Scalar field dark energy perturbations and the Integrated Sachs Wolfe effect

Dark energy perturbation affects the growth of matter perturbations even in scenarios with noninteracting dark energy. We investigate the Integrated Sachs Wolfe (ISW) effect in various canonical scalar field models with perturbed dark energy. We do this analysis for models belonging to the thawing and freezing classes. We show that between these classes there is no clear difference for the ISW effect. We show that on taking perturbations into account, the contribution due to different models is closer to each other and to the cosmological constant model as compared to the case of a smooth dark energy. Therefore considering dark energy to be homogeneous gives an overestimate in distinction between different models. However there are significant difference between contribution to the angular power spectrum due to different models.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. references added, changes in text, conclusions remain the sam

Vacuum Fluctuations of Energy Density can lead to the observed Cosmological Constant

The energy density associated with Planck length is $\rho_{uv}\propto L_P^{-4}$ while the energy density associated with the Hubble length is $\rho_{ir}\propto L_H^{-4}$ where $L_H=1/H$. The observed value of the dark energy density is quite different from {\it either} of these and is close to the geometric mean of the two: $\rho_{vac}\simeq \sqrt{\rho_{uv} \rho_{ir}}$. It is argued that classical gravity is actually a probe of the vacuum {\it fluctuations} of energy density, rather than the energy density itself. While the globally defined ground state, being an eigenstate of Hamiltonian, will not have any fluctuations, the ground state energy in the finite region of space bounded by the cosmic horizon will exhibit fluctuations $\Delta\rho_{\rm vac}(L_P, L_H)$. When used as a source of gravity, this $\Delta \rho$ should lead to a spacetime with a horizon size $L_H$. This bootstrapping condition leads naturally to an effective dark energy density $\Delta\rho\propto (L_{uv}L_H)^{-2}\propto H^2/G$ which is precisely the observed value. The model requires, either (i) a stochastic fluctuations of vacuum energy which is correlated over about a Hubble time or (ii) a semi- anthropic interpretation. The implications are discussed.Comment: r pages; revtex; comments welcom

Scalar Field Dark Energy Perturbations and their Scale Dependence

We estimate the amplitude of perturbation in dark energy at different length scales for a quintessence model with an exponential potential. It is shown that on length scales much smaller than hubble radius, perturbation in dark energy is negligible in comparison to that in in dark matter. However, on scales comparable to the hubble radius ($\lambda_{p}>1000\mathrm{Mpc}$) the perturbation in dark energy in general cannot be neglected. As compared to the $\Lambda$CDM model, large scale matter power spectrum is suppressed in a generic quintessence dark energy model. We show that on scales $\lambda_{p} < 1000\mathrm{Mpc}$, this suppression is primarily due to different background evolution compared to $\Lambda$CDM model. However, on much larger scales perturbation in dark energy can effect matter power spectrum significantly. Hence this analysis can act as a discriminator between $\Lambda$CDM model and other generic dark energy models with $w_{de} \neq -1$.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, added new section, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Dark energy transition between quintessence and phantom regimes - an equation of state analysis

The dark energy transition between quintessence ($w>-1$) and phantom ($w<-1$) regimes (the crossing of the cosmological constant boundary) is studied using the dark energy equation of state. Models characterized by this type of transition are explicitly constructed and their equation of state is found to be {\em implicitly} defined. The behavior of the more general models with the implicitly defined equation of state, obtained by the generalization of the explicitly constructed models, is studied to gain insight into the necessary conditions for the occurrence of the transition, as well as to investigate the mechanism behind the transition. It is found that the parameters of the generalized models need to satisfy special conditions for the transition to happen and that the mechanism behind the transition is the cancellation of the contribution of the cosmological constant boundary. The aspects of the behavior of the generalized models which are not related to the transition are briefly discussed and the role of the implicitly defined dark energy equation of state in the description of the dark energy evolution is emphasized.Comment: v1: 9 pages, 6 figures. v2: references added. v3: minor changes. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Hypothesis of path integral duality: Applications to QED

We use the modified propagator for quantum field based on a ``principle of path integral duality" proposed earlier in a paper by Padmanabhan to investigate several results in QED. This procedure modifies the Feynman propagator by the introduction of a fundamental length scale. We use this modified propagator for the Dirac particles to evaluate the first order radiative corrections in QED. We find that the extra factor of the modified propagator acts like a regulator at the Planck scales thereby removing the divergences that otherwise appear in the conventional radiative correction calculations of QED. We find that:(i) all the three renormalisation factors $Z_1$, $Z_2$, and $Z_3$ pick up finite corrections and (ii) the modified propagator breaks the gauge invariance at a very small level of ${\mathcal{O}}(10^{-45})$. The implications of this result to generation of the primordial seed magnetic fields are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX2e (uses ijmpd.sty); To appear in IJMP-D; References adde

The hypothesis of path integral duality II: corrections to quantum field theoretic results

