Matter Sector Research Articles

Are f(R, Matter) theories really relevant to cosmology?

We examine f(R, Matter) theories that directly couple the curvature R or R μν with the matter sector in the action, in addition to the universal coupling. We argue that if the matter sector includes the Standard Model (SM), such theories are either inconsistent or already excluded by experiments unless they are a rewriting of f(R) gravity or general relativity. If these theories genuinely couple the SM to curvature, they suffer from the presence of ghost states at energies within their domain of application for cosmological purposes. Therefore, we raise questions about their relevance to cosmology. Moreover, if such theories do not include the SM, they should just be seen as scalar-tensor, vector-tensor, …, theories, depending on the additional degrees of freedom. They should thus be studied accordingly.

Observational feasibility of 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet cosmology: bouncing and non-bouncing universes

This paper analyzes the possibility of bouncing and non-bouncing universes in the framework of four-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (4D-EGB) gravity,corresponding respectively to negative and positive coupling constants λ of the Gauss-Bonnet term. We also use the Horndeski-type scalar-tensor theory to assess the role of a scalar charge C as a geometrical contribution to the radiation in the Universe.We modify the expansion history of the universe to allow for modifications induced by the 4D-EGB gravity.Using Planck measurements of the cosmic microwave background anisotropies as well as various datasets of baryonic acoustic oscillations, we set the upper bounds λ ≤ 10-16(km/s/Mpc)-2 and λ ≤ 10-30(km/s/Mpc)-2 for the non-bouncing and bouncing scenarios.The upper limit in the latter case is mainly driven by the requirement to conservatively respect the thermal history at energy scales of the standard model of particle physics.We also find that the contribution of the geometrical radiation-like term of the model cannot exceed 10% of the current radiation in the Universe. The possibility of an early inflationary phase produced by a single scalar field is also studied and found to be feasible in both bouncing and non-bouncing scenarios.This study shows the feasibility of a bouncing universe, even with a normal matter sector, in the 4D-EGB gravity. More theoretical investigation is required to further explore possible observational predictions of the model that can distinguish between general relativity and 4D-EGB gravity.

Loss of coherence and coherence protection from a graviton bath

We consider a quantum harmonic oscillator coupled with a graviton bath. We discuss the loss of coherence in the matter sector due to the matter-graviton vertex interaction, which leads to a loss of coherence provided that the matter-wave system is allowed to gravitons by the kinematics. Working in the quantum-field-theory framework, we obtain a master equation by tracing away the gravitational field at the leading order ∼O(G) and ∼O(c−2). We find that the decoherence rate is proportional to the cube of the harmonic trapping frequency and vanishes for a free particle, as expected for a system without a mass quadrupole. Furthermore, our quantum model of graviton emission recovers the known classical formula for gravitational radiation from a classical harmonic oscillator for coherent states with a large occupation number. In addition, we find that the quantum harmonic oscillator eventually settles in a steady state with of the ground and first excited states. While classical emission of gravitational waves would make the harmonic system loose all of its energy, our quantum field theory model does not allow the number states |1⟩ and |0⟩ to decay via graviton emission. In particular, the superposition of number states 12[|0⟩+|1⟩] is a steady state and never decoheres. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Extending Anisotropic Interiors admitting Vanishing Complexity in Charged f (R, T) Theory

AbstractThis paper extends the definition of the complexity factor for a charged self‐gravitating structure in the background of gravity. For this purpose, the modified Einstein‐Maxwell field equations and the mass function in terms of interior charge are calculated corresponding to a static sphere. The Reissner‐Nordström exterior spacetime and match it with the spherical interior at the hypersurface to determine the junction conditions are adopted then. The curvature tensor is also decomposed orthogonally, resulting in several scalar functions. Only encompasses all the required parameters and fulfills the proposed criteria to be the complexity factor for the considered setup is noticed. Moreover, some constraints to minimize the degrees of freedom in the field equations are chosen. To achieve this, complexity‐free constraint with four additional conditions depending on the matter sector that lead to different models is employed. The stability of the developed models is also analyzed in the presence and absence of charge through the standard model by varying the values of the model parameter . The presence of charge in compact models corresponding to , a polytropic and a linear equation of state make them stable for specific values of is concluded.

