arXiv subjects

Kyriakos Destounis

Publications and source records attributed to Kyriakos Destounis.

51 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Gravitational-wave glitches: resonant islands and frequency jumps in non-integrable extreme-mass-ratio inspirals

The detection of gravitational waves from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals with upcoming space-borne detectors will allow for unprecedented tests of general relativity in the strong-field regime. Aside from assessing whether black holes are unequivocally described by the Kerr metric, such detections may place constraints on the degree of spacetime symmetry. In particular, depending on exactly how a hypothetical departure from the Kerr metric manifests, the Carter symmetry, which implies the integrability of the geodesic equations, may be broken. Here, we examine the gravitational waveforms associated with non-integrable extreme-mass-ratio inspirals involving a small-mass companion and a supermassive compact object of general relativity, namely the Manko-Novikov spacetime. We show that the waveforms displays sudden frequency jumps, when the companion transverses resonant islands. These findings demonstrate that such abrupt manifestations in the gravitational-wave frequencies are generic, have a genuine astrophysical origin and function as a distinctive signature of chaotic phenomena in extreme-mass-ratio binaries.

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arXiv2021

Gravitational-wave glitches in chaotic extreme-mass-ratio inspirals

The Kerr geometry admits the Carter symmetry, which ensures that the geodesic equations are integrable. It is shown that gravitational waveforms associated with extreme-mass-ratio inspirals involving a non-integrable compact object display `glitch' phenomena, where the frequencies of gravitational waves increase abruptly, when the orbit crosses certain spacetime regions known as Birkhoff islands. The presence or absence of these features in data from upcoming space-borne detectors will therefore allow not only for tests of general relativity, but also of fundamental spacetime symmetries.

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arXiv2021

Echoes of Compact Objects in Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity

Scalar-tensor theory predicts solutions to the gravitational field equations which describe compact objects in the presence of a non-minimally coupled scalar field to the Einstein tensor. These objects are black holes with scalar hair and wormholes supporting scalar phantom matter. The evolution of test fields in fixed asymptotically-flat backgrounds of exotic compact objects leads to the formation of echoes in the ringdown signal, which designate the existence of trapping regions close to the event horizon. Here, we consider minimally-coupled test scalar fields propagating on compact object solutions of the Horndeski action, which possess an effective cosmological constant, leading to anti-de Sitter asymptotics, and show that echoes can form in the ringdown waveform due to the entrapment of test fields between the photon sphere and the effective asymptotic boundary. Although the presence of an event horizon leads to the usual echoes with decaying amplitude, signifying modal stability of the scalarized black hole considered, we find that test scalar fields propagating on a scalarized wormhole solution give rise to echoes of constant and equal amplitude to that of the initial ringdown, indicating the existence of normal modes. Finally, we find that, near extremality, the test field exhibits a concatenation of echoes; the primary ones are associated with the trapping region between the photon sphere and the effective anti-de Sitter boundary while the secondary ones are linked to the existence of a potential well at the throat of the wormhole.

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arXiv2020

Stability of the Cauchy horizon in accelerating black-hole spacetimes

The extendibility of spacetime and the existence of weak solutions to the Einstein field equations beyond Cauchy horizons, is a crucial ingredient to examine the limits of General Relativity. Strong Cosmic Censorship serves as a firewall for gravitation by demanding inextendibility of spacetime beyond the Cauchy horizon. For asymptotically flat spacetimes, the predominance of the blueshift instability and the subsequent formation of a mass-inflation singularity at the Cauchy horizon have, so far, substantiated the conjecture. Accelerating black holes, described by the $C-$metric, are exact solutions of the field equations without a cosmological constant, which possess an acceleration horizon with similar causal properties to the cosmological horizon of de Sitter spacetime. Here, by considering linear scalar field perturbations, we provide numerical evidence for the stability of the Cauchy horizon of charged accelerating black holes. In particular, we show that the stability of Cauchy horizons in accelerating charged black holes is connected to quasinormal modes, we discuss the regularity requirement for which weak solutions to the field equations exist at the Cauchy horizon and show that Strong Cosmic Censorship may be violated near extremality.

