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DOE OSTI2015

Testing SgrA{sup *} with the spectrum of its accretion structure

SgrA{sup *} is the supermassive black hole candidate at the center of the Galaxy and an ideal laboratory to test general relativity. Following previous work by other authors, we use the Polish doughnut model to describe an optically thin and constant angular momentum ion torus in hydrodynamical equilibrium and model the accretion structure around SgrA{sup *}. The radiation mechanisms are bremsstrahlung, synchrotron emission, and inverse Compton scattering. We compute the spectrum as seen by a distant observer in Kerr and non-Kerr spacetimes and we study how an accurate measurement can constrain possible deviations form the Kerr solution. As in the case of emission from a thin accretion disk, we find a substantial degeneracy between the determination of the spin and of possible deviations from the Kerr geometry, even when the parameters of the ion torus are fixed. This means that this technique cannot independently test the nature of SgrA{sup *} even in the presence of good data and with the systematics under control. However, it might do it in combination with other measurements (black hole shadow, radio pulsar, etc.)

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Testing $f(R)$ gravity with scale dependent cosmic void velocity profiles

Here, we study the impact of cosmological scale modifications to general relativity on the dynamics of halos within voids by comparing N-body simulations incorporating Hu-Sawicki f(R) gravity, with |f R0 | = 10 -6 and 10 -5 , to those of Λ CDM. By examining the radial velocity statistics within voids classified based on their size and density-profile, as “rising” (R-type) or “shell” (S-type), we find that halo motions in small R-type voids, with effective radius <15 Mpc/h, reveal distinctive differences between f(R) and Λ CDM cosmologies. To understand this observed effect, we study the linear and nonlinear fifth forces, and develop an iterative algorithm to accurately solve the nonlinear fifth force equation. We use this to characterize the Chameleon screening mechanism in voids and contrast the behavior with that observed in gravitationally collapsed objects. The force analysis underscores how smaller R-type voids exhibit the highest ratios of fifth force to Newtonian force, which source distinguishable differences in the velocity profiles and thereby provide rich environments in which to constrain gravity.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2012

Astrophysical tests of gravity: a screening map of the nearby universe

Astrophysical tests of modified gravity theories in the nearby universe have been emphasized recently by Hui 2009 and Jain 2011. A key element of such tests is the screening mechanism whereby general relativity is restored in massive halos or high density environments like the Milky Way. In chameleon theories of gravity, including all f(R) models, field dwarf galaxies may be unscreened and therefore feel an extra force, as opposed to screened galaxies. The first step to study differences between screened and unscreened galaxies is to create a 3D screening map. We use N-body simulations to test and calibrate simple approximations to determine the level of screening in galaxy catalogs. Sources of systematic errors in the screening map due to observational inaccuracies are modeled and their contamination is estimated. We then apply our methods to create a map out to 200 Mpc in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint using data from the Sloan survey and other sources. In two companion papers this map will be used to carry out new tests of gravity using distance indicators and the disks of dwarf galaxies. We also make our screening map publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

DYNAMIC STABILITY OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM: STATISTICALLY INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS FROM ENSEMBLE INTEGRATIONS

Due to the chaotic nature of the solar system, the question of its long-term stability can only be answered in a statistical sense, for instance, based on numerical ensemble integrations of nearby orbits. Destabilization of the inner planets, leading to close encounters and/or collisions can be initiated through a large increase in Mercury's eccentricity, with a currently assumed likelihood of ∼1%. However, little is known at present about the robustness of this number. Here I report ensemble integrations of the full equations of motion of the eight planets and Pluto over 5 Gyr, including contributions from general relativity. The results show that different numerical algorithms lead to statistically different results for the evolution of Mercury's eccentricity (e{sub M}). For instance, starting at present initial conditions (e{sub M}≃0.21), Mercury's maximum eccentricity achieved over 5 Gyr is, on average, significantly higher in symplectic ensemble integrations using heliocentric rather than Jacobi coordinates and stricter error control. In contrast, starting at a possible future configuration (e{sub M}≃0.53), Mercury's maximum eccentricity achieved over the subsequent 500 Myr is, on average, significantly lower using heliocentric rather than Jacobi coordinates. For example, the probability for e{sub M} to increase beyond 0.53 over 500 Myr is >90% (Jacobi) versus only 40%-55% (heliocentric). This poses a dilemma because the physical evolution of the real system—and its probabilistic behavior—cannot depend on the coordinate system or the numerical algorithm chosen to describe it. Some tests of the numerical algorithms suggest that symplectic integrators using heliocentric coordinates underestimate the odds for destabilization of Mercury's orbit at high initial e{sub M}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Old neutron stars as probes of isospin-violating dark matter

