1. |
- Barack, Leor, et al.
(author)
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Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics : a roadmap
- 2019
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In: Classical and quantum gravity. - : IOP Publishing. - 0264-9381 .- 1361-6382. ; 36:14
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on 'Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics'.
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2. |
- Hassan, Sayed Fawad, et al.
(author)
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Bimetric theory and partial masslessness with Lanczos-Lovelock terms in arbitrary dimensions
- 2013
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In: Classical and quantum gravity. - : IOP Publishing. - 0264-9381 .- 1361-6382. ; 30:18, s. 184010-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ghost-free bimetric theories describe nonlinear interactions of massive and massless spin-2 fields and, hence, provide a natural framework for investigating the phenomenon of partial masslessness for massive spin-2 fields at the nonlinear level. In this paper we analyse the spectrum of the ghost-free bimetric theory in arbitrary dimensions. Using a recently proposed construction, we identify the candidate nonlinear partially massless (PM) theories. It is shown that, in a 2-derivative setup, nonlinear PM theories can exist only in three and four dimensions. But on adding Lanczos-Lovelock terms to the bimetric action it is found that higher derivative nonlinear PM theories could also exist in higher dimensions. This is consistent with existing results on the direct construction of cubic vertices with PM gauge symmetry. We obtain the candidate nonlinear PM theories in five, six and eight dimensions but find that none exist in seven dimensions.
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3. |
- Hassan, Sayed Fawad, et al.
(author)
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Higher Derivative Gravity and Conformal Gravity from Bimetric and Partially Massless Bimetric Theory
- 2015
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In: Universe. - : MDPI AG. - 2218-1997. ; 1:2, s. 92-122
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we establish the correspondence between ghost-free bimetric theory and a class of higher derivative gravity actions, including conformal gravity and new massive gravity. We also characterize the relation between the respective equations of motion and classical solutions. We illustrate that, in this framework, the spin-2 ghost of higher derivative gravity at the linear level is an artifact of the truncation to a four-derivative theory. The analysis also gives a relation between the proposed partially massless ( PM) bimetric theory and conformal gravity, showing, in particular, the equivalence of their equations of motion at the four-derivative level. For the PM bimetric theory, this provides further evidence for the existence of an extra gauge symmetry and the associated loss of a propagating mode away from de Sitter backgrounds. The new symmetry is an extension of Weyl invariance, which may suggest the candidate PM bimetric theory as a possible ghost-free completion of conformal gravity.
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4. |
- Hassan, Sayed Fawad, et al.
(author)
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On the local structure of spacetime in ghost-free bimetric theory and massive gravity
- 2018
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In: Journal of High Energy Physics (JHEP). - 1126-6708 .- 1029-8479. ; :5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ghost-free bimetric theory describes interactions of gravity with another spin-2 field in terms of two Lorentzian metrics. However, if the two metrics do not admit compatible notions of space and time, the formulation of the initial value problem becomes problematic. Furthermore, the interaction potential is given in terms of the square root of a matrix which is in general nonunique and possibly nonreal. In this paper we show that both these issues are evaded by requiring reality and general covariance of the equations. First we prove that the reality of the square root matrix leads to a classification of the allowed metrics in terms of the intersections of their null cones. Then, the requirement of general covariance further restricts the allowed metrics to geometries that admit compatible notions of space and time. It also selects a unique definition of the square root matrix. The restrictions are compatible with the equations of motion. These results ensure that the ghost-free bimetric theory can be defined unambiguously and that the two metrics always admit compatible 3+1 decompositions, at least locally. In particular, these considerations rule out certain solutions of massive gravity with locally Closed Causal Curves, which have been used to argue that the theory is acausal.
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5. |
- Kocic, Mikica
(author)
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Geometry of interactions in ghost-free bimetric theory
- 2017
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The ghost-free bimetric theory is an extension to general relativity where two metric tensors are used instead of one. A priori, the two metrics may not have compatible notions of space and time, which makes the formulation of the initial-value problem problematic. Moreover, the metrics are coupled through a specific ghost-free interaction term that is nonunique and possibly nonreal. We prove that the reality of the bimetric potential leads to a classification of the allowed configurations of the two metrics in terms of the intersections of their null cones. Then, the equations of motion and general covariance are enough to restrict down the allowed configurations to metrics that admit compatible notions of space and time, and furthermore, lead to a unique definition of the potential. This ensures that the ghost-free bimetric theory can be defined unambiguously. In addition, we apply the results on spherically symmetric spacetimes. First, we explore the behavior of the black hole solutions both at the common Killing horizon and at the large radii. The study leads to a new classification for black holes within the bidiagonal ansatz. Finally, we consider the bimetric field equations in vacuum when the two metrics share a single common null direction. We obtain a class of exact solutions of the generalized Vaidya type parametrized by an arbitrary function. The found solutions are nonstationary and thus nonstatic, which formally disproves an analogous statement to Birkhoff's theorem in the ghost-free bimetric theory.
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6. |
- von Strauss, Mikael, 1978-
(author)
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Unravelling Consistent Spin-2 Interactions
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Recently, a unique formulation of a classically consistent theory of massive spin-2 fields has emerged. In this thesis I address a few of the primary questions that arise once such a theory is available.I will discuss cosmological solutions in a bimetric setup and show that, as far as the background evolution is concerned, a theory of interacting spin-2 fields remain a viable option to the mainstream ΛCDM concordance model. In general, the bimetric solutions are quite different from general relativistic solutions and hence in many situations will not be supported by observations. I highlight a particularly useful class of bimetric solutions which mimic general relativity exactly at the background level. This class of solutions is very special since it both uniquely provide the maximally symmetric vacuum solutions in the absence of matter sources as well as uniquely provide a massive Fierz-Pauli wave equation for perturbations of these backgrounds. This allow us a clear interpretation of the spectrum of perturbations in terms of mass eigenstates. I provide a nonlinear extension of these mass eigenstates into nonlinear fields which are not true mass eigenstates but still provide useful input into the theoretical understanding of the theory. These nonlinear extensions are particularly interesting both with respect to parameterizing generic deviations of the bimetric solutions to general relativistic solutions, as well as providing further insight into some unresolved questions related to ``massive gravity" in maximally symmetric backgrounds, such as the illusive nature of the Higuchi bound and its accompanying linear on-shell gauge invariance.The special structure of the consistent interacting theory provides the basic tool to start to unravel some of the mysteries connected with spin-2 fields, with hope to reinvestigate many fundamental open questions explicitly related to the gravitational sector of field theory.
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