arXiv subjects

Sergio Luigi Cacciatori

Publications and source records attributed to Sergio Luigi Cacciatori.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On more general Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary terms for f(R) gravity

More general boundary conditions are introduced - with respect to known literature - which produce a well-posed stationary action principle in $f(R)$ gravity. These conditions encompass the known cases, thus enlarging the space of admissible solutions. The corresponding Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary terms are explicitly computed and hold for any analytic f(R). The perspectives of application concerning the scalar-tensor mapping and the laws of black-hole thermodynamics are outlined in the conclusions.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Space-Time Singularities Lemaitre Conference 2024

This editorial introduces the topical collection arising from the Lemaitre Conference 2024 - the second in a series of meetings dedicated to the scientific legacy of Georges Lemaitre - held at the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, 17-20 June 2024, fifty-seven years after Lemaitre's death and on the eve of the centenary of his foundational 1927 paper on the expanding universe. The nineteen contributions collected here address the most pressing open problems at the interface of cosmology, gravitation, and quantum theory: the Hubble tension and the future of $Λ$CDM in light of recent DESI data; inflationary cosmology and dark-energy model-building in string theory and supergravity, together with the Swampland constraints that bound them; the observer-dependence of the quantum-cosmological wave function; the removal, or consistent crossing, of spacetime singularities - from the canonical quantization of Lemaitre's own 1933 dust model to string-theoretic pre-Big-Bang bounces and many-body constructions of singularity-free black-hole cores; primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures; the search for a background-independent formulation of quantum gravity and a first-principles account of horizon thermodynamics; and the foundational status of the quantum-to-classical transition in gravitational contexts. A proposal for lunar-based cosmological observations, and a historical reconstruction of the genesis of Lemaitre's primeval-atom hypothesis, complete the collection. A recurring unifying thread was the legacy of Lemaitre himself - who first distinguished coordinate from physical singularities and coined the term "horizon" - whose pioneering vision continues to guide research at the frontier of cosmology and fundamental physics.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Thermodynamics of magnetized BPS baryonic layers and the effects of the Isospin chemical potential

Through the Hamilton-Jacobi equation of classical mechanics, BPS magnetized Baryonic layers (possessing both baryonic charge and magnetic flux) have been constructed in the gauged non-linear sigma model (G-NLSM) minimally coupled to Maxwell theory, which is one of the most relevant effective theories for Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) in the strongly interacting low-energy limit which also takes into account the electromagnetic interactions. Since the topological charge that naturally appears on the right hand side of the BPS bound is a non-linear function of the baryonic charge, the thermodynamics of these magnetized Baryonic layers is highly non-trivial. In this work, using tools from the theory of Casimir effect, we derive analytical relationship between baryonic charge, topological charge, magnetic flux and relevant thermodynamical quantities (such as pressure, specific heat and magnetic susceptibility) of these layers. The critical Baryonic chemical potential is identified. Quite interestingly, the grand canonical partition function can be related with the Riemann zeta function. On the technical side, it is quite a remarkable result to derive explicit expressions for all these thermodynamics quantities of a strongly interacting magnetized system at finite Baryon density. The effects of the Isospin chemical potential can be included as well: in particular, we will be able to construct explicitly the BPS bound and the corresponding BPS configurations also in the case in which the Isospin chemical potential is non-zero. The physical interpretations of our analytical results will be discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2026

Local observers in stationary axisymmetric dust spacetimes

In this work, we construct a locally inertial reference system adapted to a geodesic observer in stationary, axisymmetric dust solutions of the Einstein equations employed as effective models of a portion of a galactic disc. To ensure a consistent spatial orientation among different local observers, we also introduce the radially locked reference system, in which one spatial axis is aligned with the radial direction defined by null geodesics passing through the galactic center. Within this framework, we analyze how the dust configuration is described by such observers by computing the frequency shift of photons exchanged between pairs of dust geodesics. Building on this construction, we outline a procedure to reconstruct spectroscopic and astrometric relative velocities with respect to locally inertial observers, providing a coherent foundation for the study of galactic kinematics in a fully general relativistic context.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Effective potentials for de Sitter and anti de Sitter quantum fields

