Mimetic Field Research Articles

Thermodynamics of apparent horizon in mimetic cosmology

A new perspective toward Einstein’s theory of general relativity, called mimetic gravity, was suggested in [A. H. Chamseddine and V. Mukhanov, J. High Energy Phys. 1311 (2013) 135] by isolating the conformal degree of freedom in a covariant fashion through a re-parametrization of the physical metric in terms of an auxiliary metric and a mimetic field. In this paper, we first derive the Friedmann equations of the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) universe with any spatial curvature in mimetic gravity. Then, we disclose that one can always rewrite the Friedmann equations of mimetic cosmology in the form of the first law of thermodynamics, [Formula: see text], on the apparent horizon. We confirm that the entropy associated with the apparent horizon in mimetic cosmology still obeys the area law of entropy which is useful in studying the thermodynamical properties of the black holes in mimetic gravity. We also examine the time evolution of the total entropy in mimetic cosmology and show that, with the local equilibrium assumption, the generalized second law of thermodynamics is fulfilled in a region enclosed by the apparent horizon. Our study further supports the viability of the mimetic gravity from a thermodynamic viewpoint and provides a strong consistency check of this model.

Alive and well: mimetic gravity and a higher-order extension in light of GW170817

The near-simultaneous multi-messenger detection of the gravitational wave (GW) event GW170817 and its optical counterpart, the short -ray burst GRB170817A, implies that deviations of the GW speed from the speed of light are restricted to being of . In this note, we study the implications of this bound for mimetic gravity and confirm that in the original setting of the theory, GWs propagate at the speed of light, hence ensuring agreement with the recent multi-messenger detection. A higher-order extension of the original mimetic theory, appearing in the low-energy limit of projectable Hořava–Lifshitz gravity, is then considered. Performing a Bayesian statistical analysis where we compare the predictions of the higher-order mimetic model for the speed of GWs against the observational bound from GW170817/GRB170817A, we derive constraints on the three free parameters of the theory. Imposing the absence of both ghost instabilities and superluminal propagation of scalar and tensor perturbations, we find very stringent 95% confidence level upper limits of and on the coupling strengths of Lagrangian terms of the form and respectively, with the mimetic field. We discuss implications of the obtained bounds for mimetic theories. This work presents the first ever robust comparison of a mimetic theory to observational data.

Mimetic massive gravity: beyond linear approximation

We present a theory of ghost-free massive gravity where the mass of the graviton is generated through the Brout-Englert-Higgs (BEH) mechanism and one of the four scalar fields used is that of mimetic gravity. The mass term is not of the Fierz-Pauli type and the constraint eliminates the Boulware-Deser ghost which is absent to all orders. We perform a detailed analysis using the methods of cosmological perturbation theory and consider quantum fluctuations of the degrees of freedom of massive graviton and mimetic matter. It is shown that for three of the degrees of freedom of the graviton of mass m the nonlinear corrections become comparable to the linear terms already at a length scale of order {m}^{-frac{1}{2}} . Thus, at smaller scales they become strongly coupled and the graviton remains with two transverse degrees of freedom which get strongly coupled only at Planck scale. The mimetic field behaves as cold particles of half of the graviton mass and could well explain the source of dark matter in our universe. In the weakly coupled domain mimetic matter is completely decoupled from the massive graviton.

Large-scale structure in mimetic Horndeski gravity

In this paper, we propose to use the mimetic Horndeski model as a model for the dark universe. Both cold dark matter (CDM) and dark energy (DE) phenomena are described by a single component, the mimetic field. In linear theory, we show that this component effectively behaves like a perfect fluid with zero sound speed and clusters on all scales. For the simpler mimetic cubic Horndeski model, if the background expansion history is chosen to be identical to a perfect fluid DE (PFDE) then the mimetic model predicts the same power spectrum of the Newtonian potential as the PFDE model with zero sound speed. In particular, if the background is chosen to be the same as that of LCDM, then also in this case the power spectrum of the Newtonian potential in the mimetic model becomes indistinguishable from the power spectrum in LCDM on linear scales. A different conclusion may be found in the case of non-adiabatic perturbations. We also discuss the distinguishability, using power spectrum measurements from LCDM N-body simulations as a proxy for future observations, between these mimetic models and other popular models of DE. For instance, we find that if the background has an equation of state equal to −0.95 then we will be able to distinguish the mimetic model from the PFDE model with unity sound speed. On the other hand, it will be hard to do this distinction with respect to the LCDM model.

