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In order to attain the requisite sensitivity for LISA, laser frequency noise must be suppressed below the secondary noises such as the optical path noise, acceleration noise etc. In a previous paper (Dhurandhar et al., Class. Quantum Grav., 27, 135013, 2010), we have found a large family of second-generation analytic solutions of time delay interferometry with one arm dysfunctional, and we also estimated the laser noise due to residual time-delay semi-analytically from orbit perturbations due to Earth. Since other planets and solar-system bodies also perturb the orbits of LISA spacecraft and affect the time delay interferometry (TDI), we simulate the time delay numerically in this paper for all solutions with the generation number n \leq 3. We have worked out a set of 3-year optimized mission orbits of LISA spacecraft starting at January 1, 2021 using the CGC2.7 ephemeris framework. We then use this numerical solution to calculate the residual optical path differences in the second-generation solutions of our previous paper, and compare with the semi-analytic error estimate. The accuracy of this calculation is better than 1 cm (or 30 ps). The maximum path length difference, for all configuration calculated, is below 1 m (3 ns). This is well below the limit under which the laser frequency noise is required to be suppressed. The numerical simulation in this paper can be applied to other space-borne interferometers for gravitational wave detection with the simplification of having only one interferometer., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, version to appear in Advances in Space Research reflecting the change from LISA to eLISA

We propose the simplest model of teleparallel dark energy with purely a non-minimal coupling to gravity but no self-potential, a single model possessing various interesting features: simplicity, self-potential-free, the guaranteed late-time cosmic acceleration driven by the non-minimal coupling to gravity, tracker behavior of the dark energy equation of state at earlier times, a crossing of the phantom divide at a late time, and the existence of a finite-time future singularity. We find the analytic solutions of the dark-energy scalar field respectively in the radiation, matter, and dark energy dominated eras, thereby revealing the above features. We further illustrate possible cosmic evolution patterns and present the observational constraint of this model obtained by numerical analysis and data fitting., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, Title changed, Revised Version Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

The emergent universe scenario provides a possible alternative to bouncing cosmology to avoid the Big Bang singularity problem. In this paper we study the realization of the emergent universe scenario by making use of Quintom matter with an equation of state across the cosmological constant boundary. We will show explicitly the analytic and numerical solutions of emergent universe in two Quintom models, which are a phenomenological fluid and a nonconventional spinor field, respectively., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Comments are welcome

Recent analyses of cosmological data suggest the presence of an extra relativistic component beyond the Standard Model content. The Higgs–Dilaton cosmological model predicts the existence of a massless particle – the dilaton – associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of scale invariance and undetectable by any accelerator experiment. Its ultrarelativistic character makes it a suitable candidate for contributing to the effective number of light degrees of freedom in the Universe. In this Letter we analyze the dilaton production at the (p)reheating stage right after inflation and conclude that no extra relativistic degrees of freedom beyond those already present in the Standard Model are expected within the simplest Higgs–Dilaton scenario. The elusive dilaton remains thus essentially undetectable by any particle physics experiment or cosmological observation, This work was partially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. We also acknowledge financial support from the Madrid Regional Government (CAM) under the program HEPHACOS S2009/ESP-1473-02, from MICINN under grant AYA2009- 13936-C06-06 and Consolider-Ingenio 2010 PAU (CSD2007-00060), as well as from the European Union Marie Curie Initial Training Network “UNILHC” PITN-GA-2009-237920

It is known that gravitinos are non-thermally produced in inflaton decay processes, which excludes many inflation models for a wide range of the gravitino mass. We find that the constraints from the gravitino overproduction can be greatly relaxed if the supersymmetry breaking field is much lighter than the inflaton, and if the dynamical scale of the supersymmetry breaking is higher than the inflaton mass. In particular, we show that many inflation models then become consistent with the pure gravity mediation with O(100)TeV gravitino which naturally explains the recently observed Higgs boson mass of about 125GeV., Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures; to appear in Phys.Lett.B

In this paper, we examine the cosmological viability of a light mass galileon field consistent with local gravity constraints. The minimal, L_3=\Box\phi(\partial_\mu \phi)^2, massless galileon field requires an additional term in order to give rise to a viable ghost free late time acceleration of Universe. The desired cosmological dynamics can either be achieved by incorporating an additional terms in the action such as (L_4,L_5) - the higher order galileon Lagrangians or by considering a light mass field a la galileon field potential. We analyse the second possibility and find that: (1) The model produces a viable cosmology in the regime where the non-linear galileon field is subdominant, (2) The Vainshtein mechanism operates at small scales where the non-linear effects become important and contribution of the field potential ceases to be significant. Also the small mass of the field under consideration is protected against strong quantum corrections thereby providing quantum stability to the system., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, minor clarifications added, final version to appear in PLB

