arXiv subjects

Zong-Hong Zhu

Publications and source records attributed to Zong-Hong Zhu.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Unruh effect for a Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati Brane

In braneworld cosmology the brane accelerates in the bulk, and hence it perceives Unruh radiations in the bulk. We discuss the Unruh effect for a Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) brane. We find that the Unruh temperature is proportional to the acceleration of the brane, but chemical potential appears in the distribution function for massless modes. The Unruh temperature does not vanish even at the limit $r_c\to \infty$, which means the gravitational effect of the 5th dimension vanishes. The Unruh temperature equals the $geometric$ temperature when the the density of matter on the brane goes to zero for branch $ε=1$, no matter what the value of the cross radius $r_c$ and the spatial curvature of the brane take. And if the state equation of the matter on the brane satisfies $p=-ρ$, the Unruh temperature always equals the geometric temperature of the brane for both the two branches, which is also independent of the cross radius and the spatial curvature. The Unruh temperature is always higher than geometric temperature for a dust dominated brane.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Gravitation with modified fluid Lagrangian: Variational principle and an early dark energy model

Variational principle is the main approach to obtain complete and self-consistent field equations in gravitational theories. This method works well in pure field cases such as $f(R)$ and Horndeski gravities. However, debates exist in the literature over the modification of perfect fluid. This paper aims to clarify this issue. For a wide class of modified fluid Lagrangian, we show that the variational principle is unable to give complete field equations. One additional equation is required for completeness. Adopting the local energy conservation equation gives the modified fluid a good thermodynamic interpretation. Our result is the first modified fluid theory that can incorporate energy conservation. As an application of this framework, we propose a specific modified fluid model to realize early dark energy triggered by cosmic radiation-matter transition. This model naturally explains why early dark energy occurs around matter-radiation equality and is useful in erasing the Hubble tension.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Binary asteroid dissociation and accretion around white dwarfs

About 25-50% of white dwarfs (WDs) show metal lines in their spectra. Among the widely accepted explanations for this effect is that the these WDs are accreting asteroids that are perhaps flung onto the WDs by a planet via resonance, for instance. A number of theoretical works have looked into the accretion of asteroids onto WDs and obtained a fair agreement with the observed accretion rate. However, it is solely a very recent study (referenced in this work) that has taken asteroid binarity into consideration, examining the scattering between an asteroid binary and planets and showing that a dissociation and ejection of the former might result and the effect on WD metal accretion is likely to be weak. Here, we investigate the close encounter between an asteroid binary and the central WD and consider how the binary's dissociation may affect the WD's accretion. We find that depending on the orbital and physical properties, the components may acquire orbits that are significantly different (even on the order of unity) from that of the parent binary. We assumed all the inner main belt asteroids are binaries and we studied their accretion onto the solar WD under the perturbation of the giant planets. We find that compared to the case without binaries, the components' accretion may be postponed (or put forward) by millions of years or more, as the objects may be taken out of (or driven deeper into) the resonance due to the sudden orbital change upon dissociation. However, the overall influence of binary dissociation on the accretion rate is not very significant.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2023

Time evolution of the local gravitational parameters and gravitational wave polarizations in a relativistic MOND theory

The recently proposed Skordis-Złośnik theory is the first relativistic MOND theory that can recover the success of the standard $Λ$CDM model at matching observations of the cosmic microwave background. This paper aims to revisit the Newtonian and MOND approximations and the gravitational wave analysis of the theory. For the local gravitational parameters, we show that one could obtain both time-varying effective Newtonian gravitational \textit{constant} $G_\textrm{N}$ and time-varying characteristic MOND acceleration scale $a_\textrm{MOND}$, by relaxing the static assumption extensively adopted in the literature. Specially, we successfully demonstrate how to reproduce the redshift dependence of $a_\textrm{MOND}$ observed in the \textit{Magneticum} cold dark matter simulations. For the gravitational waves, we show that there are only two tensor polarizations, and reconfirm that its speed is equal to the speed of light.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Model-Independent Determination of $H_0$ and $Ω_{K,0}$ using Time-Delay Galaxy Lenses and Gamma-Ray Bursts

