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In this paper we follow an effective theory approach to study the nonrelativistic limit of a selfgravitating and selfinteracting massive vector field. Our effective theory is characterized by three parameters: the field's mass $m_0$ and the selfinteraction constants $\lambda_n$ and $\lambda_s$. For definiteness, we focus on a systematic study of the equilibrium configurations, commonly referred to as Proca stars when they have finite energy. We identify two different types of Proca stars, depending on the specific sector of the effective theory that we are exploring. In the generic sector, defined by $\lambda_s\neq 0$, all equilibrium configurations are stationary states described by wave functions that evolve harmonically in time. However, in the symmetry-enhanced sector, for which $\lambda_s=0$, there exist multi-frequency states whose wave functions oscillate with two or three distinct frequencies in addition to the stationary states. We determine the conditions under which a ground state configuration with fixed particle number exists. When these conditions are met, we prove that the lowest energy is reached by a stationary spherically symmetric configuration of constant polarization that is linear or circular depending on the sign of $\lambda_s$. We numerically construct some illustrative examples of spherical stationary and multi-frequency solutions, analyze their properties, and compare them with our analytical predictions. Unlike stationary states and other soliton configurations, which form a discrete set in the solution space associated with fixed particle number, the symmetry-enhanced sector exhibits a continuum of solutions with multi-frequency states connecting stationary states of constant polarization., Comment: 28 pages, 15 figures and 2 tables

In this paper we derive a new first-order theory of dissipative fluids by adopting the trace-fixed particle frame. Whereas in a companion paper we show that this theory is hyperbolic, causal and stable at global equilibrium states, here we prove that the full nonlinear system of equations can be cast into a first-order quasilinear system which is strongly hyperbolic. By rewriting the system in first-order form, auxiliary constraints are introduced. However, we show that these constraints propagate, and thus our theory leads to a well-posed Cauchy problem., Comment: 18 pages, no figures

We propose a first-order theory of dissipative fluids in the trace-fixed particle frame, which is similar to Eckart's frame except that the temperature is determined by fixing the trace of the stress-energy tensor. Our theory is hyperbolic and causal provided a single inequality holds. For low wave numbers, the expected damped modes in the shear, acoustic, and heat diffusion channels are recovered. Stability of global equilibria with respect to all wave numbers is also analyzed. The conditions for hyperbolicity, causality and stability are satisfied for a simple gas of hard spheres or disks., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures

We construct gravitational atoms including self-gravity, obtaining solutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon equations for a scalar field surrounding a non-rotating black hole in a quasi-stationary approximation. We resolve the region near the horizon as well as the far field region. Our results are relevant in a wide range of masses, from ultralight to MeV scalar fields and for black holes ranging from primordial to supermassive. For instance, a system with a scalar field consistent with ultralight dark matter and a black hole mass comparable to that of Sagittarius A* can be modeled. A density spike near the event horizon, although present, is negligible, contrasting with the prediction in [P. Gondolo and Silk, Phys. Rev. Lett., 83:1719-1722, 1999] for cold dark matter., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures

The conditions for the existence of the Chapman-Enskog first-order solution to the Boltzmann equation for a dilute gas are examined from two points of view. The traditional procedure is contrasted with a somehow more formal approach based on the properties of the linearized collision operator. It is shown that both methods lead to the same integral equation in the non-relativistic scenario. Meanwhile, for relativistic systems, the source term in the integral equation adopts two different forms. However, as we explain, this does not lead to an inconsistency. In fact, the constitutive equations that are obtained from both methods are shown to be equivalent within relativistic first-order theories. The importance of stating invariant definitions for the transport coefficients in this context is emphasized., Comment: 15 pages, no figures

We investigate the transmission of scalar, electromagnetic, and linearized odd-parity gravitational waves in a static spacetime characterized by a spherical distribution of matter in the form of thin concentric equidistant shells of equal mass. These shells connect Schwarzschild spacetimes of different masses between themselves, and they satisfy the Israel junction conditions with a polytropic-type equation of state for the surface energy-momentum tensor. We assume that the central region has zero mass, and we verify that the resulting spacetime is stable with respect to small perturbations of the shell radii as long as the gravitational field is sufficiently weak. We focus on the transmission of monochromatic waves emitted from the center and propagating through a succession of $N$ shells. To this purpose, we neglect the self-gravity of the waves and solve the Regge-Wheeler equation in the weak field limit of the background field. Analytical expressions for the transmission and reflection coefficients are obtained and their dependency on the frequency, the number of shells and their mutual distance is analyzed. In particular, in the high-frequency limit, we observe that the reflection coefficient decays with the fourth power of the frequency. Increasing the number of shells initially produces oscillations in the transmission coefficient; however, as $N$ grows, this coefficient rapidly stabilizes at a constant positive value. We attribute this property to the fact that reflections are mainly determined by the surface density of the shells, which decreases as the inverse square of their radii., Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, revtex

