Eric V. Linder
Cosmology where the effective dark energy crosses $w=-1$ can be realized in Horndeski gravity with shift symmetric terms plus a linear potential. We highlight the special role of the nearly conserved scalar charge. The theory is highly…
We present a model-independent, photometry-only framework for identifying strongly lensed supernovae when multiple images are unresolved and blended into a single point source. Building on the simulation-based methodology of Bag et al.…
We present an analytic flat-spacetime accelerating boundary analog of Hawking-type emission that possesses infinite asymptotic acceleration (and radial acceleration in the black hole analog) but finite total radiated energy (and zero…
A puzzling implication of current data interpreted in the $\Lambda$CDM cosmology is the preference for a negative sum of neutrino masses. Moving to $w_0w_a$CDM brings an appreciable fraction of the neutrino mass posterior back to positive…
We investigate how entanglement entropy can drive particle creation, deriving explicit relations between entropy and the radiated particle spectrum, the total number of particles, and the total energy. Particle production is computed for…
One possible way to explain the observed effective dark energy equation of state crossing $w=-1$ (the phantom divide) is through modified gravity. A key point is to not view the expansion history in isolation but to take into account the…
We clarify the role of the oft-misunderstood Null Energy Condition (NEC) in the context of the current cosmological data. In particular, the NEC implies the sum of the total energy density and pressure satisfies $\rho_{tot}+P_{tot} \ge 0$;…
We demonstrate that if the universe started as a vacuum fluctuation rather than from a singular Big Bang state, the universe must have a late-time cosmic acceleration. This is required by a ``cosmological sum rule'' derived using the…
Parity-inverted anti-de Sitter space -- ``flipped AdS'' -- is studied through the accelerating boundary correspondence of a moving mirror trajectory. The particle production exhibits positive energy flux and a finite total energy (both…
Current data in the form of baryon acoustic oscillation, supernova, and cosmic microwave background distances prefer a cosmology that accelerates more strongly than $\Lambda$CDM at $z\approx0.5-1.5$, and more weakly at $z\lesssim0.5$. We…
Quantum particle creation from spacetime horizons, or accelerating boundaries in the dynamical Casimir effect, can have an equilibrium, or thermal, distribution. Using an accelerating boundary in flat spacetime (moving mirror), we…
Internal kinematics of galaxies, traced through the stellar rotation curve or two dimensional velocity map, carry important information on galactic structure and dark matter. With upcoming surveys, the velocity map may play a key role in…
Due to universality and attractor properties, $\alpha$-attractor quintessential inflation establishes direct relations between inflationary observables such as the scalar tilt $n_s$ and the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$, and late-time dark…
Dark energy away from a cosmological constant $\Lambda$ -- like early universe inflation that ends -- can be understood in terms of well defined physical behaviors. These guide dark energy into thawing or freezing classes, with $w_0$--$w_a$…
Dark matter dominates the matter budget of the universe but its nature is unknown. Deviations from the standard model, where dark matter clusters with the same gravitational strength as baryons, and has the same pressureless equation of…
A charge accelerating in a straight line following the Schwarzschild-Planck moving mirror motion emits thermal radiation for a finite period. Such a mirror motion demonstrates quantum purity and serves as a direct analogy of a black hole…
We develop a model independent, robust method for determining galaxy rotation velocities across a 2D array of spaxels from an integral field spectrograph. Simulations demonstrate the method is accurate down to lower spectral signal-to-noise…
Cosmic acceleration manifested in the early universe as inflation, generating primordial gravitational waves detectable in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation. Cosmic acceleration is occurring again at present as dark energy,…
Radiation from an accelerating charge is a basic process that can serve as an intersection between classical and quantum physics. We present two exactly soluble electron trajectories that permit analysis of the radiation emitted, exploring…
Dark energy is a premier mystery of physics, both theoretical and experimental. As we look to develop plans for high energy physics over the next decade, within a two decade view, we consider benchmarks for revealing the nature of dark…