A positive cosmological constant in string theory through AdS/CFT wormholes

There are two important examples of physical systems which violate the strong energy condition: Universes (like, it would seem, our own) with a positive cosmological constant, and wormholes. We suggest that a positive cosmological constant can be reconciled with string theory by considering wormholes in string backgrounds. This is argued in two directions: first, we show that brane-worlds with positive cosmological constants give rise to bulk singularities which are best resolved by embedding the brane-world in an AdS/CFT wormhole; and second, for the simplest kind of wormhole in an asymptotically AdS space, we show that the IR stability of the matter needed to keep the wormhole open requires the presence of a brane-world. UV stability conditions then forbid a negative cosmological constant on the brane-world.     

Charged perfect fluids in the presence of a cosmological constant

We consider the static and spherically symmetric field equations of general relativity for charged perfect fluid spheres in the presence of a cosmological constant. Following work by Florides (J Phys A Math Gen 16:1419–1433, 1983) we find new exact solutions of the field equations, and discuss their mass radius ratios. These solutions, for instance, require the charged Nariai metric to be the vacuum part of the spacetime. We also find charged generalizations of the Einstein static universe and speculate that the smallness problem of the cosmological constant might become less problematic if charge is taken into account.     

New Taub–NUT–Reissner–Nordström spaces in higher dimensions

We construct new charged solutions of the Einstein–Maxwell field equations with cosmological constant. These solutions describe the nut-charged generalisation of the higher-dimensional Reissner–Nordström spacetimes. For a negative cosmological constant these solutions are the charged generalizations of the topological nut-charged black hole solutions in higher dimensions. Finally, we discuss the global structure of such solutions and possible applications.     

Chaplygin gas quantum universe in the presence of the cosmological constant

We present a Chaplygin gas Friedmann-Robertson-Walker quantum cosmological model in the presence of the cosmological constant. We apply the Schutz’s variational formalism to recover the notion of time, and this gives rise to Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the scale factor. We study the early and late time universes and show that the presence of the Chaplygin gas leads to an effective positive cosmological constant for the late times. This suggests the possibility of changing the sign of the effective cosmological constant during the transition from the early times to the late times. For the case of an effective negative cosmological constant for both epoches, we solve the resulting Wheeler-DeWitt equation using the Spectral Method and find the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for positive, zero, and negative constant spatial curvatures. Then, we use the eigenfunctions in order to construct wave packets for each case and obtain the time-dependent expectation value of the scale factors, which are found to oscillate between finite maximum and minimum values. Since the expectation value of the scale factors never tend to the singular point, we have an initial indication that this model may not have singularities at the quantum level.     

Cosmological Models with Linearly Varying Deceleration Parameter

We propose a new law for the deceleration parameter that varies linearly with time and covers Berman’s law where it is constant. Our law not only allows one to generalize many exact solutions that were obtained assuming constant deceleration parameter, but also gives a better fit with data (from SNIa, BAO and CMB), particularly concerning the late time behavior of the universe. According to our law only the spatially closed and flat universes are allowed; in both cases the cosmological fluid we obtain exhibits quintom like behavior and the universe ends with a big-rip. This is a result consistent with recent cosmological observations.     

The Einstein-Scalar Field Constraint System in the Positive Case

We prove the existence of solutions to the conformal Einstein-scalar constraint system of equations for closed Riemannian manifolds in the positive case. Our results apply to the vacuum case with positive cosmological constant and to the massive Klein–Gordon setting.     

Positive cosmological constant,non-local gravity and horizon entropy

We discuss a class of (local and non-local) theories of gravity that share same properties: (i) they admit the Einstein spacetime with arbitrary cosmological constant as a solution; (ii) the on-shell action of such a theory vanishes and (iii) any (cosmological or black hole) horizon in the Einstein spacetime with a positive cosmological constant does not have a non-trivial entropy. The main focus is made on a recently proposed non-local model. This model has two phases: with a positive cosmological constant Λ>0$\Lambda >0$ and with zero Λ. The effective gravitational coupling differs essentially in these two phases. Generalizing the previous result of Barvinsky we show that the non-local theory in question is free of ghosts on the background of any Einstein spacetime and that it propagates a standard spin-2 particle. Contrary to the phase with a positive Λ, where the entropy vanishes for any type of horizon, in an Einstein spacetime with zero cosmological constant the horizons have the ordinary entropy proportional to the area. We conclude that, somewhat surprisingly, the presence of any, even extremely tiny, positive cosmological constant should be important for the proper resolution of the entropy problem and, possibly, the information puzzle.     

Exact spatially homogeneous cosmologies

We consider perfect fluid spatially homogeneous cosmological models. Starting with a new exact solution of Blanchi type VIII, we study generalizations which lead to new classes of exact solutions. These new solutions are discussed and classified in several ways. In the original type VIII solution, the ratio of matter shear to expansion is constant, and we present a theorem which delimits those space-times for which this condition holds.     

Gauss-Bonnet as Effective Cosmological Constant

It is known that Gauss-Bonnet terms in higher dimensional gravity can produce an effective cosmological constant.We add extra examples to this picture by presenting explicitly two branches of accelerating vacuum solutions to the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravities with a bare cosmological constant in 5 and 6 dimensions.Both branches of solutions are of constant curvature and the effective cosmological constants are independent of the acceleration parameter.One branch(the "-" branch) of the solutions is well defined in the limit when the Gauss-Bonnet parameter approaches zero,in which case the effective cosmological constant becomes identical with the bare value,while the other(i.e.the "+") branch is singular in the same limit,and beyond this singular limit,the effective cosmological constant is inversely proportional to the Gauss-Bonnet parameter with a negative constant of proportionality when the bare value vanishes.     

