Universe: 5th Anniversary

It is well known that Einstein’s equations assume a simple polynomial form in the Hamiltonian framework based on a Yang-Mills phase space. We re-examine the gravitational dynamics in this framework and show that time evolution of the gravitational field can be re-expressed as (a gauge covariant generalization of) the Lie derivative along a novel shift vector field in spatial directions. Thus, the canonical transformation generated by the Hamiltonian constraint acquires a geometrical interpretation on the Yang-Mills phase space, similar to that generated by the diffeomorphism constraint. In classical general relativity this geometrical interpretation significantly simplifies calculations and also illuminates the relation between dynamics in the ‘integrable’ (anti)self-dual sector and in the full theory. For quantum gravity, it provides a point of departure to complete the Dirac quantization program for general relativity in a more satisfactory fashion. This gauge theory perspective may also be helpful in extending the ‘double copy’ ideas relating the Einstein and Yang-Mills dynamics to a non-perturbative regime. Finally, the notion of generalized, gauge covariant Lie derivative may also be of interest to the mathematical physics community as it hints at some potentially rich structures that have not been explored. Full article

In the binary-driven hypernova model of long gamma-ray bursts, a carbon–oxygen star explodes as a supernova in the presence of a neutron star binary companion in close orbit. Hypercritical (i.e., highly super-Eddington) accretion of the ejecta matter onto the neutron star sets in, making it reach the critical mass with consequent formation of a Kerr black hole. We have recently shown that, during the accretion process onto the neutron star, fast neutrino flavor oscillations occur. Numerical simulations of the above system show that a part of the ejecta stays bound to the newborn Kerr black hole, leading to a new process of hypercritical accretion. We address herein, also for this phase of the binary-driven hypernova, the occurrence of neutrino flavor oscillations given the extreme conditions of high density (up to ${10}^{12}$ g cm${}^{-3}$) and temperatures (up to tens of MeV) inside this disk. We estimate the behavior of the electronic and non-electronic neutrino content within the two-flavor formalism (${\nu }_e{\nu }_x$) under the action of neutrino collective effects by neutrino self-interactions. We find that in the case of inverted mass hierarchy, neutrino oscillations inside the disk have frequencies between ∼$({10}^5$–${10}^9)$ s${}^{-1}$, leading the disk to achieve flavor equipartition. This implies that the energy deposition rate by neutrino annihilation ($\nu +\overline{\nu }\to e^{-}+e^{+}$) in the vicinity of the Kerr black hole is smaller than previous estimates in the literature not accounting for flavor oscillations inside the disk. The exact value of the reduction factor depends on the ${\nu }_e$ and ${\nu }_x$ optical depths but it can be as high as ∼5. The results of this work are a first step toward the analysis of neutrino oscillations in a novel astrophysical context, and as such, deserve further attention. Full article

We have studied the possible isospin corrections on the skewness and kurtosis of net-baryon and net-charge fluctuations in the isospin asymmetric matter formed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC-BES energies, based on a 3-flavor Polyakov-looped Nambu–Jona–Lasinio model. With typical scalar–isovector and vector–isovector couplings leading to the splitting of u and d quark chiral phase transition boundaries and critical points, we have observed considerable isospin effects on the susceptibilities, especially those of net-charge fluctuations. Reliable experimental measurements at even lower collision energies are encouraged to confirm the observed isospin effects. Full article

Ever since Eddington’s analysis of the gravitational redshift a century ago, and the arguments in the relativity community that it produced, fine details of the roles of proper time and coordinate time in the redshift remain somewhat obscure. We shed light on these roles by appealing to the physics of the uniformly accelerated frame, in which coordinate time and proper time are well defined and easy to understand; and because that frame exists in flat spacetime, special relativity is sufficient to analyse it. We conclude that Eddington’s analysis was indeed correct—as was the 1980 analysis of his detractors, Earman and Glymour, who (it turns out) were following a different route. We also use the uniformly accelerated frame to pronounce invalid Schild’s old argument for spacetime curvature, which has been reproduced by many authors as a pedagogical introduction to curved spacetime. More generally, because the uniformly accelerated frame simulates a gravitational field, it can play a strong role in discussions of proper and coordinate times in advanced relativity. Full article

