1,442 research outputs found
1958: Abilene Christian College Bible Lectures - Full Text
“GOD”
Being the
Abilene Christian College Annual
Bible Lectures
1958
Price: $3.00
Published by
FIRM FOUNDATION PUBLISHING HOUSE
Box 77 Austin, Texa
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-
Menus for Feeding Black Holes
Black holes are the ultimate prisons of the Universe, regions of spacetime
where the enormous gravity prohibits matter or even light to escape to
infinity. Yet, matter falling toward the black holes may shine spectacularly,
generating the strongest source of radiation. These sources provide us with
astrophysical laboratories of extreme physical conditions that cannot be
realized on Earth. This chapter offers a review of the basic menus for feeding
matter onto black holes and discusses their observational implications.Comment: 27 pages. Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Also to
appear in hard cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of
Accretion onto Black Holes" (Springer Publisher
A measurement of the tau mass and the first CPT test with tau leptons
We measure the mass of the tau lepton to be 1775.1+-1.6(stat)+-1.0(syst.) MeV
using tau pairs from Z0 decays. To test CPT invariance we compare the masses of
the positively and negatively charged tau leptons. The relative mass difference
is found to be smaller than 3.0 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.
Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at sqrt(s) ~189GeV
A search for neutral Higgs bosons has been performed with the OPAL detector
at LEP, using approximately 170 pb-1 of e+e- collision data collected at
sqrt(s)~189GeV. Searches have been performed for the Standard Model (SM)
process e+e- to H0Z0 and the MSSM processes e+e- to H0Z0, A0h0. The searches
are sensitive to the b b-bar and tau antitau decay modes of the Higgs bosons,
and also to the MSSM decay mode h0 to A0A0. OPAL search results at lower
centre-of-mass energies have been incorporated in the limits we set, which are
valid at the 95% confidence level. For the SM Higgs boson, we obtain a lower
mass bound of 91.0 GeV. In the MSSM, our limits are mh>74.8GeV and mA>76.5GeV,
assuming tan(beta)>1, that the mixing of the scalar top quarks is either zero
or maximal, and that the soft SUSY-breaking masses are 1 TeV. For the case of
zero scalar top mixing, we exclude values of tan(beta) between 0.72 and 2.19.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figures, submitted Euro. Phys. J.
Measurements of Flavour Dependent Fragmentation Functions in Z^0 -> qq(bar) Events
Fragmentation functions for charged particles in Z -> qq(bar) events have
been measured for bottom (b), charm (c) and light (uds) quarks as well as for
all flavours together. The results are based on data recorded between 1990 and
1995 using the OPAL detector at LEP. Event samples with different flavour
compositions were formed using reconstructed D* mesons and secondary vertices.
The \xi_p = ln(1/x_E) distributions and the position of their maxima \xi_max
are also presented separately for uds, c and b quark events. The fragmentation
function for b quarks is significantly softer than for uds quarks.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures (and colour figs) included, submitted
to Eur. Phys. J.
A Measurement of Rb using a Double Tagging Method
The fraction of Z to bbbar events in hadronic Z decays has been measured by
the OPAL experiment using the data collected at LEP between 1992 and 1995. The
Z to bbbar decays were tagged using displaced secondary vertices, and high
momentum electrons and muons. Systematic uncertainties were reduced by
measuring the b-tagging efficiency using a double tagging technique. Efficiency
correlations between opposite hemispheres of an event are small, and are well
understood through comparisons between real and simulated data samples. A value
of Rb = 0.2178 +- 0.0011 +- 0.0013 was obtained, where the first error is
statistical and the second systematic. The uncertainty on Rc, the fraction of Z
to ccbar events in hadronic Z decays, is not included in the errors. The
dependence on Rc is Delta(Rb)/Rb = -0.056*Delta(Rc)/Rc where Delta(Rc) is the
deviation of Rc from the value 0.172 predicted by the Standard Model. The
result for Rb agrees with the value of 0.2155 +- 0.0003 predicted by the
Standard Model.Comment: 42 pages, LaTeX, 14 eps figures included, submitted to European
Physical Journal
Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- to W+W- at 172 and 183 GeV
Bose-Einstein correlations between like-charge pions are studied in hadronic
final states produced by e+e- annihilations at center-of-mass energies of 172
and 183 GeV. Three event samples are studied, each dominated by one of the
processes W+W- to qqlnu, W+W- to qqqq, or (Z/g)* to qq. After demonstrating the
existence of Bose-Einstein correlations in W decays, an attempt is made to
determine Bose-Einstein correlations for pions originating from the same W
boson and from different W bosons, as well as for pions from (Z/g)* to qq
events. The following results are obtained for the individual chaoticity
parameters lambda assuming a common source radius R: lambda_same = 0.63 +- 0.19
+- 0.14, lambda_diff = 0.22 +- 0.53 +- 0.14, lambda_Z = 0.47 +- 0.11 +- 0.08, R
= 0.92 +- 0.09 +- 0.09. In each case, the first error is statistical and the
second is systematic. At the current level of statistical precision it is not
established whether Bose-Einstein correlations, between pions from different W
bosons exist or not.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, including 6 eps figures, submitted to European
Physical Journal
Bose-Einstein Correlations of Three Charged Pions in Hadronic Z^0 Decays
Bose-Einstein Correlations (BEC) of three identical charged pions were
studied in 4 x 10^6 hadronic Z^0 decays recorded with the OPAL detector at LEP.
The genuine three-pion correlations, corrected for the Coulomb effect, were
separated from the known two-pion correlations by a new subtraction procedure.
A significant genuine three-pion BEC enhancement near threshold was observed
having an emitter source radius of r_3 = 0.580 +/- 0.004 (stat.) +/- 0.029
(syst.) fm and a strength of \lambda_3 = 0.504 +/- 0.010 (stat.) +/- 0.041
(syst.). The Coulomb correction was found to increase the \lambda_3 value by
\~9% and to reduce r_3 by ~6%. The measured \lambda_3 corresponds to a value of
0.707 +/- 0.014 (stat.) +/- 0.078 (syst.) when one takes into account the
three-pion sample purity. A relation between the two-pion and the three-pion
source parameters is discussed.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures included, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.
W+W- production and triple gauge boson couplings at LEP energies up to 183 GeV
A study of W-pair production in e+e- annihilations at Lep2 is presented,
based on 877 W+W- candidates corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 57
pb-1 at sqrt(s) = 183 GeV. Assuming that the angular distributions of the
W-pair production and decay, as well as their branching fractions, are
described by the Standard Model, the W-pair production cross-section is
measured to be 15.43 +- 0.61 (stat.) +- 0.26 (syst.) pb. Assuming lepton
universality and combining with our results from lower centre-of-mass energies,
the W branching fraction to hadrons is determined to be 67.9 +- 1.2 (stat.) +-
0.5 (syst.)%. The number of W-pair candidates and the angular distributions for
each final state (qqlnu,qqqq,lnulnu) are used to determine the triple gauge
boson couplings. After combining these values with our results from lower
centre-of-mass energies we obtain D(kappa_g)=0.11+0.52-0.37,
D(g^z_1)=0.01+0.13-0.12 and lambda=-0.10+0.13-0.12, where the errors include
both statistical and systematic uncertainties and each coupling is determined
setting the other two couplings to the Standard Model value. The fraction of W
bosons produced with a longitudinal polarisation is measured to be
0.242+-0.091(stat.)+-0.023(syst.). All these measurements are consistent with
the Standard Model expectations.Comment: 48 pages, LaTeX, including 13 eps or ps figures, submitted to
European Physical Journal
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