10 research outputs found
Homothetic Wyman Spacetimes
The time-dependent, spherically symmetric, Wyman sector of the Unified Field
Theory is shown to be equivalent to a self-gravitating scalar field with a
positive-definite, repulsive self-interaction potential. A homothetic symmetry
is imposed on the fundamental tensor, and the resulting autonomous system is
numerically integrated. Near the critical point (between the collapsing and
non-collapsing spacetimes) the system displays an approximately periodic
alternation between collapsing and dispersive epochs.Comment: 15 pages with 6 figures; requires amsart, amssymb, amsmath, graphicx;
formatted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Linearisation Instabilities of the Massive Nonsymmetric Gravitational Theory
The massive nonsymmetric gravitational theory is shown to posses a
linearisation instability at purely GR field configurations, disallowing the
use of the linear approximation in these situations. It is also shown that
arbitrarily small antisymmetric sector Cauchy data leads to singular evolution
unless an ad hoc condition is imposed on the initial data hypersurface.Comment: 14 pages, IOP style for submission to CQG. Minor changes and
additional background material adde
Geodesic and Path Motion in the Nonsymmetric Gravitational Theory
We study the problem of test-particle motion in the Nonsymmetric
Gravitational Theory (NGT) assuming the four-velocity of the particle is
parallel-transported along the trajectory. The predicted motion is studied on a
static, spherically symmetric background field, with particular attention paid
to radial and circular motions. Interestingly, it is found that the proper time
taken to travel between any two non-zero radial positions is finite. It is also
found that circular orbits can be supported at lower radii than in General
Relativity for certain forms of motion.
We present three interactions which could be used as alternate methods for
coupling a test-particle to the antisymmetric components of the NGT field. One
of these takes the form of a Yukawa force in the weak-field limit of a static,
spherically symmetric field, which could lead to interesting phenomenology.Comment: 17 pages, REVTeX 3.0 with amssymb.st
Born-Infeld Theory and Stringy Causality
Fluctuations around a non-trivial solution of Born-Infeld theory have a
limiting speed given not by the Einstein metric but the Boillat metric. The
Boillat metric is S-duality invariant and conformal to the open string metric.
It also governs the propagation of scalars and spinors in Born-Infeld theory.
We discuss the potential clash between causality determined by the closed
string and open string light cones and find that the latter never lie outside
the former. Both cones touch along the principal null directions of the
background Born-Infeld field. We consider black hole solutions in situations in
which the distinction between bulk and brane is not sharp such as space filling
branes and find that the location of the event horizon and the thermodynamic
properties do not depend on whether one uses the closed or open string metric.
Analogous statements hold in the more general context of non-linear
electrodynamics or effective quantum-corrected metrics. We show how Born-Infeld
action to second order might be obtained from higher-curvature gravity in
Kaluza-Klein theory. Finally we point out some intriguing analogies with
Einstein-Schr\"odinger theory.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures, LaTex; Some comments and references adde
The Dynamical Instability of Static, Spherically Symmetric Solutions in Nonsymmetric Gravitational Theories
We consider the dynamical stability of a class of static,
spherically-symmetric solutions of the nonsymmetric gravitational theory. We
numerically reproduce the Wyman solution and generate new solutions for the
case where the theory has a nontrivial fundamental length scale \mu^{-1}. By
considering spherically symmetric perturbations of these solutions we show that
the Wyman solutions are generically unstable.Comment: 13 pages, uses amslatex, graphicx and subfigure package