12,443 research outputs found
Studies of Stellar Collapse and Black Hole Formation with the Open-Source Code GR1D
We discuss results from simulations of black hole formation in failing core-collapse supernovae performed with the code GR1D, a new open-source Eulerian spherically-symmetric general-relativistic hydrodynamics code. GR1D includes rotation in an approximate way (1.5D) comes with multiple finite-temperature nuclear equations of state (EOS), and treats neutrinos in the post-core-bounce phase via a 3-flavor leakage scheme and a heating prescription. We chose the favored K_0 = 220 MeV-variant of the Lattimer & Swesty (1990) EOS and present collapse calculations using the progenitor models of Limongi & Chieffi (2006). We show that there is no direct (or âpromptâ) black hole formation in the collapse of ordinary massive stars (8M_â âČ M_(ZAMS) âČ 100 M_â) present first results from black hole formation simulations that include rotation
Ordering of small particles in one-dimensional coherent structures by time-periodic flows
Small particles transported by a fluid medium do not necessarily have to
follow the flow. We show that for a wide class of time-periodic incompressible
flows inertial particles have a tendency to spontaneously align in
one-dimensional dynamic coherent structures. This effect may take place for
particles so small that often they would be expected to behave as passive
tracers and be used in PIV measurement technique. We link the particle tendency
to form one-dimensional structures to the nonlinear phenomenon of phase
locking. We propose that this general mechanism is, in particular, responsible
for the enigmatic formation of the `particle accumulation structures'
discovered experimentally in thermocapillary flows more than a decade ago and
unexplained until now
Elastohydrodynamic study of actin filaments using fluorescence microscopy
We probed the bending of actin subject to external forcing and viscous drag.
Single actin filaments were moved perpendicular to their long axis in an
oscillatory way by means of an optically tweezed latex bead attached to one end
of the filaments. Shapes of these polymers were observed by epifluorescence
microscopy. They were found to be in agreement with predictions of semiflexible
polymer theory and slender-body hydrodynamics. A persistence length of m could be extracted.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 5 eps figs, submitted to PR
A Systematic Survey of the Effects of Wind Mass Loss Algorithms on the Evolution of Single Massive Stars
Mass loss is a key uncertainty in the evolution of massive stars. Stellar
evolution calculations must employ parametric algorithms for mass loss, and
usually only include stellar winds. We carry out a parameter study of the
effects of wind mass loss on massive star evolution using the open-source
stellar evolution code MESA. We provide a systematic comparison of wind mass
loss algorithms for solar-metallicity, nonrotating, single stars in the initial
mass range of . We consider combinations drawn from two hot
phase algorithms, three cool phase algorithms, and two Wolf-Rayet algorithms.
We consider linear wind efficiency scale factors of , , and to
account for reductions in mass loss rates due to wind inhomogeneities. We find
that the initial to final mass mapping for each zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS)
mass has a uncertainty if all algorithm combinations and wind
efficiencies are considered. The ad-hoc efficiency scale factor dominates this
uncertainty. While the final total mass and internal structure of our models
vary tremendously with mass loss treatment, final observable parameters are
much less sensitive for ZAMS mass . This indicates that
uncertainty in wind mass loss does not negatively affect estimates of the ZAMS
mass of most single-star supernova progenitors from pre-explosion observations.
Furthermore, we show that the internal structure of presupernova stars is
sensitive to variations in both main sequence and post main-sequence mass loss.
We find that the compactness parameter varies by as much as
for a given ZAMS mass evolved with different wind efficiencies and mass
loss algorithm combinations. [abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A, 22 pages + 2 appendixes, 12 figures,
online input parameters available at https://stellarcollapse.org/renzo2017
and data at https://zenodo.org/record/292924#.WK0q2tWi6W
The runaway instability in general relativistic accretion disks
When an accretion disk falls prey to the runaway instability, a large portion
of its mass is devoured by the black hole within a few dynamical times. Despite
decades of effort, it is still unclear under what conditions such an
instability can occur. The technically most advanced relativistic simulations
to date were unable to find a clear sign for the onset of the instability. In
this work, we present three-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamics simulations
of accretion disks around black holes in dynamical space-time. We focus on the
configurations that are expected to be particularly prone to the development of
this instability. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the fully
self-consistent general relativistic evolution does indeed produce a runaway
instability.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, minor corrections to match published version in
MNRAS, +link to animatio
Exploring classically chaotic potentials with a matter wave quantum probe
We study an experimental setup in which a quantum probe, provided by a
quasi-monomode guided atom laser, interacts with a static localized attractive
potential whose characteristic parameters are tunable. In this system,
classical mechanics predicts a transition from a regular to a chaotic behavior
as a result of the coupling between the longitudinal and transverse degrees of
freedom. Our experimental results display a clear signature of this transition.
