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Preheating at the end of inflation is a violent nonlinear process that efficiently transfers the energy of the inflaton to a second field, the preheat field. When the preheat field is light during inflation and its background value modulates the preheating process, the superhorizon isocurvature perturbations of the preheat field may be converted to curvature perturbations that leave an imprint on the cosmic microwave background and the large-scale structure of the universe. We use high-precision lattice simulations to study kinetic preheating after $\alpha$-attractor inflation, a case where the effective mass of the preheat field is naturally suppressed during inflation. By comparing the expansion e-folds between different Hubble patches, we find that the conversion from isocurvature perturbations to curvature perturbations is very inefficient and can hardly be detected by cosmological observations.

The existence of fluctuations at the early stage of the universe provides enough confidence to rely on the averaging methods. However, the nonlinearity of general relativity makes it extremely difficult. There are different methods to study inhomogeneous cosmology and provide a straightforward solution to the averaging problem in cosmology, such as Buchert's spatial averaging. I am attempting to study early cosmic inflation using Buchert equations and the Mori-Zwanzig projection operator formalism. Buchert equations and Mori-Zwanzig formalism's coarse-grained description are the geometrical source of early cosmic inflation through higher-order differential equations. It can be seen that the observational data and the given theoretical results are in agreement.

We propose a new cosmological model that considers dark matter as a barotropic fluid with a constant equation of state parameter and interprets dark energy as the phenomenological emergent dark energy rather than a cosmological constant. This proposal is based on extensive research on the extended properties of dark matter in the context of a cosmological constant and the intriguing findings that have emerged from our exploration of dark matter properties within the context of PEDE in our previous studies. We then place constraints on this model in light of the Planck 2018 Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies, baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) measurements, the Pantheon compilation of Type Ia supernovae, a prior on $H_0$ that based on the latest local measurement by Riess et al., and the combination of KiDS and the VISTA Kilo-Degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (KiDS+VIKING-450). The results indicate a preference for a positive dark matter equation of state parameter at 68\% confidence level for CMB+BAO, CMB+BAO+Pantheon and CMB+BAO+Pantheon+$H_0$ datasets. Furthermore, the Hubble tension between all of the datasets we used with R22 is very close to those of the PEDE, and the $S_8$ tension between Planck 2018 and KiDS+VIKING-450 is reduced from 2.3$\sigma$ in the PEDE model to 0.4$\sigma$ in the new model. However, Bayesian evidence indicates that PEDE favors our new model with very strong evidence from all the datasets considered in this study. Consequently, we conclude that the PEDE+$w_{\rm dm}$ model is not a viable alternative to the PEDE model., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2303.00961

Joint analysis of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) measurement by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) first data release, Type Ia supernovae (SNe) of the Dark Energy Survey Year 5 (DES5YR) release and cosmic microwave background (CMB) data favors a quintom-like dynamic dark energy model over the standard Lambda cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) model at $3.9\sigma$ level (Adame et al. 2024). We demonstrate that the preference for dynamic dark energy does not rely on the detailed modeling of CMB physics and remains at $3.2\sigma$ level when the full CMB likelihood is replaced by a CMB acoustic-oscillation angle ($\theta_\star$) prior and a baryon abundance ($\Omega_bh^2$) prior. By comparing the data with over $10^4$ $\Lambda$CDM-based simulations, we find that both DES5YR SNe and DESI BAO contribute significantly to the preference for dynamic dark energy. The preference for dynamic dark energy is unlikely (probability $\lesssim 0.02$) due to unknown systematics in DES5YR SNe and statistical fluctuations in DESI BAO, or vice versa., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, MEET-U project

The overabundance of the red and massive candidate galaxies observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) implies efficient structure formation or large star formation efficiency at high redshift $z\sim 10$. In the scenario of a low or moderate star formation efficiency, because massive neutrinos tend to suppress the growth of structure of the universe, the JWST observation tightens the upper bound of the neutrino masses. Assuming $\Lambda$ cold dark matter cosmology and a star formation efficiency $ \in [0.05, 0.3]$ (flat prior), we perform joint analyses of Planck+JWST and Planck+BAO+JWST, and obtain improved constraints $\sum m_\nu < 0.196\,\mathrm{eV}$ and $\sum m_\nu < 0.111\,\mathrm{eV}$ at 95% confidence level, respectively. Based on the above assumptions, the inverted mass ordering, which implies $\sum m_\nu\geq 0.1\mathrm{eV}$, is excluded by Planck+BAO+JWST at 92.7% confidence level., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures

We develop a Python tool to estimate the tail distribution of the number of dark matter halos beyond a mass threshold and in a given volume in a light-cone. The code is based on the extended Press-Schechter model and is computationally efficient, typically taking a few seconds on a personal laptop for a given set of cosmological parameters. The high efficiency of the code allows a quick estimation of the tension between cosmological models and the red candidate massive galaxies released by the James Webb Space Telescope, as well as scanning the theory space with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. As an example application, we use the tool to study the cosmological implication of the candidate galaxies presented in Labb\'e et al. (2023). The standard $\Lambda$ cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) model is well consistent with the data if the star formation efficiency can reach $\sim 0.3$ at high redshift. For a low star formation efficiency $\epsilon \sim 0.1$, $\Lambda$CDM model is disfavored at $\sim 2\sigma$-$3\sigma$ confidence level., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

