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Eugen Radu

Publications and source records attributed to Eugen Radu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2024

Numerical relativity surrogate models for exotic compact objects: the case of head-on mergers of equal-mass Proca stars

We present several high-accuracy surrogate models for gravitational-wave signals from equal-mass head-on mergers of Proca stars, computed through the Newman-Penrose scalar $ψ_4$. We also discuss the current state of the model extensions to mergers of Proca stars with different masses, and the particular challenges that these present. The models are divided in two main categories: two-stage and monolithic. In the two-stage models, a dimensional reduction algorithm is applied to embed the data in a reduced feature space, which is then interpolated in terms of the physical parameters. For the monolithic models, a single neural network is trained to predict the waveform from the input physical parameter. Our model displays mismatches below $10^{-3}$ with respect to the original numerical waveforms. Finally, we demonstrate the usage of our model in full Bayesian parameter inference through the accurate recovery of numerical relativity signals injected in zero-noise, together with the analysis of GW190521. For the latter, we observe excellent agreement with existing results that make use of full numerical relativity.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2024

The effect of Skyrme--Chern-Simons dynamics on gauged Skyrmions in $2+1$ dimensions

We study the Skyrmion of the $SO(2)$ gauged $O(3)$ sigma model in $2+1$ dimensions in the presence of a Skyrme--Chern-Simons (SCS) term, and compare its properties with the corresponding properties of the Skyrmion in the presence of the usual Chern-Simons (CS) term. We find that these properties are qualitatively largely similar in both cases, meaning that the SCS density can be employed as an alternative to the CS term also in higher dimensions, most importantly in even dimensions where no CS term is defined, $e.g.,$ in $3+1$ dimensions. The SCS density employed here is defined in terms of the pair of $SO(2)\times SO(2)$ gauge fields and an auxiliary $O(5)$ Skyrme scalar, which is contracted to an effective $O(3)$ Skyrme scalar. Technically, this study maps the methods to be applied in higher dimensional examples.

hep-th↗
arXiv2024

Reissner-Nordström dyonic black holes with gauged scalar hair

For gauged scalar fields minimally coupled to Einstein-Maxwell theory, the Mayo-Bekenstein no-hair theorem can be circumvented when including appropriate scalar self-interactions, allowing static, electrically charged black holes to be endowed with (Abelian) gauged scalar hair. Here we show these spherically symmetric solutions can be extended to include a magnetic charge in a model with scalar multiplets. The resulting dyonic configurations share most of the properties of the electrically charged solutions, in particular satisfying the same {\it resonance} condition, with the existence of a mass gap with respect to the bald Reissner-Nordström dyonic black holes. A distinctive feature, however, is that no solitonic limit exists for a non-zero magnetic charge.

hep-th↗
arXiv2024

Spinning Proca-Higgs balls, stars and hairy black holes

Recently, spherical and static flat space solitons (balls) and self-gravitating, everywhere regular, asymptotically flat solitons (stars) were constructed in an Einstein-Proca-Higgs model [1], where a complex vector field gains mass by coupling to a real scalar field with a Higgs-type potential. The Proca-Higgs model serves as a UV completion of a complex Proca model with self-interactions. Here, we construct and examine the mathematical and physical properties of rotating configurations. In particular, rotation allows horizon-bearing solutions, including stationary clouds surrounding Kerr black holes and their non-linear continuation into black holes with Proca-Higgs hair.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2024

Einstein-(complex)-Maxwell static boson stars in AdS

We consider a model with two real Maxwell fields (or equivalently, a complex Maxwell field) minimally coupled to Einsteins gravity with a negative cosmological constant in four spacetime dimensions. Assuming a specific harmonic dependence of the vector fields, we show the existence of asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) self-gravitating boson-star-like solitonic solutions, which are static and axially symmetric. Analytical solutions are found in the test-field limit, where the Maxwell equations are solved on a fixed AdS background. The fully nonlinear solutions are constructed numerically.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2024

The imitation game reloaded: effective shadows of dynamically robust spinning Proca stars

We analyse the lensing images by dynamically robust rotating (mini-)Proca stars surrounded by thin accretion disks. Due to their peculiar geodesic structure we show that these images exhibit striking similarities with the ones of BHs, for appropriately chosen disk intensity profile, when imposing a GRMHD-motivated emission cut off. Additionally, and unlike the non-rotating case, these similarities prevail even when considering equatorial observations. This example illustrates how a horizonless compact object without light rings, with a plausible formation mechanism and dynamically robust, could mimic detailed features of black hole imagiology.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Kaluza-Klein monopole with scalar hair

We construct a new family of rotating black holes with scalar hair and a regular horizon of spherical topology, within five dimensional ($d=5$) Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to a complex, massive scalar field doublet. These solutions represent generalizations of the Kaluza-Klein monopole found by Gross, Perry and Sorkin, with a twisted $S^1$ bundle over a four dimensional Minkowski spacetime being approached in the far field. The black holes are described by their mass, angular momentum, tension and a conserved Noether charge measuring the hairiness of the configurations. They are supported by rotation and have no static limit, while for vanishing horizon size, they reduce to boson stars. When performing a Kaluza-Klein reduction, the $d=5$ solutions yield a family of $d=4$ spherically symmetric dyonic black holes with gauged scalar hair. This provides a link between two seemingly unrelated mechanisms to endow a black hole with scalar hair: the $d=5$ synchronization condition between the scalar field frequency and the event horizon angular velocity results in the $d=4$ resonance condition between the scalar field frequency and the electrostatic chemical potential.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Searching for vector boson-star mergers within LIGO-Virgo intermediate-mass black-hole merger candidates

We present the first systematic search for exotic compact mergers in Advanced LIGO and Virgo events. We compare the short gravitational-wave signals GW190521, GW190426$\_$190642, GW200220$\_$061928 and the trigger 200114$\_$020818 (or S200114f) to a new catalogue of 759 numerical simulations of head-on mergers of horizonless exotic compact objects known as Proca stars, interpreted as self-gravitating lumps of (fuzzy) dark matter sourced by an ultralight (vector) bosonic particle. The Proca-star merger hypothesis is strongly rejected with respect to the black hole merger one by GW190426, weakly rejected by GW200220 and weakly favoured by GW190521 and S200114f. GW190521 and GW200220 yield highly consistent boson masses of $μ_{\rm B} = 8.69^{+0.61}_{-0.75}\times10^{-13}$ eV and $μ_{\rm B} = 9.13^{+1.18}_{-1.30}\times10^{-13}$ eV at the $90\%$ credible level. We conduct a preliminary population study of the compact binaries behind these events. Excluding (including) S200114f as a real event, and ignoring boson-mass consistencies across events, we estimate a fraction of Proca-star mergers of $ζ= 0.27^{+0.43}_{-0.25} \ (0.39^{+0.38}_{-0.33})$. We discuss the impact of boson-mass consistency across events in such estimates. Our results maintain GW190521 as a Proca-star merger candidate and pave the way towards population studies considering exotic compact objects.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Gravitational-wave parameter inference with the Newman-Penrose scalar $ψ_4$

Detection and parameter inference of gravitational-wave signals \ncor{from compact mergers} rely on the comparison of the incoming detector strain data $d(t)$ to waveform templates for the gravitational-wave strain $h(t)$ that ultimately rely on the resolution of Einstein's equations via numerical relativity simulations. These, however, commonly output a quantity known as the Newman-Penrose scalar $ψ_4(t)$ which, under the Bondi gauge, is related to the gravitational-wave strain by $ψ_4(t)=\mathrm{d}^2h(t) / \mathrm{d}t^2$. Therefore, obtaining strain templates involves an integration process that introduces artefacts that need to be treated in a rather manual way. By taking second-order finite differences on the detector data and inferring the corresponding background noise distribution, we develop a framework to perform gravitational-wave data analysis directly using $ψ_4(t)$ templates. We first demonstrate this formalism, and the impact of integration artefacts in strain templates, through the recovery of numerically simulated signals from head-on collisions of Proca stars injected in Advanced LIGO noise. Next, we re-analyse the event GW190521 under the hypothesis of a Proca-star merger, obtaining results equivalent to those in Ref.[1], where we used the classical strain framework. We find, however, that integration errors would strongly impact our analysis if GW190521 was four times louder. Finally, we show that our framework fixes significant biases in the interpretation of the high-mass GW trigger S200114f arising from the usage of strain templates. We remove the need to obtain strain waveforms from numerical relativity simulations, avoiding the associated systematic errors.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Self-interacting dipolar boson stars and their dynamics

