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A. F. Santos

Publications and source records attributed to A. F. Santos.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Newtonian Potential in Weyl Gravitoelectromagnetism

The gauge structure of the Weyl Gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) formalism has been investigated, showing that although the theory admits additional propagating modes, only an effective spin-2 sector contributes to physical observables. Building on this result, the formalism is applied to Bhabha scattering mediated by the tensor field $A_{μν}$, and the Newtonian gravitational potential is derived in the zero-temperature limit. Finite-temperature effects are incorporated through the Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism. While the Newtonian interaction is recovered at low temperatures, it becomes progressively suppressed in the high-temperature regime, revealing a thermal screening mechanism. The physical origin of this behavior and its possible dependence on the underlying scattering process are briefly discussed.

gr-qc

Gauge-covariant Raychaudhuri dynamics for spin-nondegenerate Lorentz-violating congruences

We investigate the Raychaudhuri dynamics of charged spin-nondegenerate Lorentz-violating particle congruences under minimal electromagnetic coupling. The coupling is introduced through the gauge-covariant momentum $P_μ=π_μ-qA_μ$, so that the branch dispersion relation keeps its free functional form, while the electromagnetic field enters through the evolution of $P_μ$. For a generic branch $\mathcal D^{(\pm)}(P)$, the tangent $k^μ_{(\pm)}$ and the momentum Hessian $M^{μν}_{(\pm)}$ determine the covariant acceleration, $a^μ_{(\pm)}=-qM^{μν}_{(\pm)}F_{νρ}k^ρ_{(\pm)}$. As a consequence, the Raychaudhuri equation acquires the branch-dependent electromagnetic source $-q\nabla_μ\!\left(M^{μν}_{(\pm)}F_{νρ}k^ρ_{(\pm)}\right)$. We apply this construction to the $b_μ$, $H_{μν}$, and $d_{μν}$ sectors, obtaining the corresponding branch tangents, Hessians, accelerations, and focusing equations. In flat spacetime, the electromagnetic field modifies the expansion through the divergence of the effective branch force. Therefore, uniform fields may bend the trajectories, whereas local focusing requires field gradients or, in the magnetic case, a coupling to an already deformed congruence. We also develop the analogous description for semiclassical quasiparticle beams, where the band Hessian plays the role of an effective electromagnetic response tensor. For anisotropic parabolic, Dirac-like, and Weyl-type dispersions, the same geometric structure relates electromagnetic textures to beam focusing. In two-branch systems, the opposite Hessians of the branches can produce focusing in one congruence and defocusing in the other, giving a quasiparticle realization of branch-dependent birefringence.

gr-qc

Geometric and Statistical Thermo Field Dynamics in de Sitter Spacetime

The dynamics of a massive scalar field non-minimally coupled to gravity in an expanding de Sitter universe are investigated. It is shown that a comoving observer identifies the Bunch--Davies state as the vacuum, whereas a static observer perceives the same state as a thermal bath at the Gibbons--Hawking temperature. Motivated by this observer dependence, a thermal formulation based on Thermo Field Dynamics is developed by combining the geometric doubling associated with the cosmological horizon with the statistical doubling induced by a intrinsec thermal bath. The resulting construction reveals that the doubling procedure is not merely a mathematical artifact, but rather a manifestation of the global causal structure of spacetime together with finite-temperature effects. The temporal evolution of the Bogoliubov angle is analyzed and the corresponding particle number densities are evaluated in both comoving and static frames. In the radiation limit, the comoving number density remains conserved, providing a thermodynamic evolution consistent with that of the Cosmic Microwave Background, whereas in the static frame finite-temperature effects sti\-mulate Parker particle creation. For massive and non-minimally coupled fields, the interplay between geometric and statistical temperatures gives rise to a characteristic thermal scale and a nontrivial dependence on the initial conditions. These results provide a unified framework for describing quantum fields in de Sitter spacetime in the presence of both apparent horizon-induced and intrinsec thermal effects.

hep-th

Diffeomorphism-Like Symmetry in Gravitoelectromagnetism

Gravitoelectromagnetism in the Weyl formalism is investigated through an analysis of the consequences of a restricted gauge symmetry acting on the tensor field $A_{μν}$. The propagator associated with the GEM field is explicitly derived and decomposed within the Barnes--Rivers formalism, revealing contributions from the spin-2, spin-1, and scalar spin-0 sectors. By coupling the theory to conserved sources, it is shown that only the spin-2 and scalar sectors contribute to physical processes, while the spin-1 component decouples. The resulting effective propagator can then be written in a compact metric form closely resembling the graviton propagator of linearized General Relativity. The role of gauge fixing is also analyzed by considering both Lorentz-like and de Donder-type gauge conditions. It is shown that the Lorentz-like gauge is consistent with the restricted gauge symmetry of the theory and leads to gauge-independent physical amplitudes, whereas the de Donder gauge introduces residual gauge-dependent scalar contributions, signaling an incompatibility with the underlying symmetry structure. The gauge symmetry is further extended to the fermionic and electromagnetic sectors through diffeomorphism-like transformations. In both cases, conserved currents are derived and shown to coincide with the corresponding energy-momentum tensors, implying that the GEM field couples to matter in the same manner as in linearized gravity. Finally, the associated Ward identities are verified, providing a nontrivial consistency check of the gauge structure and interaction vertices of the theory.

gr-qc

Joint constraints on $R_h=ct$ cosmology from DESI DR2 BAO, CC, and SN\textit{Ia} Pantheon$^+$ sample

We carry out a comparative analysis of the standard $Λ$CDM cosmological model and the alternative $R_h=ct$ framework using recent observational data from cosmic chronometers (CC), Type Ia supernova, and baryon acoustic oscillations. The study evaluates the ability of each model to reproduce the observed expansion history of the Universe through a joint statistical assessment based on $χ^2$ statistics, Akaike Information Criterion $(AIC)$, Bayesian Information Criterion $(BIC)$, and Bayes factor. While both models yield acceptable fits, $Λ$CDM consistently attains lower information-criterion values and higher likelihood, indicating a superior overall performance. An examination of the redshift evolution of the Hubble parameter $H(z)$ and the deceleration parameter $q(z)$ shows that $Λ$CDM naturally captures the transition from early-time deceleration to late-time acceleration, where as $R_h=ct$ predicts a strictly linear expansion. We also estimate the age of the Universe within both models, obtaining $t_0^{ΛCDM}= 13.676_{-0.81}^{+0.92}$Gyr and $t_0^{R_h=ct}= 16.035_{-0.98}^{+1.09}$Gyr. The posterior-derived age in the $Λ$CDM framework is broadly consistent with the Planck 2018 CMB result. This agreement is interpreted as a validation of the analysis pipeline and the reliability of the DESI DR2, CC, and supernova constraints, rather than as a new result for $Λ$CDM, and serves as a benchmark for assessing the viability of the $R_h=ct$ model. Recent JWST observations of unexpectedly mature high-redshift galaxies have renewed discussion regarding the timeline of early structure formation; although these results remain under active investigation, they underscore that fully resolving cosmic evolution may require refinements beyond the concordance paradigm.

astro-ph.CO

Are There Closed Timelike Curves in $f(R,\mathcal{L}_m,Φ,g^{μν}\nabla_μΦ\nabla_νΦ)$-Gravity?

A modified gravitational model whose action is given by an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar, the matter Lagrangian density, a scalar field, and its kinetic term is investigated as an extension of the gravitational sector including an additional dynamical degree of freedom. Within this framework, the causal structure of rotating cosmological solutions is analyzed by considering a cylindrically symmetric Pertov-type N space-times and an axially symmetric Petrov type-III with a cosmological constant as background geometries used as theoretical probes of the model consistency. In both cases, pure radiation as matter sources are examined, including a scalar-field configurations. We demonstrate that, although the considered space-times are exact solutions to the field equations of general relativity with a matter source, they are inconsistent within the modified gravity theory considered here.

gr-qc

Causality Violating Solutions in Curvature-Squared Gravity

In this paper, we consider some causality violating solutions in the curvature-squared gravity in order to examine whether closed timelike curves (CTCs) are allowed in these models. These aspects are studied in terms of the Gödel, Gödel-type and axially symmetric cosmological solutions. We observe that the Gödel and Gödel-type metrics are causal solutions of the model so that CTCs are now allowed and, surprisingly, every contribution involving the Weyl tensor is removed from the solutions. Hence, in order to study the effect (if any) of the Weyl tensor (an conformal symmetry) into CTCs a third metric is considered. In this case, we obtain contributions due to the Weyl tensor to the energy density and led to modifications of the weak energy condition.

gr-qc

Thermal and spatial confinement effects in Podolsky electrodynamics

In this work, Podolsky theory, a second-order, Lorentz- and gauge-invariant extension of classical electrodynamics, is considered. The effects of Podolsky's modification on fundamental phenomena such as the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the Casimir effect for the electromagnetic field are investigated. The Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD) formalism is employed to describe quantum fields at finite temperature and under spatial confinement through its topological structure.

hep-th

Causality and its violation in $f(R,\mathcal{L}_m,ϕ,g^{μν}\nabla_μϕ\nabla_νϕ)$ gravity

