1,130 research outputs found
Deviation of geodesics in FLRW spacetime geometries
The geodesic deviation equation (`GDE') provides an elegant tool to
investigate the timelike, null and spacelike structure of spacetime geometries.
Here we employ the GDE to review these structures within the
Friedmann--Lema\^{\i}tre--Robertson--Walker (`FLRW') models, where we assume
the sources to be given by a non-interacting mixture of incoherent matter and
radiation, and we also take a non-zero cosmological constant into account. For
each causal case we present examples of solutions to the GDE and we discuss the
interpretation of the related first integrals. The de Sitter spacetime geometry
is treated separately.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX 2.09, 3 *.eps figures, Contribution to the
forthcoming Engelbert Sch\"{u}cking Festschrift (Springer Verlag
Sphere packings of discs with two radii
In this paper we will take a look at sphere packings and we will try to find the highest density binary lattice packings in the 2-dimensional space R2. First we start with defining the properties of lattice packings of different convex bodies. Then we transform the problem into an optimization problem, which turns out to be a Non-Convex Quadratic Constrained Quadratic Program that can not be solved normally. Therefore a couple of relaxation techniques are used in order to find an upper bound on the highest density. Eventually only the option with two spheres in a unit tile have been examined for which also a lower bound for the highest density is given. Though the upper bounds and the lower bounds are equal, they are still lower bounds for the actual highest density of binary lattice packings. In this paper we will take a look at sphere packings and we will try to find the highest density binary lattice packings in the 2-dimensional space R2. First we start with defining the properties of lattice packings of different convex bodies. Then we transform the problem into an optimization problem, which turns out to be a Non-Convex Quadratic Constrained Quadratic Program that can not be solved normally. Therefore a couple of relaxation techniques are used in order to find an upper bound on the highest density. Eventually only the option with two spheres in a unit tile have been examined for which also a lower bound for the highest density is given. Though the upper bounds and the lower bounds are equal, they are still lower bounds for the actual highest density of binary lattice packings
Integrability of irrotational silent cosmological models
We revisit the issue of integrability conditions for the irrotational silent
cosmological models. We formulate the problem both in 1+3 covariant and 1+3
orthonormal frame notation, and show there exists a series of constraint
equations that need to be satisfied. These conditions hold identically for
FLRW-linearised silent models, but not in the general exact non-linear case.
Thus there is a linearisation instability, and it is highly unlikely that there
is a large class of silent models. We conjecture that there are no spatially
inhomogeneous solutions with Weyl curvature of Petrov type I, and indicate
further issues that await clarification.Comment: Minor corrections and improvements; 1 new reference; to appear Class.
Quantum Grav.; 16 pages Ioplpp
Partially locally rotationally symmetric perfect fluid cosmologies
We show that there are no new consistent cosmological perfect fluid solutions
when in an open neighbourhood of an event the fluid kinematical
variables and the electric and magnetic Weyl curvature are all assumed
rotationally symmetric about a common spatial axis, specialising the Weyl
curvature tensor to algebraic Petrov type D. The consistent solutions of this
kind are either locally rotationally symmetric, or are subcases of the Szekeres
dust models. Parts of our results require the assumption of a barotropic
equation of state. Additionally we demonstrate that local rotational symmetry
of perfect fluid cosmologies follows from rotational symmetry of the Riemann
curvature tensor and of its covariant derivatives only up to second order, thus
strengthening a previous result.Comment: 20 pages, LaTeX2.09 (10pt), no figures; shortened revised version,
new references; accepted for publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit
History and sensitivity comparison of two standard whole-sediment toxicity tests with crustaceans : the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the ostracod Heterocypris incongruens microbiotest
