The discovery ten years ago that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating put in place the last major building block of the present cosmological model, in which the Universe is composed of 4% baryons, 20% dark matter, and 76% dark energy. At the same time, it posed one of the most profound mysteries in all of science, with deep connections to both astrophysics and particle physics. Cosmic acceleration could arise from the repulsive gravity of dark energy -- for example, the quantum energy of the vacuum -- or it may signal that General Relativity breaks down on cosmological scales and must be replaced. We review the present observational evidence for cosmic acceleration and what it has revealed about dark energy, discuss the various theoretical ideas that have been proposed to explain acceleration, and describe the key observational probes that will shed light on this enigma in the coming years.
We propose an explanation for the present accelerated expansion of the universe that does not invoke dark energy or a modification of gravity and is firmly rooted in inflationary cosmology.
The problem of explaining the acceleration of the expansion of the universe and the observational and theoretical difficulties associated with dark matter and dark energy are discussed. The possibility that GR does not correctly describe the large-scale structure of the universe is considered and an alternative gravity theory is proposed as a possible resolution to the problems.
This is a pedagogical review of the recent observational data obtained from type Ia supernova surveys that support the accelerating expansion of the universe. The methods for the analysis of the data are reviewed and some of the theoretical implications obtained from their analysis are discussed.
The universe appears to be accelerating, but the reason why is a complete mystery. The simplest explanation, a small vacuum energy (cosmological constant), raises three difficult issues: why the vacuum energy is so small, why it is not quite zero, and why it is comparable to the matter density today. I discuss these mysteries, some of their possible resolutions, and some issues confronting future observations.
The self-accelerating universe realizes the accelerated expansion of the universe at late times by large-distance modification of general relativity without a cosmological constant. The Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) braneworld model provides an explicit example of the self-accelerating universe. Recently, the DGP model becomes very popular to study the observational consequences of the modified gravity models as an alternative to dark energy models in GR. However, it has been shown that the self-accelerating universe in the DGP model contains a ghost at the linearized level. The ghost carries …
It has been argued in the literature that if a universe is expanding with an accelerating rate indefinitely, it presents a challenge to string theories due to the existence of event horizons. We study the fate of a currently accelerating universe. We show that the universe will continue to accelerate indefinitely if the parameter $ω= p/ρ$ of the equation of state is a constant, no matter how many different types of energy (matter, radiation, quintessence, cosmological constant and etc) are contained in the universe. This type of universe will always exhibit an event horizon indicating that suc…
In the simplest Higgs phase of gravity called ghost condensation, an accelerating universe with a phantom era (w<-1) can be realized without ghost or any other instabilities. In this paper we show how to reconstruct the potential in the Higgs sector Lagrangian from a given cosmological history (H(t), ρ(t)). This in principle allows us to constrain the potential by geometrical information of the universe such as supernova distance-redshift relation. We also derive the evolution equation for cosmological perturbations in the Higgs phase of gravity by employing a systematic low energy expansion. …
A modification to the Friedmann Robertson Walker equation is proposed in which the universe is flat, matter dominated, and accelerating. An additional term, which contains only matter or radiation (no vacuum contribution), becomes the dominant driver of expansion at a late epoch of the universe. During the epoch when the new term dominates, the universe accelerates; we call this period of acceleration the Cardassian era. The universe can be flat and yet consist of only matter and radiation, and still be compatible with observations. The energy density required to close the universe is much sma…
An accelerating Universe can be accommodated naturally within non-critical string theory, in which scattering is described by a superscattering matrix \$ that does not factorize as a product of $S$- and $S^\dagger$-matrix elements and time evolution is described by a modified Liouville equation characteristic of open quantum-mechanical systems. We describe briefly alternative representations in terms of the stochastic Ito and Fokker-Planck equations. The link between the vacuum energy and the departure from criticality is stressed. We give an explicit example in which non-marginal \$tring coup…
Increasing astronomical evidence indicates that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. By simply solving Einstein equations we show in this letter that a wide class of generic quintessence models leading to eternal acceleration is associated with spacetime static metrics which do not exhibit future event horizons, and therefore do not pose the same problems for string theory as asymptotic de Sitter space.
We show that short-range interactions between the fundamental particles in the universe can drive a period of accelerated expansion. This description fits the early universe. In the present day universe, if one postulates short-range interactions or a sort of "shielded gravity", the picture may repeat.
In recent work, it was shown that velocity-dependent forces between parallel fundamental strings moving apart in a D-dimensional spacetime implied an expanding universe in D-1-dimensional spacetime. Here we expand on this work to obtain exact solutions for various string/brane cosmological toy models.
