OpenUCT :: Browsing by Subject "Cosmology"

Browsing by Subject "Cosmology"

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Open Access
A study of relativistic fluids with applications to cosmology: A variational approach
(2021) Oreta, Timothy; Osano, Bob
This thesis examines relativistic fluids. We have used the variational approach to develop tools for studying the dynamics of relativistic fluids to apply this to cosmological modelling. Studies like these go beyond the standard model in cosmology. Researchers believe that such extensions to the standard cosmological model are pivotal to resolving some of the long-standing cosmological problems. An example of such problems is the origin, growth (from quantum electromagnetic fluctuations to large-scale magnetic fields during inflation) and evolution of cosmological magnetic fields that exhibit as large-scale (cosmological) magnetic fields in late time. One other example is the coincidence problem. The standard approach in such studies is to use modelling in the form of the single-fluid formalism. As an alternative one can consider the single-fluid and multi-fluid formalisms that incorporate aspects of electrodynamics and thermodynamics, respectively in the context of the variational approach. This might help us make progress in trying to either resolve some of these problems or at least open up new ways of addressing them. In this regard, we have extended the well-known M¨ueller-Israel-Stewart (hereafter MIS) formalism to allow us to examine the effect on fluid flow in which the components of the multi-species fluids interact thermodynamically. We use the extension to the MIS theory in the context of interacting species to study the growth of dark matter and dark energy, and find that either interaction or entrainment involving dark energy and dark matter suggests a mutual relative modulation of the growth behaviour of the two densities. This may aid in resolving the coincidence problem. Our examination of inflation-generated, large-scale magnetic fields reveals a super-adiabatically evolving mode from the beginning of the radiation-dominated epoch to either much later during the epoch or probably extending far into the era of matter domination which may account for late time, large-scale magnetic fields.
Open Access
Aspects of a spherically symmetric model of the post-decoupling universe
(1997) Mustapha, Nazeem
The central aim of this thesis is to consider aspects of the spherically symmetric Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) solution as a model of the post-decoupling universe. To do this comprehensively is a massive task and is not our aim here. Indeed, far from it, we will concentrate on select instances of this programme and attempt in some places to indicate possibilities for further study. There are many solutions of the EFE which satisfy what we consider to be 'reasonable criteria' for a cosmology and others that do not. The LTB solution may be accepted as a reasonable cosmological model because ■ It allows non-empty solutions. ■ It allows expanding solutions. ■ It has a homogeneous and isotropic limit. ■ It allows for inhomogeneity.
Open Access
Aspects of modern cosmology
(1997) Bassett, Bruce Adrian Charles; Ellis, George F R; Fairall, Anthony Patrick
The main work of this thesis can be summarised as: ■ An implementation of canonical quantisation to the covariant and gauge-invariant approach to cosmological perturbations. Standard results are reproduced. We discuss the advantages of this formalism over non-covariant and non gauge-invariant formalisms. ■ A characterisation of linear gravitational waves in a covariant way is achieved. The evolution equations for the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor are shown to be of different order. In particular, the electric part appears to have a third order evolution equation, while the magnetic part has a second order evolution equation. It is shown that the "silent" nature of the evolution equations for irrotational dust can be extended to the case of vortical dust. This may be relevant for the endpoints of gravitational collapse since the vorticity begins to grow as soon as density contrast becomes non-linear, as is the case in galaxies, showing that the irrotational silent universes are unstable. The main problem in accepting such vortical silent universes lies in proving integrability of the equations which has not been achieved so far, even in the irrotational case. ■ A review of issues in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) is given, focussing particularly on points such as ergodicity, decaying modes, foreground contamination, recombination, spectral distortions and polarisation of the CMB. ■ A review of methods in gravitational lensing is presented, together with a hierarchy of distance measures in cosmology, forming an introduction to the following two chapters. ■ A common belief that photon conservation implies that the all-sky averaged area distance in inhomogeneous universes must be that of the background, matter-averaged Robertson-Walker area distance is dis proven. This means that there will in general be gravitational lensing effects even on large angular scales. ■ The realistic situation in which gravitational lensing leads to caustic formation is discussed. It is claimed that this invalidates many accepted beliefs concerning high-redshift observations in inhomogeneous universes. One application of importance is the CMB. Possible implications are discussed. ■ Random Gaussian fields are ubiquitous in modern statistical physics, and particularly important in CMB studies. Here we give accurate analytical functions approximating ∫e⁻ˣ²dx, the simplest of which is just the kink soliton.