When he first introduced the notion of a conformal boundary into the study of asymptotically empty space-times, Penrose noted that that the boundary would be null, space-like or time-like according as the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ was zero, positive or negative. While most applications of the idea of a conformal boundary have been to the zero-$\Lambda$, asymptotically-Minkowskian case, there also has been work on the nonzero cases. Here we review work with a positive $\Lambda$, which is the appropriate case for cosmology of the universe in which we live., Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Phil.Trans.A; based on a talk at the Royal Society Discussion Meeting "At the interface of asymptotics, conformal methods and analysis in general relativity", London, 9th-10th May 2023

The notion that nature is subject to laws is exciting from many different viewpoints. This paper is based on the context of modern cosmology and presents a more philosophical discussion. It will list the significant interdisciplinary implications generated by various aspects of the contemporary scientific discussion about the status of laws of nature, especially their dynamic nature. Recent work highlights how multiple aspects of the observed universe still lack explanation and that several problems of standard cosmology still form the object of debate. Considering these issues, several proposals have been made that entail a revision of the concept of the law of nature, according to which the nature of time and of the relation between causality and natural laws ought to be reconsidered using approaches or viewpoints which point to philosophical issues. We argue that Tim Maudlin's concept of Fundamental Law of Temporal Evolution (FLOTE) and Nancy Cartwright's notion of the nomological machine provide new insights and valuable tools that can be used in the analysis of the status of laws in the context of cosmology and of complex systems theory. The limits of the traditional approach to laws of nature and of their mathematical formulation are highlighted in this context, as well as the fact that many of the ultimate properties of nature may turn out to be formally unpredictable or uncomputable., Comment: 40 pages, no figures. Found Sci (2023)

An extension of unimodular Einsteinian gravity in the context of $F(R)$ gravities is used to construct a class of anisotropic evolution scenarios. In unimodular GR the determinant of the metric is constrained to be a fixed number or a function. However, the metric of a generic anisotropic universe is not compatible with the unimodular constraint, so that a redefinition of the metric, to properly take into account the constraint, need be performed. The unimodular constraint is imposed on $F(R)$ gravity in the Jordan frame by means of a Lagrangian multiplier, to get the equations of motion. The resulting equations can be viewed as a reconstruction method, which allows to determine what function of the Ricci scalar can realize the desired evolution. For the sake of clarity, some characteristic examples are invoked to show how this reconstruction method works explicitly. The de Sitter spacetime here considered, in the context of unimodular $F(R)$ gravity, is suitable to describe both the early- and late-time epochs of the universe history., Comment: EPJC Accepted

We investigate the dynamics of the spatially flat universes submitted to isotropic tidal forces and adiabatic expansion under Einstein's equations. Surprisingly, the tendency to a high Hubble anisotropy at late times starts to appear as far as we assume the strong energy condition, a characteristic which becomes dominant in the radiation era and even more stringent under a stiff matter regime. We introduce the parameter b which measures the relative change in the magnitudes of the Hubble anisotropy and the scale factor and use it to show that the anisotropies must be kept small as long as we assume the Universe has passed through an inflationary period, in accordance with the cosmic no-hair theorem. Hence, we have a class of models that shows us a simple and straightforward way the instability of the FLRW universes, the furtiveness of the isotropy concept, and how they can still be consistent with the standard model of Cosmology as far as we assume the occurrence of an inflationary early period., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

The Planck mission detected a positive correlation between the intensity ($T$) and $B$-mode polarization of the Galactic thermal dust emission. The $TB$ correlation is a parity-odd signal, whose statistical mean vanishes in models with mirror symmetry. Recent work has shown with strong evidence that local handedness of the misalignment between the dust filaments and the sky-projected magnetic field produces $TB$ signals. However, it remains unclear whether the observed global $TB$ signal is caused by statistical fluctuations of magnetic misalignment angles, or whether some parity-violating physics in the interstellar medium sets a preferred misalignment handedness. The present work aims to make a quantitative statement about how confidently the statistical-fluctuation interpretation is ruled out by filament-based simulations of polarized dust emission. We use the publicly available DUSTFILAMENTS code to simulate the dust emission from filaments whose magnetic misalignment angles are symmetrically randomized, and construct the probability density function of $\xi_{p}$, a weighted sum of $TB$ power spectrum. We find that Planck data has a $\gtrsim 10\sigma$ tension with the simulated $\xi_{p}$ distribution. Our results strongly support that the Galactic filament misalignment has a preferred handedness, whose physical origin is yet to be identified., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures

It is presumed that thermal fluctuations present during inflationary epoch can make inflaton scalar field to interact with other fields resulting in the existence of a thermal component during the inflationary period. The presence of this thermal component assists structure formation and reduces reheating dependence as in the contemporary inflationary paradigm. This is known as warm inflation. In 1990 J . D. Barrow \cite{25} considered a scenario of inflation with matter field having a phenomenological equation of state of the type $p+\rho=\gamma\rho^{\lambda},~\gamma\neq 0$ and $\lambda$ constant. He called such inflationary scenarios as "graduated inflation". In this work we reconsider the above equation of state in a scenario of warm inflation. Our aim would be to investigate and understand whether such matter can also act as a viable candidate for warm inflation., Comment: Accepted for publication at Phys. Lett. B

