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At least 667 records · Page 37
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

Probing cosmology and gravity with redshift-space distortions around voids

Cosmic voids in the large-scale structure of the Universe affect the peculiar motions of objects in their vicinity. Although these motions are difficult to observe directly, the clustering pattern of their surrounding tracers in redshift space is influenced in a unique way. This allows to investigate the interplay between densities and velocities around voids, which is solely dictated by the laws of gravity. With the help of N-body simulations and derived mock-galaxy catalogs we calculate the average density fluctuations around voids identified with a watershed algorithm in redshift space and compare the results with the expectation from general relativity and the ΛCDM model. We find linear theory to work remarkably well in describing the dynamics of voids. Adopting a Bayesian inference framework, we explore the full posterior of our model parameters and forecast the achievable accuracy on measurements of the growth rate of structure and the geometric distortion through the Alcock-Paczyński effect. Systematic errors in the latter are reduced from ∼15% to ∼5% when peculiar velocities are taken into account. The relative parameter uncertainties in galaxy surveys with number densities comparable to the SDSS MAIN (CMASS) sample probing a volume of 1h{sup −3}Gpc{sup 3} yield σ{sub f/b}/(f/b).∼2% (20%) and σ{sub D{sub A{sub H}}}/D{sub AH∼0}.2% (2%), respectively. At this level of precision the linear-theory model becomes systematics dominated, with parameter biases that fall beyond these values. Nevertheless, the presented method is highly model independent; its viability lies in the underlying assumption of statistical isotropy of the Universe.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

N-body simulations for f(R) gravity using a self-adaptive particle-mesh code

We perform high-resolution N-body simulations for f(R) gravity based on a self-adaptive particle-mesh code MLAPM. The chameleon mechanism that recovers general relativity on small scales is fully taken into account by self-consistently solving the nonlinear equation for the scalar field. We independently confirm the previous simulation results, including the matter power spectrum, halo mass function, and density profiles, obtained by Oyaizu et al.[Phys. Rev. D 78, 123524 (2008)] and Schmidt et al.[Phys. Rev. D 79, 083518 (2009)], and extend the resolution up to k{approx}20 h/Mpc for the measurement of the matter power spectrum. Based on our simulation results, we discuss how the chameleon mechanism affects the clustering of dark matter and halos on full nonlinear scales.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1976

A possible experiment with two counter-orbiting drag-free satellites to obtain a new test of Einstein's general theory of relativity and improved measurements in geodesy

In 1918, Lense and Thirring calculated that a moon in orbit around a massive rotating planet would experience a nodal dragging effect due to general relativity. We describe an experiment to measure this effect by means of two counter-orbiting drag-free satellites in polar orbit about the earth. For a 2-1/2 year experiment, the measurement should approach an accuracy of 1%. An independent measurement of the geodetic precession of the orbit plane due to the motion about the sun may also be possible to about 10% accuracy. In addition to precision tracking data from existing ground stations, satellite-to-satellite Doppler data are taken at points of passing near the poles to yield an accurate measurement of the separation distance between the two satellites. New geophysical information on both earth harmonics and tidal effects is inherent in this polar ranging data.

Van Patten, R. A.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Production of non-gaussianities through a positive spatial curvature bouncing phase

We compute the level of non-gaussianities produced by a cosmological bouncing phase in the minimal non-singular setup that lies within the context of General Relativity when the matter content consists of a simple scalar field with a standard kinetic term. Such a bouncing phase is obtained by requiring that the spatial sections of the background spacetime be positively curved. We restrict attention to the close vicinity of the bounce by Taylor expanding the scale factor a(η), the scalar field φ(η) and the potential V(φ) in powers of the conformal time η around the bounce. We find that possibly large non-gaussianities are generically produced at the bounce itself and also discuss which shapes of non-gaussianities are most likely to be produced.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Measure problem in slow roll inflation and loop quantum cosmology

