arXiv subjects

Andrea Pierfrancesco Sanna

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Pierfrancesco Sanna.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Linear perturbation theory and structure formation in a Brans-Dicke theory of gravity without dark matter

We investigate the formation of the large-scale cosmic structure in a scalar-tensor theory of gravity belonging to the class of the Brans--Dicke theories. The universe contains baryonic matter alone and neither dark matter nor dark energy. The two arbitrary functions of the scalar field characterizing the kinetic term and the self-interaction potential are set to $W(φ)=-1$ and $V(φ) = -Ξφ$, respectively, with $Ξ$ a positive constant. In the weak-field limit, the theory reduces to Refracted Gravity, a non-relativistic theory whose modified Poisson equation contains the scalar field $φ$ that provides the gravitational boost required to describe the dynamics of galaxies and galaxy clusters without dark matter. In a flat, matter-dominated, homogeneous and isotropic universe the same scalar field $φ$ drives the accelerated expansion of the universe and describes the observed redshift evolution of the Hubble-Lemaître parameter $H(z)$. However, in the equation of the growth factor of the linear perturbation theory, the form of $V(φ)$ makes the coefficient of the source of the gravitational field proportional to $H^{-1}(z)$; therefore the gravitational field is strongly suppressed at early times and structure formation is delayed to redshift $z< 1$, in disagreement with the observation of formed galaxies at much larger redshifts. In addition, the form of $W(φ)$ and a linear $V(φ)$ imply that $φ$ generates twice the gravitational boost on massive particles than on photons, with possible observable consequences on the gravitational lensing phenomenon. It remains to be investigated whether different choices of $W(φ)$ and $V(φ)$, that can still make the theory reduce to Refracted Gravity in the weak-field limit, might alleviate these problems.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

The Role of Conceptual Problem Solving in Learning Physics: A Study in a General Relativity University Course

Effective physics learning, especially in complex topics, requires balancing mathematical formalism with conceptual understanding. Conceptual problem-solving involves connecting math to physical reality, and using an epistemological framework like problem framing helps students justify their mathematical decisions. This approach deepens students' understanding by linking theory to practice and enhancing their reasoning skills. This study explores the effectiveness of conceptual problem-solving in learning complex topics like general relativity (GR) through a pedagogical framework that emphasizes the integration of qualitative and quantitative reasoning. We present a case study conducted at the University of Cagliari in 2021 and 2022, examining how students construct problem frames and how this influences their conceptual understanding of GR. Findings indicate that students who effectively integrate conceptual reasoning with mathematical formalism demonstrate a deeper grasp of physical principles and enhanced problem-solving capabilities. The research underscores the importance of symbol sense and the iterative nature of problem framing, suggesting that an integrated approach - combining visual, symbolic, and natural language representations - can improve students' conceptual engagement. Furthermore, the methodology offers instructors valuable insights into students' thinking processes, supporting more effective and targeted feedback.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2025

Effective Quantum Spacetimes from Functional Renormalization Group

Using the Functional Renormalization Group approach we construct effective quantum spacetime geometries by self-consistently deforming the classical Schwarzschild-de Sitter black-hole solution. This involves studying how quantum corrections, driven by the running of the Newton's and cosmological constants modify the solution across the infrared and ultraviolet regimes. We show that these quantum modifications replace the Schwarzschild singularity with a milder conical one. Moreover, two new features emerge in the ultraviolet regime. First, we identify a phase transition between Anti-de Sitter/de Sitter spacetime occurring when the object's mass exceeds a first critical threshold. Second, we predict the formation of horizons once the object's mass exceeds a second threshold. Both thresholds are of the order of the Planck mass. Finally, we investigate the role of the anomalous dimension in the conformal sector of the theory.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Stable Wormholes in Conformal Gravity

We present a class of Lorentzian traversable wormholes in conformal gravity, constructed via Weyl rescaling of Minkowski spacetime. As a result, these wormholes are solutions of every theory of gravity that is both conformally invariant and admits Minkowski spacetime as a solution. We specifically examine the case of a wormhole possessing a Morris-Thorne shape function, arising as a solution of a scalar-tensor conformally invariant theory of gravity. We show that these solutions represent regular, traversable wormholes that are also stable at the linear perturbation level. We argue that, when the Weyl symmetry is spontaneously broken, the broken symmetry phase may lead to a stable ``wormhole phase" alternative to the flat ``Minkowski phase".

