The matching between two 4-dimensional PP-waves is discussed by using Israels matching conditions. Physical consequences on the dynamics of (cosmic) strings are analyzed. The extension to space-time of arbitrary dimension is discussed and some interesting features related to the brane world scenario, BPS states in gravity and Dirac-like quantization conditions are briefly described.
Symmetric Teleparallel Gravity is an exceptional theory of gravity that is consistent with the vanishing affine connection. This theory is an alternative and a simpler geometrical formulation of general relativity, where the non-metricity $Q$ drives the gravitational interaction. Our interest lies in exploring the cosmological bouncing scenarios in a flat Friedmann-Lima^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) spacetime within this framework. We explore bouncing scenarios with two different Lagrangian forms of $f(Q)$ such as a linearly and non-linearly dependence on $Q$. We have successfully examined all the energy conditions and stability analysis for both models to present a matter bounce.
We investigate a class of gravitational pp-waves which represent the exterior vacuum field of spinning particles moving with the speed of light. Such exact spacetimes are described by the original Brinkmann form of the pp-wave metric including the often neglected off-diagonal terms. We put emphasis on a clear physical and geometrical interpretation of these off-diagonal metric components. We explicitly analyze several new properties of these spacetimes associated with the spinning character of the source, such as rotational dragging of frames, geodesic deviation, impulsive limits and the corresponding behavior of geodesics.
The Randall-Sundrum scenario, with a 1+3-dimensional brane in a 5-dimensional bulk spacetime, can be generalized in various ways. We consider the case where the Z2-symmetry at the brane is relaxed, and in addition the gravitational action is generalized to include an induced gravity term on the brane. We derive the complete set of equations governing the gravitational dynamics for a general brane and bulk, and identify how the asymmetry and the induced gravity act as effective source terms in the projected field equations on the brane. For a Friedmann brane in an anti de Sitter bulk, the solution of the Friedmann equation is given by the solution of a quartic equation. We find the perturbative solutions for small asymmetry, which has an effect at late times.
A complete theory of gravity impels us to go beyond Einsteins General Relativity. One promising approach lies in a new class of teleparallel theory of gravity named $f(Q)$, where the nonmetricity $Q$ is responsible for the gravitational interaction. The important roles any of these alternative theories should obey are the energy condition constraints. Such constraints establish the compatibility of a given theory with the causal and geodesic structure of space-time. In this work, we present a complete test of energy conditions for $f(Q)$ gravity models. The energy conditions allowed us to fix our free parameters, restricting the families of $f(Q)$ models compatible with the accelerated expansion our Universe passes through. Our results straight the viability of $f(Q)$ theory, leading us close to the dawn of a complete theory for gravitation.
Adopting Diracs brane variation prescription, the energy-momentum tensor of a brane gets supplemented by a geometrical (embedding originated) dark component. While the masslessness of the graviton is preserved, and the Newton force law is recovered, the corresponding Newton constant is necessarily lower than the one which governs FRW cosmology. This has the potential to puzzle out cosmological dark matter, a subsequent conjecture concerning galactic dark matter follows.