The standard Friedmann universe embedded in a five dimensional and constant curvature bulk is examined without any a priori junction condition between the brane and the bulk. A geometrical explanation for the accelerated expansion of the universe is derived by using a minimum set of assumptions consistent with the brane-world program. It is shown that the extrinsic curvature of the brane can be associated to the dark energy which presumably drives the universe expansion.
We study a 5-dimensional $f({\cal R})$ brane gravity within the framework of scalar-tensor type theories. We show that such a model predicts, for a certain choice of $f({\cal R})$ and a spatially flat universe, an exponential potential, leading to an accelerated expanding universe driven solely by the curvature of the bulk space. This result is consistent with the observational data in the cosmological scale.
The Lorentzian spacetime metric is replaced by an area metric which naturally emerges as a generalized geometry in quantum string and gauge theory. Employing the area metric curvature scalar, the gravitational Einstein-Hilbert action is re-interpreted as dynamics for an area metric. Without the need for dark energy or fine-tuning, area metric cosmology explains the observed small acceleration of the late Universe.
Recently it was observed that the hyperbolic compactification of M/string theory related to S-branes may lead to a transient period of acceleration of the universe. We study time evolution of the corresponding effective 4d cosmological model supplemented by cold dark matter and show that it is marginally possible to describe observational data for the late-time cosmic acceleration in this model. However, investigation of the compactification 11d -> 4d suggests that the Compton wavelengths of the KK modes in this model are of the same order as the size of the observable part of the universe. As…
Modern data is showing increasing evidence that the Universe is accelerating. So far, all attempts to account for the acceleration have required some fundamental dimensionless quantities to be extremely small. We show how a class of scalar field models (which may emerge naturally from superstring theory) can account for acceleration which starts in the present epoch with all the potential parameters O(1) in Planck units.
We suggest to generalize the dark energy equation of state (EoS) by introduction the relaxation equation for pressure which is equivalent to consideration of the inhomogeneous EoS cosmic fluid which often appears as the effective model from strings/brane-worlds. As another, more wide generalization we discuss the inhomogeneous EoS which contains derivatives of pressure. For several explicit examples motivated by the analogy with classical mechanics the accelerating FRW cosmology is constructed. It turns out to be the asymptotically de Sitter or oscillating universe with possible transition fro…
The ultimate fate of life in a universe with accelerated expansion is considered. Previous work showed that life cannot go on indefinitely in a universe dominated by a cosmological constant. In this paper we consider instead other models of acceleration (including quintessence and Cardassian expansion). We find that it is possible in these cosmologies for life to persist indefinitely. As an example we study potentials of the form $V \propto ϕ^n$ and find the requirement $n < -2$.
We find a cosmological solution corresponding to compactification of 10d supergravity on a warped conifold that easily circumvents `no-go' theorem given for a warped/flux compactification, providing new perspectives for the study of supergravity or superstring theory in cosmological backgrounds. With fixed volume moduli of the internal space, the model can explain a physical universe undergoing an accelerated expansion in the 4d Einstein frame, for a sufficiently long time. The solution found in the limit that the warp factor dependent on the radial coordinate $y$ is extremized (giving a const…
The current observations are usually explained by an accelerating expansion of the present universe. However, with the present quality of the supernovae Ia data, the allowed parameter space is wide enough to accommodate the decelerating models as well. This is shown by considering a particular example of the dark energy equation-of-state $w_ϕ\equiv p_ϕ/ρ_ϕ=-1/3$, which is equivalent to modifying the \emph{geometrical curvature} index $k$ of the standard cosmology by shifting it to $(k-α)$ where $α$ is a constant. The resulting decelerating model is consistent with the recent CMB observations m…
The presently accelerating universe may keep accelerating forever, eventually run into the event horizon problem, and thus be in conflict with the superstring idea. In the other way around, the current accelerating phase as well as the fate of the universe may be swayed by a negative cosmological constant, which dictates a big crunch. Based on the current observational data, in this paper we investigate how large the magnitude of a negative cosmological constant is allowed to be. In addition, for distinguishing the sign of the cosmological constant via observations, we point out that a measure…
In this paper we propose that the accelerating expansion of the present matter-dominated universe, as suggested by the recent distance measurements of type Ia supernovae, is generated along with the evolution of space in extra dimensions. The Einstein equations are first analyzed qualitatively and then solved numerically, so as to exhibit explicitly these patterns of the accelerating expansion in this scenario. A fine-tuning problem associated with such a scenario is also described and discussed.
