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DOE OSTI2012

FULLY GENERAL RELATIVISTIC SIMULATIONS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE WITH AN APPROXIMATE NEUTRINO TRANSPORT

We present results from the first generation of multi-dimensional hydrodynamic core-collapse simulations in full general relativity (GR) that include an approximate treatment of neutrino transport. Using an M1 closure scheme with an analytic variable Eddington factor, we solve the energy-independent set of radiation energy and momentum based on the Thorne's momentum formalism. Our newly developed code is designed to evolve the Einstein field equation together with the GR radiation hydrodynamic equations. We follow the dynamics starting from the onset of gravitational core collapse of a 15 M{sub Sun} star, through bounce, up to about 100 ms postbounce in this study. By computing four models that differ according to 1D to 3D and by switching from special relativistic (SR) to GR hydrodynamics, we study how the spacial multi-dimensionality and GR would affect the dynamics in the early postbounce phase. Our 3D results support the anticipation in previous 1D results that the neutrino luminosity and average neutrino energy of any neutrino flavor in the postbounce phase increase when switching from SR to GR hydrodynamics. This is because the deeper gravitational well of GR produces more compact core structures, and thus hotter neutrino spheres at smaller radii. By analyzing the residency timescale to the neutrino-heating timescale in the gain region, we show that the criterion to initiate neutrino-driven explosions can be most easily satisfied in 3D models, irrespective of SR or GR hydrodynamics. Our results suggest that the combination of GR and 3D hydrodynamics provides the most favorable condition to drive a robust neutrino-driven explosion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Black hole formation from axion stars

The classical equations of motion for an axion with potential V (φ)= m {sub a} {sup 2} f {sub a} {sup 2} [1−cos (φ/ f {sub a} )] possess quasi-stable, localized, oscillating solutions, which we refer to as ''axion stars''. We study, for the first time, collapse of axion stars numerically using the full non-linear Einstein equations of general relativity and the full non-perturbative cosine potential. We map regions on an ''axion star stability diagram', parameterized by the initial ADM mass, M {sub ADM}, and axion decay constant, f {sub a} . We identify three regions of the parameter space: i) long-lived oscillating axion star solutions, with a base frequency, m {sub a} , modulated by self-interactions, ii) collapse to a BH and iii) complete dispersal due to gravitational cooling and interactions. We locate the boundaries of these three regions and an approximate ''triple point' ( M {sub TP}, f {sub TP}) ∼ (2.4 M {sub pl}{sup 2}/ m {sub a} ,0.3 M {sub pl}). For f {sub a} below the triple point BH formation proceeds during winding (in the complex U(1) picture) of the axion field near the dispersal phase. This could prevent astrophysical BH formation from axion stars with f {sub a} || M {sub pl}. For larger f {sub a} ∼> f {sub TP}, BH formation occurs through the stable branch and we estimate the mass ratio of the BH to the stable state at the phase boundary to be O(1) within numerical uncertainty. We discuss the observational relevance of our findings for axion stars as BH seeds, which are supermassive in the case of ultralight axions. For the QCD axion, the typical BH mass formed from axion star collapse is M {sub BH} ∼ 3.4 ( f {sub a} /0.6 M {sub pl}){sup 1.2} M {sub ⊙}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Constraining the dark cusp in the galactic center by long-period binaries

