arXiv: 1 June 2011

The Cosmological Constant and Lorentz Invariance of the Vacuum State

Jurjen F. Koksma, Tomislav Prokopec

arXiv:1105.6296v1 One hope to solve the cosmological constant problem is to identify a symmetry principle, based on which the cosmological constant can be reduced either to zero, or to a tiny value. Here, we note that requiring that the vacuum state is Lorentz invariant significantly reduces the theoretical value of the vacuum energy density. Hence, this also reduces the discrepancy between the observed value of the cosmological constant and its theoretical expectation, down from 123 orders of magnitude to 56 orders of magnitude. We find that, at one loop level, massless particles do not yield any contribution to the cosmological constant. Another important consequence of Lorentz symmetry is stabilization of the gravitational hierarchy: the cosmological constant (divided by Newton's constant) does not run as the quartic power of the renormalization group scale, but instead only logarithmically. Is string theory a theory of quantum gravity? Steven B. Giddings arXiv:1105.6359v1 Some problems in finding a complete quantum theory incorporating gravity are discussed. One is that of giving a consistent unitary description of high-energy scattering. Another is that of giving a consistent quantum description of cosmology, with appropriate observables. While string theory addresses some problems of quantum gravity, its ability to resolve these remains unclear. Answers may require new mechanisms and constructs, whether within string theory, or in another framework. Testing MOND in the Solar System Luc Blanchet (IAP), Jerome Novak (LUTH) arXiv:1105.5815v1 The Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) generically predicts a violation of the strong version of the equivalence principle. As a result the gravitational dynamics of a system depends on the external gravitational field in which the system is embedded. This so-called external field effect is shown to imply the existence of an anomalous quadrupolar correction, along the direction of the external galactic field, in the gravitational potential felt by planets in the Solar System. We compute this effect by a numerical integration of the MOND equation in the presence of an external field, and deduce the secular precession of the perihelion of planets induced by this effect. We find that the precession effect is rather large for outer gaseous planets, and in the case of Saturn is comparable to, and in some cases marginally excluded by published residuals of precession permitted by the best planetary ephemerides.

arXiv: 31 May 2011

Detecting Chameleon Dark Energy via Electrostatic Analogy

Katherine Jones-Smith, Francesc Ferrer

arXiv:1105.6085v1

The late-time accelerated expansion of the universe could be caused by a scalar field that is screened on small scales, as in chameleon or symmetron scenarios. We present an analogy between thin shell configurations of such scalar fields and electrostatics, which allows calculation of the field profile for general extended bodies. Interestingly, the field demonstrates a `lightning rod' effect, where it becomes enhanced near the ends of a pointy or elongated object. Drawing from this correspondence, we show that non-spherical test bodies immersed in a background field will experience a net torque caused by the scalar field. This effect, with no counterpart in the gravitational case, can be potentially tested in future experiments.

Reconstruction of the primordial power spectrum from CMB data

Zong-Kuan Guo, Dominik J. Schwarz, Yuan-Zhong Zhang

arXiv:1105.5916v1 Measuring the deviation from scale invariance of the primordial power spectrum is a critical test of inflation. In this paper we reconstruct the shape of the primordial power spectrum of curvature perturbations from the cosmic microwave background data, including the 7-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data and the Atacama Cosmology Telescope 148 GHz data, by using a binning method of a cubic spline interpolation in log-log space. We find that the power-law spectrum is a good fit to the data and that the Harrison-Zel'dovich spectrum is disfavored at 95% confidence level. If tensor modes are considered, we find no convincing deviations from the power-law spectrum. Galaxy cluster angular size data constraints on dark energy Yun Chen, Bharat Ratra arXiv:1105.5660v1  We use angular size versus redshift data for galaxy clusters from Bonamente at al.\ (2006) to place constraints on model parameters of constant and time-evolving dark energy cosmological models. These constraints are compatible with those from other recent data, but are not very restrictive. A joint analysis of the angular size data with more restrictive baryon acoustic oscillation peak length scale and supernova Type Ia apparent magnitude data favors a spatially-flat cosmological model currently dominated by a time-independent cosmological constant but does not exclude time-varying dark energy. Defrosting in an Emergent Galileon Cosmology Laurence Perreault Levasseur, Robert Brandenberger, Anne-Christine Davis (McGill and DAMTP) arXiv:1105.5649v1 We study the transition from an Emergent Galileon condensate phase of the early universe to a later expanding radiation phase. This "defrosting" or "preheating" transition is a consequence of the excitation of matter fluctuations by the coherent Galileon condensate, in analogy to how preheating in inflationary cosmology occurs via the excitation of matter fluctuations through coupling of matter with the coherent inflaton condensate. We show that the "minimal" coupling of matter (modeled as a massless scalar field) to the Galileon field introduced by Creminelli, Nicolis and Trincherini in order to generate a scale-invariant spectrum of matter fluctuations is sufficient to lead to efficient defrosting, provided that the effects of the non-vanishing expansion rate of the universe are taken into account. If we neglect the effects of expansion, an additional coupling of matter to the Galileon condensate is required. We study the efficiency of the defrosting mechanism in both cases.

