Publications

Order by: publication date number of citations

• General relativistic stochastic thermodynamics

  Tao Wang, Yifan Cai, Long Cui, Liu Zhao

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 082 (2024) · published 11 December 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Based on the recent work [J. Stat. Phys. 190, 193 (2023), J. Stat. Phys. 190, 181 (2023)], we formulate the first law and the second law of stochastic thermodynamics in the framework of general relativity. These laws are established for a charged Brownian particle moving in a heat reservoir and subjecting to an external electromagnetic field in generic stationary spacetime background, and in order to maintain general covariance, they are presented respectively in terms of the divergences of the energy current and the entropy density current. The stability of the equilibrium state is also analyzed.

  2 citations

• Massive scalar clouds and black hole spacetimes in Gauss-Bonnet gravity

  Iris van Gemeren, Tanja Hinderer, Stefan Vandoren

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 069 (2024) · published 29 October 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study static black holes in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet (sGB) gravity with a massive scalar field as an example of higher curvature gravity. The scalar mass introduces an additional scale and leads to a strong suppression of the scalar field beyond its Compton wavelength. We numerically compute sGB black hole spacetimes and scalar configurations and also compare with perturbative results for small couplings, where we focus on a dilatonic coupling function. We analyze the constraints on the parameters from requiring the curvature singularity to be located inside the black hole horizon $r_h$ and the relation to the regularity condition for the scalar field. For scalar field masses $m r_h \gtrsim 10^{-1}$, this leads to a new and currently most stringent bound on sGB coupling constant $\alpha$ of $\alpha/r_h^2\sim 10^{-1}$ in the context of stellar mass black holes. Lastly, we look at several properties of the black hole configurations relevant for further work on observational consequences, including the scalar monopole charge, Arnowitt–Deser–Misner mass, curvature invariants and the frequencies of the innermost stable circular orbit and light ring.

  2 citations

• HYPERTILING — a high performance Python library for the generation and visualization of hyperbolic lattices

  Manuel Schrauth, Yanick Thurn, Florian Goth, Jefferson S. E. Portela, Dietmar Herdt, Felix Dusel

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 34 (2024) · published 28 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  HYPERTILING is a high-performance Python library for the generation and visualization of regular hyperbolic lattices embedded in the Poincar\'e disk model. Using highly optimized, efficient algorithms, hyperbolic tilings with millions of vertices can be created in a matter of minutes on a single workstation computer. Facilities including computation of adjacent vertices, dynamic lattice manipulation, refinements, as well as powerful plotting and animation capabilities are provided to support advanced uses of hyperbolic graphs. In this manuscript, we present a comprehensive exploration of the package, encompassing its mathematical foundations, usage examples, applications, and a detailed description of its implementation.

  5 citations

• Codebase release 1.3 for HYPERTILING

  Manuel Schrauth, Yanick Thurn, Florian Goth, Jefferson S. E. Portela, Dietmar Herdt, Felix Dusel

  SciPost Phys. Codebases 34-r1.3 (2024) · published 28 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · src

  HYPERTILING is a high-performance Python library for the generation and visualization of regular hyperbolic lattices embedded in the Poincaré disk model. Using highly optimized, efficient algorithms, hyperbolic tilings with millions of vertices can be created in a matter of minutes on a single workstation computer. Facilities including computation of adjacent vertices, dynamic lattice manipulation, refinements, as well as powerful plotting and animation capabilities are provided to support advanced uses of hyperbolic graphs. In this manuscript, we present a comprehensive exploration of the package, encompassing its mathematical foundations, usage examples, applications, and a detailed description of its implementation.

  2 citations

• Black hole mergers in holographic space time models of cosmology

  Anish Suresh, Tom Banks

  SciPost Phys. Core 7, 057 (2024) · published 22 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Holographic space-time, a theory of quantum gravity that generalizes string theory and quantum field theory, predicts black holes in the early matter-dominated era of its models of inflation. Before these black holes can decay, there is a chance that enough of these particles merge to produce radiation visible today in the Cosmic Microwave background. To discover if this is the case, we perform a rudimentary computer simulation. We show that no problematic black holes are formed by mergers in the Holographic Space-time models of inflation. However, we conclude that tiny bound structures containing black holes remnants form in this theory unconditionally. Since black hole decay products are mostly massive standard model particles, and perhaps their superpartners, the fate of these structures is a complicated dynamical problem that requires further study. It suggests the possibility of primordial structures on the order of the horizon size at the beginning of the radiation dominated era. This is about $10^9 L_P$ in the current model.

  1 citation

• Self-force framework for transition-to-plunge waveforms

  Lorenzo Küchler, Geoffrey Compère, Leanne Durkan, Adam Pound

  SciPost Phys. 17, 056 (2024) · published 16 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Compact binaries with asymmetric mass ratios are key expected sources for next-generation gravitational wave detectors. Gravitational self-force theory has been successful in producing post-adiabatic waveforms that describe the quasi-circular inspiral around a non-spinning black hole with sub-radian accuracy, in remarkable agreement with numerical relativity simulations. Current inspiral models, however, break down at the innermost stable circular orbit, missing part of the waveform as the secondary body transitions to a plunge into the black hole. In this work we derive the transition-to-plunge expansion within a multiscale framework and asymptotically match its early-time behaviour with the late inspiral. Our multiscale formulation facilitates rapid generation of waveforms: we build second post-leading transition-to-plunge waveforms, named 2PLT waveforms. Although our numerical results are limited to low perturbative orders, our framework contains the analytic tools for building higher-order waveforms consistent with post-adiabatic inspirals, once all the necessary numerical self-force data becomes available. We validate our framework by comparing against numerical relativity simulations, surrogate models and the effective one-body approach.