Massive black holes (MBHs) in galactic nuclei are believed to be surrounded by a high-density stellar cluster, whose mass is mostly in hard-to-detect faint stars and compact remnants. Such dark cusps dominate the dynamics near the MBH: a dark cusp in the Galactic center (GC) of the Milky Way would strongly affect orbital tests of general relativity there; on cosmic scales, dark cusps set the rates of gravitational wave emission events from compact remnants that spiral into MBHs, and they modify the rates of tidal disruption events, to list only some implications. A recently discovered long-period massive young binary (with period P {sub 12} ≲ 1 yr, total mass M{sub 12}∼O(100 M{sub ⊙}), and age T {sub 12} ∼ 6 × 10{sup 6} yr), only ∼0.1 pc from the Galactic MBH, sets a lower bound on the stellar two-body relaxation timescale there, min t {sub rlx}∝(P {sub 12}/M {sub 12}){sup 2/3} T {sub 12} ∼ 10{sup 7} yr, and, correspondingly, an upper bound on the stellar number density, maxn{sub ⋆}∼few×10{sup 8}/〈M{sub ⋆}{sup 2}〉 pc{sup −3} (〈M{sub ⋆}{sup 2}〉{sup 1/2} is the rms stellar mass), based on the binary's survival against evaporation by the dark cusp. However, a conservative dynamical estimate, the drain limit, implies t{sub rlx}>O(10{sup 8} yr). Such massive binaries are thus too short-lived and tightly bound to constrain a dense relaxed dark cusp. We explore here in detail the use of longer-period, less massive, and longer-lived binaries (P {sub 12} ∼ few yr, M {sub 12} ∼ 2-4 M {sub ☉}, T {sub 12} ∼ 10{sup 8}-10{sup 10} yr), presently just below the detection threshold, for probing the dark cusp and develop the framework for translating their future detections among the giants in the GC into dynamical constraints.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

An updated analysis of two classes of f(R) theories of gravity

The observed accelerated cosmic expansion can be a signature of fourth-order gravity theories, where the acceleration of the Universe is a consequence of departures from Einstein General Relativity, rather than the sign of the existence of a fluid with negative pressure. In the fourth-order gravity theories, the gravity Lagrangian is described by an analytic function f(R) of the scalar curvature R subject to the demanding conditions that no detectable deviations from standard GR is observed on the Solar System scale. Here we consider two classes of f(R) theories able to pass Solar System tests and investigate their viability on cosmological scales. To this end, we fit the theories to a large dataset including the combined Hubble diagram of Type Ia Supernovae and Gamma Ray Bursts, the Hubble parameter H(z) data from passively evolving red galaxies, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations extracted from the seventh data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the distance priors from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe seven years (WMAP7) data. We find that both classes of f(R) fit very well this large dataset with the present-day values of the matter density, Hubble constant and deceleration parameter in agreement with previous estimates; however, the strong degeneracy among the f(R) parameters prevents us from strongly constraining their values. We also derive the growth factor g = dln δ/dln a, with δ = δρ{sub M}/ρ{sub M} the matter density perturbation, and show that it can still be well approximated by g(z)∝Ω{sub M}(z){sup γ}. We finally constrain γ (on some representative scales) and investigate its redshift dependence to see whether future data can discriminate between these classes of f(R) theories and standard dark energy models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Accelerating dark energy models of the universe in anisotropic Bianchi type space-times and recent observations

Motivated by the increasing evidence for the need of a geometry that resembles Bianchi morphology to explain the observed anisotropy in the WMAP data, we have discussed some features of the Bianchi type universes in the presence of a fluid that wields an anisotropic equation of state (EoS) parameter in general relativity. Such models are of great interest in cosmology in favor of constructing more realistic models than FLRW models with maximally symmetric spatial geometry. Additionally, the interest in such models was promoted in recent years due to the debate that going on the analysis and the interpretation of the WMAP [21, 111, 112] data, whether they need a Bianchi type morphology to be explained successfully [7, 103, 118, 117]. The LLC-WMAP data maps show seven axes well aligned with one another and the direction Virgo. For this reason Bianchi models are important in the study of anisotropies. In the present study of Bianchi type-I, II, III, V and VI{sub 0} space-times, we observe that the EoS for dark energy ω is found to be time-dependent and its existing range for derived models is in good agreement with the recent observations of SNe Ia data [50], SNe Ia data with CMBR anisotropy and galaxy clustering statistics [11] and latest combination of cosmological datasets coming from CMB anisotropies, luminosity distances of high redshift type Ia supernovae and galaxy clustering [21, 51]. It has been suggested that the dark energy that explains the observed accelerating expansion of the universe may arise due to the contribution to the vacuum energy of the EoS in a time dependent background. The cosmological constant Λ is found to be a positive decreasing function of time and it approaches to a small positive value at late time (i.e. the present epoch) which is corroborated by results from recent type Ia supernovae observations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

EFFECTS OF CIRCUMNUCLEAR DISK GAS EVOLUTION ON THE SPIN OF CENTRAL BLACK HOLES

Mass and spin are the only two parameters needed to completely characterize black holes (BHs) in general relativity. However, the interaction between BHs and their environment is where complexity lies, as the relevant physical processes occur over a large range of scales. That is particularly relevant in the case of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), hosted in galaxy centers, and surrounded by swirling gas and various generations of stars. These compete with the SMBH for gas consumption and affect both dynamics and thermodynamics of the gas itself. How the behavior of such a fiery environment influences the angular momentum of the gas accreted onto SMBHs, and, hence, BH spins, is uncertain. We explore the interaction between SMBHs and their environment via first three-dimensional sub-parsec resolution simulations (ranging from {approx}0.1 pc to {approx}1 kpc scales) that study the evolution of the SMBH spin by including the effects of star formation, stellar feedback, radiative transfer, and metal pollution according to the proper stellar yields and lifetimes. This approach is crucial in investigating the impact of star formation processes and feedback effects on the angular momentum of the material that could accrete on the central hole. We find that star formation and feedback mechanisms can locally inject significant amounts of entropy in the surrounding medium, and impact the inflow inclination angles and Eddington fractions. As a consequence, the resulting trends show upper-intermediate equilibrium values for the spin parameter of a {approx_equal} 0.6-0.9, corresponding to radiative efficiencies {epsilon} {approx_equal} 9%-15%. These results suggest that star formation feedback taking place in the circumnuclear disk during the infall alone cannot induce very strong chaotic trends in the gas flow, quite independently from the different numerical parameters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radiation GRMHD Models of Accretion onto Stellar-mass Black Holes. I. Survey of Eddington Ratios

We summarize results from a survey of radiation-dominated black hole accretion flows across a wide range of mass accretion rates, as well as two values of black hole spin and initial magnetic field geometry. These models apply an algorithm targeting direct solutions to the radiation transport equation in full general relativity and have been enabled by access to modern exascale computing systems. Super-Eddington accretion flows form geometrically thick radiation-pressure-supported disks that drive powerful equatorial outflows. A narrow funnel-shaped photosphere in the inner region results in very low radiative efficiencies in this regime. The structure of near- and sub-Eddington accretion depends on whether there is net vertical magnetic flux at the midplane of the disk. With net flux, the disk forms a thin, dense layer at the midplane surrounded by a magnetically dominated corona, whereas without net flux, the disk remains magnetically dominated everywhere. Although none of our models achieve the magnetically arrested disk regime, those with net vertical flux and a rapidly spinning black hole still produce powerful relativistic jets. Our calculations adopt simple opacity models (with scalings appropriate to stellar-mass black hole accretion). We discuss the application of our results to observations of X-ray binaries and ultraluminous X-ray sources such as Cyg X-3 and SS433. We also speculate on the application of our super-Eddington models to the interpretation of little red dots recently discovered by JWST.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Testing the nature of the supermassive black hole candidate in SgrA* with light curves and images of hot spots

General relativity makes clear predictions about the spacetime geometry around black holes. In the near future, new facilities will have the capability to explore the metric around SgrA*, the supermassive black hole candidate at the center of our Galaxy, and to open a new window to test the Kerr black hole hypothesis. In this paper, we compute light curves and images associated with compact emission regions (hot spots) orbiting around Kerr and non-Kerr black holes. We study how the analysis of the properties of the radiation emitted by a hot spot can be used to test the Kerr nature of SgrA*. We find that the sole observation of the hot spot light curve can at most constrain a combination of the black hole spin and of possible deviations from the Kerr solution. This happens because the same orbital frequency around a Kerr black hole can be found for a non-Kerr object with a different spin parameter. Second order corrections in the light curve due to the background geometry are typically too small to be identified. While the observation of the hot spot centroid track can potentially bound possible deviations from the Kerr solution, that is out of reach for the near future for the Very Large Telescope Interferometer instrument GRAVITY. The Kerr black hole hypothesis could really be tested in the case of the discovery of a radio pulsar in a compact orbit around SgrA*. Radio observations of such a pulsar would provide precise estimates of the mass and the spin of SgrA*, and the combination of these measurements (probing the weak field) with the hot spot light curve information (probing the strong field) may constrain/find possible deviations from the Kerr solution with quite good precision.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Cosmology based on f(R) gravity with O(1) eV sterile neutrino