Recent observations of Type Ia supernovae provide evidence for the acceleration of our universe, which leads to the possibility that the universe is entering an inflationary epoch. We simulate it under a ``big bounce'' model, which contains a time variable cosmological ``constant'' that is derived from a higher dimension and manifests itself in 4D spacetime as dark energy. By properly choosing the two arbitrary functions contained in the model, we obtain a simple exact solution in which the evolution of the universe is divided into several stages. Before the big bounce, the universe contracts …
We present a model of an inhomogeneous universe that leads to accelerated expansion after taking spatial averaging. The model universe is the Tolman-Bondi solution of the Einstein equation and contains both a region with positive spatial curvature and a region with negative spatial curvature. We find that after the region with positive spatial curvature begins to re-collapse, the deceleration parameter of the spatially averaged universe becomes negative and the averaged universe starts accelerated expansion. We also discuss the generality of the condition for accelerated expansion of the spati…
I describe a new class of quintessence+CDM models in which late time scalar field oscillations can give rise to both quintessence and cold dark matter. Additionally, a versatile ansatz for the luminosity distance is used to reconstruct the quintessence equation of state in a model independent manner from observations of high redshift supernovae.
Brane-world models offer the possibility of explaining the late acceleration of the universe via infra-red modifications to General Relativity, rather than a dark energy field. However, one also expects ultra-violet modifications to General Relativity, when high-energy stringy effects in the early universe begin to grow. We generalize the DGP brane-world model via an ultra-violet modification, in the form of a Gauss-Bonnet term in the bulk action. The combination of infra-red and ultra-violet modifications produces an intriguing cosmology. The DGP feature of late-time acceleration without dark…
The acceleration of the expansion of the universe has been argued for by several research groups. If the universe is accelerating and if the universe or some part of the universe has a charge, then there may be electromagnetic radiation produced from the acceleration of the universe since accelerating charges produce electromagnetic radiation. This letter does a thought experiment to ask about the possible characteristics of the radiation from an accelerating universe. A value for the power, or rate of energy flow, of the universe's acceleration is calculated in this letter. A value of the pow…
Observations seem to indicate that our universe is presently accelerating due to the presence of dark energy. Quintessence represents a possible way to model the dark energy. In these proceedings, we briefly review its main properties.
Theoretical cosmologists were quick to be convinced by the evidence presented in 1998 for the accelerating Universe. I explain how this remarkable discovery was the missing piece in the grand cosmological puzzle. When found, it fit perfectly. For cosmologists, this added extra weight to the strong evidence of the SN Ia measurements themselves, making the result all the more believable.
The Friedman equation is solved for a universe contains hotdark matter and cold dark matter. In this scenario, hot-dark matter drives an accelerating universe no cold dark matter.
Recent experimental results find strong indications that the universe is flat, while other experimental results from supernovae Ia observations have been interpreted to show that, not only that there is an accelerating expansion of the universe, but also that the universe is strongly curved. By means of a recently proposed metric, I am able to show that the experimental results which had previously been analyzed to give a strong curvature are quite consistent with a flat universe, thus resolving the apparent mismatch. The conclusion of these latter authors which indicated an accelerating expan…
It has been shown that in the context of General Relativity (GR) enriched with a new set of discrete symmetry reversal conjugate metrics, negative energy states can be rehabilitated while avoiding the well-known instability issues. We review here some cosmological implications of the model and confront them with the supernovae and CMB data. The predicted flat universe constantly accelerated expansion phase is found to be in rather good agreement with the most recent cosmological data.
It is generally argued that the present cosmological observations support the accelerating models of the universe, as driven by the cosmological constant or `dark energy'. We argue here that an alternative model of the universe is possible which explains the current observations of the universe. We demonstrate this with a reinterpretation of the magnitude-redshift relation for Type Ia supernovae, since this was the test that gave a spurt to the current trend in favour of the cosmological constant.
It is shown that an accelerating expansion of the present-day Universe extracted from observed luminosity of the type Ia supernovae can be explained by quantum theory which takes into account feedback coupling between geometry and matter (like in Mach's principle). At the same time an accelerating expansion of the Universe is explained by the influence of small negative cosmological constant. A comparison with the model with positive cosmological constant (dark energy) which also has obtained its theoretical grounds in a structure of the developed formalism is made. Parameters of the Universe …
An attempt is made for a new type of analysis of the time-variability of the fine-structure constant trying to fit the most recent result from the laboratory measurements, the Oklo constraint and the data from the QSO absorption lines all in consistency with the accelerating universe.
