Vieira, J P P, Byrnes, Christian T and Lewis, Antony (2016) Cosmology with negative absolute temperatures. Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, 1608 (08). 060. ISSN 1475-7516

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Abstract

Negative absolute temperatures (NAT) are an exotic thermodynamical consequence of quantum physics which has been known since the 1950’s (having been achieved in the lab on a number of occasions). Recently, the work of Braun et al [1] has rekindled interest in negative temperatures and hinted at a possibility of using NAT systems in the lab as dark energy analogues. This paper goes one step further, looking into the cosmological consequences of the existence of a NAT component in the Universe. NAT-dominated expanding Universes experience a borderline phantom expansion (w < −1) with no Big Rip, and their contracting counterparts are forced to bounce after the energy density becomes sufficiently large. Both scenarios might be used to solve horizon and flatness problems analogously to standard inflation and bouncing cosmologies. We discuss the difficulties in obtaining and ending a NAT-dominated epoch, and possible ways of obtaining density perturbations with an acceptable spectrum.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy > QB0980 Cosmogony. Cosmology
Depositing User:	Christian Byrnes
Date Deposited:	12 Sep 2016 09:25
Last Modified:	02 Jul 2019 18:40
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/63205

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