After recalling some puzzles in cosmology and briefly reviewing the Friedmann-Lema\^itre cosmos a simple unified model of the ``Dark Sector'' is described. This model involves a scalar field and a pseudo-scalar axion field that give rise to Dark Energy in the form of ``quintessence'' and to ``fuzzy'' Dark Matter, respectively. Predictions of the model concerning the late-time evolution of the Universe and possible implications for the problem of the observed Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry in the Universe are sketched., Comment: 17 pages (including bibliography), no figures

We present cosmological parameter constraints as estimated using the Bayesian BeyondPlanck (BP) analysis framework. This method supports seamless end-to-end error propagation from raw time-ordered data to final cosmological parameters. As a first demonstration of the method, we analyze time-ordered Planck LFI observations, combined with selected external data (WMAP 33-61GHz, Planck HFI DR4 353 and 857GHz, and Haslam 408MHz) in the form of pixelized maps which are used to break critical astrophysical degeneracies. Overall, all results are generally in good agreement with previously reported values from Planck 2018 and WMAP, with the largest relative difference for any parameter of about 1 sigma when considering only temperature multipoles between 29

In this paper, we present an analysis of a chiral cosmological scenario from the perspective of K-essence formalism. In this setup, several scalar fields interact within the kinetic and potential sectors. However, we only consider a flat Friedmann--Robertson--Lama\^{\i}tre--Walker universe coupled minimally to two quintom fields: one quintessence and one phantom. We examine a classical cosmological framework, where analytical solutions are obtained. Indeed, we present an explanation of the ``big-bang'' singularity by means of a ``big-bounce''. Moreover, having a barotropic fluid description and for a particular set of parameters, the phantom line is in fact crossed. Additionally, for the quantum counterpart, the Wheeler--DeWitt equation is analytically solved for various instances, where the factor-ordering problem has been taken into account (measured by the factor Q). Hence, this approach allows us to compute the probability density of the previous two classical subcases. It turns out that its behavior is in effect damped as the scale factor and the scalar fields evolve. It also tends towards the phantom sector when the factor ordering constant $\rm Q\ll 0$., Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, version published in Universe journal

A broad class of dark energy models can be written in the form of k-essence, whose Lagrangian density is a two-variable function of a scalar field $\phi$ and its kinetic energy $X\equiv \frac{1}{2}\partial^\mu\phi \partial_\mu\phi$. In the thawing scenario, the scalar field becomes dynamic only when the Hubble friction drops below its mass scale in the late universe. Thawing k-essence dark energy models can be randomly sampled by generating the Taylor expansion coefficients of its Lagrangian density from random matrices \cite{thaws}. Ref. \cite{thaws} points out that the non-uniform distribution of effective equation of state parameters $(w_0, w_a)$ of thawing k-essence model can be used to improve the statistics of model selection. The present work studies the statistics of thawing k-essence in a more general framework that is Parameterized by the Age of the universe (PAge) \cite{PAge}. For fixed matter fraction $\Omega_m$, the random thawing k-essence models cluster in a narrow band in the PAge parameter space, providing a strong theoretical prior. We simulate cosmic shear power spectrum data for the Chinese Space Station Telescope optical survey, and compare the fisher forecast with and without the theoretical prior of thawing k-essence. For an optimal tomography binning scheme, the theoretical prior improves the figure of merit in PAge space by a factor of $3.3$., Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, submission invited by Commun. Theor. Phys

The present paper deals with the dynamics of spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological model with a time varying cosmological constant $\Lambda$ where $\Lambda$ evolves with the cosmic time (t) through the Hubble parameter (H). We consider that the model dynamics has a reflection symmetry $H \rightarrow -H $ with $\Lambda(H)$ expressed in the form of Taylor series with respect to H. Dynamical systems for three different cases based on the possibilities of gravitational constant G and the vacuum energy density $\rho_{\Lambda}$ have been analysed. In Case I, both G and $\rho_{\Lambda}$ are taken to be constant. We analyse stability of the system by using the notion of spectral radius, behavior of perturbation along each of the axis with respect to cosmic time and Poincare sphere. In Case II, we have dynamical system analysis for G=constant and $\rho_{\Lambda} \neq $ constant where we study stability by using the concept of spectral radius and perturbation function. In Case III, we take $G \neq$ constant and $\rho_{\Lambda} \neq$ constant where we introduce a new set of variables to set up the corresponding dynamical system. We find out the fixed points of the system and analyse the stability from different directions: by analysing behaviour of the perturbation along each of the axis, Center Manifold Theory and stability at infinity using Poincare sphere respectively. Phase plots and perturbation plots have been presented. We deeply study the cosmological scenario with respect to the fixed points obtained and analyse the late time behavior of the Universe. Our model agrees with the fact that the Universe is in the epoch of accelerated expansion. The EOS parameter $\omega_{eff}$, total energy density $\Omega_{tt}$ are also evaluated at the fixed points for each of the three cases and these values are in agreement with the observational values in [1]., Comment: 43 pages, 20 figures

