WKB Approximation Research Articles

Charge (in)stability and superradiance of Topological Stars

We study linear massive scalar charged perturbations of Topological Stars in the fuzzball and in the black hole (Black String) regimes. The objects that naturally couple to the electric 3-form field strength of these solutions are charged strings, wound around the compact direction. We explore the possibility of instabilities of these solutions, in analogy with the charge instability already highlighted for other non-BPS geometries like JMaRT. This issue is addressed by calculating quasi-normal mode frequencies with a variety of techniques: WKB approximation, direct integration, Leaver method and by exploiting the recently discovered correspondence between black hole/fuzzball perturbation theory and quantum Seiberg-Witten curves. All mode frequencies we find have negative imaginary parts, implying an exponential decay in time. This suggests a linear stability of Topological Stars also in this new scenario. In addition, we study the charge superradiance for the Black String. We compute the amplification factor with the numerical integration method and a quantum Seiberg-Witten motivated definition including instantonic corrections.

Black holes in Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson Gravity and the breakdown of quasinormal modes/null geodesics correspondence

We show that perturbations of a scalar field in the background of the spherically symmetric black hole obtained with the Starobinsky-Bel-Robinson Gravity are unstable unless the dimensionless coupling β describing the compactification of M-theory is small enough. In the sector of stability quasinormal spectrum show peculiar behavior both in the frequency and time domains: the ringing consists of two stages where two different modes dominate. The WKB method does not reproduce part of the spectrum including the fundamental mode, which is responsible for the first stage of the ringing. As a result, the correspondence between the high frequency quasinormal modes and characteristics of the null geodesics reproduces only one branch of the eikonal spectrum. The frequencies are obtained with the help of three methods (Frobenius, WKB and time-domain integration) with excellent agreement among them.

Black hole bulk-cone singularities

Lorentzian correlators of local operators exhibit surprising singularities in theories with gravity duals. These are associated with null geodesics in an emergent bulk geometry. We analyze singularities of the thermal response function dual to propagation of waves on the AdS Schwarzschild black hole background. We derive the analytic form of the leading singularity dual to a bulk geodesic that winds around the black hole. Remarkably, it exhibits a boundary group velocity larger than the speed of light, whose dual is the angular velocity of null geodesics at the photon sphere. The strength of the singularity is controlled by the classical Lyapunov exponent associated with the instability of nearly bound photon orbits. In this sense, the bulk-cone singularity can be identified as the universal feature that encodes the ubiquitous black hole photon sphere in a dual holographic CFT. To perform the computation analytically, we express the two-point correlator as an infinite sum over Regge poles, and then evaluate this sum using WKB methods. We also compute the smeared correlator numerically, which in particular allows us to check and support our analytic predictions. We comment on the resolution of black hole bulk-cone singularities by stringy and gravitational effects into black hole bulk-cone “bumps”. We conclude that these bumps are robust, and could serve as a target for simulations of black hole-like geometries in table-top experiments.

Critical Examination of Gamow's Theory of Alpha Particle Decay

Gamow’s Theory of Alpha Particle Decay was initially formulated for a limited set of nuclei. In this study, the researchers extend the scope and assessed the applicability of the theory to a broader range of nuclides especially those with different proton and neutron compositions. Three objectives were formulated to undertake the research. The researcher utilized one-dimensional WKB approximation to calculate the probability of tunneling through the potential barrier, which is a simplification compared to other formulas. The Geiger-Nuttall law, which describes a dependence of the disintegration constant on the range of α-particles, was deduced using the Gamow theory describing the passage of the α-particles through the Coulomb barrier by the quantum mechanical tunneling effect. Ground-to-ground state α-transitions for α-active nuclides were analyzed based on their half-lives and their dependence on various factors. The study revealed that all α-active nuclides whose Z ranges between 70 to100 undergoes similar alpha decay processes.

