arXiv subjects

Robert B. Mann

Publications and source records attributed to Robert B. Mann.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

One-Dimensional Relativistic Self-Gravitating Systems

One of the oldest problems in physics is that of calculating the motion of $N$ particles under a specified mutual force: the $N$-body problem. Much is known about this problem if the specified force is non-relativistic gravity, and considerable progress has been made by considering the problem in one spatial dimension. Here, I review what is known about the relativistic gravitational $N$-body problem. Reduction to one spatial dimension has the feature of the absence of gravitational radiation, thereby allowing for a clear comparison between the physics of one-dimensional relativistic and non-relativistic self-gravitating systems. After describing how to obtain a relativistic theory of gravity coupled to $N$ point particles, I discuss in turn the two-body, three-body, four-body, and $N$-body problems. Quite general exact solutions can be obtained for the two-body problem, unlike the situation in general relativity in three spatial dimensions for which only highly specified solutions exist. The three-body problem exhibits mild forms of chaos, and provides one of the first theoretical settings in which relativistic chaos can be studied. For $N\geq 4$, other interesting features emerge. Relativistic self-gravitating systems have a number of interesting problems awaiting further investigation, providing us with a new frontier for exploring relativistic many-body systems.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Deep in the knotted black hole

We consider the transition rate of a freely falling Unruh-DeWitt detector, coupled linearly to a massless scalar quantum field prepared in the Hartle-Hawking-Israel state, as a probe of the interior of a black hole. Specifically, we consider the transition rate of a detector in the spinless Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole as it freely falls toward and across the horizon and compare it to the corresponding situation for an $\mathbb{R}\text{P}^{2}$ geon. Both the BTZ black hole and its geon counterpart are quotients of $\text{AdS}_3$ spacetime that are identical exterior to the horizon but have different interior topologies. We find outside the horizon that the rates are qualitatively similar, but with the amplitude in the geon spacetime larger than in the BTZ case. Once the detector crosses the horizon, there are notable distinctions characterized by different discontinuities in the temporal derivative of the response rate. These discontinuities can appear outside the horizon if the detector is switched on at a sufficiently early time, within the past white hole horizon. In general, the detector can act as an `early warning system' that both spots the black hole horizon and discerns its interior topology.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Novel topological classes in black hole thermodynamics

By viewing black hole solutions as topological defects in thermodynamic parameter space, we unveil a novel topological class and two new topological subclasses, respectively denoted $W^{0-\leftrightarrow 1+}$, $\overline{W}^{1+}$, and $\hat{W}^{1+}$, that extend beyond the four established categories proposed by Wei et al. [Phys. Rev. D 110, L081501 (2024)]. Within the newly identified class and these two novel subclasses, the innermost small black hole states exhibit a distinct sequence of unstable, stable, and stable behaviours, while the outermost large black hole states display a uniform pattern of stable behaviours. These classifications indicate thermodynamic properties in both the low and high Hawking temperature regimes that are strikingly different from the previously known four topological classes. In particular, we demonstrate that static charged AdS black holes in gauged supergravity exhibit an intricate thermodynamic evolution that is notably distinct from that of the Reissner-Nordström anti-de Sitter (RN-AdS) black hole. From a topological perspective, we emphasize the advantages and potential of investigating thermodynamic phase transitions in these black hole spacetimes, an area that has been rarely explored in previous research. Our findings not only enrich and sharpen the framework of topological classifications in black hole thermodynamics, but also represent a significant stride toward unraveling the fundamental nature of black holes and gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Charged Quark Stars and Extreme Compact Objects in Regularized 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity

Since the derivation of a well-defined $D\rightarrow 4$ limit for 4 dimensional Einstein Gauss-Bonnet (4DEGB) gravity coupled to a scalar field, there has been interest in testing it as an alternative to Einstein's general theory of relativity. Using the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equations modified for charge and 4DEGB gravity, we model the stellar structure of charged, non-interacting quark stars. We find that increasing the Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant $α$ or the charge $Q$ both tend to increase the mass-radius profiles of quark stars described by this theory, allowing a given central pressure to support larger quark stars in general. We also derive a generalization of the Buchdahl bound for charged stars in 4DEGB gravity. As in the uncharged case, we find that quark stars can exist below the general relativistic Buchdahl bound (BB) and Schwarzschild radius $R=2M$, due to the lack of a mass gap between black holes and compact stars in the 4DEGB theory. Even for $α$ well within current observational constraints, we find that quark star solutions in this theory can describe Extreme Compact Charged Objects (ECCOs), objects whose radii are smaller than what is allowed by general relativity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Probing hidden topology with quantum detectors

We consider the transition rate of a static Unruh-DeWitt detector in two $(2+1)$-dimensional black hole spacetimes that are isometric to the static Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black hole outside the horizon but have no asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter exterior behind the horizon. The spacetimes are the $\mathbb{R}\text{P}^{2}$ geon, with spatial topology $\mathbb{R}\text{P}^{2}\setminus\{\text{point at infinity}\}$, and the Swedish geon of Åminneborg \emph{et al\/}, with spatial topology $T^{2}\setminus\{\text{point at infinity}\}$. For a conformal scalar field, prepared in the Hartle-Hawking-type state that is induced from the global vacuum on the anti-de Sitter covering space, we show numerically that the detector's transition rate distinguishes the two spacetimes, particularly at late exterior times, and we trace this phenomenon to the differences in the isometries that are broken by the quotient construction from the universal covering space. Our results provide an example in which information about the interior topology of a black hole is accessible to a quantum observer outside the black hole.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Relativity and decoherence of spacetime superpositions

It is univocally anticipated that in a theory of quantum gravity, there exist quantum superpositions of semiclassical states of spacetime geometry. Such states could arise for example, from a source mass in a superposition of spatial configurations. In this paper we introduce a framework for describing such "quantum superpositions of spacetime states." We introduce the notion of the relativity of spacetime superpositions, demonstrating that for states in which the superposed amplitudes differ by a coordinate transformation, it is always possible to re-express the scenario in terms of dynamics on a single, fixed background. Our result unveils an inherent ambiguity in labelling such superpositions as genuinely quantum-gravitational, which has been done extensively in the literature, most notably with reference to recent proposals to test gravitationally-induced entanglement. We apply our framework to the above mentioned scenarios looking at gravitationally-induced entanglement, the problem of decoherence of gravitational sources, and clarify commonly overlooked assumptions. In the context of decoherence of gravitational sources, our result implies that the resulting decoherence is not fundamental, but depends on the existence of external systems that define a relative set of coordinates through which the notion of spatial superposition obtains physical meaning.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Polytopes of Absolutely Wigner Bounded Spin States

Quasiprobability has become an increasingly popular notion for characterising non-classicality in quantum information, thermodynamics, and metrology. Two important distributions with non-positive quasiprobability are the Wigner function and the Glauber-Sudarshan function. Here we study properties of the spin Wigner function for finite-dimensional quantum systems and draw comparisons with its infinite-dimensional analog, focusing in particular on the relation to the Glauber-Sudarshan function and the existence of absolutely Wigner-bounded states. More precisely, we investigate unitary orbits of mixed spin states that are characterized by Wigner functions lower-bounded by a specified value. To this end, we extend a characterization of the set of absolutely Wigner positive states as a set of linear eigenvalue constraints, which together define a polytope centred on the maximally mixed state in the simplex of spin-$j$ states. The lower bound determines the relative size of such absolutely Wigner bounded (AWB) polytopes and we study their geometric characteristics. In each dimension a Hilbert-Schmidt ball representing a tight purity-based sufficient condition to be AWB is exactly determined, while another ball representing a necessary condition to be AWB is conjectured. Special attention is given to the case where the polytope separates orbits containing only positive Wigner functions from other orbits because of the use of Wigner negativity as a witness of non-classicality. Comparisons are made to absolute symmetric state separability and spin Glauber-Sudarshan positivity, with additional details given for low spin quantum numbers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Existence of Vacuum Wormholes in Einsteinian Cubic Gravity

Wormhole solutions in gravitational theories typically require exotic matter. Here we present a wormhole solution to the field equations of Einsteinian Cubic Gravity -- a phenomenological competitor to general relativity that includes terms cubic in the curvature -- that has no matter, exotic or otherwise. These purely gravitational wormhole geometries are asymptotically AdS but contain a geometric deficit at infinity. The deficit, interpreted as a global monopole, plays an essential role in our construction. We find that our wormhole solution satisfies traversablility criteria. We also find, for different parameters, a range of possible wormhole solutions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Universal topological classifications of black hole thermodynamics

In this Letter, we investigate the universal classifications of black hole states by considering them as topological defects within the thermodynamic parameter space. Through the asymptotic behaviors of the constructed vector, our results indicate the existence of four distinct topological classifications, denoted as $W^{1-}$, $W^{0+}$, $W^{0-}$, and $W^{1+}$. Within these classifications, the innermost small black hole states are characterized as unstable, stable, unstable, and stable, respectively, while the outermost large ones exhibit an unstable, unstable, stable, and stable behavior. These classifications also display contrasting thermodynamic properties in both low and high Hawking temperature limits. Furthermore, we establish a systematic ordering of the local thermodynamically stable and unstable black hole states as the horizon radius increases for a specific topological classification. These results reveal the universal topological classifications governing black hole thermodynamics, providing valuable insights into the fundamental nature of quantum gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Maxwell construction and multi-criticality in uncharged generalized quasi-topological black Holes

We demonstrate the existence of $N$-tuple critical points of uncharged AdS black holes in generalized quasi-topological theories. The criticality is shown to have a geometrical interpretation described by the Maxwell's equal area rule. We present a compact reformulation of the area rule and identify a criterion for the emergence such points. Using this criterion, we construct several multi-critical points with genuine generalized quasi-topological densities, including a quadruple and a quintuple points.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Singular excitement beyond the horizon of a rotating black hole

Previous studies have shown that an Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detector, when coupled linearly to a massless scalar field and permitted to fall radially into certain black holes, will exhibit non-monotonicity in its transition properties near the horizon. Specifically, the transition probability of a detector freely falling into a (3+1)-dimensional Schawrzschild black hole, when considering the Unruh and Hartle-Hawking vacuum states, was shown to possess a local extremum at horizon crossing [K.K. Ng et al., New J. Phys. 24 (2022) 103018]. The transition rate of a detector falling into a static (2+1)-dimensional Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole, for the Hartle-Hawking state, was also found to have multiple local extrema near the horizon under certain parameter settings [M.R. Preciado-Rivas et al., arXiv:2402.14908v1]. These discoveries are of interest, as they suggest that the event horizon of a black hole may be distinguishable to a local probe when QFT effects are included. In this paper, we explore the problem of a UDW detector falling freely into a rotating BTZ black hole. We numerically compute the detector's transition rate for different values of black hole mass, black hole angular momentum, detector energy gap, and field boundary conditions at infinity. Our results lead to a more generalized description of the behaviour of particle detectors in BTZ black hole spacetime, from which the previous non-rotating BTZ case can be retrieved in the limit as angular momentum vanishes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Generalized holographic complexity of rotating black holes

We explore the generalized holographic complexity of odd-dimensional Myers-Perry asymptotically Anti-de Sitter (MP-AdS) black holes with equal angular momenta within the ``complexity equals anything'' proposal. We begin by determining the codimension-one generalized volume complexity by finding the extremum of the generally covariant volume functional. Locally, we show that its late-time growth rate aligns with the critical momenta associated with the extremal hypersurfaces. Globally, we discover diverse phase transitions for the complexity at early times, including first-order, second-order, and multi-critical transitions. An area law and a phase diagram are proposed to adapt to these phase behaviours, highlighting the effects of the black hole's angular momentum. At zero time, we define the generalized holographic complexity of formation and examine its scaling relations for both large near-extremal MP-AdS black holes and static charged black holes. We find that the scaling behaviours of the generalized volume complexity of formation maintain uniformity with those of the original holographic complexity formulations, except in cases where the scalar functional defining the generalized holographic complexity is infinite in the vacuum limit or at spatial infinity. Additionally, we show that these findings can be applied to codimension-zero observables.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Accelerated detector in a superposed spacetime

In pursuit of a full-fledged theory of quantum gravity, operational approaches offer insights into quantum-gravitational effects produced by quantum superposition of different spacetimes not diffeomorphic to one another. Recent work applies this approach to superpose cylindrically identified Minkowski spacetimes (i.e. periodic boundary conditions) with different characteristic circumferences, where a two-level detector coupled to a quantum field residing in the spacetime exhibits resonance peaks in response at certain values of the superposed length ratios. Here, we extend this analysis to a superposition of cylindrically identified Rindler spacetimes, considering a two-level detector constantly accelerated in the direction orthogonal to the compact dimension. Similarly to previous work, we find resonance peaks in the detector response at rational ratios of the superposed compactified lengths, which we observe to be accentuated by the acceleration of the detector. Furthermore, for the first time we confirm the detailed balance condition due to acceleration in a superposition of spacetimes, commensurate with the Unruh effect in a single spacetime state. The resonant structure of detector response in the presence of event horizons, for the first time observed in 3+1 dimensions, may offer clues to the nature of black hole entropy in the full theory of quantum gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Paradoxes before the paradox: surface gravity and the information loss problem