Cosmological dynamics of mimetic gravity

We present a detailed investigation of the dynamical behavior of mimetic gravity with a general potential for the mimetic scalar field. Performing a phase-space and stability analysis, we show that the scenario at hand can successfully describe the thermal history of the universe, namely the successive sequence of radiation, matter, and dark-energy eras. Additionally, at late times the universe can either approach a de Sitter solution, or a scaling accelerated attractor where the dark-matter and dark-energy density parameters are of the same order, thus offering an alleviation of the cosmic coincidence problem. Applying our general analysis to various specific potential choices, including the power-law and the exponential ones, we show that mimetic gravity can be brought into good agreement with the observed behavior of the universe. Moreover, with an inverse square potential we find that mimetic gravity offers an appealing unified cosmological scenario where both dark energy and dark matter are characterized by a single scalar field, and where the cosmic coincidence problem is alleviated.

Black hole solutions in mimetic Born-Infeld gravity

The vacuum, static, and spherically symmetric solutions in the mimetic Born-Infeld gravity are studied. The mimetic Born-Infeld gravity is a reformulation of the Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld (EiBI) model under the mimetic approach. Due to the mimetic field, the theory contains non-trivial vacuum solutions different from those in Einstein gravity. We find that with the existence of the mimetic field, the spacelike singularity inside a Schwarzschild black hole could be altered to a lightlike singularity, even though the curvature invariants still diverge at the singularity. Furthermore, in this case, the maximal proper time for a timelike radially-infalling observer to reach the singularity is found to be infinite.

Thick branes with inner structure in mimetic gravity

In this paper, thick branes generated by mimetic scalar field are investigated. Three typical thick brane models are constructed and the linear tensor and scalar perturbations are analyzed. These branes have different inner structures, some of which are absent in general relativity. For each brane model, the solution is stable under both tensor and scalar perturbations. The tensor zero modes are localized on the branes, while the scalar perturbations do not propagate and they are not localized on the brane. As the branes split into multi sub-branes for specific parameters, the potentials of the tensor perturbations also split into multi-wells, and this may lead to new phenomenon in the resonance of the tensor perturbation and the localization of matter fields.

The Mimetic Born-Infeld Gravity: The Primordial Cosmos and Spherically Symmetric Solutions

The Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld (EiBI) model is reformulated within the mimetic approach. In the presence of a mimetic field, the model contains non-trivial vacuum solutions. We study a realistic primordial vacuum universe and we prove the existence of regular solutions. Besides, the linear instabilities in the EiBI model are found to be avoidable for some bouncing solutions. For a vacuum, static and spherically symmetric geometry, a new branch of solutions in which the black hole singularity that is replaced with a lightlike singularity is found.

Primordial cosmology in mimetic born-infeld gravity

The Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld (EiBI) model is reformulated within the mimetic approach. In the presence of a mimetic field, the model contains non-trivial vacuum solutions which could be free of spacetime singularity because of the Born-Infeld nature of the theory. We study a realistic primordial vacuum universe and prove the existence of regular solutions, such as primordial inflationary solutions of de Sitter type or bouncing solutions. Besides, the linear instabilities present in the EiBI model are found to be avoidable for some interesting bouncing solutions in which the physical metric as well as the auxiliary metric are regular at the background level.

Recovering a MOND-like acceleration law in mimetic gravity

We reconsider the recently proposed mimetic gravity, focusing in particular on whether the theory is able to reproduce the inferred flat rotation curves of galaxies. We extend the theory by adding a non-minimal coupling between matter and mimetic field. Such coupling leads to the appearance of an extra force which renders the motion of test particles non-geodesic. By studying the weak field limit of the resulting equations of motion, we demonstrate that in the Newtonian limit the acceleration law induced by the non-minimal coupling reduces to a modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND)-like one. In this way, it is possible to reproduce the successes of MOND, namely the explanation for the flat galactic rotation curves and the Tully–Fisher relation, within the framework of mimetic gravity, without the need for particle dark matter. The scale-dependence of the recovered acceleration scale opens up the possibility of addressing the missing mass problem not only on galactic but also on cluster scales: we defer a full study of this issue, together with a complete analysis of fits to spiral galaxy rotation curves, to an upcoming companion paper.

On (in)stabilities of perturbations in mimetic models with higher derivatives

Usually when applying the mimetic model to the early universe, higher derivative terms are needed to promote the mimetic field to be dynamical. However such models suffer from the ghost and/or the gradient instabilities and simple extensions cannot cure this pathology. We point out in this paper that it is possible to overcome this difficulty by considering the direct couplings of the higher derivatives of the mimetic field to the curvature of the spacetime.

Instabilities in mimetic matter perturbations

We study cosmological perturbations in mimetic matter scenario with a general higher derivative function. We calculate the quadratic action and show that both the kinetic term and the gradient term have the wrong sings. We perform the analysis in both comoving and Newtonian gauges and confirm that the Hamiltonians and the associated instabilities are consistent with each other in both gauges. The existence of instabilities is independent of the specific form of higher derivative function which generates gradients for mimetic field perturbations. It is verified that the ghost instability in mimetic perturbations is not associated with the higher derivative instabilities such as the Ostrogradsky ghost.

