arXiv subjects

S. Shankaranarayanan

Publications and source records attributed to S. Shankaranarayanan.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

Cosmological perturbation of Unimodular Gravity and General Relativity are identical

Unimodular Gravity (UG) is a restricted version of General Relativity (GR) in which the determinant of the metric is a fixed function and the field equations are given by the trace-free part of the full Einstein equations. The background equations in UG and GR are identical. It was recently claimed that, the first order contribution in the temperature fluctuation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in UG is different from GR. In this work, we calculate the first order perturbation equations in UG and show that the Sachs-Wolfe effect in UG, in terms of gauge invariant variables, is identical to GR. We also show that the second order perturbation equation of Mukhnanov-Sasaki variable in UG, is identical to GR. The only difference comes from the gauge choices due the constraint on the metric determinant. Hence, UG and GR are identical and indistinguishable in CMB data on large scales.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

Super-inflation and generation of first order vector perturbations in ELKO

In this work we construct a model where the first order vector perturbations can be generated during inflationary expansion. For the non-standard spinors, known as ELKO, we show that the components of the first order perturbed energy-momentum tensor of the ELKO is non-zero for pure vector part of the metric perturbation ($B_{i}$). We show that vector perturbations do not decay in the super-Hubble scale and for a specific super-inflation background model we show that the vector perturbations are nearly scale invariant, while its amplitude is smaller than the primordial scalar perturbations. We also comment on the generation of vorticity.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2015

An approach to the quantization of black-hole quasi-normal modes

In this work we derive the asymptotic quasi-normal modes of a BTZ black hole using a quantum field theoretic Lagrangian. The BTZ black hole is a very popular system in the context of $2+1$-dimensional quantum gravity. However to our knowledge the quasi-normal modes of the BTZ black hole have been studied only in the classical domain. Here we show a way to quantize the quasi-normal modes of the BTZ black hole by mapping it to the Bateman-Feschbach-Tikochinsky oscillator and the Caldirola-Kanai oscillator. We have also discussed a couple of other black hole potentials to which this method can be applied

gr-qc↗

arXiv2015

How Emergent is Gravity?

General theory of relativity (or Lovelock extensions) is a dynamical theory; given an initial configuration on a space-like hypersurface, it makes a definite prediction of the final configuration. Recent developments suggest that gravity may be described in terms of macroscopic parameters. It finds a concrete manifestation in the fluid-gravity correspondence. Most of the efforts till date has been to relate equilibrium configurations in gravity with fluid variables. In order for the emergent paradigm to be truly successful, it has to provide a statistical mechanical derivation of how a given initial static configuration evolves into another. In this essay, we show that the energy transport equation governed by the fluctuations of the horizon-fluid is similar to Raychaudhuri equation and, hence gravity is truly emergent.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Bekenstein-Hawking entropy from Criticality

Vacuum Einstein equations when projected on to a black hole horizon is analogous to the dynamics of fluids. In this work we address the question, whether certain properties of semi-classical black holes could be holographically mapped into properties of (2 + 1)-dimensional fluid living on the horizon. In particular, we focus on the statistical mechanical description of the horizon-fluid that leads to Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Within the paradigm of Landau mean field theory and existence of a condensate at a critical temperature, we explicitly show that Bekenstein-Hawking entropy and other features of black hole thermodynamics can be recovered from the statistical modelling of the fluid. We also show that a negative cosmological constant acts like an external magnetic field that induces order in the system leading to the appearance of a tri-critical point in the phase diagram.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Black hole thermodynamics as seen through a microscopic model of a relativistic Bose gas

Equations of gravity when projected on spacetime horizons resemble Navier-Stokes equation of a fluid with a specific equation of state [1-3]. We show that this equation of state describes massless ideal relativistic gas. We use these results, and build an explicit and simple molecular model of the fluid living on the Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordström black hole horizons. For the spin zero Bose gas, our model makes two predictions: (i) The horizon area/entropy is quantized as given by Bekenstein's quantization rule, (ii) The model explains the correct type of proportionality between horizon area and entropy. However, for the physically relevant range of parameters, the proportionality constant is never equal to 1/4.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Zero modes and divergence of entanglement entropy

