Bambi, C., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2015). Melvin universe in Born-Infeld gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 91(10), 104010–6pp.
Abstract: We consider a magnetic flux pointing in the z direction of an axially symmetric space-time (Melvin universe) in a Born-Infeld-type extension of general relativity (GR) formulated in the Palatini approach. Large magnetic fields could have been produced in the early Universe, and given rise to interesting phenomenology regarding wormholes and black hole remnants. We find a formal analytic solution to this problem that recovers the GR result in the appropriate limits. Our results set the basis for further extensions that could allow the embedding of pairs of black hole remnants in geometries with intense magnetic fields.
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Lobo, F. S. N., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2015). Crystal clear lessons on the microstructure of spacetime and modified gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 91(12), 124001–7pp.
Abstract: We argue that a microscopic structure for spacetime such as that expected in a quantum foam scenario, in which microscopic wormholes and other topological structures should play a relevant role, might lead to an effective metric-affine geometry at larger scales. This idea is supported by the role that microscopic defects play in crystalline structures. With an explicit model, we show that wormhole formation is possible in a metric-affine scenario, where the wormhole and the matter fields play a role analogous to that of defects in crystals. Such wormholes also arise in Born-Infeld gravity, which is favored by an analogy with the estimated mass of a point defect in condensed matter systems. We also point out that in metric-affine geometries, Einstein's equations with an effective cosmological constant appear as an attractor in the vacuum limit for a vast family of theories of gravity. This illustrates how lessons from solid state physics can be useful in unveiling the properties of the microcosmos and defining new avenues for modified theories of gravity.
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Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Sanchez-Puente, A. (2015). Geodesic completeness in a wormhole spacetime with horizons. Phys. Rev. D, 92(4), 044047–16pp.
Abstract: The geometry of a spacetime containing a wormhole generated by a spherically symmetric electric field is investigated in detail. These solutions arise in high-energy extensions of general relativity formulated within the Palatini approach and coupled to Maxwell electrodynamics. Even though curvature divergences generically arise at the wormhole throat, we find that these spacetimes are geodesically complete. This provides an explicit example where curvature divergences do not imply spacetime singularities.
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Bazeia, D., Losano, L., Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Sanchez-Puente, A. (2015). Classical resolution of black hole singularities in arbitrary dimension. Phys. Rev. D, 92(4), 044018–15pp.
Abstract: A metric-affine approach is employed to study higher-dimensional modified gravity theories involving different powers and contractions of the Ricci tensor. It is shown that the field equations are always second-order, as opposed to the standard metric approach, where this is only achieved for Lagrangians of the Lovelock type. We point out that this property might have relevant implications for the AdS/CFT correspondence in black hole scenarios. We illustrate these aspects by considering the case of Born-Infeld gravity in d dimensions, where we work out exact solutions for electrovacuum configurations. Our results put forward that black hole singularities in arbitrary dimensions can be cured in a purely classical geometric scenario governed by second-order field equations.
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Bambi, C., Cardenas-Avendano, A., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2016). Wormholes and nonsingular spacetimes in Palatini f(R) gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 93(6), 064016–8pp.
Abstract: We reconsider the problem of f(R) theories of gravity coupled to Born-Infeld theory of electrodynamics formulated in a Palatini approach, where metric and connection are independent fields. By studying electrovacuum configurations in a static and spherically symmetric spacetime, we find solutions which reduce to their Reissner-Nordstrom counterparts at large distances but undergo important nonperturbative modifications close to the center. Our new analysis reveals that the pointlike singularity is replaced by a finite-size wormhole structure, which provides a geodesically complete and thus nonsingular spacetime, despite the existence of curvature divergences at the wormhole throat. Implications of these results, in particular for the cosmic censorship conjecture, are discussed.
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Bazeia, D., Losano, L., Menezes, R., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2015). Thick brane in f(R) gravity with Palatini dynamics. Eur. Phys. J. C, 75, 569–10pp.
