Braneworld models with a non-minimally coupled phantom bulk field: a simple way to obtain the -1-crossing at late times

We investigate general braneworld models, with a non-minimally coupled phantom bulk field and arbitrary brane and bulk matter contents. We show that the effective dark energy of the brane-universe acquires a dynamical nature, as a result of the non-minimal coupling which provides a mechanism for an indirect "bulk-brane interaction" through gravity. For late-time cosmological evolution and without resorting to special ansatzes or to specific areas of the parameter space, we show that the -1-crossing of its equation-of-state parameter is general and can be easily achieved. As an example we provide a simple, but sufficiently general, approximate analytical solution, that presents the crossing behavior.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

The phase portrait of a matter bounce in Horava-Lifshitz cosmology

The occurrence of a bounce in FRW cosmology requires modifications of general relativity. An example of such a modification is the recently proposed Horava-Lifshitz theory of gravity, which includes a ``dark radiation'' term with a negative coefficient in the analog of the Friedmann equation. This paper describes a phase space analysis of models of this sort with the aim of determining to what extent bouncing solutions can occur. A simplification, valid in the relevant region, allows a reduction of the dimension of phase space so that visualization in three dimensions is possible. It is found that a bounce is possible, but not generic in models under consideration. Apart from previously known bouncing solutions some new ones are also described. Other interesting solutions found include ones which describe a novel sort of oscillating universes.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Pathological behaviour of the scalar graviton in Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity

We confirm the recent claims that, in the infrared limit of Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity, the scalar graviton becomes a ghost if the sound speed squared is positive on the flat de Sitter and Minkowski background. In order to avoid the ghost and tame the instability, the sound speed squared should be negative and very small, which means that the flow parameter $\lambda$ should be very close to its General Relativity (GR) value. We calculate the cubic interactions for the scalar graviton which are shown to have a similar structure with those of the curvature perturbation in k-inflation models. The higher order interactions become increasing important for a smaller sound speed squared, that is, when the theory approaches GR. This invalidates any linearized analysis and any predictability is lost in this limit as quantum corrections are not controllable. This pathological behaviour of the scalar graviton casts doubt on the validity of the projectable version of the theory.Comment: 7 pages, references added; v3: Typos corrected, minor changes to text and precise determination of the strong coupling scale. Replaced to match published version

Immunopathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis: an old wives' tale

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a cholestatic liver disease characterised by the autoimmune destruction of the small intrahepatic bile ducts. The disease has an unpredictable clinical course, but may progress to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Although medical treatment with urseodeoxycholic acid is largely successful, some patients may progress to liver failure requiring liver transplantation. PBC is characterised by the presence of disease specific anti-mitochondrial (AMA) antibodies, which are pathognomonic for PBC development. The disease demonstrates an overwhelming female preponderance and virtually all women with PBC present in middle age. The reasons for this are unknown; however several environmental and immunological factors may be involved. As the immune systems ages, it become less self tolerant, and mounts a weaker response to pathogens, possibly leading to cross reactivity or molecular mimicry. Some individuals display immunological changes which encourage the development of autoimmune disease. Risk factors implicated in PBC include recurrent urinary tract infection in females, as well as an increased prevalence of reproductive complications. These risk factors may work in concert with and possibly even accelerate, immune system ageing, contributing to PBC development. This review will examine the changes that occur in the immune system with ageing, paying particular attention to those changes which contribute to the development of autoimmune disease with increasing age. The review also discusses risk factors which may account for the increased female predominance of PBC, such as recurrent UTI and oestrogens

Horava Gravity and Gravitons at a Conformal Point

Recently Horava proposed a renormalizable gravity theory with higher derivatives by abandoning the Lorenz invariance in UV. Here, I study the Horava model at $\lambda=1/3$, where an anisotropic Weyl symmetry exists in the UV limit, in addition to the foliation-preserving diffeomorphism. By considering linear perturbations around Minkowski vacuum, I show that the scalar graviton mode is completely disappeared and only the usual tensor graviton modes remain in the physical spectrum. The existence of the UV conformal symmetry is unique to the theory with the detailed balance and it is quite probable that $\lambda=1/3$ be the UV fixed point. This situation is analogous to $\lambda=1$, which is Lorentz invariant in the IR limit and is believed to be the IR fixed point.Comment: Added comments and references, Accepted in GER

The Cosmological Constant and Horava-Lifshitz Gravity

Horava-Lifshitz theory of gravity with detailed balance is plagued by the presence of a negative bare (or geometrical) cosmological constant which makes its cosmology clash with observations. We argue that adding the effects of the large vacuum energy of quantum matter fields, this bare cosmological constant can be approximately compensated to account for the small observed (total) cosmological constant. Even though we cannot address the fine-tuning problem in this way, we are able to establish a relation between the smallness of observed cosmological constant and the length scale at which dimension 4 corrections to the Einstein gravity become significant for cosmology. This scale turns out to be approximately 5 times the Planck length for an (almost) vanishing observed cosmological constant and we therefore argue that its smallness guarantees that Lorentz invariance is broken only at very small scales. We are also able to provide a first rough estimation for the infrared values of the parameters of the theory $\mu$ and $Lambda_w$.Comment: 9 pages, Late

Global monopole solutions in Horava gravity

In Horava's theory of gravity coupled to a global monopole source, we seek for static, spherically symmetric spacetime solutions for general values of $\lambda$. We obtain the explicit solutions with deficit solid angles, in the IR modified Horava gravity model, at the IR fixed point $\lambda=1$ and at the conformal point $\lambda=1/3$. For the other values of $1>\lambda>0$ we also find special solutions to the inhomogenous equation of the gravity model with detailed balance, and we discuss an possibility of astrophysical applications of the $\lambda=1/2$ solution that has a deficit angle for a finite range.Comment: 7 pages, added reference

Detailed balance condition and ultraviolet stability of scalar field in Horava-Lifshitz gravity

Detailed balance and projectability conditions are two main assumptions when Horava recently formulated his theory of quantum gravity - the Horava-Lifshitz (HL) theory. While the latter represents an important ingredient, the former often believed needs to be abandoned, in order to obtain an ultraviolet stable scalar field, among other things. In this paper, because of several attractive features of this condition, we revisit it, and show that the scalar field can be stabilized, if the detailed balance condition is allowed to be softly broken. Although this is done explicitly in the non-relativistic general covariant setup of Horava-Melby-Thompson with an arbitrary coupling constant $\lambda$, generalized lately by da Silva, it is also true in other versions of the HL theory. With the detailed balance condition softly breaking, the number of independent coupling constants can be still significantly reduced. It is remarkable to note that, unlike other setups, in this da Silva generalization, there exists a master equation for the linear perturbations of the scalar field in the flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background.Comment: Some typos are corrected. To appear in JCA

Remarks on the Scalar Graviton Decoupling and Consistency of Horava Gravity

Recently Horava proposed a renormalizable gravity theory with higher derivatives by abandoning the Lorenz invariance in UV. But there have been confusions regarding the extra scalar graviton mode and the consistency of the Horava model. I reconsider these problems and show that, in the Minkowski vacuum background, the scalar graviton mode can be consistency decoupled from the usual tensor graviton modes by imposing the (local) Hamiltonian as well as the momentum constraints.Comment: Some clarifications regarding the projectable case added, Typos corrected, Comments (Footnote No.9, Note Added) added, References updated, Accepted in CQ