2,169 research outputs found
Improved approximate inspirals of test-bodies into Kerr black holes
We present an improved version of the approximate scheme for generating
inspirals of test-bodies into a Kerr black hole recently developed by
Glampedakis, Hughes and Kennefick. Their original "hybrid" scheme was based on
combining exact relativistic expressions for the evolution of the orbital
elements (the semi-latus rectum p and eccentricity e) with approximate,
weak-field, formula for the energy and angular momentum fluxes, amended by the
assumption of constant inclination angle, iota, during the inspiral. Despite
the fact that the resulting inspirals were overall well-behaved, certain
pathologies remained for orbits in the strong field regime and for orbits which
are nearly circular and/or nearly polar. In this paper we eliminate these
problems by incorporating an array of improvements in the approximate fluxes.
Firstly, we add certain corrections which ensure the correct behaviour of the
fluxes in the limit of vanishing eccentricity and/or 90 degrees inclination.
Secondly, we use higher order post-Newtonian formulae, adapted for generic
orbits. Thirdly, we drop the assumption of constant inclination. Instead, we
first evolve the Carter constant by means of an approximate post-Newtonian
expression and subsequently extract the evolution of iota. Finally, we improve
the evolution of circular orbits by using fits to the angular momentum and
inclination evolution determined by Teukolsky based calculations. As an
application of the improved scheme we provide a sample of generic Kerr
inspirals and for the specific case of nearly circular orbits we locate the
critical radius where orbits begin to decircularise under radiation reaction.
These easy-to-generate inspirals should become a useful tool for exploring LISA
data analysis issues and may ultimately play a role in source detection.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figures, some typos corrected, short section on
conservative corrections added, minor changes for consistency with published
versio
A new Monte Carlo code for star cluster simulations: II. Central black hole and stellar collisions
We have recently written a new code to simulate the long term evolution of spherical clusters of stars. It is based on the pioneering Monte Carlo scheme proposed by Henon in the 70's. Our code has been devised in the specific goal to treat dense galactic nuclei. After having described how we treat relaxation in a first paper, we go on and include further physical ingredients that are mostly pertinent to galactic nuclei, namely the presence of a central (growing) black hole (BH) and collisions between MS stars. Stars that venture too close to the BH are destroyed by the tidal field. This process is a channel to feed the BH and a way to produce accretion flares. Collisions between stars have often been proposed as another mechanism to drive stellar matter into the central BH. To get the best handle on the role of this process in galactic nuclei, we include it with unpreceded realism through the use of a set of more than 10000 collision simulations carried out with a SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) code. Stellar evolution has also been introduced in a simple way, similar to what has been done in previous dynamical simulations of galactic nuclei. To ensure that this physics is correctly simulated, we realized a variety of tests whose results are reported here. This unique code, featuring most important physical processes, allows million particle simulations, spanning a Hubble time, in a few CPU days on standard personal computers and provides a wealth of data only rivalized by N-body simulations
On Convergence of the Inexact Rayleigh Quotient Iteration with the Lanczos Method Used for Solving Linear Systems
For the Hermitian inexact Rayleigh quotient iteration (RQI), the author has
established new local general convergence results, independent of iterative
solvers for inner linear systems. The theory shows that the method locally
converges quadratically under a new condition, called the uniform positiveness
condition. In this paper we first consider the local convergence of the inexact
RQI with the unpreconditioned Lanczos method for the linear systems. Some
attractive properties are derived for the residuals, whose norms are
's, of the linear systems obtained by the Lanczos method. Based on
them and the new general convergence results, we make a refined analysis and
establish new local convergence results. It is proved that the inexact RQI with
Lanczos converges quadratically provided that with a
constant . The method is guaranteed to converge linearly provided
that is bounded by a small multiple of the reciprocal of the
residual norm of the current approximate eigenpair. The results are
fundamentally different from the existing convergence results that always
require , and they have a strong impact on effective
implementations of the method. We extend the new theory to the inexact RQI with
a tuned preconditioned Lanczos for the linear systems. Based on the new theory,
we can design practical criteria to control to achieve quadratic
convergence and implement the method more effectively than ever before.
