6,564 research outputs found
Measurement of the lunar neutron density profile
An in situ measurement of the lunar neutron density from 20 to 400 g/sq cm depth between the lunar surface was made by the Apollo 17 Lunar Neutron Probe Experiment using particle tracks produced by the B10(n, alpha)Li7 reaction. Both the absolute magnitude and depth profile of the neutron density are in good agreement with past theoretical calculations. The effect of cadmium absorption on the neutron density and in the relative Sm149 to Gd157 capture rates obtained experimentally implies that the true lunar Gd157 capture rate is about one half of that calculated theoretically
Hydrogen and fluorine in the surfaces of lunar samples
The resonant nuclear reaction F-19 (p, alpha gamma)0-16 has been used to perform depth sensitive analyses for both fluorine and hydrogen in lunar samples. The resonance at 0.83 MeV (center-of-mass) in this reaction has been applied to the measurement of the distribution of trapped solar protons in lunar samples to depths of about 1/2 micrometer. These results are interpreted in terms of terrestrial H2O surface contamination and a redistribution of the implanted solar H which has been influenced by heavy radiation damage in the surface region. Results are also presented for an experiment to test the penetration of H2O into laboratory glass samples which have been irradiated with 0-16 to simulate the radiation damaged surfaces of lunar glasses. Fluorine determinations have been performed in a 1 pm surface layer on lunar samples using the same F-19 alpha gamma)0-16 resonance. The data are discussed from the standpoint of lunar fluorine and Teflon contamination
Phase diagram analysis and crystal growth of solid solutions Ca_{1-x}Sr_xF_2
The binary phase diagram CaF--SrF was investigated by differential
thermal analysis (DTA). Both substances exhibit unlimited mutual solubility
with an azeotropic point showing a minimum melting temperature of
T_\mathrm{min}=1373^{\circ}_{0.582}_{0.418}_2$. Close to this composition, homogeneous single
crystals up to 30 mm diameter without remarkable segregation could be grown by
the Czochralski method.Comment: accepted for publication in J. Crystal Growt
Simultaneous dual-element analyses of refractory metals in naturally occurring matrices using resonance ionization of sputtered atoms
The combination of secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS) and resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS) has been shown to be a powerful tool for the detection of low levels of elemental impurities in solids. Drawbacks of the technique have been the laser-repetition-rate-limited, low duty cycle of the analysis and the fact that RIS schemes are limited to determinations of a single element. These problems have been addressed as part of an ongoing program to explore the usefulness of RIS/SNMS instruments for the analysis of naturally occurring samples. Efficient two-color, two-photon (1+1) resonance ionization schemes were identified for Mo and for four platinum-group elements (Ru, Os, Ir, and Re). Careful selection of the ionization schemes allowed Mo or Ru to be measured simultaneously with Re, Os, or Ir, using two tunable dye lasers and an XeCl excimer laser. Resonance frequencies could be switched easily under computer control, so that all five elements can be rapidly analyzed. In situ measurements of these elements in metal grains from five meteorites were conducted. From the analyses, estimates of the precision and the detection limit of the instrument were made. The trade-off between lower detection limits and rapid multielement RIS analyses is discussed
Gauge Invariant Effective Stress-Energy Tensors for Gravitational Waves
It is shown that if a generalized definition of gauge invariance is used,
gauge invariant effective stress-energy tensors for gravitational waves and
other gravitational perturbations can be defined in a much larger variety of
circumstances than has previously been possible. In particular it is no longer
necessary to average the stress-energy tensor over a region of spacetime which
is larger in scale than the wavelengths of the waves and it is no longer
necessary to restrict attention to high frequency gravitational waves.Comment: 11 pages, RevTe
The Knudsen temperature jump and the Navier-Stokes hydrodynamics of granular gases driven by thermal walls
Thermal wall is a convenient idealization of a rapidly vibrating plate used
for vibrofluidization of granular materials. The objective of this work is to
incorporate the Knudsen temperature jump at thermal wall in the Navier-Stokes
hydrodynamic modeling of dilute granular gases of monodisperse particles that
collide nearly elastically. The Knudsen temperature jump manifests itself as an
additional term, proportional to the temperature gradient, in the boundary
condition for the temperature. Up to a numerical pre-factor of order unity,
this term is known from kinetic theory of elastic gases. We determine the
previously unknown numerical pre-factor by measuring, in a series of molecular
dynamics (MD) simulations, steady-state temperature profiles of a gas of
elastically colliding hard disks, confined between two thermal walls kept at
different temperatures, and comparing the results with the predictions of a
hydrodynamic calculation employing the modified boundary condition. The
modified boundary condition is then applied, without any adjustable parameters,
to a hydrodynamic calculation of the temperature profile of a gas of inelastic
hard disks driven by a thermal wall. We find the hydrodynamic prediction to be
in very good agreement with MD simulations of the same system. The results of
this work pave the way to a more accurate hydrodynamic modeling of driven
granular gases.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Just how long can you live in a black hole and what can be done about it?
We study the problem of how long a journey within a black hole can last.
