43,883 research outputs found
Coupled quintessence and vacuum decay
We discuss observational consequences of a class of cosmological models
characterized by the dilution of pressureless matter attenuated with respect to
the usual scaling due to the decay of vacuum energy. We carry out a
joint statistical analysis of observational data from the new \emph{gold}
sample of 182 SNe Ia, recent estimates of the CMB shift parameter, and BAO
measurements from the SDSS to show that such models favor the decay of vacuum
only into the dark matter sector, and that the separately conserved baryons
cannot be neglected. In order to explore ways to more fundamentally motivated
models, we also derive a coupled scalar field version for this general class of
vacuum decay scenarios.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, LaTe
On the equivalence of Lambda(t) and gravitationally induced particle production cosmologies
The correspondence between cosmological models powered by a decaying vacuum
energy density and gravitationally induced particle production is investigated.
Although being physically different in the physics behind them we show that
both classes of cosmologies under certain conditions can exhibit the same
dynamic and thermodynamic behavior. Our method is applied to obtain three
specific models that may be described either as Lambda(t)CDM or gravitationally
induced particle creation cosmologies. In the point of view of particle
production models, the later class of cosmologies can be interpreted as a kind
of one-component unification of the dark sector. By using current type Ia
supernovae data, recent estimates of the cosmic microwave background shift
parameter and baryon acoustic oscillations measurements we also perform a
statistical analysis to test the observational viability within the two
equivalent classes of models and we obtain the best-fit of the free parameters.
By adopting the Akaike information criterion we also determine the rank of the
models considered here. Finally, the particle production cosmologies (and the
associated decaying Lambda(t)-models) are modeled in the framework of field
theory by a phenomenological scalar field model.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, new comments and 8 references added. Accepted for
publication in Physics Letters
A Robust Filter for the BeppoSAX Gamma Ray Burst Monitor Triggers
The BeppoSAX Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GRBM) is triggered any time a
statistically significant counting excess is simultaneously revealed by at
least two of its four independent detectors. Several spurious effects,
including highly ionizing particles crossing two detectors, are recorded as
onboard triggers. In fact, a large number of false triggers is detected, in the
order of 10/day. A software code, based on an heuristic algorithm, was written
to discriminate between real and false triggers. We present the results of the
analysis on an homogeneous sample of GRBM triggers, thus providing an estimate
of the efficiency of the GRB detection system consisting of the GRBM and the
software.Comment: Proc. 5th Huntsville GRB Symposiu
- …