Second-order Equations Of Motion Research Articles

Testing Higher Derivative Gravity through Tunnelling

Higher derivative terms in the gravitational action are natural from the perspective of quantum gravity, but are perceived as leading to a lack of well-posedness. The Gauss–Bonnet term has second-order equations of motion, but does not impact gravitational dynamics in 4D, so one might expect that it is not physically relevant. We discuss how signatures can show up in tunnelling processes and whether these will likely be physically accessible in Higgs vacuum decay.

Nonlinear periodic response of viscoelastic laminated composite plates using shooting technique

The nonlinear periodic response of viscoelastic laminated composite plates subjected to harmonic excitation is carried out in time domain using the generalized Maxwell model in the form of a Boltzmann integral. The integral form of the viscoelastic constitutive relation is converted to the incremental form for the finite element formulation based on the Reissner–Mindlin plate theory incorporating von Karman geometric nonlinearity. The recursive relations are developed to compute the current time-step solution using only the previous time-step solution. The periodic response is obtained using shooting technique coupled with Newmark’s time integration and arc length continuation method. The implementation of the shooting technique for the Boltzmann Integral based viscoelasticity done for the first time in this study involves derivation of a number of additional recursive relations and initial conditions at the beginning of each shooting cycle. The nonlinear periodic vibration characteristics such as frequency response, damping factor, steady-state response history, phase plane plots, and frequency spectra are presented for viscoelastic plates with different boundary conditions and lamination schemes. Further, the influence of relaxation time and number of Maxwell elements on the frequency response characteristics are investigated. It is seen that the shooting technique is capable of predicting periodic responses of viscoelastic dynamical systems directly from the second-order equations of motion and is more efficient than the direct time integration method. The nonlinear response of viscoelastic plates predicted using the equivalent elastic model with Rayleigh proportional damping (having same linear frequency response) is found to be significantly different from the one predicted using viscoelastic constitutive model.

Application of magnetic field to reduce the forced response of steel bridges to high speed train

This paper uses a train-track-bridge interaction system to assess the dynamic performance of railway bridges exposed to a high-speed train and magnetic field. A 24° of freedom 3D train model and thin steel bridge beam are considered. In the interaction of train and bridge, a new six-parameter track system consisting of rail, sleeper, and ballast is modeled. The governing equations of the bridge, track and train motions are derived based on the Lagrange method. The Lorentz force induced by the directed magnetic field in the axial direction is obtained by Maxwell's equation. Using state-space forms, the second-order equations of motion are transformed into first-order differential equations, which are then solved using the Runge-Kutta method. Studies using parametric data are done to show how the suggested approach may be used to investigate the dynamic interaction of the entire system. The magnetic field intensities and moving train speed on the interaction of the railway bridge system were investigated and analyzed for the first time in the literature. Depending on the speed of the vehicle, when the dimensionless magnetic field is Hxm=30, it can be seen that the train body's vertical displacement falls by around 50%. The obtained results are helpful for the design of railway bridges and the safe and comfortable ride of high-speed trains over flexible structures.

Well-posed formulation of Einstein-Maxwell effective field theory

We consider the well-posedness of the initial value problem for Einstein-Maxwell theory modified by higher derivative effective field theory corrections. Field redefinitions can be used to bring the leading parity-symmetric 4-derivative corrections to a form which gives second order equations of motion. We show that a recently introduced "modified harmonic" gauge condition can be used to obtain a formulation of these theories which admits a well-posed initial value problem when the higher derivative corrections to the equations of motion are small.

Numerical relativity for Horndeski gravity

In this paper, we present an overview of recent developments in the numerical solution of Horndeski gravity theories, which are the class of all scalar–tensor theories of gravity that have second-order equations of motion. We review several methods that have been used to establish well-posed initial value problems for these theories, and discuss well-posed formulations of the constraint equations. We also discuss global aspects of exact, strongly coupled solutions to some of the Horndeski gravity theories: the formation of shocks, the loss of hyperbolicity, and the formation of naked curvature singularities. Finally, we discuss numerical solutions to binary black hole and neutron star systems for several Horndeski theories.

