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We solve the Einstein constraint equations for a first-order causal viscous relativistic hydrodynamic theory in the case of a conformal fluid. For such a theory, a direct application of the conformal method does not lead to a decoupling of the equations, even for constant-mean curvature initial data. We combine the conformal method applied to a background perfect fluid theory with a perturbative argument in order to obtain the result.

We revisit the theory of first-order quasilinear systems with diagonalizable principal part and only real eigenvalues, what is commonly referred to as strongly hyperbolic systems. We provide a self-contained and simple proof of local well-posedness, in the Hadamard sense, of the Cauchy problem. Our regularity assumptions are very minimal. As an application, we apply our results to systems of ideal and viscous relativistic fluids, where the theory of strongly hyperbolic equations has been systematically used to study several systems of physical interest.

We review some recent developments in mathematical aspects of relativistic fluids. The goal is to provide a quick entry point to some research topics of current interest that is accessible to graduate students and researchers from adjacent fields, as well as to researches working on broader aspects of relativistic fluid dynamics interested in its mathematical formalism. Instead of complete proofs, which can be found in the published literature, here we focus on the proofs' main ideas and key concepts. After an introduction to the relativistic Euler equations, we cover the following topics: a new wave-transport formulation of the relativistic Euler equations tailored to applications; the problem of shock formation for relativistic Euler; rough (i.e., low-regularity) solutions to the relativistic Euler equations; the relativistic Euler equations with a physical vacuum boundary; relativistic fluids with viscosity. We finish with a discussion of open problems and future directions of research., Comment: Text expanded and new material added. To appear in LRR

We investigate the initial value problem of a very general class of $3+1$ non-Newtonian compressible fluids in which the viscous stress tensor with shear and bulk viscosity relaxes to its Navier-Stokes values. These fluids correspond to the non-relativistic limit of well-known Israel-Stewart-like theories used in the relativistic fluid dynamic simulations of high-energy nuclear and astrophysical systems. After establishing the local well-posedness of the Cauchy problem, we show for the first time in the literature that there exists a large class of initial data for which the corresponding evolution breaks down in finite time due to the formation of singularities. This implies that a large class of non-Newtonian fluids do not have finite solutions defined at all times., Comment: 15 pages, revised version accepted for publication

We show that linear superpositions of plane waves involving a single-valued, covariantly stable dispersion relation $\omega(k)$ always propagate outside the lightcone, unless $\omega(k) =a+b k$. This implies that there is no notion of causality for individual dispersion relations, since no mathematical condition on the function $\omega(k)$ (such as the front velocity or the asymptotic group velocity conditions) can serve as a sufficient condition for subluminal propagation in dispersive media. Instead, causality can only emerge from a careful cancellation that occurs when one superimposes all the excitation branches of a physical model. This is shown to happen automatically in local theories of matter that are covariantly stable. Hence, we find that the need for nonhydrodynamic modes in relativistic fluid mechanics is analogous to the need for antiparticles in relativistic quantum mechanics., Comment: 6 pages (Main Text) + 2 pages (Supplementary Material), published on Physical Review Letters, see https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.162301

A general organizing principle is proposed that can be used to derive the equations of motion describing the near-equilibrium dynamics of causal and thermodynamically stable relativistic systems. The latter are found to display some new type of universal behavior near equilibrium that allows them to be grouped into universality classes defined by their degrees of freedom, information content, and conservation laws. The universality classes expose a number of surprising equivalences between different theories, shedding new light on the near-equilibrium behavior of relativistic systems., Comment: 8 pages (Main Text) + 9 pages (Supplementary Material), published on PRL, see https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.222302

We investigate the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of viscous fluids in a spatially flat Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker cosmology using the most general causal and stable viscous energy-momentum tensor defined at first order in spacetime derivatives. In this new framework a pressureless viscous fluid having density $\rho$ can evolve to an asymptotic future solution in which the Hubble parameter approaches a constant while $\rho \rightarrow 0$, even in the absence of a cosmological constant (i.e., $\Lambda = 0$). Thus, while viscous effects in this model drive an accelerated expansion of the universe, the density of the viscous component itself vanishes, leaving behind only the acceleration. This behavior emerges as a consequence of causality in first-order theories of relativistic fluid dynamics and it is fully consistent with Einstein's equations., Comment: 14 pages, no figures, references updated, discussion added

