General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)

Abstract: The cosmological principle is one of the fundamental assumptions of the standard model of Cosmology (SCM), and it allow us to describe cosmic distances and clocks by using the Friedmann-Lema$\rm{\hat{{\i}}}$tre-Roberton-Walker (FLRW) metric. Thus, it is essential to test the FLRW metric with cosmological observations to verify the validity of the SCM. In this work, we perform tests of the FLRW metric by comparing the observational comoving angles between the Hubble $H(z)$ and angular Baryon Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) measurements. The Gaussian process is employed to reconstruct the Hubble $H(z)$ measurements and the angular diameter distance (ADD) from the transversal BAO data. A non-parametric method is adopted to probe the possible deviations from the FLRW metric at any redshift by comparing the comoving distances from the reconstructed Hubble $H(z)$ measurements with the ADD reconstructed from the transversal BAO data. Then, we propose two types of parameterizations for the deviations from the FLRW metric, and test the FLRW metric by using the priors of specific sound horizon scales. To avoid the bias caused by the prior of a specific sound horizon scale, we perform the consistency test with a flat prior of the sound horizon scale. We find that there a concordance between the FLRW metric and the observational data by using parametric and non-parametric methods, and the parameterizations can be employed to test the FLRW metric in a new way independent of the sound horizon scale.

Abstract: We consider the effects of Weyl geometry on the propagation of electromagnetic waves and on the gravitational spin Hall effect of light. It is usually assumed that in vacuum the electromagnetic waves propagate along null geodesics, a result which follows from the geometrical optics approximation. However, this model is valid only in the limit of infinitely high frequencies. At large but finite frequencies, the ray dynamics is affected by the wave polarization. Therefore, the propagation of the electromagnetic waves can deviate from null geodesics, and this phenomenon is known as the gravitational spin Hall effect of light. On the other hand, Maxwell's equations have the remarkable property of conformal invariance. This property is a cornerstone of Weyl geometry and the corresponding gravitational theories. As a first step in our study, we obtain the polarization-dependent ray equations in Weyl geometry, describing the gravitational spin Hall effect of light in the presence of nonmetricity. As a specific example of the spin Hall effect of light in Weyl geometry, we consider the case of the simplest conformally invariant action, constructed from the square of the Weyl scalar, and the strength of the Weyl vector only. The action is linearized in the Weyl scalar by introducing an auxiliary scalar field. In static spherical symmetry, this theory admits an exact black hole solution, which generalizes the standard Schwarzschild solution through the presence of two new terms in the metric, having a linear and a quadratic dependence on the radial coordinate. We numerically study the polarization-dependent propagation of light rays in this exact Weyl geometric metric, and the effects of the presence of the Weyl vector on the magnitude of the spin Hall effect are estimated.

Abstract: The $f(R,T)$ gravity models, for which $R$ is the Ricci scalar and $T$ is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor, elevate the degrees of freedom of the renowned $f(R)$ theories, by making the Einstein field equations of the theory to also depend on $T$. While such a dependence can be motivated by quantum effects, the existence of imperfect or extra fluids, or even a cosmological ``constant'' which effectively depends on $T$, the formalism can truly surpass some deficiencies of $f(R)$ gravity. As the $f(R,T)$ function is arbitrary, several parametric models have been proposed {\it ad hoc} in the literature and posteriorly confronted with observational data. In the present article, we use gaussian process to construct an $f(R,T)=R+f(T)$ model. To apply the gaussian process we use a series of measurements of the Hubble parameter. We then analytically obtain the functional form of the function. By construction, this form, which is novel in the literature, is well-adjusted to cosmological data. In addition, by extrapolating our reconstruction to redshift $z=0$, we were able to constrain the Hubble constant value to $H_0=69.97\pm4.13$$\rm \ km \ s^{-1} \ Mpc^{-1}$ with $5\%$ precision. Lastly, we encourage the application of the functional form herewith obtained to other current problems of observational cosmology and astrophysics, such as the rotation curves of galaxies.

Abstract: The consideration of a 1 + 3 covariant approach to cold dark matter universe with no shear cosmological dust model with irrotational flows is developed in the context of f (G) gravity theory in the present study. This approach reveals the existence of integrability conditions which do not appear in non-covariant treatments. We constructed the integrability conditions in modified Gauss-Bonnet f (G) gravity basing on the constraints and propagation equations. These integrability conditions reveal the linearized silent nature of quasi-Newtonian models in f (G) gravity. Finally, the linear equations for the overdensity and velocity perturbations of the quasi-Newtonian space-time were constructed in the context of modified f (G) gravity. The application of harmonic decomposition and redshift transformation techniques to explore the behaviour of the overdensity and velocity perturbations using f (G) model were made. On the other hand we applied the quasi-static approximation to study the approximated solutions on small scales which helps to get both analytical and numerical results of the perturbation equations. The analysis of the energy overdensity and velocity perturbations for both short and long wavelength modes in a dust-Gauss-Bonnet fluids were done and we see that both energy overdensity and velocity perturbations decay with redshift for both modes. In the limits to {\Lambda}CDM , it means f (G) = G the considered f (G) model results coincide with {\Lambda}CDM .

Abstract: The research subjects of information scrambling and the Unruh (anti-Unruh) effect are closely associated with black hole physics. We study the impact of acceleration on information scrambling under the Unruh (anti-Unruh) effect for two types of tripartite entangled states, namely the GHZ and W states. Our findings indicate that the anti-Unruh effect can result in stronger information scrambling, as measured by tripartite mutual information (TMI). Additionally, we show that the W state is more stable than the GHZ state under the influence of uniformly accelerated motion. Lastly, we extend our analysis to $N$-partite entangled states and product states.

Abstract: In this paper, a modification of general relativity is considered. It consists of generalizing the Lagrangian of matter in a non-linear way, that is, replacing the curvature scalar $R$ by a function $f(R,T_{\mu\nu} T^{\mu\nu} )$, where $T_{\mu\nu}$ is the energy-momentum tensor. The main objective is to investigate the issue of causality in this gravitational model. To study the causality and/or its violation the G\"{o}del-type solutions are used. For such development, different matter contents are chosen. A critical radius, beyond which causality is violated, is calculated. It is shown that both causal and non-causal solutions are allowed.

Abstract: We consider cosmology with an inflaton scalar field with an additional quartic kinetic term. Such a theory can be motivated by Palatini $R+R^2$ modified gravity. Assuming a runaway inflaton potential, we take the Universe to become dominated by the kinetic energy density of the scalar field after inflation. Initially, the leading kinetic term is quartic and we call the corresponding period hyperkination. Subsequently, the usual quadratic kinetic term takes over and we have regular kination, until reheating. We study, both analytically and numerically, the spectrum of primordial gravitational waves generated during inflation and re-entering the horizon during the subsequent eras. We demonstrate that the spectrum is flat for modes re-entering during radiation domination and hyperkination and linear in frequency for modes re-entering during kination: kinetic domination boosts the spectrum, but hyperkination truncates its peak. As a result, the effects of the kinetic period can be extended to observable frequencies without generating excessive gravitational waves, which could otherwise destabilise the process of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. We show that there is ample parameter space for the primordial gravitational waves to be observable in the near future. If observed, the amplitude and `knee' of the spectrum will provide valuable insights into the background theory.

Abstract: We discuss the production of primordial black holes in an early matter dominated era, which typically takes place in string inspired early universe cosmological models. In particular, we consider a pre-big bang scenario (extending previous results regarding formation in the radiation dominated era) where the enhancement of curvature perturbations is induced by a variation of the sound-speed parameter c_s during the string phase of high-curvature inflation. After imposing all relevant observational constraints, we find that the considered class of models is compatible with the production of a large amount of primordial black holes, in the mass range relevant to dark matter, only for a small range of the parameters space. On the other hand, we find that a huge production of light primordial black holes may occur both in such matter dominated era and in the radiation dominated one.

Abstract: In this study, we explore the new wormhole solutions in the framework of new modified $f(R,L_m)$ gravity. To obtain a characteristic wormhole solution, we use anisotropic matter distribution and a specific form of energy density. As second adopt the isotropic case with a linear EoS relation as a general technique for the system and discuss several physical attributes of the system under the wormhole geometry. Detailed analytical and graphical discussion about the matter contents via energy conditions is discussed. In both cases, the shape function of wormhole geometry satisfies the required conditions. Several interesting points have evolved from the entire investigation along with the features of the exotic matter within the wormhole geometry. Finally, we have concluding remarks.

Abstract: Numerical simulations of merging compact objects and their remnants form the theoretical foundation for gravitational wave and multi-messenger astronomy. While Cartesian-coordinate-based adaptive mesh refinement is commonly used for simulations, spherical-like coordinates are more suitable for nearly spherical remnants and azimuthal flows due to lower numerical dissipation in the evolution of fluid angular momentum, as well as requiring fewer numbers of computational cells. However, the use of spherical coordinates to numerically solve hyperbolic partial differential equations can result in severe Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy (CFL) stability condition timestep limitations, which can make simulations prohibitively expensive. This paper addresses this issue for the numerical solution of coupled spacetime and general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics evolutions by introducing a double FFT filter and implementing it within the fully MPI-parallelized SphericalNR framework in the Einstein Toolkit. We demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the filtering algorithm by applying it to a number of challenging code tests, and show that it passes these tests effectively, demonstrating convergence while also increasing the timestep significantly compared to unfiltered simulations.

Abstract: The anisotropies of the Cosmological Gravitational Wave Background (CGWB) retain information about the primordial mechanisms that source the gravitational waves and about the geometry and the particle content of the universe at early times. In this work, we discuss in detail the computation of the angular power spectra of CGWB anisotropies and of their cross correlation with Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropies, assuming different processes for the generation of these primordial signals. We present an efficient implementation of our results in a modified version of CLASS which will be publicly available. By combining our new code GW_CLASS with MontePython, we forecast the combined sensitivity of future gravitational wave interferometers and CMB experiments to the cosmological parameters that characterize the cosmological gravitational wave background.

Abstract: We adapt the post-Newtonian gravitational-radiation methods developed within general relativity by Epstein and Wagoner to the gravitation theory with torsion, recently proposed by Hehl et al., and show that the two theories predict in this approximation the same gravitational radiation losses. Since they agree also on the first post-Newtonian level, they are at the present time - observationally - indistinguishable.

Abstract: In this paper we study the viability of an entropic cosmological model. The effects of entropic gravity are derived from a modified entropy-area relationship with a volumetric entropy term. This model describes a late time limit {cosmic acceleration}, whose origin is related to a volumetric term in the entropy. Moreover, we analyze the phenomenological implications of the entropic model using the Supernovae {\it Pantheon} compilation and the observational Hubble parameter data to find consistency with cosmological observations. Finally, we show the equivalence between the entropic model and a brane world cosmological model, by means of an effective geometrical construction.

Abstract: It is common folklore that semiclassical gravity suggests that, in the process of black hole formation and subsequent evaporation by Hawking radiation, an initially pure state can evolve into a mixed state. This is known as the \emph{information loss puzzle} (or {\it paradox}). Here, we argue that a quantum version of strong cosmic censorship, for which we give a conjectural statement and has strong supporting evidence, indicates that the semiclassical description of the evaporation process breaks down at the final evaporation stage. We argue further that, if taken at face value, semiclassical gravity predicts the development of a future singularity instead of a post-evaporation region where quantum (and classical) predictability breaks down and where information is lost. We thus argue that there are no reasons to expect a failure of unitarity or predictability for any quantum gravity theory that can `cure' spacetime singularities, as this is not even suggested by semiclassical arguments.

Abstract: We investigate the pair production near a (near) extremal magnetized Reissner-Nordstrom black hole. The pair production is shown to exist in the extremal state, which can be interpreted as the Schwinger effect due to the strong field under consideration. To show a correspondence between the growth of the external magnetic field and the scalar absorption, some numerical examples are provided.