An effective fluid description of scalar-vector-tensor theories under the sub-horizon and quasi-static approximations

We consider scalar-vector-tensor (SVT) theories with second-order equations of motion and tensor propagation speed equivalent to the speed of light. Under the sub-horizon and the quasi-static approximations we find analytical formulae for an effective dark energy fluid, i.e., sound speed, anisotropic stress as well as energy density and pressure. We took advantage of our general, analytical fluid description and showed that it is possible to design SVT cosmological models which are degenerate with ΛCDM at the background level while having gravity strength G eff < G N at late-times as well as non-vanishing dark energy perturbations. We implemented SVT designer models in the widely used Boltzmann solver CLASS thus making it possible to test SVT models against astrophysical observations. Our effective fluid approach to SVT models reveals non trivial behaviour in the sound speed and the anisotropic stress well worth an investigation in light of current discrepancies in cosmological parameters such as H 0 and σ 8.

Radially symmetric scalar solitons

A class of noncanonical effective potentials is introduced allowing stable, radially symmetric, solutions to first order Bogomol'nyi equations for a real scalar field in a fixed spacetime background. This class of effective potentials generalizes those found previously by Bazeia, Menezes, and Menezes [Phys.Rev.Lett. 91 (2003) 241601] for radially symmetric defects in a flat spacetime. Use is made of the "on-shell method" introduced by Atmaja and Ramadhan [Phys.Rev.D 90 (2014) 10, 105009] of reducing the second order equation of motion to a first order one, along with a constraint equation. This method and class of potentials admits radially symmetric, stable solutions for four dimensional static, radially symmetric spacetimes. Stability against radial fluctuations is established with a modified version of Derrick's theorem, along with demonstrating that the radial stress vanishes. Several examples of scalar field configurations are given.

Gravity with a generalized conformal scalar field: Theory and solutions

We naturally extend the theory of gravity with a conformally coupled scalar field by only requiring conformal invariance of the scalar field equation of motion and not of the action. The classically extended theory incorporates a scalar-Gauss-Bonnet sector and has second-order equations of motion, belonging to the Horndeski class. Remarkably, the theory features a purely geometrical field equation that allows for closed-form black hole solutions and cosmologies to be easily found. These solutions permit investigations of in-vogue scalar-Gauss-Bonnet corrections to the gravitational action without the need of resorting to approximations or numerical methods. We discuss on the connection to the recently formulated 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity.

Causality in gravitational theories with second order equations of motion

This paper considers diffeomorphism invariant theories of gravity coupled to matter, with second order equations of motion. This includes Einstein-Maxwell and Einstein-scalar field theory with (after field redefinitions) the most general parity-symmetric four-derivative effective field theory corrections. A gauge-invariant approach is used to study the characteristics associated to the physical degrees of freedom in an arbitrary background solution. The symmetries of the principal symbol arising from diffeomorphism invariance and the action principle are determined. For gravity coupled to a single scalar field (i.e. a Horndeski theory) it is shown that causality is governed by a characteristic polynomial of degree $6$ which factorises into a product of quadratic and quartic polynomials. The former is defined in terms of an "effective metric" and is associated with a "purely gravitational" polarisation, whereas the latter generically involves a mixture of gravitational and scalar field polarisations. The "fastest" degrees of freedom are associated with the quartic polynomial, which defines a surface analogous to the Fresnel surface in crystal optics. In contrast with optics, this surface is generically non-singular except on certain surfaces in spacetime. It is shown that a Killing horizon is an example of such a surface. It is also shown that a Killing horizon satisfies the zeroth law of black hole mechanics. The characteristic polynomial defines a cone in the cotangent space and a dual cone in the tangent space. The latter is used to define basic notions of causality and to provide a definition of a dynamical black hole in these theories.

Most general theory of 3d gravity: covariant phase space, dual diffeomorphisms, and more

