6,295 research outputs found
Dark Energy and the Hubble Age
I point out that an effective upper limit of approximately 20 Gyr (for a
Hubble constant of 72 km/s/Mpc) or alternatively on the -independent
quantity , exists on the age of the Universe, essentially
independent of the unknown equation of state of the dominant dark energy
component in the Universe. Unless astrophysical constraints on the age of the
Universe can convincingly reduce the upper limit to below this value no useful
lower limit on the equation of state parameter for this component can be
obtained. Direct dating by stars does not provide a useful constraint, but
model-dependent cosmological limits from supernovae and the CMB observations
may. For a constant value of , a bound Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Ap. J. Lett (analytic asymptotic upper bound
now added
Observation of Cosmic Acceleration and Determining the Fate of the Universe
Current observations of Type Ia supernovae provide evidence for cosmic
acceleration out to a redshift of z \lsim 1, leading to the possibility that
the universe is entering an inflationary epoch. However, inflation can take
place only if vacuum-energy (or other sufficiently slowly redshifting source of
energy density) dominates the energy density of a region of physical radius
1/H. We argue that for the best-fit values of and
inferred from the supernovae data, one must confirm cosmic acceleration out to
at least to infer that the universe is inflating.Comment: 4 pages;important changes in conclusion; published in Phys. Rev. Let
"Just So" Neutrino Oscillations Are Back
Recent evidence for oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos at Super-Kamiokande
suggest, in the simplest see-saw interpretation, neutrino masses such that
`just so' vacuum oscillations can explain the solar neutrino deficit. Super-K
solar neutrino data provide preliminary support for this interpretation. We
describe how the just-so signal---an energy dependent seasonal variation of the
event rate, might be detected within the coming years and provide general
arguments constraining the sign of the variation. The expected variation at
radiochemical detectors may be below present sensitivity, but a significant
modulation in the Be signal could shed light on the physics of the solar
core---including a direct measure of the solar core temperature.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, 4 ps figs: new refs added, and Super-K energy
resolution function incorporate
Geometry and Destiny
The recognition that the cosmological constant may be non-zero forces us to
re-evaluate standard notions about the connection between geometry and the fate
of our Universe. An open Universe can recollapse, and a closed Universe can
expand forever. As a corollary, we point out that there is no set of
cosmological observations we can perform that will unambiguously allow us to
determine what the ultimate destiny of the Universe will be.Comment: 7 pages, Gravity Research Foundation Essa
Reheating predictions in single field inflation
Reheating is a transition era after the end of inflation, during which the
inflaton is converted into the particles that populate the Universe at later
times. No direct cosmological observables are normally traceable to this period
of reheating. Indirect bounds can however be derived. One possibility is to
consider cosmological evolution for observable CMB scales from the time of
Hubble crossing to the present time. Depending upon the model, the duration and
final temperature after reheating, as well as its equation of state, may be
directly linked to inflationary observables. For single-field inflationary
models, if we approximate reheating by a constant equation of state, one can
derive relations between the reheating duration (or final temperature), its
equation of state parameter, and the scalar power spectrum amplitude and
spectral index. While this is a simple approximation, by restricting the
equation of state to lie within a broad physically allowed range, one can in
turn bracket an allowed range of and for these models. The added
constraints can help break degeneracies between inflation models that otherwise
overlap in their predictions for and .Comment: 32 pages, 15 figures. Revised in response to comments on the original
version, and in preparation for submission for publication. More references
and a new figure were adde
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
Quintessence Model and Observational Constraints
The recent observations of type Ia supernovae strongly support that the
universe is accelerating now and decelerated in the recent past. By assuming a
general relation between the quintessence potential and the quintessence
kinetic energy, a general relation is found between the quintessence energy
density and the scale factor. The potential includes both the hyperbolic and
the double exponential potentials. A detailed analysis of the transition from
the deceleration phase to the acceleration phase is then performed. We show
that the current constraints on the transition time, the equation of state and
the energy density of the quintessence field are satisfied in the model.Comment: update references,add acknowledgements and correct some errors,
accepted for publication in class. and quant. gra
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