Open Access
Bayesian model selection with applications to radio astronomy
(2017) Mootoovaloo, Arrykrishna; Bassett, Bruce A
This thesis consists of two main parts, both of which focus on Bayesian methods and the problem of model selection in particular. The first part investigates a new approach to computing the Bayes factor for model selection without needing to compute the Bayesian evidence, while the second part shows, through an analytical calculation of the Bayesian evidence, that Bayesian methods allow two point sources to be distinguished from a single point source at angular separations that are much smaller than the naive beam size at high signal to noise. In the first part, the idea is to create a supermodel by combining two models using a hyperparameter, which we call α. Setting α = 0 or 1 switches each of the models off. Hence, the ratio of the posterior of α at the two end points (0 or 1) gives the Bayes Factor. This effectively converts the problem of model selection into a Bayesian inference problem. One can then use a standard Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to map the posterior distribution of α and compute the Bayes factor. In the second part of this thesis, the Bayesian radio interferometry formalism of Lochner et al. (2015) is extended to take into account the gains of the antennae using the StEFCal algorithm, an important part of the calibration pipeline. Finally we study the case of a pair of sources and show that they can be resolved using an analytical computation of the Bayesian evidence. This demonstrates that Bayesian methods allow super-resolution: the pair of sources can be distinguished from a single source at arbitrarily small scales compared to the naive beam size, as long as the measurements have sufficient signal to noise.
Open Access
Constraining scalar-tensor quintessence by cosmic clocks
(2007) Capozziello, S; Dunsby, P K S; Piedipalumbo, E; Rubano, C
Aims. We study scalar tensor theories of gravity with power law scalar field potentials as cosmological models for accelerating universe, using cosmic clocks. Methods. Scalar-tensor quintessence models can be constrained by identifying suitable cosmic clocks which allow one to select confidence regions for cosmological parameters. In particular, we constrain the characterizing parameters of non-minimally coupled scalar-tensor cosmological models which admit exact solutions of the Einstein field equations. Lookback time to galaxy clusters at low intermediate, and high redshifts is considered. The high redshift time-scale problem is also discussed in order to select other cosmic clocks such as quasars. Results. The presented models seem to work in all the regimes considered: the main feature of this approach is the fact that cosmic clocks are completely independent of each other, so that, in principle, it is possible to avoid bias due to primary, secondary and so on indicators in the cosmic distance ladder. Conclusions. We have used different methods to test cosmological models at low, intermediate and high redshift by different indicators: this seems to confirm independently these proposed dark energy models.
Open Access
Fluid and gas models in FLRW and almost FLRW universes
(1996) Gebbie, Timothy John; Ellis, George F R; Maartens, Roy; Dunsby, Peter K S
Recently the universe has been modeled in the covariant sense, in terms of fluid models and perturbations thereof, leading to Gauge Invariant Covariant (GIC) perturbations of these fluid models. It is well known that kinetic theory provides a physically sound and consistent description of the matter and radiation in the universe, so a perturbative theory of gas models using kinetic theory would be most helpful. This has been done to a large degree in the Gauge Invariant (GI) Bardeen approach to perturbation theory by studies of gases based on the relativistic Boltzmann equation. These treatments, however, were not fully covariant. The GI Bardeen approach is dependent on a co-ordinate choice, while in the full GIC perturbation theory full covariance is maintained along with gauge invariance by describing the theory in a particular set of perturbation variables that differ from the Bardeen choice but can be related to the Bardeen variables. The covariant formulation of the relativistic Boltzmann equation in terms of variables that are of use in the GIC theory for gases has been well described. In this thesis, I provide both a good introduction to the full GIC perturbation theory of a photon gas and matter fluid system in the linear theory as well as a solid grounding with respect to the exact FLRW fluid model upon which most of the original ideas and concepts of modern cosmology are based. The introduction to the exact FLRW model is done in the sense of the dynamical systems approach to cosmology which provides the easiest access to understanding the evolution of single and multi-fluid FLRW models.