arXiv: 30 May 2011

A Dynamical Model of the Local Group

P. J. E. Peebles, R. Brent Tully, Edward J. Shaya

arXiv:1105.5596v1 

This dynamical model for the 28 galaxies with distances less than 1.5 Mpc, and not apparently tight satellites, is constrained by the initial condition that peculiar velocities at high redshift are small and growing in accordance with the standard cosmology. The solution is a satisfactory fit to most of the measured redshifts, distances, and proper motions, with some interesting exceptions that call for further investigation. The model predicts Milky Way rotation speed 256 km/s, consistent with Reid et al. (2009a). Ten Local Group galaxies emanate from low supergalactic latitude and supergalactic longitude ~ 70 degrees, perhaps as remnants from failed assembly of a larger galaxy. NGC 6822 passes close to the Milky Way at redshift ~0.27, in an orbit similar to the Magellanic Clouds. Leo I has heliocentric angular velocity 0.33 mas/yr, perhaps measurable by the mean stellar motion, and 15 galaxies have proper motions greater than 0.05 mas/yr, measurable for any with masers.

Observational Cosmology And The Cosmic Distance Duality Relation

Remya Nair, Sanjay Jhingan, Deepak Jain

arXiv:1102.1065v2

We study the validity of cosmic distance duality relation between angular diameter and luminosity distances. To test this duality relation we use the latest Union2 Supernovae Type Ia (SNe Ia) data for estimating the luminosity distance. The estimation of angular diameter distance comes from the samples of galaxy clusters (real and mock) and FRIIb radio galaxies. We parameterize the distance duality relation as a function of redshift in six different ways. Our results rule out some of the parameterizations significantly.

arXiv: 27 May 2011

The linear power spectrum of observed source number counts

Anthony Challinor, Antony Lewis

arXiv:1105.5292v1

We relate the observable number of sources per solid angle and redshift to the underlying proper source density and velocity, background evolution and line-of-sight potentials. We give an exact result in the case of linearized perturbations assuming general relativity. This consistently includes contributions of the source density perturbations and redshift distortions, magnification, radial displacement, and various additional linear terms that are small on sub-horizon scales. In addition we calculate the effect on observed luminosities, and hence the result for sources observed as a function of flux, including magnification bias and radial-displacement effects. We give the corresponding linear result for a magnitude-limited survey at low redshift, and discuss the angular power spectrum of the total count distribution. We also calculate the cross-correlation with the CMB polarization and temperature including Doppler source terms, magnification, redshift distortions and other velocity effects for the sources, and discuss why the contribution of redshift distortions is generally small. Finally we relate the result for source number counts to that for the brightness of line radiation, for example 21-cm radiation, from the sources.

What galaxy surveys really measure

Camille Bonvin, Ruth Durrer

arXiv:1105.5280v1 In this paper we compute the quantity which is truly measured in a large galaxy survey. We take into account the effects coming from the fact that we actually observe galaxy redshifts and sky positions and not true spatial positions. Our calculations are done within linear perturbation theory for both the metric and the observer velocities but they can be used for non-linear matter power spectra. We shall see that the complications due to the fact that we only observe on our background lightcone and that we do not truly know the distance of the observed galaxy, but only its redshift is not only an additional difficulty, but even more a new opportunity for future galaxy surveys.

arXiv: 26 May 2011

Cosmological Perturbation Analysis in a Scale Invariant Model of Gravity

Pankaj Jain, Purnendu Karmakar, Subhadip Mitra, Sukanta Panda, Naveen K. Singh

arXiv:1105.4929v1

We consider a model for gravity that is invariant under global scale transformations. It includes one extra real scalar field coupled non-minimally to the gravity fields. In this model all the dimensionful parameters like the gravitational constant and the cosmological constant etc. are generated by a solution of the classical equations of motion which breaks scale invariance. In this paper we demonstrate the stability of such a solution against small perturbations in a flat FRW background by making a perturbative expansion around this solution and solving the resulting equations linear in the perturbations.

arXiv: 25 May 2011

Dark halo mass function in a prescribed spherical host perturbation - Press-Schechter theory with statistical constraints

E. P. Kurbatov

arXiv:1105.4869v1

Here proposed a modification of the Press-Schechter theory allowing for the presence of a host density perturbation - host halo or void. The perturbation is accounted as statistical constraints in a form of linear functionals of the random overdensity field. Deviation of the background density within perturbation is interpreted in a pseudo-cosmological sense. Resulting mass function of sub-haloes depends on the perturbation parameters: its mean overdensity, spatial scale, and spatial momenta of higher orders. Applications of the theory to superclusters, voids and bias problem are briefly observed. In its present form, the theory can describe the clustering properties of sub-haloes inside a non-virialized host only. Possible fix of this drawback is also discussed.

A parametrization of the growth index of matter perturbations in various Dark Energy models and observational prospects using the EUCLID survey

Alicia Bueno Belloso, Juan García-Bellido, Domenico Sapone

arXiv:1105.4825v1 We provide exact solutions to the cosmological matter perturbation equation in a homogeneous FLRW universe with a vacuum energy that can be parametrized with a variable equation of state parameter $w(a)=w_0+w_a(1-a)$. We compute the growth index $\gamma=\log f(a)/\log\Om_m(a)$, and its redshift dependence, using the exact solutions in terms of Legendre polynomials and show that it can be parametrized as $\gamma(a)=\gamma_0+\gamma_a(1-a)$. We then compare four different types of dark energy (DE) models: $w\Lambda$CDM, DGP, $f(R)$ and a LTB-large-void model, which have very different behaviors at $z\gsim1$. This allows us to study the possibility to differentiate between different DE alternatives using wide and deep surveys like EUCLID, which will measure both photometric and spectroscopic redshifts for several hundreds of millions of galaxies up to redshift $z\simeq 2$. We do a Fisher matrix analysis for the prospects of differentiating among the different DE models in terms of the growth index, taken as a given function of redshift or with a principal component analysis, with a value for each redshift bin. We use as observables the complete and marginalized power spectrum of galaxies $P(k)$ and the Weak Lensing (WL) power spectrum. We find that, using $P(k)$, one can reach (2%, 5%) errors in $(w_0, w_a)$, and (4%, 12%) errors in $(\gamma_0, \gamma_a)$, while using WL we get errors at least twice as large. These estimates allow us to differentiate easily between DGP, $f(R)$ models and $\Lambda$CDM, while it would be more difficult to distinguish the latter from a variable equation of state parameter or LTB models using only the growth index. Chaotic inflation in modified gravitational theories Antonio De Felice, Shinji Tsujikawa, Joseph Elliston, Reza Tavakol arXiv:1105.4685v1 We study chaotic inflation in the context of modified gravitational theories. Our analysis covers models based on (i) a field coupling $\omega(\phi)$ with the kinetic energy $X$ and a nonmimimal coupling $\zeta \phi^{2} R/2$ with a Ricci scalar $R$, (ii) Brans-Dicke (BD) theories, (iii) Gauss-Bonnet (GB) gravity, and (iv) gravity with a Galileon correction. Dilatonic coupling with the kinetic energy and/or negative nonminimal coupling are shown to lead to compatibility with observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropies for the self-coupling inflaton potential $V(\phi)=\lambda \phi^{4}/4$. BD theory with a quadratic inflaton potential, which covers Starobinsky's $f(R)$ model $f(R)=R+R^{2}/(6M^{2})$ with the BD parameter $\omega_{BD}=0$, gives rise to a smaller tensor-to-scalar ratio for decreasing $\omega_{BD}$. In the presence of a GB term coupled to the field $\phi$, we express the scalar/tensor spectral indices $n_{s}$ and $n_{t}$ as well as the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ in terms of two slow-roll parameters and place bounds on the strength of the GB coupling from the joint data analysis of WMAP 7yr combined with other observations. We also study the Galileon-like self-interaction $\Phi(\phi) X \square\phi$ with exponential coupling $\Phi(\phi) \propto e^{\mu\phi}$. Using a CMB likelihood analysis we put bounds on the strength of the Galileon coupling and show that the self coupling potential can in fact be made compatible with observations in the presence of the exponential coupling with $\mu>0$. Affleck-Dine Cogenesis Clifford Cheung, Kathryn M. Zurek arXiv:1105.4612v1 We propose a novel framework in which the observed baryon and dark matter abundances are simultaneously generated via the Affleck-Dine mechanism. In its simplest realization, Affleck-Dine cogenesis is accomplished by a single superpotential operator and its A-term counterpart. These operators explicitly break B-L and X, the dark matter number, to the diagonal B-L+X. In the early universe these operators stabilize supersymmetric flat directions carrying non-zero B-L and X, and impart the requisite CP violation for asymmetry generation. Because B-L+X is preserved, the resulting B-L and X asymmetries are equal and opposite, though this precise relation may be relaxed if B-L and X are violated separately by additional operators. Our dark matter candidate is stabilized by R-parity and acquires an asymmetric abundance due to its non-zero X number. For a dark matter mass of order a few GeV, one naturally obtains the observed ratio of energy densities today, Omega_{DM}/Omega_B \sim 5. These theories typically predict macroscopic lifetimes for the lightest observable supersymmetric particle as it decays to the dark matter.

