Tidal excitation as mixing in thermal CFT

We use mixed correlators in thermal CFT as clean probes of the strong gravity effects in their holographic duals. The dual interpretation of mixing is an inelastic conversion of one field to another field, induced by gravity: tidal excitation. We find an enhanced mixing at high temperatures, corresponding to large AdS black holes, concentrated to small boundary momenta, dual to the deep bulk, where strong gravitational fields are expected. We also find large $$ \mathcal{O}\left(1/{G}_N\right) $$ O 1 / G N tidal conversion in the low temperature phase of the U(N) vector model, strengthening suspicions that the bulk dual of this phase also houses extremely compact objects.

Constraining the secular variation of the gravitational constant using white-dwarf stars spectra

Context Astrophysical observations play a critical role in the possibility of variations in fundamental physical constants. One of the ways of probing these variations would be based on the evolution of the white-dwarf stars. Aims We use the spectrum of white-dwarf star G191-B2B to find an upper limit on the possible deviation of the gravitational constant with strong gravitational fields. Methods We analyze archive observation of the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HSTIS) to determine the possible cosmological deviation of the gravitational constant from the observed gravitational redshift. Results Our analysis provided a strong estimate on an upper bound on the possible space-time variation of the gravitational constant ̇⁄ = (0.238 ± 2.959) × 10 yr comparing with previous results. Conclusions The obtained result in this study offers the possibility of testing parameters of modern unification theories.

Quantization and Assessment of the Gravitational Waves

General Relativity describes the movement of bodies in strong gravitational fields with the geometrical structure of the dynamical space-time continuum. Accelerating objects produce changes in the curvature which propagate outwards at the speed of light in a wave-like manner which transports energy as gravitational radiation and this phenomenon are known as gravitational waves.

Returning radiation in strong gravity around black holes: reverberation from the accretion disc

ABSTRACT We study reflected X-ray emission that returns to the accretion disc in the strong gravitational fields around black holes using General Relativistic ray-tracing and radiative transfer calculations. Reflected X-rays that are produced when the inner regions of the disc are illuminated by the corona are subject to strong gravitational light bending, causing up to 47 per cent of the reflected emission to be returned to the disc around a rapidly spinning black hole, depending upon the scale height of the corona. The iron Kα line is enhanced relative to the continuum by 25 per cent, and the Compton hump by up to a factor of 3. Additional light traveltime between primary and secondary reflections increases the reverberation time lag measured in the iron K band by 49 per cent, while the soft X-ray lag is increased by 25 per cent and the Compton hump response time is increased by 60 per cent. Measured samples of X-ray reverberation lags are shown to be consistent with X-rays returning to the accretion disc in strong gravity. Understanding the effects of returning radiation is important in interpreting reverberation observations to probe black holes. Reflected X-rays returning to the disc can be uniquely identified by blueshifted returning iron K line photons that are Compton scattered from the inner disc, producing excess, delayed emission in the 3.5–4.5 keV energy range that will be detectable with forthcoming X-ray observatories, representing a unique test of General Relativity in the strong field limit.

Fermion production by a dependent of time electric field in de Sitter universe

Fermion production in external electric field on de Sitter expanding universe is analyzed. The amplitude and probability of pair production are computed. We obtain from our calculations that the modulus of the momentum is no longer conserved. The rate of pair production in an electric field is found to be important in the early universe when the expansion factor was large comparatively with the particle mass. A computation of the total probability is presented in a particular case and the result proves to be nonvanishing only in strong gravitational fields.