In a preamble, a quick summary of the line of thought from Noether's theorems to modern views on conserved charges in gauge theories is attempted. Most of the background material needed for the thesis is set out through a small survey of the literature. Emphasis is put on the concepts more than on the formalism, which is relegated to the appendices.<p><p>The treatment of exact conservation laws in Lagrangian gauge theories constitutes the main axis of the first part of the thesis. The formalism is developed as a self-consistent theory but is inspired by earlier works, mainly by cohomological results, covariant phase space methods and by the Hamiltonian formalism.<p>The thermodynamical properties of black holes, especially the first law, are studied in a general geometrical setting and are worked out for several black objects: black holes, strings and rings. Also, the geometrical and thermodynamical properties of a new family of black holes with closed timelike curves in three dimensions are described.<p><p><p>The second part of the thesis is the natural generalization of the first part to asymptotic analyses. We start with a general construction of covariant phase spaces admitting asymptotically conserved charges. The representation of the asymptotic symmetry algebra by a covariant Poisson bracket among the conserved charges is then defined and is shown to admit generically central extensions. The asymptotic structures of three three-dimensional spacetimes are then studied in detail and the consequences for quantum gravity in three dimensions are discussed. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

We firstly numerically recalculate the Ricci tensor of non-stationary axisymmetric space-times (originally calculated by Chandrasekhar) and we find some discrepancies both in the linear and non-linear terms. However, these discrepancies do not affect the results concerning linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Secondly, we use these Ricci tensors to derive the Zerilli and Regge-Wheeler equations and use the Newman-Penrose formalism to derive the Bardeen-Press equation. We show the relation between these equations because they describe the same linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Thirdly, we illustrate heuristically (when the angular momentum (l) is 2) the relation between the linearized solution of the Einstein vacuum equations obtained from the Bondi-Sachs metric and the Zerilli equation, because they describe the same linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Lastly, by means of a coordinate transformation, we extend Chandrasekhar's results on linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole to the Bondi-Sachs framework. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Sc. (Applied Mathematics)

Binary systems comprising of compact objects like neutron stars (NS) and/or black holes (BH) lose their energy and angular momentum via gravitational waves (GW). Radiation reaction due to the emission of GW results in a gradual shrinking of the binary orbit and an accompanying gradual increase in the orbital frequency. The preliminary phase of the binary evolution when the radiation-reaction time-scale is much larger than the orbital time-scale is called the inspiral phase. GW emitted during the final stages of the inspiral phase constitute one of the most important sources for the ground-based laser interferometric GW detectors like LIGO, VIRGO and the proposed space-based detector LISA. For the ground-based detectors, NS and/or stellar mass BH binaries are primary sources, while for LISA super-massive BH (SMBH) binaries are potential targets. Inspiralling compact binaries (ICB) are among the prime targets for interferometric detectors because using approximation schemes in general relativity (GR) like the post-Minkowskian (PM) and the post-Newtonian (PN) approximations one can compute the GW emitted by them with sufficient accuracy both for their detection and parameter estimation leading to GW astronomy. The extreme weakness of gravitational interactions implies that if a GW signal from an ICB is incident on a detector, it will be buried in the noisy detector output. Therefore, sophisticated data analysis techniques are required for detecting the signal in presence of the dominant noise and also estimating the parameters of the signal. From the pre-calculated theoretical waveforms called templates, one already knows the structure of the waveform from an ICB. The technique for detecting signals which are of known form in a noisy detector is matched filtering. This technique consists of cross-correlating the output of a noisy detector assumed to contain the signal of known form with a set of templates. It then finds an ‘optimal’ template that would produce, on average, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The