arXiv subjects

Robert B. Mann

Publications and source records attributed to Robert B. Mann.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

Rotating Gauss-Bonnet BTZ Black Holes

We obtain rotating black hole solutions to the novel 3D Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity recently proposed. These solutions generalize the BTZ metric and are not of constant curvature. They possess an ergoregion and outer horizon, but do not have an inner horizon. We present their basic properties and show that they break the universality of thermodynamics present for their static charged counterparts, whose properties we also discuss. Extending our considerations to higher dimensions, we also obtain novel 4D Gauss-Bonnet rotating black strings.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Black Hole Entropy and Boundary Conditions

It is well-known that in order to make the action well defined, one may employ different kinds of boundary conditions (BCs) accompanied by the appropriate Gibbons-Hawking-York (GHY) terms. In this paper we investigate the role of the selected BC and the corresponding GHY terms on the black hole (BH) entropy. Our result shows, regardless of the kind of BC, the BH entropy in all cases is the same as one obtained under Dirichlet BC from Wald formula or semi-classical approximation method. We considered the Schwarzschild solution for $f(R)$-gravity and general relativity (GR) in standard dimensions as special models.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Quantum Distinction of Inertial Frames: Local vs. Global

We study the response function of Unruh-deWitt detectors placed in a flat spacetime inside a thin matter shell. We show that the response function distinguishes between the local and global (Minkowski) inertial frames and picks up the presence of the shell even when the detector is switched on for a finite time interval within which a light signal cannot travel to the shell and back as required by a classical measurement. We also analyze how the response of the detector depends on its location within the shell.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

A Distorted Black Ring

We investigate how a static and neutral distribution of external matter distorts a 5-dimensional static black ring. We obtain a general expression for the distorted metric in terms of the background metric functions and the distortion fields, and find a multipole expansion for the latter. We demonstrate that the gravitational field of these external sources can be adjusted to remove the conical singularity of the undistorted black ring solution. We analyze properties of the distorted black ring for the specific cases of dipole and quadrupole distortions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

On Taking the $D\to 4$ limit of Gauss-Bonnet Gravity: Theory and Solutions

We comment on the recently introduced Gauss-Bonnet gravity in four dimensions. We argue that it does not make sense to consider this theory to be defined by a set of $D\to 4$ solutions of the higher-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We show that a well-defined $D\to 4$ limit of Gauss-Bonnet Gravity is obtained generalizing a method employed by Mann and Ross to obtain a limit of the Einstein gravity in $D=2$ dimensions. This is a scalar-tensor theory of the Horndeski type obtained by a dimensional reduction methods. By considering simple spacetimes beyond spherical symmetry (Taub-NUT spaces) we show that the naive limit of the higher-dimensional theory to four dimensions is not well defined and contrast the resultant metrics with the actual solutions of the new theory.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Thermodynamics of Gauss-Bonnet-de Sitter Black Holes

We investigate the thermodynamics of Gauss-Bonnet black holes in asymptotically de Sitter spacetimes embedded in an isothermal cavity, via a Euclidean action approach. We consider both charged and uncharged black holes, working in the extended phase space where the cosmological constant is treated as a thermodynamic pressure. We examine the phase structure of these black holes through their free energy. In the uncharged case, we find both Hawking-Page and small-to-large black hole phase transitions, whose character depends on the sign of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. In the charged case, we demonstrate the presence of a swallowtube, signaling a compact region in phase space where a small-to-large black hole transition occurs.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Slowly rotating black holes in Einsteinian cubic gravity

We construct slowly rotating black-hole solutions of Einsteinian cubic gravity (ECG) in four dimensions with flat and AdS asymptotes. At leading order in the rotation parameter, the only modification with respect to the static case is the appearance of a non-vanishing $g_{tϕ}$ component. Similarly to the static case, the order of the equation determining such component can be reduced twice, giving rise to a second-order differential equation which can be easily solved numerically as a function of the ECG coupling. We study how various physical properties of the solutions are modified with respect to the Einstein gravity case, including its angular velocity, photon sphere, photon rings, shadow, and innermost stable circular orbits (in the case of timelike geodesics).