We develop here a mechanism that, without making use of a cosmological constant, reproduces an accelerating universe. This is done by taking into account Casimir vacuum energy density, assuming that the underlying theory allows a maximum momentum, that turns out to be the leading contribution term to Einstein equations in a large expanding FRW universe. As stated in numerous quantum gravity studies, we postulate that maximum momentum is related to the existence of the Planck length as a fundamental length. This insight, together with the assumption of a Planck scale correction to the energy/mo…
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.
It has been argued that the spacetime of our universe can be accurately described by a perturbed conformal Newtonian metric, and hence even large density inhomogeneities in a dust universe can not change the observables predicted by the homogeneous dust model. In this paper we study a spherically symmetric dust model and illustrate conditions under which large spatial variations in the expansion rate can invalidate the argument.
Keeping in mind the current picture of an accelerating and flat Universe, some specific dynamical models of the cosmological term $Λ$ have been selected for investigating the nature of dark energy. Connecting the free parameters of the models with the cosmic matter and vacuum energy density parameters, it is shown that the models are equivalent. Using the selected models, the present values of some of the physical parameters have been estimated, and a glimpse at the past decelerating universe has also been presented. It is observed that most of these cosmological parameters nicely agree with t…
General expressions are given for the generation of Primordial Black Holes (PBH) in a universe with a presently accelerated expansion due to a(n effective) cosmological constant. We give expressions both for a powerlaw scalefree primordial spectrum and for spectra which are not of that type. Specializing to the case of a pure cosmological constant $Λ$ and assuming flatness, we show that a comological constant with $Ω_{Λ,0}=0.7$ will decrease the mass variance at the PBH formation time by about 15% compared with a critical density universe.
Recent observations of distant supernovae imply, in defiance of expectations, that the universe growth is accelerating, contrary to what has always been assumed that the expansion is slowing down due to gravity. In this paper a general-relativistic cosmological theory that gives a direct relationship between distances and redshifts in an expanding universe is presented. The theory is actually a generalization of Hubble's law taking gravity into account by means of Einstein's theory of general relativity. The theory predicts that the universe can have three phases of expansion, decelerating, co…
An exact inhomogeneous solution of Einstein's field equations is shown to be able to inflate in a non-uniform way in the early universe and explain anomalies in the WMAP power spectrum data. It is also possible for the model to explain the accelerated expansion of the universe by late-time inhomogeneous structure.
If all three neutrino oscillation data were to be confirmed in the near future, it is probable that one might need a sterile neutrino, in addition to the three active ones. This sterile neutrino, nu_S, would be very light with mass m_{nu_S} less than or equal to 1 eV or even with m_{ν_S} approximately 10^{-3} eV according to some scenarios. Why would it be so light? On another front, recent cosmological observations and analyses appear to indicate that the present universe is flat and accelerating, and that the present energy density is dominated by a ``dark variety'', with rho_V approximately…
An accelerating flat universe with a variable cosmological term is obtained in the Robertson-Walker metric. The variable cosmological term is defined by the correction terms of the metric tensor field. Simple solutions of the scale factor and the cosmological term are shown. In this model of the universe, the magnitude-redshift relation is analytically studied to see if the model reproduces the tendency of the present observational data. The equation of state parameter $γ$ is touched.
It is shown that if a small negative cosmological constant is added to quintessence models with equation of state $p=ωρ$ on the range $-1 <ω< -1/3$, the resulting scenarios could not contain any future event horizons. Therefore, such cosmological accelerating scenarios could not present the kind of obstacles recently pointed out to define a set of observable quantities analogous to an S-matrix needed by predictive M and string theories in an accelerating universe driven by dark energy. These scenarios become accelerating only at early times after coincidence time, and lead finally to re-collap…
The unexpected faintness of high-redshift Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), as measured by two teams, has been interpreted as evidence that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. We review the current challenges to this interpretation and seek to answer whether the cosmological implications are compelling. We discuss future observations of SNe Ia which could offer extraordinary evidence to test acceleration.
This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on dark energy and the accelerating universe. It is intended to be of use to researchers, teachers, and students at several levels. Journal articles, books, and websites are cited for the following topics: Einstein's cosmological constant, quintessence or dynamical scalar fields, modified cosmic gravity, relations to high energy physics, cosmological probes and observations, terrestrial probes, calculational tools and parameter estimation, teaching strategies and educational resources, and the fate of the universe.