We investigate the cause of the divergence of the entanglement entropy for the free scalar fields in $(1+1)$ and $(D + 1)$ dimensional space-times. In a canonically equivalent set of variables, we show explicitly that the divergence in the entanglement entropy of the continuum field in $(1 + 1)-$ dimensions is due to the accumulation of large number of near-zero frequency modes as opposed to the commonly held view of divergence having UV origin. The feature revealing the divergence in zero modes is related to the observation that the entropy is invariant under a hidden scaling transformation even when the Hamiltonian is not. We discuss the role of dispersion relations and the dimensionality of the space-time on the behavior of entanglement entropy.

hep-th↗

arXiv2014

Consistency relation in power law G-inflation

In the standard inflationary scenario based on a minimally coupled scalar field, canonical or non-canonical, the subluminal propagation of speed of scalar perturbations ensures the following consistency relation: $r \leq - 8n_{_T}$, where $r$ is the tensor-to-scalar-ratio and $n_{_T}$ is the spectral index for tensor perturbations. However, recently, it has been demonstrated that this consistency relation could be violated in Galilean inflation models even in the absence of superluminal propagation of scalar perturbations. It is therefore interesting to investigate whether the subluminal propagation of scalar field perturbations impose any bound on the ratio $r/|n_{_T}|$ in G-inflation models. In this paper, we derive the consistency relation for a class of G-inflation models that lead to power law inflation. Within these class of models, it turns out that one can have $r > - 8n_{_T}$ or $r \leq - 8n_{_T}$ depending on the model parameters. However, the subluminal propagation of speed of scalar field perturbations, as required by causality, restricts $r \leq -(32/3)\,n_{_T}$.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2014

No minimally coupled scalar black hole hair in Lanczos-Lovelock gravity

We extend here the result of Bekenstein [1,2] proving the non-existence of minimally coupled scalar black hole hair in general relativity to the Lanczos-Lovelock gravity in arbitrary dimension with non-negative coupling constants. The only physical requirement on the multiplet of minimally coupled scalar fields is that it fulfills the weak energy condition. We also assume, similarly to Bekenstein, spherical symmetry and asymptotic flatness.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Black hole hair in Lovelock gravity

We present a method to analyse black hole hair in the spherical symmetric sector of the Lovelock theory in arbitrary dimensions that is an alternative to solving the equations of motion in their complete form. We explicitly show that the method matches with the known black hole solutions for the vacuum and electro-vacuum spacetimes in Lovelock gravity theories. We further apply the method to the case of minimally coupled non-self-interacting massless scalar field and prove that there is no (non-self-interacting) massless scalar hair for the spherically symmetric Lovelock black holes.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2014

Entanglement entropy for non-zero genus topologies

Over the last three decades entanglement entropy has been obtained for quantum fields propagating in genus zero topologies (Spheres). For scalar fields propagating in these topologies, it has been shown that the entanglement entropy scales as area. In the last few years non-trivial topologies are increasingly relevant for different areas. For instance, in describing quantum phases, it has been realized that long-range entangled states are described by topological order. If quantum entanglement can plausibly provide explanation for these, it then imperative to obtain entanglement entropy in these topologies. In this work, using two different methods, we explicitly show that the entanglement entropy scales as area of the genus-1 geometry.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Horizon spectroscopy in and beyond general relativity

In this work we generalize the results for the entropy spectra typically derived for black holes in general relativity to a generic horizon within the spherically symmetric (asymptotically flat and non-flat) space-times of more general theories of gravity. We use all the standard --- Bekenstein's universal lower bound on the entropy transition, the highly damped quasi-normal modes and reduced phase-space quantization --- approaches to derive the spectra. In particular, the three approaches show that the Bekenstein-like spectra for the horizon entropy is a robust result. Our results confirm the suggestion made relatively recently by an independent fourth argument by Kothawala et al [1].