Open Access
Global dynamics of the universe
(2000) Boersma, Jelle Pieter; Ellis, George F R
In this thesis we consider four different topics in the field of cosmology, namely, black hole topology, the averaging problem, the effect of surface terms on the dynamics of classical and quantum fields, and the generation of an open universe through inflation with random initial conditions. It should be mentioned that while the research for this thesis was being done, no large effort was made to pursue a single theme. One reason for the diversity of the topics in this thesis is that the results which came out of this research were not always the results which were expected to be found when the investigation was started. Another reason for looking at several topics is simply that once a problem has been solved, then it is natural to move on to another problem which has not yet been solved. For those readers who value that a thesis is centered around a single unifying theme, let me mention that each of the four topics in this thesis are indeed related. Namely, each topic which we discuss focuses on an aspect of the global dynamics of the universe, in a situation where this is non-trivially different from the local dynamics. The non-trivial relation between global and local dynamics is rarely addressed in cosmology. Partially this is because of the difficulties which arise when one considers a realistic universe with infinitely many coupled degrees of freedom. Hence, it is a common practice to rely on simplifications which reduce the number of degrees of freedom, or the couplings between them. Further, there are few direct observations which probe the large-scale dynamics of the universe, or none at all, depending on the length scale and the type of cosmological model which one considers. As a consequence, there is a considerable freedom in choosing a priori assumptions or simplifications in the field of cosmology, without being able to falsify the validity thereof. For instance, when we analyse the relation between field perturbations at spatial infinity and perturbations here and now, we assume that quantum field theory, as we know it, is valid everywhere between here and spatial infinity. Although one cannot avoid making certain fundamental assumptions, the type of simplifications which are adopted in a calculation plays a less fundamental role. It is the objective of this thesis to improve our understanding of the large scale dynamics of the universe by showing rigorously what one can and what one cannot derive from certain fundamental assumptions. Interestingly, our results are often quite different from the results which are based on the same assumptions, but which involve certain commonly made simplifications as well.
Open Access
Global dynamics of the universe
(2000) Boersma, Jelle Pieter; Ellis, George F R
In this thesis we consider four different topics in the field of cosmology, namely, black hole topology, the averaging problem, the effect of surface terms on the dynamics of classical and quantum fields, and the generation of an open universe through inflation with random initial conditions. It should be mentioned that while the research for this thesis was being done, no large effort was made to pursue a single theme. One reason for the diversity of the topics in this thesis is that the results which came out of this research were not always the results which were expected to be found when the investigation was started. Another reason for looking at several topics is simply that once a problem has been solved, then it is natural to move on to another problem which has not yet been solved. For those readers who value that a thesis is centred around a single unifying theme, let me mention that each of the four topics in this thesis are indeed related. Namely, each topic which we discuss focuses on an aspect of the global dynamics of the universe, in a situation where this is non-trivially different from the local dynamics. The non-trivial relation between global and local dynamics is rarely addressed in cosmology. Partially this is because of the difficulties which arise when one considers a realistic universe with infinitely many coupled degrees of freedom. Hence, it is a common practice to rely on simplifications which reduce the number of degrees of freedom, or the couplings between them. Further, there are few direct observations which probe the large-scale dynamics of the universe, or none at all, depending on the length scale and the type of cosmological model which one considers. As a consequence, there is a considerable freedom in choosing a priori assumptions or simplifications in the field of cosmology, without being able to falsify the validity thereof. For instance, when we analyse the relation between field perturbations at spatial infinity and perturbations here and now, we assume that quantum field theory, as we know it, is valid everywhere between here and spatial infinity. Although one cannot avoid making certain fundamental assumptions, the type of simplifications which are adopted