Search

We remind that the ring down features observed in the LIGO GWs resulted from trembling of photon spheres (Rp=3M) of newly formed compact objects and not from the trembling of their event horizons (R=2M). Further, the tentative evidences for late time echoes in GWs might be signatures of horizonless compact objects rather than vacuum black holes (BHs). Similarly, even for an ideal BH, the radius of its shadow is R_shad = \sqrt{3}Rp is actually the gravitationally lensed shadow of its photon sphere. Accordingly any compact object having R \geq R = 3M would generate similar shadow. Thus, no observation has ever detected any event horizon or any exact BH. Also note that the magnetic field embedded in the accreting plasma close to the compact object is expected to have a radial pattern of B \sim 1/r while the stronger BHM dipole magnetic field should fall off as B \sim 1/r3. Accordingly it has been suggested that one may try to infer the true nature of the so-called astrophysical BHs by studying the radial pattern of the magnetic field in their vicinity. But here we highlight that close to the surface of BHMs, the magnetic field pattern differs significantly from the same for non-relativistic dipoles. In particular, we point out that for ultra-compact BHMs, the polar field is weaker than the equatorial field by an extremely large factor of \sim z_s/lnz_s, where z_s>>1 is the surface gravitational redshift. We suggest that by studying the of radial variation as well as significant angular asymmetry of magnetic field structure near the compact object, future observations might differentiate a theoretical black hole from a astrophysical BH mimicker. This study also shows that even if some BHMs would be hypothesized to possess magnetic fields even stronger than that of magnetars, in certain cases, they may effectively behave as atoll type neutron stars possessing extremely low magnetic fields., Comment: 28 pages, 2 figures, final version matching the one published in Astrophysics and Space Science

Huge electromagnetic fields are known to be present during the late stages of the dynamics of supernovae. Thus, when dealing with electrodynamics in this context, the possibility may arise to probe nonlinear theories (generalizations of the Maxwellian electromagnetism). We firstly solve Einstein field equations minimally coupled to an arbitrary (current-free) nonlinear Lagrangian of electrodynamics (NLED) in the slow rotation regime $a\ll M$ (black hole's mass), up to first order in $a/M$. We then make use of the robust and self-contained Born-Infeld Lagrangian in order to compare and contrast the physical properties of such NLED spacetime with its Maxwellian counterpart (a slowly rotating Kerr-Newman spacetime), especially focusing on the astrophysics of both neutrino flavor oscillations ($\nu_e \rightarrow \nu_\mu, \nu_\tau$) and spin-flip ($\nu_l \rightarrow \nu_r$, "$l$" stands for "left" and "$r$" stands for "right", change of neutrino handedness) mass level-crossings, the equivalent to gyroscopic precessions. Such analysis proves that in the spacetime of a slowly rotating nonlinear charged black hole (RNCBH), intrinsically associated with the assumption the electromagnetism is nonlinear, the neutrino dynamics in core-collapse supernovae could be significantly changed. In such astrophysical environment a positive enhancement (reduction of the electron fraction $Y_e<0.5$) of the r-process may take place. Consequently, it might result in hyperluminous supernova explosions due to enlargement, in atomic number and amount, of the decaying nuclides. Finally, we envisage some physical scenarios that may lead to short-lived charged black holes with high charge-to-mass ratios (associated with unstable highly magnetized neutron stars) and ways to possibly disentangle theories of the electromagnetism from other black holes observables (by means of light polarization measurements)., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

We consider the fundamental issues which dominate the question about the existence or non-existence of black hole horizons and singularities from both of the theoretical and observational points of view, and discuss some of the ways that black hole singularities can be prevented from forming at a classical level, i.e. without arguments of quantum gravity. In this way, we argue that black holes could have a different nature with respect the common belief. In fact, even remaining very compact astrophysics objects, they could be devoid of horizons and singularities. Our analysis represents a key point within the debate on the path to unification of theories. As recently some scientists partially retrieved the old Einstein's opinion that quantum mechanics has to be subjected to a more general deterministic theory, a way to find solutions to the problem of black hole horizons and singularities at a semi-classical level, i.e. without discussions of quantum gravity, becomes a fundamental framework., Comment: Invited review, 11 pages. Paper dedicated to the Memory of Professor Darryl Jay Leiter, February 25, 1937 - March 4, 2011

It is well known that the concept of black hole has been considered very fascinating by scientists even before the introduction of Einstein's general relativity. They should be the final result of an irreversible gravitational collapse of very massive bodies. However, an unsolved problem concerning such objects is the presence of a space-time singularity in their core. Such a problem was present starting by the first historical papers concerning black holes. It is a common opinion that this problem could be solved when a correct quantum gravity theory will be, finally, constructed. In this work we review a way to remove black hole singularities at a classical level i.e. without arguments of quantum gravity. By using a particular non-linear electrodynamics Lagrangian, an exact solution of Einstein field equations is shown. The solution prevents the collapsing object to reach the gravitational radius, thus the final result becomes a black star, i.e. an astrophysical object where both of singularities and event horizons are removed. Such solution is not only a mathematical artifice. In fact, this kind of Lagrangian has been recently used in various analysis in astrophysics, like surface of neutron stars and pulsars. The authors also recently adapted the analysis on a cosmological context by showing that the big-bang singularity can be removed too., Comment: Paper dedicated to the Memory of Professor Darryl Jay Leiter, February 25, 1937 - March 4, 2011. Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Lie-Admissible Treatment of Irreversible Processes (ICLATIP-3). To appear in Algebras, Groups and Geometries

