Dark viscous fluid described by a unified equation of state in cosmology

We generalize the $\Lambda$CDM model by introducing a unified EOS to describe the Universe contents modeled as dark viscous fluid, motivated by the fact that a single constant equation of state (EOS) $p=-p_0$ ($p_0>0$) reproduces the $\Lambda$CDM model exactly. This EOS describes the perfect fluid term, the dissipative effect, and the cosmological constant in a unique framework and the Friedmann equations can be analytically solved. Especially, we find a relation between the EOS parameter and the renormalizable condition of a scalar field. We develop a completely numerical method to perform a $\chi^2$ minimization to constrain the parameters in a cosmological model directly from the Friedmann equations, and employ the SNe data with the parameter $\mathcal{A}$ measured from the SDSS data to constrain our model. The result indicates that the dissipative effect is rather small in the late-time Universe.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. v2: new materials added. v3: matches the version to appear in IJMP

Gap distributions in circle packings

We determine the distribution of nearest neighbor spacings between the tangencies to a fixed circle in a class of circle packings generated by reflections. We use a combination of geometric tools and the theory of automorphic forms

Tachyon field inspired dark energy and supernovae constraints

The tachyon field in cosmology is studied by applying the generating function method to obtain exact solutions. The equation of state parameter of the tachyon field is $w=-1+\epsilon\dot{\phi^2}$, which can be expressed as a function in terms of the redshift $z$. Based on these solutions, we propose some tachyon-inspired dark energy models to explore the properties of the corresponding cosmological evolution. The explicit relations between Hubble parameter and redshift enable us to test the models with SNe Ia data sets easily. In the current work we employ the SNe Ia data with the parameter $\mathcal{A}$ measured from the SDSS and the shift parameter $\mathcal{R}$ from WMAP observations to constrain the parameters in our models.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures; v2: accepted by IJMP

Constraints on Holographic Dark Energy from Latest Supernovae, Galaxy Clustering, and Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Observations

The holographic dark energy model is proposed by Li as an attempt for probing the nature of dark energy within the framework of quantum gravity. The main characteristic of holographic dark energy is governed by a numerical parameter $c$ in the model. The parameter $c$ can only be determined by observations. Thus, in order to characterize the evolving feature of dark energy and to predict the fate of the universe, it is of extraordinary importance to constrain the parameter $c$ by using the currently available observational data. In this paper, we derive constraints on the holographic dark energy model from the latest observational data including the gold sample of 182 Type Ia supernovae (SNIa), the shift parameter of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) given by the three-year {\it Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe} ({\it WMAP}) observations, and the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurement from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The joint analysis gives the fit results in 1-$\sigma$: $c=0.91^{+0.26}_{-0.18}$ and $\Omega_{\rm m0}=0.29\pm 0.03$. That is to say, though the possibility of $c<1$ is more favored, the possibility of $c>1$ can not be excluded in one-sigma error range, which is somewhat different from the result derived from previous investigations using earlier data. So, according to the new data, the evidence for the quintom feature in the holographic dark energy model is not as strong as before.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Comprehensive Characterization of the Transmitted/Founder env Genes From a Single MSM Cohort in China

Background: The men having sex with men (MSM) population has become one of the major risk groups for HIV-1 infection in China. However, the epidemiological patterns, function of the env genes, and autologous and heterologous neutralization activity in the same MSM population have not been systematically characterized. Methods: The env gene sequences were obtained by the single genome amplification. The time to the most recent common ancestor was estimated for each genotype using the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. Coreceptor usage was determined in NP-2 cells. Neutralization was analyzed using Env pseudoviruses in TZM-bl cells. Results: We have obtained 547 full-length env gene sequences by single genome amplification from 30 acute/early HIV-1–infected individuals in the Beijing MSM cohort. Three genotypes (subtype B, CRF01_AE, and CRF07_BC) were identified and 20% of the individuals were infected with multiple transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses. The tight clusters of the MSM sequences regardless of geographic origins indicated nearly exclusive transmission within the MSM population and limited number of introductions. The time to the most recent common ancestor for each genotype was 10–15 years after each was first introduced in China. Disparate preferences for coreceptor usages among 3 genotypes might lead to the changes in percentage of different genotypes in the MSM population over time. The genotype-matched and genotype-mismatched neutralization activity varied among the 3 genotypes. Conclusions: The identification of unique characteristics for transmission, coreceptor usage, neutralization profile, and epidemic patterns of HIV-1 is critical for the better understanding of transmission mechanisms, development of preventive strategies, and evaluation of vaccine efficacy in the MSM population in China

Dynamical vacuum energy, holographic quintom, and the reconstruction of scalar-field dark energy

When taking the holographic principle into account, the vacuum energy will acquire dynamical property that its equation of state is evolving. The current available observational data imply that the holographic vacuum energy behaves as quintom-type dark energy. We adopt the viewpoint of that the scalar field models of dark energy are effective theories of an underlying theory of dark energy. If we regard the scalar field model as an effective description of such a holographic vacuum theory, we should be capable of using the scalar field model to mimic the evolving behavior of the dynamical vacuum energy and reconstructing this scalar field model according to the fits of the observational dataset. We find the generalized ghost condensate model is a good choice for depicting the holographic vacuum energy since it can easily realize the quintom behavior. We thus reconstruct the function $h(\phi)$ of the generalized ghost condensate model using the best-fit results of the observational data.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; references updated, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Reconstruction of 5D5D Cosmological Models From Equation of State of Dark Energy

We consider a class of five-dimensional cosmological solutions which contains two arbitrary function $\mu(t)$ and $\nu(t)$. We found that the arbitrary function $\mu(t)$ contained in the solutions can be rewritten in terms of the redshift $z$ as a new arbitrary function $f(z)$. We further showed that this new arbitrary function $f(z)$ could be solved out for four known parameterized equations of state of dark energy. Then the $5D$ models can be reconstructed and the evolution of the density and deceleration parameters of the universe can be determined.Comment: 10 pages, 4 eps figures, ws-ijmpd.cls styl