Linear coasting in cosmology and SNe Ia

A strictly linear evolution of the cosmological expansion scale factor is a characteristic feature in several classes of alternative gravity theories as also in the standard (Big-bang) model with specially chosen equations of state of matter. Such an evolution has no free parameters as far as the classical cosmological tests are concerned and should therefore be easily falsifiable. In this Letter we demonstrate how such models present very good fits to the current supernovae Ia data. We discuss the overall viability of such models.     

Conformal cosmological model and SNe Ia data

Now there is a huge scientific activity in astrophysical studies and cosmological ones in particular. Cosmology transforms from a pure theoretical branch of science into an observational one. All the cosmological models have to pass observational tests. The supernovae type Ia (SNe Ia) test is among the most important ones. If one applies the test to determine parameters of the standard Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological model one can conclude that observations lead to the discovery of the dominance of the ?? term and as a result to an acceleration of the Universe. However, there are big mysteries connected with an origin and an essence of dark matter (DM) and the ?? term or dark energy (DE). Alternative theories of gravitation are treated as a possible solution of DM and DE puzzles. The conformal cosmological approach is one of possible alternatives to the standard ??CDM model. As it was noted several years ago, in the framework of the conformal cosmological approach an introduction of a rigid matter can explain observational data without ?? term (or dark energy). We confirm the claim with much larger set of observational data.     

Constraining the lattice fluid dark energy from SNe Ia,BAO and OHD

Sanchez and Lacombe have developed a lattice fluid theory based on a well-defined statistical mechanical model.Taking the lattice fluid as a candidate of dark energy,we investigate the cosmic evolution of this fluid.Using the combined observational data of Type Ia Supernova(SNe Ia) Union2.1,Baryon Acoustic Oscillations(BAO) data from 6dFGS,SDSS and WiggleZ survey,and Observational Hubble Data(OHD),we find the best fit value of the parameters:A = 0.3 ± 0.2(1σ) ± 0.4(2σ) ± 0.8(3σ) and Ω m = 0.31 ± 0.02(1σ) ± 0.05(2σ) ± 0.07(3σ).The cosmological implications of the model are presented.     

The initial and final state of SNe Ia from the single degenerate model

Although type Ia supernovae(SNe Ia) show their importance in many astrophysical fields,the nature of the progenitors of SNe Ia is still unclear.At present,the single degenerate(SD) model is presented to be a very likely progenitor model.Following the comprehensive SD model developed by Meng Yang(2010),we show the initial and final state of the progenitor systems of SNe Ia in an orbital period—the secondary mass(log Pi,M2i) plane.Our results may explain the location of some supersoft X-ray sources and recurrent novae in the(log Pi,M2i) plane,and be helpful to judge whether an SD system is the potential progenitor system of SNe Ia,as well as to simulate the interaction between SN ejecta and its companion.     

Testing the Distance-Duality Relation from Hubble,Galaxy Clusters and Type Ia Supernovae Data with Model Independent Methods

In this paper, we perform cosmological-model-independent tests for the distance-duality (DD) relation η(z)=D _L(1+z)^?2/D _A by combining the angular diameter distance D _A(or comoving distances D _c ) with the luminosity distance D _L. The D _A are provided by two galaxy clusters samples compiled by De Filippis et al. (the elliptical β model), Bonamente et al. (the spherical β model), the D _c are obtained from Hubble parameter data and D _L are given from the Union2.1 supernovae (SNe) Ia compilation. We employ two methods, i.e., method A: binning the SNe Ia data within the range Δz=|z?z _SNe|<0.005, and method B: reconstructing the D _L(z) by smoothing the noise of Union2.1 data set over redshift with the Gaussian smoothing function, to obtain D _L associated with the redshits of the observed D _A or D _c. Four parameterizations for η(z), i.e., η(z)=1+η ₀ z, η(z)=1+η ₀ z/(1+z), η(z)=1+η ₀ z/(1+z)² and η(z)=1?η ₀ ln(1+z), are adopted for the DD relation. We find that DD relation is consistent with the present observational data, and the results we obtained are not sensitive to the method and parameterization.     