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Motion of localized sources in general relativity: gravitational self-force from quasilocal conservation laws

An idealized "test" object in general relativity moves along a geodesic. However, if the object has a finite mass, this will create additional curvature in the spacetime, causing it to deviate from geodesic motion. If the mass is nonetheless sufficiently small, such an effect is usually treated perturbatively and is known as the gravitational self-force due to the object. This issue is still an open problem in gravitational physics today, motivated not only by basic foundational interest, but also by the need for its direct application in gravitational-wave astronomy. In particular, the observation of extreme-mass-ratio inspirals by the future space-based detector LISA will rely crucially on an accurate modeling of the self-force driving the orbital evolution and gravitational wave emission of such systems. In this paper, we present a novel derivation, based on conservation laws, of the basic equations of motion for this problem. They are formulated with the use of a quasilocal (rather than matter) stress-energy-momentum tensor---in particular, the Brown-York tensor---so as to capture gravitational effects in the momentum flux of the object, including the self-force. Our formulation and resulting equations of motion are independent of the choice of the perturbative gauge. We show that, in addition to the usual gravitational self-force term, they also lead to an additional "self-pressure" force not found in previous analyses, and also that our results correctly recover known formulas under appropriate conditions. Our approach thus offers a fresh geometrical picture from which to understand the self-force fundamentally, and potentially useful new avenues for computing it practically.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

A classification of Markovian fermionic Gaussian master equations

We introduce a classification scheme for the generators of open fermionic Gaussian dynamics. We simultaneously partition the dynamics along the following four lines: (1) unitary versus non-unitary, (2) active versus passive, (3) state-dependent versus state-independent, and (4) single-mode versus multi-mode. We find that only nine of these 16 types of dynamics are possible. Using this partition we discuss the consequences of imposing complete positivity on fermionic Gaussian dynamics. In particular, we show that completely positive dynamics must be either unitary (and so can be implemented without a quantized environment) or active (and so must involve particle exchange with an environment).

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Ruppeiner Geometry, Phase Transitions, and the Microstructure of Charged AdS Black Holes

Originally considered for van der Waals fluids and charged black holes [Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 071103 (2019)], we extend and generalize our approach to higher-dimensional charged AdS black holes. Beginning with thermodynamic fluctuations, we construct the line element of the Ruppeiner geometry and obtain a universal formula for the scalar curvature $R$. We first review the thermodynamics of a van der Waals fluid and calculate the coexistence and spinodal curves. From this we are able to clearly display the phase diagram. Notwithstanding the invalidity of the equation of state in the coexistence phase regions, we find that the scalar curvature is always negative for the van der Waals fluid, indicating that attractive interactions dominate amongst the fluid microstructures. Along the coexistence curve, the scalar curvature $R$ decreases with temperature, and goes to negative infinity at a critical temperature. We then numerically study the critical phenomena associated with the scalar curvature. We next consider four-dimensional charged AdS black holes. Vanishing of the heat capacity at constant volume yields a divergent scalar curvature. In order to extract the corresponding information, we define a new scalar curvature that has behaviour similar to that of a van der Waals fluid. We analytically confirm that at the critical point of the small/large black hole phase transition, the scalar curvature has a critical exponent 2, and $R(1-\tilde{T})^{2}C_{v}=1/8$, the same as that of a van der Waals fluid. However we also find that the scalar curvature can be positive for the small charged AdS black hole, implying that repulsive interactions dominate among the black hole microstructures. We then generalize our study to higher-dimensional charged AdS black holes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

The BTZ black hole exhibits anti-Hawking phenomena

The Unruh effect is a surprising prediction of quantum field theory that asserts accelerating observers perceive a thermal spectrum of particles with a temperature proportional to their acceleration. However, it has recently been shown that particle detectors can click less often or even cool down as their acceleration increases, in contrast to the heating one would expect. This leads to the so called anti-Unruh phenomena. Here we consider detectors outside a BTZ black hole and demonstrate the existence of black hole analogues of these effects, which we dub anti-Hawking phenomena.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Extended Thermodynamics and Complexity in Gravitational Chern-Simons Theory

