Pavel Jiroušek, Keigo Shimada, Alexander Vikman, Masahide Yamaguchi
We show that invertible transformations of dynamical variables can change the number of dynamical degrees of freedom. Moreover, even in cases when the number of dynamical degrees of freedom remains unchanged, the resulting dynamics can be essentially different from the one of the system prior to transformation. After giving concrete examples in point particle cases, we discuss changes in dynamics due to invertible disformal transformations of the metric in gravitational theories
Eugeny Babichev, Viatcheslav Mukhanov, Alexander Vikman
The k-essence theories admit in general the superluminal propagation of the perturbations on classical backgrounds. We show that in spite of the superluminal propagation the causal paradoxes do not arise in these theories and in this respect they are not less safe than General Relativity.
Damien A. Easson, Alexander Vikman
We study a recently proposed new cosmological phase where a scalar field moves periodically in an expanding spatially-flat Friedmann universe. This phase corresponds to a limiting cycle of the equations of motion and can be considered as a cosmological realization of a "time-crystal". We show that this phase is only possible, provided the Null Energy Condition is violated and the so-called Phantom divide is crossed. We prove that in general k-essence models: i) this crossing causes infinite growth of quantum perturbations on short scales, and ii) exactly periodic solutions are only possible, provided the limiting cycle encircles a singularity in the phase plane. The configurations neighboring this singular curve in the phase space are linearly unstable on one side of the curve and superluminal on the other side. Moreover, the increment of the instability is infinitely growing for each mode by approaching the singularity, while for the configurations on the other side, the sound speed is growing without limit. We illustrate our general results by analytical and numerical studies of a particular class of such k-essence models.
Cédric Deffayet, Atabak Fathe Jalali, Aaron Held, Shinji Mukohyama, Alexander Vikman
We quantize a classically stable system of a harmonic oscillator polynomially coupled to a ghost with negative kinetic energy. We prove that due to an integral of motion with a positive discrete spectrum: i) the Hamiltonian has a pure point spectrum unbounded in both directions, ii) the evolution is manifestly unitary, iii) the vacuum is well-defined, iv) expectation values for squares of canonical variables are bounded. Numerical solutions of the Schrödinger equation confirm these results. We argue that the discrete spectrum of the integral of motion enforces stability for extended interactions.
Ratindranath Akhoury, Christopher S. Gauthier, Alexander Vikman
Nov 11, 2008·astro-ph·PDF In this paper we show that, for general scalar fields, stationary configurations are possible for shift symmetric theories only. This symmetry with respect to constant translations in field space should either be manifest in the original field variables or reveal itself after an appropriate field redefinition. In particular this result implies that neither k-Essence nor Quintessence can have exact steady state / Bondi accretion onto Black Holes. We also discuss the role of field redefinitions in k-Essence theories. Here we study the transformation properties of observables and other variables in k-Essence and emphasize which of them are covariant under field redefinitions. Finally we find that stationary field configurations are necessarily linear in Killing time, provided that shift symmetry is realized in terms of these field variables.
Gia Dvali, Alexander Vikman
We ask whether the recent OPERA results on neutrino superluminality could be an environmental effect characteristic of the local neighborhood of our planet, without the need of violation of the Poincaré-invariance at a fundamental level. This explanation requires the existence of a new spin-2 field of a planetary Compton wave-length that is coupled to neutrinos and the rest of the matter asymmetrically, both in the magnitude and in the sign. Sourced by the earth this field creates an effective metric on which neutrinos propagate superluminally, whereas other species are much less sensitive to the background. Such a setup, at an effective field theory level, passes all immediate phenomenological tests and its natural prediction is an inevitable appearance of a testable long-range gravity-type fifth force. We then prove that under the assumption of the weakly-coupled Poincaré-invariant physics, the asymmetrically-coupled second massive graviton is the only possible environmental explanation. Despite phenomenological viability, the sign asymmetry of the coupling we identify as the main potential obstacle for a consistent UV-completion. We also discuss the possible identification of this field with a Kaluza-Klein state of an extra dimension in which neutrino can propagate.
Sabir Ramazanov, Federico R. Urban, Alexander Vikman
Primordial magnetic fields are often thought to be the early Universe seeds that have bloomed into what we observe today as galactic and extra-galactic magnetic fields. Owing to their minuscule strength, primordial magnetic fields are very hard to detect in cosmological and astrophysical observations. We show how this changes if a part of neutral Dark Matter has a magnetic susceptibility. In this way, by studying Dark Matter one can obtain information about the properties of primordial magnetic fields, even if the latter have a comoving amplitude $B_0 \lesssim0.01~\mbox{nG}$. In our model Dark Matter is a stable singlet scalar $χ$, which interacts with electromagnetism through the Rayleigh operator as $χ^2 F_{μν} F^{μν}/Λ^2$. For primordial magnetic fields present in the early Universe this operator forces the $Z_2$-symmetry of the model to be spontaneously broken. Later, when the primordial magnetic field redshifts below a critical value, the symmetry is restored through an "inverse phase transition". At that point the field $χ$ begins to oscillate and acts as a "magnetomorphic" Dark Matter component, inheriting the properties of the primordial magnetic field space distribution. In particular, for a nearly flat spectrum of magnetic field fluctuations, the scalar $χ$ carries a statistically anisotropic isocurvature mode. We discuss the parameter space of the model and consider the possibility that the bulk of the Dark Matter is composed of the same particles $χ$ produced via the freeze-in mechanism.
