Einstein Dilaton Gauss Bonnet Research Articles

Constraints on Einstein-dilaton Gauss-Bonnet gravity with Taiji

In the 2030s, space-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors will exhibit unprecedented sensitivity in the millihertz frequency band, greatly expanding the potential for testing theories of gravity compared to ground-based GW detectors. Inspired by effective string theory, Einstein-dilaton Gauss–Bonnet (EdGB) gravity introduces an extra dilaton scalar field that is directly coupled to higher curvature terms. Here, we investigate the capability of Taiji to constrain the parameters of EdGB gravity by analyzing GWs from massive black hole binaries (MBHBs). We utilize the parameterized post-Einsteinian (ppE) waveform with the leading order EdGB corrections for the inspiral phase of MBHBs. The constraints on the coupling constants are obtained by performing Fisher matrix analysis. With different mass ratios and spins χi\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\chi _i$$\\end{document} at redshifts z=2,3,4,5\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$z=2,3,4,5$$\\end{document}, the 1σ\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$1\\sigma $$\\end{document} bounds on the parameter α\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha $$\\end{document} have the same order of magnitude: α∼107\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\sqrt{\\alpha }\\sim 10^7$$\\end{document} m.

Parameter estimation for Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with ringdown signals* *Supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (2022YFC2204602), and the Natural Science Foundation of China (11925503)

Future space-based gravitational-wave detectors will detect gravitational waves with high sensitivity in the millihertz frequency band, providing more opportunities to test theories of gravity than ground-based detectors. The study of quasinormal modes (QNMs) and their application in gravity theory testing have been an important aspect in the field of gravitational physics. In this study, we investigate the capability of future space-based gravitational wave detectors, such as LISA, TaiJi, and TianQin, to constrain the dimensionless deviating parameter for Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet (EdGB) gravity with ringdown signals from the merger of binary black holes. The ringdown signal is modeled by the two strongest QNMs in EdGB gravity. Considering time-delay interferometry, we calculate the signal-to-noise ratio of different space-based detectors for ringdown signals to analyze their capabilities. The Fisher information matrix is employed to analyze the accuracy of parameter estimation, with particular focus on the dimensionless deviating parameter for EdGB gravity. The impact of the parameters of gravitational wave sources on the estimation accuracy of the dimensionless deviating parameter is also studied. We find that the constraint ability of EdGB gravity is limited because the uncertainty of the dimensionless deviating parameter increases with a decrease in the dimensionless deviating parameter. LISA and TaiJi offer more advantages in constraining the dimensionless deviating parameter to a more accurate level for massive black holes, whereas TianQin is more suited to less massive black holes. The Bayesian inference method is used to perform parameter estimation on simulated data, which verifies the reliability of the conclusion.

Nothing is certain in string compactifications

A bubble of nothing is a spacetime instability where a compact dimension collapses. After nucleation, it expands at the speed of light, leaving “nothing” behind. We argue that the topological and dynamical mechanisms which could protect a compactification against decay to nothing seem to be absent in string compactifications once supersymmetry is broken. The topological obstruction lies in a bordism group and, surprisingly, it can disappear even for a SUSY-compatible spin structure. As a proof of principle, we construct an explicit bubble of nothing for a T3 with completely periodic (SUSY-compatible) spin structure in an Einstein dilaton Gauss-Bonnet theory, which arises in the low-energy limit of certain heterotic and type II flux compactifications. Without the topological protection, supersymmetric compactifications are purely stabilized by a Coleman-deLuccia mechanism, which relies on a certain local energy condition. This is violated in our example by the nonsupersymmetric GB term. In the presence of fluxes this energy condition gets modified and its violation might be related to the Weak Gravity Conjecture.We expect that our techniques can be used to construct a plethora of new bubbles of nothing in any setup where the low-energy bordism group vanishes, including type II compactifications on CY3, AdS flux compactifications on 5-manifolds, and M-theory on 7-manifolds. This lends further evidence to the conjecture that any non-supersymmetric vacuum of quantum gravity is ultimately unstable.

Numerical relativity simulation of GW150914 in Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

A present challenge in testing general relativity (GR) with binary black hole gravitational wave detections is the inability to perform model-dependent tests due to the lack of merger waveforms in beyond-GR theories. In this study, we produce the first numerical relativity binary black hole gravitational waveform in Einstein dilaton Gauss-Bonnet (EDGB) gravity, a higher-curvature theory of gravity with motivations in string theory. We evolve a binary black hole system in order-reduced EDGB gravity, with parameters consistent with GW150914. We focus on the merger portion of the waveform, due to the presence of secular growth in the inspiral phase. We compute mismatches with the corresponding general relativity merger waveform, finding that from a post-inspiral-only analysis, we can constrain the EDGB lengthscale to be $\sqrt{\alpha_\mathrm{GB}} \lesssim 11$ km.

