Universe

We review the canonical transformation in quantum physics known as the Bogoliubov transformation and present its application to the general theory of quantum field mixing and oscillations with an arbitrary number of mixed particles with either boson or fermion statistics. The mixing relations for quantum states are derived directly from the definition of mixing for quantum fields and the unitary inequivalence of the Fock space of energy and flavor eigenstates is shown by a straightforward algebraic method. The time dynamics of the interacting fields is then explicitly solved and the flavor oscillation formulas are derived in a unified general formulation with emphasis on antiparticle content and effect introduced by nontrivial flavor vacuum. Full article

Dark matter may be composed of self-interacting ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects. An example of which includes Q-balls, compact non-topological solitons predicted by a range of theories that are viable dark matter candidates. As the Earth moves through the galaxy, interactions with such objects may leave transient perturbations in terrestrial experiments. Here we propose a new dark matter signature: an asymmetry (and other non-Gaussianities) that may thereby be induced in the noise distributions of precision quantum sensors, such as atomic clocks, magnetometers, and interferometers. Further, we demonstrate that there would be a sizeable annual modulation in these signatures due to the annual variation of the Earth velocity with respect to dark matter halo. As an illustration of our formalism, we apply our method to 6 years of data from the atomic clocks on board GPS satellites and place constraints on couplings for macroscopic dark matter objects with radii $R<{10}^4\mathrm{km}$, the region that is otherwise inaccessible using relatively sparse global networks. Full article

We present the result of our examination of quantum structures called quantum spikes. The classical spikes that are known in gravitational systems, occur in the evolution of the inhomogeneous spacetimes. A different kind of spikes, which we name strange spikes, can be seen in the dynamics of the homogeneous sector of the Belinski–Khalatnikov–Lifshitz scenario. They can be made visible if the so-called inhomogeneous initial data are used. The question to be explored is whether the strange spikes may survive quantization. The answer is in the affirmative. However, this is rather a subtle effect that needs further examination using sophisticated analytical and numerical tools. The spikes seem to be of fundamental importance, both at classical and quantum levels, as they may serve as seeds of real structures in the universe. Full article

Quantum gravity is expected to resolve the singularities of classical general relativity. Based on destructive interference of singular spacetime-configurations in the path integral, we find that higher-order curvature terms may allow to resolve black-hole singularities both in the spherically symmetric and axisymmetric case. In contrast, the Einstein action does not provide a dynamical mechanism for singularity-resolution through destructive interference of these configurations. Full article

We review the hypothetical interactions predicted beyond the Standard Model which could be constrained by using the results of tabletop laboratory experiments. These interactions are described by the power-type potentials with different powers, Yukawa potential, other spin-independent potentials, and by the spin-dependent potentials of different kinds. In all these cases the current constraints on respective hypothetical interactions are considered which follow from the Casimir effect and some other tabletop physics. The exotic particles and constraints on them are discussed in the context of problems of the quantum vacuum, dark energy, and the cosmological constant. Full article

We construct a class of knot solutions of the gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) equations in vacuum in the linearized gravity approximation by analogy with the Rañada–Hopf fields. For these solutions, the dual metric tensors of the bi-metric geometry of the gravitational vacuum with knot perturbations are given and the geodesic equation as a function of two complex parameters of the GEM knots are calculated. Finally, the Landau–Lifshitz pseudo-tensor and a scalar invariant of the GEM knots are computed. Full article

We compute the effective potential for scalar fields in asymptotically safe quantum gravity. A scaling potential and other scaling functions generalize the fixed point values of renormalizable couplings. The scaling potential takes a non-polynomial form, approaching typically a constant for large values of scalar fields. Spontaneous symmetry breaking may be induced by non-vanishing gauge couplings. We strengthen the arguments for a prediction of the ratio between the masses of the top quark and the Higgs boson. Higgs inflation in the standard model is unlikely to be compatible with asymptotic safety. Scaling solutions with vanishing relevant parameters can be sufficient for a realistic description of particle physics and cosmology, leading to an asymptotically vanishing “cosmological constant” or dynamical dark energy. Full article

In this letter, we use a recent wormhole metric known as a ringhole [Gonzalez-Diaz, Phys. Rev. D 54, 6122, 1996] to determine the surface topology and the deflection angle of light in the weak limit approximation using the Gauss-Bonnet theorem (GBT). We apply the GBT and show that the surface topology at the wormhole throat is indeed a torus by computing the Euler characteristic number. As a special case of the ringhole solution, one can find the Ellis wormhole which has the surface topology of a 2-sphere at the wormhole throat. The most interesting results of this paper concerns the problem of gravitational deflection of light in the spacetime of a ringhole geometry by applying the GBT to the optical ringhole geometry. It is shown that, the deflection angle of light depends entirely on the geometric structure of the ringhole geometry encoded by the parameters $b_0$ and a, being the ringhole throat radius and the radius of the circumference generated by the circular axis of the torus, respectively. As special cases of our general result, the deflection angle by Ellis wormhole is obtained. Finally, we work out the problem of deflection of relativistic massive particles and show that the deflection angle remains unaltered by the speed of the particles. Full article

