3,287 research outputs found
Testing extra dimensions with boundaries using Newton's law modifications
Extra dimensions with boundaries are often used in the literature, to provide
phenomenological models that mimic the standard model. In this context, we
explore possible modifications to Newton's law due to the existence of an
extra-dimensional space, at the boundary of which the gravitational field obeys
Dirichlet, Neumann or mixed boundary conditions. We focus on two types of extra
space, namely, the disk and the interval. As we prove, in order to have a
consistent Newton's law modification (i.e., of the Yukawa-type), some of the
extra-dimensional spaces that have been used in the literature, must be ruled
out.Comment: Published version, title changed, 6 figure
A Century of Cosmology
In the century since Einstein's anno mirabilis of 1905, our concept of the
Universe has expanded from Kapteyn's flattened disk of stars only 10 kpc across
to an observed horizon about 30 Gpc across that is only a tiny fraction of an
immensely large inflated bubble. The expansion of our knowledge about the
Universe, both in the types of data and the sheer quantity of data, has been
just as dramatic. This talk will summarize this century of progress and our
current understanding of the cosmos.Comment: Talk presented at the "Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology -
Einstein's Legacy" meeting in Munich, Nov 2005. Proceedings will be published
in the Springer-Verlag "ESO Astrophysics Symposia" series. 10 pages Latex
with 2 figure
Gravitational Lensing by Wormholes
Gravitational lensing by traversable Lorentzian wormholes is a ew possibility
which is analyzed here in the strong field limit. Wormhole solutions are
considered in the Einstein minimally coupled theory and in the brane world
model. The observables in both the theories show significant differences from
those arising in the Schwarzschild black hole lensing. As a corollary, it
follows that wormholes with zero Keplerian mass exhibit lensing properties
which are qualitatively (though not quantitatively) the same as those of a
Schwarzschild black hole. Some special features of the considered solutions are
pointed out.Comment: 20 pages, no figure
Novel self-assembled morphologies from isotropic interactions
We present results from particle simulations with isotropic medium range
interactions in two dimensions. At low temperature novel types of aggregated
structures appear. We show that these structures can be explained by
spontaneous symmetry breaking in analytic solutions to an adaptation of the
spherical spin model. We predict the critical particle number where the
symmetry breaking occurs and show that the resulting phase diagram agrees well
with results from particle simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Modeling Repulsive Gravity with Creation
There is a growing interest in the cosmologists for theories with negative
energy scalar fields and creation, in order to model a repulsive gravity. The
classical steady state cosmology proposed by Bondi, Gold and Hoyle in 1948, was
the first such theory which used a negative kinetic energy creation field to
invoke creation of matter. We emphasize that creation plays very crucial role
in cosmology and provides a natural explanation to the various explosive
phenomena occurring in local (z<0.1) and extra galactic universe. We exemplify
this point of view by considering the resurrected version of this theory - the
quasi-steady state theory, which tries to relate creation events directly to
the large scale dynamics of the universe and supplies more natural explanations
of the observed phenomena. Although the theory predicts a decelerating universe
at the present era, it explains successfully the recent SNe Ia observations
(which require an accelerating universe in the standard cosmology), as we show
in this paper by performing a Bayesian analysis of the data.Comment: The paper uses an old SNeIa dataset. With the new improved data, for
example the updated gold sample (Riess et al, astro-ph/0611572), the fit
improves considerably (\chi^2/DoF=197/180 and a probability of
goodness-of-fit=18%
Astrophysical implications of hypothetical stable TeV-scale black holes
We analyze macroscopic effects of TeV-scale black holes, such as could
possibly be produced at the LHC, in what is regarded as an extremely
hypothetical scenario in which they are stable and, if trapped inside Earth,
begin to accrete matter. We examine a wide variety of TeV-scale gravity
scenarios, basing the resulting accretion models on first-principles, basic,
and well-tested physical laws. These scenarios fall into two classes, depending
on whether accretion could have any macroscopic effect on the Earth at times
shorter than the Sun's natural lifetime. We argue that cases with such effect
at shorter times than the solar lifetime are ruled out, since in these
scenarios black holes produced by cosmic rays impinging on much denser white
dwarfs and neutron stars would then catalyze their decay on timescales
incompatible with their known lifetimes. We also comment on relevant lifetimes
for astronomical objects that capture primordial black holes. In short, this
study finds no basis for concerns that TeV-scale black holes from the LHC could
pose a risk to Earth on time scales shorter than the Earth's natural lifetime.