Probing string-inspired gravity with the inspiral–merger–ringdown consistency tests of gravitational waves

The extreme-gravity collisions between black holes allow us to probe the underlying theory of gravity. We apply a predictive forecast of the theory-agnostic inspiral–merger–ringdown consistency test to an example theory beyond general relativity for the first time, for future gravitational wave observations. Here we focus on the string-inspired Einstein-dilaton Gauss–Bonnet gravity and modify the inspiral, ringdown, and remnant black hole properties of the gravitational waveform. We found that future multiband observations allow us to constrain the theory stronger than current observations by an order of magnitude. The formalism developed here can easily be applied to other theories.

Constraining gravity with eccentric gravitational waves: projected upper bounds and model selection

Gravitational waves allow us to test general relativity in the highly dynamical regime. While current observations have been consistent with waves emitted by quasi-circular binaries, eccentric binaries may also produce detectable signals in the near future with ground- and space-based detectors. We here explore how tests of general relativity scale with the orbital eccentricity of the source during the inspiral of compact objects up to e ∼ 0.8. We use a new, third post-Newtonian-accurate, eccentric waveform model for the inspiral of compact objects, which is fast enough for Bayesian parameter estimation and model selection, and highly accurate for modeling moderately eccentric inspirals. We derive and incorporate the eccentric corrections to this model induced in Brans–Dicke theory and in Einstein–dilaton–Gauss–Bonnet gravity at leading post-Newtonian order, which suggest a straightforward eccentric extension of the parameterized post-Einsteinian formalism. We explore the upper limits that could be set on the coupling parameters of these modified theories through both a confidence-interval- and Bayes-factor-based approach, using a Markov-Chain Monte Carlo and a trans-dimensional, reversible-jump, Markov-Chain Monte Carlo method. We find projected constraints with signals from sources with e ∼ 0.4 that are one order of magnitude stronger than that those obtained with quasi-circular binaries in advanced LIGO. In particular, eccentric gravitational waves detected at design sensitivity should be able to constrain the Brans–Dicke coupling parameter ω ≳ 3300 and the Gauss–Bonnet coupling parameter α1/2 ≲ 0.5 km at 90% confidence. Although the projected constraint on ω is weaker than other current constraints, the projected constraint on α1/2 is 10 times stronger than the current gravitational wave bound.

Dynamics of a symmetric EdGB gravity in spherical symmetry

We report on a numerical investigation of black hole evolution in an Einstein dilaton Gauss–Bonnet (EdGB) gravity theory where the Gauss–Bonnet coupling and scalar (dilaton) field potential are symmetric under a global change in sign of the scalar field (a ‘’ symmetry). We find that for sufficiently small Gauss–Bonnet couplings Schwarzschild black holes are stable to radial scalar field perturbations, and are unstable to such perturbations for sufficiently large couplings. For the latter case, we provide numerical evidence that there is a band of coupling parameters and black hole masses where the end states are stable scalarized black hole solutions, in general agreement with the results of Macedo et al (2019 Phys. Rev. D 99 104041). For Gauss–Bonnet couplings larger than those in the stable band, we find that an ‘elliptic region’ forms outside of the black hole horizon, indicating the theory does not possess a well-posed initial value formulation in that regime.

Probing Einstein-dilaton Gauss-Bonnet gravity with the inspiral and ringdown of gravitational waves

Gravitational waves from extreme gravity events such as the coalescence of two black holes in a binary system fill our observable universe, bearing with them the underlying theory of gravity driving their process. One compelling alternative theory of gravity -- known as Einstein-dilaton Gauss-Bonnet gravity motivated by string theory -- describes the presence of an additional dilaton scalar field coupled directly to higher orders of the curvature, effectively describing a "fifth force" interaction and the emission of scalar dipole radiation between two scalarized black holes. Most previous studies focused on considering only the leading correction to the inspiral portion of the binary black hole waveforms. In our recent paper, we carried out inspiral-merger-ringdown consistency tests in this string-inspired gravity by including corrections to both the inspiral and ringdown portions, as well as those to the mass and spin of remnant black holes, valid to quadratic order in spin. We here extend the analysis by directly computing bounds on the theoretical coupling constant using the full inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform rather than treating the inspiral and merger-ringdown portions separately. We also consider the corrections valid to quartic order in spin to justify the validity of black hole's slow-rotation approximation. We find the quasinormal mode corrections to the waveform to be particularly important for high-mass events such as GW170729, in which the dilaton fields' small-coupling approximation fails without such effects included. We also show that future space-based and multiband gravitational-wave observations have the potential to go beyond existing bounds on the theory. The bounds presented here are comparable to those found in via the inspiral-merger-ringdown consistency tests.

