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Considering the so-called Ricci-based gravity theories, a family of extensions of General Relativity whose action is given by a non-linear function of contractions and products of the (symmetric part of the) Ricci tensor of an independent connection, the Hamiltonian formulation of the theory is obtained. To do so, the independent connection is decomposed in two parts, one compatible with a metric tensor and the other one given by a 3-rank tensor. Subsequently, the Riemann tensor is expressed in terms of its projected components onto a hypersurface, allowing to construct the $3+1$ decomposition of the theory and the corresponding Gauss-Codazzi relations, where the boundary terms naturally arise in the gravitational action. Finally, the ADM decomposition is followed in order to construct the corresponding Hamiltonian and the ADM energy for any Ricci-based gravity theory. The formalism is applied to the simple case of Schwarzschild space-time., Comment: 11 pages. Version published in PRD

An exponential modified gravity with additional logarithmic corrections is considered with the presence of an axion-like scalar field in the role of dark matter. Axion fields are thought to become important at late-times when the axion-like scalar field oscillates around its vacuum expectation value, mimicking dark matter behaviour. The model is compared with the usual pressureless fluid description of dark matter. Both models are tested with observational data including some of the latest sources, providing similar fits in comparison with the $\Lambda$CDM model. Despite results are not statistically relevant to rule out any model, the number of free parameters still favours $\Lambda$CDM model, as shown by computing the goodness of the fits., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Phys. Dark Univ

One of the main issues in gravitation is the presence of singularities in the most common space-time solutions of General Relativity, as the case of black holes. A way of constructing regular solutions that remove spacelike singularities consists in implement a bounce on such space-time, leading to what is usually known as black bounce space-times. Such space-times are known to describe regular black holes or traversable wormholes. However, one of the main issues lies on reconstructing the appropriate source that leads to such a solution. In this paper, a reconstruction method is implemented to show that such types of metrics can be well accommodated in non-linear electrodynamics with the presence of a scalar field. Some of the most important black bounces solutions are reconstructed in this framework, both in 3+1 as in 2+1 dimensions. For the first time in the literature, these solutions have an electrically charged source of matter from non-linear electrodynamics. Specific features are indicated that distinguish electric sources from magnetic ones, previously found for the same space-times., Comment: V3: 14 pages, new figures, published in EPJC

In the era of gravitational waves physics, when detections of wave fronts are increasing in number, sensibility, frequencies and distances, gravitational physics has entered a period of maximum activity and brilliance. This has open a new window where General Relativity can be challenged in both weak as strong-field regimes. In this paper, we focus on the analysis of gravitational waves propagation and emission in the weak-field regime for gravitational theories within the Palatini formalism. Our results show that gravitational waves propagation in vacuum matches General Relativity predictions as well as the multipolar expansion when considering weak sources, independently of the form of the gravitational action., Comment: 10 pages, extra analysis, conclusions updated and additional references. Version to be published in GRG

The cosmological evolution within the framework of exponential $F(R)$ gravity is analysed by assuming two forms for dark matter: (a) a standard dust-like fluid and (b) an axion scalar field. As shown in previous literature, an axion-like field oscillates during the cosmological evolution but can play the role of dark matter when approaching the minimum of its potential. Both scenarios are confronted with recent observational data including the Pantheon Type Ia supernovae, Hubble parameter estimations (Cosmic Chronometers), Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Cosmic Microwave Background distances. The models show great possibilities in describing these observations when compared with the $\Lambda$CDM model, supporting the viability of exponential $F(R)$ gravity. The differences between both descriptions of dark matter is analysed., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Phys. Dark Universe

The present paper is devoted to a new black bounce solution that regularize the well-known rotating black string in $3+1$ dimensions. To do so, the procedure pointed out by Simpson-Visser is followed, which has been already applied successfully to other static cases of black strings, with and without electric charge. This method implies to force a bounce on the radial coordinate, such that a wormhole throat arises before the singularity, which renders a regular solution. An analysis of the metric is conducted, showing the interpolation between a regular black hole and a wormhole, what provides a much richer family of solutions than the original metric. Different curvature magnitudes are obtained in order to analyze the regularity of the solution, including the Ricci and Kretschmann scalars. Finally, by following the Einstein field equations the corresponding effective energy-momentum tensor is obtained and the energy conditions are analyzed., Comment: 10 pages

