Dark energy and fate of the Universe
AbstractWe explore the ultimate fate of the Universe by using a divergence-free parametrization for dark energy w(z)=w0+wa [ln(2 + z) / (1 + z) − ln 2]. Unlike the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder parametrization, this parametrization has well behaved, bounded behavior for both high redshifts and negative redshifts, and thus can genuinely cover many theoretical dark energy models. After constraining the parameter space of this parametrization by using the current cosmological observations, we find that, at the 95.4% confidence level, our Universe can still exist at least 16.7 Gyr before it ends in a big rip. Moreover, for the phantom energy dominated Universe, we find that a gravitationally bound system will be destroyed at a time $${{t \simeq P\sqrt {2\left| {1 + 3w( - 1)} \right|} } \mathord{\left/
 {\vphantom {{t \simeq P\sqrt {2\left| {1 + 3w( - 1)} \right|} } {\left[ {6\pi \left| {1 + w( - 1)} \right|} \right]}}} \right.
 \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\left[ {6\pi \left| {1 + w( - 1)} \right|} \right]}}$$, where P is the period of a circular orbit around this system, before the big rip.

title: Cosmic Age Test in Inhomogeneous Cosmological Models Mimicking $\Lambda$CDM on the Light-Cone
abstract: The possibility of reconstructing a spherically symmetric inhomogeneous Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) model with Lambda CDM observations has drawn much attention. Recently, an inhomogeneous LTB model having the same luminosity-distance and light-cone mass density of the homogeneous Lambda CDM model was reconstructed. From the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe 7-year measurements together with other cosmological observations, we calculate the cosmic age at our position in this LTB model, and obtain a constraint t(LTB) < 11.7 Gyr at 1 sigma confidence level. We find that this result is, although 2 Gyr younger compared with the age of the homogeneous Lambda CDM model, still within 1 sigma agreement with the constraint of cosmic age given by current astronomical measurements. We expect that in the future, with the help of more advanced observations, we can distinguish the reconstructed inhomogeneous LTB model from the homogeneous Lambda CDM model.

title: Revisit of Tension in Recent SNIa Datasets
abstract: Although today there are many observational methods, Type Ia supernovae (SNIa) is still one of the most powerful tools to probe the mysterious dark energy (DE). The most recent SNIa datasets are the 307 SNIa "Union" dataset \cite{kow08} and the 397 SNIa "Constitution" dataset \cite{hic09}. In a recent work \cite{wei10}, Wei pointed out that both Union and Constitution datasets are in tension with the observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB) and baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and suggested that two truncated versions of Union and Constitution datasets, namely "UnionT" and "", should be used to constrain various DE models. But in \cite{wei10}, only the $\Lambda$CDM model is used to select the outliers from the Union and the Constitution dataset. In principle, since different DE models may select different outliers, the truncation procedure should be performed for each different DE model. In the present work, by performing the truncation procedure of \cite{wei10} for 10 different models, we demonstrate that the impact of different models is negligible, and the approach adopted in \cite{wei10} is valid. Moreover, by using the 4 SNIa datasets mentioned above, as well as the observations of CMB and BAO, we perform best-fit analysis on the 10 models. It is found that: (1) For each DE model, the truncated SNIa datasets not only greatly reduce $\chi_{min}^{2}$ and $\chi_{min}^{2}/dof$, but also remove the tension between SNIa data and other cosmological observations. (2) The CMB data is very helpful to break the degeneracy among different parameters, and plays a very important role in distinguishing different DE models. (3) The current observational data are still too limited to distinguish all DE models.

title: Dark energy: A brief review
abstract: The problem of dark energy is briefly reviewed in both theoretical and observational aspects. In the theoretical aspect, dark energy scenarios are classified into symmetry, anthropic principle, tuning mechanism, modified gravity, quantum cosmology, holographic principle, back-reaction and phenomenological types. In the observational aspect, we introduce cosmic probes, dark energy related projects, observational constraints on theoretical models and model independent reconstructions.

title: Testing modified gravity models with recent cosmological observations
abstract: We explore the cosmological implications of five modified gravity (MG) models by using the recent cosmological observational data, including the recently released SNLS3 type Ia supernovae sample, the cosmic microwave background anisotropy data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 7-yr observations, the baryon acoustic oscillation results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 7, and the latest Hubble constant measurement utilizing the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. The MG models considered include the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model, two f (R) models, and two f (T) models. We find that compared with the ΛCDM model, MG models can not lead to an appreciable reduction of the χmin2. The analysis of AIC and BIC shows that the simplest cosmological constant model (ΛCDM) is still the most preferred by the current data, and the DGP model is strongly disfavored. In addition, from the observational constraints, we also reconstruct the evolutions of the growth factor in these models. We find that the current available growth factor data are not enough to distinguish these MG models from the ΛCDM model.

