False vacuum decay in generalized extended inflation
We study false-vacuum decay in context of generalized extended inflationary theories, and compute the bubble nucleation rates for these theories in the limit of G N → 0. We find that the time dependence of the nucleation rate can be exponentially strong through the time dependence of the Jordan—Brans—Dicke field. This can have a pronounced effect on whether extended inflation can be successfully implemented.

title: Unbiased Estimate of Dark Energy Density from Type Ia Supernova Data
abstract: Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are currently the best probes of the dark energy in the universe. To constrain the nature of dark energy, we assume a flat universe and that the weak energy condition is satisfied, and we allow the density of dark energy, ρX(z), to be an arbitrary function of redshift. Using simulated data from a space-based SN pencil-beam survey, we find that by optimizing the number of parameters used to parameterize the dimensionless dark energy density, f(z) = ρX(z)/ρX(z = 0), we can obtain an unbiased estimate of both f(z) and the fractional matter density of the universe, Ωm. A plausible SN pencil-beam survey (with a square degree field of view and for an observational duration of 1 yr) can yield about 2000 SNe Ia with 0 ≤ z ≤ 2. Such a survey in space would yield SN peak luminosities with a combined intrinsic and observational dispersion of σ(mint) = 0.16 mag. We find that for such an idealized survey, Ωm can be measured to 10% accuracy, and the dark energy density can be estimated to ~20% to z ~ 1.5, and ~20%-40% to z ~ 2, depending on the time dependence of the true dark energy density. Dark energy densities that vary more slowly can be more accurately measured. For the anticipated Supernova/Acceleration Probe (SNAP) mission, Ωm can be measured to 14% accuracy, and the dark energy density can be estimated to ~20% to z ~ 1.2. Our results suggest that SNAP may gain much sensitivity to the time dependence of the dark energy density and Ωm by devoting more observational time to the central pencil-beam fields to obtain more SNe Ia at z > 1.2. We use both a maximum likelihood analysis and a Monte Carlo analysis (when appropriate) to determine the errors of estimated parameters. We find that the Monte Carlo analysis gives a more accurate estimate of the dark energy density than the maximum likelihood analysis.

title: Wavelets and WMAP non-Gaussianity
abstract: We study the statistical properties of the first-year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data on different scales using the spherical Mexican hat wavelet transform. Consistent with the 2004 results of Vielva et al., we find a deviation from Gaussianity in the form of kurtosis of wavelet coefficients on 3-4 scales in the southern Galactic hemisphere. This paper extends the work of Vielva et al. as follows: We find that the non-Gaussian signal shows up more strongly in the form of a larger than expected number of cold pixels and also in the form of scale-scale correlations among wavelet coefficients. We establish the robustness of the non-Gaussian signal under more wide-ranging assumptions regarding the Galactic mask applied to the data and the noise statistics. This signal is unlikely to be due to the usual quadratic term parameterized by the nonlinearity parameter fNL. We use the skewness of the spherical Mexican hat wavelet coefficients to constrain fNL with the first-year WMAP data. Our results constrain fNL to be 50+/-80 at 68% confidence and less than 280 at 99% confidence.

title: Dark Energy Search with Supernovae
abstract: To determine the nature of dark energy from observational data, it is important that we use model-independent and optimal methods. We should probe dark energy using its density (allowed to be a free function of cosmic time) instead of its equation of state. We should minimize gravitational lensing effect on supernovae by flux-averaging. We need to include complementary data (for example, from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and large scale structure (LSS)) in a consistent manner to help break the degeneracy between the dark energy density and the matter density fraction. We should push for ambitious future supernova surveys that can observe a large number of supernovae at the highest possible redshifts. I discuss these and other issues that will be important in our quest to unravel the mystery of the nature of dark energy. Current supernova, CMB, and LSS data already rule out dark energy models with dark energy densities that vary greatly with time; with the cosmological constant model providing an excellent fit to the data. A precise measurement of dark energy density as a free function of cosmic time will have a fundamental impact on particle physics and cosmology.

