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When the light from a distant object passes very near to a foreground galaxy or cluster, gravitational lensing can cause it to appear as multiple images on the sky. If the source is variable, it can be used to constrain the cosmic expansion rate and dark energy models. Achieving these cosmological goals requires many lensed transients with precise time delay measurements. Lensed supernovae (SN) are attractive for this purpose because they have relatively simple photometric behavior, with well-understood light curve shapes and colours $-$ in contrast to the stochastic variation of quasars. Here we report the discovery of a multiply-imaged supernova, AT2016jka ("SN Requiem"). It appeared in an evolved galaxy at $z=1.95$, gravitationally lensed by a foreground galaxy cluster. It is likely a Type Ia supernova $-$ the explosion of a low-mass stellar remnant, whose light curve can be used to measure cosmic distances. In archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging, three lensed images of the supernova are detected with relative time delays of $, Comment: Accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Main text = 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; Full document = 28 pages, 12 figures with Methods, Supplemental Info and references. v2: reformatted; minor corrections in SI

We numerically study the movement of two colliding fuzzy dark matter solitons without explicit self-interaction and find the effective cross section of dissipative change in velocity. The cross section turns out to be inversely proportional to the velocity cubed, and we present its analytic interpretation. Using the result we roughly estimate spatial offsets during head-on collisions of two fuzzy dark matter halos, which can be related to the spatial offsets between stars and dark matter in collisions of some galaxy clusters. We also show that the gravitational cooling plays an important role during the collisions., To be published in JKPS

In this paper we show that a pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson (PNGB) quintessence of spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) is responsible for an epoch of the late time cosmic acceleration. We suggest that an N=2 PNGB quintessence with SSB can give rise to the fast-roll cosmic acceleration in evolution of the Universe. In the N=2 PNGB quintessence model, the standard slow-roll condition in which the absolute value of the tachyonic mass squared $|m_q^2|$ of this model is much less than the square of the Hubble constant $H^2$, is broken down to the fast-roll condition, $|m_q^2|=O(H^2)$. However, it is shown that the fast-rolling associated with the N=2 PNGB quintessence of SSB can be led to the epoch of the late time cosmic acceleration. Indeed, in our PNGB model, this epoch can be quite long lasting since the mass of the N=2 PNGB quintessence field is extremely small as $m_q \approx 10^{-33} \rm{eV}$., 7 pages, 2 figures, minor revision, to be published in JKPS

The idea of a negative-pressure dark energy component in the Universe which causes an accelerated expansion in the late Universe has deep implications in models of field theory and general relativity. In this article, we survey the evidence for dark energy from cosmological observations which started from the compilation of distance-luminosity plots of Type Ia supernovae. This turned out to be consistent with the dark energy inferred from the CMB observations and large scale surveys and gave rise to the concordance $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology. In this article, we discuss the observational evidence for dark energy from Type Ia supernovae, CMB, galaxy surveys, observations of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect from clusters, and lensing by clusters. We also discuss the observational discrepancy in the values of $H_0$ and $\sigma_8$ between CMB and large scale structures and discuss if varying dark energy models are able to resolve these tensions between different observations., Comment: A mini review to apear in EPJST (18 pages, 4 figures)

In the late 1990's, observations of 93 Type Ia supernovae were analysed in the framework of the FLRW cosmology assuming these to be `standard(isable) candles'. It was thus inferred that the Hubble expansion rate is accelerating as if driven by a positive Cosmological Constant $\Lambda$. This is still the only direct evidence for the `dark energy' that is the dominant component of the standard $\Lambda$CDM cosmological model. Other data such as BAO, CMB anisotropies, stellar ages, the rate of structure growth, etc are all `concordant' with this model but do not provide independent evidence for accelerated expansion. Analysis of a larger sample of 740 SNe Ia shows that these are not quite standard candles, and highlights the "corrections" applied to analyse the data in the FLRW framework. The latter holds in the reference frame in which the CMB is isotropic, whereas observations are made in our heliocentric frame in which the CMB has a large dipole anisotropy. This is assumed to be of kinematic origin i.e. due to our non-Hubble motion driven by local inhomogeneity in the matter distribution. The $\Lambda$CDM model predicts how this peculiar velocity should fall off as the averaging scale is raised and the universe becomes sensibly homogeneous. However observations of the local `bulk flow' are inconsistent with this expectation and convergence to the CMB frame is not seen. Moreover the kinematic interpretation implies a corresponding dipole in the sky distribution of high redshift quasars, which is rejected by observations at 4.9$\sigma$. The acceleration of the Hubble expansion rate is also anisotropic at 3.9$\sigma$ and aligned with the bulk flow. Thus dark energy may be an artefact of analysing data assuming that we are idealised observers in an FLRW universe, when in fact the real universe is inhomogeneous and anisotropic out to distances large enough to impact on cosmological analyses., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables

In previous works we have derived a Running Vacuum Model (RVM) for a string Universe, which provides an effective description of the evolution of 4-dimensional string-inspired cosmologies from inflation till the present epoch. In the context of this "stringy RVM" version, it is assumed that the early Universe is characterised by purely gravitational degrees of freedom, from the massless gravitational string multiplet, including the antisymmetric tensor field. The latter plays an important role, since its dual gives rise to a `stiff' gravitational-axion "matter", which in turn couples to the gravitational anomaly terms, assumed to be non-trivial at early epochs. In the presence of primordial gravitational wave (GW) perturbations, such anomalous couplings lead to an RVM-like dynamical inflation, without external inflatons. We review here this framework and discuss potential scenarios for the generation of such primordial GW, among which the formation of unstable domain walls, which eventually collapse in a non-spherical-symmetric manner, giving rise to GW. We also remark that the same type of "stiff" axionic matter could provide, upon the generation of appropriate potentials during the post-inflationary eras, (part of) the Dark Matter (DM) in the Universe, which could well be ultralight, depending on the parameters of the string-inspired model. All in all, the new (stringy) mechanism for RVM-inflation preserves the basic structure of the original (and more phenomenological) RVM, as well as its main advantages: namely, a mechanism for graceful exit and for generating a huge amount of entropy capable of explaining the horizon problem. It also predicts axionic DM and the existence of mild dynamical Dark Energy (DE) of quintessence type in the present universe, both being "living fossils" of the inflationary stages of the cosmic evolution., Comment: 75 pages revtex, 6 pdf figures incorporated