Numerical experiments confirm our theory.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:0906.223
Effect of eye movements on the magnitude of functional magnetic resonance imaging responses in extrastriate cortex during visual motion perception
We have studied the effects of pursuit eye movements on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses in extrastriate visual areas during visual motion perception. Echoplanar imaging of 10–12 image planes through visual cortex was acquired in nine subjects while they viewed sequences of random-dot motion. Images obtained during stimulation periods were compared with baseline images, where subjects viewed a blank field. In a subsidiary experiment, responses to moving dots, viewed under conditions of fixation or pursuit, were compared with those evoked by static dots. Eye movements were recorded with MR-compatible electro-oculographic (EOG) electrodes. Our findings show an enhanced level of activation (as indexed by blood-oxygen level-dependent contrast) during pursuit compared with fixation in two extrastriate areas. The results support earlier findings on a motion-specific area in lateral occipitotemporal cortex (human V5). They also point to a further site of activation in a region approximately 12 mm dorsal of V5. The fMRI response in V5 during pursuit is significantly enhanced. This increased response may represent additional processing demands required for the control of eye movements
fMRI Response During Visual Motion Stimulation in Patients with Late Whiplash Syndrome
After whiplash trauma, up to one fourth of patients develop chronic symptoms including head and neck pain and cognitive disturbances. Resting perfusion single-pho ton-emission computed tomography (SPECT) found decreased temporoparietooccipi tal tracer uptake among these long-term symptomatic patients with late whiplash syn drome. As MT/MST (V5/V5a) are located in that area, this study addressed the question whether these patients show impairments in visual motion perception. We examined five symptomatic patients with late whiplash syndrome, five asymptomatic patients after whiplash trauma, and a control group of seven volunteers without the history of trauma. Tests for visual motion perception and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements during visual motion stimulation were performed. Symptomatic patients showed a significant reduction in their ability to perceive coherent visual motion com pared with controls, whereas the asymptomatic patients did not show this effect. fMRI activation was similar during random dot motion in all three groups, but was signifi cantly decreased during coherent dot motion in the symptomatic patients compared with the other two groups. Reduced psychophysical motion performance and reduced fMRI responses in symptomatic patients with late whiplash syndrome both point to a functional impairment in cortical areas sensitive to coherent motion. Larger studies are needed to confirm these clinical and functional imaging results to provide a possible additional diagnostic criterion for the evaluation of patients with late whiplash syndrome
Post- and peritraumatic stress in disaster survivors: An explorative study about the influence of individual and event characteristics across different types of disasters
Background:
Examination of existing research on posttraumatic adjustment after disasters suggests that survivors’ posttraumatic stress levels might be better understood by investigating the influence of the characteristics of the event experienced on how people thought and felt, during the event as well as afterwards.
Objective:
To compare survivors’ perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions across different types of disasters. Additionally, to investigate individual and event characteristics.
Design:
In a European multi-centre study, 102 survivors of different disasters terror attack, flood, fire and collapse of a building were interviewed about their responses during the event. Survivors’ perceived posttraumatic stress levels were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Peritraumatic emotional stress and risk perception were rated retrospectively. Influences of individual characteristics, such as socio-demographic data, and event characteristics, such as time and exposure factors, on post- and peritraumatic outcomes were analyzed.
Results:
Levels of reported post- and peritraumatic outcomes differed significantly between types of disasters. Type of disaster was a significant predictor of all three outcome variables but the factors gender, education, time since event, injuries and fatalities were only significant for certain outcomes.
Conclusion:
Results support the hypothesis that there are differences in perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions after experiencing different types of disasters. However, it should be noted that these findings were not only explained by the type of disaster itself but also by individual and event characteristics. As the study followed an explorative approach, further research paths are discussed to better understand the relationships between variables
Minimum Conductivity and Evidence for Phase Transitions in Ultra-clean Bilayer Graphene
Bilayer graphene (BLG) at the charge neutrality point (CNP) is strongly
susceptible to electronic interactions, and expected to undergo a phase
transition into a state with spontaneous broken symmetries. By systematically
investigating a large number of singly- and doubly-gated bilayer graphene (BLG)
devices, we show that an insulating state appears only in devices with high
mobility and low extrinsic doping. This insulating state has an associated
transition temperature Tc~5K and an energy gap of ~3 meV, thus strongly
suggesting a gapped broken symmetry state that is destroyed by very weak
disorder. The transition to the intrinsic broken symmetry state can be tuned by
disorder, out-of-plane electric field, or carrier density
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