, and thus we review various alternative realizations of the quintom paradigm. The developments in particle physics and string theory provide potential clues indicating that a quintom scenario may be obtained from scalar systems with higher derivative terms, as well as from non-scalar systems. Additionally, we construct a quintom realization in the framework of braneworld cosmology, where the cosmic acceleration and the phantom divide crossing result from the combined effects of the field evolution on the brane and the competition between four- and five-dimensional gravity. Finally, we study the outsets and fates of a universe in quintom cosmology. In a scenario with null energy condition violation one may obtain a bouncing solution at early times and therefore avoid the Big Bang singularity. Furthermore, if this occurs periodically, we obtain a realization of an oscillating universe. Lastly, we comment on several open issues in quintom cosmology and their connection to future investigations.

Introduction to cosmology

CERN Document Server

Roos, Matts

2003-01-01

The Third Edition of the hugely successful Introduction to Cosmology provides a concise, authoritative study of cosmology at an introductory level. Starting from elementary principles and the history of cosmology, the text carefully guides the student on to curved spacetimes, general relativity, black holes, cosmological models, particles and symmetries, and phase transitions. Extensively revised, this latest edition includes broader and updated coverage of distance measures, gravitational lensing and waves, dark energy and quintessence, the thermal history of the Universe, inflation,

Formation of a ''child'' universe in an inflationary cosmological model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holcomb, K.A.; Park, S.J.; Vishniac, E.T.

1989-01-01

The evolution of a flat, spherically symmetric cosmological model, containing radiation and an inhomogeneous scalar field, is simulated numerically to determine whether the inhomogeneity could cause a ''child'' universe, connected by a wormhole to the external universe, to form. The gravitational and field quantities were computed self-consistently by means of the techniques of numerical relativity. Although we were unable to follow the process to its completion, preliminary indications are that the ''budding'' phenomenon could occur under very general initial conditions, as long as the scalar field is sufficiently inhomogeneous that the wormhole forms before the inflation is damped by the expansion of the background spacetime

Nonlinear viscosity in brane-world cosmology with a Gauss–Bonnet term

Science.gov (United States)

Debnath, P. S.; Beesham, A.; Paul, B. C.

2018-06-01

Cosmological solutions are obtained with nonlinear bulk viscous cosmological fluid in the Randall–Sundrum type II (RS) brane-world model with or without Gauss–Bonnet (GB) terms. To describe such a viscous fluid, we consider the nonlinear transport equation which may be used far from equilibrium during inflation or reheating. Cosmological models are explored for both (i) power law and (ii) exponential evolution of the early universe in the presence of an imperfect fluid described by the non-linear Israel and Stewart theory (nIS). We obtain analytic solutions and the complex field equations are also analyzed numerically to study the evolution of the universe. The stability analysis of the equilibrium points of the dynamical system associated with the evolution of the nonlinear bulk viscous fluid in the RS Brane in the presence (or absence) of a GB term are also studied.

Vacuum solutions of Bianchi cosmologies in quadratic gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deus, Juliano Alves de; Muller, Daniel

2011-01-01

Full text: In this work we solve numerically the vacuum solutions of field equations of Bianchi homogeneous universes in the context of Semiclassical theory. Our interest is to study the quadratic theory of gravity with regard in the cosmological description of our universe in periods of intense fields. Bianchi cosmologies are anisotropic homogeneous cosmological models, but can include the isotropic models as particular cases (Bianchi I, VII and IX include homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann models plane, hyperbolic and spherical, respectively). Homogeneous models are good cosmological representations of our universe. With focus in solutions for intense fields, like the early universe, where isotropy is not necessarily required, the adopted scenario is the vacuum solutions, where the geometry is dominant in determining the gravitation. Still following in this way, the Semiclassical theory, which considers quantum matter fields propagating in classical geometrical background, is addressed to give the field equations. This formalism leads to fourth-order ordinary differential equations, in contrast to second-order equations from General Relativity. The Lagrangian of the theory is quadratic in the Ricci scalar and in the Ricci tensor. The equations system is highly non-linear and can be only numerically solved, except perhaps for few particular cases. We obtained numerical solutions for Bianchi V II A evolving to Minkowski and to de Sitter solutions, and also to singularities. The both first and second solutions were obtained choosing initial conditions near from respective exact vacuum solutions from Einstein theory, which are also exact solutions of the quadratic theory. Other Bianchi types are still under study. (author)

Cosmological production of noncommutative black holes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mann, Robert B.; Nicolini, Piero

2011-01-01

We investigate the pair creation of noncommutative black holes in a background with a positive cosmological constant. As a first step we derive the noncommutative geometry inspired Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution. By varying the mass and the cosmological constant parameters, we find several spacetimes compatible with the new solution: positive-mass spacetimes admit one cosmological horizon and two, one, or no black hole horizons, while negative-mass spacetimes have just a cosmological horizon. These new black holes share the properties of the corresponding asymptotically flat solutions, including the nonsingular core and thermodynamic stability in the final phase of the evaporation. As a second step we determine the action which generates the matter sector of gravitational field equations and we construct instantons describing the pair production of black holes and the other admissible topologies. As a result we find that for current values of the cosmological constant the de Sitter background is quantum mechanically stable according to experience. However, positive-mass noncommutative black holes and solitons would have plentifully been produced during inflationary times for Planckian values of the cosmological constant. As a special result we find that, in these early epochs of the Universe, Planck size black holes production would have been largely disfavored. We also find a potential instability for production of negative-mass solitons.

On a chaotic early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomita, Kenji.

1974-11-01

The theories regarding the origin of galaxies and elements are reviewed in this paper, and the assumptions made for these theories are discussed. It has been assumed that the universe has always been isotropic and homogeneous from the beginning of cosmic expansion. At the stage of very high density that any local irregularities such as galaxies cannot exist, the admissible deviation in this case from the mean value is only the statistical or quantum fluctuation of matter density, spatial curvature or their growth. It should be considered that the chemical composition of matters at the earliest stage consisted of most fundamental particles. However, if the fluctuation of matter density is statistical, the present values are too small. As for the origin of elements, it depends strongly on the period when cosmic radiation appeared. The final mass ratios of elements are given from the present baryon mass density, and are in agreement with observed values. The assumption of hot universe seems good. However, the time-independent ratio of photon number to baryon number is hardly understood. It is reasonable to assume for the early universe an inhomogeneous model whose space-time curvature is of turbulent character, according to weak cosmological principle. The inhomogeneous models to be considered are weakly non-linear perturbation theory, anti-Newtonian approximation and post anti-Newtonian approximation. Smoothing-out process, the origin of cosmic microwave radiation, the origin of galaxies and the origin of chemical elements are discussed. (Kato, T.)

Possible evidence for the existence of antimatter on a cosmological scale in the universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Stecker, F. W.; Morgan, D. L., Jr.; Bredekamp, J.

1971-01-01

Initial results of a detailed calculation of the cosmological gamma-ray spectrum from matter-antimatter annihilation in the universe. The similarity between the calculated spectrum and the present observations of the gamma-ray background spectrum above 1 MeV suggests that such observations may be evidence of the existence of antimatter on a large scale in the universe.

Massive magnetic monopoles in cosmology and astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.

1984-01-01

The astrophysical and cosmological consequences of magnetic monopoles are discussed. The production of monopoles during phase transition in the early universe is addressed, and proposals which have been made to alleviate the monopole problem are summarized. Astrophysical limits on galactic magnetic monopoles are discussed along with experimental efforts to detect monopoles. Finally, monopole-induced proton decay is addressed. 48 references

Real-Time Cosmology with Gaia: Developing the Theory to Use Extragalactic Proper Motions to Make Dynamical Cosmological Tests, to Measure Geometric Distances, and to Detect Primordial Gravitational Waves

Science.gov (United States)

Darling, Jeremy

isotropy of the Hubble expansion and recent claims of a vertical (out-of-Galactic-plane) acceleration of the Solar System. Ultimately, we will develop the general theory and methods for measuring the proper motion power spectrum (the vector analog to the scalar Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuation power spectrum) and provide some theoretical guidance as to the meaning of various features expected in this new power spectrum. Most of these cosmological measurements will be the first of their kind, and are distinguishable from observer-induced effects such as aberration, aberration drift, rotation, or gravitational acceleration. This work will show how one can illuminate the nature of the very early universe, based on the primordial gravitational wave background measurements (spanning 10 orders of magnitude in frequency), as well as the nature of the universe we live in today. Astrometry is one of five science frontier discovery areas highlighted by the New Worlds New Horizons Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The proposed research will build a scientific foundation for ground-breaking work of a fundamental nature in both physics and astrophysics. The main thrust of this proposal is to create unique new opportunities for studying the universe and for testing cosmological theories in a direct and nearly model-free manner. This work may significantly impact the larger fields of astrophysics, cosmology, and gravitation. The gravitational wave and alternative theories of gravity work is of particularly broad interest and impact because it bears on fundamental issues of particle physics, gravity, and the very early universe. This program will train new scientists, it will create synergy between theoretical and observational studies of the universe in novel research directions, and it will bring the proposed research into the classroom and the public domain.

Inhomogeneous anisotropic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleban, Matthew; Senatore, Leonardo

2016-01-01

In homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology, the topology of the universe determines its ultimate fate. If the Weak Energy Condition is satisfied, open and flat universes must expand forever, while closed cosmologies can recollapse to a Big Crunch. A similar statement holds for homogeneous but anisotropic (Bianchi) universes. Here, we prove that arbitrarily inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmologies with “flat” (including toroidal) and “open” (including compact hyperbolic) spatial topology that are initially expanding must continue to expand forever at least in some region at a rate bounded from below by a positive number, despite the presence of arbitrarily large density fluctuations and/or the formation of black holes. Because the set of 3-manifold topologies is countable, a single integer determines the ultimate fate of the universe, and, in a specific sense, most 3-manifolds are “flat” or “open”. Our result has important implications for inflation: if there is a positive cosmological constant (or suitable inflationary potential) and initial conditions for the inflaton, cosmologies with “flat” or “open” topology must expand forever in some region at least as fast as de Sitter space, and are therefore very likely to begin inflationary expansion eventually, regardless of the scale of the inflationary energy or the spectrum and amplitude of initial inhomogeneities and gravitational waves. Our result is also significant for numerical general relativity, which often makes use of periodic (toroidal) boundary conditions.

Quantum cosmological models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coule, D H

2005-01-01

We contrast the initial condition requirements of various contemporary cosmological models including inflationary and bouncing cosmologies. Canonical quantization of general relativity is used, as a first approximation to full quantum gravity, to determine whether suitable initial conditions are present. Various proposals such as Hartle-Hawking's 'no boundary' or tunnelling boundary conditions are assessed on grounds of naturalness and fine tuning. Alternatively, a quiescent initial state or an initial closed timelike curve 'time machine' is considered. Possible extensions to brane models are also addressed. Further ideas about universe creation from a meta-universe are outlined. Semiclassical and time asymmetry requirements of cosmology are briefly discussed and contrasted with the black-hole final-state proposal. We compare the recent loop quantum cosmology of Bojowald and co-workers with these earlier schemes. A number of possible difficulties and limitations are outlined. (topical review)

Scale-relativistic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nottale, Laurent

2003-01-01

The principle of relativity, when it is applied to scale transformations, leads to the suggestion of a generalization of fundamental dilations laws. These new special scale-relativistic resolution transformations involve log-Lorentz factors and lead to the occurrence of a minimal and of a maximal length-scale in nature, which are invariant under dilations. The minimal length-scale, that replaces the zero from the viewpoint of its physical properties, is identified with the Planck length l P , and the maximal scale, that replaces infinity, is identified with the cosmic scale L=Λ -1/2 , where Λ is the cosmological constant.The new interpretation of the Planck scale has several implications for the structure and history of the early Universe: we consider the questions of the origin, of the status of physical laws at very early times, of the horizon/causality problem and of fluctuations at recombination epoch.The new interpretation of the cosmic scale has consequences for our knowledge of the present universe, concerning in particular Mach's principle, the large number coincidence, the problem of the vacuum energy density, the nature and the value of the cosmological constant. The value (theoretically predicted ten years ago) of the scaled cosmological constant Ω Λ =0.75+/-0.15 is now supported by several different experiments (Hubble diagram of Supernovae, Boomerang measurements, gravitational lensing by clusters of galaxies).The scale-relativity framework also allows one to suggest a solution to the missing mass problem, and to make theoretical predictions of fundamental energy scales, thanks to the interpretation of new structures in scale space: fractal/classical transitions as Compton lengths, mass-coupling relations and critical value 4π 2 of inverse couplings. Among them, we find a structure at 3.27+/-0.26x10 20 eV, which agrees closely with the observed highest energy cosmic rays at 3.2+/-0.9x10 20 eV, and another at 5.3x10 -3 eV, which corresponds to the

Cosmology and time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balbi Amedeo

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Time has always played a crucial role in cosmology. I review some of the aspects of the present cosmological model which are more directly related to time, such as: the definition of a cosmic time; the existence of typical timescales and epochs in an expanding universe; the problem of the initial singularity and the origin of time; the cosmological arrow of time.

Cosmology

CERN Document Server

García-Bellido, J

2015-01-01

In these lectures I review the present status of the so-called Standard Cosmological Model, based on the hot Big Bang Theory and the Inflationary Paradigm. I will make special emphasis on the recent developments in observational cosmology, mainly the acceleration of the universe, the precise measurements of the microwave background anisotropies, and the formation of structure like galaxies and clusters of galaxies from tiny primordial fluctuations generated during inflation.

Cosmological bounds on non-Abelian dark forces

Science.gov (United States)

Forestell, Lindsay; Morrissey, David E.; Sigurdson, Kris

2018-04-01

Non-Abelian dark gauge forces that do not couple directly to ordinary matter may be realized in nature. The minimal form of such a dark force is a pure Yang-Mills theory. If the dark sector is reheated in the early Universe, it will be realized as a set of dark gluons at high temperatures and as a collection of dark glueballs at lower temperatures, with a cosmological phase transition from one form to the other. Despite being dark, the gauge fields of the new force can connect indirectly to the standard model through nonrenormalizable operators. These operators will transfer energy between the dark and visible sectors, and they allow some or all of the dark glueballs to decay. In this work we investigate the cosmological evolution and decays of dark glueballs in the presence of connector operators to the standard model. Dark glueball decays can modify cosmological and astrophysical observables, and we use these considerations to put very strong limits on the existence of pure non-Abelian dark forces. On the other hand, if one or more of the dark glueballs are stable, we find that they can potentially make up the dark matter of the Universe.

Testing cosmology with galaxy clusters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rapetti Serra, David Angelo

2011-01-01

PASCOS 2011 will be held in Cambridge UK. The conference will be hosted by the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology (DAMTP) at the Mathematical Sciences site in the University of Cambridge. The aim of the conference is to explore and develop synergies between particle physics, string theory and cosmo......PASCOS 2011 will be held in Cambridge UK. The conference will be hosted by the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology (DAMTP) at the Mathematical Sciences site in the University of Cambridge. The aim of the conference is to explore and develop synergies between particle physics, string theory...... and cosmology. There will be an emphasis on timely interdisciplinary topics: • critical tests of inflationary cosmology • advances in fundamental cosmology • applications of string theory (AdS/CMT) • particle and string phenomenology • new experimental particle physics results • and cosmological probes...

Observational cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Partridge, R.B.

1977-01-01

Some sixty years after the development of relativistic cosmology by Einstein and his colleagues, observations are finally beginning to have an important impact on our views of the Universe. The available evidence seems to support one of the simplest cosmological models, the hot Big Bang model. The aim of this paper is to assess the observational support for certain assumptions underlying the hot Big Bang model. These are that the Universe is isobaric and homogeneous on a large scale; that it is expanding from an initial state of high density and temperature; and that the proper theory to describe the dynamics of the Universe is unmodified General Relativity. The properties of the cosmic microwave background radiation and recent observations of the abundance of light elements, in particular, support these assumptions. Also examined here are the data bearing on the related questions of the geometry and the future of the Universe (is it ever-expanding, or fated to recollapse). Finally, some difficulties and faults of the standard model are discussed, particularly various aspects of the 'initial condition' problem. It appears that the simplest Big Bang cosmological model calls for a highly specific set of initial conditions to produce the presently observed properties of the Universe. (Auth.)

The Cosmological Standard Model and Its Implications for Beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2011-01-01

While the cosmological standard model has many notable successes, it assumes 95% of the mass-energy density of the universe is dark and of unknown nature, and there was an early stage of inflationary expansion driven by physics far beyond the range of the particle physics standard model. In the colloquium I will discuss potential particle-physics implications of the standard cosmological model.

Cosmological constant--the weight of the vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padmanabhan, T.

2003-01-01

Recent cosmological observations suggest the existence of a positive cosmological constant Λ with the magnitude Λ(Gℎ/c 3 )∼10 -123 . This review discusses several aspects of the cosmological constant both from the cosmological (Sections 1-6) and field theoretical (Sections 7-11) perspectives. After a brief introduction to the key issues related to cosmological constant and a historical overview, a summary of the kinematics and dynamics of the standard Friedmann model of the universe is provided. The observational evidence for cosmological constant, especially from the supernova results, and the constraints from the age of the universe, structure formation, Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropies and a few others are described in detail, followed by a discussion of the theoretical models (quintessence, tachyonic scalar field, ...) from different perspectives. The latter part of the review (Sections 7-11) concentrates on more conceptual and fundamental aspects of the cosmological constant like some alternative interpretations of the cosmological constant, relaxation mechanisms to reduce the cosmological constant to the currently observed value, the geometrical structure of the de Sitter spacetime, thermodynamics of the de Sitter universe and the role of string theory in the cosmological constant problem

Inflation and cosmic strings: Two mechanisms for producing structure in the universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandenberger, R.

1987-01-01

Contents: Introduction; Big Bang Cosmology and its Problems; The Old and the New Inflationary Universe; The Onset of Inflation; Chaotic Inflation; The Origin of Small Scale Structure in Inflationary Universe Models: Generation of Perturbations; Gauge Invariant Analysis of Classical Perturbations; Evolution of Perturbations in Inflationary Universe Models; Cosmological Constrains on Inflationary Universe Models; Beyond the Simplest Models of Inflation; Generalized Inflation (Kaluza-Klein Inflation, Inflation in Induced Gravity Models and in Superstring Theories); Quantum Cosmology and Inflation; Inflation and Cosmic Strings: A Comparison between Two Mechanisms for Forming Structures in the Early Universe

Supersymmetric grand unified theories and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazarides, G.; Shafi, Q.

1983-01-01

By examining the behavior of supersymmetric grand unified theories (GUT's) in the very early universe we find two classes of realistic models. In one of them supersymmetry is broken at or near superheavy GUT scale. The cosmological implications of such models are expected to be similar to those of nonsupersymmetric GUT's. In the second class of models, the superheavy GUT scale is related to the supersymmetry-breaking scale in the manner of Witten. Two types of cosmological scenarios appear possible in this case, either with or without an intermediate (new) inflationary phase. They can be experimentally distinguished, since the former predicts an absence and the latter an observable number density of superheavy monopoles. A mechanism for generating baryon asymmetry in such models is pointed out

Introduction to cosmology

CERN Document Server

Ryden, Barbara

2017-01-01

This second edition of Introduction to Cosmology is an exciting update of an award-winning textbook. It is aimed primarily at advanced undergraduate students in physics and astronomy, but is also useful as a supplementary text at higher levels. It explains modern cosmological concepts, such as dark energy, in the context of the Big Bang theory. Its clear, lucid writing style, with a wealth of useful everyday analogies, makes it exceptionally engaging. Emphasis is placed on the links between theoretical concepts of cosmology and the observable properties of the universe, building deeper physical insights in the reader. The second edition includes recent observational results, fuller descriptions of special and general relativity, expanded discussions of dark energy, and a new chapter on baryonic matter that makes up stars and galaxies. It is an ideal textbook for the era of precision cosmology in the accelerating universe.