arXiv: 24 May 2011

The art of science: interview with Professor John Archibald Wheeler

Jiři Bičák

arXiv:1105.4532v1

During the conference on the methods of differential geometry in physics in Warsaw in June 1976, Professor Wheeler gave an interview for the Czechoslovak Journal of Physics A. After Professor Wheeler authorized the English version in January 1977, the Czech translation was published in \v{C}eskoslovensk\'y \v{c}asopis pro fyziku A (1978) and soon afterwards the Polish translation appeared in Postepy fizyky. After John Wheeler's recent death it occurred to me that it would now be appropriate to publish the original interview from 1976 so that it would not be lost to English readers; and so, despite being more than 30 years old, the interview appeared in the special issue on quantum gravity of "General Relativity and Gravitation" dedicated to the memory of J. A. Wheeler. 
John Wheeler would now surely add more about black holes in nuclei of galaxies, not mentioning just Cygnus X-1, when discussing cosmology he would undoubtedly address the problem of dark energy etc. However, in the conversation about Einstein and Bohr, about the need for choosing appropriate names, or about the relation of science and philosophy and art, he would probably give answers as he did more than 30 years ago.

Evolution Equation for Non-linear Cosmological Perturbations

Ram Brustein, Antonio Riotto

arXiv:1105.4411v1

We present a novel approach, based entirely on the gravitational potential, for studying the evolution of non-linear cosmological matter perturbations. Starting from the perturbed Einstein equations, we integrate out the non-relativistic degrees of freedom of the cosmic fluid and obtain a single closed equation for the gravitational potential. We then verify the validity of the new equation by comparing its approximate solutions to known results in the theory of non-linear cosmological perturbations. First, we show explicitly that the perturbative solution of our equation matches the standard perturbative solutions. Next, using the mean field approximation to the equation, we show that its solution reproduces in a simple way the exponential suppression of the non-linear propagator on small scales due to the velocity dispersion. Our approach can therefore reproduce the main features of the renormalized perturbation theory and (time)-renormalization group approaches to the study of non-linear cosmological perturbations. We conclude by a preliminary discussion of the nature of the full solutions of the equation and their significance.

Philosophical problems of space-time theories

Gustavo E. Romero

arXiv:1105.4376v1 

I present a discussion of some open issues in the philosophy of space-time theories. Emphasis is put on the ontological nature of space and time, the relation between determinism and predictability, the origin of irreversible processes in an expanding universe, and the compatibility of relativity and quantum mechanics. In particular, I argue for a Parmenidean view of time and change, I make clear the difference between ontological determinism and predictability, propose that the origin of the asymmetry observed in physical processes is related to the existence of cosmological horizons, and present a non-local concept of causality that can accommodate both special relativity and quantum entanglement.

Preheating a bouncing universe

Yi-Fu Cai, Robert Brandenberger, Xinmin Zhang

arXiv:1105.4286v1 Preheating describes the stage of rapidly depositing the energy of cosmological scalar field into excitations of other light fields. This stage is characterized by exponential particle production due to the parametric resonance. We study this process in the frame of matter bounce cosmology. Our results show that the preheating process in bouncing cosmology is even more efficient than that in inflationary cosmology. In the limit of weak coupling, the period of preheating is doubled. For the case of normal coupling, the back-reaction of light fields can lead to thermalization before the bouncing point. The scenario of matter bounce curvaton could be tightly constrained due to a large coupling coefficient if the curvaton field is expected to preheat the universe directly. However, this concern can be greatly relaxed through the process of geometric preheating. Dark Matter Debris Flows in the Milky Way Mariangela Lisanti, David N. Spergel arXiv:1105.4166v1 We show that subhalos falling into the Milky Way create a flow of tidally-stripped debris particles near the galactic center with characteristic velocity behavior. In the Via Lactea-II N-body simulation, this unvirialized component constitutes a few percent of the local density and has velocities peaked at 340 km/s in the solar neighborhood. Such velocity substructure has important implications for surveys of low-metallicity stars, as well as direct detection experiments sensitive to dark matter with large scattering thresholds. Towards an accurate model of the redshift space clustering of halos in the quasilinear regime Beth A. Reid, Martin White arXiv:1105.4165v1 Observations of redshift-space distortions in spectroscopic galaxy surveys offer an attractive method for measuring the build-up of cosmological structure, which depends both on the expansion rate of the Universe and our theory of gravity. Galaxies occupy dark matter halos, whose redshift space clustering has a complex dependence on bias that cannot be inferred from the behavior of matter. We identify two distinct corrections on quasilinear scales (~ 30-80 Mpc/h): the non-linear mapping between real and redshift space positions, and the non-linear suppression of power in the velocity divergence field. We model the first non-perturbatively using the scale-dependent Gaussian streaming model, which we show is accurate at the <0.5 (2) per cent level in transforming real space clustering and velocity statistics into redshift space on scales s>10 (s>25) Mpc/h for the monopole (quadrupole) halo correlation functions. We use perturbation theory to predict the real space pairwise halo velocity statistics. Our fully analytic model is accurate at the 2 per cent level only on scales s > 40 Mpc/h. Recent models that neglect the corrections from the bispectrum and higher order terms from the non-linear real-to-redshift space mapping will not have the accuracy required for current and future observational analyses. Finally, we note that our simulation results confirm the essential but non-trivial assumption that on large scales, the bias inferred from real space clustering of halos is the same one that determines their pairwise infall velocity amplitude at the per cent level.