The information loss paradox is widely regarded as one of the biggest open problems in theoretical physics. Several classical and quantum features must be present to enable its formulation. First, an event horizon is needed to justify the objective status of tracing out degrees of freedom inside the black hole. Second, evaporation must be completed (or nearly completed) in finite time according to a distant observer, and thus the formation of the black hole should also occur in finite time. In spherical symmetry these requirements constrain the possible metrics strongly enough to obtain a unique black hole formation scenario and match their parameters with the semiclassical results. However, the two principal generalizations of surface gravity, the quantity that determines the Hawking temperature, do not agree with each other on the dynamical background. Neither can correspond to the emission of nearly-thermal radiation. We infer from this that the information loss problem cannot be consistently posed in its standard form.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Quantum charged black holes

Within the framework of braneworld holography, we construct a quantum charged black hole localized on a three-dimensional anti-de Sitter (AdS) brane that intersects the asymptotic boundary of the four-dimensional AdS spacetime at the conformal defects and incorporates quantum backreaction effects from the conformal field theory (CFT) on the brane. This quantum charged black hole is an exact solution of the semiclassical gravitational equation corresponding to a theory with higher curvature gravity and nonminimally coupled nonlinear gauge field. In the framework of double holography, we investigate the thermodynamics of the quantum charged black hole from three perspectives: a pure bulk perspective, in which four-dimensional classical Einstein gravity couples to Maxwell electrodynamics and a codimension-one tensional brane; a brane perspective, where semiclassical higher curvature gravity is subject to quantum backreaction from the holographic CFT on the brane, yielding a quantum charged black hole; and a boundary perspective, where the defect CFT is coupled to a boundary CFT at the asymptotic boundary and the degrees of freedom for defect quantum conformal matter is considered. In so doing, we obtain doubly holographic formulations of both the first law of thermodynamics and the Smarr (energy) relations for the quantum charged black holes.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Non-linearity and chaos in the kicked top

Classical chaos arises from the inherent non-linearity of dynamical systems. However, quantum maps are linear; therefore, the definition of chaos is not straightforward. To address this, we study a quantum system that exhibits chaotic behavior in its classical limit: the kicked top model, whose classical dynamics are governed by Hamilton's equations on phase space, whereas its quantum dynamics are described by the Schrödinger equation in Hilbert space. We explore the critical degree of non-linearity signifying the onset of chaos in the kicked top by modifying the original Hamiltonian so that the non-linearity is parametrized by a quantity $p$. We find two distinct behaviors of the modified kicked top depending on the value of $p$. Chaos intensifies as $p$ varies within the range of $1\leq p \leq 2$, whereas it diminishes for $p > 2$, eventually transitioning to a purely regular oscillating system as $p$ tends to infinity. We also comment on the complicated phase space structure for non-chaotic dynamics. Our investigation sheds light on the relationship between non-linearity and chaos in classical systems, offering insights into their dynamic behavior.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2024

More Excitement Across the Horizon

An Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detector falling radially into a four-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole, coupled linearly to a massless scalar field that has been prepared in the Hartle-Hawking or Unruh state, has recently been shown to exhibit a local extremum in its transition probability near the black hole horizon [K.K. Ng et al., New J. Phys. 24 (2022) 103018]. We show that a similar phenomenon is present in the transition rate of a UDW detector falling radially into a spinless Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole, with the scalar field prepared in the Hartle-Hawking state. We give extensive numerical results as a function of the detector's energy gap, the black hole's mass, and the detector's drop-off radius. Our results suggest that the effect is robust, motivating a search for a similar effect in other black hole spacetimes, and calling for an explanation of the physical origin of the effect.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Triple Points of Gravitational AdS Solitons and Black Holes

We present a triple point of a new kind for General Relativity, at which two gravitational solitons can coexist with a planar black hole in anti de Sitter space. Working in the context of non-linear electrodynamics, we obtain simple, sensible spacetimes for which the thermodynamics can be studied in an analytic manner. The spacetimes are charged under the non-linear electrodynamics leading to an electric charge for black holes and a magnetic flux for solitons. In the grand-canonical ensemble, we show that the phase space of the theory is very rich, containing re-entrant phase transitions, as well as triple points, for small values of the coupling controlling the non-linearity of the electrodynamics Lagrangian.

hep-th↗