HAWKING'S Theory of Quantum Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Zhi, Fang Li; Chao, Wu Zhong

The most important problem in cosmology is the birth of the universe. Recently Hartle and Hawking put forward a ground state proposal for the quantum state of the universe which incorporates the idea that the universe must come from nothing. Many models have been discussed in quantum cosmology with this boundary condition. It has been shown that every model is a step towards to a realistic universe, i.e. a 4-dimensional isotropic universe with a long inflationary stage.

Revisitation of chaos in Bianchi IX Universe and in generalized scalar-tensor cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehner, Thierry; Di Menza, Laurent

2003-01-01

We show that there is a threshold for the onset of chaos in cosmology for the Universe described as a dynamical system derived from the Einstein equations of general relativity (GR). In the case of the mixmaster model (homogeneous and anisotropic cosmology with a Bianchi IX metric) the chaos occurs precisely at the prescribed necessary value H vac =0 of the GR for the energy of the Universe while the system is found regular for H vac >0 and chaotic for H vac <0 with respect to its pure vacuum part. In the case of generalized scalar tensor theories within the Bianchi IX model we show using the ADM formalism and a conformal transformation that the energy of the dynamical system as compared to vacuum lies below the threshold thus the system is not exhibiting chaos and the conclusion still holds in the presence of ordinary matter as well. The suppression of chaos occurs in a similar way for stiff matter alone

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation-A Unique Window on the Early Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Hinshaw, Gary

2010-01-01

The cosmic microwave background radiation is the remnant heat from the Big Bang. It provides us with a unique probe of conditions in the early universe, long before any organized structures had yet formed. The anisotropy in the radiation's brightness yields important clues about primordial structure and additionally provides a wealth of information about the physics of the early universe. Within the framework of inflationary dark matter models, observations of the anisotropy on sub-degree angular scales reveals the signatures of acoustic oscillations of the photon-baryon fluid at a redshift of 11 00. Data from the first seven years of operation of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite provide detailed full-sky maps of the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization anisotropy. Together, the data provide a wealth of cosmological information, including the age of the universe, the epoch when the first stars formed, and the overall composition of baryonic matter, dark matter, and dark energy. The results also provide constraints on the period of inflationary expansion in the very first moments of time. WMAP, part of NASA's Explorers program, was launched on June 30, 2001. The WMAP satellite was produced in a partnership between the Goddard Space Flight Center and Princeton University. The WMAP team also includes researchers at the Johns Hopkins University; the Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics; University of Texas; Oxford University; University of Chicago; Brown University; University of British Columbia; and University of California, Los Angeles.

Space-Time Uncertainty and Cosmology: a Proposed Quantum Model of the Universe [ 245Kb

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tosto S.

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The paper introduces a cosmological model of the quantum universe. The aim of the model is (i to identify the possible mechanism that governs the matter/antimatter ratio existing in the universe and concurrently to propose (ii a reasonable growth mechanism of the universe and (iii a possible explanation of the dark energy. The concept of timespace uncertainty, on which is based the present quantum approach, has been proven able to bridge quantum mechanics and relativity.

Metastable Supersymmetry Breaking in a Cooling Universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplunovsky, Vadim S.

2007-01-01

I put metastable supersymmetry breaking in a cosmological context. I argue that under reasonable assumptions, the cooling down early Universe favors metastable SUSY-breaking vacua over the stable supersymmetric vacua. To illustrate the general argument, I analyze the early-Universe history of the Intriligator-Seiberg-Shih model

Cosmological lepton asymmetry, primordial nucleosynthesis and sterile neutrinos

Science.gov (United States)

Abazajian, Kevork; Bell, Nicole F.; Fuller, George M.; Wong, Yvonne Y. Y.

2005-09-01

We study post weak decoupling coherent active-sterile and active-active matter-enhanced neutrino flavor transformation in the early Universe. We show that flavor conversion efficiency at Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonances is likely to be high (adiabatic evolution) for relevant neutrino parameters and energies. However, we point out that these resonances cannot sweep smoothly and continuously with the expansion of the Universe. We show how neutrino flavor conversion in this way can leave both the active and sterile neutrinos with nonthermal energy spectra, and how, in turn, these distorted energy spectra can affect the neutron-to-proton ratio, primordial nucleosynthesis, and cosmological mass/closure constraints on sterile neutrinos. We demonstrate that the existence of a light sterile neutrino which mixes with active neutrinos can change fundamentally the relationship between the cosmological lepton numbers and the primordial nucleosynthesis He4 yield.

Nonsingular cosmology from evolutionary quantum gravity

Science.gov (United States)

Cianfrani, Francesco; Montani, Giovanni; Pittorino, Fabrizio

2014-11-01

We provide a cosmological implementation of the evolutionary quantum gravity, describing an isotropic Universe, in the presence of a negative cosmological constant and a massive (preinflationary) scalar field. We demonstrate that the considered Universe has a nonsingular quantum behavior, associated to a primordial bounce, whose ground state has a high occupation number. Furthermore, in such a vacuum state, the super-Hamiltonian eigenvalue is negative, corresponding to a positive emerging dust energy density. The regularization of the model is performed via a polymer quantum approach to the Universe scale factor and the proper classical limit is then recovered, in agreement with a preinflationary state of the Universe. Since the dust energy density is redshifted by the Universe de Sitter phase and the cosmological constant does not enter the ground state eigenvalue, we get a late-time cosmology, compatible with the present observations, endowed with a turning point in the far future.

Course of cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desert, F.-Xavier

2004-01-01

After an introduction comprising some definitions, an historical overview, and a discussion of the paradoxical Universe, this course proposes a presentation of fundamental notions and theories, i.e. the restrained relativity and the universal gravitation. The next part addresses the general relativity with the following notions: space-time metrics and principle of generalised covariance, basics of tensor analysis, geodesics, energy-pulse tensor, curvature, Einstein equations, Newtonian limit, Schwarzschild metrics, gravitational waves, gravitational redshift. The next part addresses the standard cosmology with the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker metrics and the Friedmann-Lemaitre equations of the evolution of the Universe. The Universe expansion is then addressed: distances and horizons, Hubble law, determination of the Hubble constant. The next chapter deals with the constituents of the Universe: light matter, baryonic dark matter, black matter, supernovae, Universe acceleration and black energy. Then comes the nuclear evolution of the Universe: thermodynamics of the primordial Universe, the matter-antimatter asymmetry, from quarks to atoms, cosmic abundance, neutron cosmological background, matter-radiation equality, cosmo-chronology or the age of the Universe. The next chapter addresses the cosmological background at 3 K: sky electromagnetic spectrum, measurement of CMB anisotropies, interpretation of anisotropies, growth of perturbations. The last chapter addresses the quantum field theory and inflation: paradoxes of the standard Big Bang, the simple inflation, noticeable consequences

Grand unification and the fundamental problems of classical cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.

1981-01-01

The accomplishments of classical cosmology are reviewed. In particular, the hot big bang model provides a reliable framework for understanding the evolution of the universe back to times at least as early as approx. 0.01 s after the big bang. At present there are (at least) six fundamental problems which have not yet been (completely) resolved. They are: (1) the origin of the baryon number-to-entropy ratio, (2) the origin of the isotropy, (3) the origin of the homogeneity and inhomogeneity, (4) the origin of the flatness, (5) the cosmological constant, and (6) the monopole problem. The role that grand unification has played, and may play in the resolution of these puzzles is discussed. Guth's inflationary universe, which addresses five of these six problems, is reviewed

Elements of the universe in Philo’s De Vita Mosis: Cosmological theology or theological cosmology?

OpenAIRE

Gert J. Steyn

2013-01-01

It is the intention of this article to investigate how Philo’s understanding of the universe, and particularly its four basic elements as taught by the Greek philosophers, influenced his description of the God of Israel’s world in which the Moses narrative unfolds. Given the fact that Philo was a theologian par excellence, the question can be asked whether Philo’s approach is closer to what one might call ‘theological cosmology’ or rather closer to ‘cosmological theology’? After a brief surve...

Particle physics and cosmology. Progress report, September 1, 1982-August 31, 1983

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.; Turner, M.S.

1983-05-01

Brief summaries are presented of research done in the following areas: constraints on particle properties; Big Bang nucleosynthesis; baryogenesis; phase transitions in the early universe; galaxy formation; magnetic monopoles; exotic dark matter; cosmological inflation; and ultra-high energy cosmic rays

Origin of cosmological density fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carr, B.J.

1984-11-01

The density fluctuations required to explain the large-scale cosmological structure may have arisen spontaneously as a result of a phase transition in the early Universe. There are several ways in which such fluctuations may have ben produced, and they could have a variety of spectra, so one should not necessarily expect all features of the large-scale structure to derive from a simple power law spectrum. Some features may even result from astrophysical amplification mechanisms rather than gravitational instability. 128 references

Cosmological evolution of a brane Universe in a type 0 string background

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papantonopoulos, E.; Pappa, I.

2002-01-01

We study the cosmological evolution of a D3-brane Universe in a type 0 string background. We follow the brane universe along the radial coordinate of the background and we calculate the energy density which is induced on the brane because of its motion in the bulk. For constant values of tachyon and dilaton an inflationary phase is appearing. For non constant values of tachyon and dilaton and for a particular range of values of the scale factor of the brane-universe, the effective energy density is dominated by a term proportional to 1/(log α) 4 indicating a slowly varying inflationary phase

Quark matter in astrophysics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olinto, A.V.

1987-10-01

We dicuss the role of quark matter in astrophysics and cosmology. The implications of the dynamics of the quark-hadron phase transition in the early universe for the element abundances from big bang nucleosynthesis and the composition of the dark matter in the universe are addressed. We discuss the possibility of deciding on an equation of state for high density matter by observing the cooling of a neutron star remnant of SN1987A. Quark matter models for the Centauros events, Cygnus X-3 cosmic ray events, high energy gamma-ray bursts and the solar neutrino problem are described. 25 refs., 3 figs

Modern cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeldovich, Y.B.

1983-01-01

This paper fives a general review of modern cosmology. The following subjects are discussed: hot big bang and periodization of the evolution; Hubble expansion; the structure of the universe (pancake theory); baryon asymmetry; inflatory universe. (Auth.)

Supersymmetry and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Jonathan L.

2005-01-01

Cosmology now provides unambiguous, quantitative evidence for new particle physics. I discuss the implications of cosmology for supersymmetry and vice versa. Topics include: motivations for supersymmetry; supersymmetry breaking; dark energy; freeze out and WIMPs; neutralino dark matter; cosmologically preferred regions of minimal supergravity; direct and indirect detection of neutralinos; the DAMA and HEAT signals; inflation and reheating; gravitino dark matter; Big Bang nucleosynthesis; and the cosmic microwave background. I conclude with speculations about the prospects for a microscopic description of the dark universe, stressing the necessity of diverse experiments on both sides of the particle physics/cosmology interface

The universe before the Big Bang cosmology and string theory

CERN Document Server

Gasperini, Maurizio

2008-01-01

Terms such as "expanding Universe", "big bang", and "initial singularity", are nowadays part of our common language. The idea that the Universe we observe today originated from an enormous explosion (big bang) is now well known and widely accepted, at all levels, in modern popular culture. But what happens to the Universe before the big bang? And would it make any sense at all to ask such a question? In fact, recent progress in theoretical physics, and in particular in String Theory, suggests answers to the above questions, providing us with mathematical tools able in principle to reconstruct the history of the Universe even for times before the big bang. In the emerging cosmological scenario the Universe, at the epoch of the big bang, instead of being a "new born baby" was actually a rather "aged" creature in the middle of its possibly infinitely enduring evolution. The aim of this book is to convey this picture in non-technical language accessibile also to non-specialists. The author, himself a leading cosm...

Fractal cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dickau, Jonathan J.

2009-01-01

The use of fractals and fractal-like forms to describe or model the universe has had a long and varied history, which begins long before the word fractal was actually coined. Since the introduction of mathematical rigor to the subject of fractals, by Mandelbrot and others, there have been numerous cosmological theories and analyses of astronomical observations which suggest that the universe exhibits fractality or is by nature fractal. In recent years, the term fractal cosmology has come into usage, as a description for those theories and methods of analysis whereby a fractal nature of the cosmos is shown.

Cosmology and particle physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salati, P.

1986-01-01

If the hot Big Bang model is correct, the very early universe provides us with a good laboratory to test our ideas on particle physics. The temperature and the density at that time are so high that each known particle must exist in chemical and in thermal equilibrium with the others. When the universe cools, the particles freeze out, leaving us today with a cosmic background. Such a kind of relic is of great interest because we can probe the Big Bang Model by studying the fossilized gas of a known particle. Conversely we can use that model to derive information about a hypothetical particle. Basically the freezing of a gas occurs a temperature T o and may be thermal or chemical. Studying the decoupling of a stable neutrino brings information on its mass: if the mass M ν lies in the forbidden range, the neutrino has to be unstable and its lifetime is constrained by cosmology. As for the G.U.T. Monopole, cosmology tells us that its present mass density is either to big or to small (1 monopole/observable universe) owing to a predicted flux far from the Parker Limit. Finally, the super red-giant star life time constrains the axion or the Higgs to be more massive than .2 MeV [fr

Progress in quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartle, J.B.

1990-01-01

Our observations of the world give us specific facts. Here, there is a galaxy; there is none. Today, there is a supernova explosion; yesterday, there was a star. Here, there are fission fragments; before, there was a uranium nucleus. The task of physics is to compress the message which describes these facts into a shorter form -to compress it, in particular, to a form where the message consists of just a few observed facts together with simple universal laws of nature from which the rest can be deduced. In the past, physics has concentrated on finding dynamical laws which correlate facts at different times. Such laws predict later evolution given observed initial conditions. However, there is no logical reason why we could not look for laws which correlate facts at the same time. Such laws would be, in effect, laws of initial conditions. It was the limited nature of our observations which led to our focus on dynamical laws. Now, however, in cosmology, in the observations of the early universe and even on familiar scales, it is possible to discern regularities of the world which may find a compressed expression in a simple, testable, theory of the initial conditions of the universe as a whole. The search for this law of the initial conditions is the subject of quantum cosmology and the subject whose recent development is reviewed. (author)

The evolution of the Universe

CERN Document Server

García-Bellido, J

2006-01-01

With the recent measurements of temperature and polarization anisotropies in the microwave background by WMAP, we have entered a new era of precision cosmology, with the cosmological parameters of a Standard Cosmological Model determined to 1%. This Standard Model is based on the Big Bang theory and the inflationary paradigm, a period of exponential expansion in the early universe responsible for the large-scale homogeneity and spatial flatness of our observable patch of the Universe. The spectrum of metric perturbations, seen in the microwave background as temperature anisotropies, were produced during inflation from quantum fluctuations that were stretched to cosmological size by the expansion, and later gave rise, via gravitational collapse, to the observed large-scale structure of clusters and superclusters of galaxies. Furthermore, the same theory predicts that all the matter and radiation in the universe today originated at the end of inflation from an explosive production of particles that could also h...

A philosophy for big-bang cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

McCrea, W H

1970-10-03

According to recent developments in cosmology we seem bound to find a model universe like the observed universe, almost independently of how we suppose it started. Such ideas, if valid, provide fresh justification for the procedures of current cosmological theory.

The Higgs field and the resolution of the Cosmological Constant Paradox in the Weyl-geometrical Universe

Science.gov (United States)

De Martini, Francesco

2017-10-01

The nature of the scalar field responsible for the cosmological inflation is found to be rooted in the most fundamental concept of Weyl's differential geometry: the parallel displacement of vectors in curved space-time. Within this novel geometrical scenario, the standard electroweak theory of leptons based on the SU(2)L⊗U(1)Y as well as on the conformal groups of space-time Weyl's transformations is analysed within the framework of a general-relativistic, conformally covariant scalar-tensor theory that includes the electromagnetic and the Yang-Mills fields. A Higgs mechanism within a spontaneous symmetry breaking process is identified and this offers formal connections between some relevant properties of the elementary particles and the dark energy content of the Universe. An `effective cosmological potential': Veff is expressed in terms of the dark energy potential: via the `mass reduction parameter': , a general property of the Universe. The mass of the Higgs boson, which is considered a `free parameter' by the standard electroweak theory, by our theory is found to be proportional to the mass which accounts for the measured cosmological constant, i.e. the measured content of vacuum-energy in the Universe. The non-integrable application of Weyl's geometry leads to a Proca equation accounting for the dynamics of a φρ-particle, a vector-meson proposed as an an optimum candidate for dark matter. On the basis of previous cosmic microwave background results our theory leads, in the condition of cosmological `critical density', to the assessment of the average energy content of the φρ-excitation. The peculiar mathematical structure of Veff offers a clue towards a very general resolution of a most intriguing puzzle of modern quantum field theory, the `Cosmological Constant Paradox' (here referred to as the `Λ-Paradox'). Indeed, our `universal' theory offers a resolution of the Λ-Paradox for all exponential inflationary potentials: VΛ(T,φ)∝e-nφ, and for all

The unfolding of the historical style in modern cosmology: Emergence, evolution, entrenchment

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, Jacob

2017-02-01

This paper traces the emergence, evolution and subsequent entrenchment of the historical style in the shifting scene of modern cosmological inquiry. It argues that the historical style in cosmology was forged in the early decades of the 20th century and continued to evolve in the century that followed. Over time, the scene of cosmological inquiry has gradually become dominated and entirely constituted by historicist explanations. Practices such as forwards and backwards temporal extrapolation (thinking about the past evolutionary history of the universe with different initial conditions and other parameters) are now commonplace. The non-static geometrization of the cosmos in the early 20th century led to inquires thinking about the cosmos in evolutionary terms. Drawing on the historical approach of Gamow (and contrasting this with the ahistorical approach of Bondi), the paper then argues that the historical style became a major force as inquirers began scouring the universe for fossils and other relics as a new form of scientific practice-cosmic palaeontology. By the 1970s the historical style became the bedrock of the discipline and the presupposition of new lines of inquiry. By the end of the 20th century, the historical style was pushed to its very limits as temporal reasoning began to occur beyond a linear historical narrative. With the atemporal 'ensemble' type multiverse proposals, a certain type of ahistorical reasoning has been reintroduced to cosmological discourse, which, in a sense, represents a radical de-historicization of the historical style in cosmology. Some are now even attempting to explain the laws of physics in terms of their historicity.

Hubble Diagram Test of Expanding and Static Cosmological Models: The Case for a Slowly Expanding Flat Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laszlo A. Marosi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We present a new redshift (RS versus photon travel time ( test including 171 supernovae RS data points. We extended the Hubble diagram to a range of z = 0,0141–8.1 in the hope that at high RSs, the fitting of the calculated RS/ diagrams to the observed RS data would, as predicted by different cosmological models, set constraints on alternative cosmological models. The Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM, the static universe model, and the case for a slowly expanding flat universe (SEU are considered. We show that on the basis of the Hubble diagram test, the static and the slowly expanding models are favored.

Precision cosmology with weak gravitational lensing

Science.gov (United States)

Hearin, Andrew P.

In recent years, cosmological science has developed a highly predictive model for the universe on large scales that is in quantitative agreement with a wide range of astronomical observations. While the number and diversity of successes of this model provide great confidence that our general picture of cosmology is correct, numerous puzzles remain. In this dissertation, I analyze the potential of planned and near future galaxy surveys to provide new understanding of several unanswered questions in cosmology, and address some of the leading challenges to this observational program. In particular, I study an emerging technique called cosmic shear, the weak gravitational lensing produced by large scale structure. I focus on developing strategies to optimally use the cosmic shear signal observed in galaxy imaging surveys to uncover the physics of dark energy and the early universe. In chapter 1 I give an overview of a few unsolved mysteries in cosmology and I motivate weak lensing as a cosmological probe. I discuss the use of weak lensing as a test of general relativity in chapter 2 and assess the threat to such tests presented by our uncertainty in the physics of galaxy formation. Interpreting the cosmic shear signal requires knowledge of the redshift distribution of the lensed galaxies. This redshift distribution will be significantly uncertain since it must be determined photometrically. In chapter 3 I investigate the influence of photometric redshift errors on our ability to constrain dark energy models with weak lensing. The ability to study dark energy with cosmic shear is also limited by the imprecision in our understanding of the physics of gravitational collapse. In chapter 4 I present the stringent calibration requirements on this source of uncertainty. I study the potential of weak lensing to resolve a debate over a long-standing anomaly in CMB measurements in chapter 5. Finally, in chapter 6 I summarize my findings and conclude with a brief discussion of my

Particle accelerators test cosmological theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, D.N.; Steigman, G.

