Late Universe Research Articles

Testing time-delayed cosmology

Inspired by nonlocal gravity theories, time-delayed cosmology proposes a delayed Friedmann equation that generically predicts an inflationary period with a natural end. The key parameter of this proposal is a time delay that is presumed to be very small in order for the model to evade potential astrophysical constraints. This work subjects this small-delay assumption to a test. We address the question of just how large a time delay can be accommodated within our current cosmological data. In order to do so, we do not restrict the model to the inflationary era and consider its possible operation in the late Universe as well, with an eye for any smoking-gun features that may indicate the presence of a time delay. We study the background evolution predicted by the delayed Friedmann equation and determine the growth of Newtonian perturbations in this delayed background. We show that a surprisingly large late-time cosmic delay is statistically consistent with Hubble expansion rate and growth data. Based on these observables, we also find that the standard varLambda CDM model has no advantage over time-delayed cosmology in terms of the Bayes factor.

Equation of state of the running vacuum

Recent studies of quantum field theory in FLRW spacetime suggest that the cause of the speeding up of the universe is the running vacuum (RV), see Moreno-Pulido and Solà Peracaula (Eur Phys J C 82(6):551, 2022; Eur Phys J C 80(8):692, 2020). Appropriate renormalization of the energy-momentum tensor shows that the vacuum energy density is a smooth function of the Hubble rate and its derivatives: rho _textrm{vac}=rho _textrm{vac}(H, {dot{H}},ddot{H},ldots ). This is because in QFT the quantum scaling of rho _textrm{vac} with the renormalization point turns into cosmic evolution with H. As a result, any two nearby points of the cosmic expansion during the standard FLRW epoch are smoothly related through delta rho _textrm{vac}sim mathcal{O}(H^2). In our approach, what we call the ‘cosmological constant’ Lambda is just the nearly sustained value of 8pi G(H)rho _textrm{vac}(H) around (any) given epoch, where G(H) is the running gravitational coupling. In the present study, after summarizing the main QFT calculations supporting the RV approach, we focus on the calculation of the equation of state (EoS) of the RV for the entire cosmic history within such a QFT framework. In particular, in the very early universe, where higher (even) powers rho _textrm{vac}sim mathcal{O}(H^N) (N=4,6,dots ) triggered inflation during a short period in which H=const, the vacuum EoS is very close to w_textrm{vac}=-1. This ceases to be true during the FLRW era, where it adopts the EoS of matter during the relativistic (w_textrm{vac}=1/3) and non-relativistic (w_textrm{vac}=0) epochs. Interestingly enough, we find that in the late universe the EoS becomes mildly dynamical and mimics quintessence, w_textrm{vac}gtrsim -1. It finally asymptotes to -1 in the remote future, but in the transit the RV helps alleviating the H_0 and sigma _8 tensions.

Generation of Primordial Magnetic Fields from QED and Higgs-like Domain Walls in Einstein–Cartan Gravity

Spacetime torsion is known to be highly suppressed at the end of inflation, which is called preheating. This result was recently shown in (EPJ C (2022)) in the frame of Einstein–Cartan–Brans–Dicke inflation. In this paper, it is shown that a torsionful magnetogenesis in QED effective Lagrangean drives a torsion damping in order to be subsequently amplified by the dynamo effect after the generation of these magnetic fields seeds. This damping on amplification would depend upon the so-called torsion chirality. Here, a cosmic factor gkK is present where K is the contortion vector and k is the wave vector which is connected to the inverse of magnetic coherence length. In a second example, we find Higgs inlationary fields in Einstein–Cartan gravity thick domain walls (DWs). Recently, a modified Einstein–Cartan gravity was given by Shaposhnikov et al. [PRL (2020)] to obtain Higgs-like inflatons as a portal to dark energy. In the case of thick DW, we assume that there is a torsion squared influence, since we are in the early universe where torsion is not so weak as in the late universe as shown by Paul and SenGupta [EPJ C (2019)] in a 5D brane-world. A static DW solution is obtained when the inflationary potential vanishes and Higgs potential is a helical function. Recently, in the absence of inflation, domain wall dynamos were obtained in Einstein–Cartan gravity (EC) where the spins of the nucleons were orthogonal to the wall.

