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A new gravitational action is presented that could be a fair minimal description of the effective gravitational action in the context of Asymptotic Safety. It generates consistent modified Einstein equations where $\Lambda$ and $G$ are functions of spacetime. In addition, these equations respect, without any ad hoc choices, the Bianchi identities. We analyse this action in a quantum cosmology scenario. Furthermore, assuming homogeneous and isotropic spacetime, the action gives a non singular cosmology with power law inflation. Tensor and scalar perturbations have been used to constraint the free parameters.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars) is ESA's M3 mission designed to detect and characterise extrasolar planets and perform asteroseismic monitoring of a large number of stars. PLATO will detect small planets (down to <2 R_(Earth)) around bright stars (<11 mag), including terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of solar-like stars. With the complement of radial velocity observations from the ground, planets will be characterised for their radius, mass, and age with high accuracy (5 %, 10 %, 10 % for an Earth-Sun combination respectively). PLATO will provide us with a large-scale catalogue of well-characterised small planets up to intermediate orbital periods, relevant for a meaningful comparison to planet formation theories and to better understand planet evolution. It will make possible comparative exoplanetology to place our Solar System planets in a broader context. In parallel, PLATO will study (host) stars using asteroseismology, allowing us to determine the stellar properties with high accuracy, substantially enhancing our knowledge of stellar structure and evolution. The payload instrument consists of 26 cameras with 12cm aperture each. For at least four years, the mission will perform high-precision photometric measurements. Here we review the science objectives, present PLATO's target samples and fields, provide an overview of expected core science performance as well as a description of the instrument and the mission profile at the beginning of the serial production of the flight cameras. PLATO is scheduled for a launch date end 2026. This overview therefore provides a summary of the mission to the community in preparation of the upcoming operational phases.

We propose an emergent cosmological model rooted in the Asymptotically Safe antiscreening behavior of the Newton constant at Planckian energies. Distinguishing itself from prior approaches, our model encapsulates the variable nature of $G$ through a multiplicative coupling within the matter Lagrangian, characterized by a conserved energy-momentum tensor. The universe emerges from a quasi-de Sitter phase, transitioning to standard cosmological evolution post-Planck Era. Our analysis demonstrates the feasibility of constraining the transition scale to nearly classical cosmology using Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data and the potential to empirically probe the antiscreening trait of Newton's constant, as predicted by Asymptotic Safety., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, comments welcome

We reply to the ``Comment'' on ``Regular evaporating black holes with stable cores'' by R. Carballo-Rubio, F. Di Filippo, S. Liberati, C. Pacilio, and M. Visser. As a key result, we show that the regime of mass-inflation identified in the comment connects smoothly to the late-time attractors discovered in our works [A. Bonanno et. al., Regular black holes with stable cores, Phys. Rev. D 103, 124027 (2021) and Regular evaporating black holes with stable cores, Phys. Rev. D 107, 024005 (2023)]. Hence, the late-time stability of regular black holes is not affected by this intermediate phase., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure

The anomalous scaling of Newton's constant around the Reuter fixed point is dynamically computed using the functional flow equation approach. Specifically, we thoroughly analyze the flow of the most general conformally reduced Einstein-Hilbert action. Our findings reveal that, due to the distinctive nature of gravity, the anomalous dimension $\eta$ of the Newton's constant cannot be constrained to have one single value: the ultraviolet critical manifold is characterized by a line of fixed points $(g_\ast(\eta), \lambda_\ast (\eta))$, with a discrete (infinite) set of eigenoperators associated to each fixed point. More specifically, we find three ranges of $\eta$ corresponding to different properties of both fixed points and eigenoperators and, in particular, the range $ \eta < \eta_c \approx 0.96$ the ultraviolet critical manifolds has finite dimensionality., Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures

Regular black hole spacetimes are obtained from an effective Lagrangian for Quantum Einstein Gravity. The interior matter is modeled as a dust fluid, which interacts with the geometry through a multiplicative coupling function denoted as $\chi$. The specific functional form of $\chi$ is deduced from Asymptotically Safe gravity, under the key assumption that the Reuter fixed point remains minimally affected by the presence of matter. As a consequence the gravitational coupling vanishes at high energies. The static exterior geometry of the black hole is entirely determined by the junction conditions at the boundary surface. Consequently, the resulting global spacetime geometry remains devoid of singularities at all times. This result offers a novel perspective on regular black holes in Asymptotically Safe gravity., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