in a calculation plays a less fundamental role. It is the objective of this thesis to improve our understanding of the large-scale dynamics of the universe by showing rigorously what one can and what one cannot derive from certain fundamental assumptions. Interestingly, our results are often quite different from the results which are based on the same assumptions, but which involve certain commonly made simplifications as well. This thesis is structured as follows. In the first chapter it is shown how different sections of the Kruskal geometry can be identified in a way which preserves time-orient ability of the spacetime. The existence of topologically different but locally identical solutions of Einstein's equations is well known, and not surprising considering the differential structure of these equations. also discuss the occurrence of Hawking radiation in topologically different black-hole geometries. Furthermore, we study the relation between black-hole solutions and circular cosmic strings. Assuming the existence of circular 1 cosmic string with deficit angle ranging between 0 and 211", we are able to construct a class of non-trivial vacuum solutions with properties similar to black-hole solutions but with a more complicated topology. In the second chapter of this thesis, we focus on the averaging problem in cosmology. The averaging problem occurs when one attempts to model a realistic inhomogeneous universe by a more symmetric model. Although averaging is often implied when studying realistic cosmological models, a rigorous treatment of averaging in cosmology appears to be surprisingly difficult. One difficulty which occurs when one tries to specify an averaging procedure is related to the large number of unphysical degrees of freedom which are present in the problem, namely, the coordinate freedom and the gauge freedom. The coordinate freedom manifests itself when one tries to evaluate the average of tensorial quantities, since the components of a tensor depend on the local choice of a frame. One may attempt to avoid this problem by specifying a local frame and evaluating some kind of average for each component separately. However, since there is no choice of frame which is preferred for physical reasons, this gives rise to a considerable amount of ambiguity. When one follows a perturbative approach, there is an additional freedom of choosing a gauge, which makes it ambiguous what one means by a perturbation of a physical quantity, even when this quantity does not depend on the local choice of frame. By specifying a choice of gauge, it becomes well defined what one means by a perturbation, but once again no choice of gauge seems to be preferred for physical reasons. In addition to these problems, there is an inherent ambiguity which is related to the freedom in choosing an averaging operation. Since there is generally more than one choice of averaging operation which is mathematically consistent, one needs to impose additional constraints which restrict the freedom of choosing an averaging operation. However, one would like to do so on the basis of a minimal set of assumptions. It is shown that each of these problems can be resolved in the case where perturbations theory can be applied. We use our results to calculate the lowest order non-trivial correction to the expansion of the observable universe, which is due to the fact that averaging does not commute with evaluating the (nonlinear) Einstein equations. In the third chapter of this thesis, we investigate the relation between surface terms which are evaluated at spatial infinity, and the local dynamics of a scalar field. Starting from the path-integral approach to quantum field theory, it is shown that the contribution of surface terms to the variation of the action functional cannot in general be neglected. The classical field equations can be derived by requiring that the variation of the action vanishes for all field perturbations, and it is shown that a surface term generally contributes a non-trivial source term to the classical field equations. This source term appears to vanish in spatially flat geometries, but it diverges in a spatially open geometries with super curvature perturbations. Rather surprisingly, it appears that the degrees of freedom of the scalar field which generate surface terms must have zero norm in the space of square integrable field 2 perturbations. Without restricting these zero-norm degrees of freedom, it follows that the local dynamics of the field are sensitive to details of the spacetime at spatial infinity. The main difficulty which we are confronted with consists of quantifying the zero-norm degrees of freedom. We briefly discuss a strategy for resolving this problem. In the fourth chapter we discuss different types of inflation. As is well known, the standard idea of inflation provides a simple explanation for the homogeneity of the observed universe. However, it appears to be much less straightforward to reconcile a period of inflation with the observed negative spatial curvature in the