We review the Montevideo Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which is based on the use of real clocks to describe physics, using the framework that was recently introduced by Höhn, Smith, and Lock to treat the problem of time in generally covariant systems. These new methods, which solve several problems in the introduction of a notion of time in such systems, do not change the main results of the Montevideo Interpretation. The use of the new formalism makes the construction more general and valid for any system in a quantum generally covariant theory. We find that, as in the original formulation, a fundamental mechanism of decoherence emerges that allows for supplementing ordinary environmental decoherence and avoiding its criticisms. The recent results on quantum complexity provide additional support to the type of global protocols that are used to prove that within ordinary—unitary—quantum mechanics, no definite event—an outcome to which a probability can be associated—occurs. In lieu of this, states that start in a coherent superposition of possible outcomes always remain as a superposition. We show that, if one takes into account fundamental inescapable uncertainties in measuring length and time intervals due to general relativity and quantum mechanics, the previously mentioned global protocols no longer allow for distinguishing whether the state is in a superposition or not. One is left with a formulation of quantum mechanics purely defined in quantum mechanical terms without any reference to the classical world and with an intrinsic operational definition of quantum events that does not need external observers. Full article

We revisit acceleration-induced nonlocal electrodynamics and the phenomenon of photon spin-rotation coupling. The kernel of the theory for the electromagnetic field tensor involves parity violation under the assumption of linearity of the field kernel in the acceleration tensor. However, we show that parity conservation can be maintained by extending the field kernel to include quadratic terms in the acceleration tensor. The field kernel must vanish in the absence of acceleration; otherwise, a general dependence of the kernel on the acceleration tensor cannot be theoretically excluded. The physical implications of the quadratic kernel are briefly discussed. Full article

A recent study of a sample of wide binary star systems from the Hipparcos and Gaia catalogues has found clear evidence of a gravitational anomaly of the same kind as that appearing in galaxies and galactic clusters. Instead of a relative orbital velocity decaying as the square root of the separation, $\Delta V\propto r^{-1/2}$, it was shown that an asymptotic constant velocity is reached for distances of order $0.1$ pc. If confirmed, it would be difficult to accommodate this breakdown of Kepler’s laws within the current dark matter (DM) paradigm because DM does not aggregate in small scales, so there would be very little DM in a $0.1$ pc sphere. In this paper, we propose a simple non-Newtonian model of gravity that could explain both the wide binaries anomaly and the anomalous rotation curves of galaxies as codified by the Tully-Fisher relation. The required extra potential can be understood as a Klein-Gordon field with a position-dependent mass parameter. The extra forces behave as $1/r$ on parsec scales and r on Solar system scales. We show that retrograde anomalous perihelion precessions are predicted for the planets. This could be tested by precision ephemerides in the near future. Full article

We present new approaches to distinguish between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos. The first is based on the analysis of the geometric phases associated to neutrinos in matter, the second on the effects of decoherence on neutrino oscillations. In the former we compute the total and geometric phase for neutrinos, and find that they depend on the Majorana phase and on the parametrization of the mixing matrix. In the latter, we show that Majorana neutrinos might violate $CPT$ symmetry, whereas Dirac neutrinos preserve $CPT$. A phenomenological analysis is also reported showing the possibility to highlight the distinctions between Dirac and Majorana neutrinos. Full article

We derive the functional Schrödinger equation for quantum fields in curved spacetime in the semiclassical limit of quantum geometrodynamics with a Gaussian incoherent dust acting as a clock field. We perform the semiclassical limit using a WKB-type expansion of the wave functional in powers of the squared Planck mass. The functional Schrödinger equation that we obtain exhibits a functional time derivative that completes the usual definition of WKB time for curved spacetime, and the usual Schrödinger-type evolution is recovered in Minkowski spacetime. Full article

