We examine the effects of possible phenomenological interactions between dark energy and dark matter on cosmological parameters and their efficiency in solving the coincidence problem. We work with two simple parameterizations of the dynamical dark energy equation of state and the constant dark energy equation of state. Using observational data coming from the new 182 Gold type Ia supernova samples, the shift parameter of the Cosmic Microwave Background given by the three-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe observations, and the baryon acoustic oscillation measurement from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we perform a statistical joint analysis of different forms of phenomenological interactions between dark energy and dark matter.
Motivated by the recent observations for the cosmic acceleration and the suitable evolution of the Universe provided an interaction (decay of dark energy to matter) is incorporated in a cosmological model, we study the cosmological evolution of the Interacting Holographic Dark Energy scenario. Critical points are derived and their corresponding cosmological models are presented. The dynamical character of these models is revealed.
Recent cosmological observations suggest that nearly seventy per cent of the energy density in the universe is unclustered and has negative pressure. Several conceptual issues related to the modeling of this component (`dark energy'), which is driving an accelerated expansion of the universe, are discussed with special emphasis on the cosmological constant as the possible choice for the dark energy. Some curious geometrical features of a universe with a cosmological constant are described and a few attempts to understand the nature of the cosmological constant are reviewed.
I discuss the dark energy characterized by the violation of the null energy condition ($\varrho + p \geq 0$), dubbed phantom. Amazingly, it is admitted by the current astronomical data from supernovae. We discuss both classical and quantum cosmological models with phantom as a source of matter and present the phenomenon called phantom duality.
We discuss FRW universe with time-dependent EoS dark fluid which leads to multiple de Sitter space. This model (as well as its scalar-tensor version) may be considered as some classical analog of cosmological landscape. The universe expansion history may look as transitions between different deSitter eras what suggests the interesting solution for cosmological constant problem. For specific time-dependent EoS dark fluid the possibility of transitions between universe regions with positive and negative cosmological constant is also established.
This paper has been withdrawn by the authors due to the too limited range of the current version of the model (the dark energy fraction is constant, but it has to be a function of the scale factor). We will resubmit the paper after extension.
A cosmological model is proposed for the current Universe consisted of non-interacting baryonic matter and interacting dark components. The dark energy and dark matter are coupled through their effective barotropic indexes, which are considered as functions of the ratio between their energy densities. It is investigated two cases where the ratio is asymptotically stable and their parameters are adjusted by considering best fits to Hubble function data. It is shown that the deceleration parameter, the densities parameters, and the luminosity distance have the correct behavior which is expected …
Unparticle physics has been an active field since the seminal work of Georgi. Recently, many constraints on unparticles from various observations have been considered in the literature. In particular, the cosmological constraints on the unparticle dark component put it in a serious situation. In this work, we try to find a way out of this serious situation, by including the possible interaction between dark energy and the unparticle dark component.
We investigate the effect of dark energy on the limits on the shear anisotropy in spatially homogeneous Bianchi cosmological models obtained from measurements of the temperature anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background. We shall primarily assume that the dark energy is modelled by a cosmological constant. In general, we find that there are tighter bounds on the shear than in models with no cosmological constant, although the limits are (Bianchi) model dependent. In addition, there are special spatially homogeneous cosmological models whose rate of expansion is highly anisotropic, but wh…
A general holographic relation between UV and IR cutoff of an effective field theory is proposed. Taking the IR cutoff relevant to the dark energy as the Hubble scale, we find that the cosmological constant is highly suppressed by a numerical factor and the fine tuning problem seems alleviative. We also use different IR cutoffs to study the case in which the universe is composed of matter and dark energy.