Testing backreaction effects with type Ia supernova data and observational Hubble parameter data

The backreaction term Q D and the averaged spatial Ricci scalar R D in the spatially averaged inhomogeneous Universe can be combined into effective perfect fluid energy density ϱ eff D and pressure p eff D that can be regarded as new effective sources for the backreaction effects. In order to model the realistic evolution of backreaction, we adopt the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder (CPL) parameterizations of the equation of state (EoS) of the effective perfect fluid. To deal with observations in the backreaction context, in this paper, we employ two metrics to describe the late time Universe, one of them is the standard Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker(FLRW) metric, and the other is a template metric with an evolving curvature parameter introduced by Larena et. al. in their previous article. For comparison, we fit our CPL backreaction model as well as the well-known scaling backreaction model using type Ia supernova (SN Ia) data and observational Hubble parameter data (OHD) with these two metrics, and find out that parameter tensions between two different data sets are extremely larger in the template metric context for the scaling backreaction model, and moderately larger in the template metric context for the CPL backreaction model, therefore we conclude that the prescription of the geometrical instantaneous spatially-constant curvature κ D needs to be modified.

Multiple Transitions in Vacuum Dark Energy and H 0 Tension

We study the effects of multiple transitions in the vacuum dark energy density on the H 0 tension problem. We consider a phenomenological model in which the vacuum energy density undergoes multiple transitions in the early as well as the late universe and compare the model’s predictions using the three sets of data from the cosmic microwave background, baryonic acoustic oscillations, and supernovae. The transient dark energy can be either positive (dS-like) or negative (AdS-like). We conclude that a transient late-time AdS-type vacuum energy typically yields the higher value of H 0, which can alleviate the H 0 tension. In addition, to obtain a value of H 0 comparable to the value obtained from the local cosmological measurements the spectral index n s moves toward its Harrison–Zel’dovich scale-invariant value.

Role of constant jerk parameter in f(R,T) gravity

In this study, a homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi type-I universe model is considered taking the cosmological constant as a variable in the context of f (R, T) gravity. The presented model relies on a unique condition of constant jerk parameter as j = 1, which corresponds to a flat [Formula: see text]CDM model that leads to a variable deceleration parameter. The exact solution of the field equations is obtained under that condition, and the physical and geometrical features of the model are discussed through the paper. The model has been shown to be successful in explaining recent cosmological observations such as the universe’s expansion decelerates in the early universe and accelerates in the late universe, in agreement with their current data.

Cosmic microwave background spectral distortions from Rayleigh scattering at second order

Cosmic microwave background (CMB) spectral distortion from Rayleigh scattering is calculated for the first time in rigorous second-order cosmological perturbation theory. The new spectral distortion is sensitive to acoustic dissipation at $10^{-2}<k{\rm Mpc}/h<1$, which slightly extends the scale constrained by the CMB anisotropies. The spectral shape is different from either temperature perturbations or any other traditional spectral distortions from Compton scattering, such as $y$ and $\mu$. The new spectral distortion is not formed in the late Universe, unlike the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect degenerated with the primordial $y$ distortions since photons must be hot for Rayleigh scattering. Therefore, ideal measurements can distinguish the signal from the other effects and extract new information during recombination. Assuming cosmological parameters consistent with the recent CMB anisotropy measurements, we find the new spectral distortion is $6.5\times 10^{-3}$Jy/str, which is one order of magnitude smaller than the currently proposed target sensitivity range of voyage 2050.

