104 research outputs found
Fermion absorption cross section of a Schwarzschild black hole
We study the absorption of massive spin-half particles by a small
Schwarzschild black hole by numerically solving the single-particle Dirac
equation in Painleve-Gullstrand coordinates. We calculate the absorption cross
section for a range of gravitational couplings Mm/m_P^2 and incident particle
energies E. At high couplings, where the Schwarzschild radius R_S is much
greater than the wavelength lambda, we find that the cross section approaches
the classical result for a point particle. At intermediate couplings we find
oscillations around the classical limit whose precise form depends on the
particle mass. These oscillations give quantum violations of the equivalence
principle. At high energies the cross section converges on the geometric-optics
value of 27 \pi R_S^2/4, and at low energies we find agreement with an
approximation derived by Unruh. When the hole is much smaller than the particle
wavelength we confirm that the minimum possible cross section approaches \pi
R_S^2/2.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Gravitational collapse of spherically symmetric plasmas in Einstein-Maxwell spacetimes
We utilize a recent formulation of a spherically symmetric spacetime endowed
with a general decomposition of the energy momentum tensor [Phys. Rev. D, 75,
024031 (2007)] to derive equations governing spherically symmetric
distributions of electromagnetic matter. We show the system reduces to the
Reissner-Nordstrom spacetime in general, spherically symmetric coordinates in
the vacuum limit. Furthermore, we show reduction to the charged Vaidya
spacetime in non-null coordinates when certain equations of states are chosen.
A model of gravitational collapse is discussed whereby a charged fluid resides
within a boundary of finite radial extent on the initial hypersurface, and is
allowed to radiate charged particles. Our formalism allows for the discussion
of all regions in this model without the need for complicated matching schemes
at the interfaces between successive regions. As further examples we consider
the collapse of a thin shell of charged matter onto a Reissner-Nordstrom black
hole. Finally, we reduce the entire system of equations to the static case such
that we have the equations for hydrostatic equilibrium of a charged fluid.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Circular orbits and spin in black-hole initial data
The construction of initial data for black-hole binaries usually involves the
choice of free parameters that define the spins of the black holes and
essentially the eccentricity of the orbit. Such parameters must be chosen
carefully to yield initial data with the desired physical properties. In this
paper, we examine these choices in detail for the quasiequilibrium method
coupled to apparent-horizon/quasiequilibrium boundary conditions. First, we
compare two independent criteria for choosing the orbital frequency, the
"Komar-mass condition" and the "effective-potential method," and find excellent
agreement. Second, we implement quasi-local measures of the spin of the
individual holes, calibrate these with corotating binaries, and revisit the
construction of non-spinning black hole binaries. Higher-order effects, beyond
those considered in earlier work, turn out to be important. Without those,
supposedly non-spinning black holes have appreciable quasi-local spin;
furthermore, the Komar-mass condition and effective potential method agree only
when these higher-order effects are taken into account. We compute a new
sequence of quasi-circular orbits for non-spinning black-hole binaries, and
determine the innermost stable circular orbit of this sequence.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review D,
revtex4; Fixed error in computing proper separation and updated figures and
tables accordingly, added reference to Sec. IV.A, fixed minor error in Sec.
