News vs Information

We consider the relative entropy between the vacuum state and a coherent state in linearized quantum gravity around a stationary black hole spacetime. Combining recent results by Casini et al. and Longo with the Raychaudhuri equation, the following result is obtained: Let $\frak A$ be the algebra of observables assoiciated with a region that is the causal future of some compact set in the interior of the spacetime. Let $S$ be the relative entropy with respect to this algebra, $A$ the area of the horizon cross section defined by the region, computed to second order in the gravitational perturbation. If the region is time-translated by the Killing parameter $t$, then $\frac{d}{d t}(S+A/4)= 2\pi F$, with $F$ the flux of the gravitational/matter radiation (integrated squared news tensor) emitted towards the future of the region.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1903.07508, v2: some details added on function spaces and decay of solutions, refs. adde

The connection between AGN-driven dusty outflows and the surrounding environment

Significant reservoirs of cool gas are observed in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) surrounding galaxies. The CGM is also found to contain substantial amounts of metals and dust, which require some transport mechanism. We consider AGN (active galactic nucleus) feedback-driven outflows based on radiation pressure on dust. Dusty gas is ejected when the central luminosity exceeds the effective Eddington luminosity for dust. We obtain that a higher dust-to-gas ratio leads to a lower critical luminosity, implying that the more dusty gas is more easily expelled. Dusty outflows can reach large radii with a range of velocities (depending on the outflowing shell configuration and the ambient density distribution) and may account for the observed CGM gas. In our picture, dust is required in order to drive AGN feedback, and the preferential expulsion of dusty gas in the outflows may naturally explain the presence of dust in the CGM. On the other hand, the most powerful AGN outflow events can potentially drive gas out of the local galaxy group. We further discuss the effects of radiation pressure of the central AGN on satellite galaxies. AGN radiative feedback may therefore have a significant impact on the evolution of the whole surrounding environment.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

AGN feedback and triggering of star formation in galaxies

Feedback from the central black hole in active galactic nuclei (AGN) may be responsible for establishing the observed MBH-sigma relation and limiting the bulge stellar mass of the host galaxy. Here we explore the possibility of AGN feedback triggering star formation in the host galaxy. We consider a shell of dusty gas, driven outwards by radiation pressure, and analyse its escape/trapping condition in the galactic halo for different underlying dark matter potentials. In the isothermal potential, we obtain that the standard condition setting the observed MBH-sigma relation is not sufficient to clear gas out of the entire galaxy; whereas the same condition is formally sufficient in the case of the Hernquist and Navarro-Frenk-White profiles. The squeezing and compression of the inhomogeneous interstellar medium during the ejection process can trigger star formation within the feedback-driven shell. We estimate the resulting star formation rate and total additional stellar mass. In this picture, new stars are formed at increasingly larger radii and successively populate the outer regions of the host galaxy. This characteristic pattern may be compared with the observed 'inside-out' growth of massive galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Variations on a theme of AGN-driven outflows: luminosity evolution and ambient density distribution

Galactic outflows are now commonly observed in starburst and active galactic nuclei (AGN) host galaxies. Yet, there is no clear consensus on their physical driving mechanism(s). We have previously shown that AGN radiative feedback, driven by radiation pressure on dust, can account for the observed dynamics and energetics of galactic outflows, provided that radiation trapping is taken into account. Here we generalise our model results by explicitly considering the temporal evolution of the central AGN luminosity, and the shell mass evolution in different ambient density distributions. In the case of fixed-mass shells, the high observed values of the momentum ratio ($\zeta = \dot{p}/(L/c)$) and energy ratio ($\epsilon_k = \dot{E}_{k}/L$) may be attributed to either radiation trapping or AGN luminosity decay. In contrast, for expanding shells sweeping up mass from the surrounding environment, a decay in AGN luminosity cannot account for the observed high energetics, and radiation trapping is necessarily required. Indeed, strong radiation trapping, e.g. due to high dust-to-gas ratios, can considerably boost the outflow energetics. We obtain a distinct radial dependence for the outflow energetics ($\zeta(r)$, $\epsilon_k(r)$) in the case of radiation trapping and luminosity decay, which may help discriminate between the two scenarios. In this framework, the recently discovered `fossil' outflows, with anomalously high values of the energetics, may be interpreted as relics of past AGN activity. The observed outflow properties may therefore provide useful constraints on the past history of AGN activity and/or the physical conditions of the outflow launch region.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA

Comparison between various notions of conserved charges in asymptotically AdS-spacetimes

We derive hamiltionian generators of asymptotic symmetries for general relativity with asymptotic AdS boundary conditions using the ``covariant phase space'' method of Wald et al. We then compare our results with other definitions that have been proposed in the literature. We find that our definition agrees with that proposed by Ashtekar et al, with the spinor definition, and with the background dependent definition of Henneaux and Teitelboim. Our definition disagrees with the one obtained from the ``counterterm subtraction method,'' but the difference is found to consist only of a ``constant offset'' that is determined entirely in terms of the boundary metric. We finally discuss and justify our boundary conditions by a linear perturbation analysis, and we comment on generalizations of our boundary conditions, as well as inclusion of matter fields.Comment: 64p, Latex, no figures, v2: references added, typos corrected, v3: some equations correcte

The initial value problem for linearized gravitational perturbations of the Schwarzschild naked singularity

The coupled equations for the scalar modes of the linearized Einstein equations around Schwarzschild's spacetime were reduced by Zerilli to a 1+1 wave equation with a potential $V$, on a field $\Psi_z$. For smooth metric perturbations $\Psi_z$ is singular at $r_s=-6M/(\ell-1)(\ell+2)$, $\ell$ the mode harmonic number, and $V$ has a second order pole at $r_s$. This is irrelevant to the black hole exterior stability problem, where $r>2M>0$, and $r_s <0$, but it introduces a non trivial problem in the naked singular case where $M0$, and the singularity appears in the relevant range of $r$. We solve this problem by developing a new approach to the evolution of the even mode, based on a {\em new gauge invariant function}, $\hat \Psi$ -related to $\Psi_z$ by an intertwiner operator- that is a regular function of the metric perturbation {\em for any value of $M$}. This allows to address the issue of evolution of gravitational perturbations in this non globally hyperbolic background, and to complete the proof of the linear instability of the Schwarzschild naked singularity, by showing that a previously found unstable mode is excitable by generic initial data. This is further illustrated by numerically solving the linearized equations for suitably chosen initial data.Comment: typos corrected, references adde

On the stability of naked singularities

We study the linearised stability of the nakedly singular negative mass Schwarzschild solution against gravitational perturbations. There is a one parameter family of possible boundary conditions at the singularity. We give a precise criterion for stability depending on the boundary condition. We show that one particular boundary condition is physically preferred and show that the spacetime is stable with this boundary condition.Comment: 20 pages. 5 figure