1988-01-01

Over the past decade two subfields of science, cosmology and elementary-particle physics, have become married in a symbiotic relationship that has produced a number of exciting offspring. These offspring are beginning to yield insights on the creation of spacetime and matter at epochs as early as 10 to the minus 43 to 10 to the minus 35 second after the birth of the universe in the primordial explosion known as the big bang. Important clues to the nature of the big bang itself may even come from a theory currently under development, known as the ultimate theory of everything (T.E.O.). A T.E.O. would describe all the interactions among the fundamental particles in a single bold stroke. Now that cosmology ahs begun to make predictions about elementary-particle physics, it has become conceivable that those cosmological predictions could be checked with carefully controlled accelerator experiments. It has taken more than 10 years for accelerators to reach the point where they can do the appropriate experiments, but the experiments are now in fact in progress. The preliminary results confirm the predictions of cosmology. The cosmological prediction the authors have been concerned with pertains to setting limits on the number of fundamental particles of matter. It appears that there are 12 fundamental particles, as well as their corresponding antiparticles. Six of the fundamental particles are quarks. The other six are leptons. The 12 particles are grouped in three families, each family consisting of four members. Cosmology suggests there must be a finite number of families and, further limits the possible range of to small values: only three or at most four families exist. 7 figs

On the Cold Big Bang Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Assis A. V. D. B.

2011-04-01

Full Text Available We solve the general relativity (GR field equations under the cosmological scope via one extra postulate. The plausibility of the postulate resides within the Heisenberg indeterminacy principle, being heuristically analysed throughout the appendix. Under this approach, a negative energy density may provide the positive energy content of the universe via fluctuation, since the question of conservation of energy in cosmology is weakened, supported by the known lack of scope of the Noether's theorem in cosmology. The initial condition of the primordial universe turns out to have a natural cutoff such that the temperature of the cosmological substratum converges to the absolute zero, instead of the established divergence at the very beginning. The adopted postulate provides an explanation for the cosmological dark energy open question. The solution agrees with cosmological observations, including a 2.7K CMBT prediction.

Dark energy cosmologies for codimension-two branes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwindt, Jan-Markus; Wetterich, Christof

2005-01-01

A six-dimensional universe with two branes in the 'football-shaped' geometry leads to an almost realistic cosmology. We describe a family of exact solutions with time-dependent characteristic size of internal space. After a short inflationary period the late cosmology is either of quintessence type or turns to a radiation-dominated Friedmann universe where the cosmological constant appears as a free integration constant of the solution. The radiation-dominated universe with relativistic fermions is analyzed in detail, including its dimensional reduction

The cosmological term and a modified Brans-Dicke cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endo, M.; Fukui, T.

1977-01-01

Adding the cosmological term Λ, which is assumed to be variable in this paper, to the Brans-Dicke Lagrangian, an attempt is made to understand the meaning of the term and to relate it to the mass of the universe. The Dirac large-number hypothesis is considered, applying the results obtained from the application of the present theory to a uniform cosmological model. (author)

Perspectives in cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilenkin, Alexander

2010-01-01

The n ew standard cosmology , based on the theory of inflation, has very impressive observational support. I review some outstanding problems of the new cosmology and the global view of the universe - the multiverse - that it suggests. I focus in particular on prospects for further observational tests of inflation and of the multiverse.

Towards the kinetic theory of inequilibrium cosmological nucleosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fillipov, S.S.; Sedelnikov, E.V.; Khlopov, M.Yu.

1993-07-01

The aim of the paper is to elaborate the framework for the possible effects of nucleosynthesis by inequilirbium particles on the radiation dominance stage. Based on such an analysis the sensitivity of the astrophysical data to the presence of the sources of inequilibrium particles in the early Universe can be studied, thus providing an effective tool to probe cosmological effects of syperhight energy physics. 6 refs

Quintessence and the cosmological constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doran, M.; Wetterich, C.

2003-01-01

Quintessence -- the energy density of a slowly evolving scalar field -- may constitute a dynamical form of the homogeneous dark energy in the universe. We review the basic idea in the light of the cosmological constant problem. Cosmological observations or a time variation of fundamental 'constants' can distinguish quintessence from a cosmological constant

Deconstructing cosmology

CERN Document Server

Sanders, Robert H

2016-01-01

The advent of sensitive high-resolution observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation and their successful interpretation in terms of the standard cosmological model has led to great confidence in this model's reality. The prevailing attitude is that we now understand the Universe and need only work out the details. In this book, Sanders traces the development and successes of Lambda-CDM, and argues that this triumphalism may be premature. The model's two major components, dark energy and dark matter, have the character of the pre-twentieth-century luminiferous aether. While there is astronomical evidence for these hypothetical fluids, their enigmatic properties call into question our assumptions of the universality of locally determined physical law. Sanders explains how modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is a significant challenge for cold dark matter. Overall, the message is hopeful: the field of cosmology has not become frozen, and there is much fundamental work ahead for tomorrow's cosmologis...

Cosmological applications in Kaluza—Klein theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wanas, M.I.; Nashed, Gamal G. L.; Nowaya, A.A.

2012-01-01

The field equations of Kaluza—Klein (KK) theory have been applied in the domain of cosmology. These equations are solved for a flat universe by taking the gravitational and the cosmological constants as a function of time t. We use Taylor's expansion of cosmological function, Λ(t), up to the first order of the time t. The cosmological parameters are calculated and some cosmological problems are discussed. (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

Simple coupling with cosmological implications. The initial singularity and the inflationary universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saez, D.

1987-01-01

In this work the metric is coupled with a scalar field phi in a simple way. Although this coupling becomes problematic because the energy density of phi appears to be unbounded from below, it is displayed as a very simple coupling leading to a nonsingular cosmological model with an early antigravity regime. A basic study of the inflationary period and various suggestions are presented

Nonsingular universe in massive gravity's rainbow

Science.gov (United States)

Hendi, S. H.; Momennia, M.; Eslam Panah, B.; Panahiyan, S.

2017-06-01

One of the fundamental open questions in cosmology is whether we can regard the universe evolution without singularity like a Big Bang or a Big Rip. This challenging subject stimulates one to regard a nonsingular universe in the far past with an arbitrarily large vacuum energy. Considering the high energy regime in the cosmic history, it is believed that Einstein gravity should be corrected to an effective energy dependent theory which could be acquired by gravity's rainbow. On the other hand, employing massive gravity provided us with solutions to some of the long standing fundamental problems of cosmology such as cosmological constant problem and self acceleration of the universe. Considering these aspects of gravity's rainbow and massive gravity, in this paper, we initiate studying FRW cosmology in the massive gravity's rainbow formalism. At first, we show that although massive gravity modifies the FRW cosmology, but it does not itself remove the big bang singularity. Then, we generalize the massive gravity to the case of energy dependent spacetime and find that massive gravity's rainbow can remove the early universe singularity. We bring together all the essential conditions for having a nonsingular universe and the effects of both gravity's rainbow and massive gravity generalizations on such criteria are determined.

Chaos, decoherence and quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calzetta, Esteban

2012-01-01

In this topical review we discuss the connections between chaos, decoherence and quantum cosmology. We understand chaos as classical chaos in systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom, decoherence as environment induced decoherence and quantum cosmology as the theory of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation or else the consistent history formulation thereof, first in mini super spaces and later through its extension to midi super spaces. The overall conclusion is that consideration of decoherence is necessary (and probably sufficient) to sustain an interpretation of quantum cosmology based on the wavefunction of the Universe adopting a Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin form for large Universes, but a definitive account of the semiclassical transition in classically chaotic cosmological models is not available in the literature yet. (topical review)

Observing the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation: A Unique Window on the Early Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Hinshaw, Gary; Fisher, Richard R. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The cosmic microwave background radiation is the remnant heat from the Big Bang. It provides us with a unique probe of conditions in the early universe, long before any organized structures had yet formed. The anisotropy in the radiation's brightness yields important clues about primordial structure and additionally provides a wealth of information about the physics,of the early universe. Within the framework of inflationary dark matter models observations of the anisotropy on sub-degree angular scales will reveal the signatures of acoustic oscillations of the photon-baryon fluid at a redshift of approx. 1100. The validity of inflationary models will be tested and, if agreement is found, accurate values for most of the key cosmological parameters will result. If disagreement is found, we will need to rethink our basic ideas about the physics of the early universe. I will present an overview of the physical processes at work in forming the anisotropy and discuss what we have already learned from current observations. I will conclude with a brief overview of the recently launched Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission which will observe the anisotropy over the full sky with 0.21 degree angular resolution. At the time of this meeting, MAP will have just arrived at the L2 Lagrange point, marking the start of its observing campaign. The MAP hardware is being produced by Goddard in partnership with Princeton University.

Relaxing a large cosmological constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, Florian; Sola, Joan; Stefancic, Hrvoje

2009-01-01

The cosmological constant (CC) problem is the biggest enigma of theoretical physics ever. In recent times, it has been rephrased as the dark energy (DE) problem in order to encompass a wider spectrum of possibilities. It is, in any case, a polyhedric puzzle with many faces, including the cosmic coincidence problem, i.e. why the density of matter ρ m is presently so close to the CC density ρ Λ . However, the oldest, toughest and most intriguing face of this polyhedron is the big CC problem, namely why the measured value of ρ Λ at present is so small as compared to any typical density scale existing in high energy physics, especially taking into account the many phase transitions that our Universe has undergone since the early times, including inflation. In this Letter, we propose to extend the field equations of General Relativity by including a class of invariant terms that automatically relax the value of the CC irrespective of the initial size of the vacuum energy in the early epochs. We show that, at late times, the Universe enters an eternal de Sitter stage mimicking a tiny positive cosmological constant. Thus, these models could be able to solve the big CC problem without fine-tuning and have also a bearing on the cosmic coincidence problem. Remarkably, they mimic the ΛCDM model to a large extent, but they still leave some characteristic imprints that should be testable in the next generation of experiments.

Testing cosmology from fundamental considerations: Is the Friedmann universe intrinsically flat

Science.gov (United States)

Mitra, Abhas

2014-02-01

Recently Melia and Shevchuk (Mon Not R Astron Soc 419:2579,2012) (MS) have proposed the so-called cosmology where the "Gravitational Horizon" of the universe is equal to the distance travelled by light since "Big Bang". Here we would like to see whether the basic claim is correct or not because MS have not given any cogent derivation for the same. Essentially we will compare the twin expressions for the Einstein energy momentum complex (EMC) of the Friedmann universe obtained by using an appropriate superpotential and also by a direct method. To enable a meaningful comparison of the twin expressions, both are computed by using the same quasi-Cartesian coordinates. We however do not claim that Einstein EMC is superior to many other routes of defining EM of a self-gravitating system. In fact, for static isolated spherical syatems, the idea of a coordinate independent field energy of Lynden-Bell and Katz (Mon Not R Astron Soc 213:21, 1985) might be quite physically significant. Yet, here, we use Einstein EMC because (i) our system is non-static and not isolated one (ii) our primary aim is not find any absolute value of EM, and, finally, (iii) only Einstein pseudo-tensor offers equivalent twin expressions for EM which one can be equated irrespective of any physical significance. Following such comparison of equivalent twin expressions of Einstein energy, we find an exact proof as to why Friedmann universe must be spatially flat even though, mathematically one can conceive of curved spaces in any dimension. Additionally, it follows that, apparently, the scale factor as insisted by proposition. Nonetheless, because of close similarity of this form, , with the (vacuum) Milne metric, and also because of implied unphysical equation of state, cosmology is unlikely to represent the physical universe.

Gamma-ray bursts as cosmological probes: ΛCDM vs. conformal gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaferio, Antonaldo; Ostorero, Luisa; Cardone, Vincenzo

2011-01-01

ΛCDM, for the currently preferred cosmological density Ω 0 and cosmological constant Ω Λ , predicts that the Universe expansion decelerates from early times to redshift z ≈ 0.9 and accelerates at later times. On the contrary, the cosmological model based on conformal gravity predicts that the cosmic expansion has always been accelerating. To distinguish between these two very different cosmologies, we resort to gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which have been suggested to probe the Universe expansion history at z > 1, where identified type Ia supernovae (SNe) are rare. We use the full Bayesian approach to infer the cosmological parameters and the additional parameters required to describe the GRB data available in the literature. For the first time, we use GRBs as cosmological probes without any prior information from other data. In addition, when we combine the GRB samples with SNe, our approach neatly avoids all the inconsistencies of most numerous previous methods that are plagued by the so-called circularity problem. In fact, when analyzed properly, current data are consistent with distance moduli of GRBs and SNe that can respectively be, in a variant of conformal gravity, ∼ 15 and ∼ 3 magnitudes fainter than in ΛCDM. Our results indicate that the currently available SN and GRB samples are accommodated equally well by both ΛCDM and conformal gravity and do not exclude a continuous accelerated expansion. We conclude that GRBs are currently far from being effective cosmological probes, as they are unable to distinguish between these two very different expansion histories

Quantum cosmology of classically constrained gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabadadze, Gregory; Shang Yanwen

2006-01-01

In [G. Gabadadze, Y. Shang, hep-th/0506040] we discussed a classically constrained model of gravity. This theory contains known solutions of General Relativity (GR), and admits solutions that are absent in GR. Here we study cosmological implications of some of these new solutions. We show that a spatially-flat de Sitter universe can be created from 'nothing'. This universe has boundaries, and its total energy equals to zero. Although the probability to create such a universe is exponentially suppressed, it favors initial conditions suitable for inflation. Then we discuss a finite-energy solution with a nonzero cosmological constant and zero space-time curvature. There is no tunneling suppression to fluctuate into this state. We show that for a positive cosmological constant this state is unstable-it can rapidly transition to a de Sitter universe providing a new unsuppressed channel for inflation. For a negative cosmological constant the space-time flat solutions is stable.

Perspectives in cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vilenkin, Alexander, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.ed [Institute of Cosmology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 (United States)

2010-01-01

The 'new standard cosmology', based on the theory of inflation, has very impressive observational support. I review some outstanding problems of the new cosmology and the global view of the universe - the multiverse - that it suggests. I focus in particular on prospects for further observational tests of inflation and of the multiverse.

Dark matter universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahcall, Neta A

2015-10-06

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter--a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations--from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is "cold" (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology--a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)--fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle.

New Challenges for Cosmology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Weygaert, Rien; van Albada, Tjeerd S.

1996-01-01

A detailed account of the ways in which a square kilometer array could further cosmological research. Observational and theoretical studies of the large scale structure and morphology of the local universe are reviewed against the potential capabilities of a new generation telescope. Cosmological

High energy physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.I.; Davis, M.

1989-01-01

This research will focus on the implications of recent theories and experiments in high energy physics for the evolution of the early Universe, and on the constraints that cosmological considerations can place on such theories. Several problems are under investigation, including the development of constraints on the inflationary predictions of scale--free primordial fluctuations in a universe at critical closure density by studying their linear and non-linear evolution after they re-enter the particle horizon. We will examine the observable imprint of primordial density fluctuations on the cosmic microwave background radiation curved cosmological models. Most astronomical evidence points to an open universe: one of our goals is to reconcile this conclusion with the particle physics input. We will investigate the response of the matter distribution to a network of cosmic strings produced during an early symmetry-breaking transition, and compute the resulting cosmic microwave background anisotropies. We will simulate the formation of large-scale structures whose dynamics are dominated by weakly interacting particles such as axions, massive neutrinos or photinos in order to model the formation of galaxies, galaxy clusters and superclusters. We will study of the distortions in the microwave background radiation, both spectral and angular, that are produced by ionized gas associated with forming clusters and groups of galaxies. We will also study constraints on exotic cooling mechanisms involving axions and majorons set by stellar evolution and the energy input into low mass stars by cold dark matter annihilation galactic nuclei. We will compute the detailed gamma ray spectrum predicted by various cold dark matter candidates undergoing annihilation in the galactic halo and bulge

[High energy physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.I.; Davis, M.

1988-01-01

This research will focus on the implications of recent theories and experiments in high energy physics for the evolution of the early Universe, and on the constraints that cosmological considerations can place on such theories. Several problems are under investigation, including the development of constraints on the inflationary predictions of scale-free primordial fluctuations in a universe at critical closure density by studying their linear and non-linear evolution after they re-enter the particle horizon. We will examine the observable imprint of primordial density fluctuations on the cosmic microwave background radiation in curved cosmological models. Most astronomical evidence points to an open universe: one of our goals is to reconcile this conclusion with the particle physics input. We will investigate the response of the matter distribution to a network of cosmic strings produced during an early symmetry--breaking transition, and compute the resulting cosmic microwave background anisotropies. We will simulate the formation of large--scale structures whose dynamics are dominated by weakly interacting particles such as axions massive neutrinos or photinos in order to model the formation of galaxies, galaxy clusters and superclusters. We will study the distortions in the microwave background radiation, both spectral and angular, that are produced by ionized gas associated with forming clusters and groups of galaxies. We will also study constraints on exotic cooling mechanisms involving axions and majorons set by stellar evolution and the energy input into low mass stars by cold dark matter annihilation in galactic nuclei. We will compute the detailed gamma ray spectrum predicted by various cold dark matter candidates undergoing annihilation in the galactic halo and bulge

Cosmology and astroparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelmini, Graciela B.

1996-01-01

These lectures are devoted to elementary particle physicists and assume the reader has very little or no knowledge of cosmology and astrophysics. After a brief historical introduction to the development of modern cosmology and astro-particles in which the Hot Big Bang model is defined, the Robertson-Walker metric and the dynamics of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology are discussed in section 2. In section 3 the main observational features of the Universe are reviewed, including a description of our neighborhood, homogeneity and isotropy, the cosmic background radiation, the expansion, the age and the matter content of the Universe. A brief account of the thermal history of the Universe follows in section 4, and relic abundances are discussed in section 5. Section 6 is devoted to primordial nucleosynthesis, section 7 to structure formation in the Universe and section 8 to the possibility of detection of the dark matter in the halo of our galaxy. In the relevant sections recent developments are included, such as several so called ''crisis'' (the age crisis, the cluster baryon crisis and the nucleosynthesis crisis), and the MACHO events that may constitute the first detection of dark matter in the halo of our galaxy

Large-basis shell-model technology in nucleosynthesis and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathews, G.J.; Bloom, S.D.; Takahashi, K.; Fuller, G.M.; Hausman, R.F. Jr.

1985-05-01

We discuss various applications of the Lanczos method to describe properties of many-body microscopic systems in nucleosynthesis and cosmology. These calculations include: solar neutrino detectors; beta-decay of excited nuclear states; electron-capture rates during a core-bounce supernova; exotic quarked nuclei as a catalyst for hydrogen burning; and the quark-hadron phase transition during the early universe. 27 refs., 3 figs

Cosmological tests of modified gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, Kazuya

2016-04-01

We review recent progress in the construction of modified gravity models as alternatives to dark energy as well as the development of cosmological tests of gravity. Einstein's theory of general relativity (GR) has been tested accurately within the local universe i.e. the Solar System, but this leaves the possibility open that it is not a good description of gravity at the largest scales in the Universe. This being said, the standard model of cosmology assumes GR on all scales. In 1998, astronomers made the surprising discovery that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating, not slowing down. This late-time acceleration of the Universe has become the most challenging problem in theoretical physics. Within the framework of GR, the acceleration would originate from an unknown dark energy. Alternatively, it could be that there is no dark energy and GR itself is in error on cosmological scales. In this review, we first give an overview of recent developments in modified gravity theories including f(R) gravity, braneworld gravity, Horndeski theory and massive/bigravity theory. We then focus on common properties these models share, such as screening mechanisms they use to evade the stringent Solar System tests. Once armed with a theoretical knowledge of modified gravity models, we move on to discuss how we can test modifications of gravity on cosmological scales. We present tests of gravity using linear cosmological perturbations and review the latest constraints on deviations from the standard [Formula: see text]CDM model. Since screening mechanisms leave distinct signatures in the non-linear structure formation, we also review novel astrophysical tests of gravity using clusters, dwarf galaxies and stars. The last decade has seen a number of new constraints placed on gravity from astrophysical to cosmological scales. Thanks to on-going and future surveys, cosmological tests of gravity will enjoy another, possibly even more, exciting ten years.

