14,034 research outputs found
Linearized solutions of the Einstein equations within a Bondi-Sachs framework, and implications for boundary conditions in numerical simulations
We linearize the Einstein equations when the metric is Bondi-Sachs, when the
background is Schwarzschild or Minkowski, and when there is a matter source in
the form of a thin shell whose density varies with time and angular position.
By performing an eigenfunction decomposition, we reduce the problem to a system
of linear ordinary differential equations which we are able to solve. The
solutions are relevant to the characteristic formulation of numerical
relativity: (a) as exact solutions against which computations of gravitational
radiation can be compared; and (b) in formulating boundary conditions on the
Schwarzschild horizon.Comment: Revised following referee comment
Strategies for the characteristic extraction of gravitational waveforms
We develop, test, and compare new numerical and geometrical methods for improving the accuracy of extracting waveforms using characteristic evolution. The new numerical method involves use of circular boundaries to the stereographic grid patches which cover the spherical cross sections of the outgoing null cones. We show how an angular version of numerical dissipation can be introduced into the characteristic code to damp the high frequency error arising form the irregular way the circular patch boundary cuts through the grid. The new geometric method involves use of the Weyl tensor component Psi4 to extract the waveform as opposed to the original approach via the Bondi news function. We develop the necessary analytic and computational formula to compute the O(1/r) radiative part of Psi4 in terms of a conformally compactified treatment of null infinity. These methods are compared and calibrated in test problems based upon linearized waves
High-powered Gravitational News
We describe the computation of the Bondi news for gravitational radiation. We
have implemented a computer code for this problem. We discuss the theory behind
it as well as the results of validation tests. Our approach uses the
compactified null cone formalism, with the computational domain extending to
future null infinity and with a worldtube as inner boundary. We calculate the
appropriate full Einstein equations in computational eth form in (a) the
interior of the computational domain and (b) on the inner boundary. At future
null infinity, we transform the computed data into standard Bondi coordinates
and so are able to express the news in terms of its standard and
polarization components. The resulting code is stable and
second-order convergent. It runs successfully even in the highly nonlinear
case, and has been tested with the news as high as 400, which represents a
gravitational radiation power of about .Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Influence of quantum fluctuations on zero-temperature phase transitions between collinear and noncollinear states in frustrated spin systems
We study a square-lattice spin-half Heisenberg model where frustration is
introduced by competing nearest-neighbor bonds of different signs. We discuss
the influence of quantum fluctuations on the nature of the zero-temperature
phase transitions from phases with collinear magnetic order at small
frustration to phases with noncollinear spiral order at large frustration. We
use the coupled cluster method (CCM) for high orders of approximation (up to
LSUB6) and the exact diagonalization of finite systems (up to 32 sites) to
calculate ground-state properties. The role of quantum fluctuations is examined
by comparing the ferromagnetic-spiral and the antiferromagnetic-spiral
transition within the same model. We find clear evidence that quantum
fluctuations prefer collinear order and that they may favour a first order
transition instead of a second order transition in case of no quantum
fluctuations.Comment: 6 pages, 6 Postscipt figures; Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Phase Transitions in the Spin-Half J_1--J_2 Model
The coupled cluster method (CCM) is a well-known method of quantum many-body
theory, and here we present an application of the CCM to the spin-half J_1--J_2
quantum spin model with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbour interactions on the
linear chain and the square lattice. We present new results for ground-state
expectation values of such quantities as the energy and the sublattice
magnetisation. The presence of critical points in the solution of the CCM
equations, which are associated with phase transitions in the real system, is
investigated. Completely distinct from the investigation of the critical
points, we also make a link between the expansion coefficients of the
ground-state wave function in terms of an Ising basis and the CCM ket-state
correlation coefficients. We are thus able to present evidence of the
breakdown, at a given value of J_2/J_1, of the Marshall-Peierls sign rule which
is known to be satisfied at the pure Heisenberg point (J_2 = 0) on any
bipartite lattice. For the square lattice, our best estimates of the points at
which the sign rule breaks down and at which the phase transition from the
antiferromagnetic phase to the frustrated phase occurs are, respectively, given
(to two decimal places) by J_2/J_1 = 0.26 and J_2/J_1 = 0.61.Comment: 28 pages, Latex, 2 postscript figure
Oscillating elastic defects: competition and frustration
We consider a dynamical generalization of the Eshelby problem: the strain
profile due to an inclusion or "defect" in an isotropic elastic medium. We show
that the higher the oscillation frequency of the defect, the more localized is
the strain field around the defect. We then demonstrate that the qualitative
nature of the interaction between two defects is strongly dependent on
separation, frequency and direction, changing from "ferromagnetic" to
"antiferromagnetic" like behavior. We generalize to a finite density of defects
and show that the interactions in assemblies of defects can be mapped to XY
spin-like models, and describe implications for frustration and
frequency-driven pattern transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
- …