Charged Particle Motions near Non-Schwarzschild Black Holes with External Magnetic Fields in Modified Theories of Gravity

A small deformation to the Schwarzschild metric controlled by four free parameters could be referred to as a nonspinning black hole solution in alternative theories of gravity. Since such a non-Schwarzschild metric can be changed into a Kerr-like black hole metric via a complex coordinate transformation, the recently proposed time-transformed, explicit symplectic integrators for the Kerr-type spacetimes are suitable for a Hamiltonian system describing the motion of charged particles around the non-Schwarzschild black hole surrounded with an external magnetic field. The obtained explicit symplectic methods are based on a time-transformed Hamiltonian split into seven parts, whose analytical solutions are explicit functions of new coordinate time. Numerical tests show that such explicit symplectic integrators for intermediate time steps perform well long-term when stabilizing Hamiltonian errors, regardless of regular or chaotic orbits. One of the explicit symplectic integrators with the techniques of Poincaré sections and fast Lyapunov indicators is applied to investigate the effects of the parameters, including the four free deformation parameters, on the orbital dynamical behavior. From the global phase-space structure, chaotic properties are typically strengthened under some circumstances, as the magnitude of the magnetic parameter or any one of the negative deformation parameters increases. However, they are weakened when the angular momentum or any one of the positive deformation parameters increases.

Traversable Wormholes, Regular Black Holes, and Black-Bounces

<p>Various spacetime candidates for traversable wormholes, regular black holes, and ‘black-bounces’ are presented and thoroughly explored in the context of the gravitational theory of general relativity. All candidate spacetimes belong to the mathematically simple class of spherically symmetric geometries; the majority are static (time-independent as well as nonrotational), with a single dynamical (time-dependent) geometry explored. To the extent possible, the candidates are presented through the use of a global coordinate patch – some of the prior literature (especially concerning traversable wormholes) has often proposed coordinate systems for desirable solutions to the Einstein equations requiring a multi-patch atlas. The most interesting cases include the so-called ‘exponential metric’ – well-favoured by proponents of alternative theories of gravity but which actually has a standard classical interpretation, and the ‘black-bounce’ to traversable wormhole case – where a metric is explored which represents either a traversable wormhole or a regular black hole, depending on the value of the newly introduced scalar parameter a. This notion of ‘blackbounce’ is defined as the case where the spherical boundary of a regular black hole forces one to travel towards a one-way traversable ‘bounce’ into a future reincarnation of our own universe. The metric of interest is then explored further in the context of a time-dependent spacetime, where the line element is rephrased with a Vaidya-like time-dependence imposed on the mass of the object, and in terms of outgoing/ingoing EddingtonFinkelstein coordinates. Analysing these candidate spacetimes extends the pre-existing discussion concerning the viability of non-singular black hole solutions in the context of general relativity, as well as contributing to the dialogue on whether an arbitrarily advanced civilization would be able to construct a traversable wormhole.</p>

Traversable Wormholes, Regular Black Holes, and Black-Bounces

<p>Various spacetime candidates for traversable wormholes, regular black holes, and ‘black-bounces’ are presented and thoroughly explored in the context of the gravitational theory of general relativity. All candidate spacetimes belong to the mathematically simple class of spherically symmetric geometries; the majority are static (time-independent as well as nonrotational), with a single dynamical (time-dependent) geometry explored. To the extent possible, the candidates are presented through the use of a global coordinate patch – some of the prior literature (especially concerning traversable wormholes) has often proposed coordinate systems for desirable solutions to the Einstein equations requiring a multi-patch atlas. The most interesting cases include the so-called ‘exponential metric’ – well-favoured by proponents of alternative theories of gravity but which actually has a standard classical interpretation, and the ‘black-bounce’ to traversable wormhole case – where a metric is explored which represents either a traversable wormhole or a regular black hole, depending on the value of the newly introduced scalar parameter a. This notion of ‘blackbounce’ is defined as the case where the spherical boundary of a regular black hole forces one to travel towards a one-way traversable ‘bounce’ into a future reincarnation of our own universe. The metric of interest is then explored further in the context of a time-dependent spacetime, where the line element is rephrased with a Vaidya-like time-dependence imposed on the mass of the object, and in terms of outgoing/ingoing EddingtonFinkelstein coordinates. Analysing these candidate spacetimes extends the pre-existing discussion concerning the viability of non-singular black hole solutions in the context of general relativity, as well as contributing to the dialogue on whether an arbitrarily advanced civilization would be able to construct a traversable wormhole.</p>

