Tag Archives: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Gravitational Wave Eigenfrequencies from Neutrino-Driven Core-Collapse Supernovae [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16962


Core-collapse supernovae are predicted to produce gravitational waves (GWs) that may be detectable by Advanced LIGO/Virgo. These GW signals carry information from the heart of these catacylsmic events, where matter reaches nuclear densities. Recent studies have shown that it may be possible to infer properties of the proto-neutron star (PNS) via gravitational waves generated by hydrodynamic perturbations of the PNS. However, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how these relationships may change with the properties of core-collapse supernovae. In this work, we build a self-consistent suite of over 1000 exploding core-collapse supernovae from a grid of progenitor masses and metallicities combined with six different nuclear equations of state. Performing a linear perturbation analysis on each model, we compute the resonant gravitational-wave frequencies of the PNS, and we motivate a time-agnostic method for identifying characteristic frequencies of the dominant gravitational-wave emission. From this, we identify two characteristic frequencies, of the early- and late-time signal, that measure the surface gravity of the cold remnant neutron star, and simultaneously constrain the hot nuclear equation of state. However, we find that the details of the core-collapse supernova model, such as the treatment of gravity or the neutrino transport, and whether it explodes, noticeably change the magnitude and evolution of the PNS eigenfrequencies.

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N. Wolfe, C. Frohlich, J. Miller, et. al.
Fri, 31 Mar 23
23/70

Comments: 27 pages, 11 figures, submitted to ApJ

Stability investigations of isotropic and anisotropic exponential inflation in the Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17283


In this paper, we would like to examine whether a novel Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson gravity model admits exponential inflationary solutions with or without spatial anisotropies. As a result, we are able to derive exact de Sitter as well as Bianchi type I inflationary solutions to this Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson model. However, stability analysis using the dynamical system approach indicates that both of the obtained inflationary solutions turn out to be unstable. Finally, we point out that a stable de Sitter inflationary solution can be obtained by flipping the coefficient’s sign of $R^2$ term in the Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson gravity.

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T. Do, D. Nguyen and T. Pham
Fri, 31 Mar 23
24/70

Comments: 25 pages, 2 figures. Comments are welcome

A search technique to observe precessing compact binary mergers in the advanced detector era [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17364


Gravitational-wave signals from compact binary coalescences are most efficiently identified through matched filter searches, which match the data against a pre-generated bank of gravitational-wave templates. Although different techniques for performing the matched filter, as well as generating the template bank, exist, currently all modelled gravitational-wave searches use templates that restrict the component spins to be aligned (or anti-aligned) with the orbital angular momentum. This means that current searches are less sensitive to gravitational-wave signals generated from binaries with generic spins (precessing), suggesting that, potentially, a significant fraction of signals may remain undetected. In this work we introduce a matched filter search that is sensitive to signals generated from precessing binaries and can realistically be used during a gravitational-wave observing run. We take advantage of the fact that a gravitational-wave signal from a precessing binary can be decomposed into a power series of five harmonics, to show that a generic-spin template bank, which is only $\sim 3\times$ larger than existing aligned-spin banks, is needed to increase our sensitive volume by $\sim 100\%$ for neutron star black hole binaries with total mass larger than $17.5\, M_{\odot}$ and in-plane spins $>0.67$. In fact, our generic spin search performs as well as existing aligned-spin searches for neutron star black hole signals with insignificant in-plane spins, but improves sensitivity by $\sim60\%$ on average across the full generic spin parameter space. We anticipate that this improved technique will identify significantly more gravitational-wave signals, and, ultimately, help shed light on the unknown spin distribution of binaries in the universe.

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C. McIsaac, C. Hoy and I. Harry
Fri, 31 Mar 23
30/70

Comments: 23 pages, 12 figures. For data release, see this https URL

Tests of Classical Gravity with Radio Pulsars [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17185


Tests of gravity are important to the development of our understanding of gravitation and spacetime. Binary pulsars provide a superb playground for testing gravity theories. In this chapter we pedagogically review the basics behind pulsar observations and pulsar timing. We illustrate various recent strong-field tests of the general relativity (GR) from the Hulse-Taylor pulsar PSR~B1913+16, the double pulsar PSR~J0737$-$3039, and the triple pulsar PSR~J0337+1715. We also overview the inner structure of neutron stars (NSs) that may influence some gravity tests, and have used the scalar-tensor gravity and massive gravity theories as examples to demonstrate the usefulness of pulsar timing in constraining specific modified gravity theories. Outlooks to new radio telescopes for pulsar timing and synergies with other strong-field gravity tests are also presented.

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Z. Hu, X. Miao and L. Shao
Fri, 31 Mar 23
42/70

Comments: 39 pages, 8 figures; Invited chapter to the forthcoming book “Recent Progress on Gravity Tests”, Springer Singapore, (Eds) Cosimo Bambi and Alejandro Cardenas-Avendano

On the impact of $f(Q)$ gravity on the Large Scale Structure [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17341


We investigate the exponential $f(Q)$ symmetric teleparallel gravitation, namely $f(Q)=Q+\alpha Q_0(1-e^{-\beta\sqrt{Q/Q_0}})$ using \texttt{ME-GADGET} code to probe the structure formation with box sizes $L_{\mathrm{box}}=10/100$ Mpc$/h$ and middle resolution $N_p^{1/3}=512$. To reproduce viable cosmology within the aforementioned modified gravity theory, we first perform Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling on OHD/BAO/Pantheon datasets and constrain a parameter space. Furthermore, we also derive theoretical values for deceleration parameter $q(z)$, statefinder pair ${r,s}$ and effective gravitational constant $G_{\mathrm{eff}}$, perform $Om(z)$ diagnostics. While carrying out N-body+SPH simulations, we derive CDM+baryons over density/temperature/mean molecular weight fields, matter power spectrum (both 2/3D, with/without redshift space distortions), bispectrum, two-point correlation function and halo mass function. Results for small and big simulation box sizes are therefore properly compared, halo mass function is related to the Seth-Tormen theoretical prediction and matter power spectrum to the standard \texttt{CAMB} output.

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O. Sokoliuk, S. Arora, S. Praharaj, et. al.
Fri, 31 Mar 23
43/70

Comments: MNRAS accepted version

Charged Gauss-Bonnet black holes supporting non-minimally coupled scalar clouds: Analytic treatment in the near-critical regime [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16926


Recent numerical studies have revealed the physically intriguing fact that charged black holes whose charge-to-mass ratios are larger than the critical value $(Q/M){\text{crit}}=\sqrt{2(9+\sqrt{6})}/5$ can support hairy matter configurations which are made of scalar fields with a non-minimal negative coupling to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant of the curved spacetime. Using {\it analytical} techniques, we explore the physical and mathematical properties of the composed charged-black-hole-nonminimally-coupled-linearized-massless-scalar-field configurations in the near-critical $Q/M\gtrsim (Q/M){\text{crit}}$ regime. In particular, we derive an analytical resonance formula that describes the charge-dependence of the dimensionless coupling parameter $\bar\eta_{\text{crit}}=\bar\eta_{\text{crit}}(Q/M)$ of the composed Einstein-Maxwell-nonminimally-coupled-scalar-field system along the {\it existence-line} of the theory, a critical border that separates bald Reissner-Nordstr\”om black holes from hairy charged-black-hole-scalar-field configurations. In addition, it is explicitly shown that the large-coupling $-\bar\eta_{\text{crit}}(Q/M)\gg1$ analytical results derived in the present paper for the composed Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory agree remarkably well with direct numerical computations of the corresponding black-hole-field resonance spectrum.

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S. Hod
Fri, 31 Mar 23
48/70

Comments: 8 pages

Primordial black holes and stochastic inflation beyond slow roll: I — noise matrix elements [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17375


Primordial Black Holes (PBHs) may form in the early Universe, from the gravitational collapse of large density perturbations, generated by large quantum fluctuations during inflation. Since PBHs form from rare over-densities, their abundance is sensitive to the tail of the primordial probability distribution function (PDF) of the perturbations. It is therefore important to calculate the full PDF of the perturbations, which can be done non-perturbatively using the ‘stochastic inflation’ framework. In single field inflation models generating large enough perturbations to produce an interesting abundance of PBHs requires violation of slow roll. It is therefore necessary to extend the stochastic inflation formalism beyond slow roll. A crucial ingredient for this are the stochastic noise matrix elements of the inflaton potential. We carry out analytical and numerical calculations of these matrix elements for a potential with a feature which violates slow roll and produces large, potentially PBH generating, perturbations. We find that the transition to an ultra slow-roll phase results in the momentum induced noise terms becoming larger than the field noise whilst each of them falls exponentially for a few e-folds. The noise terms then start rising with their original order restored, before approaching constant values which depend on the nature of the slow roll parameters in the post transition epoch. This will significantly impact the quantum diffusion of the coarse-grained inflaton field, and hence the PDF of the perturbations and the PBH mass fraction.

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S. Mishra, E. Copeland and A. Green
Fri, 31 Mar 23
53/70

Comments: 47 pages, 8 figures

Imaging compact boson stars with hot-spots and thin accretion disks [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17296


In this work we consider the observational properties of compact boson stars with self-interactions orbited by isotropically emitting (hot-spot) sources and optically thin accretion disks. We consider two families of boson stars supported by quartic and sixth-order self-interaction potentials, and choose three samples of each of them in growing compactness; only those with large enough compactness are capable to hold light-rings, namely, null bound orbits. For the hot-spots, using inclination angles $\theta={20^\circ, 50^\circ, 80^\circ }$ we find a secondary track plunge-through image of photons crossing the interior of the boson star, which can be further decomposed into additional images if the star is compact enough. For accretion disks we find that the latter class of stars actually shows a sequence of additional secondary images in agreement with the hot-spot analysis, a feature absent in typical black hole space-times. Furthermore, we also find a shadow-like central brightness depression for some of these stars in both axial observations and at the inclination angles above. We discuss our findings in relation to the capability of boson stars to effectively act as black hole mimickers in their optical appearances as well as potential observational discriminators.

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J. Rosa, C. Macedo and D. Rubiera-Garcia
Fri, 31 Mar 23
66/70

Comments: 17 pages, 16 figures

Planetary seismology as a test of modified gravity proposals [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.17213


We demonstrate that it is possible to test models of gravity, such as Palatini $f(R)$ and Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld models, using seismic data from Earth. By incorporating additional limitations on Earth’s moment of inertia and mass given from observational data, the models’ parameters can be restricted to a $2\sigma$ level of accuracy. Our novel tool provides that $\beta\lesssim 10^9 \text{m}^2$ for Palatini and $\epsilon\lesssim 4\cdot 10^9 \text{m}^2$ for Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. We also discuss further enhancements to the proposed method, aimed at imposing even more stringent constraints on modified gravity proposals.

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A. Kozak and A. Wojnar
Fri, 31 Mar 23
67/70

Comments: 10 pages, 3 figures

Exact solutions and cosmological constraints in fractional cosmology [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16409


This paper investigates exact solutions of cosmological interest in fractional cosmology. Given $\mu$, the order of the fractional derivative, and $w$, the matter equation of state, we present particular exact power-law solutions. We discuss the exact general solution of the system obtained by solving a Riccati Equation, where the solution for the scale factor is a combination of power-law. Using cosmological data, we estimate the free parameters $(\alpha_0, \mu)$, where $H_{0}=100\frac{\text{km/s}}{\text{Mpc}}h$, and $\alpha_0:=t_0 H_0 = \frac{1}{6} \left(9 -2 \mu +\sqrt{8 \mu (2 \mu -9)+105}\right)(1+ 2 \epsilon_0)$, is the current age parameter. The joint analysis with data from SNe Ia + OHD leads to $h=0.684_{-0.027}^{+0.031}$, $\mu=1.840_{-0.773}^{+1.446}$ and $\epsilon_0=\left(1.213_{-1.057}^{+0.482}\right)\times 10^{-2}$, where the best-fit values are calculated at $3\sigma$ CL. On the other hand, these best-fit values lead to an age of the Universe with a value of $t_0=\alpha_0/H_0=25.62_{-4.46}^{+6.89}\;\text{Gyrs}$, a current deceleration parameter of $q_{0}=-0.37_{-0.11}^{+0.08}$, both at $3\sigma$ CL, and a current matter density parameter of $\Omega_{m,0}=0.531_{-0.260}^{+0.195}$ at $1\sigma$ CL. Finding a Universe roughly twice older as the one of $\Lambda$CDM is a distinction of Fractional Cosmology. Focusing our analysis on these results, we can conclude that the region in which $\mu>2$ is not ruled out by observations. This region of a parameter is relevant because, in the absence of matter, fractional cosmology gives a power-law solution $a(t)= \left(t/t_0\right)^{\mu-1}$, which is accelerated for $\mu>2$. We present a fractional origin model that leads to an accelerated state without appealing to $\Lambda$ or Dark Energy.

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E. González, G. Leon and G. Fernandez-Anaya
Thu, 30 Mar 23
21/66

Comments: 51 pages, 10 figures

Convolutional neural network search for long-duration transient gravitational waves from glitching pulsars [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16720


Machine learning can be a powerful tool to discover new signal types in astronomical data. We here apply it to search for long-duration transient gravitational waves triggered by pulsar glitches, which could yield physical insight into the mostly unknown depths of the pulsar. Current methods to search for such signals rely on matched filtering and a brute-force grid search over possible signal durations, which is sensitive but can become very computationally expensive. We develop a method to search for post-glitch signals on combining matched filtering with convolutional neural networks, which reaches similar sensitivities to the standard method at false-alarm probabilities relevant for practical searches, while being significantly faster. We specialize to the Vela glitch during the LIGO-Virgo O2 run, and set upper limits on the gravitational-wave strain amplitude from the data of the two LIGO detectors for both constant-amplitude and exponentially decaying signals.

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L. Modafferi, R. Tenorio and D. Keitel
Thu, 30 Mar 23
28/66

Comments: 19 pages, 9 figures. Comments welcome

Science with the Einstein Telescope: a comparison of different designs [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15923


The Einstein Telescope (ET), the European project for a third-generation gravitational-wave detector, has a reference configuration based on a triangular shape consisting of three nested detectors with 10 km arms, where in each arm there is a xylophone' configuration made of an interferometer tuned toward high frequencies, and an interferometer tuned toward low frequencies and working at cryogenic temperature. Here, we examine the scientific perspectives under possible variations of this reference design. We perform a detailed evaluation of the science case for a single triangular geometry observatory, and we compare it with the results obtained for a network of two L-shaped detectors (either parallel or misaligned) located in Europe, considering different choices of arm-length for both the triangle and the 2L geometries. We also study how the science output changes in the absence of the low-frequency instrument, both for the triangle and the 2L configurations. We examine a broad class of simplemetrics’ that quantify the science output, related to compact binary coalescences, multi-messenger astronomy and stochastic backgrounds, and we then examine the impact of different detector designs on a more specific set of scientific objectives.

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M. Branchesi, M. Maggiore, D. Alonso, et. al.
Thu, 30 Mar 23
36/66

Comments: 197 pages, 72 figures

Inferring, not just detecting: metrics for high-redshift sources observed with third-generation gravitational-wave detectors [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16323


The detection of black-hole binaries at high redshifts is a cornerstone of the science case of third-generation gravitational-wave interferometers. The star-formation rate peaks at z~2 and decreases by orders of magnitude by z~10. Any confident detection of gravitational waves from such high redshifts would imply either the presence of stars formed from pristine material originating from cosmological nucleosynthesis (the so-called population III stars), or black holes that are the direct relics of quantum fluctuations in the early Universe (the so-called primordial black holes). Crucially, detecting sources at cosmological distances does not imply inferring that sources are located there, with the latter posing more stringent requirements. To this end, we present two figures of merit, which we refer to as “z-z plot” and “inference horizon”, that quantify the largest redshift one can possibly claim a source to be beyond. We argue that such inference requirements, in addition to detection requirements, should be investigated when quantifying the scientific payoff of future gravitational-wave facilities.

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M. Mancarella, F. Iacovelli and D. Gerosa
Thu, 30 Mar 23
38/66

Comments: 6 pages, 4 figures

Pitfalls in applying gravitomagnetism to galactic rotation curve modelling [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16679


The flatness of galaxy rotation curves at large radii is generally considered to be a significant piece of evidence in support of the existence of dark matter. Several studies have claimed that post-Newtonian corrections to the Newtonian equations of galaxy dynamics remove the need for dark matter. A few recent studies have examined these claims, and identified errors in their reasoning. We add to this critique by giving what we consider to be particularly simple and transparent description of the errors made in these post-Newtonian calculations, some of which were of a rather technical nature, others more fundamental, e.g. the loss of the correct relativistic scaling, promoting small corrections to order unity changes. Our work reinforces the orthodoxy that post-Newtonian effects are indeed too small to significantly alter galactic rotation curves, and will hopefully serve as a useful guide for others, pointing out subtle errors that one might inadvertently make in such calculations.

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K. Glampedakis and D. Jones
Thu, 30 Mar 23
45/66

Comments: 10 pages

Dynamics of Binary System around Supermassive Black Hole [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16553


We discuss motion of a binary system around a supermassive black hole. Using Fermi-Walker transport, we construct a local inertial reference frame and set up a Newtonian binary system. Assuming a circular geodesic observer around a Schwarzschild black hole, we write down the equations of motion of a binary. Introducing a small acceleration of the observer, we remove the interaction terms between the center of mass (CM) of a binary and its relative coordinates. The CM follows the observer’s orbit, but its motion deviates from an exact circular geodesic. We first solve the relative motion of a binary system, and then find the motion of the CM by the perturbation equations with the small acceleration.
We show that there appears the Kozai-Lidov (KL) oscillations when a binary is compact and the initial inclination is larger than a critical angle. In a hard binary system, KL oscillations are regular, whereas in a soft binary system, oscillations are irregular both in period and in amplitude, although stable. We find an orbital flip when the initial inclination is large. As for the motion of the CM, the radial deviations from a circular orbit become stable oscillations with very small amplitude.

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K. Maeda, P. Gupta and H. Okawa
Thu, 30 Mar 23
49/66

Comments: 33 pages,12 figures, 2 tables

Scalar induced gravitational waves in modified teleparallel gravity theories [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16695


Primordial black holes (PBHs) forming out of the collapse of enhanced cosmological perturbations provide access to the early Universe through their associated observational signatures. In particular, enhanced cosmological perturbations collapsing to form PBHs are responsible for the generation of a stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) induced by second-order gravitational interactions, usually called scalar induced gravitational waves (SIGWs). This SGWB is sensitive to the underlying gravitational theory; hence it can be used as a novel tool to test the standard paradigm of gravity and constrain possible deviations from general relativity. In this work, we study the aforementioned GW signal within modified teleparallel gravity theories, developing a formalism for the derivation of the GW spectral abundance within any form of gravitational action. At the end, working within viable $f(T,\phi)$ models without matter-gravity couplings, and accounting for the effect of mono-parametric $f(T)$ gravity at the level of the source and the propagation of the tensor perturbations, we show that the respective GW signal is indistinguishable from that within GR. Interestingly, we find that in order to break the degeneracy between different $f(T)$ theories through the portal of SIGWs one should necessarily consider non-minimal matter-gravity couplings at the level of the gravitational action.

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C. Tzerefos, T. Papanikolaou, E. Saridakis, et. al.
Thu, 30 Mar 23
64/66

Comments: 16 pages without appendices (24 in total), 2 figures

Fast radio burst energy function in the presence of $\rm DM_{host}$ variation [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16775


Fast radio bursts (FRBs) have been found in great numbers but the physical mechanism of these sources is still a mystery. The redshift evolutions of the FRB energy distribution function and the volumetric rate shed light on revealing the origin of the FRBs. However, such estimations rely on the dispersion measurement (DM)-redshift ($z$) relationship. A few of FRBs detected recently show large excess DM beyond the expectation from the cosmological and Milky Way contributions, which indicates large spread of DM from their host galaxies. In this work, we adopt the lognormal distributed $\rm DM_{host}$ model and estimate the energy function using the non-repeating FRBs selected from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME)/FRB Catalog 1. By comparing the lognormal distributed $\rm DM_{host}$ model to the constant $\rm DM_{host}$ model, the FRB energy function results are consistent within the measurement uncertainty. We also estimate the volumetric rate of the non-repeating FRBs in three different redshift bins. The volumetric rate shows that the trend is consistent with the stellar-mass density redshift evolution. Since the lognormal distributed $\rm DM_{host}$ model increases the measurement errors, the inference of FRBs tracking the stellar-mass density is nonetheless undermined.

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Y. Li, J. Zou, J. Zhang, et. al.
Thu, 30 Mar 23
65/66

Comments: 8 pages, 5 figures

Synchronous coordinates and gauge-invariant observables in cosmological spacetimes [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16218


We consider the relational approach to construct gauge-invariant observables in cosmological perturbation theory using synchronous coordinates. We construct dynamical synchronous coordinates as non-local scalar functionals of the metric perturbation in the fully non-linear theory in an arbitrary gauge. We show that the observables defined in this dynamical coordinate system are gauge-independent, and that the full perturbed metric has the expected form in these coordinates. Our construction generalises the familiar synchronous gauge in linearised gravity, widely used in cosmological perturbation theory, to the non-linear theory. We also work out the expressions for the gauge-invariant Einstein equations, sourced either by an ideal fluid or a scalar field up to second order in perturbation theory, and give explicit expressions for the Hubble rate — as measured by synchronous observers or by observers co-moving with the matter field — up to that order. Finally, we consider quantised linear perturbations around Minkowski and de Sitter backgrounds, and compute the two-point function of the gauge-invariant metric perturbation in synchronous coordinates, starting with two-point function in a general linear covariant gauge. Although the gauge-fixed two-point function contains gauge modes, we show that the resulting gauge-invariant two-point function only contains the physical tensor modes and it is thus positive, i.e., it has a spectral representation.

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M. Fröb and W. Lima
Thu, 30 Mar 23
66/66

Comments: 52 pages. Comments are welcome

The Decoupling of Binaries from Their Circumbinary Disks [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16204


We have investigated, both analytically and numerically, accreting supermassive black hole binaries as they inspiral due to gravitational radiation to elucidate the decoupling of binaries from their disks and inform future multi-messenger observations of these systems. Our numerical studies evolve equal-mass binaries from initial separations of $100 GM/c^2$ until merger, resolving scales as small as $\sim0.04 GM/c^2$, where $M$ is the total binary mass. Our simulations accurately capture the point at which the orbital evolution of each binary decouples from that of their circumbinary disk, and precisely resolve the flow of gas throughout the inspiral. We demonstrate analytically and numerically that timescale-based predictions overestimate the binary separations at which decoupling occurs by factors of $\sim3$, and illustrate the utility of a velocity-based decoupling criterion. High-viscosity ($\nu\gtrsim0.03 GM/c$) circumbinary systems decouple late ($a_b\lesssim 15 GM/c^2$) and have qualitatively similar morphologies near merger to circumbinary systems with constant binary separations. Lower-viscosity circumbinary disks decouple earlier and exhibit qualitatively different accretion flows, which lead to precipitously decreasing accretion onto the binary. If detected, such a decrease may unambiguously identify the host galaxy of an ongoing event within a LISA error volume. We illustrate how accretion amplitude and variability evolve as binaries gradually decouple from their circumbinary disks, and where decoupling occurs over the course of binary inspirals in the LISA band. We show that, even when dynamically negligible, gas may leave a detectable imprint on the phase of gravitational waves.

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A. Dittmann, G. Ryan and M. Miller
Wed, 29 Mar 23
20/73

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to ApJL, comments welcome

Stochastic gravitational wave background reconstruction for a non-equilateral and unequal-noise LISA constellation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15929


We explore the impact of choosing different sets of Time-Delay Interferometry (TDI) variables for detecting and reconstructing Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background (SGWB) signals and estimating the instrumental noise in LISA. Most works in the literature build their data analysis pipelines relying on a particular set of TDI channels, the so-called AET variables, which are orthogonal under idealized conditions. By relaxing the assumption of a perfectly equilateral LISA configuration, we investigate to which degree these channels remain orthogonal and compare them to other TDI channels. We show that different sets of TDI variables are more robust under perturbations of the perfect equilateral configuration, better preserving their orthogonality and, thus, leading to a more accurate estimate of the instrumental noise. Moreover, we investigate the impact of considering the noise levels associated with each instrumental noise source to be independent of one another, generalizing the analysis from two to twelve noise parameters. We find that, in this scenario, the assumption of orthogonality is broken for all the TDI variables, leading to a misestimation of measurement error for some of the noise parameters. Remarkably, we find that for a flat power-law signal, the reconstruction of the signal parameters is nearly unaffected in these various configurations.

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O. Hartwig, M. Lilley, M. Muratore, et. al.
Wed, 29 Mar 23
31/73

Comments: 31 pages, 13 figures, and supplementary material

Abell 1201: Detection of an Ultramassive Black Hole in a Strong Gravitational Lens [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15514


Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are a key catalyst of galaxy formation and evolution, leading to an observed correlation between SMBH mass $M_{\rm BH}$ and host galaxy velocity dispersion $\sigma_{\rm e}$. Outside the local Universe, measurements of $M_{\rm BH}$ are usually only possible for SMBHs in an active state: limiting sample size and introducing selection biases. Gravitational lensing makes it possible to measure the mass of non-active SMBHs. We present models of the $z=0.169$ galaxy-scale strong lens Abell~1201. A cD galaxy in a galaxy cluster, it has sufficient `external shear’ that a magnified image of a $z = 0.451$ background galaxy is projected just $\sim 1$ kpc from the galaxy centre. Using multi-band Hubble Space Telescope imaging and the lens modeling software $\texttt{PyAutoLens}$ we reconstruct the distribution of mass along this line of sight. Bayesian model comparison favours a point mass with $M_{\rm BH} = 3.27 \pm 2.12\times10^{10}\,$M${\rm \odot}$ (3$\sigma$ confidence limit); an ultramassive black hole. One model gives a comparable Bayesian evidence without a SMBH, however we argue this model is nonphysical given its base assumptions. This model still provides an upper limit of $M{\rm BH} \leq 5.3 \times 10^{10}\,$M${\rm \odot}$, because a SMBH above this mass deforms the lensed image $\sim 1$ kpc from Abell 1201’s centre. This builds on previous work using central images to place upper limits on $M{\rm BH}$, but is the first to also place a lower limit and without a central image being observed. The success of this method suggests that surveys during the next decade could measure thousands more SMBH masses, and any redshift evolution of the $M_{\rm BH}$–$\sigma_{\rm e}$ relation. Results are available at https://github.com/Jammy2211/autolens_abell_1201.

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J. Nightingale, R. Smith, Q. He, et. al.
Wed, 29 Mar 23
32/73

Comments: Accepted in MNRAS, 27 pages, 22 figures

pygwb: Python-based library for gravitational-wave background searches [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15696


The collection of gravitational waves (GWs) that are either too weak or too numerous to be individually resolved is commonly referred to as the gravitational-wave background (GWB). A confident detection and model-driven characterization of such a signal will provide invaluable information about the evolution of the Universe and the population of GW sources within it. We present a new, user-friendly Python–based package for gravitational-wave data analysis to search for an isotropic GWB in ground–based interferometer data. We employ cross-correlation spectra of GW detector pairs to construct an optimal estimator of the Gaussian and isotropic GWB, and Bayesian parameter estimation to constrain GWB models. The modularity and clarity of the code allow for both a shallow learning curve and flexibility in adjusting the analysis to one’s own needs. We describe the individual modules which make up {\tt pygwb}, following the traditional steps of stochastic analyses carried out within the LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA Collaboration. We then describe the built-in pipeline which combines the different modules and validate it with both mock data and real GW data from the O3 Advanced LIGO and Virgo observing run. We successfully recover all mock data injections and reproduce published results.

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A. Renzini, A. Romero-Rodrguez, C. Talbot, et. al.
Wed, 29 Mar 23
36/73

Comments: 32 pages, 14 figures

Refining the 2022 OJ 287 impact flare arrival epoch [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15886


The bright blazar OJ~287 routinely parades high brightness bremsstrahlung flares, which are explained as being a result of a secondary supermassive black hole (SMBH) impacting the accretion disc of a more massive primary SMBH in a binary system. The accretion disc is not rigid but rather bends in a calculable way due to the tidal influence of the secondary. Below we refer to this phenomenon as a variable disc level. We begin by showing that these flares occur at times predicted by a simple analytical formula, based on general relativity inspired modified Kepler equation, which explains impact flares since 1888.
The 2022 impact flare, namely flare number 26, is rather peculiar as it breaks the typical pattern of two impact flares per 12-year cycle. This is the third bremsstrahlung flare of the current cycle that follows the already observed 2015 and 2019 impact flares from OJ~287.
It turns out that the arrival epoch of flare number 26 is sensitive to the level of primary SMBH’s accretion disc relative to its mean level in our model. We incorporate these tidally induced changes in the level of the accretion disc to infer that the thermal flare should have occurred during July-August 2022, when it was not possible to observe it from the Earth. Thereafter, we explore possible observational evidence for certain pre-flare activity by employing spectral and polarimetric data from our campaigns in 2004/05 and 2021/22. We point out theoretical and observational implications of two observed mini-flares during January-February 2022.

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M. Valtonen, S. Zola, G. Gopakumar, et. al.
Wed, 29 Mar 23
39/73

Comments: 29 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2209.08360

Squeezed bispectrum and one-loop corrections in transient constant-roll inflation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16035


In canonical single-field inflation, the production of primordial black holes (PBH) requires a transient violation of the slow-roll condition. The transient ultra slow-roll inflation is an example of such scenario, and more generally, one can consider the transient constant-roll inflation. We investigate the squeezed bispectrum in the transient constant-roll inflation, and find that the Maldacena’s consistency relation holds for a sufficiently long-wavelength mode, whereas it is violated for modes around the peak scale for the non-attractor case. We also demonstrate how the one-loop corrections are modified compared to the case of the transient ultra slow-roll inflation, focusing on representative one-loop terms orgiginating from a time derivative of the second slow-roll parameter in the cubic action. We find that the perturbativity requirement on those terms does not rule out the production of PBH from the transient constant-roll inflation. Therefore, it is a simple counterexample of the recently claimed no-go theorem of PBH production from single-field inflation.

