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Significant advances were made in recent years on the global evolution problem for self-gravitating massive matter in the small-perturbative regime close to Minkowski spacetime. To study the coupling between a Klein-Gordon equation and Einstein's field equations, we introduced the ``Euclidean-hyperboloidal foliation method'', which is based on the construction of a spacetime foliation adapted to the derivation of sharp decay estimates for wave and Klein-Gordon equations in a curved spacetime. We give here an outline of this method, together with a full proof for a wave-Klein-Gordon model which retains some main challenges arising with the Einstein-matter system., 36 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1712.10045

We are interested in the global dynamics of a massive scalar field evolving under its own gravitational field and, in this paper, we study spherically symmetric solutions to Einstein's field equations coupled with a Klein-Gordon equation with quadratic potential. For the initial value problem we establish a global existence theory when initial data are prescribed on a future light cone with vertex at the center of symmetry. A suitably generalized solution in Bondi coordinates is sought which has low regularity and possibly large but finite Bondi mass. A similar result was established first by Christodoulou for massless fields. In order to deal with massive fields, we must overcome several challenges and significantly modify Christodoulou's original method. First of all, we formulate the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system in spherical symmetry as a non-local and nonlinear hyperbolic equation and, by carefully investigating the global dynamical behavior of the massive field, we establish various estimates concerning the Einstein operator, the Hawking mass, and the Bondi mass, including positivity and monotonicity properties. Importantly, in addition to a regularization at the center of symmetry we find it necessary to also introduce a regularization at null infinity. We also establish new energy and decay estimates for, both, regularized and generalized solutions., Comment: 43 pages

We study the initial value problem for the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system and establish the global nonlinear stability of massive matter in the near-Minkowski regime when the initial geometry is a perturbation of an asymptotically flat, spacelike hypersurface in Minkowski spacetime and the metric enjoys the harmonic decay 1/r (in term of a suitable distance function r at spatial infinity). Our analysis encompasses matter fields that have small energy norm and solely enjoys a slow decay at spacelike infinity. Our proof is based on the Euclidean-hyperboloidal foliation method recently introduced by the authors, and distinguishes between the decay along asymptotically hyperbolic slices and the decay along asymptotically Euclidean slices. We carefully analyze the decay of metric component at the harmonic level 1/r, especially the metric component in the direction of the light cone. In presence of such a slow-decaying matter field, we establish a global existence theory for the Einstein equations expressed as a coupled system of nonlinear wave and Klein-Gordon equations., Comment: 32 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1712.10045

This note emphasizes the role of multi-scale wave structures and junction conditions in many fields of physics, from the dynamics of fluids with non-convex equations of state to the study of gravitational singularities and bouncing cosmologies in general relativity. Concerning the definition and construction of bouncing spacetimes, we review the recent proposal in collaboration with B. Le Floch and G. Veneziano based on the notion of singularity scattering maps. We also present recent numerical investigations of small-scale phenomena arising in compressible fluid flows on FRLW or Kasner geometries for which we developed structure-preserving algorithms., Comment: 15 pages

We establish the existence of a broad class of asymptotically Euclidean solutions to Einstein's constraint equations, whose asymptotic behavior at infinity is prescribed. The seed-to-solution method proposed in this paper encompasses vacuum as well as matter spaces, and relies on iterations based on the linearized Einstein operator and its dual. It generates a Riemannian manifold (with finitely many asymptotically Euclidean ends) from any seed data set consisting of (1): a Riemannian metric and a symmetric two-tensor, and (2): a (density) field and a (momentum) vector field representing the matter content. We distinguish between tame or strongly tame seed data sets, depending whether the data provides a rough or an accurate asymptotic Ansatz at infinity. We encompass classes of metrics and matter fields with the weakest possible decay (with infinite ADM mass) or strongest possible decay (with Schwarzschild behavior). Our analysis is motivated by Carlotto and Schoen's pioneering work on the localization problem. Dealing with metrics with very low decay and establishing estimates that include (and go beyond) harmonic decay require significantly new arguments which are developed here. We work in a weighted Lebesgue-Holder framework adapted to the given seed data, and analyze the nonlinear coupling between the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints. By establishing elliptic estimate for linearized Einstein operator and its dual, we uncover the notion of mass-momentum correctors, related to the ADM mass of the manifold. Furthermore, we introduce and study the asymptotic localization in which we replace Carlotto-Schoen's exact localization by an asymptotic condition at a super-harmonic rate. By applying our method with a suitably constructed, parametrized family of seed data, we solve this problem by, moreover, exhibiting mass-momentum correctors with harmonic decay., Comment: 65 pages