Beyond Einstein Gravity A Survey of Gravitational Theories for Cosmology and Astrophysics

CERN Document Server

Faraoni, Valerio

2011-01-01

Beyond Einstein’s Gravity is a graduate level introduction to extended theories of gravity and cosmology, including variational principles, the weak-field limit, gravitational waves, mathematical tools, exact solutions, as well as cosmological and astrophysical applications. The book provides a critical overview of the research in this area and unifies the existing literature using a consistent notation. Although the results apply in principle to all alternative gravities, a special emphasis is on scalar-tensor and f(R) theories. They were studied by theoretical physicists from early on, and in the 1980s they appeared in attempts to renormalize General Relativity and in models of the early universe. Recently, these theories have seen a new lease of life, in both their metric and metric-affine versions, as models of the present acceleration of the universe without introducing the mysterious and exotic dark energy. The dark matter problem can also be addressed in extended gravity. These applications are contr...

The Case for a Hierarchical Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Vaucouleurs, G. de

1970-01-01

The development of modern theoretical cosmology is presented and some questionable assumptions of orthodox cosmology are pointed out. Suggests that recent observations indicate that hierarchical clustering is a basic factor in cosmology. The implications of hierarchical models of the universe are considered. Bibliography. (LC)

Early universe cosmology. In supersymmetric extensions of the standard model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, Jochen Peter

2012-01-01

In this thesis we investigate possible connections between cosmological inflation and leptogenesis on the one side and particle physics on the other side. We work in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model. A key role is played by the right-handed sneutrino, the superpartner of the right-handed neutrino involved in the type I seesaw mechanism. We study a combined model of inflation and non-thermal leptogenesis that is a simple extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with conserved R-parity, where we add three right-handed neutrino super fields. The inflaton direction is given by the imaginary components of the corresponding scalar component fields, which are protected from the supergravity (SUGRA) η-problem by a shift symmetry in the Kaehler potential. We discuss the model first in a globally supersymmetric (SUSY) and then in a supergravity context and compute the inflationary predictions of the model. We also study reheating and non-thermal leptogenesis in this model. A numerical simulation shows that shortly after the waterfall phase transition that ends inflation, the universe is dominated by right-handed sneutrinos and their out-of-equilibrium decay can produce the desired matter-antimatter asymmetry. Using a simplified time-averaged description, we derive analytical expressions for the model predictions. Combining the results from inflation and leptogenesis allows us to constrain the allowed parameter space from two different directions, with implications for low energy neutrino physics. As a second thread of investigation, we discuss a generalisation of the inflationary model discussed above to include gauge non-singlet fields as inflatons. This is motivated by the fact that in left-right symmetric, supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (SUSY GUTs), like SUSY Pati-Salam unification or SUSY SO(10) GUTs, the righthanded (s)neutrino is an indispensable ingredient and does not have to be put in by hand as in the MSSM. We discuss the

Early universe cosmology. In supersymmetric extensions of the standard model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baumann, Jochen Peter

2012-03-19

In this thesis we investigate possible connections between cosmological inflation and leptogenesis on the one side and particle physics on the other side. We work in supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model. A key role is played by the right-handed sneutrino, the superpartner of the right-handed neutrino involved in the type I seesaw mechanism. We study a combined model of inflation and non-thermal leptogenesis that is a simple extension of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) with conserved R-parity, where we add three right-handed neutrino super fields. The inflaton direction is given by the imaginary components of the corresponding scalar component fields, which are protected from the supergravity (SUGRA) {eta}-problem by a shift symmetry in the Kaehler potential. We discuss the model first in a globally supersymmetric (SUSY) and then in a supergravity context and compute the inflationary predictions of the model. We also study reheating and non-thermal leptogenesis in this model. A numerical simulation shows that shortly after the waterfall phase transition that ends inflation, the universe is dominated by right-handed sneutrinos and their out-of-equilibrium decay can produce the desired matter-antimatter asymmetry. Using a simplified time-averaged description, we derive analytical expressions for the model predictions. Combining the results from inflation and leptogenesis allows us to constrain the allowed parameter space from two different directions, with implications for low energy neutrino physics. As a second thread of investigation, we discuss a generalisation of the inflationary model discussed above to include gauge non-singlet fields as inflatons. This is motivated by the fact that in left-right symmetric, supersymmetric Grand Unified Theories (SUSY GUTs), like SUSY Pati-Salam unification or SUSY SO(10) GUTs, the righthanded (s)neutrino is an indispensable ingredient and does not have to be put in by hand as in the MSSM. We discuss

Vacuum stability in the early universe and the backreaction of classical gravity.

Science.gov (United States)

Markkanen, Tommi

2018-03-06

In the case of a metastable electroweak vacuum, the quantum corrected effective potential plays a crucial role in the potential instability of the standard model. In the early universe, in particular during inflation and reheating, this instability can be triggered leading to catastrophic vacuum decay. We discuss how the large space-time curvature of the early universe can be incorporated in the calculation and in many cases significantly modify the flat space prediction. The two key new elements are the unavoidable generation of the non-minimal coupling between the Higgs field and the scalar curvature of gravity and a curvature induced contribution to the running of the constants. For the minimal set up of the standard model and a decoupled inflation sector we show how a metastable vacuum can lead to very tight bounds for the non-minimal coupling. We also discuss a novel and very much related dark matter generation mechanism.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Higgs cosmology'. © 2018 The Author(s).

The early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steigman, G.

1989-01-01

The author discusses the physics of the early universe: the production and survival of relics from the big bang. The author comments on relic WIMPs as the dark matter in the universe. The remainder of this discussion is devoted to a review of the status of the only predictions from the early evolution of the universe that are accessible to astronomical observation: primordial nucleosynthesis

Zero cosmological constant from normalized general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, Aharon; Rubin, Shimon

2009-01-01

Normalizing the Einstein-Hilbert action by the volume functional makes the theory invariant under constant shifts in the Lagrangian. The associated field equations then resemble unimodular gravity whose otherwise arbitrary cosmological constant is now determined as a Machian universal average. We prove that an empty space-time is necessarily Ricci tensor flat, and demonstrate the vanishing of the cosmological constant within the scalar field paradigm. The cosmological analysis, carried out at the mini-superspace level, reveals a vanishing cosmological constant for a universe which cannot be closed as long as gravity is attractive. Finally, we give an example of a normalized theory of gravity which does give rise to a non-zero cosmological constant.

The Higgs field and the resolution of the Cosmological Constant Paradox in the Weyl-geometrical Universe.

Science.gov (United States)

De Martini, Francesco

2017-11-13

The nature of the scalar field responsible for the cosmological inflation is found to be rooted in the most fundamental concept of Weyl's differential geometry: the parallel displacement of vectors in curved space-time. Within this novel geometrical scenario, the standard electroweak theory of leptons based on the SU (2) L ⊗ U (1) Y as well as on the conformal groups of space-time Weyl's transformations is analysed within the framework of a general-relativistic, conformally covariant scalar-tensor theory that includes the electromagnetic and the Yang-Mills fields. A Higgs mechanism within a spontaneous symmetry breaking process is identified and this offers formal connections between some relevant properties of the elementary particles and the dark energy content of the Universe. An 'effective cosmological potential': V eff is expressed in terms of the dark energy potential: [Formula: see text] via the 'mass reduction parameter': [Formula: see text], a general property of the Universe. The mass of the Higgs boson, which is considered a 'free parameter' by the standard electroweak theory, by our theory is found to be proportional to the mass [Formula: see text] which accounts for the measured cosmological constant, i.e. the measured content of vacuum-energy in the Universe. The non-integrable application of Weyl's geometry leads to a Proca equation accounting for the dynamics of a ϕ ρ -particle, a vector-meson proposed as an an optimum candidate for dark matter. On the basis of previous cosmic microwave background results our theory leads, in the condition of cosmological 'critical density', to the assessment of the average energy content of the ϕ ρ -excitation. The peculiar mathematical structure of V eff offers a clue towards a very general resolution of a most intriguing puzzle of modern quantum field theory, the 'Cosmological Constant Paradox' (here referred to as the ' Λ -Paradox'). Indeed, our 'universal' theory offers a resolution of the Λ -Paradox

Kinematic tests of exotic flat cosmological models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charlton, J.C.; Turner, M.S.; NASA/Fermilab Astrophysics Center, Batavia, IL)

1987-01-01

Theoretical prejudice and inflationary models of the very early universe strongly favor the flat, Einstein-de Sitter model of the universe. At present the observational data conflict with this prejudice. This conflict can be resolved by considering flat models of the universe which posses a smooth component of energy density. The kinematics of such models, where the smooth component is relativistic particles, a cosmological term, a network of light strings, or fast-moving, light strings is studied in detail. The observational tests which can be used to discriminate between these models are also discussed. These tests include the magnitude-redshift, lookback time-redshift, angular size-redshift, and comoving volume-redshift diagrams and the growth of density fluctuations. 58 references

Kinematic tests of exotic flat cosmological models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charlton, J.C.; Turner, M.S.

1986-05-01

Theoretical prejudice and inflationary models of the very early Universe strongly favor the flat, Einstein-deSitter model of the Universe. At present the observational data conflict with this prejudice. This conflict can be resolved by considering flat models of the Universe which possess a smooth component by energy density. We study in detail the kinematics of such models, where the smooth component is relativistic particles, a cosmological term, a network of light strings, or fast-moving, light strings. We also discuss the observational tests which can be used to discriminate between these models. These tests include the magnitude-redshift, lookback time-redshift, angular size-redshift, and comoving volume-redshift diagrams and the growth of density fluctuations

Kinematic tests of exotic flat cosmological models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charlton, J.C.; Turner, M.S.

1986-05-01

Theoretical prejudice and inflationary models of the very early Universe strongly favor the flat, Einstein-deSitter model of the Universe. At present the observational data conflict with this prejudice. This conflict can be resolved by considering flat models of the Universe which possess a smooth component by energy density. We study in detail the kinematics of such models, where the smooth component is relativistic particles, a cosmological term, a network of light strings, or fast-moving, light strings. We also discuss the observational tests which can be used to discriminate between these models. These tests include the magnitude-redshift, lookback time-redshift, angular size-redshift, and comoving volume-redshift diagrams and the growth of density fluctuations.

The quark-hadron transition in cosmology and astrophysics.

Science.gov (United States)

Olive, K A

1991-03-08

A transition from normal hadronic matter (such as protons and neutrons) to quark-gluon matter is expected at both high temperatures and densities. In physical situations, this transition may occur in heavy ion collisions, the early universe, and in the cores of neutron stars. Astrophysics and cosmology can be greatly affected by such a phase transition. With regard to the early universe, big bang nucleosynthesis, the theory describing the primordial origin of the light elements, can be affected by inhomogeneities produced during the transition. A transition to quark matter in the interior by neutron stars further enhances our uncertainties regarding the equation of state of dense nuclear matter and neutron star properties such as the maximum mass and rotation frequencies.

The quantum Higgs field and the resolution of the cosmological constant paradox in the Weyl-geometrical Universe

Science.gov (United States)

de Martini, Francesco

The nature of the scalar field responsible for the cosmological inflation is found to be rooted in the most fundamental concept of the Weyl’s differential geometry: the parallel displacement of vectors in curved spacetime. Within this novel geometrical scenario, the standard electroweak theory of leptons based on the SU(2)L⊗U(1)Y as well as on the conformal groups of spacetime Weyl’s transformations is analyzed within the framework of a general-relativistic, conformally-covariant scalar-tensor theory that includes the electromagnetic and the Yang-Mills fields. A Higgs mechanism within a spontaneous symmetry breaking process is identified and this offers formal connections between some relevant properties of the elementary particles and the dark energy content of the Universe. An “effective cosmological potential”: Veff is expressed in terms of the dark energy potential: |VΛ| via the “mass reduction parameter”: |ζ|≡|Veff||VΛ|, a general property of the Universe. The mass of the Higgs boson, which is considered a “free parameter” by the standard electroweak theory, by our theory is found to be proportional to the mass MU≡|Veff| which contributes to the measured Cosmological Constant, i.e. the measured content of vacuum-energy in the Universe. The nonintegrable application of the Weyl’s geometry leads to a Proca equation accounting for the dynamics of a ϕρ-particle, a vector-meson proposed as an optimum candidate for Dark Matter. The peculiar mathematical structure of Veff offers a clue towards a very general resolution in 4-D of a most intriguing puzzle of modern quantum field theory, the “cosmological constant paradox”(here referred to as: “Λ-paradox”). Indeed, our “universal” theory offers a resolution of the “Λ-paradox” for all exponential inflationary potentials: VΛ(ϕ)∝e‑nϕ, and for all linear superpositions of these potentials, where n belongs to the mathematical set of the “real numbers”. An explicit

The quantum cosmological wavefunction at very early times for a quadratic gravity theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, Simon

2003-01-01

The quantum cosmological wavefunction for a quadratic gravity theory derived from the heterotic string effective action is obtained near the inflationary epoch and during the initial Planck era. Neglecting derivatives with respect to the scalar field, the wavefunction would satisfy a third-order differential equation near the inflationary epoch which has a solution that is singular in the scale factor limit a(t) → 0. When scalar field derivatives are included, a sixth-order differential equation is obtained for the wavefunction and the solution by Mellin transform is regular in the a → 0 limit. It follows that inclusion of the scalar field in the quadratic gravity action is necessary for consistency of the quantum cosmology of the theory at very early times

Cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John T. Fitzgerald

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Cosmology is concerned with the order of the universe and seeks to provide an account, not only of that order, but also of the mind or reason behind it. In antiquity, the cosmos was usually understood religiously, such that the cosmologies of the ancient Mediterranean world were either religious in nature or constituted a reaction to a religiously conceived understanding of the structures of the universe. The oldest form in which ancient cosmologies occur is myth, which, owing to its elasticity as a form, enabled them to be appropriated, adapted and used by different groups. In addition, different cosmologies co-existed within the same ancient culture, each having an authoritative status. This article provides an introductory overview of these cosmological myths and argues that a comparative approach is the most fruitful way to study them. Emphasis is given to certain prominent cosmological topics, including theogony (the genesis of the divine or the relationship of the divine to the cosmos, cosmogony (the genesis of the cosmos, and anthropogony (the origin of humans within the cosmos. Although these myths vary greatly in terms of content and how they envision the origin of the cosmos, many of them depict death as part of the structure of the universe.

Homogenization and isotropization of an inflationary cosmological model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrow, J.D.; Groen, Oe.; Oslo Univ.

1986-01-01

A member of the class of anisotropic and inhomogeneous cosmological models constructed by Wainwright and Goode is investigated. It is shown to describe a universe containing a scalar field which is minimally coupled to gravitation and a positive cosmological constant. It is shown that this cosmological model evolves exponentially rapidly towards the homogeneous and isotropic de Sitter universe model. (orig.)

Light at the edge of the universe dispatches from the front lines of cosmology

CERN Document Server

Lemonick, Michael D

2014-01-01

Will the universe expand forever? Or will it collapse in a Big Crunch within the next few billion years? If the Big Bang theory is correct in presenting the origins of the universe as a smooth fireball, how did the universe come to contain structures as large as the recently discovered ""Great Wall"" of galaxies, which stretches hundreds of millions of light years? Such are the compelling questions that face cosmologists today, and it is the excitement and wonder of their research that Michael Lemonick shares in this lively tour of the current state of astrophysics and cosmology. Here we vis

Nonlocal Quantum Effects in Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yurii V. Dumin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Since it is commonly believed that the observed large-scale structure of the universe is an imprint of quantum fluctuations existing at the very early stage of its evolution, it is reasonable to pose the question: do the effects of quantum nonlocality, which are well established now by the laboratory studies, manifest themselves also in the early universe? We try to answer this question by utilizing the results of a few experiments, namely, with the superconducting multi-Josephson-junction loops and the ultracold gases in periodic potentials. Employing a close analogy between the above-mentioned setups and the simplest one-dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model, we show that the specific nonlocal correlations revealed in the laboratory studies might be of considerable importance also in treating the strongly nonequilibrium phase transitions of Higgs fields in the early universe. Particularly, they should substantially reduce the number of topological defects (e.g., domain walls expected due to independent establishment of the new phases in the remote spatial regions. This gives us a hint on resolving a long-standing problem of the excessive concentration of topological defects, inconsistent with observational constraints. The same effect may be also relevant to the recent problem of the anomalous behavior of cosmic microwave background fluctuations at large angular scales.

Cosmic curvature from de Sitter equilibrium cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Albrecht, Andreas

2011-10-07

I show that the de Sitter equilibrium cosmology generically predicts observable levels of curvature in the Universe today. The predicted value of the curvature, Ω(k), depends only on the ratio of the density of nonrelativistic matter to cosmological constant density ρ(m)(0)/ρ(Λ) and the value of the curvature from the initial bubble that starts the inflation, Ω(k)(B). The result is independent of the scale of inflation, the shape of the potential during inflation, and many other details of the cosmology. Future cosmological measurements of ρ(m)(0)/ρ(Λ) and Ω(k) will open up a window on the very beginning of our Universe and offer an opportunity to support or falsify the de Sitter equilibrium cosmology.

Cosmology and astroparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelmini, G.B.

1996-01-01

These lectures are devoted to elementary particle physicists and assume the reader has very little or no knowledge of cosmology and astrophysics. After a brief historical introduction to the development of modern cosmology and astro-particles in which the Hot Big Bang model is defined, the Robertson-Walker metric and the dynamics of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology are discussed in section 2. In section 3 the main observational features of the Universe are reviewed, including a description of our neighborhood, homogeneity and isotropy, the cosmic background radiation, the expansion, the age and the matter content of the Universe. A brief account of the thermal history of the Universe follows in section 4, and relic abundances are discussed in section 5. Section 6 is devoted to primordial nucleosynthesis, section 7 to structure formation in the Universe and section 8 to the possibility of detection of the dark matter in the halo of our galaxy. In the relevant sections recent developments are included, such as several so called open-quote open-quote crisis close-quote close-quote (the age crisis, the cluster baryon crisis and the nucleosynthesis crisis), and the MACHO events that may constitute the first detection of dark matter in the halo of our galaxy. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

A new cosmological paradigm: the cosmological constant and dark matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krauss, L.M.

1998-01-01

The Standard Cosmological Model of the 1980 close-quote s is no more. I describe the definitive evidence that the density of matter is insufficient to result in a flat universe, as well as the mounting evidence that the cosmological constant is not zero. I finally discuss the implications of these results for particle physics and direct searches for non-baryonic dark matter. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

The varying cosmological constant: a new approximation to the Friedmann equations and universe model

Science.gov (United States)

Öztaş, Ahmet M.; Dil, Emre; Smith, Michael L.

2018-05-01

We investigate the time-dependent nature of the cosmological constant, Λ, of the Einstein Field Equation (EFE). Beginning with the Einstein-Hilbert action as our fundamental principle we develop a modified version of the EFE allowing the value of Λ to vary as a function of time, Λ(t), indirectly, for an expanding universe. We follow the evolving Λ presuming four-dimensional space-time and a flat universe geometry and present derivations of Λ(t) as functions of the Hubble constant, matter density, and volume changes which can be traced back to the radiation epoch. The models are more detailed descriptions of the Λ dependence on cosmological factors than previous, allowing calculations of the important parameters, Ωm and Ωr, to deep lookback times. Since we derive these without the need for extra dimensions or other special conditions our derivations are useful for model evaluation with astronomical data. This should aid resolution of several difficult problems of astronomy such as the best value for the Hubble constant at present and at recombination.

