49 research outputs found
Nonlinear Beat Cepheid Models
The numerical hydrodynamic modelling of beat Cepheid behavior has been a
longstanding quest in which purely radiative models have failed miserably. We
find that beat pulsations occur naturally when turbulent convection is
accounted for in our hydrodynamics codes.
The development of a relaxation code and of a Floquet stability analysis
greatly facilitates the search for and analysis of beat Cepheid models.
The conditions for the occurrence of beat behavior can be understood easily
and at a fundamental level with the help of amplitude equations. Here a
discriminant D arises whose sign decides whether single mode or double mode
pulsations can occur in a model, and this D depends only on the values of the
nonlinear coupling coefficients between the fundamental and the first overtone
modes. For radiative models D is always found to be negative, but with
sufficiently strong turbulent convection its sign reverses.Comment: 5 pages, incl. 4 figs - apj lett, accepted may 18, 199
On a class of invariant coframe operators with application to gravity
Let a differential 4D-manifold with a smooth coframe field be given. Consider
the operators on it that are linear in the second order derivatives or
quadratic in the first order derivatives of the coframe, both with coefficients
that depend on the coframe variables. The paper exhibits the class of operators
that are invariant under a general change of coordinates, and, also, invariant
under the global SO(1,3)-transformation of the coframe. A general class of
field equations is constructed. We display two subclasses in it. The subclass
of field equations that are derivable from action principles by free variations
and the subclass of field equations for which spherical-symmetric solutions,
Minkowskian at infinity exist. Then, for the spherical-symmetric solutions, the
resulting metric is computed. Invoking the Geodesic Postulate, we find all the
equations that are experimentally (by the 3 classical tests) indistinguishable
from Einstein field equations. This family includes, of course, also Einstein
equations. Moreover, it is shown, explicitly, how to exhibit it. The basic tool
employed in the paper is an invariant formulation reminiscent of Cartan's
structural equations. The article sheds light on the possibilities and
limitations of the coframe gravity. It may also serve as a general procedure to
derive covariant field equations
Hydrodynamical Survey of First Overtone Cepheids
A hydrodynamical survey of the pulsational properties of first overtone
Galactic Cepheids is presented. The goal of this study is to reproduce their
observed light- and radial velocity curves. The comparison between the models
and the observations is made in a quantitative manner on the level of the
Fourier coefficients. Purely radiative models fail to reproduce the observed
features, but convective models give good agreement.
It is found that the sharp features in the Fourier coefficients are indeed
caused by the P1/P4 = 2 resonance, despite the very large damping of the 4th
overtone. For the adopted mass-luminosity relation the resonance center lies
near a period of 4.2d +/- 0.2 as indicated by the observed radial velocity
data, rather than near 3.2d as the light-curves suggest.Comment: ApJ, 12 pages, (slightly) revise
Matrix theory of gravitation
A new classical theory of gravitation within the framework of general
relativity is presented. It is based on a matrix formulation of
four-dimensional Riemann-spaces and uses no artificial fields or adjustable
parameters. The geometrical stress-energy tensor is derived from a matrix-trace
Lagrangian, which is not equivalent to the curvature scalar R. To enable a
direct comparison with the Einstein-theory a tetrad formalism is utilized,
which shows similarities to teleparallel gravitation theories, but uses complex
tetrads. Matrix theory might solve a 27-year-old, fundamental problem of those
theories (sec. 4.1). For the standard test cases (PPN scheme,
Schwarzschild-solution) no differences to the Einstein-theory are found.
