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Afonso, V. I., Olmo, G. J., Orazi, E., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2019). New scalar compact objects in Ricci-based gravity theories. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 12(12), 044–20pp.
Abstract: Taking advantage of a previously developed method, which allows to map solutions of General Relativity into a broad family of theories of gravity based on the Ricci tensor (Ricci-based gravities), we find new exact analytical scalar field solutions by mapping the free-field static, spherically symmetric solution of General Relativity (GR) into quadratic f(R) gravity and the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. The obtained solutions have some distinctive feature below the would-be Schwarzschild radius of a configuration with the same mass, though in this case no horizon is present. The compact objects found include wormholes, compact balls, shells of energy with no interior, and a new kind of object which acts as a kind of wormhole membrane. The latter object has Euclidean topology but connects antipodal points of its surface by transferring particles and null rays across its interior in virtually zero affine time. We point out the relevance of these results regarding the existence of compact scalar field objects beyond General Relativity that may effectively act as black hole mimickers.
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Bejarano, C., Delhom, A., Jimenez-Cano, A., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2020). Geometric inequivalence of metric and Palatini formulations of General Relativity. Phys. Lett. B, 802, 135275–4pp.
Abstract: Projective invariance is a symmetry of the Palatini version of General Relativity which is not present in the metric formulation. The fact that the Riemann tensor changes nontrivially under projective transformations implies that, unlike in the usual metric approach, in the Palatini formulation this tensor is subject to a gauge freedom, which allows some ambiguities even in its scalar contractions. In this sense, we show that for the Schwarzschild solution there exists a projective gauge in which the (affine) Kretschmann scalar, K (R beta μnu R alpha beta μnu)-R-alpha, can be set to vanish everywhere. This puts forward that the divergence of curvature scalars may, in some cases, be avoided by a gauge transformation of the connection.
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Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Wojnar, A. (2020). Stellar structure models in modified theories of gravity: Lessons and challenges. Phys. Rep., 876, 1–75.
Abstract: The understanding of stellar structure represents the crossroads of our theories of the nuclear force and the gravitational interaction under the most extreme conditions observably accessible. It provides a powerful probe of the strong field regime of General Relativity, and opens fruitful avenues for the exploration of new gravitational physics. The latter can be captured via modified theories of gravity, which modify the Einstein-Hilbert action of General Relativity and/or some of its principles. These theories typically change the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations of stellar's hydrostatic equilibrium, thus having a large impact on the astrophysical properties of the corresponding stars and opening a new window to constrain these theories with present and future observations of different types of stars. For relativistic stars, such as neutron stars, the uncertainty on the equation of state of matter at supranuclear densities intertwines with the new parameters coming from the modified gravity side, providing a whole new phenomenology for the typical predictions of stellar structure models, such as mass-radius relations, maximum masses, or moment of inertia. For non-relativistic stars, such as white, brown and red dwarfs, the weakening/strengthening of the gravitational force inside astrophysical bodies via the modified Newtonian (Poisson) equation may induce changes on the star's mass, radius, central density or luminosity, having an impact, for instance, in the Chandrasekhar's limit for white dwarfs, or in the minimum mass for stable hydrogen burning in high-mass brown dwarfs. This work aims to provide a broad overview of the main such results achieved in the recent literature for many such modified theories of gravity, by combining the results and constraints obtained from the analysis of relativistic and non-relativistic stars in different scenarios. Moreover, we will build a bridge between the efforts of the community working on different theories, formulations, types of stars, theoretical modelings, and observational aspects, highlighting some of the most promising opportunities in the field.
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Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2020). Junction conditions in Palatini f(R) gravity. Class. Quantum Gravity, 37(21), 215002–11pp.
Abstract: We work out the junction conditions for f(R) gravity formulated in metric-affine (Palatini) spaces using a tensor distributional approach. These conditions are needed for building consistent models of gravitating bodies with an interior and exterior regions matched at some hypersurface. Some of these conditions depart from the standard Darmois-Israel ones of general relativity and from their metric f(R) counterparts. In particular, we find that the trace of the stress-energy momentum tensor in the bulk must be continuous across the matching hypersurface, though its normal derivative need not to. We illustrate the relevance of these conditions by considering the properties of stellar surfaces in polytropic models, showing that the range of equations of state with potentially pathological effects is shifted beyond the domain of physical interest. This confirms, in particular, that neutron stars and white dwarfs can be safely modelled within the Palatini f(R) framework.
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Lobo, F. S. N., Olmo, G. J., Orazi, E., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Rustam, A. (2020). Structure and stability of traversable thin-shell wormholes in Palatini f(R) gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 102(10), 104012–11pp.
