arXiv subjects

Nicolas Sanchis-Gual

Publications and source records attributed to Nicolas Sanchis-Gual.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2022

Head-on collisions of $\ell$-boson stars

Fully non-linear numerical evolutions of the Einstein-(multi)--Klein-Gordon equations are performed to study head-on collisions of $\ell$-boson stars. Despite being spherically symmetric, $\ell$-boson stars have a (hidden) frame of reference, used in defining their individual multipolar fields. To assess the impact of their relative orientation, we perform simulations with different angles between the axes of the two colliding stars. Additionally, two scenarios are considered for the colliding stars: that they are composites of either the same or different scalar fields. Despite some model-specific behaviours, the simulations generically indicate that: 1) the collision of two sufficiently (and equally) massive stars leads to black hole formation; 2) below a certain mass threshold the end result of the evolution is a bound state of the composite scalar fields, that neither disperses nor collapses into a black hole within the simulation time; 3) this end product (generically) deviates from spherical symmetry and the equipartition of the number of bosonic particles between the different scalar fields composing the initial boson stars is lost, albeit not dramatically. This last observation indicates, albeit without being conclusive, that the end result of these collisions belongs to the previously reported larger family of equilibrium multi-field boson stars, generically non-spherical, and of which $\ell$-boson stars are a symmetry enhanced point. We also extract and discuss the waveforms from the collisions studied.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Generating gravitational waveform libraries of exotic compact binaries with deep learning

Current gravitational wave (GW) detections rely on the existence of libraries of theoretical waveforms. Consequently, finding new physics with GWs requires libraries of non-standard models, which are computationally demanding. We discuss how deep learning frameworks can be used to generate new waveforms "learned" from a simulation dataset obtained, say, from numerical relativity simulations. Concretely, we use the WaveGAN architecture of a generative adversarial network (GAN). As a proof of concept we provide this neural network (NN) with a sample of ($>500$) waveforms from the collisions of exotic compact objects (Proca stars), obtained from numerical relativity simulations. Dividing the sample into a training and a validation set, we show that after a sufficiently large number of training epochs the NN can produce from 12\% to 25\% of the synthetic waveforms with an overlapping match of at least 95\% with the ones from the validation set. We also demonstrate that a NN can be used to predict the overlapping match score, with 90\% of accuracy, of new synthetic samples. These are encouraging results for using GANs for data augmentation and interpolation in the context of GWs, to cover the full parameter space of, say, exotic compact binaries, without the need of intensive numerical relativity simulations.

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arXiv2022

Ultralight bosonic dark matter in white dwarfs and potential observational consequences

Fluid and ultralight bosonic dark matter can interact through gravity to form stable fermion-boson stars, which are static and regular mixed solutions of the Einstein-Euler-(complex, massive) Klein-Gordon system. In this work we study the dynamical formation via gravitational cooling of a spherical mixed white-dwarf--boson star, whose properties depend on the boson particle mass and the mass of the boson star. Due to the accretion of bosonic dark matter, the white dwarf migrates to a denser and more compact object with a boson star core, thus modifying its gravitational redshift and altering the electromagnetic radiation emitted from the photosphere. We discuss the implications of the changes in the gravitational redshift that in principle could be produced by any type of dark matter and that might lead to small discrepancies in the estimation of masses and radii derived from white dwarf observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Ultralight bosons for strong gravity applications from simple Standard Model extensions

We construct families, and concrete examples, of simple extensions of the Standard Model that can yield ultralight {real or} complex vectors or scalars with potential astrophysical relevance. Specifically, the mass range for these putative fundamental bosons ($\sim 10^{-10}-10^{-20}$ eV) would lead dynamically to both new non-black hole compact objects (bosonic stars) and new non-Kerr black holes, with masses of $\sim M_\odot$ to $\sim 10^{10} M_\odot$, corresponding to the mass range of astrophysical black hole candidates (from stellar mass to supermassive). For each model, we study the properties of the mass spectrum and interactions after spontaneous symmetry breaking, discuss its theoretical viability and caveats, as well as some of its potential and most relevant phenomenological implications {linking them to the} physics of compact objects.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2021

Can fermion-boson stars reconcile multi-messenger observations of compact stars?

