This work studies relativistic stars in beyond Horndeski scalar–tensor theories that exhibit a breaking of the Vainshtein mechanism inside matter, focusing on a model based on the quartic beyond Horndeski Lagrangian. We self-consistently derive the scalar field profile for static spherically symmetric objects in asymptotically de Sitter space–time and show that the Vainshtein breaking branch of the solutions is the physical branch thereby resolving several ambiguities with non-relativistic frameworks. The geometry outside the star is shown to be exactly Schwarzschild-de Sitter and therefore the parameterised post-Newtonian parameter , confirming that the external screening works at the post-Newtonian level. The Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff (TOV) equations are derived and a new lower bound on the Vainshtein breaking parameter is found by requiring the existence of static spherically symmetric stars. Focusing on the unconstrained case where , we numerically solve the TOV equations for polytropic and realistic equations of state and find stars with larger radii at fixed mass. Furthermore, the maximum mass can increase dramatically and stars with masses in excess of can be found for relatively small values of the Vainshtein breaking parameter. We re-examine white dwarf stars and show that post-Newtonian corrections are important in beyond Horndeski theories and therefore the bounds coming from previous analyses should be revisited.
We demonstrate that a two-brane system with a bulk scalar field driving power-law inflation on the branes has an instability in the radion. We solve for the resulting trajectory of the brane, and find that the instability can lead to collision. Brane quantities such as the scale factor are shown to be regular at this collision. In addition we describe the system using a low-energy expansion. The low-energy expansion accurately reproduces the known exact solution, but also identifies an alternative solution for the bulk metric and brane trajectory.
We investigate whether the predictions of single-field models of inflation are robust under the introduction of additional scalar degrees of freedom, and whether these extra fields change the potentials for which the data show the strongest preference. We study the situation where an extra light scalar field contributes both to the total curvature perturbations and to the reheating kinematic properties. Ten reheating scenarios are identified, and all necessary formulas allowing a systematic computation of the predictions for this class of models are derived. They are implemented in the public library ASPIC, which contains more than 75 single-field potentials. This paves the way for a forthcoming full Bayesian analysis of the problem. A few representative examples are displayed and discussed.
We study the behaviour of scalar perturbations in the radiation-dominated era of Randall–Sundrum braneworld cosmology by numerically solving the coupled bulk and brane master wave equations. We find that density perturbations with wavelengths less than a critical value (set by the bulk curvature length) are amplified during horizon re-entry. This means that the radiation-era matter power spectrum will be at least an order of magnitude larger than the predictions of general relativity (GR) on small scales. Conversely, we explicitly confirm from simulations that the spectrum is identical to GR on large scales. Although this magnification is not relevant for the cosmic microwave background or measurements of large scale structure, it will have some bearing on the formation of primordial black holes in Randall–Sundrum models.
Recently, in [1], we presented the first combined non-parametric reconstruction of the three time-dependent functions that capture departures from the standard cosmological model, $Λ$CDM, in the expansion history and gravitational effects on matter and light from the currently available combination of the background and large scale structure data. The reconstruction was performed with and without a theory-informed prior, built on the general Horndeski class of scalar-tensor theories, that correlates the three functions. In this work, we perform a decomposition of the prior and posterior covariances of the three functions to determine the structure of the modes that are constrained by the data relative to the Horndeski prior. We find that the combination of all data can constrain 15 combined eigenmodes of the three functions with respect to the prior. We examine and interpret their features in view of the well-known tensions between datasets within the $Λ$CDM model. We also assess the bias introduced by the simplistic parameterizations commonly used in the literature for constraining deviations from GR on cosmological scales.