We address the cosmological role of an additional O(1) eV sterile neutrino in modified gravity models. We confront the present cosmological data with predictions of the FLRW cosmological model based on a variant of f(R) modified gravity proposed by one of the authors previously. This viable cosmological model which deviation from general relativity with a cosmological constant Λ decreases as R{sup −2n} for large, but not too large values of the Ricci scalar R (while no Λ is introduced by hand at small R) provides an alternative explanation of present dark energy and the accelerated expansion of the Universe (the case n=2 is considered in the paper). Various up-to-date cosmological data sets exploited include measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, the CMB lensing potential, the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), the cluster mass function and the Hubble constant. We find that the CMB+BAO constraints strongly restrict the sum of neutrino masses from above. This excludes values of the model parameter λ∼ 1 for which distinctive cosmological features of the model are mostly pronounced as compared to the ΛCDM model, since then free streaming damping of perturbations due to neutrino rest masses is not sufficient to compensate their extra growth occurring in f(R) modified gravity. Thus, in the gravity sector we obtain λ>8.2 (2σ) with the account of systematic uncertainties in galaxy cluster mass function measurements and λ>9.4 (2σ) without them. At the same time in the latter case we find for the sterile neutrino mass 0.47 eV < m{sub ν, sterile} < 1 eV (2σ) assuming that the sterile neutrinos are thermalized and the active neutrinos are massless, not significantly larger than in the standard ΛCDM with the same data set: 0.45 eV < m{sub ν, sterile} < 0.92 eV (2σ). However, a possible discovery of a sterile neutrino with the mass m{sub ν, sterile} ≈ 1.5 eV motivated by various anomalies in neutrino oscillation experiments would favor cosmology based on f(R) gravity rather than the ΛCDM model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2023

Testing theories of Gravitation with the Interstellar Probe Radio Experiment

General Relativity (GR) will soon celebrate its 110th birthday, holding up against all experimental enquiry. Nonetheless, unification theories attempting to quantize gravity, such as string theory, are gaining footing. These hypothesize additional scalar, vector, and tensor long-range fields that couple to matter (Will, 2014), introducing violations to GR. Although such violations have never been detected, it is likely that GR will not be the ultimate theory of gravity. What is certain is that gravity tests are alive and well, pushing the validity of GR to new scales and accuracies, or -potentially- suggesting alternative routes for new physics. Building upon the legacy of Voyager and Pioneer missions, which demonstrated the capability to survive in the outer reaches of the solar system, the Interstellar Probe mission concept (McNutt et al., 2022) aims to characterise our heliosphere through state-of-the-art instrumentation, opening new frontiers also for GR testing. In this work, we investigate the possibility of constraining the Nordtvedt parameter η and the mass of the graviton via the Compton wavelength λc, by simulating the processing of 10 years of radiometric data from the Interstellar Probe. Station calibration and clock synchronisation, as well as limiting spacecraft precession manoeuvres are highlighted as key strategies for obtaining high-quality estimates. In the most favourable scenario, η can be constrained to less than 1.5 · 10 -5 , reducing the uncertainty obtained via Lunar Laser Ranging (Hofmann and Müller, 2018), and a lower bound of 1.4 ‧ 10 14 km is set for λc, improving the estimates obtained from planetary ephemerides (Bernus et al., 2020) and gravitational wave detection (Abbott et al., Jun 2021). Extending ranging measurement acquisition to 20 years improves the results tenfold. This experiment interrogates fundamental physics from a unique dynamical setting, investigating possible violations of the Equivalence Principle (EP) underlying GR.