The ages of solar-like stars have been at the center of many studies such as exoplanet characterization or Galactic-archaeology. While ages are usually computed from stellar evolution models, relations linking ages to other stellar properties, such as rotation and magnetic activity, have been investigated. With the large catalog of 55,232 rotation periods, $P_{\rm rot}$, and photometric magnetic activity index, $S_{\rm ph}$ from Kepler data, we have the opportunity to look for such magneto-gyro-chronology relations. Stellar ages are obtained with two stellar evolution codes that include treatment of angular momentum evolution, hence using $P_{\rm rot}$ as input in addition to classical atmospheric parameters. We explore two different ways of predicting stellar ages on three subsamples with spectroscopic observations: solar analogs, late-F and G dwarfs, and K dwarfs. We first perform a Bayesian analysis to derive relations between $S_{\rm ph}$ and ages between 1 and 5 Gyr, and other stellar properties. For late-F and G dwarfs, and K dwarfs, the multivariate regression favors the model with $P_{\rm rot}$ and $S_{\rm ph}$ with median differences of 0.1%.and 0.2% respectively. We also apply Machine Learning techniques with a Random Forest algorithm to predict ages up to 14 Gyr with the same set of input parameters. For late-F, G and K dwarfs together, predicted ages are on average within 5.3% of the model ages and improve to 3.1% when including $P_{\rm rot}$. These are very promising results for a quick age estimation for solar-like stars with photometric observations, especially with current and future space missions., Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, including 8 pages of Appendix. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We study the conformally reduced $R+R^2$ theory of gravity and we show that the theory is asymptotically safe with an ultraviolet critical manifold of dimension three. In particular, we discuss the universality properties of the fixed point and its stability under the use of different regulators with the help of the proper-time flow equation. We find three relevant directions, corresponding to the $\sqrt{g}$, $\sqrt{g} R$ and $\sqrt{g} R^2$ operators, whose critical properties are very similar to the ones shared by the full theory. Our result shows that the basic mechanism at the core of the Asymptotic Safety program is still well described by the conformal sector also beyond the Einstein-Hilbert truncation. Possible consequences for the asymptotic safety program are discussed., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

Black holes encountered in general relativity are characterized by spacetime singularities hidden within an event horizon. These singularities provide a key motivation to go beyond general relativity and look for regular black holes where the spacetime curvature remains bounded everywhere. A prominent mechanism achieving this replaces the singularity by a regular patch of de Sitter space. The resulting regular geometries exhibit two horizons: the outer event horizon is supplemented by an inner Cauchy horizon. The latter could render the geometry unstable against perturbations through the so-called mass-inflation effect, i.e., an exponential growth of the mass function. This chapter reviews the mass-inflation effect for spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes contrasting the dynamics of the mass function for Reissner-Nordst\"om and regular black holes. We also cover recent developments related to the late-time attractors induced by Hawking radiation which exorcise the exponential growth of the spacetime curvature encountered in the standard mass-inflation scenario. In order to make the exposition self-contained, we also briefly discuss basic properties of regular black holes including their thermodynamics., Comment: 34 pages, Invited chapter for the edited book "Regular Black Holes: Towards a New Paradigm of the Gravitational Collapse" (Ed. C. Bambi, Springer Singapore, expected in 2023)

The presence of possible correlations between stellar rotation rate $\Omega$ and the frequency of the activity cycle $\omega_\mathrm{cyc}$ is still much debated. We implement a new Bayesian classification algorithm based on a simultaneous regression analysis of multiple scaling laws and we demonstrate the existence of two different scalings in the $\log_{10} \omega_\mathrm{cyc}$ -- $\log_{10} \Omega$ plane for an extended Mt.~Wilson sample of 67 stars. Thanks to metallicity measurements obtained from both ESA Gaia and high-resolution spectroscopy, we argue that the origin of this dichotomy is likely related to the chemical composition: stars whose magnetic cycle frequency increases with rotation rate are less metallic than stars whose magnetic cycle frequency decreases with stellar rotation rates. On the contrary, no clear difference in chromospheric magnetic activity indicators characterizes the two branches., Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Contact e-mails: alfio.bonanno@inaf.it, enrico.corsaro@inaf.it

A feature shared by many regular black hole spacetimes is the occurrence of a Cauchy horizon. It is then commonly believed that this renders the geometry unstable against perturbations through the mass-inflation effect. In this work, we perform the first dynamical study of this effect taking into account the mass-loss of the black hole due to Hawking radiation. It is shown that the time-dependence of the background leads to two novel types of late-time behavior whose properties are entirely determined by the Hawking flux. The first class of attractor-behavior is operative for regular black holes of the Hayward and renormalization group improved type and characterized by the square of the Weyl curvature growing as $v^6$ at asymptotically late times. This singularity is inaccessible to a radially free-falling observer though. The second class is realized by Reissner-Nordstr{\"o}m black holes and regular black holes of the Bardeen type. In this case the curvature scalars remain finite as $v\rightarrow\infty$. Thus the Hawking flux has a profound effect on the mass-inflation instability, either weakening the effect significantly or even expelling it entirely., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures

We probe both the unidimensional quartic harmonic oscillator and the double well potential through a numerical analysis of the Functional Renormalization Group flow equations truncated at first order in the derivative expansion. The two partial differential equations for the potential V_k(varphi) and the wave function renormalization Z_k(varphi), as obtained in different schemes and with distinct regulators, are studied down to k=0, and the energy gap between lowest and first excited state is computed, in order to test the reliability of the approach in a strongly non-perturbative regime. Our findings point out at least three ranges of the quartic coupling lambda, one with higher lambda where the lowest order approximation is already accurate, the intermediate one where the inclusion of the first correction produces a good agreement with the exact results and, finally, the one with smallest lambda where presumably the higher order correction of the flow is needed. Some details of the specifics of the infrared regulator are also discussed., Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures

The inclusion of the Weyl squared term in the gravitational action is one of the most simple, yet non trivial modifications to General Relativity at high energies. Nevertheless the study of the spherically-symmetric vacuum solutions of this theory has received much attention only in recent times. A new type of asymptotically flat wormhole which does not match symmetrically at a finite radius with another sheet of the spacetime is presented. The outer spacetime is characterized by a newtonian potential with a Yukawa correction, and has gravitational properties that can be arbitrarily close to the ones of a Schwarzschild black hole. The internal spacetime instead possesses a singularity at $r=\infty$ with the topology of a 2-dimensional sphere. The expansion scalar of geodesics reaching this singularity diverges in a finite amount of proper time, with a striking resemblance with the future singularity of the Big Rip cosmological scenario. In terms of the external Yukawa hair and mass $M$, these new wormholes fill a large region of the two-dimensional parameter space of physical solutions with $M>0$. On the contrary black holes, both of Schwarzschild and non-Schwarzschild nature, are confined on a line. We argue that this type of wormholes are ideal black hole mimickers., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures

A convincing explanation for the nature of the dark energy and dark matter is still missing. In recent works a RG-improved swiss-cheese cosmology with an evolving cosmological constant dependent on the \sch radius has been proven to be a promising model to explain the observed cosmic acceleration. In this work we extend this model to consider the combined scaling of the Newton constant $G$ and the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ according to the IR-fixed point hypothesis. We shall show that our model easily generates the observed recent passage from deceleration to acceleration without need of extra energy scales, exotic fields or fine tuning. In order to check the generality of the concept, two different scaling relations have been analysed and we proved that both are in very good agreement with $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. We also show that our model satisfies the observational local constraints on $\dot{G}/G$., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures

In a recent work, it has been proposed that the recent cosmic passage to a cosmic acceleration era is the result of the existence of small anti-gravity sources in each galaxy and clusters of galaxies. In particular, a swiss-cheese cosmology model which relativistically integrates the contribution of all these anti-gravity sources on galactic scale has been constructed assuming the presence of an infrared fixed point for a scale dependent cosmological constant. The derived cosmological expansion provides explanation for both the fine tuning and the coincidence problem. The present work relaxes the previous assumption on the running of the cosmological constant and allows for a generic scaling around the infrared fixed point. Our analysis reveals in order to produce a cosmic evolution consistent with the best $\Lambda$CDM model, the IR-running of the cosmological constant is consistent with the presence of an IR-fixed point., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Accepted in Universe, MDPI

The characterization of the gravitational field of isolated objects is still an open question in quadratic theories of gravity. We study static equilibrium solutions for a self-gravitating fluid in extensions of General Relativity including terms quadratic in the Weyl tensor $C_{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}$ and in the Ricci scalar $R$, as suggested by one-loop corrections to classical gravity. By the means of a shooting method procedure we link the total gravitational mass and the strength of the Yukawa corrections associated with the quadratic terms with the fluid properties at the center. It is shown that the inclusion of the $C_{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}C^{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}$ coupling in the lagrangian has a much stronger impact than the $R^2$ correction in the determination of the radius and of the maximum mass of a compact object. We also suggest that the ambiguity in the definition of mass in quadratic gravity theories can conveniently be exploited to detect deviations from standard General Relativity., Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, 1 table

We reconstruct the Lorentzian graviton propagator in asymptotically safe quantum gravity from Euclidean data. The reconstruction is applied to both the dynamical fluctuation graviton and the background graviton propagator. We prove that the spectral function of the latter necessarily has negative parts similar to, and for the same reasons, as the gluon spectral function. In turn, the spectral function of the dynamical graviton is positive. We argue that the latter enters cross sections and other observables in asymptotically safe quantum gravity. Hence, its positivity may hint at the unitarity of asymptotically safe quantum gravity., Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables

A new set of field equations for a space-time dependent Newton's constant $G(x)$ and cosmological constant $\Lambda(x)$ in the presence of matter is presented. We prove that it represents the most general mathematically consistent, physically plausible, set of evolution equations assuming at most second derivatives in the dynamical variables. In the new Einstein's equations, only $\Lambda$-kinetic terms arise, while in the modified conservation equation, derivative terms of $G$ also appear. As an application, this formalism is applied in the context of the Asymptotic Safety scenario to the early universe, assuming a perfect fluid with a radiation equation of state. Cosmological solutions are obtained for all types of spatial curvature, displaying a variety of interesting cosmic evolutions. As an indication of such behaviours, bouncing solutions, recollapsing solutions or non-singular expanding solutions with a transient acceleration era are discussed in details., Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, to appear in PRD

