18432836
Multiple universes, cosmic coincidences, and other dark matters
Even when completely and consistently formulated, a fundamental theory of physics and cosmological boundary conditions may not give unambiguous and unique predictions for the universe we observe; indeed inflation, string/M theory, and quantum cosmology all arguably suggest that we can observe only one member of an ensemble with diverse properties. How, then, can such theories be tested? It has been variously asserted that in a future measurement we should observe the a priori most probable set of predicted properties (the 'bottom-up' approach), or the most probable set compatible with all current observations (the 'top-down' approach), or the most probable set consistent with the existence of observers (the 'anthropic' approach). These inhabit a spectrum of levels of conditionalization and can lead to qualitatively different predictions. For example, in a context in which the densities of various species of dark matter vary among members of an ensemble of otherwise similar regions, from the top-down or anthropic viewpoints—but not the bottom-up—it would be natural for us to observe multiple types of dark matter with similar contributions to the observed dark matter density. In the anthropic approach it is also possible in principle to strengthen this argument and the limit the number of likely dark matter sub-components. In both cases the argument may be extendible to dark energy or primordial density perturbations. This implies that the anthropic approach to cosmology, introduced in part to explain 'coincidences' between unrelated constituents of our universe, predicts that more, as-yet-unobserved coincidences should come to light.
35451533
Runaway dilatonic domain walls
We explore the stability of domain wall and bubble solutions in theories with compact extra dimensions. The energy density stored inside of the wall can destabilize the volume modulus of a compactification, leading to solutions containing either a timelike singularity or a region where space decompactifies, depending on the metric ansatz. We determine the structure of such solutions both analytically and using numerical simulations, and analyze how they arise in compactifications of Einstein-Maxwell theory and type IIB string theory. The existence of instabilities has important implications for the formation of networks of topological defects and the population of vacua during eternal inflation.
199669497
Measures on Transitions for Cosmology in the Landscape
14712841
On the Superradiance of Spin-1 Waves in an Equatorial Wedge around a Kerr Hole.
Recently Van Putten has suggested that superradiance of magnetosonic waves in a toroidal magnetosphere around a Kerr black hole may play a role in the central engine of gamma-ray bursts. In this context, he computed (in the WKB approximation) the superradiant amplification of scalar waves confined to a thin equatorial wedge around a Kerr hole and found that the superradiance is higher than for radiation incident over all angles. This Letter presents calculations of both spin-0 (scalar) superradiance (integrating the radial equation rather than using the WKB method) and spin-1 (electromagnetic/magnetosonic) superradiance in Van Putten's wedge geometry. In contrast to the scalar case, spin-1 superradiance decreases in the wedge geometry, decreasing the likelihood of its astrophysical importance.
118974302
Steady state eternal inflation
Since the advent of inflation, several theorems have been proven suggesting that although inflation can (and generically does) continue eternally into the future, it cannot be extended eternally into the past to create a ``steady-state'' model with no initial time. Here we provide a construction that circumvents these theorems and allows a self-consistent, geodesically complete, and physically sensible steady-state eternally inflating universe, based on the flat slicing of de Sitter space. This construction could be used as the background space-time for creation events that form big-bang-like regions, and hence could form the basis for a cosmology that is compatible with observations and yet which avoids an initial singularity or beginning of time.
119350946
Observational tests of intergalactic enrichment models
We summarise recent results assessing the carbon and silicon abundances of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using the ‘pixel optical depth’ technique. We briefly discuss the implications of these results for models of intergalactic enrichment, focusing on distinguishing ‘early’ $z \gg 4$ enrichment by the first generations of stars and objects from ‘late’ enrichment by $2 \lesssim z\lesssim 5$ Ly-break galaxies. We then discuss the comparison of observed QSO spectra to simulated spectra generated from cosmological simulations that self-consistently include enrichment, and draw qualitative implications for the general picture of intergalactic enrichment at $z \gtrsim 2$ .
53655762
Type-II defects in the super-Liouville theory
The introduction of type-II defects is discussed under the Lagrangian formalism and Lax representation for the N = 1 super-Liouville model. We derive a new kind of super-Backlund transformation for the model and show explicitly the conservation of the modified energy and momentum, as well as supercharge.
119172404
N=1 super sinh-Gordon model with defects revisited
A bstractThe Lax pair formalism is considered to discuss the integrability of the N = 1 supersymmetric sinh-Gordon model with a defect. We derive associated defect matrix for the model and construct the generating functions of the modified conserved quantities. The corresponding defect contributions for the modified energy and momentum of the model are explicitly computed.