Based on our observations, we make two conjectures. First, for observers that
have entered a black hole from an asymptotic region, we conjecture that the
length of their journey within is bounded by a multiple of the future
asymptotic ``size'' of the black hole, provided the spacetime is globally
hyperbolic and satisfies the dominant-energy and non-negative-pressures
conditions. Second, for spacetimes with Cauchy surfaces (or an
appropriate generalization thereof) and satisfying the dominant energy and
non-negative-pressures conditions, we conjecture that the length of a journey
anywhere within a black hole is again bounded, although here the bound requires
a knowledge of the initial data for the gravitational field on a Cauchy
surface. We prove these conjectures in the spherically symmetric case. We also
prove that there is an upper bound on the lifetimes of observers lying ``deep
within'' a black hole, provided the spacetime satisfies the
timelike-convergence condition and possesses a maximal Cauchy surface. Further,
we investigate whether one can increase the lifetime of an observer that has
entered a black hole, e.g., by throwing additional matter into the hole.
Lastly, in an appendix, we prove that the surface area of the event horizon
of a black hole in a spherically symmetric spacetime with ADM mass
is always bounded by , provided
that future null infinity is complete and the spacetime is globally hyperbolic
and satisfies the dominant-energy condition.Comment: 20 pages, REVTeX 3.0, 6 figures included, self-unpackin
A general variational principle for spherically symmetric perturbations in diffeomorphism covariant theories
We present a general method for the analysis of the stability of static,
spherically symmetric solutions to spherically symmetric perturbations in an
arbitrary diffeomorphism covariant Lagrangian field theory. Our method involves
fixing the gauge and solving the linearized gravitational field equations to
eliminate the metric perturbation variable in terms of the matter variables. In
a wide class of cases--which include f(R) gravity, the Einstein-aether theory
of Jacobson and Mattingly, and Bekenstein's TeVeS theory--the remaining
perturbation equations for the matter fields are second order in time. We show
how the symplectic current arising from the original Lagrangian gives rise to a
symmetric bilinear form on the variables of the reduced theory. If this
bilinear form is positive definite, it provides an inner product that puts the
equations of motion of the reduced theory into a self-adjoint form. A
variational principle can then be written down immediately, from which
stability can be tested readily. We illustrate our method in the case of
Einstein's equation with perfect fluid matter, thereby re-deriving, in a
systematic manner, Chandrasekhar's variational principle for radial
oscillations of spherically symmetric stars. In a subsequent paper, we will
apply our analysis to f(R) gravity, the Einstein-aether theory, and
Bekenstein's TeVeS theory.Comment: 13 pages; submitted to Phys. Rev. D. v2: changed formatting, added
conclusion, corrected sign convention
Stability of spherically symmetric solutions in modified theories of gravity
In recent years, a number of alternative theories of gravity have been
proposed as possible resolutions of certain cosmological problems or as toy
models for possible but heretofore unobserved effects. However, the
implications of such theories for the stability of structures such as stars
have not been fully investigated. We use our "generalized variational
principle", described in a previous work, to analyze the stability of static
spherically symmetric solutions to spherically symmetric perturbations in three
such alternative theories: Carroll et al.'s f(R) gravity, Jacobson &
Mattingly's "Einstein-aether theory", and Bekenstein's TeVeS. We find that in
the presence of matter, f(R) gravity is highly unstable; that the stability
conditions for spherically symmetric curved vacuum Einstein-aether backgrounds
are the same as those for linearized stability about flat spacetime, with one
exceptional case; and that the "kinetic terms" of vacuum TeVeS are indefinite
in a curved background, leading to an instability.Comment: ReVTex; 20 pages, 3 figures. v2: references added, submitted to PRD;
v3: expanded discussion of TeVeS; v4: minor typos corrected (version to
appear in PRD
The solar oxygen-isotopic composition: Predictions and implications for solar nebula processes
The outer layers of the Sun are thought to preserve the average isotopic and chemical composition of the solar system. The solar O-isotopic composition is essentially unmeasured, though models based on variations in meteoritic materials yield several predictions. These predictions are reviewed and possible variations on these predictions are explored. In particular, the two-component mixing model of Clayton and Mayeda (1984) (slightly revised here) predicts solar compositions to lie along an extension of the calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion (CAI) ^(16)O line between (δ^(18)O, δ^(17)O) = (16.4, 11.4)%0 and (12.3, 7.5)%0. Consideration of data from ordinary chondrites suggests that the range of predicted solar composition should extend to slightly lower δ^(18)O values. The predicted solar composition is critically sensitive to the solid/gas ratio in the meteorite-forming region, which is often considered to be significantly enriched over solar composition. A factor of two solid/gas enrichment raises the predicted solar (δ^(18)O, δ^(17)O) values along an extension of the CAI ^(16)O line to (33, 28)%0. The model is also sensitive to the nebular O gas phase. If conversion of most of the gaseous O from CO to H_2O occurred at relatively low temperatures and was incomplete at the time of CM aqueous alteration, the predicted nebular gas composition (and hence the solar composition) would be isotopically heavier along a slope 1/2 line. The likelihood of having a single solid nebular O component is discussed. A distribution of initial solid compositions along the CAI ^(16)O line (rather than simply as an end-member) would not significantly change the predictions above in at least one scenario. Even considering these variations within the mixing model, the predicted range of solar compositions is distinct from that expected if the meteoritic variations are due to non-mass-dependent fractionation. Thus, a measurement of the solar O composition to a precision of several permil would clearly distinguish between these theories and should clarify a number of other important issues regarding solar system formation
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