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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 1,117 records · Page 62
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

New Theories for Physics beyond the Standard Model

The theoretical particle physics and cosmology group at Case Western Reserve University has a great tradition in this field of research. The PI is a new professor at CWRU, and his main goal is to establish a new theoretical effort in particle physics and cosmology. The PI has been working on physics beyond the Standard Model for more than 12 years and have published more than 75 publications in this field. The proposed research project will be crucial for the postdocs and students to understand the different theories for physics beyond the Standard Model and become world experts in this field of research. The main goal of this project is to investigate new theories for physics beyond the Standard Model. The Standard Model of Particle Physics is one of the most successful theories of nature, but it cannot explain many open issues in particle physics and cosmology. In this proposal we propose to investigate new ideas which could lead to a more complete theory. The PI has proposed new theories for physics beyond the Standard Model where the baryon and lepton numbers can be defined as local gauge symmetries spontaneously broken at the low scale. In these theories one can understand the proton stability and one have some interesting predictions for cosmology. These theories have the potential to change the standard paradigm for physics beyond the Standard Model, where one assumes a great desert between the electroweak scale and the scale where one has the possible unification of fundamental forces. In this context one does not need to postulate the great desert, the proton is stable, and one can have the unification of the gauge forces at the low scale. We propose to investigate theoretical, cosmological and phenomenological aspects of the theories where the baryon and lepton numbers are local gauge symmetries. We plan to investigate new possible baryogenesis mechanisms in the case where the local baryon number is spontaneously broken at the low scale. In this case there could be a relation between the baryon asymmetry and the asymmetry in the dark matter sector. In the context of these theories, one has different candidates for the cold dark matter in the Universe and we plan to investigate all predictions for direct detection experiments and the possible signals at gamma-ray telescopes. The different signatures at the Large Hadron Collider will be investigated in great detail. In these theories one predicts the existence of new particle with baryon and lepton numbers called lepto- baryons which can give rise to exotic signatures at the Large Hadron Collider. One of the most interesting aspects to study in this context is the unification of gauge forces. Since the proton is stable in this theory one can realized the unification at the low scale and understand the embedding of these theories in grand unified theories. These studies could define a new way to think about physics beyond the Standard Model.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Distinguishing modified gravity models

Modified gravity models with screening in local environments appear in three different guises: chameleon, K-mouflage and Vainshtein mechanisms. We propose to look for differences between these classes of models by considering cosmological observations at low redshift. In particular, we analyse the redshift dependence of the fine structure constant and the proton to electron mass ratio in each of these scenarios. When the absorption lines belong to unscreened regions of space such as dwarf galaxies, a time variation would be present for chameleons. For both K-mouflage and Vainshtein mechanisms, the cosmological time variation of the scalar field is not suppressed in both unscreened and screened environments, therefore enhancing the variation of constants and their detection prospect. We also consider the time variation of the redshift of distant objects using their spectrocopic velocities. We find that models of the K-mouflage and Vainshtein types have very different spectroscopic velocities as a function of redshift and that their differences with the Λ-CDM template should be within reach of the future ELT-HIRES observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constraining nuclear data via cosmological observations: Neutrino energy transport and big bang nucleosynthesis

Here, we introduce a new computational capability that moves toward a self-consistent calculation of neutrino transport and nuclear reactions for big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). Such a self-consistent approach is needed to be able to extract detailed information about nuclear reactions and physics beyond the standard model from precision cosmological observations of primordial nuclides and the cosmic microwave background radiation. We also calculate the evolution of the early universe through the epochs of weak decoupling, weak freeze-out and big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) by simultaneously coupling a full strong, electromagnetic, and weak nuclear reaction network with a multi-energy group Boltzmann neutrino energy transport scheme. The modular structure of our approach allows the dissection of the relative contributions of each process responsible for evolving the dynamics of the early universe. Such an approach allows a detailed account of the evolution of the active neutrino energy distribution functions alongside and self-consistently with the nuclear reactions and entropy/heat generation and flow between the neutrino and photon/electron/positron/baryon plasma components. Our calculations reveal nonlinear feedback in the time evolution of neutrino distribution functions and plasma thermodynamic conditions. We discuss the time development of neutrino spectral distortions and concomitant entropy production and extraction from the plasma. These effects result in changes in the computed values of the BBN deuterium and helium-4 yields that are on the order of a half-percent relative to a baseline standard BBN calculation with no neutrino transport. This is an order of magnitude larger effect than in previous estimates. For particular implementations of quantum corrections in plasma thermodynamics, our calculations show a 0.4% increase in deuterium and a 0.6% decrease in 4 He over our baseline. The magnitude of these changes are on the order of uncertainties in the nuclear physics for the case of deuterium and are potentially significant for the error budget of helium in upcoming cosmological observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Aemulus ν: precision halo mass functions in wνCDM cosmologies