A few observational and/or experimental results have dramatically pushed forward the research program on gravity as those from the radio-metric Doppler tracking received from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecrafts when the space vehicles were at heliocentric distances between 20 and 70 Astronomical Units (AU). These data have conclusively demonstrated the presence of an anomalous, tiny and blue-shifted frequency drift that changes smoothly at a rate of $ \sim 6 \times 10^{-9}$ Hz s$^{-1}$. Those signals, if interpreted as a gravitational pull of the Sun on each Pioneer vehicle, translates into a deceleration of $a_P = (8.74\pm 1.33) \times 10^{-10}$ m s$^{-2}$. This Sunward acceleration appears to be a violation of Newton's inverse-square law of gravitation, and is referred to as the Pioneer anomaly, the nature of which remains still elusive to unveil. Within the theoretical framework of nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) in what follows we will address this astrodynamics puzzle, which over the last fifteen years has challenged in a fundamental basis our understanding of gravitational physics. To this goal we will first, and briefly, review the history of the Pioneers 10 and 11 missions. Then a synopsis of currently available Lagrangian formulations of NLED is given. And finally, we present our solution of this enigma by invoking a special class of NLED theories featuring a proper description of electromagnetic phenomena taking place in environments where the strength of the (electro)magnetic fields in the background is decidedly low., Comment: 24, pages, 3 figures. Source of the first publication of this article: InTech Publisher: http://www.intechweb.org

We show that in the framework of R^{2} gravity and in the linearized approach it is possible to obtain spherically symmetric stationary states that can be used as a model for galaxies. The model can also help to have a better understanding on the theoretical basis of Einstein-Vlasov systems. Specifically, we discuss, in the linearized R^{2} gravity, the solutions of a Klein-Gordon equation for the spacetime curvature. Such solutions describe high energy scalarons, a field that in the context of galactic dynamics can be interpreted like the no-light-emitting galactic component. That is, these particles can be figured out like wave-packets showing stationary solutions in the Einstein-Vlasov system. As pertinent to the issue under analysis in this paper, we present an analysis on the gravitational lensing phenomena within this framework. Although the main goal of this paper is to give a potential solution to the Dark Matter Problem within galaxies, we add a Section where we show that an important property of the Bullet Cluster can in principle be explained in the scenario introduced in this work. To the end, we discuss the generic prospective to give rise to the Dark Matter component of most galaxies within extended gravity., Comment: 25 pages. Definitive version accepted for publication in Astroparticle Physics

Recently WMAP and BOOMERanG experiments have set stringent constraints on the polarization angle of photons propagating in an expanding universe: $\Delta \alpha = (-2.4 \pm 1.9)^\circ$. The polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) is reviewed in the context of nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED). We compute the polarization angle of photons propagating in a cosmological background with planar symmetry. For this purpose, we use the Pagels-Tomboulis (PT) Lagrangian density describing NLED, which has the form $L\sim (X/\Lambda^4)^{\delta - 1}\; X $, where $X=1/4 F_{\alpha\beta} F^{\alpha \beta}$, and $\delta$ the parameter featuring the non-Maxwellian character of the PT nonlinear description of the electromagnetic interaction. After looking at the polarization components in the plane orthogonal to the ($x$)-direction of propagation of the CMB photons, the polarization angle is defined in terms of the eccentricity of the universe, a geometrical property whose evolution on cosmic time (from the last scattering surface to the present) is constrained by the strength of magnetic fields over extragalactic distances., Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, minor changes, references added

We discuss another approach regarding the inflation from the R^2 theory of gravity originally proposed by Starobinski. A non-singular early cosmology is proposed, where, adding a nonlinear electrodynamics Lagrangian to the high-order action, a bouncing is present and a power-law inflation is obtained. In the model the Ricci scalar works like an inflaton field., Comment: Definitive version to be published in Astroparticle Physics during 2011, 9 pages

The amplification of the primordial magnetic fields and the gravitational baryogenesis, a mechanism that allows to generate the baryon asymmetry in the Universe by means of the coupling between the Ricci scalar curvature and the baryon current, are reviewed in the framework of the nonlinear electrodynamics. To study the amplification of the primordial magnetic field strength, we write down the gauge invariant wave equations and then solve them (in the long wavelength approximation) for three different eras of the Universe: de Sitter, the reheating and the radiation dominated era. Constraints on parameters entering the nonlinear electrodynamics are obtained by using the amplitude of the observed galactic magnetic fields and the baryon asymmetry, which are characterized by the dimensionless parameters $r\sim 10^{-37}$ and $\eta_B\lesssim 9\times 10^{-11}$, respectively., Comment: 10 pages, 3 tables, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

We propose a way to remove black hole singularities by using a particular nonlinear electrodynamics Lagrangian that has been recently used in various astrophysics and cosmological frameworks. In particular, we adapt the cosmological analysis discussed in a previous work to the black hole physics. Such analysis will be improved by applying the Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation to the black hole case. At the end, fixed the radius of the star, the final density depends only on the introduced quintessential density term $\rho_{\gamma}$ and on the mass., Comment: In this last updated version we correct two typos which were present in Eqs. (21) and (22) in the version of this letter which has been published in Mod. Phys. Lett. A 25, 2423-2429 (2010). In the present version, both of Eqs. (21) and (22) are dimensionally and analytically correct

It is shown that a weak modification of general relativity, in the linearized approach, renders a spherically symmetric and stationary model of the universe. This is due to the presence of a third mode of polarization in the linearized gravity in which a "curvature" energy term is present. Such an energy can, in principle, be identified as the Dark Energy. The model can also help to a better understanding of the framework of the Einstein-Vlasov system., Comment: Accepted for publication by Europhysics Letters

