arXiv subjects

Joao Magueijo

Publications and source records attributed to Joao Magueijo.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Bayesian evidence and predictivity of the inflationary paradigm

In this paper we consider the issue of paradigm evaluation by applying Bayes' theorem along the following nested hierarchy of progressively more complex structures: i) parameter estimation (within a model), ii) model selection and comparison (within a paradigm), iii) paradigm evaluation. In such a hierarchy the Bayesian evidence works both as the posterior's normalization at a given level and as the likelihood function at the next level up. Whilst raising no objections to the standard application of the procedure at the two lowest levels, we argue that it should receive a considerable modification when evaluating paradigms, when testability and fitting data are equally important. By considering toy models we illustrate how models and paradigms that are difficult to falsify are always favoured by the Bayes factor. We argue that the evidence for a paradigm should not only be high for a given dataset, but exceptional with respect to what it would have been, had the data been different. With this motivation we propose a measure which we term predictivity, as well as a prior to be incorporated into the Bayesian framework, penalising unpredictivity as much as not fitting data. We apply this measure to inflation seen as a whole, and to a scenario where a specific inflationary model is hypothetically deemed as the only one viable as a result of information alien to cosmology (e.g. Solar System gravity experiments, or particle physics input). We conclude that cosmic inflation is currently hard to falsify, but that this could change were external/additional information to cosmology to select one of its many models. We also compare this state of affairs to bimetric varying speed of light cosmology.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2016

Inflation and the Measurement Problem

We propose a solution to the quantum measurement problem in Inflation. Our model treats Fourier modes of cosmological perturbations as analogous to particles in a weakly-interacting Bose gas. We generalize the idea of a macroscopic wavefunction to cosmological fields, and construct a self-interaction Hamiltonian that focuses that wavefunction. By appropriately setting the coupling between modes, we obtain the standard adiabatic, scale-invariant power spectrum. Because of Central Limit Theorem (CLT), we recover a Gaussian Random Field, consistent with observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Reappraisal of a model for deformed special relativity

We revisit one of the earliest proposals for deformed dispersion relations in the light of recent results on dynamical dimensional reduction and production of cosmological fluctuations. Depending on the specification of the measure of integration and addition rule in momentum space the model may be completed so as to merely deform Lorentz invariance, or so as to introduce a preferred frame. Models which violate Lorentz invariance have a negative UV asymptotic dimension and a very red spectrum of quantum vacuum fluctuations. Instead, models which preserve frame independence can exhibit running to a UV dimension of 2, and a scale-invariant spectrum of fluctuations. The bispectrum of the fluctuations is another point of divergence between the two casings proposed here for the original model.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Quantization of fluctuations in DSR: the two-point function and beyond

We show that the two-point function of a quantum field theory with de Sitter momentum space (herein called DSR) can be expressed as the product of a standard delta function and an energy-dependent factor. This is a highly non-trivial technical result in any theory without a preferred frame. Applied to models exhibiting running of the dimensionality of space, this result is essential in proving that vacuum fluctuations are generally scale-invariant at high energies whenever there is running to two dimensions. This is equally true for theories with and without a preferred frame, with differences arising only as we consider higher order correlators. Specifically, the three-point function of DSR has a unique structure of "open triangles", as shown here.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Vacuum fluctuations in theories with deformed dispersion relations

We examine vacuum fluctuations in theories with modified dispersion relations which represent dimensional reduction at high energies. By changing units of energy and momentum we can obtain a description rendering the dispersion relations undeformed and transferring all the non-trivial effects to the integration measure in momentum space. Using this description we propose a general quantization procedure, which should be applicable whether or not the theory explicitly introduces a preferred frame. Based on this scheme we evaluate the power spectrum of quantum vacuum fluctuations. We find that in {\it all} theories which run to 2 dimensions in the ultraviolet the vacuum fluctuations, in the ultraviolet regime, are scale-invariant. This is true in flat space but also for "inside the horizon" modes in an expanding universe. We spell out the conditions upon the gravity theory for this scale-invariance to be preserved as the modes are frozen-in outside the horizon. We also digress on the meaning of dimensionality (in momentum and position space) and suggest that the spectral index could itself provide an operational definition of dimensionality.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Gravity as the breakdown of conformal invariance

