arXiv subjects

Ilia Musco

Publications and source records attributed to Ilia Musco.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

GUEST: Gravitational Universe Exploration with Satellite Tracking. A passive satellite laser-ranging mission for the dark gravitational Universe

GUEST is a space mission concept whose central objective is the detection of gravitational waves (GWs) in the microhertz band -- a physics-rich frequency window that no other present or planned detector can reach at a significant level. The concept is simple: two dense, passive spheres, covered with cube-corner retroreflectors, deployed in {highly eccentric} Earth orbits ($e \gtrsim 0.7$, period $P \gtrsim 33$ h), tracked continuously by the global network of satellite laser-ranging stations over a minimum observation time of 10 years, with an expected total duration of 30 years. The orbits themselves act as resonant detectors of the oscillating gravitational perturbations, with the microhertz sensitivity emerging from the selected orbital parameters. From the same data stream, GUEST delivers a programme of fundamental and applied science that cuts across particle physics, gravitational-wave astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, and geodesy: the first coherent search for GWs from supermassive black-hole binaries in the $\mu$Hz band, the exploration of primordial GW backgrounds in the unexplored energy-scale gap between pulsar-timing arrays and LISA, a dedicated probe of ultra-light dark matter in a parameter region untouched by any other experiment, a new way to search for ultra-light bosons, order-of-magnitude-improved tests of new gravitational interactions at astronomical ranges, and a step change in the absolute determination of $GM_\oplus$ that underpins the Global Geodetic Observing System and future navigation and Earth-observation missions. This white paper presents the motivation, scientific reach, and mission concept of GUEST.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2026

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↗

arXiv2025

How to obtain slow roll inflation driven by non-linear electrodynamics

We establish for the first time the conditions that must be imposed on the action for a magnetic universe in a theory of non-linear electrodynamics in order to have an asymptotically de Sitter initial state followed by a slow roll inflationary phase. We show that models so far proposed in the literature do not allow for a prolonged inflationary phase consistent with observations. We construct a Lagrangian that reduces to the Maxwell one in weak field; this is the only class of models that satisfies the required conditions for slow roll in the early Universe.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures

In the recent years, primordial black holes (PBHs) have emerged as one of the most interesting and hotly debated topics in cosmology. Among other possibilities, PBHs could explain both some of the signals from binary black hole mergers observed in gravitational wave detectors and an important component of the dark matter in the Universe. Significant progress has been achieved both on the theory side and from the point of view of observations, including new models and more accurate calculations of PBH formation, evolution, clustering, merger rates, as well as new astrophysical and cosmological probes. In this work, we review, analyse and combine the latest developments in order to perform end-to-end calculations of the various gravitational wave signatures of PBHs. Different ways to distinguish PBHs from stellar black holes are emphasized. Finally, we discuss their detectability with LISA, the first planned gravitational-wave observatory in space.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Primordial black hole formation during the QCD phase transition: threshold, mass distribution and abundance

Primordial black hole (PBH) formation during cosmic phase transitions and annihilation periods, such as the QCD transition or the $e^+e^-$-annihilation, is thought to be particularly efficient due to a softening of the equation of state. We present a detailed numerical study of PBH formation during the QCD epoch in order to derive an accurate PBH mass function. We also briefly consider PBH formation during the $e^+e^-$-annihilation epoch. Our investigation confirms that, for nearly scale-invariant spectra, PBH abundances on the QCD scale are enhanced by a factor $\sim 10^3$ compared to a purely radiation dominated Universe. For a power spectrum producing an (almost) scale-invariant PBH mass function outside of the transition, we find a peak mass of $M_{\rm pbh}\approx 1.9 M_{\odot}$ with a fraction $f\approx 1.5\times 10^{-2}$ of the PBHs having a mass of $M_{\rm pbh} > 10 M_{\odot}$, possibly contributing to the LIGO-Virgo black hole merger detections. We point out that the physics of PBH formation during the $e^+e^-$-annihilation epoch is more complex as it is very close to the epoch of neutrino decoupling. We argue that neutrinos free-streaming out of overdense regions may actually hinder PBH formation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Primordial black hole formation for an anisotropic perfect fluid: Initial conditions and estimation of the threshold

This work investigates the formation of primordial black holes within a radiation fluid with an anisotropic pressure. We focus our attention on the initial conditions describing cosmological perturbations in the super horizon regime, using a covariant form of the equation of state in terms of pressure and energy density gradients. The effect of the anisotropy is to modify the initial shape of the cosmological perturbations with respect to the isotropic case. Using the dependence of the threshold $δ_\mathrm{c}$ for primordial black holes with respect to the shape of cosmological perturbations, we estimate here how the threshold is varying with respect to the amplitude of the anisotropy. If this variation is large enough it could lead to a significant variation of the abundance of PBHs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Cosmology with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) has two scientific objectives of cosmological focus: to probe the expansion rate of the universe, and to understand stochastic gravitational-wave backgrounds and their implications for early universe and particle physics, from the MeV to the Planck scale. However, the range of potential cosmological applications of gravitational wave observations extends well beyond these two objectives. This publication presents a summary of the state of the art in LISA cosmology, theory and methods, and identifies new opportunities to use gravitational wave observations by LISA to probe the universe.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2021