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arXiv2020

Testing spacetime symmetry through gravitational waves from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals

One of the primary aims of upcoming space-borne gravitational wave detectors is to measure radiation in the mHz range from extreme-mass-ratio inspirals. Such a detection would place strong constraints on hypothetical departures from a Kerr description for astrophysically stable black holes. The Kerr geometry, which is unique in general relativity, admits a higher-order symmetry in the form of a Carter constant, which implies that the equations of motion describing test particle motion in a Kerr background are Liouville-integrable. In this article, we investigate whether the Carter symmetry itself is discernible from a generic deformation of the Kerr metric in the gravitational waveforms for such inspirals. We build on previous studies by constructing a new metric which respects current observational constraints, describes a black hole, and contains two non-Kerr parameters, one of which controls the presence or absence of the Carter symmetry, thereby controlling the existence of chaotic orbits, and another which serves as a generic deformation parameter. We find that these two parameters introduce fundamentally distinct features into the orbital dynamics, and evince themselves in the gravitational waveforms through a significant dephasing. Although only explored in the quadrupole approximation, this, together with a Fisher metric analysis, suggests that gravitational wave data analysis may be able to test, in addition to the governing theory of gravity, the underlying symmetries of spacetime.

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arXiv2020

Accelerating black holes: quasinormal modes and late-time tails

Black holes found in binaries move at very high velocities relative to our own reference frame and can accelerate due to the emission of gravitational radiation. Here, we investigate the numerical stability and late-time behavior of linear scalar perturbations in accelerating black holes described by the $C-$metric. We identify a family of quasinormal modes associated with the photon surface and a brand new family of purely imaginary modes associated with the boost parameter of the accelerating black hole spacetime. When the accelerating black hole is charged, we find a third family of modes which dominates the ringdown waveform near extremality. Our frequency and time domain analysis indicate that such spacetimes are stable under scalar fluctuations, while the late-time behavior follows an exponential decay law, dominated by quasinormal modes. This result is in contrast with the common belief that such perturbations, for black holes without a cosmological constant, always have a power-law cutoff. In this sense, our results suggest that the asymptotic structure of black hole backgrounds does not always dictate how radiative fields behave at late times.

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arXiv2019

Dynamical behavior of black-hole spacetimes

The theory of General Relativity predicts that black holes are a natural constituent of our Universe. Before a black hole binary relaxes to a final state, it undergoes damped oscillations which completely characterize the final object. These oscillations are described by quasinormal modes which are present in many dissipative systems. Quasinormal modes are linked to the way a black hole spacetime responds to small fluctuations. Although the field equations admit a well defined future evolution of spacetime, some black holes, like the ones formed after a binary merger, possess a boundary, beyond which the field equations lose their predictive power. This boundary is called a Cauchy horizon and designates the region beyond which the spacetime can potentially be described in a highly non-unique manner. Strong cosmic censorship states that, generically, suitable initial data should be future inextendible beyond the Cauchy horizon, as a solution to the field equations. Recent studies indicate that the fate of Cauchy horizons, such as those found inside charged and rotating cosmological black holes, is intrinsically connected to the decay of perturbations exterior to the event horizon. As such, the validity of strong cosmic censorship is tied to how effectively the exterior damps fluctuations. In this thesis we will perform a quantitative stability analysis of Cauchy horizons in electrically charged black holes immersed in a de Sitter Universe. We will provide strong numerical evidence which designate that the (linear analog of) strong cosmic censorship is violated by near-extremal Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes. Moreover, we shall investigate a superradiant instability in $d-$dimensional Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes and show that the increment of dimensions decreases the timescale of the instability.

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arXiv2019

Strong Cosmic Censorship in Horndeski Theory

The strong cosmic censorship hypothesis has recently regained a lot of attention in charged and rotating black holes immersed in de Sitter space. Although the picture seems to be clearly leaning towards the validity of the hypothesis in Kerr-de Sitter geometries, Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes appear to be serious counter-examples. Here, we perform another test to the hypothesis by using a scalar field perturbation non-minimally coupled to the Einstein tensor propagating on Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter spacetimes. Such non-minimal derivative coupling is characteristic of Horndeski scalar-tensor theories. Although the introduction of higher-order derivative couplings in the energy-momentum tensor increases the regularity requirements for the existence of weak solutions beyond the Cauchy horizon, we are still able to find a small finite region in the black hole's parameter space where strong cosmic censorship is violated.

