Where does curvaton reside? Differences between bulk and brane frames

Some classes of inflationary models naturally introduce two distinct metrics/frames, and their equivalence in terms of observables has often been put in question. D-brane inflation proposes candidates for an inflaton embedded in the string theory and possesses descriptions on the brane and bulk metrics/frames, which are connected by a conformal/disformal transformation that depends on the inflaton and its derivatives. It has been shown that curvature perturbations generated by the inflaton are identical in both frames, meaning that observables such as the spectrum of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies are independent of whether matter fields---including those in the standard model of particle physics---minimally couple to the brane or the bulk metric/frame. This is true despite the fact that the observables are eventually measured by the matter fields and that the total action including the matter fields is different in the two cases. In contrast, in curvaton scenarios, the observables depend on the frame to which the curvaton minimally couples. Among all inflationary scenarios, we focus on two models motivated by the KKLMMT fine-tuning problem: a slow-roll inflation with an inflection-point potential and a model of a rapidly rolling inflaton that conformally couples to gravity. In the first model, the difference between the frames in which the curvaton resides is encoded in the spectral index of the curvature perturbations, depicting the nature of the frame transformation. In the second model, the curvaton on the brane induces a spectral index significantly different from that in the bulk and is even falsified by the observations. This work thus demonstrates that two frames connected by a conformal/disformal transformation lead to different physical observables such as CMB anisotropies in curvaton models.Comment: 16 pages, v2: published versio

Ablation of Mrds1/Ofcc1 Induces Hyper-γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidasemia without Abnormal Head Development and Schizophrenia-Relevant Behaviors in Mice

Mutations in the Opo gene result in eye malformation in medaka fish. The human ortholog of this gene, MRDS1/OFCC1, is a potentially causal gene for orofacial cleft, as well as a susceptibility gene for schizophrenia, a devastating mental illness. Based on this evidence, we hypothesized that this gene could perform crucial functions in the development of head and brain structures in vertebrates. To test this hypothesis, we created Mrds1/Ofcc1-null mice. Mice were examined thoroughly using an abnormality screening system referred to as “the Japan Mouse Clinic”. No malformations of the head structure, eye or other parts of the body were apparent in these knockout mice. However, the mutant mice showed a marked increase in serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), a marker for liver damage, but no abnormalities in other liver-related measurements. We also performed a family-based association study on the gene in schizophrenia samples of Japanese origin. We found five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located across the gene that showed significant transmission distortion, supporting a prior report of association in a Caucasian cohort. However, the knockout mice showed no behavioral phenotypes relevant to schizophrenia. In conclusion, disruption of the Mrds1/Ofcc1 gene elicits asymptomatic hyper-γ-glutamyl-transpeptidasemia in mice. However, there were no phenotypes to support a role for the gene in the development of eye and craniofacial structures in vertebrates. These results prompt further examination of the gene, including its putative contribution to hyper-γ-glutamyl transpeptidasemia and schizophrenia

Vulnerabilities of Children-in-Poverty under the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Necessity of Face-to-Face Support Activities during the Time of Social Distancing

The 14th Next-Generation Global Workshopテーマ/Theme: New Normal Lifestyles during/post-COVID-19: from Crisis to Opportunity日程/Date: 25-26 September, 2021開催場所/Venue: The workshop will be held Online第14回次世代グローバルワークショッ

Kinetic equation for Lifshitz scalar

International audienceEmploying the method of Wigner functions on curved spaces, we study classical kinetic (Boltzmann-like) equations of distribution functions for a real scalar field with the Lifshitz scaling. In particular, we derive the kinetic equation for z=2 on general curved spaces and for z=3 on spatially flat spaces under the projectability condition N=N(t), where z is the dynamical critical exponent and N is the lapse function. We then conjecture a form of the kinetic equation for a real scalar field with a general dispersion relation in general curved geometries satisfying the projectability condition, in which all the information about the nontrivial dispersion relation is included in the group velocity and which correctly reproduces the equations for the z=2 and z=3 cases as well as the relativistic case. The method and equations developed in the present paper are expected to be useful for developments of cosmology in the context of Hořava-Lifshitz gravity

Sensitivity analysis of the physics options in the Weather Research and Forecasting model for typhoon forecasting in Japan and its impacts on storm surge simulations

Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is useful for forecasting typhoons as an external force of storm surge forecasts. This study examines the variation in typhoon forecasts caused by different choices of arbitrary physics options in WRF and their influence on storm surge forecasts. Eight frequently used combinations of cloud microphysics and planetary boundary layers were extracted via a review of previous studies. Subsequently, sensitivity analyses of these physics options were performed, targeting nine typhoons that landed in Japan during 2015–2019.  Additionally, we conducted case studies of storm surge ensemble forecasts in Tokyo Bay and Osaka Bay using WRF-simulated typhoons generated in the sensitivity analysis. As a result, the ensemble mean of the forecasts was comparable to the storm surge reanalysis simulation results obtained using an empirical typhoon model wherein the best track data is integrated to reproduce atmospheric fields. This may be attributed to the fact that the typhoon parameters (intensity, size, approaching angle, and velocity) obtained from the best track at landfall were generally within the range of the parameters that were simulated using WRF.Published versionThis research was conducted as part of the Earth Simulator application project “Superimposed Disasters of Heavy Rainfall, Storm Surge and Tsunami” (Research director: T. Arikawa) of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and utilized the computing resources of the Earth Simulator. The work was also supported by “Collaborative Research Project on Computer Science with High-Performance Computing in Nagoya University”

Stable cosmology in chameleon bigravity

The recently proposed chameleonic extension of bigravity theory, by including a scalar field dependence in the graviton potential, avoids several fine-tunings found to be necessary in usual massive bigravity. In particular it ensures that the Higuchi bound is satisfied at all scales, that no Vainshtein mechanism is needed to satisfy Solar System experiments, and that the strong coupling scale is always above the scale of cosmological interest all the way up to the early Universe. This paper extends the previous work by presenting a stable example of cosmology in the chameleon bigravity model. We find a set of initial conditions and parameters such that the derived stability conditions on general flat Friedmann background are satisfied at all times. The evolution goes through radiation-dominated, matter-dominated, and de Sitter eras. We argue that the parameter space allowing for such a stable evolution may be large enough to encompass an observationally viable evolution. We also argue that our model satisfies all known constraints due to gravitational wave observations so far and thus can be considered as a unique testing ground of gravitational wave phenomenologies in bimetric theories of gravity