Exact solutions, finite time singularities and non-singular universe models from a variety of Λ(t) cosmologies

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Supriya

2018-01-01

Cosmological models with time-dependent Λ (read as Λ(t)) have been investigated widely in the literature. Models that solve background dynamics analytically are of special interest. Additionally, the allowance of past or future singularities at finite cosmic time in a specific model signals for a generic test on its viabilities with the current observations. Following these, in this work we consider a variety of Λ(t) models focusing on their evolutions and singular behavior. We found that a series of models in this class can be exactly solved when the background universe is described by a spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) line element. The solutions in terms of the scale factor of the FLRW universe offer different universe models, such as power-law expansion, oscillating, and the singularity free universe. However, we also noticed that a large number of the models in this series permit past or future cosmological singularities at finite cosmic time. At last we close the work with a note that the avoidance of future singularities is possible for certain models under some specific restrictions.

Non equilibrium relativistic cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novello, M.; Salim, J.M.

1982-01-01

A certain systematization through the discussion of results already known on cosmology and the presentation of new ones is given. In section 2 a brief review of the necessary mathematical background is also given. The theory of perturbation of Friedmann-like Universes is presented in section 3. The reduction of Einstein's equations for homogeneous Universes to an autonomous planar system of differential equations is done in section 4. Finally in section 5 the alternative gravitational non-minimal coupling and its consequences to cosmology are discussed. (Author) [pt

Inflation and quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linde, A.

1991-01-01

In this article a review of the present status of inflationary cosmology is given. We start with a discussion of the simplest version of the chaotic inflation scenario. Then we discuss some recent develoments in the inflationary cosmology, including the theory of a self-reproducing inflationary universe (eternal chaotic inflation). We do it with the help of stochastic approach to inflation. The results obtained within this approach are compared with the results obtained in the context of Euclidean quantum cosmology. (WL)

On the Cold Big Bang Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Assis A. V. D. B.

2011-04-01

Full Text Available We solve the general relativity (GR field equations under the cosmological scope via one extra postulate. The plausibility of the postulate resides within the Heisenberg in- determinacy principle, being heuristically analysed throughout the appendix. Under this approach, a negative energy density may provide the positive energy content of the universe via fluctuation, since the question of conservation of energy in cosmol- ogy is weakened, supported by the known lack of scope of the Noether’s theorem in cosmology. The initial condition of the primordial universe turns out to have a natural cuto such that the temperature of the cosmological substratum converges to the ab- solute zero, instead of the established divergence at the very beginning. The adopted postulate provides an explanation for the cosmological dark energy open question. The solution agrees with cosmological observations, including a 2.7K CMBT prediction.

Black hole versus cosmological horizon entropy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davis, Tamara M; Davies, P C W; Lineweaver, Charles H

2003-01-01

The generalized second law of thermodynamics states that entropy always increases when all event horizons are attributed with an entropy proportional to their area. We test the generalized second law by investigating the change in entropy when dust, radiation and black holes cross a cosmological event horizon. We generalize for flat, open and closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes by using numerical calculations to determine the cosmological horizon evolution. In most cases, the loss of entropy from within the cosmological horizon is more than balanced by an increase in cosmological event horizon entropy, maintaining the validity of the generalized second law of thermodynamics. However, an intriguing set of open universe models shows an apparent entropy decrease when black holes disappear over the cosmological event horizon. We anticipate that this apparent violation of the generalized second law will disappear when solutions are available for black holes embedded in arbitrary backgrounds

Hot hadronic matter in the early universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowers, R.L.; Dykema, P.G.; Gleeson, A.M.

1977-04-01

A fully relativistic equation of state for hot baryonic matter was used to investigate the strong interaction contribution to the equation of motion of the Friedmann universe. A pronounced softening of the equation of state is observed near nuclear density. The significance of the results is analyzed in terms of analytic solutions for the Friedmann cosmology

Measures, Probability and Holography in Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Daniel

This dissertation compiles four research projects on predicting values for cosmological parameters and models of the universe on the broadest scale. The first examines the Causal Entropic Principle (CEP) in inhomogeneous cosmologies. The CEP aims to predict the unexpectedly small value of the cosmological constant Lambda using a weighting by entropy increase on causal diamonds. The original work assumed a purely isotropic and homogeneous cosmology. But even the level of inhomogeneity observed in our universe forces reconsideration of certain arguments about entropy production. In particular, we must consider an ensemble of causal diamonds associated with each background cosmology and we can no longer immediately discard entropy production in the far future of the universe. Depending on our choices for a probability measure and our treatment of black hole evaporation, the prediction for Lambda may be left intact or dramatically altered. The second related project extends the CEP to universes with curvature. We have found that curvature values larger than rho k = 40rhom are disfavored by more than $99.99% and a peak value at rhoLambda = 7.9 x 10-123 and rhok =4.3rho m for open universes. For universes that allow only positive curvature or both positive and negative curvature, we find a correlation between curvature and dark energy that leads to an extended region of preferred values. Our universe is found to be disfavored to an extent depending the priors on curvature. We also provide a comparison to previous anthropic constraints on open universes and discuss future directions for this work. The third project examines how cosmologists should formulate basic questions of probability. We argue using simple models that all successful practical uses of probabilities originate in quantum fluctuations in the microscopic physical world around us, often propagated to macroscopic scales. Thus we claim there is no physically verified fully classical theory of probability. We

Behavior of cosmological models with varying G

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrow, J.D.; Parsons, P.

1997-01-01

We provide a detailed analysis of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universes in a wide range of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. We apply solution-generating methods to three parametrized classes of scalar-tensor theory which lead naturally to general relativity in the weak-field limit. We restrict the parameters which specify these theories by the requirements imposed by the weak-field tests of gravitation theories in the solar system and by the requirement that viable cosmological solutions be obtained. We construct a range of exact solutions for open, closed, and flat isotropic universes containing matter with equation of state p≤(1)/(3)ρ and in vacuum. We study the range of early- and late-time behaviors displayed, examine when there is a open-quotes bounceclose quotes at early times, and expansion maxima in closed models. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Cosmological evolution as squeezing: a toy model for group field cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Adjei, Eugene; Gielen, Steffen; Wieland, Wolfgang

2018-05-01

We present a simple model of quantum cosmology based on the group field theory (GFT) approach to quantum gravity. The model is formulated on a subspace of the GFT Fock space for the quanta of geometry, with a fixed volume per quantum. In this Hilbert space, cosmological expansion corresponds to the generation of new quanta. Our main insight is that the evolution of a flat Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker universe with a massless scalar field can be described on this Hilbert space as squeezing, familiar from quantum optics. As in GFT cosmology, we find that the three-volume satisfies an effective Friedmann equation similar to the one of loop quantum cosmology, connecting the classical contracting and expanding solutions by a quantum bounce. The only free parameter in the model is identified with Newton’s constant. We also comment on the possible topological interpretation of our squeezed states. This paper can serve as an introduction into the main ideas of GFT cosmology without requiring the full GFT formalism; our results can also motivate new developments in GFT and its cosmological application.

Neutrino cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berstein, J.

1984-01-01

These lectures offer a self-contained review of the role of neutrinos in cosmology. The first part deals with the question 'What is a neutrino.' and describes in a historical context the theoretical ideas and experimental discoveries related to the different types of neutrinos and their properties. The basic differences between the Dirac neutrino and the Majorana neutrino are pointed out and the evidence for different neutrino 'flavours', neutrino mass, and neutrino oscillations is discussed. The second part summarizes current views on cosmology, particularly as they are affected by recent theoretical and experimental advances in high-energy particle physics. Finally, the close relationship between neutrino physics and cosmology is brought out in more detail, to show how cosmological constraints can limit the various theoretical possibilities for neutrinos and, more particularly, how increasing knowledge of neutrino properties can contribute to our understanding of the origin, history, and future of the Universe. The level is that of the beginning graduate student. (orig.)

A null test of the cosmological constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, Takeshi; Nakamura, Takashi

2007-01-01

We provide a consistency relation between cosmological observables in general relativity with the cosmological constant. Breaking of this relation at any redshift would imply the breakdown of the hypothesis of the cosmological constant as an explanation of the current acceleration of the universe. (author)

Neutrino mass from Cosmology

CERN Document Server

Lesgourgues, Julien

2012-01-01

Neutrinos can play an important role in the evolution of the Universe, modifying some of the cosmological observables. In this contribution we summarize the main aspects of cosmological relic neutrinos and we describe how the precision of present cosmological data can be used to learn about neutrino properties, in particular their mass, providing complementary information to beta decay and neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. We show how the analysis of current cosmological observations, such as the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background or the distribution of large-scale structure, provides an upper bound on the sum of neutrino masses of order 1 eV or less, with very good perspectives from future cosmological measurements which are expected to be sensitive to neutrino masses well into the sub-eV range.

Inflation and quantum cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linde, A.

1990-01-01

We investigate an interplay between elementary particle physics, quantum cosmology and inflation. These results obtained within this approach are compared with the results obtained in the context of Euclidean quantum cosmology. In particular, we discuss relations between the stochastic approach to inflationary cosmology and the approaches based on the investigation of the Hartle-Hawking and tunneling wave functions of the universe. We argue that neither of these wave functions can be used for a complete description of the inflationary universe, but in certain cases they can be used for a description of some particular stages of inflation. It is shown that if the present vacuum energy density ρ υ exceeds some extremely small critical value ρ c (ρ c ∼ 10 -107 ) g cm -3 for chaotic inflation in the theory 1/2m 2 φ 2 ), then the lifetime of mankind in the inflationary universe should be finite, even though the universe as a whole will exist without end. A possible way to justify the anthropic principle in the context of the baby universe theory and to apply it to the evaluation of masses of elementary particles, of their coupling constants and of the vacuum energy density is also discussed. (author)

Cosmology and Dark Matter

CERN Document Server

Tkachev, Igor

2017-01-01

This lecture course covers cosmology from the particle physicist perspective. Therefore, the emphasis will be on the evidence for the new physics in cosmological and astrophysical data together with minimal theoretical frameworks needed to understand and appreciate the evidence. I review the case for non-baryonic dark matter and describe popular models which incorporate it. In parallel, the story of dark energy will be developed, which includes accelerated expansion of the Universe today, the Universe origin in the Big Bang, and support for the Inflationary theory in CMBR data.

Solitons in relativistic cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pullin, J.

1988-08-01

The application to the construction of solitonic cosmologies in General Relativity of the Inverse Scattering Technique of Belinskii an Zakharov is analyzed. Three improvements to the mentioned technique are proposed: the inclusion of higher order poles in the scattering matrix, a new renormalization technique for diagonal metrics and the extension of the technique to include backgrounds with material content by means of a Kaluza-Klein formalism. As a consequence of these improvements, three new aspects can be analyzed: a) The construction of anisotropic and inhomogeneous cosmological models which can mimic the formation of halos and voids, due to the presence of a material content. The new renormalization technique allows to construct an exact perturbation theory. b) The analysis of the dynamics of models with cosmological constant (inflationary models) and their perturbations. c) The study of interaction of gravitational solitonic waves on material backgrounds. Moreover, some additional works, connected with the existance of 'Crack of doom' type singularities in Kaluza-Klein cosmologies, stochastic perturbations in inflationary universes and inflationary phase transitions in rotating universes are described. (Author) [es

The R + var-epsilon R2 cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, M.S.

1988-01-01

This thesis presents the study of a model cosmology based on the R + var-epsilon R 2 gravitational Lagrangian. It may be roughly divided into two distinct parts. First, the classical inflationary scenario is developed. Then, the formalism of quantum cosmology is employed to determined initial conditions for the classical model. In the work on the classical model, the evolution equations for an isotropic and homogeneous universe are solved to exhibit both early-time inflation and a smooth transition to subsequent radiation-dominated behavior. Then perturbations on this isotropic background are evolved through the model to provide constraints on the model parameters from the observational limits on anisotropy today. In the work on the wave function, the two boundary conditions of Vilenkin and Hartle and Hawking are compared. The wave functions obtained are restricted to the initial edge of classical Lorentzian inflationary trajectories as distributions over initial conditions for the classical inflationary model. It is found that Vilenkin's wave function prefers the universe to undergo a great deal of inflation, whereas Hartle and Hawking's wave function prefers the universe to undergo little inflation. Finally, both boundary conditions are shown to require the inhomogeneous perturbative modes start out in their ground states

Neutrinos in cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tayler, R.J.

1983-01-01

The standard model of the hot big bang cosmological theory, which appears to be in agreement, at least qualitatively, with the observed properties of the Universe, assumes that the early Universe was homogeneous and isotropic and that it has been continuously expanding from a state characterized by very high temperature and density, where matter and radiation were to a good approximation in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium. In this standard model, it is assumed that baryon number, charge number and the various lepton numbers are all conserved. Only the baryon number is non-zero and this, expressed as the ratio of the net number of baryons (baryons minus antibaryons) to the number of photons per unit volume is the undefined parameter in the model. The author discusses the importance of knowing how many types of neutrinos there are with regard to the He 4 abundance, and the implication of a small, non-zero neutrino mass. (Auth.)

Initial conditions for cosmological perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Ashtekar, Abhay; Gupt, Brajesh

2017-02-01

Penrose proposed that the big bang singularity should be constrained by requiring that the Weyl curvature vanishes there. The idea behind this past hypothesis is attractive because it constrains the initial conditions for the universe in geometric terms and is not confined to a specific early universe paradigm. However, the precise statement of Penrose’s hypothesis is tied to classical space-times and furthermore restricts only the gravitational degrees of freedom. These are encapsulated only in the tensor modes of the commonly used cosmological perturbation theory. Drawing inspiration from the underlying idea, we propose a quantum generalization of Penrose’s hypothesis using the Planck regime in place of the big bang, and simultaneously incorporating tensor as well as scalar modes. Initial conditions selected by this generalization constrain the universe to be as homogeneous and isotropic in the Planck regime as permitted by the Heisenberg uncertainty relations.

Initial conditions for cosmological perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashtekar, Abhay; Gupt, Brajesh

2017-01-01

Penrose proposed that the big bang singularity should be constrained by requiring that the Weyl curvature vanishes there. The idea behind this past hypothesis is attractive because it constrains the initial conditions for the universe in geometric terms and is not confined to a specific early universe paradigm. However, the precise statement of Penrose’s hypothesis is tied to classical space-times and furthermore restricts only the gravitational degrees of freedom. These are encapsulated only in the tensor modes of the commonly used cosmological perturbation theory. Drawing inspiration from the underlying idea, we propose a quantum generalization of Penrose’s hypothesis using the Planck regime in place of the big bang, and simultaneously incorporating tensor as well as scalar modes. Initial conditions selected by this generalization constrain the universe to be as homogeneous and isotropic in the Planck regime as permitted by the Heisenberg uncertainty relations . (paper)

A new perspective on steady-state cosmology: from Einstein to Hoyle

OpenAIRE

O'Raifeartaigh, Cormac; Mitton, Simon

2015-01-01

We recently reported the discovery of an unpublished manuscript by Albert Einstein in which he attempted a 'steady-state' model of the universe, i.e., a cosmic model in which the expanding universe remains essentially unchanged due to a continuous formation of matter from empty space. The manuscript was apparently written in early 1931, many years before the steady-state models of Fred Hoyle, Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold. We compare Einstein’s steady-state cosmology with that of Hoyle, Bondi...

New Cosmological Model and Its Implications on Observational Data Interpretation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vlahovic Branislav

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The paradigm of ΛCDM cosmology works impressively well and with the concept of inflation it explains the universe after the time of decoupling. However there are still a few concerns; after much effort there is no detection of dark matter and there are significant problems in the theoretical description of dark energy. We will consider a variant of the cosmological spherical shell model, within FRW formalism and will compare it with the standard ΛCDM model. We will show that our new topological model satisfies cosmological principles and is consistent with all observable data, but that it may require new interpretation for some data. Considered will be constraints imposed on the model, as for instance the range for the size and allowed thickness of the shell, by the supernovae luminosity distance and CMB data. In this model propagation of the light is confined along the shell, which has as a consequence that observed CMB originated from one point or a limited space region. It allows to interpret the uniformity of the CMB without inflation scenario. In addition this removes any constraints on the uniformity of the universe at the early stage and opens a possibility that the universe was not uniform and that creation of galaxies and large structures is due to the inhomogeneities that originated in the Big Bang.

Conformal Cosmology and Supernova Data

OpenAIRE

Behnke, Danilo; Blaschke, David; Pervushin, Victor; Proskurin, Denis

2000-01-01

We define the cosmological parameters $H_{c,0}$, $\\Omega_{m,c}$ and $\\Omega_{\\Lambda, c}$ within the Conformal Cosmology as obtained by the homogeneous approximation to the conformal-invariant generalization of Einstein's General Relativity theory. We present the definitions of the age of the universe and of the luminosity distance in the context of this approach. A possible explanation of the recent data from distant supernovae Ia without a cosmological constant is presented.

Cosmology, inflation, and supersymmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albrecht, A.; Dimopoulos, S.; Fischler, W.; Kolb, E.W.; Raby, S.; Steinhardt, P.J.

1982-01-01

Cosmological consequences of supersymmetric grand unified models based on the Witten-O'Raifeartaigh potential are discussed. In particular we study the development of the phase transition in the spontaneous breaking of supersymmetry. We find that in realistic models where light fields feel supersymmetry breaking only through coupling to massive fields, e.g., the Geometric Hierarchy model, the universe does not inflate or reheat. Thus, the standard cosmological flatness, monopole, and horizon problems remain. In addition, we find that the transition is never completed, in the sense that the universe remains dominated by coherent Higgs field energy, resulting in an apparent matter dominated universe with Ω greater than or equal to 10 30

Partial rip scenario - a cosmology with a growing cosmological term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefancic, H.

2004-01-01

A cosmology with the growing cosmological term is considered. If there is no exchange of energy between vacuum and matter components, the requirement of general covariance implies the time dependence of the gravitational constant G. Irrespectively of the exact functional form of the cosmological term growth, the universe ends in a de Sitter regime with a constant asymptotic Λ, but vanishing G. Although there is no divergence of the scale factor in finite time, such as in the 'Big Rip' scenario, gravitationally bound systems eventually become unbound. In the case of systems bound by non-gravitational forces, there is no unbounding effect, as the asymptotic Λ is insufficiently large to disturb these systems

Time in contemporary cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mavrides, Stamatia

1980-01-01

Cosmological time is defined, as is coordinated universal time against local times of special relativity. The problems of time and matter, age of the universe, Goedel models, arrow of time, are also discussed [fr

Supersonic gas streams enhance the formation of massive black holes in the early universe.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirano, Shingo; Hosokawa, Takashi; Yoshida, Naoki; Kuiper, Rolf

2017-09-29

The origin of super-massive black holes in the early universe remains poorly understood. Gravitational collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud is a promising initial process, but theoretical studies have difficulty growing the black hole fast enough. We report numerical simulations of early black hole formation starting from realistic cosmological conditions. Supersonic gas motions left over from the Big Bang prevent early gas cloud formation until rapid gas condensation is triggered in a protogalactic halo. A protostar is formed in the dense, turbulent gas cloud, and it grows by sporadic mass accretion until it acquires 34,000 solar masses. The massive star ends its life with a catastrophic collapse to leave a black hole-a promising seed for the formation of a monstrous black hole. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Loop Quantum Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojowald Martin

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations in which classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e., the fact that the backward evolution of a classical spacetime inevitably comes to an end after a finite amount of proper time. This presents a breakdown of the classical picture and requires an extended theory for a meaningful description. Since small length scales and high curvatures are involved, quantum effects must play a role. Not only the singularity itself but also the surrounding spacetime is then modified. One particular theory is loop quantum cosmology, an application of loop quantum gravity to homogeneous systems, which removes classical singularities. Its implications can be studied at different levels. The main effects are introduced into effective classical equations, which allow one to avoid the interpretational problems of quantum theory. They give rise to new kinds of early-universe phenomenology with applications to inflation and cyclic models. To resolve classical singularities and to understand the structure of geometry around them, the quantum description is necessary. Classical evolution is then replaced by a difference equation for a wave function, which allows an extension of quantum spacetime beyond classical singularities. One main question is how these homogeneous scenarios are related to full loop quantum gravity, which can be dealt with at the level of distributional symmetric states. Finally, the new structure of spacetime arising in loop quantum gravity and its application to cosmology sheds light on more general issues, such as the nature of time.

