6,185 research outputs found
Higher Spin Gravitational Couplings and the Yang--Mills Detour Complex
Gravitational interactions of higher spin fields are generically plagued by
inconsistencies. We present a simple framework that couples higher spins to a
broad class of gravitational backgrounds (including Ricci flat and Einstein)
consistently at the classical level. The model is the simplest example of a
Yang--Mills detour complex, which recently has been applied in the mathematical
setting of conformal geometry. An analysis of asymptotic scattering states
about the trivial field theory vacuum in the simplest version of the theory
yields a rich spectrum marred by negative norm excitations. The result is a
theory of a physical massless graviton, scalar field, and massive vector along
with a degenerate pair of zero norm photon excitations. Coherent states of the
unstable sector of the model do have positive norms, but their evolution is no
longer unitary and their amplitudes grow with time. The model is of
considerable interest for braneworld scenarios and ghost condensation models,
and invariant theory.Comment: 19 pages LaTe
A note on a gauge-gravity relation and functional determinants
We present a refinement of a recently found gauge-gravity relation between
one-loop effective actions: on the gauge side, for a massive charged scalar in
2d dimensions in a constant maximally symmetric electromagnetic field; on the
gravity side, for a massive spinor in d-dimensional (Euclidean) anti-de Sitter
space. The inclusion of the dimensionally regularized volume of AdS leads to
complete mapping within dimensional regularization. In even-dimensional AdS, we
get a small correction to the original proposal; whereas in odd-dimensional
AdS, the mapping is totally new and subtle, with the `holographic trace
anomaly' playing a crucial role.Comment: 6 pages, io
Magnetorotational collapse of massive stellar cores to neutron stars: Simulations in full general relativity
We study magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) effects arising in the collapse of
magnetized, rotating, massive stellar cores to proto-neutron stars (PNSs). We
perform axisymmetric numerical simulations in full general relativity with a
hybrid equation of state. The formation and early evolution of a PNS are
followed with a grid of 2500 x 2500 zones, which provides better resolution
than in previous (Newtonian) studies. We confirm that significant differential
rotation results even when the rotation of the progenitor is initially uniform.
Consequently, the magnetic field is amplified both by magnetic winding and the
magnetorotational instability (MRI). Even if the magnetic energy E_EM is much
smaller than the rotational kinetic energy T_rot at the time of PNS formation,
the ratio E_EM/T_rot increases to 0.1-0.2 by the magnetic winding. Following
PNS formation, MHD outflows lead to losses of rest mass, energy, and angular
momentum from the system. The earliest outflow is produced primarily by the
increasing magnetic stress caused by magnetic winding. The MRI amplifies the
poloidal field and increases the magnetic stress, causing further angular
momentum transport and helping to drive the outflow. After the magnetic field
saturates, a nearly stationary, collimated magnetic field forms near the
rotation axis and a Blandford-Payne type outflow develops along the field
lines. These outflows remove angular momentum from the PNS at a rate given by
\dot{J} \sim \eta E_EM C_B, where \eta is a constant of order 0.1 and C_B is a
typical ratio of poloidal to toroidal field strength. As a result, the rotation
period quickly increases for a strongly magnetized PNS until the degree of
differential rotation decreases. Our simulations suggest that rapidly rotating,
magnetized PNSs may not give rise to rapidly rotating neutron stars.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
A classification of local Weyl invariants in D=8
Following a purely algebraic procedure, we provide an exhaustive
classification of local Weyl-invariant scalar densities in dimension D=8.Comment: LaTeX, 19 pages, typos corrected, one reference adde
Magnetorotational collapse of very massive stars to black holes in full general relativity
We perform axisymmetric simulations of the magnetorotational collapse of very
massive stars in full general relativity. Our simulations are applicable to the
collapse of supermassive stars (M > 10^3M_sun) and to very massive Pop III
stars. We model our initial configurations by n=3 polytropes. The ratio of
magnetic to rotational kinetic energy in these configurations is chosen to be
small (1% and 10%). We find that such magnetic fields do not affect the initial
collapse significantly. The core collapses to a black hole, after which black
hole excision is employed to continue the evolution long enough for the hole to
reach a quasi-stationary state. We find that the black hole mass is M_h = 0.95M
and its spin parameter is J_h/M_h^2 = 0.7, with the remaining matter forming a
torus around the black hole. We freeze the spacetime metric ("Cowling
approximation") and continue to follow the evolution of the torus after the
black hole has relaxed to quasi-stationary equilibrium. In the absence of
magnetic fields, the torus settles down following ejection of a small amount of
matter due to shock heating. When magnetic fields are present, the field lines
gradually collimate along the hole's rotation axis. MHD shocks and the MRI
generate MHD turbulence in the torus and stochastic accretion onto the central
black hole. When the magnetic field is strong, a wind is generated in the
torus, and the torus undergoes radial oscillations that drive episodic
accretion onto the hole. These oscillations produce long-wavelength
gravitational waves potentially detectable by LISA. The final state of the
magnetorotational collapse always consists of a central black hole surrounded
by a collimated magnetic field and a hot, thick accretion torus. This system is
a viable candidate for the central engine of a long-soft gamma-ray burst.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, replaced with the published versio
Evolution of magnetized, differentially rotating neutron stars: Simulations in full general relativity
We study the effects of magnetic fields on the evolution of differentially
rotating neutron stars, which can form in stellar core collapse or binary
neutron star coalescence. Magnetic braking and the magnetorotational
instability (MRI) both redistribute angular momentum; the outcome of the
evolution depends on the star's mass and spin. Simulations are carried out in
axisymmetry using our recently developed codes which integrate the coupled
Einstein-Maxwell-MHD equations. For initial data, we consider three categories
of differentially rotating, equilibrium configurations, which we label normal,
hypermassive and ultraspinning. Hypermassive stars have rest masses exceeding
the mass limit for uniform rotation. Ultraspinning stars are not hypermassive,
but have angular momentum exceeding the maximum for uniform rotation at the
same rest mass. We show that a normal star will evolve to a uniformly rotating
equilibrium configuration. An ultraspinning star evolves to an equilibrium
state consisting of a nearly uniformly rotating central core, surrounded by a
differentially rotating torus with constant angular velocity along magnetic
field lines, so that differential rotation ceases to wind the magnetic field.
