Cosmological constraints on the neutrino mass from CMB anisotropy and large-scale structure of the Universe

Using cosmological data on the CMB anisotropy and large-scale structure of the Universe, we have obtained new constraints on the sum of the masses of three generations of active neutrinos: Σm _ν < 1.05 eV (95% confidence level). Data of the third year of the WMAP mission served as the source of CMB anisotropy data. The mass functions of X-ray clusters of galaxies were taken as the data on the large-scale structure of the Universe. The observational properties of the clusters were obtained during the ROSAT mission and the assumption that the baryon fraction is universal in the Universe was used to determine the total cluster mass.     

Cosmological constraints on ultra-light axion fields

Ultra-light axions(ULAs) with mass less than 10-20 eV have interesting behaviors that may contribute to either dark energy or dark matter at different epochs of the Universe. Their properties can be explored by cosmological observations, such as expansion history of the Universe, cosmic large-scale structure, cosmic microwave background, etc. In this work, we study the ULAs with mass around 10~(-33) eV,which means that the ULA field still rolls slowly at present with the equation of state w =-1 as dark energy. To investigate the mass and other properties of this kind of ULA field, we adopt the measurements of Type Ia supernova(SN Ia), baryon acoustic oscillation(BAO), and Hubble parameter H(z). The Markov Chain Monte Carlo(MCMC) technique is employed to perform the constraints on the parameters. Finally,by exploring four cases of the model, we find that the mass of this ULA field is about 3 × 10-33 eV if assuming the initial axion field φ_i = M_(pl). We also investigate a general case by assuming φ_i ≤ M_(pl), and find that the fitting results of φ_i/M_(pl) are consistent with or close to 1 for the datasets that we use.     

Slowly Rotating Cosmological Universe Filled with Viscous Fluid

A study of the slowly rotating cosmological universe filled with viscous fluid has been made by assuming the matter angular velocity Ω is proportional to the metric angular velocity Ω and the Universe is expanding under the Hubble's law. The physical properties of the solutions obtained are also discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Setting new constraints on the age of the Universe

There are three independent techniques for determining the age of the Universe: via cosmochronology of long-lived radioactive nuclei, via stellar modelling and population synthesis of the oldest stellar populations, and, most recently, via the precision cosmology that has become feasible with the mapping of the acoustic peaks in the cosmic microwave background. We demonstrate that all three methods give completely consistent results, and enable us to set rigorous bounds on the maximum and minimum ages that are allowed for the Universe. We present new constraints on the age of the Universe by performing a multiband colour analysis of bright cluster ellipticals over a large redshift range     , which allows us to infer the ages of their stellar populations over a wide range of possible formation redshifts and metallicities. Applying a prior to Hubble's constant of     we find the age of the Universe to be     (1 σ ), in agreement with the estimates from Type Ia supernovae, as well as with the latest uranium decay estimates, which yield an age for the Milky Way of     . If we combine the results from cluster ellipticals with the analysis of the angular power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background and with the observations of Type Ia supernovae at high redshift, we find a similar age:     . Without the assumption of any priors, universes older than 18 Gyr are ruled out by the data at the 90 per cent confidence level.     

宇宙常数与宇宙年龄问题

本文用球对称扰动模型导出了星系暗晕的平均密度与形成时间的关系 ,并由此估算银河系的形成时间tV.我们把球状星团的年龄作为银河系年龄tG 的代表 ,则tG tV 是宇宙年龄 .对Ωλ=0 ,0 .7和 0 .8的平坦宇宙模型 ,本文计算并讨论了能与它相洽的哈勃常数的范围 .结果表明 ,若哈勃常数大到 80km·s- 1 Mpc- 1 左右 ,引入宇宙常数并不一定能解决宇宙年龄的矛盾     

Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models in a Bianchi Type I Universe

Exact solutions of the gravitational field equations for a Bianchi type I anisotropic space-time, filled with a viscous cosmological fluid obeying an equation of state of the form p = , 0 1, are obtained. We investigate both the viscous Zeldovich ( = 1) and < 1 fluid cases, with constant and time varying (proportional to the mean Hubble factor) shear and bulk viscosity coefficients. It is shown that independently of the matter content, the equation of state and the time dependence of the shear and bulk viscosity coefficients, a viscous Bianchi type I universe experiences a transition to an inflationary era. Due to dissipative processes, the mean anisotropy and the shear of the Bianchi type I universe tend very rapidly to zero.     