The quasi-molecular mechanism of recombination, recently suggested by Kereselidze et al., is a non-standard process where an electron and two neighboring protons in the early universe directly form an ionized hydrogen molecule in a highly excited state, which then descends to lower levels or dissociates. It has been suggested that the increased binding energy due to the participation of a second proton may lead to an earlier cosmic recombination that alleviates the Hubble tension. Revisiting the quasi-molecular channel of recombination in more details, we find that the original work significantly overestimated the probability of finding a pair of adjacent protons in the relevant epoch ($z\sim $ a few thousand). Our new estimation suggests that the quasi-molecular mechanism of recombination cannot be the primary cause of the Hubble tension., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

This article is an extended version of a talk given in Oxford in June 2021 as part of an online meeting `Ninety minutes of CCC' to mark the 90th birthday of Sir Roger Penrose. I assemble some questions that I have been asked or have asked myself about CCC., Comment: 8 pages

Interaction of dark energy in the anisotropic Locally Rotationally Symmetric (LRS) Bianchi type-I metric is investigated in the context of modified f(R,T) theory of gravity, where R is the Ricci scalar and T is the trace of stress energy momentum tensor. We choose the particular form of the functional f(R,T)=f_1 (R,T)+f_2 (R,T) then we find the exact solutions of the field equations by applying inhomogeneous equation of state, p= {\omega}\r{ho}-{\Lambda}(t) and a generalized form of hybrid expansion law. Transition of deceleration to acceleration is observed in this model. It is also observed that the Universe shows accelerated expansion at late epoch. The derived model overlaps with {\Lambda}CDM at late time which is in agreement with present observation. Energy conditions of the derived model are also investigated. From the plot, we observe the age of Universe t_0=13.821 Gyr for the observed H_0=70.07Kms^(-1) Mpc^(-1). The physical and geometrical behaviours of these models are also discussed., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Manuscript has been accepted for publication in Advances in High Energy Physics

Due to the accelerated expansion of the universe, the possibility of formation of singularities has changed from the classical Big Bang and Big Crunch singularities to include a number of new scenarios. In recent papers it has been shown that such singularities may appear in inflationary cosmological models with a fractional power scalar field potential. In this paper we enlarge the analysis of singularities in scalar field cosmological models by the use of generalised power expansions of their Hubble scalar and their scalar field in order to describe all possible models leading to a singularity, finding other possible cases. Unless a negative scalar field potential is considered, all singularities are weak and of type IV., Comment: 8, pages

The discovery of accelerated expansion of the universe opened the possibility of new scenarios for the doom of our spacetime, besides aeternal expansion and a final contraction. In this paper we review the chances which may await our universe. In particular, there are new possible singular fates (sudden singularities, big rip...), but there also other evolutions which cannot be considered as singular. In addition to this, some of the singular fates are not strong enough in the sense that the spacetime can be extended beyond the singularity. For deriving our results we make use of generalised power and asymptotic expansions of the scale factor of the universe., Comment: 2 tables, 11 pages, accepted for publication in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A

Local measurements of the Hubble parameter obtained from the distance ladder at low redshift are in tension with global values inferred from cosmological standard rulers. A key role in the tension is played by the assumptions on the cosmological history, in particular on the origin of dark energy. Here we consider a scenario where dark energy originates from the amplification of quantum fluctuations of a light field in inflation. We show that spatial correlations inherited from inflationary quantum fluctuations can reduce the Hubble tension down to one standard deviation, thus relieving the problem with respect to the standard cosmological model. Upcoming missions, like Euclid, will be able to test the predictions of models in this class., Comment: v2: version published in Phys. Lett. B; added references, added appendix on evolution of 4-pt functions; 20 pages, 2 figures

One of the most prominent challenges to the standard Lambda cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology is the tension between the structure growth parameter $S_8$ constrained by the cosmic microwave background (CMB) data and the smaller one suggested by the cosmic shear data. Recent studies show that, for $\Lambda$CDM cosmology, redshift-space distortion (RSD) data also prefers a smaller $S_8$ that is $\sim 2$-$3\sigma$ lower than the CMB value, but the result is sensitive to the cosmological model. In the present work we update the RSD constraint on $S_8$ with the most up-to-date RSD data set where the correlation between data points are properly taken into account. To reduce the model dependence, we add in our Monte Carlo Markov Chain calculation the most up-to-date data sets of Type Ia supernovae (SN) and baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), whose correlation with RSD is also taken into account, to constrain the background geometry. For $\Lambda$CDM cosmology we find $S_8= 0.812 \pm 0.026$, which is $\sim 2\sigma$ larger than previous studies, and hence is consistent with the CMB constraint. By replacing $\Lambda$CDM with the Parameterization based on cosmic Age (PAge), an almost model-independent description of the late universe, we find that the RSD + SN + BAO constraint on $S_8$ is insensitive to the cosmological model., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear on SCPMA

