arXiv subjects

Theodore Tomaras

Publications and source records attributed to Theodore Tomaras.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2020

Turnaround density as a probe of the cosmological constant

Spherical collapse predicts that a single value of the turnaround density (average matter density within the scale on which a structure detaches from the Hubble flow) characterizes all cosmic structures at the same redshift. It has been recently shown by Korkidis et al. that this feature persists in complex non-spherical galaxy clusters identified in N-body simulations. Here we show that the low-redshift evolution of the turnaround density constrains the cosmological parameters, and that it can be used to derive a local constraint on $Ω_Λ$ alone, independent of $Ω_m$. The turnaround density thus provides a promising new way to exploit upcoming large cosmological datasets.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

What do the highest-energy cosmic-ray data suggest about possible new physics around 50 TeV?

The latest observations of extensive air showers (EAS) induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) appear to indicate, prima facie, a transition to heavy primaries at the highest energies. However, this interpretation, which is based on extrapolations of the Standard Model (SM) to ultra-LHC energies, is strained from both astrophysical and particle phenomenology perspectives. We consider the alternative that after some energy threshold, the first collision of the primary in the atmosphere results in a state, the decay of which leads to a considerably increased shower particle multiplicity, so that light-primary EAS appear heavy-like. We show that a minimal implementation of such a model yields predictions for the average EAS depth and shower-to-shower fluctuations that are consistent with each other, and an excellent fit to Auger data. If such an effect indeed takes place, we predict that: (a) the center-of-momentum (CM) energy threshold for the effect is of order 50 TeV; (b) the probability with which the effect occurs is high, and it will be detected easily by next-generation accelerators; (c) the increase in multiplicity compared to the SM prediction grows with CM energy roughly as $\sim E_{\rm CM}$; (d) the cosmic-ray composition at the highest energies is light. Remarkably, if the latter is confirmed electromagnetically this would necessitate the existence of new physics by these energies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Band Structure in Yang-Mills Theories

We show how Yang-Mills theory on $S^3\times R$ can exhibit a spectrum with continuous bands if coupled either to a topological 3-form gauge field, or to a dynamical axion with heavy Peccei-Quinn scale. The basic mechanism consists in associating winding histories to a bosonic zero mode whose role is to convert a circle in configuration space into a helix. The zero mode is, respectively, the holonomy of the 3-form field or the axion momentum. In these models different theta sectors coexist but are not mixed by local operators. Our analysis sheds light on, and extends Seiberg's proposal for modifying the topological sums in quantum field theories. It refutes a recent claim that $B+L$ violation at LHC is unsuppressed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

Turnaround overdensity as a cosmological observable: the case for a local measurement of $Λ$

We demonstrate that, in the context of the $Λ$CDM model, it is in principle possible to measure the value of the cosmological constant by tracing, across cosmic time, the evolution of the turnaround radius of cosmic structures. The novelty of the presented method is that it is local, in the sense that it uses the effect of the cosmological constant on the relatively short scales of cosmic structures and not on the dynamics of the Universe at its largest scales. In this way, it can provide an important consistency check for the standard cosmological model and can give signs of new physics, beyond $Λ$CDM.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Testing Lambda CDM cosmology at turnaround: where to look for violations of the bound?

In $Λ$CDM cosmology, structure formation is halted shortly after dark energy dominates the mass/energy budget of the Universe. A manifestation of this effect is that in such a cosmology the turnaround radius has an upper bound. Recently, a new, local, test for the existence of dark energy in the form of a cosmological constant was proposed based on this turnaround bound. Before designing an experiment that, through high-precision determination of masses and turnaround radii, will challenge $Λ$CDM cosmology, we have to answer two important questions: first, when turnaround-scale structures are predicted to be close enough to their maximum size, so that a possible violation of the bound may be observable. Second, which is the best mass scale to target for possible violations of the bound. Using the Press-Schechter formalism, we find that turnaround structures have in practice already stopped forming, and consequently, the turnaround radius of structures must be very close to the maximum value today. We also find that the mass scale of $\sim 10^{13} M_\odot$ characterizes turnaround structures that start to form in a statistically important number density today. This mass scale also separates turnaround structures with different cosmological evolution: smaller structures are no longer readjusting their mass distribution inside the turnaround scale, they asymptotically approach their ultimate abundance from higher values, and they are common enough to have, at some epoch, experienced major mergers with structures of comparable mass; larger structures exhibit the opposite behavior. We call this mass scale the transitional mass scale and we argue that it is the optimal for the purpose outlined above. As a corollary result, we explain the different accretion behavior of small and larger structures observed in already conducted numerical simulations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2007

Gravitating defects of codimension-two

Thin gravitating defects with conical singularities in higher codimensions and with generalized Israel matching conditions are known to be inconsistent for generic energy-momentum. A way to remove this inconsistency is proposed and is realized for an axially symmetric gravitating codimension-two defect in six dimensional Einstein gravity. By varying with respect to the brane embedding fields, alternative matching conditions are derived, which are generalizations of the Nambu-Goto equations of motion of the defect, consistent with bulk gravity. For a maximally symmetric defect the standard picture is recovered. The four-dimensional perfect fluid cosmology coincides with conventional FRW in the case of radiation, but for dust it has rho^{4/3} instead of rho. A four-dimensional black hole solution is presented having the Schwarzschild form with a short-distance correction r^{-2}.

hep-th↗