We point out that a simple late-time cosmological model where our Universe can absorb "baby universes" explains the exponential expansion of our universe without the need of a cosmological constant and leads to a z-dependence of the parameter w(z) in the equation of state. In this model w(z) is less than -1 for z sufficiently large. less

We construct a five-dimensional singly rotating near-horizon solution in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We show that the Gauss-Bonnet term removes the local curvature singularity, yielding finite curvature invariants throughout the spacetime, provided the rotation parameter remains below a certain value set by the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. To our knowledge, this is the first analytic example of a singly rotating five-dimensional solution in this framework with finite curvature invariants over a nontrivial region of parameter space. We analyze the geometry across this space, identifying regular, singular, and marginal regimes. Finally, we study the thermodynamic properties, finding that while higher-derivative corrections regularize the local curvature behavior, they also introduce unique challenges to the standard thermodynamic description of Killing horizons. less

We investigate a scalar-vector-tensor theory in which matter is minimally coupled to a Jordan-frame metric, while a massive vector sector interacts with the baryonic current. We show that the conformal scalar coupling modifies the physical expansion rate measured by matter observers, leading to a late-time enhancement of the effective Hubble constant. By constructing a phenomenological scalar evolution that becomes relevant only at low redshifts, the model provides a purely late-time mechanism for alleviating the Hubble tension without significantly affecting early-universe cosmology. The scalar potential naturally acts as a dynamical dark-energy sector, while the vector contribution behaves effectively as a pressureless component at cosmological scales through a density-dependent vector mass. Hence, the framework connects late-time scalar dynamics, effective dark-energy evolution, and Hubble-tension alleviation within a unified setup. Finally, local gravitational constraints can be suppressed through a chameleon-type screening mechanism, allowing the theory to remain compatible with Solar-System tests while retaining nontrivial cosmological effects. less

Using the post-Newtonian effective field theory (PN-EFT) formalism for spinning gravitating bodies, we derive the next-to-leading-order (NLO) spin-orbit potential and Hamiltonian for a system of N spinning bodies in general relativity. This extends the EFT treatment of the binary case to arbitrary N. We present two derivations: one in the generalized canonical gauge, and one based on the covariant spin supplementary condition (SSC), followed by a noncanonical transformation to canonical variables. In both approaches, the only new contributions beyond the binary case are three-body interaction diagrams. The canonical Hamiltonians obtained from the two EFT routes agree with the known ADM N-body Hamiltonian of Hartung and Steinhoff up to a canonical transformation. less

In a recent series of papers we developed a first-principle and gauge invariant approach to black hole perturbation theory valid to any order. We included back reaction effects to tackle the situation of evaporating black holes and obtained an explicit expression for the dynamics of the reduced phase space to second order. The physics of evaporating black holes is in particular encoded by apparent horizons, an observer dependent generalisation of the event horizon. We determine the shape of the apparent horizon to second order in the perturbations. The area of the apparent horizon is an interesting observable which is expected to decrease in the quantum theory due to Hawking evaporation. We show how the full four dimensional metric can be reconstructed in terms of the reduced phase space variables. In the quantum theory, taking expectation values of this metric, we obtain an effective classical metric, whose causal structure can then be visualised in a quantum corrected Penrose diagram. We conclude with an outlook into the quantisation procedure in the reduced phase space formalism and the implications on the area of the apparent horizon. less

We present an analytic method for computing gravitational-wave fluxes from bound Schwarzschild geodesics with arbitrary eccentricity. Our approach systematically expands the Fourier coefficients of the emitted radiation in a Chebyshev basis, allowing them to be reduced to sums of Keplerian-like Fourier coefficients previously derived in the Quantum Spectral Method. Because the construction does not rely on a small-eccentricity expansion, it applies to a broad range of bound eccentric orbits. As an illustration, we implement the method using a $15$PN-expanded input and find that it reproduces the total flux for the case $(p,e)=(12.5,0.5)$ to relative accuracy $10^{-5}$, while for the stronger-field case $(p,e)=(10,0.8)$ it yields weighted mode-by-mode errors below $10^{-6}$ for the selected dominant modes analyzed. These results provide an analytic route to frequency-domain flux calculations relevant to EMRI modeling. less

We construct two families of regular hairy black holes within gravitational decoupling using a fixed exponential deformation profile for an effective tensor-vacuum sector. The first family is generated from a Bardeen-type seed and produces a de Sitter-like core. The second family is generated from a hollow seed with an asymptotically Minkowski core so that the central density vanishes and no de Sitter core is produced. For each branch we determine the critical deformation strengths separating horizonless, extremal, and two-horizon geometries in the static case, and we obtain the corresponding Kerr-like rotating extension by promoting the mass parameter to the deformed mass function. Representative parameter choices are used to illustrate the horizon structure and to verify the weak energy condition in the exterior region. less

We introduce the gravielectric (GE) and gravimagnetic (GM) fields in stationary spacetime using the Komar two-form and its dual. This opens the way to extend the Komar-Tomimatsu derivation of mass formulas to a more detailed picture in terms of the local lines of force. We show that Misner strings (MS) carry singular GE and GM fluxes connecting the horizon and the asymptotic zone. Moreover, MS are laterally transparent, so field lines can flow in and out of the bulk. This explains why the usual Komar mass integrals around the Misner strings in the Taub-NUT vacuum solution are negative: the pattern of field lines shows that they flow onto the string from the horizon, so it is necessary to calculate the incoming (positive) but not the outgoing Komar fluxes. This incoming flux is then turned back to the horizon through the Misner strings, realizing the closed circuit without sources. So Misner strings are massless empty tubes, but not rigid rods of negative mass. Similarly, GM field lines can connect positively and negatively charged regions of the horizon, generating, for example, the gravimagnetic dipole moment of the Kerr metric. less

We analyze a quantum Maxwell demon operating a Szilard engine in free fall near a black hole horizon, where quantum information, thermodynamics, and spacetime causality intersect. The demon is modeled as a coherent two-level system, and the working substance is a single particle in a one-dimensional chamber crossing the event horizon. As the chamber crosses the horizon, the particle's Hilbert space splits into accessible and inaccessible sectors, leading to non-unitary reduced dynamics for an external demon due to tracing over interior degrees of freedom. We construct explicit measurement, expansion, and wall removal protocols for demons located outside or inside the horizon. Our results show that an external demon experiences degraded measurement correlations and reduced work extraction due to horizon-induced information loss, yet still obeys local thermodynamics and Landauer's principle. For an internal demon, the protocol reduces locally to the flat spacetime case, preserving the equivalence principle at the level of dynamics. While the equivalence principle holds dynamically, quantum information processing provides an operational signature of the horizon through reduced accessibility and irreversible open system behavior, clarifying how information, causality, and thermodynamics coexist in black-hole spacetimes. less