In this note, we consider the observational constraints on some cosmological models by using the 307 Union type Ia supernovae (SNIa), the 32 calibrated Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) at $z>1.4$, the updated shift parameter $R$ from WMAP 5-year data (WMAP5), and the distance parameter $A$ of the measurement of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) peak in the distribution of SDSS luminous red galaxies with the updated scalar spectral index $n_s$ from WMAP5. The tighter constraints obtained here update the ones obtained previously in the literature.
The generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG), is studied in this paper by using the latest observational data including 182 gold sample type Ia supernovae (Sne Ia) data, the ESSENCE Sne Ia data, the distance ratio from $z=0.35$ to $z=1089$ (the redshift of decoupling), the CMB shift parameter and the Hubble parameter data. Our results rule out the standard Chaplygin gas model ($α=1$) at the 99.7% confidence level, but allow for the $λCDM$ model ($α=0$) at the 68.3% confidence level. At a 95.4% confidence level, we obtain $w=-0.74_{-0.09}^{+0.10}$ and $α=-0.14_{-0.19}^{+0.30}$. In addition, we find that…
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%.
A simple model is introduced in which the cosmological constant is interpreted as a true Casimir effect on a scalar field filling the universe (e.g. $\mathbf{R} \times \mathbf{T}^p\times \mathbf{T}^q$, $\mathbf{R} \times \mathbf{T}^p\times \mathbf{S}^q, ...$). The effect is driven by compactifying boundary conditions imposed on some of the coordinates, associated both with large and small scales. The very small -but non zero- value of the cosmological constant obtained from recent astrophysical observations can be perfectly matched with the results coming from the model, by playing just with t…
In this work, we confront ten cosmological models with observational $H(z)$ data. The possible interaction between dark energy and dust matter is allowed in some of these models. Also, we consider the possibility of (effective) equation-of-state parameter (EoS) crossing -1. We find that the best models have an oscillating feature for both $H(z)$ and EoS, with the EoS crossing -1 around redshift $z\sim 1.5$.
We consider constraints on generalized tachyon field (GTF) models from latest observational data (including 182 gold SNIa data, the shift parameter, and the acoustic scale). We obtain at 68.3% confidence level $Ω_{\rm m}=0.37\pm0.01$, $k_0=0.09^{+0.04}_{-0.03}$, $α=1.8^{+7.4}_{-0.7}$ (the best-fit values of the parameters) and $z_{q=0}\sim 0.47-0.51$ (the transitional redshift) for GTF as dark energy component only; $k_0=0.21^{+0.20}_{-0.18}$, $α=0.57\pm0.01$ and $z_{q=0}\sim 0.49-0.68$ for GTF as unification of dark energy and dark matter. In both cases, GTF evolves like dark matter in the ea…
We discuss observational consequences of f(R) dark energy scenarios that satisfy local gravity constraints (LGC) as well as conditions of the cosmological viability. The model we study is given by m(r)=C(-r-1)^p (C>0, p>1) with m=Rf_{,RR}/f_{,R} and r=-Rf_{,R}/f, which cover viable f(R) models proposed so far in a high-curvature region designed to be compatible with LGC. The equation of state of dark energy exhibits a divergence at a redshift z_c that can be as close as a few while satisfying sound horizon constraints of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We study the evolution of matter densi…
We study the $f(R)$ theory of gravity using metric approach. In particular we investigate the recently proposed model by Hu-Sawicki, Appleby $-$ Battye and Starobinsky. In this model, the cosmological constant is zero in flat space time. The model passes both the Solar system and the laboratory tests. But the model parameters need to be fine tuned to avoid the finite time singularity recently pointed in the literature. We check the concordance of this model with the $H(z)$ and baryon acoustic oscillation data. We find that the model resembles the $Λ$CDM at high redshift. However, for some para…
The holographic dark energy model is proposed by Li as an attempt for probing the nature of dark energy within the framework of quantum gravity. The main characteristic of holographic dark energy is governed by a numerical parameter $c$ in the model. The parameter $c$ can only be determined by observations. Thus, in order to characterize the evolving feature of dark energy and to predict the fate of the universe, it is of extraordinary importance to constrain the parameter $c$ by using the currently available observational data. In this paper, we derive constraints on the holographic dark ener…
In a universe dominated by a small cosmological constant or by eternal dark energy with equation of state w < -1/3, observers are surrounded by event horizons. The horizons limit how much of the universe the observers can ever access. We argue that this implies a bound N~60 on the number of e-folds of inflation that will ever be observable in our universe if the scale of the dark energy today is ~(10^{-3} eV)^4. This bound is independent of how long inflation lasted, or for how long we continue to observe the sky. The bound arises because the imprints of the inflationary perturbations thermali…
Using some supernovae and CMB data, we constrain the Cardassian, Randall-Sundrum, and Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati brane-inspired cosmological models. We show that a transient acceleration and an early loitering period are usually excluded by the data. Moreover, the three models are equivalent to some usual quintessence/ghost dark energy models defined by a barotropic index $γ_ϕ$ depending on the redshift. We calculate this index for each model and show that they mimic a universe close to a $ΛCDM$ model today.