This paper outlines the science case for line-intensity mapping with a space-borne instrument targeting the sub-millimeter (microwaves) to the far-infrared (FIR) wavelength range. Our goal is to observe and characterize the large-scale structure in the Universe from present times to the high redshift Epoch of Reionization. This is essential to constrain the cosmology of our Universe and form a better understanding of various mechanisms that drive galaxy formation and evolution. We argue that the proposed frequency range would make it possible to probe important metal cooling lines such as [CII] up to very high redshift as well as a large number of rotational lines of the CO molecule. These can be used to trace molecular gas and dust evolution and constrain the buildup in both the cosmic star formation rate density and the cosmic infrared background (CIB). Moreover, surveys at the highest frequencies will detect FIR lines which are used as diagnostics of galaxies and AGN. Tomography of these lines over a wide redshift range will enable invaluable measurements of the cosmic expansion history at epochs inaccessible to other methods, competitive constraints on the parameters of the standard model of cosmology, and numerous tests of dark matter, dark energy, modified gravity and inflation. To reach these goals, large-scale structure must be mapped over a wide range in frequency to trace its time evolution over a reasonable fraction of the volume of the observable Universe. In addition, the surveyed area needs to be very large to beat cosmic variance and to probe the largest scales where its easier to separate the astrophysical and cosmological contributions to the observed signal. Only, a space-borne mission can properly meet these requirements., 25 pages, 6 figures, ESA Voyage-2050 White Paper

We review the recent progress in Higgs inflation focusing on Higgs-$R^2$ inflation, primordial black hole production and the $R^3$ term., 9 pages, 4 figures, version published in JKPS. An invited review for the Korean Physical Society

The missing baryon problem may now be resolved, but the exact location and physical properties of the diffuse component remains unclear. This problem could be tractable, but requires the combination of new galaxy redshift surveys with new X-ray and radio facilities., Published as a Comment in Nature Astronomy, August 2021, see also supporting article in Nature Portfolio: https://astronomycommunity.nature.com/videos/waves-deep

Arguments are provided for the reality of the quantum vacuum fields. A polarization correlation experiment with two maximally entangled photons created by spontaneous parametric down-conversion is studied in the Weyl-Wigner formalism, that reproduces the quantum predictions. An interpretation is proposed in terms of stochastic processes assuming that the quantum vacuum fields are real. This proves that local realism is compatible with a violation of Bell inequalities, thus rebutting the claim that it has been refuted by experiments. Entanglement appears as a correlation between fluctuations of a signal field and vacuum fields. Key words; local realism, Bell inequalities, entangled photons, Weyl-Wigner, loopholes,vacuum fields, 20 pages. This is the final form of the article. The last section has been substantially modified

GroundBIRD is a ground-based experiment for the precise observation of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). To achieve high sensitivity at large angular scale, we adopt three features in this experiment: fast rotation scanning, microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) and cold optics. The rotation scanning strategy has the advantage to suppress $1/f$ noise. It also provides a large sky coverage of 40\%, which corresponds to the large angular scales of $l \sim 6$. This allows us to constrain the tensor-to-scalar ratio by using low $l$ B-mode spectrum. The focal plane consists of 7 MKID arrays for two target frequencies, 145 GHz and 220 GHz band. There are 161 pixels in total, of which 138 are for 144 GHz and 23 are for 220 GHz. This array is currently under development and the prototype will soon be evaluated in telescope. The GroundBIRD telescope will observe the CMB at the Teide observatory. The telescope was moved from Japan to Tenerife and is now under test. We present the status and plan of the GroundBIRD experiment., 7 pages, 5 figures, LTD18 proceeding, Published in JLTP

Galaxy clusters are the most massive collapsed structures in the universe whose potential wells are filled with hot, X-ray emitting intracluster medium. Observations however show that a significant number of clusters (the so-called cool-core clusters) also contain large amounts of cold gas in their centres, some of which is in the form of spatially extended filaments spanning scales of tens of kiloparsecs. These findings have raised questions about the origin of the cold gas, as well as its relationship with the central active galactic nucleus (AGN), whose feedback has been established as a ubiquitous feature in such galaxy clusters. Here we report a radiation hydrodynamic simulation of AGN feedback in a galaxy cluster, in which cold filaments form from the warm, AGN-driven outflows with temperatures between $10^4$ and $10^7$ K as they rise in the cluster core. Our analysis reveals a new mechanism, which, through the combination of radiative cooling and ram pressure, naturally promotes outflows whose cooling time is shorter than their rising time, giving birth to spatially extended cold gas filaments. Our results strongly suggest that the formation of cold gas and AGN feedback in galaxy clusters are inextricably linked and shed light on how AGN feedback couples to the intracluster medium., 24 pages, 8 figures. This is the authors' final accepted version including the supplementary information and references therein. The published version is available at http://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-1090-7

The Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE) is a cosmology program for the measurement of large scale curl-like features (B-modes) in the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background. Its goal is to constrain the background of inflationary gravity waves traveling through the universe at the time of matter-radiation decoupling. The two instruments of LSPE are meant to synergically operate by covering a large portion of the northern microwave sky. LSPE/STRIP is a coherent array of receivers planned to be operated from the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, for the control and characterization of the low-frequency polarized signals of galactic origin; LSPE/SWIPE is a balloon-borne bolometric polarimeter based on 330 large throughput multi-moded detectors, designed to measure the CMB polarization at 150 GHz and to monitor the polarized emission by galactic dust above 200 GHz. The combined performance and the expected level of systematics mitigation will allow LSPE to constrain primordial B-modes down to a tensor/scalar ratio of $10^{-2}$. We here report the status of the STRIP pre-commissioning phase and the progress in the characterization of the key subsystems of the SWIPE payload (namely the cryogenic polarization modulation unit and the multi-moded TES pixels) prior to receiver integration., 8 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in Journal of Low Temperature Physics

Over recent decades, cosmological simulations of galaxy formation have been instrumental in advancing our understanding of structure and galaxy formation in the Universe. These simulations follow the nonlinear evolution of galaxies, modelling a variety of physical processes over an enormous range of time and length scales. A better understanding of the relevant physical processes, improved numerical methods and increased computing power have led to simulations that can reproduce a large number of the observed galaxy properties. Modern simulations model dark matter, dark energy and ordinary matter in an expanding space-time starting from well-defined initial conditions. The modelling of ordinary matter is most challenging due to the large array of physical processes affecting this component. Cosmological simulations have also proven useful to study alternative cosmological models and their impact on the galaxy population. This Technical Review presents a concise overview of the methodology of cosmological simulations of galaxy formation and their different applications. ©2020, Springer Nature Limited., NASA ATP grant (NNX17AG29G), NSF grant (AST-1814053), NSF grant (AST-1814259)

We report on the development of a polarization-sensitive dichroic (150/220 GHz) detector array for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) delivered to the telescope site in June 2019. In concert with existing 40 and 90 GHz telescopes, the 150/220 GHz telescope will make observations of the cosmic microwave background over large angular scales aimed at measuring the primordial B-mode signal, the optical depth to reionization, and other fundamental physics and cosmology. The 150/220 GHz focal plane array consists of three detector modules with 1020 transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers in total. Each dual-polarization pixel on the focal plane contains four bolometers to measure the two linear polarization states at 150 and 220 GHz. Light is coupled through a planar orthomode transducer (OMT) fed by a smooth-walled feedhorn array made from an aluminum-silicon alloy (CE7). In this work, we discuss the design, assembly, and in-lab characterization of the 150/220 GHz detector array. The detectors are photon-noise limited, and we estimate the total array noise-equivalent power (NEP) to be 2.5 and 4 aW$\sqrt{\mathrm{s}}$ for 150 and 220 GHz arrays, respectively., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Published in J Low Temp Phys

In this work we propose the quantization of a cosmological model describing the primordial universe filled with five barotropic fluids, namely: radiation, dust, vacuum, cosmic strings and domain walls. We intend to identify which fluid is best suited to provide phenomenologically the temporal variable in accordance with the observable universe. Through the Galerkin spectral method and the finite difference method in the Crank-Nicolson scheme (vacuum case), the quantum cosmological solutions are obtained and compared. We, also, compare the quantum cosmological solutions with the corresponding classical ones. The vacuum case is especially interesting because it provides a tunneling transition mechanism from the quantum to the classical phase and the possibility of calculating quantum tunneling probabilities., Comment: 26 pages, 25 figures, 2 tables

On the frequency-amplitude plane, Gravitational Waves (GWs) from cosmic strings show a flat plateau at higher frequencies due to the string loop dynamics in standard radiation dominated post-inflationary epoch. The spectrum may show an abrupt upward or a downward trend beyond a turning point frequency $f_*$, if the primordial dark age prior to the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN), exhibits non-standard cosmic histories. We argue that such a spectral break followed by a rising GW amplitude which is a consequence of a post-inflationary equation of state ($\omega>1/3$) stiffer than the radiation ($\omega=1/3$), could also be a strong hint of a leptogenesis in the seesaw model of neutrino masses. Dynamical generation of the right handed (RH) neutrino masses by a gauged $U(1)$ symmetry breaking leads to the formation of a network of cosmic strings which emits stochastic GWs. A gravitational interaction of the lepton current by an operator of the form $\partial_\mu R j^\mu$--which can be generated in the seesaw model at the two-loop level through RH neutrino mediation, naturally seeks a stiffer equation of state to efficiently produce baryon asymmetry proportional to $1-3\omega$. We discuss how GWs with reasonably strong amplitudes complemented by a neutrino-less double beta decay signal could probe the onset of the most recent radiation domination and lightest RH neutrino mass at the intermediate scales., Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, two sentences restructured (below II.3 and III.21). Matches with the JHEP version

Fermion dark matter particles can aggregate to form extended dark matter structures via a first-order phase transition in which the particles get trapped in the false vacuum. We study Fermi balls created in a phase transition induced by a generic quartic thermal effective potential. We show that for Fermi balls of mass, $3\times 10^{-12}M_\odot \lesssim M_{\rm FB} \lesssim 10^{-5}M_\odot$, correlated observations of gravitational waves produced during the phase transition (at SKA/THEIA/$\mu$Ares), and gravitational microlensing caused by Fermi balls (at Subaru-HSC), can be made., Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Version to appear in JHEP

It has been a half-decade since the first direct detection of gravitational waves, which signifies the coming of the era of the gravitational-wave astronomy and gravitational-wave cosmology. The increasing number of the detected gravitational-wave events has revealed the promising capability of constraining various aspects of cosmology, astronomy, and gravity. Due to the limited space in this review article, we will briefly summarize the recent progress over the past five years, but with a special focus on some of our own work for the Key Project ``Physics associated with the gravitational waves'' supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In particular, (1) we have presented the mechanism of the gravitational-wave production during some physical processes of the early Universe, such as inflation, preheating and phase transition, and the cosmological implications of gravitational-wave measurements; (2) we have put constraints on the neutron star maximum mass according to GW170817 observations; (3) we have developed a numerical relativity algorithm based on the finite element method and a waveform model for the binary black hole coalescence along an eccentric orbit., v1, 93 pages, 18 figures, prepared as a status review of project report for Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron.; v2, 95 pages, minor revision, references added, accepted for publication in Sci. China Phys. Mech. Astron; v3, to match the published version

Four-dimensional cosmological models are studied on a boundary of a five-dimensional Anti-de Sitter (AdS_5) black hole with AdS Reissner-Nordstrom and scalar charged Reissner- Nordstrom black hole solutions, where we call the former a "Hairless" black hole and the latter a "Hairy" black hole. To obtain the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetime metric on the boundary of the AdS_5 black hole, we employ Eddington-Finkelstein (EF) coordinates to the bulk geometry. We then derive modified Friedmann equations on a boundary of the AdS_5 black hole via AdS/CFT correspondence and discuss its cosmological implications. The late-time acceleration of the universe is investigated in our models. The contributions coming from the bulk side is treated as a dark energy source, and we perform MCMC analyses using observational data. Compared to the LCDM model, our models contain additional free parameters; therefore, to make a fair comparison, we use the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) to analyze our results. Our numerical analyses show that our models can explain the observational data as reliable as the LCDM model does for the current data., Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, and 1 table

We show how the generation of right-handed neutrino masses in Majoron models may be associated with a first-order phase transition and accompanied by the production of a stochastic background of gravitational waves (GWs). We explore different energy scales with only renormalizable operators in the effective potential. If the phase transition occurs above the electroweak scale, the signal can be tested by future interferometers. We consider two possible energy scales for phase transitions below the electroweak scale. If the phase transition occurs at a GeV, the signal can be tested at LISA and provide a complementary cosmological probe to right-handed neutrino searches at the FASER detector. If the phase transition occurs below 100 keV, we find that the peak of the GW spectrum is two or more orders of magnitude below the putative NANOGrav GW signal at low frequencies, but well within reach of the SKA and THEIA experiments. We show how searches of very low frequency GWs are motivated by solutions to the Hubble tension in which ordinary neutrinos interact with the dark sector. We also present general calculations of the phase transition temperature and Euclidean action that apply beyond Majoron models., Comment: 37 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables. Version to appear in JHEP

The inflationary epoch and the late time acceleration of the expansion rate of universe can be explained by assuming a gravitationally coupled scalar field. In this article, we propose a new method of finding exact solutions in the background of flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological models by considering both scalar field and matter where the scalar field potential is a function of the scale factor. Our method provides analytical expressions for equation of state parameter of scalar field, deceleration parameter and Hubble parameter. This method can be applied to various other forms of scalar field potential, to the early radiation dominated epoch and very early scalar field dominated inflationary dynamics. Since the method produces exact analytical expression for $H(a)$ (i.e., H(z) as well), we then constrain the model with currents data sets, which includes-Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, Hubble parameter data and Type 1a Supernova data (Pantheon Dataset). As an extension of the method, we also consider the inverse problem of reconstructing scalar field potential energy by assuming any general analytical expression of scalar field equation of state parameter as a function of scale factor., 21 pages, 7 figures

Gravity is attributed to the spacetime curvature in classical General Relativity (GR). But, other equivalent formulation or representations of GR, such as torsion or non-metricity have altered the perception. We consider the Weyl-type $f(Q, T)$ gravity, where $Q$ represents the non-metricity and $T$ is the trace of energy momentum temsor, in which the vector field $\omega_{\mu}$ determines the non-metricity $Q_{\mu \nu \alpha}$ of the spacetime. In this work, we employ the well-motivated $f(Q, T)= \alpha Q+ \frac{\beta}{6k^{2}} T$, where $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are the model parameters. Furthermore, we assume that the universe is dominated by the pressure-free matter, i.e. the case of dust ($p=0$). We obtain the solution of field equations similar to a power-law in Hubble parameter $H(z)$. We investigate the cosmological implications of the model by constraining the model parameter $\alpha$ and $\beta$ using the recent 57 points Hubble data and 1048 points Pantheon supernovae data. To study various dark energy models, we use statefinder analysis to address the current cosmic acceleration. We also observe the $Om$ diagnostic describing various phases of the universe. Finally, it is seen that the solution which mimics the power-law fits well with the Pantheon data better than the Hubble data., Comment: Revised version submitted EPJP

Ultra-light dark matter (ULDM) is a class of dark matter models (DM) where DM is composed by bosons with masses ranging from $10^{-24}\, \mathrm{eV} < m < \mathrm{eV}$. These models have been receiving a lot of attention in the past few years given their interesting property of forming a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) or a superfluid on galactic scales. BEC and superfluidity are one of the most striking quantum mechanical phenomena manifest on macroscopic scales, and upon condensation, the particles behave as a single coherent state, described by the wavefunction of the condensate. The idea is that condensation takes place inside galaxies while outside DM behaves like a normal cold particle DM. This wave nature of DM on galactic scales that arise upon condensation can address some of the curiosities of the behaviour of DM on small scales while maintaining the successes of LCDM on large scales. There are many models in the literature that describe a DM component that condenses in galaxies. In this review, we are going to describe those models and classify them according to the different ways they achieve condensation. For that, we review the phenomena of BEC and superfluidity, and apply this knowledge to the DM in order to explain their construction and phenomenology. We describe the small scale challenges these models aim to solve and how ULDM alleviates them. These models present a rich phenomenology that is manifest in different astrophysical consequences. We review here the astrophysical and cosmological tests used to constrain those models, together with new and future observations that promise to test these models in different regimes. We finalize by showing some predictions that are a consequence of the wave nature of this component, like vortices and interference, that could represent a smoking gun in the search of these rich and interesting alternative class of DM. (Abridged), Invited review for The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. Version accepted for publication. Comments are welcome

In order to probe a possible time variation of the fine-structure constant ($\alpha$), we propose a new method based on Strong Gravitational Lensing and Type Ia Supernovae observations. By considering a class of dilaton runaway models, where $\frac{\Delta \alpha}{\alpha}= - \gamma \ln{(1+z)}$, we obtain constraints on $\frac{\Delta \alpha}{\alpha}$ at the level $\gamma \approx 10^{-2}$ ($\gamma$ captures the physical properties of the model). Since the data set covers the redshift range $0.075 \leq z \leq 2.2649$, the constraints derived here provide independent bounds on a possible time variation of $\alpha$ at low, intermediate and high redshifts., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table - Accepted in The European Physical Journal C

In this paper we show how the solar system, the galactic, and the cosmological scales, are accommodated in a single framework, namely, in the derivative expansion framework. We construct a locally inertial static metric, based on the Einstein equations and on the derivative expansion method, which describes a Schwarzschild black hole immersed in dark matter and dark energy. The leading order metric in the expansion corresponds to the solar system, the first order metric to the galaxy, and the second order metric to cosmology. It is shown how this metric captures the main observations at each scale: in the solar system it trivially gives the Keplerian physics, in the galaxy it gives the flat part of the rotation curve and the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, and in the cosmological scale it gives the cosmological redshift, the accelerating expansion, and it coincides with the Robertson-Walker spacetime in the appropriate limit and approximation., Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, text and references added

We test the anisotropy in the Finslerian cosmological model with the X-ray and ultraviolet (UV) fluxes of 808 quasars. The dipole amplitude is $A_D=0.302_{ -0.124}^{ +0.185}$ and the dipole direction points towards $(l, b) = ( 288.92_{~ -28.80^{\circ}}^{^{\circ}+23.74^{\circ}}, 6.10_{~ -16.40^{\circ}}^{^{\circ} +16.55^{\circ}} )$. We find that the dipole direction from the X-ray and UV fluxes of quasars is very close to the dipole direction given by the "Joint Light-curve Analysis" (JLA) compilation in the Finslerian cosmological model and the angular difference between the two dipole directions is only $10.44^{\circ}$. We also find the angular difference between the dipole direction from the 808 quasars in the Finslerian cosmological model and ones from the supernovae of type Ia (SNe Ia) samples in the dipole-modulated $\Lambda$CDM model is around $30^{\circ}$. Six gravitationally lensed quasars are considered to investigate the Hubble constant $H_0$ in the Finslerian cosmological model. We get a slightly smaller $H_0$ than the result given by the six gravitationally lensed quasars. Finally, we forecast the future constraints on the dipole parameters with the X-ray and UV fluxes of quasars. As the number of simulations increases, the precisions of the parameters related to anisotropy in the Finslerian cosmological model improve significantly. The X-ray and UV fluxes of quasars have a promising future as a probe of anisotropy in Finsler spacetime., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures

Gravitational waves provide a new probe of the Universe which can reveal a number of cosmological and astrophysical phenomena that cannot be observed by electromagnetic waves. Different frequencies of gravitational waves are detected by different means. Among them, precision measurements of pulsar timing provides a natural detector for gravitational waves with light-year scale wavelengths. In this review, first a basic framework to detect a stochastic gravitational wave background using pulsar timing array is introduced, and then possible interpretations of the latest observational result of 12.5 year NANOGrav data are described., Comment: Introductory review article for AAPPS Bulletin

We present the far ultraviolet (FUV) imaging of the nearest Jellyfish or Fireball galaxy IC3418/VCC 1217, in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, using Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) onboard the ASTROSAT satellite. The young star formation observed here in the 17 kpc long turbulent wake of IC3418, due to ram pressure stripping of cold gas surrounded by hot intra-cluster medium, is a unique laboratory that is unavailable in the Milkyway. We have tried to resolve star forming clumps, seen compact to GALEX UV images, using better resolution available with the UVIT and incorporated UV-optical images from Hubble Space Telescope archive. For the first time, we resolve the compact star forming clumps (fireballs) into sub-clumps and subsequently into a possibly dozen isolated stars. We speculate that many of them could be blue supergiant stars which are cousins of SDSS J122952.66+112227.8, the farthest star (~17 Mpc) we had found earlier surrounding one of these compact clumps. We found evidence of star formation rate (4 - 7.4 x 10^-4 M_sun per yr ) in these fireballs, estimated from UVIT flux densities, to be increasing with the distance from the parent galaxy. We propose a new dynamical model in which the stripped gas may be developing vortex street where the vortices grow to compact star forming clumps due to self-gravity. Gravity winning over turbulent force with time or length along the trail can explain the puzzling trend of higher star formation rate and bluer/younger stars observed in fireballs farther away from the parent galaxy., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in the Special Issue of the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy on ASTROSAT

We propose a vector dark matter model with an exotic dark SU(2) gauge group. Two Higgs triplets are introduced to spontaneously break the symmetry. All of the dark gauge bosons become massive, and the lightest one is a viable vector DM candidate. Its stability is guaranteed by a remaining Z_2 symmetry. We study the parameter space constrained by the Higgs measurement data, the dark matter relic density, and direct and indirect detection experiments. We find numerous parameter points satisfying all the constraints, and they could be further tested in future experiments. Similar methodology can be used to construct vector dark matter models from an arbitrary SO(N) gauge group., 25 pages, 5 figures

We consider a non-Abelian dark SU(2)$_{\rm D}$ model where the dark sector couples to the Standard Model (SM) through a Higgs portal. We investigate two different scenarios of the dark sector scalars with $Z_2$ symmetry, with Higgs portal interactions that can introduce mixing between the SM Higgs boson and the SM singlet scalars in the dark sector. We utilize the existing collider results of the Higgs signal rate, direct heavy Higgs searches, and electroweak precision observables to constrain the model parameters. The $\text{SU(2)}_{\text{D}}$ partially breaks into $\text{U(1)}_{\text{D}}$ gauge group by the scalar sector. The resulting two stable massive dark gauge bosons and pseudo-Goldstone bosons can be viable cold dark matter candidates, while the massless gauge boson from the unbroken $\text{U(1)}_{\text{D}}$ subgroup is a dark radiation and can introduce long-range attractive dark matter (DM) self-interaction, which can alleviate the small-scale structure issues. We study in detail the pattern of strong first-order phase transition and gravitational wave (GW) production triggered by the dark sector symmetry breaking, and further evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio for several proposed space interferometer missions. We conclude that the rich physics in the dark sector may be observable with the current and future measurements at colliders, DM experiments, and GW interferometers., Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables

We study implications of perturbative unitarity for quasi-single field inflation with the inflaton and one massive scalar. Analyzing high energy scattering, we show that non-Gaussianities with $|f_{\rm NL}|\gtrsim1$ cannot be realized without turning on interactions which violate unitarity at a high energy scale. Then, we provide a relation between $f_{\rm NL}$ and the scale of new physics that is required for UV completion. In particular we find that for the Hubble scale $H\gtrsim 6\times 10^{9}$ GeV, Planck suppressed operators can easily generate too large non-Gaussanities and so it is hard to realize successful quasi-single field inflation without introducing a mechanism to suppress quantum gravity corrections. Also we generalize the analysis to the regime where the isocurvature mode is heavy and the inflationary dynamics is captured by the inflaton effective theory. Requiring perturbative unitarity of the two-scalar UV models with the inflaton and one heavy scalar, we clarify the parameter space of the $P(X,\phi)$ model which is UV completable by a single heavy scalar., Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures

We investigate the validity of the generalized second law of thermodynamics, applying Barrow entropy for the horizon entropy. The former arises from the fact that the black-hole surface may be deformed due to quantum-gravitational effects, quantified by a new exponent $\Delta$. We calculate the entropy time-variation in a universe filled with the matter and dark energy fluids, as well as the corresponding quantity for the apparent horizon. We show that although in the case $\Delta=0$, which corresponds to usual entropy, the sum of the entropy enclosed by the apparent horizon plus the entropy of the horizon itself is always a non-decreasing function of time and thus the generalized second law of thermodynamics is valid, in the case of Barrow entropy this is not true anymore, and the generalized second law of thermodynamics may be violated, depending on the universe evolution. Hence, in order not to have violation, the deformation from standard Bekenstein-Hawking expression should be small as expected., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, version published in Eur.Phys.J.C

Non-canonical scalar fields with the Lagrangian ${\cal L} = X^\alpha - V(\phi)$, possess the attractive property that the speed of sound, $c_s^{2} = (2\,\alpha - 1)^{-1}$, can be exceedingly small for large values of $\alpha$. This allows a non-canonical field to cluster and behave like warm/cold dark matter on small scales. We demonstrate that simple potentials including $V = V_0\coth^2{\phi}$ and a Starobinsky-type potential can unify dark matter and dark energy. Cascading dark energy, in which the potential cascades to lower values in a series of discrete steps, can also work as a unified model. In all of these models the kinetic term $X^\alpha$ plays the role of dark matter, while the potential term $V(\phi)$ plays the role of dark energy., Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures. Comprehensively revised and expanded. New section on Cascading dark energy

The production of the hypermagnetic gyrotropy is investigated under the assumption that the gauge coupling smoothly evolves during a quasi-de Sitter phase and then flattens out in the radiation epoch by always remaining perturbative. In the plane defined by the strength of the anomalous interactions and by the rate of evolution of the gauge coupling the actual weight of the pseudoscalar interactions turns out to be always rather modest if major deviations from the homogeneity are to be avoided during the inflationary phase. Even if the gauge power spectra are related by duality only in the absence of anomalous contributions, an approximate duality symmetry constrains the late-time form of the hypermagnetic power spectra. Since the hypermagnetic gyrotropy associated with the modes reentering prior to the phase transition must be released into fermions later on, the portions of the parameter space where the obtained baryon asymmetry is close to the observed value are the most relevant for the present ends. For the same range of parameters the magnetic power spectra associated with the modes reentering after symmetry breaking may even be of the order of a few hundredths of a nG over typical length scales comparable with the Mpc prior to the collapse of the protogalaxy., Comment: 40 pages, 8 figures

Models of particle physics that feature phase transitions typically provide predictions for stochastic gravitational wave signals at future detectors and such predictions are used to delineate portions of the model parameter space that can be constrained. The question is: how precise are such predictions? Uncertainties enter in the calculation of the macroscopic thermal parameters and the dynamics of the phase transition itself. We calculate such uncertainties with increasing levels of sophistication in treating the phase transition dynamics. Currently, the highest level of diligence corresponds to careful treatments of the source lifetime; mean bubble separation; going beyond the bag model approximation in solving the hydrodynamics equations and explicitly calculating the fraction of energy in the fluid from these equations rather than using a fit; and including fits for the energy lost to vorticity modes and reheating effects. The lowest level of diligence incorporates none of these effects. We compute the percolation and nucleation temperatures, the mean bubble separation, the fluid velocity, and ultimately the gravitational wave spectrum corresponding to the level of highest diligence for three explicit examples: SMEFT, a dark sector Higgs model, and the real singlet-extended Standard Model (xSM). In each model, we contrast different levels of diligence in the calculation and find that the difference in the final predicted signal can be several orders of magnitude. Our results indicate that calculating the gravitational wave spectrum for particle physics models and deducing precise constraints on the parameter space of such models continues to remain very much a work in progress and warrants care., 43 pages, 16 figures, 1 table

