arXiv subjects

Cosimo Bambi

Publications and source records attributed to Cosimo Bambi.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Black hole evaporation in conformal gravity

We study the formation and the evaporation of a spherically symmetric black hole in conformal gravity. From the collapse of a spherically symmetric thin shell of radiation, we find a singularity-free non-rotating black hole. This black hole has the same Hawking temperature as a Schwarzschild black hole with the same mass, and it completely evaporates either in a finite or in an infinite time, depending on the ensemble. We consider the analysis both in the canonical and in the micro-canonical statistical ensembles. Last, we discuss the corresponding Penrose diagram of this physical process.

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arXiv2017

Scalar perturbations of nonsingular nonrotating black holes in conformal gravity

We study scalar and electromagnetic perturbations of a family of nonsingular nonrotating black hole spacetimes that are solutions in a large class of conformally invariant theories of gravity. The effective potential for scalar perturbations depends on the exact form of the scaling factor. Electromagnetic perturbations do not feel the scaling factor, and the corresponding quasinormal mode spectrum is the same as in the Schwarzschild metric. We find that these black hole metrics are stable under scalar and electromagnetic perturbations. Assuming that the quasinormal mode spectrum for scalar perturbations is not too different from that for gravitational perturbations, we can expect that the calculation of the quasinormal mode spectrum and the observation with gravitational wave detectors of quasinormal modes from astrophysical black holes can constrain the scaling factor and test these solutions.

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arXiv2017

Energy conditions of non-singular black hole spacetimes in conformal gravity

Conformal gravity can elegantly solve the problem of spacetime singularities present in Einstein's gravity. For every physical spacetime, there is an infinite family of conformally-equivalent singularity-free metrics. In the unbroken phase, every non-singular metric is equivalent and can be used to infer the physical properties of the spacetime. In the broken phase, a Higgs-like mechanism should select a certain vacuum, which thus becomes the physical one. However, in the absence of the complete theoretical framework we do not know how to select the right vacuum. In this paper, we study the energy conditions of non-singular black hole spacetimes obtained in conformal gravity assuming they are solutions of Einstein's gravity with an effective energy-momentum tensor. We check whether such conditions can be helpful to select the vacuum of the broken phase.

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arXiv2017

Observational properties of rigidly rotating dust configurations

We study the observational properties of a class of exact solutions of Einstein's field equations describing stationary, axially symmetric, rigidly rotating dust (i.e. non interacting particles). We ask the question whether such solutions can describe astrophysical rotating dark matter clouds near the center of galaxies and we probe the possibility that they may constitute an alternative to supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. We show that light emission from accretion disks made of ordinary baryonic matter in this space-time has several differences with respect to the emission of light from similar accretion disks around black holes. The shape of the iron K$α$ line in the reflection spectrum of accretion disks can potentially distinguish this class of solution from the Kerr metric, but this may not be possible with current X-ray missions.

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arXiv2017

Testing Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity from the reflection spectrum of accreting black holes

Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a theoretically well-motivated alternative theory of gravity emerging as a low-energy 4-dimensional model from heterotic string theory. Its rotating black hole solutions are known numerically and can have macroscopic deviations from the Kerr black holes of Einstein's gravity. Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity can thus be tested with observations of astrophysical black holes. In the present paper, we simulate observations of the reflection spectrum of thin accretion disks with present and future X-ray facilities to understand whether X-ray reflection spectroscopy can distinguish the black holes in Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity from those in Einstein's gravity. We find that this is definitively out of reach for present X-ray missions, but it may be achieved with the next generation of facilities.

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arXiv2017

Iron K$α$ line of Kerr black holes with Proca hair

We continue our study on the capabilities of present and future X-ray missions to test the nature of astrophysical black hole candidates via X-ray reflection spectroscopy and distinguish Kerr black holes from other solutions of 4-dimensional Einstein's gravity in the presence of a matter field. Here we investigate the case of Kerr black holes with Proca hair [1]. The analysis of a sample of these configurations suggests that even extremely hairy black holes can mimic the iron line profile of the standard Kerr black holes, and, at least for the configurations of our study, we find that current X-ray missions cannot distinguish these objects from Kerr black holes. This contrasts with our previous findings for the case of Kerr black holes with scalar (rather than Proca) hair [2], even though such comparison may be biased by the limited sample. Future X-ray missions can detect the presence of Proca hair, but a theoretical knowledge of the expected intensity profile (currently missing) can be crucial to obtain strong constraints.