Abstract: This work deals with modified gravity in five dimensional spacetime. We study a thick Palatini f(R) brane, that is, a braneworld scenario described by an anti-de Sitter warped geometry with a single extra dimension of infinite extent, sourced by real scalar field under the Palatini approach, where the metric and the connection are regarded as independent degrees of freedom. We consider a first-order framework which we use to provide exact solutions for the scalar field and warp factor. We also investigate a perturbative scenario such that the Palatini approach is implemented through a Lagrangian f(R)=R+ϵR^n, where the small parameter ϵ controls the deviation from the standard thick brane case.
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Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Sanchez-Puente, A. (2016). Classical resolution of black hole singularities via wormholes. Eur. Phys. J. C, 76(3), 143–6pp.
Abstract: In certain extensions of General Relativity, wormholes generated by spherically symmetric electric fields can resolve black hole singularities without necessarily removing curvature divergences. This is shown by studying geodesic completeness, the behavior of time-like congruences going through the divergent region, and by means of scattering of waves off the wormhole. This provides an example of the logical independence between curvature divergences and space-time singularities, concepts very often identified with each other in the literature.
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Bejarano, C., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2017). What is a singular black hole beyond general relativity? Phys. Rev. D, 95(6), 064043–18pp.
Abstract: Exploring the characterization of singular black hole spacetimes, we study the relation between energy density, curvature invariants, and geodesic completeness using a quadratic f(R) gravity theory coupled to an anisotropic fluid. Working in a metric-affine approach, our models and solutions represent minimal extensions of general relativity (GR) in the sense that they rapidly recover the usual Reissner-Nordstrm solution from near the inner horizon outwards. The anisotropic fluid helps modify only the innermost geometry. Depending on the values and signs of two parameters on the gravitational and matter sectors, a breakdown of the correlations between the finiteness/ divergence of the energy density, the behavior of curvature invariants, and the (in) completeness of geodesics is obtained. We find a variety of configurations with and without wormholes, a case with a de Sitter interior, solutions that mimic nonlinear models of electrodynamics coupled to GR, and configurations with up to four horizons. Our results raise questions regarding what infinities, if any, a quantum version of these theories should regularize.
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Menchon, C. C., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2017). Nonsingular black holes, wormholes, and de Sitter cores from anisotropic fluids. Phys. Rev. D, 96(10), 104028–16pp.
Abstract: We study Born-Infeld gravity coupled to an anisotropic fluid in a static, spherically symmetric background. The free function characterizing the fluid is selected on the following grounds: i) recovery of the Reissner-Nordstrom solution of General Relativity at large distances, ii) fulfillment of classical energy conditions, and iii) inclusion of models of nonlinear electrodynamics as particular examples. Four branches of solutions are obtained, depending on the signs of two parameters on the gravity and matter sectors. On each branch, we discuss in detail the modifications on the innermost region of the corresponding solutions, which provides a plethora of configurations, including nonsingular black holes and naked objects, wormholes, and de Sitter cores. The regular character of these configurations is discussed according to the completeness of geodesics and the behavior of curvature scalars.
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Bejarano, C., Lobo, F. S. N., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2017). Palatini wormholes and energy conditions from the prism of general relativity. Eur. Phys. J. C, 77(11), 776–13pp.
Abstract: Wormholes are hypothetical shortcuts in space-time that in general relativity unavoidably violate all of the pointwise energy conditions. In this paper, we consider several wormhole spacetimes that, as opposed to the standard designer procedure frequently employed in the literature, arise directly from gravitational actions including additional terms resulting from contractions of the Ricci tensor with the metric, and which are formulated assuming independence between metric and connection (Palatini approach). We reinterpret such wormhole solutions under the prism of General Relativity and study the matter sources that thread them. We discuss the size of violation of the energy conditions in different cases and how this is related to the same spacetimes when viewed from the modified gravity side.
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