A new type of fluid matter model in general relativity is introduced, in which the fluid particles are subject to velocity diffusion without friction. In order to compensate for the energy gained by the fluid particles due to diffusion, a cosmological scalar field term is added to the left hand side of the Einstein equations. This hypothesis promotes diffusion to a new mechanism for accelerated expansion in cosmology. It is shown that diffusion alters not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively the global dynamical properties of the standard cosmological models., 11 Pages, 4 Figures. Version in press

We study the multifield inflationary models where the cosmological perturbation is sourced by light scalar fields other than the inflaton. The corresponding perturbations are both scale invariant and special conformally invariant. We exploit the operator product expansion technique of conformal field theories to study the inflationary correlators enjoying the symmetries present during the de Sitter epoch. The operator product expansion is particularly powerful in characterizing inflationary correlation functions in two observationally interesting limits, the squeezed limit of the three-point correlator and the collapsed limit of the four-point correlator. Despite the fact that the shape of the four-point correlators is not fixed by the symmetries of de Sitter, its exact shape can be found in the collapsed limit making use of the operator product expansion. By employing the fact that conformal invariance imposes the two-point cross-correlations of the light fields to vanish unless the fields have the same conformal weights, we are able to show that the Suyama-Yamaguchi inequality relating the coefficients $f_{\rm NL}$ of the bispectrum in the squeezed limit and $\tau_{\rm NL}$ of the trispectrum in the collapsed limit also holds when the light fields are intrinsically non-Gaussian. In fact, we show that the inequality is valid irrespectively of the conformal symmetry, being just a consequence of fundamental physical principles, such as the short-distance expansion of operator products. The observation of a strong violation of the inequality will then have profound implications for inflationary models as it will imply either that multifield inflation cannot be responsible for generating the observed fluctuations independently of the details of the model or that some new non-trivial degrees of freedom play a role during inflation., Comment: 47 pages 3 figures

Cosmological models with Lagrange multipliers are appealing because they could explain the behaviour of the dark sector in a unified way. In this work we analyse extensions to the "Dust of Dark Energy model" proposed in arXiv:1003.5751 by including spatial curvature and more general potentials of the scalar field. We perform dynamical system analysis and we determine the evolution of the equation of state parameter as a function of the scale factor. We present observational constraints on this model by using Union2.1 dataset and H(z) data., 14 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in PLB

We suggest that galileon theories should have an additional self-coupling of the fields to the trace of their own energy-momentum tensor. We explore the classical features of one such model, in flat 4D spacetime, with emphasis on solutions that are scalar analogues of gravitational geons. We discuss the stability of these scalar geons, and some of their possible signatures, including shock fronts., Comment: References added in v2

In this article we investigate the properties of the FLRW flat cosmological models in which the cosmic expansion of the Universe is affected by a dilaton dark energy (Liouville scenario). In particular, we perform a detailed study of these models in the light of the latest cosmological data, which serves to illustrate the phenomenological viability of the new dark energy paradigm as a serious alternative to the traditional scalar field approaches. By performing a joint likelihood analysis of the recent supernovae type Ia data (SNIa), the differential ages of passively evolving galaxies, and the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) traced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we put tight constraints on the main cosmological parameters. Furthermore, we study the linear matter fluctuation field of the above Liouville cosmological models. In this framework, we compare the observed growth rate of clustering measured with those predicted by the current Liouville models. Performing a chi^2 statistical test we show that the Liouville cosmological model provides growth rates that match sufficiently well with the observed growth rate. To further test the viability of the models under study, we use the Press-Schechter formalism to derive their expected redshift distribution of cluster-size halos that will be provided by future X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich cluster surveys. We find that the Hubble flow differences between the Liouville and the LambdaCDM models provide a significantly different halo redshift distribution, suggesting that the models can be observationally distinguished., Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, matches version to appear in Astroparticle Physics

The cosmological consequences of $f(R)$ gravity are reviewed in the framework of recent data obtained by PAMELA (Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics) experiment. This collaboration has reported an excess of positron events that cannot be explained by conventional cosmology and particle physics, and are usually ascribed to the dark matter presence (in particular, weak interacting massive particles). The dark matter interpretation of PAMELA data has motivated the study of alternative cosmological models (with respect to the standard cosmology) owing to the fact that they predict an enhancement of the Hubble expansion rate, giving rise, in such a way, to thermal relics with a larger relic abundance. Our analysis shows that $f(R)$ cosmology allows to explain the PAMELA puzzle for dark matter relic particles with masses of the order or lesser than $10^2$ GeV in the regime $\rho^c \lesssim \rho^m $ where $\rho^c$ is the curvature density and $\rho^m$ the radiation density. For the model $f(R)=R+\alpha R^n$, it then follows that $n\simeq 1$ and small corrections with respect to General Relativity could lead indeed to address the experimental results. However other interesting cosmological models can be considered during the pre-BBN epoch as soon as the BBN constraints are relaxed. In such a case, the PAMELA data can be fitted for a larger class of $f(R)$-models., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures

Assuming the universe is spatially homogeneous on the largest scales lays the foundation for almost all cosmology. This idea is based on the Copernican principle, that we are not at a particularly special place in the universe. Surprisingly, this philosophical assumption has yet to be rigorously demonstrated independently of the standard paradigm. This issue has been brought to light by cosmological models which can potentially explain apparent acceleration by spatial inhomogeneity rather than dark energy. These models replace the temporal fine tuning associated with Lambda with a spatial fine tuning, and so violate the Copernican assumption. While is seems unlikely that such models can really give a realistic solution to the dark energy problem, they do reveal how poorly constrained radial inhomogeneity actually is. So the bigger issue remains: How do we robustly test the Copernican principle independently of dark energy or theory of gravity?, Comment: 40 pages, 15 figures. Accepted review article to appear in a special volume of the "Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences" about Dark Energy and Dark Matter

Dark energy models with various scenarios of evolution are considered from the viewpoint of the formalism for the equation of state. It is shown that these models are compatible with current astronomical data. Some of the models presented here evolve arbitrarily close to $\Lambda$CDM up to the present, but diverge in the future into a number of different possible asymptotic states, including asymptotic de-Sitter (pseudo-rip) evolution, little rips with disintegration of bound structures, and various forms of finite-time future singularities. Therefore it is impossible from observational data to determine whether the universe will end in a future singularity or not. We demonstrate that the models under consideration are stable for a long period of time (billions of years) before entering a Little Rip/Pseudo-Rip induced dissolution of bound structures or before entering a soft finite-time future singularity. Finally, the physical consequences of Little Rip, Type II, III and Big Crush singularities are briefly compared., Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, version to appear in Physics Letters B

This article aims at discussing the cosmological constant problem at a pedagogical but fully technical level. We review how the vacuum energy can be regularized in flat and curved space-time and how it can be understood in terms of Feynman bubble diagrams. In particular, we show that the properly renormalized value of the zero-point energy density today (for a free theory) is in fact far from being 122 orders of magnitude larger than the critical energy density, as often quoted in the literature. We mainly consider the case of scalar fields but also treat the cases of fermions and gauge bosons which allows us to discuss the question of vacuum energy in super-symmetry. Then, we discuss how the cosmological constant can be measured in cosmology and constrained with experiments such as measurements of planet orbits in our solar system or atomic spectra. We also review why the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect seem to indicate that the quantum zero-point fluctuations are not an artifact of the quantum field theory formalism. We investigate how experiments on the universality of free fall can constrain the gravitational properties of vacuum energy and we discuss the status of the weak equivalence principle in quantum mechanics, in particular the Collela, Overhausser and Werner experiment and the quantum Galileo experiment performed with a Salecker-Wigner-Peres clock. Finally, we briefly conclude with a discussion on the solutions to the cosmological constant problem that have been proposed so far., 89 pages, 14 figures, Accepted review article to appear in a special volume of the "Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences" about Dark Energy and Dark Matter

Recently, Geng et al. proposed to allow a non-minimal coupling between quintessence and gravity in the framework of teleparallel gravity, motivated by the similar one in the framework of General Relativity (GR). They found that this non-minimally coupled quintessence in the framework of teleparallel gravity has a richer structure, and named it "teleparallel dark energy". In the present work, we note that there might be a deep and unknown connection between teleparallel dark energy and Elko spinor dark energy. Motivated by this observation and the previous results of Elko spinor dark energy, we try to study the dynamics of teleparallel dark energy. We find that there exist only some dark-energy-dominated de Sitter attractors. Unfortunately, no scaling attractor has been found, even when we allow the possible interaction between teleparallel dark energy and matter. However, we note that $w$ at the critical points is in agreement with observations (in particular, the fact that $w=-1$ independently of $\xi$ is a great advantage)., Comment: 14 pages, 4 tables, revtex4; v2: discussions added, Phys. Lett. B in press; v3: published version

We revisit the gravitational production of massive Dirac fermions in inflationary cosmology with a focus on clarifying the analytic computation of the particle number density in both the large and the small mass regimes. For the case in which the masses of the gravitationally produced fermions are small compared to the Hubble expansion rate at the end of inflation, we obtain a universal result for the number density that is nearly independent of the details of the inflationary model. The result is identical to the case of conformally coupled scalars up to an overall multiplicative factor of order unity for reasons other than just counting the fermionic degrees of freedom., 21 pages, 1 figure