IV.B, added new data to Tables IV and V, fixed 1 reference, fixed error in
Eq. (A7b), included minor changes from PRD editin
Quasi-particle creation by analogue black holes
We discuss the issue of quasi-particle production by ``analogue black holes''
with particular attention to the possibility of reproducing Hawking radiation
in a laboratory. By constructing simple geometric acoustic models, we obtain a
somewhat unexpected result: We show that in order to obtain a stationary and
Planckian emission of quasi-particles, it is not necessary to create an
ergoregion in the acoustic spacetime (corresponding to a supersonic regime in
the flow). It is sufficient to set up a dynamically changing flow either
eventually generating an arbitrarily small sonic region v=c, but without any
ergoregion, or even just asymptotically, in laboratory time, approaching a
sonic regime with sufficient rapidity.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figure
Riemannian geometry of irrotational vortex acoustics
We consider acoustic propagation in an irrotational vortex, using the
technical machinery of differential geometry to investigate the ``acoustic
geometry'' that is probed by the sound waves. The acoustic space-time curvature
of a constant circulation hydrodynamical vortex leads to deflection of phonons
at appreciable distances from the vortex core. The scattering angle for phonon
rays is shown to be quadratic in the small quantity , where
is the vortex circulation, the speed of sound, and the impact
parameter.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, RevTex4. Discussion of focal length added; to
appear in Physical Review Letter
"Cosmological" quasiparticle production in harmonically trapped superfluid gases
We show that a variety of cosmologically motivated effective quasiparticle
space-times can be produced in harmonically trapped superfluid Bose and Fermi
gases. We study the analogue of cosmological particle production in these
effective space-times, induced by trapping potentials and coupling constants
possessing an arbitrary time dependence. The WKB probabilities for phonon
creation from the superfluid vacuum are calculated, and an experimental
procedure to detect quasiparticle production by measuring density-density
correlation functions is proposed.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; references updated, as published in Physical
Review
Quasinormal modes and classical wave propagation in analogue black holes
Many properties of black holes can be studied using acoustic analogues in the
laboratory through the propagation of sound waves. We investigate in detail
sound wave propagation in a rotating acoustic (2+1)-dimensional black hole,
which corresponds to the ``draining bathtub'' fluid flow. We compute the
quasinormal mode frequencies of this system and discuss late-time power-law
tails. Due to the presence of an ergoregion, waves in a rotating acoustic black
hole can be superradiantly amplified. We compute superradiant reflection
coefficients and instability timescales for the acoustic black hole bomb, the
equivalent of the Press-Teukolsky black hole bomb. Finally we discuss
quasinormal modes and late-time tails in a non-rotating canonical acoustic
black hole, corresponding to an incompressible, spherically symmetric
(3+1)-dimensional fluid flow.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, ReVTeX4; v2: minor modifications and
correction
3D simulations of linearized scalar fields in Kerr spacetime
We investigate the behavior of a dynamical scalar field on a fixed Kerr
background in Kerr-Schild coordinates using a 3+1 dimensional spectral
evolution code, and we measure the power-law tail decay that occurs at late
times. We compare evolutions of initial data proportional to f(r)
Y_lm(theta,phi) where Y_lm is a spherical harmonic and (r,theta,phi) are
Kerr-Schild coordinates, to that of initial data proportional to f(r_BL)
Y_lm(theta_BL,phi), where (r_BL,theta_BL) are Boyer-Lindquist coordinates. We
find that although these two cases are initially almost identical, the
evolution can be quite different at intermediate times; however, at late times
the power-law decay rates are equal.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, revtex4. Major revision: added figures, added
subsection on convergence, clarified discussion. To appear in Phys Rev
Generalized Painleve-Gullstrand descriptions of Kerr-Newman black holes
Generalized Painleve-Gullstrand metrics are explicitly constructed for the
Kerr-Newman family of charged rotating black holes. These descriptions are free
of all coordinate singularities; moreover, unlike the Doran and other proposed
metrics, an extra tunable function is introduced to ensure all variables in the
metrics remain real for all values of the mass M, charge Q, angular momentum
aM, and cosmological constant \Lambda > - 3/(a^2). To describe fermions in
Kerr-Newman spacetimes, the stronger requirement of non-singular vierbein
one-forms at the horizon(s) is imposed and coordinate singularities are
eliminated by local Lorentz boosts. Other known vierbein fields of Kerr-Newman
black holes are analysed and discussed; and it is revealed that some of these
descriptions are actually not related by physical Lorentz transformations to
the original Kerr-Newman expression in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates - which is
the reason complex components appear (for certain ranges of the radial
coordinate) in these metrics. As an application of our constructions the
correct effective Hawking temperature for Kerr black holes is derived with the
method of Parikh and Wilczek.Comment: 5 pages; extended to include application to derivation of Hawking
radiation for Kerr black holes with Parikh-Wilczek metho
Analog black holes in flowing dielectrics
We show that a flowing dielectric medium with a linear response to an
external electric field can be used to generate an analog geometry that has
many of the formal properties of a Schwarzschild black hole for light rays, in
spite of birefringence. We also discuss the possibility of generating these
analog black holes in the laboratory.Comment: Revtex4 file, 7 pages, 4 eps figures, a few changes in presentation,
some references added, conclusions unchange
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