However, the matrix theory exhibits novel, interesting vacuum solutions.Comment: 24 page
Average Effective Potential for the Conformal Factor
In a four dimensional theory of gravity with lagrangian quadratic in
curvature and torsion, we compute the effective action for metrics of the form
, with constant. Using standard
field-theoretic methods we find that one loop quantum effects produce a
nontrivial effective potential for . We explain this unexpected result by
showing how our regularization procedure differs from the one that is usually
adopted in Quantum Gravity. Using the method of the average effective
potential, we compute the scale dependence of the v.e.v. of the conformal
factor.Comment: 8 pages, plain TEX, SISSA 71/93-E
Pulsational instability of yellow hypergiants
Instability of population I (X=0.7, Y=0.02) massive stars against radial
oscillations during the post-main sequence gravitational contraction of the
helium core is investigated. Initial stellar masses are in the range from
65M_\odot to 90M_\odot. In hydrodynamic computations of self-exciting stellar
oscillations we assumed that energy transfer in the envelope of the pulsating
star is due to radiative heat conduction and convection. The convective heat
transfer was treated in the framework of the theory of time-dependent turbulent
convection. During evolutionary expansion of outer layers after hydrogen
exhaustion in the stellar core the star is shown to be unstable against radial
oscillations while its effective temperature is Teff > 6700K for
Mzams=65M_\odot and Teff > 7200K for mzams=90M_\odot. Pulsational instability
is due to the \kappa-mechanism in helium ionization zones and at lower
effective temperature oscillations decay because of significantly increasing
convection. The upper limit of the period of radial pulsations on this stage of
evolution does not exceed 200 day. Radial oscillations of the hypergiant resume
during evolutionary contraction of outer layers when the effective temperature
is Teff > 7300K for Mzams=65M_\odot and Teff > 7600K for Mzams=90M_\odot.
Initially radial oscillations are due to instability of the first overtone and
transition to fundamental mode pulsations takes place at higher effective
temperatures (Teff > 7700K for Mzams=65M_\odot and Teff > 8200K for
Mzams=90M_\odot). The upper limit of the period of radial oscillations of
evolving blueward yellow hypergiants does not exceed 130 day. Thus, yellow
hypergiants are stable against radial stellar pulsations during the major part
of their evolutionary stage.Comment: 20 pages, 7 gigures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter
BRST-antifield-treatment of metric-affine gravity
The metric-affine gauge theory of gravity provides a broad framework in which
gauge theories of gravity can be formulated. In this article we fit
metric-affine gravity into the covariant BRST--antifield formalism in order to
obtain gauge fixed quantum actions. As an example the gauge fixing of a general
two-dimensional model of metric-affine gravity is worked out explicitly. The
result is shown to contain the gauge fixed action of the bosonic string in
conformal gauge as a special case.Comment: 19 pages LATEX, to appear in Phys. Rev.
The Affine-Metric Quantum Gravity with Extra Local Symmetries
We discuss the role of additional local symmetries related to the
transformations of connection fields in the affine-metric theory of gravity.
The corresponding BRST transformations connected with all symmetries (general
coordinate, local Lorentz and extra) are constructed. It is shown, that extra
symmetries give the additional contribution to effective action which is
proportional to the corresponding Nielsen-Kallosh ghost one. Some arguments are
given, that there is no anomaly associated with extra local symmetries.Comment: 14 pages in LATEX (The version of paper accepted for publication in
Class. Quant. Grav.
An assessment of Evans' unified field theory I
Evans developed a classical unified field theory of gravitation and
electromagnetism on the background of a spacetime obeying a Riemann-Cartan
geometry. This geometry can be characterized by an orthonormal coframe theta
and a (metric compatible) Lorentz connection Gamma. These two potentials yield
the field strengths torsion T and curvature R. Evans tried to infuse
electromagnetic properties into this geometrical framework by putting the
coframe theta to be proportional to four extended electromagnetic potentials A;
these are assumed to encompass the conventional Maxwellian potential in a
suitable limit. The viable Einstein-Cartan(-Sciama-Kibble) theory of gravity
was adopted by Evans to describe the gravitational sector of his theory.
Including also the results of an accompanying paper by Obukhov and the author,
we show that Evans' ansatz for electromagnetism is untenable beyond repair both
from a geometrical as well as from a physical point of view. As a consequence,
his unified theory is obsolete.Comment: 39 pages of latex, modified because of referee report, mistakes and
typos removed, partly reformulated, taken care of M.W.Evans' rebutta
The Higgs Phenomenon in Quantum Gravity
The Higgs phenomenon occurs in theories of gravity in which the connection is
an independent dynamical variable. The role of order parameters is played by
the soldering form and a fiber metric. The breaking of the original gauge
symmetry is linked to the appearance of geometrical structures on spacetime.
These facts suggest certain modifications and generalizations of the theory. We
propose a Higgs-like model which provides a dynamical explanation for the
nondegeneracy of the metric and a framework for the unification of gravity with
the other interactions.Comment: This paper was published long ago but was not previously available in
the archive. Some updates have been added in a postscript and some recent
references adde