43 research outputs found
Gravitational-Wave Recoil from the Ringdown Phase of Coalescing Black Hole Binaries
The gravitational recoil or "kick" of a black hole formed from the merger of
two orbiting black holes, and caused by the anisotropic emission of
gravitational radiation, is an astrophysically important phenomenon. We combine
(i) an earlier calculation, using post-Newtonian theory, of the kick velocity
accumulated up to the merger of two non-spinning black holes, (ii) a
"close-limit approximation" calculation of the radiation emitted during the
ringdown phase, and based on a solution of the Regge-Wheeler and Zerilli
equations using initial data accurate to second post-Newtonian order. We prove
that ringdown radiation produces a significant "anti-kick". Adding the
contributions due to inspiral, merger and ringdown phases, our results for the
net kick velocity agree with those from numerical relativity to 10-15 percent
over a wide range of mass ratios, with a maximum velocity of 180 km/s at a mass
ratio of 0.38.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures; to appear in Class. Quant. Gra
Gravitational Self-Force Correction to the Binding Energy of Compact Binary Systems
Using the first law of binary black-hole mechanics, we compute the binding
energy E and total angular momentum J of two non-spinning compact objects
moving on circular orbits with frequency Omega, at leading order beyond the
test-particle approximation. By minimizing E(Omega) we recover the exact
frequency shift of the Schwarzschild innermost stable circular orbit induced by
the conservative piece of the gravitational self-force. Comparing our results
for the coordinate invariant relation E(J) to those recently obtained from
numerical simulations of comparable-mass non-spinning black-hole binaries, we
find a remarkably good agreement, even in the strong-field regime. Our findings
confirm that the domain of validity of perturbative calculations may extend
well beyond the extreme mass-ratio limit.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; matches the published versio
Spacetime Symmetries and Kepler's Third Law
The curved spacetime geometry of a system of two point masses moving on a
circular orbit has a helical symmetry. We show how Kepler's third law for
circular motion, and its generalization in post-Newtonian theory, can be
recovered from a simple, covariant condition on the norm of the associated
helical Killing vector field. This unusual derivation can be used to illustrate
some concepts of prime importance in a general relativity course, including
those of Killing field, covariance, coordinate dependence, and gravitational
redshift.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; minor changes and text improvements; matches
version to appear in Class. Quant. Gra
Modeling Gravitational Recoil Using Numerical Relativity
We review the developments in modeling gravitational recoil from merging
black-hole binaries and introduce a new set of 20 simulations to test our
previously proposed empirical formula for the recoil. The configurations are
chosen to represent generic binaries with unequal masses and precessing spins.
Results of these simulations indicate that the recoil formula is accurate to
within a few km/s in the similar mass-ratio regime for the out-of-plane recoil.Comment: corrections to text, 11 pages, 1 figur
Model of Dark Matter and Dark Energy Based on Gravitational Polarization
A model of dark matter and dark energy based on the concept of gravitational
polarization is investigated. We propose an action in standard general
relativity for describing, at some effective or phenomenological level, the
dynamics of a dipolar medium, i.e. one endowed with a dipole moment vector, and
polarizable in a gravitational field. Using first-order cosmological
perturbations, we show that the dipolar fluid is undistinguishable from
standard dark energy (a cosmological constant Lambda) plus standard dark matter
(a pressureless perfect fluid), and therefore benefits from the successes of
the Lambda-CDM (Lambda-cold dark matter) scenario at cosmological scales.
Invoking an argument of "weak clusterisation" of the mass distribution of
dipole moments, we find that the dipolar dark matter reproduces the
phenomenology of the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) at galactic scales. The
dipolar medium action naturally contains a cosmological constant, and we show
that if the model is to come from some fundamental underlying physics, the
cosmological constant Lambda should be of the order of a0^2/c^4, where a0
denotes the MOND constant acceleration scale, in good agreement with
observations.Comment: 38 pages, 4 figures; to appear in Phys. Rev.
Three little pieces for computer and relativity
Numerical relativity has made big strides over the last decade. A number of
problems that have plagued the field for years have now been mostly solved.
This progress has transformed numerical relativity into a powerful tool to
explore fundamental problems in physics and astrophysics, and I present here
three representative examples. These "three little pieces" reflect a personal
choice and describe work that I am particularly familiar with. However, many
more examples could be made.Comment: 42 pages, 11 figures. Plenary talk at "Relativity and Gravitation:
100 Years after Einstein in Prague", June 25 - 29, 2012, Prague, Czech
Republic. To appear in the Proceedings (Edition Open Access). Collects
results appeared in journal articles [72,73, 122-124
Risk factors for virological failure and subtherapeutic antiretroviral drug concentrations in HIV-positive adults treated in rural northwestern Uganda
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Little is known about immunovirological treatment outcomes and adherence in HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) treated using a simplified management approach in rural areas of developing countries, or about the main factors influencing those outcomes in clinical practice. METHODS: Cross-sectional immunovirological, pharmacological, and adherence outcomes were evaluated in all patients alive and on fixed-dose ART combinations for 24 months, and in a random sample of those treated for 12 months. Risk factors for virological failure (>1,000 copies/mL) and subtherapeutic antiretroviral (ARV) concentrations were investigated with multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: At 12 and 24 months of ART, 72% (n=701) and 70% (n=369) of patients, respectively, were alive and in care. About 8% and 38% of patients, respectively, were diagnosed with immunological failure; and 75% and 72% of patients, respectively, had undetectable HIV RNA (<400 copies/mL). Risk factors for virological failure (>1,000 copies/mL) were poor adherence, tuberculosis diagnosed after ART initiation, subtherapeutic NNRTI concentrations, general clinical symptoms, and lower weight than at baseline. About 14% of patients had low ARV plasma concentrations. Digestive symptoms and poor adherence to ART were risk factors for low ARV plasma concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to improve both access to care and patient management to achieve better immunological and virological outcomes on ART are necessary to maximize the duration of first-line therapy
Self-force: Computational Strategies
Building on substantial foundational progress in understanding the effect of
a small body's self-field on its own motion, the past 15 years has seen the
emergence of several strategies for explicitly computing self-field corrections
to the equations of motion of a small, point-like charge. These approaches
broadly fall into three categories: (i) mode-sum regularization, (ii) effective
source approaches and (iii) worldline convolution methods. This paper reviews
the various approaches and gives details of how each one is implemented in
practice, highlighting some of the key features in each case.Comment: Synchronized with final published version. Review to appear in
"Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity", published as part of the
Springer "Fundamental Theories of Physics" series. D. Puetzfeld et al.
(eds.), Equations of Motion in Relativistic Gravity, Fundamental Theories of
Physics 179, Springer, 201
Exploring new physics frontiers through numerical relativity
The demand to obtain answers to highly complex problems within strong-field gravity has been met with significant progress in the numerical solution of Einstein's equations - along with some spectacular results - in various setups. We review techniques for solving Einstein's equations in generic spacetimes, focusing on fully nonlinear evolutions but also on how to benchmark those results with perturbative approaches. The results address problems in high-energy physics, holography, mathematical physics, fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology