International Journal of Modern Physics D

We discuss the existence of maximum forces in ($3+1$)-dimensional spacetimes and show that the existence of a mass-independent maximum force does not occur in general relativity in spaces of more than three dimensions. Instead, the maximum force increases with the masses of merging objects as $M^{\frac{N-3}{N-2}}$ and allows unbounded gravitational forces to occur. This suggests that naked singularities can arise in more than three dimensions because they are unprotected by a maximum force at the horizon surface. This creates a new perspective on the expectation of naked singularities in higher dimensions.

Cosmology presents us with several puzzles that are related to the fundamental structure of quantum theory. We discuss three such puzzles, linking them to effects that arise in black hole physics. We speculate that puzzles in cosmology may be resolved by the vecro structure of the vacuum that resolves the information paradox and the “bags of gold” problem for black holes.

The most important problem in fundamental physics is the description of the contents of the Universe. Today, we know that 95% thereof is totally unknown. Two thirds of that amount is the mysterious Dark Energy described in an interesting and important review [E. J. Copeland, M. Sami and S. Tsujikawa, Int. J. Mod. Phys. D 15 (2006) 1753]. We briefly extend here the ideas contained in that review including the more general Dark Sector, that is, Dark Matter and Dark Energy, eventually composing a new physical Sector. Understanding the Dark Sector with precision is paramount for us to be able to understand all the other cosmological parameters comprehensively as modifications of the modeling could lead to potential biases of inferred parameters of the model, such as measurements of the Hubble constant and distance indicators such as the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations. We discuss several modern methods of observation that can disentangle the different possible descriptions of the Dark Sector. The possible applications of some theoretical developments are also included in this paper as well as a more thorough evaluation of new observational techniques at lower frequencies and gravitational waves.

We discuss nonminimally coupled cosmologies involving different geometric invariants. Specifically, actions containing a nonminimally coupled scalar field to gravity described, in turn, by curvature, torsion and Gauss–Bonnet scalars are considered. We show that couplings, potentials and kinetic terms are determined by the existence of Noether symmetries which, moreover, allows to reduce and solve dynamics. The main finding of the paper is that different nonminimally coupled theories, presenting the same Noether symmetries, are dynamically equivalent. In other words, Noether symmetries are a selection criterion to compare different theories of gravity.

The ${\mathscr{H}}$olographic ${𝒩}$aturalness (${\mathscr{H}}{𝒩}$) is a new paradigm towards an explanation of the Cosmological Constant (CC) and the Higgs Hierarchy (HH) in the Universe. Motivated by the Holographic Principle, and inspired by the (A)dS/CFT correspondence, we elaborate on the possibility and on the cosmological consequences of a fundamental intrinsic disorder and temperature in vacuo. We postulate that the zero vacuum entropy is provided by a large number of quantum hair fields, the hairons. The quantum hairon gas in spacetime induces an effective decoherence effect to the Standard Model (SM) particle sector. This is leading to an entropic reinterpretation of UV divergent contributions to CC and HH: we will show that, in both the cases, the large number of re-scatterings on the hairon ensamble suppresses any radiative instabilities. The CC and HH problems are illusions envisaged by a conscious observer, having access on the limited amount of information from SM tests: both the issues are originated from our ignorance of the hidden entropy intrinsically stored in the spacetime. The ${\mathscr{H}}{𝒩}$ suggests to search for effective decoherence effects in particle physics observables such as effective CPT, Unitarity and Energy violations. Regarding the HH, the ${\mathscr{H}}{𝒩}$ does not introduce any new particles or interactions around the TeV-scale: we do not expect for any signatures, at LHC and any future high energy colliders, related to the Higgs UV completion in a Wilsonian sense.

We show that when the gravitational field is treated quantum-mechanically, it induces fluctuations — noise — in the lengths of the arms of gravitational wave detectors. The characteristics of the noise depend on the quantum state of the gravitational field and can be calculated exactly in several interesting cases. For coherent states, the noise is very small, but it can be greatly enhanced in thermal and (especially) squeezed states. Detection of this fundamental noise would constitute direct evidence for the quantization of gravity and the existence of gravitons.

From the assumption that the slow-roll parameter $𝜖$ has a Lorentzian form as a function of the e-folds number $N$, a successful model of a quintessential inflation is obtained. The form corresponds to the vacuum energy both in the inflationary and in the dark energy epochs. The form satisfies the condition to climb from small values of $𝜖$ to $1$ at the end of the inflationary epoch. At the late universe, $𝜖$ becomes small again and this leads to the dark energy epoch. The observables that the models predict fits with the latest Planck data: $r\sim 10^{-3},n_s\approx 0.965$. Naturally, a large dimensionless factor that exponentially amplifies the inflationary scale and exponentially suppresses the dark energy scale appearance, producing a sort of cosmological seesaw mechanism. We find the corresponding scalar Quintessential Inflationary potential with two flat regions — one inflationary and one as a dark energy with slow-roll behavior.

The Penrose strong cosmic censorship conjecture asserts that Cauchy horizons inside dynamically formed black holes are unstable to remnant matter fields that fall into the black holes. The physical importance of this conjecture stems from the fact that it provides a necessary condition for general relativity to be a truly deterministic theory of gravity. Determining the fate of the Penrose conjecture in nonasymptotically flat black hole spacetimes has been the focus of intense research efforts in recent years. In this paper, we provide a remarkably compact proof, which is based on Bekenstein’s generalized second law of thermodynamics, for the validity of the intriguing Penrose conjecture in physically realistic (dynamically formed) curved black hole spacetimes.

It is argued that quantum states of geometry, like those of particles, should be coherent on light cones of any size. An exact classical solution, the gravitational shock wave of a relativistic point particle, is used to estimate gravitational drag from coherent energy flows, and the expected gravitational effect of virtual transverse vacuum energy fluctuations on surfaces of causal diamonds. It is proposed that the appropriately spacetime-averaged gravitational effect of the Standard Model vacuum state leads to the observed small nonzero value of the cosmological constant, dominated by gravitational drag of virtual gluonic strings at the strong interaction scale.

At mesoscopic scales close to, but somewhat larger than, Planck length, one could describe quantum spacetime and matter in terms of a quantum-corrected geometry. The key feature of such a description is the introduction of a zero-point length into the spacetime. When we proceed from quantum geometry to quantum matter, the zero-point length will introduce corrections in the propagator of matter field in a specific manner. On the other hand, one cannot ignore the self-gravity of matter fields at the mesoscopic scales and this will also modify the form of the propagator. Consistency demands that these two modifications coming from two different directions are the same. I show that this nontrivial demand is actually satisfied. Surprisingly, the principle of equivalence, operating at Planck scales, ensures this consistency in a subtle manner.

Local conformal symmetry introduces the conformal curvature (Weyl tensor) that gets split into its (gravito-) electric and magnetic (tensor) parts. Newtonian tidal forces are expected from the gravitoelectric field, whereas general-relativistic frame-dragging effects emerge from the gravitomagnetic field. The symmetric, traceless gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic tensor fields can be visualized by their eigenvectors and eigenvalues. In this paper, we depict the gravitoelectric and gravitomagnetic fields around a slowly rotating black hole. This suggests that the phenomenon of ultra-fast outflows observed at the centers of active galaxies may give evidence for the gravitomagnetic fields of spinning supermassive black holes. We also question whether the current issues in our contemporary observations might be resolved by the inclusion of gravitomagnetism on large scales in a perturbed FLRW model.

In this paper, we survey the main characteristics that provide neutrinos with the capability of being the perfect candidate to test gravity. A number of potentially resourceful scenarios are analyzed, with particular emphasis on how the versatility of neutrinos lends itself to understand the multifaceted nature of the gravitational interaction, both at classical and quantum scales. As a common thread running through the two different regimes, we consider the fundamental principles underpinning General Relativity and its possible quantum extensions. Finally, we discuss some open problems and future perspectives.

A simple, closed-form solution to the Yang-Mills field equations is presented which has a non-Abelian firewall — a spherical “horizon” where the energy density diverges. By the gravity/gauge duality, this non-Abelian firewall implies the existence of a gravitational firewall. Gravitational firewalls have been proposed as a way of resolving the information loss paradox, but at the cost of violating the equivalence principle.

In this paper, I show that there exists a new way to obtain scalar–tensor field theories by combining a special scalar field on the cotangent bundle with a scalar field on spacetime. These two scalar fields act as a generating function for the metric tensor. When using these two scalar fields in the Horndeski Lagrangians, we discover, while seeking Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker-type cosmological solutions, that hidden in the Horndeski Lagrangians are nondegenerate second-order scalar Lagrangians. In accordance with Ostrogradsky’s work, these hidden scalar Lagrangians lead to multiple vacuum solutions, and thereby predict the existence of the multiverse. The multiverse is comprised of numerous different types of individual universes. For example, some begin explosively, and then coast along exponentially forever at an accelerated rate, while others begin in that manner, and then stop expanding and contract.

A central idea in general relativity is that physics should not depend on the spacetime coordinates in use [A. Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity (Princeton University Press, 1945)]. But the qualitative description of various phenomena can appear superficially quite different. Here, we consider falling into a classical black hole using four distinct but equivalent metrics. First is the Schwarzschild case, with extreme time dilation at the horizon. Second, rescaling the dilation allows falling into the hole in finite proper time. Third, time and space are rescaled into a Penrose motivated picture where light trajectories all have unit slope. Fourth, a white hole variation of the second metric allows passage out through the horizon, with reentry forbidden.

Horizons of black holes or cosmologies are peculiar loci of spacetime, where interesting physical effects take place, some of which are probed by recent (EHT and LIGO) and future experiments (ET and LISA). We discuss that there are boundary degrees of freedom residing at the horizon. We describe their symmetries and their interactions with gravitational waves. This fits into a larger picture of boundary plus bulk degrees of freedom and their interactions in gauge theories. Existence and dynamics of the near horizon degrees of freedom could be crucial to address fundamental questions and apparent paradoxes in black holes physics.

Gravitational waves have opened a new observational window through which some of the most exotic objects in the universe, as well as some of the secrets of gravitation itself, can now be revealed. Among all these new discoveries, we recently demonstrated¹⁵ that space-based gravitational wave observations will have the potential to detect a new population of massive circumbinary exoplanets everywhere inside our Galaxy. In this paper, we argue that these circumbinary planetary systems can also be detected outside the Milky Way, in particular within its satellite galaxies. Space-based gravitational wave observations might thus constitute the mean to detect the first extra-galactic planetary system, a target beyond the reach of standard electromagnetic searches.

We review the history of the ghost problem in quantum field theory from the Pauli–Villars regulator theory to currently popular fourth-order derivative quantum gravity theories. While these theories all appear to have unitarity-violating ghost states with negative norm, we show that in fact these ghost states only appear because the theories are being formulated in the wrong Hilbert space. In these theories, the Hamiltonians are not Hermitian but instead possess an antilinear symmetry. Consequently, one cannot use inner products that are built out of states and their Hermitian conjugates. Rather, one must use inner products built out of states and their conjugates with respect to the antilinear symmetry, and these latter inner products are positive. In this way, one can build quantum theories of gravity in four spacetime dimensions that are unitary.

This Essay explores consequences of a dark nonlinear electromagnetic sector in a universe with a net dark charge for matter. The cosmological dynamics can be described by a Lemaître model and can be understood, thanks to a screening mechanism driven by the electromagnetic nonlinearities that suppress the dark force on small scales. Only at low redshift, when the screening scale enters the Hubble horizon, do cosmological structures commence to feel the dark repulsion. This repulsive force enhances the local value of the Hubble constant, thus providing a promising scenario for solving the Hubble tension. Remarkably, the dark electromagnetic interaction can have a crucial impact on peculiar velocities, i.e. introducing a bias in their reconstruction methods, and having the potential to explain the presence of a dark flow.

We explain how Hawking radiation stores significant amount of information in high-order correlations of quantum fields. This information can be retrieved by multi-time measurements on the quantum fields close to the black hole horizon. This result requires no assumptions about quantum gravity, it takes into account the differences between Gibbs’s and Boltzmann’s accounts of thermodynamics, and it clarifies misconceptions about key aspects of Hawking radiation and about informational notions in QFT.

We start from classical general relativity coupled to matter fields. Each configuration variable and its conjugate momentum, as also spacetime points are raised to the status of matrices [equivalently operators]. These matrices obey a deterministic Lagrangian dynamics at the Planck scale. By coarse-graining this matrix dynamics over time intervals much larger than Planck time, one derives quantum theory as a low energy emergent approximation. If a sufficiently large number of degrees of freedom get entangled, spontaneous localisation takes place, leading to the emergence of classical spacetime geometry and a classical universe. In our theory, dark energy is shown to be a large-scale quantum gravitational phenomenon. Quantum indeterminism is not fundamental, but results from our not probing physics at the Planck scale.

We show that if Dark Matter is made up of light bosons, they form a Bose–Einstein condensate in the early Universe. This in turn naturally induces a Dark Energy of approximately equal density and exerting negative pressure. This explains the so-called coincidence problem.

There are many examples where geometry and gravity are concepts that emerge from a theory of quantum mechanics without gravity. This suggests thinking of gravity as an exotic phase of matter. Quantifying this phase in the Landau paradigm requires some sort of symmetry principle or order parameter that captures its appearance. In this essay, we propose higher-form symmetries as a symmetry principle underlying emergent spacetime. We explore higher-form symmetries in gauge–gravity duality and explain how their breaking describes features of gravitational theory. Such symmetries imply the existence of nonlocal objects in the gravitational theory — in gauge–gravity duality these are the strings and branes of the bulk theory — giving an alternative way to understand the nonlocality necessary in any ultraviolet completion of gravity.

We discuss a new formalism for constructing a nonrelativistic (NR) theory in curved background. Named as galilean gauge theory, it is based on gauging the global galilean symmetry. It provides a systematic algorithm for obtaining the covariant curved spacetime generalisation of any NR theory defined in flat spacetime. The resulting background is just the Newton–Cartan manifold. The example of NR free particle is explicitly demonstrated.

The epitome of a causal or anti-chronological behavior would be to see a clock running backwards in time. In this essay, we point out that this is indeed possible, but there is no problem with causality. What you see is not what is really happening. Locally, causality is always respected. However, our observation should be cause for pause to astronomers and cosmologists, who strictly observe events occurring at very large distances or very long ago and certainly not locally. It can be that what you see is not what you necessarily get.

In our current best cosmological model, the vast majority of matter in the universe is dark, consisting of yet undetected, nonbaryonic particles that do not interact electro-magnetically. So far, the only significant evidence for dark matter has been found in its gravitational interaction, as observed in galaxy rotation curves or gravitational lensing effects. The inferred dark matter agglomerations follow almost universal mass density profiles that can be reproduced well in simulations, but have eluded an explanation from a theoretical viewpoint. Forgoing standard (astro-)physical methods, I show that it is possible to derive these profiles from an intriguingly simple mathematical approach that directly determines the most likely spatial configuration of a self-gravitating ensemble of collisionless dark matter particles.

Emergence of $R^2$ inflation, which is the best fit framework for CMB observations till date, comes from the attempts to attack the problem of quantization of gravity which in turn have resulted in the trace anomaly discovery. Further developments in trace anomaly and different frameworks aiming to construct quantum gravity indicate an inevitability of nonlocality in fundamental physics at small time and length scales. A natural question would be to employ the $R^2$ inflation as a probe for signatures of nonlocality in the early Universe physics. Recent advances of embedding $R^2$ inflation in a string theory inspired nonlocal gravity modification provide very promising theoretical predictions connecting the nonlocal physics in the early Universe and the forthcoming CMB observations.

