4,211 research outputs found
Eternally inflating cosmologies from intersecting spacelike branes
Intersecting spacelike braneworld cosmologies are investigated. The time axis
is set on the scale parameter of extra space, which may include more than one
timelike metric. Obtained are eternally inflating (i.e. undergoing late-time
inflation) Robertson-Walker spacetime and extra space with a constant scale
factor. In the case of multibrane solutions, some dimensions are static or
shrink. The fact that the largest supersymmetry algebra contains 32
supercharges in 4 dimensions imposes a restriction on the geometry of extra
space.Comment: 19 page
Model-Independent Distance Measurements from Gamma-Ray Bursts and Constraints on Dark Energy
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) are the most energetic events in the Universe, and
provide a complementary probe of dark energy by allowing the measurement of
cosmic expansion history that extends to redshifts greater than 6. Unlike Type
Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), GRBs must be calibrated for each cosmological model
considered, because of the lack of a nearby sample of GRBs for
model-independent calibration. For a flat Universe with a cosmological
constant, we find Omega_m=0.25^{+0.12}_{-0.11} from 69 GRBs alone. We show that
the current GRB data can be summarized by a set of model-independent distance
measurements, with negligible loss of information. We constrain a dark energy
equation of state linear in the cosmic scale factor using these distance
measurements from GRBs, together with the "Union" compilation of SNe Ia, WMAP
five year observations, and the SDSS baryon acoustic oscillation scale
measurement. We find that a cosmological constant is consistent with current
data at 68% confidence level for a flat Universe. Our results provide a simple
and robust method to incorporate GRB data in a joint analysis of cosmological
data to constrain dark energy.Comment: 8 pages, 5 color figures. Version expanded and revised for
clarification, and typo in Eqs.(3)(4)(12) corrected. PRD, in pres
A Redetermination of the Hubble Constant with the Hubble Space Telescope from a Differential Distance Ladder
We report observations of 240 Cepheid variables obtained with the Near
Infrared Camera (NICMOS) through the F160W filter on the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST). The Cepheids are distributed across six recent hosts of Type Ia
supernovae (SNe Ia) and the "maser galaxy" NGC 4258, allowing us to directly
calibrate the peak luminosities of the SNe Ia from the precise, geometric
distance measurements provided by the masers. New features of our measurement
include the use of the same instrument for all Cepheid measurements across the
distance ladder and homogeneity of the Cepheid periods and metallicities thus
necessitating only a differential measurement of Cepheid fluxes and reducing
the largest systematic uncertainties in the determination of the fiducial SN Ia
luminosity. The NICMOS measurements reduce differential extinction in the host
galaxies by a factor of 5 over past optical data. Combined with an expanded of
240 SNe Ia at z<0.1 which define their magnitude-redshift relation, we find
H_0=74.2 +/-3.6, a 4.8% uncertainty including both statistical and systematic
errors. We show that the factor of 2.2 improvement in the precision of H_0 is a
significant aid to the determination of the equation-of-state of dark energy, w
= P/(rho c^2). Combined with the WMAP 5-year measurement of Omega_M h^2, we
find w= -1.12 +/- 0.12 independent of high-redshift SNe Ia or baryon acoustic
oscillations (BAO). This result is also consistent with analyses based on the
combination of high-z SNe Ia and BAO. The constraints on w(z) now with high-z
SNe Ia and BAO are consistent with a cosmological constant and improved by a
factor of 3 from the refinement in H_0 alone. We show future improvements in
H_0 are likely and will further contribute to multi-technique studies of dark
energy.Comment: 60 pages, 15 figures Accepted for Publication, ApJ. This is the
second of two papers reporting results from a program to determine the Hubble
constant to 5% precision from a refurbished distance ladder based on
extensive use of differential measurement
Comment on "Constraining the smoothness parameter and dark energy using observational H(z) data"
In this Comment we discuss a recent analysis by Yu et al. [RAA 11, 125
(2011)] about constraints on the smoothness parameter and dark energy
models using observational data. It is argued here that their procedure
is conceptually inconsistent with the basic assumptions underlying the adopted
Dyer-Roeder approach. In order to properly quantify the influence of the
data on the smoothness parameter, a -test involving a sample
of SNe Ia and data in the context of a flat CDM model is
reanalyzed. This result is confronted with an earlier approach discussed by
Santos et al. (2008) without data. In the () plane, it
is found that such parameters are now restricted on the intervals and within 95.4% confidence
level (2), and, therefore, fully compatible with the homogeneous case.
The basic conclusion is that a joint analysis involving data can
indirectly improve our knowledge about the influence of the inhomogeneities.
