190 research outputs found
Second Order General Slow-Roll Power Spectrum
Recent combined results from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)
and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) provide a remarkable set of data which
requires more accurate and general investigation. Here we derive formulae for
the power spectrum P(k) of the density perturbations produced during inflation
in the general slow-roll approximation with second order corrections. Also,
using the result, we derive the power spectrum in the standard slow-roll
picture with previously unknown third order corrections.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure ; A typo in Eq. (38) is fixed ; References
expanded and a note adde
Holography of Gravitational Action Functionals
Einstein-Hilbert (EH) action can be separated into a bulk and a surface term,
with a specific ("holographic") relationship between the two, so that either
can be used to extract information about the other. The surface term can also
be interpreted as the entropy of the horizon in a wide class of spacetimes.
Since EH action is likely to just the first term in the derivative expansion of
an effective theory, it is interesting to ask whether these features continue
to hold for more general gravitational actions. We provide a comprehensive
analysis of lagrangians of the form L=Q_a^{bcd}R^a_{bcd}, in which Q_a^{bcd} is
a tensor with the symmetries of the curvature tensor, made from metric and
curvature tensor and satisfies the condition \nabla_cQ^{abcd}=0, and show that
they share these features. The Lanczos-Lovelock lagrangians are a subset of
these in which Q^{abcd} is a homogeneous function of the curvature tensor. They
are all holographic, in a specific sense of the term, and -- in all these cases
-- the surface term can be interpreted as the horizon entropy. The
thermodynamics route to gravity, in which the field equations are interpreted
as TdS=dE+pdV, seems to have greater degree of validity than the field
equations of Einstein gravity itself. The results suggest that the holographic
feature of EH action could also serve as a new symmetry principle in
constraining the semiclassical corrections to Einstein gravity. The
implications are discussed.Comment: revtex 4; 17 pages; no figure
An Open Inflationary Model for Dimensional Reduction and its Effects on the Observable Parameters of the Universe
Assuming that higher dimensions existed in the early stages of the universe
where the evolution was inflationary, we construct an open, singularity-free,
spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmological model to study the effects of
dimensional reduction that may have taken place during the early stages of the
universe. We consider dimensional reduction to take place in a stepwise manner
and interpret each step as a phase transition. By imposing suitable boundary
conditions we trace their effects on the present day parameters of the
universe.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in Int. J. of Mod. Phys.
The warm inflationary universe
In the past decade, the importance of dissipation and fluctuation to
inflationary dynamics has been realized and has led to a new picture of
inflation called warm inflation. Although these phenomena are common to
condensed matter systems, for inflation models their importance has only
recently started to be appreciated. The article describes the motivation for
these phenomenon during inflation and then examines their origins from first
principles quantum field theory treatments of inflation models. Cosmology today
is a data intensive field and this is driving theory to greater precision and
predictability. This opens the possibility to consider tests for detecting
observational signatures of dissipative processes, which will be discussed. In
addition it will be discussed how particle physics and cosmology are now
working in tandem to push the boundaries of our knowledge about fundamental
physics.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure
Time evolution of a non-singular primordial black hole
There is growing notion that black holes may not contain curvature
singularities (and that indeed nature in general may abhor such spacetime
defects). This notion could have implications on our understanding of the
evolution of primordial black holes (PBHs) and possibly on their contribution
to cosmic energy. This paper discusses the evolution of a non-singular black
hole (NSBH) based on a recent model [1]. We begin with a study of the
thermodynamic process of the black hole in this model, and demonstrate the
existence of a maximum horizon temperature T_{max}, corresponding to a unique
mass value. At this mass value the specific heat capacity C changes signs to
positive and the body begins to lose its black hole characteristics. With no
loss of generality, the model is used to discuss the time evolution of a
primordial black hole (PBH), through the early radiation era of the universe to
present, under the assumption that PBHs are non-singular. In particular, we
track the evolution of two benchmark PBHs, namely the one radiating up to the
end of the cosmic radiation domination era, and the one stopping to radiate
currently, and in each case determine some useful features including the
initial mass m_{f} and the corresponding time of formation t_{f}. It is found
that along the evolutionary history of the universe the distribution of PBH
remnant masses (PBH-RM) PBH-RMs follows a power law. We believe such a result
can be a useful step in a study to establish current abundance of PBH-MRs.Comment: To appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Triple-horizon spherically symmetric spacetime and holographic principle
We present a family of spherically symmetric spacetimes, specified by the
density profile of a vacuum dark energy, which have the same global structure
as the de Sitter spacetime but the reduced symmetry which leads to a
time-evolving and spatially inhomogeneous cosmological term. It connects
smoothly two de Sitter vacua with different values of cosmological constant and
corresponds to anisotropic vacuum dark fluid defined by symmetry of its
stress-energy tensor which is invariant under the radial boosts. This family
contains a special class distinguished by dynamics of evaporation of a
cosmological horizon which evolves to the triple horizon with the finite
entropy, zero temperature, zero curvature, infinite positive specific heat, and
infinite scrambling time. Non-zero value of the cosmological constant in the
triple-horizon spacetime is tightly fixed by quantum dynamics of evaporation of
the cosmological horizon.Comment: Honorable Mentioned Essay - Gravity Research Foundation 2012;
submitted to Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Regular black holes with flux tube core
We consider a class of black holes for which the area of the two-dimensional
spatial cross-section has a minimum on the horizon with respect to a
quasiglobal (Krusckal-like) coordinate. If the horizon is regular, one can
generate a tubelike counterpart of such a metric and smoothly glue it to a
black hole region. The resulting composite space-time is globally regular, so
all potential singuilarities under the horizon of the original metrics are
removed. Such a space-time represents a black hole without an apparent horizon.