universe. Bubble inflation combines these two aspects, but it requires a rather restricted type of potential. After introducing the established ideas of standard inflation and bubble inflation, we focus on the dynamics of bubble spacetimes. It is shown that the often used thin-wall approach is not consistent with the assumption that the stress-energy is generated by a scalar field, although this assumption plays a crucial role in the theory of bubble-dynamics. In order to resolve this problem, we derive a simplified set of equations which describe the exact dynamics of a general spherically symmetric bubble spacetime. We then focus on the question of whether the restrictions on the shape of the potential, which are essential in the bubble inflation scenario, are necessary in order to explain the generation of negative spatial curvature during inflation. By studying the most generic situation where constant-scalar field hypersurfaces make a transition from being spacelike to being time like , it is shown that negative spatial curvature is generated under conditions which are more generic than the conditions which are generally assumed. The results which are presented in this thesis have been obtained through independent research, which was conducted by the author on an individual basis. The contents of the first three chapters have been published, [1] - [3], excluding the third section of the first chapter, which was added recently. The contents of the last chapter are currently being prepared for submission. None of the results which are obtained in this thesis have, to the best of my knowledge, been published elsewhere, or the original work has been cited.
Open Access
The KLT relations in unimodular gravity
(2016) Burger, Daniel; Weltman, Amanda; Murugan, Jeffrey; Ellis, George F R
Here we initiate a systematic study of some of the symmetry properties of unimodular gravity, building on much of the known structure of general relativity, and utilizing the powerful technology developed in that context, such as the spinor helicity formal-ism. In particular, we show, up to five-points and tree-level, that the KLT relations of perturbative gravity hold for trace free or unimodular gravity. This work is in conjunction with a paper written with A. Welman, J. Murugan and G.F.R. Ellis (ARXIV: 1511.08517)
Open Access
New effective theories of gravitation and their phenomenological consequences
(University of Cape Town, 2020) Maldonado Torralba, Francisco José; De La Cruz-Dombriz, Alvaro; Mazumdar, Anupam
The objective of this Thesis is to explore Poincaré Gauge theories of gravity and expose some contributions to this field, which are detailed below. Moreover, a novel ultraviolet non-local extension of this theory shall be provided, and it will be shown that it can be ghost- and singularity-free at the linear level. First, we introduce some fundamentals of differential geometry, base of any gravitational theory. We then establish that the affine structure and the metric of the spacetime are not generally related, and that there is no physical reason to impose a certain affine connection to the gravitational theory. We review the importance of gauge symmetries in Physics and construct the quadratic Lagrangian of Poincaré Gauge gravity by requiring that the gravitational theorymust be invariant under local Poincaré transformations. We study the stability of the quadratic Poincaré Gauge Lagrangian, and prove that only the two scalar degrees of freedom (one scalar and one pseudo-scalar) can propagate without introducing pathologies. We provide extensive details on the scalar, pseudo-scalar, and bi-scalar theories. Moreover, we suggest how to extend the quadratic Poincaré Gauge Lagrangian so that more modes can propagate safely. We then proceed to explore some interesting phenomenology of Poincaré Gauge theories. Herein, we calculate how fermionic particles move in spacetimes endowed with a nonsymmetric connection at first order in the WKB approximation. Afterwards, we use this result in a particular black-hole solution of Poincaré Gauge gravity, showing that measurable differences between the trajectories of a fermion and a boson can be observed. Motivated by this fact, we studied the singularity theorems in theories with torsion, to see if this non-geodesical behaviour can lead to the avoidance of singularities. Nevertheless, we prove that this is not possible provided that the conditions for the appearance of black holes of any co-dimension are met. In order to see which kind Black Hole solutions we can expect in Poincaré Gauge theories, we study Birkhoff and no-hair theorems under physically relevant conditions. Finally, we propose an ultraviolet extension of Poincaré Gauge theories by introducing non-local (infinite derivatives) terms into the action, which can ameliorate the singular behaviour at large energies. We find solutions of this theory at the linear level, and prove that such solutions are ghost- and singularity-free. We also find new features that are not present in metric Infinite Derivative Gravity.
