Bounce and cyclic cosmology in extended nonlinear massive gravity

We investigate non-singular bounce and cyclic cosmological evolutions in a universe governed by the extended nonlinear massive gravity, in which the graviton mass is promoted to a scalar-field potential. The extra freedom of the theory can lead to certain energy conditions violations and drive cyclicity with two different mechanisms: either with a suitably chosen scalar-field potential under a given Stuckelberg-scalar function, or with a suitably chosen Stuckelberg-scalar function under a given scalar-field potential. Our analysis shows that extended nonlinear massive gravity can alter significantly the evolution of the universe at both early and late times.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, version published at JCA

Microscopic origin of light emission in Al_yGa_{1-y}N/GaN superlattice: Band profile and active site

We present first-principles calculations of AlGaN/GaN superlattice, clarifying the microscopic origin of the light emission and revealing the effect of local polarization within the quantum well. Profile of energy band and distributions of electrons and holes demonstrate the existence of a main active site in the well responsible for the main band-edge light emission. This site appears at the position where the local polarization becomes zero. With charge injection, the calculated optical spectra show that the broadening of the band gap at the active site leads to the blueshift of emission wavelength

Cyclic cosmology from Lagrange-multiplier modified gravity

We investigate cyclic and singularity-free evolutions in a universe governed by Lagrange-multiplier modified gravity, either in scalar-field cosmology, as well as in $f(R)$ one. In the scalar case, cyclicity can be induced by a suitably reconstructed simple potential, and the matter content of the universe can be successfully incorporated. In the case of $f(R)$-gravity, cyclicity can be induced by a suitable reconstructed second function $f_2(R)$ of a very simple form, however the matter evolution cannot be analytically handled. Furthermore, we study the evolution of cosmological perturbations for the two scenarios. For the scalar case the system possesses no wavelike modes due to a dust-like sound speed, while for the $f(R)$ case there exist an oscillation mode of perturbations which indicates a dynamical degree of freedom. Both scenarios allow for stable parameter spaces of cosmological perturbations through the bouncing point.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, references added, accepted for publicatio

Testing the Lorentz and CPT Symmetry with CMB polarizations and a non-relativistic Maxwell Theory

We present a model for a system involving a photon gauge field and a scalar field at quantum criticality in the frame of a Lifthitz-type non-relativistic Maxwell theory. We will show this model gives rise to Lorentz and CPT violation which leads to a frequency-dependent rotation of polarization plane of radiations, and so leaves potential signals on the cosmic microwave background temperature and polarization anisotropies.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted on JCAP, a few references adde

OM Theory and V-duality

We show that the (M5, M2, M2$'$, MW) bound state solution of eleven dimensional supergravity recently constructed in hep-th/0009147 is related to the (M5, M2) bound state one by a finite Lorentz boost along a M5-brane direction perpendicular to the M2-brane. Given the (M5, M2) bound state as a defining system for OM theory and the above relation between this system and the (M5, M2, M2', MW) bound state, we test the recently proposed V-duality conjecture in OM theory. Insisting to have a decoupled OM theory, we find that the allowed Lorentz boost has to be infinitesimally small, therefore resulting in a family of OM theories related by Galilean boosts. We argue that such related OM theories are equivalent to each other. In other words, V-duality holds for OM theory as well. Upon compactification on either an electric or a `magnetic' circle (plus T-dualities as well), the V-duality for OM theory gives the known one for either noncommutative open string theories or noncommutative Yang-Mills theories. This further implies that V-duality holds in general for the little m-theory without gravity.Comment: 17 pages, typos corrected and references adde

Shortcuts through Colocation Facilities

Network overlays, running on top of the existing Internet substrate, are of perennial value to Internet end-users in the context of, e.g., real-time applications. Such overlays can employ traffic relays to yield path latencies lower than the direct paths, a phenomenon known as Triangle Inequality Violation (TIV). Past studies identify the opportunities of reducing latency using TIVs. However, they do not investigate the gains of strategically selecting relays in Colocation Facilities (Colos). In this work, we answer the following questions: (i) how Colo-hosted relays compare with other relays as well as with the direct Internet, in terms of latency (RTT) reductions; (ii) what are the best locations for placing the relays to yield these reductions. To this end, we conduct a large-scale one-month measurement of inter-domain paths between RIPE Atlas (RA) nodes as endpoints, located at eyeball networks. We employ as relays Planetlab nodes, other RA nodes, and machines in Colos. We examine the RTTs of the overlay paths obtained via the selected relays, as well as the direct paths. We find that Colo-based relays perform the best and can achieve latency reductions against direct paths, ranging from a few to 100s of milliseconds, in 76% of the total cases; 75% (58% of total cases) of these reductions require only 10 relays in 6 large Colos.Comment: In Proceedings of the ACM Internet Measurement Conference (IMC '17), London, GB, 201