Universe

We review a set of the possible ways to constrain extended gravity models at Galaxy clusters scales (the regime of dark energy explanations and comparison with $\Lambda$CDM), for black hole shadows, gravitational wave astronomy, binary pulsars, the Solar system and a Large Hadron Collider (consequences for high-energy physics at TeV scale). The key idea is that modern experimental and observational precise data provide us with the chance to go beyond general relativity. Full article

Moscow State University is developing a project for a multi-satellite constellation intended for the monitoring of space radiation. A number of small satellites of CubeSat format were launched into selected orbits crossing the wide range of magnetic drift shells. The primary scope for the project is the operational monitoring of near-Earth’s radiation environment, i.e., fluxes of electrons and protons of Earth’s radiation belts and energetic particles of solar and galactic origin. To date, there are four CubeSat satellites operating in near-Earth orbits, which deliver scientific and telemetric data. Thus, for the first time, a unique multi-satellite constellation has been implemented, which makes it possible to simultaneously measure the particle and quantum fluxes at different areas in the near-Earth space using the same type of instruments. A special compact detector of gamma quanta and energetic charged particles (electrons and protons) DeCoR has been developed to carry out radiation monitoring by CubeSats. With their help, observations of various effects of space weather have been made. These effects include a variety of electron fluxes in the outer belt during geomagnetic activity in late November–early December 2021, filling of polar caps by solar energetic particles accelerated in flares occurring in late October–early November, and the existence of stable electron fluxes near the geomagnetic equator. Full article

It was proven that the class of stable interatomic potentials can be represented exactly as a superposition of Yukawa potentials. In this paper, an auxiliary scalar field was introduced to describe the dynamics of a system of neutral particles (atoms) in the framework of classical field theory. In the case of atoms at rest, this field is equivalent to the interatomic potential, but in the dynamic case, it describes the dynamics of a system of atoms interacting through a relativistic classical field. A relativistic Lagrangian is proposed for a system consisting of atoms and an auxiliary scalar field. A complete system of equations for the relativistic dynamics of a system consisting of atoms and an auxiliary field was obtained. A closed kinetic equation was derived for the probability-free microscopic distribution function of atoms. It was shown that the finite mass of the auxiliary field leads to a significant increase in the effect of interaction retardation in the dynamics of a system of interacting particles. Full article

We discuss phenomenological aspects of modified supergravity (MSG) in gravitational wave (GW) physics. MSG naturally provides double inflation and primordial black holes (PBHs) as cold dark matter. Intriguingly, MSG predicts a large amplification of the scalar and tensor perturbation power spectrum, generating a secondary GW stochastic background which can be tested in space-based interferometers. Full article

Asteroid impacts are a proven global threat, meaning that any location on Earth might be a subject to their consequences. Such collisions are not likely in any person’s lifetime, but their aftermath could be catastrophic. As Earth’s surface is mostly water, a water impact is more probable than a ground impact, and tsunami waves could pose a significant threat. This study expands the knowledge about asteroid impacts in the ocean and their regional environmental consequences. Three asteroids were assumed to impact the Earth: (1) the Apophis asteroid, a 370 m wide asteroid, (2) a 204 m in diameter asteroid representative of the average impactor on the near-Earth objects, and (3) a 5 km in diameter asteroid. We evaluated the consequences of all impacts for a specific case study, where the chosen impact location was the midpoint between Portugal’s mainland, Azores, and Madeira Islands. The cratering process, generated seismic shaking, overpressure, ejected material, induced thermal radiation, and tsunami waves were assessed, along with the global effects. The overpressure mainly causes structural damage. The thermal radiation can be devastating but has a short reach. The tsunami is undoubtedly the most far-reaching and threatening effect of an asteroid impact in the ocean. Full article