Mixed fermion-boson stars are stable, horizonless, everywhere regular solutions of the coupled Einstein-(complex, massive) Klein-Gordon-Euler system. While isolated neutron stars and boson stars are uniquely determined by their central energy density, mixed configurations conform an extended parameter space that depends on the combination of the number of fermions and (ultra-light) bosons. The wider possibilities offered by fermion-boson stars could help explain the tension in the measurements of neutron star masses and radii reported in recent multi-messenger observations and nuclear-physics experiments. In this work we construct equilibrium configurations of mixed fermion-boson stars with realistic equations of state for the fermionic component and different percentages of bosonic matter. We show that our solutions are in excellent agreement with multi-messenger data, including gravitational-wave events GW170817 and GW190814 and X-ray pulsars PSR J0030+0451 and PSR J0740+6620, as well as with nuclear physics constraints from the PREX-2 experiment.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Self-interactions can stabilize excited boson stars

We study the time evolution of spherical, excited ($i.e.$ nodeful) boson star models. We consider a model including quartic self-interactions, controlled by a coupling $Λ$. Performing non-linear simulations of the Einstein-(complex)-Klein-Gordon system, using as initial data equilibrium boson stars solutions of that system, we assess the impact of $Λ$ in the stability properties of the boson stars. In the absence of self-interactions ($Λ=0$), we observe the known behaviour that the excited stars in the (candidate) stable branch decay to a non-excited star without a node; however, we show that for large enough values of the self-interactions coupling, these excited stars do not decay (up to timescales of about $t\sim 10^4$). The stabilization of the excited states for large enough self-interactions is further supported by evidence that the nodeful states dynamically form through the gravitational cooling mechanism, starting from dilute initial data. Our results support the healing power (against dynamical instabilities) of self-interactions, recently unveiled in the context of the non-axisymmetric instabilities of spinning boson stars.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

An estimate of the gravitational-wave background from the observed cosmological distribution of quasars

We study the gravitational-wave background from the observed cosmological quasar distribution. Using the DR9Q quasar catalogue from the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we create a complete, statistically consistent sample of quasars from $z=0.3$ to $5.4$. Employing the spectroscopic information from the catalogue we estimate the masses of the supermassive black holes hosted by the quasars in the sample, resulting in a log-normal distribution of mean $10^{8.32\pm0.33}M_{\odot}$. The computation of the individual gravitational-wave strains relies on specific functional forms derived from simulations of gravitational collapse and mergers of massive black hole binaries. The background gravitational-wave emission is assembled by adding up the individual signals from each quasar modelled as plane waves whose interference can be constructive or destructive depending on the quasar evolutionary state. Our results indicate that the estimated gravitational-wave background discussed in this work could only be marginally detectable by LISA. This conclusion might change if more complete quasar catalogs than that provided by the SDSS were available.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Confusing Head-On Collisions with Precessing Intermediate-Mass Binary Black Hole Mergers

We report a degeneracy between the gravitational-wave signals from quasi-circular precessing black-hole mergers and those from extremely eccentric mergers, namely head-on collisions. Performing model selection on numerically simulated signals of head-on collisions using models for quasi-circular binaries we find that, for signal-to-noise ratios of 15 and 25, typical of Advanced LIGO observations, head-on mergers with respective total masses of $M\in (125,300)M_\odot$ and $M\in (200,440)M_\odot$ would be identified as precessing quasi-circular intermediate-mass black hole binaries, located at a much larger distance. Ruling out the head-on scenario would require to perform model selection using currently nonexistent waveform models for head-on collisions, together with the application of astrophysically motivated priors on the (rare) occurrence of those events. We show that in situations where standard parameter inference of compact binaries may report component masses inside (outside) the pair-instability supernova gap, the true object may be a head-on merger with masses outside (inside) this gap. We briefly discuss the potential implications of these findings for the recent gravitational-wave detection GW190521, which we analyse in detail in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 081101].