We prove that the classical Dirac equation in the presence of an external (nondynamical) electromagnetic field is a relativistically causal theory. As a corollary, we show that it is impossible to use quantum tunneling to transmit particles or information faster than light. When an electron tunnels through a barrier, it is bound to remain within its future light cone. In conclusion, the relativistic quantum tunneling (if modeled using the Dirac equation) is an entirely subluminal process, and it is not instantaneous., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, published on PRA (see https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.107.032209)

We prove that ideal chiral hydrodynamics, as derived from chiral kinetic theory, is acausal and its initial-value problem is ill-posed both in the linearized case around a local equilibrium solution and also in the full nonlinear regime. Therefore, such theory cannot be used to determine how the chiral anomaly affects the hydrodynamic evolution. We show that these fundamental issues can be fixed by using different definitions (frames) for the hydrodynamic fields. This leads to a causal theory of ideal chiral hydrodynamics where the vorticity strength is constrained by the coefficient that encodes the anomaly., Comment: 12 pages, Version accepted for publication in Physical Review D

We present the first generalization of Navier-Stokes theory to relativity that satisfies all of the following properties: (a) the system coupled to Einstein's equations is causal and strongly hyperbolic; (b) equilibrium states are stable; (c) all leading dissipative contributions are present, i.e., shear viscosity, bulk viscosity, and thermal conductivity; (d) non-zero baryon number is included; (e) entropy production is non-negative in the regime of validity of the theory; (f) all of the above holds in the nonlinear regime without any simplifying symmetry assumptions. These properties are accomplished using a generalization of Eckart's theory containing only the hydrodynamic variables, so that no new extended degrees of freedom are needed as in M\"uller-Israel-Stewart theories. Property (b), in particular, follows from a more general result that we also establish, namely, sufficient conditions that when added to stability in the fluid's rest frame imply stability in any reference frame obtained via a Lorentz transformation. All our results are mathematically rigorously established. The framework presented here provides the starting point for systematic investigations of general-relativistic viscous phenomena in neutron star mergers., Comment: Revised version, 46 pages, 4 new appendices, new references added, version accepted for publication in Physical Review X

We study the theory of relativistic viscous hydrodynamics introduced in arXiv:1109.0985 and arXiv:1907.12695, which provided a causal and stable first-order theory of relativistic fluids with viscosity in the case of barotropic fluids. The local well-posedness of its equations of motion has been previously established in Gevrey spaces. Here, we improve this result by proving local well-posedness in Sobolev spaces., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1911.02504

We consider equations of M\"uller-Israel-Stewart type describing a relativistic viscous fluid with bulk viscosity in four-dimensional Minkowski space. We show that there exists a class of smooth initial data that are localized perturbations of constant states for which the corresponding unique solutions to the Cauchy problem break down in finite time. Specifically, we prove that in finite time such solutions develop a singularity or become unphysical in a sense that we make precise. We also show that in general Riemann invariants do not exist in 1+1 dimensions for physically relevant equations of state and viscosity coefficients. Finally, we present a more general version of a result by Y. Guo and A.S. Tahvildar-Zadeh: we prove large-data singularity formation results for perfect fluids under very general assumptions on the equation of state, allowing any value for the fluid sound speed strictly less than the speed of light.

In this paper we provide a complete local well-posedness theory for the free boundary relativistic Euler equations with a physical vacuum boundary on a Minkowski background. Specifically, we establish the following results: (i) local well-posedness in the Hadamard sense, i.e., local existence, uniqueness, and continuous dependence on the data; (ii) low regularity solutions: our uniqueness result holds at the level of Lipschitz velocity and density, while our rough solutions, obtained as unique limits of smooth solutions, have regularity only a half derivative above scaling; (iii) stability: our uniqueness in fact follows from a more general result, namely, we show that a certain nonlinear functional that tracks the distance between two solutions (in part by measuring the distance between their respective boundaries) is propagated by the flow; (iv) we establish sharp, essentially scale invariant energy estimates for solutions; (v) a sharp continuation criterion, at the level of scaling, showing that solutions can be continued as long as the the velocity is in $L^1_t Lip$ and a suitable weighted version of the density is at the same regularity level. Our entire approach is in Eulerian coordinates and relies on the functional framework developed in the companion work of the second and third authors corresponding to the non relativistic problem. All our results are valid for a general equation of state $p(\varrho)= \varrho^\gamma$, $\gamma > 1$., Comment: To appear in ARMA

