3,990 research outputs found
Conformal Transformations with Multiple Scalar Fields
Many interesting models incorporate scalar fields with non-minimal couplings
to the spacetime Ricci curvature scalar. As is well known, if only one scalar
field is non-minimally coupled, then one may perform a conformal transformation
to a new frame in which both the gravitational portion of the Lagrangian and
the kinetic term for the (rescaled) scalar field assume canonical form. We
examine under what conditions the gravitational and kinetic terms in the
Lagrangian may be brought into canonical form when more than one scalar field
has non-minimal coupling. A particular class of two-field models admits such a
transformation, but models with more than two non-minimally coupled fields in
general do not.Comment: 17 pages, no figures. References added to match published version
Primordial Perturbations from Multifield Inflation with Nonminimal Couplings
Realistic models of particle physics include many scalar fields. These fields
generically have nonminimal couplings to the Ricci curvature scalar, either as
part of a generalized Einstein theory or as necessary counterterms for
renormalization in curved background spacetimes. We develop a gauge-invariant
formalism for calculating primordial perturbations in models with multiple
nonminimally coupled fields. We work in the Jordan frame (in which the
nonminimal couplings remain explicit) and identify two distinct sources of
entropy perturbations for such models. One set of entropy perturbations arises
from interactions among the multiple fields. The second set arises from the
presence of nonminimal couplings. Neither of these varieties of entropy
perturbations will necessarily be suppressed in the long-wavelength limit, and
hence they can amplify the curvature perturbation, , even for modes that
have crossed outside the Hubble radius. Models that overproduce long-wavelength
entropy perturbations endanger the close fit between predicted inflationary
spectra and empirical observations.Comment: 16 pages, no figures. References added to match published versio
Observations of extremely thin clouds in the tropical tropopause region by a ship based lidar.
During the cruises ANT XVII/4 (Punta Arenas Bremerhaven, 2000) and ANT XX1/1 (Bremerhaven - Cape Town, 2003) continuous measurements of clouds and aerosol have been performed by a Mobile Aerosol Raman Lidar (MARL). This system measures backscatter of light at 355 nm and 532 nm and is able to detect even extremely thin layers of particles in the atmosphere. Cloud base and top height, depolarisation optical depth and color index can be deduced from this data. During the Polarstern cruises very thin layers of ice particles have been observed frequently in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Cases of persistent cloud layers with an optical depth below 10^-3 are reported. Based on the data of radiosondes which were launched daily aboard the vessel, the conditions at which these type of clouds form are analysed. It is shown, that these clouds form in a layer below the cold point, but above the lapse rate tropopause. The relation between cloud occurrence and temperature and wind in the TTL as well as state of the QBO are discussed
Inflationary paradigm after Planck 2013
Models of cosmic inflation posit an early phase of accelerated expansion of
the universe, driven by the dynamics of one or more scalar fields in curved
spacetime. Though detailed assumptions about fields and couplings vary across
models, inflation makes specific, quantitative predictions for several
observable quantities, such as the flatness parameter ()
and the spectral tilt of primordial curvature perturbations (), among others---predictions that match the latest
observations from the {\it Planck} satellite to very good precision. In the
light of data from {\it Planck} as well as recent theoretical developments in
the study of eternal inflation and the multiverse, we address recent criticisms
of inflation by Ijjas, Steinhardt, and Loeb. We argue that their conclusions
rest on several problematic assumptions, and we conclude that cosmic inflation
is on a stronger footing than ever before.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; added references, and brief additions to
Footnote 1, Section VI, and the Acknowledgment
Testing Bell's Inequality with Cosmic Photons: Closing the Setting-Independence Loophole
We propose a practical scheme to use photons from causally disconnected
cosmic sources to set the detectors in an experimental test of Bell's
inequality. In current experiments, with settings determined by quantum random
number generators, only a small amount of correlation between detector settings
and local hidden variables, established less than a millisecond before each
experiment, would suffice to mimic the predictions of quantum mechanics. By
setting the detectors using pairs of quasars or patches of the cosmic microwave
background, observed violations of Bell's inequality would require any such
coordination to have existed for billions of years --- an improvement of 20
orders of magnitude.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Minor edits to closely match journal version to
be published in Physical Review Letter
The fractional chromatic number of triangle-free subcubic graphs
Heckman and Thomas conjectured that the fractional chromatic number of any
triangle-free subcubic graph is at most 14/5. Improving on estimates of Hatami
and Zhu and of Lu and Peng, we prove that the fractional chromatic number of
any triangle-free subcubic graph is at most 32/11 (which is roughly 2.909)
Multifield Inflation after Planck: Isocurvature Modes from Nonminimal Couplings
Recent measurements by the {\it Planck} experiment of the power spectrum of
temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB)
reveal a deficit of power in low multipoles compared to the predictions from
best-fit CDM cosmology. The low- anomaly may be explained by the
presence of primordial isocurvature perturbations in addition to the usual
adiabatic spectrum, and hence may provide the first robust evidence that
early-universe inflation involved more than one scalar field. In this paper we
explore the production of isocurvature perturbations in nonminimally coupled
two-field inflation. We find that this class of models readily produces enough
power in the isocurvature modes to account for the \emph{Planck} low-
anomaly, while also providing excellent agreement with the other {\it Planck}
results.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures. Minor edits to match published versio
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