Dark sector of a Higgs portal with Q4 symmetric matter

We describe the phenomenology of the scalar and dark matter sectors of a BSM theory with Q4 symmetry among the SM fermions. The model features a Higgs portal to a dark sector comprised of heavy right handed neutrinos. We discuss relic abundance as well as direct detection constraints on the DM candidate.

Gravitational perturbation in nonlocal modified Tolman VII model

In comparison to the original Tolman VII model, Exact Modified Tolman VII (EMTVII) with one additional parameter can increase the compactness of compact object. When the compactness is in the ultracompact regime, the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of the trapped mode as well as the gravitational echoes become more viable. Starting with the EMTVII model, we introduce nonlocality into the matter sector and analyze the effective potential, the QNMs, and the gravitational echoes of the compact and ultracompact object in the nonlocal model. The nonlocal gravity version of EMTVII (NEMTVII) is parametrized by the nonlocal parameter (β\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ \\beta $$\\end{document}), modified Tolman VII 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}), and the compactness (C\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\mathcal {C}}$$\\end{document}). It is found that the nonlocal profile produces the smeared surface and consequently reduce the compactness. The maximum compactness Cmax=0.4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {C}}_{max}=0.4$$\\end{document} occurs when α=0=β\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha =0=\\beta $$\\end{document}, i.e., EMTVII with no smearing. For relatively small value of β=0.01\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\beta = 0.01$$\\end{document} and the compactness C≲0.2667\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$ {\\mathcal {C}} \\lesssim 0.2667$$\\end{document} (with M=2.14\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$M=2.14$$\\end{document} solar masses, R=11.835\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$R=11.835$$\\end{document} km at α=1.4\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\alpha =1.4$$\\end{document}), the causality condition and the dominant energy condition (DEC) are satisfied. The quasinormal modes of the gravitational perturbation are calculated using Bohr-Sommerfeld (BS) fitting and we find that the nonlocality produces less trapped modes than the original (EMTVII) counterpart. At high compactness, gravitational echoes are simulated numerically. Echoes are found to exist in the parameter space where the dominant energy condition and the causality condition are violated.

Non-gravitational signals of dark energy under a gauge symmetry

We investigate non-gravitational signals of dark energy within the framework of gauge symmetry in the dark energy sector. Traditionally, dark energy has been primarily studied through gravitational effects within general relativity or its extensions. On the other hand, the gauge principles have played a central role in the standard model sector and dark matter sector. If the dark energy field operates under a gauge symmetry, it introduces the possibility of studying all major components of the present universe under the same gauge principle. This approach marks a significant shift from conventional methodologies, offering a new avenue to explore dark energy.

A closed universe with hybrid nonlocality

In this paper, we explore some cosmological solutions of the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) closed universe with nonlocal de Sitter gravity [Formula: see text] and nonlocal scalar field which has its origin in [Formula: see text]-adic string theory. In this case, we have that both geometrical and matter sectors of equations of motion (EoM) are nonlocal. The cosmological constant [Formula: see text] plays a role of dark energy (DE) and is related to the mass of scalar field as [Formula: see text]. We found that the cosmological constant [Formula: see text] depends on prime number [Formula: see text] as a discrete parameter and we conjectured that [Formula: see text] is not constant during the universe evolution.

De Sitter Versus Anti‐de Sitter in Horndeski‐Like Gravity

AbstractThe general solutions of Horndeski‐like gravity that can interpolate between the de Sitter and anti‐de Sitter regimes are presented. In particular, the first‐order formalism with two scalar fields is developed, and considering a black hole ansatz with flat slicing, three different cases, namely exponential, vacuum, and smooth superpotential solutions, with no Minkowski extrema are investigated. Furthermore, these solutions show that a Renormalization Group flow is established, and a turnaround in the warp factor is obtained, where the transition is bounded by the area low. The ideal regimes to trap gravity, which are constructed using the holographic function, which provides stable and unstable regimes to localize gravity are discussed. Finally, it is shown that no ghost appear and that the matter sector that violates the ‐theorem is physical.