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

A stabilization mechanism for excited fermion-boson stars

We study numerically the nonlinear stability of {\it excited} fermion-boson stars in spherical symmetry. Such compound hypothetical stars, composed by fermions and bosons, are gravitationally bound, regular, and static configurations described within the coupled Einstein-Klein-Gordon-Euler theoretical framework. The excited configurations are characterized by the presence in the radial profile of the (complex, massive) scalar field -- the bosonic piece -- of at least one node across the star. The dynamical emergence of one such configuration from the accretion of a cloud of scalar field onto an already-formed neutron star, was numerically revealed in our previous investigation. Prompted by that finding we construct here equilibrium configurations of excited fermion-boson stars and study their stability properties using numerical-relativity simulations. In addition, we also analyze their dynamical formation from generic, constraint-satisfying initial data. Contrary to purely boson stars in the excited state, which are known to be generically unstable, our study reveals the appearance of a cooperative stabilization mechanism between the fermionic and bosonic constituents of those excited-state mixed stars. While similar examples of stabilization mechanisms have been recently discussed in the context of $\ell-$boson stars and multi-field, multi-frequency boson stars, our results seem to indicate that the stabilization mechanism is a purely gravitational effect and does not depend on the type of matter of the companion star.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

The imitation game: Proca stars that can mimic the Schwarzschild shadow

Can a dynamically robust bosonic star (BS) produce an (effective) shadow that mimics that of a black hole (BH)? The BH shadow is linked to the existence of light rings (LRs). For free bosonic fields, yielding mini-BSs, it is known that these stars can become ultra-compact - i.e., possess LRs - but only for perturbatively unstable solutions. We show this remains the case even when different self-interactions are considered. However, an effective shadow can arise in a different way: if BSs reproduce the existence of an innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) for timelike geodesics (located at $r_{\rm ISCO}=6M$ for a Schwarzschild BH of mass M), the accretion flow morphology around BHs is mimicked and an effective shadow arises in an astrophysical environment. Even though spherical BSs may accommodate stable timelike circular orbits all the way down to their centre, we show the angular velocity along such orbits may have a maximum away from the origin, at $R_Ω$; this scale was recently observed to mimic the BH's ISCO in some scenarios of accretion flow. Then: (i) for free scalar fields or with quartic self-interactions, $R_Ω\neq 0$ only for perturbatively unstable BSs; (ii) for higher scalar self-interactions, e.g. axionic, $R_Ω\neq 0$ is possible for perturbatively stable BSs, but no solution with $R_Ω=6M$ was found in the parameter space explored; (iii) but for free vector fields, yielding Proca stars (PSs), perturbatively stable solutions with $R_Ω\neq 0$ exist, and indeed $R_Ω=6M$ for a particular solution. Thus, dynamically robust spherical PSs can mimic the shadow of a (near-)equilibrium Schwarzschild BH with the same M, in an astrophysical environment, despite the absence of a LR, at least under some observation conditions, as we confirm by comparing the lensing of such PSs and Schwarzschild BHs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Boson stars in Palatini $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity

We explore equilibrium solutions of spherically symmetric boson stars in the Palatini formulation of $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity. We account for the modifications introduced in the gravitational sector by using a recently established correspondence between modified gravity with scalar matter and general relativity with modified scalar matter. We focus on the quadratic theory $f(\mathcal{R})=R+ξR^2$ and compare its solutions with those found in general relativity, exploring both positive and negative values of the coupling parameter $ξ$. As matter source, a complex, massive scalar field with and without self-interaction terms is considered. Our results show that the existence curves of boson stars in Palatini $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity are fairly similar to those found in general relativity. Major differences are observed for negative values of the coupling parameter which results in a repulsive gravitational component for high enough scalar field density distributions. Adding self-interactions makes the degeneracy between $f(\mathcal{R})$ and general relativity even more pronounced, leaving very little room for observational discrimination between the two theories.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Multi-field, multi-frequency bosonic stars and a stabilization mechanism

