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At least 397 records · Page 22

Nonlinear dynamics of quadratic gravity in spherical symmetry

We present the first numerically stable nonlinear evolution for the leading-order gravitational effective field theory (quadratic gravity) in the spherically-symmetric sector. The formulation relies on (i) the harmonic gauge to cast the evolution system into quasilinear form (ii) the Cartoon method to reduce to spherical symmetry in keeping with the harmonic gauge, and (iii) order reduction to first order (in time) by means of introducing auxiliary variables. The well posedness of the respective initial-value problem is numerically confirmed by evolving randomly perturbed flat-space and black-hole initial data. In conclusion, our study serves as a proof-of-principle for the possibility of stable numerical evolution in the presence of higher derivatives.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dynamical friction from scalar dark matter in the relativistic regime

Light bosonic scalars (e.g., axions) may form clouds around black holes via superradiant instabilities or via accretion if they form some component of the dark matter. It has been suggested that their presence may lead to a distinctive dephasing of the gravitational wave signal when a small compact object spirals into a larger black hole. Motivated by this, we have studied numerically the dynamical friction force on a black hole moving at relativistic velocities in a background scalar field with an asymptotically homogeneous energy density. Here we show that the relativistic scaling is analogous to that found for supersonic collisional fluids, assuming an approximate expression for the pressure correction which depends on the velocity and scalar mass. While we focus on a complex scalar field, our results confirm the expectation that real scalars would exert a force which oscillates between positive and negative values in time with a frequency set by the scalar mass. The complex field describes the time averaged value of this force, but in a real scalar, the rapid force oscillations could, in principle, leave an imprint on the trajectory. The approximation we obtain can be used to inform estimates of dephasing in the final stages of an extreme mass ratio inspiral.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Dissipative magnetohydrodynamics for nonresistive relativistic plasmas: An implicit second-order flux-conservative formulation with stiff relaxation

Based on a 14-moment closure for nonresistive (general-) relativistic viscous plasmas, here we describe a new numerical scheme that is able to handle all first-order dissipative effects (heat conduction, bulk and shear viscosities), as well the anisotropies induced by the presence of magnetic fields. The latter is parametrized in terms of a thermal gyrofrequency or, equivalently, a thermal Larmor radius and allows to correctly capture the thermal Hall effect. By solving an extended Israel-Stewart-like system for the dissipative quantities that enforces algebraic constraints via stiff-relaxation, we are able to cast all first-order dissipative terms in flux-divergence form. This allows us to apply traditional high-resolution shock capturing methods to the equations, making the system suitable for the numerical study of highly turbulent flows. We present several numerical tests to assess the robustness of our numerical scheme in flat spacetime. The 14-moment closure can seamlessly interpolate between the highly collisional limit found in neutron star mergers, and the highly anisotropic limit of relativistic Braginskii magnetohydrodynamics appropriate for weakly collisional plasmas in black-hole accretion problems. We believe that this new formulation and numerical scheme will be useful for a broad class of relativistic magnetized flows.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Lorentz symmetry in ghost-free massive gravity

The role of Lorentz symmetry in ghost-free massive gravity is studied, emphasizing features emerging in approximately Minkowski spacetime. The static extrema and saddle points of the potential are determined and their Lorentz properties identified. Solutions preserving Lorentz invariance and ones breaking four of the six Lorentz generators are constructed. Locally, globally, and absolutely stable Lorentz-invariant extrema are found to exist for certain parameter ranges of the potential. Gravitational waves in the linearized theory are investigated. Deviations of the fiducial metric from the Minkowski metric are shown to lead to pentarefringence of the five wave polarizations, which can include superluminal modes and subluminal modes with negative energies in certain observer frames. The Newton limit of ghost-free massive gravity is explored. The propagator is constructed and used to obtain the gravitational potential energy between two point masses. Here, the result extends the Fierz-Pauli limit to include corrections generically breaking both rotation and boost invariance.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Slowly rotating gravastars