efficient performance of matched filtering as a data-analysis strategy for GW signals from ICB presupposes very accurate theoretical templates. Slight mismatches between the signal and the template will result in a loss of signal to noise ratio. Computing very accurate theoretical templates and including effects such as eccentricity are challenging tasks for the theoreticians. This thesis addresses some of the issues related to the waveform modelling of the ICB and their implications for GW data analysis. It is known theoretically that compact binaries reduce their eccentricity through the emission of GW. When GW signals from prototype ICB reach the GW detector bandwidth, their orbits are almost circular. Hence one usually models the binary orbit to be circular for computation of the search templates. The waveform from an ICB in a circular orbit is, at any given PN order of approximation, a linear combination of a finite number of harmonics of the orbital frequency. At the lowest order of approximation, called the Newtonian order, the waveform comprises a single harmonic at twice the orbital frequency. Inclusion of higher order PN corrections lead to the appearance of higher harmonics of the orbital frequency. Since the amplitudes of the higher harmonics contain higher powers of the PN expansion parameter, relative to the Newtonian order, they are referred to as amplitude corrections. The phase of each harmonic, determined by the orbital phase, is known upto 3.5PN order (nPN is the order of approximation equivalent to terms ~(v/c)2n beyond the Newtonian order, where v denotes the binary’s orbital velocity and c is the speed of light). Matched filtering is more sensitive to the phase of the signal rather than its amplitude, since the correlation builds up as long as the signal and the template remain in phase. Motivated by this fact, search templates so far have been a waveform model involving only the dominant harmonic (at twice the orbital frequency), although the phase evolution itself is included upto the maximum available PN order. Such waveforms, in which all amplitude corrections are neglected, but the phase is treated to the maximum available order, are called restricted waveforms (RWF) and these are generally used in the data-analysis of ground-based detectors and also simulated searches for the planned LISA. However, recent studies, in the case of ground-based interferometers, showed that going beyond the RWF approximation could improve the efficiency of detection as well as parameter estimation of the inspiral signal. After a brief overview of the properties of GW and their detection strategies in chapter 1, in chapters 2 and 3, we investigate the implications of going beyond the RWF, in the context of the planned space-based Laser Interferometric Space Antenna (LISA). The sensitivity of ground-based detectors is limited by seismic noise below 20Hz. On the other hand, the space-based LISA will be designed to be sensitive to GWs of frequency (10−4 _1)Hz. The most important source in this frequency band are supermassive BH (SMBH) binaries. There is strong observational evidence for the existence of SMBH with masses in the range of in most galactic nuclei. Mergers of such galaxies result in SMBH binaries whose evolution is governed by the emission of GW. Observation of the GW from SMBH binaries at high redshifts is one of the major science goals of LISA. These observations will allow us to probe the evolution of SMBHs and structure formation and provide an unique opportunity to test General Relativity (and its alternatives) in the strong field regime of the theory. Observing SMBH coalescences with high (100-1000) SNR is crucial for performing all the aforementioned tests. The LISA bandwidth (10−4_ 1)Hz determines the range of masses accessible to LISA because the inspiral signal would end when the system’s orbital frequency reaches the mass-dependent last stable orbit (LSO). In the test-mass approximation, the angular velocity ι at LSO is given by where M is the total mass of the binary. Search templates using the RWF, which contains only the dominant harmonic at twice the orbital frequency, cannot extract power in the signal beyond This further implies that the frequency range [0.1, 100] mHz corresponds to the range for the total mass of BH binaries that would be accessible to LISA. In chapter 2, we show that inclusion of higher harmonics will enhance the mass-range of LISA (for the same frequency range) and allow for the detection of SMBH binaries with total masses higher than The template employed in chapter 2 includes amplitude corrections upto 2.5PN order, while keeping the phase upto 3.5PN order. We call this template the full waveform (FWF). The FWF defined above contains higher harmonics of the orbital frequency, the highest of them being 7 times the orbital frequency. For a SMBH binary with total mass the dominant harmonic at LSO is less than the lower cut-off of the LISA bandwidth. Therefore, if one uses the RWF as a search template, this system is ‘invisible’ to LISA. However, the seventh harmonic can still enter the LISA bandwidth and produce a significant SNR and thus allow its detection. With the FWF, LISA can observe sources which are favoured by astronomical observations, but not observable with the RWF. More specifically, with the inclusion of all known harmonics LISA will be able to observe SMBH coalescences with total mass (and mass-ratio 0.1) for a low frequency cut-off of 10−4Hz (10−5Hz) with an SNR up to ~ 60 (~30) at a distance of 3 Gpc. The orbital motion of LISA around the Sun induces frequency, phase and amplitude modulations in the observed GW signal. These modulations carry information about both the source’s location and orientation. Determination of the angular coordinates of the source also allows determination of the luminosity distance of SMBH binaries. Therefore, SMBH binaries are often referred to as GW “standard sirens” (analogous to the electromagnetic “standard candles”). LISA would also be able to measure the “redshifted” masses of the component black holes with good accuracy for sources up to redshifts of a few. However, GW observations alone cannot provide any information about the redshift of the source. If the host galaxy or galaxy cluster is known one can disentangle the redshift from the masses by optical measurement of the redshift. This would not only allow one to extract the “physical” masses, but also provide an exciting possibility to study the luminosity distance-redshift relation providing a totally independent confirmation of the cosmological parameters. Further, this combined observation can be used to map the distribution of black hole masses as a function of redshift. Another outstanding issue in present day cosmology in which LISA can play a role is the dark energy and its physical origin. Probing the equation-of-state-ratio (w(z)) provides an important clue to the question of whether dark energy is truly a cosmological constant (i.e., w = -1). Assuming the Universe to be spatially flat, a combination of WMAP and Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS) data yields significant constraints on Without including the spatial flatness as a prior, WMAP, large-scale structure and supernova data place a stringent constraint on the dark energy equation of state, For this to be possible, LISA should (a) measure the luminosity distance to the source with a good accuracy and (b) localize the coalescence event on the sky with good angular resolution so that the host galaxy/galaxy cluster can be uniquely identified. Based on analysis with the RWF, it is found that LISA’s angular resolution is not good enough to identify the source galaxy or galaxy cluster, and that other forms of identification would be needed. Secondly, weak lensing effects would corrupt the distance estimation to the same level as LISA’s systematic error. In chapter 3, we study the problem of parameter estimation in the context of LISA, but using the FWF. We investigate systematically the variation in parameter estimation with PN orders by critically examining the role of higher harmonics in the fast GW phasing and their interplay with the slow modulations induced due to LISA’s motion. More importantly, we explore the improvement in the estimation of the luminosity distance and the angular parameters due to the inclusion of higher harmonics in the waveform. We translate the error in the angular resolution to obtain the number of galaxies (or galaxy clusters) within the error box on the sky. We find that independent of the angular position of the source on the sky, higher harmonics improve LISA’s performance on both counts raised in earlier works based on the RWF. We show that the angular resolution enhances typically by a factor of ~2-500 (greater at higher masses) and the error on the estimation of the luminosity distance goes down by a factor of ~ 2-100 (again, larger at higher masses). For many possible sky positions and orientations of the source, the inaccuracy in our measurement of the dark energy would be at the level of a few percent, so that it would only be limited by weak lensing. We conclude that LISA could provide interesting constraints on cosmological parameters, especially the dark energy equation-of-state, and yet circumvent all the lower rungs of the cosmic distance ladder. Having emphasized the need to consider the FWF as a more powerful template, in chapter 4 we calculate a higher order term in the amplitude corrections of the waveform. In chapters 2 & 3, the FWF incorporated amplitude corrections upto 2.5PN order. In chapter 4 the waveform is calculated upto 3PN order. Recent progress in Numerical Relativity (NR) has resulted in computation of the late inspiral and subsequent merger and ringdown phases of the binary evolution (where PN theory does not hold good) by a full-fledged numerical integration of the Einstein field equations. A new field has emerged recently consisting of high-accuracy comparisons between the PN predictions and the numerically-generated waveforms. Such comparisons and matching to the PN results have proved currently to be very successful. They clearly show the need to include high PN corrections not only for the evolution of the binary’s orbital phase but also for the modulation of the gravitational amplitude. This leads to one more motivation for the work in this chapter: providing the associated spin-weighted spherical harmonic decomposition to facilitate comparison and match of the high PN prediction for the inspiral waveform to the numerically-generated waveforms for the merger and ringdown. For the computation of waveforms from the inspiralling compact binaries one needs to solve the two-body problem in general relativity. The nonlinear structure of general relativity prevents one from obtaining a general solution to this problem. The two-body problem is tackled using the multipolar post-Minkowskian (MPM) wave generation formalism. The MPM formalism describes the radiation field of any isolated post-Newtonian source. The radiation field is first of all parametrized by means of two sets of radiative multipole moments. These moments are then related (by means of an algorithm for solving the non-linearities of the field equations) to the so-called canonical moments which constitute some useful intermediaries for describing the external field of the source. The canonical moments are then expressed in terms of the operational source moments obtained by matching to a PN source and are given by explicit integrals extending over the matter source and gravitational field. The extension of the waveform by half a PN order requires as inputs the relations between the radiative, canonical and source multipole moments for general sources at 3PN order. We also require the 3PN extension of the source multipole moments in the case of compact binaries. The waveform in the far-zone consists of two types of terms, instantaneous and hereditary. The instantaneous terms are determined by the dynamical state of the binary at the retarded time. The hereditary terms, on the other hand, depend on the entire past history of the source. These terms originate from the nonlinear interactions between the various multipole moments and also from backscattering off the curved spacetime generated by the waves themselves. In this chapter, we compute the contributions of all the instantaneous and hereditary terms (which include tails, tails-of-tails and memory integrals) up to 3PN order. The end results of this chapter are given in terms of both the 3PN plus and cross polarizations and the separate spin-weighted spherical harmonic modes. Though most of the sources will be in circular orbits by the time the GWs emitted by the system enter the sensitivity band of the laser interferometers, astrophysical scenarios such as Kozai mechanism could produce binaries which have nonzero eccentricity. Studies have shown that filtering the signal from an eccentric binary with circular orbit templates could significantly degrade the SNR. For constructing a phasing formula for eccentric binaries one has to compute the energy and angular momentum fluxes carried away by the GWs and then compute how the orbital elements evolve with time under gravitational radiation reaction. The far-zone energy and angular momentum fluxes, like the waveform, contain both instantaneous and hereditary contributions. The complete 3PN energy flux and instantaneous terms in the 3PN angular momentum flux are already known. In chapter 5, the hereditary terms in the 3PN angular momentum flux from an ICB moving in quasi-elliptical orbits are computed. A semi-analytic method in the frequency domain is used to compute the hereditary contributions. At 3PN order, the quasi-Keplerian representation of elliptical orbits at 1PN order is required. To calculate the tail contributions we exploit the doubly periodic nature of the motion to average the 3PN fluxes over the binary’s orbit. The hereditary part of the angular momentum flux provided here has to be supplemented with the instantaneous part to obtain the final input needed for the construction of templates for binaries moving in elliptical orbits, a class of sources for both the space based detectors and the ground based ones. Using the hereditary contributions in the 3PN energy flux, we also compute the 3PN accurate hereditary contributions to the secular evolution of the orbital elements of the quasi-Keplerian orbit description.

The mildly active nuclear region in the galaxy M81 (henceforth, M81‹) is one of the nearest low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN) whose structure is marginally resolved when probed with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). Motivated by the way resolved radio sources usually appear on the smallest scales, i.e., a core with a one- sided jet structure, we developed a strictly one-sided, asymmetric triangular model, which we call ASYM, with brightness distribution along a line segment on the sky, with maximum brightness at one end of the segment fading linearly to zero at the other end. The ASYM model is compared and contrasted with an elliptical Gaussian model (hereafter, GAUS), by fitting existing VLBI data of M81‹ at 39 epochs between 1993 and 2003 at 8.4 and 5.0 GHz with the two models. Contrary to what we envisioned, we find that for 77% of our epochs, a simple GAUS model fits the visibility data of M81‹ at 8.4 GHz better (i.e., has a lower reduced 2) than the ASYM model. We conclude that M81‹ is not strictly a one-sided, asymmetric jetted source; as is thought to be the case for the majority of AGN observed at VLBI scales. Our results imply that M81‹ is mostly symmetrical with a significant jet counterpart which cannot be overlooked. / School of Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies (SIRGS) / M. Sc. (Astronomy)

We firstly numerically recalculate the Ricci tensor of non-stationary axisymmetric space-times (originally calculated by Chandrasekhar) and we find some discrepancies both in the linear and non-linear terms. However, these discrepancies do not affect the results concerning linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Secondly, we use these Ricci tensors to derive the Zerilli and Regge-Wheeler equations and use the Newman-Penrose formalism to derive the Bardeen-Press equation. We show the relation between these equations because they describe the same linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Thirdly, we illustrate heuristically (when the angular momentum (l) is 2) the relation between the linearized solution of the Einstein vacuum equations obtained from the Bondi-Sachs metric and the Zerilli equation, because they describe the same linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole. Lastly, by means of a coordinate transformation, we extend Chandrasekhar's results on linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole to the Bondi-Sachs framework. / Mathematical Sciences / M. Sc. (Applied Mathematics)

This thesis concerns with the study of X-ray binaries which are gravitationally bound systems consisting of a compact object (either a neutron star or a black hole) and usually a non degenerate companion star, both rotating around the common centre of mass. The compact star shines brightly in the X-ray regime. Emission from these systems are powered by accretion which is the most radioactively efficient mechanism known in the universe by the release of gravitational potential energy when matter from the companion star falls on the compact object. Accretion onto high magnetic field neutron stars are special as the magnetic field plays a crucial role in governing the dynamics of gas flow and the flow of the matter close to the compact object. The radiation emitted from these systems are anisotropic and for a distant observer, the intensity is modulated at the spin period of the neutron star, hence these objects are called accretion powered pulsars. The angular pattern of the emitted radiation is also highly anisotropic and depends on the mass accreted and hence the luminosity. The beaming pattern commonly known as the pulse profiles exhibit a wide variety in the pulse shape and pulse fraction and vary with energy as well as intensity. They also exhibit cyclotron absorption features in their energy spectrum which are a direct probe to the magnetic field geometry of these systems. This thesis is dedicated to the study of the magnetic field and emission geometry of accretion powered pulsars through the pulse phase resolved studies of the cyclotron absorption features which are a direct probe of the magnetized plasma. In order to study these features in detail broadband continuum modeling of the energy spectrum is done, taking care of all other factors which may smear the pulse phase dependence. Another prerequisite for detailed continuum modeling is accounting for the low absorption dips in the pulse profiles of many these sources. The dips are presumably formed by phase locked accretion stream causing partial covering absorption when the stream is along our line of sight towards the emission region. Studying the pulse phase dependence of this partial covering absorber also provides us with important clues on the local environment of the neutron star and the structure of the accretion stream. All of these studies are performed with data from the broadband and most sensitive instruments onboard the Japanese satellite Suzuki. Lastly we provide estimates of the polarization expected to be detected from these sources by a Thomson scattering polarimeter being developed to observe the polarization of X-rays in the energy range of 5--30 keV. Along with the X-ray pulsars, we also make an estimate of the likelihood of detection of X-ray polarization from black hole X-ray binaries in different spectral states. This is a particularly interesting topic as it will play a crucial role in providing additional handles on the magnetic field geometry in accretion powered pulsars as well as constrain the fundamental parameters of a black hole like its spin.