We introduce a class of nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws on a Schwarzschild black hole background and derive several properties satisfied by (possibly weak) solutions. Next, we formulate a numerical approximation scheme which is based on the finite volume methodology and takes the curved geometry into account. An interesting feature of our model is that no boundary conditions is required at the black hole horizon boundary. We establish that this scheme converges to an entropy weak solution to the initial value problem and, in turn, our analysis also provides us with a theory of existence and stability for a new class of conservation laws., 19 pages

We consider the Burgers equation posed on the outer communication region of a Schwarzschild black hole spacetime. Assuming spherical symmetry for the fluid flow under consideration, we study the propagation and interaction of shock waves under the effect of random forcing. First of all, considering the initial and boundary value problem with boundary data prescribed in the vicinity of the horizon, we establish a generalization of the Hopf--Lax--Oleinik formula, which takes the curved geometry into account and allows us to establish the existence of bounded variation solutions. To this end, we analyze the global behavior of the characteristic curves in the Schwarzschild geometry, including their behavior near the black hole horizon. In a second part, we investigate the long-term statistical properties of solutions when a random forcing is imposed near the black hole horizon and study the ergodicity of the fluid flow under consideration. We prove the existence of a random global attractor and, for the Burgers equation outside of a Schwarzschild black hole, we are able to validate the so-called `one-force-one-solution' principle. Furthermore, all of our results are also established for a pressureless Euler model which consists of two balance laws and includes a transport equation satisfied by the integrated fluid density., 38 pages

We introduce a new method for analyzing nonlinear wave-Klein-Gordon systems and establishing global-in-time existence results for the Cauchy problem when the initial data need not have compact support. This method, which we call the Euclidian-Hyperboidal Foliation Method (EHFM), relies on the construction of a spacetime foliation obtained by glueing together asymptotically Euclidian and asymptotically hyperboloidal hypersurfaces. Well-chosen frames of vector fields (null-semi-hyperboloidal, Euclidian-hyperboloidal) allow us to exhibit the structure of the equations under consideration and analyze the decay of solutions in timelike and in spacelike directions. New Sobolev inequalities for Euclidian-hyperboloidal foliations involving the Killing fields of Minkowski spacetime (but not the scaling field), as well as pointwise bounds for wave and Klein-Gordon equations on curved spacetimes are established. Our bootstrap argument involves a hierarchy of (almost sharp) energy and pointwise bounds and distinguishes between low- and high-order derivatives of the solutions. We apply this method to the Einstein equations when the matter model is a massive field and the methods by Christodolou and Klainerman and by Lindblad and Rodnianski do not apply., Comment: 8 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1712.10045

We consider the global evolution problem for Einstein's field equations in the near-Minkowski regime and study the long-time dynamics of a massive scalar field evolving under its own gravitational field. We establish the existence of a globally hyperbolic Cauchy development associated with any initial data set that is sufficiently close to a data set in Minkowski spacetime. In addition to applying to massive fields, our theory allows us to cover metrics with slow decay in space. The strategy of proof, proposed here and referred to as the Euclidean-Hyperboloidal Foliation Method, applies, more generally, to nonlinear systems of coupled wave and Klein-Gordon equations. It is based on a spacetime foliation defined by merging together asymptotically Euclidean hypersurfaces (covering spacelike infinity) and asymptotically hyperboloidal hypersurfaces (covering timelike infinity). A transition domain (reaching null infinity) limited by two asymptotic light cones is introduced in order to realize this merging. On the one hand, we exhibit a boost-rotation hierarchy property (as we call it) which is associated with Minkowski's Killing fields and is enjoyed by commutators of curved wave operators and, on the other hand, we exhibit a metric hierarchy property (as we call it) enjoyed by components of Einstein's field equations in frames associated with our Euclidean-hyperboloidal foliation. The core of the argument is, on the one hand, the derivation of novel integral and pointwise estimates which lead us to almost sharp decay properties (at timelike, null, and spacelike infinity) and, on the other hand, the control of the (quasi-linear and semi-linear) coupling between the geometric and matter parts of the Einstein equations., Comment: 130 pages. The revised version assumes weaker conditions on the reference metric

This is a short review of a series of papers which, in collaboration with Yue Ma, establish several novel existence results for systems of coupled wave-Klein-Gordon equation. Our method, the Hyperbolic Hyperboloidal Method, has allowed us to address the global evolution problem for the Einstein equations of general relativity and investigate the global geometry of matter spacetimes that are initially close to Minkowski spacetime., Comment: 9 pages

