External Spacetime Research Articles

Neutrino trapping in braneworld extremely compact stars

Extremely Compact Stars (ECS) contain trapped null geodesics. When such objects enter the evolution period admitting geodetical motion of neutrinos, certain part of neutrinos produced in their interior will be trapped influencing their neutrino luminosity and thermal evolution. We study neutrino trapping in the braneworld ECS, assuming uniform distribution of neutrino emissivity and massless neutrinos. We give the efficiency of the neutrino trapping effects in the framework of the simple model of the internal spacetime with uniform distribution of energy density, and external spacetime described by the Reissner-Nordström geometry characterized by the braneworld “tidal” parameter b. For b < 0 the external spacetime is of the black-hole type, while for b > 0 the external spacetime can be of both black-hole and naked-singularity type. Then the ECS surface radius R can be located also above the unstable (outer) photon circular orbit. Such basically new types of the spacetimes strongly alter the trapping phenomena as compared to the standard case of b = 0. It is shown that the neutrino trapping effects are slightly lowered by the presence of physically more plausible case of b < 0, as compared to the standard internal Schwarzschild spacetime, while they can be magnified by positive tidal charges if b < 1 and lowered for b > 1. However, potential astrophysical relevance of the trapping phenomena is strongly enhanced for negative tidal charges enabling a significant enlargement of the ECS surface radius to values coherent with recent observations.

Photon and neutrino redshift in the field of braneworld compact stars

We study gravitational redshift of photons and neutrinos radiated by the braneworld neutron or quark stars that are considered in the framework of the simple model of the internal spacetime with uniform distribution of energy density, and the external spacetime described by the Reissner-Nordström geometry characterized by the braneworld ``tidal'' charge b. For negative tidal charges, the external spacetime is of the black-hole type, while for positive tidal charges, the external spacetime can be of both black-hole and naked-singularity type. We consider also extremely compact stars allowing existence of trapped null geodesics in their interior. We assume radiation of photons from the surface at radius R, neutrinos from the whole compact star interior, and their motion along radial null geodesics of the spacetime. In dependency on the compact stars parameters b and R, the photon surface redshift is related to the range of the neutrino internal redshift and the signatures of the tidal charge and possible existence of extremely compact stars are discussed. When both surface (photon) and internal (neutrino) redshift are given by observations, both compact star parameters R and b can be determined in the framework of our simple model.

Unified theory for external and internal attributes and symmetries of fundamental fermions

An unorthodox unified theory is developed to describe external and internal attributes and symmetries of fundamental fermions, quarks and leptons. Basic ingredients of the theory are an algebra which consists of all the triple-direct-products of Dirac γ-matrices and a triple-spinor-field, called a triplet field, defined on the algebra. The algebra possesses three commutative subalgebras which describe, respectively, the external spacetime symmetry, the family structure and the internal color symmetry of quarks and leptons. The triplet field includes threefold (fourfold) repetitional modes of spin ½ component fields with SU(3) (SU(4)) color symmetry. It is possible to qualify the Yukawa interaction and to make a new interpretation of its coupling constants naturally in an intrinsic mechanism of the triplet field formalism. The Dirac mass matrices with quasi-democratic structure are derived as an illustration.

Black holes, compact objects and solar system tests in non-relativistic general covariant theory of gravity

We study spherically symmetric static spacetimes generally filled with an anisotropic fluid in the nonrelativistic general covariant theory of gravity. In particular, we find that the vacuum solutions are not unique, and can be expressed in terms of the U(1) gauge field A. When solar system tests are considered, severe constraints on A are obtained, which seemingly pick up the Schwarzschild solution uniquely. In contrast to other versions of the Horava-Lifshitz theory, non-singular static stars made of a perfect fluid without heat flow can be constructed, due to the coupling of the fluid with the gauge field. These include the solutions with a constant pressure. We also study the general junction conditions across the surface of a star. In general, the conditions allow the existence of a thin matter shell on the surface. When applying these conditions to the perfect fluid solutions with the vacuum ones as describing their external spacetimes, we find explicitly the matching conditions in terms of the parameters appearing in the solutions. Such matching is possible even without the presence of a thin matter shell.