A modified gravitational model whose action is given by an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar, the matter Lagrangian density, a scalar field, and its kinetic term is investigated as an extension of the gravitational sector including an additional dynamical degree of freedom. Within this framework, the causal structure of rotating cosmological solutions is analyzed by considering Gödel and Gödel-type spacetimes as background geometries used as theoretical probes of the model consistency. Different matter sources are examined, including a perfect fluid and scalar-field configurations. It is found that the standard Gödel metric is not compatible with the scalar sector of the theory unless the model reduces to the General Relativity limit. In contrast, Gödel-type geometries admit a wider class of solutions whose causal properties depend on the model parameters and on the matter content. In particular, perfect-fluid sources may lead to either causal or noncausal configurations, whereas scalar-field configurations constrain the geometry to the causal limit, preventing the formation of closed timelike curves, highlighting that the scalar field plays a nontrivial dynamical role distinct from that of a cosmological constant.

gr-qc

Coulomb Potential in Podolsky-Carroll-Field-Jackiw Electrodynamics

Podolsky electrodynamics, a higher-derivative extension of Maxwell's theory characterized by the Podolsky parameter $λ=1/m$, which modifies the photon dispersion relation and regularizes short-distance divergences, is investigated. This framework is then coupled to the Carroll-Field-Jackiw (CFJ) model, in which a Lorentz-violating background four-vector is introduced. Within this extended electrodynamics, the photon propagator is obtained in the combined Podolsky-CFJ framework and subsequently applied to Möller scattering. It is shown that the CFJ contribution can reintroduce the short-distance divergence suppressed by Podolsky's term. In the nonrelativistic limit, both the spatial component--which introduces a preferred direction in space and thus breaks isotropy--and the timelike component--which directly affects the dispersion relation--contribute nontrivially to the interaction potential.

hep-th

Electromagnetic dynamics and geometric transport in spin-nondegenerate SME particles

We investigate the electromagnetic dynamics of spin-nondegenerate classical particle models arising from Lorentz-violating sectors of the Standard-Model Extension, focusing on the $b_μ$ background. Starting from the type-2 relativistic Lagrangian, we introduce minimal electromagnetic coupling and derive the exact Hamiltonian dynamics associated with each sector in terms of the gauge-covariant kinetic momentum. The modified dispersion relation leads to a sector-dependent relation between velocity and momentum, which directly affects the response to external fields. In the presence of a uniform magnetic field, we show that the two sectors exhibit distinct cyclotron frequencies and radii, implying that even constant fields dynamically resolve the underlying structure of the theory. In the nonrelativistic regime, the Lorentz-violating background induces a sector-dependent modification of the transverse inertial response, which can be interpreted as an effective anisotropic mass. After projection onto a single sector, the reduced dynamics acquires a noncanonical symplectic structure. The equations of motion can be written in semiclassical form with an effective momentum space curvature $Ω_{\pm}$, leading to anomalous velocity terms and a modified phase-space measure. As a consequence, a purely electric field generates opposite transverse drifts proportional to $q\,\mathbf{E} \times Ω_{\pm}$, producing a Hall-like current without requiring a magnetic field.

physics.gen-ph

Casimir phenomena in bumblebee gravity

In this work, we analyze the Casimir effect associated with a massive, non-minimally coupled scalar field in static, spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes arising in bumblebee gravity. Three distinct solutions are considered, corresponding to different vacuum expectation value configurations of the Lorentz-violating vector field, including metric and \textit{metric-affine} scenarios. Finite-size effects are implemented through the Thermo Field Dynamics formalism by compactifying the radial direction, allowing the construction of renormalized vacuum expectation values of the energy-momentum tensor. Closed-form expressions for the Casimir energy and pressure are obtained in the massless limit as functions of the radial position of a spherical capacitor and the plate separation. Both observables depend explicitly on the bumblebee parameters and on the location of the apparatus relative to the horizon $R_0=2M$. In the weak-field regime, $r \gg R_0$, the standard flat-space behavior $E \propto -1/d^4$ is recovered. As $r \to R_0$, the Casimir energy vanishes while the radial pressure diverges. Inside the black hole, the interaction may alternate between attractive and repulsive regimes depending on the plate separation and on the Lorentz-violating couplings. A domain-dependent hierarchy among the three configurations emerges, with \textit{metric-affine} effects amplifying the interior vacuum energy, while configurations with simultaneous temporal and radial deformations dominate in the exterior region. Although all geometries share the same asymptotic Schwarzschild structure, their quantitative deviations become increasingly pronounced as the Lorentz-violating parameters grow.

gr-qc

On a Gödel-like Solution in Non-Relativistic Gravity

The article deals with Gödel-like solutions in the context of Galilean gravity, a geometric formulation of non-relativistic gravitation defined on a five-dimensional Galilean manifold. Within this framework, non-relativistic matter fields admit a covariant description, while the physical Newtonian dynamics is recovered through an immersion into the usual $3+1$ spacetime. By adopting a Gödel-like metric ansatz and coupling the gravitational field to a Galilean fluid derived from a variational principle, we obtain a system of highly nonlinear and coupled field equations. Exact solutions are constructed by fixing the matter sector consistently with the field equations. The resulting configurations describe rotating non-relativistic universes and satisfy $D(x)>H(x)$ throughout the entire spatial domain. As a consequence, the associated Killing vector remains spacelike everywhere and no closed timelike curves arise.

gr-qc

Thermal Bhabha scattering under the influence of non-hermiticity effects

In this paper, we investigate the Bhabha scattering process within the framework of non-Hermitian QED at finite temperature. In this theory, the hermiticity condition, typically required in quantum field theory to ensure the reality of physical observables, is replaced by the condition of unbroken $PT$-symmetry which favors the introduction of an axial mass and a vector-axial gauge coupling. Using the Thermofield Dynamics formalism, we derive and comprehensively analyze the thermal differential cross section for the Bhabha scattering. Furthermore, we explore the high-energy limit of the scattering amplitude and establish constraints upon the axial coupling constant, offering valuable insights into the system's behavior under extreme conditions.

hep-ph

Cosmic evolution from Lorentz-violating bumblebee dynamics and Tsallis holographic dark energy

In this work, the behavior, evolution, and expansion of the universe are investigated within a Lorentz-violating framework driven by Tsallis holographic dark energy. The cosmological extension is implemented through a spontaneously symmetry-breaking Bumblebee field, which is assumed to play a fundamental role in the dynamics of the universe. Estimates for key Lorentz-violating quantities are obtained, and the evolution of the Hubble parameter is analyzed from the early universe era to the present epoch. This formulation provides an alternative perspective on the Hubble tension.

gr-qc

Gödel-symmetric backgrounds and explicit spacetime symmetry breaking

Explicit breaking of diffeomorphism symmetry with nondynamical background fields in gravitational theories can lead to inconsistencies between the equations of motion and the underlying pseudo-Riemannian geometry. These theories produce a constraint equation that follows from the modified Einstein's equations and the contracted Bianchi identity which has no simple solution and raises questions about the consistency of backgrounds structures in extensions to general relativity. In contrast, spontaneous symmetry breaking where fields acquire a vacuum expectation value are shown to avoid these problems. Nevertheless, there are some approaches that consistently implement explicit diffeomorphism breaking by: i) introducing geometrical restrictions which may dynamically restore diffeomorphism invariance, ii) using the Stückelberg formalism where auxiliary scalar fields can carry degrees of freedom associated to spontaneously broken symmetries, and more recently by iii) exploiting the isometries of a given gravitational configuration in the presence of a background; which ultimately requires the background fields to be Lie-dragged along the Killing vectors. In this work, we further develop and apply the latter approach focusing on a concrete example involving the Gödel metric and the minimal gravitational Standard-Model Extension. We show that the resulting dynamics is fully consistent with the constraint equation and produce new Noether's identities. Furthermore we investigate causality violations by analyzing the critical radius, which is found to depend explicitly on the background fields. This dependence allows for the emergence of both causal and non-causal regions in spacetime.

gr-qc

Gravitational Lorentz-violating $e^-+e^+\to\ell^-+\ell^+$ scattering

We investigate the gravitational $e^-+e^+\to\ell^-+\ell^+$ scattering process within the framework of gravitoelectromagnetism, a weak-field approximation of gravity analogous to Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. This process involves the interaction between a fermion and an antifermion mediated by graviton exchange. We consider the nonminimal gravitational sector of the standard model extension and calculate the corrections to the scattering cross section arising from Lorentz violation. The analysis is carried out in two scenarios: (i) at zero temperature and (ii) at finite temperature. To incorporate thermal effects, we employ the thermo field dynamics formalism, which allows for a consistent treatment of quantum fields at finite temperature. The results provide insights into how Lorentz-violating and thermal corrections influence gravitational interactions, particularly relevant in high-energy or astrophysical environments.

gr-qc

Thermal and Casimir effects in a Lorentz-violating massive scalar field

In this work, a massive scalar field theory incorporating Lorentz violation is investigated. The symmetry breaking is introduced via a background traceless antisymmetric tensor. Within the framework of Thermo Field Dynamics (TFD), the effects of space-time compactification are explored, allowing the simultaneous treatment of thermal and finite-size phenomena. The resulting modifications to the energy-momentum tensor and Feynman propagator are analyzed, leading to Lorentz-violating corrections to the Stefan-Boltzmann law and the Casimir effect. This unified approach highlights the interplay between temperature, spatial constraints, and Lorentz-violating backgrounds in shaping the behavior of quantum fields.

hep-th