Combining the `time-delay distance' ($D_{Δt}$) measurements from galaxy lenses and other distance indicators provides model-independent determinations of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) and spatial curvature ($Ω_{K,0}$), only based on the validity of the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric and geometrical optics. To take the full merit of combining $D_{Δt}$ measurements in constraining $H_0$, we use gamma-ray burst (GRB) distances to extend the redshift coverage of lensing systems much higher than that of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) and even higher than quasars, whilst the general cosmography with a curvature component is implemented for the GRB distance parametrizations. Combining Lensing+GRB yields $H_0=71.5^{+4.4}_{-3.0}$~km s$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$ and $Ω_{K,0} = -0.07^{+0.13}_{-0.06}$ (1$σ$). A flat-universe prior gives slightly an improved $H_0 = 70.9^{+4.2}_{-2.9}$~km s$^{-1}$Mpc$^{-1}$. When combining Lensing+GRB+SN Ia, the error bar $ΔH_0$ falls by 25\%, whereas $Ω_{K,0}$ is not improved due to the degeneracy between SN Ia absolute magnitude, $M_B$, and $H_0$ along with the mismatch between the SN Ia and GRB Hubble diagrams at $z\gtrsim 1.4$. Future increment of GRB observations can help to moderately eliminate the $M_B-H_0$ degeneracy in SN Ia distances and ameliorate the restrictions on cosmographic parameters along with $Ω_{K,0}$ when combining Lensing+SN Ia+GRB. We conclude that there is no evidence of significant deviation from a (an) flat (accelerating) universe and $H_0$ is currently determined at 3\% precision. The measurements show great potential to arbitrate the $H_0$ tension between the local distance ladder and cosmic microwave background measurements and provide a relevant consistency test of the FLRW metric.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2023

Towards a reliable reconstruction of the power spectrum of primordial curvature perturbation on small scales from GWTC-3

Primordial black holes (PBHs) can be both candidates of dark matter and progenitors of binary black holes (BBHs) detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration. Since PBHs could form in the very early Universe through the gravitational collapse of primordial density perturbations, the population of BBHs detected by gravitational waves encodes much information on primordial curvature perturbation. In this work, we take a reliable and systematic approach to reconstruct the power spectrum of the primordial curvature perturbation from GWTC-3, under the hierarchical Bayesian inference framework, by accounting for the measurement uncertainties and selection effects. In addition to just considering the single PBH population model, we also report the results considering the multi-population model, i.e., the mixed PBH and astrophysical black hole binaries model. We find that the maximum amplitude of the reconstructed power spectrum of primordial curvature perturbation can be $\sim2.5\times10^{-2}$ at $\mathcal{O}(10^{5})~\rm Mpc^{-1}$ scales, which is consistent with the PBH formation scenario from inflation at small scales.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Strongly Lensed Transient Sources: A Review

The past decades have witnessed a lot of progress in gravitational lensing with two main targets: stars and galaxies (with active galactic nuclei). The success is partially attributed to the continuous luminescence of these sources making the detection and monitoring relatively easy. With the running of ongoing and upcoming large facilities/surveys in various electromagnetic and gravitational-wave bands, the era of time-domain surveys would guarantee constant detection of strongly lensed explosive transient events, for example, supernovae in all types, gamma ray bursts with afterglows in all bands, fast radio bursts and even gravitational waves. Lensed transients have many advantages over the traditional targets in studying the Universe and magnification effect helps to understand the transients themselves at high redshifts. In this review article, basing on the recent achievements in the literature, we summarize the methods of searching for different kinds of lensed transient signals, the latest results on detection and their applications in fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology. At the same time, we give supplementary comments as well as prospects of this emerging research direction that may help readers who are interested in entering this field.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Direct tests of General Relativity under screening effect with galaxy-scale strong lensing systems