Within the framework of the relativity experiment of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury, which was launched at the end of 2018, we describe how a test of alternative theories of gravity, including torsion can be set up. Following March et al. (2011), the effects of a non-vanishing spacetime torsion have been parameterized by three torsion parameters, $t_1$, $t_2$, and $t_3$. These parameters can be estimated within a global least squares fit, together with a number of parameters of interest, such as post-Newtonian parameters $\gamma$ and $\beta$, and the orbits of Mercury and the Earth. The simulations have been performed by means of the ORBIT14 orbit determination software, which was developed by the Celestial Mechanics Group of the University of Pisa for the analysis of the BepiColombo radio science experiment. We claim that the torsion parameters can be determined by means of the relativity experiment of BepiColombo at the level of some parts in ${10}^{-4}$, which is a significant result for constraining gravitational theories that allow spacetime torsion. Full article

We elevate the field theoretical similarities between Maxwell and Weyl vector fields into a full local scale/gauge invariant Weyl/Maxwell mutual sourcing theory. In its preliminary form, and exclusively in four dimensions, the associated Lagrangian is dynamical scalar field free, hosts no fermion matter fields, and Holdom kinetic mixing is switched off. The mutual sourcing term is then necessarily spacetime curvature (not just metric) dependent, and inevitably Ricci linear, suggesting that a non-vanishing spacetime curvature can in principle induce an electromagnetic current. In its mature form, however, the Weyl/Maxwell mutual sourcing idea serendipitously constitutes a novel variant of the gravitational Weyl-Dirac (incorporating Brans-Dicke) theory. Counter intuitively, and again exclusively in four dimensions, the optional quartic scalar potential gets consistently replaced by a Higgs-like potential, such that the co-divergence of the Maxwell vector field resembles a conformal vacuum expectation value. Full article

A Multi-Phase Transport (AMPT) model is used to study the elliptic flow fluctuations of identified particles using participant and spectator event planes. The elliptic flow measured using the first order spectator event plane is expected to give the elliptic flow relative to the true reaction plane which suppresses the flow fluctuations. However, the elliptic flow measured using the second-order participant plane is expected to capture the elliptic flow fluctuations. Our study shows that the first order spectator event plane could be used to study the elliptic flow fluctuations of the identified particles in the AMPT model. The elliptic flow fluctuations magnitude shows weak particle species dependence and transverse momentum dependence. Such observation will have important implications for understanding the source of the elliptic flow fluctuations. Full article

The aim of this paper is to provide the geometrical structure of a gravitational field that includes the addition of dark matter in the framework of a Riemannian and a Riemann–Sasaki spacetime. By means of the classical Riemannian geometric methods we arrive at modified geodesic equations, tidal forces, and Einstein and Raychaudhuri equations to account for extra dark gravity. We further examine an application of this approach in cosmology. Moreover, a possible extension of this model on the tangent bundle is studied in order to examine the behavior of dark matter in a unified geometric model of gravity with more degrees of freedom. Particular emphasis shall be laid on the problem of the geodesic motion under the influence of dark matter. Full article

The thermodynamics of black holes is discussed for the case, when the Newton constant G is not a constant, but it is the thermodynamic variable. This gives for the first law of the Schwarzschild black hole thermodynamics: $d{S}_{\mathrm{BH}}=-AdK+\frac{dM}{T_{\mathrm{BH}}}$, where the gravitational coupling $K=1/4G$, M is the black hole mass, A is the area of horizon, and $T_{\mathrm{BH}}$ is Hawking temperature. From this first law, it follows that the dimensionless quantity $M^2/K$ is the adiabatic invariant, which, in principle, can be quantized if to follow the Bekenstein conjecture. From the Euclidean action for the black hole it follows that K and A serve as dynamically conjugate variables. Using the Painleve–Gullstrand metric, which in condensed matter is known as acoustic metric, we calculate the quantum tunneling from the black hole to the white hole. The obtained tunneling exponent suggests that the temperature and entropy of the white hole are negative. Full article