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arXiv2019

Superradiant instability of charged scalar fields in higher-dimensional Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes

Black holes possess trapping regions which lead to intriguing dynamical effects. By properly scattering test fields off a black hole, one can extract energy from it, leading to the growth of the amplitude of the test field in expense of the black hole's energy. Such a dynamical phenomenon is called superradiance. Here, we study charged-scalar-field instabilities of Reissner-Nordström black holes immersed in a $d-$dimensional de Sitter Universe. By performing a thorough frequency-domain analysis we compute the unstable quasinormal resonances and link their presence with a novel family of quasinormal modes associated with the existence and timescale of the cosmological horizon of pure de Sitter spacetime. Our results indicate that such an instability is caused by superradiance, while the increment of dimensions amplifies the growth rate and enlarges the region of the parameter space where, both massless and massive, test fields are unstable.

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arXiv2019

Charged Fermions and Strong Cosmic Censorship

It was recently shown that the Strong Cosmic Censorship conjecture might be violated for near-extremally-charged black holes in de Sitter space. Here, we extend our study to charged fermionic fields in the exterior of Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes. We identify three families of modes; one related to the photon sphere, a second related to the de Sitter horizon and a third which dominates near extremality. We show that for near-extremally-charged black holes there is a critical fermionic charge below which Strong Cosmic Censorship may potentially be violated. Surprisingly enough, as one approaches extremality even more, violation of Strong Cosmic Censorship may occur even beyond the critical fermionic charge.

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arXiv2019

Strong Cosmic Censorship in higher-dimensional Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter spacetime

It was recently shown that Strong Cosmic Censorship might be violated for near-extremally-charged black holes in 4-dimensional de Sitter space under scalar perturbations. Here, we extend the study of neutral massless scalar perturbations in higher dimensions and discuss the dimensional influence on the validity of Strong Cosmic Censorship hypothesis. By giving an elaborate description of neutral massless scalar perturbations of Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter black holes in $d=4,5$ and $6$ dimensions we conclude that Strong Cosmic Censorship is violated near extremality.

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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.

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arXiv2018

Strong cosmic censorship in charged black-hole spacetimes: still subtle

It was recently shown that Strong Cosmic Censorship may be violated in highly charged black-hole spacetimes living in a universe with a positive cosmological constant. Several follow-up works have since suggested that such result, while conceptually interesting, cannot be upheld in practice. We focus here on the claim that the presence of charged massive scalars suffices to save Strong Cosmic Censorship. To the contrary, we show that there still exists a finite region in parameter space where Strong Cosmic Censorship is expected to be violated.

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arXiv2018

Stability under scalar perturbations and quasinormal modes of 4D Einstein-Born-Infeld dilaton spacetime: Exact spectrum

We study the stability under scalar perturbations, and we compute the quasinormal modes of the Einstein-Born-Infeld dilaton spacetime in 1+3 dimensions. Solving the full radial equation in terms of hypergeometric functions, we provide an exact analytical expression for the spectrum. We find that the frequencies are purely imaginary, and we confirm our results by computing them numerically. Although the scalar field that perturbs the black hole is electrically neutral, an instability similar to that seen in charged scalar perturbations of the Reissner-Nordström black hole is observed.

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arXiv2018

Quasinormal modes and Strong Cosmic Censorship

The fate of Cauchy horizons, such as those found inside charged black holes, is intrinsically connected to the decay of small perturbations exterior to the event horizon. As such, the validity of the strong cosmic censorship (SCC) conjecture is tied to how effectively the exterior damps fluctuations. Here, we study massless scalar fields in the exterior of Reissner--Nordstrom--de Sitter black holes. Their decay rates are governed by quasinormal modes of the black hole. We identify three families of modes in these spacetimes: one directly linked to the photon sphere, well described by standard WKB-type tools; another family whose existence and timescale is closely related to the de Sitter horizon. Finally, a third family which dominates for near-extremally-charged black holes and which is also present in asymptotically flat spacetimes. The last two families of modes seem to have gone unnoticed in the literature. We give a detailed description of linear scalar perturbations of such black holes, and conjecture that SCC is violated in the near extremal regime.

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