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H. Motohashi and Y. Tada
Wed, 29 Mar 23
46/73

Comments: 26 pages, 14 figures

Scalar Love numbers and Love symmetries of 5-dimensional Myers-Perry black hole [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16036


The near-zone “Love” symmetry resolves the naturalness issue of black hole Love number vanishing with $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)$ representation theory. Here, we generalize this proposal to $5$-dimensional asymptotically flat and doubly spinning (Myers-Perry) black holes. We consider the scalar response of Myers-Perry black holes and extract its static scalar Love numbers. In agreement with the naturalness arguments, these Love numbers are, in general, non-zero and exhibit logarithmic running unless certain resonant conditions are met; these conditions include new cases with no previously known analogs. We show that there exist two near-zone truncations of the equations of motion that exhibit enhanced $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)$ Love symmetries that explain the vanishing of the static scalar Love numbers in the resonant cases. These Love symmetries can be interpreted as local $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)\times\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)$ near-zone symmetries spontaneously broken down to global $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)\times U\left(1\right)$ symmetries by the periodic identification of the azimuthal angles. We also discover an infinite-dimensional extension of the Love symmetry into $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)\ltimes\hat{U}\left(1\right)_{\mathcal{V}}^2$ that contains both Love symmetries as particular subalgebras, along with a family of $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)$ subalgebras that reduce to the exact near-horizon Myers-Perry black hole isometries in the extremal limit. Finally, we show that the Love symmetries acquire a geometric interpretation as isometries of subtracted (effective) black hole geometries that preserve the internal structure of the black hole and interpret these non-extremal $\text{SL}\left(2,\mathbb{R}\right)$ structures as remnants of the enhanced isometry of the near-horizon extremal geometries.

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P. Charalambous and M. Ivanov
Wed, 29 Mar 23
48/73

Comments: 45+16 pages, 3 Figures

Magnetised tori with magnetic polarisation around Kerr black holes: variable angular momentum discs [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15867


Analytical models of magnetised, geometrically thick discs are relevant to understand the physical conditions of plasma around compact objects and to explore its emitting properties. This has become increasingly important in recent years in the light of the Event Horizon Telescope observations of Sgr A* and M87. Models of thick discs around black holes usually consider constant angular momentum distributions and do not take into account the magnetic response of the fluid to applied magnetic fields. We present a generalisation of our previous work on stationary models of magnetised accretion discs with magnetic polarisation (Pimentel et al. 2018). This extension is achieved by accounting for non-constant specific angular momentum profiles, done through a two-parameter ansatz for those distributions. We build a large number of new equilibrium solutions of thick discs with magnetic polarisation around Kerr black holes, selecting suitable parameter values within the intrinsically substantial parameter space of the models. We study the morphology and the physical properties of those solutions, finding qualitative changes with respect to the constant angular momentum tori of (Pimentel et al. 2018). However, the dependences found on the angular momentum distribution or on the black hole spin do not seem to be strong. Some of the new solutions, however, exhibit a local maximum of the magnetisation function, absent in standard magnetised tori. Due to the enhanced development of the magneto-rotational instability as a result of magnetic susceptibility, those models might be particularly well-suited to investigate jet formation through general-relativistic MHD simulations. The new equilibrium solutions reported here can be used as initial data in numerical codes to assess the impact of magnetic susceptibility in the dynamics and observational properties of thick disc-black hole systems.

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S. Pimentel, F. Lora-Clavijo, A. Cruz-Osorio, et. al.
Wed, 29 Mar 23
49/73

Comments: 15 pages, 8 figures. Comments welcome

Shadows in dyonic Kerr-Sen black holes [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14513


Black holes with dyonic charges in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton-axion supergravity theory are revisited in the context of black hole shadows. We consider static as well as rotating (namely the dyonic Kerr-Sen) black holes. The matter stress-energy tensor components, sourced by the Maxwell, axion and dilaton fields satisfy the standard energy conditions. The analytical expressions for the horizon and the shadow radius of the static spacetimes demonstrate their dependence on $P^2+Q^2$ ($P$, $Q$ the magnetic and electric charges, respectively) and the mass parameter $M$. The shadow radius lies in the range $2M <R_{shadow}<3\sqrt{3} M$ and there is no stable photon orbit outside the horizon. Further, shadows cast by the rotating dyonic Kerr-Sen black holes are also studied and compared graphically with their Kerr-Newman and Kerr-Sen counterparts. Deviation of the shadow boundary is prominent with the variation of the magnetic charge, for the relatively slowly rotating dyonic Kerr-Sen spacetimes. We test any possible presence of a magnetic monopole charge in the backdrop of recent EHT observations for the supermassive black holes M87$^$ and Sgr A$^$. Deviation from circularity of the shadow boundary ($\Delta C$) and deviation of the average shadow radius from the Schwarzschild shadow radius (quantified as the fractional deviation parameter $\delta$) are the two observables used here. Observational bound on $\Delta C$ (available only for M87$^$) is satisfied for all theoretically allowed regions of parameter space and thus cannot constrain the parameters. The observational bound on $\delta$ available for Sgr A$^$ translates into an upper limit on any possible magnetic monopole charge linked to Sgr A$^*$ and is given as $P\lesssim 0.873\, M$. Such a constraint on $P$ is however expected to be far more stringent for other astrophysical tests.

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S. Jana and S. Kar
Tue, 28 Mar 23
2/81

Comments: 23 pages, 8 figures

Swampland Criteria and Constraints on Inflation in a $f(R,T)$ Gravity Theory [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14724


In this paper, we worked in the framework of an inflationary $f(R,T)$ theory, in the presence of a canonical scalar field. More specifically, the $f(R,T)=\gamma R+2\kappa\alpha T$ gravity. The values of the dimensionless parameters $\alpha$ and $\gamma$ are taken to be $\alpha \geq 0$ and $0 < \gamma \leq 1$. The motivation for that study was the striking similarities between the slow-roll parameters of the inflationary model used in this work and the ones obtained by the rescaled Einstein-Hilbert gravity inflation $f(R)=\alpha R$. We examined a variety of potentials to determine if they agree with the current Planck Constraints. In addition, we checked whether these models satisfy the Swampland Criteria and we specified the exact region of the parameter space that produces viable results for each model. As we mention in Section IV the inflationary $f(R,T)$ theory used in this work can not produce a positive $n_T$ which implies that the stochastic gravitational wave background will not be detectable.

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V. Oikonomou, K. Revis, I. Papadimitriou, et. al.
Tue, 28 Mar 23
22/81

Comments: IJMPD Accepted

Constraints on cosmic curvature from cosmic chronometer and quasar observations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15401


We consider cosmic chronometer (CC) data for the Hubble parameter, quasar (QSO) luminosities data of X-rays and ultraviolet rays emission, and the latest measurements of the present value of the Hubble parameter from 2018 Planck mission (PL18), and SH0ES observations (SHOES) to constrain the present value of cosmic curvature density parameter. We consider three kinds of dark energy models: the $\Lambda$CDM model, the wCDM model, and the CPL parametrization. In all these three models, we find higher values of the matter-energy density parameter, $\Omega_{\rm m0}$ compared to the one obtained from the Planck 2018 mission of CMB observation. Also, we find evidence for a nonflat and closed Universe at 0.5$\sigma$ to 3$\sigma$ confidence levels. The flat Universe is almost 2 to 3$\sigma$, 1 to 1.5$\sigma$, and 0.5 to 1$\sigma$ away from the corresponding mean values, obtained in $\Lambda$CDM model, wCDM model, and CPL parametrization respectively obtained from different combinations of datasets. The evidence for nonzero cosmic curvature is lesser in dynamical dark energy models compared to the $\Lambda$CDM model. That means the evidence of nonzero cosmic curvature depends on the behavior of the equation of state of the dark energy. Since the values of the cosmic curvature are degenerate to the equation of state of the dark energy, we also consider a model independent analysis to constrain the cosmic curvature using the combination of Gaussian process regression analysis and artificial neural networks analysis. In the model independent analysis, we also find evidence for a closed Universe, and the flat Universe is almost 1$\sigma$ away. So, both the model dependent and independent analyses favor a closed Universe from the combinations of CC, QSO, and $H_0$ observations.

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B. Dinda
Tue, 28 Mar 23
34/81

Comments: 17 pages (double column), 7 figures, 6 tables, comments are welcome

Decay of ALP Condensates via Gravitation-Induced Resonance [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14800


Oscillating scalar field condensates induce small amplitude oscillations of the Hubble parameter which can induce a decay of the condensate due to a parametric resonance instability [1]. We show that this instability can lead to the decay of the coherence of the condensate of axion-like particle (ALP) fields during the radiation phase of standard cosmology for rather generic ALP parameter values, with possible implications for certain experiments aiming to search for ALP candidates. As an example, we study the application of this instability to the QCD axion. We also study the magnitude of the induced entropy fluctuations.

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R. Brandenberger, V. Kamali and R. Ramos
Tue, 28 Mar 23
37/81

Comments: 9 pages, 2 figures

Inflationary Dynamics and Swampland Criteria for Modified Gauss-Bonnet Gravity Compatible with GW170817 [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14594


In this article we present an alternative formalism for the inflationary phenomenology of rescaled Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet models which are in agreement with the GW170817 event. By constraining the propagation velocity of primordial tensor perturbations, an approximate form for the time derivative of the scalar field coupled to the Gauss-Bonnet density is extracted. In turn, the overall degrees of freedom decrease and similar to the case of the canonical scalar field, only one scalar function needs to be designated, while the other is extracted from the continuity equation of the scalar field. We showcase explicitly that the slow-roll indices can be written in a closed form as functions of three dimensionless parameters, namely $x=\frac{1}{2\alpha}\bigg(\frac{\kappa\xi’}{\xi”}\bigg)^2$, $\beta=8H^2\xi”$ and $\gamma=\frac{\xi’\xi”’}{\xi”^2}$ and in turn, we prove that the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet model can in fact produce a blue-tilted tensor spectral index if the condition $\beta\geq1$ is satisfied, which is possible only for Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet models with $\xi”(\phi_k)>0$. Afterwards, a brief comment on the running of the spectral indices is made where it is shown that $a_{\mathcal{S}}(k_)$ and $a_{\mathcal{T}}(k_)$ in the constrained case are approximately of the order $\mathcal{O}(10^{-3})$, if not smaller. Last but not least, we examine the conditions under which the Swampland criteria are satisfied. We connect the tracking condition related to scalar field theories with the present models, and we highlight the important feature of the models we propose that the tracking condition can be satisfied only if the Swampland criteria are simultaneously satisfied, however the cases with $\xi\sim1/V$ and $\xi\sim V$ are excluded, as they cannot describe the inflationary era properly.

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S. Odintsov, V. Oikonomou and F. Fronimos
Tue, 28 Mar 23
41/81

Comments: PRD Accepted, abstract reduced due to arXiv limitations

Science opportunities with solar sailing smallsats [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14917


Recently, we witnessed how the synergy of small satellite technology and solar sailing propulsion enables new missions. Together, small satellites with lightweight instruments and solar sails offer affordable access to deep regions of the solar system, also making it possible to realize hard-to-reach trajectories that are not constrained to the ecliptic plane. Combining these two technologies can drastically reduce travel times within the solar system, while delivering robust science. With solar sailing propulsion capable of reaching the velocities of ~5-10 AU/yr, missions using a rideshare launch may reach the Jovian system in two years, Saturn in three. The same technologies could allow reaching solar polar orbits in less than two years. Fast, cost-effective, and maneuverable sailcraft that may travel outside the ecliptic plane open new opportunities for affordable solar system exploration, with great promise for heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics. Such missions could be modularized to reach different destinations with different sets of instruments. Benefiting from this progress, we present the “Sundiver” concept, offering novel possibilities for the science community. We discuss some of the key technologies, the current design of the Sundiver sailcraft vehicle and innovative instruments, along with unique science opportunities that these technologies enable, especially as this exploration paradigm evolves. We formulate policy recommendations to allow national space agencies, industry, and other stakeholders to establish a strong scientific, programmatic, and commercial focus, enrich and deepen the space enterprise and broaden its advocacy base by including the Sundiver paradigm as a part of broader space exploration efforts.

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S. Turyshev, D. Garber, L. Friedman, et. al.
Tue, 28 Mar 23
43/81

Comments: 34 pages, 12 figures, 2 tables

Chaotic dynamics of off-equatorial orbits around Pseudo-Newtonian Schwarzschild and Kerr-like compact objects surrounded by dipolar halo [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14740


In this paper, we implement a generalized pseudo-Newtonian potential and prescribe a numerical fitting formalism, to study the off-equatorial orbits inclined at a certain angle with the equatorial plane around both Schwarzschild and Kerr-like compact object primaries surrounded by a dipolar halo of matter. The chaotic dynamics of the orbits are detailed for both non-relativistic and special-relativistic test particles. The dependence of the degree of chaos on the rotation parameter $a$ and the inclination angle $i$ is established individually using widely used indicators, such as the Poincar\’e Map and the Lyapunov Characteristic Number. We find that although the chaoticity of the orbits has a positive correlation with $i$, the growth in the chaotic behaviour is not systematic. There exists a threshold value of the inclination angle $i_{\text{c}}$, after which the degree of chaos shows a sharp increase. On the other hand, the chaoticity of the inclined orbits anti-correlates with $a$ at the lower inclination angles. At higher values of $i$, the degree of chaos is maximum for the maximally counter-rotating compact objects, though it has a weak negative, sometimes positive, correlation with $a$ at its higher values. The studies performed with several initial conditions and orbital parameters reveal the intricate nature of the system.

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S. Das and S. Roychowdhury
Tue, 28 Mar 23
49/81

Comments: 17 pages, 14 figures

The Need For Speed: Rapid Refitting Techniques for Bayesian Spectral Characterization of the Gravitational Wave Background Using PTAs [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15442


Current pulsar timing array (PTA) techniques for characterizing the spectrum of a nanohertz-frequency stochastic gravitational-wave background (SGWB) begin at the stage of timing data. This can be slow and memory intensive with computational scaling that will worsen PTA analysis times as more pulsars and observations are added. Given recent evidence for a common-spectrum process in PTA data sets and the need to understand present and future PTA capabilities to characterize the SGWB through large-scale simulations, we have developed efficient and rapid approaches that operate on intermediate SGWB analysis products. These methods refit SGWB spectral models to previously-computed Bayesian posterior estimations of the timing power spectra. We test our new methods on simulated PTA data sets and the NANOGrav $12.5$-year data set, where in the latter our refit posterior achieves a Hellinger distance from the current full production-level pipeline that is $\lesssim 0.1$. Our methods are $\sim10^2$–$10^4$ times faster than the production-level likelihood and scale sub-linearly as a PTA is expanded with new pulsars or observations. Our methods also demonstrate that SGWB spectral characterization in PTA data sets is driven by the longest-timed pulsars with the best-measured power spectral densities which is not necessarily the case for SGWB detection that is predicated on correlating many pulsars. Indeed, the common-process spectral properties found in the NANOGrav $12.5$-year data set are given by analyzing only the $\sim10$ longest-timed pulsars out of the full $45$ pulsar array, and we find that the “shallowing” of the common-process power-law model occurs when gravitational-wave frequencies higher than $\sim 50$~nanohertz are included. The implementation of our methods is openly available as a software suite to allow fast and flexible PTA SGWB spectral characterization and model selection.