We consider Lifshitz-type scalar theories with explicit breaking of the Lorentz symmetry that, in addition, exhibit anisotropic scaling laws near the ultraviolet fixed point. Using the proper time regularization method on the spatial coordinates only, we derive the regularized form of the one-loop effective potential in such theories. We study the main features of the one-loop effective potential and, also, the RG flow of the scale-dependent potential both in the IR and UV regimes. The beta functions for the couplings are derived., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures

Non-singular black hole geometries typically come with two spacetime horizons: an (outer) event horizon and an (inner) Cauchy horizon. This nurtures the speculation that they may be subject to a mass-inflation effect which renders the Cauchy horizon unstable. We analyze the dynamics associated with spherically symmetric, regular black holes taking the full backreaction between the infalling matter and geometry into account. On this basis, we identify the crucial features taming the growth of the mass function and diminishing the curvature singularity at the Cauchy horizon. It is demonstrated explicitly that the regular black hole solutions proposed by Hayward and obtained from Asymptotic Safety satisfy these properties., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, agrees with published version

Asymptotic safety is a theoretical proposal for the ultraviolet completion of quantum field theories, in particular for quantum gravity. Significant progress on this program has led to a first characterization of the Reuter fixed point. Further advancement in our understanding of the nature of quantum spacetime requires addressing a number of open questions and challenges. Here, we aim at providing a critical reflection on the state of the art in the asymptotic safety program, specifying and elaborating on open questions of both technical and conceptual nature. We also point out systematic pathways, in various stages of practical implementation, towards answering them. Finally, we also take the opportunity to clarify some common misunderstandings regarding the program., Comment: 23 pages plus references

A new class of relativistic stellar structure equations which include the effects of an energy-dependent Newton coupling is presented. Significant modifications in the mass-radius relation for neutron stars are possible only if the running of the Newton coupling due to quantum gravity occurs at low energies. A new Buchdahl limit is derived and its physical implications are discussed. In particular, sub-Planckian self-gravitating objects with arbitrarily small radii are possible., Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures. V2: minor changes, references added. Matches published version

The recent discovery of non-Schwarzschild black hole spacetimes has opened new directions of research in higher-derivative gravitational theories. However, despite intense analytical and numerical efforts, the link with the linearized theory is still poorly understood. In this work we address this point for the Einstein-Weyl Lagrangian, whose weak field limit is characterized by the standard massless graviton and a spin-2 ghost. We show that the strength of the Yukawa term at infinity determines the thermal properties of the black hole and the structure of the singularity near $r=0$. Moreover, inspired by recent results in the Asymptotic Safety scenario we investigate the consequences of an imaginary ghost mass. In this case we find a countable set of solutions all characterized by spatial oscillations of typical wavelength determined by the mass of the spin-2 field., Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures

We present the discovery of TOI-197.01, the first transiting planet identified by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) for which asteroseismology of the host star is possible. TOI-197 (HIP116158) is a bright (V=8.2 mag), spectroscopically classified subgiant which oscillates with an average frequency of about 430 muHz and displays a clear signature of mixed modes. The oscillation amplitude confirms that the redder TESS bandpass compared to Kepler has a small effect on the oscillations, supporting the expected yield of thousands of solar-like oscillators with TESS 2-minute cadence observations. Asteroseismic modeling yields a robust determination of the host star radius (2.943+/-0.064 Rsun), mass (1.212 +/- 0.074 Msun) and age (4.9+/-1.1 Gyr), and demonstrates that it has just started ascending the red-giant branch. Combining asteroseismology with transit modeling and radial-velocity observations, we show that the planet is a "hot Saturn" (9.17+/-0.33 Rearth) with an orbital period of ~14.3 days, irradiance of 343+/-24 Fearth, moderate mass (60.5 +/- 5.7 Mearth) and density (0.431+/-0.062 gcc). The properties of TOI-197.01 show that the host-star metallicity - planet mass correlation found in sub-Saturns (4-8 Rearth) does not extend to larger radii, indicating that planets in the transition between sub-Saturns and Jupiters follow a relatively narrow range of densities. With a density measured to ~15%, TOI-197.01 is one of the best characterized Saturn-sized planets to date, augmenting the small number of known transiting planets around evolved stars and demonstrating the power of TESS to characterize exoplanets and their host stars using asteroseismology., Comment: 12 pages (excluding author list and references), 9 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in AJ. An electronic version of Table 3 is available as an ancillary file (sidebar on the right)

We use the non-Gaussian fixed points (NGFPs) appearing in the renormalization group flow of gravity and gravity-matter systems to construct models of NGFP-driven inflation via a renormalization group improvement scheme. The cosmological predictions of these models depend sensitively on the characteristic properties of the NGFPs, including their position and stability coefficients, which in turn are determined by the field content of the underlying matter sector. We demonstrate that the NGFPs appearing in gravity-matter systems where the matter content is close to the one of the standard model of particle physics are the ones compatible with cosmological data. Somewhat counterintuitively, the negative fixed point value of the dimensionless cosmological constant is essential for these findings., Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. V2: references added. Matches published version

The existence of spacetime singularities is one of the biggest problems of nowadays physics. According to Penrose, each physical singularity should be covered by a "cosmic censor" which prevents any external observer from perceiving their existence. However, classical models describing the gravitational collapse usually results in strong curvature singularities, which can also remain "naked" for a finite amount of advanced time. This proceedings studies the modifications induced by Asymptotically Safe Gravity on the gravitational collapse of generic Vaidya spacetimes. It will be shown that, for any possible choice of the mass function, Quantum Gravity makes the internal singularity gravitationally weak, thus allowing a continuous extension of the spacetime beyond the singularity., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures

The Asymptotically Safe Gravity provides a framework for the description of gravity from the trans-Planckian regime to cosmological scales. According to this scenario, the cosmological constant and Newton's coupling are functions of the energy scale whose evolution is dictated by the renormalization group equations. The formulation of the renormalization group equations on foliated spacetimes, based on the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner (ADM) formalism, furnishes a natural way to construct the RG energy scale from the spectrum of the laplacian operator on the spatial slices. Combining this idea with a Renormalization Group improvement procedure, in this work we study quantum gravitational corrections to the Einstein-Hilbert action on Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) backgrounds. The resulting quantum-corrected Friedmann equations can give rise to both bouncing cosmologies and emergent universe solutions. Our bouncing models do not require the presence of exotic matter and emergent universe solutions can be constructed for any allowed topology of the spatial slices., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure. V2: references added

Helioseismology can provide strong constraints on the evolution of Newton's constant over cosmic time. We make use of the best possible estimate of 8640 days of low-$\ell$ BISON data, corrected for the solar cycle variation, to obtain a new constraint on an evolving gravitational constant. In particular, by means of a Bayesian analysis we conclude that ${{\dot{G}/G}_{\rm today}}=(1.25\pm 0.30) \times 10^{-13} \; \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. Our result, a 4-$\sigma$ effect, is more than one order of magnitude stronger than previous constraints obtained with helioseismology. We also take into account possible systematic effects by considering the theoretical uncertainties on the efficiency of the proton-proton $(pp)$ fusion cross-section. We show that models with variable $G$ significantly outclass models with no secular variation of $G$, viz by a Bayes factor exceeding 30., Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure

Stellar dynamos are affected by boundary conditions imposed by stellar coronae. Under some approximations it is possible to find analytical solutions. Interior dynamo models often consider a current-free coronae without taking into account the constraints imposed by the presence of currents in the corona. We aim to analytically evaluate the effect of coronal currents and of an outer boundary condition on the efficiency of an $\alpha^2$ dynamo. We intend to estimate the change in geometry and dinamo excitation numbers with respect to the current-free case. We analytically solve the turbulent dynamo induction equation for a homogeneous, non-mirror symmetric turbulence, in a spherical domain surrounded by a linear force-free corona with magnetic field B satisfying curl B = \beta B. The main result is that the dynamo number is a decreasing function of \beta. Moreover, if the current is parallel to the field (\beta > 0) the dynamo number is smaller than in the force-free case. On the contrary (\beta < 0) the dynamo number is greater than the in force-free case. We conclude that the presence of currents in the corona needs to be taken into account because it affects the condition for excitation of a dynamo., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

The Kepler space telescope has provided time series of red giants of such unprecedented quality that a detailed asteroseismic analysis becomes possible. For a limited set of about a dozen red giants, the observed oscillation frequencies obtained by peak-bagging together with the most recent pulsation codes allowed us to reliably determine the core/envelope rotation ratio. The results so far show that the current models are unable to reproduce the rotation ratios, predicting higher values than what is observed and thus indicating that an efficient angular momentum transport mechanism should be at work. Here we provide an asteroseismic analysis of a sample of 13 low-luminosity low-mass red giant stars observed by Kepler during its first nominal mission. These targets form a subsample of the 19 red giants studied previously Corsaro et al. 2015, which not only have a large number of extracted oscillation frequencies, but also unambiguous mode identifications We aim to extend the sample of red giants for which internal rotation ratios obtained by theoretical modeling of peak-bagged frequencies are available. We also derive the rotation ratios using different methods, and compare the results of these methods with each other. We built seismic models using a grid search combined with a Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm and obtained rotation averages employing Bayesian inference and inversion methods. We compared these averages with those obtained using a previously developed model-independent method. We find that the cores of the red giants in this sample are rotating 5 to 10 times faster than their envelopes, which is consistent with earlier results. The rotation rates computed from the different methods show good agreement for some targets, while some discrepancies exist for others., Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Asymptotic Safety, based on a non-Gaussian fixed point of the gravitational renormalization group flow, provides an elegant mechanism for completing the gravitational force at sub-Planckian scales. At high energies the fixed point controls the scaling of couplings such that unphysical divergences are absent while the emergence of classical low-energy physics is linked to a crossover between two renormalization group fixed points. These features make Asymptotic Safety an attractive framework for cosmological model building. The resulting scenarios may naturally give rise to a quantum gravity driven inflationary phase in the very early universe and an almost scale-free fluctuation spectrum. Moreover, effective descriptions arising from an renormalization group improvement permit a direct comparison to cosmological observations as, e.g. Planck data., Comment: Invited review for the special issue "Testing quantum gravity with cosmology" to appear in Compte Rendus Physique A