Scalarized black hole dynamics in Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

We report on a numerical investigation of the stability of scalarized black holes in Einstein dilaton Gauss-Bonnet (EdGB) gravity in the full dynamical theory, though restricted to spherical symmetry. We find evidence that for sufficiently small curvature-couplings the resulting scalarized black hole solutions are nonlinearly stable. For such small couplings, we show that an elliptic region forms inside these EdGB black hole spacetimes (prior to any curvature singularity), and give evidence that this region remains censored from asymptotic view. However, for coupling values "superextremal" relative to a given black hole mass, an elliptic region forms exterior to the horizon, implying the exterior Cauchy problem is ill-posed in this regime.

Stability of rotating black holes in Einstein dilaton Gauss-Bonnet gravity

In order to perform model-dependent tests of general relativity with gravitational wave observations, we must have access to numerical relativity binary black hole waveforms in theories beyond general relativity (GR). In this study, we focus on order-reduced Einstein dilaton Gauss-Bonnet gravity (EDGB), a higher curvature beyond-GR theory with motivations in string theory. The stability of single, rotating black holes in EDGB is unknown, but is a necessary condition for being able to simulate binary black hole systems (especially the early-inspiral and late ringdown stages) in EDGB. We thus investigate the stability of rotating black holes in order-reduced EDGB. We evolve the leading-order EDGB scalar field and EDGB spacetime metric deformation on a rotating black hole background, for a variety of spins. We find that the EDGB metric deformation exhibits linear growth, but that this level of growth exponentially converges to zero with numerical resolution. Thus, we conclude that rotating black holes in EDGB are numerically stable to leading-order, thus satisfying our necessary condition for performing binary black hole simulations in EDGB.

Testing massive-field modifications of gravity via gravitational waves

Abstract The direct detection of gravitational waves now provides a new channel for testing gravity theories. Despite that the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework is a powerful tool to quantitatively investigate the effects of modifications to gravity theory, the gravitational waveform in this framework is still extendable. One such extension is to take into account the gradual activation of dipole radiation due to massive fields, which are still only very weakly constrained if their mass $m$ is greater than $10^{-16}$$\,$eV from pulsar observations. Ground-based gravitational-wave detectors (LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA) are sensitive to this activation in the mass range $10^{-14}$$\,$eV $\lesssim m \lesssim 10^{-13}$$\,$eV. Hence, we discuss a dedicated test for dipole radiation due to a massive field using the LIGO/Virgo collaboration’s open data. In addition, assuming Einstein dilaton Gauss Bonnet (EdGB) type coupling, we combine the results of the analysis of binary black hole events to obtain 90% confidence level constraints on the coupling parameter $\alpha_{\rm EdGB}$ as $\sqrt{\alpha_{\rm EdGB}} \lesssim 2.47$$\,$km for any mass less than $6 \times 10^{-14}$$\,$eV for the first time, including $\sqrt{\alpha_{\rm EdGB}} \lesssim 1.85$$\,$km in the massless limit.

Quasinormal modes, scattering, and Hawking radiation in the vicinity of an Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet black hole

Classical (quasinormal) and quantum (Hawking) radiations are investigated for test fields in the background of a four dimensional, spherically symmetric and asymptotically flat black hole in the Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet (EdGB) theory. The geometry of the EdGB black hole deviates from the Schwarzschild geometry only slightly. Therefore, here we observe that the quasinormal spectrum also deviates from its Schwarzschild limit at most moderately, allowing for a $9\%$ decrease in the damping rate and up to a $6\%$ decrease in the real oscillation frequency. However, the intensity of Hawking radiation of an electromagnetic field turned out to be much more sensitive characteristic than its quasinormal spectrum, allowing for a $54\%$ increase of the energy emission rate. The analytical formula for the eikonal regime of quasinormal modes is derived for test fields and it is shown that the correspondence between the eikonal quasinormal modes and null geodesics is indeed fulfilled for test fields, but is not expected for the gravitational one.

