Quintessence in brane cosmology

In order to reconcile the non conventional character of brane cosmology with standard Friedmann cosmology, we introduce in this paper a slowly-varying quintessence scalar field in the brane and analyse the cosmological solutions corresponding to some equations of state for the scalar field. Different compensation mechanisms between the cosmological constant in the bulk and the constant tension resulting from the combined effect of ordinary matter and the quintessence scalar field are derived or assumed. It has been checked that the Randall-Sundrum approach is not necessarily the best procedure to reconcile brane and standard cosmologies, and that there exists at least another compensating mechanism that reproduces a rather conventional behaviour for an accelerating universe.Comment: 10 pages, additional physical motivation and connections to high energy physics and observations, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Does Quartessence Ease Tensions?

Tensions between cosmic microwave background observations and the growth of the large-scale structure inferred from late-time probes pose a serious challenge to the concordance $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model. State-of-the-art data from the Planck satellite predicts a higher rate of structure growth than what preferred by low-redshift observables. Such tension has hitherto eluded conclusive explanations in terms of straightforward modifications to $\Lambda$CDM, e.g. the inclusion of massive neutrinos or a dynamical dark energy component. Here, we investigate models of 'quartessence' -- a single dark component mimicking both dark matter and dark energy -- whose non-vanishing sound speed inhibits structure growth at late times on scales smaller than its corresponding Jeans' length. In principle, this could reconcile high- and low-redshift observations. We put this hypothesis to test against temperature and polarisation spectra from the latest Planck release, SDSS DR12 measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations and redshift-space distortions, and cosmic shear correlation functions from KiDS. This the first time that any specific model of quartessence is applied to actual data. We show that, if we naively apply $\Lambda$CDM nonlinear prescription to quartessence, the combined data sets allow for tight constraints on the model parameters. Apparently, quartessence alleviates the tension between the total matter fraction and late-time structure clustering, although in fact the tension is transferred from the latter to the quartessence sound speed parameter. However, we found that this strongly depends upon information from nonlinear scales. Indeed, if we relax this assumption, quartessence models appear still viable. For this reason, we argue that the nonlinear behaviour of quartessence deserves further investigation and may lead to a deeper understanding of the physics of the dark Universe.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; matching published versio

Confronting Dark Energy Models using Galaxy Cluster Number Counts

The mass function of cluster-size halos and their redshift distribution are computed for 12 distinct accelerating cosmological scenarios and confronted to the predictions of the conventional flat $\Lambda$CDM model. The comparison with $\Lambda$CDM is performed by a two-step process. Firstly, we determine the free parameters of all models through a joint analysis involving the latest cosmological data, using SNe type Ia, the CMB shift parameter and BAO. Apart from a brane world inspired cosmology, it is found that the derived Hubble relation of theremaining models reproduce the $\Lambda$CDM results approximately with the same degree of statistical confidence. Secondly, in order to attempt distinguish the different dark energy models from the expectations of $\Lambda$CDM, we analyze the predicted cluster-size halo redshift distribution on the basis of two future cluster surveys: (i) an X-ray survey based on the {\tt eROSITA} satellite, and (ii) a Sunayev-Zeldovich survey based on the South Pole Telescope. As a result, we find that the predictions of 8 out of 12 dark energy models can be clearly distinguished from the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, while the predictions of 4 models are statistically equivalent to those of the $\Lambda$CDM model, as far as the expected cluster mass function and redshift distribution are concerned. The present analysis suggest that such a technique appears to be very competitive to independent tests probing the late time evolution of the Universe and the associated dark energy effects.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, major changes, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Quintessence in brane cosmology

In order to reconcile the non conventional character of brane cosmology with standard Friedmann cosmology, we introduce in this paper a slowly-varying quintessence scalar field in the brane and analyse the cosmological solutions corresponding to some equations of state for the scalar field. Different compensation mechanisms between the cosmological constant in the bulk and the constant tension resulting from the combined effect of ordinary matter and the quintessence scalar field are derived or assumed. It has been checked that the Randall-Sundrum approach is not necessarily the best procedure to reconcile brane and standard cosmologies, and that there exists at least another compensating mechanism that reproduces a rather conventional behaviour for an accelerating universe. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V.This work was supported by DGICYT under Research Project No. PB97-1218.Peer Reviewe

Rock 'n' Roll Solutions to the Hubble Tension

Local measurements of the Hubble parameter are increasingly in tension with the value inferred from a $\Lambda$CDM fit to the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data. In this paper, we construct scenarios in which evolving scalar fields significantly ease this tension by adding energy to the Universe around recombination in a narrow redshift window. We identify solutions of $V \propto \phi^{2 n}$ with simple asymptotic behavior, both oscillatory (rocking) and rolling. These are the first solutions of this kind in which the field evolution and fluctuations are consistently implemented using the equations of motion. Our findings differ qualitatively from those of the existing literature, which rely upon a coarse-grained fluid description. Combining CMB data with low-redshift measurements, the best fit model has $n=2$ and increases the allowed value of $H_0$ from 69.2 km/s/Mpc in $\Lambda$CDM to 72.3 km/s/Mpc at $2\sigma$. Future measurements of the late-time amplitude of matter fluctuations and of the reionization history could help distinguish these models from competing solutions.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures + appendi

Unveiling the Dynamics of the Universe

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.Comment: 94 pages, 14 figures. Review paper accepted for publication in a Special Issue of Symmetry. "Symmetry: Feature Papers 2016". V2: Matches published version, now 79 pages (new format