Strong Gravity

Merging neutron stars have long been speculated to produce Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). While this has been the standard assumption for short GRBs for decades, this was only officially confirmed with the still relatively recent detection of gravitational wave counterpart GRB 170817A. In this presentation, I will discuss how we model short GRBs and their afterglows produced by the relativistic jets launched during the merger. A recent development of interest includes the apparent confirmation of some 'long' GRBs to also follow from mergers rather than collapsing massive stars, which has implication for the prospects of future multi-messenger detections. Joint modelling of GRB / afterglow data and GW signals makes it possible to further constrain the shared model parameters between the two, most notably the orientation of the system.

Zoom link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/95551884959?pwd=bUVGVzhXK3pLb3MxMGV4ejZzUmRYdz09

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has produced images of the black hole in the galaxy M87 and in the center of our galaxy, and I will briefly review what we have learned from the images.  In the near future we expect that repeated visits to M87, or high fidelity images of the galactic center, will produce movies of the turbulent plasma in these sources.  The statistical properties of the movies can be predicted using state-of-the-art numerical simulations.  I will explore what information can be extracted from the movies, especially information about source inclination and black hole spin.

Zoom link TBA

In this talk, I will start by motivating the introduction of new- (quantum) physics effects in black hole spacetimes through a principled-parameterized approach. I will then discuss how these new-physics effect can affect the formation of non-singular black holes by applying the principled-parameterized approach to gravitational collapse. This will serve as a motivation to study non-singular black hole parameterizations beyond circularity. Finally, I will present how quantum gravity effects linked to these guiding principles can be traced back to observational imprints in synthetic (ng)EHT images, in particular in photon rings.

Zoom Link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/93325159463?pwd=aGlQUHJzWWg1d3hBRzAwOURGY3NFdz09

Gravitational scattering provides valuable insight into classical dynamics and is likely of fundamental importance in quantum gravity.  However, a complete framework for gravitational scattering does not yet exist.  The lack of a clear framework hinders progress; for example, different groups have reported different results for the loss of angular momentum in post-Minkowskian scattering.  In this talk I will report on recent work 2303.17124 with Compere and Wei constructing a general framework for classical gravitational scattering of finite-sized massive bodies in four spacetime dimensions.  We formulate assumptions and definitions such that the five asymptotic regions (past/future timelike/null infinity and spatial infinity) share a single Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) group of symmetries and associated charges and derive global conservation laws stating that the total change in charge is balanced by the corresponding radiative flux.  Our assumptions are compatible with all known properties of scattering spacetimes, including certain logarithmic corrections that invalidate common falloff assumptions.  Among the new implications are rigorous definitions for quantities like initial/final spin, scattering angle, and impact parameter in multi-body spacetimes, without the use of any preferred background structure.  We show that spin is supertranslation-invariant, while impact parameter is not.  To complement these derivations I will emphasize a helpful "puzzle piece" diagram that faithfully represents all five asymptotic regions, illustrating their roles in the scattering problem.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/94358515412?pwd=cUFocVNjQ1pqUmp4MDN0RmRLbjE0QT09

We are in a new era of gravitational physics in which both gravitational-wave measurements and cosmological observations can be used to test fundamental physics. Moreover, recent computational developments allow us to investigate (at present largely unexplored) regimes where the gravitational force is strong – a very promising area to search for new physics. In this talk I will overview two cases in which we aim to use strong-gravity to learn about the dark components of the universe: the interaction of binary black hole mergers with their dark matter environments and the emission and propagation of scalar gravitational waves, a distinct signature of theories aiming to explain dark energy.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/92308918921?pwd=UEk1aEt3bmRxdklqUUpSNlRocldVdz09

Highly magnetized neutron stars are a source of extreme transients observed in different bands, like the fast radio burst (FRB) and associated hard X-ray burst from the Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154. The origin of such outbursts, hard X-rays on the one hand and millisecond duration FRBs on the other hand, is still unknown. We present a global model for various kinds of such magnetar outbursting activities. Crustal surface motions are expected to twist the inner magnetar magnetosphere by shifting the frozen-in footpoints of magnetic field lines. We discuss criteria for the development of various instabilities of 3D twisted flux bundles in the force-free dipolar magnetospheres and compare their energetic properties to observations of magnetar X-ray flares. We then review a recently developed FRB generation mechanism in the outer magnetosphere of a magnetar. The strong magnetic pulse induced by a magnetar flare collides with the current sheet of the magnetar wind, compresses and fragments it into a self-similar chain of magnetic islands. Time-dependent plasma currents created during their collisions produce relatively narrow-band GHz emission with luminosities sufficient to explain bright extragalactic FRBs.

