Pregalactic Chemistry

The evolution of the universe from times after the recombination of the first atoms is controlled by chemistry. Chemistry can also help us to learn more about the first structures. In this paper we review the chemistry and atomic physics that are important in the time shortly after recombination, including the formation of the first structures. 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.     

Angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background owing to initial perturbations in the radiation temperature

A new method is proposed to account for multiple scattering by electrons in calculations of the correlation functions describing the angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The apparatus of the theory of radiative transport with Rayleigh scattering is used. The problem is reduced to solving an integral equation for the vector source function (dependent only on time), along with differential equations for the other quantities (scalar potentials, baryon velocities, etc.) which show up in the problem. The quantities which describe the angular fluctuations in the CMBR (in the temperature and in the polarization) are then calculated by integrating the vector source function along the line of sight. As an illustration, the correlation functions and power spectra are calculated for the case where the fluctuations are produced by some initial gaussian perturbations of the CMBR. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 621–631 (November 2007).     

Primordial black holes

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are a profound signature of primordial cos-mological structures and provide a theoretical tool to study nontrivial physics of the early Universe. The mechanisms of PBH formation are discussed and observational constraints on the PBH spectrum, or effects of PBH evaporation, are shown to re-strict a wide range of particle physics models, predicting an enhancement of the ul-traviolet part of the spectrum of density perturbations, early dust-like stages, first or-der phase transitions and stages of superheavy metastable particle dominance in the early Universe. The mechanism of closed wall contraction can lead, in the inflation-ary Universe, to a new approach to galaxy formation, involving primordial clouds of massive BHs created around the intermediate mass or supermassive BH and playing the role of galactic seeds.     

A new interpretation of zero Lyapunov exponents in BKL time for Mixmaster cosmology

A global relation ship between cosmological time and Belinskii-Khalatnikov-Lifshitz(BKL)time during the entire evolution of the Mixmaster Bianchi Ⅸ universe is used to explain why all the Lyapunov exponents are zero at the BKL time.The actual reason is that the domain of the cosmological time is finite as the BKL time runs from minus infinity to infinity.     

Gravitational clustering of galaxies in an expanding universe

We inquire the phenomena of clustering of galaxies in an expanding universe from a theoretical point of view on the basis of thermodynamics and correlation functions. The partial differential equation is developed both for the point mass and extended mass structures of a two-point correlation function by using thermodynamic equations in combination with the equation of state taking gravitational interaction between particles into consideration. The unique solution physically satisfies a set of boundary conditions for correlated systems and provides a new insight into the gravitational clustering problem.     

The Photon Mean Free Path Sphere, The Minimum Energy, and the Masses of the Main Elementary Particles

The photon mean free path sphere has several properties that strongly correlate with characteristics of the observable universe. This apparent connection led to a set of equations that were recently used to derive the values of the main cosmological parameters. It also leads, via an expression for the minimum energy, to an equation relating the mass of the proton to the mass of the electron.     

Advances in Numerical Modeling of Astrophysical and Space Plasmas

Advances in the simulation of astrophysical and cosmic plasmas are the direct result of advances in computational capabilities, today consisting of new techniques such as multilevel concurrent simulation, multi-teraflop computational platforms and experimental facilities for producing and diagnosing plasmas under extreme conditions for the benchmarking of simulations. Examples of these are the treatment of mesoscalic plasma and the scaling to astrophysical and cosmic dimensions and the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative whose goal is to construct petaflop (10¹⁵ floating operations per second) computers, and pulsed power and laser inertial confinement plasmas where megajoules of energy are delivered to highly-diagnosed plasmas. This paper concentrates on the achievements to date in simulating and experimentally producing plasmas scaled to both astrophysical and cosmic plasma dimensions. A previous paper (Part I, Peratt, 1997) outlines the algorithms and computational growth.     

Space-Time Geometry of Quark and Strange Quark Matter

We study quarkand strangequarkmatter in the contextof generalrelativity.For this purpose,we solve Einstein's field equations for quark and strange quark matter in spherical symmetric space-times. We analyze strange quark matter for the different equations of state (EOS) in the spherical symmetric space-times,thus we are able to obtain the space-time geometries of quark and strange quark matter. Also,we discuss the features of the obtained solutions. The obtained solutions are consistent with the results of Brookhaven Laboratory,i.e. the quark-gluon plasma has a vanishing shear (i.e. quark-gluon plasma is perfect).     

EGUP与黑洞熵的修正值

目前,人们对黑洞Bekenstein-Hawking熵的量子修正值产生了极大的兴趣,尤其是黑洞熵对数修正项的系数.在广义不确定关系(GUP)的基础上,通过引入了推广的广义不确定关系(EGUP),运用面积定理计算了3类时空的黑洞熵的修正值,得到的黑洞熵的修正项的系数是正的.这种计算方法不仅对单视界时空适用,而且对有内视界的黑洞时空依然成立,并且在EGUP基础上计算出黑洞熵的修正值.相比GUP基础上得到的黑洞熵,EGUP可以应用于大尺度时空下,所以应用范围更广.此计算方法简洁明了,物理意义明确,可为黑洞熵对数修正值系数的确定提供参考.