The aim of this analysis was to determine whether or not the given error bars truly represented the dispersion of values in a historical compilation of two cosmological parameters: the amplitude of mass fluctuations (${\sigma }_8$) and Hubble’s constant ($H_0$) parameters in the standard cosmological model. For this analysis, a chi-squared test was executed on a compiled list of past measurements. It was found through analysis of the chi-squared (${\chi }^2$) values of the data that for ${\sigma }_8$ (60 data points measured between 1993 and 2019 and ${\chi }^2$ between 182.4 and 189.0) the associated probability Q is extremely low, with $Q=1.6\times {10}^{-15}$ for the weighted average and $Q=8.8\times {10}^{-15}$ for the best linear fit of the data. This was also the case for the ${\chi }^2$ values of $H_0$ (163 data points measured between 1976 and 2019 and ${\chi }^2$ between 480.1 and 575.7), where $Q=1.8\times {10}^{-33}$ for the linear fit of the data and $Q=1.0\times {10}^{-47}$ for the weighted average of the data. The general conclusion was that the statistical error bars associated with the observed parameter measurements have been underestimated or the systematic errors were not properly taken into account in at least 20% of the measurements. The fact that the underestimation of error bars for $H_0$ is so common might explain the apparent 4.4$\sigma$ discrepancy formally known today as the Hubble tension. Full article

Spectra of unbound electron–positron pairs (dielectrons, in brief) and photons from decays of parapositronia produced in ultraperipheral collisions of electrically charged objects are calculated. Their shapes at energies of the NICA collider are demonstrated. Soft dielectrons and photons are abundantly produced. The relevance of these processes to the astrophysical problem of cooling electron–positron pairs and the intense emission of 511 keV photons from the Galactic center is discussed. Full article

Power spectra play an important role in the theory of inflation, and their ability to reproduce current observational data to high accuracy is often considered a triumph of inflation, largely because of a lack of credible alternatives. In previous work we introduced an alternative picture for the cosmological power spectra based on the nonperturbative features of the quantum version of Einstein’s gravity, instead of currently popular inflation models based on scalar fields. The key ingredients in this new picture are the appearance of a nontrivial gravitational vacuum condensate (directly related to the observed cosmological constant), and a calculable renormalization group running of Newton’s G on cosmological scales. More importantly, one notes the absence of any fundamental scalar fields in this approach. Results obtained previously were largely based on a semi-analytical treatment, and thus, while generally transparent in their implementation, often suffered from the limitations of various approximations and simplifying assumptions. In this work, we extend and refine our previous calculations by laying out an updated and extended analysis, which now utilizes a set of suitably modified state-of-the-art numerical programs (ISiTGR, MGCAMB and MGCLASS) developed for observational cosmology. As a result, we are able to remove some of the approximations employed in our previous studies, leading to a number of novel and detailed physical predictions. These should help in potentially distinguishing the vacuum condensate picture of quantum gravity from that of other models such as scalar field inflation. Here, besides the matter power spectrum $P_m\left(k\right)$ , we work out, in detail, predictions for what are referred to as the TT, TE, EE, BB angular spectra, as well as their closely related lensing spectra. However, the current limited precision of observational data today (especially on large angular scales) does not allow us yet to clearly prove or disprove either set of ideas. Nevertheless, by exploring in more details the relationship between gravity and cosmological matter and radiation both analytically and numerically, together with an expected future influx of increasingly accurate observational data, one can hope that the new quantum gravitational picture can be subjected to further stringent tests in the near future. Full article

We perform a full analytical and numerical treatment, to the first post-Newtonian (1pN) order, of the general relativistic long-term spin precession of an orbiting gyroscope due to the mass quadrupole moment $J_2$ of its primary without any restriction on either the gyro’s orbital configuration and the orientation in space of the symmetry axis $\widehat{\mathit{k}}$ of the central body. We apply our results to the past spaceborne Gravity Probe B (GP-B) mission by finding a secular rate of its spin’s declination $\delta$ which may be as large as ≲30–40 $\mathrm{milliarcseconds}\mathrm{per}\mathrm{year}\left(\mathrm{mas}{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}\right)$ , depending on the initial orbital phase $f_0$ . Both our analytical calculation and our simultaneous integration of the equations for the parallel transport of the spin 4-vector S and of the geodesic equations of motion of the gyroscope confirm such a finding. For GP-B, the reported mean error in measuring the spin’s declination rate amounts to ${\sigma }_{\dot{\delta }}^{\mathrm{GP}-\mathrm{B}}=18.3\mathrm{mas}{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ . We also calculate the general analytical expressions of the gravitomagnetic spin precession induced by the primary’s angular momentum $\mathit{J}$ . In view of their generality, our results can be extended also to other astronomical and astrophysical scenarios of interest like, e.g., stars orbiting galactic supermassive black holes, exoplanets close to their parent stars, tight binaries hosting compact stellar corpses. Full article

