Olmo, G. J., Sanchis-Alepuz, H., & Tripathi, S. (2012). Stellar structure equations in extended Palatini gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 86(10), 104039–8pp.
Abstract: We consider static spherically symmetric stellar configurations in Palatini theories of gravity in which the Lagrangian is an unspecified function of the form f(R, R μnu R μnu). We obtain the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov equations corresponding to this class of theories and show that they recover those of f(R) theories and general relativity in the appropriate limits. We show that the exterior vacuum solutions are of Schwarzschild-de Sitter type and comment on the possible expected modifications, as compared to general relativity, of the interior solutions.
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Boubekeur, L., Dodelson, S., & Vives, O. (2012). Cold positrons from decaying dark matter. Phys. Rev. D, 86(10), 103520–14pp.
Abstract: Many models of dark matter contain more than one new particle beyond those in the Standard Model. Often, heavier particles decay into the lightest dark matter particle as the Universe evolves. Here, we explore the possibilities which arise if one of the products in a (heavy particle) -> (dark matter) decay is a positron, and the lifetime is shorter than the age of the Universe. The positrons cool down by scattering off the cosmic microwave background and eventually annihilate when they fall into Galactic potential wells. The resulting 511 keV flux not only places constraints on this class of models, but might even be consistent with that observed by the INTEGRAL satellite.
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Archidiacono, M., Giusarma, E., Melchiorri, A., & Mena, O. (2013). Neutrino and dark radiation properties in light of recent CMB observations. Phys. Rev. D, 87(10), 103519–10pp.
Abstract: Recent cosmic microwave background measurements at high multipoles from the South Pole Telescope and from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope seem to disagree in their conclusions for the neutrino and dark radiation properties. In this paper we set new bounds on the dark radiation and neutrino properties in different cosmological scenarios combining the ACT and SPT data with the nine-year data release of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP-9), baryon acoustic oscillation data, Hubble Telescope measurements of the Hubble constant, and supernovae Ia luminosity distance data. In the standard three massive neutrino case, the two high multipole probes give similar results if baryon acoustic oscillation data are removed from the analyses and Hubble Telescope measurements are also exploited. A similar result is obtained within a standard cosmology with N-eff massless neutrinos, although in this case the agreement between these two measurements is also improved when considering simultaneously baryon acoustic oscillation data and Hubble Space Telescope measurements. In the N-eff massive neutrino case the two high multipole probes give very different results regardless of the external data sets used in the combined analyses. When considering extended cosmological scenarios with a dark energy equation of state or with a running of the scalar spectral index, the evidence for neutrino masses found for the South Pole Telescope in the three neutrino scenario disappears for all the data combinations explored here. Again, adding Hubble Telescope data seems to improve the agreement between the two high multipole cosmic microwave background measurements considered here. In the case in which a dark radiation background with unknown clustering properties is also considered, SPT data seem to exclude the standard value for the dark radiation viscosity c(vis)(2) = 1/3 at the 2 sigma C.L., finding evidence for massive neutrinos only when combining SPT data with baryon acoustic oscillation measurements.
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Boubekeur, L., Giusarma, E., Mena, O., & Ramirez, H. (2014). Current status of modified gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 90(10), 103512–10pp.
Abstract: We revisit the cosmological viability of the Hu-Sawicki modified gravity scenario. The impact of such a modification on the different cosmological observables, including gravitational waves, is carefully described. The most recent cosmological data, as well as constraints on the relationship between the clustering parameter sigma(8) and the current matter mass-energy density Omega(m) from cluster number counts and weak lensing tomography, are considered in our numerical calculations. The strongest bound we find is vertical bar f(R0)vertical bar < 3.7 x 10(-6) at 95% C.L. Forthcoming cluster surveys covering 10 000 deg(2) in the sky, with galaxy surface densities of O(10) arcmin(-2) could improve the precision in the sigma(8)-Omega(m) relationship, tightening the above constraint.
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Anderson, P. R., Balbinot, R., Fabbri, A., & Parentani, R. (2014). Gray-body factor and infrared divergences in 1D BEC acoustic black holes. Phys. Rev. D, 90(10), 104044–6pp.
Abstract: It is shown that the gray-body factor for a one-dimensional elongated Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) acoustic black hole with one horizon does not vanish in the low-frequency (omega -> 0) limit. This implies that the analog Hawking radiation is dominated by the emission of an infinite number (1/omega) of soft phonons in contrast with the case of a Schwarzschild black hole where the gray-body factor vanishes as omega -> 0 and the spectrum is not dominated by low-energy particles. The infrared behaviors of certain correlation functions are also discussed.
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