Isospin-violating dark matter (IVDM), which couples differently with protons and neutrons, provides a promising mechanism to ameliorate the tension among recent direct detection experiments. Assuming dark matter (DM) is non-interacting bosonic asymmetric IVDM, we investigate how the existence of old neutron stars limits the DM–proton scattering cross-section σ{sub p}, especially the effects of the isospin-violating DM–nucleon interactions and the symmetry energy in the equation of state (EOS) of isospin asymmetric nuclear matter. Our calculations are completely based on general relativity and the structure of neutron stars is obtained by solving the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equations with nuclear matter EOS constrained by terrestrial experiments. We find that, by considering the more realistic neutron star model rather than a simple uniform neutron sphere as usual, the σ{sub p} bounds from old neutron stars can be varied by more than an order of magnitude depending on the specific values of the DM neutron-to-proton coupling ratio f{sub n}/f{sub p}, and they can be further varied by more than a factor of two depending on the density dependence of the symmetry energy. In particular, we demonstrate that the observed nearby isolated old neutron star PSR B1257+12 can set a very strong limit on σ{sub p} for low-mass DM particles (⩽20 GeV) that reaches a sensitivity beyond the current best limits from direct detection experiments and disfavors the DM interpretation of previously reported positive experimental results, including the IVDM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Finding Horndeski theories with Einstein gravity limits

The Horndeski action is the most general scalar-tensor theory with at most second-order derivatives in the equations of motion, thus evading Ostrogradsky instabilities and making it of interest when modifying gravity at large scales. To pass local tests of gravity, these modifications predominantly rely on nonlinear screening mechanisms that recover Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in regions of high density. We derive a set of conditions on the four free functions of the Horndeski action that examine whether a specific model embedded in the action possesses an Einstein gravity limit or not. For this purpose, we develop a new and surprisingly simple scaling method that identifies dominant terms in the equations of motion by considering formal limits of the couplings that enter through the new terms in the modified action. This enables us to find regimes where nonlinear terms dominate and Einstein's field equations are recovered to leading order. Together with an efficient approximation of the scalar field profile, one can then further evaluate whether these limits can be attributed to a genuine screening effect. For illustration, we apply the analysis to both a cubic galileon and a chameleon model as well as to Brans-Dicke theory. Finally, we emphasise that the scaling method also provides a natural approach for performing post-Newtonian expansions in screened regimes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Relativistic interpretation of Newtonian simulations for cosmic structure formation

The standard numerical tools for studying non-linear collapse of matter are Newtonian N -body simulations. Previous work has shown that these simulations are in accordance with General Relativity (GR) up to first order in perturbation theory, provided that the effects from radiation can be neglected. In this paper we show that the present day matter density receives more than 1% corrections from radiation on large scales if Newtonian simulations are initialised before z =50. We provide a relativistic framework in which unmodified Newtonian simulations are compatible with linear GR even in the presence of radiation. Our idea is to use GR perturbation theory to keep track of the evolution of relativistic species and the relativistic space-time consistent with the Newtonian trajectories computed in N -body simulations. If metric potentials are sufficiently small, they can be computed using a first-order Einstein–Boltzmann code such as CLASS. We make this idea rigorous by defining a class of GR gauges, the Newtonian motion gauges, which are defined such that matter particles follow Newtonian trajectories. We construct a simple example of a relativistic space-time within which unmodified Newtonian simulations can be interpreted.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Nonadiabatic charged spherical evolution in the postquasistatic approximation

