1,559 research outputs found
Thermophysical properties of near-Earth asteroid (341843) 2008 EV5 from WISE data
Aims. To derive the thermal inertia of 2008 EV, the baseline target for
the Marco Polo-R mission proposal, and infer information about the size of the
particles on its surface. Methods. Values of thermal inertia are obtained by
fitting an asteroid thermophysical model to NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey
Explorer (WISE) infrared data. From the constrained thermal inertia and a model
of heat conductivity that accounts for different values of the packing fraction
(a measure of the degree of compaction of the regolith particles), grain size
is derived. Results. We obtain an effective diameter , geometric visible albedo (assuming
), and thermal inertia J/m2/s(1/2)/K at
the 1- level of significance for its retrograde spin pole solution. The
regolith particles radius is mm for low degrees of
compaction, and mm for the highest packing densities.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
The naked singularity in the global structure of critical collapse spacetimes
We examine the global structure of scalar field critical collapse spacetimes
using a characteristic double-null code. It can integrate past the horizon
without any coordinate problems, due to the careful choice of constraint
equations used in the evolution. The limiting sequence of sub- and
supercritical spacetimes presents an apparent paradox in the expected Penrose
diagrams, which we address in this paper. We argue that the limiting spacetime
converges pointwise to a unique limit for all r>0, but not uniformly. The r=0
line is different in the two limits. We interpret that the two different
Penrose diagrams differ by a discontinuous gauge transformation. We conclude
that the limiting spacetime possesses a singular event, with a future removable
naked singularity.Comment: RevTeX 4; 6 pages, 7 figure
Scale invariance and critical gravitational collapse
We examine ways to write the Choptuik critical solution as the evolution of
scale invariant variables. It is shown that a system of scale invariant
variables proposed by one of the authors does not evolve periodically in the
Choptuik critical solution. We find a different system, based on maximal
slicing. This system does evolve periodically, and may generalize to the case
of axisymmetry or of no symmetry at all.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, discussion modified to clarify
presentatio
Late-time evolution of nonlinear gravitational collapse
We study numerically the fully nonlinear gravitational collapse of a
self-gravitating, minimally-coupled, massless scalar field in spherical
symmetry. Our numerical code is based on double-null coordinates and on free
evolution of the metric functions: The evolution equations are integrated
numerically, whereas the constraint equations are only monitored. The numerical
code is stable (unlike recent claims) and second-order accurate. We use this
code to study the late-time asymptotic behavior at fixed (outside the black
hole), along the event horizon, and along future null infinity. In all three
asymptotic regions we find that, after the decay of the quasi-normal modes, the
perturbations are dominated by inverse power-law tails. The corresponding power
indices agree with the integer values predicted by linearized theory. We also
study the case of a charged black hole nonlinearly perturbed by a (neutral)
self-gravitating scalar field, and find the same type of behavior---i.e.,
quasi-normal modes followed by inverse power-law tails, with the same indices
as in the uncharged case.Comment: 14 pages, standard LaTeX, 18 Encapsulated PostScript figures. A new
convergence test and a determination of QN ringing were added, in addition to
correction of typos and update of reference
Black Hole--Scalar Field Interactions in Spherical Symmetry
We examine the interactions of a black hole with a massless scalar field
using a coordinate system which extends ingoing Eddington-Finkelstein
coordinates to dynamic spherically symmetric-spacetimes. We avoid problems with
the singularity by excising the region of the black hole interior to the
apparent horizon. We use a second-order finite difference scheme to solve the
equations. The resulting program is stable and convergent and will run forever
without problems. We are able to observe quasi-normal ringing and power-law
tails as well an interesting nonlinear feature.Comment: 16 pages, 26 figures, RevTex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
High Sensitivity Torsion Balance Tests for LISA Proof Mass Modeling
We have built a highly sensitive torsion balance to investigate small forces
between closely spaced gold coated surfaces. Such forces will occur between the
LISA proof mass and its housing. These forces are not well understood and
experimental investigations are imperative. We describe our torsion balance and
present the noise of the system. A significant contribution to the LISA noise
budget at low frequencies is the fluctuation in the surface potential
difference between the proof mass and its housing. We present first results of
these measurements with our apparatus.Comment: 6th International LISA Symposiu
Evolution equations for slowly rotating stars
We present a hyperbolic formulation of the evolution equations describing
non-radial perturbations of slowly rotating relativistic stars in the
Regge--Wheeler gauge. We demonstrate the stability preperties of the new
evolution set of equations and compute the polar w-modes for slowly rotating
stars.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure
Low Frequency Tilt Seismology with a Precision Ground Rotation Sensor
We describe measurements of the rotational component of teleseismic surface
waves using an inertial high-precision ground-rotation-sensor installed at the
LIGO Hanford Observatory (LHO). The sensor has a noise floor of 0.4 nrad at 50 mHz and a translational coupling of less than 1 rad/m
enabling translation-free measurement of small rotations. We present
observations of the rotational motion from Rayleigh waves of six teleseismic
events from varied locations and with magnitudes ranging from M6.7 to M7.9.
These events were used to estimate phase dispersion curves which shows
agreement with a similar analysis done with an array of three STS-2
seismometers also located at LHO
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