1,470 research outputs found
The Cost of Social Agents
In this paper we follow the BOID (Belief, Obligation, Intention, Desire) architecture to describe agents and agent types in Defeasible Logic. We argue that the introduction of obligations can provide a new reading of the concepts of intention and intentionality. Then we examine the notion of social agent (i.e., an agent where obligations prevail over intentions) and discuss some computational and philosophical issues related to it. We show that the notion of social agent either requires more complex computations or has some philosophical drawbacks
Observational constraints on low redshift evolution of dark energy: How consistent are different observations?
The dark energy component of the universe is often interpreted either in
terms of a cosmological constant or as a scalar field. A generic feature of the
scalar field models is that the equation of state parameter w= P/rho for the
dark energy need not satisfy w=-1 and, in general, it can be a function of
time. Using the Markov chain Monte Carlo method we perform a critical analysis
of the cosmological parameter space, allowing for a varying w. We use
constraints on w(z) from the observations of high redshift supernovae (SN), the
WMAP observations of CMB anisotropies and abundance of rich clusters of
galaxies. For models with a constant w, the LCDM model is allowed with a
probability of about 6% by the SN observations while it is allowed with a
probability of 98.9% by WMAP observations. The LCDM model is allowed even
within the context of models with variable w: WMAP observations allow it with a
probability of 99.1% whereas SN data allows it with 23% probability. The SN
data, on its own, favors phantom like equation of state (w<-1) and high values
for Omega_NR. It does not distinguish between constant w (with w<-1) models and
those with varying w(z) in a statistically significant manner. The SN data
allows a very wide range for variation of dark energy density, e.g., a
variation by factor ten in the dark energy density between z=0 and z=1 is
allowed at 95% confidence level. WMAP observations provide a better constraint
and the corresponding allowed variation is less than a factor of three.
Allowing for variation in w has an impact on the values for other cosmological
parameters in that the allowed range often becomes larger. (Abridged)Comment: 21 pages, PRD format (Revtex 4), postscript figures. minor
corrections to improve clarity; references, acknowledgement adde
Matter density perturbations in interacting quintessence models
Models with dark energy decaying into dark matter have been proposed to solve
the coincidence problem in cosmology. We study the effect of such coupling in
the matter power spectrum. Due to the interaction, the growth of matter density
perturbations during the radiation dominated regime is slower compared to
non-interacting models with the same ratio of dark matter to dark energy today.
This effect introduces a damping on the power spectrum at small scales
proportional to the strength of the interaction and similar to the effect
generated by ultrarelativistic neutrinos. The interaction also shifts
matter--radiation equality to larger scales. We compare the matter power
spectrum of interacting quintessence models with the measurments of 2dFGRS. We
particularize our study to models that during radiation domination have a
constant dark matter to dark energy ratio.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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
Membrane Paradigm and Horizon Thermodynamics in Lanczos-Lovelock gravity
We study the membrane paradigm for horizons in Lanczos-Lovelock models of
gravity in arbitrary D dimensions and find compact expressions for the pressure
p and viscosity coefficients \eta and \zeta of the membrane fluid. We show that
the membrane pressure is intimately connected with the Noether charge entropy
S_Wald of the horizon when we consider a specific m-th order Lanczos-Lovelock
model, through the relation pA/T=(D-2m)/(D-2)S_Wald, where T is the temperature
and A is the area of the horizon. Similarly, the viscosity coefficients are
expressible in terms of entropy and quasi-local energy associated with the
horizons. The bulk and shear viscosity coefficients are found to obey the
relation \zeta=-2(D-3)/(D-2)\eta.Comment: v1: 13 pages, no figure. (v2): refs added, typos corrected, new
subsection added on the ratio \eta/s. (v3): some clarification added, typos
corrected, to appear in JHE
Quantum Gravity Equation In Schroedinger Form In Minisuperspace Description
We start from classical Hamiltonian constraint of general relativity to
obtain the Einstein-Hamiltonian-Jacobi equation. We obtain a time parameter
prescription demanding that geometry itself determines the time, not the matter
field, such that the time so defined being equivalent to the time that enters
into the Schroedinger equation. Without any reference to the Wheeler-DeWitt
equation and without invoking the expansion of exponent in WKB wavefunction in
powers of Planck mass, we obtain an equation for quantum gravity in
Schroedinger form containing time. We restrict ourselves to a minisuperspace
description. Unlike matter field equation our equation is equivalent to the
Wheeler-DeWitt equation in the sense that our solutions reproduce also the
wavefunction of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation provided one evaluates the
normalization constant according to the wormhole dominance proposal recently
proposed by us.Comment: 11 Pages, ReVTeX, no figur
