arXiv subjects

Paul M. Chesler

Publications and source records attributed to Paul M. Chesler.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Millimeter light curves of Sagittarius A* observed during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope campaign

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observed the compact radio source, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), in the Galactic Center on 2017 April 5-11 in the 1.3 millimeter wavelength band. At the same time, interferometric array data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Submillimeter Array were collected, providing Sgr A* light curves simultaneous with the EHT observations. These data sets, complementing the EHT very-long-baseline interferometry, are characterized by a cadence and signal-to-noise ratio previously unattainable for Sgr A* at millimeter wavelengths, and they allow for the investigation of source variability on timescales as short as a minute. While most of the light curves correspond to a low variability state of Sgr A*, the April 11 observations follow an X-ray flare, and exhibit strongly enhanced variability. All of the light curves are consistent with a red noise process, with a power spectral density (PSD) slope measured to be between -2 and -3 on timescales between 1 min and several hours. Our results indicate a steepening of the PSD slope for timescales shorter than 0.3 h. The spectral energy distribution is flat at 220 GHz and there are no time-lags between the 213 and 229 GHz frequency bands, suggesting low optical depth for the event horizon scale source. We characterize Sgr A*'s variability, highlighting the different behavior observed just after the X-ray flare, and use Gaussian process modeling to extract a decorrelation timescale and a PSD slope. We also investigate the systematic calibration uncertainties by analyzing data from independent data reduction pipelines.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A

Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of active galactic nuclei at millimeter wavelengths have the power to reveal the launching and initial collimation region of extragalactic radio jets, down to $10-100$ gravitational radii ($r_g=GM/c^2$) scales in nearby sources. Centaurus A is the closest radio-loud source to Earth. It bridges the gap in mass and accretion rate between the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in Messier 87 and our galactic center. A large southern declination of $-43^{\circ}$ has however prevented VLBI imaging of Centaurus A below $λ1$cm thus far. Here, we show the millimeter VLBI image of the source, which we obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope at $228$GHz. Compared to previous observations, we image Centaurus A's jet at a tenfold higher frequency and sixteen times sharper resolution and thereby probe sub-lightday structures. We reveal a highly-collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet as well as the fainter counterjet. We find that Centaurus A's source structure resembles the jet in Messier 87 on ${\sim}500r_g$ scales remarkably well. Furthermore, we identify the location of Centaurus A's SMBH with respect to its resolved jet core at $λ1.3$mm and conclude that the source's event horizon shadow should be visible at THz frequencies. This location further supports the universal scale invariance of black holes over a wide range of masses.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Hairy black resonators and the AdS$_4$ superradiant instability

The superradiant instability of Kerr-AdS black holes is studied by numerically solving the full 3+1 dimensional Einstein equations. We find that the superradiant instability results in a two stage process with distinct initial and secondary instabilities. At the end of the secondary instability the geometry oscillates at several distinct fundamental frequencies -- a multi-oscillating black hole. The multi-oscillating black hole is remarkably close to a black resonator, albeit with a bit of gravitational hair. During the hairy black resonator epoch, the evolution of the horizon area is consistent with the exponential approach to a constant. By employing different seed perturbations in the initial Kerr-AdS geometry, we also demonstrate that the black resonator's hair is not unique. In the dual quantum field theory description, rotation invariance is spontaneously broken and the energy density is negative in some regions, signaling an exotic state of matter which does not relax to a stationary configuration.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Numerical evolution of the interior geometry of charged black holes

Previously, we developed a late time approximation scheme to study the interior geometry of black holes. In the present paper we test this scheme with numerical relativity simulations. In particular, we present numerical relativity simulations of the interior geometry of charged spherically symmetric two-sided black holes with a spacelike singularity at $r = 0$. Our numerics are in excellent agreement with the late time approximation. We also demonstrate that the geometry near $r = 0$ is a scalarized Kasner geometry and compute the associated Kasner exponents.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Constraints on black-hole charges with the 2017 EHT observations of M87*

Our understanding of strong gravity near supermassive compact objects has recently improved thanks to the measurements made by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). We use here the M87* shadow size to infer constraints on the physical charges of a large variety of nonrotating or rotating black holes. For example, we show that the quality of the measurements is already sufficient to rule out that M87* is a highly charged dilaton black hole. Similarly, when considering black holes with two physical and independent charges, we are able to exclude considerable regions of the space of parameters for the doubly-charged dilaton and the Sen black holes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