Loop Quantum Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bojowald Martin

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations where classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e., the fact that the backward evolution of a classical space-time inevitably comes to an end after a finite amount of proper time. This presents a breakdown of the classical picture and requires an extended theory for a meaningful description. Since small length scales and high curvatures are involved, quantum effects must play a role. Not only the singularity itself but also the surrounding space-time is then modified. One particular realization is loop quantum cosmology, an application of loop quantum gravity to homogeneous systems, which removes classical singularities. Its implications can be studied at different levels. Main effects are introduced into effective classical equations which allow to avoid interpretational problems of quantum theory. They give rise to new kinds of early universe phenomenology with applications to inflation and cyclic models. To resolve classical singularities and to understand the structure of geometry around them, the quantum description is necessary. Classical evolution is then replaced by a difference equation for a wave function which allows to extend space-time beyond classical singularities. One main question is how these homogeneous scenarios are related to full loop quantum gravity, which can be dealt with at the level of distributional symmetric states. Finally, the new structure of space-time arising in loop quantum gravity and its application to cosmology sheds new light on more general issues such as time.

Quantum cosmology. The supersymmetric perspective. Vol. 1. Fundamentals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas Moniz, Paulo

2010-01-01

The two volumes that comprise Quantum Cosmology tackle the quantum description of the early universe from the perspective of supersymmetric models of elementary particle physics. The first volume is an accessible primer that covers the basics of the field, critically discussing ideas and concepts that comprise our current knowledge of supersymmetry and supergravity. After reviewing the fundamentals, it provides a thorough analysis of a first set of quantum cosmological models. The second volume is dedicated to more advanced topics. In it, the scope for analyzing quantum cosmological models within a supersymmetric framework is broadened. As much as possible, these two volumes treat what we know, what we think we know and what we think we do not know on an equal footing. Complete with problems and solutions for each chapter, the books are ideal for young, inquisitive minds eager to embark on in-depth research in this field. They provide readers with the tools they need to go on their own, pushing them to ask the right questions rather than seek definitive answers. (orig.)

Computational complexity of the landscape II-Cosmological considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Denef, Frederik; Douglas, Michael R.; Greene, Brian; Zukowski, Claire

2018-05-01

We propose a new approach for multiverse analysis based on computational complexity, which leads to a new family of "computational" measure factors. By defining a cosmology as a space-time containing a vacuum with specified properties (for example small cosmological constant) together with rules for how time evolution will produce the vacuum, we can associate global time in a multiverse with clock time on a supercomputer which simulates it. We argue for a principle of "limited computational complexity" governing early universe dynamics as simulated by this supercomputer, which translates to a global measure for regulating the infinities of eternal inflation. The rules for time evolution can be thought of as a search algorithm, whose details should be constrained by a stronger principle of "minimal computational complexity". Unlike previously studied global measures, ours avoids standard equilibrium considerations and the well-known problems of Boltzmann Brains and the youngness paradox. We also give various definitions of the computational complexity of a cosmology, and argue that there are only a few natural complexity classes.

Light meson gas in the QCD vacuum and oscillating universe

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Prokhorov, G.; Pasechnik, Roman

2018-01-01

Roč. 2018, č. 1 (2018), č. článku 017. ISSN 1475-7516 Institutional support: RVO:61389005 Keywords : particle physics - cosmology connection * cosmological phase transitions * physics of the early universe Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics OBOR OECD: Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science) Impact factor: 4.734, year: 2016

The relation between stellar evolution and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tayler, R.J.

1984-01-01

Observations of star clusters combined with the theory of stellar evolution enable us to estimate the ages of stars while cosmological observations and theories give us a value for the age of the Universe. This is the most important interaction between cosmology and stellar evolution because it is clearly necessary that stars are younger than the Universe. Stellar evolution also plays an important role in relating the present chemical composition of the Universe to its original composition. The author restricts the review to a discussion of the relation between stellar evolution and the big bang cosmological theory because there is such a good qualitative agreement between the hot big bang theory and observations. (Auth.)

Starting the universe: Stable violation of the null energy condition and non-standard cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creminelli, P.; Luty, M.A.; Nicolis, A.; Senatore, L.

2006-06-01

We present a consistent effective theory that violates the null energy condition (NEC) without developing any instabilities or other pathological features. The model is the ghost condensate with the global shift symmetry softly broken by a potential. We show that this system can drive a cosmological expansion with H-dot > 0. Demanding the absence of instabilities in this model requires H-dot or approx. H 2 . We then construct a general low-energy effective theory that describes scalar fluctuations about an arbitrary FRW background, and argue that the qualitative features found in our model are very general for stable systems that violate the NEC. Violating the NEC allows dramatically non- standard cosmological histories. To illustrate this, we construct an explicit model in which the expansion of our universe originates from an asymptotically flat state in the past, smoothing out the big-bang singularity within control of a low- energy effective theory. This gives an interesting alternative to standard inflation for solving the horizon problem. We also construct models in which the present acceleration has w < -1; a periodic ever-expanding universe; and a model with a smooth 'bounce' connecting a contracting and expanding phase. (author)

Astroparticle physics and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senjanovic, G.; Smirnov, A.Yu.; Thompson, G.

2001-01-01

In this volume a wide spectrum of topics of modern astroparticle physics, such as neutrino astrophysics, dark matter of the universe, high energy cosmic rays, topological defects in cosmology, γ-ray bursts, phase transitions at high temperatures, is covered. The articles written by top level experts in the field give a comprehensive view of the state-of-the-art of modern cosmology

Astroparticle physics and cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Senjanovic, G; Smirnov, A Yu; Thompson, G [eds.

2001-11-15

In this volume a wide spectrum of topics of modern astroparticle physics, such as neutrino astrophysics, dark matter of the universe, high energy cosmic rays, topological defects in cosmology, {gamma}-ray bursts, phase transitions at high temperatures, is covered. The articles written by top level experts in the field give a comprehensive view of the state-of-the-art of modern cosmology.

Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. II. Gravitational waves from cosmological phase transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caprini, Chiara; Hindmarsh, Mark; Helsinki Univ.; Huber, Stephan

2016-04-01

We investigate the potential for the eLISA space-based interferometer to detect the stochastic gravitational wave background produced by strong first-order cosmological phase transitions. We discuss the resulting contributions from bubble collisions, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, and sound waves to the stochastic background, and estimate the total corresponding signal predicted in gravitational waves. The projected sensitivity of eLISA to cosmological phase transitions is computed in a model-independent way for various detector designs and configurations. By applying these results to several specific models, we demonstrate that eLISA is able to probe many well-motivated scenarios beyond the Standard Model of particle physics predicting strong first-order cosmological phase transitions in the early Universe.

Taking the Measure of the Universe: Cosmology from the WMAP Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Hinshaw, Gary F.

2007-01-01

The data from the first three years of operation of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite provide detailed full-sky maps of the cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropy and new full-sky maps of the polarization. Together, the data provide a wealth of cosmological information, including the age of the universe, the epoch when the first stars formed, and the overall composition of baryonic matter, dark matter, and dark energy. The results also provide constraints on the period of inflationary expansion in the very first moments of time. These and other aspects of the mission will be discussed.

The cosmological constant problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolgov, A.D.

1989-05-01

A review of the cosmological term problem is presented. Baby universe model and the compensating field model are discussed. The importance of more accurate data on the Hubble constant and the Universe age is stressed. 18 refs

Cosmological phase transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolb, E.W.

1987-01-01

If the universe stated from conditions of high temperature and density, there should have been a series of phase transitions associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking. The cosmological phase transitions could have observable consequences in the present Universe. Some of the consequences including the formation of topological defects and cosmological inflation are reviewed here. One of the most important tools in building particle physics models is the use of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB). The proposal that there are underlying symmetries of nature that are not manifest in the vacuum is a crucial link in the unification of forces. Of particular interest for cosmology is the expectation that are the high temperatures of the big bang symmetries broken today will be restored, and that there are phase transitions to the broken state. The possibility that topological defects will be produced in the transition is the subject of this section. The possibility that the Universe will undergo inflation in a phase transition will be the subject of the next section. Before discussing the creation of topological defects in the phase transition, some general aspects of high-temperature restoration of symmetry and the development of the phase transition will be reviewed. 29 references, 1 figure, 1 table

Discovery Of A Major Contradiction In Big Bang Cosmology Points To The New Cosmic Center Universe Model

CERN Document Server

Gentry, R V

2003-01-01

The BAL z=3.91 quasar's high Fe/O ratio has led to a reexamination of big bang's spacetime expansion postulate and the discovery that it predicts a CBR redshift of z>36000 instead of the widely accepted z~1000. This result leads an expansion-predicted CBR temperature of only T = 0.08K, which is contradicted by the experimental T = 2.73K. Contrary to long-held belief, these results strongly suggest that the F-L expanding spacetime paradigm, with its expansion redshifts, is not the correct relativistic description of the universe. This conclusion agrees with the earlier finding (gr-qc/9806061) that the universe is relativistically governed by the Einstein static spacetime solution of the field equations, not the F-L solution. Disproof of expansion redshifts removes the only support for the Cosmological Principle, thus showing that the spherical symmetry of the cosmos demanded by the Hubble redshift relation can no longer be attributed to the universe being the same everythere. The Cosmological Principle is flaw...

Axion cold dark matter in nonstandard cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visinelli, Luca; Gondolo, Paolo

2010-01-01

We study the parameter space of cold dark matter axions in two cosmological scenarios with nonstandard thermal histories before big bang nucleosynthesis: the low-temperature reheating (LTR) cosmology and the kination cosmology. If the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaks during inflation, we find more allowed parameter space in the LTR cosmology than in the standard cosmology and less in the kination cosmology. On the contrary, if the Peccei-Quinn symmetry breaks after inflation, the Peccei-Quinn scale is orders of magnitude higher than standard in the LTR cosmology and lower in the kination cosmology. We show that the axion velocity dispersion may be used to distinguish some of these nonstandard cosmologies. Thus, axion cold dark matter may be a good probe of the history of the Universe before big bang nucleosynthesis.

Cosmology and Gravitation: the grand scheme for High-Energy Physics

CERN Document Server

Binétruy, P.

2014-12-10

These lectures describe how the Standard Model of cosmology ( Λ CDM) has developped, based on observational facts but also on ideas formed in the context of the theory of fundamental interactions, both gravitational and non-gravitational, the latter being described by the Standard Model of high energy physics. It focuses on the latest developments, in particular the precise knowledge of the early Universe provided by the observation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and the discovery of the present acceleration of the expansion of the Universe. While insisting on the successes of the Standard Model of cosmology, we will stress that it rests on three pillars which involve many open questions: the theory of inflation, the nature of dark matter and of dark energy. We will devote one chapter to each of these issues, describing in particular how this impacts our views on the theory of fundamental interactions. More technical parts are given in italics. They may be skipped altogether.

Galileon cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chow, Nathan; Khoury, Justin

2009-01-01

We study the cosmology of a galileon scalar-tensor theory, obtained by covariantizing the decoupling Lagrangian of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Poratti (DGP) model. Despite being local in 3+1 dimensions, the resulting cosmological evolution is remarkably similar to that of the full 4+1-dimensional DGP framework, both for the expansion history and the evolution of density perturbations. As in the DGP model, the covariant galileon theory yields two branches of solutions, depending on the sign of the galileon velocity. Perturbations are stable on one branch and ghostlike on the other. An interesting effect uncovered in our analysis is a cosmological version of the Vainshtein screening mechanism: at early times, the galileon dynamics are dominated by self-interaction terms, resulting in its energy density being suppressed compared to matter or radiation; once the matter density has redshifted sufficiently, the galileon becomes an important component of the energy density and contributes to dark energy. We estimate conservatively that the resulting expansion history is consistent with the observed late-time cosmology, provided that the scale of modification satisfies r c > or approx. 15 Gpc.

Non-Gaussianity as a Probe of the Physics of the Primordial Universe and the Astrophysics of the Low Redshift Universe

CERN Document Server

Komatsu, E; Afshordi, N; Bartolo, N; Baumann, D; Bond, J R; Buchbinder, E I; Byrnes, C T; Chen, X; Chung, D J H; Cooray, A; Creminelli, P; Dalal, N; Dore, O; Easther, R; Frolov, A V; Gorski, K M; Jackson, M G; Khoury, J; Kinney, W H; Kofman, L; Koyama, K; Leblond, L; Lehners, J L; Lidsey, J E; Liguori, M; Lim, E A; Linde, A; Lyth, D H; Maldacena, J; Matarrese, S; McAllister, L; McDonald, P; Mukohyama, S; Ovrut, B; Peiris, H V; Rath, C; Riotto, A; Rodriguez, Y; Sasaki, M; Scoccimarro, R; Seery, D; Sefusatti, E; Seljak, U; Senatore, L; Shandera, S; Shellard, E P S; Silverstein, E; Slosar, A; Smith, K M; Starobinsky, A A; Steinhardt, P J; Takahashi, F; Tegmark, M; Tolley, A J; Verde, L; Wandelt, B D; Wands, D; Weinberg, S; Wyman, M; Yadav, A P S; Zaldarriaga, M

2009-01-01

A new and powerful probe of the origin and evolution of structures in the Universe has emerged and been actively developed over the last decade. In the coming decade, non-Gaussianity, i.e., the study of non-Gaussian contributions to the correlations of cosmological fluctuations, will become an important probe of both the early and the late Universe. Specifically, it will play a leading role in furthering our understanding of two fundamental aspects of cosmology and astrophysics: (i) the physics of the very early universe that created the primordial seeds for large-scale structures, and (ii) the subsequent growth of structures via gravitational instability and gas physics at later times. To date, observations of fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe (LSS) have focused largely on the Gaussian contribution as measured by the two-point correlations (or the power spectrum) of density fluctuations. However, an even greater amount of information is contai...

Cosmological constraint on the light gravitino mass from CMB lensing and cosmic shear

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osato, Ken; Yoshida, Naoki [Department of Physics, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-0033 (Japan); Sekiguchi, Toyokazu [University of Helsinki and Helsinki Institute of Physics, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014, Helsinki (Finland); Shirasaki, Masato [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588 (Japan); Kamada, Ayuki, E-mail: ken.osato@utap.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: toyokazu.sekiguchi@gmail.com, E-mail: masato.shirasaki@nao.ac.jp, E-mail: ayuki.kamada@ucr.edu, E-mail: naoki.yoshida@phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside, California 92521 (United States)

2016-06-01

Light gravitinos of mass ∼< O (10) eV are of particular interest in cosmology, offering various baryogenesis scenarios without suffering from the cosmological gravitino problem. The gravitino may contribute considerably to the total matter content of the Universe and affect structure formation from early to present epochs. After the gravitinos decouple from other particles in the early Universe, they free-stream and consequently suppress density fluctuations of (sub-)galactic length scales. Observations of structure at the relevant length-scales can be used to infer or constrain the mass and the abundance of light gravitinos. We derive constraints on the light gravitino mass using the data of cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing from Planck and of cosmic shear from the Canada France Hawaii Lensing Survey survey, combined with analyses of the primary CMB anisotropies and the signature of baryon acoustic oscillations in galaxy distributions. The obtained constraint on the gravitino mass is m {sub 3/2} < 4.7 eV (95 % C.L.), which is substantially tighter than the previous constraint from clustering analysis of Ly-α forests.

Stability of the Einstein static universe in open cosmological models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canonico, Rosangela; Parisi, Luca

2010-01-01

The stability properties of the Einstein static solution of general relativity are altered when corrective terms arising from modification of the underlying gravitational theory appear in the cosmological equations. In this paper the existence and stability of static solutions are considered in the framework of two recently proposed quantum gravity models. The previously known analysis of the Einstein static solutions in the semiclassical regime of loop quantum cosmology with modifications to the gravitational sector is extended to open cosmological models where a static neutrally stable solution is found. A similar analysis is also performed in the framework of Horava-Lifshitz gravity under detailed balance and projectability conditions. In the case of open cosmological models the two solutions found can be either unstable or neutrally stable according to the admitted values of the parameters.

Effect of the early reionization on the cosmic microwave background and cosmological parameter estimates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Qing-Guo; Wang, Ke, E-mail: huangqg@itp.ac.cn, E-mail: wangke@itp.ac.cn [CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhong Guan Cun East Street 55 #, Beijing 100190 (China)

2017-07-01

The early reionization (ERE) is supposed to be a physical process which happens after recombination, but before the instantaneous reionization caused by the first generation of stars. We investigate the effect of the ERE on the temperature and polarization power spectra of cosmic microwave background (CMB), and adopt principal components analysis (PCA) to model-independently reconstruct the ionization history during the ERE. In addition, we also discuss how the ERE affects the cosmological parameter estimates, and find that the ERE does not impose any significant influences on the tensor-to-scalar ratio r and the neutrino mass at the sensitivities of current experiments. The better CMB polarization data can be used to give a tighter constraint on the ERE and might be important for more precisely constraining cosmological parameters in the future.

Spider: Probing the Early Universe with a Large-Scale CMB Polarization Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, William

The standard dark-matter and dark-energy dominated cosmological model (LCDM) has proven to be remarkably successful in describing the current state and past evolution of the Universe. However, there remain significant uncertainties regarding the physical mechanisms that established the initial conditions upon which the LCDM predictions rely. Theories of cosmic genesis - the extremely high energy mechanisms that established these conditions - should be expected to provide a natural description of the nearly flat geometry of the Universe, the existence of super-horizon density correlations, and the adiabatic, Gaussian and nearly scale-invariant nature of the observed primordial density perturbations. The primary objective of Spider is to subject models of the early Universe to observational test, probing fundamental physics at energy scales far beyond the reach of terrestrial particle accelerators. The main scientific result will be to characterize, or place stringent upper limits on the level of the odd-parity polarization of the CMB. In the context of the inflationary paradigm, Spider will confirm or exclude the predictions of the simplest single-field inflationary models near the Lyth bound, characterized by tensor to scalar ratios r 0.03. While viable alternatives to the inflationary paradigm are an active and important area of investigation, including string cosmologies and cyclic models, early Universe models described by inflationary periods are now widely accepted as the underlying cause behind much of what we observe in cosmology today. Nevertheless, we know very little about the mechanism that would drive inflation or the energy scale at which it occurred, and the paradigm faces significant questions about the viability of the framework as a scientific theory. Fortunately, inflationary paradigms and alternative theories offer distinct predictions regarding the statistical properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. Spider will use measurements

Pseudoscalar Fields in Torsionful Geometries of the Early Universe, the Baryon Asymmetry and Majorana Neutrino Mass Generation

CERN Document Server

Mavromatos, Nick E.

2015-11-03

We discuss here a specific field-theory model, inspired from string theory, in which the generation of a matter-antimatter asymmetry in the Cosmos is due to the propagation of fermions in a non-trivial, spherically asymmetric (and hence Lorentz violating) gravitational background that may characterise the epochs of the early universe. The background induces different dispersion relations, hence populations, between fermions and antifermions, and thus CPT Violation (CPTV) already in thermal equilibrium. Species populations may freeze out leading to leptogenesis and baryogenesis. More specifically, after reviewing some generic models of background-induced CPTV in early epochs of the Universe, we consider a string-inspired scenario, in which the CPTV is associated with a cosmological background with torsion provided by the Kalb-Ramond (KR) antisymemtric tensor field of the string gravitational multiplet. In a four-dimensional space time this field is dual to a pseudoscalar ``axion-like'' field. The thermalising ...

Neutrinos in the Early Universe, Kalb-Ramond Torsion and Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mavromatos Nick E.