We study timelike particles’ bound orbits around renormalization group improved Schwarzschild black holes (RGISBHs), which originate from renormalization group improvement of the Einstein–Hilbert action by using the running Newton constant. By considering the secular periastron precession for the timelike particles orbiting around RGISBHs, we found that it is not feasible to distinguish such black holes from Schwarzschild ones in the weak gravitational field. However, in the strong gravitational field, periodic orbits for the particles are investigated by employing a taxonomy. This suggests that the variation of the parameters in RGISBHs can change the taxonomy. This leads to a transition from periodic motion around Schwarzschild black holes to a quasi-periodic motion around these black holes. After that, the epicyclic motions of charged particles around RGISBHs immersed in an external asymptotically uniform magnetic field are taken into account with respect to the observed twin peak quasi-periodic oscillations’ frequencies. The epicyclic motions of charged particles around such black holes in the external magnetic field can give one possible explanation for the 3:2 resonance in three low-mass X-ray binaries. Our results might provide some hints to distinguish RGISBHs from the classical black holes by using periodic orbits and epicyclic motions around the strong gravitational field. Full article

We consider the theory of spinor fields in polar form, where the spinorial true degrees of freedom are isolated from their Goldstone states, and we show that these carry information about the frames which is not related to gravitation, so that their propagation is not restricted to be either causal or local: we use them to build a model of entangled spins where a singlet possesses a uniform rotation that can be made to collapse for both states simultaneously regardless their spatial distance. Models of entangled polarizations with similar properties are also sketched. An analogy with the double-slit experiment is also presented. General comments on features of Goldstone states are given. Full article

In this work, we generalise the procedure of the non-abelian T-duality based on a B-shift and a sequence of formal abelian T-dualities in non-isometric directions to 11-dimensional backgrounds. This consists of a C-shift followed by either a formal (abelian) U-duality transformation or taking an IIB section. By construction, this is a solution generating transformation. We investigate the restrictions and applicability of the procedure and find that it can provide supergravity solutions for the SL(5) exceptional Drinfeld algebra only when the isometry algebra of the sigma-model target space decomposes into a direct sum. This is consistent with examples known in the literature. Full article

The first comprehensive analysis between the in situ detected solar energetic electrons (SEEs) from ACE/EPAM satellite and remotely observed radio signatures in solar cycles (SCs) 23 and 24 (1997–2019) is presented. The identified solar origin of the SEEs (in terms of solar flares, SFs, and coronal mass ejections, CMEs) is associated with solar radio emission of types II, III and IV, where possible. Occurrence rates are calculated as a function of the radio wavelength, from the low corona to the interplanetary space near Earth. The tendencies of the different burst appearances with respect to SC, helio-longitude, and SEE intensity are also demonstrated. The corresponding trends of the driver (in terms of median values of the SF class and CME projected speed) are also shown. A comparison with the respective results when using solar energetic protons is presented and discussed. Full article

Models for supernova remnant (SNR) evolution can be used to determine the energy of the explosion, the age of the SNR, and the density of the surrounding medium by matching observations. Observed SNR properties derived from the X-ray spectrum include the electron temperature (${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{e}}$) and emission measure ($\mathit{EM}$) of the shocked gas. SNR models are based on hydrodynamic solutions for density, pressure, and velocity. The relations between these and ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{e}}$ or $\mathit{EM}$ depend on the three inputs of composition, ionization state, and electron-ion temperature ratio (${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{e}}/{\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{I}}$). The standard definitions and the XSPEC definitions for ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{e}}$ and $\mathit{EM}$ have important differences that are not well-known. The same definition used by observers of SNRs must be used in models for correct interpretation. Here, the effects of the three inputs on standard and on XSPEC versions of ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{e}}$ and $\mathit{EM}$ are investigated, with examples. The ratio of standard $\mathit{EM}$ to the XSPEC value ranges widely, between ∼10${}^{-3}$ to ∼1, with smallest ratios for gas with low hydrogen abundance. The standard ${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{e}}$ differs from the XSPEC value by less than a few percent. For the illustrative example SNR J0049-7314, the ejecta component is shown to be consistent with core-collapse composition and a stellar wind environment. Full article

H 1743-322 is a well-known black hole X-ray binary (BH XRBs) that has been observed in several outbursts over the past. In this work, we have performed the spectral and timing analysis of H 1743-322 during the “faint” 2005 outburst for the first time with the RXTE/PCA data. In this outburst, the spectral and timing parameters (e.g., $T_{\mathrm{in}}$, $\mathrm{\Gamma }$, $R_{\mathrm{in}}$, $rms$ and QPOs, etc.) presented an obvious change and a q-like pattern was found in the Hardness Intensity Diagram (HID), which often named as the hysteresis effect of BH XRBs. The radius of the innermost stable circular orbit was constrained as $R_{\mathrm{ISCO}}$∼3.50 $R_{\mathrm{g}}$, which predicts that H 1743-322 is a lower-spin black hole. We further explored the correlation between timing and spectral properties. The relation of photon index $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ and X-ray flux, $F_{3–25\mathrm{keV}}$, presented a transition between negative and positive correlation when the X-ray luminosity, $L_{3–25\mathrm{keV}}$, is above and below a critical X-ray luminosity, $L_{\mathrm{X},\mathrm{crit}}\simeq 2.55\times {10}^{-3}$ $L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, which can be well explained by the Shakura-Sunyaev disk–corona model (SSD-corona) and advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF). We also found the tight linear, negative correlation between photon index $\mathrm{\Gamma }$ and the total fractional $rms$. Since the amount of soft photons from the accretion disk seems invariable, an increase of the number of soft photons will dilute the variability from the harder photons. Therefore, the softer the X-ray spectra will result in the smaller total fractional $rms$. The above results suggested that the 2005 outburst of H 1743-322 was a normal outburst and H 1743-322 represented similar properties with other black hole X-ray binaries. Full article

The main objective of this work is to study the structure, composition, and oscillation modes of color superconducting quark stars with intense magnetic fields. We adopted the MIT bag model within the color superconductivity CFL framework, and we included the effects of strong magnetic fields to construct the equation of state of stable quark matter. We calculated observable quantities, such as the mass, radius, frequency, and damping time of the oscillation fundamental f mode of quark stars, taking into account current astrophysical constraints. The results obtained show that color superconducting magnetized quark stars satisfy the constraints imposed by the observations of massive pulsars and gravitational wave events. Furthermore, the quantities associated with the oscillation f mode of these objects fit the universal relationships for compact objects. In the context of the new multi-messenger gravitational wave astronomy era and the future asteroseismology of neutron stars, we hope that our results contribute to the understanding of the behavior of dense matter and compact objects. Full article

This review considers synchronous and follow-up MASTER Global Robotic Net optical observations of high energy astrophysical phenomena such as fast radio bursts (FRB), gamma-ray bursts (including prompt optical emission polarization discovery), gravitational-wave events, detected by LIGO/VIRGO (including GW170817 and independent Kilonova discovery), high energy neutrino sources (including the detection of IC-170922A progenitor) and others. We report on the first large optical monitoring campaign of the closest at that moment radio burster FRB 180916.J0158+65 simultaneously with a radio burst. We obtained synchronous limits on the optical flux of the FRB 180916.J0158+65 and FRB 200428 (soft gamma repeater SGR 1935+2154) (The CHIME/FRB Collaboration, Nature 2020, 587) at 155093 MASTER images with the total exposure time equal to 2,705,058 s, i.e., 31.3 days. It follows from these synchronous limitations that the ratio of the energies released in the optical and radio ranges does not exceed 4 × 10⁵. Our optical monitoring covered a total of 6 weeks. On 28 April 2020, MASTER automatically following up on a Swift alert began to observe the galactic soft gamma repeater SGR 1935+2154 experienced another flare. On the same day, radio telescopes detected a short radio burst FRB 200428 and MASTER-Tavrida telescope determined the best prompt optical limit of FRB/SGR 1935+2154. Our optical limit shows that X-ray and radio emissions are not explained by a single power-law spectrum. In the course of our observations, using special methods, we found a faint extended afterglow in the FRB 180916.J0158+65 direction associated with the extended emission of the host galaxy. Full article