Recent spectro-polarimetric observations of solar-type stars have shown the presence of photospheric magnetic fields with a predominant toroidal component. If the external field is assumed to be current-free it is impossible to explain these observations within the framework of standard mean-field dynamo theory. In this work it will be shown that if the coronal field of these stars is assumed to be harmonic, the underlying stellar dynamo mechanism can support photospheric magnetic fields with a prominent toroidal component even in the presence of axisymmetric magnetic topologies. In particular it is argued that the observed increase in the toroidal energy in low mass fast rotating stars can be naturally explained with an underlying $\alpha\Omega$ mechanism., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

We study the quantum gravity modification of the Kuroda-Papapetrou model induced by the running of the Newton's constant at high energy in Quantum Einstein Gravity. We argue that although the antiscreening character of the gravitational interaction favours the formation of a naked singularity, quantum gravity effects turn the classical singularity into a "whimper" singularity which remains naked for a finite amount of advanced time., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures; v3: version accepted for publication in CQG

Recent numerical results of current-driven instabilities at low magnetic Prandtl number and high Hartmann number support the possibility of a saturation state characterized by helicity oscillations. We investigate the underlying mechanism by analyzing this possibility using an higher-order Landau-Ginzburg effective Lagrangian for the weakly non-linear amplitude dynamics, where the magnetic and velocity perturbations are linearly dependent. We find that, if the mirror symmetry between left- and right-handed modes is spontaneously broken, it is impossible to achieve an oscillating helical state. We argue that the result is likely to hold also adding higher-order terms and in the presence of an explicit symmetry breaking. We conclude that an oscillating saturating state for the Tayler instability is unlikely to depend on the interaction of chiral modes., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures

It has been hypothesized that the presence of closely orbiting giant planets is associated with enhanced chromospheric emission of their host stars. The main cause for such a relation would likely be enhanced dynamo action induced by the planet. We present measurements of chromospheric emission in 234 planet candidate systems from the Kepler mission. This ensemble includes 37 systems with giant planet candidates, which show a clear emission enhancement. The enhancement, however, disappears when systems which are also identified as eclipsing binary candidates are removed from the ensemble. This suggests that a large fraction of the giant planet candidate systems with chromospheric emission stronger than the Sun are not giant planet system, but false positives. Such false-positive systems could be tidally interacting binaries with strong chromospheric emission. This hypotesis is supported by an analysis of 188 eclipsing binary candidates that show increasing chromospheric emission as function of decreasing orbital period., Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

The helioseismic determination of the solar age has been a subject of several studies because it provides us with an independent estimation of the age of the solar system. We present the Bayesian estimates of the helioseismic age of the Sun, which are determined by means of calibrated solar models that employ different equations of state and nuclear reaction rates. We use 17 frequency separation ratios $r_{02}(n)=(\nu_{n,l=0}-\nu_{n-1,l=2})/(\nu_{n,l=1}-\nu_{n-1,l=1})$ from 8640 days of low-$\ell$ BiSON frequencies and consider three likelihood functions that depend on the handling of the errors of these $r_{02}(n)$ ratios. Moreover, we employ the 2010 CODATA recommended values for Newton's constant, solar mass, and radius to calibrate a large grid of solar models spanning a conceivable range of solar ages. It is shown that the most constrained posterior distribution of the solar age for models employing Irwin EOS with NACRE reaction rates leads to $t_\odot = 4.587 \pm 0.007$ Gyr, while models employing the Irwin EOS and Adelberger, et al., Reviews of Modern Physics, 83, 195 (2011) reaction rate have $t_\odot = 4.569 \pm 0.006 $ Gyr. Implementing OPAL EOS in the solar models results in reduced evidence ratios (Bayes factors) and leads to an age that is not consistent with the meteoritic dating of the solar system. An estimate of the solar age that relies on an helioseismic age indicator such as $r_{02}(n)$ turns out to be essentially independent of the type of likelihood function. However, with respect to model selection, abandoning any information concerning the errors of the $r_{02}(n)$ ratios leads to inconclusive results, and this stresses the importance of evaluating the trustworthiness of error estimates., Comment: 4 pages, three Tables, A&A to appear

