arXiv subjects

Cenalo Vaz

Publications and source records attributed to Cenalo Vaz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

A quantum thin shell surrounding a Black Hole

In a previous work we obtained exact solutions for the proper time quantum mechanics of a thin dust shell, collapsing in a vacuum. We extend these results to the quantum collapse of a dust shell surrounding a pre-existing black hole. In lieu of exact solutions, which have so far proved difficult to obtain for this system, we establish the essential features of the quantum shell through a Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation, which is valid only when the mass of the shell is much greater than the Planck mass. There are many similarities with the vacuum collapse: only bound states exist and the proper energy spectrum of the shell is unaffected by the presence of the central black hole to this order. There are no peculiar or distinguishing features of the wave function near the black hole horizon. It vanishes at the center and oscillates between the origin and the classically forbidden region, beyond which it decays exponentially.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Proper time Quantization of a Thin Shell

"Time" has different meanings in classical general relativity and in quantum theory. While all choices of a time function yield the same local classical geometries, quantum theories built on different time functions are not unitarily equivalent. This incompatibility is most vivid in model systems for which exact quantum descriptions in different time variables are available. One such system is a spherically symmetric, thin dust shell. In this essay we will compare the quantum theories of the shell built on proper time and on a particular coordinate time. We find wholly incompatible descriptions: whereas the shell quantum mechanics in coordinate time admits no solutions when the mass is greater than the Planck mass, its proper time quantum mechanics only admits solutions when the mass is greater than the Planck mass. The latter is in better agreement with what is expected from observation. We argue that proper time quantization provides a superior approach to the problem of time in canonical quantization.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Quantum Collapse of a Thin Shell Revisited

There are several possible choices of the time parameter for the canonical description of a self-gravitating thin shell, but quantum thories built on different time parameters lead to unitarily inequivalent descriptions. We compare the quantum collapse of a thin dust shell in two different times {\it viz.,} the time coordinate in the interior of the shell (originally addressed in \cite{hajicek92a}) and the time coordinate of the comoving observer (proper time). In each case, we obtain exact solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation requiring only a finite and well behaved $U(1)$ current. The two quantum theories are complementary and each highlights the role played by the Planck mass: stationary states of positive energy in interior time exist only if the shell rest mass in smaller than the Planck mass. In proper time they exist only when the shell rest mass is {\it greater} than the Planck mass. In coordinate time there are both scattering states and bound states with a well defined energy spectrum. In the proper time description there are only bound states, whose spectrum we determine.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Gravitationally Bound Bose Condensates with Rotation

We develop a self-consistent, Gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) formulation of a slowly rotating, self-gravitating and dilute Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), intended for astrophysical applications in the context of dark matter halos. GEM self-consistently incorporates the effects of frame dragging to lowest order in $v/c$ via the Gravitomagnetic field. BEC dark matter has attracted attention as an alternative to Cold dark matter (CDM) and Warm dark matter (WDM) for some time now. The BEC is described by the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson (GPP) equation with an arbitrary potential allowing for either attractive or repulsive interactions. Owing to the difficulty in obtaining exact solutions to the GEM equations of motion without drastic approximations, we employ the variational method to examine the conditions under which rotating condensates, stable against gravitational collapse, may form in models with attractive and repulsive quartic interactions. We also describe the approximate dynamics of an imploding and rotating condensate by employing a collective coordinate description in terms of the condensate radius.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Canonical Chern-Simons Gravity

We study the canonical description of the axisymmetric vacuum in 2+1 dimensional gravity, treating Einstein's gravity as a Chern Simons gauge theory on a manifold with the restriction that the dreibein is invertible. Our treatment is in the spirit of Kucha\v r's description of the Schwarzschild black hole in 3+1 dimensions, where the mass and angular momentum are expressed in terms of the canonical variables and a series of canonical transformations are performed that turn the curvature coordinates and their conjugate momenta into new canonical variables. In their final form, the constraints are seen to require that the momenta conjugate to the Killing time and curvature radius vanish and what remains are the mass, the angular momentum and their conjugate momenta, which we derive. The Wheeler-DeWitt equation is trivial and describes time independent systems with wave functions described only by the total mass and total angular momentum.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Quantum dust collapse in 2+1 dimensions

In this paper we will examine the consequence of a canonical theory of quantum dust collapse in 2+1 dimensions. The solution of the WDW equation describing the collapse indicates that collapsing shells outside the apparent horizon are accompanied by outgoing shells within the apparent horizon during their collapse phase and stop collapsing once they reach the apparent horizon. Taking this picture of quantum collapse seriously, we determine a static solution with energy density corresponding to a dust ball whose collapse has terminated at the apparent horizon. We show that the boundary radius of the ball is larger than the BTZ radius confirming that no event horizon is formed. The ball is sustained by radial pressure which we determine and which we attribute to the Unruh radiation within it.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Axion Stars in the Infrared Limit