We construct and dynamically evolve dipolar, self-interacting scalar boson stars in a model with sextic (+ quartic) self-interactions. The domain of existence of such dipolar $Q$-stars has a similar structure to that of the fundamental monopolar stars of the same model. For the latter it is structured in a Newtonian plus a relativistic branch, wherein perturbatively stable solutions exist, connected by a middle unstable branch. Our evolutions support similar dynamical properties of the dipolar $Q$-stars that: 1) in the Newtonian and relativistic branches are dynamically robust over time scales longer than those for which dipolar stars without self-interactions are seen to decay; 2) in the middle branch migrate to either the Newtonian or the relativistic branch; 3) beyond the relativistic branch decay to black holes. Overall, these results strengthen the observation, seen in other contexts, that self-interactions can mitigate dynamical instabilities of scalar boson star models.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

EMRIs around $j=1$ black holes with synchronised hair

We study extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs) due to an infalling Light Compact Object (LCO) onto a generic class of stationary and axi-symmetric massive compact objects (MCO - with or without a horizon). Using the quadrupole hybrid formalism we obtain a master formula for the evolution of the radius of the LCO and find qualitatively different behaviours depending on the geodesic structure of the MCO. We then specialize the MCO to a black hole with synchronised scalar hair (BHsSH). To allow a comparison with a highly spinning Kerr BH, we consider BHsSH with dimensionless spin, $j = 1$. This yields two distinct sequences of solutions. The first harbours Kerr-like solutions with maximal hairiness of $\sim 10\%$. The corresponding EMRIs are Kerr-like, but the cut-off frequency can be a few times smaller than in Kerr, yielding waveforms with quantitatively significant non-Kerrness. The second sequence links the extremal Kerr black hole to a mini-boson star with $j=1$. Here we observe qualitative non-Kerrness, such as the non-monotonically increase of the angular velocity and stagnation endpoints, reflecting Kerr-unlike geodesic structures.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Solitons in the Gauged Skyrme-Maxwell Model

We consider soliton solutions of the U(1) gauged Skyrme model with the pion mass term. The domain of existence of gauged Skyrmions is restricted from above by the value of the pion mass. Concentrating on the solutions of topological degree one, we find that coupling to the electromagnetic field breaks the symmetry of the configurations, the Skyrmions carrying both an electric charge and a magnetic flux, with an induced dipole magnetic moment. The Skyrmions also possess an angular momentum, which is quantized in the units of the electric charge. The mass of the gauged Skyrmions monotonically decreases with increase of the gauge coupling.

hep-th↗
arXiv2023

Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion onto a rotating black hole with ultralight scalar hair

We present a numerical study of relativistic Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton (BHL) accretion onto an asymptotically flat black hole with synchronized hair. The hair is sourced by an ultralight, complex scalar field, minimally coupled to Einstein's gravity. Our simulations consider a supersonic flow parametrized by the asymptotic values of the fluid quantities and a sample of hairy black holes with different masses, angular momenta, and amount of scalar hair. For all models, steady-state BHL accretion solutions are attained that are characterized by the presence of a shock-cone and a stagnation point downstream. For the models of the sample with the largest component of scalar field, the shock-cone envelops fully the black hole, transitioning into a bow-shock, and the stagnation points move further away downstream. Analytical expressions for the mass accretion rates are obtained after fitting the numerical results, which can be used to analyze black-hole formation scenarios in the presence of ultralight scalar fields. The formation of a shock-cone leads to regions where sound waves can be trapped and resonant oscillations excited. We measure the frequencies of such quasi-periodic oscillations and point out a possible association with quasi-periodic oscillations in the X-ray light curve of Sgr~A* and microquasars.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

