arXiv subjects

Ram Brustein

Publications and source records attributed to Ram Brustein.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

A Puncture in the Euclidean Black Hole

We consider the backreaction of the winding condensate on the cigar background. We focus on the case of the $SL(2,\mathbb{R})_k/U(1)$ cigar associated with, e.g., the near-horizon limit of $k$ NS5 black-branes. We solve the equations of motion numerically in the large $k$ limit as a function of the amplitude, $A$, of the winding mode at infinity. We find that there is a critical amplitude, $A_c=\exp(-γ/2)$, that admits a critical solution. In string theory, the exact $SL(2,\mathbb{R})_k/U(1)$ cigar CFT fixes completely the winding amplitude, $A_s$, at infinity. We find that in the large $k$ limit there is an exact agreement, $A_c=A_s$. The critical solution is a cigar with a puncture at its tip; consequently, the black-hole entropy is carried entirely by the winding condensate. We argue that, in the Lorentzian case, the information escapes the black hole through this puncture.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

Black Hole Entropy Sourced by String Winding Condensate

We calculate the entropy of an asymptotically Schwarzschild black hole (BH), using an effective field theory of winding modes in type II string theory. In Euclidean signature, the geometry of the BH contains a thermal cycle which shrinks towards the horizon. The light excitations thus include, in addition to the metric and the dilaton, also the winding modes around this cycle. The winding modes condense in the near-horizon region and source the geometry of the thermal cycle. Using the effective field theory action and standard thermodynamic relations, we show that the entropy, which is also sourced by the winding modes condensate, is exactly equal to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole. We then discuss some properties of the winding mode condensate and end with an application of our method to an asymptotically linear-dilaton black hole.

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arXiv2021

Black holes as frozen stars

We have recently proposed a model for a regular black hole, or an ultra-compact object, that is premised on having maximally negative radial pressure throughout the entirety of the object's interior. This model can be viewed as that of a highly entropic configuration of fundamental, closed strings near the Hagedorn temperature, but from the perspective of an observer who is ignorant about the role of quantum physics in counteracting against gravitational collapse. The advantage of this classical perspective is that one can use Einstein's equations to define a classical geometry and investigate its stability. Here, we complete the model by studying an important aspect of this framework that has so far been overlooked: The geometry and composition of the outermost layer of the ultra-compact object, which interpolates between the bulk geometry of the object and the standard Schwarzschild vacuum solution in its exterior region. By imposing a well-defined set of matching conditions, we find a metric that describes this transitional layer and show that it satisfies all the basic requirements; including the stability of the object when subjected to small perturbations about the background solution. In fact, we are able to show that, at linearized order, all geometrical and matter fluctuations are perfectly frozen in the transitional layer, just as they are known to be in the bulk of the object's interior.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Effective field theory for closed strings near the Hagedorn temperature

We discuss interacting, closed, bosonic and superstrings in thermal equilibrium at temperatures close to the Hagedorn temperature in flat space. We calculate S-matrix elements of the strings at the Hagedorn temperature and use them to construct a low-energy effective action for interacting strings near the Hagedorn temperature. We show, in particular, that the four-point amplitude of massless winding modes leads to a positive quartic interaction. Furthermore, the effective field theory has a generalized conformal structure, namely, it is conformally invariant when the temperature is assigned an appropriate scaling dimension. Then, we show that the equations of motion resulting from the effective action possess a winding-mode-condensate background solution above the Hagedorn temperature and present a worldsheet conformal field theory, similar to a Sine-Gordon theory, that corresponds to this solution. We find that the Hagedorn phase transition in our setup is second order, in contrast to a first-order transition that was found previously in different setups.

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arXiv2020

A correspondence between strings in the Hagedorn phase and asymptotically de Sitter space

A correspondence between closed strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase and asymptotically de Sitter (dS) space is established. We identify a thermal, conformal field theory (CFT) whose partition function is, on the one hand, equal to the partition function of closed, interacting, fundamental strings in their Hagedorn phase yet is, on the other hand, also equal to the Hartle-Hawking (HH) wavefunction of an asymptotically dS Universe. The Lagrangian of the CFT is a functional of a single scalar field, the condensate of a thermal scalar, which is proportional to the entropy density of the strings. The correspondence has some aspects in common with the anti-de Sitter/CFT correspondence, as well as with some of its proposed analytic continuations to a dS/CFT correspondence, but it also has some important conceptual and technical differences. The equilibrium state of the CFT is one of maximal pressure and entropy, and it is at a temperature that is above but parametrically close to the Hagedorn temperature. The CFT is valid beyond the regime of semiclassical gravity and thus defines the initial quantum state of the dS Universe in a way that replaces and supersedes the HH wavefunction. Two-point correlation functions of the CFT scalar field are used to calculate the spectra of the corresponding metric perturbations in the asymptotically dS Universe and, hence, cosmological observables in the post-inflationary epoch. Similarly, higher-point correlation functions in the CFT should lead to more complicated cosmological observables.

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arXiv2019

Emission Channels from Perturbed Quantum Black Holes

We calculate the emission of gravitational waves, gravitons, photons and neutrinos from a perturbed Schwarzschild blackhole (BH). The perturbation can be due to either classical or quantum sources and therefore the injected energy can be either positive or negative. The emission can be classical in nature, as in the case of gravitational waves, or of quantum nature, for gravitons and the additional fields. We first set up the theoretical framework for calculating the emission by treating the case of a minimally coupled scalar field and then present the results for the other fields. We perform the calculations in the horizon-locking gauge in which the BH horizon is deformed, following similar calculations of tidal deformations of BH horizons. The classical emission can be interpreted as due to a partial exposure of a nonempty BH interior, while the quantum emission can be interpreted as an increased Hawking radiation flux due to the partial exposure of the BH interior. The degree of exposure of the BH interior is proportional to the magnitude of the injected null energy.

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arXiv2019

Lower limit on the entropy of black holes as inferred from gravitational wave observations

Black hole (BH) thermodynamics was established by Bekenstein and Hawking, who made abstract theoretical arguments about the second law of thermodynamics and quantum theory in curved spacetime respectively. Testing these ideas experimentally has, so far, been impractical because the putative flux of Hawking radiation from astrophysical BHs is too small to be distinguished from the rest of the hot environment. Here, it is proposed that the spectrum of emitted gravitational waves (GWs) after the merger of two BHs, in particular the spectrum of GW150914, can be used to infer a lower limit on the magnitude of the entropy of the post-merger BH. This lower bound is potentially significant as it could be of the same order as the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. To infer this limit, we first assume that the result of the merger is an ultracompact object with an external geometry which is Schwarzschild or Kerr, but with an outer surface which is capable of reflecting in-falling GWs rather than fully absorbing them. If the absence of deviations from the predictions of general relativity in detected GW signals will be verified, we will then obtain a bound on the minimal redshift factor of GWs that emerge from the vicinity of the object's surface. This lack of deviations would also mean that the remnant of the merger has to have a strongly absorbing surface and must then be a BH for all practical purposes. We conclude that a relationship between the minimal redshift factor and the BH entropy, which was first proposed by 't Hooft, could then be used to set a lower bound on the entropy of the post-merger BH.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Likelihood analysis of small field polynomial models of inflation yielding a high Tensor-to-Scalar ratio

Inflationary potentials, with Planckian field excursions, described by a 6th degree polynomial are studied. We solve the Mukhanov-Sasaki equations exactly and employ a probabilistic approach as well as multinomial fitting to analyse the results. We identify the most likely models which yield a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r=0.01$ in addition to currently allowed Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) spectrum and observables. Additionally, we find a significant inter-dependence of CMB observables in these models. This might be an important effect for future analyses, since the different moments of the primordial power spectrum are taken to be independent in the usual Markov chain Monte Carlo methods.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

A maximal-entropy initial state of the Universe as a microscopic description of inflation

We propose that the initial state of the Universe was an isotropic state of maximal entropy. Such a state can be described in terms of a state of closed, interacting, fundamental strings in their high-temperature Hagedorn phase. The entropy density in this state is equal to the square root of the energy density in Planck units, while the pressure is positive and equal to the energy density. These relations imply a maximally large entropy density and, therefore, a state that cannot be described by a semiclassical spacetime geometry. If one nevertheless insists on an effective semiclassical description of this state, she can do so by ignoring the entropy. This leads to a partially equivalent description in which the pressure appears to be negative and equal in magnitude to the energy density, as if the energy-momentum tensor was that of a cosmological constant. From this effective perspective, the state describes a period of string-scale inflation. The bound state of strings ultimately decays, possibly by a process akin to Hawking radiation, and undergoes a transition into a phase of hot radiation. But, from the effective perspective, the same decay corresponds to the heating of the Universe at the end of inflation. Small quantum mechanical fluctuations in the initial state lead to scale-invariant temperature anisotropies in the hot radiation. The temperature anisotropies are interpreted in the effective description as arising from quantum fluctuations of the curvature and an effective inflaton field. The stringy microscopic description determines the parameters of the model of inflation, as well as the cosmological observables, in terms of the string length scale and coupling strength. Our framework is similar, conceptually, to a recent description of black holes in terms of a maximal entropy state of strings in the Hagedorn phase.

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arXiv2019

Revealing the interior of black holes out of equilibrium in the SYK model

The Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model can be used to describe black holes (BHs) in two-dimensional nearly-anti-de-Sitter gravity. We show that when such BHs are perturbed by a time-dependent negative-energy perturbation, their interior can be partially revealed. In the SYK model, a partial measurement of the state of the Majorana fermion pairs allows one to construct a matching time-dependent negative-energy perturbation of the BH geometry that shifts the state of the BH away from its equilibrium state. Kourkoulou and Maldacena showed that, if the perturbation is strong enough, the interior can be fully exposed and the BH disappears. Here, we show that when the perturbation is weaker than the threshold for full exposure, it effectively moves the horizon of the BH inwards, thus partially exposing the interior of the BH and leaving behind a smaller BH. The exposure is in proportion to the number of measured Majorana pairs and so also in proportion to the magnitude of the energy of the perturbation. From the boundary, the partial measurement is perceived as a burst of radiation whose strength and duration are proportional to the number of measured Majorana pairs.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Small field models of inflation that predict a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r=0.03$

Future observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization are expected to set an improved upper bound on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of $r\lesssim 0.03$. Recently, we showed that small field models of inflation can produce a significant primordial gravitational wave signal. We constructed viable small field models that predict a value of $r$ as high as $0.01$. Models that predict higher values of $r$ are more tightly constrained and lead to larger field excursions. This leads to an increase in tuning of the potential parameters and requires higher levels of error control in the numerical analysis. Here, we present viable small field models which predict $r=0.03$. We further find the most likely candidate among these models which fit the most recent Planck data while predicting $r= 0.03$. We thus demonstrate that this class of small field models is an alternative to the class of large field models. The BICEP3 experiment and the Euclid and SPHEREx missions are expected to provide experimental evidence to support or refute our predictions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Non-singular black holes interiors need physics beyond the standard model

The composition as well as the very existence of the interior of a Schwarzschild black hole (BH) remains at the forefront of open problems in fundamental physics. To address this issue, we turn to Hawking's "principle of ignorance", which says that, for an observer with limited information, all descriptions that are consistent with known physics are equally valid. We compare three different observers who view the BH from the outside and agree on the external Schwarzschild geometry. First, the modernist, who accepts the classical BH as the final state of gravitational collapse, the singularity theorems that underlie this premise and the central singularity that the theorems predict. The modernist is willing to describe matter in terms of quantum fields in curved space but insists on (semi)classical gravity. Second is the skeptic, who wishes to evade any singular behavior by finding a loophole to the singularity theorems within the realm of classical general relativity (GR). The third is a postmodernist who similarly wants to circumvent the singularity theorems but is willing to invoke exotic quantum physics in the gravitational and/or matter sector to do so. The postmodern view suggests that the uncertainty principle can stabilize a classically singular BH in a similar manner to the stabilization of the classically unstable hydrogen atom: Strong quantum effects in the matter and gravitational sectors resolve the would-be singularity over horizon-sized length scales. The postmodern picture then requires a significant departure from (semi)classical gravity, as well as some exotic matter beyond the standard model of particle physics (SM). We find that only the postmodern framework is consistent with what is known so far about BH physics and conclude that a valid description of the BH interior needs matter beyond the SM and gravitational physics beyond (semi)classical GR.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Resisting collapse: How matter inside a black hole can withstand gravity

How can a Schwarzschild-sized matter system avoid a fate of gravitational collapse? To address this question, we critically reexamine the arguments that led to the "Buchdahl bound", which implies that the minimal size of a stable, compact object must be larger than nine eighths of its own Schwarzschild radius. Following Mazur and Mottola, and in line with other counterexamples to the singularity theorems, we identify large negative radial pressure extending to the gravitational radius as the essential ingredient for evading the Buchdahl bound. Our results are novel although consistent with many other investigations of models of non-singular black holes. It is shown in particular that a large negative pressure in the framework of classical GR translates into a large positive pressure once quantum physics is incorporated. In this way, a Schwarzschild-sized bound state of closed, interacting fundamental strings in its high-temperature Hagedorn phase can appear to have negative pressure and thus the ability to resist gravitational collapse.

hep-th↗

arXiv2018

Emergent horizon, Hawking radiation and chaos in the collapsed polymer model of a black hole

We have proposed that the interior of a macroscopic Schwarzschild black hole (BH) consists of highly excited, long, closed, interacting strings and, as such, can be modeled as a collapsed polymer. It was previously shown that the scaling relations of the collapsed-polymer model agree with those of the BH. The current paper further substantiates this proposal with an investigation into some of its dynamical consequences. In particular, we show that the model predicts, without relying on gravitational effects, an emergent horizon. We further show that the horizon fluctuates quantum mechanically as it should and that the strength of the fluctuations is inversely proportional to the BH entropy. It is then demonstrated that the emission of Hawking radiation is realized microscopically by the quantum-induced escape of small pieces of string, with the rate of escape and the energy per emitted piece both parametrically matching the Hawking temperature. We also show, using standard methods from statistical mechanics and chaos theory, how our model accounts for some other known properties of BHs. These include the accepted results for the scrambling time and the viscosity-to-entropy ratio, which in our model apply not only at the horizon but throughout the BH interior.

