Search

In the present paper, we use the holographic approach to describe the early-time acceleration and the late-time acceleration eras of our Universe in a unified manner. Such “holographic unification” is found to have a correspondence with various higher curvature cosmological models with or without matter fields. The corresponding holographic cutoffs are determined in terms of the particle horizon and its derivatives, or the future horizon and its derivatives. As a result, the holographic energy density we propose is able to merge various cosmological epochs of the Universe from a holographic point of view. We find the holographic correspondence of several F(R) gravity models, including axion-F(R) gravity models, of several Gauss-Bonnet F(G) models and finally of F(T) models, and in each case we demonstrate that it is possible to describe in a unified way inflation and late-time acceleration in the context of the same holographic model., This work is partially supported by the JSPS Grant-inAid for Scientific Research (C) No. 18K03615 (S. N.), and by MINECO (Spain), FIS2016-76363-P (S. D. O)

We discuss the particle horizon problem in the framework of spatially homogeneous and isotropic scalar cosmologies. To this purpose we consider a Friedmann&ndash, Lema&icirc, tre&ndash, Robertson&ndash, Walker (FLRW) spacetime with possibly non-zero spatial sectional curvature (and arbitrary dimension), and assume that the content of the universe is a family of perfect fluids, plus a scalar field that can be a quintessence or a phantom (depending on the sign of the kinetic part in its action functional). We show that the occurrence of a particle horizon is unavoidable if the field is a quintessence, the spatial curvature is non-positive and the usual energy conditions are fulfilled by the perfect fluids. As a partial converse, we present three solvable models where a phantom is present in addition to a perfect fluid, and no particle horizon appears.

The incorporation of bulk viscosity process to General Relativity leads to the appearance of nonsingular backgrounds that, at early and late times, depict an accelerated universe. These backgrounds could be analytically calculated and mimicked, in the context of General Relativity, by a single scalar field whose potential could also be obtained analytically. We will show that, we can build viable backgrounds that, at early times, depict an inflationary universe leading to a power spectrum of cosmological perturbations which match with current observational data, and after leaving the inflationary phase, the universe suffers a phase transition needed to explain the reheating of the universe via gravitational particle production, and finally, at late times, it enters into the de Sitter phase that can explain the current cosmic acceleration., Version accepted for publication in IJMPD

We explore the effects of considering various infrared (IR) cutoffs, including the particle horizon, Ricci horizon and Granda-Oliveros (GO) cutoffs, on the properties of Tsallis holographic dark energy (THDE) model, proposed inspired by Tsallis generalized entropy formalism \cite{THDE}. Interestingly enough, we find that for the particle horizon as IR cutoff, the obtained THDE model can describe the accelerated universe. This is in contrast to the usual HDE model which cannot lead to an accelerated universe, if one consider the particle horizon as IR cutoff. We also investigate the cosmological consequences of THDE under the assumption of a mutual interaction between the dark sectors of the Universe. It is shown that the evolution history of the Universe can be described by these IR cutoffs and thus the current cosmic acceleration can also been realized. The sound instability of THDE models for each cutoff are also explored, separately., 12 pages, 31 figures

As our understanding of the past in a bouncing universe is limited, it becomes difficult to propose a cosmological model which can give some understanding of the causal structure of the bouncing universe. In this article we address the issue related to the particle horizon problem in the bouncing universe models. It is shown that in many models the particle horizon does not exist, and consequently the horizon problem is trivially solved. In some cases a bouncing universe can have a particle horizon and we specify the conditions for its existence. In the absence of a particle horizon the Hubble surface specifies the causal structure of a bouncing universe. We specify the complex relationship between the Hubble surface and the particle horizon when the particle horizon exists. The article also address the issue related to the event horizon in a bouncing universe. A toy example of a bouncing universe is first presented where we specify the conditions which dictate the presence of a particle horizon. Next we specify the causal structures of three widely used bouncing models. The first case is related to quintom matter bounce model, the second one is loop quantum cosmology based bounce model and lastly $f(R)$ gravity induced bounce model. We present a brief discussion on the horizon problem in bouncing cosmologies. We point out that the causal structure of the various bounce models fit our general theoretical predictions., The modified manuscript have new figures, a new section and some minor modification. 21 pages, 7 figures, Latex file