Enhancing exotic quantum fluctuations in a strongly entangled cavity BEC system

We show that the strong coupling of a quantum light field and correlated quantum matter induces exotic quantum fluctuations in the matter sector. We determine their spectral characteristics and reveal the impact of the atomic s-wave scattering. In particular, we derive the dissipative Landau and Beliaev processes from the microscopic Hamiltonian using imaginary-time path integrals. By this, their strongly sub-Ohmic nature is revealed analytically. A competition between damping and antidamping channels is uncovered. Their intricate influence on physical observables is quantified analytically and the Stokes shift of the critical point is determined. This illustrates the tunability of the quantum matter fluctuations by exploiting strong light-matter coupling. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Inflation in symmergent metric-Palatini gravity

In this paper, we study the cosmological inflation phenomenon in symmergent gravity theory. Symmergent gravity is a novel framework which merges gravity and the standard model (SM) so that the gravity emerges from the matter loops and restores the broken gauge symmetries along the way. Symmergent gravity is capable of inducing the gravitational constant G and the quadratic curvature coefficient cO from the loop corrections of the matter sector in a flat space-time. In the event that all the matter fields, including the beyond the standard model (BSM) sector, are mass degenerate, the vacuum energy can be expressed in terms of G and cO . The parameter which measures the deviation from the mass degeneracy is dubbed α̂. The parameters, cO and α̂, of symmergent gravity convey the information about the fermion and boson balance in the matter (SM+BSM) sector in number and in mass, respectively. In our analysis, we have investigated the space of the symmergent parameters cO and α̂ wherein they produce results that comply with the inflationary observables ns , r, and dns /d ln k.We have shown that the vacuum energy together with the quadratic curvature term arising in the symmergent gravity prescription are capable of inflating the universe provided that the quadratic curvature coefficient cO is negative (which corresponds to fermion dominance in number in the matter sector) and the deviation from the mass degeneracy in the matter sector is minute for both boson mass dominance and fermion mass dominance cases.

Q -balls in the sky

There may exist extended configurations in the dark matter sector that are analogs of structures in the visible sector. In this work, we explore nontopological solitonic configurations, specifically Q-balls, and study when they may form macroscopic astrophysical structures and what their distinct characteristics might be. We study in some detail theoretical bounds on their sizes and constraints on the underlying parameters, based on criteria for an astrophysical Q-ball’s existence, gravitational stability and viability of solutions. Following this path, one is able to obtain novel limits on astrophysical Q-ball sizes and their underlying parameters. We also explore the gravitational lensing features of different astrophysical Q-ball profiles, which are more general than the simple thin-wall limit. It is seen that the magnification characteristics may be very distinct, depending on the actual details of the solution, even for astrophysical Q-balls having the same size and mass. Assuming that such astrophysical Q-balls may form a small component of the dark matter in the Universe, we place limits on this fraction from the gravitational microlensing surveys EROS-2, OGLE-IV, HSC-Subaru and the proposed future survey WFIRST. Exploring various astrophysical Q-ball profiles and sizes, it is found that while for most intermediate masses that we consider, the dark matter fraction comprising astrophysical Q-balls is at most subpercent, for other masses it may be significantly higher. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Geometric Origin of the Galaxies’ Dark Side

We show that Einstein’s conformal gravity can explain, simply, and on the geometric ground, galactic rotation curves, without the need to introduce any modification in both the gravitational as well as in the matter sector of the theory. The geometry of each galaxy is described by a metric obtained, making a singular rescaling of Schwarzschild’s spacetime. The new exact solution, asymptotically anti-de Sitter, manifests an unattainable singularity at infinity that cannot be reached in finite proper time; namely, the spacetime is geodetically complete. It deserves to be noticed that, in this paper, we have a different opinion from the usual one. Indeed, instead of making the metric singularity-free, we make it apparently but harmlessly even more singular than Schwarzschild’s. Finally, it is crucial to point out that Weyl’s conformal symmetry is spontaneously broken into the new singular vacuum rather than the asymptotically flat Schwarzschild’s one. The metric is unique according to the null energy condition, the zero acceleration for photons in the Newtonian regime, and the homogeneity of the Universe at large scales. Once the matter is conformally coupled to gravity, the orbital velocity for a probe star in the galaxy turns out to be asymptotically constant consistent with the observations and the Tully–Fisher relation. Therefore, we compare our model with a sample of 175 galaxies and show that our velocity profile very well interpolates the galactic rotation curves after a proper choice of the only free parameter in the metric. The mass-to-luminosity ratios of galaxies turn out to be close to 1, consistent with the absence of dark matter.

