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At least 1,027 records · Page 57
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Fuzzy Euclidean wormholes in the inflationary universe

In this paper, we investigate complex-valued Euclidean wormholes in the Starobinsky inflation. Due to the properties of the concave inflation potential, the classicality condition at both ends of the wormhole can be satisfied, as long as the initial condition of the inflation field is such that it is located sufficiently close to the hilltop. Furthermore, we compare the probabilities of classicalized wormholes with the Hartle–Hawking compact instantons and conclude that the Euclidean wormholes are probabilistically preferred than compact instantons, if the inflation lasts more than 50 e-foldings. Our result assumes that the Euclidean path integral is the correct effective description of quantum gravity. This opens a new window for various future investigations that can be either confirmed or refuted by future experiments.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Constraint on the (GUT) symmetry breaking scale and topological defects

In F-term supergravity inflation models, scalar fields other than the inflaton generically receive a Hubble induced mass, which may restore gauge symmetries during inflation and phase transitions may occur during or after inflation as the Hubble parameter decreases. We study topological defect formation associated with such a phase transition in chaotic inflation in supergravity and obtain a severe constraint on the symmetry breaking scale which is related with the tensor-to-scalar ratio. This talk is based on the paper [1].

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2012

CONSTRAINTS ON JET FORMATION MECHANISMS WITH THE MOST ENERGETIC GIANT OUTBURSTS IN MS 0735+7421

Giant X-ray cavities lie in some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) locating in central galaxies of clusters, which are estimated to have stored 10{sup 55}-10{sup 62} erg of energy. Most of these cavities are thought to be inflated by jets of AGNs on a timescale of {approx}> 10{sup 7} years. The jets can be either powered by rotating black holes or the accretion disks surrounding black holes, or both. The observations of giant X-ray cavities can therefore be used to constrain jet formation mechanisms. In this work, we choose the most energetic cavity, MS 0735+7421, with stored energy {approx}10{sup 62} erg, to constrain the jet formation mechanisms and the evolution of the central massive black hole in this source. The bolometric luminosity of the AGN in this cavity is {approx}10{sup -5} L{sub Edd}, however, the mean power of the jet required to inflate the cavity is estimated as {approx}0.02L{sub Edd}, which implies that the source has previously experienced strong outbursts. During outbursts, the jet power and the mass accretion rate should be significantly higher than its present values. We construct an accretion disk model in which the angular momentum and energy carried away by jets are properly included to calculate the spin and mass evolution of the massive black hole. In our calculations, different jet formation mechanisms are employed, and we find that the jets generated with the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) mechanism are unable to produce the giant cavity with {approx}10{sup 62} erg in this source. Only the jets accelerated with a combination of the Blandford-Payne and BZ mechanisms can successfully inflate such a giant cavity if the magnetic pressure is close to equipartition with the total (radiation+gas) pressure of the accretion disk. For a dynamo-generated magnetic field in the disk, such an energetic giant cavity can be inflated by the magnetically driven jets only if the initial black hole spin parameter a{sub 0} {approx}> 0.95. Our calculations show that the final spin parameter a of the black hole is always {approx}0.9-0.998 for all the computational examples that can provide sufficient energy for the cavity of MS 0735+7421.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Magnetic inhibition of convection and the fundamental properties of low-mass stars. II. Fully convective main-sequence stars

We examine the hypothesis that magnetic fields are inflating the radii of fully convective main-sequence stars in detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). The magnetic Dartmouth stellar evolution code is used to analyze two systems in particular: Kepler-16 and CM Draconis. Magneto-convection is treated assuming stabilization of convection and also by assuming reductions in convective efficiency due to a turbulent dynamo. We find that magnetic stellar models are unable to reproduce the properties of inflated fully convective main-sequence stars, unless strong interior magnetic fields in excess of 10 MG are present. Validation of the magnetic field hypothesis given the current generation of magnetic stellar evolution models therefore depends critically on whether the generation and maintenance of strong interior magnetic fields is physically possible. An examination of this requirement is provided. Additionally, an analysis of previous studies invoking the influence of star spots is presented to assess the suggestion that star spots are inflating stars and biasing light curve analyses toward larger radii. From our analysis, we find that there is not yet sufficient evidence to definitively support the hypothesis that magnetic fields are responsible for the observed inflation among fully convective main-sequence stars in DEBs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Resonant signatures of heavy scalar fields in the cosmic microwave background

We investigate the possibility that a heavy scalar field, whose mass exceeds the Hubble scale during inflation, could leave non-negligible signatures in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy power spectrum through the parametric resonance between its background oscillations and the inflaton fluctuations. By assuming the heavy scalar field couples with the inflaton derivatively, we show that the resonance can be efficient without spoiling the slow-roll inflation. The primordial power spectrum modulated by the resonance has a sharp peak at a specific scale and could be an origin of the anomalies observed in the angular power spectrum of the CMB. In some values of parameters, the modulated spectrum can fit the observed data better than the simple power-law power spectrum, though the resultant improvement of the fit is not large enough and hence other observations such as non-Gaussianity are necessary to confirm that the CMB anomalies are originated from the resonant effect of the heavy scalar field. The resonant signatures can provide an opportunity to observe heavy degrees of freedom during inflation and improve our understanding of physics behind inflation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Non-Gaussianity from axionic curvaton

We study non-Gaussianity of density perturbations generated by an axionic curvaton, focusing on the case that the curvaton sits near the hilltop of the potential during inflation. Such hilltop curvatons can generate a red-tilted density perturbation spectrum without invoking large-field inflation. We show that, even when the curvaton dominates the Universe, the non-Gaussianity parameter f{sub NL} is positive and mildly increases towards the hilltop of the curvaton potential, and that f{sub NL} = O(10) is a general and robust prediction of such hilltop axionic curvatons. In particular, we find that the non-Gaussianity parameter is bounded as f{sub NL}∼<30–40 for a range of the scalar spectral index, n{sub s} = 0.94–0.99, and that f{sub NL} = 20–40 is realized for the curvaton mass m{sub σ} = 10–10{sup 6} GeV and the decay constant f = 10{sup 12}–10{sup 17} GeV. One of the plausible candidates for the axionic curvaton is an imaginary component of a modulus field with mass of order 10–100 TeV and decay constant of 10{sup 16–17}GeV. We also discuss extreme cases where the curvaton drives a second inflation and find that f{sub NL} is typically smaller compared to non-inflating cases.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Stochastic bias from non-Gaussian initial conditions

In this article, we show that a stochastic form of scale-dependent halo bias arises in multi-source inflationary models, where multiple fields determine the initial curvature perturbation. We derive this effect for general non-Gaussian initial conditions and study various examples, such as curvaton models and quasi-single field inflation. Furthermore, we present a general formula for both the stochastic and the non-stochastic parts of the halo bias, in terms of the N-point cumulants of the curvature perturbation at the end of inflation. At lowest order, the stochasticity arises if the collapsed limit of the four-point function is boosted relative to the square of the three-point function in the squeezed limit. We derive all our results in two ways, using the barrier crossing formalism and the peak-background split method. In a companion paper, we prove that these two approaches are mathematically equivalent.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Magneto-reheating constraints from curvature perturbations

As additional perturbative degrees of freedom, it is known that magnetic fields of inflationary origin can source curvature perturbations on super-Hubble scales. By requiring the magnetic generated curvature to remain smaller than its inflationary adiabatic counterpart during inflation and reheating, we derive new constraints on the maximal field value today, the reheating energy scale and its equation of state parameter. These bounds end up being stronger by a few order of magnitude than those associated with a possible backreaction of the magnetic field onto the background. Our results are readily applicable to any slow-roll single field inflationary models and any magnetic field having its energy density scaling as a{sup γ} during inflation. As an illustrative example, massive inflation is found to remain compatible with a magnetic field today B{sub 0} = 5 × 10{sup −15} G for some values of γ only if a matter dominated reheating takes place at energies larger than 10{sup 5} GeV. Conversely, assuming γ = −1, massive inflation followed by a matter dominated reheating cannot explain large scale magnetic fields larger than 10{sup −20} G today.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

The gravitational wave spectrum from cosmological B-L breaking

Cosmological B-L breaking is a natural and testable mechanism to generate the initial conditions of the hot early universe. If B-L is broken at the grand unification scale, the false vacuum phase drives hybrid inflation, ending in tachyonic preheating. The decays of heavy B-L Higgs bosons and heavy neutrinos generate entropy, baryon asymmetry and dark matter and also control the reheating temperature. The different phases in the transition from inflation to the radiation dominated phase produce a characteristic spectrum of gravitational waves. We calculate the complete gravitational wave spectrum due to inflation, preheating and cosmic strings, which turns out to have several features. The production of gravitational waves from cosmic strings has large uncertainties, with lower and upper bounds provided by Abelian Higgs strings and Nambu-Goto strings, implying Ω{sub GW}h{sup 2} ∼ 10{sup −13}–10{sup −8}, much larger than the spectral amplitude predicted by inflation. Forthcoming gravitational wave detectors such as eLISA, advanced LIGO, ET, BBO and DECIGO will reach the sensitivity needed to test the predictions from cosmological B-L breaking.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Tunnelling in Dante's Inferno

We study quantum tunnelling in Dante's Inferno model of large field inflation. Such a tunnelling process, which will terminate inflation, becomes problematic if the tunnelling rate is rapid compared to the Hubble time scale at the time of inflation. Consequently, we constrain the parameter space of Dante's Inferno model by demanding a suppressed tunnelling rate during inflation. The constraints are derived and explicit numerical bounds are provided for representative examples. Our considerations are at the level of an effective field theory; hence, the presented constraints have to hold regardless of any UV completion.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining the break of spatial diffeomorphism invariance with Planck data

The current most accepted paradigm for the early universe cosmology, the inflationary scenario, shows a good agreement with the recent Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and polarization data. However, when the inflation consistency relation is relaxed, these observational data exclude a larger range of red tensor tilt values, prevailing the blue ones which are not predicted by the minimal inflationary models. Recently, it has been shown that the assumption of spatial diffeomorphism invariance breaking (SDB) in the context of an effective field theory of inflation leads to interesting observational consequences. Among them, the possibility of generating a blue tensor spectrum, which can recover the specific consistency relation of the String Gas Cosmology, for a certain choice of parameters. We use the most recent CMB data to constrain the SDB model and test its observational viability through a Bayesian analysis assuming as reference an extended ΛCDM+tensor perturbation model, which considers a power-law tensor spectrum parametrized in terms of the tensor-to-scalar ratio, r , and the tensor spectral index, n {sub t} . If the inflation consistency relation is imposed, r =−8 n {sub t} , we obtain a strong evidence in favor of the reference model whereas if such relation is relaxed, a weak evidence in favor of the model with diffeomorphism breaking is found. We also use the same CMB data set to make an observational comparison between the SDB model, standard inflation and String Gas Cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

High-scale axions without isocurvature from inflationary dynamics

Observable primordial tensor modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) would point to a high scale of inflation H I . If the scale of Peccei-Quinn (PQ) breaking f a is greater than H I /2π, CMB constraints on isocurvature naively rule out QCD axion dark matter. This assumes the potential of the axion is unmodified during inflation. We revisit models where inflationary dynamics modify the axion potential and discuss how isocurvature bounds can be relaxed. We find that models that rely solely on a larger PQ-breaking scale during inflation f I require either late-time dilution of the axion abundance or highly super-Planckian f I that somehow does not dominate the inflationary energy density. Models that have enhanced explicit breaking of the PQ symmetry during inflation may allow f a close to the Planck scale. Lastly, avoiding disruption of inflationary dynamics provides important limits on the parameter space.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stochastic Dark Matter from Curvature Perturbations

We investigate the production of dark matter from metric perturbations produced during inflation or in standard cosmology. Perturbations break Weyl flatness of the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker metric, allowing conformally coupled fields—in particular, fermions studied here—to be produced even when their mass is negligible. Particle production can be computed by studying the Bogoliubov transformation induced by the stochastic background. For perturbations generated during inflation, we present a closed formula for the resulting abundance of particles that depends solely on the power spectrum of curvature perturbations at the end of inflation. This production mechanism can be dominant especially if the amplitude of curvature perturbations is enhanced for modes that exit the horizon toward the end of inflation. In the simplest scenario, the critical dark matter abundance is reproduced for M ≳ 10 6 GeV . Published by the American Physical Society 2025

Garani, Raghuveer (ORCID:0000000175539914)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Balloon Tag Manufacturing Technique for Sensor Fish and Live Fish Recovery

Fish may experience injuries and mortality when they pass through hydraulic conveyances at hydropower dams, even if these conveyances are designed to be fish-friendly, such as downstream bypass systems, modified spillways and turbines. The main methods used to study fish passage conditions in hydraulic structures involve direct, in situ testing using Sensor Fish technology and live fish. Sensor Fish data helps identify physical stressors and their locations in the fish passage environment, while live fish are assessed for injuries and mortality. Balloon tags, which are self-inflating balloons attached externally to Sensor Fish and live fish, aid in their recovery after passing through hydraulic structures. This article focuses on the development of balloon tags with varying numbers of dissolvable, vegetable-based capsules containing a mixture of oxalic acid, sodium bicarbonate powders, and water at two different temperatures. Our research determined that balloon tags with three capsules, injected with 5 mL of water at 18.3 °C, consistently achieved the desired balloon volume. These tags had a mean inflation volume of 114 cm 3 with a standard deviation of 1.2 cm 3 . Among the balloon tags injected with water at 18.3 °C, it was observed that the two-capsule balloon tags took the longest time to reach full inflation. In addition, the four-capsule balloon tags demonstrated a faster inflation start time, while the three-capsule balloon tags demonstrated a faster deflation start time. Overall, this approach proves to be effective for validating the performance of new technologies, improving turbine design, and making operational decisions to enhance fish passage conditions. Importantly, it serves as a valuable tool for research and field evaluations, aiding in the refinement of both the design and operation of hydraulic structures.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fluidic actuator system and method

An actuator assembly that includes an angled bottom plate having an opposing first side face and second side face; a first set of one or more inflatable actuators engaging the first side face of the angled bottom plate; and a second set of one or more inflatable actuators engaging the second side face of the angled bottom plate. The first and second sets of inflatable actuators are configured to be separately fluidically inflated.

Madrone, Leila Marcia↗
DOE OSTI2019

Phenomenology of SUGRA extensions of the Starobinsky model

We analyze BI-extended model in a complete form and compare the predictions with that of Starobinsky model. Under the parameter constraints in Planck 2018, we find that the dynamics of the whole inflation process described by BI-extended and Starobinsky models are nearly the same, even though there are some differences in the regions out of inflation. We also find the scales of parameters in BI-extended model and inflaton values at the first horizon crossing required to implement inflation. The changes of (n{sub s},r) fingerprints of BI-extended model and that of evolutions of inflaton field due to the variations of relevant parameters are also investigated.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Single-field consistency relations of large scale structure

We derive consistency relations for the late universe (CDM and ΛCDM): relations between an n-point function of the density contrast δ and an (n+1)-point function in the limit in which one of the (n+1) momenta becomes much smaller than the others. These are based on the observation that a long mode, in single-field models of inflation, reduces to a diffeomorphism since its freezing during inflation all the way until the late universe, even when the long mode is inside the horizon (but out of the sound horizon). These results are derived in Newtonian gauge, at first and second order in the small momentum q of the long mode and they are valid non-perturbatively in the short-scale δ. In the non-relativistic limit our results match with [1]. These relations are a consequence of diffeomorphism invariance; they are not satisfied in the presence of extra degrees of freedom during inflation or violation of the Equivalence Principle (extra forces) in the late universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Inflationary buildup of a vector field condensate and its cosmological consequences

Light vector fields during inflation obtain a superhorizon perturbation spectrum when their conformal invariance is appropriately broken. Such perturbations, by means of some suitable mechanism (e.g. the vector curvaton mechanism), can contribute to the curvatue perturbation in the Universe and produce characteristic signals, such as statistical anisotropy, on the microwave sky, most recently surveyed by the Planck satellite mission. The magnitude of such characteristic features crucially depends on the magnitude of the vector condensate generated during inflation. However, in the vast majority of the literature the expectation value of this condensate has so-far been taken as a free parameter, lacking a definite prediction or a physically motivated estimate. In this paper, we study the stochastic evolution of the vector condensate and obtain an estimate for its magnitude. Our study is mainly focused in the supergravity inspired case when the kinetic function and mass of the vector boson is time-varying during inflation, but other cases are also explored such as a parity violating axial theory or a non-minimal coupling between the vector field and gravity. As an example, we apply our findings in the context of the vector curvaton mechanism and contrast our results with current observations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