In this paper we study the linear stability of selfinteracting boson stars in the nonrelativistic limit of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory. For this purpose, based on a combination of analytic and numerical methods, we determine the behavior of general linear perturbations around the stationary and spherically symmetric solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii-Poisson system. In particular, we conclude that ground state configurations are linearly stable if the selfinteraction is repulsive, whereas there exist a state of maximum mass that divides the stable and the unstable branches in case the selfinteraction is attractive. Regarding the excited states, they are in general unstable under generic perturbations, although we identify a stability band in the first excited states of the repulsive theory. This result is independent of the mass of the scalar field and the details of the selfinteraction potential, and it is in contrast to the situation of vanishing selfinteraction, in which excited states are always unstable., Comment: 15+1 pages and 10 figures. Minor changes were made. It was accepted in journal Physical Review D

In previous work we analyzed the linear stability of non-relativistic $\ell$-boson stars with respect to radial modes and showed that ground state configurations are stable with respect to these modes, whereas excited states are unstable. In this work we extend the analysis to non-spherical linear mode perturbations. To this purpose, we expand the wave function in terms of tensor spherical harmonics which allows us to decouple the perturbation equations into a family of radial problems. By using a combination of analytic and numerical methods, we show that ground state configurations with $\ell > 1$ possess exponentially in time growing non-radial modes, whereas only oscillating modes are found for $\ell=0$ and $\ell=1$. This leads us to conjecture that nonrelativistic $\ell$-boson stars in their ground state are stable for $\ell=1$ as well as $\ell=0$, while ground state and excited configurations with $\ell > 1$ are unstable., Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Minor changes were made. It was accepted in journal Physical Review D

We study the dynamics of a collisionless kinetic gas whose particles follow future-directed timelike and spatially bound geodesics in the exterior of a sub-extremal Kerr black hole spacetime. Based on the use of generalized action-angle variables, we analyze the large time asymptotic behavior of macroscopic observables associated with the gas. We show that, as long as the fundamental frequencies of the system satisfy a suitable non-degeneracy condition, these macroscopic observables converge in time to the corresponding observables determined from an averaged distribution function. In particular, this implies that the final state is characterized by a distribution function which is invariant with respect to the full symmetry group of the system, that is, it is stationary, axisymmetric and Poisson-commutes with the integral of motion associated with the Carter constant. As a corollary of our result, we demonstrate the validity of the strong Jeans theorem in our setting, stating that the distribution function belonging to a stationary state must be a function which is independent of the generalized angle variables. An analogous theorem in which the assumption of stationarity is replaced with the requirement of invariance with respect to the Carter flow is also proven. Finally, we prove that the aforementioned non-degeneracy condition holds. This is achieved by providing suitable asymptotic expansions for the energy and Carter constant in terms of action variables for orbits having sufficiently large radii, and by exploiting the analytic dependency of the fundamental frequencies on the integrals of motion., Comment: 52 pages, 6 figures

We study the linear stability of nonrelativistic $\ell$-boson stars, describing static, spherically symmetric configurations of the Schr\"odinger-Poisson system with multiple wave functions having the same value of the angular momentum $\ell$. In this work we restrict our analysis to time-dependent perturbations of the radial profiles of the $2\ell+1$ wave functions, keeping their angular dependency fixed. Based on a combination of analytic and numerical methods, we find that for each $\ell$, the ground state is linearly stable, whereas the $n$'th excited states possess $2n$ unstable (exponentially in time growing) modes. Our results also indicate that all excited states correspond to saddle points of the conserved energy functional of the theory., Comment: 21+1 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables

We construct boson star configurations in quantum field theory using the semiclassical gravity approximation. Restricting our attention to the static case, we show that the semiclassical Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for a {\it single real quantum} scalar field whose state describes the excitation of $N$ {\it identical particles}, each one corresponding to a given energy level, can be reduced to the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for $N$ {\it complex classical} scalar fields. Particular consideration is given to the spherically symmetric static scenario, where energy levels are labeled by quantum numbers $n$, $\ell$ and $m$. When all particles are accommodated in the ground state $n=\ell=m=0$, one recovers the standard static boson star solutions, that can be excited if $n\neq 0$. On the other hand, for the case where all particles have fixed radial and total angular momentum numbers $n$ and $\ell$, with $\ell\neq 0$, but are homogeneously distributed with respect to their magnetic number $m$, one obtains the $\ell$-boson stars, whereas when $\ell=m=0$ and $n$ takes multiple values, the multi-state boson star solutions are obtained. Further generalizations of these configurations are presented, including the multi-$\ell$ multi-state boson stars, that constitute the most general solutions to the $N$-particle, static, spherically symmetric, semiclassical real Einstein-Klein-Gordon system, in which the total number of particles is definite. In spite of the fact that the same spacetime configurations also appear in multi-field classical theories, in semiclassical gravity they arise naturally as the quantum fluctuations associated with the state of a single field describing a many-body system. Our results could have potential impact on direct detection experiments in the context of ultralight scalar field/fuzzy dark matter candidates., Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables. To appear in Phys. Rev. D

