6,787 research outputs found
Capture of non-relativistic particles in eccentric orbits by a Kerr black hole
We obtain approximate analytic expressions for the critical value of the
total angular momentum of a non-relativistic test particle moving in the Kerr
geometry, such that it will be captured by the black hole. The expressions
apply to arbitrary orbital inclinations, and are accurate over the entire range
of angular momentum for the Kerr black hole. The expressions can be easily
implemented in N-body simulations of the evolution of star clusters around
massive galactic black holes, where such captures play an important role.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, published versio
Figures of merit and constraints from testing General Relativity using the latest cosmological data sets including refined COSMOS 3D weak lensing
We use cosmological constraints from current data sets and a figure of merit
(FoM) approach to probe any deviations from general relativity (GR) at
cosmological scales. The FoM approach is used to study the constraining power
of various combinations of data sets on modified gravity (MG) parameters. We
use recently refined HST-COSMOS weak-lensing tomography data, ISW-galaxy cross
correlations from 2MASS and SDSS LRG surveys, matter power spectrum from
SDSS-DR7 (MPK), WMAP7 temperature and polarization spectra, BAO from 2DF and
SDSS-DR7, and Union2 compilation of supernovae, in addition to other bounds
from H_0 measurements and BBN. We use 3 parametrizations of MG parameters that
enter the perturbed field equations. In order to allow for variations with
redshift and scale, the first 2 parametrizations use recently suggested
functional forms while the third is based on binning methods. Using the first
parametrization, we find that CMB + ISW + WL provides the strongest constraints
on MG parameters followed by CMB+WL or CMB+MPK+ISW. Using the second
parametrization or binning methods, CMB+MPK+ISW consistently provides some of
the strongest constraints. This shows that the constraints are parametrization
dependent. We find that adding up current data sets does not improve
consistently uncertainties on MG parameters due to tensions between best-fit MG
parameters preferred by different data sets. Furthermore, some functional forms
imposed by the parametrizations can lead to an exacerbation of these tensions.
Next, unlike some studies that used the CFHTLS lensing data, we do not find any
deviation from GR using the refined HST-COSMOS data, confirming previous claims
in those studies that their result may have been due to some systematic effect.
Finally, we find in all cases that the values corresponding to GR are within
the 95% confidence level contours for all data set combinations. (abridged)Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, matches version published in PR
Multimetric extension of the PPN formalism: experimental consistency of repulsive gravity
Recently we discussed a multimetric gravity theory containing several copies
of standard model matter each of which couples to its own metric tensor. This
construction contained dark matter sectors interacting repulsively with the
visible matter sector, and was shown to lead to cosmological late-time
acceleration. In order to test the theory with high-precision experiments
within the solar system we here construct a simple extension of the
parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism for multimetric gravitational
backgrounds. We show that a simplified version of this extended formalism
allows the computation of a subset of the PPN parameters from the linearized
field equations. Applying the simplified formalism we find that the PPN
parameters of our theory do not agree with the observed values, but we are able
to improve the theory so that it becomes consistent with experiments of
post-Newtonian gravity and still features its promising cosmological
properties.Comment: 19 pages, no figures, journal versio
Post-Newtonian constraints on f(R) cosmologies in metric formalism
We compute the complete post-Newtonian limit of the metric form of f(R)
gravities using a scalar-tensor representation. By comparing the predictions of
these theories with laboratory and solar system experiments, we find a set of
inequalities that any lagrangian f(R) must satisfy. The constraints imposed by
those inequalities allow us to find explicit bounds to the possible nonlinear
terms of the lagrangian. We conclude that the lagrangian f(R) must be almost
linear in R and that corrections that grow at low curvatures are incompatible
with observations. This result shows that modifications of gravity at very low
cosmic densities cannot be responsible for the observed cosmic speed-up.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, revtex
The Newtonian limit at intermediate energies
We study the metric solutions for the gravitational equations in Modified
Gravity Models (MGMs). In models with negative powers of the scalar curvature,
we show that the Newtonian Limit (NL) is well defined as a limit at
intermediate energies, in contrast with the usual low energy interpretation.
Indeed, we show that the gravitational interaction is modified at low densities
or low curvatures.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX 4; minor typos corrected, one reference adde
Constraints on a New Post-General Relativity Cosmological Parameter
A new cosmological variable is introduced which characterizes the degree of
departure from Einstein's General Relativity (GR) with a cosmological constant.
The new parameter, \varpi, is the cosmological analog of \gamma, the
parametrized post-Newtonian variable which measures the amount of spacetime
curvature per unit mass. In the cosmological context, \varpi measures the
difference between the Newtonian and longitudinal potentials in response to the
same matter sources, as occurs in certain scalar-tensor theories of gravity.
Equivalently, \varpi measures the scalar shear fluctuation in a dark energy
component. In the context of a "vanilla" LCDM background cosmology, a non-zero
\varpi signals a departure from GR or a fluctuating cosmological constant.
Using a phenomenological model for the time evolution \varpi=\varpi_0
\rho_{DE}/\rho_{M} which depends on the ratio of energy density in the
cosmological constant to the matter density at each epoch, it is shown that the
observed cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature anisotropies limit the
overall normalization constant to be -0.4 < \varpi_0 < 0.1 at the 95%
confidence level. Existing measurements of the cross-correlations of the CMB
with large-scale structure further limit \varpi_0 > -0.2 at the 95% CL. In the
future, integrated Sachs-Wolfe and weak lensing measurements can more tightly
constrain \varpi_0, providing a valuable clue to the nature of dark energy and
the validity of GR.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; added reference
Cerenkov's Effect and Neutrino Oscillations in Loop Quantum Gravity
Bounds on the scale parameter {\cal L} arising in loop quantum gravity theory
are derived in the framework of Cerenkov's effect and neutrino oscillations.
Assuming that {\cal L} is an universal constant, we infer {\cal L}>
10^{-18}eV^{-1}, a bound compatible with ones inferred in different physical
context.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, in print on MPL
Solar system tests of scalar field models with an exponential potential
We consider a scenario where a scalar field has dynamics ruled by an
exponential potential, such as those arising from some quintessence type
models, and aim at obtaining phenomenological manifestations of this entity
within our Solar System. To do so, we assume a perturbative regime, derive the
perturbed Schwarzschild metric, and extract the relevant post-Newtonian
parameters.Comment: 5 page
Probing Gravity with Spacetime Sirens
A gravitational observatory such as LISA will detect coalescing pairs of
massive black holes, accurately measure their luminosity distance and help
identify a host galaxy or an electromagnetic counterpart. If dark energy is a
manifestation of modified gravity on large scales, gravitational waves from
cosmologically-distant spacetime sirens are direct probes of this new physics.
For example, a gravitational Hubble diagram based on black hole pair luminosity
distances and host galaxy redshifts could reveal a large distance
extra-dimensional leakage of gravity. Various additional signatures may be
expected in a gravitational signal propagated over cosmological scales.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Limit to General Relativity in f(R) theories of gravity
We discuss two aspects of f(R) theories of gravity in metric formalism. We
first study the reasons to introduce a scalar-tensor representation for these
theories and the behavior of this representation in the limit to General
Relativity, f(R)--> R. We find that the scalar-tensor representation is well
behaved even in this limit. Then we work out the exact equations for
spherically symmetric sources using the original f(R) representation, solve the
linearized equations, and compare our results with recent calculations of the
literature. We observe that the linearized solutions are strongly affected by
the cosmic evolution, which makes very unlikely that the cosmic speedup be due
to f(R) models with correcting terms relevant at low curvatures.Comment: 8 pages; small changes to match published version (some comments,
references added, title corrected); to appear in Phys.Rev.
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