9,751 research outputs found
Strong gravitational lensing by braneworld black holes
In this paper, we use the strong field limit approach to investigate the
gravitational lensing properties of braneworld black holes. Applying this
method to the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the lensing
observables for some candidate braneworld black hole metrics are compared with
those for the standard Schwarzschild case. It is found that braneworld black
holes could have significantly different observational signatures to the
Schwarzschild black hole.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX4; v2 reference added; v3 minor technical
correctio
Schwarzschild-De Sitter black holes in 4+1 dimensional bulk
We construct a static solution for 4+1 dimensional bulk such that the 3+1
dimensional world has a linear warp factor and describes the
Schwarzschild-dS_{4} black hole. For m=0 this four dimensional universe and
Friedmann Robertson Walker universe are related with an explicit coordinate
transformation. We emphasize that for linear warp factors the effect of bulk on
the brane world shows up as the dS_{4} background which is favored by the big
bang cosmology.Comment: 6 page
Knowledge-based vision and simple visual machines
The vast majority of work in machine vision emphasizes the representation of perceived objects and events: it is these internal representations that incorporate the 'knowledge' in knowledge-based vision or form the 'models' in model-based vision. In this paper, we discuss simple machine vision systems developed by artificial evolution rather than traditional engineering design techniques, and note that the task of identifying internal representations within such systems is made difficult by the lack of an operational definition of representation at the causal mechanistic level. Consequently, we question the nature and indeed the existence of representations posited to be used within natural vision systems (i.e. animals). We conclude that representations argued for on a priori grounds by external observers of a particular vision system may well be illusory, and are at best place-holders for yet-to-be-identified causal mechanistic interactions. That is, applying the knowledge-based vision approach in the understanding of evolved systems (machines or animals) may well lead to theories and models that are internally consistent, computationally plausible, and entirely wrong
UV excess measures of accretion onto young very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs
Low-resolution spectra from 3000-9000 AA of young low-mass stars and brown
dwarfs were obtained with LRIS on Keck I. The excess UV and optical emission
arising in the Balmer and Paschen continua yields mass accretion rates ranging
from 2e-12 to 1e-8 Mo/yr. These results are compared with {\it HST}/STIS
spectra of roughly solar-mass accretors with accretion rates that range from
2e-10 to 5e-8 Mo/yr. The weak photospheric emission from M-dwarfs at <4000 A
leads to a higher contrast between the accretion and photospheric emission
relative to higher-mass counterparts. The mass accretion rates measured here
are systematically 4-7 times larger than those from H-alpha emission line
profiles, with a difference that is consistent with but unlikely to be
explained by the uncertainty in both methods. The accretion luminosity
correlates well with many line luminosities, including high Balmer and many He
I lines. Correlations of the accretion rate with H-alpha 10% width and line
fluxes show a large amount of scatter. Our results and previous accretion rate
measurements suggest that accretion rate is proportional to M^(1.87+/-0.26) for
accretors in the Taurus Molecular Cloud.Comment: 13 pages text, 15 tables, 14 figures. Accepted by Ap
Gauss-Bonnet brane-world cosmology without -symmetry
We consider a single 3-brane situated between two bulk spacetimes that posses
the same cosmological constant, but whose metrics do not posses a
-symmetry. On each side of the brane, the bulk is a solution to
Gauss-Bonnet gravity. This asymmetry modifies junction conditions, and so new
terms arise in the Friedmann equation. If these terms become dominant, these
behave cosmological constant at early times for some case, and might remove the
initial singularity for other case. However, we show that these new terms can
not become dominant ones under usual conditions when our brane is outside an
event horizon. We also show that any brane-world scenarios of this type revert
to a -symmetric form at late times, and hence rule out certain proposed
scenarios.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures; Minor typos corrected. References added. V3:
Numerical errors are corrected. Fig.1 and Fig.3 are replaced. V4: published
versio
Supergravity and The Large N Limit of Theories With Sixteen Supercharges
We consider field theories with sixteen supersymmetries, which includes U(N)
Yang-Mills theories in various dimensions, and argue that their large N limit
is related to certain supergravity solutions. We study this by considering a
system of D-branes in string theory and then taking a limit where the brane
worldvolume theory decouples from gravity. At the same time we study the
corresponding D-brane supergravity solution and argue that we can trust it in
certain regions where the curvature (and the effective string coupling, where
appropriate) are small. The supergravity solutions typically have several
weakly coupled regions and interpolate between different limits of
string-M-theory.Comment: 24 pages, latex. v2: reference added, v3: typos correcte
Correlations between black holes formed in cosmic string breaking
An analysis of cosmic string breaking with the formation of black holes
attached to the ends reveals a remarkable feature: the black holes can be
correlated or uncorrelated. We find that, as a consequence, the
number-of-states enhancement factor in the action governing the formation of
uncorrelated black holes is twice the one for a correlated pair. We argue that
when an uncorrelated pair forms at the ends of the string, the physics involved
is more analogous to thermal nucleation than to particle-antiparticle creation.
Also, we analyze the process of intercommuting strings induced by black hole
annihilation and merging. Finally, we discuss the consequences for grand
unified strings. The process whereby uncorrelated black holes are formed yields
a rate which significantly improves over those previously considered, but still
not enough to modify string cosmology.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX. Final version, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Black hole solutions in the warped DGP braneworld
We study the static, analytical solution of black holes in the warped DGP
braneworld scenario. We show that the linearized field equations and matching
conditions lead to solutions that are not compatible with
Schwarzschild-(A)dS solutions on the brane. This incompatibility is
similar to vDVZ discontinuity in massive gravity theory. Following the standard
procedure to remove this discontinuity, which firstly was proposed by
Vainshtein, we keep some appropriate nonlinear terms in the field equations.
This strategy has its origin in the fact that the spatial extrinsic curvature
of the brane plays a crucial role in the nonlinear nature of the solutions and
also in recovering the well-measured predictions of General Relativity (GR) at
small scales. Using this feature, we obtained an interesting black string
solution in the bulk when it is compatible with 4D GR solutions on the brane.Comment: 15 pages, no figure
Wide-Field Chandra X-Ray Observations of AGN in Abell 85 & Abell 754
To better understand the mechanism or mechanisms that lead to AGN activity
today, we measure the X-ray AGN fraction in a new sample of nearby clusters and
examine how it varies with galaxy properties, projected cluster-centric radius,
and cluster velocity dispersion. We present new wide-field Chandra X-ray
Observatory observations of Abell 85, Abell 754 and the background cluster
Abell 89B out to their virial radii. Out of seventeen X-ray sources associated
with galaxies in these clusters, we classify seven as X-ray AGN with L_{X,B} >
10^{41} erg/s. Only two of these would be classified as AGN based on their
optical spectra. We combine these observations with archival data to create a
sample of X-ray AGN from six z < 0.08 clusters and find that 3.4+1.1/-0.8% of
M_R 10^{41} erg/s. We find that
more X-ray AGN are detected in more luminous galaxies and attribute this to
larger spheriods in more luminous galaxies and increased sensitivity to lower
Eddington-rate accretion from black holes in those spheroids. At a given X-ray
luminosity limit, more massive black holes can be accreting less efficiently,
yet still be detected. If interactions between galaxies are the principal
drivers of AGN activity, then the AGN fraction should be higher in lower
velocity dispersion clusters and the outskirts of clusters. However, the
tendency of the most massive and early-type galaxies to lie in the centers of
the richest clusters could dilute such trends. While we find no variation in
the AGN fraction with projected cluster-centric radius, we do find that the AGN
fraction increases significantly from 2.6+1.0/-0.8% in rich clusters to
10.0+6.2/-4.3% in those with lower velocity dispersions.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal, 17 pages using emulateapj.cls, 10
B & W Figures (degraded): Full resolution paper available at
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~sivakoff/AGN/XAGN_A85_A754.pd
Nucleation of -Branes and Fundamental Strings
We construct a solution to the low-energy string equations of motion in five
dimensions that describes a circular loop of fundamental string exponentially
expanding in a background electric -field. Euclideanising this gives an
instanton for the creation of a loop of fundamental string in a background
-field, and we calculate the rate of nucleation. Solutions describing
magnetically charged strings and -branes, where the gauge field comes from
Kaluza-Klein reduction on a circle, are also constructed. It is known that a
magnetic flux tube in four (reduced) spacetime dimensions is unstable to the
pair creation of Kaluza-Klein monopoles. We show that in dimensions,
magnetic ``fluxbranes" are unstable to the nucleation of a magnetically
charged spherical -brane. In ten dimensions the instanton describes the
nucleation of a Ramond-Ramond magnetically charged six-brane in type IIA string
theory. We also find static solutions describing spherical charged -branes
or fundamental strings held in unstable equilibrium in appropriate background
fields. Instabilities of intersecting magnetic fluxbranes are also discussed.Comment: 28 pages, harvmac (b), reference added, typos correcte
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