18,023 research outputs found
Asteroseismic Theory of Rapidly Oscillating Ap Stars
This paper reviews some of the important advances made over the last decade
concerning theory of roAp stars.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Deflationary cosmology: constraints from angular size and ages of globular clusters
Observational constraints to a large class of decaying vacuum cosmologies are
derived using the angular size data of compact radio sources and the latest age
estimates of globular clusters. For this class of deflationary
models, the present value of the vacuum energy density is quantified by a
positive parameter smaller than unity. In the case of milliarcsecond
compact radio-sources, we find that the allowed intervals for and the
matter density parameter are heavily dependent on the value of the
mean projected linear size . For pc, the best
fit occurs for , , and , , respectively. This analysis shows that if
one minimizes for the free parameters , and
, the best fit for these angular size data corresponds to a decaying
with and
pc. Constraints from age estimates of globular clusters and old high redshift
galaxies are not so restrictive, thereby suggesting that there is no age crisis
for this kind of cosmologies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, revised version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Is CDM an effective CCDM cosmology?
We show that a cosmology driven by gravitationally induced particle
production of all non-relativistic species existing in the present Universe
mimics exactly the observed flat accelerating CDM cosmology with just
one dynamical free parameter. This kind of scenario includes the creation cold
dark matter (CCDM) model [Lima, Jesus & Oliveira, JCAP 011(2010)027] as a
particular case and also provides a natural reduction of the dark sector since
the vacuum component is not needed to accelerate the Universe. The new cosmic
scenario is equivalent to CDM both at the background and perturbative
levels and the associated creation process is also in agreement with the
universality of the gravitational interaction and equivalence principle.
Implicitly, it also suggests that the present day astronomical observations
cannot be considered the ultimate proof of cosmic vacuum effects in the evolved
Universe because CDM may be only an effective cosmology.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, changes in the abstract, introduction, new
references and typo correction
Kinematic Constraints to the Transition Redshift from SNe Ia Union Data
The kinematic approach to cosmological tests provides a direct evidence to
the present accelerating stage of the universe which does not depend on the
validity of general relativity, as well as on the matter-energy content of the
Universe. In this context, we consider here a linear two-parameter expansion
for the decelerating parameter, , where and are
arbitrary constants to be constrained by the Union supernovae data. By assuming
a flat Universe we find that the best fit to the pair of free parameters is
() = ( whereas the transition redshift is () (). This
kinematic result is in agreement with some independent analyzes and
accommodates more easily many dynamical flat models (like CDM).Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Melting of immiscible physical and compatibilized polymer blends in single screw extruders
Melting is a major step in plasticating single screw extrusion, but most of the existing phenomenological know how was gathered by performing Maddock-type experiments with homopolymers. Given the current widespread industrial use of polymer blends, it is worth determining whether the same mechanisms and mathematical models apply, or whether different sequences develop. This work reports the results of Maddock-type experiments using a PA6/PP blend, both in its immiscible and compatibilized varieties. A melting mechanism combining the features of the classical Tadmor mechanism and of the dispersed melting mechanism, also previously reported in the literature, was observed
Asteroseismology and Magnetic Cycles
Small cyclic variations in the frequencies of acoustic modes are expected to
be a common phenomenon in solar-like pulsators, as a result of stellar magnetic
activity cycles. The frequency variations observed throughout the solar and
stellar cycles contain information about structural changes that take place
inside the stars as well as about variations in magnetic field structure and
intensity. The task of inferring and disentangling that information is,
however, not a trivial one. In the sun and solar-like pulsators, the direct
effect of the magnetic field on the oscillations might be significantly
important in regions of strong magnetic field (such as solar- / stellar-spots),
where the Lorentz force can be comparable to the gas-pressure gradient. Our aim
is to determine the sun- / stellar-spots effect on the oscillation frequencies
and attempt to understand if this effect contributes strongly to the frequency
changes observed along the magnetic cycle. The total contribution of the spots
to the frequency shifts results from a combination of direct and indirect
effects of the magnetic field on the oscillations. In this first work we
considered only the indirect effect associated with changes in the
stratification within the starspot. Based on the solution of the wave equation
and the variational principle we estimated the impact of these stratification
changes on the oscillation frequencies of global modes in the sun and found
that the induced frequency shifts are about two orders of magnitude smaller
than the frequency shifts observed over the solar cycle.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, ESF Conference: The Modern Era of Helio- and
Asteroseismology, to be published on 3 December 2012 at Astronomische
Nachrichten 333, No. 10, 1032-103
Accessing the Acceleration of the Universe with Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and X-ray Data from Galaxy Clusters
By using exclusively the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and X-ray surface
brightness data from 25 galaxy clusters in the redshift range 0.023< z < 0.784
we access cosmic acceleration employing a kinematic description. Such result is
fully independent on the validity of any metric gravity theory, the possible
matter-energy contents filling the Universe, as well as on the SNe Ia Hubble
diagram.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, To appear in the Proceedings of the Twelfth
Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativit
Morphology development of immiscible polymer blends during melting in single-screw extruders : effect of composition and compatibilization
Melting in single screw extruders began to be studied in the fifties, based on the pioneering work of Maddock. Most theoretical and experimental studies used homopolymers as model systems. However, in practice, there has been a considerable evolution in terms of the complexity of the materials being extruded. In the case of polymer blends, the morphology developed during melting should determine the final blend properties. Therefore, this work aims at investigating the morphology evolution during the melting stage of immiscible physical and chemically compatibilized PA6/PP blends. In general, the sequence of steps of morphology evolution reported for twin screw extruders and batch mixers was observed, though adapted to the flow kinematics along a helical single screw channel. The global morphological development is not affected by blend composition, but distinct domains seem to be formed when in situ reactive compatibilization takes place
Melting of polymer blends and concomitant morphology development in single screw extruders
The current understanding of the melting stage in single screw extruders results from pioneering research
efforts that were initiated in the fifties and continued for more than thirty years. Most of these theoretical and
experimental studies used homopolymers as model systems, whereas in industrial practice there has been a considerable
evolution in terms of the complexity of the materials being extruded. This work reports an attempt to monitor the
melting sequence and the morphology development of immiscible physical and chemically compatibilized PA6/PP
blends. A hybrid melting mechanism, incorporating elements of the Tadmor and of the Dispersive melting mechanisms
seems to develop; the early stages of morphology development seem to be similar to those observed in the Haake mixer
and Twin-screw extruder
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