Cosmological Voids are among the largest structures known in the universe with diameters ranging from 20 Mpc to 80 Mpc. In this paper I present a short review of the observational evidence and models so far proposed and a brief discussion of possible observational tests for these models
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 …
The cosmological constant, i.e., the energy density stored in the true vacuum state of all existing fields in the Universe, is the simplest and the most natural possibility to describe the current cosmic acceleration. However, despite its observational successes, such a possibility exacerbates the well known cosmological constant problem, requiring a natural explanation for its small, but nonzero, value. In this paper we study cosmological consequences of a scenario driven by a varying cosmological term, in which the vacuum energy density decays linearly with the Hubble parameter. We test the …
We discuss the influence of the cosmological constant on the gravitational equations of motion of bodies with arbitrary masses and eventually solve the two-body problem. Observational constraints are derived from measurements of the periastron advance in stellar systems, in particular binary pulsars and the solar system. Up to now, Earth and Mars data give the best constraint, Lambda < 10^{-36} km^{-2}; bounds from binary pulsars are potentially competitive with limits from interplanetary measurements. If properly accounting for the gravito-magnetic effect, this upper limit on $Λ$ could greatl…
Analyses of various cosmological probes, including the latest Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies, the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and Cepheid-calibrated distance indicators suggest that the age of expansion is $13 \pm 3$ Gyr. We discuss some statistical aspects of this estimation, and we also present results for joint analysis of the latest CMB and Cepheid data by utilizing `Hyper-Parameters'. The deduced age of expansion might be uncomfortably close to the age of the oldest Globular Clusters, in particular if they formed relatively recently.
In this paper, we combine the latest observational data, including the WMAP five-year data (WMAP5), BOOMERanG, CBI, VSA, ACBAR, as well as the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) and Type Ia Supernoave (SN) "Union" compilation (307 sample) to determine the cosmological parameters. Our results show that the $Λ$CDM model remains a good fit to the current data. In a flat universe, we obtain the tight limit on the constant EoS of dark energy as, $w=-0.977\pm0.056$ ($1 σ$). For the dynamical dark energy models with time evolving EoS, we find that the best-fit values are $w_0=-1.08$ and $w_1=0.368$, …
The gravitational field equations on cosmological scales are obtained by averaging the Einstein field equations of general relativity. By assuming spatial homogeneity and isotropy on the largest scales, the local inhomogeneities affect the dynamics though correction (backreaction) terms, which can lead to behaviour qualitatively and quantitatively different from the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker models. The effects of averaging on cosmological observations are discussed. It is argued that, based on estimates from observational data, the backreaction (and, in particular, the averaged spat…
We make a systematic study of the cosmological dynamics for a number of f(R) gravity theories in Palatini formalism. We find a number of interesting results: (i) models based on theories of the type (a) f(R)=R-beta R^n and (b) f(R)=R+alpha ln R -beta, unlike the metric formalism, are capable of producing the sequence of radiation-dominated, matter-dominated and de-Sitter periods, and (ii) models based on theories of the type (c) f(R)=R+alpha R^m -beta R^n can produce early as well as late accelerating phases. However for the classes of models considered here, we have been unable to find the se…
A new cosmological model leads to testable predictions that are different from those of both standard cosmology and models with a cosmological constant. The prediction that q_0=0 is the same as in other ``coasting universe'' models, but arises without the need for any exotic form of matter or other ad hoc assumptions.