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W. Lamb, S. Taylor and R. Haasteren
Tue, 28 Mar 23
50/81

Comments: 19 pages, 12 figures. Submitting to Physical Review D

Revisiting $f(R,T)$ cosmologies [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.15208


We review the status of $f(R,T)$ theories, where $T$ is the trace of the energy momentum tensor $T^{\mu\nu}$, concerning the evolution of the cosmological flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) background expansion. We start focusing on the modified Friedmann equations for the case of a minimally coupled gravitational Lagrangian of the type $f(R,T)=R +\alpha e^{\beta T} + \gamma_{n} T^{n}$. With this choice one is allowed to cover all existing proposals in the literature via four free parameters and all relevant $f(R,T)$ models as well as the $\Lambda$CDM model can be achieved in the appropriate limit. We show that in such minimally coupled case there exists a useful constraining relation between the effective fractionary total matter density with arbitrary equation of state parameter and the modified gravity parameters. Then, with this association the modified gravity sector can be independently constrained using estimations of the gas mass fraction in galaxy clusters. Using cosmological background data and demanding the universe is old enough to accommodate the existence of Galactic globular clusters with estimated age of at least $\sim 13$ Gyrs we find a narrow range of the modified gravity free parameter space in which this class of theories remains cosmologically viable. As expected, this preferred parameter space region accommodates the $\Lambda$CDM limit of $f(R,T)$ models. We also work out the non-minimally coupled case in the metric-affine formalism and find that there are no viable cosmologies in the latter situation.

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A. Jeakel, J. Silva and H. Velten
Tue, 28 Mar 23
63/81

Comments: 9 pages, 4 figures

Polarized image of equatorial emission in horizonless spacetimes: naked singularities [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14756


We study the linear polarization from the accretion disk around weakly and strongly naked Janis-Newman-Winicour singularities. We consider an analytical toy model of thin magnetized fluid ring orbiting in the equatorial plane and emitting synchrotron radiation. The observable polarized images are calculated and compared to the Schwarzschild black hole for physical parameters compatible with the radio source M87. For small inclination angles the direct images of the weakly naked singularities closely mimic the Schwarzschild black hole. The deviation in the polarization properties increases if we consider larger inclination angles or higher order images as for indirect images the polarization intensity grows several times in magnitude compared to black holes. Strongly naked singularities produce significant observational signatures already in the direct images. They create a second image of the fluid ring with times larger polarization intensity and characteristic twist of the polarization direction. Due to this additional structure they can be distinguished in polarimetric experiments.

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V. Deliyski, G. Gyulchev, P. Nedkova, et. al.
Tue, 28 Mar 23
65/81

Comments: 27 pages, 10 figures

Tracking the validity of the quasi-static and sub-horizon approximations in modified gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14251


Within the framework of modified gravity, the quasi-static and sub-horizon approximations are widely used in analyses aiming to identify departures from the concordance model at late-times. Under these approximations, it is generally assumed that time derivatives are subdominant with respect to spatial derivatives given that the relevant physical modes are those well inside the Hubble radius. Here, in the context of the effective fluid approach applied to $f(R)$ theories, we put forward a new parameterization which allows us to obtain analytical expressions for the gravitational potentials, whence for the effective dark energy perturbations. In order to track the validity of the two aforementioned approximations, we compare our results and the standard results found in the literature against full numerical solutions for two well-known toy-models; namely, the designer ($f$DES) model and the Hu-Sawicki (HS) model. We find that: $i)$ the sub-horizon approximation can be safely applied for scales $k \gtrsim 200 H_0$, $ii)$ in this “safety region”, the quasi-static approximation is a very accurate description of the late-time dynamics even when dark energy significantly contribute to the cosmic budget, $iii)$ some relevant terms were neglected in the standard procedure yielding to inaccurate results in some of the dark energy effective fluid quantities; e.g. the sound speed. Instead, our expressions show overall agreement with respect to the full solutions. Therefore, our results indirectly indicate that the effective fluid expressions derived for more general modified gravity theories, such as Horndeski, should be revisited.

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J. Orjuela-Quintana and S. Nesseris
Tue, 28 Mar 23
67/81

Comments: 27 pages, 16 figures

Measuring the speed of light with updated Hubble diagram of high-redshift standard candles [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14674


The possible time variation of the fundamental constants of nature has been an active subject of research in modern physics. In this paper, we propose a new method to investigate such possible time variation of the speed of light $c$ using the updated Hubble diagram of high-redshift standard candles including Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) and high-redshift quasars (based on UV-X relation). Our findings show that the SNe Ia Pantheon sample, combined with currently available sample of cosmic chronometers, would produce robust constraints on the speed of light at the level of $c/c_0=1.03\pm0.03$. For the Hubble diagram of UV+X ray quasars acting as a new type of standard candles, we obtain $c/c_0=1.19\pm0.07$. Therefore, our results confirm that there is no strong evidence for the deviation from the constant speed of light up to $z\sim 2$. Moreover, we discuss how our technique might be improved at much higher redshifts ($z\sim5$), focusing on future measurements of the acceleration parameter $X(z)$ with gravitational waves (GWs) from binary neutron star mergers. In particular, in the framework of the second-generation space-based GW detector, DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (DECIGO), the speed of light is expected to be constrained with the precision of $\Delta{c}/c=10^{-3}$.

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Y. Liu, S. Cao, M. Biesiada, et. al.
Tue, 28 Mar 23
72/81

Comments: 11 pages,8 figures, accepted by ApJ

The Invisible Dilaton [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14469


We analyse the dynamics of a light scalar field responsible for the $\mu$ term of the Higgs potential and coupled to matter via the Higgs-portal mechanism. We find that this dilaton model is stable under radiative corrections induced by the standard model particle masses. When the background value of the scalar field is stabilised at the minimum of the scalar potential, the scalar field fluctuations only couple quadratically to the massive fields of the standard model preventing the scalar direct decay into standard model particles. Cosmologically and prior to the electroweak symmetry breaking, the scalar field rolls down along its effective potential before eventually oscillating and settling down at the electroweak minimum. These oscillations can be at the origin of dark matter due to the initial misalignment of the scalar field compared to the electroweak minimum, and we find that, when the mass of the scalar field is less than the eV scale and acts as a condensate behaving like dark matter on large scales, the scalar particles cannot thermalise with the standard model thermal bath. As matter couples in a composition-dependent manner to the oscillating scalar, this could lead to a violation of the equivalence principle aboard satellites such as the MICROSCOPE experiment and the next generation of tests of the equivalence principle. Local gravitational tests are evaded thanks to the weakness of the quadratic coupling in the dark matter halo, and we find that, around other sources, these dilaton models could be subject to a screening akin to the symmetron mechanism.

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P. Brax, C. Burrage, J. Cembranos, et. al.
Tue, 28 Mar 23
74/81

Comments: 36 pages, 3 figures

A tight universal relation between the shape eccentricity and the moment of inertia for rotating neutron stars [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14130


Universal relations that are insensitive to the equation of state (EoS) are useful in reducing the parameter space when measuring global quantities of neutron stars (NSs). In this paper, we reveal a new universal relation that connects the eccentricity to the radius and moment of inertia of rotating NSs. We demonstrate that the universality of this relation holds for both conventional NSs and bare quark stars (QSs) in the slow rotation approximation, albeit with different relations. The maximum relative deviation is approximately $1\%$ for conventional NSs and $0.1\%$ for QSs. Additionally, we show that the universality still exists for fast-rotating NSs if we use the dimensionless spin to characterize their rotation. The new universal relation will be a valuable tool to reduce the number of parameters used to describe the shape and multipoles of rotating NSs, and it may also be used to infer the eccentricity or moment of inertia of NSs in future X-ray observations.

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Y. Gao, L. Shao and J. Steinhoff
Mon, 27 Mar 23
2/59

Comments: 6 pages, 4 figures

Convolutional Neural Networks for the classification of glitches in gravitational-wave data streams [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13917


We investigate the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (including the modern ConvNeXt network family) to classify transient noise signals (i.e.~glitches) and gravitational waves in data from the Advanced LIGO detectors. First, we use models with a supervised learning approach, both trained from scratch using the Gravity Spy dataset and employing transfer learning by fine-tuning pre-trained models in this dataset. Second, we also explore a self-supervised approach, pre-training models with automatically generated pseudo-labels. Our findings are very close to existing results for the same dataset, reaching values for the F1 score of 97.18% (94.15%) for the best supervised (self-supervised) model. We further test the models using actual gravitational-wave signals from LIGO-Virgo’s O3 run. Although trained using data from previous runs (O1 and O2), the models show good performance, in particular when using transfer learning. We find that transfer learning improves the scores without the need for any training on real signals apart from the less than 50 chirp examples from hardware injections present in the Gravity Spy dataset. This motivates the use of transfer learning not only for glitch classification but also for signal classification.

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T. Fernandes, S. Vieira, A. Onofre, et. al.
Mon, 27 Mar 23
4/59

Comments: 15 pages, 14 figures

Constraints on $f(T)$ Cosmology with Pantheon+ [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13840


$f(T)$ cosmology has shown promise in explaining aspects of cosmic evolution. In this work, we analyze constraints on leading models of $f(T)$ gravity in the context of the recently released Pantheon+ data set, together with comparisons with previous releases. We also consider other late-time data sets including cosmic chronometers and baryonic acoustic oscillation data. Our main result is that we find that the different $f(T)$ models under investigation connect to a variety of Hubble constant, which may help alleviate the cosmic tension on this parameter.

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R. Briffa, C. Escamilla-Rivera, J. Said, et. al.
Mon, 27 Mar 23
14/59

Comments: N/A

Mutual gravitational energy of homogeneous prolate spheroids. Collinear case [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13892


The problem of mutual gravitational energy $W_{mut}$ for a system of two homogeneous prolate spheroids, whose symmetry axes are on the same line, is set and solved. The method of equigravitating elements is applied, where the external potentials of three-dimensional spheroids are represented by the potentials of one-dimensional inhomogeneous focal rods. The solution of the problem is reduced to the integration of the potential of one rod over the segment of the second rod. As a result, the expression $W_{mut}$ for two prolate spheroids can be obtained in a finite analytic form through elementary functions. The force of attraction between the spheroids is found. The function $W_{mut}$ is also represented by a power series in eccentricity of the spheroids. Possible applications of the obtained results are discussed.

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B. Kondratyev, V. Kornoukhov and E. Kireeva
Mon, 27 Mar 23
25/59

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures

Non-Gaussianity in rapid-turn multi-field inflation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14156


We show that theories of inflation with multiple, rapidly turning fields can generate large amounts of non-Gaussianity. We consider a general theory with two fields, an arbitrary field-space metric, and a potential that supports sustained, rapidly turning field trajectories. Our analysis accounts for non-zero field cross-correlation and does not fix the power spectra of curvature and isocurvature perturbations to be equal at horizon crossing. Using the $\delta N$ formalism, we derive a novel, analytical formula for bispectrum generated from multi-field mixing on super-horizon scales. Rapid-turn inflation can produce a bispectrum with several potentially large contributions that are not necessarily of the local shape. We exemplify the applicability of our formula with a fully explicit model and show that the new contributions indeed can generate a large amplitude of local non-Gaussianity, $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm loc}\sim {\cal O}(1)$. These results will be important when interpreting the outcomes of future observations.

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O. Iarygina, M. Marsh and G. Salinas
Mon, 27 Mar 23
28/59

Comments: 35 pages, 6 figures

Primordial feature constraints from BOSS+eBOSS [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13946


Understanding the universe in its pristine epoch is crucial in order to obtain a concise comprehension of the late-time universe. Although current data in cosmology are compatible with Gaussian primordial perturbations whose power spectrum follows a nearly scale-invariant power law, this need not be the case when a fundamental theoretical construction is assumed. These extended models lead to sharp features in the primordial power spectrum, breaking its scale invariance. In this work, we obtain combined constraints on four primordial feature models by using the final data release of the BOSS galaxies and eBOSS quasars. By pushing towards the fundamental mode of these surveys and using the larger eBOSS volume, we were able to extend the feature parameter space (i.e. the feature frequency $\omega$) by a factor of four compared to previous analyses using BOSS. While we did not detect any significant features, we show that next-generation galaxy surveys such as DESI will improve the sensitivity to features by a factor of 7, and will also extend the parameter space by a factor of 2.5.

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T. Mergulhão, F. Beutler and J. Peacock
Mon, 27 Mar 23
50/59

Comments: 28 + 4 pages, 16 figures

Implications of Palatini gravity for inflation and beyond [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.14148


We present an introduction to cosmic inflation in the framework of Palatini gravity, which provides an intriguing alternative to the conventional metric formulation of gravity. In the latter, only the metric specifies the spacetime geometry, whereas in the former, the metric and the spacetime connection are independent variables-an option that can result in a gravity theory distinct from the metric one. In scenarios where the field(s) responsible for cosmic inflation are non-minimally coupled to gravity or the gravitational sector is extended, assumptions about the underlying gravitational degrees of freedom can have substantial implications for the observational effects of inflation. We examine this explicitly by discussing various compelling scenarios, such as Higgs inflation with non-minimal coupling to gravity, Higgs inflation with non-minimal derivative coupling, $\mathcal{R}^2$ inflation, and beyond. We also comment on reheating in these models. Finally, as an application of the general results of Palatini $\mathcal{R}^2$ inflation, we review a model of successful quintessential inflation, where a single scalar field acts initially as the inflaton and then becomes dynamical dark energy, in agreement will all experimental constraints.

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I. Gialamas, A. Karam, T. Pappas, et. al.
Mon, 27 Mar 23
52/59

Comments: 47 pages, 9 figures, invited review to be published in International Journal of Geometric Methods in Modern Physics

Impact of symmetron screening on the Hubble tension: new constraints using cosmic distance ladder data [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12827


Fifth forces are ubiquitous in modified theories of gravity. To be compatible with observations, such a force must be screened on solar-system scales but may still give a significant contribution on galactic scales. If this is the case, the fifth force can influence the calibration of the cosmic distance ladder, hence changing the inferred value of the Hubble constant $H_0$. In this paper, we analyze symmetron screening and show that it generally increases the Hubble tension. On the other hand, by doing a full statistical analysis, we show that cosmic distance ladder data are able to constrain the theory to a level competitive with solar-system tests — currently the most constraining tests of the theory. For the standard coupling case, the constraint on the symmetron Compton wavelength is $\lambda_{\rm C} \lesssim 2.5 \, \mathrm{Mpc}$. Thus, distance ladder data constitutes a novel and powerful way of testing this, and similar, types of theories.

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M. Högås and E. Mörtsell
Fri, 24 Mar 23
2/56

Comments: 11 pages, 9 figures. Comments are welcome

A test of Einstein's equivalence principle in ngEHT observations [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13271


We show that Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations allow us to test the fundamental principles of General Relativity (GR). GR is based on the universality of gravity and Einstein’s equivalence principle (EEP). However, EEP is not a basic principle of physics but an empirical fact. Non-Minimal Coupling (NMC) of electromagnetic fields violates EEP, and their effects manifest in the strong-gravity regime. Hence, EHT provides an opportunity to test NMC in the strong-gravity regime. We show that, to the leading order in the spin parameter, NMC of the electromagnetic field modifies the black hole image in two ways: First, for one polarization mode, the horizon casts a shadow of radius \emph{greater than} $\sqrt{27} GM/c^2$ on the image of the source. For the other polarization mode, it is \emph{smaller than} $\sqrt{27} GM/c^2$. Second, the brightness and the position of the lensing ring are affected by the non-minimal coupling. The lensing ring is more prominent for one polarization mode than the other. Finally, we discuss the constraints on the NMC constant from future ngEHT observations.

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J. Johnson, S. Jana and S. Shankaranarayanan
Fri, 24 Mar 23
3/56

Comments: 18 pages, 4 figures

Black Holes Up Close [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13229


Recent developments have ushered in a new era in the field of black hole astrophysics, providing our first direct view of the remarkable environment near black hole event horizons. These observations have enabled astronomers to confirm long-standing ideas on the physics of gas flowing into black holes with temperatures that are hundreds of times greater than at the center of the Sun. At the same time, the observations have conclusively shown that light rays near a black hole experience large deflections which cause a dark shadow in the center of the image, an effect predicted by Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. With further investment, this field is poised to deliver decades of advances in our understanding of gravity and black holes through new and stringent tests of General Relativity, as well as new insights into the role of black holes as the central engines powering a wide range of astronomical phenomena.

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R. Narayan and E. Quataert
Fri, 24 Mar 23
53/56

Comments: 15 pages, 4 Figs; Nature Perspective

Fast and accurate collapse-time predictions for collisionless matter [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12832


We consider the gravitational collapse of collisionless matter seeded by three crossed sine waves with various amplitudes, also in the presence of a linear external tidal field. We explore two theoretical methods that are more efficient than standard Lagrangian perturbation theory (LPT) for resolving shell-crossings, the crossing of particle trajectories. One of the methods completes the truncated LPT series for the displacement field far into the UV regime, thereby exponentially accelerating its convergence while at the same time removing pathological behavior of LPT observed in void regions. The other method exploits normal-form techniques known from catastrophe theory, which amounts here to replacing the sine-wave initial data by its second-order Taylor expansion in space at shell-crossing location. This replacement leads to a speed-up in determining the displacement field by several orders of magnitudes, while still achieving permille-level accuracy in the prediction of the shell-crossing time. The two methods can be used independently, but the overall best performance is achieved when combining them. Lastly, we find accurate formulas for the nonlinear density and for the triaxial evolution of the fluid in the fundamental coordinate system, as well as report a newly established exact correspondence between perfectly symmetric sine-wave collapse and spherical collapse.

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C. Rampf, S. Saga, A. Taruya, et. al.
Fri, 24 Mar 23
54/56

Comments: 30 pages, 24 figures, submitted at PRD

On the origin of extreme trans-Neptunian objects within Modified Newtonian Dynamics [EPA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.13339


In this work, we investigate the dynamical origin of extreme trans-Neptunian objects (ETNOs) under the action of the External Field Effect (EFE), which is a consequence of Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) applied to gravity around the Sun embedded in the gravitational field of the Galaxy. We perform N-body integrations of known ETNOs treated as massless particles and perturbed by four giant planets and EFE. Backward integrations show that these objects originated in the giant planet region, from where they were scattered and then evolved to their current orbits. A striking example of such evolution is Sedna, which may have been temporarily in a horseshoe orbit with Jupiter and Saturn only $30$~Myr ago. Another interesting example is the newly discovered retrograde ETNOs, whose dynamical connection with prograde ETNOs and Centaurs is shown. The EFE is considered as an alternative to Planet Nine in explaining the anomalous distribution of ETNO orbits, namely the orbital plane clustering and apsidal confinement. We also analyse the effect of MOND on the obliquity of the solar spin with respect to the invariant plane of the solar system. Finally, we discuss the significance of trans-Neptunian solar system in the context of the dark matter hypothesis.

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C. Migaszewski
Fri, 24 Mar 23
56/56

Comments: submitted to MNRAS

Scattering and conversion of electromagnetic and gravitational waves by Reissner-Nordström black holes: the Regge pole description [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12656


We investigate the problem of scattering and conversion of monochromatic planar gravitational and electromagnetic waves impinging upon a Reissner-Nordstr\”om black hole using a Regge pole description, i.e., a complex angular momentum approach. For this purpose, we first compute numerically the Regge pole spectrum for various charge-to-mass ratio configurations. We then derive an asymptotic expressions for the lowest Regge poles, and by considering Bohr-Sommerfeld-type quantization conditions, obtain the spectrum of weakly damped quasinormal frequencies from the Regge trajectories. Next, we construct the scattering and conversion amplitudes as well as the total differential cross sections for different processes using both a complex angular momentum representation and a partial wave expansion method. Finally, we provide an analytical approximation of the scattering and conversion cross sections of different processes from asymptotic expressions for the lowest Regge poles and the associated residues based on the correspondence Regge poles, “surface waves” propagating close to the photon (graviton) sphere. This allows us to extract the physical interpretation encoded in the partial wave expansions in the high-frequency regime (i.e., in the short-wavelength regime), and to describe semiclassically with very good agreement both black hole glory and a large part of the orbiting oscillations, thus unifying these two phenomena from a purely wave point of view.

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M. Hadj
Thu, 23 Mar 23
12/67

Comments: N/A

Do the CMB Temperature Fluctuations Conserve Parity? [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12106


Observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) have cemented the notion that the large-scale Universe is both statistically homogeneous and isotropic. But is it invariant also under mirror reflections? To probe this we require parity-sensitive statistics: for scalar observables, the simplest is the four-point function. We make the first measurements of the parity-odd CMB trispectrum, focusing on the large-scale ($2<\ell<510$) temperature anisotropies measured by Planck. This is facilitated by new maximum-likelihood estimators for binned correlators, which account for mask convolution and leakage between even- and odd-parity components, and achieve optimal variances within $\approx 20\%$. We perform a blind test for parity violation by comparing a $\chi^2$ statistic from Planck to theoretical expectations, using two suites of simulations to account for the possible likelihood non-Gaussianity and residual foregrounds. We find consistency at the $\approx 0.5\sigma$ level, yielding no evidence for parity violation, with roughly $250\times$ the squared sensitivity of large scale structure measurements (according to mode-counting arguments), and with the advantage of linear physics, Gaussian statistics, and accurate mocks. The measured trispectra can be used to constrain physical models of inflationary parity violation, including Ghost Inflation, Cosmological Collider scenarios, and Chern-Simons gauge fields. Considering eight such models, we find no evidence for new physics, with a maximal detection significance of $2.0\sigma$. These results suggest that the recent parity excesses seen in the BOSS galaxy survey are not primordial in origin. Tighter constraints can be wrought by including smaller scales (though rotational invariance washes out the flat-sky limit) and adding polarization data.

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O. Philcox
Thu, 23 Mar 23
16/67

Comments: 7+12 pages, 4+5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Code available at this https URL

Impact of the Hubble tension on the $r$-$n_s$ contour [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12345


The injection of early dark energy (EDE) before the recombination, a possible resolution of the Hubble tension, will not only shift the scalar spectral index $n_s$ towards $n_s=1$, but also be likely to tighten the current upper limit on tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$. In this work, with the latest CMB datasets (Planck PR4, ACT, SPT and BICEP/Keck), as well as BAO and SN, we confirm this result, and discuss its implication on inflation. We also show that if we happen to live with EDE, how the different inflation models currently allowed would be distinguished by planned CMB observations, such as CMB-S4 and LiteBIRD.

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J. Jiang, G. Ye and Y. Piao
Thu, 23 Mar 23
44/67

Comments: 13 pages, 5 figures

Jets from neutron-star merger remnants and massive blue kilonovae [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12284


We perform high-resolution three-dimensional general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations with neutrino transport of binary neutron star (BNS) mergers resulting in a long-lived remnant neutron star, with properties typical of galactic BNS and consistent with those inferred for the first observed BNS merger GW170817. We demonstrate self-consistently that within $\lesssim!30$ ms post-merger magnetized ($\sigma\sim 5-10$) twin polar jets emerge with asymptotic Lorentz factor $\Gamma\sim 5-10$, which successfully break out from the merger debris within $\lesssim!20$ ms. A fast ($v\lesssim 0.6c$), magnetized ($\sigma\sim 0.1$) wind surrounds the jet core and generates a UV/blue kilonova precursor on timescales of hours, similar to the precursor signal due to free neutron decay in fast dynamical ejecta. Post-merger ejecta are quickly dominated by MHD-driven outflows from an accretion disk. We demonstrate that within only 50 ms post-merger, $\gtrsim 2\times 10^{-2}M_\odot$ of lanthanide-free, quasi-spherical ejecta with velocity $\sim!0.1c$ is launched, yielding a kilonova signal consistent with GW170817 on timescales of $\lesssim!5$\,d.

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L. Combi and D. Siegel
Thu, 23 Mar 23
47/67

Comments: 5 + 6 pages, 18 figures

Impact of the returning radiation in current tests of the Kerr black hole hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12581


The past 10~years have seen remarkable progress in our capability of analyzing reflection features in the X-ray spectra of accreting black holes. Today X-ray reflection spectroscopy is a mature technique and a powerful tool for studying the accretion process around black holes, measuring black hole spins, and testing Einstein’s theory of General Relativity in the strong field regime. However, current reflection models still rely on a number of simplifications and caution is necessary when we derive very precise measurements. In this paper, we study the impact of the returning radiation on our capability of measuring the properties of black holes using X-ray reflection spectroscopy, and in particular on our capability of testing the Kerr black hole hypothesis. While the returning radiation alters the reflection spectrum of the disk, from the analysis of our simulations we find that models without returning radiation can normally recover well the correct black hole spin parameters and can test the Kerr metric. Our study thus confirms that current tests of the Kerr hypothesis using X-ray reflection spectroscopy can be robust.

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S. Riaz, A. Abdikamalov and C. Bambi
Thu, 23 Mar 23
67/67

Comments: Submitted to PRD

Gauge invariance on the light-cone: curvature perturbations and radiative degrees of freedom [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11743


We derive the expressions on the observed light-cone for some relevant cosmological gauge invariant variables, such as the Mukhanov-Sasaki variable and $E$- and $B$- modes of the tensor perturbations. Since the structure of the light-cone does not reflect in a direct way the FLRW symmetries, we develop a formalism which is coordinate independent and classifies the perturbations according to their helicities. Even though we work with linear perturbations, our formalism can be readily extended to non-linear theory and put the basis to study the evolution of cosmological perturbations, since the early- until the the late-time Universe, directly along the observed light-cone.

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G. Fanizza, G. Marozzi and M. Medeiros
Wed, 22 Mar 23
10/68

Comments: 34 pages, 1 table

One-loop Corrections in Power Spectrum in Single Field Inflation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.12025


We revisit the one-loop correction in curvature perturbation power spectrum in models of single field inflation which undergo a phase of ultra slow-roll (USR) inflation. We include the contributions from both the cubic and quartic interaction Hamiltonians and calculate the one-loop corrections on the spectrum of the CMB scale modes from the small scale modes which leave the horizon during the USR phase. It is shown that the amplitude of one-loop corrections depends on the sharpness of the transition from the USR phase to the final slow-roll phase. For an arbitrarily sharp transition, the one-loop correction becomes arbitrarily large, invalidating the perturbative treatment of the analysis. We speculate that for a mild transition, the large one-loop corrections are washed out during the subsequent evolution after the USR phase. The implications for primordial black holes formation are briefly reviewed.

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H. Firouzjahi
Wed, 22 Mar 23
14/68

Comments: 26 pages, 1 Figure

Relic gravitons and high-frequency detectors [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11928


Cosmic gravitons are expected in the MHz-GHz regions that are currently unreachable by the operating wide-band interferometers and where various classes of electromechanical detectors have been proposed through the years. The minimal chirp amplitude detectable by these instruments is often set on the basis of the sensitivities reachable by the detectors currently operating in the audio band. By combining the observations of the pulsar timing arrays, the limits from wide-band detectors and the other phenomenological bounds we show that this requirement is far too generous and even misleading since the actual detection of relic gravitons well above the kHz would demand chirp and spectral amplitudes that are ten or even fifteen orders of magnitude smaller than the ones currently achievable in the audio band, for the same classes of stochastic sources. We then examine more closely the potential high-frequency signals and show that the sensitivity in the chirp and spectral amplitudes must be even smaller than the ones suggested by the direct and indirect constraints on the cosmic gravitons. We finally analyze the high-frequency detectors in the framework of Hanbury-Brown Twiss interferometry and argue that they are actually more essential than the ones operating in the audio band (i.e. between few Hz and few kHz) if we want to investigate the quantumness of the relic gravitons and their associated second-order correlation effects. We suggest, in particular, how the statistical properties of thermal and non-thermal gravitons can be distinguished by studying the corresponding second-order interference effects.

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M. Giovannini
Wed, 22 Mar 23
22/68

Comments: 42 pages, 13 figures

Searching for Time-Dependent Axion Dark Matter Signals in Pulsars [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11792


Axion dark matter can be converted into photons in the magnetospheres of neutron stars leading to a spectral line centred on the Compton wavelength of the axion. Due to the rotation of the star and the plasma effects in the magnetosphere the signal is predicted to be periodic with significant time variation – a unique smoking gun for axion dark matter. As a proof of principle and to develop the methodology, we carry out the first time domain search of the signal using data from PSR J2144$-$3933 taken as part of the MeerTIME project on MeerKAT telescope. We search for specific signal templates using a matched filter technique and discuss when a time-domain analysis (as is typically the case in pulsar observations) gives greater sensitivity to the axion-coupling to photons in comparison to a simple time-averaged total flux study. We do not find any candidate signals and, hence, impose an upper limit on the axion-to-photon coupling of $g_{a\gamma\gamma}<4\times 10^{-11}\,{\rm GeV}^{-1}$ over the mass range $m_{\rm a}=3.9-4.7\,\mu{\rm eV}$ using this data. This limit relies on PSR J2144$-$3933 not being an extremely aligned rotator, as strongly supported by simple arguments based on the observed pulse profile width. We discuss the possibilities of improving this limit using future observations with MeerKAT and also SKA1-mid and the possibility of using other objects. Finally, to evade modelling uncertainties in axion radio signals, we also carry out a generic “any periodic-signal search” in the data, finding no evidence for an axion signal.

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R. Battye, M. Keith, J. McDonald, et. al.
Wed, 22 Mar 23
26/68

Comments: 21 pages, 14 figures Comments welcome

The physics of gravitational waves [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11713


These lecture notes collect the material that I have been using over the years for various short courses on the physics of gravitational waves, first at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (France), and then at SISSA (Italy) and various summer/winter schools. The level should be appropriate for PhD students in physics or for MSc students that have taken a first course in general relativity. The focus is on deriving results from first principles, rather than on astrophysical applications.

