No Arabic abstract
Gravitational waves are considered as metric perturbations about a curved background metric, rather than the flat Minkowski metric since several situations of physical interest can be discussed by this generalization. In this case, when the de Donder gauge is imposed, its preservation under infinitesimal spacetime diffeomorphisms is guaranteed if and only if the associated covector is ruled by a second-order hyperbolic operator which is the classical counterpart of the ghost operator in quantum gravity. In such a wave equation, the Ricci term has opposite sign with respect to the wave equation for Maxwell theory in the Lorenz gauge. We are, nevertheless, able to relate the solutions of the two problems, and the algorithm is applied to the case when the curved background geometry is the de Sitter spacetime. Such vector wave equations are studied in two different ways: i) an integral representation, ii) through a solution by factorization of the hyperbolic equation. The latter method is extended to the wave equation of metric perturbations in the de Sitter spacetime. This approach is a step towards a general discussion of gravitational waves in the de Sitter spacetime and might assume relevance in cosmology in order to study the stochastic background emerging from inflation.
The construction of exact linearized solutions to the Einstein equations within the Bondi-Sachs formalism is extended to the case of linearization about de Sitter spacetime. The gravitational wave field measured by distant observers is constructed, leading to a determination of the energy measured by such observers. It is found that gravitational wave energy conservation does not normally apply to inertial observers, but that it can be formulated for a class of accelerated observers, i.e. with worldlines that are timelike but not geodesic.
Using the analytic extension method, we study Hawking radiation of an $(n + 4)$-dimensional Schwarzschild-de Sitter black hole. Under the condition that the total energy is conserved, taking the reaction of the radiation of particles to the spacetime into consideration and considering the relation between the black hole event horizon and cosmological horizon, we obtain the radiation spectrum of de Sitter spacetime. This radiation spectrum is no longer a strictly pure thermal spectrum. It is related to the change of the Bekenstein-Hawking(B-H) entropy corresponding the black hole event horizon and cosmological horizon. The result satisfies the unitary principle. At the same time, we also testify that the entropy of de Sitter spacetime is the sum of the entropy of black hole event horizon and the one of cosmological horizon.
In this work we study the Sorkin-Johnston (SJ) vacuum in de Sitter spacetime for free scalar field theory. For the massless theory we find that the SJ vacuum can neither be obtained from the $O(4)$ Fock vacuum of Allen and Folacci nor from the non-Fock de Sitter invariant vacuum of Kirsten and Garriga. Using a causal set discretisation of a slab of 2d and 4d de Sitter spacetime, we find the causal set SJ vacuum for a range of masses $m geq 0$ of the free scalar field. While our simulations are limited to a finite volume slab of global de Sitter spacetime, they show good convergence as the volume is increased. We find that the 4d causal set SJ vacuum shows a significant departure from the continuum Motolla-Allen $alpha$-vacua. Moreover, the causal set SJ vacuum is well-defined for both the minimally coupled massless $m=0$ and the conformally coupled massless $m=m_c$ cases. This is at odds with earlier work on the continuum de Sitter SJ vacuum where it was argued that the continuum SJ vacuum is ill-defined for these masses. Our results hint at an important tension between the discrete and continuum behaviour of the SJ vacuum in de Sitter and suggest that the former cannot in general be identified with the Mottola-Allen $alpha$-vacua even for $m>0$.
We study the free massive scalar field in de Sitter spacetime with static charts. In particular, we find positive-frequency modes for the Bunch-Davies vacuum state natural to the static charts as superpositions of the well-known positive-frequency modes in the conformally-flat chart. We discuss in detail how these modes are defined globally in the two static charts and the region in their future. The global structure of these solutions leads to the well-known description of the Bunch-Davies vacuum state as an entangled state. Our results are expected to be useful not only for studying the thermal properties in the vacuum fluctuations in de Sitter spacetime but also for understanding the nonlocal properties of the vacuum state.
The Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter (RN-dS) spacetime can be considered as a thermodynamic system. Its thermodynamic properties are discussed that the RN-dS spacetime has phase transitions and critical phenomena similar to that of the Van de Waals system or the charged AdS black hole. The continuous phase transition point of RN-dS spacetime depends on the position ratio of the black hole horizon and the cosmological horizon. We discuss the critical phenomenon of the continuous phase transition of RN-dS spacetime with Landau theory of continuous phase transition, that the critical exponent of spacetime is same as that of the Van de Waals system or the charged AdS black hole, which have universal physical meaning. We find that the order parameters are similar to those introduced in ferromagnetic systems. Our universe is an asymptotically dS spacetime, thermodynamic characteristics of RN-dS spacetime will help us understand the evolution of spacetime and provide a theoretical basis to explore the physical mechanism of accelerated expansion of the universe.