Can observations inside the Solar System reveal the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum?

The understanding of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum might be the next scientific revolution. It was recently proposed that the quantum vacuum contains the virtual gravitational dipoles; we argue that this hypothesis might be tested within the Solar System. The key point is that the quantum vacuum (“enriched” with the gravitational dipoles) induces a retrograde precession of the perihelion. It is obvious that this phenomenon might eventually be revealed by more accurate studies of orbits of planets and orbits of the artificial Earth satellites. However, we suggest that potentially the best “laboratory” for the study of the gravitational properties of the quantum vacuum is the recently discovered dwarf planet Eris with its satellite named Dysnomia; the distance of nearly 100 AU from the Sun makes it the unique system in which the precession of the perihelion of Dysnomia (around Eris) is strongly dominated by the quantum vacuum.     

Quantum vacuum and virtual gravitational dipoles: the solution to the dark energy problem?

The cosmological constant problem is the principal obstacle in the attempt to interpret dark energy as the quantum vacuum energy. We suggest that the obstacle can be removed, i.e. that the cosmological constant problem can be resolved by assuming that the virtual particles and antiparticles in the quantum vacuum have the gravitational charge of the opposite sign. The corresponding estimates of the cosmological constant, dark energy density and the equation of state for dark energy are in the intriguing agreement with the observed values in the present day Universe. However, our approach and the Standard Cosmology lead to very different predictions for the future of the Universe; the exponential growth of the scale factor, predicted by the Standard Cosmology, is suppressed in our model.     

Presence of dark energy and dark matter: does cosmic acceleration signifies a weak gravitational collapse?

In this work the collapsing process of a spherically symmetric star, made of dust cloud, in the background of dark energy is studied for two different gravity theories separately, i.e., DGP Brane gravity and Loop Quantum gravity. Two types of dark energy fluids, namely, Modified Chaplygin gas and Generalised Cosmic Chaplygin gas are considered for each model. Graphs are drawn to characterize the nature and the probable outcome of gravitational collapse. A comparative study is done between the collapsing process in the two different gravity theories. It is found that in case of dark matter, there is a great possibility of collapse and consequent formation of Black hole. In case of dark energy possibility of collapse is far lesser compared to the other cases, due to the large negative pressure of dark energy component. There is an increase in mass of the cloud in case of dark matter collapse due to matter accumulation. The mass decreases considerably in case of dark energy due to dark energy accretion on the cloud. In case of collapse with a combination of dark energy and dark matter, it is found that in the absence of interaction there is a far better possibility of formation of black hole in DGP brane model compared to Loop quantum cosmology model.     

Spindown of magnetars:quantum vacuum friction?

Magnetars are proposed to be peculiar neutron stars which could power their X-ray radiation by super-strong magnetic fields as high as 10~(14) G.However,no direct evidence for such strong fields has been obtained till now,and the recent discovery of low magnetic field magnetars even indicates that some more efficient radiation mechanism than magnetic dipole radiation should be included.In this paper,quantum vacuum friction(QVF) is suggested to be a direct consequence of super-strong surface fields,therefore the magnetar model could then be tested further through QVF braking.The high surface magnetic field of a pulsar interacting with the quantum vacuum results in a significantly high spindown rate(P).It is found that a QVF dominates the energy loss of pulsars when the pulsar's rotation period and its first derivative satisfy the relationship P~3P 0.63 ×10~(-16)ξ~(-4) s~2,whereξ is the ratio of the surface magnetic field over the dipole magnetic field.In the "QVF + magnetodipole" joint braking scenario,the spindown behavior of magnetars should be quite different from that in the pure magnetodipole model.We are expecting these results could be tested by magnetar candidates,especially low magnetic field cases,in the future.     

The direct detection of non-baryonic dark matter in the Galaxy?

It has been argued in a number of recent papers that dark matter is in the form of Jupiter-mass primordial black holes that betray their presence by microlensing quasars. This lensing accounts for a number of characteristic properties of quasar light curves, in both single quasars and gravitationally lensed multiple systems, that are not explained on the basis of intrinsic variation. One prediction of this idea is that Jupiter-mass bodies will be detected by the MACHO experiment as short events of about 2 d duration, although the expected frequency of detection is still very hard to estimate. However, the recent report by the MACHO group of the detection of a Jupiter-mass body in the direction of the Galactic bulge is consistent with this prediction, and is possibly the first direct detection of non-baryonic matter in the Galaxy.     

Are fossil groups a challenge of the cold dark matter paradigm?

We study six groups and clusters of galaxies suggested in the literature to be 'fossil' systems (i.e. to have luminous diffuse X-ray emission and a magnitude gap of at least 2 mag R between the first and the second ranked member within half of the virial radius), each having good quality X-ray data and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic or photometric coverage out to the virial radius. The poor cluster AWM 4 is clearly established as a fossil system, and we confirm the fossil nature of four other systems (RX J1331.5+1108, RX J1340.6+4018, RX J1256.0+2556 and RX J1416.4+2315), while the cluster RX J1552.2+2013 is disqualified as fossil system. For all systems, we present the luminosity functions within 0.5 and 1 virial radius that are consistent, within the uncertainties, with the universal luminosity function of clusters. For the five bona fide fossil systems, having a mass range  2 × 10¹³–3 × 10¹⁴ M_⊙  , we compute accurate cumulative substructure distribution functions (CSDFs) and compare them with the CSDFs of observed and simulated groups/clusters available in the literature. We demonstrate that the CSDFs of fossil systems are consistent with those of normal observed clusters and do not lack any substructure with respect to simulated galaxy systems in the cosmological Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) framework. In particular, this holds for the archetype fossil group RX J1340.6+4018 as well, contrary to earlier claims.     