We investigate the evolution of the gravitational potential in Rastall scalar field theories. In a single component model a consistent perturbation theory, formulated in the newtonian gauge, is possible only for $\gamma = 1$, which is the General Relativity limit. On the other hand, the addition of another canonical fluid component allows also to consider the case $\gamma \neq 1$., Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, Sections 2 and 5 enlarged, accepted for publication in Physics Letters B

In warm inflation models there is the requirement of generating large dissipative couplings of the inflaton with radiation, while at the same time, not de-stabilising the flatness of the inflaton potential due to radiative corrections. One way to achieve this without fine tuning unrelated couplings is by supersymmetry. In this paper we show that if the inflaton and other light fields are Pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone Bosons then the radiative corrections to the potential are suppressed and the thermal corrections are small as long as the temperature is below the symmetry breaking scale. In such models it is possible to fulfill the contrary requirements of an inflaton potential which is stable under radiative corrections and the generation of a large dissipative coupling of the inflaton field with other light fields. We construct a warm inflation model which gives the observed CMB-anisotropy amplitude and spectral index where the symmetry breaking is at the GUT scale., Comment: Some typos and numerical errors corrected. Version to be published in Physics Letters B

A ghost dark energy model has been recently put forward to explain the current accelerated expansion of the Universe. In this model, the energy density of ghost dark energy, which comes from the Veneziano ghost of QCD, is proportional to the Hubble parameter, $\rho_D=\alpha H$. Here $\alpha$ is a constant of order $\Lambda^3_{QCD}$ where $\Lambda_{QCD}\sim 100 MeV$ is the QCD mass scale. We consider a connection between ghost dark energy with/without interaction between the components of the dark sector and the kinetic k-essence field. It is shown that the cosmological evolution of the ghost dark energy dominated Universe can be completely described a kinetic k-essence scalar field. We reconstruct the kinetic k-essence function $F(X)$ in a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Universe according to the evolution of ghost dark energy density., Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, some clarifications added in the introduction, added references. Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

We study the evolution of primordail black holes by considering present universe is no more matter dominated rather vacuum energy dominated. We also consider the accretion of radiation, matter and vacuum energy during respective dominance period. In this scenario, we found that radiation accretion efficiency should be less than 0.366 and accretion rate is much larger than previous analysis by B. Nayak et al. \cite{ns}. Thus here primordial black holes live longer than previous works \cite{ns}. Again matter accretion slightly increases the mass and lifetime of primordial black holes. However, the vacuum energy accretion is slightly complicated one, where accretion is possible only upto a critical time. This critical time depends on the values of accretion efficiency and formation time. If a primordial black hole lives beyond critical time, then its lifespan increases due to vacuum energy accretion. But for presently evaporating primordial black holes, critical time comes much later than their evaporating time and thus vacuum energy could not affect those primordial black holes. We again found that the constraints on the initial mass fraction of PBH obtained from the $\gamma$-ray background limit becomes stronger in the presence of vacuum energy., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

We suggest a class of generally covariant ghost-free nonlocal gravity models generating de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter background with an arbitrary value of the effective cosmological constant and featuring a mechanism of dark matter simulation. These models interpolate between the general relativistic phase on a flat spacetime background and their strongly coupled infrared (Anti)-de Sitter phase with two propagating massless graviton modes., 9 pages, LaTeX, final version published in Phys. Lett. B: title changed, discussion of Schwinger-Keldysh technique vs Euclidean field theory extended, presentation improved, references added. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1112.4340

In this Letter we study the effects of the Modified Uncertainty Principle as proposed in [8] on the inflationary dynamics of the early universe in both standard and Randall-Sundrum type II scenarios. We find that the quantum gravitational effect increase the amplitude of density fluctuation, which is oscillatory in nature, with an increase in the tensor-to-scalar ratio., new references added

The effect of background dynamics of the universe on formation of large scale structures in the framework of Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) is investigated. A spherical collapse model is used for modeling the formation of the structures. This study is done in two extreme cases: ({\it i}) assuming a universe with a low-density baryonic matter without any cold dark matter and dark energy; ({\it ii}) a dark energy dominated universe with baryonic matter, without cold dark matter. We show that for the case ({\it ii}) the structures virialize at lower redshifts with larger radii compared to the low-density background universe. The dark energy slow downs the collapse of the structures. We show that our results are compatible with recent simulations of the structure formation in MOND., Comment: 16 pages, 4 Figures, accepted by New Astronomy

