17 research outputs found
Quantum coherent dynamics of molecules: A simple scenario for ultrafast photoisomerization
Theoretical Physic
Probing Dark Energy with Supernovae : Bias from the time evolution of the equation of state
Observation of thousands of type Ia supernovae should offer the most direct
approach to probe the dark energy content of the universe. This will be
undertaken by future large ground-based surveys followed by a space mission
(SNAP/JDEM). We address the problem of extracting the cosmological parameters
from the future data in a model independent approach, with minimal assumptions
on the prior knowledge of some parameters. We concentrate on the comparison
between a fiducial model and the fitting function and adress in particular the
effect of neglecting (or not) the time evolution of the equation of state. We
present a quantitative analysis of the bias which can be introduced by the
fitting procedure. Such bias cannot be ignored as soon as the statistical
errors from present data are drastically improved.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Parametrization of Born-Infeld Type Phantom Dark Energy Model
Applying the parametrization of dark energy density, we can construct
directly independent-model potentials. In Born-Infeld type phantom dark energy
model, we consider four special parametrization equation of state parameter.
The evolutive behavior of dark energy density with respect to red-shift ,
potentials with respect to and are shown mathematically. Moreover,
we investigate the effect of parameter upon the evolution of the
constructed potential with respect to . These results show that the
evolutive behavior of constructed Born-Infeld type dark energy model is quite
different from those of the other models.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Accelerated expansion from braneworld models with variable vacuum energy
In braneworld models a variable vacuum energy may appear if the size of the
extra dimension changes during the evolution of the universe. In this scenario
the acceleration of the universe is related not only to the variation of the
cosmological term, but also to the time evolution of and, possibly, to the
variation of other fundamental "constants" as well. This is because the
expansion rate of the extra dimension appears in different contexts, notably in
expressions concerning the variation of rest mass and electric charge. We
concentrate our attention on spatially-flat, homogeneous and isotropic,
brane-universes where the matter density decreases as an inverse power of the
scale factor, similar (but at different rate) to the power law in FRW-universes
of general relativity.
We show that these braneworld cosmologies are consistent with the observed
accelerating universe and other observational requirements. In particular,
becomes constant and asymptotically in
time. Another important feature is that the models contain no "adjustable"
parameters. All the quantities, even the five-dimensional ones, can be
evaluated by means of measurements in 4D. We provide precise constrains on the
cosmological parameters and demonstrate that the "effective" equation of state
of the universe can, in principle, be determined by measurements of the
deceleration parameter alone. We give an explicit expression relating the
density parameters , and the deceleration
parameter . These results constitute concrete predictions that may help in
observations for an experimental/observational test of the model.Comment: References added, typos correcte
The History of Galaxy Formation in Groups: An Observational Perspective
We present a pedagogical review on the formation and evolution of galaxies in
groups, utilizing observational information from the Local Group to galaxies at
z~6. The majority of galaxies in the nearby universe are found in groups, and
galaxies at all redshifts up to z~6 tend to cluster on the scale of nearby
groups (~1 Mpc). This suggests that the group environment may play a role in
the formation of most galaxies. The Local Group, and other nearby groups,
display a diversity in star formation and morphological properties that puts
limits on how, and when, galaxies in groups formed. Effects that depend on an
intragroup medium, such as ram-pressure and strangulation, are likely not major
mechanisms driving group galaxy evolution. Simple dynamical friction arguments
however show that galaxy mergers should be common, and a dominant process for
driving evolution. While mergers between L_* galaxies are observed to be rare
at z < 1, they are much more common at earlier times. This is due to the
increased density of the universe, and to the fact that high mass galaxies are
highly clustered on the scale of groups. We furthermore discus why the local
number density environment of galaxies strongly correlates with galaxy
properties, and why the group environment may be the preferred method for
establishing the relationship between properties of galaxies and their local
density.Comment: Invited review, 16 pages, to be published in ESO Astrophysics
Symposia: "Groups of Galaxies in the Nearby Universe", eds. I. Saviane, V.
Ivanov, J. Borissov
Transition from decelerated to accelerated cosmic expansion in braneworld universes
Braneworld theory provides a natural setting to treat, at a classical level,
the cosmological effects of vacuum energy. Non-static extra dimensions can
generally lead to a variable vacuum energy, which in turn may explain the
present accelerated cosmic expansion. We concentrate our attention in models
where the vacuum energy decreases as an inverse power law of the scale factor.
