31 research outputs found
Early-Time Energy Loss in a Strongly-Coupled SYM Plasma
We carry out an analytic study of the early-time motion of a quark in a
strongly-coupled maximally-supersymmetric Yang-Mills plasma, using the AdS/CFT
correspondence. Our approach extracts the first thermal effects as a small
perturbation of the known quark dynamics in vacuum, using a double expansion
that is valid for early times and for (moderately) ultrarelativistic quark
velocities. The quark is found to lose energy at a rate that differs
significantly from the previously derived stationary/late-time result: it
scales like T^4 instead of T^2, and is associated with a friction coefficient
that is not independent of the quark momentum. Under conditions representative
of the quark-gluon plasma as obtained at RHIC, the early energy loss rate is a
few times smaller than its late-time counterpart. Our analysis additionally
leads to thermally-corrected expressions for the intrinsic energy and momentum
of the quark, in which the previously discovered limiting velocity of the quark
is found to appear naturally.Comment: 39 pages, no figures. v2: Minor corrections and clarifications.
References added. Version to be published in JHE
The Gluonic Field of a Heavy Quark in Conformal Field Theories at Strong Coupling
We determine the gluonic field configuration sourced by a heavy quark
undergoing arbitrary motion in N=4 super-Yang-Mills at strong coupling and
large number of colors. More specifically, we compute the expectation value of
the operator tr[F^2+...] in the presence of such a quark, by means of the
AdS/CFT correspondence. Our results for this observable show that signals
propagate without temporal broadening, just as was found for the expectation
value of the energy density in recent work by Hatta et al. We attempt to shed
some additional light on the origin of this feature, and propose a different
interpretation for its physical significance. As an application of our general
results, we examine when the quark undergoes oscillatory motion,
uniform circular motion, and uniform acceleration. Via the AdS/CFT
correspondence, all of our results are pertinent to any conformal field theory
in 3+1 dimensions with a dual gravity formulation.Comment: 1+38 pages, 16 eps figures; v2: completed affiliation; v3: corrected
typo, version to appear in JHE
Theory of disk accretion onto supermassive black holes
Accretion onto supermassive black holes produces both the dramatic phenomena
associated with active galactic nuclei and the underwhelming displays seen in
the Galactic Center and most other nearby galaxies. I review selected aspects
of the current theoretical understanding of black hole accretion, emphasizing
the role of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and gravitational instabilities in
driving the actual accretion and the importance of the efficacy of cooling in
determining the structure and observational appearance of the accretion flow.
Ongoing investigations into the dynamics of the plunging region, the origin of
variability in the accretion process, and the evolution of warped, twisted, or
eccentric disks are summarized.Comment: Mostly introductory review, to appear in "Supermassive black holes in
the distant Universe", ed. A.J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publishers, in pres
Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory
This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We
begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better
understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how
accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity:
the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We
then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at
play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk
models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks), Shakura-Sunyaev (thin)
disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs). After
presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets.
Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in
reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few
select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications:
measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion
disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic
oscillations (QPOs).Comment: 91 pages, 23 figures, final published version available at
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2013-
Black hole spin: theory and observation
In the standard paradigm, astrophysical black holes can be described solely
by their mass and angular momentum - commonly referred to as `spin' - resulting
from the process of their birth and subsequent growth via accretion. Whilst the
mass has a standard Newtonian interpretation, the spin does not, with the
effect of non-zero spin leaving an indelible imprint on the space-time closest
to the black hole. As a consequence of relativistic frame-dragging, particle
orbits are affected both in terms of stability and precession, which impacts on
the emission characteristics of accreting black holes both stellar mass in
black hole binaries (BHBs) and supermassive in active galactic nuclei (AGN).
Over the last 30 years, techniques have been developed that take into account
these changes to estimate the spin which can then be used to understand the
birth and growth of black holes and potentially the powering of powerful jets.
In this chapter we provide a broad overview of both the theoretical effects of
spin, the means by which it can be estimated and the results of ongoing
campaigns.Comment: 55 pages, 5 figures. Published in: "Astrophysics of Black Holes -
From fundamental aspects to latest developments", Ed. Cosimo Bambi, Springer:
Astrophysics and Space Science Library. Additional corrections mad