Asymptotically Safe theories of gravity have recently received much attention. In this work we discuss a class of inflationary models derived from quantum-gravity modification of quadratic gravity according to the induced scaling around the non-Gaussian fixed point at very high energies. It is argued that the presence of a three dimensional ultraviolet critical surface generates operators of non-integer power of the type $R^{2-\theta/2}$ in the effective Lagrangian, where $\theta>0$ is a critical exponent. The requirement of a successful inflationary model in agreement with the recent Planck 2015 data puts important constraints on the strenght of this new type of couplings., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Physics Letters B, to appear

We consider combined rotational, magnetic, and thermal evolution of the neutron star during the accretion phase in a binary system. A rapid accretion-driven decay of the magnetic field decreases substantially the efficiency of angular momentum transfer. As a result, the neutron star cannot spin up to periods shorter than some limiting value even if accretion is very long and accretion rate is high. The proposed mechanism can explain a discrepancy between the shortest detected period and minimal possible spin period of neutron stars., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS in press, figure 2 label typo corrected

The Lifshitz critical behavior for a single component field theory is studied for the specific isotropic case in the framework of the Functional Renormalization Group. Lifshitz fixed point solutions of the flow equation, derived by using a Proper Time regulator, are searched at lowest and higher order in the derivative expansion. Solutions are found when the number of spatial dimensions d is contained within the interval 5.5 < d < 8., Comment: Published version.Minor corrections and references added

The recent discovery of long-period, low magnetic field pulsars in low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) represents a challenge for the standard evolutionary scenario. These pulsars have a magnetic field strength comparable to that of millisecond pulsars ($\sim 10^8 - 10^9$ G), but their period is at least an order of magnitude longer. We discuss the origin of this new class of pulsars within the standard picture of LMXBs formation and apply our results to the case of IGR J17480-2446. The magnetothermal evolution of the binary system is studied numerically by taking into account the effect of different accretion rates during the Roche-lobe overflow in the framework of the minimal cooling scenario. We show that, in addition to standard millisecond pulsars, long-period low magnetic field pulsars should also be expected as a possible outcome of the binary evolution, depending on the strength of the accretion rate during the Roche-lobe overflow. In particular, we argue that IGR J17480-2446 belongs to this new class of objects., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Astronomy and Astrophysics, to appear

The study of the magnetic field in stellar radiation zones is an important topic in modern astrophysics because the magnetic field can play an important role in several transport phenomena such as mixing and angular momentum transport. We consider the influence of rotation on stability of a predominantly toroidal magnetic field in the radiation zone. We find that the effect of rotation on the stability depends on the magnetic configuration of the basic state. If the toroidal field increases sufficiently rapidly with the spherical radius, the instability cannot be suppressed entirely even by a very fast rotation although the strength of the instability can be significantly reduced. On the other hand, if the field increases slowly enough with the radius or decreases, the instability has a threshold and can be completely suppressed in rapidly rotating stars. We find that in the regions where the instability is entirely suppressed a particular type of magnetohydrodynamic waves may exist which are marginally stable., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to appear on MNRAS. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1302.2523

We discuss the stabilization of the conformal factor by higher derivative terms in a conformally reduced $R+R^2$ Euclidean gravity theory. The flat spacetime is unstable towards the condensation of modes with nonzero momentum, and they "condense" in a modulated phase above a critical value of the coupling $\beta$ of the $R^2$ term. By employing a combination of variational, numerical and lattice methods we show that in the semiclassical limit the corresponding functional integral is dominated by a single nonlinear plane wave of frequency $\approx 1/\sqrt{\beta} \lp$. We argue that the ground state of the theory is characterized by a spontaneous breaking of translational invariance at Planckian scales., Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures

The magnetic field in stellar radiation zones can play an important role in phenomena such as mixing, angular momentum transport, etc. We study the effect of rotation on the stability of a predominantly toroidal magnetic field in the radiation zone. In particular we considered the stability in spherical geometry by means of a linear analysis in the Boussinesq approximation. It is found that the effect of rotation on the stability depends on a magnetic configuration. If the toroidal field increases with the spherical radius, the instability cannot be suppressed entirely even by a very fast rotation. Rotation can only decrease the growth rate of instability. If the field decreases with the radius, the instability has a threshold and can be completey suppressed., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear on Astronomy and Astrophysics. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1110.3340

The possibility of non-axisimmetric (kink) instabilities of a toroidal field seated in the tachocline is much discussed in the literature. In this work, the basic properties of kink and quasi-interchange instabilities, produced by mixed toroidal and poloidal configuration, will be briefly reviewed. In particular it will be shown that the unstable modes are strongly localized near the Equator and not near the Poles as often claimed in the literature. Based on the results of recent numerical simulations, it is argued that a non-zero helicity can already be produced at a non-linear level. A mean-field solar dynamo is then constructed with a positive $\alpha$-effect in the overshoot layer localized near the Equator and a meridional circulation with a deep return flow. Finally, the possibility that the solar cycle is driven by a $\alpha\Omega$ dynamo generated by the negative subsurface shear in the supergranulation layer will also be discussed., Comment: to appear in Solar Physics