Constraints on quasinormal modes from black hole shadows in regular non-minimal Einstein Yang–Mills gravity

This work deals with scalar quasinormal modes using the higher-order WKB method and black hole shadow in non-minimal Einstein–Yang–Mills theory. To validate the results of quasinormal modes, time domain profiles are also investigated. We find that with an increase in the magnetic charge of the black hole, the ringdown gravitational wave increases non-linearly and the damping rate decreases non-linearly. The presence of a magnetic charge also results in a non-linear decrease in the black hole shadow. For large values of the coupling parameter, the black hole becomes a soliton solution and the corresponding ringdown gravitational wave frequency increases slowly with a decrease in the damping rate. For the soliton solutions, the shadow is also smaller. The constraints on the model parameters calculated using shadow observations of M87* and Sgr A* and an approximate analytical relation between quasinormal modes and shadows at the eikonal limit are discussed.

Exploring non-commutativity as a perturbation in the Schwarzschild black hole: quasinormal modes, scattering, and shadows

In this work, by a novel approach to studying the scattering of a Schwarzschild black hole, the non-commutativity is introduced as perturbation. We begin by reformulating the Klein–Gordon equation for the scalar field in a new form that takes into account the deformed non-commutative spacetime. Using this formulation, an effective potential for the scattering process is derived. To calculate the quasinormal modes, we employ the WKB method and also utilize fitting techniques to investigate the impact of non-commutativity on the scalar quasinormal modes. We thoroughly analyze the results obtained from these different methods. Moreover, the greybody factor and absorption cross section are investigated. Additionally, we explore the behavior of null geodesics in the presence of non-commutativity. Specifically, we examine the photonic, and shadow radius as well as the light trajectories for different non-commutative parameters. Therefore, by addressing these various aspects, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of non-commutativity on the scattering of a Schwarzschild-like black hole and its implications for the behavior of scalar fields and light trajectories.

Parametric Survey of Nonaxisymmetric Accretion Disk Instabilities: Magnetorotational Instability to Super-Alfvénic Rotational Instability

Accretion disks are highly unstable to magnetic instabilities driven by shear flow, where classically, the axisymmetric, weak-field magnetorotational instability (MRI) has received much attention through local WKB approximations. In contrast, discrete nonaxisymmetric counterparts require a more involved analysis through a full global approach to deal with the influence of the nearby magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) continua. Recently, rigorous MHD spectroscopy identified a new type of ultralocalized, nonaxisymmetric instability in global disks with super-Alfvénic flow. These super-Alfvénic rotational instabilities (SARIs) fill vast unstable regions in the complex eigenfrequency plane with (near eigen)modes that corotate at the local Doppler velocity and are radially localized between Alfvénic resonances. Unlike discrete modes, they are utterly insensitive to the radial disk boundaries. In this work, we independently confirm the existence of these unprecedented modes using our novel spectral MHD code Legolas, reproducing and extending our earlier study with detailed eigenspectra and eigenfunctions. We calculate the growth rates of SARIs and MRI in a variety of disk equilibria, highlighting the impact of field strength and orientation, and find correspondence with analytical predictions for thin, weakly magnetized disks. We show that nonaxisymmetric modes can significantly extend instability regimes at high mode numbers, with maximal growth rates comparable to those of the MRI. Furthermore, we explicitly show a region filled with quasi-modes whose eigenfunctions are extremely localized in all directions. These modes must be ubiquitous in accretion disks, and play a role in local shearing box simulations. Finally, we revisit recent dispersion relations in the appendix, highlighting their relation to our global framework.

Holography of broken U(1) symmetry

We examine the Abelian Higgs model in (d + 1)-dimensional anti-de Sitter space with an ultraviolet brane. The gauge symmetry is broken by a bulk Higgs vacuum expectation value triggered on the brane. We propose two separate Goldstone boson equivalence theorems for the boundary and bulk degrees of freedom. We compute the holographic self-energy of the gauge field and show that its spectrum is either a continuum, gapped continuum, or a discretuum as a function of the Higgs bulk mass. When the Higgs has no bulk mass, the AdS isometries are unbroken. We find in that case that the dual CFT has a non-conserved U(1) current whose anomalous dimension is proportional to the square of the Higgs vacuum expectation value. When the Higgs background weakly breaks the AdS isometries, we present an adapted WKB method to solve the gauge field equations. We show that the U(1) current dimension runs logarithmically with the energy scale in accordance with a nearly-marginal U(1)-breaking deformation of the CFT.

Violation of Hod’s conjecture and probing it with optical properties of a 5-D black hole in Einstein Gauss–Bonnet Bumblebee theory of gravity

In this work, the quasinormal modes of a 5-D black hole in Einstein Gauss–Bonnet Bumblebee theory of gravity have been investigated with the help of the Padé averaged higher order WKB approximation method and the validity of Hod’s conjecture has been studied. It is found that the presence of Lorentz symmetry breaking due to the Bumblebee field favours Hod’s conjecture. But in the case of the Gauss–Bonnet term, an increase in the coupling parameter increases the chances of violation of Hod’s conjecture. We further investigated the optical properties of the black hole viz., shadow and emission rate. It is found that a black hole with a lower lifetime favours Hod’s conjecture.

Quasinormal modes by improved matrix method and weighted residual method

This work discusses the Improved Matrix Method and Weighted Residual Method for studying the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of black holes. In the first method, by utilizing Jordan decomposition, the improved matrix method avoids the calculation of inverse matrices in the original matrix method. This significantly saves computational resources and time needed to compute the coefficient square matrices of the derivatives. In the second method, we illustrate the effectiveness of the weighted residual method in QNMs calculations by using the collocation method and Galerkin method as examples. We compared the results of both methods with the Generalized Horowitz-Hubeny Method and the WKB approximation. The methods proposed in this paper demonstrates superior precision. Additionally, we provide five criteria to exclude extraneous roots from the methods.

Bohr–Sommerfeld quantization condition for self-adjoint Dirac operators

We study the eigenvalue problem for a self-adjoint 1D Dirac operator. It is known that, near an energy level where the square of the potential makes a simple well, the eigenvalues are approximated by a Bohr–Sommerfeld type quantization rule. A remarkable difference from the Schrödinger case appears in the Maslov correction term. This fact was recently found by Hirota [Real eigenvalues of a non-self-adjoint perturbation of the self-adjoint Zakharov–Shabat operator, J. Math. Phys. 58 (2017) 102–108] under the analyticity condition of the potential using a complex WKB method. In this paper, we approach this problem with a microlocal technique focusing on the asymptotic behavior of the eigenfunction along the characteristic set to generalize the result to [Formula: see text] potentials.

Propagation of twisted laser carrying orbital angular momentum in magnetized plasma

The propagation of electromagnetic beams carrying orbital angular momentum l is investigated in a cold collisionless plasma where a static magnetic field is applied in the axial direction. The relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities are taken into consideration simultaneously. A stationary nonlinear Schrödinger equation is derived using the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin method and the slowly varying envelope approximation. The critical condition for the self-trapped mode is achieved as a function of orbital angular momentum (OAM), magnetic field, and initial laser intensity of the beam. The response of the medium to the two types of polarizations, i.e., left circular polarization (LCP) and right circular polarization (RCP), is compared, and it is observed that the RCP laser shows better focusing than the LCP laser and also requires a smaller beam radius for achieving the self-trapped mode. The effect of applied magnetic field and OAM of the laser is also studied on the beam width evolution. The laser is found to be focused earlier in the cases of a larger applied magnetic field. A Laguerre–Gaussian laser with higher OAM is observed to show efficient self-focusing. This study enables exploration in the fields of particle acceleration, electron bunch generation, x-ray sources, and more.

Scaling of waves between monotone slopes

Long crested waves above monotone bathymetries with different steepness are shown to be related by a time scaling. The scaling is explicitly present in the usual WKB approximation and more generally in the Hamiltonian potential theory for incompressible, irrotational inviscid fluid motion (Zakharov, 1968). The scaling uses the depth instead of the spatial distance as position marker, which is a canonical transformation in the action functional. This implies that waves above different slopes are related by a simple space-time scaling. At depths before near-coastal effects of run-up become relevant, the scaling property is valuable for understanding the wave propagation and may reduce laboratory experiments. Taking into account non-Hamiltonian coastal effects of breaking and coastal run-up, nonlinear simulations show correlations above 0.8 for waves above different slopes until a typical depth for many offshore activities of 15 m (Forrsitall, 2004). Numerical simulations with second- and third order nonlinearity are performed with HAWASSI software (Kurnia and Van Groesen, 2014), a variant of a higher order spectral method (Dommermuth and Yue, 1987; West et al., 1987). An example of the scaling is also shown to be present for an air-water CFD potential simulation (Aggarwal et al., 2020).

Tunneling splittings using modified WKB method in Cartesian coordinates: The test case of vinyl radical.

Modified WKB theory for calculating tunneling splittings in symmetric multi-well systems in full dimensionality is re-derived using Cartesian coordinates. It is explicitly shown that the theory rests on the wavefunction that is exact for harmonic potentials. The theory was applied to calculate tunneling splittings in vinyl radical and some of its deuterated isotopologues in their vibrational ground states and the low-lying vibrationally excited states and compared to exact variational results. The exact results are reproduced within a factor of 2 in most states. Remarkably, all large enhancements of tunneling splittings relative to the ground state, up to three orders in magnitude in some excited mode combinations, are well reproduced. It is also shown that in the asymmetrically deuterated vinyl radical, the theory correctly predicts the states that are localized in a single well and the delocalized tunneling states. Modified WKB theory on the minimum action path is computationally inexpensive and can also be applied without modification to much larger systems in full dimensionality; the results of this test case serve to give insight into the expected accuracy of the method.

Quasinormal modes, and different aspects of Hawking radiation within the metric-affine bumblebee gravity framework

We consider a static and spherically symmetric black hole metric that emerges from the vacuum solution of the traceless metric-affine bumblebee model. Our study focuses on the possible implications of the modifications induced by the model on various astrophysical observables that include quasinormal modes, ringdown waveforms, Hawking radiation spectrum, sparsity of that radiation, and the lifetime of a black hole. We explore the impact of the Lorentz symmetry-breaking (LSB) parameter α on the quasinormal modes with the help of the 6th-order WKB method. Our inquisition reveals that the emission frequency and decay rate initially decreases with α and then grows up. As a result, the LSB becomes critically important for maintaining the stability of the system after being exposed to perturbation. The convergence of the WKB method for various orders is also studied here. We then analyze the Hawking temperature, radiation spectrum, and sparsity in this modified gravity framework that provides valuable insights into the thermal radiation emitted by black holes. It points out that the Hawking temperature, the peak of the power spectrum, and the total power emitted initially decreases and then increases with α. However, The variation of the sparsity with α follows a reverse trend. Finally, we obtain the analytical expression of the ‘lifetime’ of black holes and scrutinize the effect of α on it.

Effect of mutual interaction of two cosh-Gaussian laser beams on upper hybrid wave excitation and subsequent electron acceleration

This paper presents the excitation of an upper hybrid wave by resonant excitation of two intense cosh-Gaussian laser beams of frequencies ω 1 and ω 2 in a collisionless plasma. The excited upper hybrid wave is used for electron acceleration which accelerates the electrons towards higher energy. The acceleration of electrons through an excited upper hybrid wave has also been studied. This study has been analysed using the Wentzel Kramers Brillouin (WKB) and paraxial-ray approximation, where relativistic and ponderomotive nonlinearities are employed together. Analytical expressions for the beam width/intensity of the cosh-Gaussian laser beams, the electric field/power of the excited upper hybrid wave and the electron acceleration have been derived, which have been solved numerically for an established set of laser and plasma parameters. The results are also compared to relativistic nonlinearity. It has been observed that the mutual interaction of two cosh-Gaussian laser beams at a difference frequency significantly affects the self-focusing of each beam, leading to an increase in the amplitude/power of the upper hybrid wave as well as energy gain by the electrons. The effect of the magnetic field (ωc) and decentered parameter (b) on the power of the excited upper hybrid wave and the energy gain by the electrons are also explored. The results show that the power of upper hybrid wave and the energy gain by the electrons increase at higher values ​​of b and ω c.