Inhomogeneous Cosmological Models with Flat Slices Generated from the EINSTEIN-DE SITTER Universe

A family of cosmological models in considered which in a certain synchronized system of reference possess flat slices t = const. They are generated from the EINSTEIN-DE SITTER universe by a suitable transformation. Under physically reasonable presumptions these transformed models fulfil certain energy conditions.     

Cosmological constraints from the redshift distribution of galaxy clusters

As they are the largest virialized structures formed in the universe, galaxy clusters are good probes of evolution of dark matter haloes since their formation from the fluctuation of the CMB. While the local cluster abundance allows us to constrain the shape and amplitude of the mass distribution regarding to the matter density, their redshift distribution is much more sensitive to the matter density of the universe and allows us to break the degeneracy. Here I compare the modelized distribution of clusters with existing catalogs such as EMSS to derive constraints on Ω_M, σ₈ and γ.     

On the Hubble Law in a Nonexpanding Nonstationary Universe with Cosmological Constant

A nonsingular, homogeneous, isotropic cosmological model with cosmological constant in flat space-time theory of gravitation is studied. The second law of thermodynamics yields a nonexpanding (nonstationary) universe without entropy production. At the beginning of the universe radiation, matter and vacuum energy given by the cosmological constant are zero and then emerge from gravitational energy. In the course of time the energy of radiation and matter decrease whereas the vacuum energy increases forever. Light emitted from a distant galaxy loses energy on his way to the observer producing the observed redshift. The velocity of light in the past is greater than the present one. This may explain superluminal velocities but only for large redshifts. The sum of the density parameters of matter, radiation and vacuum energy is a little greater than one. All the matter can be baryonic. There is no age problem of the universe. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cosmological constraints on agegraphic dark energy in DGP braneworld gravity

A proposal to study the original and new agegraphic dark energy in DGP braneworld cosmology is presented in this work. To verify our model with the observational data, the model is constrained by a variety of independent measurements such as Hubble parameter, cosmic microwave background anisotropies, and baryon acoustic oscillation peaks. The best fitting procedure shows the effectiveness of agegraphic parameter n in distinguishing between the original and new agegraphic dark energy scenarios and subsequent cosmological findings. In particular, the result shows that in both scenarios, our universe enters an agegraphic dark energy dominated phase.     

Cosmological parameters for spatially flat dust filled Universe in Brans-Dicke theory

We have investigated late time acceleration for a spatially flat dust filled Universe in BransDicke theory in the presence of a positive cosmological constant Λ. Expressions for Hubble's constant,luminosity distance and apparent magnitude have been obtained for our model. The theoretical results are compared with observed values of the latest 287 high redshift(0.3 ≤ z ≤ 1.4) Type Ia supernova data taken from the Union 2.1 compilation to estimate present values of matter and dark energy parameters,(?_m)_0 and(?_Λ)_0. We have also estimated the present value of Hubble's constant H0 in light of an updated sample of Hubble parameter measurements including 19 independent data points. The results are found to be in good agreement with recent astrophysical observations. We also calculated various physical parameters such as matter and dark energy densities, present age of the Universe and deceleration parameter. The value for Brans-Dicke-coupling constant ω is set to be 40 000 based on accuracy of solar system tests and recent experimental evidence.     

The Ionization Rate During the Decoupling Period in a Universe with Nonzero Cosmological Constant

Nonzero cosmological constant favours cosmological models with larger Hubble constant. The evolution of ionization during decoupling period in a universe with nonzero cosmological constant is computed by using a corrected recombination coefficient. Also presented in this paper is the redshift distribution of the last scattering surfaces of the cosmic background photons while the cosmological constant is nonvanishing. Finally, we give a brief estimation about the influence of H_e on the last scattering surfaces. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cosmological constraints from Chandra X-ray observations of galaxy clusters

Chandra X-ray observations of rich, dynamically relaxed galaxy clusters allow the properties of the X-ray gas and the total gravitating mass to be determined precisely. Here, we discuss how Chandra observations may be used as a powerful tool for cosmological studies. By combining Chandra X-ray results on the X-ray gas mass fractions in clusters with independent measurements of the Hubble constant and the mean baryonic matter density of the universe, we obtain a tight constraint on the mean total matter density of the universe, Ο_m, and an interesting constraint on the cosmological constant, Ο_Λ. Using these results, together with the observed local X-ray luminosity function of the most X-ray luminous galaxy clusters, a mass-luminosity relation determined from Chandra and ROSAT X-ray data and weak gravitational lensing observations, and the mass function predicted by numerical simulations, we obtain a precise constraint on the normalization of the power spectrum of density fluctuations in the nearby universe,σ₈. We compare our results with those obtained from other, independent methods. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.