5,977 research outputs found
Cosmology With A Dark Refraction Index
We review Gordon's optical metric and the transport equations for the
amplitude and polarization of a geometrical optics wave traveling in a gravity
field. We apply the theory to the FLRW cosmologies by associating a refraction
index with the cosmic fluid. We then derive an expression for the accumulated
effect of a refraction index on the distance redshift relations and fit the
Hubble curve of current supernova observations with a non-accelerating
cosmological model. We also show that some observational effects caused by
inhomogeneities, e.g. the Sachs-Wolfe effect, can be interpreted as being
caused by an effective index of refraction, and hence this theory could extend
to other speed of light communications such as gravitational radiation and
neutrino fluxes.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure
Venus volcanism: Rate estimates from laboratory studies of sulfur gas-solid reactions
Thermochemical reactions between sulfur-bearing gases in the atmosphere of Venus and calcium-, iron-, magnesium-, and sulfur-bearing minerals on the surface of Venus are an integral part of a hypothesized cycle of thermochemical and photochemical reactions responsible for the maintenance of the global sulfuric acid cloud cover on Venus. SO2 is continually removed from the Venus atmosphere by reaction with calcium bearing minerals on the planet's surface. The rate of volcanism required to balance SO2 depletion by reactions with calcium bearing minerals on the Venus surface can therefore be deduced from a knowledge of the relevant gas-solid reaction rates combined with reasonable assumptions about the sulfur content of the erupted material (gas + magma). A laboratory program was carried out to measure the rates of reaction between SO2 and possible crustal minerals on Venus. The reaction of CaCO3(calcite) + SO2 yields CaSO4 (anhydrite) + CO was studied. Brief results are given
Accelerated black holes in an anti-de Sitter universe
The C-metric is one of few known exact solutions of Einstein's field
equations which describes the gravitational field of moving sources. For a
vanishing or positive cosmological constant, the C-metric represents two
accelerated black holes in asymptotically flat or de Sitter spacetime. For a
negative cosmological constant the structure of the spacetime is more
complicated. Depending on the value of the acceleration, it can represent one
black hole or a sequence of pairs of accelerated black holes in the spacetime
with an anti-de Sitter-like infinity. The global structure of this spacetime is
analyzed and compared with an empty anti-de Sitter universe. It is illustrated
by 3D conformal-like diagrams.Comment: 14 pages, 17 figures [see
http://utf.mff.cuni.cz/~krtous/physics/CADS/ for the version with the high
quality figures and for related animations and interactive 3D diagrams
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES TO 6000 DEG K FOR 210 SUBSTANCES INVOLVING THE FIRST 18 ELEMENTS
Thermodynamic properties to 6000-deg kelvin for substances involving first 18 elements in their natural stat
On plane gravitational waves in real connection variables
We investigate using plane fronted gravitational wave space-times as model
systems to study loop quantization techniques and dispersion relations. In this
classical analysis, we start with planar symmetric space-times in the real
connection formulation. We reduce via Dirac constraint analysis to a final form
with one canonical pair and one constraint, equivalent to the metric and
Einstein equations of plane-fronted with parallel rays waves. Due to the
symmetries and use of special coordinates general covariance is broken.
However, this allows us to simply express the constraints of the consistent
system. A recursive construction of Dirac brackets results in non-local
brackets, analogous to those of self-dual fields, for the triad variables
chosen in this approach.Comment: v2: Matches published version, up to minor stylistic change
Distance-redshift from an optical metric that includes absorption
We show that it is possible to equate the intensity reduction of a light wave
caused by weak absorption with a geometrical reduction in intensity caused by a
"transverse" conformal transformation of the spacetime metric in which the wave
travels. We are consequently able to modify Gordon's optical metric to account
for electromagnetic properties of ponderable material whose properties include
both refraction and absorption. Unlike refraction alone however, including
absorption requires a modification of the optical metric that depends on the
eikonal of the wave itself. We derive the distance-redshift relation from the
modified optical metric for Friedman-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker spacetimes
whose cosmic fluid has associated refraction and absorption coefficients. We
then fit the current supernovae data and provide an alternate explanation
(other than dark energy) of the apparent acceleration of the universe.Comment: 2 figure
Perceptual processing advantages for trauma-related visual cues in post-traumatic stress disorder
BACKGROUND: Intrusive re-experiencing in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comprises distressing sensory impressions from the trauma that seem to occur 'out of the blue'. A key question is how intrusions are triggered. One possibility is that PTSD is characterized by a processing advantage for stimuli that resemble those that accompanied the trauma, which would lead to increased detection of such cues in the environment. METHOD: We used a blurred picture identification task in a cross-sectional (n=99) and a prospective study (n=221) of trauma survivors. RESULTS: Participants with acute stress disorder (ASD) or PTSD, but not trauma survivors without these disorders, identified trauma-related pictures, but not general threat pictures, better than neutral pictures. There were no group differences in the rate of trauma-related answers to other picture categories. The relative processing advantage for trauma-related pictures correlated with re-experiencing and dissociation, and predicted PTSD at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: A perceptual processing bias for trauma-related stimuli may contribute to the involuntary triggering of intrusive trauma memories in PTSD
Interpreting the C-metric
The basic properties of the C-metric are well known. It describes a pair of
causally separated black holes which accelerate in opposite directions under
the action of forces represented by conical singularities. However, these
properties can be demonstrated much more transparently by making use of
recently developed coordinate systems for which the metric functions have a
simple factor structure. These enable us to obtain explicit
Kruskal-Szekeres-type extensions through the horizons and construct
two-dimensional conformal Penrose diagrams. We then combine these into a
three-dimensional picture which illustrates the global causal structure of the
space-time outside the black hole horizons. Using both the weak field limit and
some invariant quantities, we give a direct physical interpretation of the
parameters which appear in the new form of the metric. For completeness,
relations to other familiar coordinate systems are also discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures (low-resolution figures; for the version with
high-resolution figures see http://utf.mff.cuni.cz/~krtous/papers/ or
http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~majbg/
Relativistic stellar oscillations treated as an initial value problem
The linearized Einstein equations for a static, spherically symmetric fluid ball and its empty surroundings are considered. It is shown that, given initial data obeying the constraints, there exists a unique solution, which describes the motion of the perturbed fluid and the gravitational waves propagating inside and outside the fluid ball. The physical junction conditions for the boundary of the ball suffice to determine the evolution inside and outside of the ball in terms of initial values. The equation of state is assumed smooth and such that the density and the speed of sound remain positive for vanishing pressure
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