These models agree with the observed accelerating universe, while fitting
simultaneously the observational data for the density and deceleration
parameter. The redshift at which the vacuum energy can start to dominate
depends on the mass density of ordinary matter. For Omega = 0.3, the transition
from decelerated to accelerated cosmic expansion occurs at z approx 0.48 +/-
0.20, which is compatible with SNe data. We set a lower bound on the
deceleration parameter today, namely q > - 1 + 3 Omega/2, i.e., q > - 0.55 for
Omega = 0.3. The future evolution of the universe crucially depends on the time
when vacuum starts to dominate over ordinary matter. If it dominates only
recently, at an epoch z < 0.64, then the universe is accelerating today and
will continue that way forever. If vacuum dominates earlier, at z > 0.64, then
the deceleration comes back and the universe recollapses at some point in the
distant future. In the first case, quintessence and Cardassian expansion can be
formally interpreted as the low energy limit of our model, although they are
entirely different in philosophy. In the second case there is no correspondence
between these models and ours.Comment: In V2 typos are corrected and one reference is added for section 1.
To appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio
Ultra Long Period Cepheids: a primary standard candle out to the Hubble flow
The cosmological distance ladder crucially depends on classical Cepheids
(with P=3-80 days), which are primary distance indicators up to 33 Mpc. Within
this volume, very few SNe Ia have been calibrated through classical Cepheids,
with uncertainty related to the non-linearity and the metallicity dependence of
their period-luminosity (PL) relation. Although a general consensus on these
effects is still not achieved, classical Cepheids remain the most used primary
distance indicators. A possible extension of these standard candles to further
distances would be important. In this context, a very promising new tool is
represented by the ultra-long period (ULP) Cepheids (P \geq 80 days), recently
identified in star-forming galaxies. Only a small number of ULP Cepheids have
been discovered so far. Here we present and analyse the properties of an
updated sample of 37 ULP Cepheids observed in galaxies within a very large
metallicity range of 12+log(O/H) from ~7.2 to 9.2 dex. We find that their
location in the colour(V-I)-magnitude diagram as well as their Wesenheit (V-I)
index-period (WP) relation suggests that they are the counterparts at high
luminosity of the shorter-period (P \leq 80 days) classical Cepheids. However,
a complete pulsation and evolutionary theoretical scenario is needed to
properly interpret the true nature of these objects. We do not confirm the
flattening in the studied WP relation suggested by Bird et al. (2009). Using
the whole sample, we find that ULP Cepheids lie around a relation similar to
that of the LMC, although with a large spread (~0.4 mag).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Constraints on accelerating universe using ESSENCE and Gold supernovae data combined with other cosmological probes
We use recently observed data: the 192 ESSENCE type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia),
the 182 Gold SNe Ia, the 3-year WMAP, the SDSS baryon acoustic peak, the X-ray
gas mass fraction in clusters and the observational data to constrain
models of the accelerating universe. Combining the 192 ESSENCE data with the
observational data to constrain a parameterized deceleration parameter,
we obtain the best fit values of transition redshift and current deceleration
parameter , .
Furthermore, using CDM model and two model-independent equation of
state of dark energy, we find that the combined constraint from the 192 ESSENCE
data and other four cosmological observations gives smaller values of
and , but a larger value of than the combined
constraint from the 182 Gold data with other four observations. Finally,
according to the Akaike information criterion it is shown that the recently
observed data equally supports three dark energy models: CDM,
and .Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Observational constraint on generalized Chaplygin gas model
We investigate observational constraints on the generalized Chaplygin gas
(GCG) model as the unification of dark matter and dark energy from the latest
observational data: the Union SNe Ia data, the observational Hubble data, the
SDSS baryon acoustic peak and the five-year WMAP shift parameter. It is
obtained that the best fit values of the GCG model parameters with their
confidence level are ()
, ()
. Furthermore in this model, we can see that the
evolution of equation of state (EOS) for dark energy is similar to quiessence,
and its current best-fit value is with the confidence
level .Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Model-independent dark energy test with sigma_8 using results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
By combining the recent WMAP measurements of the cosmic microwave background
anisotropies and the results of the recent luminosity distance measurements to
type-Ia supernovae, we find that the normalization of the matter power spectrum
on cluster scales, sigma_8, can be used to discriminate between dynamical
models of dark energy (quintessence models) and a conventional cosmological
constant model (LCDM).Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. Additional discussion and reference, matches PRD
accepted versio