Non-adiabatic Pressure Perturbation Research Articles

TDiff invariant field theories for cosmology

We study scalar field theories invariant under transverse diffeomorphismsin cosmological contexts. We show that in the geometric optics approximation, the corresponding particles move along geodesics and contribute with the same active mass (energy) to the gravitational field as in Diff invariant theories. However, for low-frequency (super-Hubble) modes, the contributions to the energy-momentum tensor differ from that of Diff invariant theories. This opens up a wide range of possibilities for cosmological model building. As an example, we show that the simplest TDiff invariant scalar field theory with only kinetic term could drive inflation and generate a nearly scale invariant (red-tilted) spectrum of density fluctuations. We also present a detailed analysis of cosmological perturbations and show that the breaking of full Diff invariance generically induces new non-adiabatic pressure perturbations. A simple scalar field dark matter model based on a purely kinetic term that exhibits the same clustering properties as standard cold dark matter is also presented.

Cosmological constraints on nonadiabatic dark energy perturbations

The exact nature of dark energy is currently unknown and its cosmological perturbations, when dark energy is assumed not to be the cosmological constant, are usually modeled as adiabatic. Here we explore the possibility that dark energy might have a nonadiabatic component and we examine how it would affect several key cosmological observables. We present analytical solutions for the growth rate and growth index of matter density perturbations and compare them to both numerical solutions of the fluid equations and an implementation in the Boltzmann code CLASS, finding that they all agree to well below one percent. We also perform a Monte Carlo analysis to derive constraints on the parameters of the nonadiabatic component using the latest cosmological data, including the temperature and polarization spectra of the Cosmic Microwave Background as observed by Planck, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations, the Pantheon type Ia supernovae compilation and lastly, measurements of Redshift Space Distortions (RSD) of the growth rate of matter perturbations. We find that the amplitude of the nonadiabatic pressure perturbation is consistent with zero within $1\sigma$. Finally, we also present a new, publicly available, RSD likelihood for MontePython based on the "Gold 2018" growth rate data compilation.

The effect of anisotropic stress and non-adiabatic pressure perturbations on the evolution of the comoving curvature perturbation

We derive the equation for the evolution of the curvature perturbation on the comoving time slice, , in the presence of anisotropic and non-adiabatic terms in the energy–momentum tensor of matter fields. The equation is obtained by manipulating the perturbed Einstein’s equations in the comoving time slice. It could be used to study the evolution of the comoving curvature perturbations for systems with an anisotropic energy–momentum tensor, such as in the presence of vector fields, in the presence of entropy, such as in a multi-field system, or in modified gravity theories. As a simple application, after checking that the comoving time slice for a multi-field system does not coincide with the uniform field time slice in general, we use the equation in the case of two minimally coupled scalar fields and derive a closed set of equations for the curvature and entropy perturbations on the comoving time slice.

Perfect fluid in Lagrangian formulation due to generalized three-form field

A Lagrangian formulation of perfect fluid due to a noncanonical three-form field is investigated. The thermodynamic quantities such as energy density, pressure and the four velocity are obtained and then analyzed by comparing with the k-essence scalar field. The nonrelativistic matter due to the generalized three-form field with the equation of state parameter being zero is realized while it might not be possible for the k-essence scalar field. We also found that nonadiabatic pressure perturbations can be possibly generated. The fluid dynamics of the perfect fluid due to the three-form field corresponds to the system in which the number of particles is not conserved. We argue that it is interesting to use this three-form field to represent the dark matter for the classical interaction theory between dark matter and dark energy.

