Primordial nucleosynthesis and Ω B ∼1 cosmologies with interacting radiation and matter

The constraints on the present baryon density from primordial nucleosynthesis in universes with interacting radiation and matter are investigated. For illustration, a class of exact cosmological models is studied in which two separate, interacting fluids act as the source of the gravitational field, a radiative perfect fluid modelling the cosmic microwave background and a second perfect fluid modelling the observed material content of the Universe. Althought the two fluid models under consideration are found to predict primordial element abundances similar to those predicted in the standard model (and consequently in general accord with observed values), the upper limit on the present baryon density inferred from the observed abundances of the light elements is found to be greater than that in the standard model due to the different evolution of the baryon density in the models. From this result, and using the fact that the upper limit on _B (the ratio of the present value of the baryon density to the value of the critical density) is further weakened in inhomogeneous cosmological models, it is found that unlike the situation in the standard model, cosmologies with _B 1 are permitted without violating the constraints of nucleosynthesis, thereby allowing the possibility that the Universe could be closed by baryonic matter alone.     

Constraints on cosmological parameters from recent measurements of cosmic microwave background anisotropy

A key prediction of cosmological theories for the origin and evolution of structure in the Universe is the existence of a 'Doppler peak' in the angular power spectrum of cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations. We present new results from a study of recent CMB observations which provide the first strong evidence for the existence of a 'Doppler peak' localized in both angular scale and amplitude. This first estimate of the angular position of the peak is used to place a new direct limit on the curvature of the Universe, corresponding to a density of Ω = 0.7^+0.8_−0.5, consistent with a flat universe. Very low-density 'open' universe models are inconsistent with this limit unless there is a significant contribution from a cosmological constant. For a flat standard cold dark matter dominated universe we use our results in conjunction with big bang nucleosynthesis constraints to determine the value of the Hubble constant as H ₀ = 30 − 70 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ for baryon fractions Ω_b = 0.05 to 0.2. For H ₀ = 50 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ we find the primordial spectral index of the fluctuations to be n  = 1.1 ± 0.1, in close agreement with the inflationary prediction of n  ≃ 1.0.     

Small scale entropy and adiabatic density perturbations — Antimatter in the Universe

Fluctuations of all scales are equally interesting from the point of view of the characteristics of the singular state and not only those which led to the formation of astronomical objects such as clusters of galaxies, separate galaxies, globular clusters and quasars. In this article estimates are given of the homogeneity of the overall density of hot plasma and the relation between the quantity of baryons and antibaryons at early stages of evolution of the Universe. These estimates are made for small scales, considerably smaller than the scale of the astronomical objects enumerated above. Considerations about the energy balance of hot plasma and distortions of the spectrum of relic radiation due to dissipation of density fluctuations of matter are used for these estimates. The corrected upper limit to early energy injection is given. In our preceding paper (Sunyaev and Zeldovich, 1970) this upper limit was underestimated. Difficulties with a model of the Universe which is symmetric in baryon charge are noted.     

Element formation and a class of two-fluid cosmological models

In this article nucleosynthesis will be investigated in a class of cosmological models in which two separate interacting fluids act as the source of the gravitational field, a comoving radiative perfect fluid modelling the cosmic-microwave background and a second fluid modelling the observed material content of the Universe. The two-fluid models under consideration are found to predict primordial element abundances very similar to those predicted in the standard model and consequently in general accord with observed abundances. Since the evolution of the baryon density in the models is different to that in the standard model the inferred limits on the present baryon density will also be different. In the models under investigation the range of values for the present baryon density consistent with observed light element abundances is found to be far wider, and in particular the allowed upper limit on the present baryon density is found to be greater, than in the standard case.     

Do we live in the universe successively dominated by matter and antimatter?