Open Access
Null tests of the cosmological constant using supernovae
(2014) Yahya, Sahba; Seikel, Marina; Clarkson, Chris; Maartens, Roy; Smith, Mathew
The standard concordance model of the Universe is based on the cosmological constant as the driver of accelerating expansion. This concordance model is being subjected to a growing range of inter-locking observations. In addition to using generic observational tests, one can also design tests that target the specific properties of the cosmological constant. These null tests do not rely on parametrizations of observables, but focus on quantities that are constant only if dark energy is a cosmological constant. We use supernova data in null tests that are based on the luminosity distance. In order to extract derivatives of the distance in a model-independent way, we use Gaussian Processes. We find that the concordance model is compatible with the Union 2.1 data, but the error bars are fairly large. Simulated datasets are generated for the DES supernova survey and we show that this survey will allow for a sharper null test of the cosmological constant if we assume the Universe is flat. Allowing for spatial curvature degrades the power of the null test.
Open Access
Observational space-times
(1980) Nel, S D; Ellis, GFR
The work presented in this thesis forms part of a programme undertaken in collaboration with G.F.R. Ellis and R. Maartens, the primary aim of which is to examine in detail how cosmological observations may be used to determine the large scale structure of space-time (see, e.g., refs. [1-5]). In order to place this work in context as part of the ongoing cosmological enterprise, it is necessary to review briefly the main objectives of cosmology, the basic assumptions underlying most modern attempts to achieve these objectives, and the observational as well as philosophical status of these assumptions.
Open Access
Observations of galaxies in a cosmological context.
(1982) Sievers, A W; Sievers, A W; Ellis, George F R
The basic theory of observations of galaxies in a cosmological context is reviewed and extended to include e.g. the pointspread effect of the atmosphere. From this the relation between the sources (objects) and the images of these sources is derived (the observational map). A program is developed to calculate this map and some results are given.
Open Access
Probing primordial non-Gaussianity using large scale structure
(2009) Fantaye, Yabebal; Bassett, Bruce; Blake, Chris
Recent evidence from the WMAP satellite has lead to a tentative detection of non-Gaussianity. Using the bispectrum statistic applied to the MegaZ catalogue of over 600,000 luminous red galaxies we find new bounds on the large-scale nonGaussianity. We constrain the fNL parameter using a particular type of triangular configuration as well as the combination of all the possible triangles in harmonic space. The constraint on fNL from the combination of all possible triangular configurations is ffV'ial = 57 ± 52 with 68% confidence limit, which is consistent with vanishing primordial non-Gaussianity, although some triangular configurations on their own suggest a non-zero bispectrum which, if confirmed, would have a profound effect on modern cosmology.
