Related papers: Now, and the Flow of Time
Time is a parameter playing a central role in our most fundamental modelling of natural laws. Relativity theory shows that the comparison of times measured by different clocks depends on their relative motion and on the strength of the…
The observation of gravitational-waves from merging supermassive black holes will be transformative: the detection of a low-frequency gravitational-wave background can tell us if and how supermassive black holes merge, inform our knowledge…
The orbital evolution of a binary system consisting of two primordial black hole clusters is investigated. Such clusters are predicted in some theoretical models with broken symmetry in the inflation Lagrangian. A cluster consists of the…
The phenomenon of the very local ($\le3$ Mpc) Hubble flow is studied on the basis of the data of recent precision observations. A set of computer simulations is performed to trace the trajectories of the flow galaxies back in time to the…
Cosmic acceleration is explained quantitatively, purely in general relativity, as an apparent effect due to quasilocal gravitational energy differences that arise in the decoupling of bound systems from the global expansion of the universe.…
In cosmology based on general relativity, the universe is modeled as a fluid. The transition from the Einstein field equation to its large-scale (cosmological) version is thus analogous to the transition, for a system consisting of a large…
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime generated by the acceleration of astrophysical objects. A direct consequence of general relativity, they were first directly observed in 2015 by the twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave…
We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations in a contracting universe. We aim to determine under which conditions density perturbations grow to form large inhomogeneities and collapse into black holes. Our method consists in…
Contemporary research programs in fundamental physics appear to suggest that there could be two (physical) times---or none at all. This essay articulates these possibilities in the context of quantum gravity, and in particular of…
Our knowledge and understanding of the Universe is mainly based on observations of the electromagnetic radiation in a wide range of wavelengths. Only during the past two decades, new kinds of detectors have been developed, exploiting other…
The high rate of black hole (BH) mergers detected by LIGO/Virgo opened questions on their astrophysical origin. One possibility is the dynamical channel, in which binary formation and hardening is catalyzed by dynamical encounters in…
This lecture provides us with Newtonian approaches for the interpretation of two puzzling cosmological observations that are still discussed subject : a bulk flow and a foam like structure in the distribution of galaxies. For the first one,…
What if physics is just the way we perceive geometry? That is, what if geometry and physics will one day become one and the same discipline? I believe that will mean we will at last really understand physics, without postulates other than…
Local and distant measurements of the Hubble constant are in significant tension: local measurements of the Hubble constant appear to show a Universe that is significantly contracted when compared to distant measurements. From the point of…
The LIGO-VIRGO collaboration has detected directly on Earth the gravitational wave signals generated by the collision and the merger of two massive black holes at astronomical distance. This major discovery opens up the way to Gravitational…
Within some approaches to loop quantum cosmology, the existence of an Euclidean phase at high density has been suggested. In this article, we try to explain clearly what are the observable consequences of this possible disappearance of…
Ten-dimensional models, arising from a gravitational action which includes terms up to the fourth order in curvature tensor, are discussed. The spacetime consists of one timelike dimension and two maximally symmetric subspaces, filled with…
Coalescing massive black hole binaries are produced by the mergers of galaxies. The final stages of the black hole coalescence produce strong gravitational radiation that can be detected by the space-borne LISA. In cases where the black…
The Standard Model of particle physics predicts the speed of light to be a universal speed of propagation of massless carriers. However, other possibilities exist -- including Lorentz-violating theories -- where different fundamental fields…
The gravitational waves emitted (some time) after two black holes merge are well described by the theory of linear perturbations on a spacetime characterized by the mass and spin of the remnant. However, in the very early stages right after…