A decade ago bit-string physics predicted that the baryon/photon ratio at the time of nucleogenesis $η= 1/256^4$ and that the dark matter/baryonic matter ratio $Ω_{DM}/Ω_B= 12.7$. Accepting that the normalized Hubble constant is constrained observationally to lie in the range $0.6 < h_0 < 0.8$, this translates into a prediction that $0.325 > Ω_M > 0.183 $. This and a prediction by E.D.Jones, using a model-independent argument and ideas with which bit-string physics is not inconsistent, that the cosmological constant $Ω_Λ=0.6\pm 0.1$ are in reasonable agreement with recent cosmological observat…
We evaluate the observational constraints on the spectral index $n$, in the context of the $Λ$CDM hypothesis which represents the simplest viable cosmology. We first take $n$ to be practically scale-independent. Ignoring reionization, we find at a nominal 2-$σ$ level $n\simeq 1.0 \pm 0.1$. If we make the more realisitic assumption that reionization occurs when a fraction $f\sim 10^{-5}$ to 1 of the matter has collapsed, the 2-$σ$ lower bound is unchanged while the 1-$σ$ bound rises slightly. These constraints are compared with the prediction of various inflation models. Then we investigate the…
We investigate the equation of state w(z) in a non-parametric form using the latest compilations of distance luminosity from SNe Ia at high z. We combine the inverse problem approach with a Monte Carlo to scan the space of priors. On the light of these high redshift supernova data sets, we reconstruct w(z). A comparison between a sample including the latest results at z>1 and a sample without those results show the improvement achieved by observations of very high z supernovae. We present the prospects to measure the variation of dark energy density along z by this method.
We use the newly released 182 Type Ia supernova data combined with the third-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropic Probe data (WMAP3) and large scale structure (LSS) information including SDSS and 2dFGRS to constrain the dark energy equation of state (EoS) as well as the curvature of universe $Ω_K$. Using the full dataset of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and LSS rather than the shift parameter and linear growth factor, we make a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) global fit, while paying particular attention to the dark energy perturbation. Parameterizing the EoS as $w_{DE}(a) = w_{0} + w_{1}(…
In this work a satisfactory, simple theoretical prediction of the data corresponding to observationally (by fine tuning condition) estimated value of the cosmological constant is given. It is supposed (in conceptually analogy with holographic principle) that cosmological constant, like classical surface tension coefficient by a liquid drop, does not correspond to a volume (bulk) vacuum mass (energy) density distribution but that it corresponds to a surface vacuum mass (energy) density distribution. Then form of given surface mass distribution and fine tuning condition imply observed growing (f…
New systematic classification of cosmological models of the present Universe is introduced. After making the comparison of these models with all existing observational data three viable models remain: the cold dark matter model with the cosmological constant (which becomes the most reasonable one if the Hubble constant $H_0>60$ km/s/Mpc); the mixed cold-hot dark matter model (models with two and especially three types of neutrinos with equal masses are in a slightly better agreement with observational data than the model with one massive neutrino); the pure cold dark matter model with a step-l…
We review observational tests for the homogeneity of the Universe on large scales. Redshift and peculiar velocity surveys, radio sources, the X-Ray Background, the Lyman-$α$ forest and the Cosmic Microwave Background are used to set constraints on inhomogeneous models and in particular on fractal-like models. Assuming the Cosmological Principle and the FRW metric, we estimate cosmological parameters by joint analysis of peculiar velocities, the CMB, cluster abundance, IRAS and Supernovae. Under certain assumptions the best fit density parameter is Omega_m = 1 - lambda \approx 0.4 . We present …
We show that recent radio and optical observations of polarized radiation from well-resolved high redshift quasars and radio galaxies rule out the cosmological rotation of the plane of polarization claimed recently by Nodland and Ralston. A least squares fit to the radio data has a slope only 2% of their claimed effect.