K-essence is a minimally-coupled scalar field whose Lagrangian density $\mathcal{L}$ is a function of the field value $\phi$ and the kinetic energy $X=\frac{1}{2}\partial_\mu\phi\partial^\mu\phi$. In the thawing scenario, the scalar field is frozen by the large Hubble friction in the early universe, and therefore initial conditions are specified. We construct thawing k-essence models by generating Taylor expansion coefficients of $\mathcal{L}(\phi, X)$ from random matrices. From the ensemble of randomly generated thawing k-essence models, we select dark energy candidates by assuming negative pressure and non-growth of sub-horizon inhomogeneities. For each candidate model the dark energy equation of state function is fit to the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parameterization $w(a) \approx w_0+w_a(1-a)$, where $a$ is the scale factor. The thawing k-essence dark models distribute very non-uniformly in the $(w_0, w_a)$ space. About 90\% models cluster in a narrow band in the proximity of a slow-roll line $w_a\approx -1.42 \left(\frac{\Omega_m}{0.3}\right)^{0.64}(1+w_0)$, where $\Omega_m$ is the present matter density fraction. This work is a proof of concept that for a certain class of models very non-uniform theoretical prior on $(w_0, w_a)$ can be obtained to improve the statistics of model selection., Comment: to appear on PRD

Recently, several statistically significant tensions between different cosmological datasets have raised doubts about the standard Lambda cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) model. A recent letter~\citet{Huang:2020mub} suggests to use "Parameterization based on cosmic Age" (PAge) to approximate a broad class of beyond-$\Lambda$CDM models, with a typical accuracy $\sim 1\%$ in angular diameter distances at $z\lesssim 10$. In this work, we extend PAge to a More Accurate Parameterization based on cosmic Age (MAPAge) by adding a new degree of freedom $\eta_2$. The parameter $\eta_2$ describes the difference between physically motivated models and their phenomenological PAge approximations. The accuracy of MAPAge, typically of order $10^{-3}$ in angular diameter distances at $z\lesssim 10$, is significantly better than PAge. We compare PAge and MAPAge with current observational data and forecast data. The conjecture in~\citet{Huang:2020mub}, that PAge approximation is sufficiently good for current observations, is quantitatively confirmed in this work. We also show that the extension from PAge to MAPAge is important for future observations, which typically requires sub-percent accuracy in theoretical predictions., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

First and foremost, we show that a 4-dimensional conformally flat generalized Ricci recurrent spacetime $(GR)_4$ is an Einstein manifold. We examine such a spacetime as a solution of $f(R, G)$-gravity theory and it is shown that the additional terms from the modification of the gravitational sector can be expressed as a perfect fluid. Several energy conditions are investigated with $f(R, G) = R +\sqrt{G}$ and $f(R, G) = R^2+GlnG$. For both the models, weak, null and dominant energy conditions are satisfied while strong energy condition is violated, which is a good agreement with the recent observational studies which reveals that the current universe is in accelerating phase., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures: Revised version submitted to Fortschritte der Physik - Progress of Physics

The correlation between the peak spectra energy ($E_p$) and the equivalent isotropic energy ($E_{\rm iso}$) of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the so-called Amati relation, is often used to constrain the high-redshift Hubble diagram. Assuming Lambda cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology, Wang et al. found a $\gtrsim 3\sigma$ tension in the data-calibrated Amati coefficients between low- and high-redshift GRB samples. To reduce the impact of fiducial cosmology, we use the Parameterization based on cosmic Age (PAge), an almost model-independent framework to trace the cosmological expansion history. We find that the low- and high-redshift tension in Amati coefficients stays almost the same for the broad class of models covered by PAge, indicating that the cosmological assumption is not the dominant driver of the redshift evolution of GRB luminosity correlation. Next, we analyze the selection effect due to flux limits in observations. We find Amati relation evolves much more significantly across energy scales of $E_{\rm iso}$. We debias the GRB data by selectively discarding samples to match low-$z$ and high-$z$ $E_{\rm iso}$ distributions. After debiasing, the Amati coefficients agree well between low-$z$ and high-$z$ data groups, whereas the evidence of $E_{\rm iso}$-dependence of Amati relation remains to be strong. Thus, the redshift evolution of GRB luminosity correlation can be fully interpreted as a selection bias, and does not imply cosmological evolution of GRBs., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; significant modification

The patch like model of the hierarchical galaxy formation in the $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model with small damping scale is considered. In this model galaxies and clusters of galaxies are identified with rare high density peaks, what suppresses the action of random factors in the vicinity of peaks and makes the process of halos formation more rapid and regular. High concentration of irregular subhalos surrounding the central peaks and their subsequent merging just after formation allows to consider this medium as a mixture of collisionless dispersed dark matter (DM) particles and collisional subhalos. Merging of these subhalos with the central dominating halo is accompanied by tidal destruction of the central cusp, what progressively shallows the density profile and promotes formation of super massive central black holes. In the framework of this model we can reproduce the observed correlation of mass and density of virialized galaxies and clusters of galaxies known as the virial paradox [4,5]. These correlations are closely linked with the composition of DM and the shape of the power spectrum what allows to restrict them using already available observations. These correlations put constraints on the HDM and WDM models and allow to test models of cosmological inflation. We confirm that the missing satellite problem is directly linked with the virial paradox and reheating of the Universe which increases temperature and entropy of the baryons, prevents formation of first stars and divides halos into two populations: the first one includes galaxies formed before reheating which are mainly concentrated in the vicinity of the massive ones while the second population -- numerous dark halos formed after reheating -- accumulates majority of DM but does not contain stars. Their spatial distribution is more homogeneous., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

