arXiv subjects

E. Radu

Publications and source records attributed to E. Radu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

The non-spherical ground state of Proca stars

Spherical Proca Stars (PSs) are regarded as the ground state amongst the family of PSs. In accordance, spherical PSs are thought to have a fundamental branch of stable solutions. In this Letter, we provide energetic, morphological and dynamical evidence that spherical PSs are actually excited states. The ground state is shown to be a family of static, non-spherical, in fact prolate, PSs. The spherical stars in the fundamental branch, albeit stable against spherical perturbations, turn out to succumb to non-spherical dynamics, undergoing an isometry breaking into prolate PSs. We also provide evidence for the dynamical formation of prolate PSs, starting from spherical dilute initial data, via gravitational cooling. Consequently, PSs provide a remarkable example of (possibly compact) relativistic stars, in General Relativity minimally coupled to a simple, physical, field theory model, where staticity plus stability implies non-sphericity.

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arXiv2022

Two boson stars in equilibrium

We construct and explore the solution space of two non-spinning, mini-boson stars in equilibrium, in fully non-linear General Relativity (GR), minimally coupled to a free, massive, complex scalar field. The equilibrium is due to the balance between the (long range) gravitational attraction and the (short-range) scalar mediated repulsion, the latter enabled by a $\pi$ relative phase. Gravity is \textit{mandatory}; it is shown no similar solutions exist in flat spacetime, replacing gravity by non-linear scalar interactions. We study the variation of the proper distance between the stars with their mass (or oscillation frequency), showing it can be qualitatively captured by a simple analytic model that features the two competing interactions. Finally, we discuss some physical properties of the solutions, including their gravitational lensing.

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arXiv2021

Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell wormholes: ansatz, construction and properties of symmetric solutions

We present a discussion of the traversable wormholes in Einstein-Dirac-Maxwell theory recently reported in e-Print: 2010.07317. This includes a detailed description of the ansatz and junction condition, together with an investigation of the domain of existence of the solutions. In this study, we assume symmetry under interchange of the two asymptotically flat regions of a wormhole. Possible issues and limitations of the approach are also discussed.

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arXiv2021

Chains of Boson Stars

We study axially symmetric multi-soliton solutions of a complex scalar field theory with a sextic potential, minimally coupled to Einstein's gravity. These solutions carry no angular momentum and can be classified by the number of nodes of the scalar field, $k_z$, along the symmetry axis; they are interpreted as chains with $k_z+1$ boson stars, bound by gravity, but kept apart by repulsive scalar interactions. Chains with an odd number of constituents show a spiraling behavior for their ADM mass (and Noether charge) in terms of their angular frequency, similarly to a single fundamental boson star, as long as the gravitational coupling is small; for larger coupling, however, the inner part of the spiral is replaced by a merging with the fundamental branch of radially excited spherical boson stars. Chains with an even number of constituents exhibit a truncated spiral pattern, with only two or three branches, ending at a limiting solution with finite values of ADM mass and Noether charge.

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arXiv2020

Multipolar boson stars: macroscopic Bose-Einstein condensates akin to hydrogen orbitals

Boson stars are often described as macroscopic Bose-Einstein condensates. By accommodating large numbers of bosons in the same quantum state, they materialize macroscopically the intangible probability density cloud of a single particle in the quantum world. We take this interpretation of boson stars one step further. We show, by explicitly constructing the fully non-linear solutions, that static (in terms of their spacetime metric, $g_{\mu\nu}$) boson stars, composed of a single complex scalar field, $\Phi$, can have a non-trivial multipolar structure, yielding the same morphologies for their energy density as those that elementary hydrogen atomic orbitals have for their probability density. This provides a close analogy between the elementary solutions of the non-linear Einstein--Klein-Gordon theory, denoted $\Phi_{(N,\ell,m)}$, which could be realized in the macrocosmos, and those of the linear Schr\"odinger equation in a Coulomb potential, denoted $\Psi_{(N,\ell,m)}$, that describe the microcosmos. In both cases, the solutions are classified by a triplet of quantum numbers $(N,\ell,m)$. In the gravitational theory, multipolar boson stars can be interpreted as individual bosonic lumps in equilibrium; remarkably, the (generic) solutions with $m\neq 0$ describe gravitating solitons $[g_{\mu\nu},\Phi_{(N,\ell,m)}]$ without any continuous symmetries. Multipolar boson stars analogue to hybrid orbitals are also constructed.

