Kinematics of a spacetime with an infinite cosmological constant

A solution of the sourceless Einstein's equation with an infinite value for the cosmological constant L is discussed by using Inonu-Wigner contractions of the de Sitter groups and spaces. When Lambda --> infinity, spacetime becomes a four-dimensional cone, dual to Minkowski space by a spacetime inversion. This inversion relates the four-cone vertex to the infinity of Minkowski space, and the four-cone infinity to the Minkowski light-cone. The non-relativistic limit c --> infinity. is further considered, the kinematical group in this case being a modified Galilei group in which the space and time translations are replaced by the non-relativistic limits of the corresponding proper conformal transformations. This group presents the same abstract Lie algebra as the Galilei group and can be named the conformal Galilei group. The results may be of interest to the early Universe Cosmology.

Non-relativistic spacetimes with cosmological constant

Recent data on supernovae favour high values of the cosmological constant. Spacetimes with a cosmological constant have non-relativistic kinematics quite different from Galilean kinematics. de Sitter spacetimes, vacuum solutions of Einstein's equations with a cosmological constant, reduce in the non-relativistic limit to Newton-Hooke spacetimes, which are non-metric homogeneous spacetimes with non-vanishing curvature. The whole non-relativistic kinematics would then be modified, with possible consequences to cosmology, and in particular to the missing-mass problem.

Cosmological constant and the speed of light

By exploring the relationship between the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a gravitational field and the light propagation in a refractive medium, it is shown that, in the presence of a positive cosmological constant, the velocity of light will be smaller than its special relativity value. Then, restricting again to the domain of validity of geometrical optics, the same result is obtained in the context of wave optics. It is argued that this phenomenon and the anisotropy in the velocity of light in a gravitational field are produced by the same mechanism.

Some implications of the cosmological constant to fundamental physics

In the presence of a cosmological constant, ordinary Poincaré special relativity is no longer valid and must be replaced by a de Sitter special relativity, in which Minkowski space is replaced by a de Sitter spacetime. In consequence, the ordinary notions of energy and momentum change, and will satisfy a different kinematic relation. Such a theory is a different kind of a doubly special relativity. Since the only difference between the Poincaré and the de Sitter groups is the replacement of translations by certain linear combinations of translations and proper conformal transformations, the net result of this change is ultimately the breakdown of ordinary translational invariance. From the experimental point of view, therefore, a de Sitter special relativity might be probed by looking for possible violations of translational invariance. If we assume the existence of a connection between the energy scale of an experiment and the local value of the cosmological constant, there would be changes in the kinematics of massive particles which could hopefully be detected in high-energy experiments. Furthermore, due to the presence of a horizon, the usual causal structure of spacetime would be significantly modified at the Planck scale. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Cosmological term and fundamental physics

A nonvanishing cosmological term in Einstein's equations implies a nonvanishing spacetime curvature even in the absence of any kind of matter. It would, in consequence, affect many of the underlying kinematic tenets of physical theory. The usual commutative spacetime translations of the Poincare group would be replaced by the mixed conformal translations of the de Sitter group, leading to obvious alterations in elementary concepts such as time, energy and momentum. Although negligible at small scales, such modifications may come to have important consequences both in the large and for the inflationary picture of the early Universe. A qualitative discussion is presented, which suggests deep changes in Hamiltonian, Quantum and Statistical Mechanics. In the primeval universe as described by the standard cosmological model, in particular, the equations of state of the matter sources could be quite different from those usually introduced.

Particle creation in a f(R) theory with cosmological constraints

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cartan geometry of spacetimes with a nonconstant cosmological function Lambda

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A geometric approach to cosmological boundary conditions

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Gravitational constraints of dS branes in an AdS Einstein-Brans-Dicke bulk

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cosmic microwave background and large-scale structure constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model

We derive constraints on a simple quintessential inflation model, based on a spontaneously broken Phi(4) theory, imposed by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe three-year data (WMAP3) and by galaxy clustering results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We find that the scale of symmetry breaking must be larger than about 3 Planck masses in order for inflation to generate acceptable values of the scalar spectral index and of the tensor-to-scalar ratio. We also show that the resulting quintessence equation of state can evolve rapidly at recent times and hence can potentially be distinguished from a simple cosmological constant in this parameter regime.

Spacetime algebraic skeleton

The cosmological constant is shown to have an algebraic meaning: it is essentially an eigenvalue of a Casimir invariant of the Lorentz group acting on the spaces tangent to every spacetime. This is found in the context of de Sitter spacetimes, for which the Einstein equation is a relation between operators. Nevertheless, the result brings, to the foreground the skeleton algebraic structure underlying the geometry of general physical spacetimes. which differ from one another by the fleshening of that structure by different tetrad fields.

A singular conformal spacetime

The infinite cosmological constant limit of the de Sitter solutions to Einstein's equation is studied. The corresponding spacetime is a singular, four-dimensional cone-space, transitive under proper conformal transformations, which constitutes a new example of maximally-symmetric spacetime. Grounded on its geometric and thermodynamic properties, some speculations are made in connection with the primordial universe. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Interaction of Hawking radiation with static sources in de Sitter and Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetimes

We study and look for similarities between the response rates R-dS(a(0),Lambda) and R-SdS(a(0),Lambda,M) of a static scalar source with constant proper acceleration a(0) interacting with a massless, conformally coupled Klein-Gordon field (i) in de Sitter spacetime, in the Euclidean vacuum, which describes a thermal flux of radiation emanating from the de Sitter cosmological horizon and (ii) in Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime, in the Gibbons-Hawking vacuum, which describes thermal fluxes of radiation emanating from both the hole and the cosmological horizons, respectively, where Lambda is the cosmological constant and M is the black hole mass. After performing the field quantization in each of the above spacetimes, we obtain the response rates at the tree level in terms of an infinite sum of zero-energy field modes possessing all possible angular momentum quantum numbers. In the case of de Sitter spacetime, this formula is worked out and a closed, analytical form is obtained. In the case of Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime such a closed formula could not be obtained, and a numerical analysis is performed. We conclude, in particular, that R-dS(a(0),Lambda) and R-SdS(a(0),Lambda,M) do not coincide in general, but tend to each other when Lambda-->0 or a(0)-->infinity. Our results are also contrasted and shown to agree (in the proper limits) with related ones in the literature.

de Sitter special relativity

A special relativity based on the de Sitter group is introduced, which is a theory that might hold up in the presence of a non-vanishing cosmological constant. Like ordinary special relativity, it retains the quotient character of spacetime, and a notion of homogeneity. As a consequence, the underlying spacetime will be a de Sitter spacetime, whose associated kinematics will differ from that of ordinary special relativity. The corresponding modified notions of energy and momentum are obtained, and the exact relationship between them, which is invariant under a re-scaling of the involved quantities, explicitly exhibited. Since the de Sitter group can be considered a particular deformation of the Poincare group, this theory turns out to be a specific kind of deformed (or doubly) special relativity. Some experimental consequences, as well as the causal structure of spacetime-modified by the presence of the de Sitter horizon-are briefly discussed.

Positive tension 3-branes in an AdS(5) bulk

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)