We consider the measure problem in standard slow-roll inflationary models from the perspective of loop quantum cosmology (LQC). Following recent results by Ashtekar and Sloan, we study the probability of having enough e-foldings and focus on its dependence on the quantum gravity scale, including the transition of the theory to the limit where general relativity (GR) is recovered. Contrary to the standard expectation, the probability of having enough inflation, that is close to 1 in LQC, grows and tends to 1 as one approaches the GR limit. We study the origin of the tension between these results with those by Gibbons and Turok, and offer an explanation that brings these apparent contradictory results into a coherent picture. As we show, the conflicting results stem from different choices of initial conditions for the computation of probability. The singularity-free scenario of loop quantum cosmology offers a natural choice of initial conditions, and suggests that enough inflation is generic.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2013

Cosmological perturbation in f(T) gravity revisited

We perform detailed investigation of cosmological perturbations in f(T) theory of gravity coupled with scalar field. Our work emphasizes on the way to gauge fix the theory and we examine all possible modes of perturbations up to second order. The analysis includes pseudoscalar and pseudovector modes in addition to the usual scalar, vector, and tensor modes. We find no gravitational propagating degree of freedom in the scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, as well as pseudovector modes. In addition, we find that the scalar and tensor perturbations have exactly the same form as their counterparts in usual general relativity with scalar field, except that the factor of reduced Planck mass squared M{sub pl}{sup 2}≡1/(8πG) that occurs in the latter has now been replaced by an effective time-dependent gravitational coupling −2(df/dT)|{sub T=T{sub 0}}, with T{sub 0} being the background torsion scalar. The absence of extra degrees of freedom of f(T) gravity at second order linear perturbation indicates that f(T) gravity is highly nonlinear. Consequently one cannot conclusively analyze stability of the theory without performing nonlinear analysis that can reveal the propagation of the extra degrees of freedom.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A GENERAL RELATIVISTIC NULL HYPOTHESIS TEST WITH EVENT HORIZON TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF THE BLACK HOLE SHADOW IN Sgr A*

The half opening angle of a Kerr black hole shadow is always equal to (5 ± 0.2)GM/Dc{sup 2}, where M is the mass of the black hole and D is its distance from the Earth. Therefore, measuring the size of a shadow and verifying whether it is within this 4% range constitutes a null hypothesis test of general relativity. We show that the black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A*, is the optimal target for performing this test with upcoming observations using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). We use the results of optical/IR monitoring of stellar orbits to show that the mass-to-distance ratio for Sgr A* is already known to an accuracy of ∼4%. We investigate our prior knowledge of the properties of the scattering screen between Sgr A* and the Earth, the effects of which will need to be corrected for in order for the black hole shadow to appear sharp against the background emission. Finally, we explore an edge detection scheme for interferometric data and a pattern matching algorithm based on the Hough/Radon transform and demonstrate that the shadow of the black hole at 1.3 mm can be localized, in principle, to within ∼9%. All these results suggest that our prior knowledge of the properties of the black hole, of scattering broadening, and of the accretion flow can only limit this general relativistic null hypothesis test with EHT observations of Sgr A* to ≲10%.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cosmology in general massive gravity theories

We study the cosmological FRW flat solutions generated in general massive gravity theories. Such a model are obtained adding to the Einstein General Relativity action a peculiar non derivative potentials, function of the metric components, that induce the propagation of five gravitational degrees of freedom. This large class of theories includes both the case with a residual Lorentz invariance as well as the case with rotational invariance only. It turns out that the Lorentz-breaking case is selected as the only possibility. Moreover it turns out that that perturbations around strict Minkowski or dS space are strongly coupled. The upshot is that even though dark energy can be simply accounted by massive gravity modifications, its equation of state w{sub eff} has to deviate from -1. Indeed, there is an explicit relation between the strong coupling scale of perturbations and the deviation of w{sub eff} from -1. Taking into account current limits on w{sub eff} and submillimiter tests of the Newton's law as a limit on the possible strong coupling scale, we find that it is still possible to have a weakly coupled theory in a quasi dS background. Future experimental improvements on short distance tests of the Newton's law may be used to tighten the deviation of w{sub eff} form -1 in a weakly coupled massive gravity theory.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Equivalence principle in Reissner–Nordström geometry

