Related papers: Scalar Field Dark Matter Quantum Effects as Dark E…
Scalar fields with inverse power-law effective potentials may provide a negative pressure component to the energy density of the universe today, as required by cosmological observations. In order to be cosmologically relevant today, the…
Astronomical observations indicate an accelerated cosmic expansion, the cause of which is explained by the action of `dark energy'. Here we show that in discrete expanding space-time, only a tiny fraction of the vacuum fluctuations can…
We propose a new class of quintessence models in which late times oscillations of a scalar field give rise to an effective equation of state which can be negative and hence drive the observed acceleration of the universe. Our ansatz…
We study the dynamical aspects of dark energy in the context of a non-minimally coupled scalar field with curvature and torsion. Whereas the scalar field acts as the source of the trace mode of torsion, a suitable constraint on the torsion…
Axion-like scalar fields can induce temporary deviations from the standard expansion history of the universe. The scalar field's contribution to the energy density of the universe grows while the field is held constant by Hubble friction,…
We model the formation, evolution and astrophysical effects of dark compact Scalar Miniclusters (``ScaMs''). These objects arise when a scalar field, with an axion-like or Higgs-like potential, undergoes a second order phase transition…
Our Universe is ruled by quantum mechanics and its extension Quantum Field Theory (QFT). However, the explanations for a number of cosmological phenomena such as inflation, dark energy, symmetry breakings, and phase transitions need the…
The fact that the energy densities of dark energy and matter are similar currently, known as the coincidence problem, is one of the main unsolved problems of cosmology. We present here a model in which a spatial curvature of the universe…
The nature of the cosmological dark matter remains elusive. Recent studies have advocated the possibility that dark matter could be composed of ultra-light, self-interacting bosons, forming a Bose-Einstein condensate in the very early…
We consider a long range scalar force that mainly couples to dark matter and unstable Standard Model states, like the muon, with tiny strength. Probing this type of force would present a challenge to observations. We point out that the…
The interaction between the quantum vacuum and a weak gravitational field is calculated for the vacuum fields of quantum electrodynamics. The result shows that the vacuum state is modified by the gravitational field, giving rise to a…
In this thesis, we investigate the possibility that dark matter consists of ultra light spin-zero particles with mass $m \sim 10^{-22}\ \text{eV}$. We focus on the role of self-interactions, assuming all other non-gravitational couplings to…
As first noted by Robert Wagoner in the 1970s, if a scalar field is nonminimally coupled to the Ricci scalar and propagates at subluminal speeds, then there exists the possibility of scalar $\check{\hbox{C}}$erenkov radiation from a moving…
We discuss how we remove a huge discrepancy between the theory of a cosmological constant, due to the zero-point energies of matter fields, and the observation. The technique of dimensional regularization plays a decisive role. We…
The traditional "explanation" for the observed acceleration of the universe is the existence of a positive cosmological constant. However, this can hardly be a truly convincing explanation, as an expanding universe is not expected to have a…
We propose that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle may come from the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity, where the impact of the trace anomaly is of upmost relevance. We proceed by introducing two…
In this dissertation, the nature of Dark Energy (DE) is examined from both theoretical and phenomenological perspectives. The possibility of DE being a dynamic quantity in quantum field theory (QFT) in curved spacetime is studied. The…
We give a prescription how high energy physics tools can be used to perform scalar dark matter analysis. We also present the analysis results of scalar dark matter in the context of 6 dimensional Effective Field Theory.
We explore local consequences of a non-zero cosmological constant on astrophysical structures. We find that the effects are not only sensitive to the density of the configurations but also to the geometry. For non-homogeneous…
Motivated in part by string theory, we consider a modification of the LambdaCDM cosmological model in which the dark matter has a long-range scalar force screened by light particles. Scalar forces can have interesting effects on structure…