FeynMG: A FeynRules extension for scalar-tensor theories of gravity

The ability to represent perturbative expansions of interacting quantum field theories in terms of simple diagrammatic rules has revolutionized calculations in particle physics (and elsewhere). Moreover, these rules are readily automated, a process that has catalyzed the rise of symbolic algebra packages. However, in the case of extended theories of gravity, such as scalar-tensor theories, it is necessary to precondition the Lagrangian to apply this automation or, at the very least, to take advantage of existing software pipelines. We present a Mathematica code FeynMG, which works in conjunction with the well-known package FeynRules, to do just that: FeynMG takes as inputs the FeynRules model file for a non-gravitational theory and a user-supplied gravitational Lagrangian. FeynMG provides functionality that inserts the minimal gravitational couplings of the degrees of freedom specified in the model file, determines the couplings of the additional tensor and scalar degrees of freedom (the metric and the scalar field from the gravitational sector), and preconditions the resulting Lagrangian so that it can be passed to FeynRules, either directly or by outputting an updated FeynRules model file. The Feynman rules can then be determined and output through FeynRules, using existing universal output formats and interfaces to other analysis packages. Program summaryProgram title: FeynMGCPC Library link to program files:https://doi.org/10.17632/bjpfmtt55k.1Developer's repository link:https://gitlab.com/feynmg/FeynMGLicensing provisions: MIT licenseProgramming language:Mathematica 13.2Nature of problem: Determining the additional interactions that scalar-tensor theories of gravity induce between the fields of the Standard Model of particle physics and its extensions is a tedious and time-consuming task that is ripe for automation. FeynMG is a package that provides this automation. It can expand the spacetime metric around a flat background and perform the necessary field redefinitions for a given theory in order to provide a Lagrangian that is in a form that can be processed by FeynRules[1]. The Feynman rules for the theory can then be determined using the existing functionality of FeynRules and output in formats that can be read into other particle-physics analysis packages.Solution method: (1) Load both FeynRules and FeynMG into Mathematica. (2) Load a model file describing a given matter sector and Lagrangian. (3) Use the FeynMG implementation to: (3a) append the gravitational sector and incorporate curvature-dependent objects, such as the metric, curvature scalars and tensors, and covariant derivatives; (3b) effect a Weyl transformation or expand the spacetime metric up to second order in graviton interactions with the matter fields; and (3c) diagonalize mass and kinetic mixings, and canonically normalize dynamical fields. (4) Pass the output directly to FeynRules or output a new model file from FeynMG.

Bootstrapping gravity and its extension to metric-affine theories

In this work we study diffeomorphism-invariant metric-affine theories of gravity from the point of view of self-interacting field theories on top of Minkowski spacetime (or other background). We revise how standard metric theories couple to their own energy-momentum tensor, and discuss the generalization of these ideas when torsion and nonmetricity are also present. We review the computation of the corresponding currents through the Hilbert and canonical (Noether) prescriptions, emphasizing the potential ambiguities arising from both. We also provide the extension of this consistent self-coupling procedure to the vielbein formalism, so that fermions can be included in the matter sector. In addition, we clarify some subtle issues regarding previous discussions on the self-coupling problem for metric theories, both General Relativity and its higher derivative generalizations. We also suggest a connection between Lovelock theorem and the ambiguities in the bootstrapping procedure arising from those in the definition of conserved currents.