In the era of precision cosmology, different observational data has led to precise measurements of the Hubble constant that differ significantly, what has been called the Hubble tension problem. In order to solve such a discrepancy, many different solutions have been proposed, from systematic errors on the observational data to theoretical proposals that assume an early dark energy that might affect the universe expansion at the time of recombination. In this paper, a model of varying cosmological constant is proposed in the framework of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. The corresponding gravitational action is reconstructed and such a model is shown to reproduce well the inflationary era together with dark energy epoch and at the same time to provide an explanation for the discrepancy on the Hubble constant predictions. The transition to a phantom epoch is also realised, avoiding the usual instability problems of ordinary scalar field models., Comment: 13 pages. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Dark Universe

The optical appearance of a body compact enough to feature an unstable bound orbit, when surrounded by an accretion disk, is expected to be dominated by a luminous ring of radiation enclosing a central brightness depression typically known as the shadow. Despite observational limitations, the rough details of this picture have been now confirmed by the results of the EHT Collaboration on the imaging of the M87 and Milky Way supermassive central objects. However, the precise characterization of both features - ring and shadow - depends on the interaction between the background geometry and the accretion disk, thus being a fertile playground to test our theories on the nature of compact objects and the gravitational field itself in the strong-field regime. In this work we use both features in order to test a continuous family of solutions interpolating between regular black holes and horizonless compact objects, which arise within the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld theory of gravity, a viable extension of Einstein's General Relativity (GR). To this end we consider seven distinctive classes of such configurations (five black holes and two traversable wormholes) and study their optical appearances under illumination by a geometrically and optically thin accretion disk, emitting monochromatically with three analytic intensity profiles previously suggested in the literature. We build such images and consider the sub-ring structure created by light rays crossing the disk more than once and existing on top of the main ring of radiation. We discuss in detail the modifications as compared to their GR counterparts, the Lyapunov exponents of unstable nearly-bound orbits, as well as the differences between black hole and traversable wormholes for the three intensity profiles., Comment: 25 pages, 53 individual figures; v2: many modifications and additions, changes to the styles of figures, new tables; version accepted for publication on Class. Quant. Grav special issue"CQG - Focus issue on Quantum Gravity Phenomenology in the Multi-Messenger Era: Challenges and Perspectives extension"

Some models within the framework of Gauss-Bonnet gravities are considered in the presence of a non-minimally coupled scalar field. By imposing a particular constraint on the scalar field coupling, an extension of the called Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity that keeps the correct speed of propagation for gravitational waves, is considered. The cosmological evolution for this viable class of models is studied and compared with observational data (BAO, CMB, Sne Ia,..), where we obtain the corresponding bounds for these theories and show that such theories fit well the data and provide a well-behaved cosmological evolution in comparison to the standard model of cosmology. Some statistical parameters show that the goodness of the fits are slightly better than those for $\Lambda$CDM model., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. To be published in Phys. of the Dark Universe

We discuss the importance of multi-ring images in the optical appearance of a horizonless spherically symmetric compact object, when illuminated by an optically thin accretion disk. Such an object corresponds to a sub-case of an analytically tractable extension of the Kerr solution dubbed as the {\it eye of the storm} by Simpson and Visser in [JCAP \textbf{03} (2022) 011], which merits in removing curvature singularities via an asymptotically Minkowski core, while harbouring both a critical curve and an infinite potential barrier at the center for null geodesics. This multi-ring structure is induced by light rays winding several times around the object, and whose luminosity is significantly boosted as compared to the Schwarzschild solution by the modified shape of the potential. Using three toy-profiles for the emission of an infinitely thin disk, truncated at its inner edge (taking its maximum value there) and having different decays with the distance, we discuss the image created by up to eight rings superimposed on top of the direct emission of the disk as its edge is moved closer to the center of the object. Our results point out to the existence of multi-ring images with a non-negligible luminosity in shadow observations when one allows for the existence of other compact objects in the cosmic zoo beyond the Schwarzschild solution. Such multi-ring images could be detectable within the future projects on very-long baseline interferometry., Comment: 12 pages, many figures; v2: corrections and additions in many places, version accepted for publication in PRD

Schema evolution is a crucial aspect in database management. The proposed taxonomies of schema changes have neglected the set of operations that involves relationships between entity types: aggregation and references, as well as the possible existence of structural variations for schema types, as most of NoSQL systems are schemaless. The distinction between entity types and relationship types, which is typical of graph schemas, is also not taken into account in the published works. Moreover, NoSQL schema evolution poses the challenge of having different data models, and no standard specification exists for them. In this paper, a generic approach for evolving NoSQL and relational schemas is presented, which is based on the U-Schema unified data model that includes aggregation and reference relationships, and structural variations. For this data model, we introduce a taxonomy of schema changes for all the U-Schema elements, which is implemented by creating the Orion database-independent language. We will show how Orion can be used to automatically generate evolution scripts for a set of NoSQL databases, and the feasibility of each schema operation will be analyzed through the performance results obtained. The taxonomy has been formally validated by means of Alloy, and two case studies show the application of Orion., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures

Interacting dark energy-dark matter models have been widely analyzed in the literature in an attempt to find traces of new physics beyond the usual cosmological ($\Lambda$CDM) models. Such a coupling between both dark components is usually introduced in a phenomenological way through a flux in the continuity equation. However, models with a Lagrangian formulation are also possible. A class of the latter assumes a conformal/disformal coupling that leads to a fifth force on the dark matter component, which consequently does not follow the same geodesics as the other (baryonic, radiation, and dark energy) matter sources. Here we analyze how the usual cosmological singularities of the standard matter frame are seen from the dark matter one, concluding that by choosing an appropriate coupling, dark matter observers will see no singularities but a non-beginning, non-ending universe. By considering two simple phenomenological models we show that such a type of coupling can fit observational data as well as the usual $\Lambda$CDM model., Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures

The silhouette of a black hole having a critical curve (an unstable bound photon orbit) when illuminated by an optically thin accretion disk whose emission is confined to the equatorial plane shows a distinctive central brightness depression (the shadow) whose outer edge consists of a series of strongly lensed, self-similar rings superimposed with the disk's direct emission. While the size and shape of the critical curve depend only on the background geometry, the pattern of bright and dark regions (including the size and depth of the shadow itself) in the image is strongly influenced by the (astro)physics of the accretion disk. This aspect makes it difficult to extract clean and clear observational discriminators between the Kerr black hole and other compact objects. In the presence of a second critical curve, however, observational differences become apparent. In this work we shall consider some spherically symmetric black hole and wormhole geometries characterized by the presence of a second critical curve, via a uniparametric family of extensions of the Schwarzschild metric. By assuming three toy models of geometrically thin accretion disks, we show the presence of additional light rings in the intermediate region between the two critical curves. The observation of such rings could represent a compelling evidence for the existence of black hole mimickers having multiple critical curves., Comment: 15 pages, 35 figures

We argue that the appearance of additional light rings in a shadow observation - beyond the infinite sequence of exponentially demagnified self-similar rings foreseen in the Kerr solution - would make a compelling case for the existence of black hole mimickers having multiple critical curves. We support this claim by discussing three different scenarios of spherically symmetric wormhole geometries having two such critical curves, and explicitly work out the optical appearance of one such object when surrounded by an optically and geometrically thin accretion disk., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

We study the light rings and shadows of an uniparametric family of spherically symmetric geometries interpolating between the Schwarzschild solution, a regular black hole, and a traversable wormhole, and dubbed as black bounces, all of them sharing the same critical impact parameter. We consider the ray-tracing method in order to study the impact parameter regions corresponding to the direct, lensed, and photon ring emission, finding a broadening of all these regions for black bounce solutions as compared to the Schwarzschild one. Using this, we determine the optical appearance of black bounces when illuminated by three standard toy models of optically and geometrically thin accretion disks viewed in face-on orientation., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables; v2: minor corrections, references added

In the present paper, the 3+1 decomposition of the spacetime onto hypersurface(s) is analysed and established for theories within the Palatini formalism by considering a general function of the Ricci scalar in the gravitational action. The corresponding Gauss-Codazzi relations are obtained and the boundary term that has to be subtracted in the gravitational action is easily deduced. Then, these relations are applied to the so-called ADM decomposition to describe the foliation of the spacetime onto hypersurfaces of constant time within these theories. Finally, the junction conditions are also obtained by using a decomposition in Gaussian normal coordinates, which coincide with the conditions deduced previously through different approaches., Comment: 12 pages, version published in PRD

A general equation of state is considered for analysing the possible behaviors for (Early) dark energy that alleviates the Hubble parameter tension problem. By departing from the possible evolution for the (Early) dark energy density and the corresponding dynamical equations, the equation of state is obtained, which allow us to analyze qualitatively the cosmological evolution and the dominance of each term in the equation of state along the cosmic expansion, which show some interesting consequences as the occurrence of (past) future singularities. Then, by considering two general models, their free parameters are fit with different sources of data, showing the goodness of the fits in comparison to more standard models. Results might be considered as a promising starting point to get a better understanding of the cosmological evolution as a whole., Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures, analysis extended, version accepted for publication in Phys. of the Dark Universe

