3,238 research outputs found

    Unruh response functions for scalar fields in de Sitter space

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    We calculate the response functions of a freely falling Unruh detector in de Sitter space coupled to scalar fields of different coupling to the curvature, including the minimally coupled massless case. Although the responses differ strongly in the infrared as a consequence of the amplification of superhorizon modes, the energy levels of the detector are thermally populated.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication by Classical and Quantum Gravit

    Modified Gravity and Cosmology

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    In this review we present a thoroughly comprehensive survey of recent work on modified theories of gravity and their cosmological consequences. Amongst other things, we cover General Relativity, Scalar-Tensor, Einstein-Aether, and Bimetric theories, as well as TeVeS, f(R), general higher-order theories, Horava-Lifschitz gravity, Galileons, Ghost Condensates, and models of extra dimensions including Kaluza-Klein, Randall-Sundrum, DGP, and higher co-dimension braneworlds. We also review attempts to construct a Parameterised Post-Friedmannian formalism, that can be used to constrain deviations from General Relativity in cosmology, and that is suitable for comparison with data on the largest scales. These subjects have been intensively studied over the past decade, largely motivated by rapid progress in the field of observational cosmology that now allows, for the first time, precision tests of fundamental physics on the scale of the observable Universe. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference tool for researchers and students in cosmology and gravitational physics, as well as a self-contained, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject as a whole.Comment: 312 pages, 15 figure

    Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

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    The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum
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