We show that the phase space of three-dimensional gravity contains two layers of dualities: between diffeomorphisms and a notion of “dual diffeomorphisms” on the one hand, and between first order curvature and torsion on the other hand. This is most elegantly revealed and understood when studying the most general Lorentz-invariant first order theory in connection and triad variables, described by the so-called Mielke-Baekler Lagrangian. By analyzing the quasi-local symmetries of this theory in the covariant phase space formalism, we show that in each sector of the torsion/curvature duality there exists a well-defined notion of dual diffeomorphism, which furthermore follows uniquely from the Sugawara construction. Together with the usual diffeomorphisms, these duals form at finite distance, without any boundary conditions, and for any sign of the cosmological constant, a centreless double Virasoro algebra which in the flat case reduces to the BMS3 algebra. These algebras can then be centrally-extended via the twisted Sugawara construction. This shows that the celebrated results about asymptotic symmetry algebras are actually generic features of three-dimensional gravity at any finite distance. They are however only revealed when working in first order connection and triad variables, and a priori inaccessible from Chern-Simons theory. As a bonus, we study the second order equations of motion of the Mielke-Baekler model, as well as the on-shell Lagrangian. This reveals the duality between Riemannian metric and teleparallel gravity, and a new candidate theory for three-dimensional massive gravity which we call teleparallel topologically massive gravity.

Torsional vibration reduction of rotating shafts for multiple orders using centrifugal double pendulum vibration absorber

Centrifugal Pendulum Vibration Absorbers (CPVAs) reduce the torsional fluctuations of rotating shafts at fixed vibration order by changing the natural frequency in accordance with the excitation frequency. Attenuation of multiple orders is necessary in the case of the rear wheel drive vehicle and cylinder deactivation applications for achieving refined vehicle performance. Single pendulum vibration absorbers attenuate only one vibration order at a time and the pendulum length must be reduced for higher orders in the order of (1/n2) times the distance between the center of rotation and pivot point to attenuate nth order vibration. Use of single pendulum absorbers for reducing higher orders has limitations due to manufacturing inaccuracies and occurrence of wear of joints over prolonged usage which reduces the effectiveness of absorber in reducing the torsional vibration. In this study, a centrifugal double pendulum vibration absorber (CDPVA) is proposed to make the design easy for higher orders by deploying two pendulums in series. The CDPVA is designed to attenuate the fundamental excitation order (n) and its second harmonic (2n) without significant reduction in the pendulum length hence making the design robust for prolonged usage. The mass and length values of the double pendulum are tuned to match the two natural frequencies correspond to the fundamental and second harmonic order of the torsional vibration excitation. Torsional springs are used at the pivot joints of the double pendulum to counteract the gravitational effects at low speeds and the influence of spring stiffness on the natural frequencies is analyzed. The nonlinear second order equations of motion of pendulum masses and rotor are solved analytically using method of multiple time scales and the stability characteristics of pendulum motion are analyzed at the excitation frequencies with different torque levels. Numerical simulation of complete nonlinear equations is carried out and the analytical results are compared with the simulation results. The designed CDPVA for 2nd and 4th order is tested on a 4-cylinder the rear wheel drive vehicle and considerable reduction is achieved in the torsional vibration of the drive shaft and also in the vibration levels at seating locations. The proposed methodology helps in designing the CDPVAs for attenuating the torsional vibration of multiple higher orders yet avoiding impacts in low speed operation.

Non-linear stability analysis of two-layered porous journal bearings with velocity slip and percolation effect of additives of coupled-stress lubricant

In this paper a non-linear stability analysis of the two-layered porous journal bearing under coupled-stress lubricant has been presented with velocity slip phenomenon and additive’s percolation effect. In this non-linear transient analysis, system stability is determined by tracing the locus of the journal center and various trajectories of journal center locus have been represented in graphical form for different operating conditions. Furthermore, stability characteristics in respect of critical mass parameter and whirl ratio have been studied under various parametric conditions and a comparison between the linear and non-linear stability analysis have been demonstrated. To acquire the non-dimensional pressure values, non-dimensional transient Reynolds equation has been solved and with these pressure values, bearing load carrying capacity are derived. Fourth order Runge-Kutta method is used to solve the second order equations of motion for journal bearing system to obtain the stability characteristics. Results of this analysis may be helpful for designing such bearings.

Generalization of the 2-form interactions

We systematically construct derivative self-interactions for massless and massive 2-forms. There exists a no-go theorem in the literature for constructing Galileon-like Lagrangians in four dimensions for the 2-form with gauge invariance, the Kalb-Rammond field. The presence of non-minimal couplings strongly relies on the contraction with divergenceless tensors. In four dimensions these are the Einstein tensor and the double dual Riemann tensor. Even though they are divergenceless on their own, their combination ceases to be. In the case of massless 2-forms we are not able to establish non-minimal couplings of the 2-form to the gravity sector with second order equations of motion due to the impossibility of building consistent combinations of divergenceless tensors. Using the systematical construction in terms of the Levi-Civita tensor, we aim at constructing Galileon-like derivative self-interactions for the massive 2-form. Apart from L2 and L4 we are not able to construct further Galileon-like Lagrangians. For the massive case, an important non-minimal coupling between the 2-form and the double dual Riemann tensor arises, which receives additional support from the decoupling limit. Promoting the interactions in L4 requires the presence of appropriate non-minimal couplings and we give concrete examples for this.