  11 citations

• Closed universes in two dimensional gravity

  Mykhaylo Usatyuk, Zi-Yue Wang, Ying Zhao

  SciPost Phys. 17, 051 (2024) · published 14 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We study closed universes in simple models of two dimensional gravity, such as Jackiw-Teiteilboim (JT) gravity coupled to matter, and a toy topological model that captures the key features of the former. We find there is a stark contrast, as well as some connections, between the perturbative and non-perturbative aspects of the theory. We find rich semi-classical physics. However, when non-perturbative effects are included there is a unique closed universe state in each theory. We discuss possible meanings and interpretations of this observation.

  16 citations

• Edge modes as dynamical frames: charges from post-selection in generally covariant theories

  Sylvain Carrozza, Stefan Eccles, Philipp A. Hoehn

  SciPost Phys. 17, 048 (2024) · published 13 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  We develop a framework based on the covariant phase space formalism that identifies gravitational edge modes as dynamical reference frames. As such, they enable both the identification of the associated spacetime region and the imposition of boundary conditions in a gauge-invariant manner. While recent proposals considered the finite region in isolation and sought the maximal corner symmetry algebra compatible with that perspective, we here advocate to regard it as a subregion embedded in a global spacetime and study the symmetries consistent with such an embedding. This leads to advantages and differences. It clarifies that the frame, although appearing as "new" for the subregion, is built out of the field content of the complement. Given a global variational principle, it also permits us to invoke a systematic post-selection procedure, previously used in gauge theory [J. High Energy Phys. 02, 172 (2022)], to produce a consistent dynamics for a subregion with timelike boundary. As in gauge theory, requiring the subregion presymplectic structure to be conserved by the dynamics leads to an essentially unique prescription and unambiguous Hamiltonian charges. Unlike other proposals, this has the advantage that all (field-independent) spacetime diffeomorphisms acting on the subregion remain gauge and integrable (as in the global theory), and generate a first-class constraint algebra realizing the Lie algebra of spacetime vector fields. By contrast, diffeomorphisms acting on the frame-dressed spacetime, that we call relational spacetime, are in general physical, and those that are parallel to the timelike boundary are integrable. Upon further restriction to relational diffeomorphisms that preserve the boundary conditions (and hence are symmetries), we obtain a subalgebra of conserved corner charges. Physically, they correspond to reorientations of the frame and so to changes in the relation between the subregion and its complement. Finally, we explain how the boundary conditions and conserved presymplectic structure can both be encoded into boundary actions. While our formalism applies to any generally covariant theory, we illustrate it on general relativity, and conclude with a detailed comparison of our findings to earlier works.

  17 citations

• How open is the asteroid-mass primordial black hole window?

  Matthew Gorton, Anne M. Green

  SciPost Phys. 17, 032 (2024) · published 2 August 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Primordial black holes (PBHs) can make up all of the dark matter (DM) if their mass, $m$, is in the so-called "asteroid-mass window", $10^{17} g ≲ m ≲ 10^{22} g$. Observational constraints on the abundance of PBHs are usually calculated assuming they all have the same mass, however this is unlikely to be a good approximation. PBHs formed from the collapse of large density perturbations during radiation domination are expected to have an extended mass function (MF), due to the effects of critical collapse. The PBH MF is often assumed to be lognormal, however it has recently been shown that other functions are a better fit to numerically calculated MFs. We recalculate both current and potential future constraints for these improved fitting functions. We find that for current constraints the asteroid-mass window narrows, but remains open (i.e. all of the DM can be in the form of PBHs) unless the PBH MF is wider than expected. Future evaporation and microlensing constraints may together exclude all of the DM being in PBHs, depending on the width of the PBH MF and also the shape of its low and high mass tails.

  15 citations

• Importance of the X-ray edge singularity for the detection of relic neutrinos in the PTOLEMY project

  Zhiyang Tan, Vadim Cheianov

  SciPost Phys. 17, 022 (2024) · published 26 July 2024 | Toggle abstract · pdf

  Direct detection of relic neutrinos in a beta-decay experiment is an ambitious goal that has long been beyond the reach of available technology. One of the most challenging practical difficulties for such an experiment is managing a large amount of radioactive material without compromising the energy resolution required to distinguish useful events from the substantial beta-decay background. The PTOLEMY project offers an innovative solution to this problem by depositing radioactive material on graphene. While this approach is expected to address the main challenge, it introduces new issues due to the proximity of the beta decayers to a solid-state system. In this work, we focus on the effect of the shakeup of the graphene electron system caused by a beta-decay event. We calculate the distortion of the relic neutrino peaks resulting from this shakeup, analyze the impact of the distortion on the visibility of neutrino capture events, and discuss potential technological solutions to enhance the visibility of these events.

  1 citation