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arXiv2018

Small field models with gravitational wave signature supported by CMB data

We study scale dependence of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) power spectrum in a class of small, single-field models of inflation which lead to a high value of the tensor to scalar ratio. The inflaton potentials that we consider are degree 5 polynomials, for which we precisely calculate the power spectrum, and extract the cosmological parameters: the scalar index $n_s$, the running of the scalar index $n_{\mathrm{run}}$ and the tensor to scalar ratio $r$. We find that for non-vanishing $n_{\mathrm{run}}$ and for $r$ as small as $r=0.001$, the precisely calculated values of $n_s$ and $n_{\mathrm{run}}$ deviate significantly from what the standard analytic treatment predicts. We study in detail, and discuss the probable reasons for such deviations. As such, all previously considered models (of this kind) are based upon inaccurate assumptions. We scan the possible values of potential parameters for which the cosmological parameters are within the allowed range by observations. The 5 parameter class is able to reproduce all of the allowed values of $n_s$ and $n_{\mathrm{run}}$ for values of $r$ that are as high as 0.001. Subsequently this study at once refutes previous such models built using the analytical Stewart-Lyth term, and revives the small field brand, by building models that do yield an appreciable $r$ while conforming to known CMB observables.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Signatures of HyperCharge Axions at Contemporary and Future Colliders

We investigate the possible detection of the Hypercharge Axion (HCA) in colliders. The HCA is a hypothetical pseudoscalar that couples to weak hypercharge topological density and could potentially explain the dominance of matter over antimatter in the observable universe. If the HCA exists, it can be produced in colliders via vector boson fusion or in association with a photon or with a Z boson, and detected by looking for its decay into photons or Z bosons. We find that for certain values of the HCA mass and coupling scales, both of the order of a TeV, existing data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) can already put interesting constraints and in future colliders, such as the High Luminosity LHC, the accessible detection range is increased significantly.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2018

Causality Violations in Lovelock Theories

Higher-derivative gravity theories, such as Lovelock theories, generalize Einstein's general relativity (GR). Modifications to GR are expected when curvatures are near Planckian and appear in string theory or supergravity. But can such theories describe gravity on length scales much larger than the Planck cutoff length scale? Here we find causality constraints on Lovelock theories that arise from the requirement that the equations of motion (EOM) of perturbations be hyperbolic. We find a general expression for the "effective metric" in field space when Lovelock theories are perturbed around some symmetric background solution. In particular, we calculate explicitly the effective metric for a general Lovelock theory perturbed around cosmological Friedman-Robertson-Walker backgrounds and for some specific cases when perturbed around Schwarzschild-like solutions. For the EOM to be hyperbolic, the effective metric needs to be Lorentzian. We find that, unlike for GR, the effective metric is generically not Lorentzian when the Lovelock modifications are significant. So, we conclude that Lovelock theories can only be considered as perturbative extensions of GR and not as truly modified theories of gravity. We compare our results to those in the literature and find that they agree with and reproduce the results of previous studies.

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arXiv2018

The state of Hawking radiation is non-classical

We show that the state of the Hawking radiation emitted from a large Schwarzschild black hole (BH) deviates significantly from a classical state, in spite of its apparent thermal nature. For this state, the occupation numbers of single modes of massless asymptotic fields, such as photons, gravitons and possibly neutrinos, are small and, as a result, their relative fluctuations are large. The occupation numbers of massive fields are much smaller and suppressed beyond even the expected Boltzmann suppression. It follows that this type of thermal state cannot be viewed as classical or even semiclassical. We substantiate this claim by showing that, in a state with low occupation numbers, physical observables have large quantum fluctuations and, as such, cannot be faithfully described by a mean-field or by a WKB-like semiclassical state. Since the evolution of the BH is unitary, our results imply that the state of the BH interior must also be non-classical when described in terms of the asymptotic fields. We show that such a non-classical interior cannot be described in terms of a semiclassical geometry, even though the average curvature is sub-Planckian.

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