Precise and accurate predictions of the halo mass function for cluster mass scales in wνCDM cosmologies are crucial for extracting robust and unbiased cosmological information from upcoming galaxy cluster surveys. Here, we present a halo mass function emulator for cluster mass scales (≳ 1013 M ⊙/h) up to redshift z = 2 with comprehensive support for the parameter space of wνCDM cosmologies allowed by current data. Based on the Aemulus ν suite of simulations, the emulator marks a significant improvement in the precision of halo mass function predictions by incorporating both massive neutrinos and non-standard dark energy equation of state models. This allows for accurate modeling of the cosmology dependence in large-scale structure and galaxy cluster studies. We show that the emulator, designed using Gaussian Process Regression, has negligible theoretical uncertainties compared to dominant sources of error in future cluster abundance studies. Our emulator is publicly available (https://github.com/DelonShen/aemulusnu_hmf), providing the community with a crucial tool for upcoming cosmological surveys such as LSST and Euclid.

cluster counts↗
DOE OSTI2014

Towards scaling cosmological solutions with full coupled Horndeski Lagrangian: the KGB model

We study a general scalar field Lagrangian coupled with matter and linear in □φ (also called KGB model). Within this class of models, we find the most general form of the Lagrangian that allows for cosmological scaling solutions, i.e. solutions where the ratio of matter to field density and the equation of state remain constant. Scaling solutions of this kind may help solving the coincidence problem since in this case the presently observed ratio of matter to dark energy does not depend on initial conditions, but rather on the theoretical parameters. Extending previous results we find that it is impossible to join in a single solution a matter era and the scaling attractor. This is an additional step towards finding the most general scaling Lagrangian within the Horndeski class, i.e. general scalar-tensor models with second order equations of motion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Non-parametric reconstruction of cosmological matter perturbations

Perturbative quantities, such as the growth rate (f) and index (γ), are powerful tools to distinguish different dark energy models or modified gravity theories even if they produce the same cosmic expansion history. In this work, without any assumption about the dynamics of the Universe, we apply a non-parametric method to current measurements of the expansion rate H(z) from cosmic chronometers and high-z quasar data and reconstruct the growth factor and rate of linearised density perturbations in the non-relativistic matter component. Assuming realistic values for the matter density parameter Ω{sub m0}, as provided by current CMB experiments, we also reconstruct the evolution of the growth index γ with redshift. We show that the reconstruction of current H(z) data constrains the growth index to γ=0.56 ± 0.12 (2σ) at z = 0.09, which is in full agreement with the prediction of the ΛCDM model and some of its extensions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Parameter splitting in dark energy: is dark energy the same in the background and in the cosmic structures?

We perform an empirical consistency test of General Relativity/dark energy by disentangling expansion history and growth of structure constraints. We replace each late-universe parameter that describes the behavior of dark energy with two meta-parameters: one describing geometrical information in cosmological probes, and the other controlling the growth of structure. If the underlying model (a standard wCDM cosmology with General Relativity) is correct, that is under the null hypothesis, the two meta-parameters coincide. If they do not, it could indicate a failure of the model or systematics in the data. We present a global analysis using state-of-the-art cosmological data sets which points in the direction that cosmic structures prefer a weaker growth than that inferred by background probes. This result could signify inconsistencies of the model, the necessity of extensions to it or the presence of systematic errors in the data. We examine all these possibilities. The fact that the result is mostly driven by a specific sub-set of galaxy clusters abundance data, points to the need of a better understanding of this probe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Multipole analysis of redshift-space distortions around cosmic voids

We perform a comprehensive redshift-space distortion analysis based on cosmic voids in the large-scale distribution of galaxies observed with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. To this end, we measure multipoles of the void-galaxy cross-correlation function and compare them with standard model predictions in cosmology. Merely considering linear-order theory allows us to accurately describe the data on the entire available range of scales and to probe void-centric distances down to about 2 h {sup −1}Mpc. Common systematics, such as the Fingers-of-God effect, scale-dependent galaxy bias, and nonlinear clustering do not seem to play a significant role in our analysis. We constrain the growth rate of structure via the redshift-space distortion parameter β at two median redshifts, β( z-bar =0.32)=0.599{sup +0.134}{sub −0.124} and β( z-bar =0.54)=0.457{sup +0.056}{sub −0.054}, with a precision that is competitive with state-of-the-art galaxy-clustering results. While the high-redshift constraint perfectly agrees with model expectations, we observe a mild 2σ deviation at z-bar =0.32, which increases to 3σ when the data is restricted to the lowest available redshift range of 0.15< z <0.33.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Statistics of cosmological gamma-ray bursts

A phenomenological model of gamma-ray burst spectra is used to calculate the statistics of gamma-ray bursts originating at cosmological distances. A model of bursters with no source evolution in a q sub 0 = 1/2 Friedmann cosmology is in accord with recent observations of the differential V/Vmax distribution. The data are best fit with an average peak-burst luminosity of (4 +/- 2) x 10 exp 51 ergs/s and a present-day source emissivity of 940 +/- 440 bursts/(10 exp 10 yr) cu Mpc. A spectral test of the cosmological hypothesis is proposed.

Dermer, Charles D.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Standard Model–axion–seesaw–Higgs portal inflation. Five problems of particle physics and cosmology solved in one stroke

We present a minimal extension of the Standard Model (SM) providing a consistent picture of particle physics from the electroweak scale to the Planck scale and of cosmology from inflation until today. Three right-handed neutrinos N {sub i} , a new color triplet Q and a complex SM-singlet scalar σ, whose vacuum expectation value v {sub σ} ∼ 10{sup 11} GeV breaks lepton number and a Peccei-Quinn symmetry simultaneously, are added to the SM. At low energies, the model reduces to the SM, augmented by seesaw generated neutrino masses and mixing, plus the axion. The latter solves the strong CP problem and accounts for the cold dark matter in the Universe. The inflaton is comprised by a mixture of σ and the SM Higgs, and reheating of the Universe after inflation proceeds via the Higgs portal. Baryogenesis occurs via thermal leptogenesis. Thus, five fundamental problems of particle physics and cosmology are solved at one stroke in this unified Standard Model—axion—seesaw—Higgs portal inflation (SMASH) model. It can be probed decisively by upcoming cosmic microwave background and axion dark matter experiments.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The effective two-dimensional phase space of cosmological scalar fields

It has been shown by Remmen and Carroll [1] that, for a model universe which contains only a kinetically canonical scalar field minimally coupled to gravity it is possible to choose 'special coordinates' to describe a two-dimensional effective phase space. The special, non-canonical, coordinates are φ,φ-dot and the ability to describe an effective phase space with these coordinates empowers the common usage of φ-φ-dot as the space to define inflationary initial conditions. This paper extends the result to the full Horndeski action. The existence of a two-dimensional effective phase space is shown for the general case. Subsets of the Horndeski action, relevant to cosmology are considered as particular examples to highlight important aspects of the procedure.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The clustering of galaxies in the completed SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: cosmological analysis of the DR12 galaxy sample

Here we present cosmological results from the final galaxy clustering data set of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. Our combined galaxy sample comprises 1.2 million massive galaxies over an effective area of 9329 deg 2 and volume of 18.7 Gpc 3 , divided into three partially overlapping redshift slices centred at effective redshifts 0.38, 0.51 and 0.61. We measure the angular diameter distance DM and Hubble parameter H from the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) method, in combination with a cosmic microwave background prior on the sound horizon scale, after applying reconstruction to reduce non-linear effects on the BAO feature. Using the anisotropic clustering of the pre-reconstruction density field, we measure the product DMH from the Alcock–Paczynski (AP) effect and the growth of structure, quantified by fσ8(z), from redshift-space distortions (RSD). We combine individual measurements presented in seven companion papers into a set of consensus values and likelihoods, obtaining constraints that are tighter and more robust than those from any one method; in particular, the AP measurement from sub-BAO scales sharpens constraints from post-reconstruction BAOs by breaking degeneracy between DM and H. Combined with Planck 2016 cosmic microwave background measurements, our distance scale measurements simultaneously imply curvature ΩK = 0.0003 ± 0.0026 and a dark energy equation-of-state parameter w = -1.01 ± 0.06, in strong affirmation of the spatially flat cold dark matter (CDM) model with a cosmological constant (ΛCDM). Our RSD measurements of fσ8, at 6 per cent precision, are similarly consistent with this model. When combined with supernova Ia data, we find H0 = 67.3 ± 1.0 km s -1 Mpc -1 even for our most general dark energy model, in tension with some direct measurements. Adding extra relativistic species as a degree of freedom loosens the constraint only slightly, to H0 = 67.8 ± 1.2km s -1 Mpc -1 . Assuming flat ΛCDM, we find Ωm = 0.310 ± 0.005 and H0 = 67.6 ± 0.5 km s -1 Mpc -1 , and we find a 95 per cent upper limit of 0.16 eV c -2 on the neutrino mass sum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interpreting internal consistency of DES measurements

ABSTRACT Bayesian evidence ratios are widely used to quantify the statistical consistency between different experiments. However, since the evidence ratio is prior dependent, the precise translation between its value and the degree of concordance/discordance requires additional information. The most commonly adopted metric, the Jeffreys scale, can falsely suggest agreement between data sets when priors are chosen to be sufficiently wide. This work examines evidence ratios in a DES-Y1 simulated analysis, focusing on the internal consistency between weak lensing and galaxy clustering. We study two scenarios using simulated data in controlled experiments. First, we calibrate the expected evidence ratio distribution given noise realizations around the best-fitting DES-Y1 ΛCDM cosmology. Secondly, we show the behaviour of evidence ratios for noiseless fiducial data vectors simulated using a modified gravity model, which generates internal tension in the LCDM analysis. We find that the evidence ratio of noise realizations generated at all confidence levels was biased towards agreement and show, with a modified gravity model, that the choice of prior could conceal the discrepancies between weak lensing and galaxy clustering induced by prior effects in unlike cosmological models, concluding that the evidence ratio in a DES-Y1 study is, indeed, biased towards agreement. Boundary effects can also influence conclusions about the inconsistency induced by modified gravity, even in a noiseless data vector simulation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Remarks on mechanical approach to observable Universe

We consider the Universe deep inside the cell of uniformity. At these scales, the Universe is filled with inhomogeneously distributed discrete structures (galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies), which perturb the background Friedmann model. Here, the mechanical approach (Eingorn and Zhuk, 2012) is the most appropriate to describe the dynamics of the inhomogeneities which is defined, on the one hand, by gravitational potentials of inhomogeneities and, on the other hand, by the cosmological expansion of the Universe. In this paper, we present additional arguments in favor of this approach. First, we estimate the size of the cell of uniformity. With the help of the standard methods of statistical physics and for the galaxies of the type of the Milky Way and Andromeda, we get that it is of the order of 190 Mpc which is rather close to observations. Then, we show that the nonrelativistic approximation (with respect to the peculiar velocities) is valid for z∼<10, i.e. approximately for 13 billion years from the present moment. We consider scalar perturbations and, within the ΛCDM model, justify the main equations. Moreover, we demonstrate that radiation can be naturally incorporated into our scheme. This emphasizes the viability of our approach. This approach gives a possibility to analyze different cosmological models and compare them with the observable Universe. For example, we indicate some problematic aspects of the spatially flat models. Such models require a rather specific distribution of the inhomogeneities to get a finite potential at any points outside gravitating masses. We also criticize the application of the Schwarzschild-de Sitter solution to the description of the motion of test bodies on the cosmological background.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Nonlinear structure formation in the cubic Galileon gravity model

We model the linear and nonlinear growth of large scale structure in the Cubic Galileon gravity model, by running a suite of N-body cosmological simulations using the ECOSMOG code. Our simulations include the Vainshtein screening effect, which reconciles the Cubic Galileon model with local tests of gravity. In the linear regime, the amplitude of the matter power spectrum increases by ∼ 20% with respect to the standard ΛCDM model today. The modified expansion rate accounts for ∼ 15% of this enhancement, while the fifth force is responsible for only ∼ 5%. This is because the effective unscreened gravitational strength deviates from standard gravity only at late times, even though it can be twice as large today. In the nonlinear regime (k∼>0.1h Mpc{sup −1}), the fifth force leads to only a modest increase (∼<8%) in the clustering power on all scales due to the very efficient operation of the Vainshtein mechanism. Such a strong effect is typically not seen in other models with the same screening mechanism. The screening also results in the fifth force increasing the number density of halos by less than 10%, on all mass scales. Our results show that the screening does not ruin the validity of linear theory on large scales which anticipates very strong constraints from galaxy clustering data. We also show that, whilst the model gives an excellent match to CMB data on small angular scales (l∼>50), the predicted integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect is in tension with Planck/WMAP results.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Single-field consistency relations of large scale structure part III: test of the equivalence principle

The recently derived consistency relations for Large Scale Structure do not hold if the Equivalence Principle (EP) is violated. We show it explicitly in a toy model with two fluids, one of which is coupled to a fifth force. We explore the constraints that galaxy surveys can set on EP violation looking at the squeezed limit of the 3-point function involving two populations of objects. We find that one can explore EP violations of order 10{sup −3}÷10{sup −4} on cosmological scales. Chameleon models are already very constrained by the requirement of screening within the Solar System and only a very tiny region of the parameter space can be explored with this method. We show that no violation of the consistency relations is expected in Galileon models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