The supernova (SN) neutronization phase produces mainly electron ($\nu_e$) neutrinos, the oscillations of which must take place within a few mean-free-paths of their resonance surface located nearby their neutrinosphere. The state-of-the-art on the SN dynamics suggests that a significant part of these $\nu_e$ can convert into right-handed neutrinos in virtue of the interaction of the electrons and the protons flowing with the SN outgoing plasma, whenever the Dirac neutrino magnetic moment be of strength $\mu_\nu < 10^{-11} \mu_{\rm B}$, with $\mu_{\rm B}$ being the Bohr magneton. In the supernova envelope, part of these neutrinos can flip back to the left-handed flavors due to the interaction of the neutrino magnetic moment with the magnetic field in the SN expanding plasma (Kuznetsov & Mikheev 2007; Kuznetsov, Mikheev & Okrugin 2008), a region where the field strength is currently accepted to be $B \gtrsim 10^{13}$ ~G. This type of $\nu$ oscillations were shown to generate powerful gravitational wave (GW) bursts (Mosquera Cuesta 2000, Mosquera Cuesta 2002, Mosquera Cuesta & Fiuza 2004, Loveridge 2004). If such double spin-flip mechanism does run into action inside the SN core, then the release of both the oscillation-produced $\nu_\mu$s, $\nu_\tau$s and the GW pulse generated by the coherent $\nu$ spin-flips provides a unique emission offset $\Delta T^{emission}_{\rm GW} \leftrightarrow \nu = 0$ for measuring the $\nu$ travel time to Earth. As massive $\nu$s get noticeably delayed on its journey to Earth with respect to the Einstein GW they generated during the reconversion transient, then the accurate measurement of this time-of-flight delay by SNEWS + LIGO, VIRGO, BBO, DECIGO, etc., might readily assess the absolute $\nu$ mass spectrum., Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, ApJ aastex.cls style. In press by The Astrophysical Journal

Determination of pulsar parallaxes and proper motions addresses fundamental astrophysical open issues. Here, the ATNF Catalog is scrutinized searching for pulsar distances and proper motions. For a sample of 212 run away pulsars (RAPs), which currently run across the Galaxy at very high speed and undergo large displacements, some gravitational-wave (GW) signals produced by such present accelerations appear to be detectable after calibration against the Advanced LIGO (LIGO II). Motivated by this insight, we address the issue of the pulsar kick at birth. We show that during the short rise fling each run away pulsar (RAP) generates a GW signal with characteristic amplitude and frequency that makes it detectable by current GW interferometers. For a realistic analysis, an efficiency parameter is introduced to quantify the expenditure of the rise fling kinetic energy, which is estimated from the linear momentum conservation law applied to the supernova explosion that kicks out the pulsar. The remaining energy is supposed to be used to make the star to spin. Thus, a comparison with the spin of ATNF pulsars having velocity in the interval 400-500 km s$^{-1}$ is performed. The resulting difference suggests that other mechanisms should dissipate part of that energy to produce the observed pulsar spin periods. Meanwhile, the kick phenomenon may also occur in globular and open star clusters at the formation or disruption of very short period compact binary systems wherein abrupt velocity and acceleration similar to those given to RAPs during the short rise fling can be imparted to each orbital partner. Thus pulsar astrometry from micro- to nano-arsec scales might be of much help. In case of a supernova, the RAP GW signal could be a benchmark for the GW signal from the core collapse., Comment: 22 pages, 24 figures, 5 tables, revtex4 style. Accepted for Publication in Journ. Cosm. Astropart. Phys. (JCAP)

By-now photons are the unique universal messengers. Cosmological sources like far-away galaxies or quasars are well-known light-emitters. Here we demonstrate that the nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) description of photon propagation through the weak background intergalactic magnetic fields modifies in a fundamental way the cosmological redshift that a direct computation within a specific cosmological model can abscribe to a distant source. Independently of the class of NLED Lagrangian, the effective redshift turns out to be $1 + \tilde{z} = (1 + z) \Delta$, where $\Delta \equiv (1 + \Phi_e)/(1 + \Phi_o)$, with $\Phi \equiv {8}/{3} ({L_{FF}}/{L_F}) B^2$, being $L_F = {dL}/{dF}$, $L_{FF} = {d^2L}/{dF^2}$, the field $F\equiv F_{\alpha \beta} F^{\alpha \beta}$, and $B$ the magnetic field strength. Thus the effective redshift is always much higher then the standard redshift, but recovers such limit when the NLED correction $\Delta(\Phi_e, \Phi_o) \longrightarrow 1$. This result may provide a physical foundation for the current observation-inspired interpretation that the universe undergoes an accelerate expansion. However, under the situation analyzed here, for any NLED the actual (spatial) position of the light-emitting far-away source remains untouched., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, revtex4.sty

We construct the Hubble diagram (HD) of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) with redshifts reaching up to $z \sim 6$, by using five luminosity vs. luminosity indicator relations calibrated with the Cardassian cosmology. This model has a major interesting feature: despite of being matter-dominated and flat, it can explain the present accelerate expansion of the universe. This is the first study of this class of models using high redshift GRBs. We have performed a $\chi$-square statistical analysis of the GRBs calibrated with the Cardassian model, and also combined them with both the current Cosmic Microwave Background and Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation data. Our results show consistency between the current observational data and the model predictions. In particular, the best-fit parameters obtained from the $\chi^2$-analysis are in agreement with those obtained from the Concordance Cosmology ($\Lambda$-CDM). We determine the redshift at which the universe would start to follow the Cardassian expansion, i. e., \zc, and both the redshift at which the universe had started to accelerate, i. e., \zac, and the age-redshift relation $H_0t_0$. Our results also show that the universe, from the point of view of GRBs, had undergo a transition to acceleration at a redshift $z \approx 0.2-0.7$, which agrees with the SNIa results. Hence, after confronting the Cardassian scenario with the GRBs HD and proving its consistency with it, we conclude that GRBs should indeed be considered a complementary tool to several other astronomical observations for studies of high accuracy in cosmology., Comment: Revtex4 format, 17 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables

It has been claimed that during the late time history of our universe, the fine structure constant of electromagnetism, $\alpha$, has been increasing (Webb et al. 2001; Murphy et al. 2003). The conclusion is achieved after looking at the separation between lines of ions like CIV, MgII, SiII, FeII, among others in the absorption spectra of very distant quasars, and comparing them with their counterparts obtained in the laboratory. However, in the meantime, other teams has claimed either a null result or a decreasing $\alpha$ with respect to the cosmic time (Chand et al. 2004; Levshakov et al. 2004). Also, the current precision of laboratory tests does not allow one to either comfort or reject any of these astronomical observations. Here we suggest that as photons are the sidereal messengers, a nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) description of the interaction of photons with the weak local background magnetic fields of a gas cloud absorber around the emitting quasar can reconcile the Chand et al. (2004) and Levshakov et al. (2004) findings with the negative variation found by Murphy et al. (2001a, 2001b, 2001c, 2001d) and Webb et al. (2001), and also to find a bridge with the positive variation argued more recently by Levshakov et al. (2006a, 2007). We also show that nonlinear electrodynamics photon propagation in a vacuum permeated by a background magnetic field presents a full agreement with constraints from Oklo natural reactor data. Finally, we show that NLED may render a null result only in a narrow range of the local background magnetic field which should be the case of both the claims by Chand et al.(2004) and by Srianand et al. (2004)., Comment: 6 revtex4 pages, no figures. In press by Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) being the most luminous among known cosmic objects carry an essential potential for cosmological studies if properly used as standard candles. In this paper we test with GRBs the cosmological predictions of the Gurzadyan-Xue (GX) model of dark energy, a novel theory that predicts, without any free parameters, the current vacuum fluctuation energy density close to the value inferred from the SNIa observations. We also compare the GX results with those predicted by the concordance scenario $\Lambda$-CDM. According to the statistical approach by Schaefer (2007), the use of several empirical relations obtained from GRBs observables, after a consistent calibration for a specific model, enables one to probe current cosmological models. Based on this recently introduced method, we use the 69 GRBs sample collected by Schaefer (2007); and the most recently released SWIFT satellite data (Sakamoto et al. 2007) together with the 41 GRBs sample collected by Rizzuto et al. (2007), which has the more firmly determined redshifts. Both data samples span a distance scale up to redshift about 7. We show that the GX models are compatible with the Hubble diagram of the Schaefer (2007) 69 GRBs sample. Such adjustment is almost identical to the one for the concordance $\Lambda$-CDM., Comment: 9 pages, 17 figures, 11 tables; Astr. & Astrophys. (in press)

Strong evidence for the presence of a warped Keplerian accretion disc in NGC4258 (M 106) has been inferred from the kinematics of water masers detected at sub-parsec scales. Assuming a power-law accretion disc and using constraints on the disc parameters derived from observational data, we have analyzed the relativistic Bardeen-Petterson effect driven by a Kerr black hole as the potential physical mechanism responsible for the disc warping. We found that the Bardeen-Petterson radius is comparable to or smaller than the inner radius of the maser disc (independent of the allowed value for the black hole spin parameter). Numerical simulations for a wide range of physical conditions have shown that the evolution of a misaligned disc due to the Bardeen-Petterson torques usually produces an inner flat disc and a warped transition region with a smooth gradient in the tilt and twist angles. Since this structure is similar to that seen in NGC 4258, we propose that the Bardeen-Petterson effect may be responsible for the disc warping in this galaxy. We estimated the time-scale necessary for the disc inside of the Bardeen-Petterson radius to align with the black hole's equator, as a function of the black hole spin. Our results show that the Bardeen-Petterson effect can align the disc within a few billion years in the case of NGC 4258. Finally, we show that if the observed curvature of the outer anomalous arms in the galactic disc of NGC 4258 is associated with the precession of its radio jet/counterjet, then the Bardeen-Petterson effect can provide the required precession period., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

The Hubble diagram (HD) of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) having properly estimated redshifts is compared with the predicted one for the Chaplygin gas (CG), a dark energy candidate. The CG cosmology and that of Friedmann and $\Lambda$-CDM models are studied and confronted to the GRBs observations. The model-to-sample $\chi^2$ statistical analysis indicates the CG model as the best fit. The present GRBs HD plot exhibits a marked trend: as one goes back in time, it gets much closer to the predict HD for a Friedmann universe. This clear trend conclusively demonstrates that a transition from decelerate to accelerate expansion did take place. However, contrarily to claims based on supernovae type Ia, the transition redshift lies somewhere between $\sim 2.5 < z \simeq 3.5$ rather than at $z \sim 0.5-1$. All of these striking features of the GRBs HD constitute the most robust demonstration that the Chaplygin gas can in fact be the universe's driving dark energy field., Comment: 5 pages, 11 *.eps figures, revtex4 style

