14,608 research outputs found
A cosmic equation of state for the inhomogeneous Universe: can a global far-from-equilibrium state explain Dark Energy?
A system of effective Einstein equations for spatially averaged scalar
variables of inhomogeneous cosmological models can be solved by providing a
`cosmic equation of state'. Recent efforts to explain Dark Energy focus on
`backreaction effects' of inhomogeneities on the effective evolution of
cosmological parameters in our Hubble volume, avoiding a cosmological constant
in the equation of state. In this Letter it is argued that, if kinematical
backreaction effects are indeed of the order of the averaged density (or larger
as needed for an accelerating domain of the Universe), then the state of our
regional Hubble volume would have to be in the vicinity of a
far-from-equilibrium state that balances kinematical backreaction and average
density. This property, if interpreted globally, is shared by a stationary
cosmos with effective equation of state . It
is concluded that a confirmed explanation of Dark Energy by kinematical
backreaction may imply a paradigmatic change of cosmology.Comment: 7 pages, matches published version in Class. Quant. Gra
A Gauge-invariant Analysis of Magnetic Fields in General Relativistic Cosmology
We provide a fully general-relativistic treatment of cosmological
perturbations in a universe permeated by a large-scale primordial magnetic
field, using the Ellis-Bruni gauge-invariant formalism. The exact non-linear
equations for general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic evolution are derived. A
number of applications are made: the behaviour of small perturbations to
Friedmann universes are studied; a comparison is made with earlier Newtonian
treatments of cosmological perturbations and some effects of inflationary
expansion are examined.Comment: 31 pages, Latex, Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit
Coherent phenomena in mesoscopic systems
A mesoscopic system of cylindrical geometry made of a metal or a
semiconductor is shown to exhibit features of a quantum coherent state. It is
shown that magnetostatic interaction can play an important role in mesoscopic
systems leading to an ordered ground state. The temperature below the
system exhibits long-range order is determined. The self-consistent mean field
approximation of the magnetostatic interaction is performed giving the
effective Hamiltonian from which the self-sustaining currents can be obtained.
The relation of quantum coherent state in mesoscopic cylinders to other
coherent systems like superconductors is discussed.Comment: REVTeX, 4 figures, in print in Supercond. Sci. Techno
Time-Dependent Vacuum Energy Induced by D-Particle Recoil
We consider cosmology in the framework of a `material reference system' of D
particles, including the effects of quantum recoil induced by closed-string
probe particles. We find a time-dependent contribution to the cosmological
vacuum energy, which relaxes to zero as for large times . If
this energy density is dominant, the Universe expands with a scale factor . We show that this possibility is compatible with recent
observational constraints from high-redshift supernovae, and may also respect
other phenomenological bounds on time variation in the vacuum energy imposed by
early cosmology.Comment: 14 pages LATEX, no figure
Probing possible decoherence effects in atmospheric neutrino oscillations
It is shown that the results of the Super-Kamiokande atmospheric neutrino
experiment, interpreted in terms of nu_munu_tau flavor transitions, can
probe possible decoherence effects induced by new physics (e.g., by quantum
gravity) with high sensitivity, supplementing current laboratory tests based on
kaon oscillations and on neutron interferometry. By varying the (unknown)
energy dependence of such effects, one can either obtain strong limits on their
amplitude, or use them to find an unconventional solution to the atmospheric nu
anomaly based solely on decoherence.Comment: Title changed; major changes in the text; includes the discussion of
a new solution to the atmosheric neutrino anomaly, based on decoherence; a
second figure and a note have been adde
Gravito-magnetic amplification in cosmology
Magnetic fields interact with gravitational waves in various ways. We
consider the coupling between the Weyl and the Maxwell fields in cosmology and
study the effects of the former on the latter. The approach is fully analytical
and the results are gauge-invariant. We show that the nature and the outcome of
the gravito-magnetic interaction depends on the electric properties of the
cosmic medium. When the conductivity is high, gravitational waves reduce the
standard (adiabatic) decay rate of the B-field, leading to its superadiabatic
amplification. In poorly conductive environments, on the other hand,
Weyl-curvature distortions can result into the resonant amplification of
large-scale cosmological magnetic fields. Driven by the gravitational waves,
these B-fields oscillate with an amplitude that is found to diverge when the
wavelengths of the two sources coincide. We present technical and physical
aspects of the gravito-magnetic interaction and discuss its potential
implications.Comment: Typos corrected, clarifications added, published in PR
On the Asymptotic Stability of De-Sitter Spacetime: a non-linear perturbative approach
We derive evolution and constraint equations for second order perturbations
of flat dust homogeneous and isotropic solutions to the Einstein field
equations using all scalar, vector and tensor perturbation modes. We show that
the perturbations decay asymptotically in time and that the solutions converge
to the De-Sitter solution. By induction, this result is valid for perturbations
of arbitrary order. This is in agreement with the cosmic no-hair conjecture of
Gibbons and Hawking.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Topology and Fragility in Cosmology
We introduce the notion of topological fragility and briefly discuss some
examples from the literature. An important example of this type of fragility is
the way globally anisotropic Bianchi V generalisations of the FLRW model
result in a radical restriction on the allowed topology of spatial sections,
thereby excluding compact cosmological models with negatively curved
three-sections with anisotropy. An outcome of this is to exclude chaotic mixing
in such models, which may be relevant, given the many recent attempts at
employing compact FLRW models to produce chaotic mixing in the cosmic
microwave background radiation, if the Universe turns out to be globally
anisotropic.Comment: 12 pages, LaTex file, to appear in Gen. Rel. Grav. (1998
Effect of short range order on electronic and magnetic properties of disordered Co based alloys
We here study electronic structure and magnetic properties of disordered CoPd
and CoPt alloys using Augmented Space Recursion technique coupled with the
tight-binding linearized muffin tin orbital (TB-LMTO) method. Effect of short
range ordering present in disordered phase of alloys on electronic and magnetic
properties has been discussed. We present results for magnetic moments, Curie
temperatures and electronic band energies with varying degrees of short range
order for different concentrations of Co and try to understand and compare the
magnetic properties and ordering phenomena in these systems.Comment: 15 pages,17 postscript figures,uses own style file
Cosmological zoo -- accelerating models with dark energy
ecent observations of type Ia supernovae indicate that the Universe is in an
accelerating phase of expansion. The fundamental quest in theoretical cosmology
is to identify the origin of this phenomenon. In principle there are two
possibilities: 1) the presence of matter which violates the strong energy
condition (a substantial form of dark energy), 2) modified Friedmann equations
(Cardassian models -- a non-substantial form of dark matter). We classify all
these models in terms of 2-dimensional dynamical systems of the Newtonian type.
We search for generic properties of the models. It is achieved with the help of
Peixoto's theorem for dynamical system on the Poincar{\'e} sphere. We find that
the notion of structural stability can be useful to distinguish the generic
cases of evolutional paths with acceleration. We find that, while the
CDM models and phantom models are typical accelerating models, the
cosmological models with bouncing phase are non-generic in the space of all
planar dynamical systems. We derive the universal shape of potential function
which gives rise to presently accelerating models. Our results show explicitly
the advantages of using a potential function (instead of the equation of state)
to probe the origin of the present acceleration. We argue that simplicity and
genericity are the best guide in understanding our Universe and its
acceleration.Comment: RevTeX4, 23 pages, 10 figure
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