Scalar bosonic stars (BSs) stand out as a multi-purpose model of exotic compact objects. We enlarge the landscape of such (asymptotically flat, stationary, everywhere regular) objects by considering multiple fields (possibly) with different frequencies. This allows for new morphologies ${\it and}$ a stabilization mechanism for different sorts of unstable BSs. First, any odd number of complex fields, yields a continuous family of BSs departing from the spherical, equal frequency, $\ell-$BSs. As the simplest illustration, we construct the $\ell$ = ${\it 1}$ ${\it BSs}$ ${\it family}$, that includes several single frequency solutions, including even parity (such as spinning BSs and a toroidal, static BS) and odd parity (a dipole BS) limits. Second, these limiting solutions are dynamically unstable, but can be stabilized by a ${\it hybrid}$-$\ell$ construction: adding a sufficiently large fundamental $\ell=0$ BS of another field, with a different frequency. Evidence for this dynamical robustness is obtained by non-linear numerical simulations of the corresponding Einstein-(complex, massive) Klein-Gordon system, both in formation and evolution scenarios, and a suggestive correlation between stability and energy distribution is observed. Similarities and differences with vector BSs are anticipated.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

GW190521 as a merger of Proca stars: a potential new vector boson of $8.7 \times 10^{-13}$ eV

Advanced LIGO-Virgo reported a short gravitational-wave signal (GW190521) interpreted as a quasi-circular merger of black holes, one populating the pair-instability supernova gap, forming a remnant black hole of $M_f\sim 142 M_\odot$ at a luminosity distance of $d_L \sim 5.3$ Gpc. With barely visible pre-merger emission, however, GW190521 merits further investigation of the pre-merger dynamics and even of the very nature of the colliding objects. We show that GW190521 is consistent with numerically simulated signals from head-on collisions of two (equal mass and spin) horizonless vector boson stars (aka Proca stars), forming a final black hole with $M_f = 231^{+13}_{-17}\,M_\odot$, located at a distance of $d_L = 571^{+348}_{-181}$ Mpc. The favoured mass for the ultra-light vector boson constituent of the Proca stars is $μ_{\rm V}= 8.72^{+0.73}_{-0.82}\times10^{-13}$ eV. This provides the first demonstration of close degeneracy between these two theoretical models, for a real gravitational-wave event. Confirmation of the Proca star interpretation, which we find statistically slightly preferred, would provide the first evidence for a long sought dark matter particle.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers surrounded by scalar field clouds: Numerical simulations and observational implications

We show how gravitational-wave observations of binary black hole (BBH) mergers can constrain the physical characteristics of a scalar field cloud parameterized by mass $\tildeμ$ and strength $ϕ_0$ that may surround them. We numerically study the inspiraling equal-mass, non-spinning BBH systems dressed in such clouds, focusing especially on the gravitational-wave signals emitted by their merger-ringdown phase. These waveforms clearly reveal that larger values of $\tildeμ$ or $ϕ_0$ cause bigger changes in the amplitude and frequency of the scalar-field-BBH ringdown signals. We show that the numerical waveforms of scalar-field-BBHs can be modelled as chirping sine-Gaussians, with matches in excess of 95%. This observation enables one to employ computationally expensive Bayesian studies for estimating the parameters of such binaries. Using our chirping sine-Gaussian signal model we establish that observations of BBH mergers at a distance of 450 Mpc will allow to distinguish BBHs without any scalar field from those with a field strength $ϕ_0 \gtrsim 5.5\times 10^{-3}$, at any fixed value of $\tilde μ\in [0.3,0.8]$, with 90% confidence or better, in single detectors with Advanced LIGO/Virgo type sensitivities. This provides hope for the possibility of determining or constraining the mass of ultra-light bosons with gravitational-wave observations of BBH mergers.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