One of the puzzles of the dark energy problem is the (first) cosmological coincidence problem, namely, {\em why does our universe begin the accelerated expansion recently? why are we living in an epoch in which the dark energy density and the dust matter energy density are comparable?} On the other hand, cosmological observations hint that the equation-of-state parameter (EoS) of dark energy crossed the phantom divide $w_{de}=-1$ in the near past. Many dark energy models whose EoS can cross the phantom divide have been proposed. However, to our knowledge, these models with crossing the phantom…
We show that the presence of a temporal electromagnetic field on cosmological scales generates an effective cosmological constant which can account for the accelerated expansion of the universe. Primordial electromagnetic quantum fluctuations produced during electroweak scale inflation could naturally explain the presence of this field and also the measured value of the dark energy density. The behavior of the electromagnetic field on cosmological scales is found to differ from the well studied short-distance behavior and, in fact, the presence of a non-vanishing cosmological constant could be…
Let the reciprocal Newton 'constant' be an apparently non-dynamical Brans-Dicke scalar field damped oscillating towards its General Relativistic VEV. We show, without introducing additional matter fields or dust, that the corresponding cosmological evolution averagely resembles, in the Jordan frame, the familiar dark radiation -> dark matter -> dark energy domination sequence. The fingerprints of our theory are fine ripples, hopefully testable, in the FRW scale factor; they die away at the General Relativity limit. The possibility that the Brans-Dicke scalar also serves as the inflaton is favo…
We explore the cosmological consequences of Modified Gravity (MOG), and find that it provides, using a minimal number of parameters, good fits to data, including CMB temperature anisotropy, galaxy power spectrum, and supernova luminosity-distance observations without exotic dark matter. MOG predicts a bouncing cosmology with a vacuum energy term that yields accelerating expansion and an age of ~13 billion years.
The present status of our knowledge about the dark matter and dark energy is reviewed. Bounds on the content of cold and hot dark matter from cosmological observations are discussed in some detail. I also review current bounds on the physical properties of dark energy, mainly its equation of state and effective speed of sound.
Interactions within the cosmic medium modify its equation of state. We discuss implications of interacting dark energy models both for the spatially homogenous background and for the perturbation dynamics.
We investigate the correlation between the neutrino mass limit and dark energy with time evolving equation of state. Parameterizing dark energy as w=w_0+w_1*z/(1+z), we make a global fit using Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique to determine w_0, w_1, neutrino mass as well as other cosmological parameters simultaneously. We pay particular attention to the correlation between neutrino mass Σm_ν and w_1 using current cosmological observations as well as the future simulated datasets such as PLANCK, SNAP and LAMOST.
The coincidence problems and other dynamical features of dark energy are studied in cosmological models with variable cosmological parameters and in models with the composite dark energy. It is found that many of the problems usually considered to be cosmological coincidences can be explained or significantly alleviated in the aforementioned models.
The formula for dark energy density derived by Gurzadyan and Xue provides a value of density parameter of dark energy in remarkable agreement with current cosmological datasets, unlike numerous phenomenological dark energy scenarios where the corresponding value is postulated. This formula suggests the possibility of variation of physical constants such as the speed of light and the gravitational constant. Considering several cosmological models based on that formula and deriving the cosmological equations for each case, we show that, in all models source terms appear in the continuity equatio…
It is commonly believed that our Universe has experienced two different stages of accelerated expansion. The early stage is known as inflation and the current acceleration is driven by dark energy. Observing inflation and dark energy dynamics are among the most important aspects of the current cosmological research. In this paper we make a first detailed probe of possible degeneracies between dynamical inflation and dark energy in light of current cosmological observations. We find the inclusion of inflation and dark energy parameters together make the parameter spaces broader, but interesting…
We discuss models for the cosmological dark sector in which the energy density of a scalar field approximates Einstein's cosmological constant and the scalar field value determines the dark matter particle mass by a Yukawa coupling. A model with one dark matter family can be adjusted so the observational constraints on the cosmological parameters are close to but different from what is predicted by the Lambda CDM model. This may be a useful aid to judging how tightly the cosmological parameters are constrained by the new generation of cosmological tests that depend on the theory of structure f…
The old cosmological constant problem is to understand why the vacuum energy is so small; the new problem is to understand why it is comparable to the present mass density. Several approaches to these problems are reviewed. Quintessence does not help with either; anthropic considerations offer a possibility of solving both. In theories with a scalar field that takes random initial values, the anthropic principle may apply to the cosmological constant, but probably to nothing else.