general relativity↗
DOE OSTI2012

PRACTICAL METHODS FOR CONTINUOUS GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTION USING PULSAR TIMING DATA

Gravitational waves (GWs) are tiny ripples in the fabric of space time predicted by Einstein's general relativity. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are well poised to detect low-frequency (10{sup -9}-10{sup -7} Hz) GWs in the near future. There has been a significant amount of research into the detection of a stochastic background of GWs from supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs). Recent work has shown that single continuous sources standing out above the background may be detectable by PTAs operating at a sensitivity sufficient to detect the stochastic background. The most likely sources of continuous GWs in the pulsar timing frequency band are extremely massive and/or nearby SMBHBs. In this paper we present detection strategies including various forms of matched filtering and power spectral summing. We determine the efficacy and computational cost of such strategies. It is shown that using an optimal matched filter explicitly including the poorly constrained pulsar distances with a grid-based method is computationally infeasible. We show that an Earth-term-matched filter constructed using only the correlated signal terms is robust, computationally viable and highly sensitive to GW signals. We further show that a simple power spectral summing technique is nearly equivalent to the Earth-term-matched filter in terms of the minimum detectable amplitude. Both of these techniques are only a factor of two less sensitive than the computationally unrealizable optimal matched filter. We also show that a pairwise matched filter, taking the pulsar distances into account, is comparable to the optimal matched filter for the single template case and comparable to the Earth-term-matched filter for many search templates. Finally, using simulated data optimal quality, we place a theoretical minimum detectable strain amplitude of h > 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -15} from continuous GWs at frequencies on the order {approx}1/T{sub obs}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

CLASH-VLT: CONSTRAINTS ON THE DARK MATTER EQUATION OF STATE FROM ACCURATE MEASUREMENTS OF GALAXY CLUSTER MASS PROFILES

A pressureless scenario for the dark matter (DM) fluid is a widely adopted hypothesis, despite the absence of direct observational evidence. According to general relativity, the total mass-energy content of a system shapes the gravitational potential well, but different test particles perceive this potential in different ways depending on their properties. Cluster galaxy velocities, being <<c, depend solely on the gravitational potential, whereas photon trajectories reflect the contributions from the gravitational potential plus a relativistic-pressure term that depends on the cluster mass. We exploit this phenomenon to constrain the equation of state (EoS) parameter of the fluid, primarily DM, contained in galaxy clusters. We use complementary information provided by the kinematic and lensing mass profiles of the galaxy cluster MACS 1206.2–0847 at z = 0.44, as obtained in an extensive imaging and spectroscopic campaign within the Cluster Lensing And Supernova survey with Hubble. The unprecedented high quality of our data set and the properties of this cluster are well suited to determine the EoS parameter of the cluster fluid. Since baryons contribute at most 15% to the total mass in clusters and their pressure is negligible, the EoS parameter we derive describes the behavior of the DM fluid. We obtain the most stringent constraint on the DM EoS parameter to date, w = (p{sub r} + 2 p{sub t} )/(3 c {sup 2}ρ) = 0.00 ± 0.15 (stat) ± 0.08 (syst), averaged over the radial range 0.5 Mpc ≤ r ≤ r {sub 200}, where p{sub r} and p{sub t} are the radial and tangential pressure, and ρ is the density. We plan to further improve our constraint by applying the same procedure to all clusters from the ongoing Cluster Lensing And Supernova Survey with Hubble-Very Large Telescope program.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2012

Probing the space-time geometry around black hole candidates with the resonance models for high-frequency QPOs and comparison with the continuum-fitting method