Neutron stars, and magnetars in particular, are known to host the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe. The origin of these strong fields is a matter of controversy. In this preliminary work, via numerical simulations, we study, for the first time in non-ideal general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) regime, the growth of the magnetic field due to the action of the mean-field dynamo due to sub-scale, unresolved turbulence. The dynamo process, combined with the differential rotation of the (proto-)star, is able to produce an exponential growth of any initial magnetic seed field up to the values required to explain the observations. By varying the dynamo coefficient we obtain different growth rates. We find a quasi-linear dependence of the growth rates on the intensity of the dynamo. Furthermore, the time interval in which exponential growth occurs and the growth rates also seems to depend on the initial configuration of the magnetic field. Full article

In the present review we provide an extensive analysis of the intertwinement between Feynman integrals and cohomology theories in light of recent developments. Feynman integrals enter in several perturbative methods for solving non-linear PDE, starting from Quantum Field Theories and including General Relativity and Condensed Matter Physics. Precision calculations involve several loop integrals and an onec strategy to address, which is to bring them back in terms of linear combinations of a complete set of integrals (the master integrals). In this sense Feynman integrals can be thought as defining a sort of vector space to be decomposed in term of a basis. Such a task may be simpler if the vector space is endowed with a scalar product. Recently, it has been discovered that, if these spaces are interpreted in terms of twisted cohomology, the role of a scalar product is played by intersection products. The present review is meant to provide the mathematical tools, usually familiar to mathematicians but often not in the standard baggage of physicists, such as singular, simplicial and intersection (co)homologies, and hodge structures, that are apt to restate this strategy on precise mathematical grounds. It is intended to be both an introduction for beginners interested in the topic, as well as a general reference providing helpful tools for tackling the several still-open problems. Full article

Apart from the familiar structure firmly-rooted in the general relativistic field equations where the energy–momentum tensor has a null divergence i.e., it conserves, there exists a considerable number of extended theories of gravity allowing departures from the usual conservative framework. Many of these theories became popular in the last few years, aiming to describe the phenomenology behind dark matter and dark energy. However, within these scenarios, it is common to see attempts to preserve the conservative property of the energy–momentum tensor. Most of the time, it is done by means of some additional constraint that ensures the validity of the standard conservation law, as long as this option is available in the theory. However, if no such extra constraint is available, the theory will inevitably carry a non-trivial conservation law as part of its structure. In this work, we review some of such proposals discussing the theoretical construction leading to the non-conservation of the energy–momentum tensor. Full article

I give a historical survey of the discussions about the existence of closed timelike curves in general relativistic models of the universe, opening the physical possibility of time travel in the past, as first recognized by K. Gödel in his rotating universe model of 1949. I emphasize that journeying into the past is intimately linked to spacetime models devoid of timelike singularities. Since such singularities arise as an inevitable consequence of the equations of general relativity given physically reasonable assumptions, time travel in the past becomes possible only when one or another of these assumptions is violated. It is the case with wormhole-type solutions. S. Hawking and other authors have tried to “save” the paradoxical consequences of time travel in the past by advocating physical mechanisms of chronological protection; however, such mechanisms remain presently unknown, even when quantum fluctuations near horizons are taken into account. I close the survey by a brief and pedestrian discussion of Causal Dynamical Triangulations, an approach to quantum gravity in which causality plays a seminal role. Full article

