13 research outputs found
The Cosmological Constant is Back
A diverse set of observations now compellingly suggest that Universe
possesses a nonzero cosmological constant. In the context of quantum-field
theory a cosmological constant corresponds to the energy density of the vacuum,
and the wanted value for the cosmological constant corresponds to a very tiny
vacuum energy density. We discuss future observational tests for a cosmological
constant as well as the fundamental theoretical challenges---and
opportunities---that this poses for particle physics and for extending our
understanding of the evolution of the Universe back to the earliest moments.Comment: latex, 8 pages plus one ps figure available as separate compressed
uuencoded fil
Cosmological Evolution in 1/R-Gravity Theory
Recently, corrections of the type to Einstein-Hilbert action that
become important at small curvature are proposed. Those type of models intend
to explain the observed cosmic acceleration without dark energy. We derive the
full Modified Friedmann equation in the Palatini formulation of those modified
gravity model of the type. Then, we discuss various cosmological
predictions of the Modified Friedmann equation.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in Class.Quant.Gra
Perturbation evolution in cosmologies with a decaying cosmological constant
Structure formation models with a cosmological constant are successful in
explaining large-scale structure data, but are threatened by the
magnitude-redshift relation for Type Ia supernovae. This has led to discussion
of models where the cosmological `constant' decays with time, which might
anyway be better motivated in a particle physics context. The simplest such
models are based on scalar fields, and general covariance demands that a
time-evolving scalar field also supports spatial perturbations. We consider the
effect of such perturbations on the growth of adiabatic energy density
perturbations in a cold dark matter component. We study two types of model, one
based on an exponential potential for the scalar field and the other on a
pseudo-Nambu Goldstone boson. For each potential, we study two different
scenarios, one where the scalar field presently behaves as a decaying
cosmological constant and one where it behaves as dust. The initial scalar
field perturbations are fixed by the adiabatic condition, as expected from the
inflationary cosmology, though in fact we show that the choice of initial
condition is of little importance. Calculations are carried out in both the
zero-shear (conformal newtonian) and uniform-curvature gauges. We find that
both potentials allow models which can provide a successful alternative to
cosmological constant models.Comment: 14 pages RevTeX file with three figures incorporated (uses RevTeX and
epsf). Also available by e-mailing ARL, or by WWW at
http://star-www.maps.susx.ac.uk/papers/lsstru_papers.html Revised version
corrects an error in Eq10; results unchange
Neutralino relic density in a Universe with a non-vanishing cosmological constant
We discuss the relic density of the lightest of the supersymmetric particles
in view of new cosmological data, which favour the concept of an accelerating
Universe with a non-vanishing cosmological constant. Recent astrophysical
observations provide us with very precise values of the relevant cosmological
parameters. Certain of these parameters have direct implications on particle
physics, e.g., the value of matter density, which in conjunction with
electroweak precision data put severe constraints on the supersymmetry breaking
scale. In the context of the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model
(CMSSM) such limits read as: M_{1/2} \simeq 300 \GeV - 340 \GeV, m_0 \simeq
80 \GeV - 130 \GeV. Within the context of the CMSSM a way to avoid these
constraints is either to go to the large and region, or
make , the next to lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), be
almost degenerate in mass with LSP.Comment: REVTeX, 50 pages, 35 eps figures; Minor changes, references and a
figure added; Better quality figures can be obtained upon request from
[email protected]
Cosmology at the Millennium
One hundred years ago we did not know how stars generate energy, the age of
the Universe was thought to be only millions of years, and our Milky Way galaxy
was the only galaxy known. Today, we know that we live in an evolving and
expanding Universe comprising billions of galaxies, all held together by dark
matter. With the hot big-bang model, we can trace the evolution of the Universe
from the hot soup of quarks and leptons that existed a fraction of a second
after the beginning to the formation of galaxies a few billion years later, and
finally to the Universe we see today 13 billion years after the big bang, with
its clusters of galaxies, superclusters, voids, and great walls. The attractive
force of gravity acting on tiny primeval inhomogeneities in the distribution of
matter gave rise to all the structure seen today. A paradigm based upon deep
connections between cosmology and elementary particle physics -- inflation +
cold dark matter -- holds the promise of extending our understanding to an even
more fundamental level and much earlier times, as well as shedding light on the
unification of the forces and particles of nature. As we enter the 21st
century, a flood of observations is testing this paradigm.Comment: 44 pages LaTeX with 14 eps figures. To be published in the Centennial
Volume of Reviews of Modern Physic
Limits on the gravity wave contribution to microwave anisotropies
We present limits on the fraction of large angle microwave anisotropies which
could come from tensor perturbations. We use the COBE results as well as
smaller scale CMB observations, measurements of galaxy correlations, abundances
of galaxy clusters, and Lyman alpha absorption cloud statistics. Our aim is to
provide conservative limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio for standard
inflationary models. For power-law inflation, for example, we find T/S<0.52 at
95% confidence, with a similar constraint for phi^p potentials. However, for
models with tensor amplitude unrelated to the scalar spectral index it is still
currently possible to have T/S>1.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D.
Calculations extended to blue spectral index, Fig. 6 added, discussion of
results expande
Cosmological models with dynamical lambda in scalar-tensor theories
In the context of a family os scalar-tensor theories with a dynamical
, that is a binomial on the scalar field, the cosmological equations
are considered. A general barotropic state equation , for a
perfect fluid is used for the matter content of the Universe. Some Friedmann-
Robertson-Walker exact solutions are found, they have scale factor wich shows
exponential or power law dependence on time. For some models the singularity
can be avoided. Cosmological parameters as , ,
and are obtained and compared with observational data.Comment: 20 pages, Latex file, a sign in Eq. (2.17) was corrected, reference
[37] was correcte
Cosmological consequences of a Chaplygin gas dark energy
A combination of recent observational results has given rise to what is
currently known as the dark energy problem. Although several possible
candidates have been extensively discussed in the literature to date the nature
of this dark energy component is not well understood at present. In this paper
we investigate some cosmological implications of another dark energy candidate:
an exotic fluid known as the Chaplygin gas, which is characterized by an
equation of state , where is a positive constant. By assuming
a flat scenario driven by non-relativistic matter plus a Chaplygin gas dark
energy we study the influence of such a component on the statistical properties
of gravitational lenses. A comparison between the predicted age of the universe
and the latest age estimates of globular clusters is also included and the
results briefly discussed. In general, we find that the behavior of this class
of models may be interpreted as an intermediary case between the standard and
CDM scenarios.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.