Astrophysical black hole candidates are thought to be the Kerr black hole predicted by General Relativity. However, in order to confirm the Kerr-nature of these objects, we need to probe the geometry of the space-time around them and check that observations are consistent with the predictions of the Kerr metric. That can be achieved, for instance, by studying the properties of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the gas in the accretion disk. The high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in the X-ray flux of some stellar-mass black hole candidates might do the job. As the frequencies of these oscillations depend only very weakly on the observed X-ray flux, it is thought they are mainly determined by the metric of the space-time. In this paper, I consider the resonance models proposed by Abramowicz and Kluzniak and I extend previous results to the case of non-Kerr space-times. The emerging picture is more complicated than the one around a Kerr black hole and there is a larger number of possible combinations between different modes. I then compare the bounds inferred from the twin peak high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in three micro-quasars (GRO J1655-40, XTE J1550-564, and GRS 1915+105) with the measurements from the continuum-fitting method of the same objects. For Kerr black holes, the two approaches do not provide consistent results. In a non-Kerr geometry, this conflict may be solved if the observed quasi-periodic oscillations are produced by the resonance ν{sub θ}:ν{sub r} = 3:1, where ν{sub θ} and ν{sub r} are the two epicyclic frequencies. It is at least worth mentioning that the deformation from the Kerr solution required by observations would be consistent with the one suggested in another recent work discussing the possibility that steady jets are powered by the spin of these compact objects.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Zero-point quantum fluctuations and dark energy

In the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, the energy associated to an asymptotically flat space-time with metric g{sub {mu}{nu}} is related to the Hamiltonian H{sub GR} by E=H{sub GR}[g{sub {mu}{nu}}]-H{sub GR}[{eta}{sub {mu}{nu}}], where the subtraction of the flat-space contribution is necessary to get rid of an otherwise divergent boundary term. This classic result indicates that the energy associated to flat space does not gravitate. We apply the same principle to study the effect of the zero-point fluctuations of quantum fields in cosmology, proposing that their contribution to cosmic expansion is obtained computing the vacuum energy of quantum fields in a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-time with Hubble parameter H(t) and subtracting from it the flat-space contribution. Then the term proportional to {Lambda}{sub c}{sup 4} (where {Lambda}{sub c} is the UV cutoff) cancels, and the remaining (bare) value of the vacuum energy density is proportional to {Lambda}{sub c}{sup 2}H{sup 2}(t). After renormalization, this produces a renormalized vacuum energy density {approx}M{sup 2}H{sup 2}(t), where M is the scale where quantum gravity sets is, so for M of the order of the Planck mass a vacuum energy density of the order of the critical density can be obtained without any fine-tuning. The counterterms can be chosen so that the renormalized energy density and pressure satisfy p=w{rho}, with w a parameter that can be fixed by comparison to the observed value, so, in particular, one can choose w=-1. An energy density evolving in time as H{sup 2}(t) is however observationally excluded as an explanation for the dominant dark energy component that is responsible for the observed acceleration of the Universe. We rather propose that zero-point vacuum fluctuations provide a new subdominant ''dark'' contribution to the cosmic expansion that, for a UV scale M slightly smaller than the Planck mass, is consistent with existing limits and potentially detectable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Atacama Cosmology Telescope: DR6 gravitational lensing and SDSS BOSS cross-correlation measurement and constraints on gravity with the 𝐸 𝐺 statistic

We derive new constraints on the 𝐸 𝐺 statistic as a test of gravity, combining the cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing map estimated from Data Release 6 (DR6) of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope with Sloan Digital Sky Survey III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (SDSS BOSS) CMASS and LOWZ galaxy data. We develop an analysis pipeline to measure the cross-correlation between CMB lensing maps and galaxy data, following a blinding policy and testing the approach through null and consistency checks. By testing the equivalence of the spatial and temporal gravitational potentials, the 𝐸 𝐺 statistic can distinguish Λ⁢ CDM from alternative models of gravity. We find 𝐸 𝐺 ⁡(𝑧 eff = 0.555) = 0.3⁢1$^{+0.06}_{−0.05}$ for Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and CMASS data at 68.28% confidence level, and 𝐸 𝐺 ⁡(𝑧 eff = 0.316) = 0.4⁢9$^{+0.14}_{−0.11}$ for the ACT and LOWZ. Systematic errors are estimated to be 3% and 4%, respectively. Including CMB lensing information from Planck PR4 results in 𝐸 𝐺 ⁡(𝑧 eff = 0.555) = 0.3⁢4$^{+0.05}_{−0.05}$ with CMASS and 𝐸 𝐺 ⁡(𝑧 eff = 0.316) = 0.4⁢3$^{+0.11}_{−0.09}$ with LOWZ. These are consistent with predictions for the Λ⁢ CDM model that best fits the Planck CMB anisotropy and SDSS BOSS baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO), where 𝐸$^{GR}_{𝐺⁡}$(𝑧 eff =0.555) =0.401 ± 0.005 for CMB lensing combined with CMASS and 𝐸$^{GR}_{𝐺}$⁡(𝑧 eff = 0.316) = 0.452 ± 0.005 combined with LOWZ. We also find 𝐸 𝐺 to be scale independent, with probability to exceed >5%, as predicted by general relativity. The methods developed in this work are also applicable to improved future analyses with upcoming spectroscopic galaxy samples and CMB lensing measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Quantum Vacuum Structure and Cosmology

