118575931
Stochastic Effects in Hybrid Inflation
Hybrid inflation is a two field model where inflation ends due to an instability. In the neighborhood of the instability point, the potential is very flat and the quantum fluctuations dominate over the classical motion of the inflaton and waterfall fields. In this article, we study this regime in the framework of stochastic inflation. We numerically solve the two coupled Langevin equations controlling the evolution of the fields and compute the probability distributions of the total number of e-folds and of the inflation exit point. Then, we discuss the physical consequences of our results, in particular the question of how the quantum diffusion can affect the observable prediction of hybrid inflation.
14965415
Best unbiased estimators for the three point correlators of the cosmic microwave background radiation
Measuring the three-point correlators of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies could help to get a handle on the level of non-Gaussianity present in the observational data sets and therefore would strongly constrain models of the early Universe. However, typically, the expected non-Gaussian signal is very small. Therefore, one has to face the problem of extracting it from the noise, in particular from the ``cosmic variance'' noise. For this purpose, one has to construct the best unbiased estimators for the three-point correlators that are needed for concrete detection of non-Gaussian features. In this article, we study this problem for both the CMB third moment and the CMB angular bispectrum. We emphasize that knowledge of the best estimator for the former does not permit one to infer the best estimator for the latter and vice versa. We present the corresponding best unbiased estimators in both cases and compute their corresponding cosmic variances.
118612073
Generation of gravitational waves during early structure formation between cosmic inflation and reheating
In the pre-reheating era, following cosmic inflation and preceding radiation domination, the energy density may be dominated by an oscillating massive scalar condensate, such as is the case for V = m22/2 chaotic inflation. We have found in a previous paper that during this period, a wide range of sub-Hubble scale perturbations are subject to a preheating instability, leading to the growth of density perturbations ultimately collapsing to form non-linear structures. We compute here the gravitational wave signal due to these structures in the linear limit and present estimates for emission in the non-linear limit due to various effects: the collapse of halos, the tidal interactions, the evaporation during the conversion of the inflaton condensate into radiation and finally the ensuing turbulent cascades. The gravitational wave signal could be rather large and potentially testable by future detectors.
119240885
Constraints on moduli cosmology from the production of dark matter and baryon isocurvature fluctuations
We set constraints on moduli cosmology from the production of dark matter—radiation and baryon— radiation isocurvature fluctuations through modulus decay, assuming the modulus remains light during inflation. We find that the moduli problem becomes worse at the perturbative level as a significant part of the parameter space m σ (modulus mass)—σ inf (modulus vacuum expectation value at the end of inflation) is constrained by the nonobservation of significant isocurvature fluctuations. We discuss in detail the evolution of the modulus vacuum expectation value and perturbations, in particular, the consequences of Hubble scale corrections to the modulus potential, and the stochastic motion of the modulus during inflation. We show, in particular, that a high modulus mass scale m σ ≳ 100 TeV, which allows the modulus to evade big bang nucleosynthesis constraints is strongly constrained at the perturbative level. We find that generically, solving the moduli problem requires the inflationary scale to be much smaller than 10 13 GeV.
31268700
Quintessence with two energy scales
We study quintessence models using low energy supergravity inspired from string theory. We consider effective supergravity with two scales m_S, the string scale, and m_PL, the Planck scale and show that quintessence naturally arises from a supersymmetry breaking hidden sector. As long as supersymmetry is broken by the $F$-term of a Polonyi-like field coupled to the quintessence field in the K\"ahler potential we find that the Ratra-Peebles potential and its supergravity version are generic predictions. This requires that the string scale decouples from the Planck scale, m_S << m_PL. In the context of supergravity, the potential possesses a minimum induced by the supergravity corrections to the Ratra-Peebles potential at low redshifts. We study the physical consequences of the presence of this minimum.
15021448
Amplitude of superhorizon cosmological perturbations
We study the influence of reheating on super-horizon density perturbations and gravitational waves. We correct wrong claims [L. P. Grishchuk Phys. Rev. D 50, 7154 (1994) and gr-qc/9801011] about the joining of perturbations at cosmological transitions and about the quantization of cosmological perturbations.
44822682
Recent Advances in Design for Low- and Medium-Energy Heavy Ion Accelerators
Recent developments in the technology of electrostatic accelerators, linear accelerators, and cyclotrons for the acceleration of heavy ions are reviewed. (GHT)
93888470
Design Study for the Conversion of the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron from an Energy Constant of K=90 to K=300 MeV
A possible method of achieving a K=300 MeV cyclotron by increasing the average magnetic field of the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron (ORIC) from 18.6 to 33.9 kG with superconducting coils has been investigated.
6876413
Coupled Operation Experience at the Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility
The 25URC Pelletron tandem electrostatic accelerator and the Oak Ridge Isochronous Cyclotron (ORIC) comprise the accelerators of the Holifield Heavy-Ion Research Facility (HHIRF). The two machines may be operated individually or coupled, with ORIC serving as an energy booster for the tandem. In the coupled dode, the ion beam enters the cyclotron through the dee stem and is directed by the inflection magnet so that it is tangent to an orbit suitable for acceleration at a higher charge state. A thin carbon foil, placed at the point of tangency, strips the ions so that a substantial fraction are in the desired higher charge state. This fraction of the beam is then accelerated and extracted in the normal fashion. Full energy performance (25 MeV/A oxygen) was demonstrated during first coupled operation in January 1981. Routine coupled operation for experiments commenced in July 1982.
115550416
RECENT PROGRESS ON A SUPERCURRENT SEPARATED ORBIT CYCLOTRON.
115477044
Magnet Model Studies for Separated-Sector Heavy Ion Cyclotrons
A four-sector model of a 2400 ton (2200 metric ton), K=440, separated-sector cyclotron magnet has been built to 0.15 scale. The sector angle of the magnet is 52°. Magnetic field measurements have been made using a single Hall-effect element that was positioned by a high-precision numerically controlled table. Magnetic field data and the ion focusing characteristics are presented.