16196883
Typicality, freak observers and the anthropic principle of existence
We propose an alternative anthropic probability for calculating the probabilities in eternal inflation. This anthropic probability follows naturally from the weak anthropic principle, and does not suffer the freak observer or the typicality problems. The problem that our observed cosmological constant is not at the peak of the usual anthropic probability distribution is also solved using this proposal.
119112752
CMB statistical anisotropies of classical and quantum origins
We examine the impact of different anisotropic relics on inflation, in particular the predictions on the density perturbations. These relics can be the source of the large scale anomalies in the cosmic microwave background. There are two different types of background relics, one from the matter sector and the other purely from the metric. Although the angular-dependence of the statistical anisotropy in both cases are degenerate, the scale-dependence are observationally distinctive. In addition, we demonstrate that non-Bunch-Davies vacuum states can extend the statistical anisotropy to much shorter scales, and leave a scale-dependence that is insensitive to the different backgrounds but sensitive to the initial quantum state.
119270914
Quadra-Spectrum and Quint-Spectrum from Inflation and Curvaton Models
We calculate the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum, corresponding to five and six point correlation functions of the curvature perturbation. For single field inflation with standard kinetic term, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are small, which are suppressed by slow roll parameters. The calculation can be generalized to multiple fields. When there is no entropy perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are suppressed as well. With the presence of entropy perturbation, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum can get boosted. We illustrate this boost in the multi-brid inflation model. For the curvaton scenario, the quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum are also large in the small r limit. We also calculate representative terms of quadra-spectrum and quint-spectrum for inflation with generalized kinetic terms, and estimate their order of magnitude for quasi-single field inflation.
118533325
Quasi-Single Field Inflation and Non-Gaussianities
In quasi-single field inflation models, massive isocurvature modes, that are coupled to the inflaton and have mass of order the Hubble parameter, can have nontrivial impacts on density perturbations, especially non-Gaussianities. We study a simple example of quasi-single field inflation in terms of turning inflaton trajectory. Large bispectra with a one-parameter family of novel shapes arise, lying between the well-known local and equilateral shape. The trispectra can also be very large and its magnitude tNL can be much larger than fNL2.
17457342
Curvaton dynamics and the non-linearity parameters in the curvaton model
We investigate the curvaton dynamics and the non-linearity parameters in the curvaton model with a potential slightly deviating from the quadratic form in detail. The non-linearity parameter gNL will show up due to the curvaton self-interaction. We also point out that the leading order of the non-quadratic term in the curvaton potential can be negative, for example in the axion-type curvaton model. If a large positive gNL is detected, the axion-type curvaton model will be preferred.
2921220
Non-Gaussianity, isocurvature perturbation, gravitational waves, and a no-go theorem for the isocurvaton
We investigate the isocurvaton model, in which the isocurvature perturbation plays a role in suppressing the curvature perturbation, and large non-Gaussianity and gravitational waves can be produced with no isocurvature perturbation for dark matter. We show that in the slow-roll noninteracting multifield theory, the isocurvaton mechanism cannot be realized. This result can also be generalized to most of the studied models with generalized kinetic terms. We also study the implications for the curvaton model. We show that there is a combined constraint for curvaton on non-Gaussianity, gravitational waves, and isocurvature perturbation. The technique used in this paper can also help to simplify some calculations in the mixed inflaton and curvaton models. We also investigate the possibility of producing large negative non-Gaussianity and nonlocal non-Gaussianity in the curvaton model.
119193536
Cosmography: Supernovae Union2, Baryon Acoustic Oscillation, Observational Hubble Data and Gamma Ray Bursts
Abstract In this Letter, a parametrization describing the kinematical state of the universe via cosmographic approach is considered, where the minimum input is the assumption of the cosmological principle, i.e. the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker metric. A distinguished feature is that the result does not depend on any gravity theory and dark energy models. As a result, a series of cosmographic parameters (deceleration parameter q 0 , jerk parameter j 0 and snap parameter s 0 ) are constrained from the cosmic observations which include type Ia supernovae (SN) Union2, the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO), the observational Hubble data (OHD), the high redshift Gamma ray bursts (GRBs). By using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, we find the best fit values of cosmographic parameters in 1σ regions: H 0 = 74.299 − 4.287 + 4.932 , q 0 = − 0.386 − 0.618 + 0.655 , j 0 = − 4.925 − 7.297 + 6.658 and s 0 = − 26.404 − 9.097 + 20.964 which are improved remarkably. The values of q 0 and j 0 are consistent with flat ΛCDM model in 1σ region. But the value of s 0 of flat ΛCDM model will go beyond the 1σ region.
119281560
Observational approaches to understanding dark energy
Illuminating the nature of dark energy is one of the most important challenges in cosmology today. In this review I discuss several promising observational approaches to understanding dark energy, in the context of the recommendations by the U.S. Dark Energy Task Force and the ESA-ESO Working Group on Fundamental Cosmology.
14588972
Observation of TeV gamma rays from the fermi bright galactic sources with the tibet air shower array
Using the Tibet-III air shower array, we search for TeV γ-rays from 27 potential Galactic sources in the early list of bright sources obtained by the Fermi Large Area Telescope at energies above 100 MeV. Among them, we observe seven sources instead of the expected 0.61 sources at a significance of 2σ or more excess. The chance probability from Poisson statistics would be estimated to be 3.8 × 10–6. If the excess distribution observed by the Tibet-III array has a density gradient toward the Galactic plane, the expected number of sources may be enhanced in chance association. Then, the chance probability rises slightly, to 1.2 × 10–5, based on a simple Monte Carlo simulation. These low chance probabilities clearly show that the Fermi bright Galactic sources have statistically significant correlations with TeV γ-ray excesses. We also find that all seven sources are associated with pulsars, and six of them are coincident with sources detected by the Milagro experiment at a significance of 3σ or more at the representative energy of 35 TeV. The significance maps observed by the Tibet-III air shower array around the Fermi sources, which are coincident with the Milagro ≥3σ sources, are consistent with the Milagro observations. This is the first result of the northern sky survey of the Fermi bright Galactic sources in the TeV region.
108773563
The silicon microstrip tracker for CMS
The CMS silicon strip tracker involves about 70 m2 of instrumented silicon, with approximately 18500 microstrip detectors read out by 5 × 106 electronics channels. It has to satisfy a set of stringent requirements imposed by the environment and by the physics expected at the LHC: low cell occupancy and good resolution, radiation hardness aided by adequate cooling, low mass combined with high stability. These conditions have been incorporated in a highly modular design of the detector modules and their support structures, chosen to facilitate construction and to allow for easy assembly and maintenance.
119206435
Search for the weak decays $J/\psi \to D^{(*)}_{s}e\nu_{e}$
Using a sample of $2.25\times 10^8$ $J/\psi$ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider, we search for the $J/\psi$ semi-leptonic weak decay $J/\psi \to D^{-}_{s} e^{+}\nu_{e}+c.c.$ with a much higher sensitivity than previous searches. We also perform the first search for $J/\psi \to D^{*-}_{s} e^{+}\nu_{e}+c.c.$ No significant excess of a signal above background is observed in either channel. At the $90\%$ confidence level, the upper limits are determined to be $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi \to D^{-}_{s}e^{+}\nu_{e}+c.c.)<1.3\times10^{-6}$ and $\mathcal{B}(J/\psi \to {D^{*}_{s}}^{-}e^{+}\nu_{e}+c.c.)<1.8\times10^{-6}$, respectively. Both are consistent with Standard Model predictions.