Appearance of Keplerian discs orbiting Kerr superspinars

We study optical phenomena related to the appearance of Keplerian accretion discs orbiting Kerr superspinars predicted by string theory. The superspinar exterior is described by standard Kerr naked singularity geometry breaking the black hole limit on the internal angular momentum (spin). We construct local photon escape cones for a variety of orbiting sources that enable us to determine the superspinars silhouette in the case of distant observers. We show that the superspinar silhouette depends strongly on the assumed edge where the external Kerr spacetime is joined to the internal spacetime governed by string theory and significantly differs from the black hole silhouette. The appearance of the accretion disc is strongly dependent on the value of the superspinar spin in both their shape and frequency shift profile. Apparent extension of the disc grows significantly with the growing spin, while the frequency shift grows with the descending spin. This behaviour differs substantially from the appearance of discs orbiting black holes enabling thus, at least in principle, to distinguish clearly the Kerr superspinars and black holes. In vicinity of a Kerr superspinar the non-escaped photons have to be separated to those captured by the superspinar and those being trapped in its strong gravitational field leading to self-illumination of the disc that could even influence its structure and cause self-reflection effect of radiation of the disc. The amount of trapped photons grows with descending superspinar spin. We thus can expect significant self-illumination effects in the field of Kerr superspinars with near-extreme spin a ∼ 1.

Geometry and dynamics of a tidally deformed black hole

The metric of a nonrotating black hole deformed by a tidal interaction is calculated and expressed as an expansion in the strength of the tidal coupling. The expansion parameter is the inverse length scale R^{-1}, where R is the radius of curvature of the external spacetime in which the black hole moves. The expansion begins at order R^{-2}, and it is carried out through order R^{-4}. The metric is parameterized by a number of tidal multipole moments, which specify the black hole's tidal environment. The tidal moments are freely-specifiable functions of time that are related to the Weyl tensor of the external spacetime. The metric is presented in a light-cone coordinate system that possesses a clear geometrical meaning: The advanced-time coordinate $v$ is constant on past light cones that converge toward the black hole; the angles theta and phi are constant on the null generators of each light cone; and the radial coordinate r is an affine parameter on each generator, which decreases as the light cones converge toward the black hole. The coordinates are well-behaved on the black-hole horizon, and they are adjusted so that the coordinate description of the horizon is the same as in the Schwarzschild geometry: r = 2M. At the order of accuracy maintained in this work, the horizon is a stationary null hypersurface foliated by apparent horizons; it is an isolated horizon in the sense of Ashtekar and Krishnan. As an application of our results we examine the induced geometry and dynamics of the horizon, and calculate the rate at which the black-hole surface area increases as a result of the tidal interaction.

Gravitational wave signatures of the absence of an event horizon: Nonradial oscillations of a thin-shell gravastar

Gravitational waves from compact objects provide information about their structure, probing deep into strong-gravity regions. Here we illustrate how the presence or absence of an event horizon can produce qualitative differences in the gravitational waves emitted by ultra-compact objects. In order to set up a straw-man ultra-compact object with no event horizon, but which is otherwise almost identical to a black hole, we consider a nonrotating thin-shell model inspired by Mazur and Mottola's gravastar, which has a Schwarzschild exterior, a de Sitter interior and an infinitely thin shell with finite tension separating the two regions. As viewed from the external space-time, the shell can be located arbitrarily close to the Schwarzschild radius, so a gravastar might seem indistinguishable from a black hole when tests are only performed on its external metric. We study the linearized dynamics of the system, and in particular the junction conditions connecting internal and external gravitational perturbations. As a first application of the formalism we compute polar and axial oscillation modes of a thin-shell gravastar. We show that the quasinormal mode spectrum is completely different from that of a black hole, even in the limit when the surface redshift becomes infinite. Polar QNMs depend on the equation of state of matter on the shell and can be used to distinguish between different gravastar models. Our calculations suggest that low-compactness gravastars could be unstable when the sound speed on the shell vs/c>0.92.

