arXiv subjects

Francisco S. N. Lobo

Publications and source records attributed to Francisco S. N. Lobo.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

From the Flamm-Einstein-Rosen bridge to the modern renaissance of traversable wormholes

We consider the possibility of multiply-connected spacetimes, ranging from the Flamm-Einstein-Rosen bridge, geons, and the modern renaissance of traversable wormholes. A fundamental property in wormhole physics is the flaring-out condition of the throat, which through the Einstein field equation entails the violation of the null energy condition. In the context of modified theories of gravity, it has also been shown that the normal matter can be imposed to satisfy the energy conditions, and it is the higher order curvature terms, interpreted as a gravitational fluid, that sustain these non-standard wormhole geometries, fundamentally different from their counterparts in general relativity. We explore interesting features of these geometries, in particular, the physical properties and characteristics of these `exotic spacetimes'.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Electrodynamics and spacetime geometry I: Foundations

We explore the intimate connection between spacetime geometry and electrodynamics. This link is already implicit in the constitutive relations between the field strengths and excitations, which are an essential part of the axiomatic structure of electromagnetism, clearly formulated via integration theory and differential forms. We briefly review the foundations of electromagnetism based on charge and magnetic flux conservation, the Lorentz force and the constitutive relations which introduce the spacetime metric. We then proceed with the tensor formulation by assuming local, linear, homogeneous and isotropic constitutive relations, and explore the physical, observable consequences of Maxwell's equations in curved spacetime. The field equations, charge conservation and the Lorentz force are explicitly expressed in general (pseudo) Riemanian manifolds. The generalized Gauss and Maxwell-Ampère laws, as well as the wave equations, reveal potentially interesting astrophysical applications. In all cases new electromagnetic couplings and related phenomena are induced by spacetime curvature. The implications and possible applications for gravity waves detection are briefly addressed. At the foundational level, we discuss the possibility of generalizing the vacuum constitutive relations, by relaxing the fixed conditions of homogeneity and isotropy, and by assuming that the symmetry properties of the electro-vacuum follow the spacetime isometries. The implications of this extension are briefly discussed in the context of the intimate connection between electromagnetism and the geometry (and causal structure) of spacetime.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

A novel approach to thin-shell wormholes and applications

A novel framework is presented that can be adapted to a wide class of generic spherically symmetric thin-shell wormholes. By using the Darmois--Israel formalism, we analyze the stability of arbitrary spherically symmetric thin-shell wormholes to linearized perturbations around static solutions. We demonstrate in full generality that the stability of the wormhole is equivalent to choosing suitable properties for the exotic material residing on the wormhole throat. As an application, we consider the thin-shell variant of the Ellis wormhole for the cases of a vanishing momentum flux and non-zero external fluxes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Dynamical system analysis for nonminimal torsion-matter coupled gravity

In this work, we perform a detailed dynamical analysis for the cosmological applications of a nonminimal torsion-matter coupled gravity. Two alternative formalisms are proposed, which enable one to choose between the easier approach for a given problem, and furthermore, we analyze six specific models. In general, we extract fixed points corresponding either to dark-matter dominated, scaling decelerated solutions, or to dark-energy dominated accelerated solutions. Additionally, we find that there is a small parameter region in which the model can experience the transition from the matter epoch to a dark-energy era. These features are in agreement with the observed universe evolution, and make the theory a successful candidate for the description of Nature.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Novel stability approach of thin-shell gravastars

We develop an extremely general and robust framework that can be adapted to wide classes of generic spherically symmetric thin-shell gravastars. The thin shell (transition layer) will be permitted to move freely in the bulk spacetimes, permitting a fully dynamic analysis. This will then allow us to perform a general stability analysis, where it is explicitly shown that stability of the gravastar is related to the properties of the matter residing in the thin-shell transition layer.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Traversable wormholes satisfying the weak energy condition in third-order Lovelock gravity

In this paper, we consider third order Lovelock gravity with a cosmological constant term in an n-dimensional spacetime $\mathcal{M}^{4}\times \mathcal{K}^{n-4}$, where $\mathcal{K}^{n-4} $ is a constant curvature space. We decompose the equations of motion to four and higher dimensional ones and find wormhole solutions by considering a vacuum $\mathcal{K}^{n-4} $ space. Applying the latter constraint, we determine the second and third order Lovelock coefficients and the cosmological constant in terms of specific parameters of the model, such as the size of the extra dimensions. Using the obtained Lovelock coefficients and $Λ$, we obtain the 4-dimensional matter distribution threading the wormhole. Furthermore, by considering the zero tidal force case and a specific equation of state, given by $ρ=(γp-τ)/[ω(1+γ)]$, we find the exact solution for the shape function which represents both asymptotically flat and non-flat wormhole solutions. We show explicitly that these wormhole solutions in addition to traversibility satisfy the energy conditions for suitable choices of parameters and that the existence of a limited spherically symmetric traversable wormhole with normal matter in a 4-dimensional spacetime, implies a negative effective cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Gravity's Rainbow and Traversable Wormholes

