499 research outputs found
Reconstructing cosmic acceleration from modified and non-minimal gravity: The Yang-Mills case
A variant of the accelerating cosmology reconstruction program is developed
for gravity and for a modified Yang-Mills/Maxwell theory. Reconstruction
schemes in terms of e-foldings and by using an auxiliary scalar field are
developed and carefully compared, for the case of gravity. An example of
a model with a transient phantom behavior without real matter is explicitly
discussed in both schemes. Further, the two reconstruction schemes are applied
to the more physically interesting case of a Yang-Mills/Maxwell theory, again
with explicit examples. Detailed comparison of the two schemes of
reconstruction is presented also for this theory. It seems to support, as well,
physical non-equivalence of the two frames.Comment: 16 pages, no figures, version to appear in Phys Rev
Scalar Field Dark Energy Perturbations and their Scale Dependence
We estimate the amplitude of perturbation in dark energy at different length
scales for a quintessence model with an exponential potential. It is shown that
on length scales much smaller than hubble radius, perturbation in dark energy
is negligible in comparison to that in in dark matter. However, on scales
comparable to the hubble radius () the
perturbation in dark energy in general cannot be neglected. As compared to the
CDM model, large scale matter power spectrum is suppressed in a
generic quintessence dark energy model. We show that on scales , this suppression is primarily due to different background
evolution compared to CDM model. However, on much larger scales
perturbation in dark energy can effect matter power spectrum significantly.
Hence this analysis can act as a discriminator between CDM model and
other generic dark energy models with .Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, added new section, accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
Duality and cosmological compactification of superstrings with unbroken supersymmetry
The cosmological compactification of D=10, N=1 supergravity-super-Yang-Mills
theory obtained from superstring theory is studied. The constraint of unbroken
N=1 supersymmetry is imposed. A duality transformation is performed on the
resulting consistency conditions. The original equations as well as the
transformed equations are solved numerically to obtain new configurations with
a nontrivial scale factor and a dynamical dilaton. It is shown that various
classes of solutions are possible, which include cosmological solutions with no
initial singularity.Comment: Latex2e file, 24 pages including 10 figures as tex file
Observational constraints on low redshift evolution of dark energy: How consistent are different observations?
The dark energy component of the universe is often interpreted either in
terms of a cosmological constant or as a scalar field. A generic feature of the
scalar field models is that the equation of state parameter w= P/rho for the
dark energy need not satisfy w=-1 and, in general, it can be a function of
time. Using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method we perform a critical analysis
of the cosmological parameter space, allowing for a varying w. We use
constraints on w(z) from the observations of high redshift supernovae (SN), the
WMAP observations of CMB anisotropies and abundance of rich clusters of
galaxies. For models with a constant w, the LCDM model is allowed with a
probability of about 6% by the SN observations while it is allowed with a
probability of 98.9% by WMAP observations. The LCDM model is allowed even
within the context of models with variable w: WMAP observations allow it with a
probability of 99.1% whereas SN data allows it with 23% probability. The SN
data, on its own, favors phantom like equation of state (w<-1) and high values
for Omega_NR. It does not distinguish between constant w (with w<-1) models and
those with varying w(z) in a statistically significant manner. The SN data
allows a very wide range for variation of dark energy density, e.g., a
variation by factor ten in the dark energy density between z=0 and z=1 is
allowed at 95% confidence level. WMAP observations provide a better constraint
and the corresponding allowed variation is less than a factor of three.
Allowing for variation in w has an impact on the values for other cosmological
parameters in that the allowed range often becomes larger. (Abridged)Comment: 21 pages, PRD format (Revtex 4), postscript figures. minor
corrections to improve clarity; references, acknowledgement adde
Complementary Constraints on Brane Cosmology
The acceleration of the expansion of the universe represents one of the major
challenges to our current understanding of fundamental physics. In principle,
to explain this phenomenon, at least two different routes may be followed:
either adjusting the energy content of the Universe -- by introducing a
negative-pressure dark energy -- or modifying gravity at very large scales --
by introducing new spatial dimensions, an idea also required by unification
theories. In the cosmological context, the role of such extra dimensions as the
source of the dark pressure responsable for the acceleration of our Universe is
translated into the so-called brane world (BW) cosmologies. Here we study
complementary constraints on a particular class of BW scenarios in which the
modification of gravity arises due to a gravitational \emph{leakage} into extra
dimensions. To this end, we use the most recent Chandra measurements of the
X-ray gas mass fraction in galaxy clusters, the WMAP determinations of the
baryon density parameter, measurements of the Hubble parameter from the
\emph{HST}, and the current supernova data. In agreement with other recent
results, it is shown that these models provide a good description for these
complementary data, although a closed scenario is always favored in the joint
analysis. We emphasize that observational tests of BW scenarios constitute a
natural verification of the role of possible extra dimensions in both
fundamental physics and cosmology.Comment: 6 Pages, 4 Figures, LaTe
Evolution of perturbations in distinct classes of canonical scalar field models of dark energy
Dark energy must cluster in order to be consistent with the equivalence
principle. The background evolution can be effectively modelled by either a
scalar field or by a barotropic fluid.The fluid model can be used to emulate
perturbations in a scalar field model of dark energy, though this model breaks
down at large scales. In this paper we study evolution of dark energy
perturbations in canonical scalar field models: the classes of thawing and
freezing models.The dark energy equation of state evolves differently in these
classes.In freezing models, the equation of state deviates from that of a
cosmological constant at early times.For thawing models, the dark energy
equation of state remains near that of the cosmological constant at early times
and begins to deviate from it only at late times.Since the dark energy equation
of state evolves differently in these classes,the dark energy perturbations too
evolve differently. In freezing models, since the equation of state deviates
from that of a cosmological constant at early times, there is a significant
difference in evolution of matter perturbations from those in the cosmological
constant model.In comparison, matter perturbations in thawing models differ
from the cosmological constant only at late times. This difference provides an
additional handle to distinguish between these classes of models and this
difference should manifest itself in the ISW effect.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Late acceleration and crossing in induced gravity
We study the cosmological evolution on a brane with induced gravity within a
bulk with arbitrary matter content. We consider a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker
brane, invariantly characterized by a six-dimensional group of isometries. We
derive the effective Friedmann and Raychaudhuri equations. We show that the
Hubble expansion rate on the brane depends on the covariantly defined
integrated mass in the bulk, which determines the energy density of the
generalized dark radiation. The Friedmann equation has two branches,
distinguished by the two possible values of the parameter \ex=\pm 1. The
branch with \ex=1 is characterized by an effective cosmological constant and
accelerated expansion for low energy densities. Another remarkable feature is
that the contribution from the generalized dark radiation appears with a
negative sign. As a result, the presence of the bulk corresponds to an
effective negative energy density on the brane, without violation of the weak
energy condition. The transition from a period of domination of the matter
energy density by non-relativistic brane matter to domination by the
generalized dark radiation corresponds to a crossing of the phantom divide
.Comment: 7 pages, no figures, RevTex 4.0; (v2) new references are added, minor
corrections and expanded discussion; (v3) additional comments at the end of
section III, minor corrections and several new references are added, to match
published version in Phys. Rev.
Measuring Dark Energy with Gamma-Ray Bursts and Other Cosmological Probes
It has been widely shown that the cosmological parameters and dark energy can
be constrained by using data from type-Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO)
peak from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the X-ray gas mass fraction in
clusters, and the linear growth rate of perturbations at z=0.15 as obtained
from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. Recently, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have
also been argued to be promising standard candles for cosmography. In this
paper, we present constraints on the cosmological parameters and dark energy by
combining a recent GRB sample including 69 events with the other cosmological
probes. First, we find that for the LambdaCDM cosmology this combination makes
the constraints stringent and the best fit is close to the flat universe.
Second, we fit the flat Cardassian expansion model and find that this model is
consistent with the LambdaCDM cosmology. Third, we present constraints on
several two-parameter dark energy models and find that these models are also
consistent with the LambdaCDM cosmology. Finally, we reconstruct the dark
energy equation-of-state parameter w(z) and the deceleration parameter q(z). We
see that the acceleration could have started at a redshift from
z_T=0.40_{-0.08}^{+0.14} to z_T=0.65_{-0.05}^{+0.10}. This difference in the
transition redshift is due to different dark energy models that we adopt. The
most stringent constraint on w(z) lies in the redshift range z\sim 0.3-0.6.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. One reference
added, one minor change in the final paragraph of section
Peripheral arterial disease and osteoporosis in older adults: the Rancho Bernardo Study
We examined the association between peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and bone health in 1,332 adults. We found a weak association between PAD and osteoporosis and bone loss only in women, but the association was not independent of age. PAD was not associated with fractures in this community-based population.
Increased rates of osteoporosis have been reported in patients with cardiovascular disease, suggesting a link between osteoporosis and atherosclerosis.
We examined the association between PAD and bone health in 1,332 adults who attended a research visit in 1992–1996, when the ankle–brachial index (ABI), bone mineral density (BMD), and spine X-rays were obtained. A total of 837 participants attended a follow-up visit in 1997–2000.
PAD defined by an ABI ≤ 0.90 was present in 15.4% of the women and 13.3% of the men. Prevalence of osteoporosis was significantly higher in women with PAD compared to women without PAD (p < 0.05). During an average 4-year follow-up, women with PAD had a significantly higher rate of bone loss than women without PAD (p = 0.05). The associations were no longer significant after age adjustment. In men, PAD was not associated with osteoporosis, but men with PAD had lower BMD at the femoral neck than men without PAD (p = 0.03). PAD was not associated with osteoporotic fractures in either sex.
We found a weak and age-dependent association between PAD and osteoporosis in women but not men. PAD was not associated with fractures in this community-based population
Parametrization of dark energy equation of state Revisited
A comparative study of various parametrizations of the dark energy equation
of state is made. Astrophysical constraints from LSS, CMB and BBN are laid down
to test the physical viability and cosmological compatibility of these
parametrizations. A critical evaluation of the 4-index parametrizations reveals
that Hannestad-M\"{o}rtsell as well as Lee parametrizations are simple and
transparent in probing the evolution of the dark energy during the expansion
history of the universe and they satisfy the LSS, CMB and BBN constraints on
the dark energy density parameter for the best fit values.Comment: 11 page
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