In this {\sl Letter} we construct the Hubble diagram (HD) for the standard Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological model after enforcing it with the general relativistic energy conditions, heeding to investigate whether it still stands on as the leading scenario for cosmology in face of the distance modulus-redshift relation of a sample of GRBs that had their redshifts properly estimated and corrected upon applying on the data analysis the {\sl Ghirlanda relation} (Ghirlanda et al. 2004) and the recently discovered {\sl Firmani et al. relation} (Firmani et al. 2006a). Our $\chi^2$ analysis support the view that FLRW plus the strong energy condition (SEC) is what better fits the GRB data. But this is not the whole story, since for a cosmological constant $\Lambda \neq 0$ the FLRW+SEC analysis with undefined $p=p(\rho)$ suggests that $\Lambda$ is not constant anyhow, because it does not follows the $p= \omega \rho$ HD, with $\omega=-1$. Thenceforth, one concludes that either the cosmological constant does not exist at all, and consequently one is left with the FLRW+SEC which fits properly the GRBs HD and there is no late-time acceleration, or it does exist but should be time-varying. This all is contrary to current views based on SNIa observations that advogate for an actual constant $\Lambda$ and an accelerating universe. In connection to the results above, this last argumentation would imply that either there is something wrong with the SNIa interpretation regarding cosmic late-time acceleration (Middleditch 2006) or we will have to move away from general relativity. We would better to think that general relativity is still the most correct theory of gravity., Comment: 5 pages, 4 color figures, uses emulateapj.sty

The occurrence of the phenomenon known as photon acceleration is a natural prediction of nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED). This would appear as an anomalous frequency shift in any modeling of the electromagnetic field that only takes into account the classical Maxwell theory. Thus, it is tempting to address the unresolved anomalous, steady; but time-dependent, blueshift of the Pioneer 10/11 spacecrafts within the framework of NLED. Here we show that astrophysical data on the strength of the magnetic field in both the Galaxy and the local (super)cluster of galaxies support the view on the major Pioneer anomaly as a consequence of the phenomenon of photon acceleration. If confirmed, through further observations or lab experiments, the reality of this phenomenon should prompt to take it into account in any forthcoming research on both cosmological evolution and origin and dynamical effects of primordial magnetic fields, whose seeds are estimated to be very weak., Comment: Final version accepted for publication in Europhysics Letters, uses EPL style, 7 pages

The Bardeen-Petterson general relativistic effect has been suggested as the mechanism responsible for precession in some accretion disk systems. Here we examine separately four mechanisms (tidally-induced, irradiation-induced, magnetically-induced and Bardeen-Petterson-induced) that can lead to warping and precession. We use a sample of eight X-ray binaries and four Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) that present signatures of warping and/or precession in their accretion disks to explore the viability of the different mechanisms. For the X-ray binaries SMC X-1 and 4U 1907+09 all four mechanisms provide precession periods compatible with those observed, while for Cyg X-1 and the active galaxies Arp 102B and NGC 1068, only two mechanisms are in agreement with the observations. The irradiation-driven instability seems incapable of producing the inferred precession of the active galaxies in our sample, and the tidally-induced precession can probably be ruled out in the case of Arp 102B. Perhaps the best case for a Bardeen-Petterson precession can be achieved for NGC 1068. Our results show that given the many observational uncertainties that still exist, it is extremely difficult to confirm unambiguously that the Bardeen-Petterson effect has been observed in any of the other sources of our sample., Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

The early Universe might have undergone phase transitions at energy scales much higher than the one corresponding to the Grand Unified Theories (GUT) scales. At these higher energy scales, the transition at which gravity separated from all other interactions; the so-called Planck era, more massive strings called supermassive cosmic strings, could have been produced, with energy of about 10^{19}GeV. The dynamics of strings formed with this energy scale cannot be described by means of the weak-field approximation, as in the standard procedure for ordinary GUT cosmic strings. As suggested by string theories, at this extreme energies, gravity may be transmitted by some kind of scalar field (usually called the {\it dilaton}) in addition to the tensor field of Einstein's theory of gravity. It is then permissible to tackle the issue regarding the dynamics of supermassive cosmic strings within this framework. With this aim we obtain the gravitational field of a supermassive screwed cosmic string in a scalar-tensor theory of gravity. We show that for the supermassive configuration exact solutions of scalar-tensor screwed cosmic strings can be found in connection with the Bogomol'nyi limit. We show that the generalization of Bogomol'nyi arguments to the Brans-Dicke theory is possible when torsion is present and we obtain an exact solution in this supermassive regime, with the dilaton solution obtained by consistency with internal constraints., Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 4 figures

VLBA high spatial resolution observations of the disk structure of the active galactic nucleus NGC 1068 has recently revealed that the kinematics and geometry of this AGN is well characterized by an outer disk of H2O maser emission having a compact milliarcsecond (parsec) scale structure, which is encircling a thin rotating inner disk surrounding a ~10^7 M$_\sun$ compact mass, likely a black hole. A curious feature in this source is the occurrence of a misalignment between the inner and outer parts of the disk, with the galaxy's radio jet being orthogonal to the inner disk. We interpret this peculiar configuration as due to the Bardeen-Petterson effect, a general relativistic effect that warps an initially inclined (to the black hole equator) viscous disk, and drives the angular momentum vector of its inner part into alignment with the rotating black hole spin. We estimate the time-scale for both angular momenta to get aligned as a function the spin parameter of the Kerr black hole. We also reproduce the shape of the parsec and kiloparsec scale jets, assuming a model in which the jet is precessing with a period and aperture angle that decrease exponentially with time, as expected from the Bardeen-Petterson effect., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