In the context of Gravity's Rainbow, we compute the graviton one-loop contribution to a classical energy in a traversable wormhole background, by considering the equation of state $p_{r} = ωρ$. The investigation is evaluated by means of a variational approach with Gaussian trial wave functionals. However, instead of using a regularization/renormalization process, we use the distortion induced by Gravity's Rainbow to handle the divergences.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2015

Cosmology of the de Sitter Horndeski models

Horndeski models with a de Sitter critical point for any kind of material content may provide a mechanism to alleviate the cosmological constant problem. We study the cosmological evolution of two classes of families - the linear models and the non-linear models with shift symmetry. We conclude that the latter models can deliver a background dynamics compatible with the latest observational data.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Accelerating Horndeski cosmologies screening the vacuum energy

In the context of Horndeski cosmologies, we consider a dynamical adjustment mechanism able to screen any value of the vacuum energy of the matter fields leading to a fixed de Sitter geometry. Thus, we present the most general scalar-tensor cosmological models without higher than second order derivatives in the field equation that have a fixed spatially flat de Sitter critical point for any kind of material content or vacuum energy. These models allow us to understand the current accelerated expansion of the universe as the result of the evolution towards the critical point when it is an attractor.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Thick brane solitons breaking $Z_2$ symmetry

New soliton solutions for thick branes in 4 + 1 dimensions are considered in this article. In particular, brane models based on the sine-Gordon (SG), $φ^{4}$ and $φ^{6}$ scalar fields are investigated; in some cases $Z_{2}$ symmetry is broken. Besides, these soliton solutions are responsible for supporting and stabilizing the thick branes. In these models, the origin of the symmetry breaking resides in the fact that the modified scalar field potential may have non-degenerate vacuua and these non-degenerate vacuua determine the cosmological constant on both sides of the brane. At last, in order to explore the particle motion in the neighborhood of the brane, the geodesic equations along the fifth dimension are studied.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Gravitational, lensing, and stability properties of Bose-Einstein condensate dark matter halos

The possibility that dark matter, whose existence is inferred from the study of the galactic rotation curves, and from the mass deficit in galaxy clusters, can be in a form of a Bose-Einstein Condensate, has been extensively investigated lately. In the present work, we consider a detailed analysis of the astrophysical properties of the Bose-Einstein Condensate dark matter halos that could provide clear observational signatures that help discriminate between different dark matter models. In the Bose-Einstein condensation model dark matter can be described as a non-relativistic, gravitationally confined Newtonian gas, whose density and pressure are related by a polytropic equation of state with index $n=1$. The mass and gravitational properties of the condensate halos are obtained in a systematic form, including the mean logarithmic slopes of the density and of the tangential velocity. The lensing properties of the condensate dark matter are investigated in detail. In particular, a general analytical formula for the surface density, an important quantity that defines the lensing properties of a dark matter halos, is obtained in the form of series expansions. This enables arbitrary-precision calculations of the surface mass density, deflection angle, deflection potential, and of the magnification factor, thus giving the possibility of the comparison of the predicted lensing properties of the condensate dark matter halos with observations. The stability properties of the condensate halos are also investigated by using the scalar and the tensor virial theorems, respectively, and the virial perturbation equation for condensate dark matter halos is derived.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Hybrid metric-Palatini gravity

Recently, the phenomenology of f(R) gravity has been scrutinized motivated by the possibility to account for the self-accelerated cosmic expansion without invoking dark energy sources. Besides, this kind of modified gravity is capable of addressing the dynamics of several self-gravitating systems alternatively to the presence of dark matter. It has been established that both metric and Palatini versions of these theories have interesting features but also manifest severe and different downsides. A hybrid combination of theories, containing elements from both these two formalisms, turns out to be also very successful accounting for the observed phenomenology and is able to avoid some drawbacks of the original approaches. This article reviews the formulation of this hybrid metric-Palatini approach and its main achievements in passing the local tests and in applications to astrophysical and cosmological scenarios, where it provides a unified approach to the problems of dark energy and dark matter.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Higher-dimensional thin-shell wormholes in third-order Lovelock gravity