The review first details the development of the test procedures with Hyalella azteca which historically emerged as one of the recommended test species for whole-sediment assays and its gradual standardization and endorsement by national and international organizations. The sensitivity and precision of the H. azteca test for application on chemicals and on real world sediments is discussed. The review subsequently addresses the development of the whole sediment microbiotest with the ostracod crustacean Heterocypris incongruens with larvae of this test species hatched from dormant eggs (cysts), rendering this assay stock culture/maintenance free. The application of the 6-day ostracod microbiotest on sediments in Canada and in Belgium is discussed, as well as its endorsement by the ISO subsequent to an extensive international inter-laboratory ring test. The sensitivity of the amphipod and ostracod tests is compared by data from studies in which both assays were applied in parallel. A comparison of more than 1000 ostracod/amphipod data pairs of a 12-year river sediment monitoring study in Flanders/Belgium confirmed that both whole-sediment assays have a similar sensitivity and that the 6-day ostracod microbiotest is a valuable and cost-effective alternative to the 10-14 day amphipod test for evaluation of the toxic hazard of polluted sediments
Quasi-Newtonian dust cosmologies
Exact dynamical equations for a generic dust matter source field in a
cosmological context are formulated with respect to a non-comoving
Newtonian-like timelike reference congruence and investigated for internal
consistency. On the basis of a lapse function (the relativistic
acceleration scalar potential) which evolves along the reference congruence
according to (), we find that
consistency of the quasi-Newtonian dynamical equations is not attained at the
first derivative level. We then proceed to show that a self-consistent set can
be obtained by linearising the dynamical equations about a (non-comoving) FLRW
background. In this case, on properly accounting for the first-order momentum
density relating to the non-relativistic peculiar motion of the matter,
additional source terms arise in the evolution and constraint equations
describing small-amplitude energy density fluctuations that do not appear in
similar gravitational instability scenarios in the standard literature.Comment: 25 pages, LaTeX 2.09 (10pt), to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravity, Vol. 15 (1998
General relativistic analysis of peculiar velocities
We give a careful general relativistic and (1+3)-covariant analysis of
cosmological peculiar velocities induced by matter density perturbations in the
presence of a cosmological constant. In our quasi-Newtonian approach,
constraint equations arise to maintain zero shear of the non-comoving
fundamental worldlines which define a Newtonian-like frame, and these lead to
the (1+3)-covariant dynamical equations, including a generalized Poisson-type
equation. We investigate the relation between peculiar velocity and peculiar
acceleration, finding the conditions under which they are aligned. In this case
we find (1+3)-covariant relativistic generalizations of well-known Newtonian
results.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX2e (iopart); minor changes, matches version accepted
for publication by Classical and Quantum Gravit
Local freedom in the gravitational field
In a cosmological context, the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl
tensor, E_{ab} and H_{ab}, represent the locally free curvature - i.e. they are
not pointwise determined by the matter fields. By performing a complete
covariant decomposition of the derivatives of E_{ab} and H_{ab}, we show that
the parts of the derivative of the curvature which are locally free (i.e. not
pointwise determined by the matter via the Bianchi identities) are exactly the
symmetrised trace-free spatial derivatives of E_{ab} and H_{ab} together with
their spatial curls. These parts of the derivatives are shown to be crucial for
the existence of gravitational waves.Comment: New results on gravitational waves included; new references added;
revised version (IOP style) to appear Class. Quantum Gra
1+1+2 Electromagnetic perturbations on non-vacuum LRS class II space-times: Decoupling scalar and 2-vector harmonic amplitudes
We use the covariant and gauge-invariant 1+1+2 formalism of Clarkson and
Barrett \cite{Clarkson2003} to analyze electromagnetic (EM) perturbations on
non-vacuum {\it locally rotationally symmetric} (LRS) class II space-times.
Ultimately, we show how to derive six real decoupled equations governing the
total of six EM scalar and 2-vector harmonic amplitudes. Four of these are new,
and result from expanding the complex EM 2-vector which we defined in
\cite{Burston2007} in terms of EM 2-vector harmonic amplitudes. We are then
able to show that there are four precise combinations of the amplitudes that
decouple, two of these are polar perturbations whereas the remaining two are
axial. The remaining two decoupled equations are the generalized Regge-Wheeler
equations which were developed previously in \cite{Betschart2004}, and these
govern the two EM scalar harmonic amplitudes. However, our analysis generalizes
this by including a full description and classification of energy-momentum
sources, such as charges and currents.Comment: 9 page
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