Observations of galaxy-scale strong gravitational lensing (SGL) systems have enabled unique tests of nonlinear departures from general relativity (GR) on the galactic and supergalactic scales. One of the most important cases of such tests is constraints on the gravitational slip between two scalar gravitational potentials. In this paper, we use a newly compiled sample of strong gravitational lenses to test the validity of GR, focusing on the screening effects on the apparent positions of lensed sources relative to the GR predictions. This is the first simultaneous measurement of the Post-Newtonian (PN) parameter ($γ_{PN}$) and the screening radius ($Λ$) without any assumptions about the contents of the Universe. Our results suggest that the measured PPN is marginally consistent with GR ($γ_{PN}=1$) with increasing screening radius ($Λ= 10-300 $kpc), although the choice of lens models may have a significant influence on the final measurements. Based on a well-defined sample of 5000 simulated strong lenses from the forthcoming LSST, our methodology will provide a strong extragalactic test of GR with an accuracy of 0.5\%, assessed up to scales of $Λ\sim 300$ kpc. For the current and future observations of available SGL systems, there is no noticeable evidence indicating some specific cutoff scales on kpc-Mpc scales, beyond which new gravitational degrees of freedom are expressed.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Impact of gravitational lensing on black hole mass function inference with third-generation gravitational wave detectors

The recent rapid growth of the black hole (BH) catalog from gravitational waves (GWs), has allowed us to study the substructure of black hole mass function (BHMF) beyond the simplest Power-Law distribution. However, the BH masses inferred from binary BH merger events, may be systematically 'brightened' or 'dimmed' by the gravitational lensing effect. In this work, we investigate the impact of gravitational lensing on the BHMF inference considering the detection of the third-generation GW detector -- the Einstein Telescope (ET). We focus on high redshift, $z=10$, in order to obtain the upper limits of this effect. We use Monte Carlo (MC) method to simulate the data adopting 3 original BHMFs under Un-Lensed and Lensed scenarios, then recover the parameters of BHMFs from the mock data, and compare the difference of results, respectively. We found that all the parameters are well recovered within one standard deviation(std., 1$σ$), and all 3 BHMF models are reconstructed within 68\% credible interval, suggesting that lensing would not change the main structure drastically, even at very high redshifts and with high precision of ET. And the modest influence beyond $50M_{\odot}$, depends on the modeling of the high mass tail or substructure of BHMF. We conclude that the impact of lensing on BHMF inference with ET can be safely ignored in the foreseeable future. Careful handling of lensing effects is required only when focusing on an accurate estimation of the high mass end of BHMF at high redshifts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Mimicking Mergers: Mistaking Black Hole Captures as Mergers

As the number of gravitational wave observations has increased in recent years, the variety of sources has broadened. Here we investigate whether it is possible for the current generation of detectors to distinguish between very short-lived gravitational wave signals from mergers between high-mass black holes, and the signal produced by a close encounter between two black holes which results in gravitational capture, and ultimately a merger. We compare the posterior probability distributions produced by analysing simulated signals from both types of progenitor events, both under ideal and realistic scenarios. We show that while, under ideal conditions it is possible to distinguish both progenitors, under more realistic conditions they are indistinguishable. This has important implications for the interpretation of such short signals, and we therefore advocate that these signals be the focus of additional investigation even when satisfactory results have been achieved from standard analyses.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Revisiting Chaplygin gas cosmologies with the recent observations of high-redshfit quasars

In this paper, we use the latest observations of quasars covering the redshift range of $0.04<z<5.1$ to investigate a series of Chaplygin gas models as candidates for unified dark matter and dark energy. Based on different combinations of available standard candle and standard ruler data, we put constraints on the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG), modified Chaplygin gas (MCG), new generalized Chaplygin gas (NGCG) and viscous generalized Chaplygin gas (VGCG) models. Moreover, we apply Jensen-Shannon divergence (JSD), statefinder diagnostics, and the deviance information criterion (DIC) to distinguish these CG models, based on the statistical results derived from Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The results show that (1) The standard ruler data could provide more stringent constraints on the cosmological parameters of different CG models considered in this analysis. Interestingly, the matter density parameter $Ω_{m}$ and Hubble constant $H_{0}$ derived from the available data are well consistent with those from the Planck 2018 results; (2) Based on the statistical criteria JSD, our findings demonstrate the well consistency between Chaplygin gas and the concordance $Λ$CDM model. However, in the framework of statefinder diagnostics, the GCG and NGCG models cannot be distinguished from $Λ$CDM, while MCG and VGCG models show significant deviation from $Λ$CDM in the present epoch; (3) According to the the statistical criteria DIC, we show that the MCG and VGCG models have substantial observational support from high-redshfit quasars, whereas the GCG and NGCG models miss out on the less observational support category but can not be ruled out.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

A new way to explore cosmological tensions using gravitational waves and strong gravitational lensing

In recent years, a crisis in the standard cosmology has been caused by inconsistencies in the measurements of some key cosmological parameters, Hubble constant $H_0$ and cosmic curvature parameter $Ω_K$ for example. It is necessary to remeasure them with the cosmological model-independent methods. In this paper, based on the distance sum rule, we present such a way to constrain $H_0$ and $Ω_K$ simultaneously in the late universe from strong gravitational lensing time delay (SGLTD) data and gravitational wave (GW) standard siren data simulated from the future observation of the Einstein Telescope (ET). Based on the currently 6 observed SGLTD data, we find that the constraint precision of $H_0$ from the combined 100 GW events can be comparable with the measurement from SH0ES collaboration. As the number of GW events increases to 700, the constraint precision of $H_0$ will exceed that of the \textit{Planck} 2018 results. Considering 1000 GW events as the conservative estimation of ET in ten-year observation, we obtain $H_0=73.69\pm 0.36 \mathrm{~km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ with a 0.5\% uncertainty and $Ω_K=0.076^{+0.068}_{-0.087}$. In addition, we simulate 55 SGL systems with 6.6\% uncertainty for the measurement of time-delay distance. By combining with 1000 GWs, we infer that $H_0=73.65\pm0.35 \mathrm{~km~s^{-1}~Mpc^{-1}}$ and $Ω_K=0.008\pm0.048$. Our results suggest that this approach can play an important role in exploring cosmological tensions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

NANOGrav signal and LIGO-Virgo Primordial Black Holes from the Higgs field

We show that the NANOGrav signal can come from the Higgs field with a noncanonical kinetic term in terms of the scalar induced gravitational waves. The scalar induced gravitational waves generated in our model are also detectable by space-based gravitational wave observatories. Primordial black holes with stellar masses that can explain LIGO-Virgo events are also produced. Therefore, the NANOGrav signal and the BHs in LIGO-Virgo events may both originate from the Higgs field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Impact of Economic Constraints on the Projected Timeframe for Human-Crewed Deep Space Exploration

Deep space exploration offers the most profound opportunity for the expansion of humanity and our understanding of the Universe, but remains extremely challenging. Progress will continue to be paced by uncrewed missions followed up by crewed missions to ever further destinations. Major space powers continue to invest in crewed deep space exploration as an important national strategy. An improved model based on previous work is developed, which projects the earliest possible launch dates for human-crewed missions from cis-lunar space to selected destinations in the Solar System and beyond based on NASA's historic budget trend and overall development trends of deep space exploration research. The purpose of the analysis is to provide a projected timeframe for crewed missions beyond Mars. Our findings suggest the first human missions from a spacefaring nation or international collaboration to the Asteroid Belt and Jovian System could be scheduled as soon as ~2071 to ~2087 and ~2101 to ~2121, respectively, while a launch to the Saturn System may occur by the year ~2132, with an uncertainty window of ~2129 to ~2153.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2022

Investigating the dynamical models of cosmology with recent observations and upcoming gravitational-wave data

We explore and compare the capabilities of the recent observations of standard cosmological probes and the future observations of gravitational-wave (GW) standard sirens on constraining cosmological parameters. It is carried out in the frameworks of two typical dynamical models of cosmology, i.e., the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model with $ω(z) = ω_0 +ω_a*z/(1+z)$, and the $ξ$-index model with $ρ_X\proptoρ_ma^ξ$, where $ω(z)$ is the dark energy equation of state, and $ρ_X$ and $ρ_m$ are the energy densities of dark energy and matter, respectively. In the cosmological analysis, the employed data sets include the recent observations of the standard cosmological probes, i.e., Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) and cosmic microwave background (CMB), and also the mock GW standard siren sample with 1000 merging neutron star events anticipated from the third-generation detectors. In the scenarios of both $ω_0ω_a$CDM and $ξ$-index models, it turns out that the mock GW sample can reduce the uncertainty of the Hubble constant $H_0$ by about 50\% relative to that from the joint SNe+BAO+CMB sample; nevertheless, the SNe+BAO+CMB sample demonstrates better performance on limiting other parameters. Furthermore, the Bayesian evidence is applied to compare the dynamical models with the $Λ$CDM model. The Bayesian evidences computed from the SNe+BAO+CMB sample reveal that the $Λ$CDM model is the most supported one; moreover, the $ω_0ω_a$CDM model is more competitive than the $ξ$-index model.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

A Beacon in the Galaxy: Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects

An updated, binary-coded message has been developed for transmission to extraterrestrial intelligences in the Milky Way galaxy. The proposed message includes basic mathematical and physical concepts to establish a universal means of communication followed by information on the biochemical composition of life on Earth, the Solar System's time-stamped position in the Milky Way relative to known globular clusters, as well as digitized depictions of the Solar System, and Earth's surface. The message concludes with digitized images of the human form, along with an invitation for any receiving intelligences to respond. Calculation of the optimal timing during a given calendar year is specified for potential future transmission from both the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope in China and the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array in northern California to a selected region of the Milky Way which has been proposed as the most likely for life to have developed. These powerful new beacons, the successors to the Arecibo radio telescope which transmitted the 1974 message upon which this expanded communication is in part based, can carry forward Arecibo's legacy into the 21st century with this equally well-constructed communication from Earth's technological civilization.

physics.pop-ph↗

arXiv2022

Conserved charges in Chern-Simons modified theory and memory effects

In this work, conserved charges and fluxes at the future null infinity are determined in the asymptotically flat spacetime for Chern-Simons modified gravity. The flux-balance laws are used to constrain the memory effects. For tensor memories, the Penrose's conformal completion method is used to analyze the asymptotic structures and asymptotic symmetries, and then, conserved charges for the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra are constructed with the Wald-Zoupas formalism. These charges take very similar forms to those in Brans-Dicke theory. For the scalar memory, Chern-Simons modified gravity is rewritten in the first-order formalism, and the scalar field is replaced by a 2-form field dual to it. With this dual formalism, the scalar memory is described by the vacuum transition induced by the large gauge transformation of the 2-form field.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Avoiding the Great Filter: Predicting the Timeline for Humanity to Reach Kardashev Type I Civilization

The level of technological development of any civilization can be gaged in large part by the amount of energy they produce for their use, but also encompasses that civilization's stewardship of their home world. Following the Kardashev definition, a Type I civilization is able to store and use all the energy available on its planet. In this study, we develop a model based on Carl Sagan's K formula and use this model to analyze the consumption and energy supply of the three most important energy sources: fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, natural gas, crude, NGL and feedstocks), nuclear energy and renewable energy. We also consider environmental limitations suggested by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and those specific to our calculations to predict when humanity will reach the level of a Kardashev scale Type I civilization. Our findings suggest that the best estimate for this day will not come until year 2371.

physics.soc-ph↗