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Gaetano Lambiase

Publications and source records attributed to Gaetano Lambiase.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The gravitational energy-momentum pseudo-tensor in $f(Q)$ non-metric gravity

We derive the affine tensor associated with the energy and momentum densities of both gravitational and matter fields, the complex pseudo-tensor, for $f(Q)$ non-metric gravity, the straightforward extension of Symmetric Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity (STEGR), characterized by a flat, torsion-free, non-metric connection. The local conservation of energy-momentum complex on-shell is satisfied through a continuity equation. An important analogy is pointed out between gravitational pseudo-tensor of teleparallel $f(T)$ gravity, in the Weitzenböck gauge, and the same object of symmetric teleparallel $f(Q)$ gravity, in the coincident gauge. Furthermore, we perturb the gravitational pseudo-tensor $τ^α_{\phantomαλ}$ in the coincident gauge up to the second order in the metric perturbation, obtaining a useful expression for the power carried by the related gravitational waves. We also present an application of the gravitational pseudotensor, determining the gravitational energy density of a Schwarzschild spacetime in STEGR gravity, adopting the concident gauge. Finally, analyzing the conserved quantities on manifolds, the Stokes theorem can be formulated for generic affine connections

gr-qc↗

Gravitational Signatures of Axion Dark Matter via Parity-Violating Interactions

We investigate axion-like particles coupled to gravity through a parity-violating Chern-Simons (CS) interaction. In this framework, axion dark matter (DM) can decay into pairs of circularly polarized gravitons, producing a persistent, nearly monochromatic GW signal. We compute the expected signal at Earth assuming a Navarro-Frenk-White Galactic halo model with the corresponding velocity distribution, and compare it with the narrowband sensitivities of the LIGO O4 run and the projected reach of the Einstein Telescope. The resulting bounds on the axion-graviton coupling $α$ improve upon the cosmological stability requirement for axion masses $m_ϕ\lesssim 10^{-11}$ eV, excluding values up to four orders of magnitude below the stability limit. This constitutes a robust direct terrestrial constraint on the axion-gravity CS coupling. We also discuss distinctive observational signatures, such as circular polarization asymmetries, annual modulation, and potential enhancements from DM substructures, which could serve as smoking-gun evidence for parity-violating gravitational interactions.

astro-ph.CO↗

Probing Cosmic Expansion and Early Universe with Einstein Telescope

Over the next two decades, gravitational-wave (GW) observations are expected to evolve from a discovery-driven endeavour into a precision tool for astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. Current second-generation ground-based detectors have established the existence of compact-binary mergers and enabled GW multi-messenger astronomy, but they remain limited in sensitivity, redshift reach, frequency coverage, and duty cycle. These limitations prevent them from addressing many fundamental open questions in cosmology. By the 2040s, wide-field electromagnetic surveys will have mapped the luminous Universe with unprecedented depth and accuracy. Nevertheless, key problems including the nature of dark matter, the physical origin of cosmic acceleration, the properties of gravity on cosmological scales, and the physical conditions of the earliest moments after the Big Bang will remain only partially constrained by electromagnetic observations alone. Progress on these fronts requires access to physical processes and epochs that do not emit light. Gravitational waves provide a unique and complementary observational channel: they propagate over cosmological distances largely unaffected by intervening matter, probe extreme astrophysical environments, and respond directly to the geometry of spacetime. In this context, next-generation GW observatories such as the Einstein Telescope (ET) will be transformative for European astronomy. Operating at sensitivities and frequencies beyond existing detectors, ET will observe binary black holes and neutron stars out to previously inaccessible redshifts, enable continuous high signal-to-noise monitoring of compact sources, and detect gravitational-wave backgrounds of astrophysical and cosmological origin. Together with space-based detectors, ET will play a central role in advancing our understanding of cosmic evolution and fundamental physics.

astro-ph.CO↗

Primordial observables of explicit diffeomorphism violation in gravity

We investigate the potential for current and future gravitational-wave detectors to observe imprints of explicit diffeomorphism violation in primordial signals. Starting from a simple model with known effects, we derive the strain amplitude and power spectrum for primordial gravitational waves, both of which are affected by the symmetry breaking. Through this, we directly find predictions for the tensor spectral index and tensor-to-scalar which are different from general relativity. By considering the known sensitivity curves for NANOGrav, SKA, THEIA, $μ$-ARES, ASTROD-GW, LISA, BBO, DECIGO, CE, AION-km, AEDGE, ET, and aLIGO, we place observability limits on the parameters controlling the diffeomorphism violation. For instance, we find that aLIGO could observe signals for \(s_{00} \lesssim -0.1\), while more sensitive future detectors like LISA and DECIGO could probe violations as small as \(s_{00} \approx -5 \times 10^{-4}\) and \(-3 \times 10^{-3}\), respectively. Finally, we consider the existing constraints on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ which is tightly constrained by Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) and we find that $ΔN_{\rm eff}$ only weakly depends on the symmetry breaking but places a lower bound on the coefficients which is consistent with available bounds from the speed of gravitational waves.

gr-qc↗

Confronting dark energy in Harada's Conformal Killing Gravity with observational data

Based on a comprehensive analysis of recent observational data-a combination of DESI DR1, Planck CMB, and Pantheon+ SN Ia-this study critically evaluates the two dark energy (DE) proposals within Harada's Conformal Killing Gravity (CKG) model. The model in question predicts either a dominant phantom-type effective DE component with EoS $ω= -5/3$ or a hybrid scenario combining a cosmological constant ($ω= -1$) with a subdominant $ω= -5/3$ fluid (around $5\%$) to address the Hubble tension (HT) and late-time acceleration. An analysis based on the Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture (TCC) demonstrates that the pure CKG fluid scenario $ω= -5/3$ is excluded, whereas the hybrid model remains only marginally compatible. Our Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis constrains the effective DE density parameter to $Ω_{\text{eff}} = 0.009^{+0.006}_{-0.007}$ ($68\%$ CL), consistent with zero and ruling out the around $5\%$ contribution required by Harada's CKG. The resulting Hubble expansion history $H(z)$ and effective EoS $ω_{\text{eff}}(z)$ are indistinguishable from those of $Λ$CDM. Bayesian model comparison via the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) shows no statistical preference for CKG over $Λ$CDM ($Δ\text{AIC} = +2.6$), disfavoring the additional complexity of the CKG model. The key output of this study is that both DE proposals in Harada's CKG are ruled out by current cosmological data, and HT remains unresolved.

gr-qc↗

Imprints of screened dark energy on nonlocal quantum correlations

We investigate how screening mechanisms, reconciling light scalar fields driving cosmic acceleration with local fifth force constraints, can be probed via their impact on non-local quantum correlations between entangled spin pairs, whose evolution on a curved background is affected by General Relativity (GR) and screened modified gravity effects. We consider a gedankenexperiment featuring a pair of massive, spin-1/2 particles orbiting the Earth, evaluating their non-local correlations through spin observables associated to the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality. Using a general formalism developed earlier for curved space-time spin evolution, we compute the effects of screening on the CHSH inequality, finding its degree of violation to be suppressed relative to the flat space-time case. Applying this formalism to the chameleon, symmetron, and dilaton mechanisms, we identify currently unconstrained regions of parameter space where the screening contribution is comparable to that of GR. While detecting these effects will be challenging, our work provides a proof-of-principle for testing screened dark energy through quantum non-locality.

gr-qc↗

Exorcising ghosts with gravitational waves: cases of ghostful and ghost-free fourth-order gravity