We present a novel $N$-body simulation method that compactifies the infinite spatial extent of the Universe into a finite sphere with isotropic boundary conditions to follow the evolution of the large-scale structure. Our approach eliminates the need for periodic boundary conditions, a mere numerical convenience which is not supported by observation and which modifies the law of force on large scales in an unrealistic fashion. We demonstrate that our method outclasses standard simulations executed on workstation-scale hardware in dynamic range, it is balanced in following a comparable number of high and low $k$ modes and, its fundamental geometry and topology match observations. Our approach is also capable of simulating an expanding, infinite universe in static coordinates with Newtonian dynamics. The price of these achievements is that most of the simulated volume has smoothly varying mass and spatial resolution, an approximation that carries different systematics than periodic simulations. Our initial implementation of the method is called StePS which stands for Stereographically Projected Cosmological Simulations. It uses stereographic projection for space compactification and naive $\mathcal{O}(N^2)$ force calculation which is nevertheless faster to arrive at a correlation function of the same quality than any standard (tree or P$^3$M) algorithm with similar spatial and mass resolution. The $N^2$ force calculation is easy to adapt to modern graphics cards, hence our code can function as a high-speed prediction tool for modern large-scale surveys. To learn about the limits of the respective methods, we compare StePS with GADGET-2 \citep{Gadget2_2005MNRAS.364.1105S} running matching initial conditions.

We propose an interpretation of the expansion and acceleration of the Universe from an information theoretic viewpoint. We obtain the time evolution of the configuration entropy of the mass distribution in a static Universe and show that the process of gravitational instability leads to a rapid dissipation of configuration entropy during the growth of the density fluctuations making such a Universe entropically unfavourable. We find that in an expanding Universe, the configuration entropy rate is governed by the expansion rate of the Universe and the growth rate of density fluctuations. The configuration entropy rate becomes smaller but still remains negative in a matter dominated Universe and eventually becomes zero at some future time in a $\Lambda$ dominated Universe. The configuration entropy may have a connection to the dark energy and possibly plays a driving role in the current accelerating expansion of the Universe leading the Universe to its maximum entropy configuration., Comment: 4 pages, no figures, minor revision, Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

In order to provide a better understanding of rotating universe models, and in particular the G\"{o}del universe, we discuss the relationship between cosmic rotation and perfect inertial dragging. In this connection, the concept of \emph{causal mass} is defined in a cosmological context, and discussed in relation to the cosmic inertial dragging effect. Then, we calculate the mass inside the particle horizon of the flat $\Lambda$CDM-model integrated along the past light cone. The calculation shows that the Schwarzschild radius of this mass is around three times the radius of the particle horizon. This indicates that there is close to perfect inertial dragging in our universe. Hence, the calculation provides an explanation for the observation that the swinging plane of a Foucault pendulum follows the stars., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures

A unique feature of gravity is its ability to control the information accessible to any specific observer. We quantify the notion of cosmic information (‘CosmIn’) for an eternal observer in the universe. Demanding the finiteness of CosmIn requires the universe to have a late-time accelerated expansion. Combining the introduction of CosmIn with generic features of the quantum structure of spacetime (e.g., the holographic principle), we present a holistic model for cosmology. We show that (i) the numerical value of the cosmological constant, as well as (ii) the amplitude of the primordial, scale invariant, perturbation spectrum can be determined in terms of a single free parameter, which specifies the energy scale at which the universe makes a transition from a pre-geometric phase to the classical phase. For a specific value of the parameter, we obtain the correct results for both (i) and (ii). This formalism also shows that the quantum gravitational information content of spacetime can be tested using precision cosmology., Physics Letters B, 773, ISSN:0370-2693, ISSN:0031-9163, ISSN:1873-2445