We study the global dynamics of isothermal fluids evolving in the domain of outer communication of a Schwarzschild black hole. We first formulate the initial value problem within a class of weak solutions with bounded variation (BV), possibly containing shock waves. We then introduce a version of the random choice method and establish a global-in-time existence theory for the initial value problem within the proposed class of weakly regular fluid flows. The initial data may have arbitrary large bounded variation and can possibly blow up near the horizon of the black hole. Furthermore, we study the class of possibly discontinuous, equilibrium solutions and design a version of the random choice method in which these fluid equilibria are exactly preserved. This leads us to a nonlinear stability property for fluid equilibria under small perturbations with bounded variation. Furthermore, we can also encompass several limiting regimes (stiff matter, non-relativistic flows, extremal black hole) by letting the physical parameters (mass of the black hole, light speed, sound speed) reach extremal values., 49 pages

We analyze the global nonlinear stability of FRW (Friedmann-Robertson-Walker) spacetimes in presence of an irrotational perfect fluid. We assume that the fluid is governed by the so-called (generalized) Chaplygin equation of state relating the pressure to the mass-energy density. We express the Einstein equations in wave gauge as a systems of coupled nonlinear wave equations and by performing a suitable conformal transformation, we are able to analyze the global behavior of solutions in future timelike directions. We establish that the (3+1)-spacetime metric and the mass density and velocity vector describing the evolution of the fluid remain globally close to a reference FRW solution, under small initial data perturbations. Our analysis provides also the precise asymptotic behavior of the perturbed solutions in the future directions., 29 pages

We provide a significant extension of the Hyperboloidal Foliation Method introduced by the authors in 2014 in order to establish global existence results for systems of quasilinear wave equations posed on a curved space, when wave equations and Klein-Gordon equations are coupled. This method is based on a (3+1) foliation (of the interior of a future light cone in Minkowski spacetime) by spacelike and asymptotically hyperboloidal hypersurfaces. In the new formulation of the method, we succeed to cover wave-Klein-Gordon systems containing "strong interaction" terms at the level of the metric, and then generalize our method in order to establish a new existence theory for the Einstein equations of general relativity. Following pioneering work by Lindblad and Rodnianski on the Einstein equations in wave coordinates, we establish the nonlinear stability of Minkowski spacetime for self-gravitating massive scalar fields., Comment: 7 pages

We investigate the future asymptotic behavior of Gowdy spacetimes on T3, when the metric satisfies weak regularity conditions, so that the metric coefficients (in suitable coordinates) are only in the Sobolev space H1 or have even weaker regularity. The authors recently introduced this class of spacetimes in the broader context of T2 symmetric spacetimes and established the existence of a global foliation by spacelike hypersurfaces when the time function is chosen to be the area of the surfaces of symmetry. In the present paper, we identify the global causal geometry of these spacetimes and, in particular, establish that weakly regular Gowdy spacetimes are future causally geodesically complete. This result extends a theorem by Ringstr\"om for metrics with sufficiently high regularity. We emphasize that our proof of the energy decay is based on an energy functional inspired by the Gowdy-to-Ernst transformation. In order to establish the geodesic completeness property, we prove a higher regularity property concerning the metric coefficients along timelike curves and we provide a novel analysis of the geodesic equation for Gowdy spacetimes, which does not require high-order regularity estimates. Even when sufficient regularity is assumed, our proof provides an alternative and shorter proof of the energy decay and of the geodesic completeness property for Gowdy spacetimes., Comment: 24 pages

The Hyperboloidal Foliation Method presented in this monograph is based on a (3+1)-foliation of Minkowski spacetime by hyperboloidal hypersurfaces. It allows us to establish global-in-time existence results for systems of nonlinear wave equations posed on a curved spacetime and to derive uniform energy bounds and optimal rates of decay in time. We are also able to encompass the wave equation and the Klein-Gordon equation in a unified framework and to establish a well-posedness theory for nonlinear wave-Klein-Gordon systems and a large class of nonlinear interactions. The hyperboloidal foliation of Minkowski spacetime we rely upon in this book has the advantage of being geometric in nature and, especially, invariant under Lorentz transformations. As stated, our theory applies to many systems arising in mathematical physics and involving a massive scalar field, such as the Dirac-Klein-Gordon system. As it provides uniform energy bounds and optimal rates of decay in time, our method appears to be very robust and should extend to even more general systems., Comment: 160 pages