The Polarized Image of a Synchrotron Emitting Ring of Gas Orbiting a Black Hole

Synchrotron radiation from hot gas near a black hole results in a polarized image. The image polarization is determined by effects including the orientation of the magnetic field in the emitting region, relativistic motion of the gas, strong gravitational lensing by the black hole, and parallel transport in the curved spacetime. We explore these effects using a simple model of an axisymmetric, equatorial accretion disk around a Schwarzschild black hole. By using an approximate expression for the null geodesics derived by Beloborodov (2002) and conservation of the Walker-Penrose constant, we provide analytic estimates for the image polarization. We test this model using currently favored general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of M87*, using ring parameters given by the simulations. For a subset of these with modest Faraday effects, we show that the ring model broadly reproduces the polarimetric image morphology. Our model also predicts the polarization evolution for compact flaring regions, such as those observed from Sgr A* with GRAVITY. With suitably chosen parameters, our simple model can reproduce the EVPA pattern and relative polarized intensity in Event Horizon Telescope images of M87*. Under the physically motivated assumption that the magnetic field trails the fluid velocity, this comparison is consistent with the clockwise rotation inferred from total intensity images.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Light echos and coherent autocorrelations in a black hole spacetime

The Event Horizon Telescope recently produced the first images of a black hole. These images were synthesized by measuring the coherent correlation function of the complex electric field measured at telescopes located across the Earth. This correlation function corresponds to the Fourier transform of the image under the assumption that the source emits spatially incoherent radiation. However, black holes differ from standard astrophysical objects: in the absence of absorption and scattering, an observer sees a series of increasingly demagnified echos of each emitting location. These echos correspond to rays that orbit the black hole one or more times before reaching the observer. This multi-path propagation introduces spatial and temporal correlations into the electric field that encode properties of the black hole, irrespective of intrinsic variability. We explore the coherent temporal autocorrelation function measured at a single telescope. Specifically, we study the simplified toy problem of scalar field correlation functions $\langle Ψ(t) Ψ(0) \rangle$ sourced by fluctuating matter located near a Schwarzschild black hole. We find that the correlation function is peaked at times equal to integer multiples of the photon orbit period; the corresponding power spectral density vanishes like $λ/r_{\rm g}$ where $r_{\rm g} = G M / c^{2}$ is the gravitational radius of the black hole and $λ$ is the wavelength of radiation observed. For supermassive black holes observed at millimeter wavelengths, the power in echos is suppressed relative to direct emission by $\sim 10^{-13} λ_{\rm mm}/M_{6}$, where $λ_{\rm mm} = λ/(1\,{\rm mm})$ and $M_6 = M/(10^6 M_\odot)$. Consequently, detecting multi-path propagation near a black hole using the coherent electric field autocorrelation is infeasible with current technology.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Searching for exotic cores with binary neutron star inspirals

We study the feasibility of detecting exotic cores in merging neutron stars with ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. We focus on models with a sharp nuclear/exotic matter interface, and assume a uniform distribution of neutron stars in the mass range $[1,2] M_\odot$. We find that the existence of exotic cores can be confirmed at the 70% confidence level with as few as several tens of detections. Likewise, with such a sample, we find that some models of exotic cores can be excluded {with high confidence}.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Holographic duality and mode stability of de Sitter space in semiclassical gravity

We employ holographic duality to compute $\langle T_{μν} \rangle$ in strongly coupled $\mathcal N = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory and then study evolution of the semiclassical Einstein field equations sourced by $\langle T_{μν} \rangle$. Linearizing about de Sitter space, we find that the semiclassical equations of motion reduce to a four dimensional scalar wave equation coupled to a five dimensional scalar wave equation. We compute the mode spectrum of these equations and find that there exists a critical value of the Hubble constant $H_c$ for which de Sitter space is unstable when $H < H_c$ and mode stable when $H > H_c$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Singularities in Reissner-Nordström black holes

We study black holes produced by the collapse of a spherically symmetric charged scalar field in asymptotically flat space. We employ a late time expansion and show decaying fluxes of radiation through the event horizon imply the black hole must contain a null singularity on the Cauchy horizon and a central spacelike singularity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Finite-temperature Equations of State for Neutron Star Mergers