In the path integral expression for a Feynman propagator of a spinless particle of mass $m$, the path integral amplitude for a path of proper length ${\cal R}(x,x'| g_{\mu\nu})$ connecting events $x$ and $x'$ in a spacetime described by the metric tensor $g_{\mu\nu}$ is $\exp-[m {\cal R}(x,x'| g_{\mu\nu})]$. In a recent paper, assuming the path integral amplitude to be invariant under the duality transformation ${\cal R} \to (L_P^2/{\cal R})$, Padmanabhan has evaluated the modified Feynman propagator in an arbitrary curved spacetime. He finds that the essential feature of this `principle of path integral duality' is that the Euclidean proper distance $(\Delta x)^2$ between two infinitesimally separated spacetime events is replaced by $[(\Delta x)^2 + 4L_P^2 ]$. In other words, under the duality principle the spacetime behaves as though it has a `zero-point length' $L_P$, a feature that is expected to arise in a quantum theory of gravity. In the Schwinger's proper time description of the Feynman propagator, the weightage factor for a path with a proper time $s$ is $\exp-(m^2s)$. Invoking Padmanabhan's `principle of path integral duality' corresponds to modifying the weightage factor $\exp-(m^2s)$ to $\exp-[m^2s + (L_P^2/s)]$. In this paper, we use this modified weightage factor in Schwinger's proper time formalism to evaluate the quantum gravitational corrections to some of the standard quantum field theoretic results in flat and curved spacetimes. We find that the extra factor $\exp-(L_P^2/s)$ acts as a regulator at the Planck scale thereby `removing' the divergences that otherwise appear in the theory. Finally, we discuss the wider implications of our analysis.Comment: 26 pages, Revte

Dark Energy and Gravity

I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1 briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises the evidence for dark energy. It also provides the observational and theoretical arguments in favour of the cosmological constant as the candidate and emphasises why no other approach really solves the conceptual problems usually attributed to the cosmological constant. Part 2 describes some of the approaches to understand the nature of the cosmological constant and attempts to extract the key ingredients which must be present in any viable solution. I argue that (i)the cosmological constant problem cannot be satisfactorily solved until gravitational action is made invariant under the shift of the matter lagrangian by a constant and (ii) this cannot happen if the metric is the dynamical variable. Hence the cosmological constant problem essentially has to do with our (mis)understanding of the nature of gravity. Part 3 discusses an alternative perspective on gravity in which the action is explicitly invariant under the above transformation. Extremizing this action leads to an equation determining the background geometry which gives Einstein's theory at the lowest order with Lanczos-Lovelock type corrections. (Condensed abstract).Comment: Invited Review for a special Gen.Rel.Grav. issue on Dark Energy, edited by G.F.R.Ellis, R.Maartens and H.Nicolai; revtex; 22 pages; 2 figure

511 KeV Photons From Color Superconducting Dark Matter

We discuss the possibility that the recent detection of 511 keV gamma rays from the galactic bulge, as observed by INTEGRAL, can be naturally explained by the supermassive very dense droplets (strangelets) of dark matter. These droplets are assumed to be made of ordinary light quarks (or antiquarks) condensed in non-hadronic color superconducting phase. The droplets can carry electrons (or positrons) in the bulk or/and on the surface. The e^+e^- annihilation events take place due to the collisions of electrons from the visible matter with positrons from dark matter droplets which may result in the bright 511 KeV gamma-ray line from the bulge of the Galaxy.Comment: Final version to appear in PRL. Added: estimation of the width, 3Ke

Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radiation in a Two-Temperature Plasma

In the normal one-temperature plasma the motion of ions is usually neglected when calculating the Bremsstrahlung radiation of the plasma. Here we calculate the Bremsstrahlung radiation of a two-temperature plasma by taking into account of the motion of ions. Our results show that the total radiation power is always lower if the motion of ions is considered. We also apply the two-temperature Bremsstrahlung radiation mechanism for an analytical Advection-Dominated Accretion Flow (ADAF) model; we find the two-temperature correction to the total Bremsstrahlung radiation for ADAF is negligible.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in CHJAA. Some discussions and references adde

Constraints on the evolution of the relationship between H i mass and halo mass in the last 12 Gyr

The neutral hydrogen (H I) content of dark matter haloes forms an intermediate state in the baryon cycle that connects the hot shock-heated gas and cold star-forming gas in haloes. Measurement of the relationship between H I mass and halo mass therefore puts important constraints on galaxy formation models. We combine radio observations of H I in emission at low redshift (z ∼ 0) with optical/UV observations of H I in absorption at high redshift (1 < z < 4) to derive constraints on the evolution of the H I-mass–halo-mass (HIHM) relation from redshift z = 4 to 0. We find that one can model the HIHM relation similar to the stellar-mass–halo-mass (SHM) relation at z ∼ 0. At z = 0, haloes with mass 1011.7 M⊙ have the highest H I mass fraction (∼1 per cent), which is about four times smaller than their stellar-mass fraction. We model the evolution of the HIHM relation in a manner similar to that of the SHM relation. Combining this parametrization with a redshift- and mass-dependent modified Navarro–Frenk–White profile for the H I density within a halo, we draw constraints on the evolution of the HIHM relation from the observed H I column density, incidence rate and clustering bias at high redshift. We compare these findings with results from hydrodynamical simulations and other approaches in the literature and find the models to be consistent with each other at the 68 per cent confidence level