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At least 1,117 records · Page 62Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Faddeev-Popov ghosts in quantum gravity beyond perturbation theory

We study the Faddeev-Popov ghost sector of asymptotically safe quantum gravity, which becomes non-perturbative in the ultraviolet. We point out that nonzero matter-ghost couplings and higher-order ghost self-interactions exist at a non-Gaussian fixed point for the gravitational couplings, i.e., in the ultraviolet. Thus the ghost sector in this non-perturbative ultraviolet completion does not keep the structure of a simple Faddeev-Popov determinant. We discuss implications of the new ghost couplings for the Renormalization Group flow in gravity, the form of the ultraviolet completion, and the relevant couplings, i.e., free parameters, of the theory.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Numerical simulations of single and binary black holes in scalar-tensor theories: circumventing the no-hair theorem

Scalar-tensor theories are a compelling alternative to general relativity and one of the most accepted extensions of Einstein's theory. Black holes in these theories have no hair, but could grow "wigs" supported by time-dependent boundary conditions or spatial gradients. Time-dependent or spatially varying fields lead in general to nontrivial black hole dynamics, with potentially interesting experimental consequences. We carry out a numerical investigation of the dynamics of single and binary black holes in the presence of scalar fields. In particular we study gravitational and scalar radiation from black-hole binaries in a constant scalar-field gradient, and we compare our numerical findings to analytical models. In the single black hole case we find that, after a short transient, the scalar field relaxes to static configurations, in agreement with perturbative calculations. Furthermore we predict analytically (and verify numerically) that accelerated black holes in a scalar-field gradient emit scalar radiation. For a quasicircular black-hole binary, our analytical and numerical calculations show that the dominant component of the scalar radiation is emitted at twice the binary's orbital frequency.

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arXiv2013

Destroying the event horizon of regular black holes

Recently, several authors have studied the possibility of overspinning or overcharging an existing black hole to destroy its event horizon and make the central singularity naked. When all the effects are properly taken into account, any attempt to destroy the black hole seems to be doomed to fail, in agreement with the weak cosmic censorship conjecture. In this letter, we study the possibility of destroying the event horizon of regular black holes. These objects have no central singularity and therefore they are not protected by the cosmic censorship hypothesis. Our results strongly support the conclusion that regular black holes can be destroyed. If we believe that the central singularity in astrophysical black holes is solved by quantum gravity effects, we might have a chance to see the black hole's internal region and observe quantum gravity phenomena. As our finding implies the violation of the black hole's area theorem, the collision of two black holes may release an amount of energy exceeding the Hawking bound, which can be experimentally tested by gravitational wave detectors.

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arXiv2012

Complementarity Is Not Enough

The near-horizon field B of an old black hole is maximally entangled with the early Hawking radiation R, by unitarity of the S-matrix. But B must be maximally entangled with the black hole interior A, by the equivalence principle. Causal patch complementarity fails to reconcile these conflicting requirements. The system B can be probed by a freely falling observer while there is still time to turn around and remain outside the black hole. Therefore, the entangled state of the BR system is dictated by unitarity even in the infalling patch. If, by monogamy of entanglement, B is not entangled with A, the horizon is replaced by a singularity or "firewall". To illustrate the radical nature of the ideas that are needed, I briefly discuss two approaches for avoiding a firewall: the identification of A with a subsystem of R; and a combination of patch complementarity with the Horowitz-Maldacena final-state proposal.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Partially massless gravitons do not destroy general relativity black holes

Recent nonlinear completions of Fierz-Pauli theory for a massive spin-2 field include nonlinear massive gravity and bimetric theories. The spectrum of black-hole solutions in these theories is rich, and comprises the same vacuum solutions of Einstein's gravity enlarged to include a cosmological constant. It was recently shown that Schwarzschild (de Sitter) black holes in these theories are generically unstable against spherical perturbations. Here we show that a notable exception is partially massless gravity, where the mass of the graviton is fixed in terms of the cosmological constant by μ^2=2Λ/3 and a new gauge invariance emerges. We find that general-relativity black holes are stable in this limit. Remarkably, the spectrum of massive gravitational perturbations is isospectral.

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arXiv2013

Superradiant instabilities of rotating black holes in the time domain

Bosonic fields on rotating black hole spacetimes are subject to amplification by superradiance, which induces exponentially-growing instabilities (the `black hole bomb') in two scenarios: if the black hole is enclosed by a mirror, or if the bosonic field has rest mass. Here we present a time-domain study of the scalar field on Kerr spacetime which probes ultra-long timescales up to $t \lesssim 5 \times 10^6 M$, to reveal the growth of the instability. We describe an highly-efficient method for evolving the field, based on a spectral decomposition into a coupled set of 1+1D equations, and an absorbing boundary condition inspired by the `perfectly-matched layers' paradigm. First, we examine the mirror case to study how the instability timescale and mode structure depend on mirror radius. Next, we examine the massive-field, whose rich spectrum (revealed through Fourier analysis) generates `beating' effects which disguise the instability. We show that the instability is clearly revealed by tracking the stress-energy of the field in the exterior spacetime. We calculate the growth rate for a range of mass couplings, by applying a frequency-filer to isolate individual modal contributions to the time-domain signal. Our results are in accord with previous frequency-domain studies which put the maximum growth rate at $τ^{-1} \approx 1.72 \times 10^{-7} (GM/c^3)^{-1}$ for the massive scalar field on Kerr spacetime.