Scalarized black holes

Black holes represent outstanding astrophysical laboratories to test the strong gravity regime, since alternative theories of gravity may predict black hole solutions whose properties may differ distinctly from those of general relativity. When higher curvature terms are included in the gravitational action as, for instance, in the form of the Gauss–Bonnet term coupled to a scalar field, scalarized black holes result. Here we discuss several types of scalarized black holes and some of their properties.

Metric-Affine Myrzakulov Gravity Theories

In this paper, we review the so-called Myrzakulov Gravity models (MG-N, with N = I, II, …, VIII) and derive their respective metric-affine generalizations (MAMG-N), discussing also their particular sub-cases. The field equations of the theories are obtained by regarding the metric tensor and the general affine connection as independent variables. We then focus on the case in which the function characterizing the aforementioned metric-affine models is linear and consider a Friedmann-Lemaître–Robertson–Walker background to study cosmological aspects and applications. Historical motivation for this research is thoroughly reviewed and specific physical motivations are provided for the aforementioned family of alternative theories of gravity.

Quantum interference in external gravitational fields beyond General Relativity

In this paper, we study the phenomenon of quantum interference in the presence of external gravitational fields described by alternative theories of gravity. We analyze both non-relativistic and relativistic effects induced by the underlying curved background on a superposed quantum system. In the non-relativistic regime, it is possible to come across a gravitational counterpart of the Bohm–Aharonov effect, which results in a phase shift proportional to the derivative of the modified Newtonian potential. On the other hand, beyond the Newtonian approximation, the relativistic nature of gravity plays a crucial rôle. Indeed, the existence of a gravitational time dilation between the two arms of the interferometer causes a loss of coherence that is in principle observable in quantum interference patterns. We work in the context of generalized quadratic theories of gravity to compare their physical predictions with the analogous outcomes in general relativity. In so doing, we show that the decoherence rate strongly depends on the gravitational model under investigation, which means that this approach turns out to be a promising test bench to probe and discriminate among all the extensions of Einstein’s theory in future experiments.

Renormalizability of Alternative Theories of Gravity: Differences between Power Counting and Entropy Argument

It is well known that General Relativity cannot be considered under the standard of a perturbatively renormalizable quantum field theory, but asymptotic safety is taken into account as a possibility for the formulation of gravity as a non-perturbative renormalizable theory. Recently, the entropy argument has however stepped into the discussion claiming for a “no-go” to the asymptotic safety argument. In this paper, we present simple counter-examples, considering alternative theories of gravity, to the entropy argument as further indications, among others, on the possible flows in the assumptions on which the latter is based. We considered different theories, namely curvature-based extensions of General Relativity as f(R), f(G), extensions of teleparallel gravity as f(T), and Horava–Lifshitz gravity, working out the explicit spherically symmetric solutions in order to make a comparison between power counting and the entropy argument. Even in these cases, inconsistencies were found.

Modified inertia from extended uncertainty principle(s) and its relation to MoND

In this paper we show that Modified Inertia, i.e., the modification of inertia predicted by some alternative theories of gravity at cosmic scales, can be naturally derived within the framework of the extended uncertainty principle (EUP). Specifically, we consider two possible extensions of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (HUP), corresponding to two different deformations of the fundamental commutator: the first one provides the natural generalization of the HUP to the (anti)-de Sitter spacetime and is endowed with only a quadratic correction in the uncertainty position. On the other hand, the second model contains both linear and quadratic extra terms. We prove that modified inertia is a direct consequence of the minimal acceleration experienced by any body due to the cosmic expansion. The obtained results are then discussed in connection with the empirical predictions of Modified Newtonian dynamics (MoND). The requirement of consistency between the two approaches allows us to fix the adjustable constant which marks the transition between the Newtonian and deep-MoND regimes.

A Test of Gravitational Theories Including Torsion with the BepiColombo Radio Science Experiment

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, t1, t2, and t3. These parameters can be estimated within a global least squares fit, together with a number of parameters of interest, such as post-Newtonian parameters γ and β, 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.