Testing the cosmic conservation of photon number with type Ia supernovae and ages of old objects

In this paper, we obtain luminosity distances by using ages of 32 old passive galaxies distributed over the redshift interval \(0.11< z < 1.84\) and test the cosmic conservation of photon number by comparing them with 580 distance moduli of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) from the so-called Union 2.1 compilation. Our analyses are based on the fact that the method of obtaining ages of galaxies relies on the detailed shape of galaxy spectra but not on galaxy luminosity. Possible departures from cosmic conservation of photon number is parametrized by \(\tau (z) = 2 \upvarepsilon z\) and \(\tau (z) = \upvarepsilon z/(1+z)\) (for \(\upvarepsilon =0\) the conservation of photon number is recovered). We find \(\upvarepsilon =0.016^{+0.078}_{-0.075}\) from the first parametrization and \(\upvarepsilon =-\,0.18^{+0.25}_{-0.24}\) from the second parametrization, both limits at 95% c.l. In this way, no significant departure from cosmic conservation of photon number is verified. In addition, by considering the total age as inferred from Planck (2015) analysis, we find the incubation time \(t_{inc}=1.66\pm 0.29\) Gyr and \(t_{inc}=1.23\pm 0.27\) Gyr at 68% c.l. for each parametrization, respectively.     

Generalized Chaplygin gas model: Constraints from Hubble parameter versus redshift data

We examine observational constraints on the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) model for dark energy from the 9 Hubble parameter data points, the 115 SNLS Sne Ia data and the size of baryonic acoustic oscillation peak at redshift, z=0.35$z=0.35$. At a 95.4% confidence level, a combination of three data sets gives 0.67?As?0.83$0.67?A_s?0.83$ and −0.21?α?0.42$-0.21?\alpha ?0.42$, which is within the allowed parameters ranges of the GCG as a candidate of the unified dark matter and dark energy. It is found that the standard Chaplygin gas model (α=1$\alpha =1$) is ruled out by these data at the 99.7% confidence level.     

Non-parametric reconstruction of dark energy and cosmic expansion from the Pantheon compilation of type Ia supernovae

The equation of state(EoS) of dark energy plays an important role in the evolution of the universe and has attracted considerable interest in the recent years. With the progress in observational technique, a precise constraint on the EoS of dark energy can be obtained. In this study, we reconstruct the EoS of dark energy and cosmic expansion using Gaussian processes(GP) from the most up-to-date Pantheon compilation of type Ia supernovae(SNe Ia),which consists of 1048 finely calibrated SNe Ia. The reconstructed EoS of dark energy has a large uncertainty owing to its dependence on the second-order derivative of the construction. Adding the direct measurements of Hubble parameters H(z) as an additional constraint on the first-order derivative can partially reduce the uncertainty; however, it is still not sufficiently precise to distinguish between the evolving and the constant dark energy. Moreover, the results heavily rely on the prior of the Hubble constant H0. The H0 value inferred from SNe+ H(z) without prior is H0= 70.5 ± 0.5 km s~(-1) Mpc~(-1). Moreover, the matter density ?M has a non-negligible effect on the reconstruction of dark energy. Therefore, more accurate determinations on H_0 and ?_M are required to tightly constrain the EoS of dark energy.     

Exploring the potentiality of future standard candles and standard sirens to detect cosmic opacity

In this work, we explore the potentiality of future gravitational wave (GW) and Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) measurements to detect cosmic opacity by comparing the opacity-free luminosity distance (LD) of GW events with the opacity-dependent LD of SNe Ia observations. The GW data are simulated from the future measurements of the ground-based Einstein Telescope (ET) and the space-borne Deci-Herz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO). The SNe Ia data are simulated from the observations of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) that will be collected over the next few decades. A binning method is adopted to match the GW data with the SNe Ia data at the same redshift z with a selection criterion \begin{document}$ |\Delta z|<0.005$\end{document}, and most of the available data from the GW measurements is employed to detect cosmic opacity due to improvements in the distribution of the future SNe Ia observations. Results show that the uncertainties of the constraints on cosmic opacity can be reduced to \begin{document}$ \sigma_{\epsilon}\sim 0.0041$\end{document} and 0.0014 at the \begin{document}$ 1\sigma$\end{document} confidence level (CL) for 1000 data points from the ET and DECIGO measurements, respectively. Compared with the allowable limits of intergalactic opacity obtained from quasar continuum observations, these future astronomical observations can be used to verify the cosmic opacity. In this way, GW and SNe Ia measurements can be used as important and effective tools to detect cosmic opacity in the future.     

Shielding from cosmic radiation for interplanetary missions: Active and passive methods

Shielding is arguably the main countermeasure for the exposure to cosmic radiation during interplanetary exploratory missions. However, shielding of cosmic rays, both of galactic or solar origin, is problematic, because of the high energy of the charged particles involved and the nuclear fragmentation occurring in shielding materials. Although computer codes can predict the shield performance in space, there is a lack of biological and physical measurements to benchmark the codes. An attractive alternative to passive, bulk material shielding is the use of electromagnetic fields to deflect the charged particles from the spacecraft target. Active shielding concepts based on electrostatic fields, plasma, or magnetic fields have been proposed in the past years, and should be revised based on recent technological improvements. To address these issues, the European Space Agency (ESA) established a Topical Team (TT) in 2002 including European experts in the field of space radiation shielding and superconducting magnets. The TT identified a number of open research questions to be addressed, including development and testing of novel shielding materials, studies on the angular distributions of energetic solar particles, and cooling systems for magnetic lenses in space. A detailed report to the ESA will be published within a few months. A summary of the TT conclusions and recommendations will be discussed in this paper, with emphasis on active shielding using superconducting magnets.     

The Hubble parameter in the early universe with viscous QCD matter and finite cosmological constant

The evolution of a flat, isotropic and homogeneous universe is studied. The background geometry in the early phases of the universe is conjectured to be filled with causal bulk viscous fluid and dark energy. The energy density relations obtained from the assumption of covariant conservation of energy‐momentum tensor of the background matter in the early universe are used to derive the basic equation for the Hubble parameter H. The viscous properties described by ultra‐relativistic equations of state and bulk viscosity taken from recent heavy‐ion collisions and lattice QCD calculations have been utilized to give an approximate solution of the field equations. The cosmological constant is conjectured to be related to the energy density of the vacuum. In this treatment, there is a clear evidence for singularity at vanishing cosmic time t indicating the dominant contribution from the dark energy. The time evolution of H seems to last for much longer time than the ideal case, where both cosmological constant and viscosity coefficient are entirely vanishing.     

Testing the cosmic coincidence problem and the nature of dark energy

Dark energy models which alter the relative scaling behavior of dark energy and matter could provide a natural solution to the cosmic coincidence problem-why the densities of dark energy and dark matter are comparable today. A generalized class of dark energy models is introduced which allows noncanonical scaling of the ratio of dark matter and dark energy with the Robertson-Walker scale factor a(t). We show that determining whether there is a coincidence problem, and the extent of cosmic coincidence, can be addressed by several forthcoming experiments.     

哈勃参数对Robertson-McVittie时空中光线轨道的影响和雷达回波延迟修正

采用后牛顿近似计算方法讨论了哈勃参数H(t)对Robertson-McVittie时空中电磁波传播的后牛顿影响.对于光线的偏转实验,同时考虑了光源和接收点的有限距离(d1,d2)对偏转角度的影响,计算给出了哈勃参数H0对偏转角度的最大修正.对于雷达回波的延迟效应,给出了哈勃参数对时间延迟公式的最大修正.该工作利用经典引力实验考虑宇宙膨胀对电磁波传播的后牛顿影响,可为当前的高精度空间引力实验提供理论参考.     

Using Pantheon and Hubble parameter data to constrain the Ricci dark energy in a Bianchi I Universe

In this work, we use the most recent publicly available type Ia supernova (SNIa) compilations and H(z) data. A well formulated cosmological model based on Bianchi type I (BI) metric is implemented in the presence of the Ricci dark energy model. Using the maximum likelihood technique, we estimate the present value of Hubble's constant H₀ = 70.339 ± 0.743, matter density parameter ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{m}_{0}}=0.297\pm 0.031$, anisotropy parameter ${{\rm{\Omega }}}_{{\sigma }_{0}}=\,$−0.004 01 ± 0.001 07 within $1\sigma ^{\prime} $ confidence level by bounding our derived model with recent joint Pantheon and H(z) data. We have constrained the present value of the equation of state parameter as ω_de = −1.17 joint with the observational data. The present value of the deceleration parameter of the Universe in the derived model is obtained as ${q}_{0}=-{0.749}_{-0.086}^{+0.076}$. Transition redshift is also derived as ${z}_{\mathrm{tr}}\sim 0.551$ with the recent observations (Pantheon + H(z)) datasets. Finally, we compare the anisotropy effects on the evolution of H(z) for the proposed model under consideration with different observational datasets.     

Optical birefringence and order parameter of three nematogens

Results of the measurement of refractive indices and densities of three nematic liquid crystals at different temperatures are reported. The molecular polarizabilities have been calculated from refractive indices using both the Vuks’ and the Neugebauer’s relations. The orientational order parameters are determined from the polarizability values. The variation of order parameter with temperature for these compounds shows a reasonably good agreement with Maier and Saupe theory except near the clearing points where the experimental values are less than those obtained from the theory. The possible reasons for this have been discussed.     

Testing the distance-duality relation with the baryon acoustic oscillations data and type Ia supernovae data

In this letter, the cosmic distance-duality relation has been constrained with a model-independent method by combining the baryon acoustic oscillation(BAO) data and the type Ia supernova(SNe Ia) data. The results show that this relation is consistent with the observational data in the 68.27% error range, except for the instance of Union 2.1 plus BAO with the statistic errors only,where the relation is consistent with the observations in the 95.45% error range. To study the result of the uncertainty of the Hubble constant on the investigation of this relation,we treat the dimensionless Hubble constant h as a free parameter and get that the observational data favors the relation in the 68.27% error range. And then h has been marginalized and the results support that this relation is favored by the observations in the 68.27% error range too.     

Cosmological constraints from radial baryon acoustic oscillation measurements and observational Hubble data

We use the Radial Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (RBAO) measurements, distant type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), the observational H(z)$H(z)$ data (OHD) and the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) shift parameter data to constrain cosmological parameters of ΛCDM$\mathrm{\Lambda }\text{CDM}$ and XCDM cosmologies and further examine the role of OHD and SNe Ia data in cosmological constraints. We marginalize the likelihood function over h   by integrating the probability density P∝e−χ²/2$P\propto e^{-{\chi }^2/2}$ to obtain the best fitting results and the confidence regions in the Ωm–ΩΛ${\Omega }_m\text{–}{\Omega }_{\Lambda }$ plane. With the combination analysis for both of the ΛCDM$\mathrm{\Lambda }\text{CDM}$ and XCDM models, we find that the confidence regions of 68.3%, 95.4% and 99.7% levels using OHD+RBAO+CMB$\text{OHD}+\text{RBAO}+\text{CMB}$ data are in good agreement with that of SNe Ia+RBAO+CMB$\text{Ia}+\text{RBAO}+\text{CMB}$ data which is consistent with the result of Lin et al.'s (2009) [24] work. With more data of OHD, we can probably constrain the cosmological parameters using OHD data instead of SNe Ia data in the future.