In this work, we explore asymptotically flat charged thin-shell wormholes of third order Lovelock gravity in higher dimensions, taking into account the cut-and-paste technique. Using the generalized junction conditions, we determine the energy-momentum tensor of these solutions on the shell, and explore the issue of the energy conditions and the amount of normal matter that supports these thin-shell wormholes. Our analysis shows that for negative second order and positive third-order Lovelock coefficients, there are thin-shell wormhole solutions that respect the weak energy condition. In this case, the amount of normal matter increases as the third-order Lovelock coefficient decreases. We also find novel solutions which possess specific regions where the energy conditions are satisfied for the case of a positive second order and negative third-order Lovelock coefficients. Finally, a linear stability analysis in higher dimensions around the static solutions is carried out. Considering a specific cold equation of state, we find a wide range of stability regions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Irreversible matter creation processes through a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling

An interesting cosmological history was proposed by Prigogine {\it et al.} who considered the Universe as a thermodynamically open system. This scenario is characterized by a process of matter creation, which corresponds to an irreversible energy flow from the gravitational field to the pressureless matter fluid. Here, we show that the gravitationally induced particle production may arise from a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling. By considering the equivalent scalar-tensor theory, the cosmological implications of the model are discussed. As all known natural systems tend to a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, and assuming the universe is not different in this respect, we also discuss the conditions to attain the equilibrium state.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Gravitational induced particle production through a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling

We consider the possibility of a gravitationally induced particle production through the mechanism of a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling. An interesting feature of this gravitational theory is that the divergence of the energy-momentum tensor is nonzero. As a first step in our study we reformulate the model in terms of an equivalent scalar-tensor theory, with two arbitrary potentials. By using the formalism of open thermodynamic systems, we interpret the energy balance equations in this gravitational theory from a thermodynamic point of view, as describing irreversible matter creation processes. The particle number creation rates, the creation pressure, and the entropy production rates are explicitly obtained as functions of the scalar field and its potentials, as well as of the matter Lagrangian. The temperature evolution laws of the newly created particles are also obtained. The cosmological implications of the model are briefly investigated, and it is shown that the late-time cosmic acceleration may be due to particle creation processes. Furthermore, it is also shown that due to the curvature--matter coupling, during the cosmological evolution a large amount of comoving entropy is also produced.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Generalized $f(R,ϕ,X)$ gravity and the late-time cosmic acceleration

High-precision observational data have confirmed with startling evidence that the Universe is currently undergoing a phase of accelerated expansion. This phase, one of the most important and challenging current problems in cosmology, represents a new imbalance in the governing gravitational equations. Historically, physics has addressed such imbalances by either identifying sources that were previously unaccounted for, or by altering the gravitational theory. Several candidates, responsible for this expansion, have been proposed in the literature, in particular, dark energy models and modified gravity models, amongst others. Outstanding questions are related to the nature of this so-called "dark energy" that is driving this acceleration, and whether it is due to the vacuum energy or a dynamical field. On the other hand, the late-time cosmic acceleration may be due to modifications of General Relativity. In this work we explore a generalised modified gravity theory, namely $f(R,ϕ,X)$ gravity, where $R$ is the Ricci scalar, $ϕ$ is a scalar field, and $X$ is a kinetic term. This theory contains a wide range of dark energy and modified gravity models. We considered specific models and applications to the late-time cosmic acceleration.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

A dynamical system analysis of hybrid metric-Palatini cosmologies

The so called $f(X)$ hybrid metric-Palatini gravity presents a unique viable generalisation of the $f(R)$ theories within the metric-affine formalism. Here the cosmology of the $f(X)$ theories is studied using the dynamical system approach. The method consists of formulating the propagation equation in terms of suitable (expansion-normalised) variables as an autonomous system. The fixed points of the system then represent exact cosmological solutions described by power-law or de Sitter expansion. The formalism is applied to two classes of $f(X)$ models, revealing both standard cosmological fixed points and new accelerating solutions that can be attractors in the phase space. In addition, the fixed point with vanishing expansion rate are considered with special care in order to characterise the stability of Einstein static spaces and bouncing solutions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Crystal clear lessons on the microstructure of space-time and modified gravity

We argue that a microscopic structure for space-time such as that expected in a quantum foam scenario, in which microscopic wormholes and other topological structures should play a relevant role, might lead to an effective metric-affine geometry at larger scales. This idea is supported by the role that microscopic defects play in crystalline structures. With an explicit model we show that wormhole formation is possible in a metric-affine scenario, where the wormhole and the matter fields play a role analogous to that of defects in crystals. We also point out that in metric-affine geometries Einstein's equations with an effective cosmological constant appear as an attractor in the vacuum limit for a vast family of theories of gravity. This illustrates how lessons from solid state physics can be useful in unveiling the properties of the microcosmos and defining new avenues for modified theories of gravity.

hep-th↗