J Geršl, P Delva, P Wolf

We derive relativistic corrections for one-way and two-way time and frequency transfer over optical fibres neglecting no terms that exceed 1 ps in time and $10^{-18}$ in fractional frequency, and estimate their magnitude in typical fibre links. We also provide estimates of the uncertainties in the evaluation of the relativistic corrections due to imperfect knowledge of parameters like the coordinates of the fibre and stations, Earth rotation, or thermal effects of the fibre index and length. The links between Teddington(UK) and Paris(F) as well as Braunschweig(D) and Paris(F), that are currently under construction, are studied as specific examples.

P.Galeotti, G.Pizzella

The two major problems, still associated with the SN1987A, are: a) the signals observed with the gravitational waves detectors, b) the duration of the collapse. Indeed, the sensitivity of the gravitational wave detectors seems to be small for detecting gravitational waves and, while some experimental data indicate a duration of order of hours, most theories assume that the collapse develops in a few seconds. Since recent data of the X-ray NuSTAR satellite show a clear evidence of an asymmetric collapse, we have revisited the experimental data recorded by the underground and gravitational wave detectors running during the SN1987A. New evidence is shown that confirms previous results, namely that the data recorded by the gravitational wave detectors running in Rome and in Maryland are strongly correlated with the data of both the Mont Blanc and the Kamiokande detectors, and that the correlation extends over a long period of time (one or two hours) centered at the Mont Blanc time. This result is obtained by comparing six \underline{ independent} files of data recorded by four different experiments located at intercontinental distances. The signals of the GW detectors preceded the signals of the underground detectors by a time of the order of one second.

Joseph E. McEwen, Xiao Fang, Christopher M. Hirata, Jonathan A. Blazek

We present a novel algorithm, FAST-PT, for performing convolution or mode-coupling integrals that appear in nonlinear cosmological perturbation theory. The algorithm uses several properties of gravitational structure formation -- the locality of the dark matter equations and the scale invariance of the problem -- as well as Fast Fourier Transforms to describe the input power spectrum as a superposition of power laws. This yields extremely fast performance, enabling mode-coupling integral computations fast enough to embed in Monte Carlo Markov Chain parameter estimation. We describe the algorithm and demonstrate its application to calculating nonlinear corrections to the matter power spectrum, including one-loop standard perturbation theory and the renormalization group approach. We also describe our public code (in Python) to implement this algorithm, including the applications described here.

Guillermo Ballesteros, Denis Comelli, Luigi Pilo

We study the effective field theory that describes the low-energy physics of self-gravitating media. The field content consists of four derivatively coupled scalar fields that can be identified with the internal comoving coordinates of the medium. Imposing SO(3) internal spatial invariance, the theory describes supersolids. Stronger symmetry requirements lead to superfluids, solids and perfect fluids, at lowest order in derivatives. In the unitary gauge, massive gravity emerges, being thus the result of a continuous medium propagating in spacetime. Our results can be used to explore systematically the effects and signatures of modifying gravity consistently at large distances. The dark sector is then described as a self-gravitating medium with dynamical and thermodynamic properties dictated by internal symmetries. These results indicate that the divide between dark energy and modified gravity, at large distance scales, is simply a gauge choice.

M. Derakhshani, C. Anastopoulos, B. L. Hu

This is a progress report on a preliminary feasibility study of experimental setups for preparing and probing a gravitational cat state [1].

Marco de Cesare, Fedele Lizzi, Mairi Sakellariadou

We consider implications of the microscopic dynamics of spacetime for the evolution of cosmological models. We argue that quantum geometry effects may lead to stochastic fluctuations of the gravitational constant, which is thus considered as a macroscopic effective dynamical quantity. Consistency with Riemannian geometry entails the presence of a time-dependent dark energy term in the modified field equations, which can be expressed in terms of the dynamical gravitational constant. We suggest that the late-time accelerated expansion of the Universe may be ascribed to quantum fluctuations in the geometry of spacetime rather than the vacuum energy from the matter sector.