We study structure formation in phenomenological models in which the Friedmann equation receives a correction of the form $H^{\alpha}/r_c^{2-\alpha}$, which realize an accelerated expansion without dark energy. In order to address structure formation in these model, we construct simple covariant gravitational equations which give the modified Friedmann equation with $\alpha=2/n$ where $n$ is an integer. For $n=2$, the underlying theory is known as a 5D braneworld model (the DGP model). Thus the models interpolate between the DGP model ($n=2, \alpha=1$) and the LCDM model in general relativity ($n \to \infty, \alpha \to 0$). Using the covariant equations, cosmological perturbations are analyzed. It is shown that in order to satisfy the Bianchi identity at a perturbative level, we need to introduce a correction term $E_{\mu \nu}$ in the effective equations. In the DGP model, $E_{\mu \nu}$ comes from 5D gravitational fields and correct conditions on $E_{\mu \nu}$ can be derived by solving the 5D perturbations. In the general case $n>2$, we have to assume the structure of a modified theory of gravity to determine $E_{\mu \nu}$. We show that structure formation is different from a dark energy model in general relativity with identical expansion history and that quantitative features of the difference crucially depend on the conditions on $E_{\mu \nu}$, that is, the structure of the underlying theory of modified gravity. This implies that it is essential to identify underlying theories in order to test these phenomenological models against observational data and, once we identify a consistent theory, structure formation tests become essential to distinguish modified gravity models from dark energy models in general relativity.
Abstract Shortly after its discovery, General Relativity (GR) was applied to predict the behavior of our Universe on the largest scales, and later became the foundation of modern cosmology. Its validity has been verified on a range of scales and environments from the Solar system to merging black holes. However, experimental confirmations of GR on cosmological scales have so far lacked the accuracy one would hope for — its applications on those scales being largely based on extrapolation and its validity there sometimes questioned in the shadow of the discovery of the unexpected cosmic acceleration. Future astronomical instruments surveying the distribution and evolution of galaxies over substantial portions of the observable Universe, such as the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), will be able to measure the fingerprints of gravity and their statistical power will allow strong constraints on alternatives to GR. In this paper, based on a set of N -body simulations and mock galaxy catalogs, we study the predictions of a number of traditional and novel summary statistics beyond linear redshift distortions in two well-studied modified gravity models — chameleon f ( R ) gravity and a braneworld model — and the potential of testing these deviations from GR using DESI. These summary statistics employ a wide array of statistical properties of the galaxy and the underlying dark matter field, including two-point and higher-order statistics, environmental dependence, redshift space distortions and weak lensing. We find that they hold promising power for testing GR to unprecedented precision. The major future challenge is to make realistic, simulation-based mock galaxy catalogs for both GR and alternative models to fully exploit the statistic power of the DESI survey (by matching the volumes and galaxy number densities of the mocks to those in the real survey) and to better understand the impact of key systematic effects. Using these, we identify future simulation and analysis needs for gravity tests using DESI.
We report a remarkable Fe Kα fluorescence line profile in the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG -5-23-16. The line is complex, consisting of a narrow core located at the galaxy's systemic velocity and wings to the red and blue sides of the core. This represents only the second detection with ASCA of an Fe Kα line profile with significant broadening blueward of 6.4 keV, consistent with Doppler boosting. The line core has an EW of ~60 eV and the wings have a combined EW of ~200 eV. The entire profile cannot be easily modeled with an emission line predicted from standard accretion disk theories. Instead, the line is marginally triple-peaked and is best described with three Gaussians having rest energies of 5.37+ 0.23−0.19 keV (FWHM = 30,200 km s-1), 6.37 ± 0.04 keV (FWHM < 6,600 km s-1), and 6.58+ 0.35−0.38 keV (FWHM = 75,300 km s-1). The line can also be modeled with a narrow Gaussian at ~6.4 keV and an emission line from an accretion disk viewed at an inclination angle of ~30° to 65°, depending on the ionization state of the gas. Within the context of the unified model, the most likely physical description of the complex profile is a superposition of an emission line from an accretion disk and a line that arises far from the disk in either the obscuring torus or the broad line region. This represents the first strong evidence for emission from two distinct X-ray reprocessors within a single Seyfert 1-type galaxy.
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