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A new evolution algorithm for the characteristic initial value problem based upon an affine parameter rather than the areal radial coordinate used in the Bondi-Sachs formulation is applied in the spherically symmetric case to the gravitational collapse of a massless scalar field. The advantages over the Bondi-Sachs version are discussed, with particular emphasis on the application to critical collapse. Unexpected quadratures lead to a simple evolution algorithm based upon ordinary differential equations which can be integrated along the null rays. For collapse to a black hole in a Penrose compactified spacetime, these equations are regularized throughout the exterior and interior of the horizon up to the final singularity. They are implemented as a global numerical evolution code based upon the Galerkin method. New results regarding the global properties of critical collapse are presented., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures

The present work is the continuation of the investigation of aspects of wave turbulence in preheating we have started in Refs. [1, 2] but considering several classes of inflationary two-fields models. We exhibit the main elements of the wave turbulence phase imprinted in the power spectra of relevant quantities in the time and space domains. As a general feature, the power spectra resemble in their structure to those obtained using the single nonminimally coupled scalar field of the previous work. As a consequence, we obtained an estimate of the temperature corresponding to the thermalized phase from the power spectrum of the total energy density. Another feature allowed by the simulations was the determination of the effective equation of state after taking into account the backreaction of the produced particles.

We study the nonlinear stage of preheating in a model consisting of a single inflaton field $\phi$ nonminimally coupled to the spacetime curvature and considering a self-coupling quartic potential V ($\phi$) = $\lambda \phi^4/4$. As the first motivation, we mention that this nonminimally coupled model agrees with the observational data. The second and the central issue of the present work is to exhibit aspects of wave turbulence associated with the mechanism of energy transfer from the inflaton field to the inhomogeneous fluctuations towards a state of thermalization. The imprints of the turbulence phase are mainly shown in the power spectra in time and wavenumber of relevant quantities such as the variance and the energy density of the inflaton field. We performed the simulations for several values of the nonminimally coupled models and taking into account the backreaction of the inflaton fluctuations in the dynamics of the Universe, and that allowed to determine the effective equation of state.

We present a Galerkin-Collocation domain decomposition algorithm applied to the evolution of cylindrical unpolarized gravitational waves. We show the effectiveness of the algorithm in reproducing initial data with high localized gradients and in providing highly accurate dynamics. We characterize the gravitational radiation with the standard Newman-Penrose Weyl scalar $\Psi_4$. We generate wave templates for both polarization modes, $\times$ and $+$, outgoing and ingoing, to show how they exchange energy nonlinearly. In particular, considering an initially ingoing $\times$ wave, we were able to trace a possible imprint of the gravitational analog of the Faraday effect in the generated templates., Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Accepted in Class. Quantum Grav

In a context where a decision has to be taken collectively by several agents, the social choice problem consists in deciding whether there exists a socially acceptable rule that aggregates the individual preferences of the agents into a social one. We analyze this problem for sets of alternatives defined by equality constraints and obtain a solution that, in sharp contrast to the classical ones, is expressed in an elementary language and ultimately reduces the social choice problem to a standard constrained optimization problem. By considering a toy example we shall be able to interpret this general result in terms of the rationality (in the sense of Economics) of the design of the set of alternatives rather than, surprisingly, that of the agents involved in the actual social choice problem.

We study the gravitational collapse of a kink within spherical symmetry and the characteristic formulation of General Relativity. We explore some expected but elusive gravitational collapse issues which have not been studied before in detail, finding new features. The numerical one-parametric solution and the structure of the spacetime are calculated using finite differences, Galerkin collocation techniques, and some scripting for automated grid coverage. We study the threshold of black hole formation and confirm a mass gap in the phase transition. In the supercritical case we find a mass scaling power law $M_{BH}={M^*_{BH}}+K[\lambda-\lambda^*]^{2\gamma}+f(K[\lambda-\lambda^*]^{2\gamma})$, with $\gamma\approx 0.37$ independent of the initial data for the cases considered, and $M^*_{BH}$, $K$ and $\lambda^*$ each depending on the initial datum. The spacetime has a self-similar structure with a period of $\Delta\approx 3.4$. In the subcritical case the Bondi mass at null infinity decays in cascade with $\Delta/2$ interval as expected., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; to appear in Physical Review D