Cosmological k-essence condensation

We consider a model of dark energy/matter unification based on a k-essence type of theory similar to tachyon condensate models. Using an extension of the general relativistic spherical model which incorporates the effects of both pressure and the acoustic horizon we show that an initially perturbative k-essence fluid evolves into a mixed system containing cold dark matter like gravitational condensate in significant quantities.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, presented by NB at the conference Beyond 2010, Cape Town, 1-6 February 201

Gravitational Phase Transition of Fermionic Matter in a General-Relativistic Framework

The Thomas-Fermi model at finite temperature is extended to describe a system of self-gravitating weakly interacting massive fermions in a general-relativistic framework. By cooling a nondegenerate gas of weakly interacting massive fermions below some critical temperature, a condensed phase emerges, consisting of quasidegenerate fermion stars. For fermion masses of 10 to 25 keV, these fermion stars may very well provide an alternative explanation for the supermassive compact dark objects that are observed at galactic centers.Comment: 19 pages incl. 8 ps-figs, LaTe

Gauges in the Bulk II: Models with Bulk Scalars

Extending previous work in Randall-Sundrum type models, we construct low-energy effective actions for braneworlds with a bulk scalar field, with special attention to the case of BPS branes. Holding the branes at fixed coordinate position with a general ansatz for the bulk metric, and imposing the Einstein frame as a gauge condition, we obtain a scalar-tensor theory with only one scalar degree of freedom related to the proper brane separation. The formalism is applicable even when there is direct coupling of the bulk scalar and brane matter, as in the Horava-Witten model. We further show that the usual moduli space approximation actually describes a non-BPS three-brane system.Comment: LaTeX file of 18 page