587 research outputs found
Comment on Viscous Stability of Relativistic Keplerian Accretion Disks
Recently Ghosh (1998) reported a new regime of instability in Keplerian
accretion disks which is caused by relativistic effects. This instability
appears in the gas pressure dominated region when all relativistic corrections
to the disk structure equations are taken into account. We show that he uses
the stability criterion in completely wrong way leading to inappropriate
conclusions. We perform a standard stability analysis to show that no unstable
region can be found when the relativistic disk is gas pressure dominated.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, uses aasms4.sty, submitted for ApJ Letter
Solving One Dimensional Scalar Conservation Laws by Particle Management
We present a meshfree numerical solver for scalar conservation laws in one
space dimension. Points representing the solution are moved according to their
characteristic velocities. Particle interaction is resolved by purely local
particle management. Since no global remeshing is required, shocks stay sharp
and propagate at the correct speed, while rarefaction waves are created where
appropriate. The method is TVD, entropy decreasing, exactly conservative, and
has no numerical dissipation. Difficulties involving transonic points do not
occur, however inflection points of the flux function pose a slight challenge,
which can be overcome by a special treatment. Away from shocks the method is
second order accurate, while shocks are resolved with first order accuracy. A
postprocessing step can recover the second order accuracy. The method is
compared to CLAWPACK in test cases and is found to yield an increase in
accuracy for comparable resolutions.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to proceedings of the Fourth
International Workshop Meshfree Methods for Partial Differential Equation
Three Dimensional Numerical General Relativistic Hydrodynamics I: Formulations, Methods, and Code Tests
This is the first in a series of papers on the construction and validation of
a three-dimensional code for general relativistic hydrodynamics, and its
application to general relativistic astrophysics. This paper studies the
consistency and convergence of our general relativistic hydrodynamic treatment
and its coupling to the spacetime evolutions described by the full set of
Einstein equations with a perfect fluid source. The numerical treatment of the
general relativistic hydrodynamic equations is based on high resolution shock
capturing schemes. These schemes rely on the characteristic information of the
system. A spectral decomposition for general relativistic hydrodynamics
suitable for a general spacetime metric is presented. Evolutions based on three
different approximate Riemann solvers coupled to four different discretizations
of the Einstein equations are studied and compared. The coupling between the
hydrodynamics and the spacetime (the right and left hand side of the Einstein
equations) is carried out in a treatment which is second order accurate in {\it
both} space and time. Convergence tests for all twelve combinations with a
variety of test beds are studied, showing consistency with the differential
equations and correct convergence properties. The test-beds examined include
shocktubes, Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology tests, evolutions of
self-gravitating compact (TOV) stars, and evolutions of relativistically
boosted TOV stars. Special attention is paid to the numerical evolution of
strongly gravitating objects, e.g., neutron stars, in the full theory of
general relativity, including a simple, yet effective treatment for the surface
region of the star (where the rest mass density is abruptly dropping to zero).Comment: 45 pages RevTeX, 34 figure
Scalar field induced oscillations of neutron stars and gravitational collapse
We study the interaction of massless scalar fields with self-gravitating
neutron stars by means of fully dynamic numerical simulations of the
Einstein-Klein-Gordon perfect fluid system. Our investigation is restricted to
spherical symmetry and the neutron stars are approximated by relativistic
polytropes. Studying the nonlinear dynamics of isolated neutron stars is very
effectively performed within the characteristic formulation of general
relativity, in which the spacetime is foliated by a family of outgoing light
cones. We are able to compactify the entire spacetime on a computational grid
and simultaneously impose natural radiative boundary conditions and extract
accurate radiative signals. We study the transfer of energy from the scalar
field to the fluid star. We find, in particular, that depending on the
compactness of the neutron star model, the scalar wave forces the neutron star
either to oscillate in its radial modes of pulsation or to undergo
gravitational collapse to a black hole on a dynamical timescale. The radiative
signal, read off at future null infinity, shows quasi-normal oscillations
before the setting of a late time power-law tail.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The Possibility of Thermal Instability in Early-Type Stars Due to Alfven Waves
It was shown by dos Santos et al. the importance of Alfv\'en waves to explain
the winds of Wolf-Rayet stars. We investigate here the possible importance of
Alfv\'en waves in the creation of inhomogeneities in the winds of early-type
stars. The observed infrared emission (at the base of the wind) of early-type
stars is often larger than expected. The clumping explains this characteristic
in the wind, increasing the mean density and hence the emission measure, making
possible to understand the observed infrared, as well as the observed
enhancement in the blue wing of the line. In this study, we
investigate the formation of these clumps a via thermal instability. The
heat-loss function used, , includes physical processes such as:
emission of (continuous and line) recombination radiation; resonance line
emission excited by electron collisions; thermal bremsstrahlung; Compton
heating and cooling; and damping of Alfv\'en waves. As a result of this
heat-loss function we show the existence of two stable equilibrium regions. The
stable equilibrium region at high temperature is the diffuse medium and at low
temperature the clumps. Using this reasonable heat-loss function, we show that
the two stable equilibrium regions can coexist over a narrow range of pressures
describing the diffuse medium and the clumps.Comment: 21 pages (psfig.sty), 5 figures (included), ApJ accepted. Also
available at http://www.iagusp.usp.br/preprints/preprint.htm
Long axial field of view PET/CT in critically ill patients:lessons from a case report
The introduction of new long axial field of view (LAFOV) scanners is a major milestone in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. With these new systems a revolutionary reduction in scan time can be achieved, concurrently lowering tracer dose. Therefore, PET/CT has come within reach for groups of patients in whom PET/CT previously was undesirable. In this case report we discuss the procedure of a continuous bed motion (CBM) total-body [18F]FDG PET/CT scan in an intensive care patient. We emphasize the clinical and technical possibilities with this new camera system, a matched clinical protocol, and the added value of a dedicated team.</p
Relativistic Hydrodynamics around Black Holes and Horizon Adapted Coordinate Systems
Despite the fact that the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions for the Einstein
equations, when written in standard Schwarzschild and Boyer-Lindquist
coordinates, present coordinate singularities, all numerical studies of
accretion flows onto collapsed objects have been widely using them over the
years. This approach introduces conceptual and practical complications in
places where a smooth solution should be guaranteed, i.e., at the gravitational
radius. In the present paper, we propose an alternative way of solving the
general relativistic hydrodynamic equations in background (fixed) black hole
spacetimes. We identify classes of coordinates in which the (possibly rotating)
black hole metric is free of coordinate singularities at the horizon,
independent of time, and admits a spacelike decomposition. In the spherically
symmetric, non-rotating case, we re-derive exact solutions for dust and perfect
fluid accretion in Eddington-Finkelstein coordinates, and compare with
numerical hydrodynamic integrations. We perform representative axisymmetric
computations. These demonstrations suggest that the use of those coordinate
systems carries significant improvements over the standard approach, especially
for higher dimensional studies.Comment: 10 pages, 4 postscript figures, accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev.