New constraints are found that must necessarily hold for Israel-Stewart-like theories of fluid dynamics to be causal far away from equilibrium. Conditions that are sufficient to ensure causality, local existence, and uniqueness of solutions in these theories are also presented. Our results hold in the full nonlinear regime, taking into account bulk and shear viscosities (at zero chemical potential), without any simplifying symmetry or near-equilibrium assumptions. Our findings provide fundamental constraints on the magnitude of viscous corrections in fluid dynamics far from equilibrium., Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure

In this manuscript, we study the theory of conformal relativistic viscous hydrodynamics introduced in arXiv:1708.06255, which provided a causal and stable first-order theory of relativistic fluids with viscosity. The local well-posedness of its equations of motion has been previously established in Gevrey spaces. Here, we improve this result by proving local well-posedness in Sobolev spaces.

We consider the three-dimensional incompressible free-boundary Euler equations in a bounded domain and with surface tension. Using Lagrangian coordinates, we establish a priori estimates for solutions with minimal regularity assumptions on the initial data.

We prove a series of results tied to the regularity and geometry of solutions to the $3D$ compressible Euler equations with vorticity and entropy. Our framework exploits and reveals additional virtues of a recent new formulation of the equations, which decomposed the flow into a geometric "(sound) wave-part" coupled to a "transport-div-curl-part" (transport-part for short), with both parts exhibiting remarkable properties. Our main result is that the time of existence can be controlled in terms of the $H^{2^+}(\mathbb{R}^3)$-norm of the wave-part of the initial data and various Sobolev and H\"{o}lder norms of the transport-part of the initial data, the latter comprising the initial vorticity and entropy. The wave-part regularity assumptions are optimal in the scale of Sobolev spaces: shocks can instantly form if one only assumes a bound for the $H^2(\mathbb{R}^3)$-norm of the wave-part of the initial data. Our proof relies on the assumption that the transport-part of the initial data is more regular than the wave-part, and we show that the additional regularity is propagated by the flow, even though the transport-part of the flow is deeply coupled to the rougher wave-part. To implement our approach, we derive several results of independent interest: i) sharp estimates for the acoustic geometry, i.e., the geometry of sound cones; ii) Strichartz estimates for quasilinear sound waves coupled to vorticity and entropy; and iii) Schauder estimates for the transport-div-curl-part. Compared to previous works on low regularity, the main new features of the paper are that the quasilinear PDE systems under study exhibit multiple speeds of propagation and that elliptic estimates for various components of the fluid are needed, both to avoid loss of regularity and to gain space-time integrability., Comment: This version of our article closely matches the published version, which features some corrections and an abbreviated introduction compared to the first version we posted on arXiv.org on September 5, 2019. As in the published version, here we refer readers to the first arXiv version for an extended introduction that features some additional background material

Effective theory arguments are used to derive the most general energy-momentum tensor of a relativistic viscous fluid with an arbitrary equation of state (in the absence of other conserved currents) that is first-order in the derivatives of the energy density and flow velocity and does not include extended variables such as in Mueller-Israel-Stewart-like theories. This energy-momentum tensor leads to a causal theory, provided one abandons the usual conventions for the out-of-equilibrium hydrodynamic variables put forward by Landau-Lifshitz and Eckart. In particular, causality requires nonzero out-of-equilibrium energy density corrections and heat flow. Conditions are found to ensure linear stability around equilibrium in flat space-time. We also prove local existence and uniqueness of solutions to the equations of motion. Our causality, existence, and uniqueness results hold in the full nonlinear regime, without symmetry assumptions, in four space-time dimensions, with or without coupling to Einstein's equations, and are mathematically rigorously established. Furthermore, a kinetic theory realization of this energy-momentum tensor is also provided., Comment: 28 pages, 2 appendices, version published in Phys. Rev. D; Eq. (7d) has been added and Eq. (11a) has been fixed