We investigate the evolution of a universe with a decaying cosmological term (vacuum energy) that is assumed to be a function of the scale factor. In this model, while the cosmological term increases to the early universe, the radiation energy density is lower than the model with the cosmological "constant". We find that the effects of the decaying cosmological term on the expansion rate at the redshift z<2 is negligible. However, the decrease in the radiation density affects on the thermal history of the universe; e.g. the photon decoupling occurs at higher $z$ compared to the case of the sta…
Extending the approach developed by Araújo and Stoeger [1] and improved in Araújo {\it et al} [2], we have shown how to construct dust-filled $Λ\neq 0$ Friedmann-Lema\^ıtre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological models from FLRW cosmological data on our past light cone. Apart from being of interest in its own right -- demonstrating how such data fully determines the models -- it is also illustrated in the flat case how the more general spherically symmetric (SS) Einstein field equations can be integrated in observational coordinates with data fit to FLRW forms arrayed on our past light cone, thu…
In this paper we show normalized differential source counts n(S) at 408 MHz and 1.4 GHz of radio sources separately for FRI and FRII classes with extended and compact morphologies. The maps from the FIRST, NVSS, and WENSS surveys are used to define the source morphology and flux density. The counts provide a basis for a direct test as well as constraining the cosmological evolution of powerful extragalactic radio sources in terms of the dual-population model (Jackson & Wall 1999), where radio sources of Fanaroff-Riley (1974) types I and II are regarded as two physically separate types of activ…
Recently H(z) data obtained from differential ages of galaxies have been proposed as a new geometrical probe of dark energy. In this paper we use those data, combined with other background tests (CMB shift and SNIa data), to constrain a set of general relativistic dark energy models together with some other models motivated by extra dimensions. Our analysis rests mostly on Bayesian statistics, and we conclude that LCDM is at least substantially favoured, and that braneworld models are less favoured than general relativistic ones.
A review of the principles of observational testing of cosmological theories is given with a special emphasis on the distinction between observational facts and theoretical hypotheses. A classification of modern cosmological theories and possible observational tests for these theories is presented. The main rival cosmological models are analyzed from the point of view of observational testing of their initial hypothesis. A comparison of modern observational data with theoretical predictions is presented. In particular we discuss in detail the validity of the two basic assumptions of modern cos…
This thesis concerns the compatibility of inhomogeneous cosmologies with our present understanding of the universe. It is a problem of some interest to find the class of all relativistic cosmological models which are capable of providing a reasonable `fit' to the universe. This thesis, in some respects, is part of this process. We consider Stephani models, which are a generalisation of the standard Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) models, which can be thought of as FLRW models with acceleration and pressure gradients. Thus these models generalise the `dust' assumption of standard cos…
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…
Endeavours of the unification of the four fundamental interactions have resulted in a development of theories having cosmological solutions in which low-energy limits of fundamental physical constants vary with time. The validity of such theoretical models should be checked by comparison of the theoretical predictions with observational and experimental bounds on possible time-dependences of the fundamental constants. Based on high-resolution measurements of quasar spectra, we obtain the following direct limits on the average rate of the cosmological time variation of the fine-structure consta…
Linearly coasting cosmology is comfortably concordant with a host of cosmological observations. It is surprisingly an excellent fit to SNe Ia observations and constraints arising from age of old quasars. In this article we highlight the overall viability of an open linear coasting cosmological model.The model is consistent with the latest SNe Ia ``gold'' sample and accommodates a very old high-redshift quasar, which the standard cold-dark model fails to do.
Motivated by recent studies of the one-bubble inflationary scenario, simple open cold dark matter models are tested for consistency with cosmological observations. The initial perturbation spectrum is derived by solving for the evolution of fluctuations in an open inflationary stage. A likelihood analysis is performed for the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies using the two-year COBE DMR data and considering models based on both the Bunch-Davies and conformal vacua. Having normalized the perturbation spectrum to fit the COBE data, we reconsider the validity of the open model from the vie…
"Power Law Cosmologies" are defined by their growth of the cosmological scale factor as $ t^α$ regardless of the matter content or cosmological epoch. Constraints from the current age of the Universe and from the high redshift supernovae data require ``large'' $α$ ($\approx 1$). We reinforce this by latest available observations. Such a large $α$ is also consistent with the right amount of helium and the lowest observed metallicity in the universe for a model with the baryon entropy ratio $\approx 8.1\times 10^{-9}$.