arXiv: 23 May 2011

The Formation of Kiloparsec-Scale HI Holes in Dwarf Galaxies

Steven R. Warren, Daniel R. Weisz, Evan D. Skillman, John M. Cannon, Julianne J. Dalcanton, Andrew E. Dolphin, Robert C. Kennicutt, Jr., Barbel Koribalski, Juergen Ott, Adrienne M. Stilp, Schuyler D. Van Dyk, Fabian Walter, Andrew A. West

arXiv:1105.4117v1

The origin of kpc-scale holes in the atomic hydrogen (H I) distributions of some nearby dwarf irregular galaxies presents an intriguing problem. Star formation histories (SFHs) derived from resolved stars give us the unique opportunity to study past star forming events that may have helped shape the currently visible H I distribution. Our sample of five nearby dwarf irregular galaxies spans over an order of magnitude in both total H I mass and absolute B-band magnitude and is at the low mass end of previously studied systems. We use Very Large Array H I line data to estimate the energy required to create the centrally dominant hole in each galaxy. We compare this energy estimate to the past energy released by the underlying stellar populations computed from SFHs derived from data taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. The inferred integrated stellar energy released within the characteristic ages exceeds our energy estimates for creating the holes in all cases, assuming expected efficiencies. Therefore, it appears that stellar feedback provides sufficient energy to produce the observed holes. However, we find no obvious signature of single star forming events responsible for the observed structures when comparing the global SFHs of each galaxy in our sample to each other or to those of dwarf irregular galaxies reported in the literature. We also fail to find evidence of a central star cluster in FUV or Halpha imaging. We conclude that large H I holes are likely formed from multiple generations of star formation and only under suitable interstellar medium conditions.

On a novel approach using massive clusters at high redshifts as cosmological probe

J.-C. Waizmann, S. Ettori, L. Moscardini

arXiv:1105.4099v1

In this work we propose a novel method for testing the validity of the fiducial LCDM cosmology by measuring the cumulative distribution function of the most massive haloes in a sample of sub-volumes of identical size tiled on the sky at a fixed redshift. The fact that the most massive clusters probe the high-mass tail of the mass-function, where the difference between LCDM and alternative cosmological models is strongest, makes our method particularly interesting as a cosmological probe. We utilise general extreme value statistics (GEV) to obtain a cumulative distribution function of the most massive objects in a given volume. We sample this distribution function according to the number of patches covered by the survey area for a range of different "test-cosmologies" and for differently accurate mass estimations of the haloes. By fitting this sample with the GEV distribution function, we can study which parameters are the most sensitive with respect to the test-cosmologies. We find that the peak of the probability distribution function of the most massive halo is well suited to test the validity of the fiducial LCDM model, once we are able to establish a sufficiently complete large-area survey with M_lim=10^14.5 M_sun/h (M_lim=10^14 M_sun/h) at redshifts above z=1 (z=1.5). Being of cumulative nature the proposed measure is robust and an accuracy of 20-30% in the cluster masses would be sufficient to test for alternative models. Since one only needs the most massive system in each angular patch, this method would be ideally suited as a first fast consistency check before going into a more complex statistical analysis of the observed halo sample.

arXiv: 20 May 2011

Autocorrelations of stellar light and mass at z~0 and ~1: From SDSS to DEEP2

Cheng Li, Simon D. M. White, Yanmei Chen, Alison L. Coil, Marc Davis, Gabriella De Lucia, Qi Guo, Y. P. Jing, Guinevere Kauffmann, Christopher N. A. Willmer, Wei Zhang

arXiv:1105.3880v1

We present measurements of projected autocorrelation functions w_p(r_p) for the stellar mass of galaxies and for their light in the U, B and V bands, using data from the third data release of the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey and the final data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We investigate the clustering bias of stellar mass and light by comparing these to projected autocorrelations of dark matter estimated from the Millennium Simulations (MS) at z=1 and 0.07, the median redshifts of our galaxy samples. All of the autocorrelation and bias functions show systematic trends with spatial scale and waveband which are impressively similar at the two redshifts. This shows that the well-established environmental dependence of stellar populations in the local Universe is already in place at z=1. The recent MS-based galaxy formation simulation of Guo et al. (2011) reproduces the scale-dependent clustering of luminosity to an accuracy better than 30% in all bands and at both redshifts, but substantially overpredicts mass autocorrelations at separations below about 2 Mpc. Further comparison of the shapes of our stellar mass bias functions with those predicted by the model suggests that both the SDSS and DEEP2 data prefer a fluctuation amplitude of sigma_8 0.8 rather than the sigma_8=0.9 assumed by the MS.

