584 research outputs found
Calculation of periodic roof weighting interval in longwall mining using finite element method
Future X-ray timing missions
Thanks to the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), it is now widely recognized
that fast X-ray timing can be used to probe strong gravity fields around
collapsed objects and constrain the equation of state of dense matter in
neutron stars. We first discuss some of the outstanding issues which could be
solved with an X-ray timing mission building on the great successes of RXTE and
providing an order of magnitude better sensitivity. Then we briefly describe
the 'Experiment for X-ray timing and Relativistic Astrophysics' (EXTRA)
recently proposed to the European Space Agency as a follow-up to RXTE and the
related US mission 'Relativistic Astrophysics Explorer' (RAE).Comment: To be published in `Proceedings of the Third Microquasar Workshop:
Granada Workshop on galactic relativistic jet sources', Eds A. J.
Castro-Tirado, J. Greiner and J. M. Paredes, Astrophysics and Space Science,
in press. More about EXTRA can be found at:
http://www.cesr.fr/~barret/extra.htm
A de Sitter Hoedown
Rotating black holes in de Sitter space are known to have interesting limits
where the temperatures of the black hole and cosmological horizon are equal. We
give a complete description of the thermal phase structure of all allowed
rotating black hole configurations. Only one configuration, the rotating Nariai
limit, has the black hole and cosmological horizons both in thermal and
rotational equilibrium, in that both the temperatures and angular velocities of
the two horizons coincide. The thermal evolution of the spacetime is shown to
lead to the pure de Sitter spacetime, which is the most entropic configuration.
We then provide a comprehensive study of the wave equation for a massless
scalar in the rotating Nariai geometry. The absorption cross section at the
black hole horizon is computed and a condition is found for when the scattering
becomes superradiant. The boundary-to-boundary correlators at finite
temperature are computed at future infinity. The quasinormal modes are obtained
in explicit form. Finally, we obtain an expression for the expectation value of
the number of particles produced at future infinity starting from a vacuum
state with no incoming particles at past infinity. Some of our results are used
to provide further evidence for a recent holographic proposal between the
rotating Nariai geometry and a two-dimensional conformal field theory.Comment: 35 + 1 pages, 9 figures; v3: typos correcte
Searches for Gravitational Waves from Binary Neutron Stars: A Review
A new generation of observatories is looking for gravitational waves. These
waves, emitted by highly relativistic systems, will open a new window for ob-
servation of the cosmos when they are detected. Among the most promising
sources of gravitational waves for these observatories are compact binaries in
the final min- utes before coalescence. In this article, we review in brief
interferometric searches for gravitational waves emitted by neutron star
binaries, including the theory, instru- mentation and methods. No detections
have been made to date. However, the best direct observational limits on
coalescence rates have been set, and instrumentation and analysis methods
continue to be refined toward the ultimate goal of defining the new field of
gravitational wave astronomy.Comment: 30 pages, 5 Figures, to appear in "Short-Period Binary Stars:
Observations, Analyses, and Results", Ed.s Eugene F. Milone, Denis A. Leahy,
David W. Hobil
Non-extremal Black Hole Microstates: Fuzzballs of Fire or Fuzzballs of Fuzz ?
We construct the first family of microstate geometries of near-extremal black
holes, by placing metastable supertubes inside certain scaling supersymmetric
smooth microstate geometries. These fuzzballs differ from the classical black
hole solution macroscopically at the horizon scale, and for certain probes the
fluctuations between various fuzzballs will be visible as thermal noise far
away from the horizon. We discuss whether these fuzzballs appear to infalling
observers as fuzzballs of fuzz or as fuzzballs of fire. The existence of these
solutions suggests that the singularity of non-extremal black holes is resolved
all the way to the outer horizon and this "backwards in time" singularity
resolution can shed light on the resolution of spacelike cosmological
singularities.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figure
A Systematic Review of Mosquito Coils and Passive Emanators: Defining Recommendations for Spatial Repellency Testing Methodologies.