We propose that at the beginning of the universe gravity existed in a limbo either because it was switched off or because it was only conformally coupled to all particles. This picture can be reverse-engineered from the requirement that the cosmological perturbations be (nearly) scale-invariant without the need for inflation. It also finds support in recent results in quantum gravity suggesting that spacetime becomes two-dimensional at super-Planckian energies. We advocate a novel top-down approach to cosmology based on the idea that gravity and the Big Bang Universe are relics from the mechanism responsible for breaking the fundamental conformal invariance. Such a mechanism should leave clear signatures in departures from scale-invariance in the primordial power spectrum and the level of gravity waves generated.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Local Varying-Alpha Theories

In a recent paper we demonstrated how the simplest model for varying alpha may be interpreted as the effect of a dielectric material, generalized to be consistent with Lorentz invariance. Unlike normal dielectrics, such a medium cannot change the speed of light, and its dynamics obey a Klein-Gordon equation. This work immediately suggests an extension of the standard theory, even if we require compliance with Lorentz invariance. Instead of a wave equation, the dynamics may satisfy a local algebraic relation involving the permittivity and the properties of the electromagnetic field, in analogy with more conventional dielectric (but still preserving Lorentz invariance). We develop the formalism for such theories and investigate some phenomenological implications. The problem of the divergence of the classical self-energy can be solved, or at least softened, in this framework. Some interesting new cosmological solutions for the very early universe are found, including the possibility of a bounce, inflation and expansion with a loitering phase, all of which are induced by early variations in alpha.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Planck-scale phenomenology with anti-de Sitter momentum space

We investigate the anti-de Sitter (AdS) counterpart to the well studied de Sitter (dS) model for energy-momentum space, viz "$κ$-momentum space" space (with a structure based on the properties of the $κ$-Poincaré Hopf algebra). On the basis of previous preliminary results one might expect the two models to be "dual": dS exhibiting an invariant maximal spatial momentum but unbounded energy, AdS a maximal energy but unbounded momentum. If that were the case AdS momentum space could be used to implement a principle of maximal Planck-scale energy, just as several studies use dS momentum space to postulate of maximal Planck-scale spatial momentum. However several unexpected features are uncovered in this paper, which limit the scope of the expected duality, and interestingly they take different forms in different coordinatizations of AdS momentum space. "Cosmological" AdS coordinates mimic the dS construction used for $κ$-momentum space, and produce a Carrol limit in the ultraviolet. However, unlike the $κ$-momentum space, the boundary of the covered patch breaks Lorentz invariance, thereby introducing a preferred frame. In "horospherical" coordinates we achieve full consistency with frame independence as far as boost transformations are concerned, but find that rotational symmetry is broken, leading to an anisotropic model for the speed of light. Finally, in "static" coordinates we find a way of deforming relativistic transformations that successfully enforces frame invariance and isotropy, and produces a Carrol limit in the ultraviolet. However, the phenomenological implications appear to be too weak for any realistic chance of detection. Our results are also relevant for a long-standing debate on whether or not coordinate redefinitions in momentum space lead to physically equivalent theories: our three proposals are evidently physically inequivalent (abridged)

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Redshifting of cosmological black bodies in BSBM varying-alpha theories

We analyse the behaviour of black-body radiation in theories of electromagnetism which allow the electron charge and the fine structure constant to vary in space and time. We show that such theories can be expressed as relativistic generalizations of a conventional dielectric. By making the appropriate definition of the vector potential and associated gauge transformations, we can identify the equivalent of the electric and displacement fields, $\mathbf{E}$ and $\mathbf{D}$, as well as the magnetic $ \mathbf{B}$ and $\mathbf{H}$ fields. We study the impact of such dielectrics on the propagation of light in the so-called BSBM theory and conclude that no changes are created to the standard cosmological evolution of the temperature and energy-density of black-body radiation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Cosmological signature change in Cartan Gravity with dynamical symmetry breaking