Open Access
Problems in cosmology and numerical relativity
(2015) Mongwane, Bishop; Dunsby, Peter K S
A generic feature of most inflationary scenarios is the generation of primordial perturbations. Ordinarily, such perturbations can interact with a weak magnetic field in a plasma, resulting in a wide range of phenomena, such as the parametric excitation of plasma waves by gravitational waves. This mechanism has been studied in different contexts in the literature, such as the possibility of indirect detection of gravitational waves through electromagnetic signatures of the interaction. In this work, we consider this concept in the particular case of magnetic field amplification. Specifically, we use non-linear gauge-in variant perturbation theory to study the interaction of a primordial seed magnetic field with density and gravitational wave perturbations in an almost Friedmann-Lemaıtre-Robertson- Walker (FLRW) spacetime with zero spatial curvature. We compare the effects of this coupling under the assumptions of poor conductivity, perfect conductivity and the case where the electric field is sourced via the coupling of velocity perturbations to the seed field in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) regime, thus generalizing, improving on and correcting previous results. We solve our equations for long wavelength limits and numerically integrate the resulting equations to generate power spectra for the electromagnetic field variables, showing where the modes cross the horizon. We find that the interaction can seed Electric fields with non-zero curl and that the curl of the electric field dominates the power spectrum on small scales, in agreement with previous arguments. The second focus area of the thesis is the development a stable high order mesh refinement scheme for the solution of hyperbolic partial differential equations. It has now become customary in the field of numerical relativity to couple high order finite difference schemes to mesh refinement algorithms. This approach combines the efficiency of local mesh refinement with the robustness and accuracy of higher order methods. To this end, different modifications of the standard Berger-Oliger adaptive mesh refinement a logarithm have been proposed. In this work we present a new fourth order convergent mesh refinement scheme with sub- cycling in time for numerical relativity applications. One of the distinctive features of our algorithm is that we do not use buffer zones to deal with refinement boundaries, as is currently done in the literature, but explicitly specify boundary data for refined grids instead. We argue that the incompatibility of the standard mesh refinement algorithm with higher order Runge Kutta methods is a manifestation of order reduction phenomena which is caused by inconsistent application of boundary data in the refined grids. Indeed, a peculiar feature of high order explicit Runge Kutta schemes is that they behave like low order schemes when applied to hyperbolic problems with time dependent Dirichlet boundary conditions. We present a new algorithm to deal with this phenomenon and through a series of examples demonstrate fourth order convergence. Our scheme also addresses the problem of spurious reflections that are generated when propagating waves cross mesh refinement boundaries. We introduce a transition zone on refined levels within which the phase velocity of propagating modes is allowed to decelerate in order to smoothly match the phase velocity of coarser grids. We apply the method to test problems involving propagating waves and show a significant reduction in spurious reflections.
Open Access
QPOs in cataclysmic variables and in X-ray binaries
(2005) Kluźniak, W; Lasota, J-P; Abramowicz, M A; Warner, B
Recent observations, reported by Warner and Woudt, of Dwarf Nova Oscillations (DNOs) exhibiting frequency drift, period doubling, and 1:2:3 harmonic structure, can be understood as disc oscillations that are excited by perturbations at the spin frequency of the white dwarf or of its equatorial layers. Similar quasi-periodic disc oscillations in black hole low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) transients in a 2:3 frequency ratio show no evidence of frequency drift and correspond to two separate modes of disc oscillation excited by an internal resonance. Just as no effects of general relativity play a role in white dwarf DNOs, no stellar surface or magnetic field effects need be invoked to explain the black hole QPOs.
Open Access
Rendering dark energy void
(2009) February, Sean Phillip; Clarkson, Chris
The current model of cosmology, the Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Valker model, assumes that the universe is approximately homogeneous and isotropic on very large scales. Further assuming flatness and dark energy in the form of Einstein's cosmological constant A then implies that the latter contributes roughly 73% of the total energy of the universe, cold dark matter (CD'I) 23SiC, and baryons, the matter we are made, only 4%.