The properties of a stationary gas cloud surrounding a black hole are discussed, assuming that the gas consists of collisionless, identical massive particles that follow spatially bound geodesic orbits in the Schwarzschild spacetime. Several models for the one-particle distribution function are considered, and the essential formulae that describe the relevant macroscopic observables, like the current density four-vector and the stress-energy-momentum tensor are derived. This is achieved by rewriting these observables as integrals over the constants of motion and by a careful analysis of the range of integration. In particular, we provide configurations with finite total mass and angular momentum. Differences between these configurations and their nonrelativistic counterparts in a Newtonian potential are analyzed. Finally, our configurations are compared to their hydrodynamic analogues, the "polish doughnuts"., Comment: 28 pages, 19 figures, 1 table

The properties of an axisymmetric, stationary gas cloud surrounding a massive central object are discussed. It is assumed that the gravitational field is dominated by the central object which is modeled by a nonrelativistic rotationally-symmetric potential. Further, we assume that the gas consists of collisionless, identical massive particles that follow bound orbits in this potential. Several models for the one-particle distribution function are considered and the essential formulae that describe the relevant macroscopical observables, such as the particle and energy densities, pressure tensor, and the kinetic temperature are derived. The asymptotic decay of the solutions at infinity is discussed and we specify configurations with finite total mass, energy and (zero or non-zero) angular momentum. Finally, our configurations are compared to their hydrodynamic analogs. In an accompanying paper, the equivalent general relativistic problem is discussed, where the central object consists of a Schwarzschild black hole., Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, 3 tables

We describe stationary and axisymmetric gas configurations surrounding black holes. They consist of a collisionless relativistic kinetic gas of identical massive particles following bound orbits in a Schwarzschild exterior spacetime and are modeled by a one-particle distribution function which is the product of a function of the energy and a function of the orbital inclination associated with the particle's trajectory. The morphology of the resulting configuration is analyzed., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, prepared for the Proceedings of the 7th Conference of the Polish Society on Relativity

A new class of complex scalar field objects, which generalize the well known boson stars, was recently found as solutions to the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system. The generalization consists in incorporating some of the effects of angular momentum, while still maintaining the spacetime's spherical symmetry. These new solutions depend on an (integer) angular parameter $\ell$, and hence were named $\ell$-boson stars. Like the standard $\ell=0$ boson stars these configurations admit a stable branch in the solution space; however, contrary to them they have a morphology that presents a shell-like structure with a "hole" in the internal region. In this article we perform a thorough exploration of the parameter space, concentrating particularly on the extreme cases with large values of $\ell$. We show that the shells grow in size with the angular parameter, doing so linearly for large values, with the size growing faster than the thickness. Their mass also increases with $\ell$, but in such a way that their compactness, while also growing monotonically, converges to a finite value corresponding to about one half of the Buchdahl limit for stable configurations. Furthermore, we show that $\ell$-boson stars can be highly anisotropic, with the radial pressure diminishing relative to the tangential pressure for large $\ell$, reducing asymptotically to zero, and with the maximum density also approaching zero. We show that these properties can be understood by analyzing the asymptotic limit $\ell\rightarrow\infty$ of the field equations and their solutions. We also analyze the existence and characteristics of both timelike and null circular orbits, especially for very compact solutions., Comment: 22 pages. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity - (Focus Issue on Bosonic Stars)

The accretion of a spherically symmetric, collisionless kinetic gas cloud on to a Schwarzschild black hole is analysed. Whereas previous studies have treated this problem by specifying boundary conditions at infinity, here the properties of the gas are given at a sphere of finite radius. The corresponding steady-state solutions are computed using four different models with an increasing level of sophistication, starting with the purely radial infall of Newtonian particles and culminating with a fully general relativistic calculation in which individual particles have angular momentum. The resulting mass accretion rates are analysed and compared with previous models, including the standard Bondi model for a hydrodynamic flow. We apply our models to the supermassive black holes Sgr A* and M87*, and we discuss how their low luminosity could be partially explained by a kinetic description involving angular momentum. Furthermore, we get results consistent with previous model-dependent bounds for the accretion rate imposed by rotation measures of the polarised light coming from Sgr A* and with estimations of the accretion rate of M87* from the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration. Our methods and results could serve as a first approximation for more realistic black hole accretion models in various astrophysical scenarios in which the accreted material is expected to be nearly collisionless., Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures. Improved version, to appear in Physical Review D

