8,794 research outputs found
Born-Infeld magnetars: larger than classical toroidal magnetic fields and implications for gravitational-wave astronomy
Magnetars are neutron stars presenting bursts and outbursts of X- and
soft-gamma rays that can be understood with the presence of very large magnetic
fields. Thus, nonlinear electrodynamics should be taken into account for a more
accurate description of such compact systems. We study that in the context of
ideal magnetohydrodynamics and make a realization of our analysis to the case
of the well-known Born-Infeld (BI) electromagnetism in order to come up with
some of its astrophysical consequences. We focus here on toroidal magnetic
fields as motivated by already known magnetars with low dipolar magnetic fields
and their expected relevance in highly magnetized stars. We show that BI
electrodynamics leads to larger toroidal magnetic fields when compared to
Maxwell's electrodynamics. Hence, one should expect higher production of
gravitational waves (GWs) and even more energetic giant flares from nonlinear
stars. Given current constraints on BI's scale field, giant flare energetics
and magnetic fields in magnetars, we also find that the maximum magnitude of
magnetar ellipticities should be . Besides, BI electrodynamics
may lead to a maximum increase of order of the GW energy radiated
from a magnetar when compared to Maxwell's, while much larger percentages may
arise for other physically motivated scenarios. Thus, nonlinear theories of the
electromagnetism might also be probed in the near future with the improvement
of GW detectors.Comment: 8 pages, no figures, accepted for publication in The European
Physical Journal C (EPJC
Aspects of noncommutative (1+1)-dimensional black holes
We present a comprehensive analysis of the spacetime structure and
thermodynamics of dimensional black holes in a noncommutative
framework. It is shown that a wider variety of solutions are possible than the
commutative case considered previously in the literature. As expected, the
introduction of a minimal length cures singularity pathologies
that plague the standard two-dimensional general relativistic case, where the
latter solution is recovered at large length scales. Depending on the choice of
input parameters (black hole mass , cosmological constant ,
etc...), black hole solutions with zero, up to six, horizons are possible. The
associated thermodynamics allows for the either complete evaporation, or the
production of black hole remnants.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, some comments added, conclusions not modified,
version matching that published on PR
Multi-directional sorting modes in deterministic lateral displacement devices
Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) devices separate micrometer-scale
particles in solution based on their size using a laminar microfluidic flow in
an array of obstacles. We investigate array geometries with rational row-shift
fractions in DLD devices by use of a simple model including both advection and
diffusion. Our model predicts novel multi-directional sorting modes that could
be experimentally tested in high-throughput DLD devices containing obstacles
that are much smaller than the separation between obstacles
Wavelet analysis of turbulence in cirrus clouds
International audienceTwo flights of the UK Meteorological Office's Hercules aircraft through daytime frontal cirrus around Scotland have been analysed using wavelet analysis on the vertical velocity time-series from the horizontal runs. It is shown that wavelet analysis is a useful tool for analysing the turbulence data in cirrus clouds. It finds the largest scales involved in producing turbulence, as does Fourier analysis, such as the 2-km spectral peaks corresponding to convective activity during flight A283. Wavelet spectra have the added advantage that the position is shown, and so they identify smaller-scale, highly localised processes such as the production of turbulent kinetic energy by the breaking of Kelvin-Helmholtz waves due to the vertical shear in the horizontal wind. These may be lost in Fourier spectra obtained for long time-series, though they contribute something to the average spectral density at the appropriate scale. The main disadvantage of this technique is that only octave frequency bands are resolved
A return to strong radio flaring by Circinus X-1 observed with the Karoo Array Telescope test array KAT-7
Circinus X-1 is a bright and highly variable X-ray binary which displays
strong and rapid evolution in all wavebands. Radio flaring, associated with the
production of a relativistic jet, occurs periodically on a ~17-day timescale. A
longer-term envelope modulates the peak radio fluxes in flares, ranging from
peaks in excess of a Jansky in the 1970s to an historic low of milliJanskys
during the years 1994 to 2007. Here we report first observations of this source
with the MeerKAT test array, KAT-7, part of the pathfinder development for the
African dish component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), demonstrating
successful scientific operation for variable and transient sources with the
test array. The KAT-7 observations at 1.9 GHz during the period 13 December
2011 to 16 January 2012 reveal in temporal detail the return to the
Jansky-level events observed in the 1970s. We compare these data to
contemporaneous single-dish measurements at 4.8 and 8.5 GHz with the HartRAO
26-m telescope and X-ray monitoring from MAXI. We discuss whether the overall
modulation and recent dramatic brightening is likely to be due to an increase
in the power of the jet due to changes in accretion rate or changing Doppler
boosting associated with a varying angle to the line of sight.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS 14 May 201
Noise Thermometry with Two Weakly Coupled Bose-Einstein Condensates
Here we report on the experimental investigation of thermally induced
fluctuations of the relative phase between two Bose-Einstein condensates which
are coupled via tunneling. The experimental control over the coupling strength
and the temperature of the thermal background allows for the quantitative
analysis of the phase fluctuations. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application
of these measurements for thermometry in a regime where standard methods fail.
With this we confirm that the heat capacity of an ideal Bose gas deviates from
that of a classical gas as predicted by the third law of thermodynamics.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
- …