Recent discussions about supernova magnitude evolution have raised doubts about the robustness of the late-universe acceleration. In a previous letter, Huang did a null test of the cosmic acceleration by using a Parameterization based on the cosmic Age (PAge), which covers a broad class of cosmological models including the standard $\Lambda$ cold dark matter model and its many extensions. In this work, we continue to explore the cosmic expansion history with the PAge approximation. Using baryon acoustic oscillations ({\it without} a CMB prior on the acoustic scale), gravitational strong lens time delay, and passively evolving early galaxies as cosmic chronometers, we obtain $\gtrsim 4\sigma$ detections of cosmic acceleration for both flat and nonflat PAge universes. In the nonflat case, we find a $\gtrsim 3\sigma$ tension between the spatial curvatures derived from baryon acoustic oscillations and strong lens time delay. Implications and possible systematics are discussed., Comment: 7 pages; 3 figures

In this manuscript, we investigate the patterns satisfied by the cosmological anisotropy under the hypothesis of the observers being co-moving with a perfect fluid whose induced space sections are homogeneous with vanishing scalar curvature. We describe the positive increment $\Delta R$ that the Hubble parameter in the anisotropic model will have as it is compared to its isotropic counterpart. In general, it has an exponential awakening at a specific redshift $z_A$. We also show that the deceleration and the jerk along the principal directions of the anisotropy are constrained by simple algebraic equations that do not depend on the type of matter present. These characteristic patterns form a valuable framework to distinguish the cosmological anisotropy from any other kind, thus adding a useful tool to probe its upper limits in the supernovae surveys, which are orders of magnitude away from those observed in the CMB., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures

In this paper we consider a third quantized cosmological model with varying speed of light $c$ and varying gravitational constant $G$ both represented by non-minimally coupled scalar fields. The third quantization of such a model leads to a scenario of the doubleverse with the two components being quantum mechanically entangled. We calculate the two parameters describing the entanglement, namely: the energy and the entropy of entanglement where the latter appears to be a proper measure of the entanglement. We consider a possibility that the entanglement can manifests itself as an effective perfect fluid characterized by the time dependent barotropic index $w_{eff}$, which for some specific case corresponds to the fluid of cosmic strings. It seems that such an entanglement induced effective perfect fluid may generate significant backreaction effect at early times., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

The evidence of environmental dependence of Type Ia supernova luminosity has inspired recent discussion about whether the late-universe cosmic acceleration is still supported by supernova data. We adopt the $\Delta\mathrm{HR}/\Delta\mathrm{age}$ parameter, which describes the dependence of supernova absolute magnitude on the age of supernova progenitor, as an additional nuisance parameter. Using the Pantheon supernova data, a lower bound $\ge 12\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ on the cosmic age, and a Gaussian prior $H_0 = 70\pm 2\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}Mpc^{-1}}$ on the Hubble constant, we reconstruct the cosmic expansion history. Within the flat $\Lambda$ cold dark matter ($\Lambda$CDM) framework, we still find a $5.6\sigma$ detection of cosmic acceleration. This is because a matter dominated decelerating universe would be too young to accommodate observed old stars with age $\gtrsim 12\,\mathrm{Gyr}$. A decelerating but non-flat universe is marginally consistent with the data, however, only in the presence of a negative spatial curvature $\sim$ two orders of magnitude beyond the current constraint from cosmic microwave background data. Finally, we propose a more general Parameterization based on the cosmic Age (PAge), which is {\it not} directly tied to the dark energy concept and hence is ideal for a null test of the cosmic acceleration. We find that, for a magnitude evolution rate $\Delta\mathrm{HR}/\Delta\mathrm{age} \lesssim 0.3\,\mathrm{mag}/5.3\,\mathrm{Gyr}$ (Kang et al. 2020), a spatially flat and decelerating PAge universe is fully consistent with the supernova data and the cosmic age bound, and has no tension with the geometric constraint from the observed CMB acoustic angular scales., Comment: ApJL accepted

An extended framework of gravity, in which the first Friedmann equation is satisfied up to some constant due to violation of gauge invariance, is tested against astrophysical data: Supernovae Type-Ia, Cosmic Chronometers, and Gamma-ray bursts. A generalized expression for the Friedmann equation, including the possible vacuum contributions, is suggested, and two particular cosmological models with two independent parameters are considered within this framework and compared on the basis of the likelihood analysis. One of the models considered includes contribution of the residual vacuum fluctuations to the energy density and places the limit on the UV cutoff scale as $k_{max} = 12.43^{+0.9}_{-1.6} [M_p/\sqrt{2+N_{sc}}]$, where $N_{sc}$ is the number of minimally coupled scalar fields. Model comparison using the Akaike information criteria and Bayesian evidence shows a preference for the conventional $\Lambda$CDM over the extended models. A more general model with three parameters is considered within which an anti-correlated behavior between the dynamical vacuum fluctuations contribution and a negative cosmological constant was found. The result is an upper limit of $\Omega_{\Lambda} \lesssim -0.14$ at $95\%$ C.L., which is only mildly disfavored ($\ln\mathcal{B} = -1.8$) with respect to $\Lambda$CDM., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; text refined; comments are welcome