The discovery in 2008 of high-energy gamma-rays from Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies (NLS1s) made it clear that there were active galactic nuclei (AGN) other than blazars and radio galaxies that can eject powerful relativistic jets. In addition to NLS1s, the great performance of the Fermi Large Area Telescope made it possible to discover MeV-GeV photons emitted from more classes of AGN, like Seyferts, Compact Steep Spectrum Gigahertz Peaked Sources (CSS/GPS), and disk-hosted radio galaxies. Although observations indicate a variety of objects, their physical characteristics point to a central engine powered by a relatively small-mass black hole (but, obviously, there are interpretations against this view). This essay critically reviews the literature published on these topics during the last eight years and analyzes the perspectives for the forthcoming years. Full article

Most definitions of life assume that, at a minimum, life is a physical form of matter distinct from its environment at a lower state of entropy than its surroundings, using energy from the environment for internal maintenance and activity, and capable of autonomous reproduction. These assumptions cover all of life as we know it, though more exotic entities can be envisioned, including organic forms with novel biochemistries, dynamic inorganic matter, and self-replicating machines. The probability that any particular form of life will be found on another planetary body depends on the nature and history of that alien world. So the biospheres would likely be very different on a rocky planet with an ice-covered global ocean, a barren planet devoid of surface liquid, a frigid world with abundant liquid hydrocarbons, on a rogue planet independent of a host star, on a tidally locked planet, on super-Earths, or in long-lived clouds in dense atmospheres. While life at least in microbial form is probably pervasive if rare throughout the Universe, and technologically advanced life is likely much rarer, the chance that an alternative form of life, though not intelligent life, could exist and be detected within our Solar System is a distinct possibility. Full article

Dynamical black-hole scenarios have been developed in loop quantum gravity in various ways, combining results from mini and midisuperspace models. In the past, the underlying geometry of space-time has often been expressed in terms of line elements with metric components that differ from the classical solutions of general relativity, motivated by modified equations of motion and constraints. However, recent results have shown by explicit calculations that most of these constructions violate general covariance and slicing independence. The proposed line elements and black-hole models are therefore ruled out. The only known possibility to escape this sentence is to derive not only modified metric components but also a new space-time structure which is covariant in a generalized sense. Formally, such a derivation is made available by an analysis of the constraints of canonical gravity, which generate deformations of hypersurfaces in space-time, or generalized versions if the constraints are consistently modified. A generic consequence of consistent modifications in effective theories suggested by loop quantum gravity is signature change at high density. Signature change is an important ingredient in long-term models of black holes that aim to determine what might happen after a black hole has evaporated. Because this effect changes the causal structure of space-time, it has crucial implications for black-hole models that have been missed in several older constructions, for instance in models based on bouncing black-hole interiors. Such models are ruled out by signature change even if their underlying space-times are made consistent using generalized covariance. The causal nature of signature change brings in a new internal consistency condition, given by the requirement of deterministic behavior at low curvature. Even a causally disconnected interior transition, opening back up into the former exterior as some kind of astrophysical white hole, is then ruled out. New versions consistent with both generalized covariance and low-curvature determinism are introduced here, showing a remarkable similarity with models developed in other approaches, such as the final-state proposal or the no-transition principle obtained from the gauge-gravity correspondence. Full article

We overview the fundamental roles of the de Sitter vacuum in cosmology where it is responsible for powering the early inflationary stage(s) and the present accelerated expansion, in black hole physics where it provides the existence of a wide class of regular black holes and self-gravitating solitons replacing naked singularities, and in particle physics where it ensures the intrinsic relation of the Higgs mechanism with gravity and spacetime symmetry breaking. Full article

We propose an experimental setup to test the effect of curved spacetime upon the extraction of entanglement from the quantum field vacuum to a pair of two-level systems. We consider two superconducting qubits coupled to a dc-SQUID array embedded into an open microwave transmission line, where an external bias can emulate a spacetime containing a traversable wormhole. We find that the amount of vacuum entanglement that can be extracted by the qubits depends on the wormhole parameters. At some distances qubits which would be in a separable state in flat spacetime would become entangled due to the analogue wormhole background. Full article