We solve Einstein’s equations for slowly rotating gravitational condensate stars (gravastars) up to second order in the rotation by expanding about the spherically symmetric gravastar with de Sitter interior and Schwarzschild exterior matched at their common horizon. Requiring that the perturbations are finite on the null surface reduces the exterior geometry to that of a Kerr black hole, implying that a slowly rotating gravastar cannot be distinguished from a Kerr black hole by any measurement or observation restricted to the macroscopic spacetime exterior to the horizon. Here we determine the interior solution, the surface stress tensor, and the Komar mass and angular momentum localized on the slowly rotating horizon surface. With the interior equation of state fixed at p = –ρ, finite junction conditions on the null horizon surface necessarily lead to an interior solution with a singular core, where the perturbative expansion breaks down. Comparison to other models and implications for more rapidly rotating gravastars are briefly discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Gravitational memory and compact extra dimensions

Here we develop a general formalism for treating radiative degrees of freedom near $\mathscr{I}^+$ in theories with an arbitrary Ricci-flat internal space. These radiative modes are encoded in a generalized news tensor which decomposes into gravitational, electromagnetic, and scalar components. We find a preferred gauge which simplifies the asymptotic analysis of the full nonlinear Einstein equations and makes the asymptotic symmetry group transparent. This asymptotic symmetry group extends the Bondi–Metzner–Sachs (BMS) group to include angle-dependent isometries of the internal space. We apply this formalism to study memory effects, which are expected to be observed in future experiments, that arise from bursts of higher-dimensional gravitational radiation. We outline how measurements made by gravitational wave observatories might probe properties of the compact extra dimensions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

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↗

Dark Energy Survey year 3 results: Constraints on cosmological parameters and galaxy-bias models from galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing using the redMaGiC sample

We constrain cosmological parameters and galaxy-bias parameters using the combination of galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) year-3 data. We describe our modeling framework and choice of scales analyzed, validating their robustness to theoretical uncertainties in small-scale clustering by analyzing simulated data. Using a linear galaxy-bias model and redMaGiC galaxy sample, we obtain 10% constraints on the matter density of the Universe. Here, we also implement a nonlinear galaxy-bias model to probe smaller scales that includes parametrization based on hybrid perturbation theory and find that it leads to a 17% gain in cosmological constraining power. We perform robustness tests of our methodology pipeline and demonstrate stability of the constraints to changes in the theory model. Using the redMaGiC galaxy sample as foreground lens galaxies and adopting the best-fitting cosmological parameters from DES year-1 data, we find the galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing measurements to exhibit significant signals akin to decorrelation between galaxies and mass on large scales, which is not expected in any current models. This likely systematic measurement error biases our constraints on galaxy bias and the S 8 parameter. We find that a scale-, redshift- and sky-area-independent phenomenological decorrelation parameter can effectively capture this inconsistency between the galaxy clustering and galaxy-galaxy lensing. We trace the source of this correlation to a color-dependent photometric issue and minimize its impact on our result by changing the selection criteria of redMaGiC galaxies. Using this new sample, our constraints on the S 8 parameter are consistent with previous studies and we find a small shift in the Ω m constraints compared to the fiducial redMaGiC sample. We infer the constraints on the mean host-halo mass of the redMaGiC galaxies in this new sample from the large-scale bias constraints, finding the galaxies occupy halos of mass approximately 1.6 × 10 13 M ⊙ /h.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Power-law inflation satisfies Penrose’s Weyl curvature hypothesis

Based on entropy considerations and the arrow of time Penrose argued that the Universe must have started in a special initial singularity with vanishing Weyl curvature. This is often interpreted to be at odds with inflation. Here we argue just the opposite, that Penrose’s persuasions are in fact consistent with inflation. Using the example of power law inflation, we show that inflation begins with a past null singularity, where Weyl tensor vanishes when the metric is initially exactly conformally flat. This initial state precisely obeys Penrose’s conditions. The initial null singularity breaks T-reversal spontaneously and picks the arrow of time. It can be regulated and interpreted as a creation of a universe from nothing, initially fitting in a bubble of Planckian size when it materializes. Penrose’s initial conditions are favored by the initial O(4) symmetry of the bubble, selected by extremality of the regulated Euclidean action. The predicted observables are marginally in tension with the data, but they can fit if small corrections to power law inflation kick in during the last 60⁢e-folds.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cosmological consequences of first-order general-relativistic viscous fluid dynamics

In this work, we investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of viscous fluids in a spatially flat Friedmann-LemaîtreRobertson-Walker cosmology using the most general causal and stable viscous energy-momentum tensor defined at first order in spacetime derivatives. In this new framework a pressureless viscous fluid having equilibrium energy density ρ can evolve to an asymptotic future solution in which the Hubble parameter approaches a constant while ρ → 0, even in the absence of a cosmological constant (i.e., Λ = 0). Thus, while viscous effects in this model drive an accelerated expansion of the universe, the equilibrium energy density itself vanishes, leaving behind only the acceleration. This behavior emerges as a consequence of causality in first-order theories of relativistic fluid dynamics and it is fully consistent with Einstein’s equations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Flows into de Sitter space from anisotropic initial conditions: An effective field theory approach

For decades, physicists have analyzed various versions of a “cosmic no-hair” conjecture, to understand under what conditions a spacetime that is initially spatially anisotropic and/or inhomogeneous will flow into an isotropic and homogeneous state. Wald’s theorem, in particular, established that homogeneous but anisotropic spacetimes, if filled with a positive cosmological constant plus additional matter sources that satisfy specific energy conditions, will necessarily flow toward an (isotropic) de Sitter state at late times. Here, in this paper, we study the flow of homogeneous but anisotropic spacetimes toward isotropic states under conditions more general than those to which Wald’s theorem applies. We construct an effective field theory (EFT) treatment for generic “single-clock” systems in anisotropic spacetimes—which are not limited to realizations compatible with scalar-field constructions—and identify fixed points in the resulting phase space. We identify regions of this phase space that flow to isotropic fixed points—including a de Sitter fixed point—even in the absence of a bare cosmological constant, and for matter sources that do not obey the energy conditions required for Wald’s theorem. Such flows into de Sitter reveal the emergence of an effective cosmological constant.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Past-completeness of inflationary spacetimes

Here, we discuss the question of whether or not inflationary spacetimes can be geodesically complete in the infinite past. Geodesic completeness is a necessary condition for averting an initial singularity during eternal inflation. It is frequently argued that cosmological models which are expanding sufficiently fast (having average Hubble expansion rate H avg > 0) must be incomplete in null and timelike past directions. This well-known conjecture relies on specific bounds on the integral of the Hubble parameter over a past- directed timelike or null geodesic. As stated, we show this claim is an open issue. We show that the calculation of H avg yields a continuum of results for a given spacetime predicated upon the underlying topological assumptions. We present an improved definition for H avg and introduce an uncountably infinite cohort of cosmological solutions which are geodesically complete despite having H avg > 0. We discuss a standardized definition for inflationary spacetimes as well as quantum (semiclassical) cosmological concerns over physically reasonable scale factors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Addition of tabulated equation of state and neutrino leakage support to illinoisgrmhd

Here we have added support for realistic, microphysical, finite-temperature equations of state (EOS) and neutrino physics via a leakage scheme to illinoisgrmhd, an open-source GRMHD code for dynamical spacetimes in the einstein toolkit. These new features are provided by two new, nrpy+-based codes: nrpyeos, which performs highly efficient EOS table lookups and interpolations, and nrpyleakage, which implements a new, adaptive mesh refinement (AMR)-capable neutrino leakage scheme in the einstein toolkit. We have performed a series of strenuous validation tests that demonstrate the robustness of these new codes, particularly on the Cartesian AMR grids provided by carpet. Furthermore, we show results from fully dynamical GRMHD simulations of single unmagnetized neutron stars, and magnetized binary neutron star mergers. This new version of illinoisgrmhd, as well as nrpyeos and nrpyleakage, is pedagogically documented in jupyter notebooks and fully open source. The codes will be proposed for inclusion in an upcoming version of the einstein toolkit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Spin-squeezing-enhanced dual-species atom interferometric accelerometer employing large momentum transfer for precision test of the equivalence principle

Here, we theoretically investigate the feasibility of applying spin squeezing to a light pulse atom interferometer in the presence of large momentum transfer using off resonant Raman transitions, in order to enhance the sensitivity of accelerometry close to the Heisenberg limit. We also show how to implement this scheme in a dual-species atom interferometer for a precision test of the equivalence principle by measuring the Eötvös parameter, and to identify the spin squeezing protocol that is best suited for such an experiment. For a space borne platform in low Earth orbit, such a scheme may eventually enable the measurement of the Eötvös parameter with a sensitivity of the order of 10 -20 within 150 days when 10 5 atoms are employed in each cycle of the experiment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