A cosmic speed-trap: a gravity-independent test of cosmic acceleration using baryon acoustic oscillations

Will Sutherland

arXiv:1105.3838v1

We propose a new and highly model-independent test of cosmic acceleration by comparing observations of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale at low and intermediate redshifts: we derive a new inequality relating BAO observables at two distinct redshifts, which must be satisfied for any reasonable homogeneous non-accelerating model, but is violated by models similar to LambdaCDM, due to acceleration in the recent past. This test is fully independent of the theory of gravity (GR or otherwise), the Friedmann equations, CMB and supernova observations: the test assumes only the Cosmological Principle, and that the length-scale of the BAO feature is fixed in comoving coordinates. Given realistic medium-term observations from BOSS, this test is expected to exclude all homogeneous non-accelerating models at ~ 4\sigma significance, and can reach ~ 7\sigma with next-generation surveys.

The Multiverse Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

Raphael Bousso, Leonard Susskind

arXiv:1105.3796v1

We argue that the many-worlds of quantum mechanics and the many worlds of the multiverse are the same thing, and that the multiverse is necessary to give exact operational meaning to probabilistic predictions from quantum mechanics. 
Decoherence - the modern version of wave-function collapse - is subjective in that it depends on the choice of a set of unmonitored degrees of freedom, the "environment". In fact decoherence is absent in the complete description of any region larger than the future light-cone of a measurement event. However, if one restricts to the causal diamond - the largest region that can be causally probed - then the boundary of the diamond acts as a one-way membrane and thus provides a preferred choice of environment. We argue that the global multiverse is a representation of the many-worlds (all possible decoherent causal diamond histories) in a single geometry. 
We propose that it must be possible in principle to verify quantum-mechanical predictions exactly. This requires not only the existence of exact observables but two additional postulates: a single observer within the universe can access infinitely many identical experiments; and the outcome of each experiment must be completely definite. In causal diamonds with finite surface area, holographic entropy bounds imply that no exact observables exist, and both postulates fail: experiments cannot be repeated infinitely many times; and decoherence is not completely irreversible, so outcomes are not definite. We argue that our postulates can be satisfied in "hats" (supersymmetric multiverse regions with vanishing cosmological constant). We propose a complementarity principle that relates the approximate observables associated with finite causal diamonds to exact observables in the hat.

Hiding Lorentz Invariance Violation with MOND

R.H. Sanders

arXiv:1105.3910v1

Ho\v{r}ava gravity is a attempt to construct a renormalizable theory of gravity by breaking the Lorentz Invariance of the gravitational action at high energies. The underlying principle is that Lorentz Invariance is an approximate symmetry and its violation by gravitational phenomena is somehow hidden to present limits of observational precision. Here I point out that a simple modification of the low energy limit of Ho\v{r}ava gravity in its non-projectable form can effectively camouflage the presence of a preferred frame in regions where the Newtonian gravitational field gradient is higher than $cH_0$; this modification results in the phenomenology of MOND at lower accelerations.

arXiv: 18 May 2011

The Hubble Space Telescope Cluster Supernova Survey: V. Improving the Dark Energy Constraints Above z>1 and Building an Early-Type-Hosted Supernova Sample

N. Suzuki, D. Rubin, C. Lidman, G. Aldering, R. Amanullah, K. Barbary, L.F. Barrientos, J. Botyanszki, M. Brodwin, N. Connolly, K.S. Dawson, A. Dey, M. Doi, M. Donahue, S. Deustua, P. Eisenhardt, E. Ellingson, L. Faccioli, V. Fadeyev, H.K. Fakhouri, A.S. Fruchter, D.G. Gilbank, M.D. Gladders, G. Goldhaber, A.H. Gonzalez, A. Goobar, A. Gude, T. Hattori, H. Hoekstra, E. Hsiao, X. Huang, Y. Ihara, M.J. Jee, D. Johnston, N. Kashikawa, B. Koester, K. Konishi, M. Kowalski, E.V. Linder, L. Lubin, J. Melbourne, J. Meyers, T. Morokuma, F. Munshi, C. Mullis, T. Oda, N. Panagia, S. Perlmutter, M. Postman, T. Pritchard, J. Rhodes, P. Ripoche, P. Rosati, D.J. Schlegel, A. Spadafora, S. A. Stanford, V. Stanishev, D. Stern, M. Strovink, N. Takanashi, K. Tokita, M. Wagner, L. Wang, N. Yasuda, H.K.C. Yee, (The Supernova Cosmology Project)