We study several aspects of the extended thermodynamics of BTZ black holes with thermodynamic mass $M=αm + γ\frac{j}{\ell}$ and angular momentum $J = αj + γ\ell m$, for general values of the parameters $(α, γ)$ ranging from regular ($α=1, γ=0$) to exotic ($α=0, γ=1$). We show that there exist two distinct behaviours for the black holes, one when $α> γ$ ("mostly regular"), and the other when $γ< α$ ("mostly exotic"). We find that the Smarr formula holds for all $(α, γ)$. We derive the corresponding thermodynamic volumes, which we find to be positive provided $α$ and $γ$ satisfy a certain constraint. The dependence of pressure on volume is unremarkable and strictly decreasing when $α> γ$, but a maximum volume emerges for large $J\gg T$ when $γ> α$; consequently an exotic black hole of a given horizon circumference and temperature can exist in two distinct anti de Sitter backgrounds. We compute the reverse isoperimetric ratio, and study the Gibbs free energy and criticality conditions for each. Finally we investigate the complexity growth of these objects and find that they are all proportional to the complexity of the BTZ black hole. Somewhat surprisingly, purely exotic BTZ black holes have vanishing complexity growth.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Scalar and fermionic Unruh Otto engines

We investigate the behaviour of quantum heat engines, in which a qubit is put through the quantum equivalent of the Otto cycle and the heat reservoirs are due to the Unruh effect. The qubit is described by an Unruh--DeWitt detector model coupled quadratically to a scalar field and alternately to a fermion field. In the cycle, the qubit undergoes two stages of differing constant acceleration corresponding to thermal contact with a hot and cold reservoir. Explicit conditions are derived on the accelerations required for this cycle to have positive work output. By analytically calculating the detector response functions, we show that the dimensionality of the quadratic and fermionic coupling constants introduces qualitatively different behaviour of the work output from this cycle as compared to the case in which the qubit linearly couples to a scalar field.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Probing geometric information using the Unruh effect in the vacuum

We present a new method by which, in principle, it is possible to "see in absolute darkness," i.e., without exchanging any real quanta through quantum fields. This is possible because objects modify the mode structure of the vacuum in their vicinity. The new method probes the mode structure of the vacuum through the Unruh effect, i.e., by recording the excitation rates of quantum systems that are accelerated.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Curvature radius and Kerr black hole shadow

We consider applications of the curvature radius of a Kerr black hole shadow and propose three new approaches to simultaneously determine the black hole spin and inclination angle of the observer. The first one uses only two symmetric characteristic points, i.e., the top and the bottom points of the shadow, and is the smallest amount of data employed to extract information about spin and inclination angle amongst all current treatments. The second approach shows that only measuring the curvature radius at the characteristic points can also yield the black hole spin and the inclination angle. The observables used in the third approach have large changes to the spin and the inclination angle, which may give us a more accurate way to determine these parameters. Moreover, by modeling the supermassive black hole M87* with a Kerr black hole, we calculate the angular size for these curvature radii of the shadow. Some novel properties are found and analyzed. The results may shine new light on the relationship between the curvature radius and the black hole shadow, and provide several different approaches to test the nature of the black hole through the shadow.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Null hypersurfaces in Kerr-(A)dS spacetimes

For many purposes, a three-dimensional foliation of spacetime is more advantageous to understanding its light cone structure. We derive the equations describing such foliations for the Kerr geometry with non-zero cosmological constant, and show that they reduce to null hypersurfaces in vacuum (anti-)de Sitter spacetime in the limit of zero mass. Furthermore, we find that these null hypersurfaces are free of caustics everywhere for $r>0$. Our construction has applications in numerical studies of rotating black holes, and in defining Kruskal coordinates for rotating black holes with non-zero cosmological constant.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Mass in Lovelock Unique Vacuum gravity theories

We derive an expression for conserved charges in Lovelock AdS gravity for solutions having $k$-fold degenerate vacua, making manifest a link between the degeneracy of a given vacuum and the nonlinearity of the energy formula. We show for a black hole solution to the field equations on a branch of multiplicity $k$ that its mass comes from an expression that contains the product of $k$ Weyl tensors. We prove that all divergent contributions of the type (Weyl)$^q$, with $1\le q 1$. Our results provide insight on the holographic properties of degenerate Lovelock theories.

hep-th↗

arXiv2019

Charged accelerating black hole in $f(R)$ gravity

We obtain a charged accelerating AdS black hole solution in $f(R)$ gravity and investigate its thermodynamic behaviour. We consider low-acceleration black holes that do not have an acceleration horizon and obtain the first law of thermodynamics for them. We further study the parameter space of charged slowly accelerating $f(R)$ AdS black holes before investigating the behaviour of the free energy in both the canonical and grand canonical ensembles. We find a generalization of the reverse isoperimetric inequality, applicable to black holes in $f(R)$ gravity, that indicates these black holes can become super-entropic relative to their counterparts in Einstein gravity.

hep-th↗