We consider a rather simple method for the description of the Big Bang - Big Crunch cosmological singularity crossing. For the flat Friedmann universe this method gives the same results as more complicated methods, using Weyl symmetry or the transitions between the Jordan and Einstein frames. It is then easily generalized for the case of a Bianchi-I anisotropic universe. We also present early-time and late-time asymptotic solutions for a Bianchi-I universe, filled with a conformally coupled massless scalar field., 11 pages, v2: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We study a class of non-local, action-based, and purely gravitational models. These models seek to describe a cosmology in which inflation is driven by a large, bare cosmological constant that is screened by the self-gravitation between the soft gravitons that inflation rips from the vacuum. Inflation ends with the universe poised on the verge of gravitational collapse, in an oscillating phase of expansion and contraction that should lead to rapid reheating when matter is included. After the attainment of a hot, dense universe the nonlocal screening terms become constant as the universe evolves through a conventional phase of radiation domination. The onset of matter domination triggers a much smaller anti-screening effect that could explain the current phase of acceleration., 22 pages, 9 figures, uses latex 2e

Cosmic inflation, a period of accelerated expansion in the early universe, can give rise to large amplitude ultra-large scale inhomogeneities on distance scales comparable to or larger than the observable universe. The cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy on the largest angular scales is sensitive to such inhomogeneities and can be used to constrain the presence of ultra-large scale structure (ULSS). We numerically evolve nonlinear inhomogeneities present at the beginning of inflation in full General Relativity to assess the CMB quadrupole constraint on the amplitude of the initial fluctuations and the size of the observable universe relative to a length scale characterizing the ULSS. To obtain a statistically significant number of simulations, we adopt a toy model in which inhomogeneities are injected along a preferred direction. We compute the likelihood function for the CMB quadrupole including both ULSS and the standard quantum fluctuations produced during inflation. We compute the posterior given the observed CMB quadrupole, finding that when including gravitational nonlinearities, ULSS curvature perturbations of order unity are allowed by the data, even on length scales not too much larger than the size of the observable universe. Our results illustrate the utility and importance of numerical relativity for constraining early universe cosmology., 14 pages, 6 figures v3: Clarifications added regarding the generality of results - conclusions unchanged, version accepted for publication in PRD, v2: updated with minor clarifications, submitted

Microseconds after the Big Bang quarks and gluons formed a strongly-coupled non-conformal liquid driven out-of-equilibrium by the expansion of the Universe. We use holography to determine the non-equilibrium behavior of this liquid in a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker Universe and develop an expansion for the corresponding entropy production in terms of the derivatives of the cosmological scale factor. We show that the resulting series has zero radius of convergence and we discuss its resurgent properties. Finally, we compute the resummed entropy production rate in de Sitter Universe at late times and show that the leading order approximation given by bulk viscosity effects can strongly overestimate/underestimate the rate depending on the microscopic parameters., 7 pages, 1 figure; v2: various improvements in presentation, title changed by journal, matches the published version

A stochastic background of gravitational waves is expected to arise from a superposition of a large number of unresolved gravitational-wave sources of astrophysical and cosmological origin. It is expected to carry unique signatures from the earliest epochs in the evolution of the universe, inaccessible to the standard astrophysical observations. Direct measurements of the amplitude of this background therefore are of fundamental importance for understanding the evolution of the universe when it was younger than one minute. Here we report direct limits on the amplitude of the stochastic gravitational-wave background using the data from a two-year science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). Our result constrains the energy density of the stochastic gravitational-wave background normalized by the critical energy density of the universe, in the frequency band around 100 Hz, to be less than 6.9 x 10^{-6} at 95% confidence. The data rule out models of early universe evolution with relatively large equation-of-state parameter, as well as cosmic (super)string models with relatively small string tension that are favoured in some string theory models. This search for the stochastic background improves upon the indirect limits from the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background at 100 Hz.