We apply the postquasistatic approximation, an iterative method for the evolution of self-gravitating spheres of matter, to study the evolution of dissipative and electrically charged distributions in general relativity. The numerical implementation of our approach leads to a solver which is globally second-order convergent. We evolve nonadiabatic distributions assuming an equation of state that accounts for the anisotropy induced by the electric charge. Dissipation is described by streaming-out or diffusion approximations. We match the interior solution, in noncomoving coordinates, with the Vaidya-Reissner-Nordstroem exterior solution. Two models are considered: (i) a Schwarzschild-like shell in the diffusion limit; and (ii) a Schwarzschild-like interior in the free-streaming limit. These toy models tell us something about the nature of the dissipative and electrically charged collapse. Diffusion stabilizes the gravitational collapse producing a spherical shell whose contraction is halted in a short characteristic hydrodynamic time. The streaming-out radiation provides a more efficient mechanism for emission of energy, redistributing the electric charge on the whole sphere, while the distribution collapses indefinitely with a longer hydrodynamic time scale.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Gravitomagnetic effect in magnetized neutron stars

Rotating bodies in General Relativity produce frame dragging, also known as the gravitomagnetic effect in analogy with classical electromagnetism. In this work, we study the effect of magnetic field on the gravitomagnetic effect in neutron stars with poloidal geometry, which is produced as a result of its rotation. We show that the magnetic field has a non-negligible impact on frame dragging. The maximum effect of the magnetic field appears along the polar direction, where the frame-dragging frequency decreases with increase in magnetic field, and along the equatorial direction, where its magnitude increases. For intermediate angles, the effect of the magnetic field decreases, and goes through a minimum for a particular angular value at which magnetic field has no effect on gravitomagnetism. Beyond that particular angle gravitomagnetic effect increases with increasing magnetic field. We try to identify this 'null region' for the case of magnetized neutron stars, both inside and outside, as a function of the magnetic field, and suggest a thought experiment to find the null region of a particular pulsar using the frame dragging effect.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Cosmological histories in bimetric gravity: a graphical approach

The bimetric generalization of general relativity has been proven to be able to give an accelerated background expansion consistent with observations. Apart from the energy densities coupling to one or both of the metrics, the expansion will depend on the cosmological constant contribution to each of them, as well as the three parameters describing the interaction between the two metrics. Even for fixed values of these parameters can several possible solutions, so called branches, exist. Different branches can give similar background expansion histories for the observable metric, but may have different properties regarding, for example, the existence of ghosts and the rate of structure growth. In this paper, we outline a method to find viable solution branches for arbitrary parameter values. We show how possible expansion histories in bimetric gravity can be inferred qualitatively, by picturing the ratio of the scale factors of the two metrics as the spatial coordinate of a particle rolling along a frictionless track. A particularly interesting example discussed is a specific set of parameter values, where a cosmological dark matter background is mimicked without introducing ghost modes into the theory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Maxwell–Dirac stress–energy tensor in terms of Fierz bilinear currents

We analyse the stress–energy tensor for the self-coupled Maxwell–Dirac system in the bilinear current formalism, using two independent approaches. The first method used is that attributed to Belinfante: starting from the spinor form of the action, the well-known canonical stress–energy tensor is augmented, by extending the Noether symmetry current to include contributions from the Lorentz group, to a manifestly symmetric form. This form admits a transcription to bilinear current form. The second method used is the variational derivation based on the covariant coupling to general relativity. The starting point here at the outset is the transcription of the action using, as independent field variables, both the bilinear currents, together with a gauge invariant vector field (a proxy for the electromagnetic vector potential). A central feature of the two constructions is that they both involve the mapping of the Dirac contribution to the stress–energy from the spinor fields to the equivalent set of bilinear tensor currents, through the use of appropriate Fierz identities. Although this mapping is done at quite different stages, nonetheless we find that the two forms of the bilinear stress–energy tensor agree. Finally, as an application, we consider the reduction of the obtained stress–energy tensor in bilinear form, under the assumption of spherical symmetry. -- Highlights: •Maxwell–Dirac stress–energy tensor derived in manifestly gauge invariant bilinear form. •Dirac spinor Belinfante tensor transcribed to bilinear fields via Fierz mapping. •Variational stress–energy obtained via bilinearized action, in contrast to Belinfante case. •Independent derivations via the Belinfante and variational methods agree, as required. •Spherical symmetry reduction given as a working example for wider applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Cosmological evolution of generalized non-local gravity