However, this happens only because the data provide tighter constraints
on the matter density parameter .Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Research in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Unexorcized ghost in DGP brane world
The braneworld model of Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati realizes the
self-accelerating universe. However, it is known that this cosmological
solution contains a spin-2 ghost. We study the possibility of avoiding the
appearance of the ghost by slightly modifying the model, introducing the second
brane. First we consider a simple model without stabilization of the separation
of the brane. By changing the separation between the branes, we find we can
erase the spin-2 ghost. However, this can be done only at the expense of the
appearance of a spin-0 ghost instead. We discuss why these two different types
of ghosts are correlated. Then, we examine a model with stabilization of the
brane separation. Even in this case, we find that the correlation between
spin-0 and spin-2 ghosts remains. As a result we find we cannot avoid the
appearance of ghost by two-branes model.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur
Naked Singularity in a Modified Gravity Theory
The cosmological constant induced by quantum fluctuation of the graviton on a
given background is considered as a tool for building a spectrum of different
geometries. In particular, we apply the method to the Schwarzschild background
with positive and negative mass parameter. In this way, we put on the same
level of comparison the related naked singularity (-M) and the positive mass
wormhole. We discuss how to extract information in the context of a f(R)
theory. We use the Wheeler-De Witt equation as a basic equation to perform such
an analysis regarded as a Sturm-Liouville problem . The application of the same
procedure used for the ordinary theory, namely f(R)=R, reveals that to this
approximation level, it is not possible to classify the Schwarzschild and its
naked partner into a geometry spectrum.Comment: 8 Pages. Contribution given to DICE 2008. To appear in the
proceeding
Sub-horizon Perturbation Behavior in Extended Quintessence
In the general context of scalar-tensor theories, we consider a model in
which a scalar field coupled to the Ricci scalar in the gravitational sector of
the Lagrangian, is also playing the role of an ``Extended Quintessence'' field,
dominating the energy content of the Universe at the present time. In this
framework, we study the linear evolution of the perturbations in the
Quintessence energy density, showing that a new phenomenon, named here
``gravitational dragging'', can enhance the scalar field density perturbations
as much as they reach the non-linear regime. The possibility of dark energy
clumps formation is thus discussed.Comment: Proceedings of the 5th International UCLA Symposium on Sources and
Detection of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe (Dark Matter 2002),
Marina del Rey, California, USA, 20-22 February 200
Natural extension of the Generalised Uncertainty Principle
We discuss a gedanken experiment for the simultaneous measurement of the
position and momentum of a particle in de Sitter spacetime. We propose an
extension of the so-called generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) which
implies the existence of a minimum observable momentum. The new GUP is directly
connected to the nonzero cosmological constant, which becomes a necessary
ingredient for a more complete picture of the quantum spacetime.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, v2 with added references, revised and extended as
published in CQ
The Cepheid distance to the maser-host galaxy NGC 4258: Studying systematics with the Large Binocular Telescope
We identify and phase a sample of 81 Cepheids in the maser-host galaxy NGC
4258 using the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), and obtain calibrated mean
magnitudes in up to 4 filters for a subset of 43 Cepheids using archival HST
data. We employ 3 models to study the systematic effects of extinction, the
assumed extinction law, and metallicity on the Cepheid distance to NGC 4258. We
find a correction to the Cepheid colors consistent with a grayer extinction law
in NGC 4258 compared to the Milky Way (), although we believe this is
indicative of other systematic effects. If we combine our Cepheid sample with
previously known Cepheids, we find a significant metallicity adjustment to the
distance modulus of mag/dex, for the Zaritsky et
al. (1994) metallicity scale, as well as a weak trend of Cepheid colors with
metallicity. Conclusions about the absolute effect of metallicity on Cepheid
mean magnitudes appear to be limited by the available data on the metallicity
gradient in NGC 4258, but our Cepheid data require at least some metallicity
adjustment to make the Cepheid distance consistent with independent distances
to the LMC and NGC 4258. From our ensemble of models and the geometric maser
distance of NGC 4258 ( mag), we estimate
mag ( kpc).Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 28 pages, 13 figures, 11 tables. A
brief video summarizing the key results of this paper can be found at
http://youtu.be/ICTTNyxZ89
Community acceptance and implementation of HIV prevention interventions for injection drug users
In 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewed evidence of the effectiveness of HIV prevention programs for injection drug users (IDUs) and recommended that three types ofinterventions be implemented to prevent transmission of HIV among IDUs: 1) community-based outreach, 2) expanded syringe access (including needle exchange programs [NEP] and pharmacy sales), and 3) drug treatment. Progress on increasing the acceptance and feasibility of implementing these programs has been made at the national level, but their implementation has been varied at the local level.Understanding the conditions under which communities accept and implement interventions can help guide effective strategies to foster the implementation of these interventions in areas where programs do not currently exist
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