We wonder if a cyclic universe may be dominated alternatively by matter and antimatter. Such a scenario demands a mechanism for transformation of matter to antimatter (or antimatter to matter) during the final stage of a big crunch. By giving an example, we have shown that in principle such a mechanism is possible. Our mechanism is based on a hypothetical repulsion between matter and antimatter, existing at least deep inside the horizon of a black hole. When universe is reduced to a supermassive black hole of a small size, a very strong field of the conjectured force might create (through a Schwinger type mechanism) particle-antiparticle pairs from the quantum vacuum. The amount of antimatter created from the vacuum is equal to the decrease of mass of the black hole and violently repelled from it. When the size of the black hole is sufficiently small, the creation of antimatter may become so fast, that matter of our Universe might be transformed to antimatter in a fraction of second. Such a fast conversion of matter into antimatter may look as a Big Bang. Our mechanism prevents a singularity; a new cycle might start with an initial size more than 30 orders of magnitude greater than the Planck length, suggesting that there is no need for inflationary scenario in Cosmology. In addition, there is no need to invoke CP violation for explanation of matter-antimatter asymmetry. Simply, our present day Universe is dominated by matter, because the previous universe was dominated by antimatter.     

Density perturbations in a Universe consisting of fluid plus collisionless neutrino gas

In a two-component Universe which consists of fluid (visible matter) plus collisinless massive neutrino gas (dark matter), the remarkable difference between the developed inhomogeneities in two components could be formed after the decoupling time. Whether the initial perturbation was in which of the two components, the inhomogeneities developed in visible matter are larger than that in neutrinos, especially on smaller scales. The necessary condition for such a situation to arise is only that the density of neutrinos in the Universe is dominant. That means the non-dominant visible component in the Universe is strongly clustered especially on smaller scales, while the distribution of the dominant dark matter (neutrinos) is fairly uniform.     

An upper limit to the density inhomogeneity in the universe

An upper limit to the amplitude of the overall density fluctuation has been found by means of the gravitational lensing effect of the density inhomogeneity on the luminosities of quasars with larger redshifts. The observed differences of luminosities of quasars located at different directions are partially given by the lensing effect, therefore, a useful upper limit to the inhomogeneity can be derived if the luminosity distribution of quasars is uniform enough. We obtain that, in the case of the density parameter of the Universe =1, the overall matter should be less clustered than the luminous matter by a factor of at least 3. This result may not favour the biased dark matter scenario for the formation of large-scale structure in the Universe.     

Black Hole in a Radiation-Dominated Universe

We study a black hole in an expanding Universe during the radiation-dominated stage. In particular, such a black hole may be of the primordial origin. In the case when the black hole radius is much smaller than the cosmological horizon, we found a self-consistent solution for the metric and the matter distribution and its velocity far from the black hole. At distances much smaller than the cosmological horizon our solution coincides with the previously obtained solution for quasi-stationary accretion. Our results can be applied, in particular, for the formation of dark matter density spikes around primordial black holes, and for the evolution of dark matter clumps during the radiation-dominated stage.     

Cosmological Parameters: Where are we?

The present-day large increase of the amount of data relevant to cosmology, as well as their increasing accuracy, leads to the idea that the determination of cosmological parameters has been achieved with a rather good precision, may be of the order of 10%. There is a large consensus around the so-called concordance model. Indeed this model does fit an impressive set of independent data, the most impressives been: CMB C_l curve, most current matter density estimations, Hubble constant estimation from HST, apparent acceleration of the Universe, good matching of the power spectrum of matter fluctuations. However, the necessary introduction of a non zero cosmological constant is an extraordinary new mystery for physics, or more exactly the come back of one of the ghost of modern physics since its introduction by Einstein. Here, I would like to emphasize that some results are established beyond reasonable doubt, like the (nearly) flatness of the universe and the existence of a dark non-baryonic component of the Universe. But also that the evidence for a positive cosmological constant may not be as strong as needed for its existence to be considered as established beyond doubt. In this respect, I will argue that an Einstein-De Sitter universe might still be a viable option. Some observations do not fit the concordance picture. I discuss several of the claimed observational evidences supporting the concordance model and will focus more specifically on the observational properties of clusters which offer powerful constraints on various quantities of cosmological interest. They are particularly interesting in constraining the cosmological density parameter, nicely complementing the CMB result, which by its own does not request a non vanishing cosmological constant, contrary to what is sometimes claimed. Early, local, estimations based on the M/L ratio are now superseded by new tests that have been proposed during the last ten years which are globalin nature. Here, I will briefly discuss three of them: 1) the evolution of the abundance of clusters with redshift 2) the baryon fraction measured in local clusters 3) apparent evolution of the baryon fraction with redshift. I will show that these three independent tests lead to high matter density for the Universe in the range 0.6 — 1. I therefore conclude that the dominance of vacuum to the various density contributions to the Universeis presently a fascinating possibility, but it is still premature to consider it as an established scientific fact.     