title: Probing deviations from general relativity with the Euclid spectroscopic survey
abstract: We discuss the ability of the planned Euclid mission to detect deviations from General Relativity using its extensive redshift survey of more than 50 Mi llion galaxies. Constraints on the gravity theory are placed measuring the growth rate of struc ture within 14 redshift bins betweenz = 0.7 andz = 2. The growth rate is measured from redshift-space distortio ns, i.e. the anisotropy of the clustering pattern induced by coherent pe culiar motions. This is performed in the overall context of the Euclid spectroscopic survey, w hich will simultaneously measure the expansion history of the universe, using the power spect rum and its baryonic features as a standard ruler, accounting for the relative degeneracies of expansion and growth parameters. The resulting expected errors on the growth rate in the different redshift bins, expressed through the quantity fσ8, range between 1.3% and 4.4%. We discuss the optimisation of the survey configuration and investigate the important depende nce on the growth parameterisation and the assumed cosmological model. We show how a specifi c parameterisation could actually drive the design towards artificially restricted r egions of the parameter space. Finally, in the framework of the popular “γ parameterisation”, we show that the Euclid spectroscopic survey alone will already be able to provide substantial evidence (in Bayesian terms) if the growth index differs from the GR value γ = 0.55 by at least � 0.13. This will combine with the comparable inference power provided by the Euclid weak lensing survey, resulting in Euclid’s unique ability to provide a decisive test of modi fied gravity.

title: Constraints on generalized extended inflationary models.
abstract: We study the physical constraints on generalized extended inflationary theories, in which the Brans-Dicke field {Phi} couples to the inflaton sector in the form of two arbitrary power-law functions of {Phi}. We find that the most stringent constraints arise from the need to suppress large bubbles and from considerations of the density perturbations generated during extended inflation. We find that there are sizable portions of the parameter spaces in which all the constraints are satisfied.

title: Generalized space-time noncommutative inflation
abstract: We study the noncommutative inflation with a time-dependent noncommutativity between space and time. From the numerical analysis of power law inflation, there are clues that the CMB spectrum indicates a nonconstant noncommutative inflation. Then we extend our treatment to the inflation models with more general noncommutativity and find that the scalar perturbation power spectrum depends sensitively on the time varying of the spacetime noncommutativity. This stringy effect may be probed in the future cosmological observations.

title: A possible disk mechanism for the 23-day QPO in Mkn 501
abstract: Optically, thin two-temperature accretion flows may be thermally and viscously stable, but acoustically unstable. Here, we propose that the O-mode instability of a cooling-dominated optically thin two-temperature inner disk may explain the 23-day quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) period observed in the TeV and X-ray light curves of Mkn 501 during its 1997 high state. In our model the relativistic jet electrons Compton upscatter the disk soft X-ray photons to TeV energies, so that the instability-driven X-ray periodicity will lead to a corresponding quasi-periodicity in the TeV light curve and produce correlated variability. We analyse the dependence of the instability-driven quasi-periodicity on the mass ( M ) of the central black hole, the accretion rate ( M ˙ ) and the viscous parameter ( α ) of the inner disk. We show that in the case of Mkn 501 the first two parameters are constrained by various observational results, so that for the instability occurring within a two-temperature disk where α  = 0.05–1.0, the quasi-period is expected to lie within the range of 8–100 days, as indeed the case. In particular, for the observed 23-day QPO period our model implies a viscosity coefficient α  ⩽ 0.28, a sub-Eddington accretion rate M ˙ ≃ 0.02 M ˙ Edd and a transition radius to the outer standard disk of r 0  ∼ 60 r g , and predicts a period variation δ P / P  ∼ 0.23 due to the motion of the instability region.

title: Some issues concerning holographic dark energy
abstract: We study the perturbation of holographic dark energy and find it to be stable. We study the fate of the universe when interacting holographic dark energy is present, and discuss a simple phenomenological classification of the interacting holographic dark energy models. We also discuss the cosmic coincidence problem in the context of holographic dark energy. We find that the coincidence problem cannot be completely solved by adding an interacting term. Inflation may provide a better solution of the coincidence problem.

title: Neutron–gamma discrimination of CsI(Na) crystals for dark matter searches
abstract: The luminescent properties of CsI(Na) crystals are studied in this report. Using a TDS3054C oscilloscope with a sampling frequency of 5 GS/s, we find out that nuclear recoil signals are dominated by a very fast light pulse with a decay time of ∼20 ns, while γ-ray signals have a decay time of ∼600 ns. The study of n / γ separation shows that the rejection factor can reach an order of 10 −7 with a signal efficiency of more than 80% at an equivalent electron recoil energy of 20 keV or more, and the quality factors are ∼10 times smaller than that for CsI(Tl) crystals in the corresponding energy region. It is suggested that the wavelength of nuclear recoil and γ-ray signals is also different. Such a property makes CsI(Na) an ideal candidate for dark matter searches.

title: Quasi-Single Field Inflation with Large Mass
abstract: We study the effect of massive isocurvaton on density perturbations in quasi-single field inflation models, when the mass of the isocurvaton M becomes larger than the order of the Hubble parameter H. We analytically compute the correction to the power spectrum, leading order in coupling but exact for all values of mass. This verifies the previous numerical results for the range 0 < M < 3H/2 and shows that, in the large mass limit, the correction is of order H2/M2.