One of the most important effects of ionospheric heating by HF (high-frequency) waves is the generation of ELF/VLF (extremely low-frequency/very low-frequency) waves by modulated heating. An important limitation of amplitude modulation (AM) is its dependence on ionospheric electrojet, which means to achieve better modulation effect, some strict spatio-temporal conditions must be met. To solve this problem, some possible methods have been proposed including beat-wave (BW) modulation. However, due to the controversy of its mechanism and the source region of the stimulated ELF/VLF waves, it is not clear whether it is an electrojet-independent method or not, which has become one of the hot topics in recent years. In this paper, we found that the effect of preheating on modulation efficiency of BW based on different theories is the opposite. We suppose the opposite character of the influence and effect on the efficiency of BW in D region and F region as a base for a novel method to identify the physical mechanism and source region of BW. This method can be feasible to solve the controversy of BW. The feasibility of this method is verified by simulation results in the paper. Full article

The intense emission of 511 keV photons from the Galactic center and within terrestrial thunderstorms is attributed to the formation of parapositronia clouds. Unbound electron–positron pairs and positronia can be created by strong electromagnetic fields produced in interactions of electrically charged objects, in particular, in collisions of heavy nuclei. Kinematics of this process favors abundant creation of the unbound electron–positron pairs with very small masses and the confined parapositronia states which decay directly to two 511 keV quanta. Therefore, we propose to consider interactions of electromagnetic fields of colliding heavy ions as a source of low-mass pairs which can transform to 511 keV quanta. Intensity of their creation is enlarged by the factor Z${}^4$ (Z is the electric charge of a heavy ion) compared to protons with Z = 1. These processes are especially important at very high energies of nuclear collisions because their cross sections increase proportionally to cube of the logarithm of energy and can even exceed the cross sections of strong interactions which may not increase faster than the squared logarithm of energy. Moreover, production of extremely low-mass $e^{+}{e}^{-}$-pairs in ultraperipheral nuclear collisions is strongly enhanced due to the Sommerfeld-Gamow-Sakharov (SGS) factor which accounts for mutual Coulomb attraction of non-relativistic electrons to positrons in case of low pair-masses. This attraction may lead to their annihilation and, therefore, to the increased intensity of 511 keV photons. It is proposed to confront the obtained results to forthcoming experimental data at NICA collider. Full article

In this study, we explored a new method of cloud detection called the Blue-Green (B-G) Color Difference, which is adapted from the widely used Red-Blue (R-B) Color Difference. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of these two methods in detecting daytime clouds. Three all-sky images were selected from a database system at PERMATApintar Observatory. Each selected all-sky image represented different sky conditions, namely clear, partially cloudy and overcast. Both methods were applied to all three images and compared in terms of cloud coverage detection. Our analysis revealed that both color difference methods were able to detect a thick cloud efficiently. However, the B-G was able to detect thin clouds better compared to the R-B method, resulting in a higher and more accurate cloud coverage detection. Full article

We discuss the possibility that gravitational fluctuations (“gravitational-waves”) are trapped in space by gravitational interactions in two dimensional Jackiw–Teitelboim gravity. In the standard geon (gravitational electromagnetic entity) approach, the effective energy is entirely deposited in a thin layer, the active region, that achieves spatial self-confinement and raises doubts about the geon’s stability. In this paper we relinquish the “active region” approach and obtain self-confinement of “gravitational waves” that are trapped by the vacuum geometry and can be stable against the backreaction due to metric fluctuations. Full article

Apart from the familiar structure firmly-rooted in the general relativistic field equations where the energy–momentum tensor has a null divergence i.e., it conserves, there exists a considerable number of extended theories of gravity allowing departures from the usual conservative framework. Many of these theories became popular in the last few years, aiming to describe the phenomenology behind dark matter and dark energy. However, within these scenarios, it is common to see attempts to preserve the conservative property of the energy–momentum tensor. Most of the time, it is done by means of some additional constraint that ensures the validity of the standard conservation law, as long as this option is available in the theory. However, if no such extra constraint is available, the theory will inevitably carry a non-trivial conservation law as part of its structure. In this work, we review some of such proposals discussing the theoretical construction leading to the non-conservation of the energy–momentum tensor. Full article

