Towards a Physical Interpretation for the Stephani Universes

A physically reasonable interpretation is provided for the perfect fluid, spherically symmetric, conformally flat "Stephani Universes". The free parameters of this class of exact solutions are determined so that the ideal gas relation p = nk _B T is identically fulfilled, while the full equation of state of a classical monatomic ideal gas and a matter-radiation mixture holds up to a good approximation in a near dust, matter dominated regime. Only the models having spacelike slices with positive curvature admit a regular evolution domain that avoids an unphysical singularity. In the matter dominated regime these models are dynamically and observationally indistinguishable from "standard" FLRW cosmology with a dust source.     

On the Stephani universes

The spacetimes corresponding to a weak version of the cosmological principle are considered. It appears that, starting from very different criteria, they were already obtained by Stephani and studied by Krasinski and Barnes. The only barotropic universes of this class are the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker ones. Among the others, some admit a general thermodynamic scheme; it is shown that, as for barotropic fluids, such a scheme also imposes additional symmetries.     

On the global geometry of the stephani universe

A preliminary investigation of global properties of the Stephani solution of the Einstein field equations is presented. This solution generalizes those of Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) in such a way that the spatial curvature indexk (a constant in the FRW models) is a function of the time coordinate. The de Sitter solution, which is also a special case of the Stephani solution, is analyzed in the Stephani coordinates to gain insight into the global structure of the manifold and its foliation. The general metric is found to have several properties in common with this example. It has singularities which can be avoided either by matching the solution to an (as yet unknown) empty-space solution or confining the curvature index to be positive at all times.     

Finite temperature quantum fields in expanding universes

The thermodynamics of an ideal relativistic quantum gas in expansion is studied. It is found that only for conformally invariant fields in conformally static spacetime can thermal equilibrium be strictly maintained. A finite temperature theory can be defined under the condition of quasi equilibrium when the background expansion is nearly adiabatic. The high temperature expansion of the energy density for massive nonconformal fields in Robertson-Walker universes and for conformal fields in Bianchi Type-I universes are calculated. The importance of these results on phase transition and quantum processes in the early universe is discussed.     

Inhomogeneous mixmaster universes: Some exact solutions

Algorithms for generating new exact solutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon field equations, which describe inhomogeneous universes with S³ topology of spatial sections, are developed. The known exact vacuum and stiff-fluid solutions with S³ topology are used as an input. The methods developed are further applied to derive inhomogenous generalizations of Bianchi type IX solutions and inhomogeneous S³ Gowdy models with gravitational and scalar waves. It is shown that the new solutions, which are generalizations of the Bianchi type IX models, permit identification of the scalar field with the velocity potential of the stiff irrotational fluid. The latter result is further used to study the growth rate of density perturbations of the isotropic and anisotropic Bianchi type IX universes in a fully nonlinear relativistic regime. The role of anisotropy of the rate of growth of density perturbations is studied in detail.     

Asymptotic Self-similarity Breaking in Cosmology

We discuss the role of self-similarity in the evolution of cosmological models. The simplest model, the flat Friedmann–Lematre universe is exactly self-similar. On the other hand, the open Friedmann–Lematre universe and the anisotropic Bianchi I universes, are not exactly self-similar, but are asymptotically self-similar, both near the initial singularity and at late times. In general, however, cosmological models are not asymptotically self-similar, and our goal is to describe the different mechanisms that lead to asymptotic self-similarity breaking in Bianchi universes. The discussion will also serve to give an overview of our current understanding of the dynamics of Bianchi universes.     

Expanding spherically symmetric models without shear

The integrability properties of the field equationL _xx =F(x)L ² of a spherically symmetric shear-free fluid are investigated. A first integral, subject to an integrability condition onF(x), is found, giving a new class of solutions which contains the solutions of Stephani and Srivastava as special cases. The integrability condition onF(x) is reduced to a quadrature which is expressible in terms of elliptic integrals in general. There are three classes of solution and in general the solution ofL _xx =F(x)L ² can only be written in parametric form. The case for whichF=F(x) can be explicitly given corresponds to the solution of Stephani. A Lie analysis ofL _xx =F(x)L ² is also performed. If a constant vanishes, then the solutions of Kustaanheimo and Qvist and of this paper are regained. For 0 we reduce the problem to a simpler, autonomous equation. The applicability of the Painlevé analysis is also briefly considered.     

