Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “cosmological gravity”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

The DESI N -body Simulation Project – II. Suppressing sample variance with fast simulations

ABSTRACT Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) will construct a large and precise three-dimensional map of our Universe. The survey effective volume reaches $\sim 20\, h^{-3}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{3}$. It is a great challenge to prepare high-resolution simulations with a much larger volume for validating the DESI analysis pipelines. AbacusSummit is a suite of high-resolution dark-matter-only simulations designed for this purpose, with $200\, h^{-3}\, \mathrm{Gpc}^{3}$ (10 times DESI volume) for the base cosmology. However, further efforts need to be done to provide a more precise analysis of the data and to cover also other cosmologies. Recently, the CARPool method was proposed to use paired accurate and approximate simulations to achieve high statistical precision with a limited number of high-resolution simulations. Relying on this technique, we propose to use fast quasi-N-body solvers combined with accurate simulations to produce accurate summary statistics. This enables us to obtain 100 times smaller variance than the expected DESI statistical variance at the scales we are interested in, e.g. $k \lt 0.3\, h\, \mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$ for the halo power spectrum. In addition, it can significantly suppress the sample variance of the halo bispectrum. We further generalize the method for other cosmologies with only one realization in AbacusSummit suite to extend the effective volume ∼20 times. In summary, our proposed strategy of combining high-fidelity simulations with fast approximate gravity solvers and a series of variance suppression techniques sets the path for a robust cosmological analysis of galaxy survey data.

cosmology: theory↗
DOE OSTI2025

Neutrino Flavor Transformation in Neutron Star Mergers

Here, we present the first numerical relativity simulations including neutrino flavor transformations that could result from flavor instabilities, quantum many-body effects, or potential beyond standard model physics in neutron star mergers. We find that neutrino flavor transformations impact the composition and structure of the remnant, potentially leaving an imprint on the postmerger gravitational-wave signal. They also have a significant impact on the composition and nucleosynthesis yields of the ejecta.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Nonlinear evolution of quadratic gravity in 3 + 1 dimensions

We present a numerically stable system of ( 3 + 1 ) evolution equations for the nonlinear gravitational dynamics of quadratic-curvature corrections to General Relativity (quadratic gravity). We also report on the numerical implementation of these evolution equations. We recover a well-known linear instability and gather evidence that—aside from said instability—quadratic gravity exhibits a physically stable Ricci-flat subsector. In particular, we demonstrate that Teukolsky-wave perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole as well as a full binary inspiral (evolved up to merger) remain Ricci flat throughout evolution. Furthermore, this suggests that, at least in vacuum, classical quadratic gravity can mimic General Relativity, even in the fully nonlinear strong-gravity regime.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Stringy Bubbles Solve de Sitter Troubles

Finding four-dimensional de Sitter spacetime solutions in string theory has been a vexing quest ever since the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. Building on a recent analysis of bubble-nucleation in the decay of (false-vacuum) AdS backgrounds where the interfacing bubbles themselves exhibit a de Sitter geometry we show that this resonates strongly with a stringy cosmic brane construction that naturally provides for an exponential mass-hierarchy and the localization of both gravity and matter, in addition to an exponentially suppressed positive cosmological constant. Finally, we argue that these scenarios can be realized in terms of a generalization of a small resolution of a conifold singularity in the context of a (Lorentzian) Calabi–Yau 5-fold, where the isolated (Lorentzian) two complex dimensional Fano variety is a four-dimensional de Sitter spacetime.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spacetime Foam, Midisuperspace, and the Cosmological Constant

Perhaps the cosmological constant really is huge at the Planck scale, but is “hidden” by Planck scale quantum fluctuations of spacetime. I briefly review this proposal and provide some evidence, coming from a simplified midisuperspace model, that an appropriate “foamy” structure can do the job of hiding a large cosmological constant, and can persist under time evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Hamiltonian cosmology.

The study of cosmological models by means of equations of motion in Hamiltonian form is considered. Hamiltonian methods applied to gravity seem to go back to Rosenfeld (1930), who constructed a quantum-mechanical Hamiltonian for linearized general relativity theory. The first to notice that cosmologies provided a simple model in which to demonstrate features of Hamiltonian formulation was DeWitt (1967). Applications of the ADM formalism to homogeneous cosmologies are discussed together with applications of the Hamiltonian formulation, giving attention also to Bianchi-type universes. Problems involving the concept of superspace and techniques of quantization are investigated.

Ryan, M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum gravity phenomenology in the infrared

Quantum gravity effects are traditionally tied to short distances and high energies. In this essay, we argue that, perhaps surprisingly, quantum gravity may have important consequences for the phenomenology of the infrared. We center our discussion around a conception of quantum gravity involving a notion of quantum spacetime that arises in metastring theory. This theory allows for an evolution of a cosmological Universe in which string-dual degrees of freedom decouple as the Universe ages. Importantly, such an implementation of quantum gravity allows for the inclusion of a fundamental length scale without introducing the fundamental breaking of Lorentz symmetry. The mechanism seems to have potential for an entirely novel source for dark matter/energy. The simplest observational consequences of this scenario may very well be residual infrared modifications that emerge through the evolution of the Universe.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS2000

High Energy Astrophysics Mission

The nature of gravity and its relationship to the other three forces and to quantum theory is one of the major challenges facing us as we begin the new century. In order to make progress we must challenge the current theories by observing the effects of gravity under the most extreme conditions possible. Black holes represent one extreme, where the laws of physics as we understand them break down. The Universe as whole is another extreme, where its evolution and fate is dominated by the gravitational influence of dark matter and the nature of the Cosmological constant. The early universe represents a third extreme, where it is thought that gravity may somehow be unified with the other forces. NASA's "Cosmic Journeys" program is part of a NASA/NSF/DoE tri-agency initiative designed to observe the extremes of gravity throughout the universe. This program will probe the nature of black holes, ultimately obtaining a direct image of the event horizon. It will investigate the large scale structure of the Universe to constrain the location and nature of dark matter and the nature of the cosmological constant. Finally it will search for and study the highest energy processes, that approach those found in the early universe. I will outline the High Energy Astrophysics part of this program.

White, Nicholas E.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Snowmass2021 Computational Frontier White Paper: Cosmological Simulations and Modeling

Powerful new observational facilities will come online over the next decade, enabling a number of discovery opportunities in the "Cosmic Frontier", which targets understanding of the physics of the early universe, dark matter and dark energy, and cosmological probes of fundamental physics, such as neutrino masses and modifications of Einstein gravity. Synergies between different experiments will be leveraged to present new classes of cosmic probes as well as to minimize systematic biases present in individual surveys. Success of this observational program requires actively pairing it with a well-matched state-of-the-art simulation and modeling effort. Next-generation cosmological modeling will increasingly focus on physically rich simulations able to model outputs of sky surveys spanning multiple wavebands. These simulations will have unprecedented resolution, volume coverage, and must deliver guaranteed high-fidelity results for individual surveys as well as for the cross-correlations across different surveys. The needed advances are as follows: (1) Development of scientifically rich and broadly-scoped simulations, which capture the relevant physics and correlations between probes (2) Accurate translation of simulation results into realistic image or spectral data to be directly compared with observations (3) Improved emulators and/or data-driven methods serving as surrogates for expensive simulations, constructed from a finite set of full-physics simulations (4) Detailed and transparent verification and validation programs for both simulations and analysis tools. (Abridged)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Perturbative unitarity and NEC violation in genesis cosmology

Explorations of the violation of null energy condition (NEC) in cosmology could enrich our understanding of the very early universe and the related gravity theories. Although a fully stable NEC violation can be realized in the “beyond Horndeski” theory, it remains an open question whether a violation of the NEC is allowed by some fundamental properties of UV-complete theories or the consistency requirements of effective field theory (EFT). We investigate the tree-level perturbative unitarity for stable NEC violations in the contexts of both Galileon and “beyond Horndeski” genesis cosmology, in which the universe is asymptotically Minkowskian in the past. We find that the constraints of perturbative unitarity imply that we may need some unknown new physics below the cut-off scale of the EFT other than that represented by the “beyond Horndeski” operators.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Gravothermal phase transition, black holes and space dimensionality

In the framework of gravothermal evolution of an ideal monatomic fluid, I examine the dynamical instability of the fluid sphere in (N+1) dimensions by exploiting Chandrasekhar’s criterion to each quasi-static equilibrium along the sequence of the evolution. Once the instability is triggered, it would probably collapse into a black hole if no other interaction halts the process. From this viewpoint, the privilege of (3+1)-dimensional spacetime is manifest, as it is the marginal dimensionality in which the ideal monatomic fluid is stable but not too stable. Moreover, it is the unique dimensionality that allows stable hydrostatic equilibrium with positive cosmological constant. While all higher dimensional (N > 3) spheres are genuinely unstable. In contrast, in (2+1)-dimensional spacetime it is too stable either in the context of Newton’s theory of Gravity or Einstein’s General Relativity. It is well-known that the role of negative cosmological constant is crucial to have the Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole solution and the equilibrium configurations of a fluid disk. Owing to the negativeness of the cosmological constant, there is no unstable configuration for a homogeneous fluid disk to collapse into a naked singularity, which supports the Cosmic Censorship Conjecture. However, BTZ holes of mass M BTZ > 0 could emerge from collapsing fluid disks. The implications of spacetime dimensionality are briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2021

High Angular Resolution Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Since the very beginning of astronomy the location of objects on the sky has been a fundamental observational quantity that has been taken for granted. While precise two dimensional positional information is easy to obtain for observations in the electromagnetic spectrum, the positional accuracy of current and near future gravitational wave detectors is limited to between tens and hundreds of square degrees, which makes it extremely challenging to identify the host galaxies of gravitational wave events or to detect any electromagnetic counterparts. Gravitational wave observations provide information on source properties that is complementary to the information in any associated electromagnetic emission. Observing systems with multiple messengers thus has scientific potential much greater than the sum of its parts. A gravitational wave detector with higher angular resolution would significantly increase the prospects for finding the hosts of gravitational wave sources and triggering a multi-messenger follow-up campaign. An observatory with arcminute precision or better could be realised within the Voyage 2050 programme by creating a large baseline interferometer array in space and would have transformative scientific potential. Precise positional information of standard sirens would enable precision measurements of cosmological parameters and offer new insights on structure formation; a high angular resolution gravitational wave observatory would allow the detection of a stochastic background and resolution of the anisotropies within it; it would also allow the study of accretion processes around black holes; and it would have tremendous potential for tests of modified gravity and the discovery of physics beyond the Standard Model.

Gravitational waves↗
NASA NTRS1989

Gravitational instability in a primordial collapsing gas cloud

This paper presents an analysis of the linear evolution of short-wavelength perturbations in a background fluid flow which is undergoing gravitational collapse on large scales. Local evolution equations for perturbations to an arbitrary flow are derived in the linear regime and the short-wavelength limit. Local perturbation behavior in an inhomogeneous flow is found to be the same as that in a homogeneous anisotropic flow having the same local velocity field. Background flows in which the scale factors vary as power laws in time are considered to illustrate the relative effects of self-gravity, pressure and kinematics of the background flow on the density perturbation evolution. Perturbation analyses are then presented for more realistic background flows arising from the evolution into the nonlinear regime of initially small density perturbations in an isotropically expanding cosmological model. For low-pressure, inhomogeneous collapses, kinematic effects tend to dominate over self-gravity in driving perturbation growth as the collapse proceeds.

