Generalized Ellis-Bronnikov wormholes in asymptotically safe gravity

Abstract

In this paper we study a class of wormhole solutions called generalized Ellis-Bronnikov wormholes in the context of asymptotically safe gravity (ASG). These solutions are characterized by two parameters: an even number $n$ and the wormhole throat radius $r_t$. The particular case $n=2$ recovers the usual Ellis-Bronnikov spacetime, which has already been addressed in the literature. We analyzed the nature of matter in the wormhole's throat, and in nearby regions, of these generalized solutions with $n>2$, using three curvature scalars in the ASG approach, namely, the Ricci scalar, squared Ricci and the Kretschmann scalar. We have shown that the ASG leads to corrections in the matter at the wormhole's throat only for the $n=4$ case. For the squared Ricci and the Kretschmann we find that exotic matter is always necessary, as previously found for the usual Ellis-Bronnikov. However, for the Ricci scalar case, we found that ordinary matter is allowed at the throat. Therefore, the generalized Ellis-Bronnikov wormhole provides to the possibility of having ordinary matter at the throat in the context of asymptotically safe gravity.