We investigate the Einstein static universe (ESU) and the emergent universe scenario in the framework of Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz-like $F(R)$ gravity. We first perform a dynamical analysis in the phase space, and amongst others we show that a spatially open universe filled with matter satisfying the strong energy condition can exhibit a stable static phase. Additionally, we examine the behavior of the scenario under scalar perturbations and extract the conditions under which it is free of perturbative instabilities, showing that the obtained background ESU solutions are free of such instabilities. However, in order for the Einstein static universe to give rise to the emergent universe scenario we need to have an exotic matter sector that can lead the universe to depart from the stable static state and enter into its usual expanding thermal history., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

a b s t r a c t In this paper, we study the physical meaning of the wavefunction of the universe. With the continuity equation derived from the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW) equation in the minisuperspace model, we show that the quantity ρ(a) =| ψ(a)| 2 for the universe is inversely proportional to the Hubble parameter of the universe. Thus, ρ(a) represents the probability density of the universe staying in the state a during its evolution, which we call the dynamical interpretation of the wavefunction of the universe. We demonstrate that the dynamical interpretation can predict the evolution laws of the universe in the classical limit as those given by the Friedmann equation. Furthermore, we show that the value of the operator ordering factor p in the WDW equation can be determined to be p =− 2.

We present a new algorithm that can reconstruct the full distributions of metric components within the class of spherically symmetric dust universes that may include a cosmological constant. The algorithm is capable of confronting this class of solutions with arbitrary data and opens a new observational window to determine the value of the cosmological constant. In this work we use luminosity and age data to constrain the geometry of the universe up to a redshift of $z = 1.75$. We show that, although current data are perfectly compatible with homogeneous models of the universe, simple radially inhomogeneous void models that are sometimes used as alternative explanations for the apparent acceleration of the late time universe cannot yet be ruled out. In doing so we reconstruct the density of cold dark matter out to $z = 1.75$ and derive constraints on the metric components when the universe was 10.5 Gyr old within a comoving volume of approximately 1 Gpc$^{3}$., 15 pages, 8 figures. Matches published version

The cosmic web that characterizes the large-scale structure of the Universe can be quantified by a variety of methods. For example, large redshift surveys can be used in combination with point process algorithms to extract long curvilinear filaments in the galaxy distribution. Alternatively, given a full 3D reconstruction of the velocity field, kinematic techniques can be used to decompose the web into voids, sheets, filaments and knots. In this paper we look at how two such algorithms - the Bisous model and the velocity shear web - compare with each other in the local Universe (within 100 Mpc), finding good agreement. This is both remarkable and comforting, given that the two methods are radically different in ideology and applied to completely independent and different data sets. Unsurprisingly, the methods are in better agreement when applied to unbiased and complete data sets, like cosmological simulations, than when applied to observational samples. We conclude that more observational data is needed to improve on these methods, but that both methods are most likely properly tracing the underlying distribution of matter in the Universe., Comment: 6 Pages, 2 figures, Submitted to MNRAS Letters

In this paper we introduce a LTB-Bianchi I (plane symmetric) model of Universe. We study and solve Einstein field equations. We investigate the effects of such model of Universe in particular these results are important in understanding the effect of the combined presence of an inhomogeneous and anisotropic Universe. The observational magnitude-redshift data deviated from UNION 2 catalog has been analyzed in the framework of this LTB-anisotropic Universe and the fit has been achieved without the inclusion of any dark energy., 9 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for pubblication on Physical Review D

The Weyl-Wigner-Groenewold-Moyal formalism of deformation quantization is applied to the closed Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological model. We show that the phase space average for the surface of the apparent horizon is quantized in units of the Planck's surface, and that the total entropy of the universe is also quantized. Taking into account these two concepts, it is shown that 't Hooft conjecture on the cosmological holographic principle (CHP) in radiation and dust dominated quantum universes is satisfied as a manifestation of quantization. This suggests that the entire universe (not only inside the apparent horizon) can be seen as a two-dimensional information structure encoded on the apparent horizon., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. D

We discuss the relation between the output of Newtonian N-body simulations on scales that approach or exceed the particle horizon to the description of General Relativity. At leading order, the Zeldovich approximation is correct on large scales, coinciding with the General Relativistic result. At second order in the initial metric potential, the trajectories of particles deviate from the second order Newtonian result and hence the validity of 2LPT initial conditions should be reassessed when used in very large simulations. We also advocate using the expression for the synchronous gauge density as a well behaved measure of density fluctuations on such scales., 7 pages, 2 figures, invited contribution to the Classical and Quantum Gravity focus issue on "Relativistic Effects in Cosmology", edited by Kazuya Koyama; v2 small modifications, matches published version

A model of an emergent universe is formulated using the mechanism of particle creation. Here the universe is considered as a non-equilibrium thermodynamical system with dissipation due to particle creation mechanism. The universe is chosen as spatially flat FRW space-time and the cosmic substratum is chosen as perfect fluid with barotropic equation of state. Both first and second order deviations from equilibrium prescription is considered and it is found that the scenario of emergent universe is possible in both the cases., Comment: 6 pages, Accepted for Publication in Physics Letters B

The number of cosmic strings in the observable universe is relevant in determining the probability of detecting such cosmic defects through their gravitational signatures. In particular, we refer to the observation of gravitational lensing events and anisotropy in the CMB radiation induced by cosmic strings. In this paper, a simple method is adopted to obtain an approximate estimate of the number of segments of cosmic strings, crossing the particle horizon, which fall inside the observed part of the universe. We show that there is an appreciable difference in the expected number of segments which differentiates cosmic strings arising in Abelian Higgs and Nambu-Goto models, and that a different choice of setting for the cosmological model can lead to significant differences in the expected number of cosmic string segments. Of this number, the fraction realistically detectable may be considerably smaller., Comment: LaTex2e, 15 pages, 1 figure, 5 tables. Subject extended to other cosmological scenarios from Sect. 3 on hence, it follows a modification in the title; three tables and references added. Version to appear in MNRAS

We discuss the cosmological constant problem, at the minisuperspace level, within the framework of the so-called normalized general relativity (NGR). We prove that the Universe cannot be closed, and reassure that the accompanying cosmological constant $\Lambda$ generically vanishes, at least classically. The theory does allow, however, for a special class of $\Lambda \not=0$ solutions which are associated with static closed Einstein universe and with Eddington-Lema\^{\i}tre universe., Comment: 10 PRD pages, 4 figures

Modak and Singleton [Phys. Rev. D 86, 123515 (2012)] have presented Hawking-like radiation for cosmological inflation which has a natural ``turn on'' and a natural ``turn off'' mechanism. This Hawking-like radiation results in an effective negative pressure ``fluid'' which leads to a rapid period of expansion in the very early Universe. We discuss that the turn on mechanism cannot happen for the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model in the early Universe because its horizon is an apparent horizon not an event horizon. Hence, we cannot apply geometric optic approximation which is a necessary condition for the tunneling method. It was shown that this model predicts a value for $\frac{\ensuremath{\rho}}{{m}_{\mathrm{pl}}^{4}}$ which is bigger than the COBE normalization constraint in the cosmic microwave background at the horizon exit. The authors of the paper offer a Reply.

We propose physically motivated spacetime uncertainty relations (STUR) for flat Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre cosmologies. We show that the physical features of these STUR crucially depend on whether a particle horizon is present or not. In particular, when this is the case we deduce the existence of a maximal value for the Hubble rate (or equivalently for the matter density), thus providing an indication that quantum effects may rule out a pointlike big bang singularity. Finally, we costruct a concrete realisation of the corresponding quantum Friedmann spacetime in terms of operators on a Hilbert space., Comment: Final version published in Class. Quantum Grav

It is generally agreed that there is matter in the universe and, in this paper, we show that the existence of matter is extremely problematic for the proposed Rh = ct universe. Considering a dark energy component with an equation of state of w=-1/3, it is shown that the presence of matter destroys the strict expansion properties that define the evolution of Rh = ct cosmologies, distorting the observational properties that are touted as its success. We further examine whether an evolving dark energy component can save this form of cosmological expansion in the presence of matter by resulting in an expansion consistent with a mean value of = -1/3, finding that the presence of mass requires unphysical forms of the dark energy component in the early universe. We conclude that matter in the universe significantly limits the fundamental properties of the Rh = ct cosmology, and that novel, and unphysical, evolution of the matter component would be required to save it. Given this, Rh = ct cosmology is not simpler or more accurate description of the universe than prevailing cosmological models, and its presentation to date possesses significant flaws., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear in MNRAS