On the basis of extensive numerical simulations, we discuss the quantum versus
classical physics predictions in this context. This system opens new
possibilities for investigating quantum scattering, provides a new testing
ground for classical and quantum chaos and enables to revisit the
quantum-classical correspondence
The Proto-neutron Star Phase of the Collapsar Model and the Route to Long-soft Gamma-ray Bursts and Hypernovae
Recent stellar evolutionary calculations of low-metallicity massive
fast-rotating main-sequence stars yield iron cores at collapse endowed with
high angular momentum. It is thought that high angular momentum and black hole
formation are critical ingredients of the collapsar model of long-soft
gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Here, we present 2D multi-group,
flux-limited-diffusion MHD simulations of the collapse, bounce, and immediate
post-bounce phases of a 35-Msun collapsar-candidate model of Woosley & Heger.
We find that, provided the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) operates in the
differentially-rotating surface layers of the millisecond-period neutron star,
a magnetically-driven explosion ensues during the proto-neutron star phase, in
the form of a baryon-loaded non-relativistic jet, and that a black hole,
central to the collapsar model, does not form. Paradoxically, and although much
uncertainty surrounds stellar mass loss, angular momentum transport, magnetic
fields, and the MRI, current models of chemically homogeneous evolution at low
metallicity yield massive stars with iron cores that may have too much angular
momentum to avoid a magnetically-driven, hypernova-like, explosion in the
immediate post-bounce phase. We surmise that fast rotation in the iron core may
inhibit, rather than enable, collapsar formation, which requires a large
angular momentum not in the core but above it. Variations in the angular
momentum distribution of massive stars at core collapse might explain both the
diversity of Type Ic supernovae/hypernovae and their possible association with
a GRB. A corollary might be that, rather than the progenitor mass, the angular
momentum distribution, through its effect on magnetic field amplification,
distinguishes these outcomes.Comment: 5 pages, 1 table, 2 figures, accepted to ApJ
Neutrino Signatures and the Neutrino-Driven Wind in Binary Neutron Star Mergers
We present VULCAN/2D multigroup flux-limited-diffusion radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of binary neutron star mergers, using the Shen equation of state, covering âł 100 ms, and starting from azimuthal-averaged two-dimensional slices obtained from three-dimensional smooth-particle-hydrodynamics simulations of Rosswog & Price for 1.4Mâ (baryonic) neutron stars with no initial spins, co-rotating spins, or counter-rotating spins. Snapshots are post-processed at 10 ms intervals with a multiangle neutrino-transport solver. We find polar-enhanced neutrino luminosities, dominated by ÂŻÎœe and âΜΌâ neutrinos at the peak, although Îœe emission may be stronger at late times. We obtain typical peak neutrino energies for Îœe, ÂŻÎœe, and âΜΌâ of âŒ12, âŒ16, and âŒ22 MeV, respectively. The supermassive neutron star (SMNS) formed from the merger has a cooling timescale of ⟠1 s. Charge-current neutrino reactions lead to the formation of a thermally driven bipolar wind with (M·) ⌠10^â3 Mâ s^â1 and baryon-loading in the polar regions, preventing any production of a Îł-ray burst prior to black hole formation. The large budget of rotational free energy suggests that magneto-rotational effects could produce a much-greater polar mass loss. We estimate that ⟠10^â4 Mâ of material with an electron fraction in the range 0.1â0.2 becomes unbound during this SMNS phase as a result of neutrino heating. We present a new formalism to compute the Îœi ÂŻÎœi annihilation rate based on moments of the neutrino-specific intensity computed with our multiangle solver. Cumulative annihilation rates, which decay as âŒt^â1.8, decrease over our 100 ms window from a few Ă1050 to ⌠1049 erg sâ1, equivalent to a few Ă10^54 to âŒ10^53 eâe+ pairs per second
The Influence of Thermal Pressure on Equilibrium Models of Hypermassive Neutron Star Merger Remnants
The merger of two neutron stars leaves behind a rapidly spinning hypermassive
object whose survival is believed to depend on the maximum mass supported by
the nuclear equation of state, angular momentum redistribution by
(magneto-)rotational instabilities, and spindown by gravitational waves. The
high temperatures (~5-40 MeV) prevailing in the merger remnant may provide
thermal pressure support that could increase its maximum mass and, thus, its
life on a neutrino-cooling timescale. We investigate the role of thermal
pressure support in hypermassive merger remnants by computing sequences of
spherically-symmetric and axisymmetric uniformly and differentially rotating
equilibrium solutions to the general-relativistic stellar structure equations.
Using a set of finite-temperature nuclear equations of state, we find that hot
maximum-mass critically spinning configurations generally do not support larger
baryonic masses than their cold counterparts. However, subcritically spinning
configurations with mean density of less than a few times nuclear saturation
density yield a significantly thermally enhanced mass. Even without decreasing
the maximum mass, cooling and other forms of energy loss can drive the remnant
to an unstable state. We infer secular instability by identifying approximate
energy turning points in equilibrium sequences of constant baryonic mass
parametrized by maximum density. Energy loss carries the remnant along the
direction of decreasing gravitational mass and higher density until instability
triggers collapse. Since configurations with more thermal pressure support are
less compact and thus begin their evolution at a lower maximum density, they
remain stable for longer periods after merger.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
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