General Relativity (GR) is an effective field theory valid in the infrared regime. Quadratic curvature extensions intended to probe ultraviolet physics generically propagate a massive spin-$2$ ghost and are therefore non-unitary. One route to remove ghost is by enlarging the geometric sector (torsion, non-metricity). We investigate the infrared phenomenology of both the standard (ghostful) and ghost-free fourth-order gravity theories by computing Gravitational Wave (GW) emission and confronting the results with observations such as the orbital-period decay of quasi-stable binaries such as PSR B1913+16 and PSR J1738+0333 and the chirp-mass evolution of GW170817. In the ghostful theory, besides the theoretical inconsistency due to non-unitarity, there are also phenomenological problems: the massless spin-$2$ GW flux cancels the combined GW fluxes of the massive spin-$2$ ghost and massive spin-$0$ scalar in the vanishing-mass limit, so the GR quadrupole formula is not recovered at the leading order. As a result, we obtain the GW constraint on the ghostful theory as $m\gtrsim 10^{-11}~\mathrm{eV}$, where $m$ is the mass of the massive modes. By contrast, the ghost-free theory smoothly reproduces the Newtonian potential and GR quadrupole formulae when the two coupling constants $α_1$ and $α_2$ vanish, independently of the mass $m$. Therefore, GW observations put mass-dependent upper bounds on the size of the coupling constants. For example, if we assume $α_1\simeqα_2$ for simplicity, then we obtain $α_{1,2}\lesssim 4.2\times 10^{83}$ for $m\sim 3\times 10^{-16}\,\mathrm{eV}$ and $α_{1,2}\lesssim 1.3\times 10^{75}$ for $m\sim 10^{-11}\,\mathrm{eV}$. To our knowledge, these are the first astrophysical-scale bounds reported for ghostful and ghost-free fourth-order gravity.

gr-qc↗

Charge constraint on M87* with twisted light

We propose a novel method to constrain the electric charge of the supermassive black hole M87* by analyzing the orbital angular momentum content of the light it emits. By leveraging the established analogy between rotating spacetimes and inhomogeneous optical media, we derive a simple analytical formula that relates the average orbital angular momentum in the observed radiation to the black hole's charge-to-mass ratio. Applying this relation to existing observational data, we place an upper bound of $\mathcal{Q}/M \lesssim 0.39$ on the charge of M87*. While the analysis focuses on electric charge, which is used here purely as a theoretical example since astrophysical black holes are expected to be approximately neutral, the method is general and can be extended to constrain other types of charges $\unicode{x2013}$ degrees of freedom that define distinct black hole solutions. These results demonstrate the potential of orbital angular momentum as a new fundamental degree of freedom to be exploited in astrophysics, providing a complementary and independent alternative to shadow-based techniques for probing the properties of rotating compact objects and testing gravity in the strong-field regime.

gr-qc↗

Excess Radiation from Axion-Photon Conversion

Two notable anomalies in radio observations -- the excess radiation in the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the cosmic microwave background, revealed by ARCADE2, and the twice-deeper absorption trough of the global 21cm line, identified by EDGES -- remain unresolved. These phenomena may have a shared origin, as the enhancement of the 21cm absorption trough could arise from excess heating. We investigate this scenario through the framework of axion-like particles (ALPs), showing that the resonant conversion of ALPs into photons can produce a photon abundance sufficient to resolve both anomalies simultaneously. Our model naturally explains the observed radio excess between 0.4 and 10GHz while also enhances the 21cm absorption feature at 78MHz. Furthermore, it predicts a novel power-law scaling of the radio spectrum above 0.5GHz and an additional absorption trough below 30MHz, which could be verified through cross-detection in upcoming experiments.

astro-ph.CO↗

Impact of the cosmic neutrino background on black hole superradiance

We assess the effect of the Cosmic Neutrino Background (C$ν$B) on superradiant instabilities caused by an ultralight scalar field around spinning black holes (BHs). When the scalar couples to neutrinos via a Yukawa interaction, thermal corrections from the C$ν$B induce a quartic self-interaction and an effective mass term for the scalar. We show that, for Yukawa couplings as small as $y_{ϕν} \sim 10^{-16}$ (for astrophysical BHs) or $10^{-20}$ (for supermassive BHs), the quartic term can quench the instability and set observable bounds, even if the scalar does not constitute dark matter. We assess the robustness of these constraints against several sources of uncertainty, including gravitational focusing of relic neutrinos, galactic clustering, and non-linear backreaction. An enhanced local neutrino density weakens the bounds by up to an order of magnitude compared to a uniform background, yet the induced self-interaction remains strong enough to significantly affect the superradiant dynamics. Our results open a new observational window on neutrino-coupled scalars via BH superradiance.

hep-ph↗

Testing the Quantum Equivalence Principle with Gravitational Waves

We study modifications of gravitational wave observables, such as the wave amplitude and frequency, which follow from the quantum equivalence principle, and are expressed in terms of the inertial, gravitational and rest masses of the LIGO/Virgo mirrors. We provide bounds on the violations of the quantum equivalence principle by comparing the results with the most resolved gravitational wave events observed by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration. The formalism is equally applicable to other future ground and space-based gravitational wave detectors.