The evolution of conifolds

We simulate the gravitational dynamics of the conifold geometries (resolved and deformed) involved in the description of certain compact spacetimes. As the cycles of the conifold collapse towards a singular geometry we find that a horizon develops, shielding the external spacetime from the curvature singularity of the newly formed black hole. The structure of the black hole is examined for a range of initial conditions, and we find a candidate black-hole solution for the final state of the collapse.

Magnetic fields of spherical compact stars in a braneworld

We study the stellar magnetic field configuration in dependence on brane tension and present solutions of Maxwell equations in the external background space-time of a magnetized spherical star in a Randall-Sundrum II type braneworld. The star is modeled as a sphere consisting of perfect highly magnetized fluid with infinite conductivity and a frozen-in magnetic field. With respect to solutions for magnetic fields found in the Schwarzschild space-time, brane tension introduces enhancing corrections to the exterior magnetic field which could be relevant for the magnetic fields of magnetized compact objects as pulsars and magnetars and may provide observational evidence for the brane tension.

Noncommutative gravity, a ‘no strings attached’ quantum-classical duality, and the cosmological constant puzzle

There ought to exist a reformulation of quantum mechanics which does not refer to an external classical spacetime manifold. Such a reformulation can be achieved using the language of noncommutative differential geometry. A consequence which follows is that the ‘weakly quantum, strongly gravitational’ dynamics of a relativistic particle whose mass is much greater than Planck mass is dual to the ‘strongly quantum, weakly gravitational’ dynamics of another particle whose mass is much less than Planck mass. The masses of the two particles are inversely related to each other, and the product of their masses is equal to the square of Planck mass. This duality explains the observed value of the cosmological constant, and also why this value is nonzero but extremely small in Planck units.

The Casimir effect in rugby-ball type flux compactifications

We discuss volume stabilization in a 6D braneworld model based on 6D supergravity theory. The internal space is compactified by magnetic flux and contains codimension two 3-branes (conical singularities) as its boundaries. In general the external 4D spacetime is warped and in the unwrapped limit the shape of the internal space looks like a ‘rugby ball’. The size of the internal space is not fixed due to the scale invariance of the supergravity theory. We discuss the possibility of volume stabilization by the Casimir effect for a massless, minimally coupled bulk scalar field. The main obstacle in studying this case is that the brane (conical) part of the relevant heat kernel coefficient (a6) has not been formulated. Thus as a first step, we consider the 4D analog model with boundary codimension two 1-branes. The spacetime structure of the 4D model is very similar to that of the original 6D model, where now the relevant heat kernel coefficient is well known. We derive the one-loop effective potential induced by a scalar field in the bulk by employing zeta function regularization with heat kernel analysis. As a result, the volume is stabilized for most possible choices of the parameters. Especially, for a larger degree of warping, our results imply that a large hierarchy between the mass scales and a tiny amount of effective cosmological constant can be realized on the brane. In the non-warped limit the ratio tends to converge to the same value, independently of the bulk gauge coupling constant. Finally, we will analyze volume stabilization in the original model 6D by employing the same mode-sum technique.

Particle motion and electromagnetic fields of rotating compact gravitating objects with gravitomagnetic charge

The exact solution for the electromagnetic field occuring when the Kerr–Taub–NUT compact object is immersed (i) in an originally uniform magnetic field aligned along the axis of axial symmetry (ii) in dipolar magnetic field generated by current loop has been investigated. Effective potential of motion of charged test particle around Kerr–Taub–NUT gravitational source immersed in magnetic field with different values of external magnetic field and NUT parameter has been also investigated. In both cases presence of NUT parameter and magnetic field shifts stable circular orbits in the direction of the central gravitating object. Finally we find analytical solutions of Maxwell equations in the external background spacetime of a slowly rotating magnetized NUT star. The star is considered isolated and in vacuum, with monopolar configuration model for the stellar magnetic field.