Four alternative proposals as the possible solutions for the rotation curve problem are introduced on the basis of assumption that the cosmic expansion is engaged with the galactic dynamics over the halo. The first one proposes a modification of equivalence principle in an accelerating universe. The second one proposes a modification of Mach principle in an expanding universe. The third one proposes a dynamics of variable mass system for the halo in an expanding universe, and the fourth one proposes the replacement of physical radius with comoving one over the halo, in an expanding universe., 8 pages, minor revision

Open Access Journal; International audience; In order to explain the fact that the pressure in the Friedmann equations is negative, only the hypothetical presence of dark energy is used in present theories. But, the dimensions of the pressure $p$ are $f/r^2$ and thus $p$ can not account for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. Indeed, the hypersurface of our universe is threedimensional and curved, so a force has an effect on the universe if it is applied on the universe's boundaries. As these boundaries (hypersurface) correspond to the threedimensional universe itself at time $t$, there must exist a positive force density $f/r^3$. The relation between the pressure $p$ (calculated within the Friedmann model) and the force density is a simple derivation with respect to $r$ the space variable. And the derivation of a negative pressure leads to a positive force density.

We suggest a holographic energy model in which the energy coming from spatial curvature, matter and radiation can be obtained by using the particle horizon for the infrared cut-off. We show the consistency between the holographic dark-energy model and the holographic energy model proposed in this paper. Then, we give a holographic description of the universe., 9 pages

The Kerr-Schild (KS) geometry is linked tightly with the auxiliary \emph{flat} Minkowski background. Nevertheless, it describes many curved space-times and the related physical models, starting from cosmology and black holes to the microworld of the spinning elementary particles and the pre-quantum structure of vacuum fluctuations. We consider here a KS model of the Bubble Universe -- a semi-closed Universe with a rotating de Sitter (or anti-de Sitter) space embedded in an external flat space-time. When the solution has two horizons, it may also be interpreted as an Universe inside a black hole. In micro-world the KS geometry yields a model of the spinning particle consistent with gravity and describes a pre-quantum twistorial structure of space-time with the beam-like fluctuations of metric consistent with the beamlike fluctuations of electromagnetic vacuum. These light-like twistor-beam excitations are consistent with gravity and generalize the known pp-wave solutions. Following Wheeler's estimations of the density of vacuum fluctuations we arrive at the general conclusion that Universe should be flat and have a zero cosmological constant. It enforces us to return to an `effective flat geometry' filled by the electromagnetic background radiation., 20 pages, 7 figs. To appear in Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering

Recent observational evidences claim an accelerating expansion of the universe at present epoch. It is commonly incorporated in standard cosmology by the introduction of an exotic matter (that violates the strong energy condition) known as dark energy (DE). As event horizon exists for accelerating universe so there has been a lot of work on universal thermodynamics (i.e., thermodynamics of the universe bounded by apparent or event horizon). Recently, thermodynamical equilibrium has been examined for both the horizons. In the present work we show that universal thermodynamics with event horizon is favored by DE from the point of view of equilibrium thermodynamical prescription., 15 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables Major Revision, 9 figures added, Some tables modified, New tables added

It has become common understanding that the recession of galaxies and the corresponding redshift of light received from them can only be explained by an expansion of the space between them and us. In this paper, for the presently favored case of a universe without spatial curvature, it is shown that this interpretation is restricted to comoving coordinates. It is proven by construction that within the framework of general relativity other coordinates exist in relation to which these phenomena can be explained by a motion of the cosmic substrate across space, caused by an explosion like big bang or by inflation preceding an almost big bang. At the place of an observer, this motion occurs without any spatial expansion. It is shown that in these "explosion coordinates" the usual redshift comes about by a Doppler shift and a subsequent gravitational shift. Making use of this interpretation, it can easily be understood why in comoving coordinates light rays of short spatial extensions expand and thus constitute an exemption from the rule that small objects up to the size of the solar system or even galaxies do not participate in the expansion of the universe. It is also discussed how the two interpretations can be reconciled with each other., Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, expected to be published in the November 2012 issue

