452 research outputs found

    Partial suppression of the radial orbit instability in stellar systems

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    It is well known that the simple criterion proposed originally by Polyachenko and Shukhman (1981) for the onset of the radial orbit instability, although being generally a useful tool, faces significant exceptions both on the side of mildly anisotropic systems (with some that can be proved to be unstable) and on the side of strongly anisotropic models (with some that can be shown to be stable). In this paper we address two issues: Are there processes of collisionless collapse that can lead to equilibria of the exceptional type? What is the intrinsic structural property that is responsible for the sometimes noted exceptional stability behavior? To clarify these issues, we have performed a series of simulations of collisionless collapse that start from homogeneous, highly symmetrized, cold initial conditions and, because of such special conditions, are characterized by very little mixing. For these runs, the end-states can be associated with large values of the global pressure anisotropy parameter up to 2K_r/K_T \approx 2.75. The highly anisotropic equilibrium states thus constructed show no significant traces of radial anisotropy in their central region, with a very sharp transition to a radially anisotropic envelope occurring well inside the half-mass radius (around 0.2 r_M). To check whether the existence of such almost perfectly isotropic "nucleus" might be responsible for the apparent suppression of the radial orbit instability, we could not resort to equilibrium models with the above characteristics and with analytically available distribution function; instead, we studied and confirmed the stability of configurations with those characteristics by initializing N-body approximate equilibria (with given density and pressure anisotropy profiles) with the help of the Jeans equations.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

    Physics-Based Modeling of Meteor Entry and Breakup

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    A new research effort at NASA Ames Research Center has been initiated in Planetary Defense, which integrates the disciplines of planetary science, atmospheric entry physics, and physics-based risk assessment. This paper describes work within the new program and is focused on meteor entry and breakup.Over the last six decades significant effort was expended in the US and in Europe to understand meteor entry including ablation, fragmentation and airburst (if any) for various types of meteors ranging from stony to iron spectral types. These efforts have produced primarily empirical mathematical models based on observations. Weaknesses of these models, apart from their empiricism, are reliance on idealized shapes (spheres, cylinders, etc.) and simplified models for thermal response of meteoritic materials to aerodynamic and radiative heating. Furthermore, the fragmentation and energy release of meteors (airburst) is poorly understood.On the other hand, flight of human-made atmospheric entry capsules is well understood. The capsules and their requisite heatshields are designed and margined to survive entry. However, the highest speed Earth entry for capsules is 13 kms (Stardust). Furthermore, Earth entry capsules have never exceeded diameters of 5 m, nor have their peak aerothermal environments exceeded 0.3 atm and 1 kW/sq cm. The aims of the current work are: (i) to define the aerothermal environments for objects with entry velocities from 13 to 20 kms; (ii) to explore various hypotheses of fragmentation and airburst of stony meteors in the near term; (iii) to explore the possibility of performing relevant ground-based tests to verify candidate hypotheses; and (iv) to quantify the energy released in airbursts. The results of the new simulations will be used to anchor said risk assessment analyses. With these aims in mind, state-of-the-art entry capsule design tools are being extended for meteor entries. We describe: (i) applications of current simulation tools to spherical geometries of diameters ranging from 1 to 100 m for an entry velocity of 20 kms and stagnation pressures ranging from 1 to 100 atm; (ii) the influence of shape and departure of heating environment predictions from those for a simple spherical geometry; (iii) assessment of thermal response models for silica subject to intense radiation; and (iv) results for porosity-driven gross fragmentation of meteors, idealized as a collection of smaller objects. Lessons learned from these simulations will be used to help understand the Chelyabinsk meteor entry up to its first point of fragmentation

    First Observation of barB0 to D*0 pi+pi+pi-pi- Decays

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    We report on the observation of B0bar -> D*0 pi+ pi+ pi- pi- decays. The branching ratio is (0.30 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.06)%. Interest in this particular mode was sparked by Ligeti, Luke and Wise who propose it as a way to check the validity of factorization tests in B0bar -> D*+ pi+ pi- pi- pi0 decays.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

    Rate Measurement of D0K+ππ0D^{0}\to K^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{0} and Constraints on D0D0D^{0} - \overline{D^{0}} Mixing

