Fractal boundary basins in spherically symmetric ϕ4\phi^4 theory

Results are presented from numerical simulations of the flat-space nonlinear Klein-Gordon equa- tion with an asymmetric double-well potential in spherical symmetry. Exit criteria are defined for the simulations that are used to help understand the boundaries of the basins of attraction for Gaussian "bubble" initial data. The first exit criteria, based on the immediate collapse or expan- sion of bubble radius, is used to observe the departure of the scalar field from a static intermediate attractor solution. The boundary separating these two behaviors in parameter space is smooth and demonstrates a time-scaling law with an exponent that depends on the asymmetry of the potential. The second exit criteria differentiates between the creation of an expanding true-vacuum bubble and dispersion of the field leaving the false vacuum; the boundary separating these basins of attraction is shown to demonstrate fractal behavior. The basins are defined by the number of bounces that the field undergoes before inducing a phase transition. A third, hybrid exit criteria is used to determine the location of the boundary to arbitrary precision and to characterize the threshold behavior. The possible effects this behavior might have on cosmological phase transitions are briefly discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, 1 movie, resubmitted with additional paragraph. Matches published versio

Universality and properties of neutron star type I critical collapses

We study the neutron star axisymmetric critical solution previously found in the numerical studies of neutron star mergers. Using neutron star-like initial data and performing similar merger simulations, we demonstrate that the solution is indeed a semi-attractor on the threshold plane separating the basin of a neutron star and the basin of a black hole in the solution space of the Einstein equations. In order to explore the extent of the attraction basin of the neutron star semiattractor, we construct initial data phase spaces for these neutron star-like initial data. From these phase spaces, we also observe several interesting dynamical scenarios where the merged object is supported from prompt collapse. The properties of the critical index of the solution, in particular, its dependence on conserved quantities, are then studied. From the study, it is found that a family of neutron star semi-attractors exist that can be classified by both their rest masses and ADM masses.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, 1 new reference adde

Threshold of Singularity Formation in the Semilinear Wave Equation

Solutions of the semilinear wave equation are found numerically in three spatial dimensions with no assumed symmetry using distributed adaptive mesh refinement. The threshold of singularity formation is studied for the two cases in which the exponent of the nonlinear term is either $p=5$ or $p=7$. Near the threshold of singularity formation, numerical solutions suggest an approach to self-similarity for the $p=7$ case and an approach to a scale evolving static solution for $p=5$.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

The Singularity Threshold of the Nonlinear Sigma Model Using 3D Adaptive Mesh Refinement

Numerical solutions to the nonlinear sigma model (NLSM), a wave map from 3+1 Minkowski space to S^3, are computed in three spatial dimensions (3D) using adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). For initial data with compact support the model is known to have two regimes, one in which regular initial data forms a singularity and another in which the energy is dispersed to infinity. The transition between these regimes has been shown in spherical symmetry to demonstrate threshold behavior similar to that between black hole formation and dispersal in gravitating theories. Here, I generalize the result by removing the assumption of spherical symmetry. The evolutions suggest that the spherically symmetric critical solution remains an intermediate attractor separating the two end states.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; To be published in Phys. Rev. D.; Added discussion of initial data; Added figure and reference

Late-time evolution of nonlinear gravitational collapse

We study numerically the fully nonlinear gravitational collapse of a self-gravitating, minimally-coupled, massless scalar field in spherical symmetry. Our numerical code is based on double-null coordinates and on free evolution of the metric functions: The evolution equations are integrated numerically, whereas the constraint equations are only monitored. The numerical code is stable (unlike recent claims) and second-order accurate. We use this code to study the late-time asymptotic behavior at fixed $r$ (outside the black hole), along the event horizon, and along future null infinity. In all three asymptotic regions we find that, after the decay of the quasi-normal modes, the perturbations are dominated by inverse power-law tails. The corresponding power indices agree with the integer values predicted by linearized theory. We also study the case of a charged black hole nonlinearly perturbed by a (neutral) self-gravitating scalar field, and find the same type of behavior---i.e., quasi-normal modes followed by inverse power-law tails, with the same indices as in the uncharged case.Comment: 14 pages, standard LaTeX, 18 Encapsulated PostScript figures. A new convergence test and a determination of QN ringing were added, in addition to correction of typos and update of reference