Quark matter is expected to exist in the interior of compact stellar objects as neutron stars or even the more exotic strange stars, based on the Bodmer-Witten conjecture. Bare strange quark stars and (normal) strange quark-matter stars, those possessing a baryon (electron-supported) crust, are hypothesized as good candidates to explain the properties of a set of peculiar stellar sources as the enigmatic X-ray source RX J1856.5-3754, some pulsars as PSR B1828-11 and PSR B1642-03, and the anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma-ray repeaters. In the MIT bag model, quarks are treated as a degenerate Fermi gas confined to a region of space having a vacuum energy density $B_{bag}$ (the Bag constant). In this note, we modif{}y the MIT Bag Model by including the electromagnetic interaction. We also show that this version of the MIT model implies the anisotropy of the Bag pressure due to the presence of the magnetic field. The equations of state of degenerate quarks gases are studied in the presence of ultra strong magnetic fields. The behavior of a system made-up of quarks having (or not) anomalous magnetic moment is reviewed. A structural instability is found, which is related to the anisotropic nature of the pressures in this highly magnetized matter. The conditions for the collapse of this system are obtained and compared to a previous model of neutron stars build-up on a neutron gas having anomalous magnetic moment., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures

The crucial observation on the occurrence of subpulses (overtones) in the Power Spectral Density of the August 27 (1998) event from SGR1900+14, as discovered by BeppoSAX (Feroci et al. 1999), has received no consistent explanation in the context of the competing theories to explain the SGRs phenomenology: the magnetar and accretion-driven models. Based on the ultra-relativistic, ultracompact X-ray binary model introduced in the accompanying paper (Mosquera Cuesta 2004a), I present here a self-consistent explanation for such an striking feature. I suggest that both the fundamental mode and the overtones observed in SGR1900+14 stem from pulsations of a massive white dwarf (WD). The fundamental mode (and likely some of its harmonics) is excited because of the mutual gravitational interaction with its orbital companion (a NS, envisioned here as point mass object) whenever the binary Keplerian orbital frequency is a multiple integer number ($m$) of that mode frequency (Pons et al. 2002). Besides, a large part of the powerful irradiation from the fireball-like explosion occurring on the NS (after partial accretion of disk material) is absorbed in different regions of the star driving the excitation of other multipoles (Podsiadlowski 1991,1995), i.e., the overtones (fluid modes of higher frequency). Part of this energy is then reemitted into space from the WD surface or atmosphere. This way, the WD lightcurve carries with it the signature of these pulsations inasmuch the way as it happens with the Sun pulsations in Helioseismology. It is shown that our theoretical prediction on the pulsation spectrum agrees quite well with the one found by BeppoSAX (Feroci et al. 1999). A feature confirmed by numerical simulations (Montgomery & Winget 2000)., Comment: This paper was submitted as a "Letter to the Editor" of MNRAS in July 17/2004. Since that time no answer or referee report was provided to the Author [MNRAS publication policy limits reviewal process no longer than one month (+/- half more) for the reviewal of this kind of submission]. I hope this contribution is not receiving a similar "peer-reviewing" as given to the A. Dar and A. De Rujula's "Cannonball model for gamma-ray bursts", or to the R.K. Williams' "Penrose process for energy extraction from rotating black holes". The author welcomes criticisms and suggestions on this paper

A scenario for SGRs is introduced in which gravitational radiation reaction effects drive the dynamics of an ultrashort orbital period X-ray binary embracing a high-mass donor white dwarf (WD) to a rapidly rotating low magnetised massive neutron star (NS) surrounded by a thick, dense and massive accretion torus. Driven by GR reaction, sparsely, the binary separation reduces, the WD overflows its Roche lobe and the mass transfer drives unstable the accretion disk around the NS. As the binary circular orbital period is a multiple integer number ($m$) of the period of the WD fundamental mode (Pons et al. 2002), the WD is since long pulsating at its fundamental mode; and most of its harmonics, due to the tidal interaction with its NS orbital companion. Hence, when the powerful irradiation glows onto the WD; from the fireball ejected as part of the disk matter slumps onto the NS, it is partially absorbed. This huge energy excites other WD radial ($p$-mode) pulsations (Podsiadlowski 1991,1995). After each mass-transfer episode the binary separation (and orbital period) is augmented significantly (Deloye & Bildsten 2003; Al\'ecyan & Morsink 2004) due to the binary's angular momentum redistribution. Thus a new adiabatic inspiral phase driven by GR reaction starts which brings the binary close again, and the process repeats. This model allows to explain most of SGRs observational features: their recurrent activity, energetics of giant superoutbursts and quiescent stages, and particularly the intriguing subpulses discovered by BeppoSAX (Feroci et al. 1999), which are suggested here to be {\it overtones} of the WD radial fundamental mode (see the accompanying paper: Mosquera Cuesta 2004b)., Comment: This paper was submitted as a "Letter to the Editor" of MNRAS in July 17/2004. Since that time no answer or referee report was provided to the Author [MNRAS publication policy limits reviewal process no longer than one month (+/- half more) for the reviewal of this kind of submission). I hope this contribution is not receiving a similar "peer-reviewing" as given to the A. Dar and A. De Rujula's "Cannonball model for gamma-ray bursts", or to the R.K. Williams' "Penrose process for energy extraction from rotating black holes". The author welcomes criticisms and suggestions on this paper