Indeed, conservative arguments based on detailed calculations and the
best-available scientific knowledge, including solid astronomical data,
conclude, from multiple perspectives, that there is no risk of any significance
whatsoever from such black holes.Comment: Version2: Minor corrections/fixed typos; updated reference
Active Galactic Nuclei in Void Regions
We present a comprehensive study of accretion activity in the most underdense
environments in the universe, the voids, based on the SDSS DR2 data. Based on
investigations of multiple void regions, we show that AGN's occurrence rate and
properties differ from those in walls. AGN are more common in voids than in
walls, but only among moderately luminous and massive galaxies (M_r < -20, log
M_*/M_sun < 10.5), and this enhancement is more pronounced for the weakly
accreting systems (i.e., L_[O III] < 10^39 erg/s). Void AGN hosted by
moderately massive and luminous galaxies are accreting at equal or lower rates
than their wall counterparts, show less obscuration than in walls, and
similarly aged stellar populations. The very few void AGN in massive bright
hosts accrete more strongly, are more obscured, and are associated with younger
stellar emission than wall AGN. Thus, accretion strength is probably connected
to the availability of fuel supply, and accretion and star-formation co-evolve
and rely on the same source of fuel. Nearest neighbor statistics indicate that
the weak accretion activity (LINER-like) is not influenced by the local
environment. However, H IIs, Seyferts, and Transition objects prefer more
grouped small scale structures, indicating that the rate at which galaxies
interact with each other affects their activity. These trends support a
potential H II -> Seyfert/Transition Object -> LINER evolutionary sequence that
we show is apparent in many properties of actively line-emitting galaxies, in
both voids and walls. The subtle differences between void and wall AGN might be
explained by a longer, less disturbed duty cycle of these systems in voids.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures (1 color); to appear in ApJ, submitted on May 11,
200
Dynamical Friction in a Gaseous Medium
Using time-dependent linear perturbation theory, we evaluate the dynamical
friction force on a massive perturber M_p traveling at velocity V through a
uniform gaseous medium of density rho_0 and sound speed c_s. This drag force
acts in the direction -\hat V, and arises from the gravitational attraction
between the perturber and its wake in the ambient medium. For supersonic motion
(M=V/c_s>1), the enhanced-density wake is confined to the Mach cone trailing
the perturber; for subsonic motion (M<1), the wake is confined to a sphere of
radius c_s t centered a distance V t behind the perturber. Inside the wake,
surfaces of constant density are hyperboloids or oblate spheroids for
supersonic or subsonic perturbers, respectively, with the density maximal
nearest the perturber. The dynamical drag force has the form F_df= - I 4\pi (G
M_p)^2\rho_0/V^2. We evaluate I analytically; its limits are I\to M^3/3 for
M>1. We compare our results to the
Chandrasekhar formula for dynamical friction in a collisionless medium, noting
that the gaseous drag is generally more efficient when M>1 but less efficient
when M<1. To allow simple estimates of orbit evolution in a gaseous protogalaxy
or proto-star cluster, we use our formulae to evaluate the decay times of a
(supersonic) perturber on a near-circular orbit in an isothermal \rho\propto
r^{-2} halo, and of a (subsonic) perturber on a near-circular orbit in a
constant-density core. We also mention the relevance of our calculations to
protoplanet migration in a circumstellar nebula.Comment: 17 pages, 5 postscript figures, to appear in ApJ 3/1/9
Non-singular radiation cosmological models
In this paper we analyse the possibility of constructing singularity-free
inhomogeneous cosmological models with a pure radiation field as matter
content. It is shown that the conditions for regularity are very easy to
implement and therefore there is a huge number of such spacetimes.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex, ws-mpla, to appear in Modern Physics Letters
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