Constraints on the unified dark energy-dark matter model from latest observational data
The generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG), is studied in this paper by using the latest observational data including 182 gold sample type Ia supernovae (Sne Ia) data, the ESSENCE Sne Ia data, the distance ratio from z = 0.35 to z = 1089 (the redshift of decoupling), the CMB shift parameter and the Hubble parameter data. Our results rule out the standard Chaplygin gas model (α = 1) at the 99.7% confidence level, but allow for the λCDM model (α = 0) at the 68.3% confidence level. At a 95.4% confidence level, we obtain w = −0.74 −0.09 and α = −0.14 +0.30 −0.19. In addition, we find that the phase transition from deceleration to acceleration occurs at redshift zq=0 ∼ 0.78− 0.89 at a 1σ confidence level for the GCG model.  98.80.-k, 98.80.Es ∗ corresponding author

title: Quantum fluctuations of the light cone in four-dimensional spacetime with parallel plane boundaries
abstract: Quantum fluctuations of the light cone are examined in a four-dimensional spacetime with two parallel planes. Both the Dirichlet and the Neumann boundary conditions are considered. In all the cases we have studied, quantum light cone fluctuations are greater where the Neumann boundary conditions are imposed, suggesting that quantum light cone fluctuations depend not only on the geometry and topology of the spacetime as has been argued elsewhere but also on boundary conditions. Our results also show that quantum light cone fluctuations are larger here than that in the case of a single plane. Therefore the confinement of gravitons in a smaller region by the presence of a second plane reinforces the quantum fluctuations and this can be understood as a consequence of the uncertainty principle.

title: Avoidance of big rip in phantom cosmology by gravitational back reaction
abstract: The effects of the gravitational back reaction of cosmological perturbations are investigated in a cosmological model where the universe is dominated by phantom energy. We assume a COBE normalized spectrum of cosmological fluctuations at the present time and calculate the effective energy–momentum tensor of the gravitational back-reactions of cosmological perturbations whose wavelengths at the time when the back-reactions are evaluated are larger than the Hubble radius. Our results reveal that the effects of gravitational back-reactions will counteract that of phantom energy sooner or later and can become large enough to terminate the phantom dominated phase before the big rip as the universe evolves. This arises because the phase space of infrared modes grows very rapidly as we come close to the big rip.

title: Vacuum polarization of scalar electrodynamics in flat space-time with nontrivial topology
abstract: The one-loop vacuum polarization is calculated for scalar electrodynamics in a flat space-time with the topology S1×R3. The effect of vacuum polarization upon photon propagation is considered. It is found that photon propagation becomes anisotropic with some photon modes acquiring a positive topological mass and thus travelling at a subluminal speed.

title: Emergent universe from the Hořava-Lifshitz gravity

title: Interacting generalized Chaplygin gas
abstract: A model with the interaction between generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG) and dark matter is studied. We show that the stationary attractor exists and the universe will enter a de Sitter phase in which the energy densities of both the GCG and dark matter are constant. Because of the interaction between the GCG and the dark matter, the equation of state parameter, w, of the GCG can cross the phantom divide and remains less than −1 once crossed. The larger the GCG model parameter α, the earlier the w crosses the divide and the universe enters the accelerating era, and the larger the present value of w and the present acceleration. By investigating the deceleration parameter, we find that a small α is favored by observations.

title: The ASY-EOS experiment at GSI: investigating the symmetry energy at supra-saturation densities
abstract: The elliptic-flow ratio of neutrons with respect to protons in reactions of neutron rich heavy-ions systems at intermediate energies has been proposed as an observable sensitive to the strength of the symmetry term in the nuclear Equation Of State (EOS) at supra-saturation densities. The recent results obtained from the existing FOPI/LAND data for $^{197}$Au+$^{197}$Au collisions at 400 MeV/nucleon in comparison with the UrQMD model allowed a first estimate of the symmetry term of the EOS but suffer from a considerable statistical uncertainty. In order to obtain an improved data set for Au+Au collisions and to extend the study to other systems, a new experiment was carried out at the GSI laboratory by the ASY-EOS collaboration in May 2011.