The Equivalence Principle is a key element in the development of General Relativity. In one of its formulations, the Equivalence Principle states that a reference frame at rest in a uniform gravitational field is equivalent to a reference frame in uniformly accelerated motion in the absence of any gravitation field. We analyze the spacetime surrounding a non-rotating spherically symmetric charged body, known as Reissner–Nordström geometry, and exhibit a coordinate transformation, which makes explicit its compatibility with the Equivalence Principle. We revisit the Schwarzschild case, previously analyzed in the literature. We also consider second order terms of the relevant expansion parameters in the approximate metric, which is needed for the computed curvature quantities to be correct at zeroth order.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Testing the no-hair theorem with event horizon telescope observations of Sagittarius A*

The advent of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a millimeter-wave very long baseline interferometric array, has enabled spatially resolved studies of the subhorizon-scale structure for a handful of supermassive black holes. Among these, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), presents the largest angular cross section. Thus far, these studies have focused on measurements of the black hole spin and the validation of low-luminosity accretion models. However, a critical input in the analysis of EHT data is the structure of the black hole spacetime, and thus these observations provide the novel opportunity to test the applicability of the Kerr metric to astrophysical black holes. Here we present the first simulated images of a radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) around Sgr A* employing a quasi-Kerr metric that contains an independent quadrupole moment in addition to the mass and spin that fully characterize a black hole in general relativity. We show that these images can be significantly different from the images of an RIAF around a Kerr black hole with the same spin and demonstrate the feasibility of testing the no-hair theorem by constraining the quadrupolar deviation from the Kerr metric with existing EHT data. Equally important, we find that the disk inclination and spin orientation angles are robust to the inclusion of additional parameters, providing confidence in previous estimations assuming the Kerr metric based on EHT observations. However, at present, the limits on potential modifications of the Kerr metric remain weak.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Gravitational waves from binaries on unbound orbits

A generalized true anomaly-type parametrization, convenient to describe both bound and open orbits of a two-body system in general relativity is introduced. A complete description of the time evolution of both the radial and angular equations of a binary system taking into account the first order post-Newtonian (1PN) corrections is given. The gravitational radiation field emitted by the system is computed in the 1PN approximation including higher multipole moments beyond the standard quadrupole term. The gravitational waveforms in the time domain are explicitly given up to the 1PN order for unbound orbits, but the results are also illustrated on binaries on elliptic orbits with special attention given to the effects of eccentricity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

G-bounce

We present a wide class of models which realise a bounce in a spatially flat Friedmann universe in standard General Relativity. The key ingredient of the theories we consider is a noncanonical, minimally coupled scalar field belonging to the class of theories with Kinetic Gravity Braiding / Galileon-like self-couplings. In these models, the universe smoothly evolves from contraction to expansion, suffering neither from ghosts nor gradient instabilities around the turning point. The end-point of the evolution can be a standard radiation-domination era or an inflationary phase. We formulate necessary restrictions for Lagrangians needed to obtain a healthy bounce and illustrate our results with phase portraits for simple systems including the recently proposed Galilean Genesis scenario.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Translation invariant time-dependent solutions to massive gravity

Homogeneous time-dependent solutions of massive gravity generalise the plane wave solutions of the linearised Fierz-Pauli equations for a massive spin-two particle, as well as the Kasner solutions of General Relativity. We show that they also allow a clear counting of the degrees of freedom and represent a simplified framework to work out the constraints, the equations of motion and the initial value formulation. We work in the vielbein formulation of massive gravity, find the phase space resulting from the constraints and show that several disconnected sectors of solutions exist some of which are unstable. The initial values determine the sector to which a solution belongs. Classically, the theory is not pathological but quantum mechanically the theory may suffer from instabilities. The latter are not due to an extra ghost-like degree of freedom.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Spherically symmetric analysis on open FLRW solution in non-linear massive gravity

