3,011 research outputs found
Strong field effects on binary systems in Einstein-aether theory
"Einstein-aether" theory is a generally covariant theory of gravity
containing a dynamical preferred frame. This article continues an examination
of effects on the motion of binary pulsar systems in this theory, by
incorporating effects due to strong fields in the vicinity of neutron star
pulsars. These effects are included through an effective approach, by treating
the compact bodies as point particles with nonstandard, velocity dependent
interactions parametrized by dimensionless "sensitivities". Effective
post-Newtonian equations of motion for the bodies and the radiation damping
rate are determined. More work is needed to calculate values of the
sensitivities for a given fluid source, so precise constraints on the theory's
coupling constants cannot yet be stated. It is shown, however, that strong
field effects will be negligible given current observational uncertainties if
the dimensionless couplings are less than roughly 0.01 and two conditions that
match the PPN parameters to those of pure general relativity are imposed. In
this case, weak field results suffice and imply one further condition on the
couplings. Thus, there exists a one-parameter family of Einstein-aether
theories with "small-enough" couplings that passes all current observational
tests. No conclusion can yet be reached for large couplings.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figure; v2: fixed error in Eqn. (70) and resulting bounds
on c'
Towards the use of the most massive black hole candidates in AGN to test the Kerr paradigm
The super-massive objects in galactic nuclei are thought to be the Kerr black
holes predicted by General Relativity, although a definite proof of their
actual nature is still lacking. The most massive objects in AGN () seem to have a high radiative efficiency () and a
moderate mass accretion rate (). The high
radiative efficiency could suggest they are very rapidly-rotating black holes.
The moderate luminosity could indicate that their accretion disk is
geometrically thin. If so, these objects could be excellent candidates to test
the Kerr black hole hypothesis. An accurate measurement of the radiative
efficiency of an individual AGN may probe the geometry of the space-time around
the black hole candidate with a precision comparable to the one achievable with
future space-based gravitational-wave detectors like LISA. A robust evidence of
the existence of a black hole candidate with and accreting from a
thin disk may be interpreted as an indication of new physics. For the time
being, there are several issues to address before using AGN to test the Kerr
paradigm, but the approach seems to be promising and capable of providing
interesting results before the advent of gravitational wave astronomy.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. v2: some typos correcte
Generic features of Einstein-Aether black holes
We reconsider spherically symmetric black hole solutions in Einstein-Aether
theory with the condition that this theory has identical PPN parameters as
those for general relativity, which is the main difference from the previous
research. In contrast with previous study, we allow superluminal propagation of
a spin-0 Aether-gravity wave mode. As a result, we obtain black holes having a
spin-0 "horizon" inside an event horizon. We allow a singularity at a spin-0
"horizon" since it is concealed by the event horizon. If we allow such a
configuration, the kinetic term of the Aether field can be large enough for
black holes to be significantly different from Schwarzschild black holes with
respect to ADM mass, innermost stable circular orbit, Hawking temperature, and
so on. We also discuss whether or not the above features can be seen in more
generic vector-tensor theories.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, basic equations and their analytic arguments are
adde
Non-universal scalar-tensor theories and big bang nucleosynthesis
We investigate the constraints that can be set from big-bang nucleosynthesis
on two classes of models: extended quintessence and scalar-tensor theories of
gravity in which the equivalence principle between standard matter and dark
matter is violated. In the latter case, and for a massless dilaton with
quadratic couplings, the phase space of theories is investigated. We delineate
those theories where attraction toward general relativity occurs. It is shown
that big-bang nucleosynthesis sets more stringent constraints than those
obtained from Solar system tests.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figure
Role of interactions in 87Rb-40K Bose-Fermi mixtures in a 3d optical lattice
We investigate the effect of interspecies interaction on a degenerate mixture
of bosonic 87Rb and fermionic 40K atoms in a three-dimensional optical lattice
potential. Using a Feshbach resonance, the 87Rb-40K interaction is tuned over a
wide range. Through an analysis of the 87Rb momentum distribution, we find a
pronounced asymmetry between strong repulsion and strong attraction. In the
latter case, the Bose-Hubbard parameters are renormalized due to self-trapping,
leading to a marked shift in the superfluid to Mott insulator transition with
increasing Bose-Fermi interaction.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Visser's Massive Gravity Bimetric Theory Revisited
A massive gravity theory was proposed by Visser in the late nineties. This
theory, based on a backgroung metric and on an usual
dynamical metric has the advantage of being free of ghosts
as well as discontinuities present in other massive theories proposed in the
past. In the present investigation, the equations of Visser's theory are
revisited with a particular care on the related conservation laws.\ It will be
shown that a multiplicative factor is missing in the graviton tensor originally
derived by Visser, which has no incidence on the weak field approach but
becomes important in the strong field regime when, for instance, cosmological
applications are considered. In this case, contrary to some previous claims
found in the literature, we conclude that a non-static background metric is
required in order to obtain a solution able to mimic the CDM
cosmology.Comment: 10 pages - Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Progress in Lunar Laser Ranging Tests of Relativistic Gravity
Analyses of laser ranges to the Moon provide increasingly stringent limits on
any violation of the Equivalence Principle (EP); they also enable several very
accurate tests of relativistic gravity. We report the results of our recent
analysis of Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data giving an EP test of \Delta
(M_G/M_I)_{EP} =(-1.0 +/- 1.4) x 10^{-13}. This result yields a Strong
Equivalence Principle (SEP) test of \Delta (M_G/M_I)_{SEP} =(-2.0 +/- 2.0) x
10^{-13}. Also, the corresponding SEP violation parameter \eta is (4.4 +/- 4.5)
x 10^{-4}, where \eta=4\beta-\gamma-3 and both \beta and \gamma are
parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) parameters. Using the recent Cassini result
for the parameter \gamma, PPN parameter \beta is determined to be \beta-1=(1.2
+/- 1.1) x 10^{-4}. The geodetic precession test, expressed as a relative
deviation from general relativity, is K_{gp}=-0.0019 +/- 0.0064. The search for
a time variation in the gravitational constant results in \dot G/G=(4 +/- 9) x
10^{-13} yr^{-1}, consequently there is no evidence for local (~1AU) scale
expansion of the solar system.Comment: 4 pages, revtex4, minor changes made for publicatio
Head-on collisions of boson stars
We study head-on collisions of boson stars in three dimensions. We consider
evolutions of two boson stars which may differ in their phase or have opposite
frequencies but are otherwise identical. Our studies show that these phase
differences result in different late time behavior and gravitational wave
output
Two-branes with variable tension model and the effective Newtonian constant
It is shown that, in the two brane time variation model framework, if the
hidden brane tension varies according to the phenomenological Eotvos law, the
visible brane tension behavior is such that its time derivative is negative in
the past and positive after a specific time of cosmological evolution. This
behavior is interpreted in terms of an useful mechanical system analog and its
relation with the variation of the Newtonian (effective) gravitational
`constant' is explored.Comment: 15 pages, no figure, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Spontaneous Lorentz Breaking and Massive Gravity
We study a theory where the presence of an extra spin-two field coupled to
gravity gives rise to a phase with spontaneously broken Lorentz symmetry. In
this phase gravity is massive, and the Weak Equivalence Principle is respected.
The newtonian potentials are in general modified, but we identify an
non-perturbative symmetry that protects them. The gravitational waves sector
has a rich phenomenology: sources emit a combination of massless and massive
gravitons that propagate with distinct velocities and also oscillate. Since
their velocities differ from the speed of light, the time of flight difference
between gravitons and photons from a common source could be measured.Comment: 4 page
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