We investigate the possibility for classical metric signature change in a straightforward generalization of the first order formulation of gravity, dubbed "Cartan gravity". The mathematical structure of this theory mimics the electroweak theory in that the basic ingredients are an $SO(1,4)$ Yang-Mills gauge field $A^{ab}_{\phantom{ab}μ}$ and a symmetry breaking Higgs field $V^{a}$, with no metric or affine structure of spacetime presupposed. However, these structures can be recovered, with the predictions of General Relativity exactly reproduced, whenever the Higgs field breaking the symmetry to $SO(1,3)$ is forced to have a constant (positive) norm $V^aV_a$. This restriction is usually imposed "by hand", but in analogy with the electroweak theory we promote the gravitational Higgs field $V^a$ to a genuine dynamical field, subject to non-trivial equations of motion. Even though we limit ourselves to actions polynomial in these variables, we discover a rich phenomenology. Most notably we derive classical cosmological solutions exhibiting a smooth transition between Euclidean and Lorentzian signature in the four-metric. These solutions are non-singular and arise whenever the $SO(1,4)$ norm of the Higgs field changes sign i.e. the signature of the metric of spacetime is determined dynamically by the gravitational Higgs field. It is possible to find a plethora of such solutions and in some of them this dramatic behaviour is confined to the early universe, with the theory asymptotically tending to Einstein gravity at late times. Curiously the theory can also naturally embody a well-known dark energy model: Peebles-Ratra quintessence.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Varying electric charge in multiscale spacetimes

We derive the covariant equations of motion for Maxwell field theory and electrodynamics in multiscale spacetimes with weighted Laplacian. An effective spacetime-dependent electric charge of geometric origin naturally emerges from the theory, thus giving rise to a varying fine-structure constant. The theory is compared with other varying-coupling models, such as those with a varying electric charge or varying speed of light. The theory is also confronted with cosmological observations, which can place constraints on the characteristic scales in the multifractional measure. We note that the model considered here is fundamentally different from those previously proposed in the literature, either of the varying-e or varying-c persuasion.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Planck-scale dimensional reduction without a preferred frame

Several approaches to quantum gravity suggest that the standard description of spacetime as probed at low-energy, with four dimensions, is replaced in the Planckian regime by a spacetime with a spectral dimension of two. The implications for relativistic symmetries can be momentous, and indeed the most tangible picture for "running" of the spectral dimension, found within Horava-Lifschitz gravity, requires the breakdown of relativity of inertial frames. In this Letter we incorporate running spectral dimensions in a scenario that does not require the emergence of a preferred frame. We consider the best studied mechanism for deforming relativistic symmetries whilst preserving the relativity of inertial frames, based on a momentum space with curvature at the Planck scale. We show explicitly how running of the spectral dimension can be derived from these models.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Intermediate inflation from rainbow gravity

It is possible to dualize theories based on deformed dispersion relations and Einstein gravity so as to map them into theories with trivial dispersion relations and rainbow gravity. This often leads to "dual inflation" without the usual breaking of the strong energy condition. We identify the dispersion relations in the original frame which map into "intermediate" inflationary models. These turn out to be particularly simple: power-laws modulated by powers of a logarithm. The fluctuations predicted by these scenarios are near, but not exactly scale-invariant, with a red running spectral index. These dispersion relations deserve further study within the context of quantum gravity and the phenomenon of dimensional reduction in the ultraviolet.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

The measure matters

We adopt a framework where quantum-gravity's dynamical dimensional reduction of spacetime at short distances is described in terms of modified dispersion relations. We observe that by subjecting such models to a momentum-space diffeomorphism one obtains a "dual picture" with unmodified dispersion relations, but a modified measure of integration over momenta. We then find that the UV {\it Hausdorff} dimension of momentum space which can be inferred from this modified integration measure coincides with the short-distance {\it spectral} dimension of spacetime. This result sheds light into why scale-invariant fluctuations are obtained if the original model for two UV spectral dimensions is combined with Einstein gravity. By studying the properties of the inner product we derive the result that it is only in 2 energy-momentum dimensions that microphysical vacuum fluctuations are scale-invariant. This is true ignoring gravity, but then we find that if Einstein gravity is postulated in the original frame, in the dual picture gravity switches off, since all matter becomes conformally coupled. We argue that our findings imply that the following concepts are closely connected: scale-invariance of vacuum quantum fluctuations, conformal invariance of the gravitational coupling, UV reduction to spectral dimension 2 in position space and UV reduction to Hausdorff dimension 2 in energy-momentum space.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Rainbow gravity and scale-invariant fluctuations