To understand the accelerating universe discovered observationally in 1998, we develop the scalar-tensor theory of gravitation originally due to Jordan, extended only minimally. The unique role of the conformal transformation and frames is discussed particularly from a physical point of view. We show the theory to provide us with a simple and natural way of understanding the core of the measurements, Λobs ∼ t0−2 for the observed values of the cosmological constant and today’s age of the universe both expressed in the Planckian units. According to this scenario of a decaying cosmological constant, Λobs is this small only because we are old, not because we fine-tune the parameters. It also follows that the scalar field is simply the pseudo Nambu–Goldstone boson of broken global scale invariance, based on the way astronomers and astrophysicists measure the expansion of the universe in reference to the microscopic length units. A rather phenomenological trapping mechanism is assumed for the scalar field around the epoch of mini-inflation as observed, still maintaining the unmistakable behavior of the scenario stated above. Experimental searches for the scalar field, as light as ∼ 10−9 eV, as part of the dark energy, are also discussed.

We calculate the particle production rate in an expanding universe with a three-torus topology. We discuss also the complete evolution of the size of such a universe. The energy density of particles created through the nonzero modes is computed for selected masses. The unique contribution of the zero mode and its properties are also analyzed., 9 pages, 11 figures

We propose an alternative, nonsingular, cosmic scenario based on gravitationally induced particle production. The model is an attempt to evade the coincidence and cosmological constant problems of the standard model ($\Lambda$CDM) and also to connect the early and late time accelerating stages of the Universe. Our space-time emerges from a pure initial de Sitter stage thereby providing a natural solution to the horizon problem. Subsequently, due to an instability provoked by the production of massless particles, the Universe evolves smoothly to the standard radiation dominated era thereby ending the production of radiation as required by the conformal invariance. Next, the radiation becomes sub-dominant with the Universe entering in the cold dark matter dominated era. Finally, the negative pressure associated with the creation of cold dark matter (CCDM model) particles accelerates the expansion and drives the Universe to a final de Sitter stage. The late time cosmic expansion history of the CCDM model is exactly like in the standard $\Lambda$CDM model, however, there is no dark energy. This complete scenario is fully determined by two extreme energy densities, or equivalently, the associated de Sitter Hubble scales connected by $\rho_I/\rho_f=(H_I/H_f)^{2} \sim 10^{122}$, a result that has no correlation with the cosmological constant problem. We also study the linear growth of matter perturbations at the final accelerating stage. It is found that the CCDM growth index can be written as a function of the $\Lambda$ growth index, $\gamma_{\Lambda} \simeq 6/11$. In this framework, we also compare the observed growth rate of clustering with that predicted by the current CCDM model. Performing a $\chi^{2}$ statistical test we show that the CCDM model provides growth rates that match sufficiently well with the observed growth rate of structure., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Phys. Rev. D. (final version, some references have corrected). arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1106.1938

In the present article the thermodynamic results of the Lee-Wick partner infested universe have been applied in a toy model where there is one Lee-Wick partner to each of the standard model particle and more over the longitudinal degrees of freedom of the massive partners of the standard massless gauge bosons are neglected at high temperatures. For practical purposes, the chiral fermionic sector of Lee-wick theories requires two Lee-Wick partners per fermion which opens up the possibility for a negative energy density of the early universe. A toy Lee-Wick model with one fermionic partner relaxes such oddities and hence easy to deal with. In a similar way, the longitudinal degrees of freedom of the massive gauge boson partners also have the potential to yield negative energy densities and thus those will be neglected in a toy model study. In such a toy model one can analytically calculate the time-temperature relation in the very early radiation dominated universe which shows interesting new physics. The article also tries to point out how a Lee-Wick particle dominated early cosmology transforms into the standard cosmological model. Based on the results of this toy model analysis a brief discussion on the more realistic model, which can accommodate two Lee-Wick partners for each standard fermionic field and the longitudinal degree of freedom of partners of the gauge fields, is presented. It has been shown that such an universe is mostly very difficult to attain but there are certain conditions where one can indeed think of such an universe which can evolve into the standard cosmological universe in a short time duration., v2: 23 pages, 2 figures, Title changed, Accepted for publication in PRD

