3,456 research outputs found
Region of the anomalous compression under Bondi-Hoyle accretion
We investigate the properties of an axisymmetric non-magnetized gas flow
without angular momentum on a small compact object, in particular, on a
Schwarzschild black hole in the supersonic region near the object; the velocity
of the object itself is assumed to be low compared to the speed of sound at
infinity. First of all, we see that the streamlines intersect (i.e., a caustic
forms) on the symmetry axis at a certain distance from the center on the
front side if the pressure gradient is neglected. The characteristic radial
size of the region, in which the streamlines emerging from the sonic surface at
an angle no larger than to the axis intersect, is To refine the flow structure in this region, we numerically
compute the system in the adiabatic approximation without ignoring the
pressure. We estimate the parameters of the inferred region with anomalously
high matter temperature and density accompanied by anomalously high energy
release.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Professions and feminisms: some thoughts on the regulation of psychology, psychotherapy and counselling
Is There a Relationship between the Density of Primordial Black Holes in a Galaxy and the Rate of Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts?
The rate of accretion of matter from a solar-type star onto a primordial
black hole (PBH) that passes through it is calculated. The probability that a
PBH is captured into an orbit around a star in a galaxy is found. The mean
lifetime of the PBH in such an orbit and the rate of orbital captures of PBHs
in the galaxy are calculated. It is shown that this rate does not depend on the
mass of the PBH. This mechanism cannot make an appreciable contribution to the
rate of observed gamma-ray bursts. The density of PBHs in the galaxy can reach
a critical value - the density of the mass of dark matter in the galaxy.Comment: 7 page
A Solution to the Protostellar Accretion Problem
Accretion rates of order 10^-8 M_\odot/yr are observed in young protostars of
approximately a solar mass with evidence of circumstellar disks. The accretion
rate is significantly lower for protostars of smaller mass, approximately
proportional to the second power of the stellar mass, \dot{M}_accr\propto M^2.
The traditional view is that the observed accretion is the consequence of the
angular momentum transport in isolated protostellar disks, controlled by disk
turbulence or self--gravity. However, these processes are not well understood
and the observed protostellar accretion, a fundamental aspect of star
formation, remains an unsolved problem. In this letter we propose the
protostellar accretion rate is controlled by accretion from the large scale gas
distribution in the parent cloud, not by the isolated disk evolution.
Describing this process as Bondi--Hoyle accretion, we obtain accretion rates
comparable to the observed ones. We also reproduce the observed dependence of
the accretion rate on the protostellar mass. These results are based on
realistic values of the ambient gas density and velocity, as inferred from
numerical simulations of star formation in self--gravitating turbulent clouds.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, ApJ Letters, in pres
A note on Dolby and Gull on radar time and the twin "paradox"
Recently a suggestion has been made that standard textbook representations of
hypersurfaces of simultaneity for the travelling twin in the twin "paradox" are
incorrect. This suggestion is false: the standard textbooks are in agreement
with a proper understanding of the relativity of simultaneity.Comment: LaTeX, 3 pages, 2 figures. Update: added new section V and updated
reference
On the stability of self-gravitating accreting flows
Analytic methods show stability of the stationary accretion of test fluids
but they are inconclusive in the case of self-gravitating stationary flows. We
investigate numerically stability of those stationary flows onto compact
objects that are transonic and rich in gas. In all studied examples solutions
appear stable. Numerical investigation suggests also that the analogy between
sonic and event horizons holds for small perturbations of compact support but
fails in the case of finite perturbations.Comment: 10 pages, accepted for publication in PR
Reflection and Transmission at the Apparent Horizon during Gravitational Collapse
We examine the wave-functionals describing the collapse of a self-gravitating
dust ball in an exact quantization of the gravity-dust system. We show that
ingoing (collapsing) dust shell modes outside the apparent horizon must
necessarily be accompanied by outgoing modes inside the apparent horizon, whose
amplitude is suppressed by the square root of the Boltzmann factor at the
Hawking temperature. Likewise, ingoing modes in the interior must be
accompanied by outgoing modes in the exterior, again with an amplitude
suppressed by the same factor. A suitable superposition of the two solutions is
necessary to conserve the dust probability flux across the apparent horizon,
thus each region contains both ingoing and outgoing dust modes. If one
restricts oneself to considering only the modes outside the apparent horizon
then one should think of the apparent horizon as a partial reflector, the
probability for a shell to reflect being given by the Boltzmann factor at the
Hawking temperature determined by the mass contained within it. However, if one
considers the entire wave function, the outgoing wave in the exterior is seen
to be the transmission through the horizon of the interior outgoing wave that
accompanies the collapsing shells. This transmission could allow information
from the interior to be transferred to the exterior.Comment: 19 pages, no figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Very Old Isolated Compact Objects as Dark Matter Probes
Very old isolated neutron stars and white dwarfs have been suggested to be
probes of dark matter. To play such a role, two requests should be fulfilled,
i.e., the annihilation luminosity of the captured dark matter particles is
above the thermal emission of the cooling compact objects (request-I) and also
dominate over the energy output due to the accretion of normal matter onto the
compact objects (request-II). Request-I calls for very dense dark matter medium
and the critical density sensitively depends on the residual surface
temperature of the very old compact objects. The accretion of
interstellar/intracluster medium onto the compact objects is governed by the
physical properties of the medium and by the magnetization and rotation of the
stars and may outshine the signal of dark matter annihilation. Only in a few
specific scenarios both requests are satisfied and the compact objects are dark
matter burners. The observational challenges are discussed and a possible way
to identify the dark matter burners is outlined.Comment: 9 pages including 1 Figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Forming a Primordial Star in a Relic HII Region
There has been considerable theoretical debate over whether photoionization
and supernova feedback from the first Population III stars facilitate or
suppress the formation of the next generation of stars. We present results from
an Eulerian adaptive mesh refinement simulation demonstrating the formation of
a primordial star within a region ionized by an earlier nearby star. Despite
the higher temperatures of the ionized gas and its flow out of the dark matter
potential wells, this second star formed within 23 million years of its
neighbor's death. The enhanced electron fraction within the HII region
catalyzes rapid molecular hydrogen formation that leads to faster cooling in
the subsequent star forming halos than in the first halos. This "second
generation" primordial protostar has a much lower accretion rate because,
unlike the first protostar, it forms in a rotationally supported disk of
approx. 10-100 solar masses. This is primarily due to the much higher angular
momentum of the halo in which the second star forms. In contrast to previously
published scenarios, such configurations may allow binaries or multiple systems
of lower mass stars to form. These first high resolution calculations offer
insight into the impact of feedback upon subsequent populations of stars and
clearly demonstrate how primordial chemistry promotes the formation of
subsequent generations of stars even in the presence of the entropy injected by
the first stars into the IGM.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Some revisions, including enhanced discussion of
angular momentum issues. Asrophysical Journal, accepte
Laudatores Temporis Acti, or Why Cosmology is Alive and Well - A Reply to Disney
A recent criticism of cosmological methodology and achievements by Disney
(2000) is assessed. Some historical and epistemological fallacies in the said
article have been highlighted. It is shown that---both empirically and
epistemologically---modern cosmology lies on sounder foundations than it is
portrayed. A brief historical account demonstrates that this form of
unsatisfaction with cosmology has had a long tradition, and rather meagre
results in the course of the XX century.Comment: 11 pages, no figures; a criticism of astro-ph/0009020; Gen. Rel.
Grav., accepted for publicatio
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