This article provides a self-contained pedagogical introduction to the relativistic kinetic theory of a dilute gas propagating on a curved spacetime manifold (M,g) of arbitrary dimension. Special emphasis is made on geometric aspects of the theory in order to achieve a formulation which is manifestly covariant on the relativistic phase space. Whereas most previous work has focussed on the tangent bundle formulation, here we work on the cotangent bundle associated with (M,g) which is more naturally adapted to the Hamiltonian framework of the theory. In the first part of this work we discuss the relevant geometric structures of the cotangent bundle T*M, starting with the natural symplectic form on T*M, the one-particle Hamiltonian and the Liouville vector field, defined as the corresponding Hamiltonian vector field. Next, we discuss the Sasaki metric on T*M and its most important properties, including the role it plays for the physical interpretation of the one-particle distribution function. In the second part of this work we describe the general relativistic theory of a collisionless gas, starting with the derivation of the collisionless Boltzmann equation for a neutral simple gas. Subsequently, the description is generalized to a charged gas consisting of several species of particles and the general relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell equations are derived for this system. The last part of this work is devoted to a transparent derivation of the collision term, leading to the general relativistic Boltzmann equation on (M,g). The meaning of global and local equilibrium and the stringent restrictions for the existence of the former on a curved spacetime are discussed. We close this article with an application of our formalism to the expansion of a homogeneous and isotropic universe filled with a collisional simple gas and its behavior in the early and late epochs. [abbreviated version], Comment: 79 pages, 12 figures. Typos corrected, references added

In previous work we constructed new boson star solutions consisting of a family of massive complex scalar fields minimally coupled to gravity in which the individual fields have angular momentum, yet the configuration as a whole is static and spherically symmetric. In the present article we study the linear stability of these $\ell$-boson stars with respect to time-dependent, radial perturbations. The pulsation equations, governing the dynamics of such perturbations are derived, generalizing previous work initiated by M. Gleiser, and shown to give rise to a two-channel Schr\"odinger operator. Using standard tools from the literature, we show that for each fixed value $\ell$ of the angular momentum number, there exists a family of $\ell$-boson stars which are linearly stable with respect to radial fluctuations; in this case the perturbations oscillate in time with given characteristic frequencies which are computed and compared with the results from a nonlinear numerical simulation. Further, there is also a family of $\ell$-boson stars which are linearly unstable. The two families are separated by the configuration with maximum mass. These results are qualitatively similar to the corresponding stability results of the standard boson stars with $\ell=0$, and they imply the existence of new stable configurations that are more massive and compact than usual boson stars., Comment: 23, pages, 8 figures

In this work we revisit the steady state, spherically symmetric gas accretion problem from the non-relativistic regime to the ultra-relativistic one. We first perform a detailed comparison between the Bondi and Michel models, and show how the mass accretion rate in the Michel solution approaches a constant value as the fluid temperature increases, whereas the corresponding Bondi value continually decreases, the difference between these two predicted values becoming arbitrarily large at ultra-relativistic temperatures. Additionally, we extend the Michel solution to the case of a fluid with an equation of state corresponding to a monoatomic, relativistic gas. Finally, using general relativistic hydrodynamic simulations, we study spherical accretion onto a rotating black hole, exploring the influence of the black hole spin on the mass accretion rate, the flow morphology and characteristics, and the sonic surface. The effect of the black hole spin becomes more significant as the gas temperature increases and as the adiabatic index $\gamma$ stiffens. For an ideal gas in the ultra-relativistic limit ($\gamma=4/3$), we find a reduction of 10 per cent in the mass accretion rate for a maximally rotating black hole as compared to a non-rotating one, while this reduction is of up to 50 per cent for a stiff fluid ($\gamma=2$)., Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 2021

In this article, we provide a pedagogical review of the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) equation and its solutions which describe static, spherically symmetric gaseous stars in general relativity. Our discussion starts with a systematic derivation of the TOV equation from the Einstein field equations and the relativistic Euler equations. Next, we give a proof for the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the TOV equation describing a star of finite radius, assuming suitable conditions on the equation of state characterizing the gas. We also prove that the compactness of the gas contained inside a sphere centered at the origin satisfies the well-known Buchdahl bound, independent of the radius of the sphere. Further, we derive the equation of state for an ideal, classical monoatomic relativistic gas from statistical mechanics considerations and show that it satisfies our assumptions for the existence of a unique solution describing a finite radius star. Although none of the results discussed in this article are new, they are usually scattered in different articles and books in the literature; hence it is our hope that this article will provide a self-contained and useful introduction to the topic of relativistic stellar models., Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures. Typos corrected and references added