Ultraheavy FIMP dark matter and conformal sectors

Ultraheavy FIMP dark matter and conformal sectors

On some new black hole, wormhole and naked singularity solutions in the free Dirac–Born–Infeld theory

In this paper, we present some new static and spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein equation in which the matter sector is accounted for by a free Dirac–Born–Infeld field. Our novel spacetimes can describe either a black hole, a wormhole, or a naked singularity depending on certain boundary conditions. By tracking the dynamical gravitational collapse, we enlighten the importance of the isotropy of the pressure for having an horizon as a result, as required by the Cosmic Censorship Conjecture. Our new spacetime solutions, the amount of exotic matter, its “complexity”, and the equation of state along the tangential direction are analytical and written in closed forms. We identify a taming of the breaking of the null energy condition, customary for wormhole spacetimes in General Relativity, along both the radial and tangential direction. We assess the astrophysical applicability and perform a comparative analysis between our solutions and other literature ones, by identifying an ISO-like density profile of the matter field, which provides a flattening of the rotation curves, by discussing the motion of test particles, and the shadow properties. In our model, those effects are interpreted as a manifestation of a topological defect, and since they can observationally mimic the signatures of other spacetimes, a study of the perturbations is performed within the quasi-normal modes formalism. Having identified the Reissner–Nordström-like quasi-resonance, our paper is intended also to provide some insights on which combinations of background and perturbation properties should be observed, for claiming the nature of astrophysical compact objects.

Exploring accelerating hairy black holes in 2+1 dimensions: the asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter class and its holography

In the realm of lower-dimensional accelerating spacetimes, it is well-established that the presence of domain walls, which are co-dimension one topological defects, is a necessary condition for their construction. We expand upon the geometric framework employed in the generation of such spacetime solutions by incorporating a conformally coupled scalar field within the matter sector. This endeavor leads to the identification of several new families of three-dimensional accelerating spacetimes with asymptotically locally anti-de Sitter (AdS) behavior. Notably, one of these solutions showcases a hairy generalization of the accelerating BTZ black hole. This solution is constructed at both slow and rapid phases of acceleration, and its connection with established vacuum spacetime models is explicitly elucidated. The inclusion of the scalar field imparts a non-constant Ricci curvature to the domain wall, thereby rendering these configurations particularly suitable for the construction of two-dimensional quantum black holes. To establish a well-posed variational principle in the presence of the domain wall, two essential steps are undertaken. First, we extend the conventional renormalized AdS3 action to accommodate the presence of the scalar field. Second, we explicitly incorporate the Gibbons-Hawking-York term associated with the internal boundaries of our geometries and account for the tension of the domain wall in the action. This dual step process enables us to derive the domain wall field equations via the variational principle. Consequently, the action furnishes the appropriate quantum statistical relation. We engage in holographic computations, thereby determining the explicit form of the holographic stress tensor. In this context, the stress tensor can be expressed as that of a perfect fluid situated on a curved background. Additionally, it paves the road to ascertain the spacetime mass. Finally, we close by demonstrating the existence of three-dimensional accelerating spacetimes with asymptotically locally flat and asymptotically locally de Sitter geometries, particularly those embodying black holes.

Constraining BSM discrete flavor symmetries with heavy scalar searches at colliders

Discrete Flavor Symmetries are often employed in BSM constructions to successfully recreate fermion masses and mixing patterns through several known mechanisms. Obvious constraints on these types of scenarios are the non-observation of Flavour Changing Neutral Currents which set stringent limits. In this talk I will discuss the strategy of using the scalar sector phenomenology predicted by such BSM models, and its correlation with the dark matter sector, to further strengthen the constraints by exploiting the large data available from heavy scalar searches in colliders including recent likelihood profiles provided by ATLAS and CMS.

Axion flux monodromy discharges relax the cosmological constant

Linear axion monodromy models modulated with higher powers of fields naturally realize the quantum-mechanical flux discharge mechanism for relaxing the cosmological constant toward zero. Working with multiple copies of superposed linear and quadratic flux monodromies, each copy spanned by a pair of fluxes, we show that when the axion is very massive and so effectively decoupled, the membrane discharges relax the cosmological constant toward an attractor 0 < Λ/M 4 Pl ≪ 1. If we restrict the flux variations and the intermediate flux values to never venture beyond a finite flux range, the terminal value of the cosmological constant will be tiny but finite. We show how it can reproduce the observed scale of dark energy, and explain how to incorporate matter sector phase transitions.