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arXiv2019

Non-linear dynamics of spinning bosonic stars: formation and stability

We perform numerical evolutions of the fully non-linear Einstein-(complex, massive)Klein-Gordon and Einstein-(complex)Proca systems, to assess the formation and stability of spinning bosonic stars. In the scalar/vector case these are known as boson/Proca stars. Firstly, we consider the formation scenario. Starting with constraint-obeying initial data, describing a dilute, axisymmetric cloud of spinning scalar/Proca field, gravitational collapse towards a spinning star occurs, via gravitational cooling. In the scalar case the formation is transient, even for a non-perturbed initial cloud; a non-axisymmetric instability always develops ejecting all the angular momentum from the scalar star. In the Proca case, by contrast, no instability is observed and the evolutions are compatible with the formation of a spinning Proca star. Secondly, we address the stability of an existing star, a stationary solution of the field equations. In the scalar case, a non-axisymmetric perturbation develops collapsing the star to a spinning black hole. No such instability is found in the Proca case, where the star survives large amplitude perturbations; moreover, some excited Proca stars decay to, and remain as, fundamental states. Our analysis suggests bosonic stars have different stability properties in the scalar/vector case, which we tentatively relate to their toroidal/spheroidal morphology. A parallelism with instabilities of spinning fluid stars is briefly discussed.

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arXiv2019

Asymptotically flat spinning scalar, Dirac and Proca stars

Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to free, massive, classical fundamental fields admits particle-like solutions. These are asymptotically flat, everywhere non-singular configurations that realise Wheeler's concept of a geon: a localised lump of self-gravitating energy whose existence is anchored on the non-linearities of general relativity, trivialising in the flat spacetime limit. In arXiv:1708.05674 the key properties for the existence of these solutions (also referred to as stars or self-gravitating solitons) were discussed - which include a harmonic time dependence in the matter field -, and a comparative analysis of the stars arising in the Einstein-Klein-Gordon, Einstein-Dirac and Einstein-Proca models was performed, for the particular case of static, spherically symmetric spacetimes. In the present work we generalise this analysis for spinning solutions. In particular, the spinning Einstein-Dirac stars are reported here for the first time. Our analysis shows that the high degree of universality observed in the spherical case remains when angular momentum is allowed. Thus, as classical field theory solutions, these self-gravitating solitons are rather insensitive to the fundamental fermionic or bosonic nature of the corresponding field, displaying similar features. We describe some physical properties and, in particular, we observe that the angular momentum of the spinning stars satisfies the quantisation condition $J=m N,$ for all models, where $N$ is the particle number and $m$ is an integer for the bosonic fields and a half-integer for the Dirac field. The way in which this quantisation condition arises, however, is more subtle for the non-zero spin fields.

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arXiv2019

Einstein-Maxwell-scalar black holes: classes of solutions, dyons and extremality

Spherical black hole (BH) solutions in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar (EMS) models wherein the scalar field is non-minimally coupled to the Maxwell invariant by some coupling function are discussed. We suggest a classification for these models into two classes, based on the properties of the coupling function, which, in particular, allow, or not, the Reissner-Nordstr\"om (RN) BH solution of electrovacuum to solve a given model. Then, a comparative analysis of two illustrative families of solutions, one belonging to each class is performed: $dilatonic$ versus $scalarised$ BHs. By including magnetic charge, that is considering dyons, we show that scalarised BHs can have a smooth extremal limit, unlike purely electric or magnetic solutions. In particular, we study this extremal limit using the entropy function formalism, which provides insight on why both charges are necessary for extremal solutions to exist.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Gravitating solitons and black holes with synchronised hair in the four dimensional O(3) sigma-model