gr-qc↗

Probing Quantum Gravity in Stellar Spacetimes: Phenomenological Insights

We explore the weak-field phenomenology of a compact star spacetime modified by quantum gravitational corrections derived from the effective field theoretical (EFT) approach by Calmet et al. [1]. These corrections, encoded in non-local curvature-squared terms, distinguish matter-supported geometries from vacuum solutions by contributing nontrivial modifications at second order in G. Using the corrected metric, we analytically derive expressions for the deflection of light and time-like particles via the Gauss-Bonnet theorem. We further compute the perihelion advance of Mercury, Shapiro time delay, and gravitational redshift within this framework. Each classical observable acquires quantum corrections that, though exceedingly small represent potential imprints of quantum gravity. The Shapiro delay and redshift likewise exhibit finite, source-dependent deviations from their general relativistic predictions due to the modified temporal metric component. While current observational capabilities remain insufficient to detect these minute effects, the analysis demonstrates that quantum gravitational signatures are embedded even in weak-field observables. Last, we study massless scalar perturbations in static, spherically symmetric spacetimes by analyzing their quasinormal modes (QNMs) and greybody factors using the WKB method and Pade resummation. Our findings demonstrate that increasing the coupling parameter enhances spacetime stability and significantly influences emission spectra through frequency-dependent transparency. Moreover, the results underscore that quantum-corrected star metrics yield phenomenological distinctions from classical black holes, particularly near the Planck scale, where vacuum solutions lose validity.

gr-qc↗

Primordial gravitational waves from spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking

We study the effect of Spontaneous Lorentz Symmetry Breaking (SLSB) on Primordial Gravitational Waves (PGWs) generated during inflation. The SLSB is induced by a time-like Bumblebee vector field which is non-minimally coupled to the Ricci tensor in the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker background. The power spectrum and GW amplitude are computed to investigate how Lorentz violation leaves observable imprints. We calculate the GW strain amplitude over frequencies $(10^{-10}~\mathrm{Hz}, 10^4~\mathrm{Hz})$, for a range of the dimensionless Lorentz-violating parameter, $ -10^{-3} \leq l \leq 10^{-4} $, which essentially comes from a slight sensitivity to the equation of state for dark energy. For positive $ l $ values, the amplitude of GW shows a mild suppression compared to the standard cosmological scenario $( l = 0) $. This effect could be observable with detectors like SKA, $μ$-Ares, and BBO. Conversely, negative $ l $ values amplify the GW amplitude, enhancing detectability by both SKA, $μ$-Ares, and BBO, as well as by THEIA and DECIGO. Notably, the GW strain amplitude increases by an order of magnitude as $ l $ moves from 0 to $ -10^{-3} $, improving prospects for detection in high-sensitivity detectors like THEIA and DECIGO.

astro-ph.CO↗

Entanglement saturation in quantum electrodynamics scattering processes

We investigate the properties of quantum electrodynamics (QED) two-particle scattering processes when an arbitrarily sharp filtering of the outgoing particles in momentum space is performed. We find that these processes are described by dynamical quantum maps, whose structure is such that any initial state is transformed into a maximally entangled state, after an infinite number of iterations of the map. This structural property is exactly realized if all the colliding particles are massive fermions while, when photons are involved, it is verified in a partial way, depending on the process under consideration.

quant-ph↗

Phenomenology of Schwarzschild-like Black Holes with a Generalized Compton Wavelength

We investigate the influence of the generalized Compton wavelength (GCW), emerging from a three-dimensional dynamical quantum vacuum (3D DQV) on Schwarzschild-like black hole spacetimes, motivated by the work of Fiscaletti [10.1134/S0040577925020096] \cite{Fiscaletti:2025iuh}. The GCW modifies the classical geometry through a deformation parameter $ \varepsilon $, encoding quantum gravitational backreaction. We derive exact analytical expressions for the black hole shadow radius, photon sphere, and weak deflection angle, incorporating higher-order corrections and finite-distance effects of a black hole with generalized Compton effect (BHGCE). Using Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) data, constraints on $ \varepsilon $ are obtained: $ \varepsilon \in [-2.572, 0.336] $ for Sgr. A* and $ \varepsilon \in [-2.070, 0.620] $ for M87*, both consistent with general relativity yet allowing moderate deviations. Weak lensing analyses via the Keeton-Petters and Gauss-Bonnet formalisms further constrain $ \varepsilon \approx 0.061 $, aligning with solar system bounds. We compute the modified Hawking temperature, showing that positive $ \varepsilon $ suppresses black hole evaporation. Quasinormal mode frequencies in the eikonal limit are also derived, demonstrating that both the oscillation frequency and damping rate shift under GCW-induced corrections. Additionally, the gravitational redshift and scalar perturbation waveform exhibit deformations sensitive to $ \varepsilon $. Our results highlight the GCW framework as a phenomenologically viable semiclassical model, offering testable predictions for upcoming gravitational wave and VLBI observations.

gr-qc↗

Gravitational Collapse in Scale-Dependent Gravity

In this paper we study an Oppenheimer-Snyder (OS)-like gravitational collapse in the general framework of scale-dependent gravity. We explore the collapse in spherically symmetric solutions suggested both by asymptotically safe gravity (characterized by a positive $\om$-parameter) and by scale-dependent gravity (negative $\om$-parameter), when a singularity at a finite positive radial coordinate is developed. The inner geometry of the collapsing star is described, as usual, by a spatially flat Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric, and matter is uniformly distributed without any assumptions about its equation of state. The outer asymptotically-safe/scale-dependent black hole metric is smoothly matched to the inner geometry, and this yields the equation of motion of the star surface, the energy density, pressure, and equation of state of the collapsing matter. We study in detail the proper-time evolution of the event and apparent horizons. Finally, the constraints of the energy conditions on the equation of state, and its properties, are considered and discussed.

gr-qc↗

Shadow and quasinormal modes of the rotating Einstein-Euler-Heisenberg black holes

The Einstein-Euler-Heisenberg (EEH) black hole model is an extension of classical black hole solutions in general relativity, incorporating quantum electrodynamics (QED) effects via the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian. The Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian describes the nonlinear corrections to Maxwell's equations due to virtual electron-positron pair production in a strong electromagnetic field. When this Lagrangian is coupled with Einstein's field equations, it leads to modified black hole solutions that take into account these quantum corrections. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the black hole charge $Q_e$ on the properties of the rotating and electrically charged Einstein-Euler-Heisenberg black holes (EEH). To this aim, we analyzed and discussed findings as to how the black hole charge $Q_e$ affects certain black hole properties such as null regions, shadow cast and its observables, and quasinormal modes (QNMs) relative to the Kerr and Kerr-Newman cases. We find that the presence of a screened charge due to the associated QED effects in this screened Maxwell theory might noticeably alter the properties of black holes, offering insights into the interplay between gravity and quantum field effects.

gr-qc↗

Weak field deflection angle and analytical parameter estimation of the Lorentz-violating Bumblebee parameter through the black hole shadow using EHT data

We explored how the Lorentz symmetry breaking parameter $\ell$ affects the Reissner-Nordstöm BH solution in the context of weak field deflection angle, and the black hole shadow. We aim to derive the general expression for the weak deflection angle using the non-asymptotic version of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, and we presented a way to simplify the calculations under the assumption that the distance of the source and the receiver are the same. \textcolor{black}{Through the Solar System test, $\ell$ is constrained from around $-10^{-9}$ orders of magnitude to $0$, implying challenging detection of $\ell$ through the deflection of light rays from the Sun.} We also studied the black hole shadow in an analytic way, where we applied the EHT results under the far approximation in obtaining an estimate expression for $\ell$. Using the realistic values of the black hole mass and observer distance for Sgr. A* and M87*, it was shown that $M/r_{\rm o} \neq 1$ is satisfied, implying the relevance and potential promise of the spontaneous Lorentz symmetry breaking parameter's role on the shadow radius uncertainties as measured by the EHT. \textcolor{black}{We find constraints for $\ell$ to be negatively valued, where the upper and lower bounds are $\sim -1.94$ and $\sim -2.04$, respectively.

gr-qc↗