Unitary evolution makes pure state on one Cauchy surface evolve to pure state on another Cauchy surface. Outgoing Hawking radiation is the only subsystem on the late Cauchy surface. The requirement that Hawking radiation should be pure amounts to requiring purity of the subsystem when the total system is pure. We will see that this requirement will lead to firewall even in flat spacetime, and thus is invalid. Information is either stored in the entanglement between field modes inside black hole and the outgoing modes or stored in correlation between geometry and Hawking radiation when singularity is resolved by quantum gravity effects. We will give a simple argument that even in semi-classical regime, information is (at least partly) stored in correlation between geometry and Hawking radiation.

The dynamics of fermions in curved spacetime is governed by a spin connection, a part of which is contorsion, an auxiliary field independent of the metric, without dynamics but fully expressible in terms of the axial current density of fermions. Its effect is the appearance of a quartic interaction involving all fermions. Contorsion can couple to left- and right-handed fermions with different strengths, leading to an effective mass for fermions propagating on a background containing fermionic matter.

Cosmic censorship is known to fail in some well-controlled phenomena, calling into question the predictive power of General Relativity and opening up the possibility of observing Planck-scale physics. We propose that the cosmic censorship conjecture can be amended so that its spirit prevails. Naked singularities that, classically, have zero mass are allowed. Physically, these are Planck-sized “black holes”, which evaporate in a few Planck times. General Relativity fails only for a tiny interval in time, to then quickly regain control in a Miltonian evolution that returns us to the predictive paradise of Einstein’s equations. If this refinement of the conjecture is correct, then, even though Nature does allow to expose breakdowns in the smooth fabric of spacetime, it limits them to a mostly harmless minimum.

In this paper, by applying the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) at the final stage of black hole evaporation, we have proposed a thermodynamic explanation for the minimal scale of quantum gravity, i.e. it may stem from the basic requirements of the third law of thermodynamics for quantum gravitation system. At the same time, we have interestingly found that the third law of black hole thermodynamics acts as a supervisor in quantum gravity spacetime to ensure the causality of the spacetime as that does in classical gravity.

In this paper, we examine the gravitational collapse of a nonrelativistic charged perfect fluid interacting with a dark energy component. Given a simple factor for the energy transfer, we obtain a nonsingular interior solution which naturally matches the Reissner–Nordström–de Sitter exterior geometry. We also show that the interacting parameter is proportional to the overall charge of the final black hole thus formed. For the case of quasi-extremal configurations, we propose a statistical model for the entropy of the collapsed matter. This entropy extends Bekenstein’s geometrical entropy by an additive constant proportional to the area of the extremal black hole.

We will use Fisher information to properly analyze the quantum weak equivalence principle. We argue that gravitational waves will be partially reflected by superconductors. This will occur as the violation of the weak equivalence principle in Cooper pairs is larger than the surrounding ionic lattice. Such reflections of virtual gravitational waves by superconductors can produce a gravitational Casimir effect, which may be detected using currently available technology.

The recent measurements of the Hubble constant based on the standard $\mathrm{\Lambda }$CDM cosmology reveal an underlying disagreement between the early-Universe estimates and the late-time measurements. Moreover, as these measurements improve, the discrepancy not only persists but becomes even more significant and harder to ignore. The present situation places the standard cosmology in jeopardy and provides a tantalizing hint that the problem results from some new physics beyond the $\mathrm{\Lambda }$CDM model.

It is shown that a nonconventional theory — the Milne model — which introduces a different evolution dynamics for the Universe, alleviates the Hubble tension significantly. Moreover, the model also averts some long-standing problems of the standard cosmology, for instance, the problems related with the cosmological constant, the horizon, the flatness, the Big Bang singularity, the age of the Universe and the nonconservation of energy.

In this paper, dispersion forces between neutrons are suggested as a probe of the fundamental structure of spacetime. Corrections to standard expressions for the interparticle potentials are obtained through computer algebra system strategies and a novel heuristic argument for comparison with field theory computations. It is confirmed that, to first order in the deformation parameter, the unretarded ($c\to \infty$) van der Waals potential is unchanged. The modified retarded Casimir–Polder potential, obtained from the minimal length zero-point field, compares satisfactorily in both sign and magnitude with rigorous calculations. It is shown that low energy neutron scattering can provide a gain in excess of $18$ orders of magnitude over atomic physics experiments in constraining corrections due to the existence of a minimal length.