A charged interior solution with cosmological constant Λ in general relativity

A new interior solution of the field equation of general relativity with cosmological constant Λ has been obtained for a static and spherically symmetric charged body. Recent charged generalizations of a class of solutions by Florides are discussed here as special cases of our solution. Robson's junction condition is extended to discuss the smooth joint of the interior solution to the Reissner-Nordström solution with nonzero Λ.     

S-duality in 3D gravity with torsion

The deformation of the connection in three spacetime dimensions by the kinematically equivalent coframe is shown to induce a duality between the (Lorentz-) rotational and translational field momenta, for which the coupling to the deformation parameter is inverted. This new kind of strong/weak duality, pertinent to 3D, is instrumental for studying exact solutions of the 3D Poincaré gauge field equations and the particle content of propagating modes on a background of constant curvature. For a topological Chern-Simons model of gravity, the propagating modes ‘living’ on an Anti-de Sitter (AdS) background correspond to real massive particles. Yang-Mills type generalizations and new cubic Lagrangians are found and completely classified in 3D. AdS or black hole type solutions with constant axial torsion emerge, also for these higher-order Lagrangians with new ‘exotic’ torsion-curvature couplings. Their pattern complies with our S-duality, with new repercussions for the field redefinition of the metric in 3D quantum gravity and the cosmological constant problem.     

Dark Energy Models in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>) Theory with Variable Deceleration Parameter

In this communication we have investigated Bianchi type-II dark energy (DE) cosmological models with and without presence of magnetic field in modified f(R, T) gravity theory as proposed by Harko et al. (Phys. Rev. D, 84, 024020, 2011). The exact solution of the field equations is obtained by setting the deceleration parameter q as a time function along with suitable assumption the scale factor \(a(t)= [sinh(\alpha t)]^{\frac {1}{n}}\), α and n are positive constant. We have obtained a class of accelerating and decelerating DE cosmological models for different values of n and α. The present study believes that the mysterious dark energy is the main responsible force for accelerating expansion of the universe. For our constructed models the DE candidates cosmological constant (Λ) and the EoS parameter (ω) both are found to be time varying quantities. The cosmological constant Λ is very large at early time and approaches to a small positive value at late time whereas the EoS parameters is found small negative at present time. Physical and kinematical properties of the models are discussed with the help of pictorial representations of the parameters. We have observed that our constructed models are compatible with recent cosmological observations.     

Plane Symmetric Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models with Varying <Emphasis Type="Italic">Λ</Emphasis>-Term

Plane symmetric viscous fluid cosmological models of the universe with a variable cosmological term are investigated. The viscosity coefficient of bulk viscous fluid is assumed to be a power function of mass density whereas the coefficient of shear viscosity is to be proportional to rate of expansion in the model. We have also obtained a special model in which the shear viscosity is assumed to be zero. The cosmological constant Λ is found to be a decreasing function of time and a positive which is supported by results from recent supernovae Ia observations. Some physical and geometric properties of the models are also discussed.     

Positive mass theorems for black holes

We extend Witten's proof of the positive mass theorem at spacelike infinity to show that the mass is positive for initial data on an asymptotically flat spatial hypersurface Σ which is regular outside an apparent horizonH. In addition, we prove that if a black hole has electromagnetic charge, then the mass is greater than the modulus of the charge. These results are also valid for the Bondi mass at null infinity. Finally, in the case of the Einstein equation with a negative cosmological constant, we show that a suitably defined mass is positive for data on an asymptotically anti-de Sitter surface Σ which is regular outside an apparent horizon.     

Spinor fields in Bianchi type-I universe

A system of minimally coupled nonlinear spinor and scalar fields within the scope of a Bianchi type-I (BI) cosmological model in the presence of a perfect fluid and a cosmological constant (Λ term) is studied, and solutions to the corresponding field equations are obtained. The problem of initial singularity and the asymptotical isotropization process of the Universe are thoroughly studied. The effect of the Λ term on the character of evolution is analyzed. It is shown that some special choice of spinor field nonlinearity generates a regular solution, but the absence of singularity results in violating the dominant energy condition in the Hawking-Penrose theorem. It is also shown that a positive Λ, which denotes an additional gravitational force in our case, gives rise to an oscillatory or a non-periodic mode of expansion of the Universe depending on the choice of problem parameter. The regular oscillatory mode of expansion violets the dominant energy condition if the spinor field nonlinearity occurs as a result of self-action, whereas, in the case of a linear spinor field or nonlinear one that occurs due to interaction with a scalar field, the dominant condition remains unbroken. A system with time-varying gravitational (G) and cosmological (Λ) constants is also studied to some extent. The introduction of magneto-fluid in the system generates nonhomogeneity in the energy-momentum tensor and can be exactly solved only under some additional condition. Though in this case, we indeed deal with all four known fields, i.e., spinor, scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational, the over-all picture of evolution remains unchanged.     

Static spherically symmetric star in Gauss-Bonnet gravity

We explore static spherically symmetric stars in Gauss-Bonnet gravity without a cosmological constant, and present an exact internal solution which attaches to the exterior vacuum solution outside stars. It turns out that the presence of the Gauss-Bonnet term with a positive coupling constant completely changes thermal and gravitational energies, and the upper bound of the red shift of spectral lines from the surface of stars. Unlike in general relativity, the upper bound of the red shift is dependent on the density of stars in our case. Moreover, we have proven that two theorems for judging the stability of equilibrium of stars in general relativity can hold in Gauss-Bonnet gravity.