Canonical Quantization of Spherically Symmetric Dust Collapse

Quantum gravity effects are likely to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of gravitational collapse during its final stages. In this contribution we will outline a canonical quantization of the LeMaitre-Tolman-Bondi models, which describe the collapse of spherical, inhomogeneous, non-rotating dust. Although there are many models of gravitational collapse, this particular class of models stands out for its simplicity and the fact that both black holes and naked singularity end states may be realized on the classical level, depending on the initial conditions. We will obtain the appropriate Wheeler-DeWitt equation and then solve it exactly, after regularization on a spatial lattice. The solutions describe Hawking radiation and provide an elegant microcanonical description of black hole entropy, but they raise other questions, most importantly concerning the nature of gravity's fundamental degrees of freedom.Comment: 19 pages no figures. Contribution to a festschrift in honor of Joshua N. Goldber

Do Naked Singularities Form?

A naked singularity is formed by the collapse of a Sine-Gordon soliton in 1+1 dimensional dilaton gravity with a negative cosmological constant. We examine the quantum stress tensor resulting from the formation of the singularity. Consistent boundary conditions require that the incoming soliton is accompanied by a flux of incoming radiation across past null infinity, but neglecting the back reaction of the spacetime leads to the absurd conclusion that the total energy entering the system by the time the observer is able to receive information from the singularity is infinite. We conclude that the back reaction must prevent the formation of the naked singularity.Comment: 7 pages (21 Kb), PHYZZX. Revised version to appear in Class. & Quant. Grav. Letts. A discussion of the consistency of the Sine-Gordon model is include

Non-Markovian Dynamics of Charge Carriers in Quantum Dots

We have investigated the dynamics of bound particles in multilevel current-carrying quantum dots. We look specifically in the regime of resonant tunnelling transport, where several channels are available for transport. Through a non-Markovian formalism under the Born approximation, we investigate the real-time evolution of the confined particles including transport-induced decoherence and relaxation. In the case of a coherent superposition between states with different particle number, we find that a Fock-space coherence may be preserved even in the presence of tunneling into and out of the dot. Real-time results are presented for various asymmetries of tunneling rates into different orbitals.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, International Workshop on Physics-Based Mathematical Models for Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Nanostructures. BIRS, November 18-23, 200

Quantum Gravitational Collapse and Hawking Radiation in 2+1 Dimensions

We develop the canonical theory of gravitational collapse in 2+1 dimensions with a negative cosmological constant and obtain exact solutions of the Wheeler--DeWitt equation regularized on a lattice. We employ these solutions to derive the Hawking radiation from black holes formed in all models of dust collapse. We obtain an (approximate) Planck spectrum near the horizon characterized by the Hawking temperature $T_{\mathrm H}=\hbar\sqrt{G\Lambda M}/2\pi$, where $M$ is the mass of a black hole that is presumed to form at the center of the collapsing matter cloud and $-\Lambda$ is the cosmological constant. Our solutions to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation are exact, so we are able to reliably compute the greybody factors that result from going beyond the near horizon region.Comment: 27 pages, no figure

The Quantum Stress-Tensor in Self-Similar Spherical Dust Collapse

We calculate the quantum stress tensor for a massless scalar field in the 2-d self-similar spherical dust collapse model which admits a naked singularity. We find that the outgoing radiation flux diverges on the Cauchy horizon. This may have two consequences. The resultant back reaction may prevent the naked singularity from forming, thus preserving cosmic censorship through quantum effects. The divergent flux may lead to an observable signature differentiating naked singularities from black holes in astrophysical observations.Comment: Latex File, 19 page

Quantum general relativity and Hawking radiation

In a previous paper we have set up the Wheeler-DeWitt equation which describes the quantum general relativistic collapse of a spherical dust cloud. In the present paper we specialize this equation to the case of matter perturbations around a black hole, and show that in the WKB approximation, the wave-functional describes an eternal black hole in equilibrium with a thermal bath at Hawking temperature.Comment: 13 pages, minor revisions in: (i) para 5 of Introduction, (ii) para following Eqn. (10). Revised version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Near-Infrared Time-Series Photometry in the Field of Cygnus OB2 Association I - Rotational Scenario For Candidate Members

In the last decades, the early pre main sequence stellar rotational evolution picture has been constrained by studies targeting different young regions at a variety of ages. Observational studies suggest a mass-rotation dependence, and for some mass ranges a connection between rotation and the presence of a circumstellar disk. Not still fully explored, though, is the role of environmental conditions on the rotational regulation. We investigate the rotational properties of candidate members of the young massive association Cygnus OB2. The Stetson variability index, Lomb-Scargle periodogram, Saunders statistics, string/rope length method, and visual verification of folded light curves were applied to select 1224 periodic variable stars. Completeness and contamination of the periodic sample was derived from Monte Carlo simulations, out of which 894 periods were considered reliable. Our study was considered reasonably complete for periods from 2 to 30 days. The general rotational scenario seen in other young regions is confirmed by Cygnus OB2 period distributions, with disked stars rotating on average slower than non-disked stars. A mass-rotation dependence was also verified, but as in NGC 6530, lower mass stars are rotating on average slower than higher mass stars, with an excess of slow rotators among the lower mass population. The effect of the environment on the rotational properties of the association was investigated by re-analysing the results while taking into account the incident UV radiation arising from O stars in the association. Results compatible with the disk-locking scenario were verified for stars with low UV incidence, but no statistical significant relation between rotation and disk presence was verified for stars with high UV incidence suggesting that massive stars can have an important role on regulating the rotation of nearby low mass stars.Comment: Submitted on December 23, 201