1,671 research outputs found
Scale dependence of in N-flation
Adopting the horizon-crossing approximation, we derive the spectral index of
in general N-flation model. Axion N-flation model is taken as a
typical model for generating a large which characterizes the size of
local form bispectrum. We find that its tilt is negligibly small
when all inflatons have the same potential, but a negative detectable
can be achieved in the axion N-flation with different decay
constants for different inflatons. The measurement of can be used
to support or falsify the axion N-flation in the near future.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures; a subsection with detectable scale dependence of
f_NL added; more discussions added and version accepted for publication in
JCA
Gravity and non-gravity mediated couplings in multiple-field inflation
Mechanisms for the generation of primordial non-Gaussian metric fluctuations
in the context of multiple-field inflation are reviewed. As long as kinetic
terms remain canonical, it appears that nonlinear couplings inducing
non-gaussianities can be split into two types. The extension of the one-field
results to multiple degrees of freedom leads to gravity mediated couplings that
are ubiquitous but generally modest. Multiple-field inflation offers however
the possibility of generating non-gravity mediated coupling in isocurvature
directions that can eventually induce large non-Gaussianities in the metric
fluctuations. The robustness of the predictions of such models is eventually
examined in view of a case study derived from a high-energy physics
construction.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, invited review for CQG issue on non-linear
cosmolog
A non-Gaussian landscape
Primordial perturbations with wavelengths greater than the observable universe shift the effective background fields in our observable patch from their global averages over the inflating space. This leads to a landscape picture where the properties of our observable patch depend on its location and may significantly differ from the expectation values predicted by the underlying fundamental inflationary model. We show that if multiple fields are present during inflation, this may happen even if our horizon exit would be preceded by only a few e-foldings of inflation. Non-Gaussian statistics are especially affected: for example models of local non-Gaussianity predicting |f_NL|>> 10 over the entire inflating volume can have a probability up to a few tens of percent to generate a non-detectable bispectrum in our observable patch |fNL^{obs.}|<10. In this work we establish systematic connections between the observable local properties of primordial perturbations and the global properties of the inflating space which reflect the underlying high energy physics. We study in detail the implications of both a detection and non-detection of primordial non-Gaussianity by Planck, and discover novel ways of characterising the naturalness of different observational configurations
Inhomogeneous non-Gaussianity
We propose a method to probe higher-order correlators of the primordial
density field through the inhomogeneity of local non-Gaussian parameters, such
as f_NL, measured within smaller patches of the sky. Correlators between
n-point functions measured in one patch of the sky and k-point functions
measured in another patch depend upon the (n+k)-point functions over the entire
sky. The inhomogeneity of non-Gaussian parameters may be a feasible way to
detect or constrain higher-order correlators in local models of
non-Gaussianity, as well as to distinguish between single and multiple-source
scenarios for generating the primordial density perturbation, and more
generally to probe the details of inflationary physics.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures; v2: Minor changes and references added. Matches
the published versio
CMB Constraints on Primordial non-Gaussianity from the Bispectrum (f_{NL}) and Trispectrum (g_{NL} and \tau_{NL}) and a New Consistency Test of Single-Field Inflation
We outline the expected constraints on non-Gaussianity from the cosmic
microwave background (CMB) with current and future experiments, focusing on
both the third (f_{NL}) and fourth-order (g_{NL} and \tau_{NL}) amplitudes of
the local configuration or non-Gaussianity. The experimental focus is the
skewness (two-to-one) and kurtosis (two-to-two and three-to-one) power spectra
from weighted maps. In adition to a measurement of \tau_{NL} and g_{NL} with
WMAP 5-year data, our study provides the first forecasts for future constraints
on g_{NL}. We describe how these statistics can be corrected for the mask and
cut-sky through a window function, bypassing the need to compute linear terms
that were introduced for the previous-generation non-Gaussianity statistics,
such as the skewness estimator. We discus the ratio A_{NL} =
\tau_{NL}/(6f_{NL}/5)^2 as an additional test of single-field inflationary
models and discuss the physical significance of each statistic. Using these
estimators with WMAP 5-Year V+W-band data out to l_{max}=600 we constrain the
cubic order non-Gaussianity parameters \tau_{NL}, and g_{NL} and find -7.4 <
g_{NL}/10^5 < 8.2 and -0.6 < \tau_{NL}/10^4 < 3.3 improving the previous
COBE-based limit on \tau_{NL} < 10^8 nearly four orders of magnitude with WMAP.Comment: 15 pages. 14 figure
Extended Timed Up and Go assessment as a clinical indicator of cognitive state in Parkinson\u27s disease
Objective: To evaluate a modified extended Timed Up and Go (extended-TUG) assessment against a panel of validated clinical assessments, as an indicator of Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity and cognitive impairment.
Methods: Eighty-seven participants with idiopathic PD were sequentially recruited from a Movement Disorders Clinic. An extended-TUG assessment was employed which required participants to stand from a seated position, walk in a straight line for 7 metres, turn 180 degrees and then return to the start, in a seated position. The extended-TUG assessment duration was correlated to a panel of clinical assessments, including the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Quality of Life (PDQ-39), Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson’s disease (SCOPA-Cog), revised Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Index (ACE-R) and Barratt’s Impulsivity Scale 11 (BIS-11).
Results: Extended-TUG time was significantly correlated to MDS-UPDRS III score and to SCOPA-Cog, ACE-R (p\u3c0.001) and PDQ-39 scores (p\u3c0.01). Generalized linear models determined the extended-TUG to be a sole variable in predicting ACE-R or SCOPA-Cog scores. Patients in the fastest extended-TUG tertile were predicted to perform 8.3 and 13.4 points better in the SCOPA-Cog and ACE-R assessments, respectively, than the slowest group. Patients who exceeded the dementia cut-off scores with these instruments exhibited significantly longer extended-TUG times.
Conclusions: Extended-TUG performance appears to be a useful indicator of cognition as well as motor function and quality of life in PD, and warrants further evaluation as a first line assessment tool to monitor disease severity and response to treatment. Poor extended-TUG performance may identify patients without overt cognitive impairment form whom cognitive assessment is needed
Curvature and isocurvature perturbations from two-field inflation in a slow-roll expansion
We calculate the power spectra of primordial curvature and isocurvature
perturbations from a general two field inflation model at next-to-leading order
correction in a slow-roll expansion. In particular we calculate the spectral
indices to second order in slow-roll parameters. We show that the
cross-correlation of the curvature and isocurvature perturbations at the time
of Hubble-exit during inflation is non-zero at first-order in slow-roll
parameters. We apply our results to different classes of inflation, including
inflaton and curvaton scenarios. The spectrum of primordial gravitational
waves, curvature and isocurvature perturbations obey generalised consistency
relations in two-field inflation models. We give the first two consistency
relations in an infinite hierarchy.Comment: 16 pages, no figures; v2- version published in PRD; v3- corrections
to second order terms in several equation
Local non-Gaussianity from inflation
The non-Gaussian distribution of primordial perturbations has the potential
to reveal the physical processes at work in the very early Universe. Local
models provide a well-defined class of non-Gaussian distributions that arise
naturally from the non-linear evolution of density perturbations on
super-Hubble scales starting from Gaussian field fluctuations during inflation.
I describe the delta-N formalism used to calculate the primordial density
perturbation on large scales and then review several models for the origin of
local primordial non-Gaussianity, including the cuvaton, modulated reheating
and ekpyrotic scenarios. I include an appendix with a table of sign conventions
used in specific papers.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, invited review to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravity special issue on non-linear and non-Gaussian cosmological
perturbation
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