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The generation of a matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe may be induced by the propagation of fermions in non-trivial, spherically asymmetric (and hence Lorentz violating gravitational backgrounds. Such backgrounds may characterise the epoch of the early universe. The key point in these models is that the background induces di_erent dispersion relations, hence populations, between fermions and antifermions, and thus CPT Violation (CPTV appears in thermal equilibrium. Species populations may freeze out leading to leptogenesis and baryogenesis. We consider here a string-inspired scenario, in which the CPTV is associated with a cosmological background with torsion provided by the Kalb-Ramond (KR antisymemtric tensor field of the string gravitational multiplet. In a four-dimensional space time this field is dual to a pseudoscalar “axionlike” field. The mixing of the KR field with an ordinary axion field can lead to the generation of a Majorana neutrino mass.

The Hubble IR cutoff in holographic ellipsoidal cosmologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cataldo, Mauricio [Universidad del Bio-Bio, Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias, Concepcion (Chile); Cruz, Norman [Grupo de Cosmologia y Gravitacion-UBB, Concepcion (Chile)

2018-01-15

It is well known that for spatially flat FRW cosmologies, the holographic dark energy disfavors the Hubble parameter as a candidate for the IR cutoff. For overcoming this problem, we explore the use of this cutoff in holographic ellipsoidal cosmological models, and derive the general ellipsoidal metric induced by a such holographic energy density. Despite the drawbacks that this cutoff presents in homogeneous and isotropic universes, based on this general metric, we developed a suitable ellipsoidal holographic cosmological model, filled with a dark matter and a dark energy components. At late time stages, the cosmic evolution is dominated by a holographic anisotropic dark energy with barotropic equations of state. The cosmologies expand in all directions in accelerated manner. Since the ellipsoidal cosmologies given here are not asymptotically FRW, the deviation from homogeneity and isotropy of the universe on large cosmological scales remains constant during all cosmic evolution. This feature allows the studied holographic ellipsoidal cosmologies to be ruled by an equation of state ω = p/ρ, whose range belongs to quintessence or even phantom matter. (orig.)

Effective state metamorphosis in semi-classical loop quantum cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singh, Parampreet [Institute for Gravitational Physics and Geometry, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2005-10-21

Modification to the behaviour of geometrical density at short scales is a key result of loop quantum cosmology, responsible for an interesting phenomenology in the very early universe. We demonstrate the way matter with arbitrary scale factor dependence in Hamiltonian incorporates this change in its effective dynamics in the loop-modified phase. For generic matter, the equation of state starts varying near a critical scale factor, becomes negative below it and violates the strong energy condition. This opens a new avenue to generalize various phenomenological applications in loop quantum cosmology. We show that different ways to define energy density may yield radically different results, especially for the case corresponding to classical dust. We also discuss implications for frequency dispersion induced by modification to geometric density at small scales.

The Weinberg-Salam model and early cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinhardt, P.J.

1981-01-01

The consequences for cosmology of the phase transition in which SU(2) x U(1) symmetry is broken in the Weinberg-Salam model are discussed. The qualitative arguments concerning the effect of the phase transition on the baryon-to-entropy ratio that were recently posed by Witten for the case of a Coleman-Weinberg light Higgs boson are confirmed through exact numerical computations, but some quantitative disagreement is found. The computations are extended to the case in which the light Higgs boson is not of the Coleman-Weinberg type and the nature of the phase transition is discussed. Other cosmological effects are considered. (orig.)

Integrable scalar cosmologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fré, P.; Sorin, A.S.; Trigiante, M.

2014-01-01

The question whether the integrable one-field cosmologies classified in a previous paper by Fré, Sagnotti and Sorin can be embedded as consistent one-field truncations into Extended Gauged Supergravity or in N=1 supergravity gauged by a superpotential without the use of D-terms is addressed in this paper. The answer is that such an embedding is very difficult and rare but not impossible. Indeed, we were able to find two examples of integrable models embedded in supergravity in this way. Both examples are fitted into N=1 supergravity by means of a very specific and interesting choice of the superpotential W(z). The question whether there are examples of such an embedding in Extended Gauged Supergravity remains open. In the present paper, relying on the embedding tensor formalism we classified all gaugings of the N=2 STU model, confirming, in the absence on hypermultiplets, the uniqueness of the stable de Sitter vacuum found several years ago by Fré, Trigiante and Van Proeyen and excluding the embedding of any integrable cosmological model. A detailed analysis of the space of exact solutions of the first supergravity-embedded integrable cosmological model revealed several new features worth an in-depth consideration. When the scalar potential has an extremum at a negative value, the Universe necessarily collapses into a Big Crunch notwithstanding its spatial flatness. The causal structure of these Universes is quite different from that of the closed, positive curved, Universe: indeed, in this case the particle and event horizons do not coincide and develop complicated patterns. The cosmological consequences of this unexpected mechanism deserve careful consideration

Superheavy magnetic monopoles and the standard cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.S.

1984-10-01

The superheavy magnetic monopoles predicted to exist in grand unified theories (GUTs) are very interesting obsects, both from the point of view of particle physics, as well as from astrophysics and cosmology. Astrophysical and cosmological considerations have proved to be invaluable in studying the properties of GUT monopoles. Because of the glut of monopoles predicted in the standard cosmology for the simplest GUTs (so many that the Universe should have reached a temperature of 3 0 K at the tender age of approx. = 10,000 yrs), the simplest GUTs and the standard cosmology are not compatible. This is a very important piece of information about physics at unification energies (E greater than or equal to 10 14 GeV) and about the earliest moments (t less than or equal to 10 -34 s) of the Universe. In this talk the author reviews the cosmological consequences of GUT monopoles within the context of the standard hot big bang model. 46 references

Dark matter universe

Science.gov (United States)

Bahcall, Neta A.

2015-01-01

Most of the mass in the universe is in the form of dark matter—a new type of nonbaryonic particle not yet detected in the laboratory or in other detection experiments. The evidence for the existence of dark matter through its gravitational impact is clear in astronomical observations—from the early observations of the large motions of galaxies in clusters and the motions of stars and gas in galaxies, to observations of the large-scale structure in the universe, gravitational lensing, and the cosmic microwave background. The extensive data consistently show the dominance of dark matter and quantify its amount and distribution, assuming general relativity is valid. The data inform us that the dark matter is nonbaryonic, is “cold” (i.e., moves nonrelativistically in the early universe), and interacts only weakly with matter other than by gravity. The current Lambda cold dark matter cosmology—a simple (but strange) flat cold dark matter model dominated by a cosmological constant Lambda, with only six basic parameters (including the density of matter and of baryons, the initial mass fluctuations amplitude and its scale dependence, and the age of the universe and of the first stars)—fits remarkably well all the accumulated data. However, what is the dark matter? This is one of the most fundamental open questions in cosmology and particle physics. Its existence requires an extension of our current understanding of particle physics or otherwise point to a modification of gravity on cosmological scales. The exploration and ultimate detection of dark matter are led by experiments for direct and indirect detection of this yet mysterious particle. PMID:26417091

Baryon symmetric big bang cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stecker, F.W.

1978-01-01

It is stated that the framework of baryon symmetric big bang (BSBB) cosmology offers our greatest potential for deducting the evolution of the Universe because its physical laws and processes have the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions about initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the Universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed. BSBB cosmology also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic γ-ray background radiation. (author)

The case of the missing fingerprints or Dr Watson's cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Longair, M.S.

1987-01-01

The cosmological problem has four main areas of uncertainty -the origin of isotropy of the universe, the origin of the fluctuations from which galaxies form, the explanation of why we live in a matter universe rather than one composed of equal amounts of matter and antimatter and why the Universe seems to be within a factor of 10 of the critical, flat universe. These cannot be explained satisfactorily within the Hot Big Bang theory after a millisecond or so. The solutions are presumed, therefore, to lie in the very early universe when it was less than about a millisecond old. The clues which lead to this conclusion are set out in terms of a detective story with Sherlock Holmes explaining the facts about the universe to Dr Watson. Holmes first explains the size of the universe in terms of distances and sizes of stars, galaxies and galaxy clusters. Evidence from pictures of the universe at different temperatures, (X-ray pictures, gamma-ray pictures, far infra-red pictures and pictures at radio and millimetre wavelengths) is presented. Holmes then starts to build up a realistic model of the universe using two of the facts collected (the isotropy of the universe and the expansion of the universe), one assumption (the cosmological principle) and one theory of gravity (General Relativity). However the universe which emerges does not solve the four problems mentioned. Quasars, which provide information (illustrated) from earlier epochs of the universe may, therefore, help to solve the problems. (U.K.)

Cosmology. A first course

Science.gov (United States)

Lachieze-Rey, Marc

This book delivers a quantitative account of the science of cosmology, designed for a non-specialist audience. The basic principles are outlined using simple maths and physics, while still providing rigorous models of the Universe. It offers an ideal introduction to the key ideas in cosmology, without going into technical details. The approach used is based on the fundamental ideas of general relativity such as the spacetime interval, comoving coordinates, and spacetime curvature. It provides an up-to-date and thoughtful discussion of the big bang, and the crucial questions of structure and galaxy formation. Questions of method and philosophical approaches in cosmology are also briefly discussed. Advanced undergraduates in either physics or mathematics would benefit greatly from use either as a course text or as a supplementary guide to cosmology courses.

Cosmological constants and variations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrow, John D

2005-01-01

We review properties of theories for the variation of the gravitation and fine structure 'constants'. We highlight some general features of the cosmological models that exist in these theories with reference to recent quasar data that is consistent with time-variation in the fine structure 'constant' since a redshift of 3.5. The behaviour of a simple class of varying alpha cosmologies is outlined in the light of all the observational constraints. We also discuss some of the consequences of varying 'constants' for oscillating universes and show by means of exact solutions that they appear to evolve monotonically in time even though the scale factor of the universe oscillates

Black hole formation in a contracting universe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quintin, Jerome; Brandenberger, Robert H., E-mail: jquintin@physics.mcgill.ca, E-mail: rhb@hep.physics.mcgill.ca [Department of Physics, McGill University, 3600 rue University, Montréal, QC, H3A 2T8 Canada (Canada)

2016-11-01

We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a contracting universe. We aim to determine under which conditions density perturbations grow to form large inhomogeneities and collapse into black holes. Our method consists in solving the cosmological perturbation equations in complete generality for a hydrodynamical fluid. We then describe the evolution of the fluctuations over the different length scales of interest and as a function of the equation of state for the fluid, and we explore two different types of initial conditions: quantum vacuum and thermal fluctuations. We also derive a general requirement for black hole collapse on sub-Hubble scales, and we use the Press-Schechter formalism to describe the black hole formation probability. For a fluid with a small sound speed (e.g., dust), we find that both quantum and thermal initial fluctuations grow in a contracting universe, and the largest inhomogeneities that first collapse into black holes are of Hubble size and the collapse occurs well before reaching the Planck scale. For a radiation-dominated fluid, we find that no black hole can form before reaching the Planck scale. In the context of matter bounce cosmology, it thus appears that only models in which a radiation-dominated era begins early in the cosmological evolution are robust against the formation of black holes. Yet, the formation of black holes might be an interesting feature for other models. We comment on a number of possible alternative early universe scenarios that could take advantage of this feature.

Black hole formation in a contracting universe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintin, Jerome; Brandenberger, Robert H.

2016-01-01

We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a contracting universe. We aim to determine under which conditions density perturbations grow to form large inhomogeneities and collapse into black holes. Our method consists in solving the cosmological perturbation equations in complete generality for a hydrodynamical fluid. We then describe the evolution of the fluctuations over the different length scales of interest and as a function of the equation of state for the fluid, and we explore two different types of initial conditions: quantum vacuum and thermal fluctuations. We also derive a general requirement for black hole collapse on sub-Hubble scales, and we use the Press-Schechter formalism to describe the black hole formation probability. For a fluid with a small sound speed (e.g., dust), we find that both quantum and thermal initial fluctuations grow in a contracting universe, and the largest inhomogeneities that first collapse into black holes are of Hubble size and the collapse occurs well before reaching the Planck scale. For a radiation-dominated fluid, we find that no black hole can form before reaching the Planck scale. In the context of matter bounce cosmology, it thus appears that only models in which a radiation-dominated era begins early in the cosmological evolution are robust against the formation of black holes. Yet, the formation of black holes might be an interesting feature for other models. We comment on a number of possible alternative early universe scenarios that could take advantage of this feature.

Equilibrium thermodynamics and neutrino decoupling in quasi-metric cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Østvang, Dag

2018-05-01

The laws of thermodynamics in the expanding universe are formulated within the quasi-metric framework. The quasi-metric cosmic expansion does not directly influence momenta of material particles, so the expansion directly cools null particles only (e.g., photons). Therefore, said laws differ substantially from their counterparts in standard cosmology. Consequently, all non-null neutrino mass eigenstates are predicted to have the same energy today as they had just after neutrino decoupling in the early universe. This indicates that the predicted relic neutrino background is strongly inconsistent with detection rates measured in solar neutrino detectors (Borexino in particular). Thus quasi-metric cosmology is in violent conflict with experiment unless some exotic property of neutrinos makes the relic neutrino background essentially undetectable (e.g., if all massive mass eigenstates decay into "invisible" particles over cosmic time scales). But in absence of hard evidence in favour of the necessary exotic neutrino physics needed to resolve said conflict, the current status of quasi-metric relativity has been changed to non-viable.

Gravitational waves in bouncing cosmologies from gauge field production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ben-Dayan, Ido, E-mail: ido.bendayan@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Be' er-Sheva 8410500 (Israel)

2016-09-01

We calculate the gravitational waves (GW) spectrum produced in various Early Universe scenarios from gauge field sources, thus generalizing earlier inflationary calculations to bouncing cosmologies. We consider generic couplings between the gauge fields and the scalar field dominating the energy density of the Universe. We analyze the requirements needed to avoid a backreaction that will spoil the background evolution. When the scalar is coupled only to F F-tilde term, the sourced GW spectrum is exponentially enhanced and parametrically the square of the vacuum fluctuations spectrum, P {sup s} {sub T} ∼ (P {sup v} {sub T} ){sup 2}, giving an even bluer spectrum than the standard vacuum one. When the scalar field is also coupled to F {sup 2} term, the amplitude is still exponentially enhanced, but the spectrum can be arbitrarily close to scale invariant (still slightly blue), n {sub T} ∼> 0, that is distinguishable form the slightly red inflationary one. Hence, we have a proof of concept of observable GW on CMB scales in a bouncing cosmology.

Cosmology solved? Maybe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, Michael S.

1999-01-01

For two decades the hot big-bang model as been referred to as the standard cosmology - and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not answered by the standard cosmology and point to a grander theory. The best candidate for that grander theory is inflation + cold dark matter. It holds that the Universe is flat, that slowly moving elementary particles left over from the earliest moments provide the cosmic infrastructure, and that the primeval density inhomogeneities that seed all the structure arose from quantum fluctuations. There is now prima facie evidence that supports two basic tenets of this paradigm. An avalanche of high-quality cosmological observations will soon make this case stronger or will break it. Key questions remain to be answered; foremost among them are: identification and detection of the cold dark matter particles and elucidation of the dark-energy component. These are exciting times in cosmology!

Cosmology solved? Maybe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, Michael S

1999-03-01

For two decades the hot big-bang model as been referred to as the standard cosmology - and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not answered by the standard cosmology and point to a grander theory. The best candidate for that grander theory is inflation + cold dark matter. It holds that the Universe is flat, that slowly moving elementary particles left over from the earliest moments provide the cosmic infrastructure, and that the primeval density inhomogeneities that seed all the structure arose from quantum fluctuations. There is now prima facie evidence that supports two basic tenets of this paradigm. An avalanche of high-quality cosmological observations will soon make this case stronger or will break it. Key questions remain to be answered; foremost among them are: identification and detection of the cold dark matter particles and elucidation of the dark-energy component. These are exciting times in cosmology{exclamation_point}.

Loop Quantum Cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bojowald, Martin

2008-01-01

Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations in which classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e., the fact that the backward evolution of a classical spacetime inevitably comes to an end after a finite amount of proper time. This presents a breakdown of the classical picture and requires an extended theory for a meaningful description. Since small length scales and high curvatures are involved, quantum effects must play a role. Not only the singularity itself but also the surrounding spacetime is then modified. One particular theory is loop quantum cosmology, an application of loop quantum gravity to homogeneous systems, which removes classical singularities. Its implications can be studied at different levels. The main effects are introduced into effective classical equations, which allow one to avoid the interpretational problems of quantum theory. They give rise to new kinds of early-universe phenomenology with applications to inflation and cyclic models. To resolve classical singularities and to understand the structure of geometry around them, the quantum description is necessary. Classical evolution is then replaced by a difference equation for a wave function, which allows an extension of quantum spacetime beyond classical singularities. One main question is how these homogeneous scenarios are related to full loop quantum gravity, which can be dealt with at the level of distributional symmetric states. Finally, the new structure of spacetime arising in loop quantum gravity and its application to cosmology sheds light on more general issues, such as the nature of time. Supplementary material is available for this article at 10.12942/lrr-2008-4.

Cosmology Then and Now

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, I.D.

1999-01-01

In this talk a brief survey has been carried out on the development of cosmology from the days Leopold Infeld was active in the field up to the present. Attention in particular is paid to the history of our knowledge of Hubble's expansion, of the cosmological constant, of the average density of matter and its distribution, and of the related issue of possible types of matter in the Universe. (author)

Compactified cosmological simulations of the infinite universe

Science.gov (United States)

Rácz, Gábor; Szapudi, István; Csabai, István; Dobos, László

2018-06-01

We present a novel N-body simulation method that compactifies the infinite spatial extent of the Universe into a finite sphere with isotropic boundary conditions to follow the evolution of the large-scale structure. Our approach eliminates the need for periodic boundary conditions, a mere numerical convenience which is not supported by observation and which modifies the law of force on large scales in an unrealistic fashion. We demonstrate that our method outclasses standard simulations executed on workstation-scale hardware in dynamic range, it is balanced in following a comparable number of high and low k modes and, its fundamental geometry and topology match observations. Our approach is also capable of simulating an expanding, infinite universe in static coordinates with Newtonian dynamics. The price of these achievements is that most of the simulated volume has smoothly varying mass and spatial resolution, an approximation that carries different systematics than periodic simulations. Our initial implementation of the method is called StePS which stands for Stereographically projected cosmological simulations. It uses stereographic projection for space compactification and naive O(N^2) force calculation which is nevertheless faster to arrive at a correlation function of the same quality than any standard (tree or P3M) algorithm with similar spatial and mass resolution. The N2 force calculation is easy to adapt to modern graphics cards, hence our code can function as a high-speed prediction tool for modern large-scale surveys. To learn about the limits of the respective methods, we compare StePS with GADGET-2 running matching initial conditions.

Compactified Cosmological Simulations of the Infinite Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Rácz, Gábor; Szapudi, István; Csabai, István; Dobos, László

2018-03-01

We present a novel N-body simulation method that compactifies the infinite spatial extent of the Universe into a finite sphere with isotropic boundary conditions to follow the evolution of the large-scale structure. Our approach eliminates the need for periodic boundary conditions, a mere numerical convenience which is not supported by observation and which modifies the law of force on large scales in an unrealistic fashion. We demonstrate that our method outclasses standard simulations executed on workstation-scale hardware in dynamic range, it is balanced in following a comparable number of high and low k modes and, its fundamental geometry and topology match observations. Our approach is also capable of simulating an expanding, infinite universe in static coordinates with Newtonian dynamics. The price of these achievements is that most of the simulated volume has smoothly varying mass and spatial resolution, an approximation that carries different systematics than periodic simulations. Our initial implementation of the method is called StePS which stands for Stereographically Projected Cosmological Simulations. It uses stereographic projection for space compactification and naive O(N^2) force calculation which is nevertheless faster to arrive at a correlation function of the same quality than any standard (tree or P3M) algorithm with similar spatial and mass resolution. The N2 force calculation is easy to adapt to modern graphics cards, hence our code can function as a high-speed prediction tool for modern large-scale surveys. To learn about the limits of the respective methods, we compare StePS with GADGET-2 running matching initial conditions.