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arXiv2013

Probing the quantum nature of spacetime by diffusion

Many approaches to quantum gravity have resorted to diffusion processes to characterize the spectral properties of the resulting quantum spacetimes. We critically discuss these quantum-improved diffusion equations and point out that a crucial property, namely positivity of their solutions, is not preserved automatically. We then construct a novel set of diffusion equations with positive semi-definite probability densities, applicable to Asymptotically Safe gravity, Horava-Lifshitz gravity and Loop Quantum Gravity. These recover all previous results on the spectral dimension and shed further light on the structure of the quantum spacetimes by assessing the underlying stochastic processes. Pointing out that manifestly different diffusion processes lead to the same spectral dimension, we propose the probability distribution of the diffusion process as a refined probe of quantum spacetime.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Graviton creation from the CMB in large scale magnetic fields

Conversion of the CMB photons into gravitational waves at the post recombination epoch is considered. We calculate the probability of transformation of the CMB photons into gravitons in the presence of a large scale magnetic field. Based on the present day limits on the strength of the large scale magnetic field we show that the probability of the produced gravitons as a result of photon to graviton conversion is reasonable and such mechanism would produce an isotropic background of gravitational waves in the same frequency range of the CMB photons. The mechanism proposed would be a rather good opportunity to study the high frequency part of the spectrum of gravitational waves.

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arXiv2013

Extensions of Lorentzian spacetime geometry: From Finsler to Cartan and vice versa

We briefly review two recently developed extensions of the Lorentzian geometry of spacetime and prove that they are in fact closely related. The first is the concept of observer space, which generalizes the space of Lorentzian observers, i.e., future unit timelike vectors, using Cartan geometry. The second is the concept of Finsler spacetimes, which generalizes the Lorentzian metric of general relativity to an observer-dependent Finsler metric. We show that every Finsler spacetime possesses a well-defined observer space that can naturally be equipped with a Cartan geometry. Conversely, we derive conditions under which a Cartan geometry on observer space gives rise to a Finsler spacetime. We further show that these two constructions complement each other. We finally apply our constructions to two gravity theories, MacDowell-Mansouri gravity on observer space and Finsler gravity, and translate their actions from one geometry to the other.

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arXiv2013

Scattering by a draining bathtub vortex

We present an analysis of scattering by a fluid-mechanical `black hole analogue', known as the draining bathtub vortex: a two-dimensional flow which possesses both a sonic horizon and an ergoregion. We consider the scattering of a plane wave of fixed frequency impinging upon the vortex. At low frequency, we encounter a modified Aharonov-Bohm effect. At high frequencies, we observe regular `orbiting' oscillations in the scattering length, due to interference between contra-orbiting rays. We present approximate formulae for both effects, and a selection of numerical results obtained by summing partial-wave series. Finally, we examine interference patterns in the vicinity of the vortex, and highlight the prospects for experimental investigation.

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arXiv2013

Dissipative fields in de Sitter and black hole spacetimes: Quantum entanglement due to pair production and dissipation

For free fields, pair creation in expanding universes is associated with the building up of correlations that lead to nonseparable states, i.e., quantum mechanically entangled ones. For dissipative fields, i.e., fields coupled to an environment, there is a competition between the squeezing of the state and the coupling to the external bath. We compute the final coherence level for dissipative fields that propagate in a two-dimensional de Sitter space, and we characterize the domain in parameter space where the state remains nonseparable. We then apply our analysis to (analogue) Hawking radiation by exploiting the close relationship between Lorentz violating theories propagating in de Sitter and black hole metrics. We establish the robustness of the spectrum and find that the entanglement among Hawking pairs is generally much stronger than that among pairs of quanta with opposite momenta.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Noncommutative analogue Aharonov-Bohm effect and superresonance

We consider the idea of modeling a rotating acoustic black hole by an idealized draining bathtub vortex which is a planar circulating flow phenomenon with a sink at the origin. We find the acoustic metric for this phenomenon from a noncommutative Abelian Higgs model. As such the acoustic metric not only describes a rotating acoustic black hole but also inherits the noncommutative characteristic of the spacetime. We address the issues of superresonance and analogue Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect in this background. We mainly show that the scattering of planar waves by a draining bathtub vortex leads to a modified AB effect and due to spacetime noncommutativity, the phase shift persists even in the limit where the parameters associated with the circulation and draining vanish. Finally, we also find that the analogue AB effect and superresonance are competing phenomena at a noncommutative spacetime.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Testing the Equivalence Principle with Unstable Particles

