12,779 research outputs found
Integrability of the Minimal Strain Equations for the Lapse and Shift in 3+1 Numerical Relativity
Brady, Creighton and Thorne have argued that, in numerical relativity
simulations of the inspiral of binary black holes, if one uses lapse and shift
functions satisfying the ``minimal strain equations'' (MSE), then the
coordinates might be kept co-rotating, the metric components would then evolve
on the very slow inspiral timescale, and the computational demands would thus
be far smaller than for more conventional slicing choices. In this paper, we
derive simple, testable criteria for the MSE to be strongly elliptic, thereby
guaranteeing the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the Dirichlet
boundary value problem. We show that these criteria are satisfied in a test-bed
metric for inspiraling binaries, and we argue that they should be satisfied
quite generally for inspiraling binaries. If the local existence and uniqueness
that we have proved holds globally, then, for appropriate boundary values, the
solution of the MSE exhibited by Brady et. al. (which tracks the inspiral and
keeps the metric evolving slowly) will be the unique solution and thus should
be reproduced by (sufficiently accurate and stable) numerical integrations.Comment: 6 pages; RevTeX; submitted to Phys. Rev. D15. Technical issue of the
uniqueness of the solution to the Dirichlet problem clarified. New subsection
on the nature of the boundary dat
Cosmic Censorship: As Strong As Ever
Spacetimes which have been considered counter-examples to strong cosmic
censorship are revisited. We demonstrate the classical instability of the
Cauchy horizon inside charged black holes embedded in de Sitter spacetime for
all values of the physical parameters. The relevant modes which maintain the
instability, in the regime which was previously considered stable, originate as
outgoing modes near to the black hole event horizon. This same mechanism is
also relevant for the instability of Cauchy horizons in other proposed
counter-examples of strong cosmic censorship.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX style, 1 figure included using epsfi
Breast Cancer: Modelling and Detection
This paper reviews a number of the mathematical models used in cancer modelling and then chooses a specific cancer, breast carcinoma, to illustrate how the modelling can be used in aiding detection. We then discuss mathematical models that underpin mammographic image analysis, which complements models of tumour growth and facilitates diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Mammographic images are notoriously difficult to interpret, and we give an overview of the primary image enhancement technologies that have been introduced, before focusing on a more detailed description of some of our own recent work on the use of physics-based modelling in mammography. This theoretical approach to image analysis yields a wealth of information that could be incorporated into the mathematical models, and we conclude by describing how current mathematical models might be enhanced by use of this information, and how these models in turn will help to meet some of the major challenges in cancer detection
Odd-parity perturbations of self-similar Vaidya spacetime
We carry out an analytic study of odd-parity perturbations of the
self-similar Vaidya space-times that admit a naked singularity. It is found
that an initially finite perturbation remains finite at the Cauchy horizon.
This holds not only for the gauge invariant metric and matter perturbation, but
also for all the gauge invariant perturbed Weyl curvature scalars, including
the gravitational radiation scalars. In each case, `finiteness' refers to
Sobolev norms of scalar quantities on naturally occurring spacelike
hypersurfaces, as well as pointwise values of these quantities.Comment: 28 page
Stability of degenerate Cauchy horizons in black hole spacetimes
In the multihorizon black hole spacetimes, it is possible that there are
degenerate Cauchy horizons with vanishing surface gravities. We investigate the
stability of the degenerate Cauchy horizon in black hole spacetimes. Despite
the asymptotic behavior of spacetimes (flat, anti-de Sitter, or de Sitter), we
find that the Cauchy horizon is stable against the classical perturbations, but
unstable quantum mechanically.Comment: Revtex, 4 pages, no figures, references adde
Phases of massive scalar field collapse
We study critical behavior in the collapse of massive spherically symmetric
scalar fields. We observe two distinct types of phase transition at the
threshold of black hole formation. Type II phase transitions occur when the
radial extent of the initial pulse is less than the Compton
wavelength () of the scalar field. The critical solution is that
found by Choptuik in the collapse of massless scalar fields. Type I phase
transitions, where the black hole formation turns on at finite mass, occur when
. The critical solutions are unstable soliton stars with
masses \alt 0.6 \mu^{-1}. Our results in combination with those obtained for
the collapse of a Yang-Mills field~{[M.~W. Choptuik, T. Chmaj, and P. Bizon,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 424 (1996)]} suggest that unstable, confined solutions to
the Einstein-matter equations may be relevant to the critical point of other
matter models.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 4 postscript figures included using psfi
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