Evolution and observational signature of diffused antiworld

The existence of macroscopic regions with antibaryon excess in the baryon asymmetric Universe with general baryon excess is the possible consequence of practically all models of baryosynthesis. Diffusion of matter and antimatter to the border of antimatter domains defines the minimal scale of the antimatter domains surviving to the present time. A model of diffused antiworld is considered, in which the density within the surviving antimatter domains is too low to form gravitationally bound objects. The possibility to test this model by measurements of cosmic gamma ray fluxes is discussed. The expected gamma ray flux is found to be acceptable for modern cosmic gamma ray detectors and for those planned for the near future.     

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: the power spectrum and the matter content of the Universe

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey has now measured in excess of 160 000 galaxy redshifts. This paper presents the power spectrum of the galaxy distribution, calculated using a direct Fourier transform based technique. We argue that, within the k -space region     , the shape of this spectrum should be close to that of the linear density perturbations convolved with the window function of the survey. This window function and its convolving effect on the power spectrum estimate are analysed in detail. By convolving model spectra, we are able to fit the power-spectrum data and provide a measure of the matter content of the Universe. Our results show that models containing baryon oscillations are mildly preferred over featureless power spectra. Analysis of the data yields 68 per cent confidence limits on the total matter density times the Hubble parameter     , and the baryon fraction     , assuming scale-invariant primordial fluctuations.     

Thermal evolution of rotating hybrid stars

As a neutron star spins down, the nuclear matter is continuously converted into quark matter due to the core density increase, and then latent heat is released. We have investigated the thermal evolution of neutron stars undergoing such deconfinement phase transition. We have taken into account the conversion in the frame of the general theory of relativity. The released energy has been estimated as a function of changed rate of deconfinement baryon number. The numerical solutions to the cooling equation are seen to be very different from those without the heating effect. The results show that neutron stars may be heated to higher temperatures which is well matched with pulsar's data despite the onset of fast cooling in neutron stars with quark matter cores. It is also found that the heating effect has a magnetic field strength dependence. This feature could be particularly interesting for high temperatures of low-field millisecond pulsars at a later stage. The high temperature could fit the observed temperature for PSR J0437−4715.     

Parameters of the early Universe and primordial black holes

We consider the possibility of low-mass primordial black holes being formed in terms of the inflationary theory of the early Universe. We found a condition on the reheating temperature under which the relic remnants of primordial black holes had been formed by now. These relic remnants may account for a part of the dark matter in our Universe.     

Formation of a void and galaxies in a neutrino-dominated universe

The recent discovery of the large honeycomb structure of the Universe has triggered many models of the Universe dominated by dark matter. The neutrino-dominated universe is a favorable model for explaining the size of the large-scale structure and the dark matter of the larger scale than the galactic one. Our calculations on the evolution of density perturbations in a two-component universe composed of neutrinos and dissipative gas on a spherically-symmetric model have shown that the galactic scale does correlate the scale of a void of galaxies: if a neutrino has the mass of some tens eV, galaxies of the typical size form surrounding a typical void.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Cosmological constraints from the X-ray gas mass fraction in relaxed lensing clusters observed with Chandra

We present precise measurements of the X-ray gas mass fraction for a sample of luminous, relatively relaxed clusters of galaxies observed with the Chandra observatory, for which independent confirmation of the mass results is available from gravitational lensing studies. Parametrizing the total (luminous plus dark matter) mass profiles using the model of Navarro, Frenk & White, we show that the X-ray gas mass fractions in the clusters asymptote towards an approximately constant value at a radius r ₂₅₀₀, where the mean interior density is 2500 times the critical density of the Universe at the redshifts of the clusters. Combining the Chandra results on the X-ray gas mass fraction and its apparent redshift dependence with recent measurements of the mean baryonic matter density in the Universe and the Hubble constant determined from the Hubble Key Project, we obtain a tight constraint on the mean total matter density of the Universe,     , and measure a positive cosmological constant,     . Our results are in good agreement with recent, independent findings based on analyses of anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation, the properties of distant supernovae, and the large-scale distribution of galaxies.     

