39 research outputs found
A Check on the Validity of Magnetic Field Reconstructions
We investigate a method to test whether a numerically computed model coronal magnetic field B departs from the divergence-free condition (also known as the solenoidality condition). The test requires a potential field B0 to be calculated, subject to Neumann boundary conditions, given by the normal components of the model field B at the boundaries. The free energy of the model field may be calculated using the volume integral of (B-B0)^2, where the integral is over the computational volume of the model field. A second estimate of the free energy is provided by calculating the difference between the volume integral of B^2 and the volume integral of B0^2. If B is divergence-free, the two estimates of the free energy should be the same. A difference between the two estimates indicates a departure from div B = 0 in the volume. The test is an implementation of a procedure proposed by Moraitis et al. (Sol. Phys. 289, 4453, 2014) and is a simpler version of the Helmholtz decomposition procedure presented by Valori et al. (Astron. Astrophys. 553, A38, 2013). We demonstrate the test in application to previously published nonlinear force-free model fields, and also investigate the influence on the results of the test of a departure from flux balance over the boundaries of the model field. Our results underline the fact that, to make meaningful statements about magnetic free energy in the corona, it is necessary to have model magnetic fields which satisfy the divergence-free condition to a good approximation.Australian Research Counci
(3+2) Neutrino Scheme From A Singular Double See-Saw Mechanism
We obtain a 3+2 neutrino spectrum within a left-right symmetric framework by
invoking a singular double see-saw mechanism. Higgs doublets are employed to
break and three additional fermions, singlets under the left-right
symmetric gauge group, are included. The introduction of a singularity into the
singlet fermion Majorana mass matrix results in a light neutrino sector of
three neutrinos containing predominantly , ,
separated from two neutrinos containing a small component. The
resulting active-sterile mixing in the mixing matrix is specified
once the mass eigenvalues and the submatrix corresponding to the MNS
mixing matrix are known.Comment: 5 pages, matches published versio
Kelvin Helmholtz Instability and Circulation Transfer at an Isotropic-Anisotropic Superfluid Interface in a Neutron Star
A recent laboratory experiment (Blaauwgeers et al. 2003) suggests that a
Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability at the interface between two superfluids, one
rotating and anisotropic, the other stationary and isotropic, may trigger
sudden spin-up of the stationary superfluid. This result suggests that a KH
instability at the crust-core (--superfluid) boundary of a
neutron star may provide a trigger mechanism for pulsar glitches. We calculate
the dispersion relation of the KH instability involving two different
superfluids including the normal fluid components and their effects on
stability, particularly entropy transport. We show that an entropy difference
between the core and crust superfluids reduces the threshold differential shear
velocity and threshold crust-core density ratio. We evaluate the wavelength of
maximum growth of the instability for neutron star parameters and find the
resultant circulation transfer to be within the range observed in pulsar
glitches.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Gravitational wave emission from a magnetically deformed non-barotropic neutron star
A strong candidate for a source of gravitational waves is a highly
magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron star (magnetar) deformed by internal
magnetic stresses. We calculate the mass quadrupole moment by perturbing a
zeroth-order hydrostatic equilibrium by an axisymmetric magnetic field with a
\emph{linked poloidal-toroidal structure}. In this work, we do \emph{not}
require the model star to obey a barotropic equation of state (as a realistic
neutron star is not barotropic), allowing us to explore the hydromagnetic
equilibria with fewer constraints. We derive the relation between the ratio of
poloidal-to-total field energy and ellipticity and briefly
compare our results to those obtained using the barotropic assumption. Then, we
present some examples of how our results can be applied to astrophysical
contexts. First, we show how our formulae, in conjunction with current
gravitational wave (non-)detections of the Crab pulsar and the Cassiopeia A
central compact object (Cas A CCO), can be used to constrain the strength of
the internal toroidal fields of those objects. We find that, for the Crab
pulsar (whose canonical equatorial dipole field strength, inferred from spin
down, is T) to emit detectable gravitational radiation, the
neutron star must have a strong toroidal field component, with maximum internal
toroidal field strength T; for gravitational
waves to be detected from the Cas A CCO at 300 Hz, T, whereas detection at 100 Hz would require T. Using our results, we also show how the gravitational wave signal
emitted by a magnetar immediately after its birth (assuming it is born rapidly
rotating, with ) makes such a newborn magnetar a stronger
candidate for gravitational wave detection than, for example, an SGR giant
flare.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 table