Ulises Nucamendi

Scalar hairy black holes and solitons in asymptotically flat spacetimes

A numerical analysis shows that a class of scalar-tensor theories of gravity with a scalar field minimally and nonminimally coupled to the curvature allows static and spherically symmetric black hole solutions with scalar-field hair in asymptotically flat spacetimes. In the limit when the horizon radius of the black hole tends to zero, regular scalar solitons are found. The asymptotically flat solutions are obtained provided that the scalar potential

Mass hierarchy, mass gap and corrections to Newton’s law on thick branes with Poincaré symmetry

V(\phi)

Exploring a matter-dominated model with bulk viscosity to drive the accelerated expansion of the Universe

of the theory is not positive semidefinite and such that its local minimum is also a zero of the potential, the scalar field settling asymptotically at that minimum. The configurations for the minimal coupling case, although unstable under spherically symmetric linear perturbations, are regular and thus can serve as counterexamples to the no-scalar-hair conjecture. For the nonminimal coupling case, the stability will be analyzed in a forthcoming paper.

Aspects of thick brane worlds: 4D gravity localization, smoothness, and mass gap

We consider a scalar thick brane configuration arising in a 5D theory of gravity coupled to a self-interacting scalar field in a Riemannian manifold. We start from known classical solutions of the corresponding field equations and elaborate on the physics of the transverse traceless modes of linear fluctuations of the classical background, which obey a Schrödinger-like equation. We further consider two special cases in which this equation can be solved analytically for any massive mode with

Bulk viscous matter-dominated Universes: asymptotic properties

m^2\ge 0

Constraining a bulk viscous matter‐dominated cosmological model using SNe Ia, CMB and LSS

m2≥0, in contrast with numerical approaches, allowing us to study in closed form the massive spectrum of Kaluza–Klein (KK) excitations and to analytically compute the corrections to Newton’s law in the thin brane limit. In the first case we consider a novel solution with a mass gap in the spectrum of KK fluctuations with two bound states—the massless 4D graviton free of tachyonic instabilities and a massive KK excitation—as well as a tower of continuous massive KK modes which obey a Legendre equation. The mass gap is defined by the inverse of the brane thickness, allowing us to get rid of the potentially dangerous multiplicity of arbitrarily light KK modes. It is shown that due to this lucky circumstance, the solution of the mass hierarchy problem is much simpler and transparent than in the thin Randall–Sundrum (RS) two-brane configuration. In the second case we present a smooth version of the RS model with a single massless bound state, which accounts for the 4D graviton, and a sector of continuous fluctuation modes with no mass gap, which obey a confluent Heun equation in the Ince limit. (The latter seems to have physical applications for the first time within braneworld models). For this solution the mass hierarchy problem is solved with positive branes as in the Lykken–Randall (LR) model and the model is completely free of naked singularities. We also show that the scalar–tensor system is stable under scalar perturbations with no scalar modes localized on the braneworld configuration.

Black holes with zero mass

We explore the viability of a bulk viscous matter-dominated Universe to explain the present accelerated expansion of the Universe. The model is composed by a pressureless fluid with bulk viscosity of the form ? = ?0+?1H where ?0 and ?1 are constants and H is the Hubble parameter. The pressureless fluid characterizes both the baryon and dark matter components. We study the behavior of the Universe according to this model analyzing the scale factor as well as some curvature scalars and the matter density. On the other hand, we compute the best estimated values of ?0 and ?1 using the type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) probe. We find that from all the possible scenarios for the Universe, the preferred one by the best estimated values of (?0,?1) is that of an expanding Universe beginning with a Big-Bang, followed by a decelerated expansion at early times, and with a smooth transition in recent times to an accelerated expansion epoch that is going to continue forever. The predicted age of the Universe is a little smaller than the mean value of the observational constraint coming from the oldest globular clusters but it is still inside of the confidence interval of this constraint. A drawback of the model is the violation of the local second law of thermodynamics in redshifts z1. However, when we assume ?1 = 0, the simple model ? = ?0 evaluated at the best estimated value for ?0 satisfies the local second law of thermodynamics, the age of the Universe is in perfect agreement with the constraint of globular clusters, and it also has a Big-Bang, followed by a decelerated expansion with the smooth transition to an accelerated expansion epoch in late times, that is going to continue forever.

Obtaining mass parameters of compact objects from redshifts and blueshifts emitted by geodesic particles around them

We review some interrelated aspects of thick braneworlds constructed within the framework of 5D gravity coupled to a scalar field depending on the extra dimension. It turns out that when analyzing localization of 4D gravity in this smooth version of the Randall–Sundrum model, a kind of dichotomy emerges. In the first case the geometry is completely smooth and the spectrum of the transverse traceless modes of the metric fluctuations shows a single massless bound state, corresponding to the 4D graviton, and a tower of massive states described by a continuous spectrum of Kaluza–Klein excitations starting from zero mass, indicating the lack of a mass gap. In the second case, there are two bound states, a massless 4D graviton and a massive excitation, separated by a mass gap from a continuous spectrum of massive modes; nevertheless, the presence of a mass gap in the graviton spectrum of the theory is responsible for a naked singularity at the boundaries (or spatial infinity) of the Riemannian manifold. However, the imposition of unitary boundary conditions, which is equivalent to eliminating the continuous spectrum of gravitational massive modes, renders these singularities harmless from the physical point of view, providing the viability of the model.