On four-dimensional Einsteinian gravity, quasitopological gravity, cosmology and black holes

We show that the combination of cubic invariants defining five-dimensional quasitopological gravity, when written in four dimensions, reduce to the version of four-dimensional Einsteinian gravity recently proposed by Arciniega, Edelstein & Jaime, that produces second order equations of motion in a FLRW ansatz, with a purely geometrical inflationary period. We introduce a quartic version of the four-dimensional Einsteinian theory with similar properties, and study its consequences. In particular we found that there exists a region on the space of parameters which allows for thermodynamically stable black holes, as well as a well-defined cosmology with geometrically driven inflation. We briefly discuss the cosmological inhomogeneities in this setup. We also provide a combination of quintic invariants with those properties.

(Generalized) quasi-topological gravities at all orders

A new class of higher-curvature modifications of )-dimensional Einstein gravity has been recently identified. Densities belonging to this ‘Generalized quasi-topological’ class (GQTGs) are characterized by possessing non-hairy generalizations of the Schwarzschild black hole satisfying and by having second-order equations of motion when linearized around maximally symmetric backgrounds. GQTGs for which the equation of the metric function is algebraic are called ‘Quasi-topological’ and only exist for . In this paper we prove that GQTG and Quasi-topological densities exist in general dimensions and at arbitrarily high curvature orders. We present recursive formulas which allow for the systematic construction of nth order densities of both types from lower order ones, as well as explicit expressions valid at any order. We also obtain the equation satisfied by for general D and n. Our results here tie up the remaining loose end in the proof presented in Bueno et al (2019 (arXiv:1906.00987)) that every gravitational effective action constructed from arbitrary contractions of the metric and the Riemann tensor is equivalent, through a metric redefinition, to some GQTG.

Dark sector evolution in Horndeski models

We use the Equation of State (EoS) approach to study the evolution of the dark sector in Horndeski models, the most general scalar-tensor theories with second order equations of motion. By including the effects of the dark sector into our code EoS_class, we demonstrate the numerical stability of the formalism and excellent agreement with results from other publicly available codes for a range of parameters describing the evolution of the function characterising the perturbations for Horndeski models, αx, with x = K, B, M, T. After demonstrating that on sub-horizon scales (k≳ 10−3 Mpc−1 at z=0) velocity perturbations in both the matter and the dark sector are typically subdominant with respect to density perturbations in the equation of state for perturbations, we find an attractor solution for the dark sector gauge-invariant density perturbation Δds by neglecting its time derivatives in the equation describing its time evolution, as commonly done in the well-known quasi-static approximation. Using this result, we provide simplified expressions for the equation-of-state functions: the dark sector entropy perturbations wdsΓds and anisotropic stress wdsΠds. From this we derive a growth factor-like equation for both matter and dark sector and are able to capture the relevant physics for several observables with great accuracy. We finally present new analytical expressions for the well-known modified gravity phenomenological functions μ, η and Σ for a generic Horndeski model as functions of αx. We show that on small scales they reproduce expressions presented in previous works, but on large scales, we find differences with respect to other works.

