Thermodynamics of AdS planar black holes and holography

A large AdS Schwarzschild black hole can be approximated by an AdS planar black hole. However, the temperature of a planar black hole is not well defined due to the translational invariance of the horizon. We propose to fix this arbitrariness by imposing the entropy area law. Furthermore, using the AdS/CFT holography, we propose a relationship between the temperatures of an AdS planar and large AdS Schwarzschild black holes.Comment: 13 pages, clarifying comments added, typos corrected, published in JHE

Chaplygin Gas Cosmology - Unification of Dark Matter and Dark Energy

The models that unify dark matter and dark energy based upon the Chaplygin gas fail owing to the suppression of structure formation by the adiabatic speed of sound. Including string theory effects, in particular the Kalb-Ramond field, we show how nonadiabatic perturbations allow a successful structure formation.Comment: 7 pages, presented by N. B. at IRGAC 2006, Barcelona, 11-15 July 2006, typos corrected, concluding paragraph slightly expanded, final version, accepted in J. Phys. A, special issu

Primordial perturbations and inflation in holographic cosmology

We consider an inflationary scenario in the holographic braneworld with a cosmological fluid occupying the 3+1 dimensional brane located at the holographic boundary of an asymptotic ADS$_5$ bulk. The contribution of the boundary conformal field can be represented as a modification of Einstein's equations on the boundary. Using these effective Einstein equations we calculate the cosmological perturbations and derive the corresponding power spectra assuming a general $k$-essence type of inflaton. We find that the braneworld scenario affects the scalar power spectrum only in the speed of sound dependence on the slow-roll parameters whereas there is no change in the tensor power spectrum. This implies that the changes in the spectral indices appear at the second order in the slow-roll parameter expansion.Comment: v2: 19 pages, 1 figure. Appendices and references added. Accepted in PR

Does an educative approach work? A reflective case study of how two Australian higher education Enabling programs support students and staff uphold a responsible culture of academic integrity

Introduction Enabling education programs, otherwise known as Foundation Studies or Preparatory programs, provide pathways for students typically under-represented in higher education. Students in Enabling programs often face distinct challenges in their induction to academic culture which can implicate them in cases of misconduct. This case study addresses a gap in the enabling literature reporting on how a culture of academic integrity can be developed for students and staff in these programs through an educative approach. Case description This paper outlines how an educative approach to academic integrity is implemented within the Enabling programs of two Australian universities. Discussion and reflection This case study reflects upon an approach which makes specific reference to the key elements of ‘support’, ‘approach’ and ‘responsibility’ as highlighted in Bretag and Mahmud’s seminal paper. The paper reports a reduction in misconduct cases at the two institutions suggesting a positive correlation between the interventions and students’ understanding of ethical academic practice. This study reflects upon practitioner experiences with academic integrity investigations to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Conclusions The authors show that it is possible to ensure academic integrity practices and values are upheld within a supportive learning environment appropriate to a students’ level of study

Constraints on Exotic Matter for An Emergent Universe

We study a composition of normal and exotic matter which is required for a flat Emergent Universe scenario permitted by the equation of state (EOS)($p=A\rho-B\rho^{1/2}$) and predict the range of the permissible values for the parameters $A$ and $B$ to explore a physically viable cosmological model. The permitted values of the parameters are determined taking into account the $H(z)-z$ data obtained from observations, a model independent BAO peak parameter and CMB shift parameter (WMAP7 data). It is found that although $A$ can be very close to zero, most of the observations favours a small and negative $A$. As a consequence, the effective Equation of State parameter for this class of Emergent Universe solutions remains negative always. We also compared the magnitude ($\mu (z)$) vs. redshift($z$) curve obtained in the model with that obtained from the union compilation data. According to our analysis the class of Emergent Universe solutions considered here is not ruled out by the observations.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Emergent Universe from A Composition of Matter, Exotic Matter and Dark Energy

A specific class of flat Emergent Universe (EU) is considered and its viability is tested in view of the recent observations. Model parameters are constrained from Stern data for Hubble Parameter and Redshift ($H(z)$ vs. $z$) and from a model independent measurement of BAO peak parameter. It is noted that a composition of Exotic matter, dust and dark energy, capable of producing an EU, can not be ruled out with present data. Evolution of other relevant cosmological parameters, viz. density parameter ($\Omega$), effective equation of state (EOS) parameter ($\omega_{eff}$) are also shown.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures (accepted in MNRAS

Dieterici gas as a Unified Model for Dark Matter and Dark Energy

The dominance of dark energy in the universe has necessitated the introduction of a repulsive gravity source to make q0 negative. The models for dark energy range from a simple lambda-term to quintessence, Chaplygin gas, etc. We look at the possibility of how change of behaviour of missing energy density, from DM to DE, may be determined by the change in the equation of state of a background fluid instead of a form of potential. The question of cosmic acceleration can be discussed within the framework of theories which do not necessarily include scalar fields.Comment: 9 pages, 38 equation

Gravitating Global k-monopole

A gravitating global k-monopole produces a tiny gravitational field outside the core in addition to a solid angular deficit in the k-field theory. As a new feature, the gravitational field can be attractive or repulsive depending on the non-canonical kinetic term.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, references added, typos corrected, accepted by Class. Quantum Gra

Matter Power Spectrum for the Generalized Chaplygin Gas Model: The Newtonian Approach

We model the cosmic medium as the mixture of a generalized Chaplygin gas and a pressureless matter component. Within a neo-Newtonian approach (in which, different from standard Newtonian cosmology, the pressure enters the homogeneous and isotropic background dynamics) we compute the matter power spectrum. The 2dFGRS data are used to discriminate between unified models of the dark sector (a purely baryonic matter component of roughly 5 percent of the total energy content and roughly 95 percent generalized Chaplygin gas) and different models, for which there is separate dark matter, in addition to that accounted for by the generalized Chaplygin gas. Leaving the corresponding density parameters free, we find that the unified models are strongly disfavored. On the other hand, using unified model priors, the observational data are also well described, in particular for small and large values of the generalized Chaplygin gas parameter $\alpha$. The latter result is in agreement with a recent, more qualitative but fully relativistic, perturbation analysis in Gorini et al.Comment: Latex file, 17 pages, 29 figures in eps forma