We derive a systematic treatment of one-loop effective potentials for interacting scalar fields in curved spacetimes, providing a general formula valid in arbitrary geometries and explicit results for de Sitter and anti-de Sitter backgrounds. We then compute the effective potential for a scalar $O(N)$ theory on a de Sitter space in any integer dimension. In $d=3$ and dimensional regularization, we extend the calculation up to two loops and compute the $β$-function and the anomalous mass dimension. They coincide exactly with flat-space results, despite dramatic curvature modifications to physical masses/couplings. The flat limit $R\to\infty$ recovers Coleman-Weinberg, confirming consistency. Working in $d=3$ dimensions, we repeat the calculation for $AdS_3$ by using point-splitting regularization, obtaining analogous results for the $β$-function and anomalous mass dimension.

hep-th↗

arXiv2025

Minimum spacetime length and the thermodynamics of spacetime

Theories of emergent gravity have established a deep connection between entropy and the geometry of spacetime by looking at the latter through a thermodynamic lens. In this framework, the macroscopic properties of gravity arise in a statistical way from an effective small scale discrete structure of spacetime and its information content. In this review we begin by outlining how theories of quantum gravity imply the existence of a minimum length of spacetime as a general feature. We then describe how such a structure can be implemented in a way that is independent from the details of the quantum fluctuations of spacetime via a bi-tensorial quantum metric $q_{αβ}(x, x')$ that yields a finite geodesic distance in the coincidence limit $x\rightarrow x'$. Finally, we discuss how the entropy encoded by these microscopic degrees of freedom can give rise to the field equations for gravity through a thermodynamic variational principle.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Towards detecting the temporal fluctuations from gravitational waves in asynchronous gauges

The experimental possibility of detecting gravitational waves via their induced time perturbations is explored here, expanding from previous work. The oscillations of the time-time component in the metric are made explicit when working in asynchronous gauges: the desynchronization between a perturbed clock and a reference unperturbed clock constitutes the corresponding observable core target of a detector. To this end we explore the experimental techniques currently available for a preliminary assessment towards a feasibility study. We survey the state of the art in the fields of high precision timing and information preservation, necessary for achieving geodesic non-locality. A synthesis for a feasible prototype detector with the desired characteristics is presented. The optimum point between existing technologies is found around the 1 Hz frequency band, opening the window for the observation of classes of speculated sources of gravitational radiation such as intermediate mass black hole binaries.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Wall crossing structure from quantum phenomena to Feynman Integrals

A growing body of evidence suggests that the complexity of Feynman integrals is best understood through geometry. Recent mathematical developments [Kontsevich and Soibelman, arXiv:2402.07343] have illuminated the role of exponential integrals as periods of twisted de Rham cocycles over Betti cycles, providing a structured approach to tackle this problem in many situations. In this paper, we apply these concepts to show how families of physically relevant integrals, ranging from exponentials to logarithmic multivalued functions, can be recast as twisted periods of differential forms over homology cycles. In the case of holomorphic exponents, we provide explicit decompositions as thimble expansions and reveal a geometric wall-crossing structure behind the analytic continuation in parameters. We then show that the generalization to multivalued functions provides the right framework to describe Feynman integrals in the Baikov representation, where the multivaluedness is governed by the logarithm of the Baikov polynomial. In this context, the thimble decomposition aligns with the decomposition into Master Integrals. We highlight how the wall-crossing structure allows for a sharp count of independent Master Integrals (or periods), circumventing complications arising from Stokes phenomena. Additionally, we study the large-parameter expansions of these integrals, whose coefficients correspond to periods of standard (co-)homology associated with families of algebraic varieties, and which reveal the dominant basis elements in different sectors of the wall crossing structure. This unifies perturbative expansions and geometric representation theory under a single cohomological framework.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Asymptotically Conically Minkowskian spacetimes from self-gravitating dust