Braneworld mimetic cosmology

We extend the idea of mimetic gravity to a Randall–Sundrum II braneworld model. As for the 4-dimensional mimetic gravity, we isolate the conformal degree of freedom of 5-dimensional gravity in a covariant manner. We assume the bulk metric to be made up of a non-dynamical scalar field Φ and an auxiliary metric G˜AB so that GAB=G˜CDΦ,CΦ,DG˜AB where A,B,... are the bulk spacetime indices. Then we show that the induced conformal degree of freedom on the brane as an induced scalar field, plays the role of a mimetic field on the brane. In fact, we suppose that the scalar degree of freedom which mimics the dark sectors on the brane has its origin on the bulk scalar field, Φ. By adopting some suitable mimetic potentials on the brane, we show that this brane mimetic field explains the late time cosmic expansion in the favor of observational data: the equation of state parameter of this field crosses the cosmological constant line in near past from quintessence to phantom phase in a redshift well in the range of observation. We show also that this induced mimetic scalar field has the capability to explain initial time cosmological inflation. We study parameter space of the models numerically in order to constraint the models with Planck2015 data set.

Non-local F ( R ) $F(R)$ -mimetic gravity

In this paper, we study non-local $F(R)$-mimetic gravity. We implement mimetic gravity in the framework of non-local $F(R)$-theories of gravity. Given some specific class of models and using a potential on the mimetic field, we investigate some scenarios related to the early-time universe, namely the inflation and the cosmological bounce, compatibly with Einstein's gravity with cold dark matter at the late-time.

Static spherically symmetric solutions in mimetic gravity: rotation curves and wormholes

In this work, we analyse static spherically symmetric solutions in the framework of mimetic gravity, an extension of general relativity where the conformal degree of freedom of gravity is isolated in a covariant fashion. Here we extend previous works by considering, in addition, a potential for the mimetic field. An appropriate choice of such a potential allows for the reconstruction of a number of interesting cosmological and astrophysical scenarios. We explicitly show how to reconstruct such a potential for a general static spherically symmetric space-time. A number of applications and scenarios are then explored, among which are traversable wormholes. Finally, we analytically reconstruct potentials, which leads to solutions to the equations of motion featuring polynomial corrections to the Schwarzschild space-time. Accurate choices for such corrections could provide an explanation for the inferred flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies within the mimetic gravity framework, without the need for particle dark matter.

A note on a mimetic scalar–tensor cosmological model

A specific Horndeski scalar-gravity mimetic model is investigated within a FLWR space-time. The mimetic scalar field is implemented via a Lagrangian multiplier, and it is shown that the model has equations of motion formally similar to the original simpler mimetic matter model of Chamseddine-Mukhanov-Vikman. Several exact solutions describing inflation, bounces, future time singularities are presented and discussed.

Molecules That Mimic Apolipoprotein A-I: Potential Agents for Treating Atherosclerosis

Certain amphipathic α-helical peptides can functionally mimic many of the properties of full-length apolipoproteins, thereby offering an approach to modulate high-density lipoprotein (HDL) for combating atherosclerosis. In this Perspective, we summarize the key findings and advances over the past 25 years in the development of peptides that mimic apolipoproteins, especially apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I). This assemblage of information provides a reasonably clear picture of the state of the art in the apolipoprotein mimetic field, an appreciation of the potential for such agents in pharmacotherapy, and a sense of the opportunities for optimizing the functional properties of HDL.

8577 Update of a phase II trial of induction chemotherapy with docetaxel/capecitabine (DC) for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer

We show that the scalar field of mimetic gravity could be used to construct diffeomorphism invariant models that reduce to Hořava gravity in the synchronous gauge. The gradient of the mimetic field provides a timelike unit vector field that allows to define a projection operator of four-dimensional tensors to three-dimensional spatial tensors. Conversely, it also enables us to write quantities invariant under space diffeomorphisms in fully covariant form without the need to introduce new propagating degrees of freedom.

P.1.d.016 Jy-xhe-053, a benzodiazepine ligand less efficacious at GABAA receptors containing alphal and alpha5 than alpha2 and alpha3 subunits

We show that the scalar field of mimetic gravity could be used to construct diffeomorphism invariant models that reduce to Hořava gravity in the synchronous gauge. The gradient of the mimetic field provides a timelike unit vector field that allows to define a projection operator of four-dimensional tensors to three-dimensional spatial tensors. Conversely, it also enables us to write quantities invariant under space diffeomorphisms in fully covariant form without the need to introduce new propagating degrees of freedom.