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

A global relationship 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.

Cosmological perturbations in a noncommutative braneworld inflation

We use the smeared, coherent state picture of noncommutativity to study evolution of perturbations in a noncommutative braneworld scenario. Within the stan- dard procedure of studying braneworld cosmological perturbations, we study the evo- lution of the Bardeen metric potential and curvature perturbations in this model. We show that in this setup, the early stage of the universe＇s evolution has a transient phan- tom evolution with imaginary effective sound speed.

Bianchi-V string cosmological model and late time acceleration

We have searched for the existence of the late time acceleration of the universe with string fluid as the source of matter in Bianchi-V space-time. To derive a deterministic solution, we choose the scale factor to be an increasing function of time that yields a time dependent deceleration parameter, representing a model which generates a universe showing a transition from an early decelerating phase to a recent accelerating phase. The study reveals that strings dominate the early universe and eventually disappear from the universe for sufficiently large times, i.e. in the present epoch. This picture is consistent with current astronomical observations. The physical behavior of the universe is discussed in detail.

C-field cosmological models:revisited

We investigate plane symmetric spacetime filled with perfect fluid in the C-field cosmology of Hoyle and Narlikar. A new class of exact solutions has been obtained by considering the creation field C as a function of time only. To get the deterministic solution, it has been assumed that the rate of creation of matter-energy density is proportional to the strength of the existing C-field energy density. Several physical aspects and geometrical properties of the models are discussed in detail, especially showing that some of our solutions of C-field cosmology are free from singularity in contrast to the Big Bang cosmology. A comparative study has been carried out between two models, one singular and the other nonsingular, by contrasting the behaviour of the physical parameters. We note that the model in a unique way represents both the features of the accelerating as well as decelerating universe depending on the parameters and thus seems to provide glimpses of the oscillating or cyclic model of the universe without invoking any other agent or theory in allowing cyclicity.

Galaxy formation in the reionization epoch as hinted by WideField Camera 3 observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

We present a large sample of candidate galaxies at z ≈ 7 - 10, selected in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field using the new observations of the Wide Field Camera 3 that was recently installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. Our sample is composed of 20 z850-dropouts （four new discoveries）, 15 Y105-dropouts （nine new discoveries） and 20 J125-dropouts （all new discoveries）. The surface densities of the Z850-dropouts are close to what was predicted by earlier studies, however, those of the Y105- and J125-dropouts are quite unexpected. While no Y105- or J125-dropouts have been found at AB ≤ 28.0 mag, their surface densities seem to increase sharply at fainter levels. While some of these candidates seem to be close to foreground galaxies and thus could possibly be gravitationally lensed, the overall surface densities after excluding such cases are still much higher than what would be expected if the luminosity function does not evolve from z ～ 7 to 10. Motivated by such steep increases, we tentatively propose a set of Schechter function parameters to describe the luminosity functions at z ≈8 and 10. As compared to their counterpart at z ≈ 7, here L^＊ decreases by a factor of ～ 6.5 and Ф^＊ increases by a factor of 17-90. Although such parameters are not yet demanded by the existing observations, they are allowed and seem to agree with the data better than other alternatives. If these luminosity functions are still valid beyond our current detection limit, this would imply a sudden emergence of a large number of low-luminosity galaxies when looking back in time to z ≈ 10, which, while seemingly exotic, would naturally fit in the picture of the cosmic hydrogen reionization. These early galaxies could easily account for the ionizing photon budget required by the reionization, and they would imply that the global star formation rate density might start from a very high value at z ≈ 10, rapidly reach the minimum at z≈ 7, and start to rise again towards z ≈ 6. In this scenario, the majority of the stellar mass that the universe assembled through the reionization epoch seems still undetected by current observations at z ≈ 6.

Space-Time Geometry of Quark and Strange Quark Matter

We study quark and strange quark matter in the context of general relativity. 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）.

Cosmic microwave background constraints on the tensor-to-scalar ratio

One of the main goals of modern cosmic microwave background （CMB） missions is to measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio r accurately to constrain inflation models. Due to ignorance about the reionization history Xe （z）, this analysis is usu- ally done by assuming an instantaneous reionization Xe （z） which, however, can bias the best-fit value of r. Moreover, due to the strong mixing of B-mode and E-mode polarizations in cut-sky measurements, multiplying the sky coverage fraction fsky by the full-sky likelihood would not give satisfactory results. In this work, we forecast constraints on r for the Planck mission taking into account the general reionization scenario and cut-sky effects. Our results show that by applying an N-point interpo- lation analysis to the reionization history, the bias induced by the assumption of in- stantaneous reionization is removed and the value of r is constrained within 5% error level, if the true value of r is greater than about 0.1.

Primordial black holes

Primordial black holes （PBHs） are a profound signature of primordial cosmological 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 restrict a wide range of particle physics models, predicting an enhancement of the ultraviolet part of the spectrum of density perturbations, early dust-like stages, first order phase transitions and stages of superheavy metastable particle dominance in the early Universe. The mechanism of closed wall contraction can lead, in the inflationary 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.