We present a model where inflation and Dark Matter takes place via a single scalar field phi. Without introducing any new parameters we are able unify inflation and Dark Matter using a scalar field phi that accounts for inflation at an early epoch while it gives a Dark Matter WIMP particle at low energies. After inflation our universe must be reheated and we must have a long period of radiation dominated before the epoch of Dark Matter. Typically the inflaton decays while it oscillates around the minimum of its potential. If the inflaton decay is not complete or sufficient then the remaining energy density of the inflaton after reheating must be fine tuned to give the correct amount of Dark Matter. An essential feature here, is that Dark Matter-Inflaton particle is produced at low energies without fine tuning or new parameters. This process uses the same coupling g as for the inflaton decay. Once the field phi becomes non-relativistic it will decouple as any WIMP particle, since n_phi is exponentially suppressed. The correct amount of Dark Matter determines the cross section and we have a constraint between the coupling $g$ and the mass $m_o$ of phi. The unification scheme we present here has four free parameters, two for the scalar potential V(phi) given by the inflation parameter lambda of the quartic term and the mass m_o. The other two parameters are the coupling $g$ between the inflaton phi and a scalar filed varphi and the coupling h between varphi with standard model particles psi or chi. These four parameters are already present in models of inflation and reheating process, without considering Dark Matter. Therefore, our unification scheme does not increase the number of parameters and it accomplishes the desired unification between the inflaton and Dark Matter for free., 9 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:0911.5172

Seeking a possible explanation for recent data indicating a space-time variation of the electron-to-proton mass ratio within the Milky Way, we consider a phenomenological model where the effective fermion masses depend on the local value of the Weyl tensor. We contrast the required values of the model's free parameters with bounds obtained from modern tests on the violation of the weak equivalence principle and we find that these quantities are incompatible. This result indicates that the variation of nucleon and electron masses through a coupling with the Weyl tensor is not a viable model., Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas

We study the collapse of the universe described by a scalar field spherically symmetric collapse of a system described by a massless scalar field from a 5D Riemann-flat canonical metric, on which we make a dynamical foliation on the extra space-like dimension. The asymptotic universe (absent of singularities) results to be finite in size and energy density, with an vacuum dominated equation of state. The important result here obtained is that the asymptotic back-reaction effects are given by a negative constant: $1/2 [\frac{1}{1+\dot\psi^2}+\frac{1}{\dot\psi^2}] +{1\over 2a^2} |_{t\rightarrow\infty} = {-8 \Lambda_0 \over 3 \pi G}$., Comment: accepted in Physics Letters B

We examine a cosmological model with a dark energy density of the form $\rho_{DE}(t)=\rho_X(t)+\rho_Z(t)$, where $\rho_X$ is the component that accelerates the Hubble expansion at late times and $\rho_Z(t)$ is an extra contribution proportional to $H^2(t)$. This form of $\rho_Z(t)$ follows from the recent proposal that the contribution of zero-point fluctuations of quantum fields to the total energy density should be computed by subtracting the Minkowski-space result from that computed in the FRW space-time. We discuss theoretical arguments that support this subtraction. By definition, this eliminates the quartic divergence in the vacuum energy density responsible for the cosmological constant problem. We show that the remaining quadratic divergence can be reabsorbed into a redefinition of Newton's constant only under the assumption that the energy-momentum tensor of vacuum fluctuations is conserved in isolation. However, in the presence of an ultra-light scalar field $X$ with $m_X, Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; v3: improved discussion, references added

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., 12 pages, 5 figures

In this paper we study the evolution of cosmological perturbations in the presence of dynamical dark energy, and revisit the issue of dark energy perturbations. For a generally parameterized equation of state (EoS) such as w_D(z) = w_0+w_1\frac{z}{1+z}, (for a single fluid or a single scalar field ) the dark energy perturbation diverges when its EoS crosses the cosmological constant boundary w_D=-1. In this paper we present a method of treating the dark energy perturbations during the crossing of the $w_D=-1$ surface by imposing matching conditions which require the induced 3-metric on the hypersurface of w_D=-1 and its extrinsic curvature to be continuous. These matching conditions have been used widely in the literature to study perturbations in various models of early universe physics, such as Inflation, the Pre-Big-Bang and Ekpyrotic scenarios, and bouncing cosmologies. In all of these cases the EoS undergoes a sudden change. Through a detailed analysis of the matching conditions, we show that \delta_D and \theta_D are continuous on the matching hypersurface. This justifies the method used[1-4] in the numerical calculation and data fitting for the determination of cosmological parameters. We discuss the conditions under which our analysis is applicable., Comment: 10 pages and 1 figures

We discover that some unstable vacua have long memory. By that we mean that even in the theories containing only massive particles, there are correllators and expectation values which grow with time. We examine the cases of instabilities caused by the constant electric fields, expanding and contracting universes and, most importantly, the global de Sitter space. In the last case the interaction leads to a remarkable UV/IR mixing and to a large back reaction. This gives reasons to believe that the cosmological constant problem could be resolved by the infrared physics., 23 pages, references added