The Cosmology of a Non-Minimally Coupled f(R,T) Gravitation

A non-minimally coupled cosmological scenario is considered in the context of f(R,T)=f1(R)+f2(R)f3(T) gravity (with R being the Ricci scalar and T the trace of the energy-momentum tensor) in the background of the flat Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) model. The field equations of this modified theory are solved using a time-dependent deceleration parameter for a dust. The behavior of the model is analyzed taking into account constraints from recent observed values the deceleration parameter. It is shown that the analyzed models can explain the transition from the decelerating phase to the accelerating one in the expansion of the universe, by staying true to the results of the observable universe. It is shown that the models are dominated by a quintessence-like cosmological dark fluid at the late universe.

Multifluid cosmology in f(G) gravity

The treatment of (1+3)-covariant perturbation in a multifluid cosmology with the consideration of [Formula: see text] gravity, [Formula: see text] being the Gauss–Bonnet term, is done in this paper. We define a set of covariant and gauge-invariant variables to describe density, velocity and entropy perturbations for both the total matter and component fluids. We then use different techniques such as scalar decomposition, harmonic decomposition, quasi-static approximation together with the redshift transformation to get simplified perturbation equations for analysis. We then discuss a number of interesting applications like the case where the universe is filled with a mixture of radiation and Gauss–Bonnet fluids as well as dust with Gauss–Bonnet fluids for both short- and long-wavelength limits. Considering polynomial [Formula: see text] model, we get numerical solutions of energy density perturbations and show that they decay with increase in redshift. This feature shows that under [Formula: see text] gravity, specifically under the considered [Formula: see text] model, one expects that the formation of the structure in the late Universe is enhanced.

Evolution of primordial black holes in an adiabatic FLRW universe with gravitational particle creation

We study the evolution of primordial black holes (PBHs) in an adiabatic FLRW universe with dissipation due to bulk viscosity which is considered to be in the form of gravitational particle creation. Assuming that the process of evaporation is quite suppressed during the radiation era, we obtain an analytic solution for the evolution of PBH mass by accretion during this era, subject to an initial condition. We also obtain an upper bound on the accretion efficiency $\epsilon$ for $a \sim a_r$, where $a_r$ is the point of transition from the early de Sitter era to the radiation era. Furthermore, we obtain numerical solutions for the mass of a hypothetical PBH with initial mass 100 g assumed to be formed at an epoch when the value of the Hubble parameter was, say, 1 km/s/Mpc. We consider three values of the accretion efficiency, $\epsilon=0.23,0.5$, and $0.89$ for our study. The analysis reveals that the mass of the PBH increases rapidly due to the accretion of radiation in the early stages of its evolution. The accretion continues but its rate decreases gradually with the evolution of the Universe. Finally, Hawking radiation comes into play and the rate of evaporation surpasses the accretion rate so that the PBH mass starts to decrease. As the Universe grows, evaporation becomes the dominant phenomenon, and the mass of the PBH decreases at a faster rate. As argued by Debnath and Paul, the evaporated mass of the PBHs might contribute towards the dark energy budget of the late Universe.

Microphysics of early dark energy

Early dark energy (EDE) relies on scalar field dynamics to resolve the Hubble tension, by boosting the pre-recombination length scales and thereby raising the CMB-inferred value of the Hubble constant into agreement with late universe probes. However, the collateral effect of scalar field microphysics on the linear perturbation spectra appears to preclude a fully satisfactory solution. ${H}_{0}$ is not raised without the inclusion of a late universe prior, and the ``${S}_{8}$ tension,'' a discrepancy between early- and late-universe measurements of the structure growth parameter, is exacerbated. What if EDE is not a scalar field? Here, we investigate whether different microphysics, encoded in the constitutive relationships between pressure and energy density fluctuations, can relieve these tensions. We show that EDE with an anisotropic sound speed can soften both the ${H}_{0}$ and ${S}_{8}$ tensions while still providing a quality fit to CMB data. Future observations from the CMB-S4 experiment may be able to distinguish the underlying microphysics at the $4\ensuremath{\sigma}$ level, and thereby test whether a scalar field or some richer physics is at work.