We establish a well-posedness theory for the f(R) theory of modified gravity, which is a generalization of Einstein's theory of gravitation. The scalar curvature R of the spacetime, which arises in the integrand of the Einstein-Hilbert functional, is replaced by a function f=f(R). The field equations involve up to fourth-order derivatives of the spacetime metric, and the challenge is to understand the structure of these high-order terms. We propose a formulation of the initial value problem in modified gravity when the initial data are prescribed on a hypersurface. In addition to the induced metric and second fundamental form of the initial slice and the initial matter content, an initial data set must also provide the spacetime scalar curvature and its time-derivative. We introduce an augmented conformal formulation, as we call it, in which the spacetime curvature is an independent variable. In the so-called wave gauge, the field equations of modified gravity reduce a coupled system of nonlinear wave-Klein-Gordon equations with defocusing potential, whose unknowns are the conformally-transformed metric and the scalar curvature, as well as the matter fields. We are able to establish the existence of maximal globally hyperbolic developments when the matter is represented by a scalar field. We analyze the so-called Jordan coupling and work with the Einstein metric, which is conformally equivalent to the physical metric --the conformal factor depending upon the scalar curvature. Our analysis leads us to a rigorous validation of the theory of modified gravity. We derive quantitative estimates, which are uniform in terms of the nonlinearity f(R), and we prove that asymptotically flat spacetimes of modified gravity are `close' to Einstein spacetimes, when the function f(R) in the action functional of modified gravity is `close' to the Einstein-Hilbert integrand R., Comment: 103 pages

We consider the relativistic Euler equations governing spherically symmetric, perfect fluid flows on the outer domain of communication of Schwarzschild spacetime, and we introduce a version of the finite volume method which is formulated geometrically (without choosing coordinates a priori) and is well--balanced, in the sense that it preserves steady solutions to the Euler equations on the curved geometry under consideration. In order to formulate our method, we first derive a closed formula describing all steady and spherically symmetric solutions to the Euler equations posed on Schwarzschild spacetime. Second, we describe a finite volume method which is formulated geometrically from the family of steady solutions to the Euler system. Our scheme is second--order accurate and, as required, preserves the family of steady solutions at the discrete level. Numerical experiments are presented which demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed method even for solutions containing shock waves and nonlinear interacting wave patterns. As an application, we investigate the late--time asymptotics of perturbed steady solutions and demonstrate its convergence for late time toward another steady solution, taking the overall effect of the perturbation into account., 22 pages

We establish existence and uniqueness results for the singular initial value problem associated with a class of quasilinear, symmetric hyperbolic, partial differential equations of Fuchsian type in several space dimensions. This is an extension of earlier work by the authors for the same problem in one space dimension., Comment: 21 pages

Within the framework of the scalar-tensor models of gravitation and by relying on analytical and numerical techniques, we establish the existence of a class of spherically symmetric spacetimes containing a naked singularity. Our result relies on and extends a work by Christodoulou on the existence of naked singularities for the Einstein-scalar field equations. We establish that a key parameter in Christodoulou's construction couples to the Brans-Dicke field and becomes a dynamical variable, which enlarges and modifies the phase space of solutions. We recover analytically many properties first identified by Christodoulou, in particular the loss of regularity (especially at the center), and then investigate numerically the properties of these spacetimes., Comment: 26 pages, PACS numbers: 04.20.Dw, 04.25.dc, 04.50.Kd

We establish a black hole uniqueness theorem for Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime, also called Kottler spacetime, which satisfies Einstein's field equations of general relativity with positive cosmological constant. Our result concerns the class of static vacuum spacetimes with compact spacelike slices and regular maximal level set of the lapse function. We provide a characterization of the interior domain of communication of the Kottler spacetime, which surrounds an inner horizon and is surrounded by a cosmological horizon. The proposed proof combines arguments from the theory of partial differential equations and differential geometry, and is centered on a detailed study of a possibly singular foliation. We also apply our technique in the Riemannian setting, and establish the validity of the so-called Besse conjecture., 4 pages

We define the class of weakly regular spacetimes with T2 symmetry, and investigate their global geometry structure. We formulate the initial value problem for the Einstein vacuum equations with weak regularity, and establish the existence of a global foliation by the level sets of the area R of the orbits of symmetry, so that each leaf can be regarded as an initial hypersurface. Except for the flat Kasner spacetimes which are known explicitly, R takes all positive values. Our weak regularity assumptions only require that the gradient of R is continuous while the metric coefficients belong to the Sobolev space H1 (or have even less regularity)., 5 pages