Gravitational collapse in Einstein dilaton-Gauss–Bonnet gravity

We present results from a numerical study of spherical gravitational collapse in shift symmetric Einstein dilaton Gauss–Bonnet (EdGB) gravity. This modified gravity theory has a single coupling parameter that when zero reduces to general relativity (GR) minimally coupled to a massless scalar field. We first show results from the weak EdGB coupling limit, where we obtain solutions that smoothly approach those of the Einstein–Klein–Gordon system of GR. Here, in the strong field case, though our code does not utilize horizon penetrating coordinates, we nevertheless find tentative evidence that approaching black hole formation the EdGB modifications cause the growth of scalar field ‘hair’, consistent with known static black hole solutions in EdGB gravity. For the strong EdGB coupling regime, in a companion paper we first showed results that even in the weak field (i.e. far from black hole formation), the EdGB equations are of mixed type: evolution of the initially hyperbolic system of partial differential equations lead to formation of a region where their character changes to elliptic. Here, we present more details about this regime. In particular, we show that an effective energy density based on the Misner–Sharp mass is negative near these elliptic regions, and similarly the null convergence condition is violated then.

Hyperbolicity in spherical gravitational collapse in a Horndeski theory

We numerically study spherical gravitational collapse in shift symmetric Einstein dilaton Gauss Bonnet (EdGB) gravity. We find evidence that there are open sets of initial data for which the character of the system of equations changes from hyperbolic to elliptic type in a compact region of the spacetime. In these cases evolution of the system, treated as a hyperbolic initial boundary value problem, leads to the equations of motion becoming ill-posed when the elliptic region forms. No singularities or discontinuities are encountered on the corresponding effective "Cauchy horizon". Therefore it is conceivable that a well-posed formulation of EdGB gravity (at least within spherical symmetry) may be possible if the equations are appropriately treated as mixed-type.

Iron line spectroscopy with Einstein–dilaton–Gauss–Bonnet black holes

Einstein–dilaton–Gauss–Bonnet gravity is a well-motivated alternative theory of gravity that emerges naturally from string theory. While black hole solutions have been known in this theory in numerical form for a while, an approximate analytical metric was obtained recently by some of us, which allows for faster and more detailed analysis. Here we test the accuracy of the analytical metric in the context of X-ray reflection spectroscopy. We analyze innermost stable circular orbits (ISCO) and relativistically broadened iron lines and find that both the ISCO and iron lines are determined sufficiently accurately up to the limit of the approximation. We also find that, though the ISCO increases by about 7% as dilaton coupling increases from zero to extremal values, the redshift at ISCO changes by less than 1%. Consequently, the shape of the iron line is much less sensitive to the dilaton charge than expected.

Analytical approximation for the Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet black hole metric

We construct an analytical approximation for the numerical black hole metric of P. Kanti, et. al. [PRD54, 5049 (1996)] in the four-dimensional Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet (EdGB) theory. The continued fraction expansion in terms of a compactified radial coordinate, used here, converges slowly when the dilaton coupling approaches its extremal values, but for a black hole far from the extremal state, the analytical formula has a maximal relative error of a fraction of one percent already within the third order of the continued fraction expansion. The suggested analytical representation of the numerical black hole metric is relatively compact and good approximation in the whole space outside the black hole event horizon. Therefore, it can serve in the same way as an exact solution when analyzing particles' motion, perturbations, quasinormal modes, Hawking radiation, accreting disks and many other problems in the vicinity of a black hole. In addition, we construct the approximate analytical expression for the dilaton field.

Shadows of Einstein–dilaton–Gauss–Bonnet black holes

We study the shadows of the fully non-linear, asymptotically flat Einstein–dilaton–Gauss–Bonnet (EdGB) black holes (BHs), for both static and rotating solutions. We find that, in all cases, these shadows are smaller than for comparable Kerr BHs, i.e. with the same total mass and angular momentum under similar observation conditions. In order to compare both cases we provide quantitative shadow parameters, observing in particular that the differences in the shadows mean radii are never larger than the percent level. Therefore, generically, EdGB BHs cannot be excluded by (near future) shadow observations alone. On the theoretical side, we find no clear signature of some exotic features of EdGB BHs on the corresponding shadows, such as the regions of negative (Komar, say) energy density outside the horizon. We speculate that this is due to the fact that the Komar energy interior to the light rings (or more precisely, the surfaces of constant radial coordinate that intersect the light rings in the equatorial plane) is always smaller than the ADM mass, and consequently the corresponding shadows are smaller than those of comparable Kerr BHs. The analysis herein provides a clear example that it is the light ring impact parameter, rather than its “size”, that determines a BH shadow.