Following Ruffini and Bonazzola, we use a quantized boson field to describe condensates of axions forming compact objects. Without substantial modifications, the method can only be applied to axions with decay constant, $f_a$, satisfying $δ=(f_a\,/\,M_P)^2\ll 1$, where $M_P$ is the Planck mass. Similarly, the applicability of the Ruffini-Bonazzola method to axion stars also requires that the relative binding energy of axions satisfies $Δ=\sqrt{1-(E_a\,/\,m_a)^2}\ll1$, where $E_a$ and $m_a$ are the energy and mass of the axion. The simultaneous expansion of the equations of motion in $δ$ and $Δ$ leads to a simplified set of equations, depending only on the parameter, $λ=\sqrtδ\,/\,Δ$ in leading order of the expansions. Keeping leading order in $Δ$ is equivalent to the infrared limit, in which only relevant and marginal terms contribute to the equations of motion. The number of axions in the star is uniquely determined by $λ$. Numerical solutions are found in a wide range of $λ$. At small $λ$ the mass and radius of the axion star rise linearly with $λ$. While at larger $λ$ the radius of the star continues to rise, the mass of the star, $M$, attains a maximum at $λ_{\rm max}\simeq 0.58$. All stars are unstable for $λ>λ_{\rm max}$ . We discuss the relationship of our results to current observational constraints on dark matter and the phenomenology of Fast Radio Bursts.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Quantum gravitational dust collapse does not result in a black hole

Quantum gravity suggests that the paradox recently put forward by Almheiri et. al. (AMPS) can be resolved if matter does not undergo continuous collapse to a singularity but condenses on the apparent horizon. One can then expect a quasi-static object to form even after the gravitational field has overcome any degeneracy pressure of the matter fields. We consider dust collapse. If the collapse terminates on the apparent horizon, the Misner-Sharp mass function of the dust ball is predicted and we construct static solutions with no tangential pressure that would represent such a compact object. The collapse wave functions indicate that there will be processes by which energy extraction from the center occurs. These leave behind a negative point mass at the center which contributes to the total energy of the system but has no effect on the the energy density of the dust ball. The solutions describe a compact object whose boundary lies outside its Schwarzschild radius and which is hardly distinguishable from a neutron star.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Black holes as Gravitational Atoms

Recently, Almheiri et. al. argued, via a delicate thought experiment, that it is not consistent to simultaneosuly require that (a) Hawking radiation is pure, (b) effective field theory is valid outside a stretched horizon and (c) infalling observers encounter nothing unusual as they cross the horizon. These are the three fundamental assumptions underlying Black Hole Complementarity and the authors proposed that the most conservative resolution of the paradox is that (c) is false and the infalling observer burns up at the horizon (the horizon acts as a "firewall"). However, the firewall violates the equivalence principle and breaks the CPT invariance of quantum gravity. This led Hawking to propose recently that gravitational collapse may not end up producing event horizons, although he did not give a mechanism for how this may happen. Here we will support Hawking's conclusion in a quantum gravitational model of dust collapse. We will show that continued collapse to a singularity can only be achieved by combining two independent and entire solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. We interpret the paradox as simply forbidding such a combination, which leads naturally to a picture in which matter condenses on the apparent horizon during quantum collapse.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Tunneling during Quantum Collapse in AdS Spacetime

We extend previous results on the reflection and transmission of self-gravitating dust shells across the apparent horizon during quantum dust collapse to non-marginally-bound dust collapse in arbitrary dimensions with a negative cosmological constant. We show that the Hawking temperature is independent of the energy function and that the wave functional describing the collapse is well behaved at the Hawking-Page transition point. Thermal radiation from the apparent horizon appears as a generic result of non-marginal collapse in AdS space-time owing to the singular structure of the Hamiltonian constraint at the apparent horizon.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Statistical analysis of entropy correction from topological defects in Loop Black Holes

In this paper we discuss the entropy of quantum black holes in the LQG formalism when the number of punctures on the horizon is treated as a quantum hair, that is we compute the black hole entropy in the grand canonical (area) ensemble. The entropy is a function of both the average area and the average number of punctures and bears little resemblance to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. In the thermodynamic limit, both the "temperature" and the chemical potential can be shown to be functions only of the average area per puncture. At a fixed temperature, the average number of punctures becomes proportional to the average area and we recover the Bekenstein-Hawking area-entropy law to leading order provided that the Barbero-Immirzi parameter, $γ$, is appropriately fixed. This also relates the chemical potential to $γ$. We obtain a sub-leading correction, which differs in signature from that obtained in the microcanonical and canonical ensembles in its sign but agrees with earlier results in the grand canonical ensemble.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Canonical Partition function of Loop Black Holes

We compute the canonical partition for quantum black holes in the approach of Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG). We argue that any quantum theory of gravity in which the horizon area is built of non-interacting constituents cannot yield qualitative corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking (B-H) area law, but corrections to the area law can arise as a consequence additional constraints inducing interactions between the constituents. In LQG this is implemented by requiring spherical horizons. The canonical approach for LQG favours a logarithmic correction to the B-H law with a coefficient of -1/2, independently of the area spectrum. Our initial calculation of the partition function uses certain approximations that, we show, do not qualitatively affect the expression for the black hole entropy. We later discuss the quantitative corrections to these results when the simplifying approximations are relaxed and the full LQG spectrum is dealt with. We show how these corrections can be recovered to all orders in perturbation theory. However, the convergence properties of the perturbative series remains unknown.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

Canonical Quantization of Spherically Symmetric Dust Collapse

Quantum gravity effects are likely to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of gravitational collapse during its final stages. In this contribution we will outline a canonical quantization of the LeMaitre-Tolman-Bondi models, which describe the collapse of spherical, inhomogeneous, non-rotating dust. Although there are many models of gravitational collapse, this particular class of models stands out for its simplicity and the fact that both black holes and naked singularity end states may be realized on the classical level, depending on the initial conditions. We will obtain the appropriate Wheeler-DeWitt equation and then solve it exactly, after regularization on a spatial lattice. The solutions describe Hawking radiation and provide an elegant microcanonical description of black hole entropy, but they raise other questions, most importantly concerning the nature of gravity's fundamental degrees of freedom.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2011

A Lagrangian Description of Thermodynamics

The fact that a temperature and an entropy may be associated with horizons in semi-classical general relativity has led many to suspect that spacetime has microstructure. If this is indeed the case then its description via Riemannian geometry must be regarded as an effective theory of the aggregate behavior of some more fundamental degrees of freedom that remain unknown, in many ways similar to the treatment of fluid dynamics via the Navier-Stokes equations. This led us to ask how a geometric structure may naturally arise in thermodynamics or statistical mechanics and what evolution may mean in this context. In this article we argue that it is possible to view thermodynamic processes as the evolution of a dynamical system, described by a quadratic Lagrangian and a metric on the thermodynamic configuration space. The Lagrangian is an invariant distance between equilibrium thermodynamic states as defined by the metric, which is straightforwardly obtained from a complete set of equations of state.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2010

Reflection and Transmission at the Apparent Horizon during Gravitational Collapse

We examine the wave-functionals describing the collapse of a self-gravitating dust ball in an exact quantization of the gravity-dust system. We show that ingoing (collapsing) dust shell modes outside the apparent horizon must necessarily be accompanied by outgoing modes inside the apparent horizon, whose amplitude is suppressed by the square root of the Boltzmann factor at the Hawking temperature. Likewise, ingoing modes in the interior must be accompanied by outgoing modes in the exterior, again with an amplitude suppressed by the same factor. A suitable superposition of the two solutions is necessary to conserve the dust probability flux across the apparent horizon, thus each region contains both ingoing and outgoing dust modes. If one restricts oneself to considering only the modes outside the apparent horizon then one should think of the apparent horizon as a partial reflector, the probability for a shell to reflect being given by the Boltzmann factor at the Hawking temperature determined by the mass contained within it. However, if one considers the entire wave function, the outgoing wave in the exterior is seen to be the transmission through the horizon of the interior outgoing wave that accompanies the collapsing shells. This transmission could allow information from the interior to be transferred to the exterior.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

Bose Condensation and the BTZ Black Hole

Although all popular approaches to quantum gravity are able to recover the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy-area law in the thermodynamic limit, there are significant differences in their descriptions of the microstates and in the application of statistics. Therefore they can have significantly different phenomenological implications. For example, requiring indistinguishability of the elementary degrees of freedom should lead to changes in the black hole's radiative porperties away from the thermodynamic limit and at low temperatures. We demonstrate this for the Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole. The energy eigenstates and statistical entropy in the thermodynamic limit of the BTZ black hole were obtained earlier by us via symmetry reduced canonical quantum gravity. In that model the BTZ black hole behaves as a system of Bosonic mass shells moving in a one dimensional harmonic trap. Bose condensation does not occur in the thermodynamic limit but this system possesses a finite critical temperature, $T_c$, and exhibits a large condensate fraction below $T_c$ when the number of shells is finite.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Classical and quantum LTB model for the non-marginal case

We extend the classical and quantum treatment of the Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) model to the non-marginal case (defined by the fact that the shells of the dust cloud start with a non-vanishing velocity at infinity). We present the classical canonical formalism and address with particular care the boundary terms in the action. We give the general relation between dust time and Killing time. Employing a lattice regularization, we then derive and discuss for particular factor orderings exact solutions to all quantum constraints.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2009

Signatures of an Emergent Gravity from Black Hole Entropy

The existence of a thermodynamic description of horizons indicates that spacetime has a microstructure. While the "fundamental" degrees of freedom remain elusive, quantizing Einstein's gravity provides some clues about their properties. A quantum AdS black hole possesses an equispaced mass spectrum, independent of Newton's constant, $G$, when its horizon radius is large compared to the AdS length. Moreover, the black hole's thermodynamics in this limit is inextricably connected with its thermodynamics in the opposite (Schwarzschild) limit by a duality of the Bose partition function. $G$, absent in the mass spectrum, reemerges in the thermodynamic description through the Schwarzschild limit, which should be viewed as a natural "ground state". It seems that the Hawking-Page phase transition separates fundamental, "particle-like" degrees of freedom from effective, "geometric" ones.

gr-qc↗