59,259 research outputs found
Hamilton-Jacobi Approach for Power-Law Potentials
The classical and relativistic Hamilton-Jacobi approach is applied to the
one-dimensional homogeneous potential, , where and
are continuously varying parameters. In the non-relativistic case, the
exact analytical solution is determined in terms of , and the total
energy . It is also shown that the non-linear equation of motion can be
linearized by constructing a hypergeometric differential equation for the
inverse problem . A variable transformation reducing the general problem
to that one of a particle subjected to a linear force is also established. For
any value of , it leads to a simple harmonic oscillator if , an
"anti-oscillator" if , or a free particle if E=0. However, such a
reduction is not possible in the relativistic case. For a bounded relativistic
motion, the first order correction to the period is determined for any value of
. For , it is found that the correction is just twice that one
deduced for the simple harmonic oscillator (), and does not depend on the
specific value of .Comment: 12 pages, Late
New coupled quintessence cosmology
A component of dark energy has been recently proposed to explain the current
acceleration of the Universe. Unless some unknown symmetry in Nature prevents
or suppresses it, such a field may interact with the pressureless component of
dark matter, giving rise to the so-called models of coupled quintessence. In
this paper we propose a new cosmological scenario where radiation and baryons
are conserved, while the dark energy component is decaying into cold dark
matter (CDM). The dilution of CDM particles, attenuated with respect to the
usual scaling due to the interacting process, is characterized by a
positive parameter , whereas the dark energy satisfies the equation
of state (). We carry out a joint statistical
analysis involving recent observations from type Ia supernovae, baryon acoustic
oscillation peak, and Cosmic Microwave Background shift parameter to check the
observational viability of the coupled quintessence scenario here proposed.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures. Minor corrections to match published versio
Studying light propagation in a locally homogeneous universe through an extended Dyer-Roeder approach
Light is affected by local inhomogeneities in its propagation, which may
alter distances and so cosmological parameter estimation. In the era of
precision cosmology, the presence of inhomogeneities may induce systematic
errors if not properly accounted. In this vein, a new interpretation of the
conventional Dyer-Roeder (DR) approach by allowing light received from distant
sources to travel in regions denser than average is proposed. It is argued that
the existence of a distribution of small and moderate cosmic voids (or "black
regions") implies that its matter content was redistributed to the homogeneous
and clustered matter components with the former becoming denser than the cosmic
average in the absence of voids. Phenomenologically, this means that the DR
smoothness parameter (denoted here by ) can be greater than unity,
and, therefore, all previous analyses constraining it should be rediscussed
with a free upper limit. Accordingly, by performing a statistical analysis
involving 557 type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from Union2 compilation data in a
flat CDM model we obtain for the extended parameter,
(). The effects of are also
analyzed for generic CDM models and flat XCDM cosmologies. For both
models, we find that a value of greater than unity is able to
harmonize SNe Ia and cosmic microwave background observations thereby
alleviating the well-known tension between low and high redshift data. Finally,
a simple toy model based on the existence of cosmic voids is proposed in order
to justify why can be greater than unity as required by supernovae
data.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Title modified, results unchanged. It matches
version published as a Brief Report in Phys. Rev.
Is CDM an effective CCDM cosmology?
We show that a cosmology driven by gravitationally induced particle
production of all non-relativistic species existing in the present Universe
mimics exactly the observed flat accelerating CDM cosmology with just
one dynamical free parameter. This kind of scenario includes the creation cold
dark matter (CCDM) model [Lima, Jesus & Oliveira, JCAP 011(2010)027] as a
particular case and also provides a natural reduction of the dark sector since
the vacuum component is not needed to accelerate the Universe. The new cosmic
scenario is equivalent to CDM both at the background and perturbative
levels and the associated creation process is also in agreement with the
universality of the gravitational interaction and equivalence principle.
Implicitly, it also suggests that the present day astronomical observations
cannot be considered the ultimate proof of cosmic vacuum effects in the evolved
Universe because CDM may be only an effective cosmology.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, changes in the abstract, introduction, new
references and typo correction
Is the transition redshift a new cosmological number?
Observations from Supernovae Type Ia (SNe Ia) provided strong evidence for an
expanding accelerating Universe at intermediate redshifts. This means that the
Universe underwent a transition from deceleration to acceleration phases at a
transition redshift of the order unity whose value in principle depends
on the cosmology as well as on the assumed gravitational theory. Since
cosmological accelerating models endowed with a transition redshift are
extremely degenerated, in principle, it is interesting to know whether the
value of itself can be observationally used as a new cosmic
discriminator. After a brief discussion of the potential dynamic role played by
the transition redshift, it is argued that future observations combining SNe
Ia, the line-of-sight (or "radial") baryon acoustic oscillations, the
differential age of galaxies, as well as the redshift drift of the spectral
lines may tightly constrain , thereby helping to narrow the parameter
space for the most realistic models describing the accelerating Universe.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Some discussions about how to estimate the
transition redshift have been added. New data by Planck and H(z) data have
been mentioned. New references have been adde
From de Sitter to de Sitter: decaying vacuum models as a possible solution to the main cosmological problems
Decaying vacuum cosmological models evolving smoothly between two extreme
(very early and late time) de Sitter phases are capable to solve or at least to
alleviate some cosmological puzzles, among them: (i) the singularity, (ii)
horizon, (iii) graceful-exit from inflation, and (iv) the baryogenesis problem.
Our basic aim here is to discuss how the coincidence problem based on a large
class of running vacuum cosmologies evolving from de Sitter to de Sitter can
also be mollified. It is also argued that even the cosmological constant
problem become less severe provided that the characteristic scales of the two
limiting de Sitter manifolds are predicted from first principles.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, title changed, typos corrected, text and new
references adde
Extreme thermopower anisotropy and interchain transport in the quasi-one-dimensional metal Li(0.9)Mo(6)O(17)
Thermopower and electrical resistivity measurements transverse to the
conducting chains of the quasi-one-dimensional metal Li(0.9)Mo(6)O(17) are
reported in the temperature range 5 K = 400 K the
interchain transport is determined by thermal excitation of charge carriers
from a valence band ~ 0.14 eV below the Fermi level, giving rise to a large,
p-type thermopower that coincides with a small, n-type thermopower along the
chains. This dichotomy -- semiconductor-like in one direction and metallic in a
mutually perpendicular direction -- gives rise to substantial transverse
thermoelectric (TE) effects and a transverse TE figure of merit among the
largest known for a single compound.Comment: PRL in press, manuscript (5pp, 4 Fig.'s) and Supplementary Material
(3pp, 3 Fig.'s
On FRW Model in Conformal Teleparallel Gravity
In this paper we use the conformal teleparallel gravity to study an isotropic
and homogeneous Universe which is settled by the FRW metric. We solve the field
equations and we obtain the behavior of some cosmological parameters such as
scale factor, deceleration parameter and the energy density of the perfect
fluid which is the matter field of our model. The field equations, that we
called modified Friedmann equations, allow us to define a dark fluid, with dark
energy density and dark pressure, responsible for the acceleration in the
Universe.Comment: Accepted in EPJ
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