Cosmic strings, as remnants of the symmetry breaking phase in the Early universe, may be susceptible to nonlocal physics. Here, we show that the presence of a Poincaré-invariant nonlocality—parametrized by a factor $exp(-\square {\ell }^2)$—regularizes the gravitational field and thereby changes the properties of spacetime: it is now simply connected and the angle deficit around the cosmic string becomes a function of the radial distance. Similar changes occur for the nonlocal gravitomagnetic field of a rotating cosmic string, and we translate these mathematical facts into the language of nonlocal gravitoelectromagnetism and thereby provide a physical interpretation. We hope that these insights might provide a helpful perspective in the search for traces of nonlocal physics in our universe.

Neutron Stars (NSs) are compact stellar objects that are stable solutions in General Relativity. Their internal structure is usually described using an equation of state that involves the presence of ordinary matter and its interactions. However there is now a large consensus that an elusive sector of matter in the universe, described as dark matter, remains as yet undiscovered. In such a case, NSs should contain both, baryonic and dark matter. We argue that depending on the nature of the dark matter and in certain circumstances, the two matter components would form a mixture inside NSs that could trigger further changes, some of them observable. The very existence of NSs constrains the nature and interactions of dark matter in the universe.

Quasilocal definitions of stress-energy–momentum—that is, in the form of boundary densities (in lieu of local volume densities) — have proven generally very useful in formulating and applying conservation laws in general relativity. In this Essay, we take a basic look into applying these to cosmology, specifically using the Brown–York quasilocal stress-energy–momentum tensor for matter and gravity combined. We compute this tensor and present some simple results for a flat FLRW spacetime with a perfect fluid matter source. We emphasize the importance of the vacuum energy, which is almost universally underappreciated (and usually “subtracted”), and discuss the quasilocal interpretation of the cosmological constant.

We discuss the existence of an acceleration scale in galaxies and galaxy clusters and its relevance for the nature of dark matter. The presence of the same acceleration scale found at very different length scales, and in very different astrophysical objects, strongly supports the existence of a fundamental acceleration scale governing the observed gravitational physics. We comment on the implications of such a fundamental acceleration scale for constraining cold dark matter models as well as its relevance for structure formation to be explored in future numerical simulations.

The AdS/CFT correspondence has recently provided a novel approach for counting the microstates of black holes impressively matching the macroscopic Bekenstein–Hawking entropy formula of rotating electrically charged asymptotically AdS black holes in four to seven dimensions. This approach is designed for supersymmetric extremal black holes, but can also be extended to nonsupersymmetric, near-extremal black holes. Besides the dual higher-dimensional boundary CFT, an effective 2D CFT emerges in a certain near-horizon limit accounting for both the extremal and the near-extremal black hole entropies. This effective 2D description is universal across dimensions and comes naturally equipped with an approach to quantitatively tackle aspects of Hawking radiation.

We introduce a methodology for quantitatively measuring at all times in its evolution how close our physical spatially flat $\mathrm{\Lambda }$ CDM universe with cosmological constant $\mathrm{\Lambda }>0$ is to the de Sitter spacetime $d{S}_4$ with de Sitter radius $\ell =\sqrt{3/\mathrm{\Lambda }}$. The main idea in this study is to align the respective scale factors $a_{\mathrm{\Lambda }\mathrm{\text{CDM}}}(t)$ and $a_{\mathrm{\Lambda }}(t)$ of these two spacetimes, where de Sitter spacetime is taken with respect to a spatially flat foliation. This goal is accomplished by fine-tuning an adjustable parameter $A_0$ that arises naturally in the de Sitter scale factor by requiring that these scale factors be future-asymptotically convergent. Once this parameter is adjusted and the scale factors are aligned, we define a relative error function