Taking a spacetime average as a measure of the strength of singularities we show that big-rips (type I) are stronger than big-bangs. The former have infinite spacetime averages while the latter have them equal to zero. The sudden future singularities (type II) and $w-$singularities (type V) have finite spacetime averages. The finite scale factor (type III) singularities for some values of the parameters may have an infinite average and in that sense they may be considered stronger than big-bangs., 5 pages, no figures, REVTEX4-1, minor improvements

The cosmographic expansion history of the universe is investigated by using the 557 type Ia supernovae from the Union2 Compilation set along with the current estimates involving the product of the CMB acoustic scale $\ell_{A}$ and the BAO peak at two different redshifts. Using a well-behaved parameterization for the deceleration parameter, $q(z) = q_0 + q_1z/(1 + z)$, we estimate the accelerating redshift $z_{acc}=-q_0/(q_0 + q_1)$ (at which the universe switches from deceleration to acceleration) and investigate the influence of a non-vanishing spatial curvature on these estimates. We also use the asymptotic value of $q(z)$ at high-$z$ to place more restrictive bounds on the model parameters $q_0$ and $q_1$, which results in a more precise determination of the epoch of cosmic acceleration., 4 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX

It is well known that there is a Hawking radiation from the cosmological horizon of the de-sitter spacetime, and the de-sitter spacetime can be a special case of a FRW universe. Therefore, there may be a corresponding Hawking radiation in a FRW universe. Indeed, there have been several clues showing that there is a Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of a FRW universe. In our paper, however, we find that the Hawking radiation may come from the cosmological horizon. Moreover, we also find that the Hawking radiation from the apparent horizon of a FRW universe in some previous works can be a special case in our result, and the condition is that the variation rate of cosmological horizon $\overset{.}{r}_{H}$ is zero. Note that, this condition is also consistent with the underlying integrable condition in these works from the apparent horizon., V3: 12 pages, no figure, typos corrected, new references added, version shorted and accepted by PLB

We present an extension of a previously suggested test of all modified theories of gravity that would reproduce MOND at low accelerations. In a class of models, called "dark matter emulators", gravitational waves and other particles couple to different metrics. This leads to a detectable time lag between their detection at Earth from the same source. We calculate this time lag numerically for any event that occurs in our galaxy up to 400 kpc, and present a graph of this possible time lag. This suggests that, gravitational wave observers might have to consider the possibility of extending their analysis to non-coincident gravitational and electromagnetic signals, and the graph that we present might be a useful guideline for this effort., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, A New section is added and some equations were removed to avoid repetition

We explore in detail the prospects of obtaining a four-dimensional de Sitter universe in classical supergravity models with warped and time-independent extra dimensions, presenting explicit cosmological solutions of the $(4+n)$-dimensional Einstein equations with and without a bulk cosmological constant term. For the first time in the literature we show that there may exist a large class of warped supergravity models with a noncompact extra dimension which lead to a finite 4D Newton constant as well as a massless 4D graviton localised on an inflating four-dimensional FLRW universe. This result helps establish that the `no-go' theorem forbidding acceleration in `standard' compactification of string/M-theory on physically compact spaces should not apply to a general class of warped supergravity models that allows at least one noncompact direction. We present solutions for which the size of the radial dimension takes a constant value in the large volume limit, providing an explicit example of spontaneous compactification., 19 pages, 2 figures; final (journal) version

Doubly special relativity (DSR), with both an invariant velocity and an invariant length scale, elegantly preserves the principle of relativity between moving observers, and appears as a promising candidate of the quantum theory of gravity. We study the modifications of photon gas thermodynamics in the framework of DSR with an invariant length $|\lambda|$, after properly taking into account the effects of modified dispersion relation, upper bounded energy-momentum space, and deformed integration measure. We show that with a positive $\lambda$, the grand partition function, the energy density, the specific heat, the entropy, and the pressure are smaller than those of special relativity (SR), while the velocity of photons and the ratio of pressure to energy are larger. In contrast, with a negative $\lambda$, the quantum gravity effects show up in the opposite direction. However, these effects only manifest themselves significantly when the temperature is larger than $10^{-3} E_{\rm P}$. Thus, DSR can have considerable influence on the early universe in cosmological study., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, final version for publication in APP

In this work we determine the correspondence between quintessence and tachyon dark energy models with a constant dark energy equation of state parameter, $w_e$. Although the evolution of both the Hubble parameter and the scalar field potential with redshift is the same, we show that the evolution of quintessence/tachyon scalar fields with redshift is, in general, very different. We explicity demonstrate that if $w_e \neq -1$ the potentials need to be very fine-tuned for the relative perturbation on the equation of state parameter, $\Delta w_e/(1+w_e) \ll 1$, to be very small around the present time. We also discuss possible implications of our results for the reconstruction of the evolution of $w_e$ with redshift using varying couplings., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, published version with two extra references included