A general $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravitational theory is considered within the Palatini formalism. By applying the variational principle and the usual conditions on the boundary, we show explicitly that a surface term remains such that as in their metric-compatible counterparts, an additional surface term has to be added in the gravitational action, which plays a fundamental role when calculating the entropy of the black hole., Comment: 5 pages, version to be published in PLB

The Hubble constant tension problem is analysed in the framework of a class of modified gravity, the so-called $F(R)$ gravity. To do so, we explore two models: an exponential and a power-law $F(R)$ gravities, which includes an early dark energy (EDE) term in the latter. These models can describe both an early time inflationary epoch and the late time accelerating expansion of the universe. We confront both models with recent observational data including the Pantheon Type Ia supernovae sample, the latest measurements of the Hubble parameter $H(z)$ from differential ages of galaxies (cosmic chronometers) and separately from baryon acoustic oscillations. Standard rulers data set from the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation are also included in our analysis. The estimations of the Hubble constant appear to be essentially depending on the set of observational data and vary in the range from 68 to 70{.}3 km\,/(s$\cdot$Mpc). The fits of the other free parameters of the models are also obtained, revealing interesting consequences., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Version to be published in NPB

Slow-roll inflation is analyzed in the context of modified gravity within the Palatini formalism. As shown in the literature, inflation in this framework requires the presence of non-traceless matter, otherwise it does not occur just as a consequence of the non-linear gravitational terms of the action. Nevertheless, by including a single scalar field that plays the role of the inflaton, slow-roll inflation can be performed in these theories, where the equations lead to an effective potential that modifies the dynamics. We obtain the general slow-roll parameters and analyze a simple model to illustrate the differences introduced by the gravitational terms under the Palatini approach, and the modifications on the spectral index and the tensor to scalar ratio predicted by the model., Comment: 11 pages, version published

Constant roll inflation is analyzed in the presence of multi scalar fields which are assumed to be described by a constant roll rate each. The different cases are studied and the corresponding potentials are reconstructed. The exact solutions are obtained, which show a similar behaviour to the single scalar field model. For one of the cases analyzed in the paper, the so-called adiabatic field also constant rolls while entropy perturbations become null, while the second case may lead to non-adiabatic perturbations. Both cases can fit well the Planck data by assuming the appropriate values for the free parameters of the models., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures

The use of glass for pharmaceutical new applications such as high-technology drugs, requires the strictest container inertness. A common theme of paramount importance in glass container integrity preservation is the detailed mechanism driving the sudden failure due the crack propagation. Using a combination of Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Finite Element Method (FEM), a stress map for glass cartridges packed into an accumulation table and transported by a conveyor belt at a fixed velocity is obtained under realistic conditions. The DEM calculation provides a full description of the dynamics of the cartridges, as approximated by an equivalent sphere, as well as the statistics of the multiple collisions. The FEM calculation exploits this input to provide the maximum principal stress of different pairs as a function of time. Our analysis shows that, during their transportation on the conveyor belt, the cartridges are subject to several shocks of varying intensities. Under these conditions, a crack may originate inside the cartridge in the area of maximal tensile stress, and propagate outward. Estimated stresses are found in good agreement with real systems., Comment: 20 pages, 13 Figures, in press

Extremal cosmological black holes are analysed in the framework of the most general second order scalar-tensor theory, the~so-called Horndeski gravity. Such~extremal black holes are a particular case of Schwarzschild-De Sitter black holes that arises when the black hole horizon and the cosmological one coincide. Such~metric is induced by a particular value of the effective cosmological constant and is known as Nariai spacetime. The~existence of this type of solutions is studied when considering the Horndeski Lagrangian and its stability is analysed, where the so-called anti-evaporation regime is studied. Contrary to other frameworks, the~radius of the horizon remains stable for some cases of the Horndeski Lagrangian when considering perturbations at linear order., Comment: 15 pages, version published

Some cosmological scenarios with bulk viscosity for the dark energy fluid are considered. Based on some considerations related to hydrodynamics, two different equations of state for dark energy are assumed, leading to power-law and logarithmic effective corrections to the pressure. The models are tested with the latest astronomical data from Type Ia supernovae (Pantheon sample), measurements of the Hubble parameter $H(z)$, Baryon Acoustic Oscillations and Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. In comparison with $\Lambda$CDM model, some different results are obtained and their viability is discussed. The power-law model shows some modest results, achieved under negative values of bulk viscosity, while the logarithmic scenario provide good fits in comparison to $\Lambda$CDM model., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. To be published in PRD