Abstract: We study the structure and stability of traversable wormholes built as (spherically symmetric) thin shells in the context of Palatini f(R) gravity. Using a suitable junction formalism for these theories we find that the effective number of degrees of freedom on the shell is reduced to a single one, which fixes the equation of state to be that of massless stress-energy fields, contrary to the general relativistic and metric f(R) cases. Another major difference is that the surface energy density threading the thin shell, needed in order to sustain the wormhole, can take any sign and may even vanish, depending on the desired features of the corresponding solutions. We illustrate our results by constructing thin-shell wormholes by surgically grafting Schwarzschild space-times and show that these configurations are always linearly unstable. However, surgically joined Reissner-Nordstrom space-times allow for linearly stable, traversable thin-shell wormholes supported by a positive energy density provided that the (squared) mass-to-charge ratio, given by y = Q(2)/M-2, satisfies the constraint 1 < y < 9/8 (corresponding to overcharged Reissner-Nordstrom configurations having a photon sphere) and lies in a region bounded by specific curves defined in terms of the (dimensionless) radius of the shell x(0) = R/M.
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Olmo, G. J., Orazi, E., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2020). Multicenter solutions in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. Eur. Phys. J. C, 80(11), 1018–13pp.
Abstract: We find multicenter (Majumdar-Papapetrou type) solutions of Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity coupled to electromagnetic fields governed by a Born-Infeld-like Lagrangian. We construct the general solution for an arbitrary number of centers in equilibrium and then discuss the properties of their one-particle configurations, including the existence of bounces and the regularity (geodesic completeness) of these spacetimes. Our method can be used to construct multicenter solutions in other theories of gravity.
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Guerrero, M., Mora-Perez, G., Olmo, G. J., Orazi, E., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2020). Rotating black holes in Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity: an exact solution. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 07(7), 058–31pp.
Abstract: We find an exact, rotating charged black hole solution within Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. To this end we employ a recently developed correspondence or mapping between modified gravity models built as scalars out of contractions of the metric with the Ricci tensor, and formulated in metric-affine spaces (Ricci-Based Gravity theories) and General Relativity. This way, starting from the Kerr-Newman solution, we show that this mapping bring us the axisymmetric solutions of Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity coupled to a certain model of non-linear electrodynamics. We discuss the most relevant physical features of the solutions obtained this way, both in the spherically symmetric limit and in the fully rotating regime. Moreover, we further elaborate on the potential impact of this important technical progress for bringing closer the predictions of modified gravity with the astrophysical observations of compact objects and gravitational wave astronomy.
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Guerrero, M., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2021). Double shadows of reflection-asymmetric wormholes supported by positive energy thin-shells. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 04(4), 066–26pp.
Abstract: We consider reflection-asymmetric thin-shell wormholes within Palatini f(R) gravity using a matching procedure of two patches of electrovacuum space-times at a hypersurface (the shell) via suitable junction conditions. The conditions for having (linearly) stable wormholes supported by positive-energy matter sources are determined. We also identify some subsets of parameters able to locate the shell radius above the event horizon (when present) but below the photon sphere (on both sides). We illustrate with an specific example that such two photon spheres allow an observer on one of the sides of the wormhole to see another (circular) shadow in addition to the one generated by its own photon sphere, which is due to the photons passing above the maximum of the effective potential on its side and bouncing back across the throat due to a higher effective potential on the other side. We finally comment on the capability of these double shadows to seek for traces of new gravitational physics beyond that described by General Relativity.
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Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Wojnar, A. (2021). Parameterized nonrelativistic limit of stellar structure equations in Ricci-based gravity theories. Phys. Rev. D, 104(2), 024045–8pp.
Abstract: We present the nonrelativistic limit of the stellar structure equations of Ricci-based gravities, a family of metric-affine theories whose Lagrangian is built via contractions of the metric with the Ricci tensor of an a priori independent connection. We find that this limit is characterized by four parameters that arise in the expansion of several geometric quantities in powers of the stress-energy tensor of the matter fields. We discuss the relevance of this result for the phenomenology of nonrelativistic stars, such as main-sequence stars as well as several substellar objects.
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Guerrero, M., Olmo, G. J., Rubiera-Garcia, D., & Saez-Chillon Gomez, D. (2021). Shadows and optical appearance of black bounces illuminated by a thin accretion disk. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 08(8), 036–19pp.
Abstract: We study the light rings and shadows of an uniparametric family of spherically symmetric geometries interpolating between the Schwarzschild solution, a regular black hole, and a traversable wormhole, and dubbed as black bounces, all of them sharing the same critical impact parameter. We consider the ray-tracing method in order to study the impact parameter regions corresponding to the direct, lensed, and photon ring emissions, finding a broadening of all these regions for black bounce solutions as compared to the Schwarzschild one. Using this, we determine the optical appearance of black bounces when illuminated by three standard toy models of optically and geometrically thin accretion disks viewed in face-on orientation.
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