The origin of negative pressure fluid (the dark energy) is investigated in the quantum model of the homogeneous, isotropic and closed universe filled with a uniform scalar field and a perfect fluid which defines a reference frame. The equations of the model are reduced to the form which allows a direct comparison between them and the equations of the Einsteinian classical theory of gravity. It is shown that quantized scalar field has a form of a condensate which behaves as an antigravitating medium. The theory predicts an accelerating expansion of the universe even if the vacuum energy density…
Dark matter, the major component of the matter content of the Universe, played a significant role at early stages during structure formation. But at present the Universe is dark energy dominated as well as accelerating. Here, the presence of dark energy has been established by including a time-dependent $Λ$ term in the Einstein's field equations. This model is compatible with the idea of an accelerating Universe so far as the value of the deceleration parameter is concerned. Possibility of a change in sign of the deceleration parameter is also discussed. The impact of considering the speed of …
Investigations of the dynamic modes of the Poincare gauge theory of gravity found only two good propagating torsion modes; they are effectively a scalar and a pseudoscalar. Cosmology affords a natural situation where one might see observational effects of these modes. Here we consider only the ``scalar torsion'' mode. This mode has certain distinctive and interesting qualities. In particular this type of torsion does not interact directly with any known matter and it allows a critical non-zero value for the affine scalar curvature. Via numerical evolution of the coupled nonlinear equations we …
We present a theoretical calculation on the time-variability of the fine-structure constant to fit the result of the recent precise analysis of the measurement of the QSO absorption lines. We find the parameters and initial values of the scalar-tensor theory to be determined much more accurately than fitting the accelerating universe itself, but leading not to easy detections of the effect on the equation of state of the dark energy in the earlier epochs.
The accelerating expansion of the universe presents an exciting, fundamental challenge to the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. I highlight some of the outstanding challenges in both developing theoretical models and interpreting without bias the observational results from precision cosmology experiments in the next decade that will return data to help reveal the nature of the new physics. Examples given focus on distinguishing a new component of energy from a new law of gravity, and the effect of early dark energy on baryon acoustic oscillations.
We consider scalar-tensor theories of gravity in an accelerating universe. The equations for the background evolution and the perturbations are given in full generality for any parametrization of the Lagrangian, and we stress that apparent singularities are sometimes artifacts of a pathological choice of variables. Adopting a phenomenological viewpoint, i.e., from the observations back to the theory, we show that the knowledge of the luminosity distance as a function of redshift up to z ~ (1-2), which is expected in the near future, severely constrains the viable subclasses of scalar-tensor th…
Nearly 4 years ago, two teams of observational astronomers reported that high-redshift Type Ia supernovae are fainter than expected in a decelerating or freely coasting universe. The radical conclusion that the universe has been accelerating in the past few billion years, possibly because of a nonzero value for Einstein's cosmological constant, has gripped the worlds of astronomy and physics, causing a flurry of new research. Having participated on both teams (but much more closely with one than the other), here I provide a personal, historical account of the story.
We present gravitation as a theory in which the coordinates are distances and velocities between galaxies. We show that there are three possibilities for the Universe to expand: decelerating, constant and accelerating, and it is shown that the Universe is now in the latter phase. Assuming "Omega"_m=0.245, the time at which the Universe goes over from a decelerating to an accelerating expansion, occurs at 8.5 Gyr ago, at which time the cosmic radiation temperature was 146K. The theory predicts also that now there is a positive pressure, p=0.034g/cm^2, in the Universe. Although the theory has no…
The present acceleration of the Universe strongly indicated by recent observational data can be modeled in the scope of a scalar-tensor theory of gravity. We show that it is possible to determine the structure of this theory (the scalar field potential and the functional form of the scalar-gravity coupling) along with the present density of dustlike matter from the following two observable cosmological functions: the luminosity distance and the linear density perturbation in the dustlike matter component as functions of redshift. Explicit results are presented in the first order in the small i…
The accelerating expansion of the Universe at the present stage is a process that will change the spectrum of relic gravitational waves. Here we present a numerical calculation for the power spectrum of relic gravitational waves in the accelerating Universe. The results show that although the overall features of the power spectrum is similar to that in the non-accelerating models, the amplitude is smaller by an order of $10^{-1}$. We also find that the spectrum is very sensitive to the index $β$ of the inflationary expansion with the scale factor $a(τ) \propto |τ|^{1+β}$. With increase of $β$,…
The velocity of the Hubble expansion has been added to General Relativity by Moshe Carmeli and this resulted in new equations of motion for the expanding universe. For the first time the observational magnitude-redshift data derived from the high-$z$ supernova teams has been analysed in the framework of the Carmeli theory and the fit to that theory is achieved without the inclusion of any dark matter. Best fits to the data yield an averaged matter density for the universe at the present epoch $Ω_{m} \approx 0.021$, which falls well within the measured values of the baryonic matter density. And…