In this work we investigate some non-Newtonian effects in exact solutions of the Einstein equations, which describe stationary and axisymmetric configurations of self-gravitating dust. A distinctive feature of these solutions is the potential presence of conical singularities along the rotation axis, manifesting as angular deficits. While such singularities can be removed by imposing suitable boundary conditions along the axis, asymptotically far away from it the geometry becomes locally flat, in the sense that the Riemann tensor vanishes, but globally, instead of reducing to Minkowski space, it takes the form of a cone. We refer to these spacetimes as Asymptotically Conically Minkowskian (ACM). We show that such conical structure can originate some interesting effects as seen by asymptotic local observers. These include modifications to the gravitational lensing and the misinterpretation of the vacuum state of a scalar field as a distribution of scalar particles.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Dark Matter

In this article we address the mystery of dark matter. We expound the various evidences, astrophysical and cosmological, leading to hypothesize the existence of an invisible form of matter, whose attempts at detecting it have so far all failed. We also discuss some alternative suggestions that replace the hypothesis of exotic matter with the assumption of modifications of the gravitational dynamics. For each of the various proposals we also discuss the strong and weak points.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Exact solutions for analog Hawking effect in dielectric media

In the framework of the analog Hawking radiation for dielectric media, we analyze a toy-model and also the 2D reduction of the Hopfield model for a specific monotone and realistic profile for the refractive index. We are able to provide exact solutions, which do not require any weak dispersion approximation. The theory of Fuchsian ordinary differential equations is the basic tool for recovering exact solutions, which are rigoroulsy identified, and involve the so-called generalized hypergeometric functions $_4F_3(α_1,α_2,α_3,α_4;β_1,β_2,β_3;z)$. A complete set of connection formulas are available, both for the subcritical case and for the transcritical one, and also the Stokes phenomenon occurring in the problem is fully discussed. From the physical point of view, we focus on the problem of thermality. Under suitable conditions, the Hawking temperature is deduced, and we show that it is in fully agreement with the expression deduced in other frameworks under various approximations.

hep-th↗

arXiv2024

Tree-Level Superstring Amplitudes: The Neveu-Schwarz Sector

We present a complete computation of superstring scattering amplitudes at tree level, for the case of Neveu-Schwarz insertions. Mathematically, this is to say that we determine explicitly the superstring measure on the moduli space $\mathcal{M}_{0,n,0}$ of super Riemann surfaces of genus zero with $n \ge 3$ Neveu-Schwarz punctures. While, of course, an expression for the measure was previously known, we do this from first principles, using the canonically defined super Mumford isomorphism. We thus determine the scattering amplitudes, explicitly in the global coordinates on $\mathcal{M}_{0,n,0}$, without the need for picture changing operators or ghosts, and are also able to determine canonically the value of the coupling constant. Our computation should be viewed as a step towards performing similar analysis on $\mathcal{M}_{0,0,n}$, to derive explicit tree-level scattering amplitudes with Ramond insertions.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

A Chern-Simons transgression formula for supersymmetric path integrals on spin manifolds

Earlier results show that the N = 1/2 supersymmetric path integral on a closed even dimensional Riemannian spin manifold (X,g) can be constructed in a mathematically rigorous way via Chen differential forms and techniques from non-commutative geometry, if one considers it as a current on the smooth loop space of X. This construction admits a Duistermaat-Heckman localization formula. In this note, fixing a topological spin structure on X, we prove that any smooth family of Riemannian metrics on X canonically induces a Chern-Simons current which fits into a transgression formula for the supersymmetric path integral. In particular, this result entails that the supersymmetric path integral induces a differential topological invariant on X, which essentially stems from the A-hat-genus of X.