We review the evidence for recently accelerating cosmological expansion or "dark energy", either a negative pressure constituent in General Relativity (Dark Energy) or modified gravity (Dark Gravity), without any Dark Energy constituent. If constituent Dark Energy does not exist, so that our universe is now dominated by pressure-free matter, Einstein gravity must be modified at low curvature. The vacuum symmetry of any Robertson-Walker universe then characterizes Dark Gravity as low- or high-curvature modifications of Einstein gravity. The dynamics of either kind of "dark energy" cannot be der…
Several observational constraints are imposed on the interacting holographic model of Dark Energy and Dark Matter. First we use the age parameter today, as given by the WMAP results. Subsequently, we explained the reason why it is possible, as recently observed, for an old quasar to be observed in early stages of the universe. We discuss this question in terms of the evolution of the age parameter as well as in terms of the structure formation. Finally, we give a detailed discussion of the constraints implied by the observed CMB low $\ell$ suppression. As a result, the interacting holographic …
We review the current status of cosmological parameters, dark energy and large-scale structure, from a theoretical and observational perspective. We first present the basic cosmological parameters and discuss how they are measured with different observational techniques. We then describe the recent evidence for dark energy from Type Ia supernovae. Dynamical models of the dark energy, quintessence, are then described, as well as how they relate to theories of gravity and particle physics. The basic theory of structure formation via gravitational instability is then reviewed. Finally, we describ…
The Standard Cosmological Model of the 1980's is no more. I describe the definitive evidence that the density of matter is insufficient to result in a flat universe, as well as the mounting evidence that the cosmological constant is not zero. I finally discuss the implications of these results for particle physics and direct searches for non-baryonic dark matter, and demonstrate that the new news is good news.
We investigate the cosmological Fisher information in the non-linear dark-matter power spectrum in the context of the halo model. We find that there is a plateau in information content on translinear scales which is generic to all cosmological parameters we tried. There is a rise in information on smaller scales, but we find that it is quite degenerate among different cosmological parameters (except, perhaps, the tilt). This suggests that it could be difficult to constrain cosmological parameters using the non-linear regime of the dark-matter power spectrum. We suggest ways to get around this …
We study how the determination of the Hubble constant from cosmological distance measures is affected by models of dark energy and vice versa. For this purpose, constraints on the Hubble constant and dark energy are investigated using the cosmological observations of cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillations and type Ia suprenovae. When one investigates dark energy, the Hubble constant is often a nuisance parameter, thus it is usually marginalized over. On the other hand, when one focuses on the Hubble constant, simple dark energy models such as a cosmological constant and a co…
In this paper we consider the cosmological implications of dark energy models with a coupled system of a dynamical scalar field (the quintessence) and the neutrinos. By detailed numerical calculations we study the various possibilities on the evolution and the fates of the universe in this class of models. Our results show that due to the interaction with quintessence, neutrinos could be dominant over the quintessence in the future universe, however would eventually decay away.
We present a space-velocity theory of gravitation in a 4-dimensional curved space. The solutions of the field equations yield 3 possibilities for the universe expansion but only the accelerating one is possible. Although the theory has no cosmological constant, we exract from it its equivalent value which is shown to be in agreement with measurements. No pressure is used in the theory.
We investigate the cosmological effects of a neutrino interaction with cold dark matter. We postulate a neutrino that interacts with a ``neutrino interacting dark matter'' (NIDM) particle with an elastic-scattering cross section that either decreases with temperature as $T^2$ or remains constant with temperature. The neutrino--dark-matter interaction results in a neutrino--dark-matter fluid with pressure, and this pressure results in diffusion-damped oscillations in the matter power spectrum, analogous to the acoustic oscillations in the baryon-photon fluid. We discuss the bounds from the Sloa…
We compare the two-year COBE DMR sky maps with the predictions of cosmological-constant cold dark matter models. Using a Bayesian analysis, we find that the most likely value of the cosmological constant in such a model is Lambda = 0. The data set an upper limit on Lambda of 0.78 (0.85) at 90% confidence, and 0.86 (0.92) at 95% confidence with (without) the quadrupole anisotropy.
It is now believed that the universe is composed of a small amount of the normal luminous matter, a substantial amount of matter (Cold Dark Matter: CDM) which is non-luminous and a large amount of smooth energy (Dark Energy: DE). Both CDM and DE seem to require ideas beyond the standard model of particle interactions. In this work, we argue that CDM and DE can arise entirely from the standard principles of strong interaction physics out of the same mechanism.