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arXiv2017

Testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy

We present the first X-ray reflection model for testing the assumption that the metric of astrophysical black holes is described by the Kerr solution. We employ the formalism of the transfer function proposed by Cunningham. The calculations of the reflection spectrum of a thin accretion disk are split into two parts: the calculation of the transfer function and the calculation of the local spectrum at any emission point in the disk. The transfer function only depends on the background metric and takes into account all the relativistic effects (gravitational redshift, Doppler boosting, and light bending). Our code computes the transfer function for a spacetime described by the Johannsen metric and can easily be extended to any stationary, axisymmetric, and asymptotically flat spacetime. Transfer functions and single line shapes in the Kerr metric are compared with those calculated from existing codes to check that we reach the necessary accuracy. We also simulate some observations with NuSTAR and LAD/eXTP and fit the data with our new model to show the potential capabilities of current and future observations to constrain possible deviations from the Kerr metric.

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arXiv2017

Spacetime completeness of non-singular black holes in conformal gravity

We explicitly prove that the Weyl conformal symmetry solves the black hole singularity problem, otherwise unavoidable in a generally covariant local or non-local gravitational theory. Moreover, we yield explicit examples of local and non-local theories enjoying Weyl and diffeomorphism symmetry (in short co-covariant theories). Following the seminal paper by Narlikar and Kembhavi, we provide an explicit construction of singularity-free spherically symmetric and axi-symmetric exact solutions for black hole spacetimes conformally equivalent to the Schwarzschild or the Kerr spacetime. We first check the absence of divergences in the Kretschmann invariant for the rescaled metrics. Afterwords, we show that the new types of black holes are geodesically complete and linked by a Newman-Janis transformation just as in standard general relativity (based on Einstein-Hilbert action). Furthermore, we argue that no massive or massless particles can reach the former Schwarzschild singularity or touch the former Kerr ring singularity in a finite amount of their proper time or of their affine parameter. Finally, we discuss the Raychaudhuri equation in a co-covariant theory and we show that the expansion parameter for congruences of both types of geodesics (for massless and massive particles) never reaches minus infinity. Actually, the null geodesics become parallel at the $r=0$ point in the Schwarzschild spacetime (the origin) and the focusing of geodesics is avoided. The arguments of regularity of curvature invariants, geodesic completeness, and finiteness of geodesics' expansion parameter ensure us that we are dealing with singularity-free and geodesically-complete black hole spacetimes.

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arXiv2017

Testing black hole candidates with electromagnetic radiation

Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black holes of general relativity, but there is not yet direct observational evidence that the spacetime geometry around these objects is described by the Kerr solution. The study of the properties of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by gas or stars orbiting these objects can potentially test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, I review the state of the art of this research field, describing the possible approaches to test the Kerr metric with current and future observational facilities and discussing current constraints.

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arXiv2017

Testing conformal gravity with astrophysical black holes

Weyl conformal symmetry can solve the problem the spacetime singularities present in Einstein's gravity. In a recent paper, two of us have found a singularity-free rotating black hole solution in conformal gravity. In addition to the mass $M$ and the spin angular momentum $J$ of the black hole, the new solution has a new parameter, $L$, which here we consider to be proportional to the black hole mass. Since the solution is conformally equivalent to the Kerr metric, photon trajectories are unchanged, while the structure of an accretion disk around a black hole is affected by the value of the parameter $L$. In this paper, we show that X-ray data of astrophysical black holes require $L/M < 1.2$.

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arXiv2017

Iron K$α$ line of Proca stars

X-ray reflection spectroscopy can be a powerful tool to test the nature of astrophysical black holes. Extending previous work on Kerr black holes with scalar hair [1] and on boson stars [2], here we study whether astrophysical black hole candidates may be horizonless, self-gravitating, vector Bose-Einstein condensates, known as Proca stars [3]. We find that observations with current X-ray missions can only provide weak constraints and rule out solely Proca stars with low compactness. There are two reasons. First, at the moment we do not know the geometry of the corona, and therefore the uncertainty in the emissivity profile limits the ability to constrain the background metric. Second, the photon number count is low even in the case of a bright black hole binary, and we cannot have a precise measurement of the spectrum.

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arXiv2016

Lee-Wick Black Holes

We derive and study an approximate static vacuum solution generated by a point-like source in a higher derivative gravitational theory with a pair of complex conjugate ghosts. The gravitational theory is local and characterized by a high derivative operator compatible with Lee-Wick unitarity. In particular, the tree-level two-point function only shows a pair of complex conjugate poles besides the massless spin two graviton. We show that singularity-free black holes exist when the mass of the source $M$ exceeds a critical value $M_{\rm crit}$. For $M > M_{\rm crit}$ the spacetime structure is characterized by an outer event horizon and an inner Cauchy horizon, while for $M = M_{\rm crit}$ we have an extremal black hole with vanishing Hawking temperature. The evaporation process leads to a remnant that approaches the zero-temperature extremal black hole state in an infinite amount of time.

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arXiv2016

Quasi-periodic oscillations as a tool for testing the Kerr metric: A comparison with gravitational waves and iron line

QPOs are a common feature in the X-ray power density spectrum of black hole binaries and a potentially powerful tool to probe the spacetime geometry around these objects. Here we discuss their constraining power to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis within the relativistic precession model. We compare our results with the constraints that can be obtained from gravitational waves and iron line. We find that QPOs may provide very precise measurements, but they are strongly affected by parameter degeneracy, and it is difficult to test the Kerr metric with this approach in the absence of independent observations to constrain the mass or the spin.

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arXiv2016

Constraining the Kerr parameters via X-ray reflection spectroscopy

In a recent paper [Ghasemi-Nodehi & Bambi, EPJC 76 (2016) 290], we have proposed a new parametrization for testing the Kerr nature of astrophysical black hole candidates. In the present work, we study the possibility of constraining the "Kerr parameters" of our proposal using X-ray reflection spectroscopy, the so-called iron line method. We simulate observations with the LAD instrument on board of the future eXTP mission assuming an exposure time of 200~ks. We fit the simulated data to see if the Kerr parameters can be constrained. If we have the correct astrophysical model, 200~ks observations with LAD/eXTP can constrain all the Kerr parameters with the exception of $b_{11}$, whose impact on the iron line profile is extremely weak and its measurement looks very challenging.

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arXiv2016

Iron K$α$ line of boson stars

The present paper is a sequel to our previous work [Y. Ni et al., JCAP 1607, 049 (2016)] in which we studied the iron K$α$ line expected in the reflection spectrum of Kerr black holes with scalar hair. These metrics are solutions of Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to a massive, complex scalar field. They form a continuous bridge between a subset of Kerr black holes and a family of rotating boson stars depending on one extra parameter, the dimensionless scalar hair parameter $q$, ranging from 0 (Kerr black holes) to 1 (boson stars). Here we study the limiting case $q=1$, corresponding to rotating boson stars. For comparison, spherical boson stars are also considered. We simulate observations with XIS/Suzaku. Using the fact that current observations are well fit by the Kerr solution and thus requiring that acceptable alternative compact objects must be compatible with a Kerr fit, we find that some boson star solutions are relatively easy to rule out as potential candidates to explain astrophysical black holes, while other solutions, which are neither too dilute nor too compact are more elusive and we argue that they cannot be distinguished from Kerr black holes by the analysis of the iron line with current X-ray facilities.

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arXiv2016

Blandford-Znajek mechanism in black holes in alternative theories of gravity

According to the Blandford-Znajek mechanism, black hole jets are powered by the rotational energy of the compact object. In this work, we consider the possibility that the metric around black holes may not be described by the Kerr solution and we study how this changes the Blandford-Znajek model. If the Blandford-Znajek mechanism is responsible for the formation of jets, the estimate of the jet power in combination with another measurement can test the nature of black hole candidates and constrain possible deviations from the Kerr solution. However, this approach might become competitive with respect to other techniques only when it will be possible to have measurements much more precise than those available today.

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arXiv2016

Black hole solutions in functional extensions of Born-Infeld gravity

We consider electrovacuum black hole spacetimes in classical extensions of Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. By rewriting Born-Infeld action as the square root of the determinant of a matrix $\hatΩ$, we consider the family of models $f (|\hatΩ|)$, and study black hole solutions for a power-law family of models labelled by a simple parameter. We show how the innermost structure of the corresponding black holes is modified as compared to their General Relativity counterparts, discussing in which cases a wormhole structure replaces the point-like singularity. We go forward to argue that in such cases a geodesically complete and thus non-singular spacetime is present, despite the existence of curvature divergences at the wormhole throat.

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arXiv2016

Testing the Kerr metric with the iron line and the KRZ parametrization

The spacetime geometry around astrophysical black holes is supposed to be well approximated by the Kerr metric, but deviations from the Kerr solution are predicted in a number of scenarios involving new physics. Broad iron K$α$ lines are commonly observed in the X-ray spectrum of black holes and originate by X-ray fluorescence of the inner accretion disk. The profile of the iron line is sensitively affected by the spacetime geometry in the strong gravity region and can be used to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, we extend previous work in the literature. In particular: i) as test-metric, we employ the parametrization recently proposed by Konoplya, Rezzolla, and Zhidenko, which has a number of subtle advantages with respect to the existing approaches; ii) we perform simulations with specific X-ray missions, and we consider NuSTAR as a prototype of current observational facilities and eXTP as an example of the next generation of X-ray observatories. We find a significant difference between the constraining power of NuSTAR and eXTP. With NuSTAR, it is difficult or impossible to constrain deviations from the Kerr metric. With eXTP, in most cases we can obtain quite stringent constraints (modulo we have the correct astrophysical model).

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