arXiv:1105.3470v1 We present ACS, NICMOS, and Keck AO-assisted photometry of 20 Type Ia supernovae SNe Ia from the HST Cluster Supernova Survey. The SNe Ia were discovered over the redshift interval 0.623 < z < 1.415. Fourteen of these SNe Ia pass our strict selection cuts and are used in combination with the world's sample of SNe Ia to derive the best current constraints on dark energy. Ten of our new SNe Ia are beyond redshift $z=1$, thereby nearly doubling the statistical weight of HST-discovered SNe Ia beyond this redshift. Our detailed analysis corrects for the recently identified correlation between SN Ia luminosity and host galaxy mass and corrects the NICMOS zeropoint at the count rates appropriate for very distant SNe Ia. Adding these supernovae improves the best combined constraint on the dark energy density \rho_{DE}(z) at redshifts 1.0 < z < 1.6 by 18% (including systematic errors). For a LambdaCDM universe, we find \Omega_\Lambda = 0.724 +0.015/-0.016 (68% CL including systematic errors). For a flat wCDM model, we measure a constant dark energy equation-of-state parameter w = -0.985 +0.071/-0.077 (68% CL). Curvature is constrained to ~0.7% in the owCDM model and to ~2% in a model in which dark energy is allowed to vary with parameters w_0 and w_a. Tightening further the constraints on the time evolution of dark energy will require several improvements, including high-quality multi-passband photometry of a sample of several dozen z>1 SNe Ia. We describe how such a sample could be efficiently obtained by targeting cluster fields with WFC3 on HST. The effect of cosmic inhomogeneities on the average cosmological dynamics T. P. Singh arXiv:1105.3450v1