Dark energy in Horndeski theories after GW170817: A review

The gravitational wave (GW) event GW170817 from a binary neutron star merger together with the electromagnetic counterpart showed that the speed of GWs [Formula: see text] is very close to that of light for the redshift [Formula: see text]. This places tight constraints on dark energy models constructed in the framework of modified gravitational theories. We review models of the late-time cosmic acceleration in scalar–tensor theories with second-order equations of motion (dubbed Horndeski theories) by paying particular attention to the evolution of dark energy equation of state and observables relevant to the cosmic growth history. We provide a gauge-ready formulation of scalar perturbations in full Horndeski theories and estimate observables associated with the evolution of large-scale structures, cosmic microwave background and weak lensing by employing a so-called quasi-static approximation for the modes deep inside the sound horizon. In light of the recent observational bound of [Formula: see text], we also classify surviving dark energy models into four classes depending on different structure-formation patterns and discuss how they can be observationally distinguished from each other. In particular, the nonminimally coupled theories in which the scalar field [Formula: see text] has a coupling with the Ricci scalar [Formula: see text] of the form [Formula: see text], including [Formula: see text] gravity, can be tightly constrained not only from the cosmic expansion and growth histories but also from the variation of screened gravitational couplings. The cross-correlation of integrated Sachs–Wolfe signal with galaxy distributions can be a key observable for placing bounds on the relative ratio of cubic Galileon density to total dark energy density. The dawn of GW astronomy will open up a new window to constrain nonminimally coupled theories further by the modified luminosity distance of tensor perturbations.

Phenomenology of large scale structure in scalar-tensor theories: Joint prior covariance of wDE , Σ , and μ in Horndeski theories

Ongoing and upcoming cosmological surveys will significantly improve our ability to probe the equation of state of dark energy, $w_{\rm DE}$, and the phenomenology of Large Scale Structure. They will allow us to constrain deviations from the $\Lambda$CDM predictions for the relations between the matter density contrast and the weak lensing and the Newtonian potential, described by the functions $\Sigma$ and $\mu$, respectively. In this work, we derive the theoretical prior for the joint covariance of $w_{\rm DE}$, $\Sigma$ and $\mu$, expected in general scalar-tensor theories with second order equations of motion (Horndeski gravity), focusing on their time-dependence at certain representative scales. We employ Monte-Carlo methods to generate large ensembles of statistically independent Horndeski models, focusing on those that are physically viable and in broad agreement with local tests of gravity, the observed cosmic expansion history and the measurement of the speed of gravitational waves from a binary neutron star merger. We identify several interesting features and trends in the distribution functions of $w_{\rm DE}$, $\Sigma$ and $\mu$, as well as in their covariances; we confirm the high degree of correlation between $\Sigma$ and $\mu$ in scalar-tensor theories. The derived prior covariance matrices will allow us to reconstruct jointly $w_{\rm DE}$, $\Sigma$ and $\mu$ in a non-parametric way.

Dark energy in scalar-vector-tensor theories

The scalar-vector-tensor theories with second-order equations of motion can accommodate both Horndeski and generalized Proca theories as specific cases. In the presence of a perfect fluid, we study the cosmology in such a most general scheme of scalar-vector-tensor theories with parity invariance by paying particular attention to the application to dark energy. We obtain a closed-form expression of the background equations of motion by using coefficients appearing in the second-order action of scalar perturbations. We also derive conditions for the absence of ghost and Laplacian instabilities of tensor and vector perturbations and show that the existence of matter does not substantially modify the stabilities of dynamical degrees of freedom in the small-scale limit. On the other hand, the sound speed of scalar perturbations is affected by the presence of matter. Employing the quasi-static approximation for scalar perturbations deep inside the sound horizon, we derive analytic expressions of Newtonian and weak lensing gravitational potentials as well as two scalar perturbations arising from the scalar and vector fields. We apply our general framework to dark energy theories with the tensor propagation speed equivalent to the speed of light and show that the observables associated with the growth of matter perturbations and weak lensing potentials are generally affected by intrinsic vector modes and by interactions between scalar and vector fields.

Scalar-vector-tensor gravity theories

We construct the consistent ghost-free covariant scalar-vector-tensor gravity theories with second order equations of motion with derivative interactions. We impose locality, unitarity, Lorentz invariance and pseudo-Riemannian geometry as the fundamental terms. In the tensor sector we require diffeomorphism invariance, whereas we allow the vector sector to be gauge invariant or not. The resulting Lagrangians consist of new genuine couplings among these fields with at most two derivatives per field. They propagate five physical degrees of freedom in the gauge invariant case and six degrees of freedom if the gauge invariance is broken. In the corresponding limit of the free general functions in the Lagrangian, one recovers the generalized Proca theories. These scalar-vector-tensor theories will have important implications for cosmological and astrophysical applications, among which we mention the application to inflation and generation of primordial magnetic fields, new black hole and neutron star solutions, dark matter and dark energy.