(H)airborne: two spinning black holes balanced by their synchronised scalar hair

General Relativity minimally coupled to a massive, free, complex scalar field, is shown to allow asymptotically flat solutions, non-singular on and outside the event horizon, describing two spinning black holes (2sBHs) in equilibrium, with co-axial, aligned angular momenta. The 2sBHs configurations bifurcate from solutions describing dipolar spinning boson stars. The BHs emerge at equilibrium points diagnosed by a test particle analysis and illustrated by a Newtonian analogue. The individual BH "charges" are mass and angular momentum only. Equilibrium is due to the scalar environment, acting as a (compact) dipolar field, providing a lift against their mutual attraction, making the 2sBHs (h)airborne. We explore the 2sBHs domain of solutions and its main features.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

The role of the Callan-Witten anomaly density as a Chern-Simons term in Skyrme model

We consider axially symmetric solutions of the U(1) gauged Skyrme model supplemented with a Callan-Witten (CW) anomaly density term. The main properties of the solutions are studied, several specific features introduced by the presence of the CW term being identified. We find that the solitons possess a nonzero angular momentum proportional to the electric charge, which in addition to the usual Coulomb part, acquires an extra (topological) contribution from the CW term. Specifically, it is shown that the slope of mass/energy $M$ $vs.$ electric charge $Q_e$ and angular momentum $J$ can be both positive $and$ negative. Furthermore, it is shown that the gauged Skyrmion persists even when the quartic (Skyrme) kinetic term disappears.

hep-th↗
arXiv2023

Equatorial timelike circular orbits around generic ultracompact objects

For a stationary, axisymmetric, asymptotically flat, ultra-compact [$i.e.$ containing light-rings (LRs)] object, with a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ north-south symmetry fixing an equatorial plane, we establish that the structure of timelike circular orbits (TCOs) in the vicinity of the equatorial LRs, for either rotation direction, depends exclusively on the radial stability of the LRs. Thus, an unstable LR delimits a region of unstable TCOs (no TCOs) radially above (below) it; a stable LR delimits a region of stable TCOs (no TCOs) radially below (above) it. Corollaries are discussed for both horizonless ultra-compact objects and black holes. We illustrate these results with a variety of exotic stars examples and non-Kerr black holes, for which we also compute the efficiency associated with converting gravitational energy into radiation by a material particle falling under an adiabatic sequence of TCOs. For most objects studied, it is possible to obtain efficiencies larger than the maximal efficiency of Kerr black holes, $i.e.$ larger than $42\%$.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Stability and physical properties of spherical excited scalar boson stars

We study the time evolution of spherical, excited -- with $n$ radial nodes -- scalar boson stars in General Relativity minimally coupled to a complex massive scalar field with quartic self-interactions. We report that these stars, with up to $n=10$, can be made dynamically stable, up to timescales of $t\sim\frac{10^{4}}{cμ}$, where $μ$ is the inverse Compton wavelength of the scalar particle, for sufficiently large values of the self-interactions coupling constant $λ$, which depend on $n$. We observe that the compactness of these solutions is rather insensitive to $n$, for large $λ$ and fixed frequency. Generically, along the branches where stability was studied, these excited boson stars are not compact enough to allow for innermost stable circular orbits or light rings. Finally, we discuss the angular velocity of particles along timelike circular orbits, suggesting an application, for solutions in the Newtonian limit, to galactic rotation curves.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2023

Phases of rotating black objects in d = 5 Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory

We consider several different classes of asymptotically flat, rotating black objects in d = 5 Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) theory. These are first the black holes with two equal-magnitude angular momenta, in which case extremal configurations are studied as well. Numerical evidence is also given for the existence of EGB generalizations of the Myers-Perry black holes with a single plane of rotation and of the Emparan-Reall balanced black rings. All solutions approach asymptotically the Minkowski background and present no singularities outside and on the horizon. The numerical results suggest that for any mass of the solutions and any topology of the horizon, the rotating configurations exist up to a maximal value of the GB coupling constant, while the solutions with a spherical horizon topology still satisfy the Einstein gravity bound on angular momentum.

gr-qc↗