Chad Middleton

The Schwarzschild solution in the DGP model

We discuss the Schwarzschild solution in the Dvali–Gabadadze–Porrati (DGP) model. We obtain a perturbative expansion and find the explicit form of the lowest-order contribution. By keeping off-diagonal terms in the metric, we arrive at a perturbative expansion which is valid both far from and near the Schwarzschild radius. We calculate the lowest-order contribution explicitly and obtain the form of the metric both on the brane and in the bulk. As we approach the Schwarzschild radius, the perturbative expansion yields the standard four-dimensional Schwarzschild solution on the brane which is non-singular in the decoupling limit. This non-singular behavior is similar to the Vainshtein solution in massive gravity demonstrating the absence of the van Dam–Veltman–Zakharov (vDVZ) discontinuity in the DGP model.

Solutions of higher dimensional Gauss–Bonnet FRW cosmology

We examine the effect on cosmological evolution of adding a Gauss–Bonnet term to the standard Einstein–Hilbert action for a (1 + 3) + d dimensional Friedman–Robertson–Walker (FRW) metric. By assuming that the additional dimensions compactify as a power law as the usual 3 spatial dimensions expand, we solve the resulting dynamical equations and find that the solution may be of either de Sitter or Kasner form depending upon whether the Gauss–Bonnet term or the Einstein term dominates.

Circular orbits on a warped spandex fabric

We present a theoretical and experimental analysis of circular-like orbits made by a marble rolling on a warped spandex fabric. We show that the mass of the fabric interior to the orbital path influences the motion of the marble in a nontrivial way and can even dominate the orbital characteristics. We also compare a Kepler-like expression for such orbits to similar expressions for orbits about a spherically symmetric massive object in the presence of a constant vacuum energy, as described by general relativity.

AdS/CFT correspondence with heat conduction

Abstract We study an extension of the gravity dual to a perfect fluid model found by Janik and Peschanski. By relaxing one of the constraints, namely invariance under reflection in the longitudinal direction, we introduce a metric ansatz which includes off-diagonal terms. We also include an R -charge following Bak and Janik. We solve the Maxwell–Einstein equations and through holographic renormalization, we show that the off-diagonal components of the bulk metric give rise to heat conduction in the corresponding CFT on the boundary.

The 2D surfaces that generate Newtonian and general relativistic orbits with small eccentricities

Embedding diagrams prove to be quite useful when learning general relativity as they offer a way of visualizing spacetime curvature through warped two dimensional (2D) surfaces. In this manuscript we present a different 2D construct that also serves as a useful conceptual tool for gaining insight into gravitation, in particular, orbital dynamics - namely the cylindrically symmetric surfaces that generate Newtonian and general relativistic orbits with small eccentricities. Although we first show that no such surface exists that can exactly reproduce the arbitrary bound orbits of Newtonian gravitation or of general relativity (or, more generally, of any spherically symmetric potential), surfaces do exist that closely approximate the resulting orbital motion for small eccentricities; exactly the regime that describes the motion of the solar system planets. These surfaces help to illustrate the similarities, as well as the differences, between the two theories of gravitation (i.e. stationary elliptical orbits in Newtonian gravitation and precessing elliptical-like orbits in general relativity) and offer, in this age of 3D printing, an opportunity for students and instructors to experimentally explore the predictions made by each.

Constrained perturbative expansion of the DGP model

We address the vDVZ discontinuity of the 5D DGP model which consists of a 3-brane residing in a flat, infinite-volume bulk. Following a suggestion by Gabadadze [hep-th/0403161], we implement a constrained perturbative expansion parametrized by brane gauge parameters. We explore the parameter space and show that the DGP solution exhibiting the vDVZ discontinuity corresponds to a set of measure zero.