This is the second part of a series devoted to the singular initial value problem for second-order hyperbolic Fuchsian systems. In the first part, we defined and investigated this general class of systems, and we established a well-posedness theory in weighted Sobolev spaces. This theory is applied here to the vacuum Einstein equations for Gowdy spacetimes admitting, by definition, two Killing fields satisfying certain geometric conditions. We recover, by more direct and simpler arguments, the well-posedness results established earlier by Rendall and collaborators. In addition, in this paper we introduce a natural approximation scheme, which we refer to as the Fuchsian numerical algorithm and is directly motivated by our general theory. This algorithm provides highly accurate, numerical approximations of the solution to the singular initial value problem. In particular, for the class of Gowdy spacetimes under consideration, various numerical experiments are presented which show the interest and efficiency of the proposed method. Finally, as an application, we numerically construct Gowdy spacetimes containing a smooth, incomplete, non-compact Cauchy horizon., 22 pages. A shortened version is included in: F. Beyer and P.G. LeFloch, Second-order hyperbolic Fuchsian systems and applications, Class. Quantum Grav. 27 (2010), 245012

We introduce a class of singular partial differential equations, the second-order hyperbolic Fuchsian systems, and we investigate the associated initial value problem when data are imposed on the singularity. First of all, we analyze a class of equations in which hyperbolicity is not assumed and we construct asymptotic solutions of arbitrary order. Second, for the proposed class of second-order hyperbolic Fuchsian systems, we establish the existence of solutions with prescribed asymptotic behavior on the singularity. Our proof is based on a new scheme which is also suitable to design numerical approximations. Furthermore, as shown in a follow-up paper, the second-order Fuchsian framework is appropriate to handle Einstein's field equations for Gowdy symmetric spacetimes and allows us to recover (and slightly generalize) earlier results by Rendall and collaborators, while providing a direct approach leading to accurate numerical solutions. The proposed framework is also robust enough to encompass matter models arising in general relativity., Comment: 32 pages. A shortened version of the material presented in this preprint is published in: F. Beyer and P.G. LeFloch, Second-order hyperbolic Fuchsian systems and applications, Class. Quantum Grav. 27 (2010), 245012

We review recent work on the Einstein equations of general relativity when the curvature is defined in a weak sense. Weakly regular spacetimes are constructed, in which impulsive gravitational waves, as well as shock waves, propagate., Comment: 15 pages

Under weak regularity assumptions, only, we develop a fully geometric theory of vacuum Einstein spacetimes with T2 symmetry, establish the global well-posedness of the initial value problem for Einstein's field equations, and investigate the global causal structure of the constructed spacetimes. Our weak regularity assumptions are the minimal ones allowing to give a meaning to the Einstein equations under the assumed symmetry and to solve the initial value problem. First of all, we introduce a frame adapted to the symmetry in which each Christoffel symbol can be checked to belong to some Lp space. We identify certain cancellation properties taking place in the expression of the Riemann and Ricci curvatures, and this leads us to a reformulation of the initial value problem for the Einstein field equations when the initial data set has weak regularity. Second, we investigate the future development of a weakly regular initial data set. We check that the area R of the orbits of symmetry must grow to infinity in the future timelike directions, and we establish the existence of a global foliation by the level sets of R. Our weak regularity assumptions only require that R is Lipschitz continuous while the metric coefficients describing the initial geometry of the orbits of symmetry are in the Sobolev space H1 and the remaining coefficients have even weaker regularity. We develop here the compactness arguments required to cover the natural level of regularity associated with the energy of the system of partial differential equations determined from Einstein's field equations., Comment: 50 pages

We consider pointed Lorentzian manifolds and construct "canonical" foliations by constant mean curvature (CMC) hypersurfaces. Our result assumes a uniform bound on the local sup-norm of the curvature of the manifold and on its local injectivity radius, only. The prescribed curvature problem under consideration is a nonlinear elliptic equation whose coefficients have limited regularity. The CMC foliation allows us to introduce CMC-harmonic coordinates, in which the coefficients of the Lorentzian metric have optimal regularity., 22 pages

We consider the Euler equations governing relativistic compressible fluids evolving in the Minkowski spacetime with several spatial variables. We propose a new symmetrization which makes sense for solutions containing vacuum states and, for instance, applies to the case of compactly supported solutions, which are important to model star dynamics. Then, relying on these symmetrization and assuming that the velocity does not exceed some threshold and remains bounded away from the light speed, we deduce a local-in-time existence result for solutions containing vacuum states. We also observe that the support of compactly supported solutions does not expand as time evolves., Comment: 19 pages

We consider the Euler equations for compressible fluids in a nozzle whose cross-section is variable and may contain discontinuities. We view these equations as a hyperbolic system in nonconservative form and investigate weak solutions in the sense of Dal Maso, LeFloch, and Murat. Observing that the entropy equality has a fully conservative form, we derive a minimum entropy principle satisfied by entropy solutions. We then establish the stability of a class of numerical approximations for this system., Comment: 18 pages