254 research outputs found
Closed Trapped Surfaces in Cosmology
The existence of closed trapped surfaces need not imply a cosmological
singularity when the spatial hypersurfaces are compact. This is illustrated by
a variety of examples, in particular de Sitter spacetime admits many closed
trapped surfaces and obeys the null convergence condition but is non-singular
in the k=+1 frame.Comment: 11 pages. To appear in GRG, Vol 35 (August issue
Linearisation instability of gravity waves?
Gravity waves in irrotational dust spacetimes are characterised by nonzero
magnetic Weyl tensor . In the linearised theory, the divergence of
is set to zero. Recently Lesame et al. [Phys. Rev. D {\bf 53}, 738
(1996)] presented an argument to show that, in the exact nonlinear theory, forces , thus implying a linearisation instability for gravity
waves interacting with matter. However a sign error in the equations
invalidates their conclusion. Bianchi type V spacetimes are shown to include
examples with . An improved covariant formalism is used to
show that in a generic irrotational dust spacetime, the covariant constraint
equations are preserved under evolution. It is shown elsewhere that \mbox{div}
H=0 does not generate further conditions.Comment: 8 pages Revtex; to appear Phys. Rev.
The evolution of density perturbations in f(R) gravity
We give a rigorous and mathematically well defined presentation of the
Covariant and Gauge Invariant theory of scalar perturbations of a
Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe for Fourth Order Gravity, where
the matter is described by a perfect fluid with a barotropic equation of state.
The general perturbations equations are applied to a simple background solution
of R^n gravity. We obtain exact solutions of the perturbations equations for
scales much bigger than the Hubble radius. These solutions have a number of
interesting features. In particular, we find that for all values of n there is
always a growing mode for the density contrast, even if the universe undergoes
an accelerated expansion. Such a behaviour does not occur in standard General
Relativity, where as soon as Dark Energy dominates, the density contrast
experiences an unrelenting decay. This peculiarity is sufficiently novel to
warrant further investigation on fourth order gravity models.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, typos corrected, submitted to PR
The covariant perturbative approach to cosmic microwave background anisotropies
The Ehlers-Ellis 1+3 formulation of covariant hydrodynamics, when
supplemented with covariant radiative transport theory, gives an exact,
physically transparent description of the physics of the cosmic microwave
background radiation (CMB). Linearisation around a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker
(FRW) universe provides a very direct and seamless route through to the linear,
gauge-invariant perturbation equations for scalar, vector and tensor modes in
an almost-FRW model. In this contribution we review covariant radiative
transport theory and its application to the perturbative method for calculating
and understanding the anisotropy of the CMB. Particular emphasis is placed on
the inclusion of polarization in a fully covariant manner. With this inclusion,
the covariant perturbative approach offers a complete description of linearised
CMB physics in an almost-FRW universe.Comment: To appear in proceedings of SARS99 meeting in honour of G.F.R.Elli
Anisotropic Pressures at Ultra-stiff Singularities and the Stability of Cyclic Universes
We show that the inclusion of simple anisotropic pressures stops the
isotropic Friedmann universe being a stable attractor as an initial or final
singularity is approached when pressures can exceed the energy density. This
shows that the situation with isotropic pressures, studied earlier in the
context of cyclic and ekpyrotic cosmologies, is not generic, and Kasner-like
behaviour occurs when simple pressure anisotropies are present. We find all the
asymptotic behaviours and determine the dynamics when the anisotropic principal
pressures are proportional to the density. We expect distortions and
anisotropies to be significantly amplified through a simple cosmological bounce
in cyclic or ekpyrotic cosmologies when ultra-stiff pressures are present.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure
Planck's scale dissipative effects in atom interferometry
Atom interferometers can be used to study phenomena leading to
irreversibility and dissipation, induced by the dynamics of fundamental objects
(strings and branes) at a large mass scale. Using an effective, but physically
consistent description in terms of a master equation of Lindblad form, the
modifications of the interferometric pattern induced by the new phenomena are
analyzed in detail. We find that present experimental devices can in principle
provide stringent bounds on the new effects.Comment: 12 pages, plain-Te
A covariant and gauge-invariant analysis of cosmic microwave background anisotropies from scalar perturbations
We present a new, fully covariant and manifestly gauge-invariant expression
for the temperature anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation
resulting from scalar perturbations. We pay particular attention to gauge
issues such as the definition of the temperature perturbation and the placing
of the last scattering surface. In the instantaneous recombination
approximation, the expression may be integrated up to a Rees-Sciama term for
arbitrary matter descriptions in flat, open and closed universes. We discuss
the interpretation of our result in the baryon-dominated limit using numerical
solutions for conditions on the last scattering surface, and confirm that for
adiabatic perturbations the dominant contribution to the anisotropy on
intermediate scales (the location of the Doppler peaks) may be understood in
terms of the spatial inhomogeneity of the radiation temperature in the baryon
rest frame. Finally, we show how this term enters the usual Sachs-Wolfe type
calculations (it is rarely seen in such analyses) when subtle gauge effects at
the last scattering surface are treated correctly.Comment: 20 pages, 2 Postscript figure
Dynamical Formation of Horizons in Recoiling D Branes
A toy calculation of string/D-particle interactions within a world-sheet
approach indicates that quantum recoil effects - reflecting the gravitational
back-reaction on space-time foam due to the propagation of energetic particles
- induces the appearance of a microscopic event horizon, or `bubble', inside
which stable matter can exist. The scattering event causes this horizon to
expand, but we expect quantum effects to cause it to contract again, in a
`bounce' solution. Within such `bubbles', massless matter propagates with an
effective velocity that is less than the velocity of light in vacuo, which may
lead to observable violations of Lorentz symmetry that may be tested
experimentally. The conformal invariance conditions in the interior geometry of
the bubbles select preferentially three for the number of the spatial
dimensions, corresponding to a consistent formulation of the interaction of D3
branes with recoiling D particles, which are allowed to fluctuate independently
only on the D3-brane hypersurface.Comment: 25 pages LaTeX, 4 eps figures include
Magnetized Tolman-Bondi Collapse
We investigate the gravitational implosion of magnetized matter by studying
the inhomogeneous collapse of a weakly magnetized Tolman-Bondi spacetime. The
role of the field is analyzed by looking at the convergence of neighboring
particle worldlines. In particular, we identify the magnetically related
stresses in the Raychaudhuri equation and use the Tolman-Bondi metric to
evaluate their impact on the collapsing dust. We find that, despite the low
energy level of the field, the Lorentz force dominates the advanced stages of
the collapse, leading to a strongly anisotropic contraction. In addition, of
all the magnetic stresses, those that resist the collapse are found to grow
faster.Comment: 6 pages, RevTex; v2: physical interpretation of the results slightly
changed, references added, version accepted in Phys. Rev. D (2006
Thermal properties of spacetime foam
Spacetime foam can be modeled in terms of nonlocal effective interactions in
a classical nonfluctuating background. Then, the density matrix for the
low-energy fields evolves, in the weak-coupling approximation, according to a
master equation that contains a diffusion term. Furthermore, it is argued that
spacetime foam behaves as a quantum thermal field that, apart from inducing
loss of coherence, gives rise to effects such as gravitational Lamb and Stark
shifts as well as quantum damping in the evolution of the low-energy
observables. These effects can be, at least in principle, experimentally
tested.Comment: RevTeX 3.01, 11 pages, no figure
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