We show that it is possible to explain the physical origin of jet precession in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) through the misalignment between the rotation axes of the accretion disk and of the Kerr black hole. We apply this scenario to quasars, Seyfert galaxies and also to the Galactic Center black hole Sgr A*, for which signatures of either jet or disk precession have been found. The formalism adopted is parameterized by the ratio of the precession period to the black hole mass and can be used to put constraints to the physical properties of the accretion disk as well as to the black hole spin in those systems., Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

In 1936 Einstein predicted the phenomenon presently known as gravitational lensing (GL). A prime feature of GL is the magnification, because of the gravitational field, of the star visible surface as seen from a distant observer. We show here that nonlinear electrodynamics (NLED) modifies in a fundamental basis Einstein's general relativistic (GR) original derivation. The effect becomes apparent by studying the light propagation from a strongly magnetic ($B$) pulsar (SMP). Unlike its GR counterpart, the photon dynamics in NLED leads to a new effective GL, which depends also on the $B$-field permeating the pulsar. The apparent radius of a SMP appears then unexpectedly diminished, by a large factor, as compared to the classical Einstein's prediction. This may prove very crucial in determining physical properties of high $B$-field stars from their X-ray emission., Comment: 12(ws-ijmpa.cls) pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in IJMPA

During supernova core collapse and bounce resonant active-to-active, as well as active-to-sterile, neutrino ($\nu$) oscillations can take place. Over this phase weak magnetism increases antineutrino mean free paths, and thus its luminosity. Because oscillations feed mass-energy into the target $\nu$ species, the large mass-squared difference between $\nu$ states implies a huge amount of power to be given off as gravitational waves (GWs) due to the universal {\it spin-rotation} and the spin-magnetic coupling driven $\nu$ anisotropic flow, which is coherent over the oscillation length. The spacetime strain produced is about two orders of magnitude larger than those from $\nu$ difussion or neutron star matter anisotropies. GWs observatories as LIGO, VIRGO, GEO-600, TAMA-300, etc., can search for these bursts far out to the VIRGO cluster of galaxies., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of the "Hadron Physics - RANP 2004", Angra dos Reis - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil, March 28 to April 03

During the core bounce of a supernova collapse resonant active-to-active ($\nu_a \to \nu_a$), as well as active-to-sterile ($\nu_a \to \nu_s$) neutrino ($\nu$) oscillations can take place. Besides, over this phase weak magnetism increases antineutrino ($\bar{\nu}$) mean free paths, and thus its luminosity. Because the oscillation feeds mass-energy into the target $\nu$ species, the large mass-squared difference between species ($\nu_a \to \nu_s$) implies a huge amount of power to be given off as gravitational waves ($L_{\textrm{GWs}} \sim 10^{49}erg s$^{-1}$), due to anisotropic but coherent $\nu$ flow over the oscillation length. This anisotropy in the $\nu$-flux is driven by both the {\it universal spin-rotation} and the spin-magnetic coupling. The new spacetime strain estimated this way is still several orders of magnitude larger than those from $\nu$ diffusion (convection and cooling) or quadrupole moments of the neutron star matter. This new feature turns these bursts the more promising supernova gravitational-wave signal that may be detected by observatories as LIGO, VIRGO, etc., for distances far out to the VIRGO cluster of galaxies., Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, Proceedings of International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics, Olinda (Brazil), October 12-16 (2003), to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D

The problem of a condensate of a relativistic neutral vector boson gas constituted of particles bearing a magnetic moment is discussed. Such a vector boson system is expected to be formed either by parallel spin-pairing of neutrons in a sufficiently strong magnetic field, or by neutral atoms under specific conditions of magnetic field strength and density. A strong self-magnetization arises due to a Bose-Einstein-like condensation. Then the system, which may resemble the superfluid said to exist in the core of neutron stars, becomes more unstable under transverse collapse than the ordinary fermion gas. In the nonrelativistic limit of laboratory conditions, an analogy with the behavior of exploding Bose-Einstein condensates for critical values of magnetic field strength and particle density; reported by several authors, is briefly discussed., Comment: 4 pages, no figures, revtex4

Resonant active-to-active ($\nu_a \to \nu_a$), as well as active-to-sterile ($\nu_a \to \nu_s$) neutrino ($\nu$) oscillations can take place during the core bounce of a supernova collapse. Besides, over this phase, weak magnetism increases antineutrino ($\bar{\nu}$) mean free paths, and thus its luminosity. Because the oscillation feeds mass-energy into the target $\nu$ species, the large mass-squared difference between species ($\nu_a \to \nu_s$) implies a huge amount of energy to be given off as gravitational waves ($L_{\textrm{GWs}} \sim 10^{49}$ erg s$^{-1}$), due to anisotropic but coherent $\nu$ flow over the oscillation length. This asymmetric $\nu$-flux is driven by both the spin-magnetic and the {\it universal spin-rotation} coupling. The novel contribution of this paper stems from 1) the new computation of the anisotropy parameter $\alpha \sim 0.1-0.01$, and 2) the use of the tight constraints from neutrino experiments as SNO and KamLAND, and the cosmic probe WMAP, to compute the gravitational-wave emission during neutrino oscillations in supernovae core collapse and bounce. We show that the mass of the sterile neutrino $\nu_s$ that can be resonantly produced during the flavor conversions makes it a good candidate for dark matter as suggested by Fuller et {\it al.} (2003). The new spacetime strain thus estimated is still several orders of magnitude larger than those from $\nu$ difussion (convection and cooling) or quadrupole moments of neutron star matter. This new feature turns these bursts the more promissing supernova gravitational-wave signal that may be detected by observatories as LIGO, VIRGO, etc., for distances far out to the VIRGO cluster of galaxies., Comment: Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal C (Theory) 22 pages, latex file (revtex style), 2 figures, 5 tables