The inconsistent Hubble constant values derived from cosmic microwave background (CMB) observations and from local distance-ladder measurements may suggest new physics beyond the standard $\Lambda$CDM paradigm. It has been found in earlier works that, at least phenomenologically, non-standard recombination histories can reduce the $\gtrsim 4\sigma$ Hubble tension to $\sim 2\sigma$. Following this path, we vary physical and phenomenological parameters in RECFAST, the standard code to compute ionization history of the universe, to explore possible physics beyond standard recombination. We find that the CMB constraint on the Hubble constant is sensitive to the Hydrogen ionization energy and $2s \rightarrow 1s$ two-photon decay rate, both of which are atomic constants, and is insensitive to other details of recombination. Thus, the Hubble tension is very robust against perturbations of recombination history, unless exotic physics modifies the atomic constants during the recombination epoch., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

We present the solution space of the field equations in the Einstein-aether theory for the case of a vacuum Bianchi Type V space-time. We also find that there are portions of the initial parameters space for which no solution is admitted by the reduced equations. Whenever solutions do exist, their physical interpretation is examined through the behavior of Ricci and/or Kretsmann scalar, as well as with the identification of the effective energy momentum tensor in terms of a perfect fluid. There are cases in which no singularities appear and others where the effective fluid is isotropic., Comment: Latex2e Source File, 11 pages, No Figures

For a standard $\Lambda$CDM universe with a power-law primordial power spectrum, the discrepancy between early- and late-universe measurements of the Hubble constant continued to grow and recently reached $5.3\sigma$. During inflation, local features in the inflationary potential often lead to band-limited features in the primordial power spectrum, hence breaking the power-law assumption in the derivation of the Hubble tension. We investigate whether such inflationary "glitches" can ease the Hubble tension. The recently released \emph{Planck} temperature and polarization data and the 2019 SH0ES+H0LiCOW joint constraint on the Hubble constant are combined to drive a blind Daubechies wavelet signal search in the primordial power spectrum, up to a resolution $\Delta \ln k\sim 0.1$. We find no significant detection of any features beyond power law. With 64 more degrees of freedom injected in the primordial power spectrum, the Hubble tension persists at a $4.9\sigma$ level., Comment: revised version of "The Hubble Tension Persists Beyond Slow-roll Inflation"

It appears that having our own brane to somehow interact with other branes could give rise to quite an interesting system and that that interaction could lead to some observable effects. We consider the question of whether or not these signatures of interaction between the branes can be observed. To answer this question, we investigate the effect induced by the inflaton in the WMAP7 data using the warm inflationary model. In this model, slow-roll and perturbation parameters are given in terms of the inflaton thermal distribution. We show that this distribution depends on the orbital radius of the brane motion under the interaction potential of other branes in extra dimensions. Thus, an enhancement in the brane inflation can be a signature of an orbital motion in extra dimensions and consequently, some signals of other branes can be detected by observational data. According to experimental data, the N = 50 case leads to ns = 0:96, where N and ns are the number of e-folds and the spectral index, respectively. This standard case may be found in the range 0:01 < R(Tensor-scalar) < 0:22, where R(Tensor-scalar) is the tensor-scalar ratio. We find that at this point, the radial distance between our brane and another brane is R = 1/(1:5GeV ) in intermediate, and R = 1/(0:02225GeV ) in logamediate inflation., Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures

Cosmic backreaction as an additional source of the expansion of the universe has been a debate topic since the discovery of cosmic acceleration. The major concern is whether the self interaction of small-scale nonlinear structures would source gravity on very large scales. Gregory Ryskin argued against the additional inclusion of gravitational interaction energy of astronomical objects, whose masses are mostly inferred from gravitational effects and hence should already contain all sources with long-range gravity forces. Ryskin proposed that the backreaction contribution to the energy momentum tensor is instead from the rest of the universe beyond the observable patch. Ryskin's model elegantly solves the fine-tuning problem and is in good agreement with the Hubble diagram of Type Ia supernovae. In this article we revisit Ryskin's model and show that it is {\it inconsistent} with at least one of the following statements: (i) the universe is matter-dominated at low redshift ($z\lesssim 2$); (ii) the universe is radiation-dominated at sufficiently high redshift; (iii) matter density fluctuations are tiny ($\lesssim 10^{-4}$) at the recombination epoch., Comment: 7 pages; 2 figures; submitted to Astroparticle Physics

When photons from distant galaxies and stars pass through our neighboring environment, the wavelengths of the photons would be shifted by our local gravitational potential. This local gravitational redshift effect can potentially have an impact on the measurement of cosmological distance-redshift relation. Using available supernovae data, Wojtak et al [1] found seemingly large biases of cosmological parameters for some extended models (non-flat $\Lambda$CDM, $w$CDM, etc.). Huang [2] pointed out that, however, the biases can be reduced to a negligible level if cosmic microwave background (CMB) data are added to break the strong degeneracy between parameters in the extended models. In this article we forecast the cosmological bias due to local gravitational redshifts for a future WFIRST-like supernovae survey. We find that the local gravitational redshift effect remains negligible, provided that CMB data or some future redshift survey data are added to break the degeneracy between parameters., Comment: 6 pages; 2 figures