Global adiabaticity and non-Gaussianity consistency condition

In the context of single-field inflation, the conservation of the curvature perturbation on comoving slices, $\R_c$, on super-horizon scales is one of the assumptions necessary to derive the consistency condition between the squeezed limit of the bispectrum and the spectrum of the primordial curvature perturbation. However, the conservation of $\R_c$ holds only after the perturbation has reached the adiabatic limit where the constant mode of $\R_c$ dominates over the other (usually decaying) mode. In this case, the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation defined in the thermodynamic sense, $\delta P_{nad}\equiv\delta P-c_w^2\delta\rho$ where $c_w^2=\dot P/\dot\rho$, usually becomes also negligible on superhorizon scales. Therefore one might think that the adiabatic limit is the same as thermodynamic adiabaticity. This is in fact not true. In other words, thermodynamic adiabaticity is not a sufficient condition for the conservation of $\R_c$ on super-horizon scales. In this paper, we consider models that satisfy $\delta P_{nad}=0$ on all scales, which we call global adiabaticity (GA), which is guaranteed if $c_w^2=c_s^2$, where $c_s$ is the phase velocity of the propagation of the perturbation. A known example is the case of ultra-slow-roll(USR) inflation in which $c_w^2=c_s^2=1$. In order to generalize USR we develop a method to find the Lagrangian of GA K-inflation models from the behavior of background quantities as functions of the scale factor. Applying this method we show that there indeed exists a wide class of GA models with $c_w^2=c_s^2$, which allows $\R_c$ to grow on superhorizon scales, and hence violates the non-Gaussianity consistency condition.

Stabilizing the Planck mass shortly after inflation

We consider a model of the early universe which consists of two scalar fields: the inflaton, and a second field which drives the stabilisation of the Planck mass (or gravitational constant). We show that the non-minimal coupling of this second field to the Ricci scalar sources a non-adiabatic pressure perturbation. By performing a fully numerical calculation we find, in turn, that this boosts the amplitude of the primordial power spectrum after inflation.

Cosmological perturbations: Vorticity, isocurvature and magnetic fields

In this paper, I review some recent, interlinked, work undertaken using cosmological perturbation theory — a powerful technique for modeling inhomogeneities in the universe. The common theme which underpins these pieces of work is the presence of nonadiabatic pressure, or entropy, perturbations. After a brief introduction covering the standard techniques of describing inhomogeneities in both Newtonian and relativistic cosmology, I discuss the generation of vorticity. As in classical fluid mechanics, vorticity is not present in linearized perturbation theory (unless included as an initial condition). Allowing for entropy perturbations, and working to second order in perturbation theory, I show that vorticity is generated, even in the absence of vector perturbations, by purely scalar perturbations, the source term being quadratic in the gradients of first order energy density and isocurvature, or nonadiabatic pressure perturbations. This generalizes Crocco's theorem to a cosmological setting. I then introduce isocurvature perturbations in different models, focusing on the entropy perturbation in standard, concordance cosmology, and in inflationary models involving two scalar fields. As the final topic, I investigate magnetic fields, which are a potential observational consequence of vorticity in the early universe. I briefly review some recent work on including magnetic fields in perturbation theory in a consistent way. I show, using solely analytical techniques, that magnetic fields can be generated by higher order perturbations, albeit too small to provide the entire primordial seed field, in agreement with some numerical studies. I close this paper with a summary and some potential extensions of this work.

Non-adiabatic Chaplygin gas

The split of a generalised Chaplygin gas with an equation of state p=−A/ρα into an interacting mixture of pressureless matter and a dark-energy component with equation of state pΛ=−ρΛ implies the existence of non-adiabatic pressure perturbations. We demonstrate that the square of the effective (non-adiabatic) sound speed cs of the medium is proportional to the ratio of the perturbations of the dark energy to those of the dark matter. Since, as demonstrated explicitly for the particular case α=−1/2, dark-energy perturbations are negligible compared with dark-matter perturbations on scales that are relevant for structure formation, we find |cs2|≪1. Consequently, there are no oscillations or instabilities which have plagued previous adiabatic Chaplygin-gas models.

Nonadiabatic pressure perturbation and noncanonical kinetic terms in multifield inflation

The evolution of the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation during inflation driven by two scalar fields is studied numerically for three different types of models. In the first model, the fields have standard kinetic terms. The other two models considered feature non-canonical kinetic terms; the first containing two fields which are coupled via their kinetic terms, and the second where one field has the standard kinetic term with the other field being a DBI field. We find that the evolution and the final amplitude of the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation depends strongly on the kinetic terms.

