On trapped surface formation in gravitational collapse II

Further to our consideration on trapped surfaces in gravitational collapse, where pressures were allowed to be negative while satisfying weak energy condition to avoid trapped surface formation, we discuss here several other attempts of similar nature in this direction. Certain astrophysical aspects are pointed out towards examining the physical realization of such a possibility in realistic gravitational collapse

Geometric phase for neutrino propagation in magnetic field

The geometric phase for neutrinos propagating in an adiabatically varying magnetic field in matter is calculated. It is shown that for neutrino propagation in sufficiently large magnetic field the neutrino eigenstates develop a significant geometric phase. The geometric phase varies from 2$\pi$ for magnetic fields $\sim$ fraction of a micro gauss to $\pi$ for fields $\sim 10^7$ gauss or more. The variation of geometric phase with magnetic field parameters is shown and its phenomenological implications are discussed

Two Step Filament Eruption During 14-15 March 2015

We present here an interesting two-step filament eruption during 14-15 March 2015. The filament was located in NOAA AR 12297 and associated with a halo Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). We use observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Heliospheric Magnetic Imager (HMI) instruments onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), and from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). We also use H-alpha data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) telescope and the Kanzelhoehe Solar Observatory. The filament shows a first step eruption on 14 March 2015 and it stops its rise at a projected altitude ~ 125 Mm on the solar disk. It remains at this height for ~ 12 hrs. Finally it eruptes on 15 March 2015 and produced a halo CME. We also find jet activity in the active region during both days, which could help the filament de-stabilization and eruption. The decay index is calculated to understand this two-step eruption. The eruption could be due to the presence of successive instability-stability-instability zones as the filament is rising.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for the publication in Solar Physic

Stability of Naked Singularity arising in gravitational collapse of Type I matter fields

Considering gravitational collapse of Type I matter fields, we prove that, given an arbitrary $C^{2}$- mass function $\textit{M}(r,v)$ and a $C^{1}$- function $h(r,v)$ (through the corresponding $C^{1}$- metric function $\nu(t,r)$), there exist infinitely many choices of energy distribution function $b(r)$ such that the `true' initial data ($\textit{M},h(r,v)$) leads the collapse to the formation of naked singularity. We further prove that the occurrence of such a naked singularity is stable with respect to small changes in the initial data. We remark that though the initial data leading to both black hole and naked singularity form a "big" subset of the true initial data set, their occurrence is not generic. The terms `stability' and `genericity' are appropriately defined following the theory of dynamical systems. The particular case of radial pressure $p_{r}(r)$ has been illustrated in details to get clear picture of how naked singularity is formed and how, it is stable with respect to initial data.Comment: 16 pages, no figure, Latex, submitted to Praman

Tropical rainforest bird community structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null models in the Western Ghats, India

Studies of species distributions on elevational gradients are essential to understand principles of community organisation as well as to conserve species in montane regions. This study examined the patterns of species richness, abundance, composition, range sizes, and distribution of rainforest birds at 14 sites along an elevational gradient (500-1400 m) in the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) of the Western Ghats, India. In contrast to theoretical expectation, resident bird species richness did not change significantly with elevation although the species composition changed substantially (<10% similarity) between the lowest and highest elevation sites. Constancy in species richness was possibly due to relative constancy in productivity and lack of elevational trends in vegetation structure. Elevational range size of birds, expected to increase with elevation according to Rapoport's rule, was found to show a contrasting inverse U-shaped pattern because species with narrow elevational distributions, including endemics, occurred at both ends of the gradient (below 800 m and above 1,200 m). Bird species composition also did not vary randomly along the gradient as assessed using a hierarchy of null models of community assembly, from completely unconstrained models to ones with species richness and range-size distribution restrictions. Instead, bird community composition was significantly correlated with elevation and tree species composition of sites, indicating the influence of deterministic factors on bird community structure. Conservation of low- and high-elevation areas and maintenance of tree species composition against habitat alteration are important for bird conservation in the southern Western Ghats rainforests.Comment: 36 pages, 5 figures, two tables (including one in the appendix) Submitted to the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS