58 research outputs found
Semi analytic approach to understanding the distribution of neutral hydrogen in the universe
Analytic derivations of the correlation function and the column density
distribution for neutral hydrogen in the IGM are presented, assuming that the
non-linear baryonic mass density distribution in the IGM is lognormal. This
ansatz was used earlier by Bi & Davidsen (1997) to perform 1D simulations of
lines-of-sight and analyse the properties of absorption systems. Our approach
is completely analytic, which allows us to explore a wide region of the
parameter space for our model. The analytic results have been compared with
observations, whenever possible. Two kinds of correlation functions are
defined: along the line-of-sight (LOS) and across the transverse direction. We
find that the effects on the LOS correlation due to change in cosmology and the
slope of the equation of state of the IGM, \gamma are of the same order, which
means that we cannot constrain both the parameters simultaneously. However, it
is possible to constrain \gamma and its evolution using the observed LOS
correlation function at different epochs, provided one knows the background
cosmology. We suggest that the constraints on the evolution of \gamma obtained
using the LOS correlation can be used as an independent tool to probe the
reionisation history of the universe. From the transverse correlation function,
we find that the excess probability, over random, of finding two neutral
hydrogen overdense regions separated by an angle \theta, is always less than 1
per cent for redshifts greater than 2. Our models also reproduce the observed
column density distribution for neutral hydrogen and the shape of the
distribution depends on \gamma. Our calculations suggest that one can rule out
\gamma > 1.6 for z \simeq 2.31 using the column density distribution. However,
one cannot rule higher values of \gamma at higher redshifts.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Revised
following referee's comment
The Issue of Choosing Nothing: What Determines the Low Energy Vacuum State of Nature?
Starting from an (unknown) quantum gravitational model, one can invoke a sequence of approximations to progressively arrive at quantum field theory (QFT) in curved spacetime, QFT in flat spacetime, nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and newtonian mechanics. The more exact theory can put restrictions on the range of possibilities allowed for the approximate theory which are not derivable from the latter - an example being the symmetry restrictions on the wave function for a pair of electrons. We argue that the choice of vacuum state at low energies could be such a `relic' arising from combining the principles of quantum theory and general relativity, and demonstrate this result in a simple toy model. Our analysis suggests that the wave function of the universe, when it describes the large volume limit of the universe, dynamically selects a vacuum state for matter fields - which in turn defines the concept of particle in the low energy limit. The result also has the potential for providing a concrete quantum mechanical version of Mach's principle
Concept of temperature in multi-horizon spacetimes: Analysis of Schwarzschild-De Sitter metric
In case of spacetimes with single horizon, there exist several
well-established procedures for relating the surface gravity of the horizon to
a thermodynamic temperature. Such procedures, however, cannot be extended in a
straightforward manner when a spacetime has multiple horizons. In particular,
it is not clear whether there exists a notion of global temperature
characterizing the multi-horizon spacetimes. We examine the conditions under
which a global temperature can exist for a spacetime with two horizons using
the example of Schwarzschild-De Sitter (SDS) spacetime. We systematically
extend different procedures (like the expectation value of stress tensor,
response of particle detectors, periodicity in the Euclidean time etc.) for
identifying a temperature in the case of spacetimes with single horizon to the
SDS spacetime. This analysis is facilitated by using a global coordinate chart
which covers the entire SDS manifold. We find that all the procedures lead to a
consistent picture characterized by the following features: (a) In general, SDS
spacetime behaves like a non-equilibrium system characterized by two
temperatures. (b) It is not possible to associate a global temperature with SDS
spacetime except when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational (c)
Even when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational, the thermal
nature depends on the coordinate chart used. There exists a global coordinate
chart in which there is global equilibrium temperature while there exist other
charts in which SDS behaves as though it has two different temperatures. The
coordinate dependence of the thermal nature is reminiscent of the flat
spacetime in Minkowski and Rindler coordinate charts. The implications are
discussed.Comment: 12 page
Dark Energy and Gravity
I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as
the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1
briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises
the evidence for dark energy. It also provides the observational and
theoretical arguments in favour of the cosmological constant as the candidate
and emphasises why no other approach really solves the conceptual problems
usually attributed to the cosmological constant. Part 2 describes some of the
approaches to understand the nature of the cosmological constant and attempts
to extract the key ingredients which must be present in any viable solution. I
argue that (i)the cosmological constant problem cannot be satisfactorily solved
until gravitational action is made invariant under the shift of the matter
lagrangian by a constant and (ii) this cannot happen if the metric is the
dynamical variable. Hence the cosmological constant problem essentially has to
do with our (mis)understanding of the nature of gravity. Part 3 discusses an
alternative perspective on gravity in which the action is explicitly invariant
under the above transformation. Extremizing this action leads to an equation
determining the background geometry which gives Einstein's theory at the lowest
order with Lanczos-Lovelock type corrections. (Condensed abstract).Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen.Rel.Grav. issue on Dark Energy,
edited by G.F.R.Ellis, R.Maartens and H.Nicolai; revtex; 22 pages; 2 figure
Quasinormal Modes of Extremal BTZ Black Hole
Motivated by several pieces of evidence, in order to show that extreme black
holes cannot be obtained as limits of non-extremal black holes, in this article
we calculate explicitly quasinormal modes for Ba\~{n}ados, Teitelboim and
Zanelli (BTZ) extremal black hole and we showed that the imaginary part of the
frequency is zero. We obtain exact result for the scalar an fermionic
perturbations. We also showed that the frequency is bounded from below for the
existence of the normal modes (non-dissipative modes).Comment: 6 pp. Accepted Classical and Quantum Gravity. Typos corrected and
some references was added. Final Versio
Semi analytic approach to understanding the distribution of neutral hydrogen in the universe: Comparison of simulations with observations
Following Bi & Davidsen (1997), we perform one dimensional semi analytic
simulations along the lines of sight to model the intergalactic medium (IGM).
Since this procedure is computationally efficient in probing the parameter
space -- and reasonably accurate -- we use it to recover the values of various
parameters related to the IGM (for a fixed background cosmology) by comparing
the model predictions with different observations. For the currently favoured
LCDM model (\Omega_m=0.4, \Omega_{\Lambda}=0.6 and h=0.65), we obtain, using
statistics obtained from the transmitted flux, constraints on (i) the
combination f=(\Omega_B h^2)^2/J_{-12}, where \Omega_B is the baryonic density
parameter and J_{-12} is the total photoionisation rate in units of 10^{-12}
s^{-1}, (ii) temperature T_0 corresponding to the mean density and (iii) the
slope \gamma of the effective equation of state of the IGM at a mean redshift z
\simeq 2.5. We find that 0.8 <(T_0/10^4 K)< 2.5 and 1.3<\gamma<2.3. while the
constraint obtained on f is 0.020^2<f<0.032^2. A reliable lower bound on
J_{-12} can be used to put a lower bound on \Omega_B h^2, which can be compared
with similar constraints obtained from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and CMBR
studies. We find that if J_{-12}>1.2, the lower bound on \Omega_B h^2 is in
violation of the BBN value.Comment: Revised version; accepted for publication in Ap
SO(1,1) dark energy model and the universe transition
We suggest a scalar model of dark energy with the SO(1,1) symmetry. The model
may be reformulated in terms of a real scalar field and the scale factor
so that the Lagrangian may be decomposed as that of the real quintessence
model plus the negative coupling energy term of to . The existence of
the coupling term leads to a wider range of and overcomes the
problem of negative kinetic energy in the phantom universe model. We propose a
power-law expansion model of univese with time-dependent power, which can
describe the phantom universe and the universe transition from ordinary
acceleration to super acceleration.Comment: 12 pages. submitted to CQ
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