The choked accretion model consists of a purely hydrodynamical mechanism in which, by setting an equatorial to polar density contrast, a spherically symmetric accretion flow transitions to an inflow-outflow configuration. This scenario has been studied in the case of a (non-rotating) Schwarzschild black hole as central accretor, as well as in the non-relativistic limit. In this article, we generalize these previous works by studying the accretion of a perfect fluid onto a (rotating) Kerr black hole. We first describe the mechanism by using a steady-state, irrotational analytic solution of an ultrarelativistic perfect fluid, obeying a stiff equation of state. We then use hydrodynamical numerical simulations in order to explore a more general equation of state. Analyzing the effects of the black hole's rotation on the flow, we find in particular that the choked accretion inflow-outflow morphology prevails for all possible values of the black hole's spin parameter, showing the robustness of the model., Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in PRD. Comments welcome

This article is devoted to the study of the dynamical behavior of a collisionless kinetic gas in d=1,2,3 space dimensions which is trapped in a rotationally symmetric potential well. Although at the microscopic level the trajectories of individual gas particles are quasi-periodic and characterized by their d fundamental frequencies, at the macroscopic level the gas relaxes in time to a stationary state, provided the potential satisfies a certain non-degeneracy condition. In this article, we provide a mathematically precise formulation for this relaxation process which is due to phase space mixing. In particular, we prove that a physically relevant class of macroscopic observables computed from the one-particle distribution function, such as particle and energy densities, pressure and stress tensors, converge in time to the corresponding observables associated with an averaged distribution function. The latter can be determined from the initial datum and depends only on integrals of motion. Thus, the final state of the gas is described by an effective distribution function depending only on integrals of motion, which considerably reduces the degrees of freedom of the gas configuration. We discuss some applications to gravitational physics, including the propagation of a collisionless gas in typical potentials arising in stellar dynamics and the modeling of dark matter halos, and we also generalize our results to a relativistic gas whose individual particles follow bound timelike trajectories in the exterior region of a static, spherically symmetric black hole spacetime., Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures. Additional references, conclusions expanded, and typos corrected. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity

Recently, there has been quite a lot of interest in static, spherical wormhole spacetimes and the question of their stability with respect to time-dependent perturbations. The consideration of linearized perturbations usually leads to a master wave equation with effective potential which can then be analyzed using standard tools from quantum mechanics. However, in the wormhole case, particular care must be taken with the gauge conditions when formulating the master equation. A poor coordinate choice, based for example on fixing the areal radial coordinate, may lead to singularities at the throat which complicate the stability analysis or might even lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the stability of the underlying wormhole configuration. In this work, we present a general method for deriving a gauge-invariant wave system of linearized perturbation equations in the spherically symmetric case, assuming that the matter supporting the wormhole is a phantom scalar field, that is, a self-interacting scalar field whose kinetic energy has the reversed sign. We show how this system can be decoupled and reduced to a single master wave equation with a regular potential, with no intermediate steps involving singularities at the throat. Two applications of our formalism are given. First, we rederive the master equation for the linearly perturbed Ellis-Bronnikov wormhole using our new, singularity-free method. Second, we derive the master equation describing the linear perturbations of a certain Anti de Sitter wormhole, provide a detailed analysis of the spectral properties of the underlying operator and prove that this wormhole is linearly unstable. In the final part of the paper, we consider a wormhole with de Sitter-type ends, whose spacetime presents horizons and admits a nonstatic extension beyond them; for this system we derive partial results of linear instability., Comment: 30 pages, 1 figure, new section discussing a wormhole with de Sitter-type ends. To appear in Physical Review D

In previous work, we have found new static, spherically symmetric boson star solutions which generalize the standard boson stars by allowing a particular superposition of scalar fields in which each of the fields is characterized by a fixed value of its non-vanishing angular momentum number $\ell$. We call such solutions "$\ell$-boson stars". Here, we perform a series of fully non-linear dynamical simulations of perturbed $\ell$-boson stars in order to study their stability, and the final fate of unstable configurations. We show that for each value of $\ell$, the configuration of maximum mass separates the parameter space into stable and unstable regions. Stable configurations, when perturbed, oscillate around the unperturbed solution and very slowly return to a stationary configuration. Unstable configurations, in contrast, can have three different final states: collapse to a black hole, migration to the stable branch, or explosion (dissipation) to infinity. Just as it happens with $\ell=0$ boson stars, migration to the stable branch or dissipation to infinity depends on the sign of the total binding energy of the star: bound unstable stars collapse to black holes or migrate to the stable branch, whereas unbound unstable stars either collapse to a black hole or explode to infinity. Thus, the parameter $\ell$ allows us to construct a new set of stable configurations. All our simulations are performed in spherical symmetry, leaving a more detailed stability analysis including non-spherical perturbations for future work., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure. Updated version with more details on migrating case, typos corrected and references added

