Towards the solution of the relativistic gravitational radiation reaction problem for binary black holes

Here we present the results of applying the generalized Riemann zeta-function regularization method to the gravitational radiation reaction problem. We analyze in detail the headon collision of two nonspinning black holes with extreme mass ratio. The resulting reaction force on the smaller hole is repulsive. We discuss the possible extensions of these method to generic orbits and spinning black holes. The determination of corrected trajectories allows to add second perturbative corrections with the consequent increase in the accuracy of computed waveforms.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the 3rd LISA Symposiu

Matter density perturbations in modified gravity models with arbitrary coupling between matter and geometry

We consider theories with an arbitrary coupling between matter and gravity and obtain the perturbation equation of matter on subhorizon scales. Also, we derive the effective gravitational constant $G_{eff}$ and two parameters $\Sigma$ and $\eta$, which along with the perturbation equation of the matter density are useful to constrain the theory from growth factor and weak lensing observations. Finally, we use a completely solvable toy model which exhibits nontrivial phenomenology to investigate specific features of the theory. We obtain the analytic solution of the modified Friedmann equation for the scale factor $a$ in terms of time $t$ and use the age of the oldest star clusters and the primordial nucleosynthesis bounds in order to constrain the parameters of our toy model.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, uses revtex4, added Appendix and references, minor changes, accepted in Phys. Rev. D (to appear

Open timelike curves violate Heisenberg's uncertainty principle

Toy models for quantum evolution in the presence of closed timelike curves (CTCs) have gained attention in the recent literature due to the strange effects they predict. The circuits that give rise to these effects appear quite abstract and contrived, as they require non-trivial interactions between the future and past which lead to infinitely recursive equations. We consider the special case in which there is no interaction inside the CTC, referred to as an open timelike curve (OTC), for which the only local effect is to increase the time elapsed by a clock carried by the system. Remarkably, circuits with access to OTCs are shown to violate Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, allowing perfect state discrimination and perfect cloning of coherent states. The model is extended to wave-packets and smoothly recovers standard quantum mechanics in an appropriate physical limit. The analogy with general relativistic time-dilation suggests that OTCs provide a novel alternative to existing proposals for the behaviour of quantum systems under gravity

Improved limits on short-wavelength gravitational waves from the cosmic microwave background

The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is affected by the total radiation density around the time of decoupling. At that epoch, neutrinos comprised a significant fraction of the radiative energy, but there could also be a contribution from primordial gravitational waves with frequencies greater than ~ 10^-15 Hz. If this cosmological gravitational wave background (CGWB) were produced under adiabatic initial conditions, its effects on the CMB and matter power spectrum would mimic massless non-interacting neutrinos. However, with homogenous initial conditions, as one might expect from certain models of inflation, pre big-bang models, phase transitions and other scenarios, the effect on the CMB would be distinct. We present updated observational bounds for both initial conditions using the latest CMB data at small scales from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) in combination with Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), current measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations, and the Hubble parameter. With the inclusion of the data from SPT the adiabatic bound on the CGWB density is improved by a factor of 1.7 to 10^6 Omega_gw < 8.7 at the 95% confidence level (C.L.), with weak evidence in favor of an additional radiation component consistent with previous analyses. The constraint can be converted into an upper limit on the tension of horizon-sized cosmic strings that could generate this gravitational wave component, with Gmu < 2 10^-7 at 95% C.L., for string tension Gmu. The homogeneous bound improves by a factor of 3.5 to 10^6 Omega_gw < 1.0 at 95% C.L., with no evidence for such a component from current data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Noise kernel for a quantum field in Schwarzschild spacetime under the Gaussian approximation

A method is given to compute an approximation to the noise kernel, defined as the symmetrized connected 2-point function of the stress tensor, for the conformally invariant scalar field in any spacetime conformal to an ultra-static spacetime for the case in which the field is in a thermal state at an arbitrary temperature. The most useful applications of the method are flat space where the approximation is exact and Schwarzschild spacetime where the approximation is better than it is in most other spacetimes. The two points are assumed to be separated in a timelike or spacelike direction. The method involves the use of a Gaussian approximation which is of the same type as that used by Page to compute an approximate form of the stress tensor for this field in Schwarzschild spacetime. All components of the noise kernel have been computed exactly for hot flat space and one component is explicitly displayed. Several components have also been computed for Schwarzschild spacetime and again one component is explicitly displayed.Comment: 34 pages, no figures. Substantial revisions in Secs. I, IV, and V; minor revisions elsewhere; new results include computation of the exact noise kernel for hot flat space and an approximate computation of the noise kernel for a thermal state at an arbitrary temperature in Schwarzschild spacetime when the points are split in the time directio

Hadamard States and Adiabatic Vacua

Reversing a slight detrimental effect of the mailer related to TeXabilityComment: 10pages, LaTeX (RevTeX-preprint style

Gravitational Waves in Bianchi Type-I Universes I: The Classical Theory

The propagation of classical gravitational waves in Bianchi Type-I universes is studied. We find that gravitational waves in Bianchi Type-I universes are not equivalent to two minimally coupled massless scalar fields as it is for the Robertson-Walker universe. Due to its tensorial nature, the gravitational wave is much more sensitive to the anisotropy of the spacetime than the scalar field is and it gains an effective mass term. Moreover, we find a coupling between the two polarization states of the gravitational wave which is also not present in the Robertson-Walker universe.Comment: 34 papers, written in ReVTeX, submitted to Physical Review

Quantum vacuum effects as generalized f(R) gravity. Application to stars

It is assumed that, for weak spacetime curvature, the main gravitational effect of the quantum vacuum stress-energy corresponds to adding two terms to the Einstein-Hilbert action, proportional to the square of the curvature scalar and to the contraction of two Ricci tensors, respectively. It is shown that compatibility with terrestrial and solar systems observaction implies that the square roorts of the coefficients of these terms should be either a few millimeters or a few hundred meters. It is shown that the vacuum contribution increase the stability of white dwarfs.Comment: GEneralizes and improves previous versio

Hawking-like radiation does not require a trapped region

We discuss the issue of quasi-particle production by ``analogue black holes'' with particular attention to the possibility of reproducing Hawking radiation in a laboratory. By constructing simple geometric acoustic models, we obtain a somewhat unexpected result: We show that in order to obtain a stationary and Planckian emission of quasi-particles, it is not necessary to create a trapped region in the acoustic spacetime (corresponding to a supersonic regime in the fluid flow). It is sufficient to set up a dynamically changing flow asymptotically approaching a sonic regime with sufficient rapidity in laboratory time.Comment: revtex4, 4 pages, 1 figur

Analogue Cosmological Particle Creation: Quantum Correlations in Expanding Bose Einstein Condensates

We investigate the structure of quantum correlations in an expanding Bose Einstein Condensate (BEC) through the analogue gravity framework. We consider both a 3+1 isotropically expanding BEC as well as the experimentally relevant case of an elongated, effectively 1+1 dimensional, expanding condensate. In this case we include the effects of inhomogeneities in the condensate, a feature rarely included in the analogue gravity literature. In both cases we link the BEC expansion to a simple model for an expanding spacetime and then study the correlation structure numerically and analytically (in suitable approximations). We also discuss the expected strength of such correlation patterns and experimentally feasible BEC systems in which these effects might be detected in the near future.Comment: Reference adde