We generalize the fractal bubble model (FB), recently proposed in the literature as an alternative to the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, to include a non-zero cosmological constant. We retain the same volume partition of voids and walls as the original FB model, and the same matching conditions for null geodesics, but do not include effects associated with a nonuniform time flow arising from differences of quasilocal gravitational energy that may arise in the coarse-graining process. The Buchert equations are written and partially integrated and the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is given. For a universe with $\Lambda=0$, as it is the case in the FB model, an initial void fraction with hyperbolic curvature evolves in such a way that it asymptotically fills completely our particle horizon. Conversely, in presence of a non vanishing $\Lambda$, we show that this does not happen and the voids fill a finite fraction $f_{v_{\infty}}, Comment: Published on Class. Quantum Grav

One of the main problems of Cosmology is to conciliate the initial homogeneity and isotropy of the Universe with the subsequent formation of galaxies. In order to find a solution, the Cosmic Microwave Radiation was deeply investigated and a very small anisotropy was finally detected and indicated as the cause of the structure formation. In the standard cosmological theory it is often demonstrated that the linear perturbations do not evolve in a way able to explain the large scale structure of the today observed Universe. In our paper we want to give a simple counterexample showing that it would be possible the formation of a clustered structure in the Universe without the help of the existence of Dark Matter.

We have recently proposed a Lorentz-violating energy-momentum relation entailing an exact momentum cutoff and studied various physical applications of that dispersion law. By a simple phenomenological approach we here study Lorentz violation effects on early Universe and pre-Planckian cosmological radiation. In particular, we predict an effective infinite speed of light soon after the Big Bang instant, leading to a straightforward solution of the horizon and flatness problems without recourse to inflation, cosmological scalar fields or other ad hoc energy sources., 7 pages

We test the opacity of a void Universe to TeV energy gamma rays having obtained the extra-galactic background light in that Universe using a simple model and the observed constraints on the star formation rate history. We find that the void Universe has significantly more opacity than a Lambda-CDM Universe, putting it at odds with observations of BL-Lac objects. We argue that while this method of distinguishing between the two cosmologies contains uncertainties, it circumvents any debates over fine-tuning., 4 pages 4 figures

We present new exact solutions {which presumably describe} black holes in the background of a spatially flat, pressureless dark matter (DM)-, or dark matter plus dark energy (DM+DE)-, or quintom-dominated universe. These solutions generalize Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi metrics. For a DM- or (DM+DE)-dominated universe, the area of the black hole apparent horizon (AH) decreases with the expansion of the universe while that of the cosmic AH increases. However, for a quintom-dominated universe, the black hole AH first shrinks and then expands, while the cosmic AH first expands and then shrinks. A (DM+DE)-dominated universe containing a black hole will evolve to the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution with both AHs approaching constant size. In a quintom-dominated universe, the black hole and cosmic AHs will coincide at a certain time, after which the singularity becomes naked, violating Cosmic Censorship., 13 pages, 4 figures

Based on hot big bang theory, the cosmological matter is conjectured to undergo QCD phase transition(s) to hadrons, when the universe was about $1-10 \mu$s old. In the present work, we study the quark-hadron phase transition, by taking into account the effect of the bulk viscosity. We analyze the evolution of the quantities relevant for the physical description of the early universe, namely, the energy density $\rho$, temperature $T$, Hubble parameter $H$ and scale factor $a$ before, during and after the phase transition. To study the cosmological dynamics and the time evolution we use both analytical and numerical methods. By assuming that the phase transition may be described by an effective nucleation theory (prompt {\it first-order} phase transition), we also consider the case where the universe evolved through a mixed phase with a small initial supercooling and monotonically growing hadronic bubbles. The numerical estimation of the cosmological parameters, $a$ and $H$ for instance, makes it clear that the time evolution varies from phase to phase. As the QCD era turns to be fairly accessible in the high-energy experiments and the lattice QCD simulations, the QCD equation of state is very well defined. In light of this, we introduce a systematic study of the {\it cross-over} quark-hadron phase transition and an estimation for the time evolution of Hubble parameter., Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, revtex style (To appear in Phys. Rev. D). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:gr-qc/0404045