The sizes of minivoids in the local Universe: an argument in favour of a warm dark matter model?

Using high-resolution simulations within the cold dark matter (CDM) and warm dark matter (WDM) models, we study the evolution of small-scale structure in the local volume, a sphere of 8-Mpc radius around the Local Group. We compare the observed spectrum of minivoids in the local volume with the spectrum of minivoids determined from the simulations. We show that the ΛWDM model can easily explain both the observed spectrum of minivoids and the presence of low-mass galaxies observed in the local volume, provided that all haloes with circular velocities greater than 20 km s⁻¹ host galaxies. On the contrary, within the ΛCDM model the distribution of the simulated minivoids reflects the observed one if haloes with maximal circular velocities larger than  35 km s⁻¹  host galaxies. This assumption is in contradiction with observations of galaxies with circular velocities as low as 20 km s⁻¹ in our local Universe. A potential problem of the ΛWDM model could be the late formation of the haloes in which the gas can be efficiently photoevaporated. Thus, star formation is suppressed and low-mass haloes might not host any galaxy at all.     

Can cold dark matter paradigm explain the central-surface-densities relation?

Recently, a very strong correlation between the central surface density of stars and dynamical mass in 135 disk galaxies has been obtained. It has been shown that this central-surface-densities relation agrees very well with Modified Newtonian Dynamics(MOND). In this article, we show that if we assume the baryons have an isothermal distribution and dark matter exists, then it is possible to derive by means of the Jeans equation an analytic central-surface-densities relation connecting dark matter and baryons that agrees with the observed relation. We find that the observed central-surface-densities relation can also be accommodated in the context of dark matter provided the latter is described by an isothermal profile. Therefore, the observed relation is consistent with not only MOND.     

Is the Universe an actual subsystem of the infinite whole of reality?

On the basis of the law of conservation of energy, the variations of radiation energy as a result of the variations of the dimensions of the Universe and of the increase in total energy of the hypothetical false vacuum, the author introduces an assumption that the Universe is an actual subsystem of the infinite whole of reality. Analyzing the consequences of introducing this assumption into the standard model of the Universe, he comes to the conclusion that the Universe, with respect to its evolution, represents an ultrastable system consisting of a dynamic system of the de Sitter evolution phase with the Planck values and of a dynamic system of Friedmann's phase of evolution into which the dynamics of its partial subsystems is incorporated.     

Does the gamma-ray signal from the central Milky Way indicate Sommerfeld enhancement of dark matter annihilation?

Recently,some studies showed that the GeV gamma-ray excess signal from the central Milky Way can be explained by the annihilation of ~ 40 GeV dark matter through the bb channel.Based on the morphology of the gamma-ray flux,the best-fit inner slope of the dark matter density profile is γ= 1.26.However,recent analyses of the Milky Way dark matter profile favor γ= 0.6-0.8.In this article,we show that the GeV gamma-ray excess can also be explained by the Sommerfeld-enhanced dark matter annihilation through the bb channel with γ= 0.85-1.05.We constrain the parameters of the Sommerfeld-enhanced annihilation by using data from Fermi-LAT.We also show that the predicted gamma-ray fluxes emitted from dwarf galaxies generally satisfy recent upper limits on gamma-ray fluxes detected by Fermi-LAT.     

Holographic dark energy with time depend gravitational constant in the non-flat Ho?ava-Lifshitz cosmology

We study the holographic dark energy on the subject of Hořava-Lifshitz gravity with a time dependent gravitational constant G(t), in the non-flat space-time. We obtain the differential equation that specify the evolution of the dark energy density parameter based on varying gravitational constant. We find out a relation for the state parameter of the dark energy equation of state to low red-shifts which containing varying G corrections in the non-flat space-time.     

Milky Way potentials in cold dark matter and MOdified Newtonian Dynamics. Is the Large Magellanic Cloud on a bound orbit?

We compute the Milky Way potential in different cold dark matter (CDM) based models, and compare these with the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) framework. We calculate the axial ratio of the potential in various models, and find that isopotentials are less spherical in MOND than in CDM potentials. As an application of these models, we predict the escape velocity as a function of the position in the Galaxy. This could be useful in comparing with future data from planned or already-underway kinematic surveys (RAVE, SDSS, SEGUE, SIM , Gaia or the hypervelocity stars survey). In addition, the predicted escape velocity is compared with the recently measured high proper motion velocity of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). To bind the LMC to the Galaxy in a MOND model, while still being compatible with the RAVE-measured local escape speed at the Sun's position, we show that an external field modulus of less than  0.03 a ₀  is needed.     

Can the intrinsic polarization of stellar radiation correspond to the Serkowski law?

We demonstrate a situation where the wavelength dependence of the intrinsic linear polarization of stellar radiation matches that of the interstellar linear polarization described by the Serkowski law. Such a situation can arise when the radiation from a star with a dipole magnetic field is scattered in a circumstellar plasma shell with a uniform electron density distribution. As a result, we have estimated the magnetic field strength at the photospheric phase of Supernova 1999gi. We show that the existence of intrinsic polarization in Galactic stars disguised as interstellar polarization is possible in principle.     

Is the solar cycle timed by a clock?

Dicke (1978) has argued that the phase of the solar cycle appears to be coupled to an internal clock: shorter cycles are usually followed by longer ones, as if the Sun remembers the correct phase. The data set is really too short to demonstrate the presence of a phase memory, but phase and amplitude of the cycle are strongly correlated for 300 yr or more. It is shown that this memory effect can be explained by mean field theory in terms of fluctuations in , which induce coherent changes in the frequency and amplitude of a dynamo wave. It is concluded that there is neither a strong observational indication nor a theoretical need for an extra timing device, in addition to the one provided by dynamo wave physics.Dedicated to Cornelis de Jager