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Witek, Helvi

Publications and source records attributed to Witek, Helvi.

How do axisymmetric black holes grow monopole and dipole hair?

Here, we study the dynamical formation of scalar monopole and dipole hair in scalar Gauss-Bonnet theory and dynamical Chern-Simons theory. We prove that the spherically symmetric mode of the dipole hair is completely determined by the product of the mass of the spacetime and the value of the monopole hair. We then show that the dynamics of the ℓ = 1 mode of the dipole hair is intimately tied to the appearance of the event horizon during axisymmetric collapse, which results in the radiation of certain modes that could have been divergent in the future of the collapse. We confirm these analytical predictions by simulating the gravitational collapse of a rapidly rotating neutron star in the decoupling limit, both in scalar Gauss-Bonnet and dynamical Chern-Simons theory. Our results, combined with those provide a clear physical picture of the dynamics of scalar monopole and dipole radiation in axisymmetric and spherical gravitational collapse in these theories.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

How do spherical black holes grow monopole hair?

Black holes in certain modified gravity theories that contain a scalar field coupled to curvature invariants are known to possess (monopole) scalar hair while non-black-hole spacetimes (like neutron stars) do not. Therefore, as a neutron star collapses to a black hole, scalar hair must grow until it settles to the stationary black hole solution with (monopole) hair. In this paper, we study this process in detail and show that the growth of scalar hair is tied to the appearance and growth of the event horizon (before an apparent horizon forms), which forces scalar modes that would otherwise (in the future) become divergent to be radiated away. We prove this result rigorously in general first for a large class of modified theories, and then we exemplify the results by studying the temporal evolution of the scalar field in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity in two backgrounds: (i) a collapsing Oppenheimer-Snyder background, and (ii) a collapsing neutron star background. In case (i), we find an exact scalar field solution analytically, while in case (ii) we solve for the temporal evolution of the scalar field numerically, with both cases supporting the conclusion presented above. Thus, our results suggest that the emission of a burst of scalar field radiation is a necessary condition for black hole formation in a large class of modified theories of gravity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Prospects for fundamental physics with LISA

In this paper, which is of programmatic rather than quantitative nature, we aim to further delineate and sharpen the future potential of the LISA mission in the area of fundamental physics. Given the very broad range of topics that might be relevant to LISA,we present here a sample of what we view as particularly promising fundamental physics directions. We organize these directions through a “science-first” approach that allows us to classify how LISA data can inform theoretical physics in a variety of areas. For each of these theoretical physics classes, we identify the sources that are currently expected to provide the principal contribution to our knowledge, and the areas that need further development. Overall, the classification presented here should not be thought of as cast in stone, but rather as a fluid framework that is amenable to change with the flow of new insights in theoretical physics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