math.DG↗

arXiv2023

Equatorial Lensing in the Balasin-Grumiller Galaxy Model

The Balasin-Grumiller model has been the first model employed as an attempt towards providing a fully general relativistic description of the dynamics of a disc galaxy. In this paper, we compute the equatorial gravitational lensing observables of the model. Indeed, our purpose is to investigate the role that gravitational lensing plays as an observable in distinguishing between the state-of-the-art galaxy models and the fully general relativistic ones, with the latter stressing the role of frame-dragging and hence conceivably pointing to a possible re-weighting of the dark matter content of disc galaxies. We obtain for the Balasin-Grumiller model the exact formula for the bending angle of light and we provide a corresponding estimate for the time delay between images in the equatorial plane. For a reasonable choice for the values of the parameters of the solution (bulge and scale radiuses, and average rotational star speeds), the values that we obtain for the bending angle are in agreement with those observed for typical disc galaxies. On the other hand, the calculated time delay, which is directly tied to the frame-dragging generated by the angular momentum of the galaxy, turns out to be some orders of magnitude larger than the ones measured for the class of galaxies that the Balasin-Grumiller model would claim to describe. We believe this abnormal discrepancy to be due to the very nature of the Balasin-Grumiller model. Namely, it being rigidly rotating, hence providing an unphysical amount of frame-dragging. Therefore, we conclude that, in spite of its simplicity and its unquestionable didactical value, the Balasin-Grumiller model is far too crude to provide an instrument for a reliable general relativistic description of a disc galaxy and that further work in the fully general relativistic modelling of galaxies is required to reach a satisfactory stage.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Banana integrals in configuration space

We reconsider the computation of banana integrals at different loops, by working in the configuration space, in any dimension. We show how the 2-loop banana integral can be computed directly from the configuration space representation, without the need to resort to differential equations, and we include the analytic extension of the diagram in the space of complex masses. We also determine explicitly the $\varepsilon$ expansion of the two loop banana integrals, for $d=j-2\varepsilon$, $j=2,3,4$.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Non canonical polarizations of Gravitational Waves

We hereby propose an alternative and additional angle on the nature of gravitational waves (GWs), postulating the theoretical and experimental possibility that GWs carry a deformation of the time component of spacetime, other than the spatial one. By explicitly working outside of the transverse-traceless gauge, we propose how events with welldefined time duration, when hit by a GW, would consequently be expected to show a difference in their characteristic time, as measured from the rest frame of an outside observer,whose clock is to remain unaffected by the GW. This constitutes a theoretically viable way in the sense of detecting the passing of the wave itself and may prove relevant as a standalone method for GWs detection other than laser interferometers, or as well be implemented as a complementary but independent system of signal triggering, improving the statistical significance of existing methods. A simple but physically realistic scenario in which the appropriate conditions for the generation and detection of GWs with time dilation are met is presented, along with the conceptual design of an experimental detector.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

On the ultraviolet behavior of conformally reduced quadratic gravity

We study the conformally reduced $R+R^2$ theory of gravity and we show that the theory is asymptotically safe with an ultraviolet critical manifold of dimension three. In particular, we discuss the universality properties of the fixed point and its stability under the use of different regulators with the help of the proper-time flow equation. We find three relevant directions, corresponding to the $\sqrt{g}$, $\sqrt{g} R$ and $\sqrt{g} R^2$ operators, whose critical properties are very similar to the ones shared by the full theory. Our result shows that the basic mechanism at the core of the Asymptotic Safety program is still well described by the conformal sector also beyond the Einstein-Hilbert truncation. Possible consequences for the asymptotic safety program are discussed.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Perturbative Approach to Analog Hawking Radiation in dielectric media in subcritical regime

We take into account the subcritical case for dielectric media by exploiting an approximation allowing us to perform perturbative analytical calculations and still not implying low dispersive effects. We show that in the background of a specific soliton-like solution, pair-creation occurs and can display a thermal behaviour governed by an effective temperature. The robustness of the approach is also corroborated by the analysis of the $ϕψ$-model related to the standard Hopfield model, for which analogous results are obtained.

hep-th↗