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Deriving the paradox: original derivation of Hawking radiation

We revisit Hawking's original derivation of the evaporation process in a non-stationary spacetime, presenting it in a clear and pedagogical manner, with a focus on the spherical collapse of a star into a black hole. Our analysis highlights the underlying assumptions in the calculations, clarifying their physical significance, potential implications, and the limitations of this approach.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Apparent horizons in cosmologically-embedded black holes

We present exact solutions for the cosmological embedding of a broad class of non-singular black holes, demonstrating that these objects exhibit an apparent horizon. The evolution of the latter is analyzed as a function of the cosmological redshift $z$. We show that its size exceeds that of the event horizon of an isolated black hole and increases monotonically with increasing $z$. Explicit formulas and numerical results are provided for the specific cases of the Hayward and Fan $\&$ Wang non-singular black-hole models. Furthermore, we explore the distinct dynamical roles of the event and apparent horizons, highlighting connection between the latter and the recently identified cosmological mass shift in non-singular black holes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Evaporation and information puzzle for 2D nonsingular asymptotically flat black holes

We investigate the thermodynamics and the classical and semiclassical dynamics of two-dimensional ($2\text{D}$), asymptotically flat, nonsingular dilatonic black holes. They are characterized by a de Sitter core, allowing for the smearing of the classical singularity, and by the presence of two horizons with a related extremal configuration. For concreteness, we focus on a $2\text{D}$ version of the Hayward black hole. We find a second order thermodynamic phase transition, separating large unstable black holes from stable configurations close to extremality. We first describe the black-hole evaporation process using a quasistatic approximation and we show that it ends in the extremal configuration in an infinite amount of time. We go beyond the quasistatic approximation by numerically integrating the field equations for $2\text{D}$ dilaton gravity coupled to $N$ massless scalar fields, describing the radiation. We find that the inclusion of large backreaction effects ($N \gg 1$) allows for an end-point extremal configuration after a finite evaporation time. Finally, we evaluate the entanglement entropy (EE) of the radiation in the quasistatic approximation and construct the relative Page curve. We find that the EE initially grows, reaches a maximum and then goes down towards zero, in agreement with previous results in the literature. Despite the breakdown of the semiclassical approximation prevents the description of the evaporation process near extremality, we have a clear indication that the end point of the evaporation is a regular, extremal state with vanishing EE of the radiation. This means that the nonunitary evolution, which commonly characterizes the evaporation of singular black holes, could be traced back to the presence of the singularity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Covariant formulation of refracted gravity

We propose a covariant formulation of refracted gravity (RG), a classical theory of gravity based on the introduction of gravitational permittivity (GP), a monotonic function of the local mass density, in the standard Poisson equation. GP mimics dark matter (DM) phenomenology. The covariant formulation of RG (CRG) that we propose belongs to the class of scalar-tensor theories, where the scalar field $φ$ has a self-interaction potential $V(φ)=-Ξφ$, with $Ξ$ a normalization constant. We show that $φ$ is twice the GP in the weak-field limit. Far from a spherical source of density $ρ_s(r)$, the transition between the Newtonian and the RG regime appears below the acceleration scale $a_Ξ=(2Ξ-8πGρ/φ)^{1/2}$, with $ρ=ρ_s+ρ_{bg}$, $ρ_{bg}$ being an isotropic and homogeneous background. In the limit $2Ξ\gg 8πGρ/φ$, we obtain $a_Ξ\sim 10^{-10}$~m~s$^{-2}$. This is comparable to the acceleration $a_0$ originally introduced in MOND. From CRG, we also derived the modified Friedmann equations for an expanding, homogeneous, and isotropic universe. We find that the same scalar field that mimics DM also drives the accelerated expansion of the Universe. From the stress-energy tensor of $φ$, we derived the equation of state of a redshift-dependent effective dark energy (DE) $w_{DE}=p_{DE}/ρ_{DE}$. Current observational constraints on $w_{DE}$ and distance modulus data of SNIa suggest that $Ξ$ has a comparable value to the cosmological constant $Λ$ in the standard model. CRG, therefore, suggests a natural explanation of the known relation $a_0\sim Λ^{1/2}$ and appears to describe both the dynamics of cosmic structure and the expanding Universe with a single scalar field, highlighting a possible deep connection between phenomena currently attributed to DM and DE separately.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Nonsingular black holes from conformal symmetries