It is generally assumed that on sufficiently large scales the Universe is well-described as a homogeneous, isotropic FRW cosmology with a dark energy. Does the formation of nonlinear cosmic inhomogeneities produce a significant effect on the average large-scale FLRW dynamics? As an answer, we suggest that if the length scale at which homogeneity sets in is much smaller than the Hubble length scale, the back-reaction due to averaging over inhomogeneities is negligible. This result is supported by more than one approach to study of averaging in cosmology. Even if no single approach is sufficiently rigorous and compelling, they are all in agreement that the effect of averaging in the real Universe is small. On the other hand, it is perhaps fair to say that there is no definitive observational evidence yet that there indeed is a homogeneity scale which is much smaller than the Hubble scale, or for that matter, if today's Universe is indeed homogeneous on large scales. If the Copernican principle can be observationally established to hold, or is theoretically assumed to be valid, this provides strong evidence for homogeneity on large scales. However, even this by itself does not say what the scale of homogeneity is. If that scale is today comparable to the Hubble radius, only a fully non-perturbative analysis can establish or rule out the importance of cosmological back-reaction. This brief elementary report summarizes some recent theoretical developments on which the above inferences are based. Anisotropic Extinction Distortion of the Galaxy Correlation Function Wenjuan Fang, Lam Hui, Brice Menard, Morgan May, Ryan Scranton arXiv:1105.3421v1 Similar to the magnification of the galaxies' fluxes by gravitational lensing, the extinction of the fluxes by comic dust, whose existence is recently detected by Menard et al (2009), also modify the distribution of a flux-selected galaxy sample. We study the anisotropic distortion by dust extinction to the 3D galaxy correlation function, including magnification bias and redshift distortion at the same time. We find the extinction distortion is most significant along the line of sight and at large separations, similar to that by magnification bias. The correction from dust extinction is negative except at sufficiently large transverse separations, which is almost always opposite to that from magnification bias (we consider a number count slope s > 0.4). Hence, the distortions from these two effects tend to reduce each other. At low z (~<1), the distortion by extinction is stronger than that by magnification bias, but at high z, the reverse holds. We also study how dust extinction affects probes in real space of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) and the linear redshift distortion parameter beta. We find its effect on BAO is negligible. However, it introduces a positive scale-dependent correction to beta that can be as large as a few percent. At the same time, we also find a negative scale-dependent correction from magnification bias, which is up to percent level at low z, but to ~40% at high z. These corrections are non-negligible for precision cosmology, and should be considered when testing General Relativity through the scale-dependence of beta. How unusual are the Shapley Supercluster and the Sloan Great Wall? Ravi K Sheth, Antonaldo Diaferio arXiv:1105.3378v1 We use extreme value statistics to assess the significance of two of the most dramatic structures in the local Universe: the Shapley supercluster and the Sloan Great Wall. If we assume that Shapley (volume ~ 1.2 x 10^5 (Mpc/h)^3) evolved from an overdense region in the initial Gaussian fluctuation field, with currently popular choices for the background cosmological model and the shape and amplitude sigma8 of the initial power spectrum, we estimate that the total mass of the system is within 20 percent of 1.8 x 10^16 Msun/h. Extreme value statistics show that the existence of this massive concentration is not unexpected if the initial fluctuation field was Gaussian, provided there are no other similar objects within a sphere of radius 200 Mpc/h centred on our Galaxy. However, a similar analysis of the Sloan Great Wall, a more distant (z ~ 0.08) and extended concentration of structures (volume ~ 7.2 x 10^5 (Mpc/h)^3) suggests that it is more unusual. We estimate its total mass to be within 20 percent of 1.2 x 10^17 Msun/h; even if it is the densest such object of its volume within z=0.2, its existence is difficult to reconcile with Gaussian initial conditions if sigma8 < 0.9. This tension can be alleviated if this structure is the densest within the Hubble volume. Finally, we show how extreme value statistics can be used to address the likelihood that an object like Shapley exists in the same volume which contains the Great Wall, finding, again, that Shapley is not particularly unusual. It is straightforward to incorporate other models of the initial fluctuation field into our formalism. Combined Limits on WIMPs from the CDMS and EDELWEISS Experiments CDMS, EDELWEISS Collaborations: Z. Ahmed, D. S. Akerib, E. Armengaud, S. Arrenberg, C. Augier, C. N. Bailey, D. Balakishiyeva, L. Baudis, D. A. Bauer, A. Benoît, L. Bergé, J. Blümer, P. L. Brink, A. Broniatowski, T. Bruch, V. Brudanin, R. Bunker, B. Cabrera, D. O. Caldwell, B. Censier, M. Chapellier,G. Chardin, F. Charlieux, J. Cooley, P. Coulter, G. A. Cox, P. Cushman, M. Daal, X. Defay, M. De Jesus, F. DeJongh, P. C. F. Di Stefano, Y. Dolgorouki, J. Domange, L. Dumoulin, M. R. Dragowsky, K. Eitel, S. Fallows, E. Figueroa-Feliciano, J. Filippini, D. Filosofov, N. Fourches, J. Fox, M. Fritts, J. Gascon, G. Gerbier, J. Gironnet, S. R. Golwala, M. Gros, J. Hall, R. Hennings-Yeomans, S. Henry, S. A. Hertel, S. Hervé, D. Holmgren, L. Hsu, M. E. Huber, A. Juillard,O. Kamaev, et al. (55 additional authors not shown) arXiv:1105.3377v1 The CDMS and EDELWEISS collaborations have combined the results of their direct searches for dark matter using cryogenic germanium detectors. The total data set represents 614 kg.d equivalent exposure. A straightforward method of combination was chosen for its simplicity before data were exchanged between experiments. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross-section. For a WIMP mass of 90 GeV/c^2, where this analysis is most sensitive, a cross-section of 3.3 x 10^{-44} cm^2 is excluded at 90% CL. At higher WIMP masses, the combination improves the individual limits, by a factor 1.6 above 700 GeV/c^2. Alternative methods of combining the data provide stronger constraints for some ranges of WIMP masses and weaker constraints for others Constraints on neutrino interactions using cosmological observations Tristan L. Smith, Sudeep Das, Oliver Zahn (UC Berkeley) arXiv:1105.3246v1 Observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large-scale structure (LSS) provide a unique opportunity to explore the fundamental properties of neutrinos. We report on how recent observations of the small angular-scale CMB provide us with an improved ability to constrain the neutrino background rest-frame sound speed, c_eff^2, and the viscosity parameter, c_vis^2. For a standard neutrino background these parameters both equal 1/3. A combination of CMB and LSS data gives c_eff^2 = 0.30 +0.035 -0.039 and c_vis^2 = 0.31 +0.3 -0.19 at the 95% confidence level. Fundamentally these constraints allow us to quantify the extent to which neutrinos are non-interacting around the time of the formation of structure in the CMB. We also discuss how constraints to these parameters from future observations (such as the Planck satellite) will allow us to explore the fundamental properties of any anomalous radiative energy density beyond the standard three neutrinos. String Gas Cosmology: Progress and Problems Robert H. Brandenberger arXiv:1105.3247v2 String Gas Cosmology is a model of the evolution of the very early universe based on fundamental principles and key new degrees of freedom of string theory which are different from those of point particle field theories. In String Gas Cosmology the universe starts in a quasi-static Hagedorn phase during which space is filled with a gas of highly excited string states. Thermal fluctuations of this string gas lead to an almost scale-invariant spectrum of curvature fluctuations. Thus, String Gas Cosmology is an alternative to cosmological inflation as a theory for the origin of structure in the universe. This short review focuses on the building blocks of the model, the predictions for late time cosmology, and the main problems which the model face