Ian Harry, Stephen Privitera, Alejandro Bohé, Alessandra Buonanno

Current searches for gravitational waves from compact-object binaries with the LIGO and Virgo observatories employ waveform models with spins aligned (or anti-aligned) with the orbital angular momentum. Here, we derive a new statistic to search for compact objects carrying generic (precessing) spins. Applying this statistic, we construct banks of both aligned- and generic-spin templates for binary black holes and neutron-star--black-hole binaries, and compare the effectualness of these banks towards simulated populations of generic-spin systems. We then use these banks in a pipeline analysis of Gaussian noise to measure the increase in background incurred by using generic- instead of aligned-spin banks. Although the generic-spin banks have a factor of ten to twenty more templates than the aligned-spin banks, we find an overall improvement in signal recovery at fixed false-alarm rate for systems with high-mass ratio and highly precessing spins ---up to 60\% for neutron-star--black-hole mergers. This gain in sensitivity comes at a small loss of sensitivity ($\lesssim$4\%) for systems that are already well-covered by aligned-spin templates. Since the observation of even a single binary merger with misalinged spins could provide unique astrophysical insights into the formation of these sources, we recommend that the method described here be developed further to mount a viable search for generic-spin binary mergers in LIGO/Virgo data.

Manuel Meyer, Jan Conrad, Hugh Dickinson

Very high energy (VHE; energy $E \gtrsim 100\,$GeV) $\gamma$ rays originating from extragalactic sources undergo pair production with low-energy photons of background radiation fields. These pairs can inverse-Compton scatter background photons, initiating an electromagnetic cascade. The spatial and temporal structure of this secondary $\gamma$-ray signal is altered as the $e^+e^-$ pairs are deflected in an intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF). We investigate how VHE observations with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) with its high angular resolution and broad energy range can potentially probe the IGMF. We identify promising sources and simulate $\gamma$-ray spectra over a wide range of values of the IGMF strength and coherence length using the publicly available ELMAG Monte-Carlo code. Combining simulated observations in a joint likelihood approach, we find that current limits on the IGMF can be significantly improved. The projected sensitivity depends strongly on the time a source has been $\gamma$-ray active and on the emitted maximum $\gamma$-ray energy.

Raul E. Angulo, Andrew Pontzen

We present and test a method that dramatically reduces variance arising from the sparse sampling of wavemodes in cosmological simulations. The method uses two simulations which are fixed (the initial Fourier mode amplitudes are fixed to the ensemble average power spectrum) and paired (with initial modes exactly out of phase). We measure the power spectrum, monopole and quadrupole redshift-space correlation functions, halo mass function and reduced bispectrum at $z=1$. By these measures, predictions from a fixed pair can be as precise on non-linear scales as an average over 50 traditional simulations. The fixing procedure introduces a non-Gaussian correction to the initial conditions; we give an analytic argument showing why the simulations are still able to predict the mean properties of the Gaussian ensemble. We anticipate that the method will drive down the computational time requirements for accurate large-scale explorations of galaxy bias and clustering statistics, enabling more precise comparisons with theoretical models, and facilitating the use of numerical simulations in cosmological data interpretation.

Enrico Morgante, Davide Racco, Mohamed Rameez, Antonio Riotto

Recent LHC data show hints of a new resonance in the diphoton distribution at an invariant mass of 750 GeV. Interestingly, this new particle might be both CP odd and play the role of a portal into the dark matter sector. Under these assumptions and motivated by the fact that the requirement of $SU(2)_L$ invariance automatically implies the coupling of this alleged new resonance to $ZZ$ and $Z\gamma$, we investigate the current and future constraints coming from the indirect searches performed through the neutrino telescope IceCube. We show that these constraints can be stronger than the ones from direct detection experiments if the dark matter mass is larger than a few hundred GeV. Furthermore, in the scenario in which the dark matter is a scalar particle, the IceCube data limit the cross section between the DM and the proton to values close to the predicted ones for natural values of the parameters.

Charis Anastopoulos Bei-Lok Hu

We investigate the nature of a gravitational two-state system (G2S) in the simplest setup in Newtonian gravity. In a quantum description of matter a single motionless massive particle can in principle be in a superposition state of two spatially-separated locations. This superposition state in gravity, or gravitational cat state, would lead to fluctuations in the Newtonian force exerted on a nearby test particle. The central quantity of importance for this inquiry is the energy density correlation. This corresponds to the noise kernel in stochastic gravity theory, evaluated in the weak field nonrelativistic limit. In this limit, quantum fluctuations of the stress energy tensor manifest as the fluctuations of the Newtonian force. We describe the properties of such a G2S system and present two ways of measuring the cat state for the Newtonian force, one by way of a classical probe, the other a quantum harmonic oscillator. Our findings include: (i) mass density fluctuations persist even in single particle systems, and they are of the same order of magnitude as the mean; (ii) a classical probe generically records a non-Markovian fluctuating force; (iii) a quantum probe interacting with the G2S system may undergo Rabi oscillations in a strong coupling regime. This simple prototypical gravitational quantum system could provide a robust testing ground to compare predictions from alternative quantum theories, since the results reported here are based on standard quantum mechanics and classical gravity.