Ali H. Chamseddine, Viatcheslav Mukhanov, Alexander Vikman
Mar 16, 2014·astro-ph.CO·PDF We consider minimal extensions of the recently proposed Mimetic Dark Matter and show that by introducing a potential for the mimetic non-dynamical scalar field we can mimic nearly any gravitational properties of the normal matter. In particular, the mimetic matter can provide us with inflaton, quintessence and even can lead to a bouncing nonsingular universe. We also investigate the behaviour of cosmological perturbations due to a mimetic matter. We demonstrate that simple mimetic inflation can produce red-tilted scalar perturbations which are largely enhanced over gravity waves.
Katrin Hammer, Pavel Jirousek, Alexander Vikman
We propose a novel, higher-derivative, Weyl-invariant and generally-covariant theory for the cosmological constant. This theory is a mimetic construction with gauge fields playing the role of dynamical variables. These fields compose the Chern-Simons current instead of the vector field used in the Henneaux and Teitelboim formulation of the unimodular gravity. The equations of motion exactly reproduce the traceless Einstein equations. We demonstrate that, reformulated in Weyl-invariant variables, this novel theory reduces to standard general relativity with the cosmological constant as a Lagrange multiplier. This Lagrange multiplier has an axion-like coupling.
Cédric Deffayet, Aaron Held, Shinji Mukohyama, Alexander Vikman
Negative kinetic energies correspond to ghost degrees of freedom, which are potentially of relevance for cosmology, quantum gravity, and high energy physics. We present a novel wide class of stable mechanical systems where a positive energy degree of freedom interacts with a ghost. These theories have Hamiltonians unbounded from above and from below, are integrable, and contain free functions. We show analytically that their classical motion is bounded for all initial data. Moreover, we derive conditions allowing for Lyapunov stable equilibrium points. A subclass of these stable systems has simple polynomial potentials with stable equilibrium points entirely due to interactions with the ghost. All these findings are fully supported by numerical computations which we also use to gather evidence for stability in various nonintegrable systems.
Alexander Vikman
Dark energy rapidly evolving from the dustlike state in the close past to the phantomlike state at present has been recently proposed as the best fit for the supernovae Ia data. Assuming that a dark energy component with an arbitrary scalar-field Lagrangian, which has a general dependence on the field itself and its first derivatives, dominates in the flat Friedmann universe, we analyze the possibility of a dynamical transition from the states with w>-1 to those with w<-1 or vice versa. We have found that generally such transitions are physically implausible because they are either realized by a discrete set of trajectories in the phase space or are unstable with respect to the cosmological perturbations. This conclusion is confirmed by a comparison of the analytic results with numerical solutions obtained for simple models. Without the assumption of the dark energy domination, this result still holds for a certain class of dark energy Lagrangians, in particular, for Lagrangians quadratic in field's first derivatives. The result is insensitive to topology of the Friedmann universe as well.
Ignacy Sawicki, Alexander Vikman
Sep 13, 2012·astro-ph.CO·PDF We point out that theories of cosmological acceleration which have equation of state, w, such that 1+w is small but positive may still secretly violate the null energy condition. This violation implies the existence of observers for whom the background has infinitely negative energy densities, despite the fact that the perturbations are free of ghosts and gradient instabilities.
Gia Dvali, Ignacy Sawicki, Alexander Vikman
We propose a cosmological scenario based on the assumption that the Standard Model possesses a large number of copies. It is demonstrated that baryons in the hidden copies of the standard model can naturally account for the dark matter. The right abundance of the hidden-sector baryons and the correct spectrum of density perturbations are simultaneously generated during modulated reheating. We show that for the natural values of inflaton coupling constants, dictated by unitarity, the dark-matter abundance is predicted to be proportional to the ratio of observed cosmological parameters: the square of the amplitude of cosmological perturbations and the baryon-to-photon number ratio.
Pavel Jiroušek, Keigo Shimada, Alexander Vikman, Masahide Yamaguchi
We analyse the dynamical properties of disformally transformed theories of gravity. We show that disformal transformation typically introduces novel degrees of freedom, equivalent to the mimetic dark matter, which possesses a Weyl-invariant formulation. We demonstrate that this phenomenon occurs in a wider variety of disformal transformations than previously thought.
