1,307 research outputs found
Influence of reheating on the trispectrum and its scale dependence
We study the evolution of the non-linear curvature perturbation during perturbative reheating, and hence how observables evolve to their final values which we may compare against observations. Our study includes the evolution of the two trispectrum parameters, \gnl and \taunl, as well as the scale dependence of both \fnl and \taunl. In general the evolution is significant and must be taken into account, which means that models of multifield inflation cannot be compared to observations without specifying how the subsequent reheating takes place. If the trispectrum is large at the end of inflation, it normally remains large at the end of reheating. In the classes of models we study, it is very hard to generate \taunl\gg\fnl^2, regardless of the decay rates of the fields. Similarly, for the classes of models in which \gnl\simeq\taunl during slow--roll inflation, we find the relation typically remains valid during reheating. Therefore it is possible to observationally test such classes of models without specifying the parameters of reheating, even though the individual observables are sensitive to the details of reheating. It is hard to generate an observably large \gnl however. The runnings, \nfnl and \ntaunl, tend to satisfy a consistency relation \ntaunl=(3/2)\nfnl, but are in general too small to be observed for the class of models considered regardless of reheating timescale
Generation of helical magnetic fields from inflation
The generation of helical magnetic fields during single field inflation due
to an axial coupling of the electromagnetic field to the inflaton is discussed.
We find that such a coupling always leads to a blue spectrum of magnetic fields
during slow roll inflation. Though the helical magnetic fields further evolve
during the inverse cascade in the radiation era after inflation, we conclude
that the magnetic fields generated by such an axial coupling can not lead to
observed field strength on cosmologically relevant scales.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; Contribution to the proceedings of the
International Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology (ICGC), Goa, India,
December, 201
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
Implications of the cosmic microwave background power asymmetry for the early universe
Observations of the microwave background fluctuations suggest a
scale-dependent amplitude asymmetry of roughly 2.5 sigma significance.
Inflationary explanations for this 'anomaly' require non-Gaussian fluctuations
which couple observable modes to those on much larger scales. In this Letter we
describe an analysis of such scenarios which significantly extends previous
treatments. We identify the non-Gaussian 'response function' which
characterizes the asymmetry, and show that it is non-trivial to construct a
model which yields a sufficient amplitude: many independent fine tunings are
required, often making such models appear less likely than the anomaly they
seek to explain. We present an explicit model satisfying observational
constraints and determine for the first time how large its bispectrum would
appear to a Planck-like experiment. Although this model is merely illustrative,
we expect it is a good proxy for the bispectrum in a sizeable class of models
which generate a scale-dependent response using a large eta parameter.Comment: 5 pages. v2: Minor changes to match version published in Phys. Rev.
An Application of Feynman-Kleinert Approximants to the Massive Schwinger Model on a Lattice
A trial application of the method of Feynman-Kleinert approximants is made to
perturbation series arising in connection with the lattice Schwinger model. In
extrapolating the lattice strong-coupling series to the weak-coupling continuum
limit, the approximants do not converge well. In interpolating between the
continuum perturbation series at large fermion mass and small fermion mass,
however, the approximants do give good results. In the course of the
calculations, we picked up and rectified an error in an earlier derivation of
the continuum series coefficients.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, 5 table
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
Signatures of Primordial non-Gaussianities in the Matter Power-Spectrum and Bispectrum: the Time-RG Approach
We apply the time-renormalization group approach to study the effect of
primordial non-Gaussianities in the non-linear evolution of cosmological dark
matter density perturbations. This method improves the standard perturbation
approach by solving renormalization group-like equations governing the dynamics
of gravitational instability. The primordial bispectra constructed from the
dark matter density contrast and the velocity fields represent initial
conditions for the renormalization group flow. We consider local, equilateral
and folded shapes for the initial non-Gaussianity and analyze as well the case
in which the non-linear parameter f_{NL} parametrizing the strength of the
non-Gaussianity depends on the momenta in Fourier space through a power-law
relation, the so-called running non-Gaussianity. For the local model of
non-Gaussianity we compare our findings for the power-spectrum with those of
recent N-body simulations and find that they accurately fit the N-body data up
to wave-numbers k \sim 0.25 h/Mpc at z=0. We also present predictions for the
(reduced) matter bispectra for the various shapes of non-Gaussianity.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures. Results and discussion for a particular case
added. One figure and one reference added. Matches with the version accepted
for publication in the JCAP
Scale Dependence of the Halo Bias in General Local-Type Non-Gaussian Models I: Analytical Predictions and Consistency Relations
We investigate the clustering of halos in cosmological models starting with
general local-type non-Gaussian primordial fluctuations. We employ multiple
Gaussian fields and add local-type non-Gaussian corrections at arbitrary order
to cover a class of models described by frequently-discussed f_nl, g_nl and
\tau_nl parameterization. We derive a general formula for the halo power
spectrum based on the peak-background split formalism. The resultant spectrum
is characterized by only two parameters responsible for the scale-dependent
bias at large scale arising from the primordial non-Gaussianities in addition
to the Gaussian bias factor. We introduce a new inequality for testing
non-Gaussianities originating from multi fields, which is directly accessible
from the observed power spectrum. We show that this inequality is a
generalization of the Suyama-Yamaguchi inequality between f_nl and \tau_nl to
the primordial non-Gaussianities at arbitrary order. We also show that the
amplitude of the scale-dependent bias is useful to distinguish the simplest
quadratic non-Gaussianities (i.e., f_nl-type) from higher-order ones (g_nl and
higher), if one measures it from multiple species of galaxies or clusters of
galaxies. We discuss the validity and limitations of our analytic results by
comparison with numerical simulations in an accompanying paper.Comment: 25 pages, 3 figures, typo corrected, Appendix C updated, submitted to
JCA
The Berwald-type linearisation of generalised connections
We study the existence of a natural `linearisation' process for generalised
connections on an affine bundle. It is shown that this leads to an affine
generalised connection over a prolonged bundle, which is the analogue of what
is called a connection of Berwald type in the standard theory of connections.
Various new insights are being obtained in the fine structure of affine bundles
over an anchored vector bundle and affineness of generalised connections on
such bundles.Comment: 25 page
Trispectrum from Ghost Inflation
Ghost inflation predicts almost scale-invariant primordial cosmological
perturbations with relatively large non-Gaussianity. The bispectrum is known to
have a large contribution at the wavenumbers forming an equilateral triangle
and the corresponding nonlinear parameter is typically of
order . In this paper we calculate trispectrum from ghost inflation
and show that the corresponding nonlinear parameter is typically of
order . We investigate the shape dependence of the trispectrum and see
that it has some features different from DBI inflation. Therefore, our result
may be useful as a template to distinguish ghost inflation from other models of
inflation by future experiments.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figure
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