Variational Approach to the Chiral Phase Transition in the Linear Sigma Model

The chiral phase transition at finite temperature is investigated in the linear sigma model, which is regarded as a low energy effective theory of QCD with three momentum cutoff, in the variational method with the Gaussian approximation in the functional Schroedinger picture. It is shown that the Goldstone theorem is retained and the meson pair excitations are automatically included by taking into account the linear response to the external fields. It is pointed out that the behavior of chiral phase transition depends on the three-momentum cutoff, which leads to the careful treatment of the problem.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, using PTPTeX cl

Remote Inflation: Hybrid-like inflation without hybrid-type potential

A new scenario of hybrid-like inflation is considered without using hybrid-type potential. Radiation raised continuously by a dissipating inflaton field keeps symmetry restoration in a remote sector, and the false-vacuum energy of the remote sector dominates the energy density during inflation. Remote inflation is terminated when the temperature reaches the critical temperature, or when the slow-roll condition is violated. Without introducing a complex form of couplings, inflaton field may either roll-in (like a standard hybrid inflation) or roll-out (like an inverted-hybrid model or quintessential inflation) on arbitrary inflaton potential. Significant signatures of remote inflation can be observed in the spectrum caused by (1) the inhomogeneous phase transition in the remote sector, or (2) a successive phase transition in the remote sector. Remote inflation can predict strong amplification or suppression of small-scale perturbations without introducing multiple inflation. Since the inflaton may have a run-away potential, it is also possible to identify the inflaton with quintessence, without introducing additional mechanisms. Even if the false-vacuum energy is not dominated by the remote sector, the phase transition in the remote sector is possible during warm inflation, which may cause significant amplification/suppression of the curvature perturbations.Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure, fixed references, accepted for publication in JCA

Elliptic Inflation: Generating the curvature perturbation without slow-roll

There are many inflationary models in which inflaton field does not satisfy the slow-roll condition. However, in such models, it is always difficult to generate the curvature perturbation during inflation. Thus, to generate the curvature perturbation, one must introduce another component to the theory. To cite a case, curvatons may generate dominant part of the curvature perturbation after inflation. However, we have a question whether it is unrealistic to consider the generation of the curvature perturbation during inflation without slow-roll. Assuming multi-field inflation, we encounter the generation of the curvature perturbation during inflation without slow-roll. The potential along equipotential surface is flat by definition and thus we do not have to worry about symmetry. We also discuss about KKLT models, in which corrections lifting the inflationary direction may not become a serious problem if there is a symmetry enhancement at the tip (not at the moving brane) of the inflationary throat.Comment: 27pages, 8figures, to appear in JCA

Diffuse Lyman Alpha Haloes around Lyman Alpha Emitters at z=3: Do Dark Matter Distributions Determine the Lyman Alpha Spatial Extents?

Using stacks of Ly-a images of 2128 Ly-a emitters (LAEs) and 24 protocluster UV-selected galaxies (LBGs) at z=3.1, we examine the surface brightness profiles of Ly-a haloes around high-z galaxies as a function of environment and UV luminosity. We find that the slopes of the Ly-a radial profiles become flatter as the Mpc-scale LAE surface densities increase, but they are almost independent of the central UV luminosities. The characteristic exponential scale lengths of the Ly-a haloes appear to be proportional to the square of the LAE surface densities (r(Lya) \propto Sigma(LAE)^2). Including the diffuse, extended Ly-a haloes, the rest-frame Ly-a equivalent width of the LAEs in the densest regions approaches EW_0(Lya) ~ 200 A, the maximum value expected for young (< 10^7 yr) galaxies. This suggests that Ly-a photons formed via shock compression by gas outflows or cooling radiation by gravitational gas inflows may partly contribute to illuminate the Ly-a haloes; however, most of their Ly-a luminosity can be explained by photo-ionisation by ionising photons or scattering of Ly-a photons produced in HII regions in and around the central galaxies. Regardless of the source of Ly-a photons, if the Ly-a haloes trace the overall gaseous structure following the dark matter distributions, it is not surprising that the Ly-a spatial extents depend more strongly on the surrounding Mpc-scale environment than on the activities of the central galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA