We generalize and simplify an earlier approach. In three dimensions we present the most general averaging formula in lowest order which respects the requirements of covariance. It involves a bitensor, made up of a basis of six tensors, and contains three arbitrary functions, which are only restricted by their behavior near the origin. The averaging formula can also be applied to the Einstein tensor. If one of the functions is put equal to zero one has the pleasant property that the Einstein tensor of the averaged metric is identical to the averaged Einstein tensor. We also present a simple covariant extension to static perturbations in four dimensions. Unfortunately the result for the Einstein tensor cannot be extended to the four dimensional case.
We present an explicit averaging formula in lowest order. Besides an arbitrary smearing function it contains two integrals of this function. This is necessary in order to achieve covariance. There is no need to solve any equations. In three dimensions the same averaging formula yields a covariant averaging of the Einstein tensor and thus of the field equations. We also present a simple extension to static perturbations in four dimensions. Various further extensions of the formalism appear possible.
In this paper, we investigate the generalized covariant entropy bound in the theory where the Einstein gravity is perturbed by the higher-order Lovelock terms. After replacing the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy with the Jacobson-Myers entropy and introducing two reasonable physical assumptions, we showed that the corresponding generalized covariant entropy bound is satisfied under a higher-order approximation of the perturbation from the higher-order Lovelock terms. Our result implies that the Jacobson-Myers entropy strictly obeys the entropy bound under the perturbation level, and the generalized…
A consistent approach to Cosmology requires an explicit averaging of the Einstein equations, to describe a homogeneous and isotropic geometry. Such an averaging will in general modify the Einstein equations. The averaging procedure due to Buchert has attracted considerable attention recently since it offers the tantalizing hope of explaining the phenomenon of dark energy through such corrections. This approach has been criticized, however, on the grounds that its effects may be gauge artifacts. We apply the fully covariant formalism of Zalaletdinov's Macroscopic Gravity and show that, after ma…
We construct a framework within which a mathematically precise, fully covariant, and exact averaging procedure for tensor fields on a manifold can be formulated. In particular, we introduce the Weitzenböck connection for parallel transport and argue that, within the context of averaging, frames and connections are the natural geometrical objects on the manifold.
In this thesis we first apply the 1+3 covariant description of general relativity to analyze n-fluid Friedmann-Lemaitre (FL) cosmologies; that is, homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies whose matter-energy content consists of n non-interacting fluids. We are motivated to study FL models of this type as observations suggest the physical universe is closely described by a FL model with a matter content consisting of radiation, dust and a cosmological constant. Secondly, we use the 1+3 covariant description to analyse scalar, vector and tensor perturbations of FL cosmologies containing a perfect f…
We present two new covariant and general prescriptions for averaging scalar observables on spatial regions typical of the observed sources and intersecting the past light-cone of a given observer. One of these prescriptions is adapted to sources exactly located on a given space-like hypersurface, the other applies instead to situations where the physical location of the sources is characterized by the experimental "spread" of a given observational variable. The geometrical and physical differences between the two procedures are illustrated by computing the averaged energy flux received by dist…
It is known that any explicit averaging scheme of the type essential for describing the large scale behaviour of the Universe, must necessarily yield corrections to the Einstein equations applied in the Cosmological setting. The question of whether or not the resulting corrections to the Einstein equations are significant, is still a subject of debate, partly due to possible ambiguities in the averaging schemes available. In particular, it has been argued in the literature that the effects of averaging could be gauge artifacts. We apply the formalism of Zalaletdinov's Macroscopic Gravity (MG) …
The method of averaging is used to investigate the phenomenon of capture into resonance for a model that describes a Keplerian binary system influenced by radiation damping and external normally incident periodic gravitational radiation. The dynamical evolution of the binary orbit while trapped in resonance is elucidated using the second order partially averaged system. This method provides a theoretical framework that can be used to explain the main evolutionary dynamics of a physical system that has been trapped in resonance.
We introduce a generalization of the 4-dimensional averaging window function of Gasperini, Marozzi and Veneziano (2010) that may prove useful for a number of applications. The covariant nature of spatial scalar averaging schemes to address the averaging problem in relativistic cosmology is an important property that is implied by construction, but usually remains implicit. We employ here the approach of Gasperini et al. for two reasons. First, the formalism and its generalization presented here are manifestly covariant. Second, the formalism is convenient for disentangling the dependencies on …
We introduce a simple and straight-forward averaging procedure, which is a generalization of one which is commonly used in electrodynamics, and show that it possesses all the characteristics we require for linearized averaging in general relativity and cosmology -- for weak-field and perturbed FLRW situations. In particular we demonstrate that it yields quantities which are approximately tensorial in these situations, and that its application to an exact FLRW metric yields another FLRW metric, to first-order in integrals over the local coordinates. Finally, we indicate some important limits of…
In this paper we discuss the effect of local inhomogeneities on the global expansion of nearly FLRW universes, in a perturbative setting. We derive a generic linearized averaging operation for metric perturbations from basic assumptions, and we explicify the issue of gauge invariance. We derive a gauge invariant expression for the back-reaction of density inhomogeneities on the global expansion of perturbed FLRW spacetimes, in terms of observable quantities, and we calculate the effect quantitatively. Since we do not adopt a comoving gauge, our result incorporates the back-reaction on the metr…
The Einstein vacuum equations on an (n+1)-dimensional toroidal manifold $\mathbb{M}^{n+1}=\mathbb{T}^{n}\times\mathbb{R}^{+}$ reduce to a system of n-dimensional nonlinear ODEs in terms of the set of toroidal radii $(a_{i})_{i=1}^{n}$ or the radial moduli fields $(ψ_{i})_{i=1}^{n}=(\log(a_{i}(t))_{i=1}^{n}$ of the n-torus $\mathbb{T}^{n}$. This geometry is also the basis of Kasner-Bianchi-type cosmologies. The equations are trivially satisfied for static solutions $ψ_{i}^{E}=ψ^{E}$ or radii $a_{i}^{E}=a^{E}$, describing an initially static toroidal 'micro-universe' or 'vacuum bubble'. It is Ly…
The propagation of gravitational waves or tensor perturbations in a perturbed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe filled with a perfect fluid is re-examined. It is shown that while the shear and magnetic part of the Weyl tensor satisfy linear, homogeneous {\it second order} wave equations, for perfect fluids with a $γ$\hs law equation of state satisfying $\case{2}/{3}<γ<2$, the electric part of the Weyl tensor satisfies a linear homogeneous {\it third order} equation. Solutions to these equations are obtained for a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker background and we discuss implications of this …
One of the outstanding problems in general relativistic cosmology is that of the averaging. That is, how the lumpy universe that we observe at small scales averages out to a smooth Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model. The root of the problem is that averaging does not commute with the Einstein equations that govern the dynamics of the model. This leads to the well-know question of backreaction in cosmology. In this work, we approach the problem using the covariant framework of Macroscopic Gravity (MG). We use its cosmological solution with a flat FLRW macroscopic background where …
This thesis is a review of backreaction, which is a possible alternative to dark energy and modified gravity. We describe in detail the 3+1 covariant formalism and Frobenius' theorem. We present the averaging procedure developed by Buchert, the Buchert equations and the generalization of these equations to the case of general matter. We then generalize to arbitrary number of spatial dimensions. We focus on the case of 2+1 dimensions, where the relation between the topology and the geometry of a surface imposes a global constraint on backreaction.
There is an ongoing debate in the literature concerning the effects of averaging out inhomogeneities (``backreaction'') in cosmology. In particular, some simple models of structure formation studied in the literature seem to indicate that the backreaction can play a significant role at late times, and it has also been suggested that the standard perturbed FLRW framework is no longer a good approximation during structure formation, when the density contrast becomes nonlinear. In this work we use Zalaletdinov's covariant averaging scheme (macroscopic gravity or MG) to show that as long as the me…
Models of turbulent flows require the resolution of a vast range of scales, from large eddies to small-scale features directly associated with dissipation. As the required resolution is not within reach of large scale numerical simulations, standard strategies involve a smoothing of the fluid dynamics, either through time averaging or spatial filtering. These strategies raise formal issues in general relativity, where the split between space and time is observer dependent. To make progress, we develop a new covariant framework for filtering/averaging based on the fibration of spacetime associa…
We use cosmological perturbation theory to study the backreaction effects of a self-consistent and well-defined cosmological averaging on the dynamics and the evolution of the Universe. Working with a perturbed Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker Einstein-de Sitter cosmological solution in a comoving volume-preserving gauge, we compute the expressions for the expansion scalar and deceleration parameter to second order, which we use to characterize the backreaction. We find that the fractional shift in the Hubble parameter with respect to the input background cosmological model is Delta~10^{-5},…
The averaging problem in general relativity is briefly discussed. A new setting of the problem as that of macroscopic description of gravitation is proposed. A covariant space-time averaging procedure is described. The structure of the geometry of macroscopic space-time, which follows from averaging Cartan's structure equations, is described and the correlation tensors present in the theory are discussed. The macroscopic field equations (averaged Einstein's equations) derived in the framework of the approach are presented and their structure is analysed. The correspondence principle for macros…
The problem of corrections to Einstein's equations arising from averaging of inhomogeneities ("backreaction") in the cosmological context, has gained considerable attention recently. We present results of analysing cosmological perturbation theory in the framework of Zalaletdinov's fully covariant Macroscopic Gravity. We show that this framework can be adapted to the setting of cosmological perturbations in a manner which is free from gauge related ambiguities. We derive expressions for the backreaction which can be readily applied in \emph{any} situation (not necessarily restricted to the lin…
Using a recently proposed gauge invariant formulation of light-cone averaging, together with adapted "geodesic light-cone" coordinates, we show how an "induced backreaction" effect emerges, in general, from correlated fluctuations in the luminosity distance and covariant integration measure. Considering a realistic stochastic spectrum of inhomogeneities of primordial (inflationary) origin we find that both the induced backreaction on the luminosity-redshift relation and the dispersion are larger than naively expected. On the other hand the former, at least to leading order and in the linear pe…
For the study of cosmological backreacktion an avaragng procedure is required. In this work a covariant and gauge invariant averaging formalism for finite volumes will be developed. This averaging will be applied to the scalar parts of Einstein's equations. For this purpose dust as a physical laboratory will be coupled to the gravitating system. The goal is to study the deviation from the homogeneous universe and the impact of this deviation on the dynamics of our universe. Fields of physical observers are included in the studied system and used to construct a reference frame to perform the av…
We use the covariant formulation proposed in Tattersall et al (2017) to analyse the structure of linear perturbations about a spherically symmetric background in different families of gravity theories, and hence study how quasi-normal modes of perturbed black holes may be affected by modifications to General Relativity. We restrict ourselves to single-tensor, scalar-tensor and vector-tensor diffeomorphism-invariant gravity models in a Schwarzschild black hole background. We show explicitly the full covariant form of the quadratic actions in such cases, which allow us to then analyse odd parity…
In a previous investigation, a model of three-body motion was developed which included the effects of gravitational radiation reaction. The aim was to describe the motion of a relativistic binary pulsar that is perturbed by a third mass and look for resonances between the binary and third mass orbits. Numerical integration of an equation of relative motion that approximates the binary gives evidence of such resonances. These $(m:n)$ resonances are defined for the present purposes by the resonance condition, $mω=2nΩ$, where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime integers and $ω$ and $Ω$ are the angul…
The averaging problem in general relativity concerns the difficulty of defining meaningful averages of tensor quantities and we consider various aspects of the problem. We first address cosmological backreaction which arises because the averaged Einstein tensor is not the same as the Einstein tensor of the averaged metric. It has been suggested that backreaction might account for the dark energy. We show numerically in the Buchert formalism that the corrections from (quasi)linear perturbations are only of the order of 10^-5 and act as a dark matter. We then focus on constructing averaged metri…
We define a class of "optimal" coordinate systems by requiring that the deviation from an exact Robertson-Walker metric is "as small as possible" within a given four dimensional volume. The optimization is performed by minimizing several volume integrals which would vanish for an exact Robertson-Walker metric. Covariance is automatic. Foliation of space-time is part of the optimization procedure. Only the metric is involved in the procedure, no assumptions about the origin of the energy-momentum tensor are needed. A scale factor does not show up during the optimization process, the optimal sca…
We present a formalism for spatial averaging in cosmology applicable to general spacetimes and coordinates, and allowing the easy incorporation of a wide variety of matter sources. We apply this formalism to a Friedmann-LeMaitre-Robertson-Walker universe perturbed to second-order and present the corrections to the background in an unfixed gauge. We then present the corrections that arise in uniform curvature and conformal Newtonian gauges.
We calculate a general effective stress-energy tensor induced by cosmological inhomogeneity in effective theories of gravity where the action is Taylor-expandable in the Riemann tensor and covariant derivatives of the Riemann tensor. This is of interest as an effective fluid that might provide an alternative to the cosmological constant, but it also applies to gravitational waves. We use an adaptation of Green and Wald's weak-averaging framework, which averages over perturbations in the field equation where the perturbation length scales are small compared to the averaging scale. In this adapt…