In this paper we establish the incompressible limit for the compressible free-boundary Euler equations with surface tension in the case of a liquid. Compared to the case without surface tension treated recently, the presence of surface tension introduces severe new technical challenges, in that several boundary terms that automatically vanish when surface tension is absent now contribute at top order. Combined with the necessity of producing estimates uniform in the sound speed in order to pass to the limit, such difficulties imply that neither the techniques employed for the case without surface tension, nor estimates previously derived for a liquid with surface tension and fixed sound speed, are applicable here. In order to obtain our result, we devise a suitable weighted energy that takes into account the coupling of the fluid motion with the boundary geometry. Estimates are closed by exploiting the full non-linear structure of the Euler equations and invoking several geometric properties of the boundary in order to produce some remarkable cancellations. We stress that we do not assume the fluid to be irrotational., Comment: 62 pages; accepted for publication in ARMA

We prove that Einstein's equations coupled to equations of Israel-Stewart-type, describing the dynamics of a relativistic fluid with bulk viscosity and nonzero baryon charge (without shear viscosity or baryon diffusion) dynamically coupled to gravity, are causal in the full nonlinear regime. We also show that these equations can be written as a first-order symmetric hyperbolic system, implying local existence and uniqueness of solutions to the equations of motion. We use an arbitrary equation of state and do not make any simplifying symmetry or near-equilibrium assumption, requiring only physically natural conditions on the fields. These results pave the way for the inclusion of bulk viscosity effects in simulations of gravitational-wave signals coming from neutron star mergers., Comment: 10 pages (including appendix), version published in Physical Review Letters

We derive a new formulation of the relativistic Euler equations that exhibits remarkable properties. This new formulation consists of a coupled system of geometric wave, transport, and elliptic equations, sourced by nonlinearities that are null forms relative to the acoustical metric. Our new formulation is well-suited for various applications, in particular for the study of stable shock formation, as it is surveyed in the paper. Moreover, using the new formulation presented here, we establish a local well-posedness result showing that the vorticity and the entropy of the fluid are one degree more differentiable compared to the regularity guaranteed by standard estimates (assuming that the initial data enjoy the extra differentiability). This gain in regularity is essential for the study of shock formation without symmetry assumptions. Our results hold for an arbitrary equation of state, not necessarily of barotropic type.

We consider a stress-energy tensor describing a pure radiation viscous fluid with conformal symmetry introduced in arXiv:1708.06255. We show that the corresponding equations of motions are causal in Minkowski background and also when coupled to Einstein's equations, and solve the associated initial-value problem., Comment: Typos corrected and further details provided

A new approach is described to help improve the foundations of relativistic viscous fluid dynamics and its coupling to general relativity. Focusing on neutral conformal fluids constructed solely in terms of hydrodynamic variables, we derive the most general viscous energy-momentum tensor yielding equations of motion of second order in the derivatives, which is shown to provide a novel type of generalization of the relativistic Navier-Stokes equations for which causality holds. We show how this energy-momentum tensor may be derived from conformal kinetic theory. We rigorously prove existence, uniqueness, and causality of solutions of this theory (in the full nonlinear regime) both in a Minkowski background and also when the fluid is dynamically coupled to Einstein's equations. Linearized disturbances around equilibrium in Minkowski spacetime are stable in this causal theory. A numerical study reveals the presence of an out-of-equilibrium hydrodynamic attractor for a rapidly expanding fluid. Further properties are also studied and a brief discussion of how this approach can be generalized to non-conformal fluids is presented., Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures. Substantial improvements were made: the new conformal tensor is now derived from kinetic theory; the causality and well-posedness theorems now hold under more general conditions on the transport coefficients; further discussion and applications have also been included; new references were added

We derive a priori estimates for the compressible free-boundary Euler equations with surface tension in three spatial dimensions in the case of a liquid. These are estimates for local existence in Lagrangian coordinates when the initial velocity and initial density belong to $H^3$, with an extra regularity condition on the moving boundary, thus lowering the regularity of the initial data. Our methods are direct and involve two key elements: the boundary regularity provided by the mean curvature, and a new compressible Cauchy invariance., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1708.00086

We derive a priori estimates for the incompressible free-boundary Euler equations with surface tension in three spatial dimensions. Working in Lagrangian coordinates, we provide a priori estimates for the local existence when the initial velocity, which is rotational, belongs to $H^3$ and the trace of initial velocity on the free boundary to $H^{3.5}$, thus lowering the requirement on the regularity of initial data in the Lagrangian setting. Our methods are direct and involve three key elements: estimates for the pressure, the boundary regularity provided by the mean curvature, and the Cauchy invariance.

We consider the generalization of the Navier-Stokes equations from $\mathbb R^n$ to the Riemannian manifolds. There are inequivalent formulations of the Navier-Stokes equations on manifolds due to the different possibilities for the Laplacian operator acting on vector fields on a Riemannian manifold. We present several distinct arguments that indicate that the form of the equations proposed by Ebin and Marsden in 1970 should be adopted as the correct generalization of the Navier-Stokes to the Riemannian manifolds., Comment: 16 pages; published version. See version 1 for the details of the non-relativistic limit, which were omitted in the published version

We consider a first order formulation of relativistic fluids with bulk viscosity based on a stress-energy tensor introduced by Lichnerowicz. Choosing a barotropic equation of state, we show that this theory satisfies basic physical requirements and, under the further assumption of vanishing vorticity, that the equations of motion are causal, both in the case of a fixed background and when the equations are coupled to Einstein's equations. Furthermore, Lichnerowicz's proposal does not fit into the general framework of first order theories studied by Hiscock and Lindblom, and hence their instability results do not apply. These conclusions apply to the full-fledged non-linear theory, without any equilibrium or near equilibrium assumptions. Similarities and differences between the approach here explored and other theories of relativistic viscosity, including the Mueller-Israel-Stewart formulation, are addressed. Cosmological models based on the Lichnerowicz stress-energy tensor are studied. Finally, it is also shown how the present model can be generalized to a second order formulation., Comment: 43 pages, 1 figure, discussion added, references updated, to appear in IJMPD

We study the free boundary Euler equations with surface tension in three spatial dimensions, showing that the equations are well-posed if the coefficient of surface tension is positive. Then we prove that under natural assumptions, the solutions of the free boundary motion converge to solutions of the Euler equations in a domain with fixed boundary when the coefficient of surface tension tends to infinity., Comment: to appear in Journal of Differential Equations

We examine the cosmological consequences of an alternative to the standard expression for bulk viscosity, one which was proposed to avoid the propagation of superluminal signals without the necessity of extending the space of variables of the theory. The Friedmann equation is derived for this case, along with an expression for the effective pressure. We find solutions for the evolution of the density of a viscous component, which differs markedly from the case of conventional Eckart theory; our model evolves toward late-time phantom-like behavior with a future singularity. Entropy production is addressed, and some similarities and differences to approaches based on the Mueller-Israel-Stewart theory are discussed., Comment: Text and references expanded. To appear in Physical Review D

We study the problem of coupling Einstein's equations to a relativistic and physically well-motivated version of the Navier-Stokes equations. Under a natural evolution condition for the vorticity, we prove existence and uniqueness in a suitable Gevrey class if the fluid is incompressible, where this condition is given an appropriate relativistic interpretation, and show that the solutions enjoy the finite propagation speed property., Comment: 25 pages

We study a linear problem that arises in the study of dynamic boundaries, in particular in free boundary problems in connection with fluid dynamics. The equations are also very natural and of interest on their own., Comment: to appear in Evolution Equations and Control Theory

Using a simple and well-motivated modification of the stress-energy tensor for a viscous fluid proposed by Lichnerowicz, we prove that Einstein's equations coupled to a relativistic version of the Navier-Stokes equations are well-posed in a suitable Gevrey class if the fluid is incompressible and irrotational. These last two conditions are given an appropriate relativistic interpretation. The solutions enjoy the domain of dependence or finite propagation speed property. We also derive a full set of equations, describing a relativistic fluid that is not necessarily incompressible or irrotational, which is well-suited for comparisons with the system of an inviscid fluid.

