General analytic formulae for attractor solutions of scalar-field dark energy models and their multi-field generalizations

We study general properties of attractors for scalar-field dark energy scenarios which possess cosmological scaling solutions. In all such models there exists a scalar-field dominant solution with an energy fraction \Omega_{\phi}=1 together with a scaling solution. A general analytic formula is given to derive fixed points relevant to dark energy coupled to dark matter. We investigate the stability of fixed points without specifying the models of dark energy in the presence of non-relativistic dark matter and provide a general proof that a non-phantom scalar-field dominant solution is unstable when a stable scaling solution exists in the region \Omega_{\phi}<1. A phantom scalar-field dominant fixed point is found to be classically stable. We also generalize the analysis to the case of multiple scalar fields and show that for a non-phantom scalar field assisted acceleration always occurs for all scalar-field models which have scaling solutions. For a phantom field the equation of state approaches that of cosmological constant as we add more scalar fields.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, version to appear in Physical Review

New Vistas in Braneworld Cosmology

Traditionally, higher-dimensional cosmological models have sought to provide a description of the fundamental forces in terms of a unifying geometrical construction. In this essay we discuss how, in their present incarnation, higher-dimensional `braneworld' models might provide answers to a number of cosmological puzzles including the issue of dark energy and the nature of the big-bang singularity.Comment: Honorable mention in the 2002 Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation. 10 pages, 2 figure

Reconstruction of general scalar-field dark energy models

The reconstruction of scalar-field dark energy models is studied for a general Lagrangian density $p(\phi, X)$, where $X$ is a kinematic term of a scalar field $\phi$. We implement the coupling $Q$ between dark energy and dark matter and express reconstruction equations using two observables: the Hubble parameter $H$ and the matter density perturbation $\delta_m$. This allows us to determine the structure of corresponding theoretical Lagrangian together with the coupling $Q$ from observations. We apply our formula to several forms of Lagrangian and present concrete examples of reconstruction by using the recent Gold dataset of supernovae measurements. This analysis includes a generalized ghost condensate model as a way to cross a cosmological-constant boundary even for a single-field case.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Quantal Density Functional Theory of Degenerate States

The treatment of degenerate states within Kohn-Sham density functional theory (KS-DFT) is a problem of longstanding interest. We propose a solution to this mapping from the interacting degenerate system to that of the noninteracting fermion model whereby the equivalent density and energy are obtained via the unifying physical framework of quantal density functional theory (Q-DFT). We describe the Q-DFT of \textit{both} ground and excited degenerate states, and for the cases of \textit{both} pure state and ensemble v-representable densities. This then further provides a rigorous physical interpretation of the density and bidensity energy functionals, and of their functional derivatives, of the corresponding KS-DFT. We conclude with examples of the mappings within Q-DFT.Comment: 10 pages. minor changes made. to appear in PR

Age problem in holographic dark energy

We study the age problem of the universe with the holographic DE model introduced in [21], and test the model with some known old high redshift objects (OHRO). The parameters of the model have been constrained using the SNIa, CMB and BAO data set. We found that the age of the old quasar APM 08 279+5255 at z = 3.91 can be described by the model.Comment: 13 page

An interacting model for the cosmological dark sector

We discuss a new interacting model for the cosmological dark sector in which the attenuated dilution of cold dark matter scales as $a^{-3}f(a)$, where f(a) is an arbitrary function of the cosmic scale factor $a$. From thermodynamic arguments, we show that f(a) is proportional to entropy source of the particle creation process. In order to investigate the cosmological consequences of this kind of interacting models, we expand f(a) in a power series and viable cosmological solutions are obtained. Finally, we use current observational data to place constraints on the interacting function f(a).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Phys. Rev. D (in press

The phase-space of generalized Gauss-Bonnet dark energy

The generalized Gauss-Bonnet theory, introduced by Lagrangian F(R,G), has been considered as a general modified gravity for explanation of the dark energy. G is the Gauss-Bonnet invariant. For this model, we seek the situations under which the late-time behavior of the theory is the de-Sitter space-time. This is done by studying the two dimensional phase space of this theory, i.e. the R-H plane. By obtaining the conditions under which the de-Sitter space-time is the stable attractor of this theory, several aspects of this problem have been investigated. It has been shown that there exist at least two classes of stable attractors : the singularities of the F(R,G), and the cases in which the model has a critical curve, instead of critical points. This curve is R=12H^2 in R-H plane. Several examples, including their numerical calculations, have been discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, typos corrected, a reference adde

Probing the Coupling between Dark Components of the Universe

We place observational constraints on a coupling between dark energy and dark matter by using 71 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the first year of the five-year Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS), the cosmic microwave background (CMB) shift parameter from the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), and the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) peak found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The interactions we study are (i) constant coupling delta and (ii) varying coupling delta(z) that depends on a redshift z, both of which have simple parametrizations of the Hubble parameter to confront with observational data. We find that the combination of the three databases marginalized over a present dark energy density gives stringent constraints on the coupling, -0.08 < delta < 0.03 (95% CL) in the constant coupling model and -0.4 < delta_0 < 0.1 (95% CL) in the varying coupling model, where delta_0 is a present value. The uncoupled LambdaCDM model (w_X = -1 and delta = 0) still remains a good fit to the data, but the negative coupling (delta < 0) with the equation of state of dark energy w_X < -1 is slightly favoured over the LambdaCDM model.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, RevTeX, minor corrections, references added, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Observational constraints on interacting quintessence models

We determine the range of parameter space of Interacting Quintessence Models that best fits the recent WMAP measurements of Cosmic Microwave Background temperature anisotropies. We only consider cosmological models with zero spatial curvature. We show that if the quintessence scalar field decays into cold dark matter at a rate that brings the ratio of matter to dark energy constant at late times,the cosmological parameters required to fit the CMB data are: \Omega_x = 0.43 \pm 0.12, baryon fraction \Omega_b = 0.08 \pm 0.01, slope of the matter power spectrum at large scals n_s = 0.98 \pm 0.02 and Hubble constant H_0 = 56 \pm 4 km/s/Mpc. The data prefers a dark energy component with a dimensionless decay parameter c^2 =0.005 and non-interacting models are consistent with the data only at the 99% confidence level. Using the Bayesian Information Criteria we show that this exra parameter fits the data better than models with no interaction. The quintessence equation of state parameter is less constrained; i.e., the data set an upper limit w_x \leq -0.86 at the same level of significance. When the WMAP anisotropy data are combined with supernovae data, the density parameter of dark energy increases to \Omega_x \simeq 0.68 while c^2 augments to 6.3 \times 10^{-3}. Models with quintessence decaying into dark matter provide a clean explanation for the coincidence problem and are a viable cosmological model, compatible with observations of the CMB, with testable predictions. Accurate measurements of baryon fraction and/or of matter density independent of the CMB data, would support/disprove these models.Comment: 16 pages, Revtex4, 5 eps figures, to appear in Physical Review

APSIS - an Artificial Planetary System in Space to probe extra-dimensional gravity and MOND

A proposal is made to test Newton's inverse-square law using the perihelion shift of test masses (planets) in free fall within a spacecraft located at the Earth-Sun L2 point. Such an Artificial Planetary System In Space (APSIS) will operate in a drag-free environment with controlled experimental conditions and minimal interference from terrestrial sources of contamination. We demonstrate that such a space experiment can probe the presence of a "hidden" fifth dimension on the scale of a micron, if the perihelion shift of a "planet" can be measured to sub-arc-second accuracy. Some suggestions for spacecraft design are made.Comment: 17 pages, revtex, references added. To appear in Special issue of IJMP