Anisotropic minimally interacting dark energy models with cosmic strings and a massive scalar field

This paper deals with the construction of locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) Bianchi type-II (B-II) cosmological models obtained by solving Einstein field equations coupled with an attractive massive scalar field (MSF) when the source of gravitation is the mixture of cosmic string cloud and anisotropic dark energy (DE) fluid which are minimally interacting. We have obtained exact cosmological models by using (i) shear scalar is proportional to the scalar expansion of the space–time and (ii) a power-law relation between the average scale factor of the universe and the scalar field. Our models represent string cosmological model and DE model in the presence of MSF. Using our model, we determine cosmological parameters such as energy densities, deceleration parameter, statefinders and equation of state parameter. We, also, present the tension density and energy density of the string. We discuss the physical aspects of these cosmological parameters. It is observed that our models represent accelerated expansion phenomenon of our universe as confirmed by Supernova Ia experiment.

Nonlocal gravity cosmology: An overview

We discuss some main aspects of theories of gravity containing nonlocal terms in view of cosmological applications. In particular, we consider various extensions of general relativity based on geometrical invariants as [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] gravity where [Formula: see text] is the Ricci curvature scalar, [Formula: see text] is the Gauss–Bonnet topological invariant, [Formula: see text] the torsion scalar and the operator [Formula: see text] gives rise to nonlocality. After selecting their functional form by using Noether symmetries, we find out exact solutions in a cosmological background. It is possible to reduce the dynamics of selected models and to find analytic solutions for the equations of motion. As a general feature of the approach, it is possible to address the accelerated expansion of the Hubble flow at various epochs, in particular the dark energy issues, by taking into account nonlocality corrections to the gravitational Lagrangian. On the other hand, it is possible to search for gravitational nonlocal effects also at astrophysical scales. In this perspective, we search for symmetries of [Formula: see text] gravity also in a spherically symmetric background and constrain the free parameters, Specifically, by taking into account the S2 star orbiting around the Galactic Center SgrA[Formula: see text], it is possible to study how nonlocality affects stellar orbits around such a massive self-gravitating object.

Singularities in Inflationary Cosmological Models

Due to the accelerated expansion of the universe, the possibilities for the formation of singularities has changed from the classical Big Bang and Big Crunch singularities to include a number of new scenarios. In recent papers it has been shown that such singularities may appear in inflationary cosmological models with a fractional power scalar field potential. In this paper we enlarge the analysis of singularities in scalar field cosmological models by the use of generalised power expansions of their Hubble scalars and their scalar fields in order to describe all possible models leading to a singularity, finding other possible cases. Unless a negative scalar field potential is considered, all singularities are weak and of type IV.

Non-extensive statistical mechanics and the thermodynamic stability of FRW universe

In this article, we investigate the thermodynamic stability of the FRW universe for two examples, Tsallis entropy and loop quantum gravity, by considering non-extensive statistical mechanics. The heat capacity, free energy and pressure of the universe are obtained. For the Tsallis entropy model, we obtained the constraint for β, namely, 1/2 <β <2. The free energy of a thermal equilibrium universe must be less than zero. We suggest that the reason for the accelerated expansion of the universe is not due to Tsallis entropy. Similar results are obtained for loop quantum gravity. However, since the values of Λ(γ) and q cannot be determined in this model, the results become more subtle than that in the Tsallis entropy model. In addition, we compare the results for the universe with those for a Schwarzschild black hole.

f(R) dual theories of quintessence: expansion-collapse duality

The accelerated expansion of the universe demands presence of an exotic matter, namely the dark energy. Though the cosmological constant fits this role very well, a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity, or quintessence, can also be considered as a viable alternative for the cosmological constant. We study f(R) gravity models which can lead to an effective description of dark energy implemented by quintessence fields in Einstein gravity, using the Einstein frame-Jordan frame duality. For a family of viable quintessence models, the reconstruction of the f(R) function in the Jordan frame consists of two parts. We first obtain a perturbative solution of f(R) in the Jordan frame, applicable near the present epoch. Second, we obtain an asymptotic solution for f(R), consistent with the late time limit of the Einstein frame if the quintessence field drives the universe. We show that for certain class of viable quintessence models, the Jordan frame universe grows to a maximum finite size, after which it begins to collapse back. Thus, there is a possibility that in the late time limit where the Einstein frame universe continues to expand, the Jordan frame universe collapses. The condition for this expansion-collapse duality is then generalized to time varying equations of state models, taking into account the presence of non-relativistic matter or any other component in the Einstein frame universe. This mapping between an expanding geometry and a collapsing geometry at the field equation level may have interesting potential implications on the growth of perturbations therein at late times.