The detection of gravitational waves from a neutron star merger has opened up the possibility of detecting the presence or creation of deconfined quark matter using the gravitational wave signal. To investigate this possibility, we construct a family of neutron star matter equations of state at nonzero density and temperature by combining state-of-the-art nuclear matter equations of state with holographic equations of state for strongly interacting quark matter. The emerging picture consistently points toward a strong first order deconfinement transition, with a temperature-dependent critical density and latent heat that we quantitatively examine. Recent neutron star mass measurements are further used to discriminate between the different equations of state obtained, leaving a tightly constrained family of preferred equations of state.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

Holographic Signatures of Critical Collapse

Critical phenomena in gravitational collapse exhibit the universal features of self-similarity, critical scaling, and the appearance of a naked singularity. We study critical collapse in AdS, focusing on holographic field theory observables. We demonstrate that the echoing period, critical exponent, and signatures of the naked singularity can all be extracted from the holographic stress tensor.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Singularities in rotating black holes coupled to a massless scalar field

We employ a late-time expansion to study the interior of rotating black holes coupled to a massless scalar field in asymptotically flat spacetime. We find that decaying fluxes of scalar radiation into the black hole necessitate the existence of a null singularity at the Cauchy horizon and a central spacelike singularity at radius $r = 0$. In particular, the decaying influxes source a localized cloud of scalar radiation near $r=0$ whose amplitude grows unboundedly large as advanced time $v \to \infty$. The scalar cloud inevitably results in a central spacelike singularity at late times $v$, with the curvature near $r = 0$ diverging like $r^{-αv}$, where $α> 0$ is a constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Numerical evolution of shocks in the interior of Kerr black holes

We numerically solve Einstein's equations coupled to a scalar field in the interior of Kerr black holes. We find shock waves form near the inner horizon. The shocks grow exponentially in amplitude and need not be axisymmetric. Observers who pass through the shocks experience exponentially large tidal forces and are accelerated exponentially close to the speed of light.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Nonlinear evolution of the AdS$_4$ black hole bomb

The superradiant instability of rotating black holes with negative cosmological constant is studied by numerically solving the full 3+1-dimensional Einstein equations. We find evidence for an epoch dominated by a solution with a single helical Killing vector and a multi-stage process with distinct superradiant instabilities.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2017

Constraining Relativistic Generalizations of Modified Newtonian Dynamics with Gravitational Waves

In the weak-field limit of General Relativity, gravitational waves obey linear equations and propagate at the speed of light. These properties of General Relativity are supported by the observation of ultra high energy cosmic rays as well as by LIGO's recent detection of gravitation waves. We argue that two existing relativistic generalizations of Modified Newtonian Dynamics, namely Generalized Einstein-Aether theory and BIMOND, display fatal inconsistencies with these observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

Numerical solution of gravitational dynamics in asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes

A variety of gravitational dynamics problems in asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) spacetime are amenable to efficient numerical solution using a common approach involving a null slicing of spacetime based on infalling geodesics, convenient exploitation of the residual diffeomorphism freedom, and use of spectral methods for discretizing and solving the resulting differential equations. Relevant issues and choices leading to this approach are discussed in detail. Three examples, motivated by applications to non-equilibrium dynamics in strongly coupled gauge theories, are discussed as instructive test cases. These are gravitational descriptions of homogeneous isotropization, collisions of planar shocks, and turbulent fluid flows in two spatial dimensions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2016

How big are the smallest drops of quark-gluon plasma?

Using holographic duality, we present results for both head-on and off-center collisions of Gaussian shock waves in strongly coupled $\mathcal N = 4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The shock waves superficially resemble Lorentz contracted colliding protons. The collisions results in the formation of a plasma whose evolution is well described by viscous hydrodynamics. The size of the produced droplet is $R \sim 1/T_{\rm eff}$ where $T_{\rm eff}$ is the effective temperature, which is the characteristic microscopic scale in strongly coupled plasma. These results demonstrate the applicability of hydrodynamics to microscopically small systems and bolster the notion that hydrodynamics can be applied to heavy-light ion collisions as well as some proton-proton collisions.

hep-th↗