The magnitude of the non-adiabatic pressure in the cosmic fluid

Understanding the non-adiabatic pressure, or relative entropy, perturbation is crucial for studies of early-universe vorticity and Cosmic Microwave Background observations. We calculate the evolution of the linear non-adiabatic pressure perturbation from radiation domination to late times, numerically solving the linear governing equations for a wide range of wavenumbers. Using adiabatic initial conditions consistent with WMAP seven year data, we find nevertheless that the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation is non-zero and grows at early times, peaking around the epoch of matter/radiation equality and decaying in matter domination. At early times or large redshifts (z=10,000) its power spectrum peaks at a comoving wavenumber k~0.2h/Mpc, while at late times (z=500) it peaks at k~0.02 h/Mpc.

Calculating nonadiabatic pressure perturbations during multifield inflation

Isocurvature perturbations naturally occur in models of inflation consisting of more than one scalar field. In this paper we calculate the spectrum of isocurvature perturbations generated at the end of inflation for three different inflationary models consisting of two canonical scalar fields. The amount of non-adiabatic pressure present at the end of inflation can have observational consequences through the generation of vorticity and subsequently the sourcing of B-mode polarisation. We compare two different definitions of isocurvature perturbations and show how these quantities evolve in different ways during inflation. Our results are calculated using the open source Pyflation numerical package which is available to download.

Reheating in tachyonic inflationary models: Effects on the large scale curvature perturbations

We investigate the problem of perturbative reheating and its effects on the evolution of the curvature perturbations in tachyonic inflationary models. We derive the equations governing the evolution of the scalar perturbations for a system consisting of a tachyon and a perfect fluid. Assuming the perfect fluid to be radiation, we solve the coupled equations for the system numerically and study the evolution of the perturbations from the sub-Hubble to the super-Hubble scales. In particular, we analyze the effects of the transition from tachyon driven inflation to the radiation dominated epoch on the evolution of the large scale curvature and non-adiabatic pressure perturbations. We consider two different potentials to describe the tachyon and study the effects of two possible types of decay of the tachyon into radiation. We plot the spectrum of curvature perturbations at the end of inflation as well as at the early stages of the radiation dominated epoch. We find that reheating does not affect the amplitude of the curvature perturbations in any of these cases. These results corroborate similar conclusions that have been arrived at earlier based on the study of the evolution of the perturbations in the super-Hubble limit. We illustrate that, before the transition to the radiation dominated epoch, the relative non-adiabatic pressure perturbation between the tachyon and radiation decays in a fashion very similar to that of the intrinsic entropy perturbation associated with the tachyon. Moreover, we show that, after the transition, the relative non-adiabatic pressure perturbation dies down extremely rapidly during the early stages of the radiation dominated epoch. It is these behavior which ensure that the amplitude of the curvature perturbations remain unaffected during reheating. We also discuss the corresponding results for the popular chaotic inflation model in the case of the canonical scalar field.

Non-adiabatic perturbations in multi-component perfect fluids

The evolution of non-adiabatic perturbations in models with multiple coupled perfect fluids with non-adiabatic sound speed is considered. Instead of splitting the entropy perturbation into relative and intrinsic parts, we introduce a set of symmetric quantities, which also govern the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation in models with energy transfer. We write the gauge invariant equations for the variables that determine on a large scale the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation and the rate of changes of the comoving curvature perturbation. The analysis of evolution of the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation has been made for several particular models.

A note on perfect scalar fields

We derive a condition on the Lagrangian density describing a generic, single, non-canonical scalar field, by demanding that the intrinsic, non-adiabatic pressure perturbation associated with the scalar field vanishes identically. Based on the analogy with perfect fluids, we refer to such fields as perfect scalar fields. It is common knowledge that models that depend only on the kinetic energy of the scalar field (often referred to as pure kinetic models) possess no non-adiabatic pressure perturbation. While we are able to construct models that seemingly depend on the scalar field and also do not contain any non-adiabatic pressure perturbation, we find that all such models that we construct allow a redefinition of the field under which they reduce to pure kinetic models. We show that, if a perfect scalar field drives inflation, then, in such situations, the first slow roll parameter will always be a monotonically decreasing function of time. We point out that this behavior implies that these scalar fields can not lead to features in the inflationary, scalar perturbation spectrum.