The Philosophy of Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Chamcham, Khalil; Silk, Joseph; Barrow, John D.; Saunders, Simon

2017-04-01

Part I. Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology: 1. Cosmology, cosmologia and the testing of cosmological theories George F. R. Ellis; 2. Black holes, cosmology and the passage of time: three problems at the limits of science Bernard Carr; 3. Moving boundaries? - comments on the relationship between philosophy and cosmology Claus Beisbart; 4. On the question why there exists something rather than nothing Roderich Tumulka; Part II. Structures in the Universe and the Structure of Modern Cosmology: 5. Some generalities about generality John D. Barrow; 6. Emergent structures of effective field theories Jean-Philippe Uzan; 7. Cosmological structure formation Joel R. Primack; 8. Formation of galaxies Joseph Silk; Part III. Foundations of Cosmology: Gravity and the Quantum: 9. The observer strikes back James Hartle and Thomas Hertog; 10. Testing inflation Chris Smeenk; 11. Why Boltzmann brains do not fluctuate into existence from the de Sitter vacuum Kimberly K. Boddy, Sean M. Carroll and Jason Pollack; 12. Holographic inflation revised Tom Banks; 13. Progress and gravity: overcoming divisions between general relativity and particle physics and between physics and HPS J. Brian Pitts; Part IV. Quantum Foundations and Quantum Gravity: 14. Is time's arrow perspectival? Carlo Rovelli; 15. Relational quantum cosmology Francesca Vidotto; 16. Cosmological ontology and epistemology Don N. Page; 17. Quantum origin of cosmological structure and dynamical reduction theories Daniel Sudarsky; 18. Towards a novel approach to semi-classical gravity Ward Struyve; Part V. Methodological and Philosophical Issues: 19. Limits of time in cosmology Svend E. Rugh and Henrik Zinkernagel; 20. Self-locating priors and cosmological measures Cian Dorr and Frank Arntzenius; 21. On probability and cosmology: inference beyond data? Martin Sahlén; 22. Testing the multiverse: Bayes, fine-tuning and typicality Luke A. Barnes; 23. A new perspective on Einstein's philosophy of cosmology Cormac O

Spacetime deformation effect on the early universe and the PTOLEMY experiment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Horvat

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Using a fully-fledged formulation of gauge field theory deformed by the spacetime noncommutativity, we study its impact on relic neutrino direct detection, as proposed recently by the PTOLEMY experiment. The noncommutative background tends to influence the propagating neutrinos by providing them with a tree-level vector-like coupling to photons, enabling thus otherwise sterile right-handed (RH neutrinos to be thermally produced in the early universe. Such a new component in the universe's background radiation has been switched today to the almost fully active sea of non-relativistic neutrinos, exerting consequently some impact on the capture on tritium at PTOLEMY. The peculiarities of our nonperturbative approach tend to reflect in the cosmology as well, upon the appearances of the coupling temperature, above which RH neutrinos stay permanently decoupled from thermal environment. This entails the maximal scale of noncommutativity as well, being of order of 10−4MPl, above which there is no impact whatsoever on the capture rates at PTOLEMY. The latter represents an exceptional upper bound on the scale of noncommutativity coming from phenomenology.

FRW Cosmological Perturbations in Massive Bigravity

CERN Document Server

Comelli, D; Pilo, L

2014-01-01

Cosmological perturbations of FRW solutions in ghost free massive bigravity, including also a second matter sector, are studied in detail. At early time, we find that sub horizon exponential instabilities are unavoidable and they lead to a premature departure from the perturbative regime of cosmological perturbations.

BMS in cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kehagias, A.; Riotto, A.

2016-01-01

Symmetries play an interesting role in cosmology. They are useful in characterizing the cosmological perturbations generated during inflation and lead to consistency relations involving the soft limit of the statistical correlators of large-scale structure dark matter and galaxies overdensities. On the other hand, in observational cosmology the carriers of the information about these large-scale statistical distributions are light rays traveling on null geodesics. Motivated by this simple consideration, we study the structure of null infinity and the associated BMS symmetry in a cosmological setting. For decelerating Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds, for which future null infinity exists, we find that the BMS transformations which leaves the asymptotic metric invariant to leading order. Contrary to the asymptotic flat case, the BMS transformations in cosmology generate Goldstone modes corresponding to scalar, vector and tensor degrees of freedom which may exist at null infinity and perturb the asymptotic data. Therefore, BMS transformations generate physically inequivalent vacua as they populate the universe at null infinity with these physical degrees of freedom. We also discuss the gravitational memory effect when cosmological expansion is taken into account. In this case, there are extra contribution to the gravitational memory due to the tail of the retarded Green functions which are supported not only on the light-cone, but also in its interior. The gravitational memory effect can be understood also from an asymptotic point of view as a transition among cosmological BMS-related vacua.

BMS in cosmology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kehagias, A. [Physics Division, National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Zografou Campus, Athens (Greece); Riotto, A. [Department of Theoretical Physics,24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4 (Switzerland); Center for Astroparticle Physics (CAP),24 quai E. Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4 (Switzerland)

2016-05-25

Symmetries play an interesting role in cosmology. They are useful in characterizing the cosmological perturbations generated during inflation and lead to consistency relations involving the soft limit of the statistical correlators of large-scale structure dark matter and galaxies overdensities. On the other hand, in observational cosmology the carriers of the information about these large-scale statistical distributions are light rays traveling on null geodesics. Motivated by this simple consideration, we study the structure of null infinity and the associated BMS symmetry in a cosmological setting. For decelerating Friedmann-Robertson-Walker backgrounds, for which future null infinity exists, we find that the BMS transformations which leaves the asymptotic metric invariant to leading order. Contrary to the asymptotic flat case, the BMS transformations in cosmology generate Goldstone modes corresponding to scalar, vector and tensor degrees of freedom which may exist at null infinity and perturb the asymptotic data. Therefore, BMS transformations generate physically inequivalent vacua as they populate the universe at null infinity with these physical degrees of freedom. We also discuss the gravitational memory effect when cosmological expansion is taken into account. In this case, there are extra contribution to the gravitational memory due to the tail of the retarded Green functions which are supported not only on the light-cone, but also in its interior. The gravitational memory effect can be understood also from an asymptotic point of view as a transition among cosmological BMS-related vacua.

Working group report: Cosmology and astroparticle physics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This is the report of the cosmology and astroparticle physics working group ... origin of the accelerating Universe: Dark energy and particle cosmology by Y-Y Keum, .... Neutrino oscillations with two and three mass varying supernova neutrinos ...

Cosmology in Poincaré gauge gravity with a pseudoscalar torsion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Jianbo; Chee, Guoying [Department of Physics, Liaoning Normal University,Dalian 116029 (China)

2016-05-04

A cosmology of Poincare{sup ´} gauge theory is developed, where several properties of universe corresponding to the cosmological equations with the pseudoscalar torsion function are investigated. The cosmological constant is found to be the intrinsic torsion and curvature of the vacuum universe and is derived from the theory naturally rather than added artificially, i.e. the dark energy originates from geometry and includes the cosmological constant but differs from it. The cosmological constant puzzle, the coincidence and fine tuning problem are relieved naturally at the same time. By solving the cosmological equations, the analytic cosmological solution is obtained and can be compared with the ΛCDM model. In addition, the expressions of density parameters of the matter and the geometric dark energy are derived, and it is shown that the evolution of state equations for the geometric dark energy agrees with the current observational data. At last, the full equations of linear cosmological perturbations and the solutions are obtained.

Cosmology and particle physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barrow, J.D.

1982-01-01

A brief overview is given of recent work that integrates cosmology and particle physics. The observational data regarding the abundance of matter and radiation in the Universe is described. The manner in which the cosmological survival density of stable massive particles can be calculated is discussed along with the process of cosmological nucleosynthesis. Several applications of these general arguments are given with reference to the survival density of nucleons, neutrinos and unconfined fractionally charge particles. The use of nucleosynthesis to limit the number of lepton generations is described together with the implications of a small neutrino mass for the origin of galaxies and clusters. (Auth.)

Superstring thermodynamics and its application to cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuo, N.

1987-01-01

The thermodynamics of superstring theories (SST-I, SST-II) and heterotic string theory and its application to the cosmology are studied. The free energy of superstring gas is calculated in the one-loop approximation and the stability of the extra torus dimensions is discussed. Assuming that the Einstein equation dictates the evolution of the universe, we show that matter dominated universe filled with massive particles would never be realized at the beginning of the universe, contrary to the naive expectation in the superstring cosmology. (orig.)

Scalar field cosmology: I. Asymptotic freedom and the initial-value problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Kerson; Low, Hwee-Boon; Tung, Roh-Suan

2012-01-01

The purpose of this work is to use a renormalized quantum scalar field to investigate very early cosmology, in the Planck era immediately following the big bang. Renormalization effects make the field potential dependent on length scale, and are important during the big bang era. We use the asymptotically free Halpern-Huang scalar field, which is derived from renormalization-group analysis, and solve Einstein's equation with Robertson-Walker metric as an initial-value problem. The main prediction is that the Hubble parameter follows a power law: H≡ a-dot /a∼t -p , and the universe expands at an accelerated rate: a ∼ expt 1-p . This gives 'dark energy', with an equivalent cosmological constant that decays in time like t -2p , which avoids the 'fine-tuning' problem. The power law predicts a simple relation for the galactic redshift. Comparison with data leads to the speculation that the universe experienced a crossover transition, which was completed about seven billion years ago. (paper)

f(T) teleparallel gravity and cosmology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Yi-Fu; Capozziello, Salvatore; De Laurentis, Mariafelicia; Saridakis, Emmanuel N

2016-10-01

Over recent decades, the role of torsion in gravity has been extensively investigated along the main direction of bringing gravity closer to its gauge formulation and incorporating spin in a geometric description. Here we review various torsional constructions, from teleparallel, to Einstein-Cartan, and metric-affine gauge theories, resulting in extending torsional gravity in the paradigm of f (T) gravity, where f (T) is an arbitrary function of the torsion scalar. Based on this theory, we further review the corresponding cosmological and astrophysical applications. In particular, we study cosmological solutions arising from f (T) gravity, both at the background and perturbation levels, in different eras along the cosmic expansion. The f (T) gravity construction can provide a theoretical interpretation of the late-time universe acceleration, alternative to a cosmological constant, and it can easily accommodate with the regular thermal expanding history including the radiation and cold dark matter dominated phases. Furthermore, if one traces back to very early times, for a certain class of f (T) models, a sufficiently long period of inflation can be achieved and hence can be investigated by cosmic microwave background observations-or, alternatively, the Big Bang singularity can be avoided at even earlier moments due to the appearance of non-singular bounces. Various observational constraints, especially the bounds coming from the large-scale structure data in the case of f (T) cosmology, as well as the behavior of gravitational waves, are described in detail. Moreover, the spherically symmetric and black hole solutions of the theory are reviewed. Additionally, we discuss various extensions of the f (T) paradigm. Finally, we consider the relation with other modified gravitational theories, such as those based on curvature, like f (R) gravity, trying to illuminate the subject of which formulation, or combination of formulations, might be more suitable

Cosmology and philosophy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ginzburg, V.L.

1981-01-01

The problem of establishing boundaries between cosmology and philosophy is discussed. It is stated that the theoretic knowledge and observation data do not contradict the selection of one of non-stationary homogenous and isotropic relativistic models, which are also called the Friedmann models. In this model (with a zero Λ - member) there is a critical value of the substance density which is 10 -29 g/cm 2 . The determination of the average density of the Universe substance relatively to this value enables to choose between a closed and an open Universe model. Nowadays, this problem is not yet solved. But some philosophic theses reject the closed cosmological model without any naturally scientific argumentation. Critical remarks about such an approach to the problem studied are presented. The conclusion is made that the problems of the Universe volume infinity of finity, laws of its evolution in time or the like are not philosophic and should be considered taking into account the data of astronomic observations and modern physics

Can the universe fragment into many independent causal patches at turnaround in cyclic cosmology?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xin

2009-01-01

Infinitely cyclic cosmology is often frustrated by the second law of thermodynamics which dictates that the entropy increases from cycle to cycle so that extrapolation into the past will lead back to an initial singularity. It has been argued in the literature that the entropy problem can be resolved in a particular cyclic universe model through a deflation mechanism (i.e., the universe fragments into an astronomically large number of disconnected causal patches at the turnaround). We point out that in this cyclic model the Hubble distance will become infinity at the turnaround; thus the deflation scenario does not seem to be valid. (orig.)

Quasars and cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fliche, H.-H.; Souriau, J.-M.

1978-03-01

On the basis of colorimetric data a composite spectrum of quasars is established from the visible to the Lyman's limit. Its agreement with the spectrum of the quasar 3C273, obtained directly, confirms the homogeneity of these objects. The compatibility of the following hypotheses: negligible evolution of quasars, Friedmann type model of the universe with cosmological constant, is studied by means of two tests: a non-correlation test adopted to the observation conditions and the construction of diagrams (absolute magnitude, volume) using the K-correction deduced from the composite spectrum. This procedure happens to give relatively well-defined values of the parameters; the central values of the density parameter, the reduced curvature and the reduced cosmological constant are: Ω 0 =0.053, k 0 =0.245, lambda-zero=1.19, which correspond to a big bang model, eternally expanding, spatially finite, in which Hubble's parameter H is presently increasing. This model responds well to different cosmological tests: density of matter, diameter of radio sources, age of the universe. Its characteristics suggest various cosmogonic mechanisms, espacially mass formation by growth of empty spherical bubbles [fr

A Planck Vacuum Cosmology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daywitt W. C.

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Both the big-bang and the quasi-steady-state cosmologies originate in some type of Planck state. This paper presents a new cosmological theory based on the Planck- vacuum negative-energy state, a state consisting of a degenerate collection of negative- energy Planck particles. A heuristic look at the Einstein field equation provides a con- vincing argument that such a vacuum state could provide a theoretical explanation for the visible universe.

Modified General Relativity and Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Rahman, A.-M. M.

1997-10-01

Aspects of the modified general relativity theory of Rastall, Al-Rawaf and Taha are discussed in both the radiation- and matter-dominated flat cosmological models. A nucleosynthesis constraint on the theory's free parameter is obtained and the implication for the age of the Universe is discussed. The consistency of the modified matter- dominated model with the neoclassical cosmological tests is demonstrated.

Viscous cosmological models with a variable cosmological term ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Einstein's field equations for a Friedmann-Lamaitre Robertson-Walker universe filled with a dissipative fluid with a variable cosmological term L described by full Israel-Stewart theory are considered. General solutions to the field equations for the flat case have been obtained. The solution corresponds to the dust free model ...

Constraints on cosmological parameters in power-law cosmology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rani, Sarita; Singh, J.K.; Altaibayeva, A.; Myrzakulov, R.; Shahalam, M.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we examine observational constraints on the power law cosmology; essentially dependent on two parameters H 0 (Hubble constant) and q (deceleration parameter). We investigate the constraints on these parameters using the latest 28 points of H(z) data and 580 points of Union2.1 compilation data and, compare the results with the results of ΛCDM . We also forecast constraints using a simulated data set for the future JDEM, supernovae survey. Our studies give better insight into power law cosmology than the earlier done analysis by Kumar [arXiv:1109.6924] indicating it tuning well with Union2.1 compilation data but not with H(z) data. However, the constraints obtained on and i.e. H 0 average and q average using the simulated data set for the future JDEM, supernovae survey are found to be inconsistent with the values obtained from the H(z) and Union2.1 compilation data. We also perform the statefinder analysis and find that the power-law cosmological models approach the standard ΛCDM model as q → −1. Finally, we observe that although the power law cosmology explains several prominent features of evolution of the Universe, it fails in details

Cosmology with cosmic shear observations: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilbinger, Martin

2015-07-01

Cosmic shear is the distortion of images of distant galaxies due to weak gravitational lensing by the large-scale structure in the Universe. Such images are coherently deformed by the tidal field of matter inhomogeneities along the line of sight. By measuring galaxy shape correlations, we can study the properties and evolution of structure on large scales as well as the geometry of the Universe. Thus, cosmic shear has become a powerful probe into the nature of dark matter and the origin of the current accelerated expansion of the Universe. Over the last years, cosmic shear has evolved into a reliable and robust cosmological probe, providing measurements of the expansion history of the Universe and the growth of its structure. We review here the principles of weak gravitational lensing and show how cosmic shear is interpreted in a cosmological context. Then we give an overview of weak-lensing measurements, and present the main observational cosmic-shear results since it was discovered 15 years ago, as well as the implications for cosmology. We then conclude with an outlook on the various future surveys and missions, for which cosmic shear is one of the main science drivers, and discuss promising new weak cosmological lensing techniques for future observations.

A Time-Dependent Λ and G Cosmological Model Consistent with Cosmological Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Kantha

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The prevailing constant Λ-G cosmological model agrees with observational evidence including the observed red shift, Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN, and the current rate of acceleration. It assumes that matter contributes 27% to the current density of the universe, with the rest (73% coming from dark energy represented by the Einstein cosmological parameter Λ in the governing Friedmann-Robertson-Walker equations, derived from Einstein’s equations of general relativity. However, the principal problem is the extremely small value of the cosmological parameter (~10−52 m2. Moreover, the dark energy density represented by Λ is presumed to have remained unchanged as the universe expanded by 26 orders of magnitude. Attempts to overcome this deficiency often invoke a variable Λ-G model. Cosmic constraints from action principles require that either both G and Λ remain time-invariant or both vary in time. Here, we propose a variable Λ-G cosmological model consistent with the latest red shift data, the current acceleration rate, and BBN, provided the split between matter and dark energy is 18% and 82%. Λ decreases (Λ~τ-2, where τ is the normalized cosmic time and G increases (G~τn with cosmic time. The model results depend only on the chosen value of Λ at present and in the far future and not directly on G.

Cosmological evolution of vacuum and cosmic acceleration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaya, Ali

2010-01-01

It is known that the unregularized expressions for the stress-energy tensor components corresponding to subhorizon and superhorizon vacuum fluctuations of a massless scalar field in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background are characterized by the equation of state parameters ω = 1/3 and ω = -1/3, which are not sufficient to produce cosmological acceleration. However, the form of the adiabatically regularized finite stress-energy tensor turns out to be completely different. By using the fact that vacuum subhorizon modes evolve nearly adiabatically and superhorizon modes have ω = -1/3, we approximately determine the regularized stress-energy tensor, whose conservation is utilized to fix the time dependence of the vacuum energy density. We then show that vacuum energy density grows from zero up to H 4 in about one Hubble time, vacuum fluctuations give positive acceleration of the order of H 4 /M 2 p and they can completely alter the cosmic evolution of the universe dominated otherwise by the cosmological constant, radiation or pressureless dust. Although the magnitude of the acceleration is tiny to explain the observed value today, our findings indicate that the cosmological backreaction of vacuum fluctuations must be taken into account in early stages of cosmic evolution.

Numerical relativity and the early Universe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mironov Sergey

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We consider numerical simulations in general relativity in ADM formalism with cosmological ansatz for the metric. This ansatz is convenient for investigations of the Universe creation in laboratory with Galileons. Here we consider toy model for the software: spherically symmetric scalar field minimally coupled to the gravity with asymmetric double well potential. We studied the dependence of radius of critical bubble on the parameters of the theory. It demonstrates the wide applicability of thin-wall approximation. We did not find any kind of stable bubble solution.

The concept of fractal cosmos: II. Modern cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Grujic, P. V.

Development of the concept of fractal cosmos after Anaxagoras has been followed up to the present. It is shown how the concept reappeared in the early Renaissance as a vague idea and subsequently took up a concrete formulation at the beginning of the 20-eth century. The modern cosmology state of affairs has been considered in view of the fractal paradigm and the current disputes and controversies discussed. It is argued that the concept of the hierarchical cosmos is still alive and might become an essential ingredient within the modern view of the universe.