1,953 research outputs found
Non-singular Universes a la Palatini
It has recently been shown that f(R) theories formulated in the Palatini
variational formalism are able to avoid the big bang singularity yielding
instead a bouncing solution. The mechanism responsible for this behavior is
similar to that observed in the effective dynamics of loop quantum cosmology
and an f(R) theory exactly reproducing that dynamics has been found. I will
show here that considering more general actions, with quadratic contributions
of the Ricci tensor, results in a much richer phenomenology that yields
bouncing solutions even in anisotropic (Bianchi I) scenarios. Some implications
of these results are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, no figures. Contribution to the Spanish Relativity Meeting
(ERE2010), 6-10 Sept. Granada, Spai
Blue outliers among intermediate redshift quasars
[Oiii]{\lambda}{\lambda}4959,5007 "blue outliers" -- that are suggestive of
outflows in the narrow line region of quasars -- appear to be much more common
at intermediate z (high luminosity) than at low z. About 40% of quasars in a
Hamburg ESO intermediate-z sample of 52 sources qualify as blue outliers (i.e.,
quasars with [OIII] {\lambda}{\lambda}4959,5007 lines showing large systematic
blueshifts with respect to rest frame). We discuss major findings on what has
become an intriguing field in active galactic nuclei research and stress the
relevance of blue outliers to feedback and host galaxy evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science, Special
Issue on Line Shifts in Astrophysics and Laboratory Plasm
Particles and energy fluxes from a CFT perspective
We analyze the creation of particles in two dimensions under the action of
conformal transformations. We focus our attention on Mobius transformations and
compare the usual approach, based on the Bogolubov coefficients, with an
alternative but equivalent viewpoint based on correlation functions. In the
latter approach the absence of particle production under full Mobius
transformations is manifest. Moreover, we give examples, using the
moving-mirror analogy, to illustrate the close relation between the production
of quanta and energy.Comment: Revised version. To appear in Phys.Rev.
Semiclassical zero-temperature corrections to Schwarzschild spacetime and holography
Motivated by the quest for black holes in AdS braneworlds, and in particular
by the holographic conjecture relating 5D classical bulk solutions with 4D
quantum corrected ones, we numerically solve the semiclassical Einstein
equations (backreaction equations) with matter fields in the (zero temperature)
Boulware vacuum state. In the absence of an exact analytical expression for
in four dimensions we work within the s-wave approximation. Our
results show that the quantum corrected solution is very similar to
Schwarzschild till very close to the horizon, but then a bouncing surface for
the radial function appears which prevents the formation of an event horizon.
We also analyze the behavior of the geometry beyond the bounce, where a
curvature singularity arises. In the dual theory, this indicates that the
corresponding 5D static classical braneworld solution is not a black hole but
rather a naked singularity.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures; revised version (title changed, conclusions
shortened), published as Phys. Rev. D73, 104023 (2006
Black hole mass estimates in quasars - A comparative analysis of high- and low-ionization lines
The inter-line comparison between high- and low-ionization emission lines has
yielded a wealth of information on the quasar broad line region (BLR) structure
and dynamics, including perhaps the earliest unambiguous evidence in favor of a
disk + wind structure in radio-quiet quasars. We carried out an analysis of the
CIV 1549 and Hbeta line profiles of 28 Hamburg-ESO high luminosity quasars and
of 48 low-z, low luminosity sources in order to test whether the
high-ionization line CIV 1549 width could be correlated with Hbeta and be used
as a virial broadening estimator. We analyze intermediate- to high-S/N,
moderate resolution optical and NIR spectra covering the redshifted CIV and
H over a broad range of luminosity log L ~ 44 - 48.5 [erg/s] and
redshift (0 - 3), following an approach based on the quasar main sequence. The
present analysis indicates that the line width of CIV 1549 is not immediately
offering a virial broadening estimator equivalent to H. At the same time
a virialized part of the BLR appears to be preserved even at the highest
luminosities. We suggest a correction to FWHM(CIV) for Eddington ratio (using
the CIV blueshift as a proxy) and luminosity effects that can be applied over
more than four dex in luminosity. Great care should be used in estimating
high-L black hole masses from CIV 1549 line width. However, once corrected
FWHM(CIV) values are used, a CIV-based scaling law can yield unbiased MBH
values with respect to the ones based on H with sample standard
deviation ~ 0.3 dex.Comment: 43 pages, 15 Figures, submitted to A&
Quasars: from the Physics of Line Formation to Cosmology
Quasars accreting matter at very high rates (known as extreme Population A
[xA] or super-Eddington accreting massive black holes) provide a new class of
distance indicators covering cosmic epochs from the present-day Universe up to
less than 1 Gyr from the Big Bang. The very high accretion rate makes it
possible that massive black holes hosted in xA quasars radiate at a stable,
extreme luminosity-to-mass ratio. This in turns translates into stable physical
and dynamical conditions of the mildly ionized gas in the quasar low-ionization
line emitting region. In this contribution, we analyze the main optical and UV
spectral properties of extreme Population A quasars that make them easily
identifiable in large spectroscopic surveys at low-z (z < 1) and intermediate-z
(2 < z < 2.6), and the physical conditions that are derived for the formation
of their emission lines. Ultimately, the analysis supports the possibility of
identifying a virial broadening estimator from low-ionization line widths, and
the conceptual validity of the redshift-independent luminosity estimates based
on virial broadening for a known luminosity-to-mass ratio.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures. Invited lecture at SPIG 2018, Belgrade. To
appear in Ato
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