We study non-linear massive gravity in the spherically symmetric context. Our main motivation is to investigate the effect of helicity-0 mode which remains elusive after analysis of cosmological perturbation around an open Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe. The non-linear form of the effective energy-momentum tensor stemming from the mass term is derived for the spherically symmetric case. Only in the special case where the area of the two sphere is not deviated away from the FLRW universe, the effective energy momentum tensor becomes completely the same as that of cosmological constant. This opens a window for discriminating the non-linear massive gravity from general relativity (GR). Indeed, by further solving these spherically symmetric gravitational equations of motion in vacuum to the linear order, we obtain a solution which has an arbitrary time-dependent parameter. In GR, this parameter is a constant and corresponds to the mass of a star. Our result means that Birkhoff's theorem no longer holds in the non-linear massive gravity and suggests that energy can probably be emitted superluminously (with infinite speed) on the self-accelerating background by the helicity-0 mode, which could be a potential plague of this theory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Quantisation of the holographic Ricci dark energy model

While general relativity is an extremely robust theory to describe the gravitational interaction in our Universe, it is expected to fail close to singularities like the cosmological ones. On the other hand, it is well known that some dark energy models might induce future singularities; this can be the case for example within the setup of the Holographic Ricci Dark Energy model (HRDE). On this work, we perform a cosmological quantisation of the HRDE model and obtain under which conditions a cosmic doomsday can be avoided within the quantum realm. We show as well that this quantum model not only avoid future singularities but also the past Big Bang.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Gravitational lensing beyond the weak-field approximation

Gravitational lensing is considered in the full spacetime formalism of general relativity, assuming that the light rays are lightlike geodesics in a Lorentzian manifold. The review consists of three parts. The first part is devoted to spherically symmetric and static spacetimes. In particular, an exact lens map for this situation is discussed. The second part is on axisymmetric and stationary spacetimes. It concentrates on the investigation of the photon region, i.e., the region filled by spherical lightlike geodesics, in the Kerr spacetime. The photon region is of crucial relevance for the formation of a shadow. Finally, the third part briefly addresses two topics that apply to spacetimes without symmetry, namely Fermat’s principle and the exact lens map of Frittelli and Newman.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Strong Planck constraints on braneworld and non-commutative inflation

We place observational likelihood constraints on braneworld and non-commutative inflation for a number of inflaton potentials, using Planck, WMAP polarization and BAO data. Both braneworld and non-commutative scenarios of the kind considered here are limited by the most recent data even more severely than standard general-relativity models. At more than 95 % confidence level, the monomial potential V(φ)∝φ{sup p} is ruled out for p ≥ 2 in the Randall-Sundrum (RS) braneworld cosmology and, for p > 0, also in the high-curvature limit of the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) braneworld and in the infrared limit of non-commutative inflation, due to a large scalar spectral index. Some parameter values for natural inflation, small-varying inflaton models and Starobinsky inflation are allowed in all scenarios, although some tuning is required for natural inflation in a non-commutative spacetime.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Cosmological dynamics: from the Eulerian to the Lagrangian frame. Part I. Newtonian approximation

We analyse the non-linear gravitational dynamics of a pressure-less fluid in the Newtonian limit of General Relativity in both the Eulerian and Lagrangian pictures. Starting from the Newtonian metric in the Poisson gauge, we transform to the synchronous and comoving gauge and obtain the Lagrangian metric within the Newtonian approximation. Our approach is fully non-perturbative, which implies that if our quantities are expanded according to the rules of standard perturbation theory, all terms are exactly recovered at any order in perturbation theory, only provided they are Newtonian. We explicitly show this result up to second order and in both gauges. Our transformation clarifies the meaning of the change of spatial and time coordinates from the Eulerian to the Lagrangian frame in the Newtonian approximation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