34 research outputs found
Brans-Dicke theory: Jordan vs Einstein Frame
It is well known that, in contrast to general relativity, there are two
conformally related frames, the Jordan frame and the Einstein frame, in which
the Brans-Dicke theory, a prototype of generic scalar-tensor theory, can be
formulated. There is a long standing debate on the physical equivalence of the
formulations in these two different frames. It is shown here that gravitational
deflection of light to second order accuracy may observationally distinguish
the two versions of the Brans-Dicke theory.Comment: 10 pages, Accepted by Mod. Phys. Letts.
Testing gravity at the Second post-Newtonian level through gravitational deflection of massive particles
Expression for second post-Newtonian level gravitational deflection angle of
massive particles is obtained in a model independent framework. Several of its
important implications including the possibility of testing gravitational
theories at that level are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, couple of equations of the previous version are correcte
Analogue Of The Fizeau Effect In An Effective Optical Medium
Using a new approach, we propose an analogue of the Fizeau effect for massive and massless particles in an effective optical medium derived from the static, spherically symmetric gravitational field. The medium is naturally perceived as a dispersive medium by matter de Broglie waves. Several Fresnel drag coefficients are worked out, with appropriate interpretations of the wavelengths used. In two cases, it turns out that the coefficients become independent of the wavelength even if the equivalent medium itself is dispersive. A few conceptual issues are also addressed in the process of derivation. It is shown that some of our results complement recent work dealing with real fluid or optical black holes
Tidal Forces in Cold Black Hole Spacetimes
We investigate here the behavior of a few spherically symmetric static
acclaimed black hole solutions in respect of tidal forces in the geodesic
frame. It turns out that the forces diverge on the horizon of cold black holes
(CBH) while for ordinary ones, they do not. It is pointed out that Kruskal-like
extensions do not render the CBH metrics nonsingular. We present a CBH that is
available in the Brans-Dicke theory for which the tidal forces do not diverge
on the horizon and in that sense it is a better one.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. PDF (from original MSWord). Submitted to
International Journal of Modern Physics D, 10 Aug 0
Stability of Circular Orbits in General Relativity: A Phase Space Analysis
Phase space method provides a novel way for deducing qualitative features of
nonlinear differential equations without actually solving them. The method is
applied here for analyzing stability of circular orbits of test particles in
various physically interesting environments. The approach is shown to work in a
revealing way in Schwarzschild spacetime. All relevant conclusions about
circular orbits in the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime are shown to be
remarkably encoded in a single parameter. The analysis in the rotating Kerr
black hole readily exposes information as to how stability depends on the ratio
of source rotation to particle angular momentum. As a wider application, it is
exemplified how the analysis reveals useful information when applied to motion
in a refractive medium, for instance, that of optical black holes.Comment: 20 pages. Accepted for publication in Int. J. theor. Phy
Strong field gravitational lensing in scalar tensor theories
Strong field gravitational lensing in the Brans-Dicke theory has been
studied. The deflection angle for photons passing very close to the photon
sphere is estimated for the static spherically symmetric space-time of the
theory and the position and magnification of the relativistic images are
obtained. Modeling the super massive central object of the galaxy by the
Brans-Dicke space-time, numerical values of different strong lensing observable
are estimated. It is found that against the expectation there is no significant
scalar field effect in the strong field observable lensing parameters. This
observation raises question on the potentiality of the strong field lensing to
discriminate different gravitational theories.Comment: 20 pages, accepted in Class. Quantum Grav., final versio
On Traversable Lorentzian Wormholes in the Vacuum Low Energy Effective String Theory in Einstein and Jordan Frames
Three new classes (II-IV) of solutions of the vacuum low energy effective
string theory in four dimensions are derived. Wormhole solutions are
investigated in those solutions including the class I case both in the Einstein
and in the Jordan (string) frame. It turns out that, of the eight classes of
solutions investigated (four in the Einstein frame and four in the
corresponding string frame), massive Lorentzian traversable wormholes exist in
five classes. Nontrivial massless limit exists only in class I Einstein frame
solution while none at all exists in the string frame. An investigation of test
scalar charge motion in the class I solution in the two frames is carried out
by using the Plebanski-Sawicki theorem. A curious consequence is that the
motion around the extremal zero (Keplerian) mass configuration leads, as a
result of scalar-scalar interaction, to a new hypothetical "mass" that confines
test scalar charges in bound orbits, but does not interact with neutral test
particles.Comment: 18 page