General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)

Abstract: Dynamical Chern-Simons (DCS) gravity, a typical parity-violating gravitational theory, modifies both the generation and propagation of gravitational waves from general relativity (GR). In this work, we derive the gravitational waveform radiated from a binary black hole system with eccentric orbits under the spin-aligned assumption in the DCS theory. Compared with GR, DCS modification enters the second-order post-Newtonian (2PN) approximation, affecting the spin-spin coupling and monopole-quadrupole coupling of binary motion. This modification produces an extra precession rate of periastron. This effect modulates the scalar and gravitational waveform through a quite low frequency. Additionally, the dissipation of conserved quantities results in the secular evolution of the semimajor axis and the eccentricity of binary orbits. Finally, the frequency-domain waveform is given in the post-circular scheme, requiring the initial eccentricity to be $\lesssim0.3$. This ready-to-use template will benefit the signal searches and improve the future constraint on DCS theory.

Abstract: Nonsingular black holes have received much attention in recent years as they provide an opportunity to avoid the singularities inherent to the mathematical black holes predicted by general relativity. Based on the assumption that semiclassical physics remains valid in the vicinity of their horizons, we derive kinematic properties of dynamically evolving spherically symmetric regular black holes. We review the Hawking--Ellis classification of their associated energy-momentum tensors and examine the status of the null energy condition in the vicinity of their horizons as well as their interior. In addition, we analyze the trajectory of a moving observer, find that the horizons can be crossed on an ingoing geodesic, and thus entering and exiting the supposedly trapped spacetime region is possible. We outline the ramifications of this result for the information loss problem and black hole thermodynamics. Throughout the article, we illustrate relevant features based on the dynamical generalization of the regular black hole model proposed in J. High Energy Phys. 09, 118 (2022) and elucidate its connection to the only self-consistent dynamical physical black hole solutions in spherical symmetry.

Abstract: New observational data, measured with a high degree of accuracy, of compact isolated neutron stars and binary stars in gravitational wave remnants have the potential to explore the strong field gravity. Within the framework of energy-momentum squared gravity (EMSG) theory we study its impact on several properties of neutron stars and plausible modifications from the predictions of general relativity. Based on a representative set of relativistic nuclear mean field models, non-relativistic Skyrme-Hartree-Fock models and microscopic calculations, we show deviations of neutron star mass-radius sequence in EMSG theory as compared to general relativity. The variation in the effective nuclear equation of state in EMSG, results in distinct magnitudes in the reduced pressure, speed of sound, and maximum compactness at the center of neutron stars. We perform extensive correlation analysis of the nuclear model parameters with the neutron star observables in light of the new observational bounds. Perceptible modifications in the correlations are found in the models of gravity that provide different estimates of the slope and curvature of nuclear matter symmetry energy. The available neutron star data however do not impose stringent enough constraints for clear evidence of deviations from general relativity.

Abstract: Various studies have shown that the late acceleration of the universe can be caused by the bulk viscosity associated with dark matter. But recently, it was indicated that a cosmological constant is essential for maintaining Near Equilibrium Conditions (NEC) for the bulk viscous matter during the accelerated expansion of the universe. In the present study, we investigate a model of the universe composed of mixed dark matter components, viscous dark matter (vDM), and inviscid cold dark matter (CDM), in the context of $f(R, T)$ gravity and show that the model predicts late acceleration by satisfying NEC throughout the evolution, without a cosmological constant. We have compared the model predictions with the observational data on Hubble parameter and Type Ia Supernovae.

Abstract: In this paper we study the memory effect produced in pp-wave spacetimes due to the passage of gravitational wave pulses. We assume the pulse profile in the form of a ramp (which may be considered as an appropriate representation of burst gravitational waves), and analyse its effects on the evolution of nearby geodesics. For a ramp profile, we are able to determine analytical solutions of the geodesic equations in the Brinkmann coordinates. We have plotted the solutions to examine the changes in the separation between a pair of geodesics and their velocity profiles. We find that in the presence of the pulse, the separation (along $ x $ or $ y $-direction) increases monotonically from an initial constant value, whereas the relative velocity grows from zero and settles to a final non-zero constant value. These resulting changes are retained as memory after the pulse dies out. The nature of this memory is found to be similar to that obtained by other workers using Gaussian, square and other pulse profiles, thereby validating the universality of gravitational wave memory.

Abstract: GRFolres is an open-source code for performing simulations in modified theories of gravity, based on the publicly available 3+1D numerical relativity code GRChombo. Note: Submitted for review in the Journal of Open Source Software; Comments welcome; The code can be found at https://github.com/GRChombo/GRFolres

Abstract: The Aether Scalar Tensor (AeST) theory is an extension of General Relativity (GR), proposed for addressing galactic and cosmological observations without dark matter.The action for the theory includes a function that can currently only be constrained by phenomenological considerations. In antecedent work, forms of this function were considered that led to an effective fluid contribution to the cosmological evolution equations that approximated that of dust more and more closely at late cosmic times. In this work we consider an alternative set of functions that most closely approximate dust at the earliest cosmic times and where deviations from dust-like behaviour gradually emerge with time. We use the dynamical system formalism to analyze example models from both possible sets of functions, introducing a complete set of dynamical variables describing the spacetime curvature, energy density parameters of different matter components, and AeST scalar field, and obtain the dynamical equations describing cosmological evolution. The cosmological phase space is found to feature invariant submanifolds associated to the absence of the matter components, as well as equilibrium states associated with well-known cosmological behaviors e.g. matter, radiation, and cosmological constant dominated epochs. A full numerical integration of the dynamical system is performed for the models and it is shown that each can closely approximate the $\Lambda \mathrm{CDM}$ model at the level of the cosmic background. Generalizations of the models are considered and it is shown that the new models likely can simultaneously replicate the cosmological successes of cold dark matter whilst satisfying constraints on the theory from the weak-field quasistatic regime.

Abstract: We study an axisymmetric metric satisfying the Petrov type D property with some additional ansatze, but without assuming the vacuum condition. We find that our metric in turn becomes conformal to the Kerr metric deformed by one function of the radial coordinate. We then study the gravitational-wave equations on this background metric in the case that the conformal factor is unity. We find that under an appropriate gauge condition, the wave equations admit the separation of the variables, and the separated equation for the radial coordinate gives a natural extension of the Teukolsky equation.

Abstract: In this paper, the study of canonical quantization of a free real massive scalar field in the Schwarzschild spacetime is continued. The normalization constants for the eigenfunctions of the corresponding radial equation are calculated, providing the necessary coefficients for the doubly degenerate scatteringlike states that are used in the expansion of the quantum field. It is shown that one can pass to a new type of states such that the spectrum of states with energies larger than the mass of the field splits into two parts. The first part consists of states that resemble properly normalized plane waves far away from the black hole, so they just describe the theory for an observer located in that area. The second part consists of states that live relatively close to the horizon and whose wave functions decrease when one goes away from the black hole. The appearance of the second part of the spectrum, which follows from the initial degeneracy of the scatteringlike states, is a consequence of the topological structure of the Schwarzschild spacetime.

Abstract: In the context of the absolute parallelism formulation of General Relativity, and because of the fact that the scalar curvature can be written in purely torsional terms, it was known for a long time that a surface term based solely on the torsion tensor appears in the action. It was subsequently suggested that this term might play the role of the Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term which, in turn, is associated to the free energy in the path integral approach, and then, to the black hole entropy by standard thermodynamic arguments. We show that the identification of the two boundary terms is rather incomplete, and that it strongly depends on the choice of the tetrad (frame) field used to reproduce a given metric. Despite this somewhat awkward situation, we find a class of frames adapted to the Schwarzschild spacetime in which the Gibbons-Hawking-York/torsion link is actually established, and conducing to the right black hole entropy without the need of any background subtraction. Remarkably, these frames are also responsible for the correct value of the gravitational energy as computed from the teleparallel energy-momentum pseudo-current.

Abstract: We present new action principles for unimodular gravity, defined in the chiral Pleba\'{n}ski formulation based on (complex) two-forms and a complex ${\rm SO}(3)$ connection. In these theories, just as in their analogues in the metric formulation, the cosmological constant does not take a prescribed value but is an integration constant whose value can differ between different (classical) solutions. We discuss some subtleties when identifying Lorentzian solutions in the generally complex theory, and show how these theories can be reduced to a ``pure connection'' form similar to Krasnov's pure connection formalism for general relativity.

Abstract: An interesting phenomenological consequence of Lambda varying gravity theories inspired by quantum gravity models is reported. The treatment in the present work is quite general and applicable to several different actions with Lambda varying, especially those used in RG approaches to quantum gravity. An effective gravitational action with a scale varying cosmological constant, Lambda, which depends on the system's characteristics, like the length and the energy density, is the key feature. If the system is an astrophysical object, like a cluster of galaxies, a black hole, etc, non-negligible corrections arise to several observable quantities. Distinctive footprints could refer to luminosity distance and strong/weak lensing measurements, among others. The present study focuses on the SNIa luminosity distance observable.