We construct a class of generalized non-local gravity (GNLG) model which is the modified theory of general relativity (GR) obtained by adding a term m {sup 2} {sup n} {sup -2} R □{sup -} {sup n} R to the Einstein-Hilbert action. Concretely, we not only study the gravitational equation for the GNLG model by introducing auxiliary scalar fields, but also analyse the classical stability and examine the cosmological consequences of the model for different exponent n . We find that the half of the scalar fields are always ghost-like and the exponent n must be taken even number for a stable GNLG model. Meanwhile, the model spontaneously generates three dominant phases of the evolution of the universe, and the equation of state parameters turn out to be phantom-like. Furthermore, we clarify in another way that exponent n should be even numbers by the spherically symmetric static solutions in Newtonian gauge. It is worth stressing that the results given by us can include ones in refs. [28, 34] as the special case of n =2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

THE PECULIAR PULSAR POPULATION OF THE CENTRAL PARSEC

Pulsars orbiting the Galactic center black hole, Sgr A*, would be potential probes of its mass, distance, and spin, and may even be used to test general relativity. Despite predictions of large populations of both ordinary and millisecond pulsars in the Galactic center, none have been detected within 25 pc by deep radio surveys. One explanation has been that hyperstrong temporal scattering prevents pulsar detections, but the recent discovery of radio pulsations from a highly magnetized neutron star (magnetar) within 0.1 pc shows that the temporal scattering is much weaker than predicted. We argue that an intrinsic deficit in the ordinary pulsar population is the most likely reason for the lack of detections to date: a ''missing pulsar problem'' in the Galactic center. In contrast, we show that the discovery of a single magnetar implies efficient magnetar formation in the region. If the massive stars in the central parsec form magnetars rather than ordinary pulsars, their short lifetimes could explain the missing pulsars. Efficient magnetar formation could be caused by strongly magnetized progenitors, or could be further evidence of a top-heavy initial mass function. Furthermore, current high-frequency surveys should already be able to detect bright millisecond pulsars, given the measured degree of temporal scattering.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Measuring the Kerr spin parameter of a non-Kerr compact object with the continuum-fitting and the iron line methods

Under the assumption that astrophysical black hole candidates are the Kerr black holes of general relativity, the continuum-fitting method and the analysis of the Kα iron line are today the only available techniques capable of providing a relatively reliable estimate of the spin parameter of these objects. If we relax the Kerr black hole hypothesis and we try to test the nature of black hole candidates, we find that there is a strong correlation between the measurement of the spin and possible deviations from the Kerr solution. The properties of the radiation emitted in a Kerr spacetime with spin parameter a{sub *} are indeed very similar, and practically indistinguishable, from the ones of the radiation emitted around a non-Kerr object with different spin. In this paper, I address the question whether measuring the Kerr spin with both the continuum-fitting method and the Kα iron line analysis of the same object can be used to claim the Kerr nature of the black hole candidate in the case of consistent results. In this work, I consider two non-Kerr metrics and it seems that the answer does depend on the specific background. The two techniques may either provide a very similar result (the case of the Bardeen metric) or show a discrepancy (Johannsen-Psaltis background)

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Gravitational waves from extreme mass-ratio inspirals in dynamical Chern-Simons gravity

Dynamical Chern-Simons gravity is an interesting extension of general relativity, which finds its way in many different contexts, including string theory, cosmological settings, and loop quantum gravity. In this theory, the gravitational field is coupled to a scalar field by a parity-violating term, which gives rise to characteristic signatures. Here we investigate how Chern-Simons gravity would affect the quasicircular inspiralling of a small, stellar-mass object into a large nonrotating supermassive black hole, and the accompanying emission of gravitational and scalar waves. We find the relevant equations describing the perturbation induced by the small object, and we solve them through the use of Green's function techniques. Our results show that for a wide range of coupling parameters, the Chern-Simons coupling gives rise to an increase in total energy flux, which translates into a fewer number of gravitational-wave cycles over a certain bandwidth. For space-based gravitational-wave detectors such as LISA, this effect can be used to constrain the coupling parameter effectively.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Coupled dark matter-dark energy in light of near universe observations