We derive the form of the metric for static, nonsingular black holes with a de Sitter core, representing a deformation of the Schwarzschild solution, by assuming that the gravitational sources describe a flow between two conformal points, at small and great distances. The resulting black-hole metric turns out to be a particular case of the Fan $\&$ Wang metric, whose parameters have been recently constrained by using the data of the S$2$ star orbits around the galactic centre SgrA$^\ast$.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Semiclassical spacetimes at super-Planckian scales from delocalized sources

We derive the gravitational field and the spacetime metric generated by sources in quantum superposition of different locations. We start by working in a Newtonian approximation, in which the effective gravitational potential is computed as the expectation value of the gravitational potential operator in a Gaussian distribution of width $R$ for the position of the source. The effective gravitational potential is then covariantly uplifted to a fully relativistic metric in general relativity, describing the spacetime generated by averaging over the state of such sources. These results are then rederived and extended by adopting an independent construction in terms of quantum reference frames. We find three classes of quantum effective metrics which are all asymptotically flat and reproduce the Schwarzschild metric at great distances. The solutions differ, however, in the inner core. The quantum uncertainty $Δr\sim R$ in the position of the source prevents the radius of the transverse two-sphere to shrink to zero. Depending on the strength of the quantum superposition effects, we have either a nonsingular black hole with a ``quantum hair'' and an event horizon, a one-way wormhole with a critical null throat or a traversable wormhole. We also provide a detailed study of the geometric and thermodynamic properties of the spacetime structure for each of these three families of models, as well as their phenomenology.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Effective models of non-singular quantum black holes

We investigate how the resolution of the singularity problem for the Schwarzschild BH could be related to the presence of quantum gravity effects at horizon scales. Motivated by the analogy with the cosmological Schwarzschild-dS solution, we construct a class of non-singular, static, asymptotically-flat BH solutions with a dS core, sourced by an anisotropic fluid, which encodes the quantum corrections. The latter are parametrized by a single length-scale $\ell$, which has a dual interpretation as an effective "quantum hair" and as the length-scale resolving the classical singularity. Depending on the value of $\ell$, these solutions can have two horizons, be extremal (when the two horizons merge) or be horizonless exotic stars. We also investigate the thermodynamic behavior of our BH solutions and propose a generalization of the area law in order to account for their entropy. We find a second-order phase transition near extremality, when $\ell$ is of order of the classical Schwarzschild radius $R_{\rm S}$. BHs with $\ell\sim R_{\rm S}$ are thermodynamically preferred with respect to those with $\ell\ll R_{\rm S}$, supporting the relevance of quantum corrections at horizon scales. We also find that the extremal configuration is a zero-temperature, zero-entropy state with its near-horizon geometry factorizing as AdS$_2\times$ S$^2$, signalizing the possible relevance of these models for the information paradox. We show that the presence of quantum corrections with $\ell\sim R_{\rm S}$ have observable phenomenological signatures in the photon orbits and in the QNMs spectrum. In particular, in the near-extremal regime, the imaginary part of the spectrum scales with the temperature as $c_1/\ell+c_2\ell T_\text{H}^2$, while it goes to zero linearly in the near-horizon limit. Our general findings are confirmed by revisiting two already-known models, namely the Hayward and gaussian-core BHs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Atmospheric Newtonian noise modeling for third-generation gravitational wave detectors