Recently, the secular pericentre precession was analytically computed to the second post-Newtonian (2PN) order by the present author with the Gauss equations in terms of the osculating Keplerian orbital elements in order to obtain closer contact with the observations in astronomical and astrophysical scenarios of potential interest. A discrepancy in previous results from other authors was found. Moreover, some of such findings by the same authors were deemed as mutually inconsistent. In this paper, it is demonstrated that, in fact, some calculation errors plagued the most recent calculations by the present author. They are explicitly disclosed and corrected. As a result, all of the examined approaches mutually agree, yielding the same analytical expression for the total 2PN pericentre precession once the appropriate conversions from the adopted parameterisations are made. It is also shown that, in the future, it may become measurable, at least in principle, for some of the recently discovered short-period S-stars in Sgr A*, such as S62 and S4714. Full article

The solar impact on Earth’s climate is both a rich and open-ended topic with intense debates. In this study, we use the reconstructed data available to investigate periodicities of solar variability (i.e., variations of sunspot numbers) and temperature changes (10 sites spread all over the Earth) as well as the statistical inter-relations between them on the millennial scale during the past 8640 years (BC 6755–AD 1885) before the modern industrial era. We find that the variations of the Earth’s temperatures show evidence for the Eddy cycle component, i.e., the 1000-year cyclicity, which was discovered in variations of sunspot numbers and believed to be an intrinsic periodicity of solar variability. Further wavelet time-frequency analysis demonstrates that the co-variation between the millennium cycle components of solar variability and the temperature change held stable and statistically strong for five out of these 10 sites during our study interval. In addition, the Earth’s climatic response to solar forcing could be different region-by-region, and the temperatures in the southern hemisphere seemed to have an opposite changing trend compared to those in the northern hemisphere on this millennial scale. These findings reveal not only a pronounced but also a complex relationship between solar variability and climatic change on Earth on the millennial timescale. More data are needed to further verify these preliminary results in the future. Full article

A quark nugget is a hypothetical dark-matter candidate composed of approximately equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks. Most models of quark nuggets do not include effects of their intrinsic magnetic field. However, Tatsumi used a mathematically tractable approximation of the Standard Model of Particle Physics and found that the cores of magnetar pulsars may be quark nuggets in a ferromagnetic liquid state with surface magnetic field B_o = 10^12±1 T. We have applied that result to quark-nugget dark matter. Previous work addressed the formation and aggregation of magnetized quark nuggets (MQNs) into a broad and magnetically stabilized mass distribution before they could decay and addressed their interaction with normal matter through their magnetopause, losing translational velocity while gaining rotational velocity and radiating electromagnetic energy. The two orders of magnitude uncertainty in Tatsumi’s estimate for B_o precludes the practical design of systematic experiments to detect MQNs through their predicted interaction with matter. In this paper, we examine episodic events consistent with a unique signature of MQNs. If they are indeed caused by MQNs, they constrain the most likely values of B_o to 1.65 × 10¹² T +/− 21% and support the design of definitive tests of the MQN dark-matter hypothesis. Full article

Since 1969, Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) data have been collected by various observatories and analysed by different analysis groups. In the recent years, observations with bigger telescopes (APOLLO) and at infra-red wavelength (OCA) are carried out, resulting in a better distribution of precise LLR data over the lunar orbit and the observed retro-reflectors on the Moon. This is a great advantage for various investigations in the LLR analysis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of the new LLR data for the determination of relativistic parameters. Here, we show current results for relativistic parameters like a possible temporal variation of the gravitational constant $\dot{G}/G_0=(-5.0\pm 9.6)\times {10}^{-15}{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$, the equivalence principle with $\Delta {\left(m_g/m_i\right)}_{\mathrm{EM}}=(-2.1\pm 2.4)\times {10}^{-14}$, and the PPN parameters $\beta -1=(6.2\pm 7.2)\times {10}^{-5}$ and $\gamma -1=(1.7\pm 1.6)\times {10}^{-4}$. The results show a significant improvement in the accuracy of the various parameters, mainly due to better coverage of the lunar orbit, better distribution of measurements over the lunar retro-reflectors, and last but not least, higher accuracy of the data. Within the estimated accuracies, no violation of Einstein’s theory is found and the results set improved limits for the different effects. Full article

This work presents the complete modeling scheme of production and detection of two types of light dark matter (LDM)—Dirac fermionic and scalar particles—in a fixed target experiment using SHiP experiment as an example. The Drell-Yan process was chosen as a channel of LDM production; the deep inelastic scattering on lead nuclei was simulated and analyzed in the detector; the production of secondary particles was modeled with the aid of PYTHIA6 toolkit. Obtained observable parameters of secondary particles produced in events associated with LDM were compared with the background neutrino events that were simulated using GENIE toolkit. The yield of LDM events was calculated with various model parameter values. Using machine learning methods, a classifier that is able to distinguish LDM events from neutrino background events based on the observed parameters with high precision has been developed. Full article