Intermittent type of primordial non-Gaussian fluctuations from modulated preheating can produce an overabundance of $\sim 10^8M_\odot$ mini-haloes at high redshift $z\gtrsim 20$. This may have a significant impact on the formation of high-redshift supermassive black holes., Comment: PRD accepted version

We generalize the Padmanabhan [arXiv:hep-th/1206.4916] mechanism to an accelerating BIon and show that the difference between the number of degrees of freedom on the boundary surface and the number of degrees of freedom in a bulk region causes the accelerated expansion of a BIon. We also consider the evolution of a universe which emerges on this BIon, and obtain its Hubble parameter and energy density., Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure

The cosmic spatial curvature parameter $\Omega_k$ is constrained, primarily by cosmic microwave background (CMB) data, to be very small. Observations of the cosmic distance ladder and the large scale structure can provide independent checks of the cosmic flatness. Such late-universe constraints on $\Omega_k$, however, are sensitive to the assumptions of the nature of dark energy. For minimally coupled scalar-field models of dark energy, the equation of state $w$ has nontrivial dependence on the cosmic spatial curvature $\Omega_k$ (Miao and Huang, 2018). Such dependence has not been taken into account in previous studies of future observational projects. In this paper we use the $w$ parameterization proposed by Miao and Huang, where the dependence of $w$ on $\Omega_k$ is encoded, and perform Fisher forecast on mock data of three benchmark projects: a WFIRST-like Type Ia supernovae survey, an EUCLID-like spectroscopic redshift survey, and an LSST-like photometric redshift survey. We find that the correlation between $\Omega_k$ and $w$ is primarily determined by the data rather than by the theoretical prior. We thus validate the standard approaches of treating $\Omega_k$ and $w$ as independent quantities., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

The vacuum is considered as some fluid emergent from the zero-point fluctuations of the quantum fields contributing to the vacuum energy density and pressure. The equation of vacuum state and the speed of vacuum sound-waves are deduced under the assumption of zero vacuum entropy. The evolution of the background space-time metric resembles that of the Milne's-like universe. In the framework of the five-vector theory of gravitation allowing an arbitrary choice of the energy density reference level, the dynamics of the vacuum, pressureless matter, and space-time metrics perturbations are traced under this background. The obtained results show the very early formation of the Universe structure without the need for dark matter. Thus, a vacuum can be considered as some of the dark-energy-matter unification., Comment: 15 pages

We consider a new variant of cosmological perturbation theory that has been designed specifically to include non-linear density contrasts on scales 100 Mpc, while still allowing for linear fluctuations on larger scales. This theory is used to derive the relativistic equations of Eulerian hydrodynamics in realistic cosmological scenarios that contain radiation and a cosmological constant, as well as matter that has been allowed to clump into galaxies and clusters of galaxies. These equations can be used to evolve energy densities and velocities in the presences of small-scale non-linear structures, and on scales all the way up to the horizon and beyond. The leading-order part of these equations reproduces the expected Newtonian equations, while subsequent orders prescribe relativistic corrections. We demonstrate that these evolution equations are consistent with maintaining the Einstein constraints, and hence that the system as a whole is mathematically well posed. The relativistic corrections that we derive are found to exhibit non-trivial interactions between perturbations on different scales, as well as the mixing of scalar, vector and tensor modes. They deviate from those that occur in both post-Friedmann and standard cosmological perturbation theory approaches, and point towards new relativistic effects that could be measurable by upcoming ultra-large-scale surveys., Comment: 13 pages, 1 appendix

Simple cosmological models based upon five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein relativity are re-examined and interesting properties are indicated. These models are special cases of those obtained by Davidson et al. and Mann and Vincent, specifically, those with vanishing cosmological constant. No five-dimensional sources are present: the solutions are Ricci-flat in five dimensions. Electromagnetic degrees of freedom are assumed not to be excited, consequently the four-dimensional stress-energy tensor induced by dimensional reduction is entirely due to the scalar field, obeying the radiation equation of state. For the three choices of curvature index, the dependence of the scale factor on cosmic time corresponds to, for k = -1 either a bounce or big bang, for k = 0 a big bang, and for k = 1 a big bang followed by collapse. The Kretschmann scalar is proportional to the square of acceleration and approaches zero for k = -1 and k = 0, while revealing true singularities in some cases. Only one of the models exhibits the compactification behavior hoped for in a realistic K-K model: shrinking of the circumference of fifth dimension in the earliest times followed by an extended period of stability., Comment: Previously unpublished

The cosmological dynamics of a non-locally corrected gravity theory, involving a power of the inverse d'Alembertian, is investigated. Casting the dynamical equations into local form, the fixed points of the models are derived, as well as corresponding de Sitter and power-law solutions. Necessary and sufficient conditions on the model parameters for the existence of de Sitter solutions are obtained. The possible existence of power-law solutions is investigated, and it is proven that models with de Sitter solutions have no power-law solutions. A model is found, which allows to describe the matter-dominated phase of the Universe evolution., Comment: 15 pages, v2: accepted for publication in International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics, references added