18,804 research outputs found
The Microcanonical Functional Integral. I. The Gravitational Field
The gravitational field in a spatially finite region is described as a
microcanonical system. The density of states is expressed formally as a
functional integral over Lorentzian metrics and is a functional of the
geometrical boundary data that are fixed in the corresponding action. These
boundary data are the thermodynamical extensive variables, including the energy
and angular momentum of the system. When the boundary data are chosen such that
the system is described semiclassically by {\it any} real stationary
axisymmetric black hole, then in this same approximation is shown to
equal 1/4 the area of the black hole event horizon. The canonical and grand
canonical partition functions are obtained by integral transforms of that
lead to "imaginary time" functional integrals. A general form of the first law
of thermodynamics for stationary black holes is derived. For the simpler case
of nonrelativistic mechanics, the density of states is expressed as a real-time
functional integral and then used to deduce Feynman's imaginary-time functional
integral for the canonical partition function.Comment: 29 pages, plain Te
Trumpet slices of the Schwarzschild-Tangherlini spacetime
We study families of time-independent maximal and 1+log foliations of the
Schwarzschild-Tangherlini spacetime, the spherically-symmetric vacuum black
hole solution in D spacetime dimensions, for D >= 4. We identify special
members of these families for which the spatial slices display a trumpet
geometry. Using a generalization of the 1+log slicing condition that is
parametrized by a constant n we recover the results of Nakao, Abe, Yoshino and
Shibata in the limit of maximal slicing. We also construct a numerical code
that evolves the BSSN equations for D=5 in spherical symmetry using
moving-puncture coordinates, and demonstrate that these simulations settle down
to the trumpet solutions.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR
Positivity of Entropy in the Semi-Classical Theory of Black Holes and Radiation
Quantum stress-energy tensors of fields renormalized on a Schwarzschild
background violate the classical energy conditions near the black hole.
Nevertheless, the associated equilibrium thermodynamical entropy by
which such fields augment the usual black hole entropy is found to be positive.
More precisely, the derivative of with respect to radius, at fixed
black hole mass, is found to vanish at the horizon for {\it all} regular
renormalized stress-energy quantum tensors. For the cases of conformal scalar
fields and U(1) gauge fields, the corresponding second derivative is positive,
indicating that has a local minimum there. Explicit calculation
shows that indeed increases monotonically for increasing radius and
is positive. (The same conclusions hold for a massless spin 1/2 field, but the
accuracy of the stress-energy tensor we employ has not been confirmed, in
contrast to the scalar and vector cases). None of these results would hold if
the back-reaction of the radiation on the spacetime geometry were ignored;
consequently, one must regard as arising from both the radiation
fields and their effects on the gravitational field. The back-reaction, no
matter how "small",Comment: 19 pages, RevTe
Action Principle for the Generalized Harmonic Formulation of General Relativity
An action principle for the generalized harmonic formulation of general
relativity is presented. The action is a functional of the spacetime metric and
the gauge source vector. An action principle for the Z4 formulation of general
relativity has been proposed recently by Bona, Bona--Casas and Palenzuela
(BBP). The relationship between the generalized harmonic action and the BBP
action is discussed in detail.Comment: This version is contains more thorough presentations and discussions
of the key results. To be published in PRD. (8 pages, no figures
Modifying the Einstein Equations off the Constraint Hypersuface
A new technique is presented for modifying the Einstein evolution equations
off the constraint hypersurface. With this approach the evolution equations for
the constraints can be specified freely. The equations of motion for the
gravitational field variables are modified by the addition of terms that are
linear and nonlocal in the constraints. These terms are obtained from solutions
of the linearized Einstein constraints.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, uses REVTe
Experimental Observation Of Energetic Ions Accelerated By Three-Dimensional Magnetic Reconnection In A Laboratory Plasma
Magnetic reconnection is widely believed responsible for heating the solar corona as well as for generating X-rays and energetic particles in solar flares. On astrophysical scales, reconnection in the intergalactic plasma is a prime candidate for a local source (Mpc) of cosmic rays exceeding the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff (∼10(19) eV). In a laboratory astrophysics experiment, we have made the first observation of particles accelerated by magnetic reconnection events to energies significantly above both the thermal and the characteristic magnetohydrodynamic energies. These particles are correlated temporally and spatially with the formation of three-dimensional magnetic structures in the reconnection region
rotl: an R package to interact with the Open Tree of Life data
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135519/1/mee312593_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135519/2/mee312593.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135519/3/mee312593-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pd
Evolution of the UV Excess in Early-Type Galaxies
We examine the UV emission from luminous early-type galaxies as a function of
redshift. We perform a stacking analysis using Galaxy Evolution Explorer
(GALEX) images of galaxies in the NOAO Deep Wide Field Survey (NDWFS) Bo\"otes
field and examine the evolution in the UV colors of the average galaxy. Our
sample, selected to have minimal ongoing star formation based on the optical to
mid-IR SEDs of the galaxies, includes 1843 galaxies spanning the redshift range
. We find evidence that the strength of the UV excess
decreases, on average, with redshift, and our measurements also show moderate
disagreement with previous models of the UV excess. Our results show little
evolution in the shape of the UV continuum with redshift, consistent either
with the binary model for the formation of Extreme Horizontal Branch (EHB)
stars or with no evolution in EHB morphology with look-back time. However, the
binary formation model predicts that the strength of the UV excess should also
be relatively constant, in contradiction with our measured results. Finally, we
see no significant influence of a galaxy's environment on the strength of its
UV excess.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures; accepted by ApJ. Modified from original version
to reflect referee's comment
Energy of Isolated Systems at Retarded Times as the Null Limit of Quasilocal Energy
We define the energy of a perfectly isolated system at a given retarded time
as the suitable null limit of the quasilocal energy . The result coincides
with the Bondi-Sachs mass. Our is the lapse-unity shift-zero boundary value
of the gravitational Hamiltonian appropriate for the partial system
contained within a finite topologically spherical boundary . Moreover, we show that with an arbitrary lapse and zero shift the same
null limit of the Hamiltonian defines a physically meaningful element in the
space dual to supertranslations. This result is specialized to yield an
expression for the full Bondi-Sachs four-momentum in terms of Hamiltonian
values.Comment: REVTEX, 16 pages, 1 figur
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