25 research outputs found
Dark Energy and Extending the Geodesic Equations of Motion: Its Construction and Experimental Constraints
With the discovery of Dark Energy, , there is now a universal
length scale, , associated with the
universe that allows for an extension of the geodesic equations of motion. In
this paper, we will study a specific class of such extensions, and show that
contrary to expectations, they are not automatically ruled out by either
theoretical considerations or experimental constraints. In particular, we show
that while these extensions affect the motion of massive particles, the motion
of massless particles are not changed; such phenomena as gravitational lensing
remain unchanged. We also show that these extensions do not violate the
equivalence principal, and that because Mpc, a
specific choice of this extension can be made so that effects of this extension
are not be measurable either from terrestrial experiments, or through
observations of the motion of solar system bodies. A lower bound for the only
parameter used in this extension is set.Comment: 19 pages. This is the published version of the first half of
arXiv:0711.3124v2 with corrections include
Cosmological Dynamics of Phantom Field
We study the general features of the dynamics of the phantom field in the
cosmological context. In the case of inverse coshyperbolic potential, we
demonstrate that the phantom field can successfully drive the observed current
accelerated expansion of the universe with the equation of state parameter
. The de-Sitter universe turns out to be the late time attractor
of the model. The main features of the dynamics are independent of the initial
conditions and the parameters of the model. The model fits the supernova data
very well, allowing for at 95 % confidence level.Comment: Typos corrected. Some clarifications and references added. To appear
in Physical Review
Variable G and : scalar-tensor versus RG-improved cosmology
We study the consequences due to time varying and in
scalar-tensor theories of gravity for cosmology, inspired by the modifications
introduced by the Renormalization Group (RG) equations in the Quantum Einstein
Gravity. We assume a power-law scale factor in presence contemporarily of both
the scalar field and the matter components of the cosmic fluid, and analyze a
special case and its generalization, also showing the possibility of a phantom
cosmology. In both such situations we find a negative kinetic term for the
scalar field and, possibly, an equation-of-state parameter . A
violation of dominant energy condition (DEC) for is also possible in both
of them; but, while in the first special case the -energy density then
remains positive, in the second one we find it negative.Comment: 25 pages, to be published in Gen. Rel. Grav. 200
The PL calibration for Milky Way Cepheids and its implications for the distance scale
The rationale behind recent calibrations of the Cepheid PL relation using the
Wesenheit formulation is reviewed and reanalyzed, and it is shown that recent
conclusions regarding a possible change in slope of the PL relation for
short-period and long-period Cepheids are tied to a pathological distribution
of HST calibrators within the instability strip. A recalibration of the
period-luminosity relation is obtained using Galactic Cepheids in open clusters
and groups, the resulting relationship, described by log L/L_sun =
2.415(+-0.035) + 1.148(+-0.044)log P, exhibiting only the moderate scatter
expected from color spread within the instability strip. The relationship is
confirmed by Cepheids with HST parallaxes, although without the need for
Lutz-Kelker corrections, and in general by Cepheids with revised Hipparcos
parallaxes, albeit with concerns about the cited precisions of the latter. A
Wesenheit formulation of Wv = -2.259(+-0.083) - 4.185(+-0.103)log P for
Galactic Cepheids is tested successfully using Cepheids in the inner regions of
the galaxy NGC 4258, confirming the independent geometrical distance
established for the galaxy from OH masers. Differences between the extinction
properties of interstellar and extragalactic dust may yet play an important
role in the further calibration of the Cepheid PL relation and its application
to the extragalactic distance scale.Comment: Accepted for Publication (Astrophysics & Space Science
Cluster Density and the IMF
Observed variations in the IMF are reviewed with an emphasis on environmental
density. The remote field IMF studied in the LMC by several authors is clearly
steeper than most cluster IMFs, which have slopes close to the Salpeter value.
Local field regions of star formation, like Taurus, may have relatively steep
IMFs too. Very dense and massive clusters, like super star clusters, could have
flatter IMFs, or inner-truncated IMFs. We propose that these variations are the
result of three distinct processes during star formation that affect the mass
function in different ways depending on mass range. At solar to intermediate
stellar masses, gas processes involving thermal pressure and supersonic
turbulence determine the basic scale for stellar mass, starting with the
observed pre-stellar condensations, and they define the mass function from
several tenths to several solar masses. Brown dwarfs require extraordinarily
high pressures for fragmentation from the gas, and presumably form inside the
pre-stellar condensations during mutual collisions, secondary fragmentations,
or in disks. High mass stars form in excess of the numbers expected from pure
turbulent fragmentation as pre-stellar condensations coalesce and accrete with
an enhanced gravitational cross section. Variations in the interaction rate,
interaction strength, and accretion rate among the primary fragments formed by
turbulence lead to variations in the relative proportions of brown dwarfs,
solar to intermediate mass stars, and high mass stars.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to be published in ``IMF@50: A Fest-Colloquium
in honor of Edwin E. Salpeter,'' held at Abbazia di Spineto, Siena, Italy,
May 16-20, 2004. Kluwer Academic Publishers; edited by E. Corbelli, F. Palla,
and H. Zinnecke
The Physics of Star Cluster Formation and Evolution
© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00689-4.Star clusters form in dense, hierarchically collapsing gas clouds. Bulk kinetic energy is transformed to turbulence with stars forming from cores fed by filaments. In the most compact regions, stellar feedback is least effective in removing the gas and stars may form very efficiently. These are also the regions where, in high-mass clusters, ejecta from some kind of high-mass stars are effectively captured during the formation phase of some of the low mass stars and effectively channeled into the latter to form multiple populations. Star formation epochs in star clusters are generally set by gas flows that determine the abundance of gas in the cluster. We argue that there is likely only one star formation epoch after which clusters remain essentially clear of gas by cluster winds. Collisional dynamics is important in this phase leading to core collapse, expansion and eventual dispersion of every cluster. We review recent developments in the field with a focus on theoretical work.Peer reviewe