14,359 research outputs found
Dark Energy in vector-tensor theories of gravity
We consider a general class of vector-tensor theories of gravity and show
that solutions with accelerated expansion and a future type III singularity are
a common feature in these models. We also show that there are only six
vector-tensor theories with the same small scales behavior as General
Relativity and, in addition, only two of them can be made completely free from
instabilities. Finally, two particular models as candidates for dark energy are
proposed: on one hand, a cosmic vector that allows to alleviate the usual
naturalness and coincidence problems and, on the other hand, the
electromagnetic field is shown to give rise to an effective cosmological
constant on large scales whose value can be explained in terms of inflation at
the electroweak scale.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table. Contribution to the proceedings of Spanish
Relativity Meeting 2009, Bilbao, Spain, 7-11 September 200
Cosmic magnetic fields and dark energy in extended electromagnetism
We discuss an extended version of electromagnetism in which the usual gauge
fixing term is promoted into a physical contribution that introduces a new
scalar state in the theory. This new state can be generated from vacuum quantum
fluctuations during an inflationary era and, on super-Hubble scales, gives rise
to an effective cosmological constant. The value of such a cosmological
constant coincides with the one inferred from observations as long as inflation
took place at the electroweak scale. On the other hand, the new state also
generates an effective electric charge density on sub-Hubble scales that
produces both vorticity and magnetic fields with coherent lengths as large as
the present Hubble horizon.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the proceedings of Spanish
Relativity Meeting 2010, Granada, Spain, 6-10 September 201
A multi-component flood risk assessment in the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean)
Coastal regions are the areas most threatened by natural hazards, with floods being the most frequent and significant threat in terms of their induced impacts, and therefore, any management scheme requires their evaluation. In coastal areas, flooding is a hazard associated with various processes acting at different scales: coastal storms, flash floods, and sea level rise (SLR). In order to address the problem as a whole, this study presents a ethodology to undertake a preliminary integrated risk assessment that determines the magnitude of the different flood processes (flash flood, marine storm, SLR) and their associated consequences, taking into account their temporal and spatial scales. The risk is quantified using specific indicators to assess the magnitude of the hazard (for each component) and the consequences in a common scale. This allows for a robust comparison of the spatial risk distribution along the coast in order to identify both the areas at greatest risk and the risk components that have the greatest impact. This methodology is applied on the Maresme coast (NW Mediterranean, Spain), which can be considered representative of developed areas of the Spanish Mediterranean coast. The results obtained characterise this coastline as an area of relatively low overall risk, although some hot spots have been identified with high-risk values, with flash flooding being the principal risk process
Atmospheric turbulence in phase-referenced and wide-field interferometric images: Application to the SKA
Phase referencing is a standard calibration procedure in radio
interferometry. It allows to detect weak sources by using quasi-simultaneous
observations of closeby sources acting as calibrators. Therefore, it is assumed
that, for each antenna, the optical paths of the signals from both sources are
similar. However, atmospheric turbulence may introduce strong differences in
the optical paths of the signals and affect, or even waste, phase referencing
for cases of relatively large calibrator-to-target separations and/or bad
weather. The situation is similar in wide-field observations, since the random
deformations of the images, mostly caused by atmospheric turbulence, have
essentially the same origin as the random astrometric variations of
phase-referenced sources with respect to the phase center of their calibrators.
In this paper, we present the results of a Monte Carlo study of the astrometric
precision and sensitivity of an interferometric array (a realization of the
Square Kilometre Array, SKA) in phase-referenced and wide-field observations.
These simulations can be extrapolated to other arrays by applying the
corresponding corrections. We consider several effects from the turbulent
atmosphere (i.e., ionosphere and wet component of the troposphere) and also
from the antenna receivers. We study the changes in dynamic range and
astrometric precision as a function of observing frequency, source separation,
and strength of the turbulence. We find that, for frequencies between 1 and 10
GHz, it is possible to obtain images with high fidelity, although the
atmosphere strongly limits the sensitivity of the instrument compared to the
case with no atmosphere. Outside this frequency window, the dynamic range of
the images and the accuracy of the source positions decrease. [...] (Incomplete
abstract. Please read manuscript.)Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A
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