We present new, asymptotically flat, static, spherically symmetric and traversable wormhole solutions in General Relativity which are supported by a family of ghost scalar fields with quartic potential. This family consists of a particular composition of the scalar field modes, in which each mode is characterized by the same value of the angular momentum number $\ell$, yet the composition yields a spherically symmetric stress-energy-momentum and metric tensor. For $\ell = 0$ our solutions reduce to wormhole configurations which had been reported previously in the literature. We discuss the effects of the new parameter $\ell$ on the wormhole geometry including the motion of free-falling test particles., Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX; typos corrected

We study the well-posedness of the initial value (Cauchy) problem of vacuum Einstein-aether theory. The latter is a Lorentz-violating gravitational theory consisting of General Relativity with a dynamical timelike 'aether' vector field, which selects a 'preferred time' direction at each spacetime event. The Einstein-aether action is quadratic in the aether, and thus yields second order field equations for the metric and the aether. However, the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem is not easy to prove away from the simple case of perturbations over flat space. This is particularly problematic because well-posedness is a necessary requirement to ensure stability of numerical evolutions of the initial value problem. Here, we employ a first-order formulation of Einstein-aether theory in terms of projections on a tetrad frame. We show that under suitable conditions on the coupling constants of the theory, the resulting evolution equations can be cast into strongly or even symmetric hyperbolic form, and therefore they define a well-posed Cauchy problem., Comment: 20 pages, no figures. Minor changes to match version accepted for publication in CQG

It is shown that a collisionless, relativistic kinetic gas configuration propagating in the equatorial plane of a Kerr black hole undergoes a relaxation process and eventually settles down to a stationary, axisymmetric configuration surrounding the black hole. The underlying mechanism for this relaxation process is due to phase space mixing, which implies that although the one-particle distribution function $f$ satisfying the collisionless Boltzmann equation which describes the microscopic state of the gas is quasi-periodic in time, the associated macroscopic observables computed from averages over $f$ possess well-defined limits as time goes to infinity. The final state of the gas is described by an effective distribution function depending only on constants of motion which can be predicted from the initial distribution function., Comment: Improved version including new plots, the meaning of the main theorem clarified and typos corrected Fig 5, 14 pages

We present new, fully nonlinear numerical solutions to the static, spherically symmetric Einstein-Klein-Gordon system for a collection of an arbitrary odd number $N$ of complex scalar fields with an internal $U(N)$ symmetry and no self-interactions. These solutions, which we dub $\ell$-boson stars, are parametrized by an angular momentum number $\ell=(N-1)/2$, an excitation number $n$, and a continuous parameter representing the amplitude of the fields. They are regular at every point and possess a finite total mass. For $\ell = 0$ the standard spherically symmetric boson stars are recovered. We determine their generalizations for $\ell > 0$, and show that they give rise to a large class of new static configurations which might have a much larger compactness ratio than $\ell=0$ stars., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. To appear as a Letter in Classical and Quantum Gravity

We analyze the stability of the Cauchy horizon associated with a globally naked, shell-focussing singularity arising from the complete gravitational collapse of a spherical dust cloud. In previous work, we have studied the dynamics of spherical test scalar fields on such a background. In particular, we proved that such fields cannot develop any divergences which propagate along the Cauchy horizon. In the present work, we extend our analysis to the more general case of test fields without symmetries and to linearized gravitational perturbations with odd parity. To this purpose, we first consider test fields possessing a divergence-free stress-energy tensor satisfying the dominant energy condition, and we prove that a suitable energy norm is uniformly bounded in the domain of dependence of the initial slice. In particular, this result implies that free-falling observers co-moving with the dust particles measure a finite energy of the field, even as they cross the Cauchy horizon at points lying arbitrarily close to the central singularity. Next, for the case of Klein-Gordon fields, we derive point-wise bounds from our energy estimates which imply that the scalar field cannot diverge at the Cauchy horizon, except possibly at the central singular point. Finally, we analyze the behaviour of odd-parity, linear gravitational and dust perturbations of the collapsing spacetime. Similarly to the scalar field case, we prove that the relevant gauge-invariant combinations of the metric perturbations stay bounded away from the central singularity, implying that no divergences can propagate in the vacuum region. Our results are in accordance with previous numerical studies and analytic work in the self-similar case., Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures. Conclusion improved. References added. Matches published version

It has long been known that no static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat Klein-Gordon scalar field configuration surrounding a nonrotating black hole can exist in general relativity. In a series of previous papers we proved that, at the effective level, this no-hair theorem can be circumvented by relaxing the staticity assumption: for appropriate model parameters there are quasi-bound scalar field configurations living on a fixed Schwarzschild background which, although not being strictly static, have a larger lifetime than the age of the universe. This situation arises when the mass of the scalar field distribution is much smaller than the black hole mass, and following the analogies with the hair in the literature we dubbed these long-lived field configurations wigs. Here we extend our previous work to include the gravitational backreaction produced by the scalar wigs. We derive new approximate solutions of the spherically symmetric Einstein-Klein-Gordon system which represent self-gravitating scalar wigs surrounding black holes. These configurations interpolate between boson star configurations and Schwarzschild black holes dressed with the long-lived scalar test field distributions discussed in previous papers. Nonlinear numerical evolutions of initial data sets extracted from our approximate solutions support the validity of our approach. Arbitrarily large lifetimes are still possible, although for the parameter space that we analyze in this paper they seem to decay faster than the quasi-bound states. Finally, we speculate about the possibility that these configurations could describe the innermost regions of dark matter halos., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, 1 table