Mosquito coils, vaporizer mats and emanators confer protection against mosquito bites through the spatial action of emanated vapor or airborne pyrethroid particles. These products dominate the pest control market; therefore, it is vital to characterize mosquito responses elicited by the chemical actives and their potential for disease prevention. The aim of this review was to determine effects of mosquito coils and emanators on mosquito responses that reduce human-vector contact and to propose scientific consensus on terminologies and methodologies used for evaluation of product formats that could contain spatial chemical actives, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and insecticide treated materials (ITMs). PubMed, (National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH), MEDLINE, LILAC, Cochrane library, IBECS and Armed Forces Pest Management Board Literature Retrieval System search engines were used to identify studies of pyrethroid based coils and emanators with key-words "Mosquito coils" "Mosquito emanators" and "Spatial repellents". It was concluded that there is need to improve statistical reporting of studies, and reach consensus in the methodologies and terminologies used through standardized testing guidelines. Despite differing evaluation methodologies, data showed that coils and emanators induce mortality, deterrence, repellency as well as reduce the ability of mosquitoes to feed on humans. Available data on efficacy outdoors, dose-response relationships and effective distance of coils and emanators is inadequate for developing a target product profile (TPP), which will be required for such chemicals before optimized implementation can occur for maximum benefits in disease control
Linearized stability analysis of gravastars in noncommutative geometry
In this work, we find exact gravastar solutions in the context of
noncommutative geometry, and explore their physical properties and
characteristics. The energy density of these geometries is a smeared and
particle-like gravitational source, where the mass is diffused throughout a
region of linear dimension due to the intrinsic uncertainty
encoded in the coordinate commutator. These solutions are then matched to an
exterior Schwarzschild spacetime. We further explore the dynamical stability of
the transition layer of these gravastars, for the specific case of
, where M is the black hole mass, to linearized
spherically symmetric radial perturbations about static equilibrium solutions.
It is found that large stability regions exist and, in particular, located
sufficiently close to where the event horizon is expected to form.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
B Cells Regulate Neutrophilia during Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection and BCG Vaccination by Modulating the Interleukin-17 Response
We have previously demonstrated that B cells can shape the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, including the level of neutrophil infiltration and granulomatous inflammation at the site of infection. The present study examined the mechanisms by which B cells regulate the host neutrophilic response upon exposure to mycobacteria and how neutrophilia may influence vaccine efficacy. To address these questions, a murine aerosol infection tuberculosis (TB) model and an intradermal (ID) ear BCG immunization mouse model, involving both the μMT strain and B cell-depleted C57BL/6 mice, were used. IL (interleukin)-17 neutralization and neutrophil depletion experiments using these systems provide evidence that B cells can regulate neutrophilia by modulating the IL-17 response during M. tuberculosis infection and BCG immunization. Exuberant neutrophilia at the site of immunization in B cell-deficient mice adversely affects dendritic cell (DC) migration to the draining lymph nodes and attenuates the development of the vaccine-induced Th1 response. The results suggest that B cells are required for the development of optimal protective anti-TB immunity upon BCG vaccination by regulating the IL-17/neutrophilic response. Administration of sera derived from M. tuberculosis-infected C57BL/6 wild-type mice reverses the lung neutrophilia phenotype in tuberculous μMT mice. Together, these observations provide insight into the mechanisms by which B cells and humoral immunity modulate vaccine-induced Th1 response and regulate neutrophila during M. tuberculosis infection and BCG immunization. © 2013 Kozakiewicz et al
Characteristic Evolution and Matching
I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity
based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress in characteristic
evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D
axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational
collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a
binary black hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at
simulating all aspects of the binary black hole problem inside an artificially
constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is
to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary
inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been
accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the
characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube
inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of
characteristic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by
constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in
this direction is discussed.Comment: New version to appear in Living Reviews 2012. arXiv admin note:
updated version of arXiv:gr-qc/050809
- …