Constraining the Hubble constant and its lower limit from the proper motion of extragalactic radio jets

ABSTRACT The Hubble constant (H0) is a measurement to describe the expansion rate of the Universe in the current era. However, there is a 4.4σ discrepancy between the measurements from the early Universe and the late Universe. In this research, we propose a model-free and distance-free method to constrain H0. Combining Friedman–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker cosmology with geometrical relation of the proper motion of extragalactic jets, the lower limit (H0,min) of H0 can be determined using only three cosmology-free observables: the redshifts of the host galaxies, and the approaching and receding angular velocities of radio jets. Using these, we propose to use the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (K–S test) between cumulative distribution functions of H0,min to differentiate cosmology. We simulate 100, 200, and 500 extragalactic jets with three levels of accuracy of the proper motion (μa and μr), at 10, 5, and 1 per cent, corresponding to the accuracies of the current and future radio interferometers. We perform K–S tests between the simulated samples as theoretical distributions with different H0 and power-law index of velocity distribution of jets and mock observational data. Our result suggests increasing sample sizes leads to tighter constraints on both power-law index and the Hubble constant at moderate accuracy (i.e. $10$ and $5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$), while at $1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ accuracy, increasing sample sizes leads to tighter constraints on power-law index more. Improving accuracy results in better constraints in the Hubble constant compared with the power-law index in all cases, but it alleviates the degeneracy.

Toward a gravitational theory based on mass-induced accelerated space expansion

The general theory of relativity (GTR) has proved to accurately describe all gravitational aspects of our universe. This theory was developed by Einstein under the premises of the principle of equivalence to describe the behavior of inertial systems in accelerated reference frames, but the physical basis for the principle of equivalence and for the existence of accelerated reference frames remains to be understood. Here, we postulate that the principle of equivalence could be explained in terms of an accelerated flow of space toward the origin of the gravitational field, which would explain the accelerated reference frames. We provide evidence that the gravitational constant predicts the observed increase in the Hubble constant from early to late universe. This suggests that gravity and accelerated expansion of the universe could derive from the same physical principle depending on the mass density operating in each process. Mass-induced accelerated space expansion through a hypothetical fourth spatial dimension could explain the curvature of spacetime. It would be the projection of the expanded space to our three-dimensional universe what would lead to relativistic gravitational effects such as time dilation, redshift, and black hole formation. Therefore, a gravitational theory can be envisioned, halfway between classical mechanics and GTR.

Toward a direct measurement of the cosmic acceleration: The first preparation with FAST

Damped Lyman- α Absorber (DLA) of HI 21 cm system is an ideal probe to directly measure cosmic acceleration in real-time cosmology via Sandage–Loeb (SL) test. During short observations toward two DLAs in the commissioning progress of FAST, we manage to exhibit an HI 21 cm absorption feature from PKS1413+135 spectrum in one epoch with our highest resolution up to 100 Hz, preliminarily validating the frequency consistency under different resolutions and bandwidths. We make a Gaussian fitting to extract the spectral features, introduce two theoretical indicators to describe the fitted velocity uncertainty, and ultimately give a mean redshift and its constraint of z M = 0 . 24670045 ± 0 . 00000036 in accord with most literature. But our redshift error of the target is still three magnitudes higher than the level we can reach the drift signal. Though our first preparation has some flaws in time recording and diode settings, it still proves the correctness of our data process. Confined by limited observing time, we do not stretch FAST’s ability to obtain a better velocity constraint, so further researches are needed and in schedule. With fine sensitivity and improving spectral resolution, such observations in FAST could have reasonable possibility to explore cosmic acceleration in late time universe practically.