Zoom ink:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/96469987183?pwd=N1UzVkh6RGZUeWV6TFZJLzk0M3VWZz09

After discussing the basics of Carrollian physics, we shall revisit the motion  of massless particles with anyonic spin in the black hole horizons. As recently shown, such particles can move within the horizon of the black hole due to the  coupling of charges associated with a 2-parametric central extension of the 2-dimensional Carroll group to the magnetic field around the black hole -- the so called "anyonic  spin-Hall effect". We shall study several examples of such motions. Of these, the most  interesting is the motion in misaligned (asymptotically uniform) magnetic field around Kerr,  which results in a time dependent motion of Carrollian particles that is reminiscent  of "monarch migration".

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/97094479078?pwd=SHN6NEU5aE93OXVQYk9aWTVOdzRRUT09

The geometry of kilonovae is a key diagnostic of the physics of merging neutron stars with current hydrodynamical merger models typically showing aspherical ejecta. Previously, Sr II was identified in the spectrum of the only well-studied kilonova AT2017gfo, associated with the gravitational wave event GW170817. In this talk, we show that combining the strong Sr II P Cygni absorption-emission spectral feature and the blackbody nature of the kilonova spectrum, to determine that the kilonova is highly spherical at early epochs. Line shape analysis combined with the known inclination angle of the source also shows the same sphericity independently. The near-spherical geometry suggests early spectra of kilonovae may provide excellent precision cosmic distance measurements using the Expanding Photosphere Method.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/97287055430?pwd=bFVyeTRuZHVLcGlDdnhlK1d0OWE1Zz09

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are extremely energetic, millisecond-duration radio bursts coming outside our galaxy. The burst arrival time at different frequencies implies the number of electrons it has encountered in the foreground. Therefore, FRB is considered a promising new cosmology probe. The uncertainty of the circum-burst environment is one of the biggest concerns regarding its potential as a probe. In this talk, I will review the current understanding of the FRB progenitor and the recent study of the circum-burst environment. I will also discuss the many remaining mysteries, including the seemingly diverse nature of the sources, the magneto-environment, and the 16-day periodicity I found with one source. With the current and upcoming instruments, there will be more FRBs with orders of magnitude better spatial resolution detected in the next few years. The result will be an explosion of opportunity for understanding the burst origin and probing cosmic matter distribution at various spatial scales.

Zoom link: https://pitp.zoom.us/j/92030175800?pwd=dWlGVjV0Qnh5bGhLMk1pd01yRmNKQT09

Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous electromagnetic events in the universe. Short GRBs, typically lasting less than 2 seconds, have already been associated with binary neutron star (BNS) mergers, which are also sources of gravitational waves (GWs). The ultimate fate of a BNS, after coalescence, is usually expected to be a black hole (BH) with 2-3 solar masses. However, numerical relativity simulations indicate the possible formation of a short-lived hypermassive neutron star (HMNS), lasting for tens to hundreds of milliseconds after the BNS merger and before gravitational collapse forms a BH. The HMNS is expected to emit GWs with kHz frequencies that will be detectable by third generation ground-based GW detectors in the 2030s. I will present results from a recent analysis that revealed evidence for HMNSs by looking for kHz quasiperiodic oscillations in gamma-ray observations obtained in the 1990s with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/96687956901?pwd=MkgrUGlqY3IyRCs2bXJYVkhUVEpPZz09

No-hair theorems prevent black holes in General Relativity (GR) from being characterized by any property other than their mass, electric charge, and spin. Scalar fields provide perhaps the simplest way to generalize GR, and it turns out that cases exist where the no-hair theorems can be evaded and black holes with scalar hair may emerge. In this talk I will examine the notion of nontrivial scalar field configurations arising in the strong regime of gravity near black holes, but also compact neutron stars and wormholes. I will go over the concept of spontaneous scalarization of compact objects and discuss the viability of scalarized solutions against observations.

Zoom link:  https://pitp.zoom.us/j/92273469560?pwd=elpDRzliOHFaaUh3YVhzbC92NFlmUT09