The majoron, a neutrinophilic pseudo-Goldstone boson conventionally arising in the context of neutrino mass models, can damp neutrino free-streaming and inject additional energy density into neutrinos prior to recombination. The combination of these effects for an eV-scale mass majoron has been shown to ameliorate the outstanding $H_0$ tension, however only if one introduces additional dark radiation at the level of $\Delta N_{\rm eff} \sim 0.5$. We show here that models of low-scale leptogenesis can naturally source this dark radiation by generating a primordial population of majorons from the decays of GeV-scale sterile neutrinos in the early Universe. Using a posterior predictive distribution conditioned on Planck2018+BAO data, we show that the value of $H_0$ observed by the SH$_0$ES collaboration is expected to occur at the level of $\sim 10\%$ in the primordial majoron cosmology (to be compared with $\sim 0.1\%$ in the case of $\Lambda$CDM). This insight provides an intriguing connection between the neutrino mass mechanism, the baryon asymmetry of the Universe, and the discrepant measurements of $H_0$., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 4 appendices. v2: Matches the published version in EPJC. Minor upgrades: several references added, fixed typos, corrected a factor of 2 in Eq. 10, added a discussion about possible decoherence effects. Results and conclusions remain unchanged

We present a comparative study of inflation in two theories of quadratic gravity with {\it gauged} scale symmetry: 1) the original Weyl quadratic gravity and 2) the theory defined by a similar action but in the Palatini approach obtained by replacing the Weyl connection by its Palatini counterpart. These theories have different vectorial non-metricity induced by the gauge field ($w_\mu$) of this symmetry. Both theories have a novel spontaneous breaking of gauged scale symmetry, in the absence of matter, where the necessary scalar field is not added ad-hoc to this purpose but is of geometric origin and part of the quadratic action. The Einstein-Proca action (of $w_\mu$), Planck scale and metricity emerge in the broken phase after $w_\mu$ acquires mass (Stueckelberg mechanism), then decouples. In the presence of matter ($\phi_1$), non-minimally coupled, the scalar potential is similar in both theories up to couplings and field rescaling. For small field values the potential is Higgs-like while for large fields inflation is possible. Due to their $R^2$ term, both theories have a small tensor-to-scalar ratio ($r\sim 10^{-3}$), larger in Palatini case. For a fixed spectral index $n_s$, reducing the non-minimal coupling ($\xi_1$) increases $r$ which in Weyl theory is bounded from above by that of Starobinsky inflation. For a small enough $\xi_1\leq 10^{-3}$, unlike the Palatini version, Weyl theory gives a dependence $r(n_s)$ similar to that in Starobinsky inflation, while also protecting $r$ against higher dimensional operators corrections., Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX; v3: Sections 1 and 3 expanded; improved presentation

High dissipative regime of warm pseudoscalar inflation model \cite{Kamali:2019ppi} with an approximately constant value of dissipation parameter $Q$ is studied. { Intermediate solution of the scale-factor related to the accelerated expansion of the Universe which is rolled out by observational data in the context of standard (cold) model of inflation is used.} There is a region of free parameters phase-space of the model which is interestingly compatible with recent observational data. It is discussed that the model is also compatible with the swampland criteria in a broad range of parameters phase-space and TCC in a limited area of parameters., Published by EPJC

Axion-like fields heavier than about $10^{-27}$eV are expected to oscillate in the radiation dominated epoch when the Hubble parameter drops below their mass. Considering the Chern-Simons coupling with a dark gauge boson, large amount of dark photons are produced during a short time interval through tachyonic resonance instability. The produced dark photons then source gravitational tensor modes leading to chiral gravitational waves. Through this process, one can indirectly probe a large parameter space of coupled axion-dark photon models. In this work we first find an analytic expression for the number density of the dark photons produced during the tachyonic resonance regime. Second, by using the saddle point approximation we find an analytic expression for the gravitational wave spectrum in terms of the mass, coupling and misalignment angle. Our analytic results can be used for the observational analysis of these types of scenarios., 29+15 pages, 10 figures, presentation is improved, comparison with numerical results are added, matches with the published version

In this work, we study the extended viscous dark energy models in the context of matter perturbations. To do this, we assume an alternative interpretation of the flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker Universe, through the nonadditive entropy and the viscous dark energy. We implement the relativistic equations to obtain the growth of matter fluctuations for a smooth version of dark energy. As result, we show that the matter density contrast evolves similarly to the $\Lambda$CDM model in high redshift; in late time, it is slightly different from the standard model. Using the latest geometrical and growth rate observational data, we carry out a Bayesian analysis to constrain parameters and compare models. We see that our viscous models are compatible with cosmological probes, and the $\Lambda$CDM recovered with a $1\sigma$ confidence level. The viscous dark energy models relieve the tension of $H_0$ in $2 \sim 3 \sigma$. Yet, by involving the $\sigma_8$ tension, some models can alleviate it. In the model selection framework, the data discards the extended viscous dark energy models., Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, 8 tables. Updated to match the published version

To investigate whether $f(R)$ gravity can relieve current $H_0$ and $\sigma_8$ tensions, we constrain the Hu-Sawicki $f(R)$ gravity with Planck-2018 cosmic microwave background and redshift space distortions observations. We find that this model fails to relieve both $H_0$ and $\sigma_8$ tensions, and that its two typical parameters $\log_{10}f_{R0}$ and $n$ are insensitive to other cosmological parameters. Combining the cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations, Type Ia supernovae, cosmic chronometers with redshift space distortions observations, we give our best constraint $\log_{10}f_{R0}, Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. Accepted in EPJC

We study a recent proposed Ricci-inverse gravity, which is a very novel type of fourth-order gravity. In particular, we are able to figure out both isotropically and anisotropically inflating universes to this model. More interestingly, these solutions are free from a singularity problem. However, stability analysis based on the dynamical system method shows that both isotropic and anisotropic inflation of this model turn out to be unstable against field perturbations. This result implies a no-go theorem for both isotropic and anisotropic inflation in the Ricci-inverse gravity., Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. This is a minor revision, in which the title and abstract are modified in order to express more clearly the main result of this paper. In addition, discussions on some important results investigated by other people are added. Some relevant references are also added. All calculations and conclusions are not changed. Accepted for publication in EPJC. Comments are welcome