Critical Collapse of the Massless Scalar Field in Axisymmetry

We present results from a numerical study of critical gravitational collapse of axisymmetric distributions of massless scalar field energy. We find threshold behavior that can be described by the spherically symmetric critical solution with axisymmetric perturbations. However, we see indications of a growing, non-spherical mode about the spherically symmetric critical solution. The effect of this instability is that the small asymmetry present in what would otherwise be a spherically symmetric self-similar solution grows. This growth continues until a bifurcation occurs and two distinct regions form on the axis, each resembling the spherically symmetric self-similar solution. The existence of a non-spherical unstable mode is in conflict with previous perturbative results, and we therefore discuss whether such a mode exists in the continuum limit, or whether we are instead seeing a marginally stable mode that is rendered unstable by numerical approximation.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

Thermophysical properties of near-Earth asteroid (341843) 2008 EV5 from WISE data

Aims. To derive the thermal inertia of 2008 EV$_5$, the baseline target for the Marco Polo-R mission proposal, and infer information about the size of the particles on its surface. Methods. Values of thermal inertia are obtained by fitting an asteroid thermophysical model to NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) infrared data. From the constrained thermal inertia and a model of heat conductivity that accounts for different values of the packing fraction (a measure of the degree of compaction of the regolith particles), grain size is derived. Results. We obtain an effective diameter $D = 370 \pm 6\,\mathrm{m}$, geometric visible albedo $p_V = 0.13 \pm 0.05$ (assuming $H=20.0 \pm 0.4$), and thermal inertia $\Gamma = 450 \pm 60$ J/m2/s(1/2)/K at the 1-$\sigma$ level of significance for its retrograde spin pole solution. The regolith particles radius is $r = 6.6^{+1.3}_{-1.3}$ mm for low degrees of compaction, and $r = 12.5^{+2.7}_{-2.6}$ mm for the highest packing densities.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Border of Spacetime

It is still uncertain whether the cosmic censorship conjecture is true or not. To get a new insight into this issue, we propose the concept of the border of spacetime as a generalization of the spacetime singularity and discuss its visibility. The visible border, corresponding to the naked singularity, is not only relevant to mathematical completeness of general relativity but also a window into new physics in strongly curved spacetimes, which is in principle observable.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in Physical Review D, typos correcte

Asymptotic tails of massive scalar fields in Schwarzschild background

We investigate the asymptotic tail behavior of massive scalar fields in Schwarzschild background. It is shown that the oscillatory tail of the scalar field has the decay rate of $t^{-5/6}$ at asymptotically late times, and the oscillation with the period $2\pi/m$ for the field mass $m$ is modulated by the long-term phase shift. These behaviors are qualitatively similar to those found in nearly extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m background, which are discussed in terms of a resonant backscattering due to the space-time curvature.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.

The naked singularity in the global structure of critical collapse spacetimes

We examine the global structure of scalar field critical collapse spacetimes using a characteristic double-null code. It can integrate past the horizon without any coordinate problems, due to the careful choice of constraint equations used in the evolution. The limiting sequence of sub- and supercritical spacetimes presents an apparent paradox in the expected Penrose diagrams, which we address in this paper. We argue that the limiting spacetime converges pointwise to a unique limit for all r>0, but not uniformly. The r=0 line is different in the two limits. We interpret that the two different Penrose diagrams differ by a discontinuous gauge transformation. We conclude that the limiting spacetime possesses a singular event, with a future removable naked singularity.Comment: RevTeX 4; 6 pages, 7 figure