In addition, the final state is stable against the MRI, although it has
differential rotation. For a hypermassive neutron star, the MHD-driven angular
momentum transport leads to catastrophic collapse of the core. The resulting
rotating black hole is surrounded by a hot, massive, magnetized torus
undergoing quasistationary accretion, and a magnetic field collimated along the
spin axis--a promising candidate for the central engine of a short gamma-ray
burst. (Abridged)Comment: 27 pages, 30 figure
Determinant and Weyl anomaly of Dirac operator: a holographic derivation
We present a holographic formula relating functional determinants: the
fermion determinant in the one-loop effective action of bulk spinors in an
asymptotically locally AdS background, and the determinant of the two-point
function of the dual operator at the conformal boundary. The formula originates
from AdS/CFT heuristics that map a quantum contribution in the bulk partition
function to a subleading large-N contribution in the boundary partition
function. We use this holographic picture to address questions in spectral
theory and conformal geometry. As an instance, we compute the type-A Weyl
anomaly and the determinant of the iterated Dirac operator on round spheres,
express the latter in terms of Barnes' multiple gamma function and gain insight
into a conjecture by B\"ar and Schopka.Comment: 11 pages; new comments and references added, typos correcte
A Conformally Invariant Holographic Two-Point Function on the Berger Sphere
We apply our previous work on Green's functions for the four-dimensional
quaternionic Taub-NUT manifold to obtain a scalar two-point function on the
homogeneously squashed three-sphere (otherwise known as the Berger sphere),
which lies at its conformal infinity. Using basic notions from conformal
geometry and the theory of boundary value problems, in particular the
Dirichlet-to-Robin operator, we establish that our two-point correlation
function is conformally invariant and corresponds to a boundary operator of
conformal dimension one. It is plausible that the methods we use could have
more general applications in an AdS/CFT context.Comment: 1+49 pages, no figures. v2: Several typos correcte
Multiple reflection expansion and heat kernel coefficients
We propose the multiple reflection expansion as a tool for the calculation of
heat kernel coefficients. As an example, we give the coefficients for a sphere
as a finite sum over reflections, obtaining as a byproduct a relation between
the coefficients for Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. Further, we
calculate the heat kernel coefficients for the most general matching conditions
on the surface of a sphere, including those cases corresponding to the presence
of delta and delta prime background potentials. In the latter case, the
multiple reflection expansion is shown to be non-convergent.Comment: 21 pages, corrected for some misprint
Telehealth Stroke Education For Rural Elderly Virginians
Objective: Stroke is a prevalent condition found in elderly, rural populations. However, stroke education, which can be effective in addressing the risks, is often difficult to provide in these remote regions. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of delivering stroke education to elderly individuals through telehealth versus in-person stroke prevention education methods.
Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was used in this study. A convenience sample of 11 elderly adults (36% men, 64% women) with a mean age of 70 was selected from an Appalachian Program for All Inclusive Care for the Elderly (day care) facility. Subjects completed preintervention surveys, received a 20-min group in-person or telehealth delivered education session, and then completed the postintervention surveys.
Results: Satisfaction with delivery method and post-education knowledge was equivalent between the two groups. Knowledge increased in both groups after the educational programs. Likelihood of reducing risk factors showed no differences pre-posttest. However, there were significant improvements in the pre-post likelihood scores of the telehealth group in contrast to the in-person group.
Conclusions: This project provided a rural, high-risk population access to telehealth stroke education, thus enabling these individuals to receive education at a distance from experts in the field. The telehealth program was found to be equivalent to in-person stroke education in regards to satisfaction, knowledge, and likelihood of making changes to decrease vascular risk factors. The study demonstrated feasibility in providing effective stroke education through telehealth, thus suggesting an often overlooked route for providing patient education at a distance
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