Open Access
The Sachs-Wolfe effect
(1993) Katz, Mark; Ellis, GFR
This thesis discusses the Sachs-Wolfe effect, which is the variation in the observed temperature of radiation emitted at the last scattering surface which occurs at the place where matter and radiation decouple at about 4000 degrees Kelvin. The work is in two parts, with the first part dealing with extensions made by George Ellis, Chongming Xu, Bill Stoeger and myself to the paper by Miroslaw Panek [13] where the gauge invariant formalism of cosmological density perturbations by James Bardeen [1] has been used to find the SW effect in the case of a perturbed Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe with a barotropic equation of state describing the matter in the unperturbed case. In our work we extend the example given by Panek for a flat universe (K = 0) filled with dust where the density perturbations are adiabatic, to the case of non-fl.at universes (K = -1, 0 + 1) filled with a mixture of N types of matter where the density perturbations are nonadiabatic. The second part shows the agreement between the formalisms of Sachs and Wolfe's pioneering paper and the recent work of George Ellis and Marco Bruni which presents the study of cosmological perturbations in a gauge invariant and covariant way. After the overview of the work covered in this thesis, the gauge invariant formulation of Bardeen is discussed where we follow the description by Panek of a universe whose energy content is described by a mixture of N ideal fluids coupled only by gravity. From the Einstein equations we get Bardeen's evolution equation for the gauge invariant energy density perturbation which is now given for the N different matter fluids as it appears in Panek. We then checked Panek's equations where he finds an expression for the placing of the perturbed last scattering surface, after which he derives an equation for the fractional temperature variation and writes it in terms of the perturbation variables. The equation found by SW for their particular choice of K = O, pressure free dust, where the last scattering surface is placed at its unperturbed position, is verified in terms of the Bardeen formalism. Now we extend this simple case to nonadiabatic perturbations in the same scenario and find the SW effect for a mixture of two fluids: dust and radiation, with nonadiabatic perturbations in a not necessarily flat universe. We then generalise to the case of a mixture or baryons and radiation and N types of matter. This section then ends with a calculation of the difference between temperatures taken from two different directions in the sky and is written in terms of the fractional temperature perturbation defined by Panek. The second part puts forward the formulation of the gauge problem by Ellis and Bruni (EB), and then writes out their gauge invariant quantities in terms of the SW variables. Their evolution equations are verified in this form, and the shear and vorticity determined as well. Now all of the EB cosmological quantities are listed for the special gauge that SW use and then we explore the relation between the SW metric and that of Bardeen before ending off by verifying that the form for the redshift in the EB approach is in agreement with that given by Panek.
Open Access
Some numerical investigations in cosmology
(2017) Walters, Anthony; Weltman, Amanda; Hellaby, Charles
Numerical simulations have become an indispensable tool for understanding the complex non-linear behavior of many physical systems. Here we present two numerical investigations in cosmology. The first is posed in the context of inhomogeneous solutions to General Relativity. We lay out formalism for calculating observables in an arbitrary spacetime, for an arbitrary placed observer. In particular, we calculate the area distance, redshift and transverse motion across the observers sky. We apply our method to the Szekeres metric, and develop code in MATLAB to implement it. We successfully demonstrate that the code works for the FLRW and LT special cases, and then investigate some Szekeres models with no spherical symmetry. The second project is posed in the context of chameleon gravity. Recently, it was argued that the conformal coupling of the chameleon to matter fields created an issue for early universe cosmology. As standard model degrees of freedom become non-relativistic in the early universe, the chameleon is attracted towards a "surfing" solution, so that it arrives at the potential minimum with too large a velocity. This leads to rapid variations in the chameleon's mass and excitation of high energy modes, casting doubts on the classical treatment at Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We propose the DBI chameleon, a consistent high energy modification of the chameleon theory that dynamically renders it weakly coupled to matter during the early universe thereby avoiding the breakdown of calculability. We demonstrate this explicitly with numerical simulations.
Open Access
Southern voids : structure and cosmological implications
(1997) Andersson, Yuri Luis Escutia; Fairall, Anthony Patrick
A review of standard cosmology theory and observational results is presented. The main tool for investigating large-scale structure in this thesis is a visually compiled void catalogue. Void selection effects that cause the detected distribution of voids to differ from the true distribution are discussed and suggestions are made for how to correct for these effects in the catalogue. The geometrical distribution of voids is then studied by dividing the void catalogue into two parts - wall voids and non-wall voids. The wall voids are smaller with typical radii of around 150 km s-¹ whereas non-wall voids have a mean radius of approximately 1150 km s-¹. The non-wall, and therefore, the larger voids are distributed isotropically and their correlation function is found to correspond roughly to that of Abell clusters, thus suggesting a link between the two structures. A relation between the velocity dispersions of clusters and the void radii is found using a spherical collapse model for structure formation. The ratio of these two quantities is used to put constraints on the cosmic density parameter 0 and observational data indicate that the universe is open.