On the APM power spectrum and the CMB anisotropy: evidence for a phase transition during inflation?

Adams et al. have noted that according to our current understanding of the unification of fundamental interactions, there should have been phase transitions associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking during the inflationary era. This may have resulted in the breaking of scale-invariance of the primordial density perturbation for brief periods. A possible such feature was identified in the power spectrum of galaxy clustering in the automated plate measurement (APM) survey at the scale k  ∼ 0.1  h  Mpc ^− 1 and it was shown that the secondary acoustic peaks in the power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy should consequently be suppressed. We demonstrate that this prediction is confirmed by the recent Boomerang and Maxima observations, which favour a step-like spectral feature in the range k  ∼ (0.06–0.6)  h  Mpc ^− 1 , independently of the similar previous indication from the APM data. Such a spectral break enables an excellent fit to both APM and CMB data with a baryon density consistent with the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) value. It also allows the possibility of a matter-dominated universe with zero cosmological constant, which we show can now account for even the evolution of the abundance of rich clusters.     

Influence of gamma-ray emission on the isotopic composition of clouds in the interstellar medium

We investigate one mechanism of the change in the isotopic composition of cosmologically distant clouds of interstellar gas whose matter was subjected only slightly to star formation processes. According to the standard cosmological model, the isotopic composition of the gas in such clouds was formed at the epoch of Big Bang nucleosynthesis and is determined only by the baryon density in the Universe. The dispersion in the available cloud composition observations exceeds the errors of individual measurements. This may indicate that there are mechanisms of the change in the composition of matter in the Universe after the completion of Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We have calculated the destruction and production rates of light isotopes (D, ³He, ⁴He) under the influence of photonuclear reactions triggered by the gamma-ray emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We investigate the destruction and production of light elements depending on the spectral characteristics of the gamma-ray emission. We show that in comparison with previous works, taking into account the influence of spectral hardness on the photonuclear reaction rates can increase the characteristic radii of influence of the gamma-ray emission from AGNs by a factor of 2?C8. The high gamma-ray luminosities of AGNs observed in recent years increase the previous estimates of the characteristic radii by two orders of magnitude. This may suggest that the influence of the emission from AGNs on the change in the composition of the medium in the immediate neighborhood (the parent galaxy) has been underestimated.     

The Effect of Central Baryonic Cores in Dark Halos on the Evaluation of Strong Lensing Probabilities

We present an estimate of the strong lensing probability by dark halos, with emphasis on the role of the baryonic matter arising purely from radiative cooling. We treat the contribution of the cooled baryons optimistically with all the cooled baryons confined within a central core, and including no feedback process from stellar evolution. Our two-component model provides a strong lensing probability that is in good agreement with the observed distribution of multiple images of quasars, provided that the cooled baryons are deposited within a spherical region of radius of 0.1 times the virial radius and follow an isothermal profile. It is pointed out that strong lensing may be used as an additional probe‘of baryon physics in dark halos though this may meanwhile complicate the test of the inner density profiles of dark matter in halos using the observed strong lensing probability.     

Evolution of the information in the universe

Information in the universe evolves according to a nonlinear law, which results from a combination of nonlinear dynamics and quantum theory. The Kolmogoroff-Sinai entropy rate of the Universe evolves in inverse proportion to the temperature. Since the evolution of temperature is known from standard cosmology, the time dependence of the universal entropy rate can be determined and the temporal evolution of the universal information content can be calculated. Information starts growing at the enormous rate of 10⁴⁴ bits per second from an initial value of at least 2 (seven) bits at Planck time. However, it reaches its contemporary value only if one or more inflationary phases have been passed by the Universe in the course of its evolution.     

宇宙在大尺度上是均匀的吗?

宇宙中的物质在大尺度上是均匀分布的,还是保持着分形分布的特点,成为近年来观测宇宙学中争论的一个热点。Ｐｉｅｔｒｏｎｅｒｏ等人认为直到目前观测到的最大尺度（≈１０００ｈ＾－１Ｍｐｃ）星系的分布仍保持Ｄ≈２的分形结构,而大多数坚持标准模型的宇宙学家都认为宇宙在大尺度上是均匀分布的。宇宙物质在大尺度上是否均匀分布,将由下一代的红移巡天的结果来判断。