title: Thermodynamics of Schwarzschild de Sitter spacetimes: variable cosmological constant

title: Model-Independent Global Search for New High-pT Physics at CDF

title: Nuclear physics at the SCRIT electron scattering facility
abstract: Nuclear physics at the SCRIT electron scattering facility Toshimi Suda1,∗, Tatsuya Adachi1, Tatsuya Amagai1, Akitomo Enokizono2, Masahiro Hara3, Toshitada Hori3, Shin’ichi Ichikawa3, Kazuyoshi Kurita2, Takaya Miyamoto1, Ryo Ogawara2, Tetsuya Ohnishi3, Yuuto Shimakura2, Tadaaki Tamae1, Mamoru Togasaki2, Masanori Wakasugi3, Shuo Wang1, and Kayoko Yanagi1 1Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University, 1-2-1 Mikamine, Sendai 982-0826 2Department of Physics, Rikkyo University, Nishiikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo 171-8501 3Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 ∗E-mail: suda@lns.tohoku.ac.jp

title: Is modified gravity required by observations? An empirical consistency test of dark energy models
abstract: We apply the technique of parameter splitting to existing cosmological data sets, to check for a generic failure of dark energy models. Given a dark energy parameter, such as the energy density {omega}{sub {lambda}} or equation of state w, we split it into two meta-parameters with one controlling geometrical distances, and the other controlling the growth of structure. Observational data spanning Type Ia Supernovae, the cosmic microwave background (CMB), galaxy clustering, and weak gravitational lensing statistics are fit without requiring the two meta-parameters to be equal. This technique checks for inconsistency between different data sets, as well as for internal inconsistency within any one data set (e.g., CMB or lensing statistics) that is sensitive to both geometry and growth. We find that the cosmological constant model is consistent with current data. Theories of modified gravity generally predict a relation between growth and geometry that is different from that of general relativity. Parameter splitting can be viewed as a crude way to parametrize the space of such theories. Our analysis of current data already appears to put sharp limits on these theories: assuming a flat universe, current data constrain the difference {delta}{omega}{sub {lambda}}={omega}{sub {lambda}}(geom)-{omega}{sub {lambda}}(grow) to be -0.0044{sub -0.0057-0.0119}{sup +0.0058+0.0108} (68%more » and 95% C.L. respectively); allowing the equation of state w to vary, the difference {delta}w=w(geom)-w(grow) is constrained to be 0.37{sub -0.36-0.53}{sup +0.37+1.09}. Interestingly, the region w(grow)>w(geom), which should be generically favored by theories that slow structure formation relative to general relativity, is quite restricted by data already. We find w(grow)<-0.80 at 2{sigma}. As an example, the best-fit flat Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati model approximated by our parametrization lies beyond the 3{sigma} contour for constraints from all the data sets.« less

title: Search for supersymmetry with like-sign lepton-tau events at CDF.
abstract: We present a search for chargino-neutralino associated production using like electric charge dilepton events collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron in proton-antiproton collisions at sqrt[s] = 1.96 TeV. One lepton is identified as the hadronic decay of a tau lepton, while the other is an electron or muon. In data corresponding to 6.0 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity, we obtain good agreement with standard model predictions and set limits on the chargino-neutralino production cross section for simplified gravity- and gauge-mediated models. As an example, assuming that the chargino and neutralino decays to taus dominate, in the simplified gauge-mediated model we exclude cross sections greater than 300 fb at 95% credibility level for chargino and neutralino masses of 225 GeV/c(2). This analysis is the first to extend the LHC searches for electroweak supersymmetric production of gauginos to high tanβ and slepton next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle scenarios.

title: Constraining the evolution of dark energy with a combination of galaxy cluster observables
abstract: We show that the abundance and redshift distribution (dN/dz) of galaxy clusters in future high-yield cluster surveys, combined with the spatial power spectrum [P{sub c}(k)] of the same clusters, can place significant constraints on the evolution of the dark energy equation of state, w=w(a). We evaluate the expected errors on w{sub a}=-dw/da and other cosmological parameters using a Fisher matrix approach, and simultaneously including cluster structure evolution parameters in our analysis. We study three different types of forthcoming surveys that will identify clusters based on their x-ray emission (such as DUO, the Dark Universe Observatory), their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) decrement (such as SPT, the South Pole Telescope), or their weak-lensing shear (such as LSST, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope). We find that combining the cluster abundance and power spectrum significantly enhances constraints from either method alone. We show that the weak-lensing survey can deliver a constraint as tight as {delta}w{sub a}{approx}0.1 on the evolution of the dark energy equation of state, and that the x-ray and SZ surveys each yield {delta}w{sub a}{approx}0.4 separately, or {delta}w{sub a}{approx}0.2 when these two surveys are combined. For the x-ray and SZ surveys, constraints on dark energy parameters are improved by a factor of 2 bymore » combining the cluster data with cosmic microwave background anisotropy measurements by Planck, but degrade by a factor of 2 if the survey is required to solve simultaneously for cosmological and cluster structure evolution parameters. The constraint on w{sub a} from the weak-lensing survey is improved by {approx}25% with the addition of Planck data.« less