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E. Barausse
Wed, 22 Mar 23
33/68

Comments: 52 pages, 14 figures. To be submitted to POS for the proceedings of the September 2022 summer school of the COST Action CA18108 on “Theoretical and experimental approaches to quantum gravity phenomenology” (Belgrade, Serbia)

Barrow nearly-extensive Gibbs-like entropy favoured by the full dynamical and geometrical data set in cosmology [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11680


We apply the full set of most update dynamical and geometrical data in cosmology to the nonextensive Barrow entropic holographic dark energy. We show that the data point towards an extensive Gibbs-like entropic behaviour for the cosmological horizons, which is the extreme case of the Barrow entropy, with the entropy parameter being $\Delta > 0.86$, close to the maximum threshold of $\Delta =1$ where the fractal dimension of the area-horizon becomes almost or just the volume and the intensivity is recovered. Futhermore, we find that the standard Bekenstein area-entropy limit ($\Delta = 0$) is excluded by the set of our data. This contradicts the bounds obtained recently from early universe tests such as the baryon asymmetry, the big-bang nucleosynthesis, and the inflation limiting $\Delta< 0.008$ at the most extreme case.

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T. Denkiewicz, V. Salzano and M. Dabrowski
Wed, 22 Mar 23
37/68

Comments: 11 pages; 2 tables. Comments are welcome

Bimetric-Affine Quadratic Gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11353


Bimetric gravity, is a theory of gravity that posits the existence of two interacting and dynamical metric tensors. The spectrum of bimetric gravity consists of a massless and a massive spin-2 particle. The form of the interactions between the two metrics $g_{\mu\nu}$ and $f_{\mu\nu}$ is constrained by requiring absence of the so called Boulware-Deser ghost. In this work we extend the original bimetric theory to its bimetric-affine counterpart, in which the associated two connections, $\Gamma_{ \mu\,\,\,\nu}^{\,\,\,\rho}(g)$ and $\widetilde{\Gamma}_{ \mu\,\,\,\nu}^{\,\,\,\rho}(f)$, are treated as independent variables. We examine in detail the case of an additional quadratic in the Ricci scalar curvature term $\mathcal{R}^2(g)$ and we find that this theory is free of ghosts for a wide range of the interaction parameters, not excluding the possibility of a Dark Matter interpretation of the massive spin-2 particle.

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I. Gialamas and K. Tamvakis
Wed, 22 Mar 23
41/68

Comments: 10 pages, 2 figures

Does gravitational confinement sustain flat galactic rotation curves without dark matter? [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11094


The short answer is $\textit{probably no}$. Specifically, this paper considers a recent body of work which suggests that general relativity requires neither the support of dark matter halos, nor unconventional baryonic profiles, nor any infrared modification, to be consistent after all with the anomalously rapid orbits observed in many galactic discs. In particular, the gravitoelectric flux is alleged to collapse nonlinearly into regions of enhanced force, in an analogue of the colour-confining chromoelectric flux tube model which has yet to be captured by conventional post-Newtonian methods. However, we show that the scalar gravity model underpinning this proposal is wholly inconsistent with the nonlinear Einstein equations, which themselves appear to prohibit the linear confinement-type potentials which could indicate a disordered gravitational phase. Our findings challenge the fidelity of the previous Euclidean lattice analyses. We confirm by direct calculation using a number of perturbation schemes and gauges that the next-to-leading order gravitoelectric correction to the rotation curve of a reasonable baryonic profile would be imperceptible. The `gravitoelectric flux collapse’ programme was also supported by using intragalactic lensing near a specific galactic baryon profile as a field strength heuristic. We recalculate this lensing effect, and conclude that it has been overstated by three orders of magnitude. As a by-product, our analysis suggests fresh approaches to (i) the fluid ball conjecture and (ii) gravitational energy localisation, both to be pursued in future work. In summary, whilst it may be interesting to consider the possibility of confinement-type effects in gravity, we may at least conclude here that confinement-type effects $\textit{cannot play any significant part}$ in explaining flat or rising galactic rotation curves without dark matter halos.

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W. Barker, M. Hobson and A. Lasenby
Tue, 21 Mar 23
9/68

Comments: 33 pages, 19 figures

Revealing the strength of three-nucleon interactions with the Einstein Telescope [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11201


Three-nucleon forces are crucial for the accurate description of nuclear systems, including dense matter probed in neutron stars. We explore nuclear Hamiltonians that reproduce two-nucleon scattering data and properties of light nuclei, but differ in the three-nucleon interactions among neutrons. While no significantly improved constraints can be obtained from current astrophysical data, we show that observations of neutron star mergers by next-generation detectors like the proposed Einstein Telescope could provide strong evidence to distinguish between these Hamiltonians.

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H. Rose, N. Kunert, T. Dietrich, et. al.
Tue, 21 Mar 23
17/68

Comments: N/A

Compact stellar structures in Weyl geometric gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10339


We consider the structure and physical properties of specific classes of neutron, quark, and Bose-Einstein Condensate stars in the conformally invariant Weyl geometric gravity theory. The basic theory is derived from the simplest conformally invariant action, constructed, in Weyl geometry, from the square of the Weyl scalar, the strength of the Weyl vector, and a matter term, respectively. The action is linearized in the Weyl scalar by introducing an auxiliary scalar field. To keep the theory conformally invariant the trace condition is imposed on the matter energy-momentum tensor. The field equations are derived by varying the action with respect to the metric tensor, Weyl vector field and scalar field. By adopting a static spherically symmetric interior geometry, we obtain the field equations, describing the structure and properties of stellar objects in Weyl geometric gravity. The solutions of the field equations are obtained numerically, for different equations of state of the neutron and quark matter. More specifically, constant density stellar models, and models described by the stiff fluid, radiation fluid, quark bag model, and Bose-Einstein Condensate equations of state are explicitly constructed numerically in both general relativity and Weyl geometric gravity, thus allowing an in depth comparison between the predictions of these two gravitational theories. As a general result it turns out that for all the considered equations of state, Weyl geometric gravity stars are more massive than their general relativistic counterparts. As a possible astrophysical application of the obtained results we suggest that the recently observed neutron stars, with masses in the range of 2$M_{\odot}$ and 3$M_{\odot}$, respectively, could be in fact conformally invariant Weyl geometric neutron or quark stars.

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Z. Haghani and T. Harko
Tue, 21 Mar 23
36/68

Comments: 20 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in PRD

Statistical anisotropy in galaxy ellipticity correlations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10890


As well as the galaxy number density and peculiar velocity, the galaxy intrinsic alignment can be used to test the cosmic isotropy. We study distinctive impacts of the isotropy breaking on the configuration-space two-point correlation functions (2PCFs) composed of the spin-2 galaxy ellipticity field. For this purpose, we build a methodology to efficiently compute general types of the isotropy-violating 2PCFs by generalizing the polypolar spherical harmonic decomposition approach to the spin-weighted version. As a demonstration, we analyze the 2PCFs when the matter power spectrum has a well-known $g_*$-type isotropy-breaking term (induced by, e.g., dark vector fields). We then confirm that some anisotropic distortions indeed appear in the 2PCFs and their shapes rely on a preferred direction causing the isotropy violation, $\hat{d}$. Such a feature can be a distinctive indicator for testing the cosmic isotropy. Comparing the isotropy-violating 2PCFs computed with and without the plane parallel (PP) approximation, we find that, depending on $\hat{d}$, the PP approximation is no longer valid when an opening angle between the directions towards target galaxies is ${\cal O}(1^\circ)$ for the density-ellipticity and velocity-ellipticity cross correlations and around $10^\circ$ for the ellipticity auto correlation. This suggests that an accurate test for the cosmic isotropy requires the formulation of the 2PCF without relying on the PP approximation.

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M. Shiraishi, T. Okumura and K. Akitsu
Tue, 21 Mar 23
37/68

Comments: 21+1 pages, 8 figures

Microlensing and multi-images problem of static spherical symmetric wormhole [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.11134


In this paper, we develop a framework to re-examine the weak lensing (including the microlensing) effects of the static spherical symmetric wormhole in terms of the radial equation of state $\eta=\frac{p_r}{\rho}$ (REoS). As for its application, we calculate its magnification, and event rate under this REoS, in which we show that the maximal value of magnification of the Ellis-Bronnikov wormhole is only related to the relative position and intrinsic angle, whose the maximal value is around five. For the event rate, our results indicate that one cannot distinguish the Eillis-Bronnikov wormhole and charged wormhole, but its order is much higher than the vacuum case, in which all these metrics belong to the static spherical symmetric wormhole metric. By calculating the lensing equation of the static spherical symmetric wormhole, we find an explicit formula between the maximal number of images of the wormhole and $\eta$. It shows that this relation is consistent with the classical wormhole, but the case for wormhole with quantum corrections is still mysterious. Our new method may shed new light on distinguishing the wormhole and blackhole via the event rate.

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K. Gao and L. Liu
Tue, 21 Mar 23
49/68

Comments: 19 pages, 7 figures, comments are welcome

Searching for continuous Gravitational Waves in the second data release of the International Pulsar Timing Array [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10767


The International Pulsar Timing Array 2nd data release is the combination of datasets from worldwide collaborations. In this study, we search for continuous waves: gravitational wave signals produced by individual supermassive black hole binaries in the local universe. We consider binaries on circular orbits and neglect the evolution of orbital frequency over the observational span. We find no evidence for such signals and set sky averaged 95% upper limits on their amplitude h 95 . The most sensitive frequency is 10nHz with h 95 = 9.1 10-15 . We achieved the best upper limit to date at low and high frequencies of the PTA band thanks to improved effective cadence of observations. In our analysis, we have taken into account the recently discovered common red noise process, which has an impact at low frequencies. We also find that the peculiar noise features present in some pulsars data must be taken into account to reduce the false alarm. We show that using custom noise models is essential in searching for continuous gravitational wave signals and setting the upper limit.

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M. Falxa, S. Babak, P. Baker, et. al.
Tue, 21 Mar 23
52/68

Comments: N/A

Primordial Gravitational Waves in non-Minimally Coupled Chromo-Natural Inflation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10718


We consider inflation driven by an axion-like particle coupled to an SU(2) gauge sector via a Chern-Simons term. Known as chromo-natural inflation, this scenario is in tension with CMB observations. In order to remedy this fact and preserve both the symmetries and the intriguing gravitational wave phenomenology exhibited by the model, we explore the non-minimal coupling of the axion-inflaton to the Einstein tensor. We identify regions of parameter space corresponding to a viable cosmology at CMB scales. We also highlight the possibility of a large and chiral gravitational wave signal at small scales. This is of particular interest for gravitational wave interferometers.

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E. Dimastrogiovanni, M. Fasiello, M. Michelotti, et. al.
Tue, 21 Mar 23
64/68

Comments: 27 pages, 13 figures

Time behaviour of Hubble parameter by torsion [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10356


Consequences of the consistent exact solution of Einstein-Cartan equation on the time dependence of Hubble parameter is discussed. The torsion leads to a space and time dependent expansion parameter which results into nontrivial windows of Hubble parameter between diverging behaviour. Only one window shows a period of decreasing followed by increasing time dependence. Provided a known cosmological constant and the present values of Hubble and deceleration parameter this changing time can be given in the past as well as the ending time of the windows or universe. From the metric with torsion outside matter it is seen that torsion can feign dark matter.

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K. Morawetz
Tue, 21 Mar 23
65/68

Comments: N/A

Astrophysical and Cosmological Searches for Lorentz Invariance Violation [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10643


Lorentz invariance is one of the fundamental tenets of Special Relativity, and has been extensively tested with laboratory and astrophysical observations. However, many quantum gravity models and theories beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics predict a violation of Lorentz invariance at energies close to Planck scale. This article reviews observational and experimental tests of Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) with photons, neutrinos and gravitational waves. Most astrophysical tests of LIV using photons are based on searching for a correlation of the spectral lag data with redshift and energy. These have been primarily carried out using compact objects such as pulsars, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and Gamma-ray bursts (GRB). There have also been some claims for LIV from some of these spectral lag observations with GRBs, which however are in conflict with the most stringent limits obtained from other LIV searches. Searches have also been carried out using polarization measurements from GRBs and AGNs. For neutrinos, tests have been made using both astrophysical observations at MeV energies (from SN 1987A) as well as in the TeV-PeV energy range based on IceCube observations, atmospheric neutrinos, and long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. Cosmological tests of LIV entail looking for a constancy of the speed of light as a function of redshift using multiple observational probes, as well as looking for birefringence in Cosmic Microwave background observations. This article will review all of these aforementioned observational tests of LIV, including results which are in conflict with each other.

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S. Desai
Tue, 21 Mar 23
67/68

Comments: 31 pages. Comments welcome. Invited chapter for the edited book {\it Recent Progress on Gravity Tests: Challenges and Future Perspectives} (Eds. C. Bambi and A. C\’ardenas-Avenda\~no, Springer Singapore, expected in 2023)

Ultraviolet Sensitivity in Higgs-Starobinsky Inflation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09866


The general scalar-tensor theory that includes all the dimension-four terms has parameter regions that can produce successful inflation consistent with cosmological observations. This theory is in fact the same as the Higgs-Starobinsky inflation, when the scalar is identified with the Standard Model Higgs boson. We consider possible dimension-six operators constructed from non-derivative terms of the scalar field and the Ricci scalar as perturbations. We investigate how much suppression is required for these operators to avoid disrupting the successful inflationary predictions. To ensure viable cosmological predictions, the suppression scale for the sixth power of the scalar should be as high as the Planck scale. For the other terms, much smaller scales are sufficient.

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S. Lee, T. Modak, K. Oda, et. al.
Mon, 20 Mar 23
29/51

Comments: 23 pages, 12 figures

Holographic dark energy satisfying the energy conditions in Lovelock gravity [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09563


In this paper, we show that the holographic dark energy density hides in the solutions of Lovelock gravity for black holes. Using the obtained mass and temperature we find density equations. We propose a physical interpretation of the rescaled Lovelock couplings as a topological mass that describes the Lovelock branch. In addition to this, we present new solutions that satisfy the energy conditions according to the Lovelock coupling and the horizon curvatures. This work can be extended to the equation of the state {\omega}{{\Lambda}} of dark energy in third-order Lovelock gravity. We show that the value “-1” represents a stable equilibrium of {\omega}{{\Lambda}}.

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M. Bousder, E. Salmani, A. Fatimy, et. al.
Mon, 20 Mar 23
34/51

Comments: 16 pages, 2 figures

Exploring dark matter spike distribution around the Galactic centre with stellar orbits [GA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09284


Precise measurements of the stellar orbits around Sagittarius A* have established the existence of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the Galactic centre (GC). Due to the interplay between the SMBH and dark matter (DM), the DM density profile in the innermost region of the Galaxy, which is crucial for the DM indirect detection, is still an open question. Among the most popular models in the literature, the theoretical spike profile proposed by Gondolo and Silk (1999; GS hereafter) is well adopted. In this work, we investigate the DM spike profile using updated data from the Keck and VLT telescopes considering that the presence of such an extended mass component may affect the orbits of the S-stars in the Galactic center. We examine the radius and slope of the generalized NFW spike profile, analyze the Einasto spike, and discuss the influence of DM annihilation on the results. Our findings indicate that an initial slope of $\gamma \gtrsim 0.92$ for the generalized NFW spike profile is ruled out at a 95% confidence level. Additionally, the spike radius $R_{\rm sp}$ larger than 21.5 pc is rejected at 95% probability for the Einasto spike with $\alpha=0.17$, which also contradicts the GS spike model. The constraints with the VLT/GRAVITY upper limits are also projected. Although the GS NFW spike is well constrained by the Keck and VLT observation of S2, an NFW spike with a weak annihilation cusp may still be viable, as long as the DM annihilation cross section satisfies $\left< \sigma v \right> \gtrsim 7.7\times 10^{-27}~{\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}} (m_{\rm DM}/100~{\rm GeV})$ at 95% level.

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Z. Shen, G. Yuan, C. Jiang, et. al.
Fri, 17 Mar 23
4/67

Comments: 11 pages, 9 figures and 1 table. To be submitted to MNRAS. Comments welcome!

Correlation of structure growth index with current cosmic acceleration: constraints on dark energy models [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09492


We study dynamical dark energy models within Einstein’s theory by means of matter perturbations and the growth index $\gamma$. Within four-dimensional General Relativity, we assume that dark energy does not cluster, and we adopt a linear ansatz for the growth index to investigate its impact on the deceleration parameter, $q$, and on the dark energy equation-of-state parameter, $w$. Following this approach, we identify a relationship between $q_0$ (today’s value of $q$) and $\gamma$, which to the best of our knowledge is new. For $w(z)$, we find that in most of the cases considered it crosses the -1 line (quintom) ending at a present day value $w_0 > -1$. Furthermore, we show that an analytic expression for $w(z)$ may be obtained in the form of order (4,4) (or higher) Pad{\’e} parameterizations.

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G. Panotopoulos, G. Barnert and L. Campusano
Fri, 17 Mar 23
8/67

Comments: 13 pages, 3 figures, to be published in IJMPD

Optimal Estimation of the Binned Mask-Free Power Spectrum, Bispectrum, and Trispectrum on the Full Sky [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.08828


We derive optimal estimators for the two-, three-, and four-point correlators of statistically isotropic scalar fields defined on the sphere, such as the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations, allowing for arbitrary (linear) masking and inpainting schemes. In each case, we give the optimal unwindowed estimator (obtained via a maximum-likelihood prescription, with an associated Fisher deconvolution matrix), and an idealized form, and pay close attention to their efficient computation. For the trispectrum, we include both parity-even and parity-odd contributions, as allowed by symmetry. The estimators can include arbitrary weighting of the data (and remain unbiased), but are shown to be optimal in the limit of inverse-covariance weighting and Gaussian statistics. The normalization of the estimators is computed via Monte Carlo methods, with the rate-limiting steps (involving spherical harmonic transforms) scaling linearly with the number of bins. An accompanying code package, PolyBin, implements these estimators in Python, and we demonstrate the estimators’ efficacy via a suite of validation tests.

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O. Philcox
Fri, 17 Mar 23
10/67

Comments: 33 pages, 10 figures, code available at this https URL

The e-MANTIS emulator: fast predictions of the non-linear matter power spectrum in $f(R)$CDM cosmology [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.08899


In order to probe modifications of gravity at cosmological scales, one needs accurate theoretical predictions. N-body simulations are required to explore the non-linear regime of structure formation but are very time consuming. In this work, we build an emulator, dubbed e-MANTIS, that performs an accurate and fast interpolation between the predictions of a given set of cosmological simulations, in $f(R)$ modified gravity, run with ECOSMOG. We sample a wide 3D parameter space given by the current background scalar field value $10^{-7} < \left|f_{R_0} \right| < 10^{-4}$, matter density $0.24<\Omega_\mathrm{m}<0.39$, and primordial power spectrum normalisation $0.6<\sigma_8<1.0$, with 110 points sampled from a Latin Hypercube. For each model we perform pairs of $f(R)$CDM and $\Lambda$CDM simulations covering an effective volume of $\left(560 \, h^{-1}\mathrm{Mpc}\right)^3$ with a mass resolution of $\sim 2 \times 10^{10} h^{-1} M_\odot$. We compute the matter power spectrum boost due to $f(R)$ gravity $B(k)=P_{f(R)}(k)/P_{\Lambda\mathrm{CDM}}(k)$ and build an emulator using a Gaussian Process Regression method. The boost is mostly independent of $h$, $n_{s}$, and $\Omega_{b}$, which reduces the dimensionality of the relevant cosmological parameter space. Additionally, it is much more robust against statistical and systematic errors than the raw power spectrum, thus strongly reducing our computational needs. The resulting emulator has a maximum error of $3\%$ across the whole cosmological parameter space, for scales $0.03 \ h\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1} < k < 7 \ h\mathrm{Mpc}^{-1}$, and redshifts $0 < z < 2$, while in most cases the accuracy is better than $1\%$. Such an emulator could be used to constrain $f(R)$ gravity with weak lensing analyses.

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I. Sáez-Casares, Y. Rasera and B. Li
Fri, 17 Mar 23
11/67

Comments: N/A

Novel exact ultra-compact and ultra-sparse hairy black holes emanating from regular and phantom scalar fields [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09116


In the framework of a simple gravitational theory that contains a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity, we investigate the emergence of analytic black-hole solutions with non-trivial scalar hair of secondary type. Although it is possible for one to obtain asymptotically (A)dS solutions using our setup, in the context of the present work, we are solely interested in asymptotically flat solutions. At first, we study the properties of static and spherically symmetric black-hole solutions emanating from both regular and phantom scalar fields. We find that the regular-scalar-field-induced solutions are solutions describing ultra-compact black holes, while the phantom scalar fields generate ultra-sparse black-hole solutions. The latter are black holes that can be potentially of very low density since, contrary to ultra-compact ones, their horizon radius is always greater than the horizon radius of the corresponding Schwarzschild black hole of the same mass. Then, we generalize the above static solutions to slowly rotating ones and compute their angular velocities explicitly. Finally, the study of the axial perturbations of the derived solutions takes place, in which we show that there is always a region in the parameter space of the free parameters of our theory that allows the existence of both ultra-compact and ultra-sparse black holes.

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A. Bakopoulos and T. Nakas
Fri, 17 Mar 23
12/67

Comments: 22 pages, 6 figures

Revisiting Vainshtein Screening for fast N-body simulations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09549


We revisit a method to incorporate the Vainshtein screening mechanism in N-body simulations proposed by R. Scoccimarro in~\cite{Scoccimarro:2009eu}. We further extend this method to cover a subset of Horndeski theories that evade the bound on the speed of gravitational waves set by the binary neutron star merger GW170817. The procedure consists of the computation of an effective gravitational coupling that is time and scale dependent, $G_{\rm eff}\left(k,z\right)$, where the scale dependence will incorporate the screening of the fifth-force. This is a fast procedure that when contrasted to the alternative of solving the full equation of motion for the scalar field inside N-body codes, reduces considerably the computational time and complexity required to run simulations. To test the validity of this approach in the non-linear regime, we have implemented it in a COmoving Lagrangian Approximation (COLA) N-body code, and ran simulations for two gravity models that have full N-body simulation outputs available in the literature, nDGP and Cubic Galileon. We validate the combination of the COLA method with this implementation of the Vainshtein mechanism with full N-body simulations for predicting the boost function: the ratio between the modified gravity non-linear matter power spectrum and its General Relativity counterpart. This quantity is of great importance for building emulators in beyond-$\Lambda$CDM models, and we find that the method described in this work has an agreement of below $2\%$ for scales down to $k \approx 3h/$Mpc with respect to full N-body simulations.

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G. Brando, K. Koyama and H. Winther
Fri, 17 Mar 23
14/67

Comments: 33 pages, 13 figures and 9 tables

Rapidly growing primordial black holes as seeds of the massive high-redshift JWST Galaxies [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2303.09391


A group of massive galaxies at redshifts of $z\geq 6.5$ have been recently detected by James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which were unexpected to form at such early times within the standard Big Bang cosmology. In this work we propose that the formation of some $\sim 50~M_\odot$ primordial black holes (PBHs) formed in the early Universe via super-Eddington accretion within the dark matter halo can explain these observations. These PBHs may act as seeds for early galaxies formation with masses of $\sim 10^{9}-10^{10}~M_\odot$ at $z\sim 8$, hence accounting for the JWST observations. We use a hierarchical Bayesian inference framework to constrain the PBH mass distribution models, and find that the Lognormal model with the $M_{\rm c}\sim 35M_\odot$ is strongly preferred over other hypotheses. These rapidly growing BHs are expected to have strong radiation and may appear as the high-redshift compact objects, similar to those recently discovered by JWST.

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G. Yuan, L. Lei, Y. Wang, et. al.
Fri, 17 Mar 23
54/67

Comments: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, comments are welcome

Swampland criteria for rescaled Einstein-Hilbert gravity with string corrections [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08126


In this work we examine the Swampland criteria for a specific class of rescaled $f(R)$ gravitational models, that are capable of unifying the primordial era of the Universe with the late-time era with the inclusion of string corrections. In particular, we develop separately the theoretical framework of Gauss-Bonnet and Chern-Simons theories considering that, the rescale parameter is constrained to reside in the area $0<\alpha<1$. As showcased, in the context of the aforementioned theories, a viable inflationary phenomenology consistent with the latest Planck data can be obtained for both cases for a wide variety of values. The Swampland criteria which where examined are satisfied, not necessarily simultaneously, for small values of the rescale parameter, which is in agreement with the case of a canonical scalar field with absent string corrective terms. The Gauss-Bonnet model is also further constrained, in order to obtain a propagation velocity of tensor perturbations which coincides with that of light, according to the recent observations from the GW170817. As a result of this assumption the degrees of freedom of the theory are reduced. An interesting feature which arises from the overall phenomenology is that, due to the inclusion of string corrections the tensor spectral index of primordial perturbations is now capable of obtaining a positive value which is not possible in the case of the canonical scalar field. Last but not least, the power-law model which is known to be incompatible with observations is now rendered viable by including a parity violating term and as showcased, it satisfies the Swampland criteria as well.

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A. Gitsis, K. Revis, S. Venikoudis, et. al.
Fri, 20 Jan 23
4/72

Comments: N/A

Action-Angle formalism for extreme mass ratio inspirals in Kerr spacetime [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08150


We introduce an action-angle formalism for bounded geodesic motion in Kerr black hole spacetime using canonical perturbation theory. Namely, we employ a Lie series technique to produce a series of canonical transformations on a Hamiltonian function describing geodesic motion in Kerr background written in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates to a Hamiltonian system written in action-angle variables. This technique allows us to produce a closed-form invertible relation between the Boyer-Lindquist variables and the action-angle ones, while it generates in analytical closed form all the characteristic functions of the system as well. The expressed in the action-angle variable Hamiltonian system is employed to model an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI), i.e. a binary system where a stellar compact object inspirals into a supermassive black hole due to gravitational radiation reaction. We consider the adiabatic evolution of an EMRI, for which the energy and angular momentum fluxes are computed by solving the Teukolsky equation in the frequency domain. To achieve this a new Teukolsky equation solver code was developed.

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M. Kerachian, L. Polcar, V. Skoupý, et. al.
Fri, 20 Jan 23
5/72

Comments: 20 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, includes CPKerrGeodesics (a Mathematica package) as supplemental material

Optical ultra-stable optical clock cavities as resonant mass gravitational wave detectors in search for new physics [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08200


We propose to use table-top-size ultra-stable optical cavities from the state-of-the-art optical atomic clocks as bar gravitational wave detectors for the frequencies higher than 2 kHz. We show that 2-20 kHz range of gravitational waves’ spectrum can be accessed with instruments below 2 meters in size. The proposed cavities’ materials and properties are being within the present-day technology grasp. The ultra-stable optical cavities allow detecting not only predicted gravitational wave signals from such sources as binary neutron star mergers and post-mergers, subsolar-mass primordial black-hole mergers, and collapsing stellar cores, but can reach new physics beyond standard model looking for ultralight bosons such as QCD axions and axion-like particles formed through black hole superradiance.

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M. Narożnik, M. Bober and M. Zawada
Fri, 20 Jan 23
13/72

Comments: N/A

Could Fast Radio Bursts Be Standard Candles? [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08194


Recently, fast radio bursts (FRBs) have become a thriving field in astronomy and cosmology. Due to their extragalactic and cosmological origin, they are useful to study the cosmic expansion and the intergalactic medium (IGM). In the literature, the dispersion measure DM of FRB has been considered extensively. It could be used as an indirect proxy of the luminosity distance $d_L$ of FRB. The observed DM contains the contributions from the Milky Way (MW), the MW halo, IGM, and the host galaxy. Unfortunately, IGM and the host galaxy of FRB are poorly known to date, and hence the large uncertainties of $\rm DM_{IGM}$ and $\rm DM_{host}$ in DM plague the FRB cosmology. Could we avoid DM in studying cosmology? Could we instead consider the luminosity distance $d_L$ directly in the FRB cosmology? We are interested to find a way out for this problem in the present work. From the lessons of calibrating type Ia supernovae (SNIa) or long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as standard candles, we consider a universal subclassification scheme for FRBs, and there are some empirical relations for them. In the present work, we propose to calibrate type Ib FRBs as standard candles by using a tight empirical relation without DM. The calibrated type Ib FRBs at high redshifts can be used like SNIa to constrain the cosmological models. We also test the key factors affecting the calibration and the cosmological constraints.

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H. Guo and H. Wei
Fri, 20 Jan 23
28/72

Comments: 19 pages, 1 table, 11 figures, revtex4

New late-time constraints on $f(R)$ gravity [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07897


Modification of general relativity (GR) inspired by theories like $f(R)$ gravity is among the most popular ones to explain the late-time acceleration of the Universe as an alternative to the $\Lambda$CDM model. In this work, we use the state-of-the-art BAO+BBN data and the most recent Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) sample namely PantheonPlus, including the Cepheid host distances and covariance from SH0ES samples, to robustly constrain the $f(R)$ gravity framework via two of the most popular $f(R)$ models in literature, namely, the Hu-Sawicki and Starobinsky models. Additionally, we consider how the time variation of the Newton’s gravitational constant affects the supernovae distance modulus relation. We find a minor evidence for $f(R)$ gravity under the Hu-Sawicki dynamics from BAO+BBN and BAO+BBN+uncalibrated supernovae joint analysis, but the inclusion of Cepheid host distances, makes the model compatible with GR. Further, we notice tendency of this model to relax the $H_0$ tension. In general, in all the analyses carried out in this study with the late time probes, we find both the $f(R)$ models to be consistent with GR at 95\% CL.

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S. Kumar, R. Nunes, S. Pan, et. al.
Fri, 20 Jan 23
50/72

Comments: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

Redshift evolution of cosmic birefringence in CMB anisotropies [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07971


We study the imprints of a cosmological redshift-dependent pseudoscalar field $\phi$ on the rotation of cosmic microwave background (CMB) linear polarization generated by a coupling $ \phi F^{\mu\nu} \tilde F_{\mu \nu}$. We show how either phenomenological or theoretically motivated redshift dependence of the pseudoscalar field, such as those in models of Early Dark Energy, Quintessence or axion-like dark matter, lead to CMB polarization and temperature-polarization power spectra which exhibit a multipole dependence which goes beyond the widely adopted approximation in which the redshift dependence of the linear polarization angle is neglected. Because of this multipole dependence, the isotropic birefringence effect due to a general coupling $\phi F^{\mu\nu} \tilde F_{\mu \nu}$ is not degenerate with a systematic calibration angle uncertainty. By taking this multipole dependence into account, we calculate the parameters of these phenomenological and theoretical redshift dependence of the pseudoscalar field which can be detected by future CMB polarization experiments on the basis of a $\chi^2$ analysis for a Wishart likelihood. As a final example of our approach, we compute by Markov Chain MonteCarlo (MCMC) the minimal coupling $g_\phi$ in Early Dark Energy which could be detected by future experiments, with or without marginalizing on a systematic rotation angle uncertainty.