On the dynamical bar-mode instability in spinning bosonic stars

Spinning bosonic stars (SBSs) can form from the gravitational collapse of a dilute cloud of scalar/Proca particles with non-zero angular momentum. In a recent work we found that the scalar stars are transient due to a non-axisymmetric instability which triggers the loss of angular momentum. We further study the dynamical formation of SBSs using 3-dimensional numerical-relativity simulations of the Einstein-(massive, complex)Klein-Gordon system and of the Einstein-(complex)Proca system. We incorporate a quartic self-interaction potential in the scalar case to gauge its effect on the instability; we investigate (m=2) Proca stars to assess their stability; we attempt to relate the instability of SBSs to the growth rate of azimuthal density modes and the existence of a corotation point. We show that: the self-interaction potential can only delay the instability in scalar SBSs; m=2 Proca stars always migrate to the stable m=1 spheroidal family; unstable m=2 Proca stars and m=1 scalar boson stars exhibit a corotation point. This establishes a parallelism with rotating neutron stars affected by dynamical bar-mode instabilities. We compute the gravitational waves (GWs) emitted and investigate the detectability of the waveforms comparing the characteristic strain of the signal with the sensitivity curves of a variety of detectors, computing the signal-to-noise ratio. By assuming that the characteristic damping timescale of the bar-like deformation in SBSs is only set by GWs emission and not by viscosity (unlike in neutron stars), we find that the post-collapse emission could be orders of magnitude more energetic than that of the bar-mode instability itself. Our results indicate that GW observations of SBSs might be within the reach of future experiments, offering a potential means to establish the existence of such stars and to place tight constraints on the mass of the bosonic particle.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Cosmological analogies in the search for new physics in high-energy collisions

In this paper, analogies between multiparticle production in high-energy collisions and the time evolution of the early universe are discussed. A common explanation is put forward under the assumption of an unconventional early state: a rapidly expanding universe before recombination (last scattering surface), followed by the CMB, later evolving up to present days, versus the formation of hidden/dark states in hadronic collisions followed by a conventional QCD parton shower yielding final-state particles. In particular, long-range angular correlations are considered pointing out deep connections between the two physical cases potentially useful for the discovery of new physics.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2020

Synchronised gravitational atoms from mergers of bosonic stars

If ultralight bosonic fields exist in Nature as dark matter, superradiance spins down rotating black holes (BHs), dynamically endowing them with equilibrium bosonic clouds, here dubbed synchronised gravitational atoms (SGAs). The self-gravity of these same fields, on the other hand, can lump them into (scalar or vector) horizonless solitons known as bosonic stars (BSs). We show that the dynamics of BSs yields a new channel forming SGAs. We study BS binaries that merge to form spinning BHs. After horizon formation, the BH spins up by accreting the bosonic field, but a remnant lingers around the horizon. If just enough angular momentum is present, the BH spin up stalls precisely as the remnant becomes a SGA. Different initial data lead to SGAs with different quantum numbers. Thus, SGAs may form both from superradiance-driven BH spin down and accretion-driven BH spin up. The latter process, moreover, can result in heavier SGAs than those obtained from the former: in one example herein, $\sim 18\%$ of the final system's energy and $\sim 50\%$ of its angular momentum remain in the SGA. We suggest that even higher values may occur in systems wherein both accretion and superradiance contribute to the SGA formation.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Dynamical formation and stability of fermion-boson stars

Gravitationally bound structures composed by fermions and scalar particles known as fermion-boson stars are regular and static configurations obtained by solving the coupled Einstein-Klein-Gordon-Euler (EKGE) system. In this work, we discuss one possible scenario through which these fermion-boson stars may form by solving numerically the EKGE system under the simplifying assumption of spherical symmetry. Our initial configurations assume an already existing neutron star surrounded by an accreting cloud of a massive and complex scalar field. The results of our simulations show that once part of the initial scalar field is expelled via gravitational cooling the system gradually oscillates around an equilibrium configuration that is asymptotically consistent with a static solution of the system. The formation of fermion-boson stars for large positive values of the coupling constant in the self-interaction term of the scalar-field potential reveal the presence of a node in the scalar field. This suggests that a fermionic core may help stabilize configurations with nodes in the bosonic sector, as happens for purely boson stars in which the ground state and the first excited state coexist.

gr-qc↗