arXiv subjects

Isabel Cordero-Carrion

Publications and source records attributed to Isabel Cordero-Carrion.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2019

Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmap

The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics---dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem---all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Non-linear cosmological collapse of quintessence

We present a study of the fully relativistic spherical collapse in presence of quintessence using on Numerical Relativity, following the method proposed by the authors in a previous article [arXiv:1409.3476]. We ascertain the validity of the method by studying the evolution of a spherically symmetric quintessence inhomogeneity on a de Sitter background and we find that it has an impact on the local expansion around the centre of coordinates. We then proceed to compare the results of our method to those of the more largely adopted top-hat model. We find that quintessence inhomogeneities do build up under the effect that matter inhomogeneities have on the local space-time yet remain very small due to the presence of momentum transfer from the over-dense to the background regions. We expect that these might have an even more important role in modified theories of gravitation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Fully relativistic nonlinear cosmological evolution in spherical symmetry using the BSSN formalism

We present a fully relativistic numerical method for the study of cosmological problems using the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formalism on a dynamical Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker background. This has many potential applications including the study of the growth of structures beyond the linear regime. We present one such application by reproducing the Lemaître-Tolman-Bondi solution for the collapse of pressureless matter with arbitrary lapse function. The regular and smooth numerical solution at the center of coordinates proceeds in a natural way by relying on the Partially Implicit Runge-Kutta algorithm described in Montero and Cordero-Carrión [arXiv:1211.5930]. We generalize the usual radiative outer boundary condition to the case of a dynamical background and show the stability and convergence properties of the method in the study of pure gauge dynamics on a de Sitter background.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

BSSN equations in spherical coordinates without regularization: vacuum and non-vacuum spherically symmetric spacetimes

Brown has recently introduced a covariant formulation of the BSSN equations which is well suited for curvilinear coordinate systems. This is particularly desirable as many astrophysical phenomena are symmetric with respect to the rotation axis or are such that curvilinear coordinates adapt better to their geometry. However, the singularities associated with such coordinate systems are known to lead to numerical instabilities unless special care is taken (e.g., regularization at the origin). Cordero-Carrion will present a rigorous derivation of partially implicit Runge-Kutta methods in forthcoming papers, with the aim of treating numerically the stiff source terms in wave-like equations that may appear as a result of the choice of the coordinate system. We have developed a numerical code solving the BSSN equations in spherical symmetry and the general relativistic hydrodynamic equations written in flux-conservative form. A key feature of the code is that it uses a second-order partially implicit Runge-Kutta method to integrate the evolution equations. We perform and discuss a number of tests to assess the accuracy and expected convergence of the code, namely a pure gauge wave, the evolution of a single black hole, the evolution of a spherical relativistic star in equilibrium, and the gravitational collapse of a spherical relativistic star leading to the formation of a black hole. We obtain stable evolutions of regular spacetimes without the need for any regularization algorithm at the origin.

gr-qc↗