The dilaton-gravity sector of a linear in the scalar curvature, scale invariant Two Measures Field Theory (TMT), is explored in detail in the context of closed FRW cosmology and shown to allow stable emerging universe solutions. The model possesses scale invariance which is spontaneously broken due to the intrinsic features of the TMT dynamics. We study the transition from the emerging phase to inflation, and then to a zero cosmological constant phase. We also study the spectrum of density perturbations and the constraints that impose on the parameters of the theory., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett. B

In the present work, motivated by the work of Cai and Su [Phys. Rev. D {\bf 81}, 103514 (2010)], we propose a new type of interaction in dark sector, which can change its sign when our universe changes from deceleration to acceleration. We consider the cosmological evolution of quintessence and phantom with this type of interaction, and find that there are some scaling attractors which can help to alleviate the cosmological coincidence problem. Our results also show that this new type of interaction can bring new features to cosmology., 11 pages, 6 tables, revtex4; v2: Nucl. Phys. B in press; v3: published version

We present a short (and necessarily incomplete) review of the evidence for the accelerated expansion of the Universe. The most direct probe of acceleration relies on the detailed study of supernovae (SN) of type Ia. Assuming that these are standardizable candles and that they fairly sample a homogeneous and isotropic Universe, the evidence for acceleration can be tested in a model- and calibration-independent way. Various light-curve fitting procedures have been proposed and tested. While several fitters give consistent results for the so-called Constitution set, they lead to inconsistent results for the recently released SDSS SN. Adopting the SALT fitter and relying on the Union set, cosmic acceleration is detected by a purely kinematic test at 7 sigma when spatial flatness is assumed and at 4 sigma without assumption on the spatial geometry. A weak point of the described method is the local set of SN (at z < 0.2), as these SN are essential to anchor the Hubble diagram. These SN are drawn from a volume much smaller than the Hubble volume and could be affected by local structure. Without the assumption of homogeneity, there is no evidence for acceleration, as the effects of acceleration are degenerate with the effects of inhomogeneities. Unless we sit in the centre of the Universe, such inhomogeneities can be constrained by SN observations by means of tests of the isotropy of the Hubble flow., 7 pages, 3 figures, invited talk given at the School on Nuclear Astrophysics, Erice 2010

The Modified Chaplygin Gas (MCG) model belongs to the class of a unified models of dark energy (DE) and dark matter (DM). It is characterized by an equation of state (EoS) $p_c = B\rho - A/\rho^{\alpha}$, where the case $B=0$ corresponds to the Generalized Chaplygin Gas (GCG) model. Using a perturbative analysis and power spectrum observational data we show that the MCG model is not a sucessful candidate for the cosmic medium unless $B=0$. In this case, it reduces to the usual GCG model., Comment: Latex file, 7 pages, 6 figures in eps format

We study the stability properties of the Cauchy horizon for two different self-dual black hole solutions obtained in a model inspired by Loop Quantum Gravity. The self-dual spacetimes depend on a free dimensionless parameter called a polymeric parameter P. For the first metric the Cauchy horizon is stable for supermassive black holes only if this parameter is sufficiently small. For small black holes, however the stability is easily implemented. The second metric analyzed is not only self-dual but also "form-invariant" under the transformation r -> r*^2/r and r* = 2 m P. We find that this symmetry protects the Cauchy horizon for any value of the polymeric parameter., 8 pages, 2 figures

The surprisingly large value of $r$, the ratio of power in tensor to scalar density perturbations in the CMB reported by the BICEP2 Collaboration, if confirmed, provides strong evidence for Inflation at the GUT scale. While the Inflationary signal remains the best motivated source, a large value of $r$ alone would still allow for the possibility that a comparable gravitational wave background might result from a self ordering scalar field (SOSF) transition that takes place later at somewhat lower energy. We find that even without detailed considerations of the predicted BICEP signature of such a transition, simple existing limits on the isocurvature contribution to CMB anisotropies would definitively rule out a contribution of more than $5\%$ to $r \approx 0.2$,. We also present a general relation for the allowed fractional SOSF contribution to $r$ as a function of the ultimate measured value of $r$. These results point strongly not only to an inflationary origin of the BICEP2 signal, if confirmed, but also to the fact that if the GUT scale is of order $10^{16} GeV$ then either the GUT transition happens before Inflation or the Inflationary transition and the GUT transition must be one and the same., 3 pages 2 figures, accepted for publication in Physics Letters B . Accepted version revised slightly in response to referee's comments