What if? Exploring the multiverse through Euclidean wormholes

We present Euclidean wormhole solutions describing possible bridges within the multiverse. The study is carried out in the framework of third quantisation. The matter content is modelled through a scalar field which supports the existence of a whole collection of universes. The instanton solutions describe Euclidean solutions that connect baby universes with asymptotically de Sitter universes. We compute the tunnelling probability of these processes. Considering the current bounds on the energy scale of inflation and assuming that all the baby universes are nucleated with the same probability, we draw some conclusions about which universes are more likely to tunnel and therefore undergo a standard inflationary era.     

Particle physics models of inflation and curvaton scenarios

We review the particle theory origin of inflation and curvaton mechanisms for generating large scale structures and the observed temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Since inflaton or curvaton energy density creates all matter, it is important to understand the process of reheating and preheating into the relevant degrees of freedom required for the success of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We discuss two distinct classes of models, one where inflaton and curvaton belong to the hidden sector, which are coupled to the Standard Model gauge sector very weakly. There is another class of models of inflaton and curvaton, which are embedded within Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) gauge group and beyond, and whose origins lie within gauge invariant combinations of supersymmetric quarks and leptons. Their masses and couplings are all well motivated from low energy physics, therefore such models provide us with a unique opportunity that they can be verified/falsified by the CMB data and also by the future collider and non-collider based experiments. We then briefly discuss the stringy origin of inflation, alternative cosmological scenarios, and bouncing universes.     

Classical Coulomb fluids in a confined geometry

It has already been argued that a classical (three-dimensional) Coulomb fluid confined between two parallel walls exhibits ideal gas features when the distance between the walls becomes small; this is confirmed in the present paper. Two-dimensional models of Coulomb fluids (with a logarithmic interaction), confined in a strip, are also studied. These models do not become ideal gases in the narrow strip limit. The correlation functions are also studied. There is a special temperature at which exact results are obtained. At that temperature, the two-dimensional, two-component plasma (two-dimensional Coulomb gas), which is a conductor when unconfined, becomes a dielectric as soon as it is confined in a strip of noninfinite width. This can be understood as a displacement of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition by the confinement.     

Homogeneous Bianchi type VI0 perfect fluid space-times

An algorithm is presented for generating new exact solutions of the Einstein equations for spatially homogeneous cosmological models of Bianchi type VI₀. The energy-momentum tensor is of perfect fluid type. Starting from Dunn and Tupper's dust-filled universe, new classes of solutions are obtained. The solutions represent anisotropic universes filled with perfect fluid not satisfying the equation of state. Some of their physical properties are studied.     

The universal sound velocity formula for the strongly interacting unitary Fermi gas

Due to the scale invariance,the thermodynamic laws of strongly interacting limit unitary Fermi gas can be similar to those of non-interacting ideal gas.For example,the virial theorem between pressure and energy density of the ideal gas P=2E/3V is still satisfied by the unitary Fermi gas.This paper analyses the sound velocity of unitary Fermi gases with the quasi-linear approximation.For comparison,the sound velocities for the ideal Boltzmann,Bose and Fermi gas are also given.Quite interestingly,the sound velocity formula for the ideal non-interacting gas is found to be satisfied by the unitary Fermi gas in different temperature regions.     

Classical models of a topological transition in cosmology

Some applications of a scheme, based on the theory of spherical rearrangements, for constructing classical models of topological transitions in the general theory of relativity to cosmological models are examined. In particular, models of creation (annihilation) of open and closed universes, the transition of an open universe into a closed one, and coalescence of universes are described.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 32–37, August, 1984.     