We construct the general analytical solution for the $\mathcal{N}$-field product-exponential potential in an expanding FLRW background. We demonstrate the relevance of this analytical solution in more general contexts for the derivation of estimates for the transitional time between an arbitrary initial state and the slow-roll solutions. In certain cases, these estimates can also be used to demonstrate the non-linear convergence towards the slow-roll solutions. In addition, we extend the solution to include stiff matter as well., v4: improved discussion, solution generalized to N fields, dynamical systems section left out to match published version; v2: 20+1 pages, 5 figures, corrected typos; v3: small changes

A keV-scale gravitino arsing from a minimal supersymmetric (SUSY) Standard Model (MSSM) is an interesting possibility since the small scale problems that $\Lambda$CDM model encounters in the modern cosmology could be alleviated with the keV-scale gravitino serving as the warm dark matter (WDM). Such a light gravitino asks for a low scale supersymmetry (SUSY) breaking for which the gauge mediation (GM) is required as a consistent SUSY-breaking mediation mechanism. In this paper, we show upperbounds of the masses of the second CP-even Higgs boson $H$ and the CP-odd Higgs boson $A$, assuming the keV-scale gravitino to be responsible for the current DM relic abundance: the upperbound on the mass of $H/A$ is found to be $\sim 4$ TeV for the gravitino mass of $\mathcal{O}(10$-$100)$ keV. Interestingly, the mass of $H/A$ can be as small as 2-3 TeV and the predicted $\tan\beta$ is as large as 55-60 for the gravitino mass of $\mathcal{O}(10)$ keV. This will be tested in the near future Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiments., Comment: v2: refs added; version published in JHEP

In a recent work we have argued that noisy energy momentum diffusion due to space-time discreteness at the Planck scale (naturally expected to arise from quantum gravity) can be responsible for the generation of a cosmological constant at the electro-weak phase transition era of the cosmic evolution. Simple dimensional analysis and an effectively Brownian description of the propagation of fundamental particles on a granular background yields a cosmological constant of the order of magnitude of the observed value, without fine tuning. While the energy diffusion is negligible for matter in standard astrophysical configurations (from ordinary stars to neutron stars), here we argue that a similar diffusion mechanism could, nonetheless, be important for black holes. If such effects are taken into account, two observational puzzles might be solved by a single mechanism: the ‘ $$H_0$$ tension’ and the relatively low rotational spin of the black holes detected via gravitational wave astronomy.

Spectra of stochastic gravitational waves (GW) generated in cosmological first-order phase transitions are computed within strongly correlated theories with a dual holographic description. The theories are mostly used as models of dark sectors. In particular, we consider the so-called Witten-Sakai-Sugimoto model, a $SU(N)$ gauge theory coupled to different matter fields in both the fundamental and the adjoint representations. The model has a well-known top-down holographic dual description which allows us to perform reliable calculations in the strongly coupled regime. We consider the GW spectra from bubble collisions and sound waves arising from two different kinds of first-order phase transitions: a confinement/deconfinement one and a chiral symmetry breaking/restoration one. Depending on the model parameters, we find that the GW spectra may fall within the sensibility region of ground-based and space-based interferometers, as well as of Pulsar Timing Arrays. In the latter case, the signal could be compatible with the recent potential observation by NANOGrav. When the two phase transitions happen at different critical temperatures, characteristic spectra with double frequency peaks show up. Moreover, in this case we explicitly show how to correct the redshift factors appearing in the formulae for the GW power spectra to account for the fact that adiabatic expansion from the first transition to the present times cannot be assumed anymore., Comment: Latex, 49 pages, 5 figures. v3: comments and references added

Constraints on a dark energy dominated Universe are obtained from an interplay between Bayesian Machine Learning and string Swampland criteria. The approach here differs from previous studies, since in the generative process Swampland criteria are used and, only later, the results of the fit are validated, by using observational data-sets. A generative process based Bayesian Learning approach is applied to two models and the results are validated by means of available $H(z)$ data. For the first model, a parametrization of the Hubble constant is considered and, for the second, a parametrization of the deceleration parameter. This study is motivated by a recent work, where constraints on string Swampland criteria have been obtained from a Gaussian Process and $H(z)$ data. However, the results obtained here are fully independent of the observational data and allow to estimate how the high-redshift behavior of the Universe will affect the low-redshift one. Moreover, both parameterizations in the generative process, for the Hubble and for the deceleration parameters, are independent of the dark energy model. The outcome, both data- and dark energy model-independent, may highlight, in the future, the borders of the Swampland for the low-redshift Universe and help to develop new string-theory motivated dark-energy models. The string Swampland criteria considered might be in tension with recent observations indicating that phantom dark energy cannot be in the Swampland. Finally, a spontaneous sign switch in the dark energy equation of state parameter is observed when the field traverses are in the $z\in[0,5]$ redshift range, a remarkable phenomenon requiring further analysis., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables

The cosmological constant if considered as a fundamental constant, provides an information treatment for gravitation problems, both cosmological and of black holes. The efficiency of that approach is shown via gedanken experiments for the information behavior of the horizons for Schwarzschild-de Sitter and Kerr-de Sitter metrics. A notion of entropy regarding any observer and in all possible non-extreme black hole solutions is suggested, linked also to Bekenstein bound. The suggested information approach forbids the existence of naked singularities., Comment: 7 pages; Eur Phys J Plus (in press); the published version

The dynamics of accretion disk is considered taking into account the Lense-Thirring precession in the presence of cosmological constant $\Lambda$ of Schwarzschild-de Sitter. The nodal and apsidal frequencies are obtained, and the role of $\Lambda$ is revealed in their properties, including the consequences for the Bardeen-Petterson effect., Comment: 6 pages, 1 fig., Eur. Phys. J. Plus