arXiv subjects

Andrea Geralico

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Geralico.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Slicing black hole spacetimes

A general framework is developed to investigate the properties of useful choices of stationary spacelike slicings of stationary spacetimes whose congruences of timelike orthogonal trajectories are interpreted as the world lines of an associated family of observers, the kinematical properties of which in turn may be used to geometrically characterize the original slicings. On the other hand properties of the slicings themselves can directly characterize their utility motivated instead by other considerations like the initial value and evolution problems in the 3-plus-1 approach to general relativity. An attempt is made to categorize the various slicing conditions or "time gauges" used in the literature for the most familiar stationary spacetimes: black holes and their flat spacetime limit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Dynamics of extended bodies in a Kerr spacetime with spin-induced quadrupole tensor

The features of equatorial motion of an extended body in Kerr spacetime are investigated in the framework of the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model. The body is assumed to stay at quasi-equilibrium and respond instantly to external perturbations. Besides the mass, it is completely determined by its spin, the multipolar expansion being truncated at the quadrupole order, with a spin-induced quadrupole tensor. The study of the radial effective potential allows to analytically determine the ISCO shift due to spin and the associated frequency of the last circular orbit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

What can we extract from quasi-periodic oscillations?

In light of the relativistic precession model, we present here detailed analyses, extending the ones performed in the Schwarzschild and Kerr spacetimes. We consider the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations in the Hartle-Thorne spacetime, which describes the gravitational field of a rotating and deformed object. We derive the analytic formulas for the epicyclic frequencies in the Hartel-Thorne spacetime and by means of these frequencies we interpret the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations of low-mass X-ray binaries of the atoll and Z - sources, on the basis of the relativistic precession model. Particularly we perform analyzes for Z -source: GX 5-1. We show that the quasi-periodic oscillations data can provide information on the parameters, namely, the mass, angular momentum and quadrupole moment of the compact objects in the low-mass X-ray binaries.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Particles under radiation thrust in Schwarzschild space-time from a flux perpendicular to the equatorial plane

Motivated by the picture of a thin accretion disc around a black hole, radiating mainly in the direction perpendicular to its plane, we study the motion of test particles interacting with a test geodesic radiation flux originating in the equatorial plane of a Schwarzschild space-time and propagating initially in the perpendicular direction. We assume that the interaction with the test particles is modelled by an effective term corresponding to the Thomson-type interaction which governs the Poynting-Robertson effect. After approximating the individual photon trajectories adequately, we solve the continuity equation approximately in order to find a consistent flux density with a certain plausible prescribed equatorial profile. The combined effects of gravity and radiation are illustrated in several typical figures which confirm that the particles are generically strongly influenced by the flux. In particular, they are both collimated and accelerated in the direction perpendicular to the disc, but this acceleration is not enough to explain highly relativistic outflows emanating from some black hole-disc sources. The model can however be improved in a number of ways before posing further questions which are summarized in concluding remarks.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Radiation drag in the field of a non-spherical source

The motion of a test particle in the gravitational field of a non-spherical source endowed with both mass and mass quadrupole moment is investigated when a test radiation field is also present. The background is described by the Erez-Rosen solution, which is a static spacetime belonging to the Weyl class of solutions to the vacuum Einstein's field equations, and reduces to the familiar Schwarzschild solution when the quadrupole parameter vanishes. The radiation flux has a fixed but arbitrary (non-zero) angular momentum. The interaction with the radiation field is assumed to be Thomson-like, i.e., the particles absorb and re-emit radiation, thus suffering for a friction-like drag force. Such an additional force is responsible for the Poynting-Robertson effect, which is well established in the framework of Newtonian gravity and has been recently extended to the general theory of relativity. The balance between gravitational attraction, centrifugal force and radiation drag leads to the occurrence of equilibrium circular orbits which are attractors for the surrounding matter for every fixed value of the interaction strength. The presence of the quadrupolar structure of the source introduces a further degree of freedom: there exists a whole family of equilibrium orbits parametrized by the quadrupole parameter, generalizing previous works. This scenario is expected to play a role in the context of accretion matter around compact objects.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Refraction index analysis of light propagation in a colliding gravitational wave spacetime

The optical medium analogy of a given spacetime was developed decades ago and has since then been widely applied to different gravitational contexts. Here we consider the case of a colliding gravitational wave spacetime, generalizing previous results concerning single gravitational pulses. Given the complexity of the nonlinear interaction of two gravitational waves in the framework of general relativity, typically leading to the formation of either horizons or singularities, the optical medium analogy proves helpful to simply capture some interesting effects of photon propagation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Observer-dependent optical properties of stationary axisymmetric spacetimes

The world lines of null particles admit arbitrary parametrizations. In the presence of a family of observers one may introduce along a null world line an extension of the so-called Cattaneo's relative standard time parameter (valid for massive particles) which plays a special role. Another possibility is to use the coordinate time itself as a parameter. The relation between relative standard time and coordinate time allows for the introduction of an observer-dependent optical path and associated refraction index. Both these quantities are studied here working out explicit examples concerning familiar null orbits and observers in black hole spacetimes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Extended bodies in a Kerr spacetime: exploring the role of a general quadrupole tensor

The equatorial motion of extended bodies in a Kerr spacetime is investigated in the framework of the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model, including the full set of effective components of the quadrupole tensor. The numerical integration of the associated equations shows the specific role of the mass and current quadrupole moment components. While most of the literature on this topic is limited to spin-induced (purely electric) quadrupole tensor, the present analysis highlights the effect of a completely general quadrupole tensor on the dynamics. The contribution of the magnetic-type components is indeed related to a number of interesting features, e.g., enhanced inward/outward spiraling behavior of the orbit and spin-flip-like effects, which may have observational counterparts. Finally, the validity limit of the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model is also discussed through explicit examples.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Dark energy from cosmological fluids obeying a Shan-Chen non-ideal equation of state

We consider a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe with a fluid source obeying a non-ideal equation of state with "asymptotic freedom," namely ideal gas behavior (pressure changes directly proportional to density changes) both at low and high density regimes, following a fluid dynamical model due to Shan and Chen. It is shown that, starting from an ordinary energy density component, such fluids naturally evolve towards a universe with a substantial "dark energy" component at the present time, with no need of invoking any cosmological constant. Moreover, we introduce a quantitative indicator of darkness abundance, which provides a consistent picture of the actual matter-energy content of the universe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Particle dynamics and deviation effects in the field of a strong electromagnetic wave

Some strong field effects on test particle motion associated with the propagation of a plane electromagnetic wave in the exact theory of general relativity are investigated. Two different profiles of the associated radiation flux are considered in comparison, corresponding to either constant or oscillating electric and magnetic fields with respect to a natural family of observers. These are the most common situations to be experimentally explored, and have a well known counterpart in the flat spacetime limit. The resulting line elements are determined by a single metric function, which turns out to be expressed in terms of standard trigonometric functions in the case of a constant radiation flux, and in terms of special functions in the case of oscillating flux, leading to different features of test particle motion. The world line deviation between both uncharged and charged particles on different spacetime trajectories due to the combined effect of gravitational and electromagnetic forces is studied. The interaction of charged particles with the background radiation field is also discussed through a general relativistic description of the inverse Compton effect. Motion as well as deviation effects on particles endowed with spin are studied too. Special situations may occur in which the direction of the spin vector change during the interaction, leading to obsevables effects like spin-flip.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Scalar field inflation and Shan-Chen fluid models

A scalar field equivalent to a non-ideal "dark energy fluid" obeying a Shan-Chen-like equation of state is used as the background source of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmological spacetime to describe the inflationary epoch of our universe. Within the slow-roll approximation, a number of interesting features are presented, including the possibility to fulfill current observational constraints as well as a graceful exit mechanism from the inflationary epoch.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Friction forces in cosmological models

We investigate the dynamics of test particles undergoing friction forces in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spacetime. The interaction with the background fluid is modeled by introducing a Poynting-Robertson-like friction force in the equations of motion, leading to measurable (at least in principle) deviations of the particle trajectories from geodesic motion. The effect on the peculiar velocities of the particles is investigated for various equations of state of the background fluid and different standard cosmological models. The friction force is found to have major effects on particle motion in closed FRW universes, where it turns the time-asymptotic value (approaching the recollapse) of the peculiar particle velocity from ultra-relativistic (close to light speed) to a co-moving one, i.e., zero peculiar speed. On the other hand, for open or flat universes the effect of the friction is not so significant, because the time-asymptotic peculiar particle speed is largely non-relativistic also in the geodesic case.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Light scattering by radiation fields: the optical medium analogy