We re-examine a recently proposed scenario where the deformed dispersion relations associated with a flow of the spectral dimension to a UV value of 2 leads to a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological fluctuations, without the need for inflation. In that scenario Einstein gravity was assumed. The theory displays a wavelength-dependent speed of light but by transforming to a suitable "rainbow frame" this feature can be removed, at the expense of modifying gravity. We find that the ensuing rainbow gravity theory is such that gravity switches off at high energy (or at least leads to a universal conformal coupling). This explains why the fluctuations are scale-invariant on all scales: there is no horizon scale as such. For dispersion relations that do not lead to exact scale invariance we find instead esoteric inflation in the rainbow frame. We argue that these results shed light on the behaviour of gravity under the phenomenon of dimensional reduction.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Dimensional reduction in the sky

We explore the cosmological implications of a mechanism found in several approaches to quantum-gravity, whereby the spectral dimension of spacetime runs from the standard value of 4 in the infrared (IR) to a smaller value in the ultraviolet (UV). Specifically, we invoke the picture where the phenomenon is associated with modified dispersion relations. With minimal assumptions, we find that UV behaviour leading to 2 spectral dimensions results in an exactly scale-invariant spectrum of vacuum scalar and tensor fluctuations, regardless of the equation of state. The fluctuation production mechanism is analogous to the one known for varying speed of sound/light models and, unlike in inflation, the spectrum is already scale-invariant before leaving the horizon, remaining so after freeze-in. In the light of Planck's recent results we also discuss scenarios that break exact scale-invariance, such as the possibility that the spectral dimension runs down to a value slightly higher than 2, or runs down to 2 but with an extremely slow transient. We further show that the tensor to scalar ratio is fixed by the UV ratio between the speed of gravity and the speed of light. Not only does our model not require inflation, but at its most minimal it seems incompatible with it. In contrast, we find that running spectral dimensions can improve the outlook of the cyclic/ekpyrotic scenario, solving the main problems present in its simplest and most appealing realisations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Time delays across saddles as a test of modified gravity

Modified gravity theories can produce strong signals in the vicinity of the saddles of the total gravitational potential. In a sub-class of these models this translates into diverging time-delays for echoes crossing the saddles. Such models arise from the possibility that gravity might be infrared divergent or confined, and if suitably designed they are very difficult to rule out. We show that Lunar Laser Ranging during an eclipse could probe the time-delay effect within meters of the saddle, thereby proving or excluding these models. Very Large Baseline Interferometry, instead, could target delays across the Jupiter-Sun saddle. Such experiments would shed light on the infrared behaviour of gravity and examine the puzzling possibility that there might be well-hidden regions of strong gravity and even singularities inside the solar system.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Cosmology with a spin

Using the chiral representation for spinors we present a particularly transparent way to generate the most general spinor dynamics in a theory where gravity is ruled by the Einstein-Cartan-Holst action. In such theories torsion need not vanish, but it can be re-interpreted as a 4-fermion self-interaction within a torsion-free theory. The self-interaction may or may not break parity invariance, and may contribute positively or negatively to the energy density, depending on the couplings considered. We then examine cosmological models ruled by a spinorial field within this theory. We find that while there are cases for which no significant cosmological novelties emerge, the self-interaction can also turn a mass potential into an upside-down Mexican hat potential. Then, as a general rule, the model leads to cosmologies with a bounce, for which there is a maximal energy density, and where the cosmic singularity has been removed. These solutions are stable, and range from the very simple to the very complex.

astro-ph.CO↗