Lacey, Cedric G.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cosmological gravitational particle production of massive spin-2 particles

The phenomenon of cosmological gravitational particle production (CGPP) is expected to occur during the period of inflation and the transition into a hot big bang cosmology. Particles may be produced even if they only couple directly to gravity, and so CGPP provides a natural explanation for the origin of dark matter. In this work we study the gravitational production of massive spin-2 particles assuming two different couplings to matter. We evaluate the full system of mode equations, including the helicity-0 modes, and by solving them numerically we calculate the spectrum and abundance of massive spin-2 particles that results from inflation on a hilltop potential. We conclude that CGPP might provide a viable mechanism for the generation of massive spin-2 particle dark matter during inflation, and we identify the favorable region of parameter space in terms of the spin-2 particle’s mass and the reheating temperature. As a secondary product of our work, we identify the conditions under which such theories admit ghost or gradient instabilities, and we thereby derive a generalization of the Higuchi bound to Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetimes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2020

First Detection of the GI-type of Intrinsic Alignments of Galaxies Using the Self-calibration Method in a Photometric Galaxy Survey

Weak gravitational lensing is one of the most promising cosmological probes to constrain dark matter, dark energy, and the nature of gravity at cosmic scales. Intrinsic alignments (IAs) of galaxies have been recognized as one of the most serious systematic effects facing gravitational lensing. Such alignments must be isolated and removed to obtain a pure lensing signal. Furthermore, the alignments are related to the processes of galaxy formation, so their extracted signal can help in understanding such formation processes and improving their theoretical modeling. We report in this Letter the first detection of the gravitational shear–intrinsic shape (GI) correlation and the intrinsic shape–galaxy density (Ig) correlation using the self-calibration method in a photometric redshift survey. These direct measurements are made from the KiDS-450 photometric galaxy survey with a significance of 3.65σ in the third bin for the Ig correlation, and 3.51σ for the GI cross-correlation between the third and fourth bins. The self-calibration method uses the information available from photometric surveys without needing to specify an IA model and will play an important role in validating IA models and IA mitigation in future surveys such as the Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time, Euclid, and WFIRST.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Probing cosmic inflation with the LiteBIRD cosmic microwave background polarization survey

LiteBIRD, the Lite (Light) satellite for the study of B-mode polarization and Inflation from cosmic background Radiation Detection, is a space mission for primordial cosmology and fundamental physics. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) selected LiteBIRD in May 2019 as a strategic large-class (L-class) mission, with an expected launch in the late 2020s using JAXA’s H3 rocket. LiteBIRD is planned to orbit the Sun–Earth Lagrangian point L2, where it will map the cosmic microwave background polarization over the entire sky for three years, with three telescopes in 15 frequency bands between 34 and 448 GHz, to achieve an unprecedented total sensitivity of $2.2\, \mu$K-arcmin, with a typical angular resolution of 0.5° at 100 GHz. The primary scientific objective of LiteBIRD is to search for the signal from cosmic inflation, either making a discovery or ruling out well-motivated inflationary models. The measurements of LiteBIRD will also provide us with insight into the quantum nature of gravity and other new physics beyond the standard models of particle physics and cosmology. We provide an overview of the LiteBIRD project, including scientific objectives, mission and system requirements, operation concept, spacecraft and payload module design, expected scientific outcomes, potential design extensions, and synergies with other projects.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2019

Universal Expansion with Spatially Varying G

We calculate the expansion of the Universe under the assumptions that G varies in space and the radial size r of the Universe is very large (we call this the MOND regime of varying-G gravity). The inferred asymptotic behaviour turns out to be different from that found by McCrea & Milne in 1934 and our equations bear no resemblance to those of the relativistic case. In this cosmology, the scale factor R(t) increases linearly with time t, the radial velocity is driven by inertia, and gravity is incapable of hindering the expansion. Yet, Hubble’s law is borne out without any additional assumptions. When we include a repulsive acceleration a(sub de) due to dark energy, the resulting universal expansion is then driven totally by this new term and the solutions for a(sub de) → 0 do not reduce to those of the a(sub de) ≡ 0 case. This is a realization of a new Thom catastrophe: The inclusion of the new term alters the conservation of energy and the dark energy solutions are not reducible to those in the case without dark energy.

Christodoulou, Dimitris M.↗