In the standard model of cosmology, dark matter and dark energy are presently the two main contributors to the total energy in the Universe. However, these two dark components are still of unknown nature, and many alternative explanations are possible. We consider here the so-called unifying dark fluid models, which replace dark energy and dark matter by a unique dark fluid with specific properties. We will analyze in this context recent observational data from supernovae of type Ia, large scale structures and cosmic microwave background, as well as theoretical results of big-bang nucleosynthe…
We explore the properties of dark energy models for which the equation-of-state, w, defined as the ratio of pressure to energy density, crosses the cosmological-constant boundary w = -1. We adopt an empirical approach, treating the dark energy as an uncoupled fluid or a generalized scalar field. We describe the requirements for a viable model, in terms of the equation-of-state and sound speed. A generalized scalar field cannot safely traverse w = -1, although a pair of scalars with w > -1 and w < -1 will work. A fluid description with a well-defined sound speed can also cross the boundary. Con…
The possible role of supersymmetry in our understanding of big bang baryogenesis and cosmological dark matter is explored. The discussion will be limited to the out-of equilibrium decay scenario in SUSY GUTs, the decay of scalar condensates, and lepto-baryogenesis as a means for generating the observed baryon asymmetry. Attention will also be focused on neutralino dark matter.
It is generally assumed that the two dark components of the energy density of the universe, a smooth component called dark energy and a fluid of nonrelativistic weakly interacting particles called dark matter, are independent of each other and interact only through gravity. In this paper, we consider a class of models in which the dark matter and dark energy interact directly. The dark matter particle mass is proportional to the value of a scalar field, and the energy density of this scalar field comprises the dark energy. We study the phenomenology of these models and calculate the luminosity…
In this talk we present a model of the universe in which dark energy is modelled explicitely with both a dynamical quintessence field and a cosmological constant. Our results confirm the possibility of a collapsing universe (for a given region of the parameter space), which is advantageous for an adequate formulation of both perturbative quantum field and string theories. We have also reproduced the measurements of modulus distance from supernovae with good accuracy.
The first three years of observation of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) have provided the most precise data on the anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to date. We investigate the impact of these results and their combination with data from other astrophysical probes on cosmological models with a dynamical dark energy component. By considering a wide range of such models, we find that the constraints on dynamical dark energy are significantly improved compared to the first year data.
We compute the cosmological background radiation of gamma rays and neutrinos due to neutralino annihilation in evolving dark matter halos, assuming the observed dark matter is comprised of thermally excited neutralinos in the MSSM. The spectrum of this gamma-ray background radiation does not show strong annihilation line features, but could amount to a significant fraction of the extragalactic gamma ray continuum flux observed by EGRET above a few GeV. The corresponding cosmological neutrino background is weak compared to the atmospheric foreground. Assuming full mixing, however, the cosmologi…
We study some cosmological constraints on the two phenomenological models of oscillating dark energy. In these scenarios, the equation of state of dark energy varies periodically and may provide a way to unify the early acceleration (inflation) and the late time acceleration of the universe. These models give also an effective way to tackle the so-called cosmic coincidence problem. We examine observational constraints on this class of models from the latest observational data including the \emph{gold} sample of 182 type Ia supernovae, the CMB shift parameter $R$ and the BAO measurements from t…
Cosmology at present provides the nominally strongest constraint on the masses of standard model neutrinos. However, this constraint extremely dependent on the nature of the dark energy component of the Universe. When the dark energy equation of state parameter is taken as a free (but constant) parameter, the neutrino mass bound is sum m_nu < 1.48 eV (95% C.L.), compared with sum m_nu < 0.65 eV (95% C.L.) in the standard model where the dark energy is in the form of a cosmological constant. This has important consequences for future experiments aimed at the direct measurement of neutrino masse…
As experimentalists step up their pursuit of cold dark matter particles and neutrino masses, cosmological constraints are tightening. We compute the joint constraints on 11 cosmological parameters from cosmic microwave background and large scale structure data, and find that at 95% confidence, the total (cold+hot) dark matter density is h^2 Omega_dark = 0.20 +.12 -.10 with at most 38% of it being hot (due to neutrinos). A few assumptions, including negligible neutrinos, tighten this measurement to h^2 Omega_dark = 0.13 +0.04 -0.02, i.e, 2.4e-27 kg/m^3 give or take 20%.
Previous fits of sterile neutrino dark matter models to cosmological data assumed a peculiar production mechanism, which is not representative of the best-motivated particle physics models given current data on neutrino oscillations. These analyses ruled out sterile neutrino masses smaller than 8-10 keV. Here we focus on sterile neutrinos produced resonantly. We show that their cosmological signature can be approximated by that of mixed Cold plus Warm Dark Matter (CWDM). We use recent results on LambdaCWDM models to show that for each mass greater than or equal to 2 keV, there exists at least …