The possibility that the non-minimal coupling inflation could be eternal is investigated. We calculate the quantum fluctuation of the inflaton in a Hubble time and find that it has the same value as in the minimal case in the slow-roll limit. Armed with this result, we have studied some concrete non-minimal inflationary models including the chaotic inflation and the natural inflation while the inflaton is non-minimally coupled to the gravity and we find that these non-minimal inflations could be eternal in some parameter regions., 9 pages, 2 figures

In loop quantum cosmology (LQC) the big bang is replaced by a quantum bounce which is followed by a robust phase of super-inflation. Rather than growing unboundedly in the past, the Hubble parameter \emph{vanishes} at the bounce and attains a \emph{finite universal maximum} at the end of super-inflation. These novel features lead to an unforeseen implication: in presence of suitable potentials all LQC dynamical trajectories are funneled to conditions which virtually guarantee slow roll inflation with more than 68 e-foldings, {without any input from the pre-big bang regime}. This is in striking contrast to certain results in general relativity, where it is argued that the a priori probability of obtaining a slow roll with 68 or more e-foldings is suppressed by a factor $e^{-204}$., Comment: 5 pages, 1 table

We study generic solutions in a non-minimally coupled to gravity scalar field cosmology. It is shown that dynamics for both canonical and phantoms scalar fields with the potential can be reduced to the dynamical system from which the exact forms for an equation of the state parameter can be derived. We have found the stationary solutions of the system and discussed their stability. Within the large class of admissible solutions we have found a non-degenerate critical points and we pointed out multiple attractor type of trajectory travelling in neighborhood of three critical points at which we have the radiation dominating universe, the barotropic matter dominating state and finally the de Sitter attractor. We have demonstrated the stability of this trajectory which we call the twister solution. Discovered evolutional path is only realized if there exist the non-minimal coupling constant. We have found simple duality relations between twister solutions in phantom and canonical scalar fields in the radiation domination phase. For the twister trajectory we have found an oscillating regime of approaching the de Sitter attractor., 9 pages, 2 figs, elsatricle; (v2.) 9 pages, 3 figs, PhysLettB (in press)

We study cosmological constraints on the various accelerating models of the universe using the time evolution of the cosmological redshift of distant sources. The important characteristic of this test is that it directly probes the expansion history of the universe. In this work we analyze the various models of the universe which can explain the late time acceleration, within the framework of General Theory of Relativity (GR) (XCDM, scalar field potentials) and beyond GR (f(R) gravity model)., 7 pages, 10 figures, revised version, accepted for publication in Physics Lett. B

Very recently, Verlinde considered a theory in which space is emergent through a holographic scenario, and proposed that gravity can be explained as an entropic force caused by changes in the information associated with the positions of material bodies. Then, motivated by the Debye model in thermodynamics which is very successful in very low temperatures, Gao modified the entropic force scenario. The modified entropic force (MEF) model is in fact a modified gravity model, and the universe can be accelerated without dark energy. In the present work, we consider the cosmological constraints on the MEF model, and successfully constrain the model parameters to a narrow range. We also discuss many other issues of the MEF model. In particular, we clearly reveal the implicit root to accelerate the universe in the MEF model., 16 pages, 7 figures, revtex4; v2: discussions added, Phys. Lett. B in press; v3: published version

We review the paradigm of quintom cosmology. This scenario is motivated by the observational indications that the equation of state of dark energy across the cosmological constant boundary is mildly favored, although the data are still far from being conclusive. As a theoretical setup we introduce a no-go theorem existing in quintom cosmology, and based on it we discuss the conditions for the equation of state of dark energy realizing the quintom scenario. The simplest quintom model can be achieved by introducing two scalar fields with one being quintessence and the other phantom. Based on the double-field quintom model we perform a detailed analysis of dark energy perturbations and we discuss their effects on current observations. This type of scenarios usually suffer from a manifest problem due to the existence of a ghost degree of freedom, and thus we review various alternative realizations of the quintom paradigm. The developments in particle physics and string theory provide potential clues indicating that a quintom scenario may be obtained from scalar systems with higher derivative terms, as well as from non-scalar systems. Additionally, we construct a quintom realization in the framework of braneworld cosmology, where the cosmic acceleration and the phantom divide crossing result from the combined effects of the field evolution on the brane and the competition between four and five dimensional gravity. Finally, we study the outsets and fates of a universe in quintom cosmology. In a scenario with null energy condition violation one may obtain a bouncing solution at early times and therefore avoid the Big Bang singularity. Furthermore, if this occurs periodically, we obtain a realization of an oscillating universe. Lastly, we comment on several open issues in quintom cosmology and their connection to future investigations., 105 pages, 36 figures, version published at Physics Reports