No Arabic abstract
In order for a modified gravity model to be a candidate for cosmological dark energy it has to pass stringent local gravity experiments. We find that a Brans-Dicke (BD) theory with well-defined second order corrections that include the Gauss-Bonnet term possess this feature. We construct the generic second order theory that gives, to linear order, a BD metric solution for a point-like mass source. We find that these theories interpolate between general relativity (GR) and BD gravity. In particular it is found that the relevant Eddington parameter, that is commonly heavily constrained by time delay experiments, can be arbitrarily close to the GR value of 1, with an arbitrary BD parameter. We find the region where the solution is stable to small timelike perturbations.
The increasing precision of spacecraft radiometric tracking data experienced in the last number of years, coupled with the huge amount of data collected and the long baselines of the available datasets, has made the direct observation of Solar System dynamics possible, and in particular relativistic effects, through the measurement of some key parameters as the post-Newtonian parameters, the Nordtvedt parameter eta and the graviton mass. In this work we investigate the potentialities of the datasets provided by the most promising past, present and future interplanetary missions to draw a realistic picture of the knowledge that can be reached in the next 10-15 years. To this aim, we update the semi-analytical model originally developed for the BepiColombo mission, to take into account planet-planet relativistic interactions and eccentricity-induced effects and validate it against well-established numerical models to assess the precision of the retrieval of the parameters of interest. Before the analysis of the results we give a review of some of the hypotheses and constrained analysis schemes that have been proposed until now to overcome geometrical weaknessess and model degeneracies, proving that these strategies introduce model inconsistencies. Finally we apply our semi-analytical model to perform a covariance analysis on three samples of interplanetary missions: 1) those for which data are available now (e.g. Cassini, MESSENGER, MRO, Juno), 2) in the next years (BepiColombo) and 3) still to be launched as JUICE and VERITAS (this latter is waiting for the approval).
We determine for the first time in the literature the analytic form of the Rayleigh potential of the general relativistic Poynting-Robertson effect. The employed procedure is based on the use of an integrating factor and a new integration strategy where the test particles dissipated energy represents the fundamental variable. The obtained results and their implications are discussed. Finally, concluding remarks and future projects are drawn.
We present a general solution of the Einstein gravitational field equations for the static spherically symmetric gravitational interior spacetime of an isotropic fluid sphere. The solution is obtained by transforming the pressure isotropy condition, a second order ordinary differential equation, into a Riccati type first order differential equation, and using a general integrability condition for the Riccati equation. This allows us to obtain an exact non-singular solution of the interior field equations for a fluid sphere, expressed in the form of infinite power series. The physical features of the solution are studied in detail numerically by cutting the infinite series expansions, and restricting our numerical analysis by taking into account only $n=21$ terms in the power series representations of the relevant astrophysical parameters. In the present model all physical quantities (density, pressure, speed of sound etc.) are finite at the center of the sphere. The physical behavior of the solution essentially depends on the equation of state of the dense matter at the center of the star. The stability properties of the model are also analyzed in detail for a number of central equations of state, and it is shown that it is stable with respect to the radial adiabatic perturbations. The astrophysical analysis indicates that this solution can be used as a realistic model for static general relativistic high density objects, like neutron stars.
We present a precise definition of a conserved quantity from an arbitrary covariantly conserved current available in a general curved spacetime with Killing vectors. This definition enables us to define energy and momentum for matter by the volume integral. As a result we can compute charges of Schwarzschild and BTZ black holes by the volume integration of a delta function singularity. Employing the definition we also compute the total energy of a static compact star. It contains both the gravitational mass known as the Misner-Sharp mass in the Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation and the gravitational binding energy. We show that the gravitational binding energy has the negative contribution at maximum by 68% of the gravitational mass in the case of a constant density. We finally comment on a definition of generators associated with a vector field on a general curved manifold.
We produce the first astrophysically-relevant numerical binary black hole gravitational waveform in a higher-curvature theory of gravity beyond general relativity. We simulate a system with parameters consistent with GW150914, the first LIGO detection, in order-reduced dynamical Chern-Simons gravity, a theory with motivations in string theory and loop quantum gravity. We present results for the leading-order corrections to the merger and ringdown waveforms, as well as the ringdown quasi-normal mode spectrum. We estimate that such corrections may be discriminated in detections with signal to noise ratio $gtrsim 180-240$, with the precise value depending on the dimension of the GR waveform family used in data analysis.