Stellar models with Schwarzschild and non-Schwarzschild vacuum exteriors

A striking characteristic of non-Schwarzschild vacuum exteriors is that they contain not only the total gravitational mass of the source, but also an {\it arbitrary} constant. In this work, we show that the constants appearing in the "temporal Schwarzschild", "spatial Schwarzschild" and "Reissner-Nordstr{\"o}m-like" exteriors are not arbitrary but are completely determined by star's parameters, like the equation of state and the gravitational potential. Consequently, in the braneworld scenario the gravitational field outside of a star is no longer determined by the total mass alone, but also depends on the details of the internal structure of the source. We show that the general relativistic upper bound on the gravitational potential $M/R < 4/9$, for perfect fluid stars, is significantly increased in these exteriors. Namely, $M/R < 1/2$, $M/R < 2/3$ and $M/R < 1$ for the temporal Schwarzschild, spatial Schwarzschild and Reissner-Nordstr{\"o}m-like exteriors, respectively. Regarding the surface gravitational redshift, we find that the general relativistic Schwarzschild exterior as well as the braneworld spatial Schwarzschild exterior lead to the same upper bound, viz., $Z < 2$. However, when the external spacetime is the temporal Schwarzschild metric or the Reissner-Nordstr{\"o}m-like exterior there is no such constraint: $Z < \infty$. This infinite difference in the limiting value of $Z$ is because for these exteriors the effective pressure at the surface is negative. The results of our work are potentially observable and can be used to test the theory.

‘Third’ Quantization of Vacuum Einstein Gravity and Free Yang–Mills Theories

Certain pivotal results from various applications of Abstract Differential Geometry (ADG) to gravity and gauge theories are presently collected and used to argue that we already possess a geometrically (pre)quantized, second quantized and manifestly background spacetime manifold independent vacuum Einstein gravitational field dynamics. The arguments carry also mutatis mutandis to the case of free Yang–Mills theories, since from the ADG-theoretic perspective gravity is regarded as another gauge field theory. The powerful algebraico-categorical, sheaf cohomological conceptual and technical machinery of ADG is then employed, based on the fundamental ADG-theoretic conception of a field as a pair (\({\mathcal{E}},{\mathcal{D}}\)) consisting of a vector sheaf \({\mathcal{E}}\) and an algebraic connection \({\mathcal{D}}\) acting categorically as a sheaf morphism on \({\mathcal{E}}\)'s local sections, to introduce a ‘universal’, because expressly functorial, field quantization scenario coined third quantization. Although third quantization is fully covariant, on intuitive and heuristic grounds alone it formally appears to follow a canonical route; albeit, in a purely algebraic and, in contradistinction to geometric (pre)quantization and (canonical) second quantization, manifestly background geometrical spacetime manifold independent fashion, as befits ADG. All in all, from the ADG-theoretic vantage, vacuum Einstein gravity and free Yang–Mills theories are regarded as external spacetime manifold unconstrained, third quantized, pure gauge field theories. The paper abounds with philosophical smatterings and speculative remarks about the potential import and significance of our results to current and future Quantum Gravity research. A postscript gives a brief account of this author's personal encounters with Rafael Sorkin and his work.

Classification of supersymmetric flux vacua in M-theory

We present a comprehensive classification of supersymmetric vacua of M-theory compactification on seven-dimensional manifolds with general four-form fluxes. We analyze the cases where the resulting four-dimensional vacua have N = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 supersymmetry and the internal space allows for SU ( 2 ) , SU ( 3 ) or G 2 structures. In particular, we find for N = 2 supersymmetry, that the external space–time is Minkowski and the base manifold of the internal space is conformally Kähler for SU ( 2 ) structures, while for SU ( 3 ) structures the internal space has to be Einstein–Sasaki and no internal fluxes are allowed. Moreover, we provide a new vacuum with N = 1 supersymmetry and SU ( 3 ) structure, where all fluxes are non-zero and the first order differential equations are solved.