We study the problem of inviscid slightly compressible fluids in a bounded domain. We find a unique solution to the initial-boundary value problem and show that it is near the analogous solution for an incompressible fluid provided the initial conditions for the two problems are close. In particular, the divergence of the initial velocity of the compressible flow at time zero is assumed to be small. Furthermore we find that solutions to the compressible motion problem in Lagrangian coordinates depend differentiably on their initial data, an unexpected result for this type of non-linear equations., Comment: to appear in Communications in Contemporary Mathematics

We study warped compactifications of string/M theory with the help of effective potentials, continuing previous work of the last two authors and Michael R. Douglas presented in arXiv:1206.1885. The dynamics of the conformal factor of the internal metric, which is responsible for instabilities in these constructions, is explored, and such instabilities are investigated in the context of de Sitter vacua. We prove existence results for the equations of motion in the case of a slowly varying warp factor, and the stability of such solutions is also addressed. These solutions are a family of meta-stable de Sitter vacua from type IIB string theory in a general non-supersymmetric setup.

Short-time existence for the Einstein-Euler and the vacuum Einstein equations is proven using a Friedrich inspired formulation due to Choquet-Bruhat and York, where the system is cast into a symmetric hyperbolic form and the Riemann tensor is treated as one of the fundamental unknowns of the problem. The reduced system of Choquet-Bruhat and York, along with the preservation of the gauge, is shown to imply the full Einstein equations.

We study the quantization of a free scalar field when the background metric satisfies Einstein's equations and develops gravitational shock waves., Comment: More details provided in the proof of proposition 3.1. Remarks, discussion and references added. Minor typos corrected

Under natural energy and decay assumptions, we derive a priori estimates for solutions of a Schrodinger-Newton type of equation with critical exponent. On one hand, such an equation generalizes the traditional Schrodinger-Newton and Choquard equations, while, on the other hand, it is naturally related to problems involving scalar curvature and conformal deformation of metrics.

We study the free boundary Euler equations in two spatial dimensions. We prove that if the boundary is sufficiently regular, then solutions of the free boundary fluid motion converge to solutions of the Euler equations in a fixed domain when the coefficient of surface tension tends to infinity.

We prove short-time existence for the Einstein-Euler-Entropy system for non-isentropic fluids with data in uniformly local Sobolev spaces. The cases of compact as well as non-compact Cauchy surfaces are covered. The method employed uses a Lagrangian description of the fluid flow which is based on techniques developed by Friedrich, hence providing a completely different proof of earlier results of Choquet-Bruhat and Lichnerowicz. This new proof is specially suited for applications to self-gravitating fluid bodies.

In arXiv:0905.2622v1 and arXiv:0910.4785v1, Bray and Khuri outlined an approach to prove the Penrose inequality for general initial data sets of the Einstein equations. In this paper we extend this approach so that it may be applied to a charged version of the Penrose inequality. Moreover, assuming that the initial data is time symmetric, we prove the rigidity statement in the case of equality for the charged Penrose inequality, a result which seems to be absent from the literature. A new quasi-local mass, tailored to charged initial data sets is also introduced, and used in the proof., Comment: 19 pages; final version

We study effective potentials coming from compactifications of string theory. We show that, under mild assumptions, such potentials are bounded from below in four dimensions, giving an affirmative answer to a conjecture proposed by the second author in arXiv:0911.3378v4 [hep-th]. We also derive some sufficient conditions for the existence of critical points. All proofs and mathematical hypotheses are discussed in the context of their relevance to the physics of the problem.

We study the problem of conformal deformation of Riemannian structure to constant scalar curvature with zero mean curvature on the boundary. We prove compactness for the full set of solutions when the boundary is umbilic and the dimension $n \leq 24$. The Weyl Vanishing Theorem is also established under these hypotheses, and we provide counter-examples to compactness when $n \geq 25$. Lastly, our methods point towards a vanishing theorem for the umbilicity tensor, which is anticipated to be fundamental for a study of the nonumbilic case., Comment: Final Version