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M. Galaverni, F. Finelli and D. Paoletti
Fri, 20 Jan 23
53/72

Comments: 18 pages, 16 figures

Constraining fundamental parameters in modified gravity using Gaia-DR2 massive white dwarf observation [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07645


Various experiments and observations have led researchers to suggest different bounds on fundamental constants like the fine-structure constant and the proton-to-electron mass ratio. These bounds differ mostly due to the energy scale of the systems where the experiments are performed. In this article, we obtain bounds on these parameters in the modified gravity context using the Gaia-DR2 massive white dwarf data and show that the bounds alter as the gravity theory changes. This exploration not only indicates strong support for non-negligible influences of modified gravity in astrophysical scenarios in high-density regimes but also reveals that the bounds on fundamental parameters can be much stronger under alternate gravity theories.

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S. Kalita and A. Uniyal
Fri, 20 Jan 23
57/72

Comments: 6 pages with 3 figures; comments welcome

Intrinsic limits on the detection of the anisotropies of the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08074


For any given network of detectors, and for any given integration time, even in the idealized limit of negligible instrumental noise, the intrinsic time variation of the isotropic component of the Stochastic Gravitational Wave Background (SGWB) induces a limit on how accurately the anisotropies in the SGWB can be measured. We show here how this sample limit can be calculated and apply this to three separate configurations of ground-based detectors placed at existing and planned sites. Our results show that in the idealized, best-case scenario individual multipoles of the anisotropies at $\ell \leq 8$ can only be measured to $\sim 10^{-5} – 10^{-4}$ level over 5 years of observation as a fraction of the isotropic component. As the sensitivity improves as the square root of the observation time, this poses a very serious challenge for the measurement of the anisotropies of SGWB of cosmological origin, even in the case of idealised detectors with arbitrarily low instrumental noise.

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G. Mentasti, C. Contaldi and M. Peloso
Fri, 20 Jan 23
61/72

Comments: 5 pages, 2 figures

Circular Polarization of the Astrophysical Gravitational Wave Background [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.08205


The circular polarization of gravitational waves is a powerful observable to test parity violation in gravity and to distinguish between the primordial or the astrophysical origin of the stochastic background. This property comes from the expected unpolarized nature of the homogeneous and isotropic astrophysical background, contrary to some specific cosmological sources that can produce a polarized background. However, in this work we show that there is a non-negligible amount of circular polarization also in the astrophysical background, generated by Poisson fluctuations in the number of unresolved sources, which can be detected by the third-generation interferometers with signal-to-noise ratio larger than one. We also explain in which cases the gravitational wave maps can be cleaned from this extra source of noise, exploiting the frequency and the angular dependence, in order to search for signals from the early Universe. Future studies about the detection of polarized cosmological backgrounds with ground- and space-based interferometers should account for the presence of such a foreground contribution.

Read this paper on arXiv…

L. Dall’Armi, A. Nishizawa, A. Ricciardone, et. al.
Fri, 20 Jan 23
64/72

Comments: 10 pages, 1 figure

Can we discern microlensed gravitational-wave signals from the signal of precessing compact binary mergers? [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07253


Microlensed gravitational waves (GWs) are likely observable by recognizing the signature of interference caused by $\sim!\mathcal{O}(10\textrm{–}100)~\textrm{ms}$ time delays between multiple lensed signals. However, the shape of the anticipated microlensed GW signals might be confused with the modulation appearing in the waveform of GWs from precessing compact binary mergers. Their morphological similarity may be an obstacle to template-based searches to correctly identifying the origin of observed GWs and it seamlessly raises a fundamental question, \emph{can we discern microlensed GW signals from the signal of precessing compact binary mergers?} We discuss the feasibility of distinguishing those GWs via examining simulated GW signals with and without the presence of noise. We find that it is certainly possible if we compare signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) computed with templates of different hypotheses for a given target signal. We show that proper parameter estimation for lensed GWs enables us to identify the targets of interest by focusing on a half number of assumptions for the target signal than the SNR-based test.

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K. Kim and A. Liu
Thu, 19 Jan 23
31/100

Comments: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to PRL

Imaging faint sources with the extended solar gravitational lens [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07495


We consider resolved imaging of faint sources with the solar gravitational lens (SGL) while treating the Sun as an extended gravitating body. We use our new diffraction integral that describes how a spherical electromagnetic wave is modified by the static gravitational field of an extended body, represented by series of multipole moments characterizing its interior mass distribution. Dominated by the solar quadrupole moment, these deviations from spherical symmetry significantly perturb the image that is projected by the Sun into its focal region, especially at solar equatorial latitudes. To study the optical properties of the quadrupole SGL, we develop an approximate solution for the point spread function of such an extended lens. We also derive semi-analytical expressions to estimate signal levels from extended targets. With these tools, we study the impact of solar oblateness on imaging with the SGL. Given the small value of the solar quadrupole moment, the majority of the signal photons arriving from an extended target still appear within the image area projected by the monopole lens. However, these photons are scrambled, thus reducing the achievable signal-to-noise ratio during image recovery process (i.e., deconvolution). We also evaluate the spectral sensitivity for high-resolution remote sensing of exoplanets with the extended SGL. We assess the impact on image quality and demonstrate that despite the adverse effects of the quadrupole moment, the SGL remains uniquely capable of delivering high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy of faint, small and distant targets, notably terrestrial exoplanets within ~30–100 parsec from us.

Read this paper on arXiv…

S. Turyshev and V. Toth
Thu, 19 Jan 23
47/100

Comments: 23 pages, 2 figures

LIGO-India: A Decadal Assessment on Its Scope, Relevance, Progress, and Future [IMA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07522


The LIGO-India project to build and operate an advanced LIGO (aLIGO) gravitational wave (GW) detector in India in collaboration with LIGO-USA was considered and initiated as an Indian national megascience project in 2011. Procedural formalities and site selection efforts progressed since then and the provisional approval for the Indian national project was obtained in 2016, immediately following the first direct detection of gravitational waves with the aLIGO detectors. With KAGRA GW detector in Japan being tuned to be part of the GW detector network, it is now the occasion to assess the progress of LIGO-India project, and evaluate its relevance and scope for gravitational wave science and astronomy. Various key factors like human-power, management, funding, schedule etc., in the implementation of the project are reassessed in the backdrop of the evolution of the global GW detector sensitivity. In what I consider as a realistic estimate, it will take more than a decade, beyond 2032, to commission the detector even with a fraction of the projected design sensitivity. I estimate that the budget for implementation will be more than doubled, to about Rs. 35 billion (> $430 million). The detrimental consequences for the project are discussed, from my personal point of view. However, a revamped action plan with urgency and the right leadership can make LIGO-India a late but significant success for multi-messenger astronomy for several years after 2032, because of its design similitude to the operational aLIGO detectors. For achieving this, it is imperative that the LIGO-India detector is replanned and launched in the post-O5 upgraded A# version, similar to the projected LIGO-USA detectors.

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C. Unnikrishnan
Thu, 19 Jan 23
74/100

Comments: 22 pages, 5 figures

Parametric resonance in abelian and non-abelian gauge fields via space-time oscillations [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07456


We study the evolution of abelian electromagnetic as well as non-abelian gauge fields, in the presence of space-time oscillations. In the non-abelian case, we consider linear approximation, to analyse the time evolution of the field modes. In both abelian and non-abelian, the mode equations, show the presence of the same parametric resonant spatial modes. The large growth of resonant modes induces large fluctuations in physical observables including those that break the $CP-$symmetry. We also evolve small random fluctuations of fields, using numerical simulations in $2+1$ dimensions. These simulations help study non-linear effects $vs$ the gauge coupling, in the non-abelian case. Our results show that there is an increase in energy density with the coupling, at late times. These results suggest that gravitational waves may excite non-abelian gauge fields more efficiently than electromagnetic fields. Also, gravitational waves in the early Universe and from the merger of neutron stars, black holes etc. may enhance $CP-$violation and generate an imbalance in chiral charge distributions, magnetic fields etc.

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S. Dave, S. Digal and V. Mamale
Thu, 19 Jan 23
78/100

Comments: 19 pages, 16 figures

Implication of island for inflation and primordial perturbations [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07403


It is usually thought that the efolds number of inflation must be bounded by its de Sitter entropy, otherwise we will have an information paradox. However, in light of the island rule for computing the entanglement entropy, we show that such a bound might be nonexistent, while the information flux of primordial perturbation modes the observer after inflation is able to detect follows a Page curve. In corresponding eternally inflating spacetime, it seems that our inflating patch must be accompanied with a neighbourly collapsed patch (eventually developing into a black hole) so that its Hawking radiation might be just our primordial perturbations. Accordingly, the perturbation spectrum we observed will present a “Page-like” suppression at large scale.

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Y. Piao
Thu, 19 Jan 23
79/100

Comments: 22 pages, 7 figures

Remnant black hole properties from numerical-relativity-informed perturbation theory and implications for waveform modelling [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07215


During binary-black-hole (BBH) mergers, energy and momenta are carried away from the binary system as gravitational radiation. Access to the radiated energy and momenta allows us to accurately predict the properties of the remnant black hole. We develop a python package gw_remnant to efficiently extract the remnant mass, remnant spin, peak luminosity and the final kick imparted on the remnant black hole directly from the gravitational radiation. We then compute the remnant properties of the final black hole in case of non-spinning BBH mergers with mass ratios ranging from q=2.5 to q=1000 using waveforms generated from BHPTNRSur1dq1e4, a recently developed numerical relativity informed surrogate model based on black-hole perturbation theory framework. We validate our results against the remnant properties estimated from numerical relativity (NR) surrogate models in the comparable mass ratio regime and against recently available high-mass ratio RIT NR simulations at q=[15,32,64]. We find that our remnant property estimates match very closely to the estimates obtained from NR surrogate model and the NR data respectively in both the regimes. We then present BHPTNR_Remnant, a surrogate model for the properties of the remnant black hole in BBH mergers with q=2.5 to q=1000, using Gaussian process regression fitting methods. Finally, we comment on the possible implication of remnant information in gravitational waveform modelling. We make both the gw_remnant and BHPTNR_Remnant packages publicly available.

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T. Islam, S. Field and G. Khanna
Thu, 19 Jan 23
82/100

Comments: 14 pages, 7 figures

A stochastic search for intermittent gravitational-wave backgrounds [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07675


A likely source of a gravitational-wave background (GWB) in the frequency band of the Advanced LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA detectors is the superposition of signals from the population of unresolvable stellar-mass binary-black-hole (BBH) mergers throughout the Universe. Since the duration of a BBH merger in band ($\sim!1~{\rm s}$) is much shorter than the expected separation between neighboring mergers ($\sim!10^3~{\rm s}$), the observed signal will be “popcorn-like” or intermittent with duty cycles of order $10^{-3}$. However, the standard cross-correlation search for stochastic GWBs currently performed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration is based on a continuous-Gaussian signal model, which does not take into account the intermittent nature of the background. The latter is better described by a Gaussian mixture-model, which includes a duty cycle parameter that quantifies the degree of intermittence. Building on an earlier paper by Drasco and Flanagan, we propose a stochastic-signal-based search for intermittent GWBs. For such signals, this search performs better than the standard continuous cross-correlation search. We present results of our stochastic-signal-based approach for intermittent GWBs applied to simulated data for some simple models, and compare its performance to the other search methods, both in terms of detection and signal characterization. Additional testing on more realistic simulated data sets, e.g., consisting of astrophysically-motivated BBH merger signals injected into colored detector noise containing noise transients, will be needed before this method can be applied with confidence on real gravitational-wave data.

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J. Lawrence, K. Turbang, A. Matas, et. al.
Thu, 19 Jan 23
90/100

Comments: 23 pages, 8 figures, 1 table

Backreaction in cosmic screening approach [CL]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06886


We investigate the backreaction of nonlinear perturbations on the global evolution of the Universe within the cosmic screening approach. To this end, we have considered the second-order scalar perturbations. An analytical study of these perturbations followed by a numerical evaluation shows that, first, the corresponding average values have a negligible backreaction effect on the Friedmann equations and, second, the second-order correction to the gravitational potential is much less than the first-order quantity. Consequently, the expansion of perturbations into orders of smallness in the cosmic screening approach is correct.

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M. Eingorn, B. O’Briant, A. Diouf, et. al.
Thu, 19 Jan 23
91/100

Comments: 11 pages, 2 figures

Gravitational waves or X-ray counterpart? No need to choose [HEAP]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07376


Binary black holes emit gravitational waves as they inspiral towards coalescence. Searches for electromagnetic counterparts to these gravitational waves rely on looking for common sources producing both signals. In this paper, we take a different approach: we investigate the impact of radiation zone effects, including retardation effects and gravitational wave propagation onto the circumbinary disk around stellar-mass, spinning black holes, using general relativistic hydrodynamical simulations. Then we used a general relativistic ray-tracing code to extract its X-ray spectrum and lightcurve. This allowed us to show that radiation zone effects leave an imprint onto the disk, leading to quasi-periodic patterns in the X-ray lightcurve. The amplitude of the modulation is weak (<1%) but increases with time and is strongly dependent on the inclination angle.

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R. Mignon-Risse, P. Varniere and F. Casse
Thu, 19 Jan 23
98/100

Comments: 6 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in AN

Joint constraints on cosmological parameters using future multi-band gravitational wave standard siren observations [CEA]

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http://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06722


Gravitational waves (GWs) from the compact binary coalescences can be used as standard sirens to explore the cosmic expansion history. In the next decades, it is anticipated that we could obtain the multi-band GW standard siren data (from nanohertz to a few hundred hertz), which are expected to play an important role in cosmological parameter estimation. In this work, we give for the first time the joint constraints on cosmological parameters using the future multi-band GW standard siren observations. We simulate the multi-band GW standard sirens based on the SKA-era pulsar timing array (PTA), the Taiji observatory, and the Cosmic Explorer (CE) to perform cosmological analysis. In the $\Lambda$CDM model, we find that the joint PTA+Taiji+CE data could provide a tight constraint on the Hubble constant with a $0.5\%$ precision. Moreover, PTA+Taiji+CE could break the cosmological parameter degeneracies generated by CMB, especially in the dynamical dark energy models. When combining the PTA+Taiji+CE data with the CMB data, the constraint precisions of $\Omega_{\rm m}$ and $H_0$ are $1.0\%$ and $0.3\%$, meeting the standard of precision cosmology. The joint CMB+PTA+Taiji+CE data give $\sigma(w)=0.028$ in the $w$CDM model and $\sigma(w_0)=0.11$ and $\sigma(w_a)=0.32$ in the $w_0w_a$CDM model, which are comparable with or close to the latest constraint results by the CMB+BAO+SN. In conclusion, it is worth expecting to use the future multi-band GW observations to explore the nature of dark energy and measure the Hubble constant.

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S. Jin, S. Xing, Y. Shao, et. al.
Wed, 18 Jan 23
2/133

Comments: 10 pages, 5 figures