We consider the $\mathrm{O}(3)$ non-linear sigma-model, composed of three real scalar fields with a standard kinetic term and with a symmetry breaking potential in four spacetime dimensions. We show that this simple, geometrically motivated model, admits both self-gravitating, asymptotically flat, non-topological solitons and hairy black holes, when minimally coupled to Einstein's gravity, $without$ the need to introduce higher order kinetic terms in the scalar fields action. Both spherically symmetric and spinning, axially symmetric solutions are studied. The solutions are obtained under a ansatz with oscillation (in the static case) or rotation (in the spinning case) in the internal space. Thus, there is symmetry non-inheritance: the matter sector is not invariant under the individual spacetime isometries. For the hairy black holes, which are necessarily spinning, the internal rotation (isorotation) must be synchronous with the rotational angular velocity of the event horizon. We explore the domain of existence of the solutions and some of their physical properties, that resemble closely those of (mini) boson stars and Kerr black holes with synchronised scalar hair in Einstein-(massive, complex)-Klein-Gordon theory.

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arXiv2018

Skyrmions around Kerr black holes and spinning BHs with Skyrme hair

We study solutions of the Einstein-Skyrme model. Firstly we consider test field Skyrmions on the Kerr background. These configurations -- hereafter dubbed Skerrmions -- can be in equilibrium with a Kerr black hole (BH) by virtue of a synchronisation condition. We consider two sectors for Skerrmions. In the sector with non-zero baryon charge, Skerrmions are akin to the known Skyrme solutions on the Schwarzschild background. These `topological' configurations reduce to flat spacetime Skyrmions in a vanishing BH mass limit; moreoever, they never become "small" perturbations on the Kerr background: the non-linearities of the Skyrme model are crucial for all such Skerrmions. In the non-topological sector, on the other hand, Skerrmions have no analogue on the Schwarzschild background. Non-topological Skerrmions carry not baryon charge and bifurcate from a subset of Kerr solutions defining an existence line. Therein the appropriate truncation of the Skyrme model yield a linear scalar field theory containing a complex plus a real field, both massive and decoupled, and the Skerrmions reduce to the known stationary scalar clouds around Kerr BHs. Moreover, non-topological Skerrmions trivialise in the vanishing BH mass limit. We then discuss the backreaction of these Skerrmions, that yield rotating BHs with synchronised Skyrme hair, which continously connect to the Kerr solution (self-gravitating Skyrmions) in the non-topological (topological) sector. In particular, the non-topological hairy BHs provide a non-linear realisation, within the Skyrme model, of the synchronous stationary scalar clouds around Kerr.

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arXiv2016

Chaotic lensing around boson stars and Kerr black holes with scalar hair

In a recent letter, arXiv:1509.00021, it was shown that the lensing of light around rotating boson stars and Kerr black holes with scalar hair can exhibit chaotic patterns. Since no separation of variables is known (or expected) for geodesic motion on these backgrounds, we examine the 2D effective potentials for photon trajectories, to obtain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. We find that the emergence of stable light rings on the background spacetimes, allows the formation of "pockets" in one of the effective potentials, for open sets of impact parameters, leading to an effective trapping of some trajectories, dubbed quasi-bound orbits. We conclude that pocket formation induces chaotic scattering, although not all chaotic orbits are associated to pockets. These and other features are illustrated in a gallery of examples, obtained with a new ray-tracing code, PYHOLE, which includes tools for a simple, simultaneous visualization of the effective potential together with the spacetime trajectory, for any given point in a lensing image. An analysis of photon orbits allows us to further establish a positive correlation between photon orbits in chaotic regions and those with more than one turning point in the radial direction; we recall that the latter is not possible around Kerr black holes. Moreover, we observe that the existence of several light rings around a horizon (several fundamental orbits, including a stable one), is a central ingredient for the existence of multiple shadows of a single hairy black hole. We also exhibit the lensing and shadows by Kerr black holes with scalar hair, observed away from the equatorial plane, obtained with PYHOLE.