The observational data on the large scale structure (LSS) of the Universe are used to determine cosmological parameters within the class of adiabatic inflationary models. We show that a mixed dark matter model with cosmological constant ($Λ$MDM model) and parameters $Ω_m=0.37^{+0.25}_{-0.15}$, $Ω_Λ=0.69^{+0.15}_{-0.20}$, $Ω_ν=0.03^{+0.07}_{-0.03}$, $N_ν=1$, $Ω_b=0.037^{+0.033}_{-0.018}$, $n_s=1.02^{+0.09}_{-0.10}$, $h=0.71^{+0.22}_{-0.19}$, $b_{cl}=2.4^{+0.7}_{-0.7}$ (1$σ$ confidence limits) matches observational data on LSS, the nucleosynthesis constraint, direct measurements of the Hubble co…
We present exact analytical solutions to the Conformal Weyl Gravity cosmological equations that are valid for both the matter and radiation dominated eras. The Primordial Nucleosynthesis process is also exhaustively studied. The main conclusion of our work is that cosmological models derived from this theory are not likely to reproduce the observational properties of our Universe. They fail to fulfill simultaneously the observational constraints on present cosmological parameters and on primordial light element abundances.
Quintessence issues can be achieved by taking into account higher order curvature invariants into the effective action of gravitational field. Such an approach is naturally related to fundamental theories of quantum gravity which predict higher order terms in loop expansion of quantum fields in curved space-times. In this framework, we obtain a class of cosmological solutions which are fitted against cosmological data. We reproduce encouraging results able to fit high redshift supernovae and WMAP observations. The age of the universe and other cosmological parameters are discussed in this cont…
We discuss the classical cosmological tests for a large class of FRW type models driven by a decaying vacuum energy density. Analytic expressions for the lookback time, age of the universe, luminosity distance, angular diameter, and galaxy number counts versus redshift are derived and their meaning discussed in detail. It is found that the standard FRW results are significantly altered, showing that such tests may constrain the physical parameters of these models which are also in agreement to the accelerated expansion suggested by the latest SNe type Ia observations.
In this paper we first give a brief review of the variable cosmological constant model and its scalar field description. We mainly discuss two types of variable cosmological constant models: $a$ power law and $H$ power law models. A method to obtain all of the equivalent scalar field potentials and the effective equation of state of the two models is presented. In addition, the dynamics of such scalar field potentials and effective equation of state are discussed in detail. The parameters of the two models are constrained by current 307 high-quality "Union" SN Ia data set, baryon acoustic osci…
Suppose an astronomer is equipped with a device capable of detecting emissions -- whether they be electromagnetic, gravitational, or neutrino -- from transient sources distributed throughout the cosmos. Because of source rate density evolution and variation of cosmological volume elements, the sources first detected when the machine is switched on are likely to be ones in the high-redshift universe; as observation time increases, rarer, more local, events will be found. We characterize the observer's evolving record of events in terms of a "probability event horizon", converging on the observe…
I describe briefly the Cosmic Microwave Background (hereafter CMB) physics which explains why high accuracy observations of its spatial structure are a unique observational tool both for the determination of the global cosmological parameters and to constrain observationally the physics of the early universe. I also briefly survey the many experiments which have measured the anisotropies of the CMB and led to crucial advances in observational Cosmology. The somewhat frantic series of new results has recently culminated with the outcome of the WMAP satellite which confirmed earlier results, set…
I discuss the extraction of cosmological parameter constraints from the recent WMAP 3-year data, both on its own and in combination with other data. The large degeneracies in the first year data can be largely broken with the third year data, giving much better parameter constraints from WMAP alone. The polarization constraint on the optical depth is crucial to obtain the main results, including n_s < 1 in basic six-parameter models. Almost identical constraints can also be obtained using only temperature data with a prior on the optical depth. I discuss the modelling of secondaries when extra…
We explore observational constraints on a cosmological brane-world scenario in which the bulk is not empty. Rather, exchange of mass-energy between the bulk and the bane is allowed. The evolution of matter fields to an observer on the brane is then modified due to new terms in the energy momentum tensor describing this exchange. We investigate the constraints from various cosmological observations on the flow of matter from the bulk into the brane. Interestingly, we show that it is possible to have a $Λ= 0$ cosmology to an observer in the brane which satisfies standard cosmological constraints…