Phantom-like dark energy from quantum gravity

We analyse the emergent cosmological dynamics corresponding to the mean field hydrodynamics of quantum gravity condensates, in the group field theory formalism. We focus in particular on the cosmological effects of fundamental interactions, and on the contributions from different quantum geometric modes. The general consequence of such interactions is to produce an accelerated expansion of the universe, which can happen both at early times, after the quantum bounce predicted by the model, and at late times. Our main result is that, while this fails to give a compelling inflationary scenario in the early universe, it produces naturally a phantom-like dark energy dynamics at late times, compatible with cosmological observations. By recasting the emergent cosmological dynamics in terms of an effective equation of state, we show that it can generically cross the phantom divide, purely out of quantum gravity effects without the need of any additional phantom matter. Furthermore, we show that the dynamics avoids any Big Rip singularity, approaching instead a de Sitter universe asymptotically.

Cosmological scenario in κ(R,T) gravity

In this paper, we investigate the cosmic acceleration and the behavior of dark energy (DE) in the structure of the recently proposed [Formula: see text] gravity theory [G. R. P. Teruel, [Formula: see text] gravity, Eur. Phys. J. C 78 (2018) 660]. In this study, we obtained some fascinating cosmological features that are coherent with observational evidences and the touchstone [Formula: see text]CDM model. To find the deterministic solution, we consider a periodic deceleration parameter [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] [M. Shen and L. Zhao, Oscillating quintom model with time periodic varying deceleration parameter, Chin. Phys. Lett. 31 (2014) 010401], which predicts the decelerating and accelerating phases of the universe. The Equation of State (EoS) parameter also supports the idea of DE, which is the dominant component and it is responsible for the universe’s accelerated expansion. Here, we also construct cosmographic parameters, like, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and studied their evolution in spatially flat [Formula: see text] gravity. We find that these observations are sufficient in comparison with the universe’s physical and kinematic properties and also consistent with ongoing (OHD[Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]JLA) observation. Next, we apply the geometric diagnostics, the state-finder ([Formula: see text]) in [Formula: see text] gravity to discriminate from the [Formula: see text]CDM model. We found that our model lies in quintessence and the Chaplygin Gas region. Finally, the model approaches [Formula: see text]CDM at the present epoch of the universe.

A mouse model of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by interval cytoreductive surgery indicates impaired efficacy of perioperative cisplatin

Background Investigate the impact of interval cytoreductive surgery (ICS) on progression in an orthotopic mouse model of ovarian cancer and the impact of chemotherapy delivered at various timelines following surgery. Methods Luciferase-expressing ID8 murine ovarian cancer cells were implanted intra-bursally and IP to C57BL/7 mice. Once disease was established by bioluminescence, 2 cycles of neoadjuvant cisplatin were administered, and animals received either ICS (removal of the injected bursa/primary tumor) or anesthesia alone. Postsurgical chemotherapy was administered on the same day as the intervention (ICS/anesthesia), or on day 7 or day 28 following the intervention. Progression was quantified serially with in vivo bioluminescence imaging. Volume of ascitic fluid volume collected at necropsy was measured. Results Animals were matched for tumor burden at stratification. There was no accelerated growth of residual tumor after interval cytoreduction compared to controls. Animals who received chemotherapy on postoperative day (POD) 7 had better disease control compared to standard-of-care POD 28. Animals who underwent surgery had less ascites at necropsy compared to those who had anesthesia alone. Conclusions In this animal model, surgical wounding with suboptimal cytoreduction after neoadjuvant chemotherapy did not cause accelerated expansion of residual disease. Surgical wounding appears to impair cisplatin activity when given at time of surgery.

Interacting Rényi holographic dark energy with parametrization on the interaction term

In this work, we study the Rényi holographic dark energy (RHDE) model in a flat FRW Universe where the infrared cut-off is taken care by the Hubble horizon and also by taking three different parametrizations of the interaction term between the dark matter and the dark energy. Analyzing graphically, the behavior of some cosmological parameters in particular deceleration parameter, equation of state (EoS) parameter, energy density parameter and squared speed of sound, in the process of the cosmic evolution, is found to be leading towards the late-time accelerated expansion of the RHDE model. Also, we find the departure for the derived models from the standard [Formula: see text]CDM model according to the evolution of jerk parameter. Moreover, we compare the model parameters by considering the observational Hubble data which consist of 51 points in the redshift range [Formula: see text].

Towards Using Unsupervised Learning for Comparing Traditional and Synchronous Online Learning in Assessing Students’ Academic Performance

Understanding students’ learning processes and education-related phenomena by extracting knowledge from educational data sets represents a continuous interest in the educational data mining domain. Due to an accelerated expansion of online learning and digitalisation in education, there is a growing interest in understanding the impact of online learning on the academic performance of students. In this study, we comparatively investigate traditional and synchronous online learning methods to assess students’ performance through the use of deep autoencoders. Experiments performed on real data sets collected in both online and traditional learning environments showed that autoencoders are able to detect hidden patterns in academic data sets unsupervised; these patterns are valuable for the prediction of students’ performance. The obtained results emphasized that, for the considered case studies, traditional evaluations are a little more accurate than online evaluations. Still, after applying a one-tailed paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test, no statistically significant difference between the traditional and online evaluations was observed.