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    We present an observation and rate measurement of the decay D0 -> K+pi-pi0 produced in 9/fb of e+e- collisions near the Upsilon(4S) resonance. The signal is inconsistent with an upward fluctuation of the background by 4.9 standard deviations. We measured the rate of D0 -> K+pi-pi0 normalized to the rate of D0bar -> K+pi-pi0 to be 0.0043 +0.0011 -0.0010 (stat) +/- 0.0007 (syst). This decay can be produced by doubly-Cabibbo-suppressed decays or by the D0 evolving into a D0bar through mixing, followed by a Cabibbo-favored decay to K+pi-pi0. We also found the CP asymmetry A=(8 +25 -22)% to be consistent with zero.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

    Hadronic Mass Moments in Inclusive Semileptonic B Meson Decays

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    We have measured the first and second moments of the hadronic mass-squared distribution in B -> X_c l nu, for P(lepton) > 1.5 GeV/c. We find <M_X^2 - M_D[Bar]^2> = 0.251 +- 0.066 GeV^2, )^2 > = 0.576 +- 0.170 GeV^4, where M_D[Bar] is the spin-averaged D meson mass. From that first moment and the first moment of the photon energy spectrum in b -> s gamma, we find the HQET parameter lambda_1 (MS[Bar], to order 1/M^3 and beta_0 alpha_s^2) to be -0.24 +- 0.11 GeV^2. Using these first moments and the B semileptonic width, and assuming parton-hadron duality, we obtain |V_cb| = 0.0404 +- 0.0013.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLNS, submitted to PR

    A Search for Charmless BVVB\to VV Decays

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    We have studied two-body charmless decays of the BB meson into the final states ρ0ρ0\rho^0 \rho^0, K0ρ0K^{*0} \rho^0, K0K0K^{*0} K^{*0}, K0K0ˉK^{*0} \bar{K^{*0}}, K+ρ0K^{*+} \rho^0, K+K0ˉK^{*+} \bar{K^{*0}}, and K+KK^{*+} K^{*-} using only decay modes with charged daughter particles. Using 9.7 million BBˉB \bar{B} pairs collected with the CLEO detector, we place 90% confidence level upper limits on the branching fractions, (0.467.0)×105(0.46-7.0)\times 10^{-5}, depending on final state and polarization.Comment: 8 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

    Search for a Scalar Bottom Quark with Mass 3.5-4.5 GeV/c2c^{2}

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    We report on a search for a supersymmetric B~\tilde{B} meson with mass between 3.5 and 4.5 GeV/c2c^2 using 4.52 fb1{\rm fb}^{-1} of integrated luminosity produced at s=10.52\sqrt{s}=10.52 GeV, just below the e+eBBˉe^+e^-\to B\bar{B} threshold, and collected with the CLEO detector. We find no evidence for a light scalar bottom quark.Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

    Observation of New States Decaying into Λc+ππ+\Lambda_{c}^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}

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    Using 13.7 fb^{-1} of data recorded by the CLEO detector at CESR, we investigate the spectrum of charmed baryons which decay into Lambda_c^+ pi^- pi^+ and are more massive than the Lambda_{c1} baryons. We find evidence for two new states: one is broad and has an invariant mass roughly 480 MeV above that of the Lambda_c^+; the other is narrow with an invariant mass of 596 +- 1 +- 2 MeV above the Lambda_c^+ mass. These results are preliminary.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

    Evidence of New States Decaying into Ξcπ\Xi^{\prime}_{c}\pi

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    Using 13.7 fb1fb^{-1} of data recorded by the CLEO detector at CESR, we report evidence for two new charmed baryons: one decaying into Ξc0π+\Xi_c^{0 \prime}\pi^+ with the subsequent decay Ξc0Ξc0γ\Xi_c^{0 \prime} \to \Xi_c^0 \gamma, and its isospin partner decaying into Ξc+π\Xi_c^{+ \prime} \pi^- followed by Ξc+Ξc+γ\Xi_c^{+\prime} \to \Xi_c^+\gamma. We measure the following mass differences for the two states: M(Ξc0γπ+)M(Ξc0)M(\Xi_c^0 \gamma \pi^+)-M(\Xi_c^0)=318.2+-1.3+-2.9 MeV, and M(Ξc+γπ)M(Ξc+)M(\Xi_c^+ \gamma \pi^-)-M(\Xi_c^+)=324.0+-1.3+-3.0 MeV. We interpret these new states as the JP=1/2Ξc1J^P = 1/2^- \Xi_{c1} particles, the charmed-strange analogs of the Λc1+(2593)\Lambda_{c1}^+(2593).Comment: 10 pages postscript, also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
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