Stellar models generally use simple parametrizations to treat convection. The most widely used parametrization is the so-called "Mixing Length Theory" where the convective eddy sizes are described using a single number, \alpha, the mixing-length parameter. This is a free parameter, and the general practice is to calibrate \alpha using the known properties of the Sun and apply that to all stars. Using data from NASA's Kepler mission we show that using the solar-calibrated \alpha is not always appropriate, and that in many cases it would lead to estimates of initial helium abundances that are lower than the primordial helium abundance. Kepler data allow us to calibrate \alpha for many other stars and we show that for the sample of stars we have studied, the mixing-length parameter is generally lower than the solar value. We studied the correlation between \alpha and stellar properties, and we find that \alpha increases with metallicity. We therefore conclude that results obtained by fitting stellar models or by using population-synthesis models constructed with solar values of \alpha are likely to have large systematic errors. Our results also confirm theoretical expectations that the mixing-length parameter should vary with stellar properties., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

The scaling properties of quantum gravity are discussed by employing a class of proper-time regulators in the functional flow equation for the conformal factor within the formalism of the background field method. Renormalization group trajectories obtained by projecting the flow on a flat topology are more stable than those obtained from a projection on a spherical topology. In the latter case the ultraviolet flow can be characterized by a Hopf bifurcation with an ultraviolet attractive limiting cycle. Although the possibility of determining the infrared flow for an extended theory space can be severely hampered due to the conformal factor instability, we present a robust numerical approach to study the flow structure around the non-gaussian fixed point as an inverse-problem strategy. In particular it is shown the possibility of having a spontaneous breaking of the diffeomorphism invariance can be realized with non-local functionals of the volume operator., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures; replaced with journal version

We studied solar-like oscillations in 115 red giants in the three open clusters NGC 6791, NGC 6811, and NGC 6819, based on photometric data covering more than 19 months with NASA's Kepler space telescope. We present the asteroseismic diagrams of the asymptotic parameters \delta\nu_02, \delta\nu_01 and \epsilon, which show clear correlation with fundamental stellar parameters such as mass and radius. When the stellar populations from the clusters are compared, we see evidence for a difference in mass of the red giant branch stars, and possibly a difference in structure of the red clump stars, from our measurements of the small separations \delta\nu_02 and \delta\nu_01. Ensemble \'{e}chelle diagrams and upper limits to the linewidths of l = 0 modes as a function of \Delta\nu of the clusters NGC 6791 and NGC 6819 are also shown, together with the correlation between the l = 0 ridge width and the T_eff of the stars. Lastly, we distinguish between red giant branch and red clump stars through the measurement of the period spacing of mixed dipole modes in 53 stars among all the three clusters to verify the stellar classification from the color-magnitude diagram. These seismic results also allow us to identify a number of special cases, including evolved blue stragglers and binaries, as well as stars in late He-core burning phases, which can be potentially interesting targets for detailed theoretical modeling., Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures, 1 table, accepted to ApJ

We study spontaneous breakdown of chiral symmetry during the nonlinear evolution of the Tayler instability. We start with an initial steady state of zero helicity. Within linearized perturbation calculations, helical perturbations of this initial state have the same growth rate for either sign of helicity. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of the fully nonlinear equations, however, show that an infinitesimal excess of one sign of helicity in the initial perturbation gives rise to a saturated helical state. We further show that this symmetry breaking can be described by weakly nonlinear finite--amplitude equations with undetermined coefficients which can be deduced solely from symmetry consideration. By fitting solutions of the amplitude equations to data from DNS we further determine the coefficients of the amplitude equations., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Published on Phys. Rev. E

Asymptotically safe theories of gravitation have received great attention in recent times. In this framework an effective action embodying the basic features of the renormalized flow around the non-gaussian fixed point is derived and its implications for the early universe are discussed. In particular, a "landscape" of a countably infinite number of cosmological inflationary solutions characterized by an unstable de Sitter phase lasting for a large enough number of e-folds is found., Comment: 5 pages, to appear as a Rapid Communication in Physical Review D

The meridional circulation plays an essential role in determining the basic mechanism of the dynamo action in case the of a low eddy diffusivity. Flux-transport dynamos with strong return flow and a deep stagnation point are discussed in the case of a positive $\alpha$-effect located in the overshoot layer and a rotation law consistent with helioseismology. By means of a linear dynamo model, it will be shown that the migration of the toroidal belts at lower latitudes and the periods of the activity cycles are consistent with the observations. Moreover, at variance with previous investigations, the typical critical dynamo numbers of dipolar solutions are significantly smaller that those of quadrupolar solutions even in the regime of strong flow., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. To appear on Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn