757 research outputs found
A minimum hypothesis explanation for an IMF with a lognormal body and power law tail
We present a minimum hypothesis model for an IMF that resembles a lognormal
distribution at low masses but has a distinct power-law tail. Even if the
central limit theorem ensures a lognormal distribution of condensation masses
at birth, a power-law tail in the distribution arises due to accretion from the
ambient cloud, coupled with a non-uniform (exponential) distribution of
accretion times.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in IMF@50, eds. E. Corbelli, F. Palla,
and H. Zinnecker, Kluwer, Astrophysics and Space Science Librar
Nuclear fusion in a dense plasma
The standard theory of nuclear fusion rates in a strongly interacting plasma
can be (correctly) derived only when the energy release, Q, is large compared
to other energies in the problem. We exhibit a result for rates that provides a
basis for calculating the finite Q corrections. Crude estimates indicate a
significant defect in the conventional results for some regions of high density
and strong plasma coupling. We also lay some groundwork for a path integral
calculation of the new effects.Comment: Final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett
A Variational Approach to the Spinless Relativistic Coulomb Problem
By application of a straightforward variational procedure we derive a simple,
analytic upper bound on the ground-state energy eigenvalue of a
semirelativistic Hamiltonian for (one or two) spinless particles which
experience some Coulomb-type interaction.Comment: 7 pages, HEPHY-PUB 606/9
The stability of the spectator, Dirac, and Salpeter equations for mesons
Mesons are made of quark-antiquark pairs held together by the strong force.
The one channel spectator, Dirac, and Salpeter equations can each be used to
model this pairing. We look at cases where the relativistic kernel of these
equations corresponds to a time-like vector exchange, a scalar exchange, or a
linear combination of the two. Since the model used in this paper describes
mesons which cannot decay physically, the equations must describe stable
states. We find that this requirement is not always satisfied, and give a
complete discussion of the conditions under which the various equations give
unphysical, unstable solutions
Nuclear Reaction Rates in a Plasma
The problem of determining the effects of the surrounding plasma on nuclear
reaction rates in stars is formulated ab initio, using the techniques of
quantum statistical mechanics. We derive a result that expresses the complete
effects of Coulomb barrier penetration and of the influence of the surrounding
plasma in terms of matrix elements of well defined operators. We find that
possible "dynamical screening" effects that have been discussed in the
literature are absent. The form of our results suggests that an approach that
relies on numerical calculations of the correlation functions in a classical
Coulomb gas, followed by construction of an effective two body potential and a
quantum barrier penetration calculation, will miss physics that is as important
as the physics that it includes.Comment: 66 pages, revtex, Errors Fixed, Explanation Adde
Deuterium-burning in substellar objects
We consider the depletion of primordial deuterium in the interior of
substellar objects as a function of mass, age and absolute magnitude in several
photometric passbands. We characterize potential spectroscopic signatures of
deuterium in the lines of deuterated water HDO. These results will serve as a
useful, independent diagnostic to characterize the mass and/or the age of young
substellar objects, and to provide an independent age determination of very
young clusters. These results can serve to identify objects at the
deuterium-burning limit and to confront the theoretical prediction that
D-burning is a necessary condition to form star-like objects.Comment: 13 pages, Latex file, uses aasms4.sty, accepted for publication in
ApJ Letter
Modified Debye-Huckel Electron Shielding and Penetration Factor
Screened potential, modified by non standard electron cloud distributions
responsible for the shielding effect on fusion of reacting nuclei in
astrophysical plasmas, is derived. The case of clouds with depleted tails in
space coordinates is discussed. The modified screened potential is obtained
both from statistical mechanics arguments based on fluctuations of the inverse
of the Debye-Huckel radius and from the solution of a Bernoulli equation used
in generalized statistical mechanics. Plots and tables useful in evaluating
penetration probability at any energy are provided.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
Are Neutron-Rich Elements Produced in the Collapse of Strange Dwarfs ?
The structure of strange dwarfs and that of hybrid stars with same baryonic
number is compared. There is a critical mass (M~0.24M_sun) in the strange dwarf
branch, below which configurations with the same baryonic number in the hybrid
star branch are more stable. If a transition occurs between both branches, the
collapse releases an energy of about of 3x10^{50} erg, mostly under the form of
neutrinos resulting from the conversion of hadronic matter onto strange quark
matter. Only a fraction (~4%) is required to expel the outer neutron-rich
layers. These events may contribute significantly to the chemical yield of
nuclides with A>80 in the Galaxy, if their frequency is of about one per 1500
years.Comment: Accepted for publication in IJMP
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