arXiv subjects

Christophe Ringeval

Publications and source records attributed to Christophe Ringeval.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Massive gravitons trapped inside a hypermonopole

We propose a regular classical field theory realisation of the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati mechanism by considering our universe to be the four-dimensional core of a seven dimensional 't Hooft-Polyakov hypermonopole. We show the existence of metastable gravitons trapped in the core. Their mass spectrum is discrete, positive definite, and computed for various values of the field coupling constants: the resulting Newton gravity law is seven-dimensional at small and large distances but can be made four-dimensional on intermediate length scales. There is no need of a cosmological constant in the bulk, the spacetime is asymptotically flat and of infinite volume in the extra-dimensions. Confinement is achieved through the local positive curvature of the extra-dimensions induced by the monopole-forming fields and for natural values of the coupling constants of order unity.

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arXiv2008

Brane inflation and the WMAP data: a Bayesian analysis

The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) constraints on string inspired ''brane inflation'' are investigated. Here, the inflaton field is interpreted as the distance between two branes placed in a flux-enriched background geometry and has a Dirac-Born-Infeld (DBI) kinetic term. Our method relies on an exact numerical integration of the inflationary power spectra coupled to a Markov-Chain Monte-Carlo exploration of the parameter space. This analysis is valid for any perturbative value of the string coupling constant and of the string length, and includes a phenomenological modelling of the reheating era to describe the post-inflationary evolution. It is found that the data favour a scenario where inflation stops by violation of the slow-roll conditions well before brane annihilation, rather than by tachyonic instability. Concerning the background geometry, it is established that log(v) > -10 at 95% confidence level (CL), where "v" is the dimensionless ratio of the five-dimensional sub-manifold at the base of the six-dimensional warped conifold geometry to the volume of the unit five-sphere. The reheating energy scale remains poorly constrained, Treh > 20 GeV at 95% CL, for an extreme equation of state (wreh ~ -1/3) only. Assuming the string length is known, the favoured values of the string coupling and of the Ramond-Ramond total background charge appear to be correlated. Finally, the stochastic regime (without and with volume effects) is studied using a perturbative treatment of the Langevin equation. The validity of such an approximate scheme is discussed and shown to be too limited for a full characterisation of the quantum effects.

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arXiv2008

Constraints on Kinetically Modified Inflation from WMAP5

Single field inflationary models with a non-minimal kinetic term (also called k-inflationary models) can be characterised by the so-called sound flow functions, which complete the usual Hubble flow hierarchy. These parameters appear in the primordial power spectra of cosmological perturbations at leading order and, therefore, affect the resulting Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies. Using the fifth year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP5) data, we derive the marginalised posterior probability distributions for both the sound and Hubble flow parameters. In contrast to the standard situation, these parameters remain separately unbounded, and notably there is no longer any upper limit on epsilon_1, the first Hubble flow function. Only special combinations of these parameters, corresponding to the spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio observables, are actually constrained by the data. The energy scale of k-inflation is nevertheless limited from above to Hinf/mpl < 6x10^(-6) at two-sigma level. Moreover, for the sub-class of Dirac-Born-Infeld models, by considering the non-gaussianity bounds on the sound speed, we find a weak limit epsilon_1 < 0.08 at 95% confidence level.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Cosmological evolution of cosmic string loops

The existence of a scaling evolution for cosmic string loops in an expanding universe is demonstrated for the first time by means of numerical simulations. In contrast with what is usually assumed, this result does not rely on any gravitational back reaction effect and has been observed for loops as small as a few thousandths the size of the horizon. We give the energy and number densities of expected cosmic string loops in both the radiation and matter eras. Moreover, we quantify previous claims on the influence of the network initial conditions and the formation of numerically unresolved loops by showing that they only concern a transient relaxation regime. Some cosmological consequences are discussed.

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arXiv2006

Inflation after WMAP3: Confronting the Slow-Roll and Exact Power Spectra with CMB Data

The implications of the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) third year data for inflation are investigated using both the slow-roll approximation and an exact numerical integration of the inflationary power spectra including a phenomenological modelling of the reheating era. At slow-roll leading order, the constraints epsilon_1 < 0.022 and -0.07 < epsilon_2 < 0.07 are obtained at 95% CL (Confidence Level) implying a tensor-to-scalar ratio r_10 < 0.21 and a Hubble parameter during inflation H/Mpl < 1.3 x 10^(-5). At next-to-leading order, a tendency for epsilon_3 > 0 is observed. With regards to the exact numerical integration, large field models, V(phi) proportional to phi^p, with p > 3.1 are now excluded at 95% CL. Small field models, V(phi) proportional to 1-(phi/mu)^p, are still compatible with the data for all values of p. However, if mu/Mpl < 10 is assumed, then the case p = 2 is slightly disfavoured. In addition, mild constraints on the reheating temperature for an extreme equation of state w_reh = -1/3 are found, namely T_reh > 2 TeV at 95% CL. Hybrid models are disfavoured by the data, the best fit model having Delta chi^2 = +5 with two extra parameters in comparison with large field models. Running mass models remain compatible, but no prior independent constraints can be obtained. Finally, superimposed oscillations of trans-Planckian origin are studied. The vanilla slow-roll model is still the most probable one. However, the overall statistical weight in favour of superimposed oscillations has increased in comparison with the WMAP first year data, the amplitude of the oscillations satisfying 2|x|sigma_0 < 0.76 at 95% CL. The best fit model leads to an improvement of Delta chi^2 = -12 for three extra parameters. Moreover, compared to other oscillatory patterns, the logarithmic shape is favoured.

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arXiv2006

Boundary Inflation and the WMAP Data

Inflation in a five-dimensional brane world model with two boundary branes is studied. We make use of the moduli space approximation whereby the low energy theory reduces to a four-dimensional biscalar-tensor gravity plus a minimally coupled scalar field. After a detailed analysis of the inflationary solutions, we derive the evolution equations of the linear perturbations separating the adiabatic mode from two entropy modes. We then examine the primordial scalar and tensor power spectra and show that their tilt depends on the scalar-tensor coupling constant. Finally, the induced CMB anisotropies are computed and we present a Monte Carlo Markov Chains exploration of the parameter space using the first year WMAP data. We find a marginalized probability bound for the associated Eddington parameter at the end of inflation 1 - gamma < 0.002, at 95% confidence level. This suggests that future CMB data could provide crucial information helping to distinguish scalar-tensor and standard inflationary scenarios.

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arXiv2005

Stability of six-dimensional hyperstring braneworlds

We study a six-dimensional braneworld model with infinite warped extra dimensions in the case where the four-dimensional brane is described by a topological vortex of a U(1) symmetry-breaking Abelian Higgs model in presence of a negative cosmological constant. A detailed analysis of the microscopic parameters leading to a finite volume space-time in the extra dimensions is numerically performed. As previously shown, we find that a fine-tuning is required to avoid any kind of singularity on the brane. We then discuss the stability of the vortex by investigating the scalar part of the gauge-invariant perturbations around this fine-tuned configuration. It is found that the hyperstring forming Higgs and gauge fields, as well as the background metric warp factors, cannot be perturbed at all, whereas transverse modes can be considered stable. The warped space-time structure that is imposed around the vortex thus appears severely constrained and cannot generically support nonempty universe models. The genericness of our conclusions is discussed; this will shed some light on the possibility of describing our space-time as a general six-dimensional warped braneworld.

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arXiv2005

Metastable gravity on classical defects

We discuss the realization of metastable gravity on classical defects in infinite-volume extra dimensions. In dilatonic Einstein gravity, it is found that the existence of metastable gravity on the defect core requires violation of the Dominant Energy Condition for codimension Nc = 2 defects. This is illustrated with a detailed analysis of a six-dimensional hyperstring minimally coupled to dilaton gravity. We present the general conditions under which a codimension Nc > 2 defect admits metastable modes, and find that they differ from lower codimensional models in that, under certain conditions, they do not require violation of energy conditions to support quasi-localized gravity.

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arXiv2005

Exploring the Superimposed Oscillations Parameter Space

The space of parameters characterizing an inflationary primordial power spectrum with small superimposed oscillations is explored using Monte Carlo methods. The most interesting region corresponding to high frequency oscillations is included in the analysis. The oscillations originate from some new physics taking place at the beginning of the inflationary phase and characterized by the new energy scale Mc. It is found that the standard slow-roll model remains the most probable one given the first year WMAP data. At the same time, the oscillatory models better fit the data on average, which is consistent with previous works on the subject. This is typical of a situation where volume effects in the parameter space play a significant role. Then, we find the amplitude of the oscillations to be less than 22% of the mean amplitude and the new scale Mc to be such that H/Mc < 6.6 x 10^(-4) at 1-sigma level, where H is the scale of inflation.

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arXiv2004

Addendum to "Superimposed Oscillations in the WMAP Data?"

We elaborate further on the possibility that the inflationary primordial power spectrum contains superimposed oscillations. We study various effects which could influence the calculation of the multipole moments in this case. We also present the theoretical predictions for two other cosmological observables, the matter power spectrum and the EE polarization channel.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Superimposed Oscillations in the WMAP Data?

The possibility that the cosmic variance outliers present in the recently released WMAP multipole moments are due to oscillations in the primordial power spectrum is investigated. Since the most important contribution to the WMAP likelihood originates from the outliers at relatively small angular scale (around the first Doppler peak), special attention is paid to these in contrast with previous studies on the subject which have concentrated on the large scales outliers only (i.e. the quadrupole and octupole). As a physically motivated example, the case where the oscillations are of trans-Planckian origin is considered. It is shown that the presence of the oscillations causes an important drop in the WMAP chi square of about fifteen. The F-test reveals that such a drop has a probability less than 0.06% to occur by chance and can therefore be considered as statistically significant.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

CMB anisotropies from vector perturbations in the bulk

The vector perturbations induced on the brane by gravitational waves propagating in the bulk are studied in a cosmological framework. Cosmic expansion arises from the brane motion in a non-compact five-dimensional anti-de Sitter spacetime. By solving the vector perturbation equations in the bulk, for generic initial conditions, we find that they give rise to growing modes on the brane in the Friedmann-Lema\^ıtre era. Among these modes, we exhibit a class of normalizable perturbations, which are exponentially growing with respect to conformal time on the brane. The presence of these modes is, at least, strongly constrained by the current observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We estimate the anisotropies they induce in the CMB, and derive quantitative constraints on the allowed amplitude of their primordial spectrum. Our results provide stringent constraints for all braneworld models with bulk inflation.

hep-th↗

arXiv2002

Fermionic currents flowing along extended objects

This PhD thesis discusses the internal structure of topological defects, and branes in extra-dimensions, carrying fermionic currents. The general framework in which these objects may appear is presented in the first part while the second part is devoted to the dynamic of cosmic strings, a class of topological defects of uttermost importance to modern cosmology, as it can be obtained from a macroscopic covariant formalism. This formalism offers a unified description of cosmic strings, including the case for which they carry internal currents, and allows the study of their cosmological evolution, and implications, by means of numerical simulations. Its validity has already been confirmed for cosmic string carrying bosonic currents, and the third part provides new results concerning the fermionic currents case. First, the fermion mass spectrum in a cosmic string is computed, and suggests that fermionic currents are usually built on massive propagation modes leading to a new equation of state. This highlights that the usual one parameter macroscopic formalism is not always sufficient in case of fermionic currents. Moreover, contrary to the bosonic case, the dynamics stemming from this equation of state exhibits transitions between the subsonic and supersonic regimes whose consequences in cosmology could be important. The last part is an extension of these results to brane cosmology for which our universe is viewed as a four dimensional domain wall embedded in a five dimensional space-time. In the framework of the Randall-Sundrum model, the masses of the trapped fermions on the brane can be predicted.

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arXiv2001

Fermionic massive modes along cosmic strings

The influence on cosmic string dynamics of fermionic massive bound states propagating in the vortex, and getting their mass only from coupling to the string forming Higgs field, is studied. Such massive fermionic currents are numerically found to exist for a wide range of model parameters and seen to modify drastically the usual string dynamics coming from the zero mode currents alone. In particular, by means of a quantization procedure, a new equation of state describing cosmic strings with any kind of fermionic current, massive or massless, is derived and found to involve, at least, one state parameter per trapped fermion species. This equation of state exhibits transitions from subsonic to supersonic regimes while the massive modes are filled.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2000

Equation of state of cosmic strings with fermionic current-carriers

The relevant characteristic features, including energy per unit length and tension, of a cosmic string carrying massless fermionic currents in the framework of the Witten model in the neutral limit are derived through quantization of the spinor fields along the string. The construction of a Fock space is performed by means of a separation between longitudinal modes and the so-called transverse zero energy solutions of the Dirac equation in the vortex. As a result, quantization leads to a set of naturally defined state parameters which are the number densities of particles and anti-particles trapped in the cosmic string. It is seen that the usual one-parameter formalism for describing the macroscopic dynamics of current-carrying vortices is not sufficient in the case of fermionic carriers.

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