Cosmological analysis based on currently available observations are unable to rule out a sizeable coupling among the dark energy and dark matter fluids. We explore a variety of coupled dark matter-dark energy models, which satisfy cosmic microwave background constraints, in light of low redshift and near universe observations. We illustrate the phenomenology of different classes of dark coupling models, paying particular attention in distinguishing between effects that appear only on the expansion history and those that appear in the growth of structure. We find that while a broad class of dark coupling models are effectively models where general relativity (GR) is modified — and thus can be probed by a combination of tests for the expansion history and the growth of structure —, there is a class of dark coupling models where gravity is still GR, but the growth of perturbations is, in principle modified. While this effect is small in the specific models we have considered, one should bear in mind that an inconsistency between reconstructed expansion history and growth may not uniquely indicate deviations from GR. Our low redshift constraints arise from cosmic velocities, redshift space distortions and dark matter abundance in galaxy voids. We find that current data constrain the dimensionless coupling to be |ξ| < 0.2, but prospects from forthcoming data are for a significant improvement. Future, precise measurements of the Hubble constant, combined with high-precision constraints on the growth of structure, could provide the key to rule out dark coupling models which survive other tests. We shall exploit as well weak equivalence principle violation arguments, which have the potential to highly disfavour a broad family of coupled models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

ANALYSIS OF SPIN-ORBIT MISALIGNMENT IN THE ECLIPSING BINARY DI HERCULIS

The eclipsing binary DI Herculis (DI Her) is known to exhibit anomalously slow apsidal precession below the rate predicted by general relativity. Recent measurements of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect indicate that stellar spins in DI Her are almost orthogonal to the orbital angular momentum, which explains the anomalous precession in agreement with the earlier theoretical suggestion by Shakura. However, these measurements yield only projections of the spin-orbit angles onto the sky plane, leaving the spin projection onto our line of sight unconstrained. Here we describe a method for determining the full three-dimensional spin orientation of the binary components relying on the use of the gravity-darkening effect, which is significant for the rapidly rotating stars in DI Her. Gravity darkening gives rise to a nonuniform brightness distribution over the stellar surface, the pattern of which depends on the stellar spin orientation. Using archival photometric data obtained during multiple eclipses over several decades, we are able to constrain the unknown spin angles in DI Her with this method, finding that the spin axes of both stars lie close to the plane of the sky. Our procedure fully accounts for the precession of stellar spins over the long time span of observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

GENERAL RELATIVISTIC SIMULATIONS OF ACCRETION INDUCED COLLAPSE OF NEUTRON STARS TO BLACK HOLES

Neutron stars (NSs) in the astrophysical universe are often surrounded by accretion disks. Accretion of matter onto an NS may increase its mass above the maximum value allowed by its equation of state, inducing its collapse to a black hole (BH). Here we study this process for the first time, in three-dimensions, and in full general relativity. By considering three initial NS configurations, each with and without a surrounding disk (of mass {approx}7% M{sub NS}), we investigate the effect of the accretion disk on the dynamics of the collapse and its imprint on both the gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) signals that can be emitted by these sources. We show in particular that, even if the GW signal is similar for the accretion induced collapse (AIC) and the collapse of an NS in vacuum (and detectable only for Galactic sources), the EM counterpart could allow us to discriminate between these two types of events. In fact, our simulations show that, while the collapse of an NS in vacuum leaves no appreciable baryonic matter outside the event horizon, an AIC is followed by a phase of rapid accretion of the surviving disk onto the newly formed BH. The post-collapse accretion rates, on the order of {approx}10{sup -2} M{sub Sun} s{sup -1}, make these events tantalizing candidates as engines of short gamma-ray bursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