Thawing k-essence dark energy in the PAge space

A broad class of dark energy models can be written in the form of k-essence, whose Lagrangian density is a two-variable function of a scalar field ϕ and its kinetic energy . In the thawing scenario, the scalar field becomes dynamic only when the Hubble friction drops below its mass scale in the late Universe. Thawing k-essence dark energy models can be randomly sampled by generating the Taylor expansion coefficients of its Lagrangian density from random matrices [Huang Z 2021 Phys. Rev. D 104 103533]. Reference [Huang Z 2021 Phys. Rev. D 104 103533] points out that the non-uniform distribution of the effective equation of state parameters (w 0, w a ) of the thawing k-essence model can be used to improve the statistics of model selection. The present work studies the statistics of thawing k-essence in a more general framework that is Parameterized by the Age of the Universe (PAge) [Huang Z 2020 Astrophys. J. Lett. 892 L28]. For fixed matter fraction Ω m , the random thawing k-essence models cluster in a narrow band in the PAge parameter space, providing a strong theoretical prior. We simulate cosmic shear power spectrum data for the Chinese Space Station Telescope optical survey, and compare the fisher forecast with and without the theoretical prior of thawing k-essence. For an optimal tomography binning scheme, the theoretical prior improves the figure of merit in PAge space by a factor of 3.3.

Sub-percentage measure of distances to redshift of 0.1 by a new cosmic ruler

ABSTRACT Distance-redshift diagrams probe expansion history of the Universe. We show that the stellar mass-binding energy (massE) relation of galaxies proposed in our previous study offers a new distance ruler at cosmic scales. By using elliptical galaxies in the main galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, we construct a distance-redshift diagram over the redshift range from 0.05 to 0.2 with the massE ruler. The best-fit dark energy density is 0.675 ± 0.079 for flat Λ-cold dark matter (ΛCDM) model, consistent with those by other probes. At the median redshift of 0.11, the median distance is estimated to have a fractional error of 0.34 per cent, much lower than those by supernova (SN) Ia and baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) and even exceeding their future capability at this redshift. The above low-$\mathit{ z}$ measurement is useful for probing dark energy that dominates at the late Universe. For a flat dark energy equation of state model (flat wCDM), the massE alone constrains w to an error that is only a factor of 2.2, 1.7, and 1.3 times larger than those by BAO, SN Ia, and cosmic microwave background (CMB), respectively.

A New Way to Explore Cosmological Tensions Using Gravitational Waves and Strong Gravitational Lensing

In recent years, a crisis in the standard cosmology has been caused by inconsistencies in the measurements of some key cosmological parameters, the Hubble constant H 0 and cosmic curvature parameter Ω K , for example. It is necessary to remeasure them with the cosmological model-independent methods. In this paper, based on the distance sum rule, we present such a way to constrain H 0 and Ω K simultaneously in the late universe from strong gravitational lensing time-delay (SGLTD) data and gravitational wave (GW) standard siren data simulated from the future observation of the Einstein Telescope (ET). Based on the data for six currently observed SGLTDs, we find that the constraint precision of H 0 from the combined 100 GW events can be comparable with the measurement from the SH0ES collaboration. As the number of GW events increases to 700, the constraint precision of H 0 will exceed that of the Planck 2018 results. Considering 1000 GW events as the conservative estimation of ET in the 10 yr observation, we obtain H 0 = 73.69 ± 0.36 km s−1 Mpc−1 with a 0.5% uncertainty and . In addition, we simulate 55 strong gravitational lensing (SGL) systems with a 6.6% uncertainty for the measurement of time-delay distance. By combining with 1000 GWs, we infer that H 0 = 73.65 ± 0.35 km s−1 Mpc−1 and Ω K = 0.008 ± 0.048. Our results suggest that this approach can play an important role in exploring cosmological tensions.