Heavy mesons mass spectroscopy under a spin-dependent Cornell potential within the framework of the spinless Salpeter equation

Abstract The energy bound-state solutions of the spinless Salpeter equation (SSE) have been obtained under a spin-dependent Cornell potential function via the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin approximation. The energy levels were applied to predict the mass spectra for the charmonium, bottomonium, and bottom-charmed mesons. The relativistic corrections for the angular momentum quantum number l > 0 l\gt 0 , total angular momentum quantum numbers j = l , j = l ± 1 j=l,\hspace{.3em}j=l\pm 1 , and the radial quantum numbers n = 1–4 improve the mass spectra. The results agree fairly with experimental data and theoretic results reported in existing works, where the authors utilized different forms of the inter-quark potentials and methods. The deviation of the obtained masses for the charmonium and bottomonium from the observed data yields a total percentage error of 3.32 and 1.11%, respectively. The results indicate that the accuracy of the masses is correlated with the magnitude of masses for the charm and bottom quarks. The SSE together with the phenomenological spin-dependent Cornell potential provides an adequate account of the mass spectroscopy for the heavy mesons and may be used to predict other spectroscopic parameters.

Noncommutative Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence: Thermodynamics, Shadows and Quasinormal modes

In Campos et al. (2022), Campos et al studied the quasinormal modes and shadows of noncommutative Schwarzschild black holes. Since we know that the quintessence matter surrounding black holes has significant effects on the black hole quantities, in this study, we aimed to show this influence by revisiting the same problem in the presence of quintessence matter field. To this end, we first examined the thermodynamics of noncommutative Schwarzschild black holes embedded in quintessence matter using Hawking temperature, entropy, and specific heat functions. After that we discussed phase transition and stability features. We then investigated the shadow images in the presence of plasma. After visualizing these results qualitatively, we calculated the quasinormal modes in WKB and Mashhoon approximations and we demonstrated the impacts of quintessence matter and noncommutative spacetime on the whole quantities.

Quasinormal modes, temperatures and greybody factors of black holes in a generalized Rastall gravity theory

We introduce a modification in the energy-momentum conservation violating Rastall’s theory of gravity and obtain a Reissner-Nordström-type black hole solution in spacetime surrounded by a cloud of strings and charge fields. We examine the horizons of the black hole along with the influence of the parameters of the model on it. The scalar quasinormal modes (QNMs) of oscillations of the black hole are also computed using the 6th order WKB approximation method. It is seen that the Rastall parameter β and the newly introduced energy-momentum tensor trace parameter α as well as the charge parameter q and strings field parameter a influence the amplitude and damping of the QNMs. From the metric function, we obtain the temperature of the black hole and study the effects of the four model parameters β, α, q and a on the temperature. We then examine the greybody factors associated with the black hole and the corresponding total absorption cross-section for it. It is seen that the modification we introduced in the Rastall theory has a drastic effect on various properties of the black hole and may lead to interesting outcomes in future when better detection techniques will be available with the LISA and the Einstein Telescope.

TBA equations and exact WKB analysis in deformed supersymmetric quantum mechanics

We study the spectral problem in deformed supersymmetric quantum mechanics with polynomial superpotential by using the exact WKB method and the TBA equations. We apply the ODE/IM correspondence to the Schrödinger equation with an effective potential deformed by integrating out the fermions, which admits a continuous deformation parameter. We find that the TBA equations are described by the ℤ4-extended ones. For cubic superpotential corresponding to the symmetric double-well potential, the TBA system splits into the two D3-type TBA equations. We investigate in detail this example based on the TBA equations and their analytic continuation as well as the massless limit. We find that the energy spectrum obtained from the exact quantization condition is in good agreement with the diagonalization approach of the Hamiltonian.