Testing a theory of gravity in celestial mechanics: a new method and its first results for a scalar theory

A new method of post-Newtonian approximation (PNA) for weak gravitational fields is presented together with its application to test an alternative, scalar theory of gravitation. The new method consists in defining a one-parameter family of systems, by applying a Newtonian similarity transformation to the initial data that defines the system of interest. This method is rigorous. Its difference with the standard PNA is emphasized. In particular, the new method predicts that the internal structure of the bodies does have an influence on the motion of the mass centers. The translational equations of motion obtained with this method in the scalar theory are adjusted in the solar system, and compared with an ephemeris based on the standard PNA of GR.Comment: v2: links to quoted arXiv papers. LaTeX, 28 pages including 2 figures. This is a revised version of a lecture given at the 8th. Conf. ``Physical Interpretations of Relativity Theory'' (London, September 2002), organized by the British Society for the Philosophy of Sciences. The initial version will appear in the proceedings of that conference (M. C. Duffy, ed.

An inventory of Lattice Boltzmann models of multiphase flows

This document reports investigations of models of multiphase flows using Lattice Boltzmann methods. The emphasis is on deriving by Chapman-Enskog techniques the corresponding macroscopic equations. The singular interface (Young-Laplace-Gauss) model is described briefly, with a discussion of its limitations. The diffuse interface theory is discussed in more detail, and shown to lead to the singular interface model in the proper asymptotic limit. The Lattice Boltzmann method is presented in its simplest form appropriate for an ideal gas. Four different Lattice Boltzmann models for non-ideal (multi-phase) isothermal flows are then presented in detail, and the resulting macroscopic equations derived. Partly in contradiction with the published literature, it is found that only one of the models gives physically fully acceptable equations. The form of the equation of state for a multiphase system in the density interval above the coexistance line determines surface tension and interface thickness in the diffuse interface theory. The use of this relation for optimizing a numerical model is discussed. The extension of Lattice Boltzmann methods to the non-isothermal situation is discussed summarily.Comment: 59 pages, 5 figure

Lattice Fluid Dynamics from Perfect Discretizations of Continuum Flows

We use renormalization group methods to derive equations of motion for large scale variables in fluid dynamics. The large scale variables are averages of the underlying continuum variables over cubic volumes, and naturally live on a lattice. The resulting lattice dynamics represents a perfect discretization of continuum physics, i.e. grid artifacts are completely eliminated. Perfect equations of motion are derived for static, slow flows of incompressible, viscous fluids. For Hagen-Poiseuille flow in a channel with square cross section the equations reduce to a perfect discretization of the Poisson equation for the velocity field with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The perfect large scale Poisson equation is used in a numerical simulation, and is shown to represent the continuum flow exactly. For non-square cross sections we use a numerical iterative procedure to derive flow equations that are approximately perfect.Comment: 25 pages, tex., using epsfig, minor changes, refernces adde

Singular solutions of a modified two-component Camassa-Holm equation

The Camassa-Holm equation (CH) is a well known integrable equation describing the velocity dynamics of shallow water waves. This equation exhibits spontaneous emergence of singular solutions (peakons) from smooth initial conditions. The CH equation has been recently extended to a two-component integrable system (CH2), which includes both velocity and density variables in the dynamics. Although possessing peakon solutions in the velocity, the CH2 equation does not admit singular solutions in the density profile. We modify the CH2 system to allow dependence on average density as well as pointwise density. The modified CH2 system (MCH2) does admit peakon solutions in velocity and average density. We analytically identify the steepening mechanism that allows the singular solutions to emerge from smooth spatially-confined initial data. Numerical results for MCH2 are given and compared with the pure CH2 case. These numerics show that the modification in MCH2 to introduce average density has little short-time effect on the emergent dynamical properties. However, an analytical and numerical study of pairwise peakon interactions for MCH2 shows a new asymptotic feature. Namely, besides the expected soliton scattering behavior seen in overtaking and head-on peakon collisions, MCH2 also allows the phase shift of the peakon collision to diverge in certain parameter regimes.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figure

A multidimensional finite element method for CFD

A finite element method is used to solve the equations of motion for 2- and 3-D fluid flow. The time-dependent equations are solved explicitly using quadrilateral (2-D) and hexahedral (3-D) elements, mass lumping, and reduced integration. A Petrov-Galerkin technique is applied to the advection terms. The method requires a minimum of computational storage, executes quickly, and is scalable for execution on computer systems ranging from PCs to supercomputers