Strongly lensed type Ia supernovae as a precise late-Universe probe of measuring the Hubble constant and cosmic curvature

Strongly lensed type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are expected to have some advantages in measuring time delays of multiple images, and so they have a great potential to be developed into a powerful late-universe cosmological probe. In this paper, we simulate a sample of lensed SNe Ia with time-delay measurements in the era of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Based on the distance sum rule, we use lensed SNe Ia to implement model-independent constraints on the Hubble constant $H_0$ and cosmic curvature parameter $\Omega_K$ in the late universe. We find that if 20 lensed SNe Ia could be observed, the constraint on $H_{0}$ is better than the measurement by the SH0ES collaboration. When the event number of lensed SNe Ia increases to 100, the constraint precision of $H_{0}$ is comparable with the result from Planck 2018 data. Considering 200 lensed SNe Ia events as the optimistic estimation, we obtain $\Delta H_0=0.33$ $\rm km\ s^{-1}\ Mpc^{-1}$ and $\Delta\Omega_K=0.053$. In addition, we also simulate lensed quasars in different scenarios to make a comparison and we find that they are still a useful cosmological probe even though the constraint precision from them is much less than that obtained from lensed SNe Ia. In the era of LSST, the measurements of time delay from both lensed SNe Ia and lensed quasars are expected to yield the results of $\Delta H_0=0.26 ~\rm km\ s^{-1}\ Mpc^{-1}$ and $\Delta\Omega_K=0.044$.

The Bohmian Approach to the Problems of Cosmological Quantum Fluctuations

There are two kinds of quantum fluctuations relevant to cosmology that we focus on in this article: those that form the seeds for structure formation in the early universe and those giving rise to Boltzmann brains in the late universe. First, structure formation requires slight inhomogeneities in the density of matter in the early universe, which then get amplified by the effect of gravity, leading to clumping of matter into stars and galaxies. According to inflation theory, quantum fluctuations form the seeds of these inhomogeneities. However, these quantum fluctuations are described by a quantum state which is homogeneous and isotropic, and this raises a problem, connected to the foundations of quantum theory, as the unitary evolution alone cannot break the symmetry of the quantum state. Second, Boltzmann brains are random agglomerates of particles that, by extreme coincidence, form functioning brains. Unlikely as these coincidences are, they seem to be predicted to occur in a quantum universe as vacuum fluctuations if the universe continues to exist for an infinite (or just very long) time, in fact to occur over and over, even forming the majority of all brains in the history of the universe. We provide a brief introduction to the Bohmian version of quantum theory and explain why in this version, Boltzmann brains, an undesirable kind of fluctuation, do not occur (or at least not often), while inhomogeneous seeds for structure formation, a desirable kind of fluctuation, do.

Unifying inflation with early and late dark energy with multiple fields: Spontaneously broken scale invariant two measures theory

A unified multi scalar field model with three flat regions is discussed. The three flat regions are the inflation, early and late dark energy epochs. The potential is obtained by a spontaneous breaking of scale invariance generated by Non Riemannian Measures of integration (or Two Measures Theories (TMT)).We define the scale invariant couplings of the scalar fields to the different measures through exponential potentials. Spontaneous breaking of scale invariance takes place when integrating the fields that define the measures. When going to the Einstein frame we obtain: (i) An effective potential for the scalar fields with three flat regions which allows for a unified description of both early universe inflation (in the higher energy density flat region) as well as of present dark energy epoch which can be realized with a double phase, i.e., in two flat regions. (ii) In the slow roll inflation, only one field combination the ``dilaton", which transforms under scale transformations, has non trivial dynamics, the orthogonal one, which is scale invariant remains constant. (iv) In the late universe we define scale invariant couplings of Dark Matter to the dilaton. These couplings define a matter induced potential for the dilaton and extremizing this potential determines the scale invariant scalar field, while all exotic non canonical behavior of the Dark Matter as well as any possible $5^{th}$ force disappear. (v) We calculate the evolution of the late universe under these conditions with the realization of two different possible realizations of $\Lambda$CDM type scenarios depending of the flat region in the late universe. These two phases could appear at different times in the history of the universe.(vi) From the Planck data, we find the constraints on the parameters during the inflationary epoch and these values are used to obtain constraints relevant to the present epoch.