We develop a framework to test the Equivalence Principle (EP) under conditions where the quantum aspects of nature cannot be neglected, specifically in the context of interference phenomena with unstable particles. We derive the nonrelativistic quantum equation that describes the evolution of the wavefunction of unstable particles under the assumption of the validity of the EP and when small deviations are assumed to occur. As an example, we study the propagation of unstable particles in a COW experiment, and we briefly discuss the experimental implications of our formalism.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Topology Change of Spacetime and Resolution of Spacetime Singularity in Emergent Gravity

Emergent gravity is based on the Darboux theorem or the Moser lemma in symplectic geometry stating that the electromagnetic force can always be eliminated by a local coordinate transformation as far as U(1) gauge theory is defined on a spacetime with symplectic structure. In this approach, the spacetime geometry is defined by U(1) gauge fields on noncommutative (NC) spacetime. Accordingly the topology of spacetime is determined by the topology of NC U(1) gauge fields. We show that the topology change of spacetime is ample in emergent gravity and the subsequent resolution of spacetime singularity is possible in NC spacetime. Therefore the emergent gravity approach provides a well-defined mechanism for the topology change of spacetime which does not suffer any spacetime singularity in sharp contrast to general relativity.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Stripe Instabilities of Geometries with Hyperscaling Violation

We study the dynamical stripe instabilities on the geometries with hyperscaling violation in the IR, which asymptotically approach AdS_4 in the UV. The instabilities break the translational invariance spontaneously and are induced by the axion term ~ a F \wedge F in the bulk action. We first study the perturbation equations in the probe limit, and find that there is a strong correlation between the stripe instabilities caused by the axion term and parameters of the theories which determine the IR hyperscaling violation. Contrary to the IR AdS_2 case, the effect of the axion term for the stripe instabilities can be enhanced/suppressed at low temperature depending on the parameters. For a certain one-parameter family of the hyperscaling violation, we find the onset of the stripe instability analytically in the axion coupling tuned model. For more generic parameter range of hyperscaling violation, we study the instability onset by searching for the zero mode numerically on the full geometries. We also argue that quite analogous results hold, after taking into account the graviton fluctuation, i.e., beyond the probe limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Striped Order in AdS/CFT

We study the formation of inhomogeneous order in the Einstein-Maxwell-axion system, dual to a 2+1 dimensional field theory that exhibits a spontaneously generated current density, momentum density and modulated scalar operator. Below the critical temperature, the Reissner-Nordstrom-AdS black hole becomes unstable and stripes form in the bulk and on the boundary. The bulk geometry possesses striking geometrical features, including a modulated horizon that tends to pinch off as T -> 0. On a domain of fixed length, we find a second order phase transition to the striped solution in each of the grand canonical, canonical and microcanonical ensembles, with modulated charges that grow and saturate as we lower the temperature and descend into the inhomogeneous phase. For the black hole on an infinite domain, a similar second order transition occurs, and the width of the dominant stripe increases in the zero temperature limit.

hep-th↗

arXiv2013

Effect of eccentricity on binary neutron star searches in Advanced LIGO

Binary neutron stars (BNSs) are the primary source of gravitational waves for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and its international partners Virgo and KAGRA. Current BNS searches target field binaries whose orbits will have circularized by radiation reaction before their gravitational waves enter the Advanced LIGO sensitive band at 15 Hz. It has been suggested that a population of BNSs may form by n-body interactions near supermassive black holes or in globular clusters and that these systems may have non-negligible eccentricity in the Advanced LIGO band. We show that for BNS systems with total mass of 2.4 (6.0) solar masses, the effect of eccentricity e < 0.02 (0.05) is negligible and a circular search is effectual for these binaries. For eccentricities up to e = 0.4, we investigate the selection bias caused by neglecting eccentricity in BNS searches. If such high eccentricity systems exist, searches that specifically target eccentric binaries will be needed in Advanced LIGO and Virgo.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2013

Effective theory for the Vainshtein mechanism from the Horndeski action

Starting from the general Horndeski action, we derive the most general effective theory for scalar perturbations around flat space that allows us to screen fifth forces via the Vainshtein mechanism. The effective theory is described by a generalization of the Galileon Lagrangian, which we use to study the stability of spherically symmetric configurations exhibiting the Vainshtein effect. In particular, we discuss the phenomenological consequences of a scalar-tensor coupling that is absent in the standard Galileon Lagrangian. This coupling controls the superluminality and stability of fluctuations inside the Vainshtein radius in a way that depends on the density profile of a matter source. Particularly we find that the vacuum solution is unstable due to this coupling.

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