Dust production in the wind of stars evolving through the asymptotic giant branch is investigated by using a stationary wind model, applied to results from stellar evolution modelling. Results regarding 1–$8{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ stars of metallicities $Z=0.014$ (solar) and $Z=2\times {10}^{-3}$ are compared, to infer the role played by stellar mass and chemical composition on the dust formation process. We find a dichotomy in mass: stars of (initial) mass below ∼$3{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ produce silicates and alumina dust before they become carbon stars, then carbonaceous dust; the higher mass counterparts produce only silicates and alumina dust, in quantities that scale with metallicity. The presence of drifts with average drift velocities ∼5 Km/s leads to higher dust formation rates owing to the higher growth rates of the dust grains of the different species. However, no significant changes are found in the overall optical depths, because the higher rate of dust formations favours a fast expansion of the wind, that prevents further significant production of dust. As far as oxygen-rich stars are concerned, the presence of drifts makes the main dust component to change from olivine to pyroxene. The release of the assumption that the number density of the seed particles is independent of the dust species considered affects dust formation in the wind of carbon stars: a factor 10 reduction in the density of the seeds of SiC leads to bigger sized SiC grains, and partly inhibits the formation of solid carbon, since the wind is accelerated and the densities in the carbon formation zone are smaller. No substantial differences are found in the winds of oxygen-rich stars. Full article

We introduce a qubit-based version of the quantum switch, consisting of a variation of the Fermi problem. Two qubits start in a superposition state in which one qubit is excited and the other is in the ground state. However, it is not defined which is the excited qubit. Then, after some time, if a photon is detected, we know that it must have experienced an emission by one atom and then an absorption and re-emission by the other one, but the ordering of the emission events by both qubits is undefined. While it is tempting to refer to this scenario as one with indefinite causality or a superposition of causal orders, we show that there is still a precise notion of causality: the probability of excitation of each atom is totally independent of the other one when the times are short enough to prevent photon exchange. Full article

We review the construction of the path integral and the corresponding effective action for the Regge formulation of General Relativity under the assumption that the short-distance structure of the spacetime is not a smooth 4-manifold, but a piecewise linear manifold based on a triangulation of a smooth 4-manifold. We point out that the exponentially damped 4-volume path-integral measure does not give a finite path integral, although it can be used for the construction of the perturbative effective action. We modify the 4-volume measure by multiplying it by an inverse power of the product of the edge-lengths such that the new measure gives a finite path integral while it retains all the nice features of the unmodified measure. Full article

The knowledge of the redshifts of Short-duration Gamma-Ray Bursts (SGRBs) is essential for constraining their cosmic rates and thereby the rates of related astrophysical phenomena, particularly Gravitational Wave Radiation (GWR) events. Many of the events detected by gamma-ray observatories (e.g., BATSE, Fermi, and Swift) lack experimentally measured redshifts. To remedy this, we present and discuss a generic data-driven probabilistic modeling framework to infer the unknown redshifts of SGRBs in the BATSE catalog. We further explain how the proposed probabilistic modeling technique can be applied to newer catalogs of SGRBs and other astronomical surveys to infer the missing data in the catalogs. Full article

Recent advances in spectroscopic instrumentation and calibration methods dramatically improve the quality of quasar spectra. Supercomputer calculations show that, at high spectral resolution, procedures used in some previous analyses of spacetime variations of fundamental constants are likely to generate spurious measurements, biased systematically towards a null result. Developments in analysis methods are also summarised and a prescription given for the analysis of new and forthcoming data. Full article

We consider a Tsallis holographic dark energy model with interaction between dark energy and matter. The density of dark energy is taken as ${\rho }_d\sim 3C^2/L^{4-2\gamma }$, where C, $\gamma$ are constants. The event horizon is chosen as the characteristic scale L. The cosmological dynamics of the universe are analyzed, with special attention paid to the possibility of crossing the phantom line $w_{eff}=-1$. It is shown that for certain values of parameters this may occur not only once, but also twice. Full article