General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)

Abstract: The bumblebee model is an extension of the Einstein-Maxwell theory that allows for the spontaneous breaking of the Lorentz symmetry of the spacetime. In this paper, we study the quasinormal modes of the spherical black holes in this model that are characterized by a global monopole. We analyze the two cases with a vanishing cosmological constant or a negative one (the anti-de Sitter case). We find that the black holes are stable under the perturbation of a massless scalar field. However, both the Lorentz symmetry breaking and the global monopole have notable impacts on the evolution of the perturbation. The Lorentz symmetry breaking may prolong or shorten the decay of the perturbation according to the sign of the breaking parameter. The global monopole, on the other hand, has different effects depending on whether a nonzero cosmological constant presences: it reduces the damping of the perturbations for the case with a vanishing cosmological constant, but has little influence for the anti-de Sitter case.

Abstract: It was shown in previous work that when a gravitational wave (GW) passes through a viscous shell of matter the magnitude of the GW will be damped and there are astrohysical circumstances in which the damping is almost complete. The energy transfer from the GWs to the fluid will increase its temperature. We construct a model for this process and obtain an expression for the temperature distribution inside the shell in terms of spherical harmonics. Further, it is shown that this effect is astrophysically significant: a model problem is constructed for which the temperature increase is of order $10^7{}^\circ$K.

Abstract: Strong gravitational lensing produces multiple images of a gravitational wave (GW) signal, which can be observed by detectors as time-separated copies of the same event. It has been shown that under favourable circumstances, by combining information from a quadruply lensed GW with electromagnetic observations of lensed galaxies, it is possible to identify the host galaxy of a binary black hole coalescence. Comparing the luminosity distance obtained through electromagnetic means with the effective luminosity distance inferred from the lensed GW signal would then enable us to constrain alternative theories of gravity that allow for modified GW propagation. Here we analyze models including large extra spatial dimensions, a running Planck mass, and a model that captures propagation effects occurring in a variety of alternative theories to general relativity. We consider a plausible population of lenses and binary black holes and use Bayesian inference on simulated GW signals as seen in current detectors at design sensitivity, to arrive at a realistic assessment of the bounds that could be placed. We find that, due to the fact that the sources of lensed events will typically be at much larger redshifts, this method can improve over bounds from GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart by a factor of $\sim 5$ to $\mathcal{O}(10^2)$, depending on the alternative gravity model.

Abstract: Dynamical cancellation frameworks present a potential means of mitigating the effect of a large vacuum energy, that would otherwise ruin the late-time, low energy dynamics of the Universe. Certain models in the literature, such as the Fab Four and Well Tempering, realize this idea by introducing some degeneracy in the dynamical equations. In this paper, we introduce a third potential route to self-tuning, and infer the existence of a new, exact Milne solution in the simplest tadpole plus cubic-Galileon scalar-tensor theory. We study the dynamics of the scalar field and metric in the vicinity of the Milne coordinate singularity, and find that the vacuum solution belongs to a more general family of Milne-like metrics. By numerically evolving the field equations for a range of initial conditions, we show that the Milne solution is not an attractor, and varying the initial scalar field data can lead to completely different asymptotic states; exponential growth of the scale factor, a static non-spatially flat metric or a severe finite-time instability in the scalar field and metric. We generalise the Milne solution to a class of FLRW spacetimes, finding that the tadpole-cubic Galileon model admits perfect-fluid-like solutions in the presence of matter. Finally, we present a second Horndeski model which also admits an exact Milne solution, hinting at the existence of a larger undiscovered model space containing vacuum-energy-screened solutions.

Abstract: It is well known that the Einstein-Hilbert action in two dimensions is topological and yields an identically vanishing Einstein tensor. Consequently one is faced with difficulties when formulating a non-trivial gravity model. We present a new, intrinsically two-dimensional, approach to this problem based on the Einstein action. This yields a well defined variational approach which results in new field equations that break diffeomorphism invariance. Our proposed approach does not require the introduction of additional scalar fields, nor the use of conformal transformations. However, we can show how including conformal counter terms leads to equivalent results. In doing so, we can provide an explanation for why previous approaches worked. Solutions to the field equations are briefly discussed.

Abstract: We propose a novel method for testing gravity models using seismic data from Earth. By imposing observational constraints on Earth's moment of inertia and mass, we rigorously limit the gravitational models' parameters within a $2\sigma$ accuracy. Our method constrains the parameters governing additional terms to the General Relativity Lagrangian to the following ranges: $-2\times10^9\lesssim\beta\lesssim 10^9 \text{m}^2$ for Palatini $f(R)$ gravity, $-8\times10^9\lesssim\epsilon\lesssim 4\times 10^9 \text{m}^2$ for Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity, and $-10^{-3}\lesssim\Upsilon\lesssim10^{-3}$ for Degenerate Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor theories. We also discuss potential avenues to enhance the proposed method, aiming to impose even tighter constraints on gravity models.

Abstract: The precise tuning required to observe critical phenomena in gravitational collapse poses a challenge for most numerical codes. First, threshold estimation searches may be obstructed by the appearance of coordinate singularities, indicating the need for a better gauge choice. Second, the constraint violations to which simulations are susceptible may be too large and force searches to terminate prematurely. This is a particularly serious issue for first order formulations. We want our adaptive pseudospectral code bamps to be a robust tool for the study of critical phenomena so, having encountered both of these difficulties in work on the vacuum setting, we turn here to investigate these issues in the classic context of a spherically symmetric massless scalar field. We suggest two general improvements. We propose a necessary condition for a gauge choice to respect discrete self-similarity (DSS). The condition is not restricted to spherical symmetry and could be verified with any 3+1 formulation. After evaluating common gauge choices against this condition, we suggest a DSS-compatible gauge source function in generalized harmonic gauge (GHG). To control constraint violations, we modify the constraint damping parameters of GHG, adapting them to collapse spacetimes. This allows us to improve our tuning of the critical amplitude for several families of initial data, even going from 6 up to 11 digits. This is the most precise tuning achieved with the first order GHG formulation to date. Consequently, we are able to reproduce the well known critical phenomena as well as competing formulations and methods, clearly observing up to 3 echoes.

Abstract: In a recent series of papers new exact analytical solutions of the field equations of General Relativity representing interior spacetimes sourced by stationary rigidly rotating cylinders of fluids with various equations of state have been displayed. This work is currently extended to the cases of differentially rotating irrotational fluids. The results are presented in a new series of papers considering, in turn, a perfect fluid source, as well as the three anisotropic pressure cases already studied in the rigidly rotating configuration. Here, we analyze the case of a fluid with radially directed pressure. Four classes of solutions are identified from the field equations. Among them, class I and III are fully integrated, and their mathematical and physical properties are studied, which implies a ruling out of class III for lack of proper metric signature. For each of the two other classes, a set of simplified differential equation is displayed so as to ease their possible further numerical integration. Finally, a comparison with the corresponding rigidly rotating fluid solution is provided.