Computing Prager's Kinematic Hardening Mixed-Control Equations in a Pseudo-Riemann Manifold

Materials' internal spacetime may bear cer- tain similarities with the external spacetime of special relativity theory. Previously, it is shown that material hardening and anisotropy may cause the internal space- time curved. In this paper we announce the third mech- anism of mixed-control to cause the curvedness of inter- nal spacetime. To tackle the mixed-control problem for a Prager kinematic hardening material, we demonstrate two new formulations. By using two-integrating factors idea we can derive two Lie type systems in the product space of M m+1 ⊗M n+1 . The Lie algebra is a direct sum of so(m, 1) ⊕so(n, 1), and correspondingly the symme- try group is a direct product of SOo(m, 1) ⊗SOo(n, 1), which left acts on a twin-cone. Then, by using the one- integrating factor idea we can convert the nonlinear con- stitutive equations into a Lie type system of u Z=CZ with C ∈sl(5, 1,R) a Lie algebra of the special orthochronous pseudo-linear group SL(5, 1,R). The underlying space is a distorted cone in the pseudo-Riemann manifold. Con- sistent numerical methods are then developed according to these Lie symmetries, and numerical examples are used to assess the performance of new algorithms. The measures in terms of the errors by satisfying the consis- tency condition, strain and stress relative errors and ori- entational errors confirm that the new numerical methods are better than radial return method.

Dimensionality and the cosmological constant

In the Kaluza-Klein model with a cosmological constant and a flux, the external spacetime and its dimension of the created universe from a $S^s \times S^{n-s}$ seed instanton can be identified in quantum cosmology. One can also show that in the internal space the effective cosmological constant is most probably zero.

Locally conformally flat multidimensional cosmological models with a higher-dimensional external spacetime

The local structure of locally conformally flat multidimensional cosmological models with a higher-dimensional external spacetime is described. This leads to some restrictions on the number and the geometry of the possible internal spaces of the model. Applications to the determination of multidimensional cosmological models of constant curvature are given and some illustrative examples are examined.

Gravitating global monopoles in extra dimensions and the braneworld concept

Multidimensional configurations with Minkowski external space-time and a spherical global monopole in extra dimensions are discussed in the context of the brane world concept. The monopole is formed with a hedgehog-like set of scalar fields \phi^i with a symmetry-breaking potential V depending on the magnitude \phi^2 = \phi^i \phi^i. All possible kinds of globally regular configurations are singled out without specifying the shape of V(\phi). These variants are governed by the maximum value \phi_m of the scalar field, characterizing the energy scale of symmetry breaking. If \phi_m < \phi_cr (where \phi_cr is a critical value of \phi related to the multidimensional Planck scale), the monopole reaches infinite radii while in the ``strong field regime'', when \phi_m\geq \phi_cr, the monopole may end with a cylinder of finite radius or possess two regular centers. The warp factors of monopoles with both infinite and finite radii may either exponentially grow or tend to finite constant values far from the center. All such configurations are shown to be able to trap test scalar matter, in striking contrast to RS2 type 5D models. The monopole structures obtained analytically are also found numerically for the Mexican hat potential with an additional parameter acting as a cosmological constant.

Metric of a Tidally Distorted Nonrotating Black Hole

The metric of a tidally distorted, nonrotating black hole is presented in a light-cone coordinate system that penetrates the event horizon and possesses a clear geometrical meaning. The metric is expressed as an expansion in powers of r/R<<1, where r is a measure of distance from the black hole and R is the local radius of curvature of the external spacetime; this is assumed to be much larger than M, the mass of the black hole. The metric is calculated up to a remainder of order (r/R)4, and it depends on a family of tidal gravitational fields which characterize the hole's local environment. The coordinate system allows an easy identification of the event horizon, and expressions are derived for its surface gravity and the rates at which the tidal interaction transfers mass and angular momentum to the black hole.