We review in detail a number of approaches that have been adopted to try and explain the remarkable observation of our accelerating universe. In particular we discuss the arguments for and recent progress made towards understanding the nature of dark energy. We review the observational evidence for the current accelerated expansion of the universe and present a number of dark energy models in addition to the conventional cosmological constant, paying particular attention to scalar field models such as quintessence, K-essence, tachyon, phantom and dilatonic models. The importance of cosmological scaling solutions is emphasized when studying the dynamical system of scalar fields including coupled dark energy. We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations allowing us to confront them with the observation of the Cosmic Microwave Background and Large Scale Structure and demonstrate how it is possible in principle to reconstruct the equation of state of dark energy by also using Supernovae Ia observational data. We also discuss in detail the nature of tracking solutions in cosmology, particle physics and braneworld models of dark energy, the nature of possible future singularities, the effect of higher order curvature terms to avoid a Big Rip singularity, and approaches to modifying gravity which leads to a late-time accelerated expansion without recourse to a new form of dark energy.

Dynamics of dark energy

Unified cosmic history in modified gravity: from F(R) theory to Lorentz non-invariant models

https://deim.urv.cat/~alexandre.arenas/publicacions/pdf/review.pdf

Synchronization in complex networks

Extended Theories of Gravity

This article reports world averages of measurements of b-hadron, c-hadron, and tau-lepton properties obtained by the Heavy Flavor Averaging Group (HFAG) using results available through the end of 2011. In some cases results available in the early part of 2012 are included. For the averaging, common input parameters used in the various analyses are adjusted (rescaled) to common values, and known correlations are taken into account. The averages include branching fractions, lifetimes, neutral meson mixing parameters, CP violation parameters, parameters of semileptonic decays and CKM matrix elements.

/pdf/averages-of-b-hadron-c-hadron-and-tau-lepton-properties-as-29qrkk2j2g.pdf

Averages of b-hadron, c-hadron, and tau-lepton properties as of early 2012

The renormalization group (RG) approach to cosmology is an efficient method for studying the possible evolution of the cosmological parameters from the point of view of quantum field theory (QFT) in curved space–time. In this work we continue our previous investigations of the RG method based on potential low-energy effects induced from physics at very high energy scales . In the present instance we assume that both the Newton constant, G, and the cosmological term, Λ, can be functions of a scale parameter μ. It turns out that G(μ) evolves according to a logarithmic law which may lead to asymptotic freedom of gravity, similar to the gauge coupling in QCD. At the same time Λ(μ) evolves quadratically with μ. We study the consistency and cosmological consequences of these laws when . Furthermore, we propose to extend this method to the astrophysical domain after identifying the local RG scale at the galactic level. It turns out that Kepler's third law of celestial mechanics receives quantum corrections that may help to explain the flat rotation curves of the galaxies without introducing the dark matter hypothesis. The origin of these effects (cosmological and astrophysical) could be linked, in our framework, to physics at GeV.

Running G and Lambda at low energies from physics at M(X): Possible cosmological and astrophysical implications

https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0505133.pdf

Effective equation of state for dark energy: Mimicking quintessence and phantom energy through a variable Λ

The dark energy model with the equation of state ${p}_{d}=\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{d}\ensuremath{-}A{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{d}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ is studied. The model comprises and provides realization of several types of singularities in different parameter regimes: the divergence of the dark energy density and pressure at finite time and finite value of the scale factor, the singularity of the ``big rip'' type and the sudden future singularity recently introduced by Barrow. For parameter choices which lead to a nonsingular expansion of the universe, various types of the asymptotic evolution are found. The entire time evolution of the universe is described both analytically and numerically. The advantages of this dark energy EOS as a parametrization of dark energy are discussed.

Expansion around the vacuum equation of state: Sudden future singularities and asymptotic behavior

Wikipedia is a popular web-based encyclopedia edited freely and collaboratively by its users. In this paper we present an analysis of Wikipedias in several languages as complex networks. The hyperlinks pointing from one Wikipedia article to another are treated as directed links while the articles represent the nodes of the network. We show that many network characteristics are common to different language versions of Wikipedia, such as their degree distributions, growth, topology, reciprocity, clustering, assortativity, path lengths, and triad significance profiles. These regularities, found in the ensemble of Wikipedias in different languages and of different sizes, point to the existence of a unique growth process. We also compare Wikipedias to other previously studied networks.

Wikipedias: collaborative web-based encyclopedias as complex networks.

The renormalization group (RG) approach to cosmology is an efficient method to study the possible evolution of the cosmological parameters from the point of view of quantum field theory in curved space-time. In this work we continue our previous investigations of the RG method based on potential low-energy effects induced from physics at very high energy scales M_X near M_P. In the present instance we assume that both the Newton constant, G, and the cosmological term, \Lambda, can be functions of a scale parameter \mu. It turns out that G(\mu) evolves according to a logarithmic law which may lead to asymptotic freedom of gravity, similar to the gauge coupling in QCD. At the same time \Lambda(\mu) evolves quadratically with \mu. We study the consistency and cosmological consequences of these laws when \mu=H. Furthermore, we propose to extend this method to the astrophysical domain after identifying the local RG scale at the galactic level. It turns out that Kepler's third law of celestial mechanics receives quantum corrections that may help to explain the flat rotation curves of the galaxies without introducing the dark matter hypothesis. The origin of these effects (cosmological and astrophysical) could be linked, in our framework, to physics at M_X= 10^{16-17} GeV.

Hrvoje Štefančić

Papers

Running G and Lambda at low energies from physics at M(X): Possible cosmological and astrophysical implications

Effective equation of state for dark energy: Mimicking quintessence and phantom energy through a variable Λ

Expansion around the vacuum equation of state: Sudden future singularities and asymptotic behavior

Wikipedias: collaborative web-based encyclopedias as complex networks.

Running G and \Lambda at low energies from physics at M_X: possible cosmological and astrophysical implications