Contemporary physics faces three great riddles that lie at the intersection of quantum theory, particle physics and cosmology. They are: (1) The expansion of the universe is accelerating - an extra factor of two appears in the size; (2) Zero-point fluctuations do not gravitate - a matter of 120 orders of magnitude; and (3) The 'True' quantum vacuum state does not gravitate. The latter two are explicitly problems related to the interpretation and the physical role and relation of the quantum vacuum with and in general relativity. Their resolution may require a major advance in our formulation and understanding of a common unified approach to quantum physics and gravity. To achieve this goal we must develop an experimental basis and much of the discussion we present is devoted to this task. In the following, we examine the observations and the theory contributing to the current framework comprising these riddles. We consider an interpretation of the first riddle within the context of the universe's quantum vacuum state, and propose an experimental concept to probe the vacuum state of the universe.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. V. Physical Origin of the Asymmetric Ring

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has mapped the central compact radio source of the elliptical galaxy M87 at 1.3 mm with unprecedented angular resolution. Here we consider the physical implications of the asymmetric ring seen in the 2017 EHT data. To this end, we construct a large library of models based on general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations and synthetic images produced by general relativistic ray tracing. We compare the observed visibilities with this library and confirm that the asymmetric ring is consistent with earlier predictions of strong gravitational lensing of synchrotron emission from a hot plasma orbiting near the black hole event horizon. The ring radius and ring asymmetry depend on black hole mass and spin, respectively, and both are therefore expected to be stable when observed in future EHT campaigns. Overall, the observed image is consistent with expectations for the shadow of a spinning Kerr black hole as predicted by general relativity. If the black hole spin and M87's large scale jet are aligned, then the black hole spin vector is pointed away from Earth. Models in our library of non-spinning black holes are inconsistent with the observations as they do not produce sufficiently powerful jets. At the same time, in those models that produce a sufficiently powerful jet, the latter is powered by extraction of black hole spin energy through mechanisms akin to the Blandford-Znajek process. We briefly consider alternatives to a black hole for the central compact object. Analysis of existing EHT polarization data and data taken simultaneously at other wavelengths will soon enable new tests of the GRMHD models, as will future EHT campaigns at 230 and 345 GHz.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Amplitudes, supersymmetric black hole scattering at $\mathcal{O}\left({G}^5\right)$, and loop integration

We compute the potential-graviton contribution to the scattering amplitude, the radial action, and the scattering angle of two extremal black holes in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 supergravity at the fifth post-Minkowskian order and to next-to-leading order in a large mass expansion (first self-force order). Properties of classical unitarity cuts allow us to focus on the integration-by-parts reduction of planar integrals, while nonplanar integrals at this order are obtained from the planar ones by straightforward manipulations. We present the solution to the differential equations for all master integrals necessary to evaluate the classical scattering amplitudes of massive scalar particles at this order in all gravitational theories, in particular in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 supergravity, and in general relativity. Despite the appearance of higher-weight generalized polylogarithms and elliptic functions in the solution to the differential equation for master integrals, the final supergravity answer is remarkably simple and contains only (harmonic) polylogarithmic functions up to weight 2. The systematic analysis of elliptic integrals discussed here, as well as the particular organization of boundary integrals in $\mathcal{N}$ = 8 observables are independent of supersymmetry and may have wider applications, including to aspects of collider physics.

Black Holes↗