Oscillating Casimir force between two slabs in a Fermi sea

The Casimir effect for two parallel slabs immersed in an ideal Fermi sea is investigated at both zero and nonzero temperatures. It is found that the Casimir effect in a Fermi gas is distinctly different from that in an electromagnetic field or a massive Bose gas. In contrast to the familiar result that the Casimir force decreases monotonically with the increase of the separation L between two slabs in an electromagnetic field and a massive Bose gas, the Casimir force in a Fermi gas oscillates as a function of L. The Casimir force can be either attractive or repulsive, depending sensitively on the magnitude of L. In addition, it is found that the amplitude of the Casimir force in a Fermi gas decreases with the increase of the temperature, which also is contrary to the case in a Bose gas, since the bosonic Casimir force increases linearly with the increase of the temperature in the region T < T_c, where T_c is the critical temperature of the Bose-Einstein condensation.     

Space-times with spherically symmetric hypersurfaces

When discussing spherically symmetric gravitational fields one usually assumes that the whole space-time is invariant under theO(3) group of transformations. In this paper, the Einstein field equations are investigated under the weaker assumption that only the 3-spacest=const areO(3) symmetric. The following further assumptions are made: (1) Thet lines are orthogonal to the spacest=const. (2) The source in the field equations in a perfect fluid, or dust, or the term, or the empty space. (3) With respect to the center of symmetry the fluid source may move only radially if at all. Under these assumptions one solution with a perfect fluid source, found previously by Stephani, is recovered and interpreted geometrically, and it is shown that it is the sole solution which is not spherically symmetric in the traditional sense. The paper ends with a general discussion of cosmological models whose 3-spacest=const are the same as in the Robertson-Walker models. No new solutions were explicitly found, but it is shown that such models exist in which the sign of curvature is not fixed in time.     

Intrinsic vanishing of energy and momenta in a universe

We present a new approach to the question of properly defining energy and momenta for non asymptotically Minkowskian spaces in General Relativity, in the case where these energy and momenta are conserved. In order to do this, we first prove that there always exist some special Gauss coordinates for which the conserved linear and angular 3-momenta intrinsically vanish. This allows us to consider the case of creatable universes (the universes whose proper 4-momenta vanish) in a consistent way, which is the main interest of the paper. When applied to the Friedmann-Lema?tre-Robertson-Walker case, perturbed or not, our formalism leads to previous results, according to most literature on the subject. Some future work that should be done is mentioned.     

Conformal transformations in cosmology of modified gravity: the covariant approach perspective

The 1+3 covariant approach and the covariant gauge-invariant approach to perturbations are used to analyze in depth conformal transformations in cosmology. Such techniques allow us to obtain insights on the physical meaning of these transformations when applied to non-standard gravity. The results obtained lead to a number of general conclusions on the change of some key quantities describing any two conformally related cosmological models. For example, even if some of the geometrical properties of the cosmology are preserved (homogeneous and isotropic Universes are mapped into homogeneous and isotropic universes), it can happen that decelerating cosmologies can be mapped into accelerated ones. From the point of view of the cosmological perturbations it is shown how these fluctuation transform. We find that first-order vector and tensor perturbations equations are left unchanged in their structure by the conformal transformation, but this cannot be said of the scalar perturbations, which present differences in their evolutionary features. The results obtained are then explicitly interpreted and verified with the help of some clarifying examples based on f(R)-gravity cosmologies.     

Brittle and ductile fracture of semiconductor nanowires – molecular dynamics simulations

Fracture of silicon and germanium nanowires in tension at room temperature is studied by molecular dynamics simulations using several interatomic potential models. While some potentials predict brittle fracture initiated by crack nucleation from the surface, most potentials predict ductile fracture initiated by dislocation nucleation and slip. A simple parameter based on the ratio between the ideal tensile strength and the ideal shear strength is found to correlate very well with the observed brittle versus ductile behaviours for all the potentials used in this study. This parameter is then computed by ab initio methods, which predict brittle fracture at room temperature. A brittle-to-ductile transition (BDT) is observed in MD simulations at higher temperature. The BDT mechanism in semiconductor nanowires is different from that in the bulk, due to the lack of a pre-existing macrocrack that is always assumed in bulk BDT models.