Axisymmetric core collapse simulations using characteristic numerical relativity
We present results from axisymmetric stellar core collapse simulations in
general relativity. Our hydrodynamics code has proved robust and accurate
enough to allow for a detailed analysis of the global dynamics of the collapse.
Contrary to traditional approaches based on the 3+1 formulation of the
gravitational field equations, our framework uses a foliation based on a family
of outgoing light cones, emanating from a regular center, and terminating at
future null infinity. Such a coordinate system is well adapted to the study of
interesting dynamical spacetimes in relativistic astrophysics such as stellar
core collapse and neutron star formation. Perhaps most importantly this
procedure allows for the unambiguous extraction of gravitational waves at
future null infinity without any approximation, along with the commonly used
quadrupole formalism for the gravitational wave extraction. Our results
concerning the gravitational wave signals show noticeable disagreement when
those are extracted by computing the Bondi news at future null infinity on the
one hand and by using the quadrupole formula on the other hand. We have strong
indication that for our setup the quadrupole formula on the null cone does not
lead to physical gravitational wave signals. The Bondi gravitational wave
signals extracted at infinity show typical oscillation frequencies of about 0.5
kHz.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Matter flows around black holes and gravitational radiation
We develop and calibrate a new method for estimating the gravitational
radiation emitted by complex motions of matter sources in the vicinity of black
holes. We compute numerically the linearized curvature perturbations induced by
matter fields evolving in fixed black hole backgrounds, whose evolution we
obtain using the equations of relativistic hydrodynamics. The current
implementation of the proposal concerns non-rotating holes and axisymmetric
hydrodynamical motions. As first applications we study i) dust shells falling
onto the black hole isotropically from finite distance, ii) initially spherical
layers of material falling onto a moving black hole, and iii) anisotropic
collapse of shells. We focus on the dependence of the total gravitational wave
energy emission on the flow parameters, in particular shell thickness, velocity
and degree of anisotropy. The gradual excitation of the black hole quasi-normal
mode frequency by sufficiently compact shells is demonstrated and discussed. A
new prescription for generating physically reasonable initial data is
discussed, along with a range of technical issues relevant to numerical
relativity.Comment: 27 pages, 12 encapsulated figures, revtex, amsfonts, submitted to
Phys. Rev.
Three-Dimensional Simulations of Jets from Keplerian Disks: Self--Regulatory Stability
We present the extension of previous two-dimensional simulations of the
time-dependent evolution of non-relativistic outflows from the surface of
Keplerian accretion disks, to three dimensions. The accretion disk itself is
taken to provide a set of fixed boundary conditions for the problem. The 3-D
results are consistent with the theory of steady, axisymmetric, centrifugally
driven disk winds up to the Alfv\'en surface of the outflow. Beyond the
Alfv\'en surface however, the jet in 3-D becomes unstable to non-axisymmetric,
Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. We show that jets maintain their long-term
stability through a self-limiting process wherein the average Alfv\'enic Mach
number within the jet is maintained to order unity. This is accomplished in at
least two ways. First, poloidal magnetic field is concentrated along the
central axis of the jet forming a ``backbone'' in which the Alfv\'en speed is
sufficiently high to reduce the average jet Alfv\'enic Mach number to unity.
Second, the onset of higher order Kelvin-Helmholtz ``flute'' modes (m \ge 2)
reduce the efficiency with which the jet material is accelerated, and transfer
kinetic energy of the outflow into the stretched, poloidal field lines of the
distorted jet. This too has the effect of increasing the Alfv\'en speed, and
thus reducing the Alfv\'enic Mach number. The jet is able to survive the onset
of the more destructive m=1 mode in this way. Our simulations also show that
jets can acquire corkscrew, or wobbling types of geometries in this relatively
stable end-state, depending on the nature of the perturbations upon them.
Finally, we suggest that jets go into alternating periods of low and high
activity as the disappearance of unstable modes in the sub-Alfv\'enic regime
enables another cycle of acceleration to super-Alfv\'enic speeds.Comment: 57 pages, 22 figures, submitted to Ap
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