Natural Inflation, Planck Scale Physics and Oscillating Primordial Spectrum

In the ``natural inflation'' model, the inflaton potential is periodic. We show that Planck scale physics may induce corrections to the inflaton potential, which is also periodic with a greater frequency. Such high frequency corrections produce oscillating features in the primordial fluctuation power spectrum, which are not entirely excluded by the current observations and may be detectable in high precision data of cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy and large scale structure (LSS) observations.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures. To appear in Int J Mod. Phys.

Quintessence and Spontaneous Leptogenesis

We propose in this paper a scenario of spontaneous baryogenesis in cosmological models of Quintessence by introducing a derivative coupling of the Quintessence scalar $Q$ to the baryon current $J_B^{\mu}$ or the current of the baryon number minus lepton number $J_{B-L}^{\mu}$. We find that with a dimension-5 operator ${\partial_\mu Q} J_{B-L}^{\mu}$ suppressed by the Planck mass $M_{pl}$ or the Grand Unification Scale $M_{GUT}$, baryon number asymmetry $n_B/s \sim 10^{-10}$ can be naturally explained {\it via} leptogenesis. We study also the isocurvature baryon number fluctuation generated in our model.Comment: 7pages,1figur

Dark Energy and Neutrino Mass Limits from Baryogenesis

In this brief report we consider couplings of the dark energy scalar, such as Quintessence to the neutrinos and discuss its implications in studies on the neutrino mass limits from Baryogenesis. During the evolution of the dark energy scalar, the neutrino masses vary, consequently the bounds on the neutrino masses we have here differ from those obtained before.Comment: 5 pages,3 figures. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Thermal leptogenesis in a model with mass varying neutrinos

In this paper we consider the possibility of neutrino mass varying during the evolution of the Universe and study its implications on leptogenesis. Specifically, we take the minimal seesaw model of neutrino masses and introduce a coupling between the right-handed neutrinos and the dark energy scalar field, the Quintessence. In our model, the right-handed neutrino masses change as the Quintessence scalar evolves. We then examine in detail the parameter space of this model allowed by the observed baryon number asymmetry. Our results show that it is possible to lower the reheating temperature in this scenario in comparison with the case that the neutrino masses are unchanged, which helps solve the gravitino problem. Furthermore, a degenerate neutrino mass patten with $m_i$ larger than the upper limit given in the minimal leptogenesis scenario is permitted.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, version to appear in PR

Reconstructing large running-index inflaton potentials

Recent fits of cosmological parameters by the first year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) measurement seem to favor a primordial scalar spectrum with a large varying index from blue to red. We use the inflationary flow equations to reconstruct large running-index inflaton potentials and comment on current status on the inflationary flow. We find previous negligence of higher order slow rolling contributions when using the flow equations would lead to unprecise results.Comment: Final version to appear in Class. Quant. Grav. References adde

The chromosome-level quality genome provides insights into the evolution of the biosynthesis genes for aroma compounds of Osmanthus fragrans

Genome sequences: Discovering a sweet secret A high-quality genome sequence for sweet olive, Osmanthus fragrans, has revealed which genes make the ornamental tree’s blossoms so fragrant. Lianggui Wang at Nanjing Forestry University in China and coworkers used cutting-edge approaches to produce a high-resolution picture of sweet olive’s genome. Analysis of the full sequence revealed that sweet olive has a large number of genes, more than 45,000. Further investigation showed that the entire genome had been duplicated, or accidentally copied, several million years ago. Thanks to the duplication, sweet olive has extra copies of the genes that produce its scent compound, resulting in its very strong scent. These results are only the beginning. Having this first sequence makes sequencing other varieties of sweet olive much easier, and future comparisons between genomes will help to pinpoint genes that control many other traits

Author Correction: The chromosome-level quality genome provides insights into the evolution of the biosynthesis genes for aroma compounds of Osmanthus fragrans

Since the publication of this article, the authors have noticed that the NCBI accession number is missing from article