3,569 research outputs found
Interpretations of the Accelerating Universe
It is generally argued that the present cosmological observations support the
accelerating models of the universe, as driven by the cosmological constant or
`dark energy'. We argue here that an alternative model of the universe is
possible which explains the current observations of the universe. We
demonstrate this with a reinterpretation of the magnitude-redshift relation for
Type Ia supernovae, since this was the test that gave a spurt to the current
trend in favour of the cosmological constant.Comment: 12 pages including 2 figures, minor revision, references added, a
paragraph on the interpretation of the CMB anisotropy in the QSSC added in
conclusion, general results unchanged. To appear in the October 2002 issue of
the "Publications of the Astronmical Society of the Pacific
The cosmological BCS mechanism and the Big Bang Singularity
We provide a novel mechanism that resolves the Big Bang Singularity present
in FRW space-times without the need for ghost fields. Building on the fact that
a four-fermion interaction arises in General Relativity when fermions are
covariantly coupled, we show that at early times the decrease in scale factor
enhances the correlation between pairs of fermions. This enhancement leads to a
BCS-like condensation of the fermions and opens a gap dynamically driving the
Hubble parameter to zero and results in a non-singular bounce, at least in
some special cases.Comment: replaced to match the journal versio
Elastomeric Adhesive Properties-Shear Strength, Shear Modulus, Creep, and Recovery
Three commercially available adhesives, approved for use in field glued floor systems, were evaluated for potential structural application in light frame wood buildings. All had adequate static shear strength for common floor and roof sheathing uses. Two were sufficiently rigid to generate useful composite action. One displayed relative creep compatible with wood structural design practice but two had excessive relative creep. The adhesive with good creep properties also had good recovery properties. The other two had poor recovery properties. One adhesive that had good shear strength in a conventional block shear test would not consistently sustain stress as low as 25 psi for more than four days. All tests were conducted on bonded wood specimens at 70 F (21 C) and 12% EMC
Late-Season Bermudagrass Control with Glyphosate, Fluazifop, and Mesotrione Combinations
All herbicide treatments at the Rocky Ford Research Center (RF) resulted in unacceptable control, as all plots resulted in 100% green bermudagrass cover by August 25, 2014. Any herbicide treatment combination that included glyphosate provided moderate or better control at Stagg Hill Golf Course (SH). Treatments not containing glyphosate showed no control throughout research trial
Cosmic Needles versus Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
It has been suggested by a number of authors that the 2.7K cosmic microwave
background (CMB) radiation might have arisen from the radiation from Population
III objects thermalized by conducting cosmic graphite/iron needle-shaped dust.
Due to lack of an accurate solution to the absorption properties of exceedingly
elongated grains, in existing literature which studies the CMB thermalizing
process they are generally modelled as (1) needle-like spheroids in terms of
the Rayleigh approximation; (2) infinite cylinders; and (3) the antenna theory.
We show here that the Rayleigh approximation is not valid since the Rayleigh
criterion is not satisfied for highly conducting needles. We also show that the
available intergalactic iron dust, if modelled as infinite cylinders, is not
sufficient to supply the required opacity at long wavelengths to obtain the
observed isotropy and Planckian nature of the CMB. If appealing to the antenna
theory, conducting iron needles with exceedingly large elongations (10^4)
appear able to provide sufficient opacity to thermalize the CMB within the iron
density limit. But the applicability of the antenna theory to exceedingly thin
needles of nanometer/micrometer in thickness needs to be justified.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; submitted to ApJ
Aqueous phase oxidation of sulphur dioxide by ozone in cloud droplets
The growth of aerosol due to the aqueous phase oxidation of sulfur dioxide by ozone was measured in laboratory-generated clouds created in the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) chamber at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Experiments were performed at 10 and −10 °C, on acidic (sulfuric acid) and on partially to fully neutralised (ammonium sulfate) seed aerosol. Clouds were generated by performing an adiabatic expansion – pressurising the chamber to 220 hPa above atmospheric pressure, and then rapidly releasing the excess pressure, resulting in a cooling, condensation of water on the aerosol and a cloud lifetime of approximately 6 min. A model was developed to compare the observed aerosol growth with that predicted using oxidation rate constants previously measured in bulk solutions. The model captured the measured aerosol growth very well for experiments performed at 10 and −10 °C, indicating that, in contrast to some previous studies, the oxidation rates of SO2 in a dispersed aqueous system can be well represented by using accepted rate constants, based on bulk measurements. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first laboratory-based measurements of aqueous phase oxidation in a dispersed, super-cooled population of droplets. The measurements are therefore important in confirming that the extrapolation of currently accepted reaction rate constants to temperatures below 0 °C is correct
Astrophysical implications of hypothetical stable TeV-scale black holes
We analyze macroscopic effects of TeV-scale black holes, such as could
possibly be produced at the LHC, in what is regarded as an extremely
hypothetical scenario in which they are stable and, if trapped inside Earth,
begin to accrete matter. We examine a wide variety of TeV-scale gravity
scenarios, basing the resulting accretion models on first-principles, basic,
and well-tested physical laws. These scenarios fall into two classes, depending
on whether accretion could have any macroscopic effect on the Earth at times
shorter than the Sun's natural lifetime. We argue that cases with such effect
at shorter times than the solar lifetime are ruled out, since in these
scenarios black holes produced by cosmic rays impinging on much denser white
dwarfs and neutron stars would then catalyze their decay on timescales
incompatible with their known lifetimes. We also comment on relevant lifetimes
for astronomical objects that capture primordial black holes. In short, this
study finds no basis for concerns that TeV-scale black holes from the LHC could
pose a risk to Earth on time scales shorter than the Earth's natural lifetime.
Indeed, conservative arguments based on detailed calculations and the
best-available scientific knowledge, including solid astronomical data,
conclude, from multiple perspectives, that there is no risk of any significance
whatsoever from such black holes.Comment: Version2: Minor corrections/fixed typos; updated reference
Modeling Repulsive Gravity with Creation
There is a growing interest in the cosmologists for theories with negative
energy scalar fields and creation, in order to model a repulsive gravity. The
classical steady state cosmology proposed by Bondi, Gold and Hoyle in 1948, was
the first such theory which used a negative kinetic energy creation field to
invoke creation of matter. We emphasize that creation plays very crucial role
in cosmology and provides a natural explanation to the various explosive
phenomena occurring in local (z<0.1) and extra galactic universe. We exemplify
this point of view by considering the resurrected version of this theory - the
quasi-steady state theory, which tries to relate creation events directly to
the large scale dynamics of the universe and supplies more natural explanations
of the observed phenomena. Although the theory predicts a decelerating universe
at the present era, it explains successfully the recent SNe Ia observations
(which require an accelerating universe in the standard cosmology), as we show
in this paper by performing a Bayesian analysis of the data.Comment: The paper uses an old SNeIa dataset. With the new improved data, for
example the updated gold sample (Riess et al, astro-ph/0611572), the fit
improves considerably (\chi^2/DoF=197/180 and a probability of
goodness-of-fit=18%
Improved Torsion Pendulum for Ground Testing of LISA Displacement Sensors
We discuss a new torsion pendulum design for ground testing of prototype LISA
(Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) displacement sensors. This new design is
directly sensitive to net forces and therefore provides a more representative
test of the noisy forces and parasitic stiffnesses acting on the test mass as
compared to previous ground-based experiments. We also discuss a specific
application to the measurement of thermal gradient effects.Comment: 4 pages 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 10th Marcel
Grossmann Meeting on General Relativit
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