31 research outputs found
Bounds on the basic physical parameters for anisotropic compact general relativistic objects
We derive upper and lower limits for the basic physical parameters
(mass-radius ratio, anisotropy, redshift and total energy) for arbitrary
anisotropic general relativistic matter distributions in the presence of a
cosmological constant. The values of these quantities are strongly dependent on
the value of the anisotropy parameter (the difference between the tangential
and radial pressure) at the surface of the star. In the presence of the
cosmological constant, a minimum mass configuration with given anisotropy does
exist. Anisotropic compact stellar type objects can be much more compact than
the isotropic ones, and their radii may be close to their corresponding
Schwarzschild radii. Upper bounds for the anisotropy parameter are also
obtained from the analysis of the curvature invariants. General restrictions
for the redshift and the total energy (including the gravitational
contribution) for anisotropic stars are obtained in terms of the anisotropy
parameter. Values of the surface redshift parameter greater than two could be
the main observational signature for anisotropic stellar type objects.Comment: 18 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in CQ
Solar system tests of brane world models
The classical tests of general relativity (perihelion precession, deflection
of light, and the radar echo delay) are considered for the Dadhich, Maartens,
Papadopoulos and Rezania (DMPR) solution of the spherically symmetric static
vacuum field equations in brane world models. For this solution the metric in
the vacuum exterior to a brane world star is similar to the Reissner-Nordstrom
form of classical general relativity, with the role of the charge played by the
tidal effects arising from projections of the fifth dimension. The existing
observational solar system data on the perihelion shift of Mercury, on the
light bending around the Sun (obtained using long-baseline radio
interferometry), and ranging to Mars using the Viking lander, constrain the
numerical values of the bulk tidal parameter and of the brane tension.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity. V2, minor
corrections and references adde
Inflating wormholes in the braneworld models
The braneworld model, in which our Universe is a three-brane embedded in a
five-dimensional bulk, allows the existence of wormholes, without any violation
of the energy conditions. A fundamental ingredient of traversable wormholes is
the violation of the null energy condition (NEC). However, in the brane world
models, the stress energy tensor confined on the brane, threading the wormhole,
satisfies the NEC. In conventional general relativity, wormholes existing
before inflation can be significantly enlarged by the expanding spacetime. We
investigate the evolution of an inflating wormhole in the brane world scenario,
in which the wormhole is supported by the nonlocal brane world effects. As a
first step in our study we consider the possibility of embedding a
four-dimensional brane world wormhole into a five dimensional bulk. The
conditions for the embedding are obtained by studying the junction conditions
for the wormhole geometry, as well as the full set of the five dimensional bulk
field equations. For the description of the inflation we adopt the chaotic
inflation model. We study the dynamics of the brane world wormholes during the
exponential inflation stage, and in the stage of the oscillating scalar field.
A particular exact solution corresponding to a zero redshift wormhole is also
obtained. The resulting evolution shows that while the physical and geometrical
parameters of a zero redshift wormhole decay naturally, a wormhole satisfying
some very general initial conditions could turn into a black hole, and exist
forever.Comment: 30 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in CQ
Can dark matter be a Bose-Einstein condensate?
We consider the possibility that the dark matter, which is required to
explain the dynamics of the neutral hydrogen clouds at large distances from the
galactic center, could be in the form of a Bose-Einstein condensate. To study
the condensate we use the non-relativistic Gross-Pitaevskii equation. By
introducing the Madelung representation of the wave function, we formulate the
dynamics of the system in terms of the continuity equation and of the
hydrodynamic Euler equations. Hence dark matter can be described as a
non-relativistic, Newtonian Bose-Einstein gravitational condensate gas, whose
density and pressure are related by a barotropic equation of state. In the case
of a condensate with quartic non-linearity, the equation of state is polytropic
with index . To test the validity of the model we fit the Newtonian
tangential velocity equation of the model with a sample of rotation curves of
low surface brightness and dwarf galaxies, respectively. We find a very good
agreement between the theoretical rotation curves and the observational data
for the low surface brightness galaxies. The deflection of photons passing
through the dark matter halos is also analyzed, and the bending angle of light
is computed. The bending angle obtained for the Bose-Einstein condensate is
larger than that predicted by standard general relativistic and dark matter
models. Therefore the study of the light deflection by galaxies and the
gravitational lensing could discriminate between the Bose-Einstein condensate
dark matter model and other dark matter models.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in JCAP, references
adde
Physics of dark energy particles
We consider the astrophysical and cosmological implications of the existence
of a minimum density and mass due to the presence of the cosmological constant.
