467 research outputs found
Matter instability in modified gravity
The Dolgov-Kawasaki instability discovered in the matter sector of the
modified gravity scenario incorporating a 1/R correction to Einstein gravity is
studied in general f(R) theories. A stability condition is found in the metric
version of these theories to help ruling out models that are unviable from the
theoretical point of view.Comment: 4 pages, revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev. D. In the revised version,
an error concerning the Palatini version of these theories has been corrected
and the references update
Extended Planck Scale
Traditional derivations of the Planck mass ignore the role of charge and spin
in general relativity. From the Kerr-Newman null surface and horizon radii,
quantized charge and spin dependence are introduced in an extended Planck scale
of mass. Spectra emerge with selection rules dependent upon the choice of
Kerr-Newman radius to link with the Compton wavelength. The appearance of the
fine structure constant suggests the possibility of a variation in time of the
extended Planck mass, which may be much larger than the variation in the
traditional one. There is a suggestion of a connection with the value
governing high-energy radiation in Z-boson production and decay.Comment: 9 page
The New Planck Scale: Quantized Spin and Charge Coupled to Gravity
In the standard approach to defining a Planck scale where gravity is brought
into the quantum domain, the Schwarzschild gravitational radius is set equal to
the Compton wavelength. However, ignored thereby are the charge and spin, the
fundamental quantized aspects of matter. The gravitational and null-surface
radii of the Kerr-Newman metric are used to introduce spin and charge into a
new extended Planck scale. The fine structure constant appears in the extended
Planck mass and the recent discovery of the variation with the
evolution of the universe adds further significance. An extended Planck charge
and Planck spin are derived. There is an intriguing suggestion of a connection
with the value governing high-energy radiation in Z-boson production
and decay.Comment: 8 pages, This essay received an "honourable mention" in the 2003
Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundatio
Probing the gravitational geon
The Brill-Hartle gravitational geon construct as a spherical shell of small
amplitude, high frequency gravitational waves is reviewed and critically
analyzed. The Regge-Wheeler formalism is used to represent gravitational wave
perturbations of the spherical background as a superposition of tensor
spherical harmonics and an attempt is made to build a non-singular solution to
meet the requirements of a gravitational geon. High-frequency waves are seen to
be a necessary condition for the geon and the field equations are decomposed
accordingly. It is shown that this leads to the impossibility of forming a
spherical gravitational geon. The attempted constructs of gravitational and
electromagnetic geons are contrasted. The spherical shell in the proposed
Brill-Hartle geon does not meet the regularity conditions required for a
non-singular source and hence cannot be regarded as an adequate geon construct.
Since it is the high frequency attribute which is the essential cause of the
geon non-viability, it is argued that a geon with less symmetry is an unlikely
prospect. The broader implications of the result are discussed with particular
reference to the problem of gravitational energy.Comment: Replaced with revised version (substantial changes and additions,
conclusions unchanged), 36 pages, LaTex, 3 figures available from the author
A Singularity-Free Cosmological Model with a Conformally Coupled Scalar Field
We explore the possibility of describing our universe with a
singularity--free, closed, spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmological
model, using only general relativity and a suitable equation of state which
produces an inflationary era. A phase transition to a radiation--dominated era
occurs as a consequence of boundary conditions expressing the assumption that
the temperature cannot exceed the Planck value. We find that over a broad range
of initial conditions, the predicted value of the Hubble parameter is
approximately km~s~Mpc. Inflation is driven by a
scalar field, which must be conformally coupled to the curvature if the
Einstein equivalence principle has to be satisfied. The form of the scalar
field potential is derived, instead of being assumed a priori.Comment: 19 pages, figures and tables available from the author
Position and frequency shifts induced by massive modes of the gravitational wave background in alternative gravity
Alternative theories of gravity predict the presence of massive scalar,
vector, and tensor gravitational wave modes in addition to the standard
massless spin~2 graviton of general relativity. The deflection and frequency
shift effects on light from distant sources propagating through a stochastic
background of gravitational waves, containing such modes, differ from their
counterparts in general relativity. Such effects are considered as a possible
signature for alternative gravity in attempts to detect deviations from
Einstein's gravity by astrophysical means.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur
The stability of modified gravity models
Conditions for the existence and stability of de Sitter space in modified
gravity are derived by considering inhomogeneous perturbations in a
gauge-invariant formalism. The stability condition coincides with the
corresponding condition for stability with respect to homogeneous
perturbations, while this is not the case in scalar-tensor gravity. The
stability criterion is applied to various modified gravity models of the early
and the present universe.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Evolution of density perturbations in double exponential quintessence models
In this work we investigate the evolution of matter density perturbations for
quintessence models with a self-interaction potential that is a combination of
exponentials. One of the models is based on the Einstein theory of gravity,
while the other is based on the Brans-Dicke scalar tensor theory. We constrain
the parameter space of the models using the determinations for the growth rate
of perturbations derived from data of the 2-degree Field Galaxy Redshift
Survey.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps figure
Laser Interferometric Detectors of Gravitational Waves
A laser interferometric detector of gravitational waves is studied and a
complete solution (to first order in the metric perturbation) of the coupled
Einstein-Maxwell equations with appropriate boundary conditions for the light
beams is determined. The phase shift, the light deflection and the rotation of
the polarization axis induced by gravitational waves are computed. The results
are compared with previous literature, and are shown to hold also for detectors
which are large in comparison with the gravitational wavelength.Comment: 13 pages, LaTe
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