Thermodynamics of self-gravitating systems
Self-gravitating systems are expected to reach a statistical equilibrium
state either through collisional relaxation or violent collisionless
relaxation. However, a maximum entropy state does not always exist and the
system may undergo a ``gravothermal catastrophe'': it can achieve ever
increasing values of entropy by developing a dense and hot ``core'' surrounded
by a low density ``halo''. In this paper, we study the phase transition between
``equilibrium'' states and ``collapsed'' states with the aid of a simple
relaxation equation [Chavanis, Sommeria and Robert, Astrophys. J. 471, 385
(1996)] constructed so as to increase entropy with an optimal rate while
conserving mass and energy. With this numerical algorithm, we can cover the
whole bifurcation diagram in parameter space and check, by an independent
method, the stability limits of Katz [Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 183, 765 (1978)]
and Padmanabhan [Astrophys. J. Supp. 71, 651 (1989)]. When no equilibrium state
exists, our relaxation equation develops a self-similar collapse leading to a
finite time singularity.Comment: 54 pages. 25 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Accelerated expansion of the universe driven by tachyonic matter
It is an accepted practice in cosmology to invoke a scalar field with
potential when observed evolution of the universe cannot be
reconciled with theoretical prejudices. Since one function-degree-of-freedom in
the expansion factor can be traded off for the function , it is
{\it always} possible to find a scalar field potential which will reproduce a
given evolution. I provide a recipe for determining from in
two cases:(i) Normal scalar field with Lagrangian used in quintessence/dark energy
models. (ii) A tachyonic field with Lagrangian , motivated by recent string theoretic
results. In the latter case, it is possible to have accelerated expansion of
the universe during the late phase in certain cases. This suggests a string
theory based interpretation of the current phase of the universe with tachyonic
condensate acting as effective cosmological constant.Comment: 4 pages; uses revtex
Concept of temperature in multi-horizon spacetimes: Analysis of Schwarzschild-De Sitter metric
In case of spacetimes with single horizon, there exist several
well-established procedures for relating the surface gravity of the horizon to
a thermodynamic temperature. Such procedures, however, cannot be extended in a
straightforward manner when a spacetime has multiple horizons. In particular,
it is not clear whether there exists a notion of global temperature
characterizing the multi-horizon spacetimes. We examine the conditions under
which a global temperature can exist for a spacetime with two horizons using
the example of Schwarzschild-De Sitter (SDS) spacetime. We systematically
extend different procedures (like the expectation value of stress tensor,
response of particle detectors, periodicity in the Euclidean time etc.) for
identifying a temperature in the case of spacetimes with single horizon to the
SDS spacetime. This analysis is facilitated by using a global coordinate chart
which covers the entire SDS manifold. We find that all the procedures lead to a
consistent picture characterized by the following features: (a) In general, SDS
spacetime behaves like a non-equilibrium system characterized by two
temperatures. (b) It is not possible to associate a global temperature with SDS
spacetime except when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational (c)
Even when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational, the thermal
nature depends on the coordinate chart used. There exists a global coordinate
chart in which there is global equilibrium temperature while there exist other
charts in which SDS behaves as though it has two different temperatures. The
coordinate dependence of the thermal nature is reminiscent of the flat
spacetime in Minkowski and Rindler coordinate charts. The implications are
discussed.Comment: 12 page
Dark energy perturbations and cosmic coincidence
While there is plentiful evidence in all fronts of experimental cosmology for
the existence of a non-vanishing dark energy (DE) density \rho_D in the
Universe, we are still far away from having a fundamental understanding of its
ultimate nature and of its current value, not even of the puzzling fact that
\rho_D is so close to the matter energy density \rho_M at the present time
(i.e. the so-called "cosmic coincidence" problem). The resolution of some of
these cosmic conundrums suggests that the DE must have some (mild) dynamical
behavior at the present time. In this paper, we examine some general properties
of the simultaneous set of matter and DE perturbations (\delta\rho_M,
\delta\rho_D) for a multicomponent DE fluid. Next we put these properties to
the test within the context of a non-trivial model of dynamical DE (the LXCDM
model) which has been previously studied in the literature. By requiring that
the coupled system of perturbation equations for \delta\rho_M and \delta\rho_D
has a smooth solution throughout the entire cosmological evolution, that the
matter power spectrum is consistent with the data on structure formation and
that the "coincidence ratio" r=\rho_D/\rho_M stays bounded and not unnaturally
high, we are able to determine a well-defined region of the parameter space
where the model can solve the cosmic coincidence problem in full compatibility
with all known cosmological data.Comment: Typos correcte
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