If there is a minimum length in nature, then there is an absolute minimum mass
corresponding to a hypothetical particle with radius of the order of the Planck
length. On the other hand, quantum mechanical considerations suggest a
different minimum mass. These particles associated with the dark energy can be
interpreted as the ``quanta'' of the cosmological constant. We study the
possibility that these particles can form stable stellar-type configurations
through gravitational condensation, and their Jeans and Chandrasekhar masses
are estimated. From the requirement of the energetic stability of the minimum
density configuration on a macroscopic scale one obtains a mass of the order of
10^55 g, of the same order of magnitude as the mass of the universe. This mass
can also be interpreted as the Jeans mass of the dark energy fluid. Furthermore
we present a representation of the cosmological constant and of the total mass
of the universe in terms of `classical' fundamental constants.Comment: 10 pages, no figures; typos corrected, 4 references added; 1
reference added; reference added; entirely revised version, contains new
parts, now 14 page
Inflation and late time acceleration in braneworld cosmological models with varying brane tension
Braneworld models with variable brane tension introduce a new
degree of freedom that allows for evolving gravitational and cosmological
constants, the latter being a natural candidate for dark energy. We consider a
thermodynamic interpretation of the varying brane tension models, by showing
that the field equations with variable can be interpreted as
describing matter creation in a cosmological framework. The particle creation
rate is determined by the variation rate of the brane tension, as well as by
the brane-bulk energy-matter transfer rate. We investigate the effect of a
variable brane tension on the cosmological evolution of the Universe, in the
framework of a particular model in which the brane tension is an exponentially
dependent function of the scale factor. The resulting cosmology shows the
presence of an initial inflationary expansion, followed by a decelerating
phase, and by a smooth transition towards a late accelerated de Sitter type
expansion. The varying brane tension is also responsible for the generation of
the matter in the Universe (reheating period). The physical constraints on the
model parameters, resulted from the observational cosmological data, are also
investigated.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in European Physical
Journal
Reheating the Universe in Braneworld Cosmological Models with bulk-brane energy transfer
The emergence of the cosmological composition (the reheating era) after the
inflationary period is analyzed in the framework of the braneworld models, in
which our Universe is a three-brane embedded in a five-dimensional bulk, by
assuming the possibility of the brane-bulk energy exchange. The inflaton field
is assumed to decay into normal matter only, while the dark matter is injected
into the brane from the bulk. To describe the reheating process we adopt a
phenomenological approach, by describing the decay of the inflaton field by a
friction term proportional to the energy density of the field. After the
radiation dominated epoch the model reduces to the standard four dimensional
cosmological model. The modified field equations are analyzed analytically and
numerically in both the extra-dimensions dominate reheating phase (when the
quadratic terms in energy density dominate the dynamics), and in the general
case. The evolution profiles of the matter, of the scalar field and of the
scale factor of the universe are obtained for different values of the
parameters of the model, and of the equations of state of the normal and dark
matter, respectively. The equation describing the time evolution of the ratio
of the energy density of the dark and of the normal matter is also obtained.
The ratio depends on the rate of the energy flow between the bulk and the
brane. The observational constraint of an approximately constant ratio of the
dark and of the baryonic matter requires that the dark matter must be
non-relativistic (cold). The model predicts a reheating temperature of the
order of GeV, a brane tension of the order of GeV,
and the obtained composition of the universe is consistent with the
observational data.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in JCA
Minimum mass-radius ratio for charged gravitational objects
We rigorously prove that for compact charged general relativistic objects
there is a lower bound for the mass-radius ratio. This result follows from the
same Buchdahl type inequality for charged objects, which has been extensively
used for the proof of the existence of an upper bound for the mass-radius
ratio. The effect of the vacuum energy (a cosmological constant) on the minimum
mass is also taken into account. Several bounds on the total charge, mass and
the vacuum energy for compact charged objects are obtained from the study of
the Ricci scalar invariants. The total energy (including the gravitational one)
and the stability of the objects with minimum mass-radius ratio is also
considered, leading to a representation of the mass and radius of the charged
objects with minimum mass-radius ratio in terms of the charge and vacuum energy
only.Comment: 19 pages, accepted by GRG, references corrected and adde
f(R) Gravity with Torsion: The Metric-Affine Approach
The role of torsion in f(R) gravity is considered in the framework of
metric-affine formalism. We discuss the field equations in empty space and in
presence of perfect fluid matter taking into account the analogy with the
Palatini formalism. As a result, the extra curvature and torsion degrees of
freedom can be dealt as an effective scalar field of fully geometric origin.
From a cosmological point of view, such a geometric description could account
for the whole Dark Side of the Universe.Comment: 12 page
Stability of the Einstein static universe in IR modified Ho\v{r}ava gravity
Recently, Horava proposed a power counting renormalizable theory for
(3+1)-dimensional quantum gravity, which reduces to Einstein gravity with a
non-vanishing cosmological constant in IR, but possesses improved UV behaviors.
In this work, we analyze the stability of the Einstein static universe by
considering linear homogeneous perturbations in the context of an IR
modification of Horava gravity, which implies a `soft' breaking of the
`detailed balance' condition. The stability regions of the Einstein static
universe are parameterized by the linear equation of state parameter w=p/\rho
and the parameters appearing in the Horava theory, and it is shown that a large
class of stable solutions exists in the respective parameter space.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; references adde