Gravitational singularity

About: Gravitational singularity is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9461 publications have been published within this topic receiving 223712 citations. The topic is also known as: spacetime singularity.

Singularities and groups in bifurcation theory

Abstract: This book has been written in a frankly partisian spirit-we believe that singularity theory offers an extremely useful approach to bifurcation prob- lems and we hope to convert the reader to this view In this preface we will discuss what we feel are the strengths of the singularity theory approach This discussion then Ieads naturally into a discussion of the contents of the book and the prerequisites for reading it Let us emphasize that our principal contribution in this area has been to apply pre-existing techniques from singularity theory, especially unfolding theory and classification theory, to bifurcation problems Many ofthe ideas in this part of singularity theory were originally proposed by Rene Thom; the subject was then developed rigorously by John Matherand extended by V I Arnold In applying this material to bifurcation problems, we were greatly encouraged by how weil the mathematical ideas of singularity theory meshed with the questions addressed by bifurcation theory Concerning our title, Singularities and Groups in Bifurcation Theory, it should be mentioned that the present text is the first volume in a two-volume sequence In this volume our emphasis is on singularity theory, with group theory playing a subordinate role In Volume II the emphasis will be more balanced Having made these remarks, Iet us set the context for the discussion of the strengths of the singularity theory approach to bifurcation As we use the term, bifurcation theory is the study of equations with multiple solutions

Action Integrals and Partition Functions in Quantum Gravity

Abstract: One can evaluate the action for a gravitational field on a section of the complexified spacetime which avoids the singularities. In this manner we obtain finite, purely imaginary values for the actions of the Kerr-Newman solutions and de Sitter space. One interpretation of these values is that they give the probabilities for finding such metrics in the vacuum state. Another interpretation is that they give the contribution of that metric to the partition function for a grand canonical ensemble at a certain temperature, angular momentum, and charge. We use this approach to evaluate the entropy of these metrics and find that it is always equal to one quarter the area of the event horizon in fundamental units. This agrees with previous derivations by completely different methods. In the case of a stationary system such as a star with no event horizon, the gravitational field has no entropy.

Breakdown of Predictability in Gravitational Collapse

Abstract: The principle of equivalence, which says that gravity couples to the energy-momentum tensor of matter, and the quantum-mechanical requirement that energy should be positive imply that gravity is always attractive. This leads to singularities in any reasonable theory of gravitation. A singularity is a place where the classical concepts of space and time break down as do all the known laws of physics because they are all formulated on a classical space-time background. In this paper it is claimed that this breakdown is not merely a result of our ignorance of the correct theory but that it represents a fundamental limitation to our ability to predict the future, a limitation that is analogous but additional to the limitation imposed by the normal quantum-mechanical uncertainty principle. The new limitation arises because general relativity allows the causal structure of space-time to be very different from that of Minkowski space. The interaction region can be bounded not only by an initial surface on which data are given and a final surface on which measurements are made but also a "hidden surface" about which the observer has only limited information such as the mass, angular momentum, and charge. Concerning this hidden surface one has a "principle of ignorance": The surface emits with equal probability all configurations of particles compatible with the observers limited knowledge. It is shown that the ignorance principle holds for the quantum-mechanical evaporation of black holes: The black hole creates particles in pairs, with one particle always falling into the hole and the other possibly escaping to infinity. Because part of the information about the state of the system is lost down the hole, the final situation is represented by a density matrix rather than a pure quantum state. This means there is no $S$ matrix for the process of black-hole formation and evaporation. Instead one has to introduce a new operator, called the superscattering operator, which maps density matrices describing the initial situation to density matrices describing the final situation.

Unified cosmic history in modified gravity: from F(R) theory to Lorentz non-invariant models

Abstract: Classical generalization of general relativity is considered as gravitational alternative for unified description of the early-time inflation with late-time cosmic acceleration. The structure and cosmological properties of number of modified theories, including traditional $F(R)$ and Hořava-Lifshitz $F(R)$ gravity, scalar-tensor theory, string-inspired and Gauss-Bonnet theory, non-local gravity, non-minimally coupled models, and power-counting renormalizable covariant gravity are discussed. Different representations and relations between such theories are investigated. It is shown that some versions of above theories may be consistent with local tests and may provide qualitatively reasonable unified description of inflation with dark energy epoch. The cosmological reconstruction of different modified gravities is made in great detail. It is demonstrated that eventually any given universe evolution may be reconstructed for the theories under consideration: the explicit reconstruction is applied to accelerating spatially-flat FRW universe. Special attention is paid to Lagrange multiplier constrained and conventional $F(R)$ gravities, for last theory the effective $\Lambda$CDM era and phantom-divide crossing acceleration are obtained. The occurrence of Big Rip and other finite-time future singularities in modified gravity is reviewed as well as its curing via the addition of higher-derivative gravitational invariants.