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arXiv2016

Astrophysical imaging of Kerr black holes with scalar hair

We address the astrophysical imaging of a family of deformed Kerr black holes (BHs). These are stationary, asymptotically flat black hole (BH) spacetimes, that are solutions of General Relativity minimally coupled to a massive, complex scalar field: Kerr BHs with scalar hair (KBHsSH). Such BHs bifurcate from the vacuum Kerr solution and can be regarded as a horizon within a rotating boson star. In a recent letter, it was shown that KBHsSH can exhibit very distinct shadows from the ones of their vacuum counterparts. The setup therein, however, considered the light source to be a celestial sphere sufficiently far away from the BH. Here, we analyse KBHsSH surrounded by an emitting torus of matter, simulating a more realistic astrophysical environment, and study the corresponding lensing of light as seen by a very far away observer, to appropriately model ground-based observations of Sgr A*. We find that the differences in imaging between KBHsSH and comparable vacuum Kerr BHs remain, albeit less dramatic than those observed for the corresponding shadows in the previous setup. In particular, we highlight two observables that might allow differentiating KBHsSH and Kerr BHs. The first is the angular size of the photon ring (in a Kerr spacetime) or lensing ring (in a KBHSH spacetime), the latter being significantly smaller for sufficiently non-Kerr-like spacetimes. The second is the existence of an edge in the intensity distribution (the photon ring in Kerr spacetime). This edge can disappear for very non-Kerr-like KBHsSH. It is plausible, therefore, that sufficiently precise Very Long Baseline Interferometric observations of BH candidates can constrain this model.

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arXiv2010

Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black strings

We construct uniform black-string solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity for all dimensions $d$ between five and ten and discuss their basic properties. Closed form solutions are found by taking the Gauss-Bonnet term as a perturbation from pure Einstein gravity. Nonperturbative solutions are constructed by solving numerically the equations of the model. The Gregory-Laflamme instability of the black strings is explored via linearized perturbation theory. Our results indicate that new qualitative features occur for $d=6$, in which case stable configurations exist for large enough values of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant. For other dimensions, the black strings are dynamically unstable and have also a negative specific heat. We argue that this provides an explicit realization of the Gubser-Mitra conjecture, which links local dynamical and thermodynamic stability. Nonuniform black strings in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory are also constructed in six spacetime dimensions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2009

Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black holes in de Sitter spacetime and the quasilocal formalism

We propose to compute the action and global charges of the asymptotically de Sitter solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory by using the counterterms method in conjunction with the quasilocal formalism. The general expression of the counterterms and the boundary stress tensor is presented for spacetimes of dimension $d\leq 7$. We apply this tehnique for several different solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory with a positive cosmological constant. Apart from known solutions, we consider also $d=5$ vacuum rotating black holes with equal magnitude angular momenta.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2008

Five-dimensional rotating black holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory

We present arguments for the existence of five-dimensional rotating black holes with equal magnitude angular momenta in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory with negative cosmological constant. These solutions posses a regular horizon of spherical topology and approach asymptotically an Anti-de Sitter spacetime background. We discuss the general properties of these solutions and, using an adapted counterterm prescription, we compute their entropy and conserved charges.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

On the stability of AdS black strings

We explore via linearized perturbation theory the Gregory-Laflamme instability of the black string solutions of Einstein's equations with negative cosmological constant recently discussed in literature. Our results indicate that the black strings whose conformal infinity is the product of time and $S^{d-3}\times S^1$ are stable for large enough values of the event horizon radius. All topological black strings are also classically stable. We argue that this provides an explicit realization of the Gubser-Mitra conjecture.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

Magnetic solutions in AdS$_5$ and trace anomalies

We discuss black hole and black string solutions in d=5 Einstein-Yang-Mills theory with negative cosmological constant, proposing a method to compute their mass and action. The magnetic gauge field of these configurations does not vanish at infinity. We argue that this implies a nonvanishing trace for the stress tensor of the dual d=4 theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2007

AdS$_5$ rotating non-Abelian black holes

We present arguments for the existence of charged, rotating black holes with equal magnitude angular momenta in $d=5$ Einstein-Yang-Mills theory with negative cosmological constant. These solutions posses a regular horizon of spherical topology and approach asymptotically the Anti-de Sitter spacetime background. The black hole solutions have also an electric charge and a nonvanishing magnetic flux through the sphere at infinity. Different from the static case, no regular solution with a nonvanishing angular momenta is found for a vanishing event horizon radius.

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