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Entanglement entropy in all dimensions

It has long been conjectured that the entropy of quantum fields across boundaries scales as the boundary area. This conjecture has not been easy to test in spacetime dimensions greater than four because of divergences in the von Neumann entropy. Here we show that the Renyi entropy provides a convergent alternative, yielding a quantitative measure of entanglement between quantum field theoretic degrees of freedom inside and outside hypersurfaces. For the first time, we show that the entanglement entropy in higher dimensions is proportional to the higher dimensional area. We also show that the Renyi entropy diverges at specific values of the Renyi parameter (q) in each dimension, but this divergence can be tamed by introducing a mass of the quantum field.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

5D non-symmetric gravity and geodesic confinement

This work focuses on an unexplored aspect of non-symmetric geometry where {\it only} the off-diagonal metric components along the extra dimension, in a 5-dimensional spacetime, are non-symmetric. We show that the energy densities of the stationary non-symmetric models are similar to that of brane models thereby mimicking the thick-brane scenario. We find that the massive test particles are confined near the location of the brane for both growing and decaying warp factors. This feature is unique to the non-symmetric nature of our model. We have also studied the dynamical models where standard 4D FLRW brane is embedded. Our analysis shows that the non-symmetric terms deconfine energy density at the early universe while automatically confine at late times.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2012

Attractor behaviour in ELKO cosmology

We study the dynamics of ELKO in the context of accelerated phase of our universe. To avoid the fine tuning problem associated with the initial conditions, it is required that the dynamical equations lead to an early-time attractor. In the earlier works, it was shown that the dynamical equations containing ELKO fields do not lead to early-time stable fixed points. In this work, using redefinition of variables, we show that ELKO cosmology admits early-time stable fixed points. More interestingly, we show that ELKO cosmology admit two sets of attractor points corresponding to slow and fast-roll inflation. The fast-roll inflation attractor point is unqiue for ELKO as it is independent of the form of the potential. We also discuss the plausible choice of interaction terms in these two sets of attractor points and constraints on the coupling constant.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Entanglement signatures of phase transition in higher-derivative quantum field theories

We show that the variation of the ground state entanglement in linear, higher spatial derivatives field theories at zero-temperature have signatures of phase transition. Around the critical point, when the dispersion relation changes from linear to non-linear, there is a fundamental change in the reduced density matrix leading to a change in the scaling of entanglement entropy. We suggest possible explanations involving both kinematical and dynamical effects. We discuss the implication of our work for 2-D condensed matter systems, black-hole entropy and models of quantum gravity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2010

Corrections to Bekenstein-Hawking entropy --- Quantum or not-so quantum?

Hawking radiation and Bekenstein--Hawking entropy are the two robust predictions of a yet unknown quantum theory of gravity. Any theory which fails to reproduce these predictions is certainly incorrect. While several approaches lead to Bekenstein--Hawking entropy, they all lead to different sub-leading corrections. In this article, we ask a question that is relevant for any approach: Using simple techniques, can we know whether an approach contains quantum or semi-classical degrees of freedom? Using naive dimensional analysis, we show that the semi-classical black-hole entropy has the same dimensional dependence as the gravity action. Among others, this provides a plausible explanation for the connection between Einstein's equations and thermodynamic equation of state, and that the quantum corrections should have a different scaling behavior.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2010

A note on second-order perturbations of non-canonical scalar fields

We study second-order perturbations for a general non-canonical scalar field, minimally coupled to gravity, on the unperturbed FRW background, where metric fluctuations are neglected a priori. By employing different approaches to cosmological perturbation theory, we show that, even in this simplified set-up, the second-order perturbations to the stress tensor, the energy density and the pressure display potential instabilities, which are not present at linear order. The conditions on the Lagrangian under which these instabilities take place are provided. We also discuss briefly the significance of our analysis in light of the possible linearization instability of these fields about the FRW background.

astro-ph.CO↗