The optical medium analogy of a radiation field generated by either an exact gravitational plane wave or an exact electromagnetic wave in the framework of general relativity is developed. The equivalent medium of the associated background field is inhomogeneous and anisotropic in the former case, whereas it is inhomogeneous but isotropic in the latter. The features of light scattering are investigated by assuming the interaction region to be sandwiched between two flat spacetime regions, where light rays propagate along straight lines. Standard tools of ordinary wave optics are used to study the deflection of photon paths due to the interaction with the radiation fields, allowing for a comparison between the optical properties of the equivalent media associated with the different background fields.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Separable geodesic action slicing in stationary spacetimes

A simple observation about the action for geodesics in a stationary spacetime with separable geodesic equations leads to a natural class of slicings of that spacetime whose orthogonal geodesic trajectories represent freely falling observers. The time coordinate function can then be taken to be the observer proper time, leading to a unit lapse function. This explains some of the properties of the original Painlevé-Gullstrand coordinates on the Schwarzschild spacetime and their generalization to the Kerr-Newman family of spacetimes, reproducible also locally for the Gödel spacetime. For the static spherically symmetric case the slicing can be chosen to be intrinsically flat with spherically symmetric geodesic observers, leaving all the gravitational field information in the shift vector field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Observer-dependent tidal indicators in the Kerr spacetime

The observer-dependent tidal effects associated with the electric and magnetic parts of the Riemann tensor with respect to an arbitrary family of observers are discussed in a general spacetime in terms of certain "tidal indicators." The features of such indicators are then explored by specializing our considerations to the family of stationary circularly rotating observers in the equatorial plane of the Kerr spacetime. There exist a number of observer families which are special for several reasons and for each of them such indicators are evaluated. The transformation laws of tidal indicators when passing from one observer to another are also discussed, clarifying the interplay among them. Our analysis shows that no equatorial plane circularly rotating observer in the Kerr spacetime can ever measure a vanishing tidal electric indicator, whereas the family of Carter's observers measures zero tidal magnetic indicator.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

The signal from an emitting source moving in a Schwarzschild spacetime under the influence of a radiation field

The motion of matter immersed in a radiation field is affected by radiation drag, as a result of scattering or absorption and re-emission. The resulting friction-like drag, also known as Poynting-Robertson effect, has been recently studied in the general relativistic background of the Schwarzschild and Kerr metric, under the assumption that all photons in the radiation field possess the same angular momentum. We calculate here the signal produced by an emitting point-like specific source moving in a Schwarzschild spacetime under the influence of such a radiation field. We derive the flux, redshift factor and solid angle of the hot spot as a function of (coordinate) time, as well as the time-integrated image of the hot spot as seen by an observer at infinity. The results are then compared with those for a spot moving on a circular geodesic in a Schwarzschild metric.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

The Erez-Rosen metric and the role of the quadrupole on light propagation

The gravitational field of a static body with quadrupole moment is described by an exact solution found by Erez and Rosen. Here we investigate the role of the quadrupole in the motion, deflection and lensing of a light ray in the above metric. The standard lensing observables like image positions and magnification have been explicitly obtained in the weak field and small quadrupole limit. In this limit the spacetime metric appears as the natural generalization to quadrupole corrections of the metric form adopted also in current astrometric models. Hence, the corresponding analytical solution of the inverse ray tracing problem as well as the consistency with other approaches are also discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Scattering of particles by radiation fields: a comparative analysis

The features of the scattering of massive neutral particles propagating in the field of a gravitational plane wave are compared with those characterizing their interaction with an electromagnetic radiation field. The motion is geodesic in the former case, whereas in the case of an electromagnetic pulse it is accelerated by the radiation field filling the associated spacetime region. The interaction with the radiation field is modeled by a force term entering the equations of motion proportional to the 4-momentum density of radiation observed in the particle's rest frame. The corresponding classical scattering cross sections are evaluated too.

gr-qc↗