Abstract: The silhouette of a black hole having a critical curve (an unstable bound photon orbit) when illuminated by an optically thin accretion disk whose emission is confined to the equatorial plane shows a distinctive central brightness depression (the shadow) whose outer edge consists of a series of strongly lensed, selfsimilar rings superimposed with the disk???s direct emission. While the size and shape of the critical curve depend only on the background geometry, the pattern of bright and dark regions (including the size and depth of the shadow itself) in the image is strongly influenced by the (astro)physics of the accretion disk. This aspect makes it difficult to extract clean and clear observational discriminators between the Kerr black hole and other compact objects. In the presence of a second critical curve, however, observational differences become apparent. In this work we shall consider some spherically symmetric black hole and wormhole geometries characterized by the presence of a second critical curve, via a uniparametric family of extensions of the Schwarzschild metric. By assuming three toy models of geometrically thin accretion disks, we show the presence of additional light rings in the intermediate region between the two critical curves. The observation of such rings could represent a compelling evidence for the existence of black hole mimickers having multiple critical curves.

Abstract: In the context of f(R) generalizations to the Hoist action, endowed with a dynamical Immirzi field, we derive an analytic solution describing asymptotically anti-de Sitter black holes with hyperbolic horizon. These exhibit a scalar hair of the second kind, which ultimately depends on the Immirzi field radial behavior. In particular, we show how the Immirzi field modifies the usual entropy law associated to the black hole. We also verify that the Immirzi field boils down to a constant value in the asymptotic region, thus restoring the standard loop quantum gravity picture. We finally prove the violation of the reverse isoperimetric inequality, resulting in the superentropic nature of the black hole, and we discuss in detail the thermodynamic stability of the solution.

Abstract: Current cosmological tensions show that it is crucial to test the predictions from the canonical ACDM paradigm at different cosmic times. One very appealing test of structure formation in the Universe is the growth rate of structure in our universe f, usually parametrized via the growth index gamma, with f equivalent to Omega(m)(a)gamma and gamma similar or equal to 0.55 in the standard ACDM case. Recent studies have claimed a suppression of the growth of structure from a variety of cosmological observations, characterized by gamma > 0.55. By employing different self-consistent growth parametrizations schemes, we show here that gamma < 0.55, obtaining instead an enhanced growth of structure today. This preference reaches the 3 sigma significance using cosmic microwave background observations, supernova Ia and baryon acoustic oscillation measurements. The addition of cosmic microwave background lensing data relaxes such a preference to the 2 sigma level, since a larger lensing effect can always be compensated with a smaller structure growth, or, equivalently, with gamma > 0.55. We have also included the lensing amplitude AL as a free parameter in our data analysis, showing that the preference for AL > 1 still remains, except for some particular parametrizations when lensing observations are included. We also do not find any significant preference for an oscillatory dependence of AL, AL + Am sin l. To further reassess the effects of a nonstandard growth, we have computed by means of N-body simulations the dark matter density fields, the dark matter halo mass functions and the halo density profiles for different values of gamma. Future observations from the Square Kilometer Array, reducing by a factor of 3 the current errors on the gamma parameter, further confirm or refute with a strong statistical significance the deviation of the growth index from its standard value.

Abstract: Constraints on inflationary models typically assume only the standard models of cosmology and particle physics. By extending the neutrino sector to include a new interaction with a light scalar mediator (m(phi) similar to MeV), it is possible to relax these constraints, in particular via opening up regions of the parameter space of the spectral index n(s). These new interactions can be probed at IceCube via interactions of astrophysical neutrinos with the cosmic neutrino background for nearly all of the relevant parameter space.

Abstract: In this paper we explore possible extensions of interacting dark energy cosmologies, where dark energy and dark matter interact nongravitationally with one another. In particular, we focus on the neutrino sector, analyzing the effect of both neutrino masses and the effective number of neutrino species. We consider the Planck 2018 legacy release data combined with several other cosmological probes, finding no evidence for new physics in the dark radiation sector. The current neutrino constraints from cosmology should therefore be regarded as robust, as they are not strongly dependent on the dark sector physics, once all the available observations are combined. Namely, we find a total neutrino mass g, < 0.15 eV and a number of effective relativistic degrees of freedom N-eff = 3.03(-0.33)(+0.33), both at 95% C.L., which are close to those obtained within the ACDM cosmology, M-v < 0.12 eV and N-eff = (+0.36)(-0.35), for the same data combination.