Note on the equivalence of a barotropic perfect fluid with a k-essence scalar field

In this short note, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition for a class of non-canonical single scalar field models to be exactly equivalent to barotropic perfect fluids, under the assumption of an irrotational fluid flow. An immediate consequence of this result is that the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation in this class of scalar field systems vanishes exactly at all orders in perturbation theory and on all scales. The Lagrangian for this general class of scalar field models depends on both the kinetic term and the value of the field. However, after a field redefinition, it can be effectively cast in the form of a purely kinetic K-essence model.

Cosmological Perturbations Through the Big Bang

Several scenarios have been proposed in which primordial perturbations could originate from quantum vacuum fluctuations in a phase corresponding to a collapse phase (in an Einstein frame) preceding the Big Bang. I briefly review three models which could produce scale-invariant spectra during collapse: (1) curvature perturbations during pressureless collapse, (2) axion field perturbations in a pre big bang scenario, and (3) tachyonic fields during multiple-field ekpyrotic collapse. In the separate universes picture one can derive generalised perturbation equations to describe the evolution of large scale perturbations through a semi-classical bounce, assuming a large-scale limit in which inhomogeneous perturbations can be described by locally homogeneous patches. For adiabatic perturbations there exists a conserved curvature perturbation on large scales, but isocurvature perturbations can change the curvature perturbation through the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation on large scales. Different models for the origin of large scale structure lead to different observational predictions, including gravitational waves and non-Gaussianity.

ACCELERATED EXPANSION OF THE UNIVERSE THROUGH INTERACTIONS IN THE COSMIC SUBSTRATUM

Various homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models which describe the present stage of accelerated expansion of the Universe, like the ΛCDM model or (generalized) Chaplygin gas models, can be seen as specific realizations of a holographic dark energy cosmology if an interaction within the cosmic substratum is admitted. The corresponding interaction strength parameter determines the cosmological constant. The transition from decelerated to accelerated expansion arises as a pure interaction phenomenon. Different from the "standard" ΛCDM and Chaplygin gas models, the interaction based approach is characterized by non-adiabatic pressure perturbations.

The non-adiabatic pressure in general scalar field systems

We discuss the non-adiabatic or entropy perturbation, which controls the evolution of the curvature perturbation in the uniform density gauge, for a scalar field system minimally coupled to gravity with non-canonical action. We highlight the differences between the sound and the phase speed in these systems, and show that the non-adiabatic pressure perturbation vanishes in the single field case, resulting in the conservation of the curvature perturbation on large scales.

Bulk viscous cosmology

We propose a scenario in which the dark components of the Universe are manifestations of a single bulk viscous fluid. Using dynamical system methods, a qualitative study of the homogeneous, isotropic background scenario is performed in order to determine the phase space of all possible solutions. The specific model which we investigate shares similarities with a generalized Chaplygin gas in the background but is characterized by nonadiabatic pressure perturbations. This model is tested against supernova type Ia and matter power spectrum data. Different from other unified descriptions of dark matter and dark energy, the matter power spectrum is well behaved, i.e., there are no instabilities or oscillations on small perturbation scales. The model is competitive in comparison with the currently most popular proposals for the description of the cosmological dark sector.

Chaplygin gas with non-adiabatic pressure perturbations

Perturbations in a Chaplygin gas, characterized by an equation of state p = −A/ρ, may acquire non-adiabatic contributions if spatial variations of the parameter A are admitted. This feature is shown to be related to a specific internal structure of the Chaplygin gas. We investigate how perturbations of this type modify the adiabatic sound speed and influence the time dependence of the gravitational potential which gives rise to the integrated Sachs–Wolfe effect in the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background.