Oriol Pujolas, Ignacy Sawicki, Alexander Vikman
We present a standard hydrodynamical description for non-canonical scalar field theories with kinetic gravity braiding. In particular, this picture applies to the simplest galileons and k-essence. The fluid variables not only have a clear physical meaning but also drastically simplify the analysis of the system. The fluid carries charges corresponding to shifts in field space. This shift-charge current contains a spatial part responsible for diffusion of the charges. Moreover, in the incompressible limit, the equation of motion becomes the standard diffusion equation. The fluid is indeed imperfect because the energy flows neither along the field gradient nor along the shift current. The fluid has zero vorticity and is not dissipative: there is no entropy production, the energy-momentum is exactly conserved, the temperature vanishes and there is no shear viscosity. Still, in an expansion around a perfect fluid one can identify terms which correct the pressure in the manner of bulk viscosity. We close by formulating the non-trivial conditions for the thermodynamic equilibrium of this imperfect fluid.
Ratindranath Akhoury, David Garfinkle, Ryo Saotome, Alexander Vikman
Numerical simulations of the accretion of test scalar fields with non-standard kinetic terms (of the k-essence type) onto a Schwarzschild black hole are performed. We find a full dynamical solution for the spherical accretion of a Dirac-Born-Infeld type scalar field. The simulations show that the accretion eventually settles down to a well known stationary solution. This particular analytical steady state solution maintains two separate horizons. The standard horizon is for the usual particles propagating with the limiting speed of light, while the other sonic horizon is for the k-essence perturbations propagating with the speed of sound around this accreting background. For the case where the k-essence perturbations propagate superluminally, we show that one can send signals from within a black hole during the approach to the stationary solution. We also find that a ghost condensate model settles down to a stationary solution during the accretion process.
Pavel Jiroušek, Keigo Shimada, Alexander Vikman, Masahide Yamaguchi
We propose a new non-trivial way to combine mimetic dark matter with the mimetic formulation of unimodular gravity. This yields a Weyl-invariant higher-derivative scalar-vector-tensor theory. We demonstrate that on-shell its behavior mimics GR with an additional k-essence scalar. The overall scale of the k-essence arises as an integration constant -- a global degree of freedom. Interestingly, we find that the resulting fluid cannot make transition through ultra-relativistic equation of state. We develop a method to find a mimetic theory corresponding to any eligible k-essence and identify, which k-essences can or cannot be reproduced this way. Finally, we show that abandoning the Weyl symmetry of the setup allows us to obtain both unimodular gravity and mimetic dark matter simultaneously, from one conformal redefinition of the metric.
Alexander Vikman
We study vacuum quantum fluctuations of simple Nambu-Goldstone bosons - derivatively coupled single scalar-field theories possessing shift-symmetry in field space. We argue that quantum fluctuations of the interacting field can be drastically suppressed with respect to the free-field case. Moreover, the power-spectrum of these fluctuations can soften to become red for sufficiently small scales. In quasiclassical approximation, we demonstrate that this suppression can only occur for those theories that admit such classical static backgrounds around which small perturbations propagate faster than light. Thus, a quasiclassical softening of quantum fluctuations is only possible for theories which classicalize instead of having a usual Lorentz invariant and local Wilsonian UV- completion. We illustrate our analysis by estimating the quantum fluctuations for the DBI-like theories.
Pavel Jiroušek, Keigo Shimada, Alexander Vikman, Masahide Yamaguchi
We show that promoting the trace part of the Einstein equations to a trivial identity results in the Newton constant being an integration constant. Thus, in this formulation the Newton constant is a global dynamical degree of freedom which is also a subject to quantization and quantum fluctuations. This is similar to what happens to the cosmological constant in the unimodular gravity where the trace part of the Einstein equations is lost in a different way. We introduce a constrained variational formulation of these modified Einstein equations. Then, drawing on analogies with the Henneaux-Teitelboim action for unimodular gravity, we construct different general-covariant actions resulting in these dynamics. The inverse of dynamical Newton constant is canonically conjugated to the Ricci scalar integrated over spacetime. Surprisingly, instead of the dynamical Newton constant one can formulate an equivalent theory with a dynamical Planck constant. Finally, we show that an axion-like field can play a role of the gravitational Newton constant or even of the quantum Planck constant.
David A. Dobre, Andrei V. Frolov, José T. Gálvez Ghersi, Sabir Ramazanov, Alexander Vikman
We study a particular realization of the cosmological bounce scenario proposed recently by Ijjas and Steinhardt. First, we find that their bouncing solution starts from a divergent sound speed and ends with its vanishing. Thus, the solution connects two strongly coupled configurations. These pathologies are separated from the bouncing regime by only a few Planck times. We then reveal the exact structure of the Lagrangian, which reproduces this bouncing solution. This reconstruction allowed us to consider other cosmological solutions of the theory and analyze the phase space. In particular, we find other bouncing solutions and solutions with superluminal sound speed. These stable superluminal states can be continuously transformed into the solution constructed by Ijjas and Steinhardt. We discuss the consequences of this feature for a possible UV-completion.