The idea that the nonlinear electromagnetic interaction, i. e., light propagation in vacuum, can be geometrized was developed by Novello et al. (2000) and Novello & Salim (2001). Since then a number of physical consequences for the dynamics of a variety of systems have been explored. In a recent paper Mosquera Cuesta & Salim (2003) presented the first astrophysical study where such nonlinear electrodynamics (NLEDs) effects were accounted for in the case of a highly magnetized neutron star or pulsar. In that paper the NLEDs was invoked {\it a l\`a} Euler-Heisenberg, which is an infinite series expansion of which only the first term was used for the analisys. The immediate consequence of that study was an overall modification of the space-time geometry around the pulsar, which is ``perceived'', in principle, only by light propagating out of the star. This translates into an significant change in the surface redshift, as inferred from absorption (emission) lines observed from a super magnetized pulsar. The result proves to be even more dramatic for the so-called magnetars, pulsars endowed with magnetic ($B$) fields higher then the Schafroth quantum electrodynamics critical $B$-field. Here we demonstrate that the same effect still appears if one calls for the NLEDs in the form of the one rigorously derived by Born & Infeld (1934) based on the special relativistic limit for the velocity of approaching of an elementary particle to a pointlike electron [From the mathematical point of view, the Born & Infeld (1934) NLEDs is described by an exact Lagrangean, whose dynamics has been successfully studied in a wide set of physical systems.]., Comment: Accepted for publication in Month. Not. Roy. Ast. Soc. latex file, mn-1.4.sty, 5 pages, 2 figures

Currently is argued that the best method of determining the neutron star (NS) fundamental properties is by measuring the {\it gravitational redshift} ($z$) of spectral lines produced in the star photosphere. Measurement of $z$ at the star surface provides a unique insight on the NS mass-to-radius relation and thus on its equation of state (EoS), which reflects the physics of the strong interaction between particles making up the star. Evidence for such a measurement has been provided quite recently by Cottam, Paerels & Mendez (2002), and also by Sanwal et {\it al.} (2002). Here we argue that although the quoted observations are undisputed for canonical pulsars, they could be misidentified if the NS is endowed with a super strong $B$ as in the so-called magnetars (Duncan & Thompson 1992) and strange quark magnetars (Zhang 2002), as in the spectral line discovered by Ibrahim et {\it al.} (2002;2003). The source of this new "confusion" redshift is related to nonlinear electrodynamics (NLEDs) effects., Comment: 5 pages, emulateapj.sty, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal

A relativistic degenerate neutron gas in equilibrium with a background of electrons and protons in a magnetic field exerts its pressure anisotropically, having a smaller value perpendicular than along the magnetic field. For critical fields the magnetic pressure may produce the vanishing of the equatorial pressure of the neutron gas. Taking it as a model for neutron stars, the outcome could be a transverse collapse of the star. This fixes a limit to the fields to be observable in stable neutron star pulsars as a function of their density. The final structure left over after the implosion might be a mixed phase of nucleons and meson condensate, a strange star, or a highly distorted black hole or black "cigar", but no any magnetar, if viewed as a super strongly magnetized neutron star. However, we do not exclude the possibility of a supersotrong magnetic fields arising in supernova explosions which lead directly to strange stars. In other words, if any magnetars exist, they cannot be neutron stars., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures. European Physical Journal C in press

Measurements of radio emission from distant galaxies and quasars verify that the polarization vectors of these radiations are not randomly oriented as naturally expected. This peculiar phenomenon suggests that the spacetime intervening between the source and observer may be exhibiting some sort of optical activity, the origin of which is not known. In the present paper we provide a plausible explanation to this phenomenon by investigating the r\^ole played by a Chern-Simons-like term in the background of an ordinary or superconducting screwed cosmic string in a scalar-tensor gravity. We discuss the possibility that the excess in polarization of the light from radio-galaxies and quasars can be understood as if the electromagnetic waves emitted by these cosmic objects interact with a scalar-tensor screwed cosmic string through a Chern-Simons coupling. We use current astronomical data to constrain possible values for the coupling constant of this theory, and show that it turns out to be: $\lambda \sim 10^{-26}$ eV, which is two orders of magnitude larger than in string-inspired theories., Comment: Revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev. D

The equations of state for degenerate electron and neutron gases are studied in the presence of magnetic fields. After including quantum effects to study the structural properties of these systems, it is found that some hypermagnetized stars can be unstable based on the criterium of stability of pressures. Highly magnetized white dwarfs should collapse producing a supernova type Ia, whilst superstrongly magnetized neutron stars cannot stand their own magnetic field and must implode, too. A comparison of our results with a set of the available observational data of some compact stars is also presented, and the agreement between this theory and observations is verified., Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures, uses ChJAA LaTeX macro; final version to appear in ChJAA

In theories with an infinite extra dimension, free particles localized on the brane can leak out to the extra space. We argue that if there were color confinement in the bulk, electrons would be more able to escape than quarks and than protons (which are composed states). Thus, this process generates an electric charge asymmetry on brane matter densities. A primordial charge asymmetry during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis era is predicted. We use current bounds on this and on electron disappearance to constrain the parameter space of these models. Although the generated asymmetry is generically small, it could be particularly enhanced on large densities as in astrophysical objects, like massive stars. We suggest the possibility that such accumulation of charge may be linked, upon supernova collapse, to the formation of a charged Black Hole and the generation of Gamma-Ray Bursts., Comment: Four pages, one figure. Minor changes, conclusions remain