It is essential that the matter should be non-vacuum in the outer region but
vacuumlike in the inner one. As an example we consider the noninteracting
mixture of vacuum fluid and matter with a linear equation of state and scalar
phantom fields. This approach is extended to distorted metrics, with the
requirement of spherical symmetry relaxed.Comment: 15 pages. 2 references adde
MRI and Neuropsychological Correlates of Carbon Monoxide Exposure: A Case Report
A 45-year-old woman experienced long-term, chronic exposure to carbon monoxide in the restaurant kitchen where she was employed as a cook. After returning to the restaurant after 5 days off work, she noticed that her symptoms returned immediately; she then aired out the room and called the gas company. Approximately 6 hr after a leak was detected, the patient went to the hospital, where her carboxyhemoglobin was found to be within normal limits and results of a neurologic examination were described as normal. Based on her symptoms, the patient believed she had been exposed to CO for at least 1 year before the leak was discovered. Initially, she experienced flu-like symptoms, which eventually resolved. At the time of her first neuropsychological evaluation (17 months after the exposure was identified), her persisting complaints included difficulties in reading, writing, speaking and word retrieval. The test results were consistent with secondary frontal lobe dysfunction associated with subcortical disorders such as those seen after CO exposure. Results of a subsequent neuropsychological examination (29 months postexposure) showed slight improvement in performance, but her performance was still consistent with mild frontal/subcortical dysfunction. Although the initial screening of a brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) performed 15 months after the exposure was interpreted as being within normal limits, two subsequent blind reviews of the same scans identified multiple bilateral lesions in the basal ganglia, which were consistent with chronic CO exposure. We present this case as an example of the utility of MRI and neuropsychological examinations in detecting central nervous system dysfunction secondary to CO exposure
Global Monopole in General Relativity
We consider the gravitational properties of a global monopole on the basis of
the simplest Higgs scalar triplet model in general relativity. We begin with
establishing some common features of hedgehog-type solutions with a regular
center, independent of the choice of the symmetry-breaking potential. There are
six types of qualitative behavior of the solutions; we show, in particular,
that the metric can contain at most one simple horizon. For the standard
Mexican hat potential, the previously known properties of the solutions are
confirmed and some new results are obtained. Thus, we show analytically that
solutions with monotonically growing Higgs field and finite energy in the
static region exist only in the interval , being the
squared energy of spontaneous symmetry breaking in Planck units. The
cosmological properties of these globally regular solutions apparently favor
the idea that the standard Big Bang might be replaced with a nonsingular static
core and a horizon appearing as a result of some symmetry-breaking phase
transition on the Planck energy scale. In addition to the monotonic solutions,
we present and analyze a sequence of families of new solutions with oscillating
Higgs field. These families are parametrized by , the number of knots of the
Higgs field, and exist for ; all such
solutions possess a horizon and a singularity beyond it.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
No-go theorem for false vacuum black holes
We study the possibility of non-singular black hole solutions in the theory
of general relativity coupled to a non-linear scalar field with a positive
potential possessing two minima: a `false vacuum' with positive energy and a
`true vacuum' with zero energy. Assuming that the scalar field starts at the
false vacuum at the origin and comes to the true vacuum at spatial infinity, we
prove a no-go theorem by extending a no-hair theorem to the black hole
interior: no smooth solutions exist which interpolate between the local de
Sitter solution near the origin and the asymptotic Schwarzschild solution
through a regular event horizon or several horizons.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, Latex, some references added, to appear in
Classical and Quantum Gravit
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