The sensitivity and the frequency bandwidth of third-generation gravitational-wave (GW) detectors are such that the Newtonian noise (NN) signals produced by atmospheric turbulence could become relevant. We build models for atmospheric NN that take into account finite correlation times and inhomogeneity along the vertical direction, and are therefore accurate enough to represent a reliable reference tool for evaluating this kind of noise. We compute the NN spectral density from our models and compare it with the expected sensitivity curve of the Einstein Telescope (ET) with the xylophone design. The noise signal decays exponentially for small values of the frequency and the detector's depth, followed by a power-law for large values of the parameters. We find that, when the detector is built at the earth's surface, the NN contribution in the low-frequency band is above the ET sensitivity curve for strong wind. Building the detector underground is sufficient to push the noise signal under the ET sensitivity curve, but the decrement is close to marginal for strong wind. In light of the slow decay with depth of the NN, building the detector underground could be only partially effective as passive noise mitigation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Quasi-normal modes and microscopic description of 2D black holes

We investigate the possibility of using quasi-normal modes (QNMs) to probe the microscopic structure of two-dimensional (2D) anti-de Sitter (AdS$_2$) dilatonic black holes. We first extend previous results on the QNMs spectrum, found for external massless scalar perturbations, to the case of massive scalar perturbations. We find that the quasi-normal frequencies are purely imaginary and scale linearly with the overtone number. Motivated by this and extending previous results regarding Schwarzschild black holes, we propose a microscopic description of the 2D black hole in terms of a coherent state of $N$ massless particles quantized on a circle, with occupation numbers sharply peaked on the characteristic QNMs frequency $\hat ω$. We further model the black hole as a statistical ensemble of $N$ decoupled quantum oscillators of frequency $\hatω$. This allows us to recover the Bekenstein-Hawking (BH) entropy $S$ of the hole as the leading contribution to the Gibbs entropy for the set of oscillators, in the high-temperature regime, and to show that $S=N$. Additionally, we find sub-leading logarithmic corrections to the BH entropy. We further corroborate this microscopic description by outlining a holographic correspondence between QNMs in the AdS$_2$ bulk and the de Alfaro-Fubini-Furlan conformally invariant quantum mechanics. Our results strongly suggest that modelling a black hole as a coherent state of particles and as a statistical ensemble of decoupled harmonic oscillators is always a good approximation in the large black-hole mass, large overtone number limit.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Unitarity and Page curve for evaporation of 2D AdS black holes

We explore the Hawking evaporation of two-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS$_2$), dilatonic black hole coupled with conformal matter, and derive the Page curve for the entanglement entropy of radiation. We first work in a semiclassical approximation with backreaction. We show that the end-point of the evaporation process is AdS$_2$ with a vanishing dilaton, i.e. a regular, singularity-free, zero-entropy state. We explicitly compute the entanglement entropies of the black hole and the radiation, as functions of the horizon radius, using the conformal field theory (CFT) dual to AdS$_2$ gravity. We use a simplified toy model, in which evaporation is described by the forming and growing of a negative mass configuration in the positive-mass black hole interior. This is similar to the ``islands'' proposal, recently put forward to explain the Page curve for evaporating black holes. The resulting Page curve for AdS$_2$ black holes is in agreement with unitary evolution. The entanglement entropy of the radiation initially grows, closely following a thermal behavior, reaches a maximum at half-way of the evaporation process, and then goes down to zero, following the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole. Consistency of our simplified model requires a non-trivial identification of the central charge of the CFT describing AdS$_2$ gravity with the number of species of fields describing Hawking radiation.

hep-th↗