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.     

Is dark matter an illusion created by the gravitational polarization of the quantum vacuum?

Assuming that a particle and its antiparticle have the gravitational charge of the opposite sign, the physical vacuum may be considered as a fluid of virtual gravitational dipoles. Following this hypothesis, we present the first indications that dark matter may not exist and that the phenomena for which it was invoked might be explained by the gravitational polarization of the quantum vacuum by the known baryonic matter.     

The potential for photosynthesis in hydrothermal vents: a new avenue for life in the Universe?

We perform a quantitative assessment for the potential for photosynthesis in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean. The photosynthetically active radiation in this case is from geothermal origin: the infrared thermal radiation emitted by hot water, at temperatures ranging from 473 up to 673 K. We find that at these temperatures the photosynthetic potential is rather low in these ecosystems for most known species. However, species which a very high efficiency in the use of light and which could use infrared photons till 1300 nm, could achieve good rates of photosynthesis in hydrothermal vents. These organisms might also thrive in deep hydrothermal vents in other planetary bodies, such as one of the more astrobiologically promising Jupiter satellites: Europa.     

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.     

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.     

The red-shift hypothesis for quasars: Is the earth the center of the Universe?

It is pointed out that Stephenson (1977) has used incorrect z, and has also made an arithmetical error, which invalidate his claims. Tests for randomness of quasar red-shifts clusters using correct z, have been carried out and it is shown that at least for clusters having three red shifts or more the distribution is highly non-random. The model of the Universe proposed by Stephenson does not in any way explain these red-shift clusters; it merely substitutes one paradox by another.     

The Ultraviolet sky surveys: filling the gap in our view of the Universe

The GALEX mission is performing imaging and spectroscopic surveys of the sky at Ultraviolet wavelengths, and providing unprecedented sky maps in two UV bands, far-UV and near-UV, and catalogs of UV sources. I will describe the major surveys accomplished so far, and results in investigating the nature of the UV sources. The UV surveys, linked to a multi-wavelength archive, offer great sensitivity to detect and characterize several classes of astrophysical objects, such as low-redshift QSOs, star-forming galaxies, and white dwarfs (WD) in the Milky Way. Efforts towards obtaining a significant census of WDs from GALEX imaging data are described in particular. A dedicated, deep survey of nearby galaxies provides a snapshot of their recent star formation, shedding new light on the process of star formation and its modalities in different environments and conditions. Deep GALEX data revealed young stellar populations in extreme outskirts of spiral galaxies, previously thought to be stable against star formation given their low density. UV measurements for millions of nearby and distant galaxies map the history and probe the causes of star formation in the Universe over the redshift range z=0–2.     

Role of a tachyonic field in accelerating the Universe in the presence of a perfect fluid

Recently, a tachyonic field was presented as a dark energy model to represent the present acceleration of the Universe. In this paper, we consider a mixture of tachyonic fluid with a perfect fluid. For this purpose we consider barotropic fluid and Generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG). We present a particular form of the scale factor. We solve the equations of motion to get exact solutions of the density, tachyonic potential and the tachyonic field. We introduce a coupling term to show that the interaction decays with time. We also show that the nature of the potentials vary, so the interaction term reduces the potential in both cases.     

The model of a flat (Euclidean) expansive homogeneous and isotropic relativistic Universe in the light of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) observations

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) confirmed the model of a flat (Euclidean) expansive homogeneous and isotropic relativistic universe with the total zero mass (energy), which describes the properties of our observed expansive homogeneous and isotropic relativistic Universe in the first (linear, Newtonian or classical-mechanical) approximation.     

LRS Bianchi type-II dark energy model in a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation

A locally rotationally symmetric Bianchi type-II (LRS B-II) space-time with variable equation of state (EoS) parameter and constant deceleration parameter have been investigated in the scalar-tensor theory proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1986). The scalar-tensor field equations have been solved by applying variation law for generalized Hubble’s parameter given by Bermann (Nuovo Cimento 74:182, 1983). The physical and kinematical properties of the model are also discussed.     

The mass of the Galactic dark matter halo from ～9000 LAMOST DR5 K giants

We constrain the mass of the Milky Way's dark matter halo, based on the kinematics of 9627 K giants at Galactocentric distances ranging over 5 kpc r 120 kpc drawn from LAMOST DR5.The substructure in this sample has been identified and removed carefully to enable construction of the underlying line-of-sight velocity dispersion at different radii from the Galactic center. We interpret the radial profile of the line-of-sight velocity dispersion using a spherical Jeans equation under the assumptions of anisotropy/isotropy and that radial velocity dispersion is approximately equal to line-ofsight velocity dispersion σ_r(r)≈σ_(los)(r). If we assume that the dark matter halo follows an NFW profile and the stellar halo is isotropic(β = 0), then σlos(r) can be directly used to estimate the virial mass of the Galactic dark matter halo, M_(vir) = 1.08_(-0.14)~(+0.17) ×10~(12) M⊙, and concentration parameter c = 18.5+-2.9.3.6 In case that the stellar halo is anisotropic, we cannot avoid differentiation of sparse velocity dispersions according to the Jeans equation, which may cause overestimation of the mass. We use an isotropic case to test and find that d ln(σ_(los)~2 (r))/d ln r overestimates the virial mass by 15% but within 1-σ error. We use d ln(σ2 los(r))/d ln r to fit the NFW profile and get M_(vir) = 1.11_(-0.20)~(+0.24) ×10~(12) M⊙and c = 13.8-2.2+3.0 in case of β = 0.3.     

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.