In previous work, we derived the most general solution of the collisionless Boltzmann equation describing the accretion of a kinetic gas into a Schwarzschild black hole background, and we gave explicit expressions for the corresponding observables (the current density and stress energy-momentum tensor) in terms of certain integrals over the distribution function. In this article, we numerically compute these integrals for the particular case of the steady-state, spherical symmetric accretion flows which, at infinity, are described by an equilibrium distribution function of given temperature. We analyze in detail the behavior of the observables as a function of the temperature and the radial coordinate, comparing our results with the perfect fluid model of Bondi-Michel accretion., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, prepared for the proceedings of the conference "70 & 70 Fiesta de Gravitaci\'on Cl\'asica y Cu\'antica: Encuentro Con Dos Maestros De La F\'isica Te\'orica De Am\'erica Latina"

We provide a systematic study for the accretion of a collisionless, relativistic kinetic gas into a nonrotating black hole. To this end, we first solve the relativistic Liouville equation on a Schwarzschild background spacetime. The most general solution for the distribution function is given in terms of appropriate symplectic coordinates on the cotangent bundle, and the associated observables, including the particle current density and stress energy-momentum tensor, are determined. Next, we explore the case where the flow is steady-state and spherically symmetric. Assuming that in the asymptotic region the gas is described by an equilibrium distribution function, we determine the relevant parameters of the accretion flow as a function of the particle density and the temperature of the gas at infinity. In particular, we find that in the low temperature limit the tangential pressure at the horizon is about an order of magnitude larger than the radial one, showing explicitly that a collisionless gas, despite exerting kinetic pressure, behaves very differently than an isotropic perfect fluid, and providing a partial explanation for the known fact that the accretion rate is much lower than in the hydrodynamic case of Bondi-Michel accretion. Finally, we establish the asymptotic stability of the steady-state spherical flows by proving pointwise convergence results which show that a large class of (possibly nonstationary and nonspherical) initial conditions for the distribution function lead to solutions of the Liouville equation which relax in time to a steady-state, spherically symmetric configuration., Comment: 38 pages, 6 figures. Updated version with typos corrected. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravity

Motivated by the goal for high accuracy modeling of gravitational radiation emitted by isolated systems, recently, there has been renewed interest in the numerical solution of the hyperboloidal initial value problem for Einstein's field equations in which the outer boundary of the numerical grid is placed at null infinity. In this article, we numerically implement the tetrad-based approach presented in [J.M. Bardeen, O. Sarbach, and L.T. Buchman, Phys. Rev. D 83, 104045 (2011)] for a spherically symmetric, minimally coupled, self-gravitating scalar field. When this field is massless, the evolution system reduces to a regular, first-order symmetric hyperbolic system of equations for the conformally rescaled scalar field which is coupled to a set of singular elliptic constraints for the metric coefficients. We show how to solve this system based on a numerical finite-difference approximation, obtaining stable numerical evolutions for initial black hole configurations which are surrounded by a spherical shell of scalar field, part of which disperses to infinity and part of which is accreted by the black hole. As a non-trivial test, we study the tail decay of the scalar field along different curves, including one along the marginally trapped tube, one describing the world line of a timelike observer at a finite radius outside the horizon, and one corresponding to a generator of null infinity. Our results are in perfect agreement with the usual power-law decay discussed in previous work. This article also contains a detailed analysis for the asymptotic behavior and regularity of the lapse, conformal factor, extrinsic curvature and the Misner-Sharp mass function along constant mean curvature slices., Comment: Updated version which includes a discussion of the Newman-Penrose scalar and which has some typos corrected. 33 pages, 19 figures, to appear in Physical Review D