The Threshold for Primordial Black Hole Formation: a Simple Analytic Prescription

Primordial black holes could have been formed in the early universe from non linear cosmological perturbations re-entering the cosmological horizon when the Universe was still radiation dominated. Starting from the shape of the power spectrum on superhorizon scales, we provide a simple prescription, based on the results of numerical simulations, to compute the threshold $δ_c$ for primordial black hole formation. Our procedure takes into account both the non linearities between the Gaussian curvature perturbation and the density contrast and, for the first time in the literature, the non linear effects arising at horizon crossing, which increase the value of the threshold by about a factor two with respect to the one computed on superhorizon scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2020

Threshold for primordial black holes: Dependence on the shape of the cosmological perturbations

Primordial black holes may have formed in the radiative era of the early Universe from the collapse of large enough amplitude perturbations of the metric. These correspond to non linear energy density perturbations characterized by an amplitude larger than a certain threshold, measured when the perturbations reenter the cosmological horizon. The process of primordial black hole formation is studied here within spherical symmetry, using the gradient expansion approximation in the long wavelength limit, where the pressure gradients are small, and the initial perturbations are functions only of a time-independent curvature profile. In this regime it is possible to understand how the threshold for primordial black hole formation depends on the shape of the initial energy density profile, clarifying the relation between local and averaged measures of the perturbation amplitude. Although there is no universal threshold for primordial black hole formation, the averaged mass excess of the perturbation depends on the amplitude of the energy density peak, and it is possible to formulate a well-defined criterion to establish when a cosmological perturbation is able to form a black hole in terms of one of these two key quantities. This gives understanding of how the abundance of primordial black holes depends on the shape of the the inflationary power spectrum of cosmological perturbations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Non-Gaussian Formation of Primordial Black Holes: Effects on the Threshold

Primordial black holes could have been formed in the early universe from sufficiently large cosmological perturbations re-entering the horizon when the Universe is still radiation dominated. These originate from the spectrum of curvature perturbations generated during inflation at small-scales. Because of the non-linear relation between the curvature perturbation $ζ$ and the overdensity $δρ$, the formation of the primordial black holes is affected by intrinsic non-Gaussianity even though the curvature perturbation is Gaussian. We investigate the impact of this non-Gaussianity on the critical threshold $δ_c$ which measures the excess of mass of the perturbation, finding a relative change with respect to the value obtained using a linear relation between $ζ$ and $δρ$, of a few percent. This shows that the value of the critical threshold is rather robust against non-linearities. The same holds also when cosmologically interesting values of local primordial non-Gaussianity are added to the curvature perturbation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Primordial black hole formation and abundance: contribution from the non-linear relation between the density and curvature perturbation

The formation and abundance of primordial black holes (PBHs) arising from the curvature perturbation $ζ$ is studied. The non-linear relation between $ζ$ and the density contrast $δ$ means that, even when $ζ$ has an exactly Gaussian distribution, significant non-Gaussianities affecting PBH formation must be considered. Numerical simulations are used to investigate the critical value and the mass of PBHs which form, and peaks theory is used to calculate the mass fraction of the universe collapsing to form PBHs at the time of formation. A formalism to calculate the total present day PBH abundance and mass function is also derived. It is found that the abundance of PBHs is very sensitive to the non-linear effects, and that the power spectrum $\mathcal{P}_ζ$ must be a factor of $\sim2$ larger to produce the same number of PBHs as the linear model (where the exact value depends on the critical value for a region to collapse and form a PBH). This also means that the derived constraints on the small-scale power spectrum from constraints on the abundance of PBHs are weaker by the same factor.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

From Primordial Black Holes Abundance to Primordial Curvature Power Spectrum (and back)

In the model where Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) form from large primordial curvature (C) perturbations, i.e., CPBHs, constraints on PBH abundance provide in principle constraints on the primordial curvature power spectrum. This connection however depends necessarily on the details of PBH formation mechanism. In this paper we provide, for the first time, constraints on the primordial curvature power spectrum from the latest limits on PBH abundance, taking into account all the steps from gravitational collapse in real space to PBH formation. In particular, we use results from numerical relativity simulations and peak theory to study the conditions for PBH formation for a range of perturbation shapes, including non-linearities, perturbation profile and a careful treatment of smoothing and filtering scales. We then obtain updated PBH formation conditions and translate that into primordial spectrum constraints for a wide range of shapes and abundances. These updated constraints cover a range of scales not probed by other cosmological observables. Our results show that the correct and accurate modelling of non-linearities, filtering and typical perturbation profile, is crucial for deriving meaningful cosmological implications.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

The abundance of primordial black holes depends on the shape of the inflationary power spectrum

In this letter, combining peak theory and the numerical analysis of gravitational collapse in the radiation dominated era, we show that the abundance of primordial blacks holes, generated by an enhancement in the inflationary power spectrum, is extremely dependent on the shape of the peak. Given the amplitude of the power spectrum, we show that the density of primordial black holes generated from a narrow peak, is exponentially smaller than in the case of a broad peak. Specifically, for a top-hat profile of the power spectrum in Fourier space, we find that for having primordial black holes comprising all of the dark matter, one would only need a power spectrum amplitude an order of magnitude smaller than suggested previously whereas in the case of a narrow peak, one would instead need a much larger power spectrum amplitude, which in many cases would invalidate the perturbative analysis of cosmological perturbations. Finally, we show that, although critical collapse gives a broad mass spectrum, the density of primordial black holes formed is dominated by masses roughly equal to the cosmological horizon mass measured at horizon crossing.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2017

Causal Nature and Dynamics of Trapping Horizons in Black Hole Collapse

In calculations of gravitational collapse to form black holes, trapping horizons (foliated by marginally trapped surfaces) make their first appearance either within the collapsing matter or where it joins on to a vacuum exterior. Those which then move outwards with respect to the matter have been proposed for use in defining black holes, replacing the global concept of an "event horizon" which has some serious drawbacks for practical applications. We here present results from a study of the properties of both outgoing and ingoing trapping horizons, assuming strict spherical symmetry throughout. We have investigated their causal nature (i.e. whether they are spacelike, timelike or null), making contact with the Misner-Sharp- Hernandez formalism, which has often been used for numerical calculations of spherical collapse. We follow two different approaches, one using a geometrical quantity related to expansions of null geodesic congruences, and the other using the horizon velocity measured with respect to the collapsing matter. After an introduction to these concepts, we then implement them within numerical simulations of stellar collapse, revisiting pioneering calculations from the 1960s where some features of the emergence and subsequent behaviour of trapping horizons could already be seen. Our presentation here is aimed firmly at "real world" applications of interest to astrophysicists and includes the effects of pressure, which may be important for the asymptotic behaviour of the ingoing horizon.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Critical collapse and black hole formation within an expanding perfect fluid

Following on after three previous papers discussing the formation of primordial black holes in the early universe during the radiation dominated era, we present here related results considering the theoretical possibility of having a fluid with a different sound speed. In practice we vary the parameter w of the equation of state p = we between 0 and 1, where e is the energy density, and p the pressure of the fluid. We consider also the possibility of having a cosmological constant interpreted as a vacuum energy component (corresponding to w = -1) revising the results presented in our first paper of this series, having now a more refined numerical code available. To perform our simulations we have fine tuned our previous computer code allowing us to observe that the nature of the critical collapse is conserved for all the different values of w considered, in agreement with previous studies of ideal collapses done in a different context from PBHs. As already done in our previous works, we start the simulations with initial supra-horizon scale perturbations of a type which could have come from inflation, characterized by a pure growing mode component.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2016

Foliation dependence of black hole apparent horizons in spherical symmetry

Numerical studies of gravitational collapse to black holes make use of apparent horizons, which are intrinsically foliation-dependent. We expose the problem and discuss possible solutions using the Hawking quasilocal mass. In spherical symmetry, we present a physically sensible approach to the problem by restricting to spherically symmetric spacetime slicings. In spherical symmetry the apparent horizons are gauge-independent in any spherically symmetric foliation but physical quantities associated with them, such as surface gravity and temperature, are not. The widely used comoving and Kodama foliations, which are of particular interest, are discussed in detail.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Causal horizons and topics in structure formation

This is a write-up of a talk given at the Opava RAGtime meeting in 2011, but it has been updated to include some subsequent related developments. The talk focused on discussion of some aspects of black hole and cosmological horizons under rather general circumstances, and on two different topics related to formation of cosmological structures at different epochs of the universe: virialization of cold dark matter during standard structure formation in the matter-dominated era, and primordial black hole formation during the radiative era.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Primordial black hole formation in the early universe: critical behaviour and self-similarity

Following on after three previous papers discussing the formation of primordial black holes during the radiative era of the early universe, we present here a further investigation of the critical nature of the process involved, aimed at making contact with some of the basic underlying ideas from the literature on critical collapse. We focus on the intermediate state, which we have found appearing in cases with perturbations close to the critical limit, and examine the connection between this and the similarity solutions which play a fundamental role in the standard picture of critical collapse. We have derived a set of self-similar equations for the null-slicing form of the metric which we are using for our numerical calculations, and have then compared the results obtained by integrating these with the ones coming from our simulations for collapse of cosmological perturbations within an expanding universe. We find that the similarity solution is asymptotically approached in a region which grows to cover both the contracting matter and part of the semi-void which forms outside it. Our main interest is in the situation relevant for primordial black hole formation in the radiative era of the early universe, where the relation between the pressure $p$ and the energy density $e$ can be reasonably approximated by an expression of the form $p = we$ with $w=1/3$. However, we have also looked at other values of $w$, both because these have been considered in previous literature and also because they can be helpful for giving further insight into situations relevant for primordial black hole formation. As in our previous work, we have started our simulations with initial supra-horizon scale perturbations of a type which could have come from inflation.

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