Implications of the Conformal Higgs Model

The postulate of universal local Weyl scaling (conformal) symmetry modifies both general relativity and the Higgs scalar field model. The conformal Higgs model (CHM) acquires a cosmological effect that fits the observed accelerating Hubble expansion for redshifts z≤1 (7.33 Gyr) accurately with only one free constant parameter. Conformal gravity (CG) has recently been fitted to anomalous rotation data for 138 galaxies. Conformal theory explains dark energy and does not require dark matter, providing a viable alternative to the standard ΛCDM paradigm. The theory precludes a massive Higgs particle but validates a composite gauge field W2 with mass 125 GeV.

The Gravity of the Classical Klein-Gordon Field

The work shows that the evolution of the field of the free Klein–Gordon equation (KGE), in the hydrodynamic representation, can be represented by the motion of a mass density ∝ | ψ | 2 subject to the Bohm-type quantum potential, whose equation can be derived by a minimum action principle. Once the quantum hydrodynamic motion equations have been covariantly extended to the curved space-time, the gravity equation (GE), determining the geometry of the space-time, is obtained by minimizing the overall action comprehending the gravitational field. The derived Einstein-like gravity for the KGE field shows an energy-impulse tensor density (EITD) that is a function of the field with the spontaneous emergence of the “cosmological” pressure tensor density (CPTD) that in the classical limit leads to the cosmological constant (CC). The energy-impulse tensor of the theory shows analogies with the modified Brans–Dick gravity with an effective gravity constant G divided by the field squared. Even if the classical cosmological constant is set to zero, the model shows the emergence of a theory-derived quantum CPTD that, in principle, allows to have a stable quantum vacuum (out of the collapsed branched polymer phase) without postulating a non-zero classical CC. In the classical macroscopic limit, the gravity equation of the KGE field leads to the Einstein equation. Moreover, if the boson field of the photon is considered, the EITD correctly leads to its electromagnetic energy-impulse tensor density. The work shows that the cosmological constant can be considered as a second order correction to the Newtonian gravity. The outputs of the theory show that the expectation value of the CPTD is independent by the zero-point vacuum energy density and that it takes contribution only from the space where the mass is localized (and the space-time is curvilinear) while tending to zero as the space-time approaches to the flat vacuum, leading to an overall cosmological effect on the motion of the galaxies that may possibly be compatible with the astronomical observations.

Foreground contribution to the inferred cosmological parameters from Planck

Previous analyses of cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements [T. Wibig and A. W. Wolfendale, Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 360 (2005) 236, arXiv:astro-ph/0409397; Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 448 (2015) 1030, arXiv:1507.0677.] have revealed contamination by areas of high cosmic ray activity in the Milky Way. Here, we update studies, looking at the most recent Planck release of residual maps. We search for possible effects of foreground contamination in the reconstruction of the [Formula: see text]CDM cosmological parameters. We focus on the Hubble parameter [Formula: see text] and the optical depth to reionization [Formula: see text], both of which exhibit discrepancies between CMB-inferred values and low-redshift measurements (“the delta [Formula: see text] problem”). Using the publicly available “component separated” Planck temperature maps, we single out three distinct regions: the “loops”, “chimneys” and “low CR” regions, which disproportionately contributed to CR contamination of WMAP data. We find that two of the four maps are strongly affected by removal of anomalously high or low CR activity regions. However, the Commander method, used to produce the angular power spectrum at low ([Formula: see text]) multipoles in cosmological analyses, appears robust under these changes. Finally, we use the inferred Hubble parameter [Formula: see text] as a proxy to look for general directional dependence of the CMB power spectrum, finding a small but robust dependence on the Galactic longitude. Although there is some evidence for a continuing CR contamination, it is insufficient to provide an answer to the delta [Formula: see text] problem, or to the optical depth problem, though dependence of the derived [Formula: see text] on direction seems significant. The geometrical pattern — striations along constant longitudes — suggests CR contamination as distinct from a truly cosmological effect.

Simple brane-world inflationary models — An update

In the light of the Planck 2015 results, we update simple inflationary models based on the quadratic, quartic, Higgs and Coleman–Weinberg potentials in the context of the Randall–Sundrum brane-world cosmology. Brane-world cosmological effect alters the inflationary predictions of the spectral index [Formula: see text] and the tensor-to-scalar ratio [Formula: see text] from those obtained in the standard cosmology. In particular, the tensor-to-scalar ratio is enhanced in the presence of the 5th dimension. In order to maintain the consistency with the Planck 2015 results for the inflationary predictions in the standard cosmology, we find a lower bound on the five-dimensional Planck mass [Formula: see text]. On the other hand, the inflationary predictions laying outside of the Planck allowed region can be pushed into the allowed region by the brane-world cosmological effect with a suitable choice of [Formula: see text].

SPEEDING THE FRIEDMANN EXPANSION BY CHIRAL TENSOR PARTICLES

The status of the chiral tensor particles in the extended electroweak model, their experimental constraints, signatures and the possibilities for their detection at the new colliders are shortly reviewed. The cosmological effects of the additional particles are discussed. Namely, their characteristic interactions with the other components of the early Universe plasma and the corresponding cosmic times and temperatures are determined. The dynamical cosmological effect, namely the speeding of the Friedmann expansion due to the density increase caused by the chiral tensor particles and the additional Higgs doublet is discussed. The presence of the chiral tensor particles is allowed from cosmological considerations and welcomed by the particle physics phenomenology.