On September 14, 2015, the newly upgraded Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) recorded a loud gravitational-wave (GW) signal, emitted a billion light-years away by a coalescing binary of two stellar-mass black holes. The detection was announced in February 2016, in time for the hundredth anniversary of Einstein's prediction of GWs within the theory of general relativity (GR). The signal represents the first direct detection of GWs, the first observation of a black-hole binary, and the first test of GR in its strong-field, high-velocity, nonlinear regime. In the remainder of its first observing run, LIGO observed two more signals from black-hole binaries, one moderately loud, another at the boundary of statistical significance. The detections mark the end of a decades-long quest, and the beginning of GW astronomy: finally, we are able to probe the unseen, electromagnetically dark Universe by listening to it. In this article, we present a short historical overview of GW science: this young discipline combines GR, arguably the crowning achievement of classical physics, with record-setting, ultra-low-noise laser interferometry, and with some of the most powerful developments in the theory of differential geometry, partial differential equations, high-performance computation, numerical analysis, signal processing, statistical inference, and data science. Our emphasis is on the synergy between these disciplines, and how mathematics, broadly understood, has historically played, and continues to play, a crucial role in the development of GW science. We focus on black holes, which are very pure mathematical solutions of Einstein's gravitational-field equations that are nevertheless realized in Nature, and that provided the first observed signals., Comment: 41 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society

We discuss the quasi-normal oscillations of black holes which are sourced by a nonlinear electrodynamic field. While previous studies have focused on the computation of quasi-normal frequencies for the wave or higher spin equation on a fixed background geometry described by such black holes, here we compute for the first time the quasi-normal frequencies for the coupled electromagnetic-gravitational linear perturbations. To this purpose, we consider a parametrized family of Lagrangians for the electromagnetic field which contains the Maxwell Lagrangian as a special case. In the Maxwell case, the unique spherically symmetric black hole solutions are described by the Reissner-Nordstr\"om family and in this case it is well-known that the quasi-normal spectra in the even- and odd-parity sectors are identical to each other. However, when moving away from the Maxwell case, we obtain deformed Reissner-Nordstr\"om black holes, and we show that in this case there is a parity splitting in the quasi-normal mode spectra. A partial explanation for this phenomena is provided by considering the eikonal (high-frequency) limit., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures

We analyze the properties of a polytropic fluid which is radially accreted into a Schwarzschild black hole. The case where the adiabatic index gamma lies in the range 1 < gamma <= 5/3 has been treated in previous work. In this article we analyze the complementary range 5/3 < gamma <= 2. To this purpose, the problem is cast into an appropriate Hamiltonian dynamical system whose phase flow is analyzed. While for 1 < gamma <= 5/3 the solutions are always characterized by the presence of a unique critical saddle point, we show that when 5/3 < gamma <= 2, an additional critical point might appear which is a center point. For the parametrization used in this paper we prove that whenever this additional critical point appears, there is a homoclinic orbit., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures

In recent work, we analyzed the dynamics of spherical and nonspherical acoustic perturbations of the Michel flow, describing the steady radial accretion of a relativistic perfect fluid into a nonrotating black hole. We showed that such perturbations undergo quasi-normal oscillations and computed the corresponding complex frequencies as a function of the black hole mass M and the radius r_c of the sonic horizon. It was found that when r_c is much larger than the Schwarzschild radius r_H = 2GM/c^2 of the black hole, these frequencies scale like the surface gravity of the analogue black hole associated with the acoustic metric. In this work, we analyze the Newtonian limit of the Michel solution and its acoustic perturbations. In this limit, the flow outside the sonic horizon reduces to the transonic Bondi flow, and the acoustic metric reduces to the one introduced by Unruh in the context of experimental black hole evaporation. We show that for the transonic Bondi flow, Unruh's acoustic metric describes an analogue black hole and compute the associated quasi-normal frequencies. We prove that they do indeed scale like the surface gravity of the acoustic black hole, thus providing an explanation for our previous results in the relativistic setting., Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures

We analyze the redshift suffered by photons originating from an external source, traversing a collapsing dust cloud and finally being received by an asymptotic observer. In addition, we study the shadow that the collapsing cloud casts on the sky of the asymptotic observer. We find that the resulting redshift and properties of the shadow depend crucially on whether the final outcome of the complete gravitational collapse is a black hole or a naked singularity. In the black hole case, the shadow is due to the high redshift acquired by the photons as they approach the event horizon, implying that their energy is gradually redshifted toward zero within a few crossing times associated with the event horizon radius. In contrast to this, a naked singularity not only absorbs photons originating from the source, but it also emits infinitely redshifted photons with and without angular momenta. This emission introduces an abrupt cutoff in the frequency shift of the photons detected in directions close to the radial one, and it is responsible for the shadow masking the source in the naked singularity case. Furthermore, even though the shadow forms and begins to grow immediately after the observer crosses the Cauchy horizon, it takes many more crossing times than in the black hole case for the source to be occulted from the observer's eyes. We discuss possible implications of our results for testing the weak cosmic censorship hypothesis. Even though at late times the image of the source perceived by the observer looks the same in both cases, the dynamical formation of the shadow and the redshift images has distinct features and time scales in the black hole versus the naked singularity case. For stellar collapse, these time scales seem to be too short to be resolved with existing technology. However, our results may be relevant for the collapse of seeds leading to supermassive black holes., Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures