510 research outputs found
Quantum evaporation of a naked singularity
We investigate here quantum effects in gravitational collapse of a scalar
field model which classically leads to a naked singularity. We show that
non-perturbative semi-classical modifications near the singularity, based on
loop quantum gravity, give rise to a strong outward flux of energy. This leads
to the dissolution of the collapsing cloud before the singularity can form.
Quantum gravitational effects thus censor naked singularities by avoiding their
formation. Further, quantum gravity induced mass flux has a distinct feature
which may lead to a novel observable signature in astrophysical bursts.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Minor changes to match published version in
Physical Review Letter
On trapped surface formation in gravitational collapse II
Further to our consideration on trapped surfaces in gravitational collapse,
where pressures were allowed to be negative while satisfying weak energy
condition to avoid trapped surface formation, we discuss here several other
attempts of similar nature in this direction. Certain astrophysical aspects are
pointed out towards examining the physical realization of such a possibility in
realistic gravitational collapse
Prototyping user displays using CLIPS
CLIPS is being used as an integral module of a rapid prototyping system. The prototyping system consists of a display manager for object browsing, a graph program for displaying line and bar charts, and a communications server for routing messages between modules. A CLIPS simulation of a physical model provides dynamic control of the user's display. Currently, a project is well underway to prototype the Advanced Automation System (AAS) for the Federal Aviation Administration
A Time-Like Naked Singularity
We construct a class of spherically symmetric collapse models in which a
naked singularity may develop as the end state of collapse. The matter
distribution considered has negative radial and tangential pressures, but the
weak energy condition is obeyed throughout. The singularity forms at the center
of the collapsing cloud and continues to be visible for a finite time. The
duration of visibility depends on the nature of energy distribution. Hence the
causal structure of the resulting singularity depends on the nature of the mass
function chosen for the cloud. We present a general model in which the naked
singularity formed is timelike, neither pointlike nor null. Our work represents
a step toward clarifying the necessary conditions for the validity of the
Cosmic Censorship Conjecture.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex4, To appear in Physical Review
Gravitational waves from coalescing binaries: detection strategies and Monte Carlo estimation of parameters
The paper deals with issues pertaining the detection of gravitational waves
from coalescing binaries. We introduce the application of differential geometry
to the problem of optimal detection of the `chirp signal'. We have also carried
out extensive Monte Carlo simulations to understand the errors in the
estimation of parameters of the binary system. We find that the errors are much
more than those predicted by the covariance matrix even at a high SNR of 10-15.
We also introduce the idea of using the instant of coalescence rather than the
time of arrival to determine the direction to the source.Comment: 28 pages, REVTEX, 12 figures (bundled via uufiles command along with
this paper) submitted to Phys. Rev.
Vitamin D insufficiency and mild cognitive impairment: cross-sectional association
BACKGROUND: Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations have been associated with dementia. The association with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has not yet been explored. Our aim was to examine the association between vitamin D status and MCI status amongst older community-dwellers with subjective memory complaint.METHODS: Ninety-five non-demented Caucasian community-dwellers with subjective memory complaint (mean, 71.16.4years; 54.7% women) included in the Gait and Alzheimer Interaction Tracking (GAIT) study were categorized into two groups according to Winblad et al. consensus criteria [i.e., subjects with MCI or cognitively healthy individuals (CHI)]. Serum 25OHD concentration was divided into quartiles, the fourth quartile corresponding to the highest 25OHD concentration. The cross-sectional associations between 25OHD concentrations and MCI were modeled using logistic regressions. Age, gender, body mass index, number of comorbidities, education level, Mini-Mental State Examination score, Frontal Assessment Battery score, Geriatric Depression Scale score, creatinine clearance, and season tested were considered as potential confounders. RESULTS: Compared to CHI, patients with MCI (n=43; mean, 71.45.6years; 34.9% women) had lower mean serum 25OHD concentrations (P=0.006) and belonged more often to the lower quartiles compared to the highest quartile (P=0.03). Increased serum 25OHD concentration was associated with a lower risk of MCI [adjusted odds ratio (OR)=0.96, P=0.002]. Accordingly, lower quartiles of 25OHD were positively associated with MCI whilst using the highest quartile as reference (adjusted OR=25.46, P=0.002 for the first quartile; adjusted OR=6.89, P=0.03 for the second quartile; and adjusted OR=10.29, P=0.02 for the third quartile). CONCLUSIONS: Low 25OHD concentrations were associated with MCI status in older non-demented community-dwellers with subjective memory complaint
Role of initial data in spherical collapse
We bring out here the role of initial data in causing the black hole and
naked singularity phases as the final end state of a continual gravitational
collapse. The collapse of a type I general matter field is considered, which
includes most of the known physical forms of matter. It is shown that given the
distribution of the density and pressure profiles at the initial surface from
which the collapse evolves, there is a freedom in choosing rest of the free
functions, such as the velocities of the collapsing shells, so that the end
state could be either a black hole or a naked singularity depending on this
choice. It is thus seen that it is the initial data that determines the end
state of spherical collapse in terms of these outcomes, and we get a good
picture of how these phases come about.Comment: 5 pages, Revtex4, Revised version, To appear in Physical Review
Cosmic Censorship in Higher dimension II
Generalizing earlier results on dust collapse in higher dimensions, we show
here that cosmic censorship can be restored in gravitational collapse with
tangential pressure present if we take the spacetime dimension to be .
This is under conditions to be motivated physically, such as the smoothness of
initial data from which the collapse develops. The models considered here
incorporating a non-zero tangential pressure include the Einstein cluster
spacetime.Comment: 7 pages,1 figure,revtex
Simulation of the White Dwarf -- White Dwarf galactic background in the LISA data
LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a proposed space mission, which
will use coherent laser beams exchanged between three remote spacecraft to
detect and study low-frequency cosmic gravitational radiation. In the low-part
of its frequency band, the LISA strain sensitivity will be dominated by the
incoherent superposition of hundreds of millions of gravitational wave signals
radiated by inspiraling white-dwarf binaries present in our own galaxy. In
order to estimate the magnitude of the LISA response to this background, we
have simulated a synthesized population that recently appeared in the
literature. We find the amplitude of the galactic white-dwarf binary background
in the LISA data to be modulated in time, reaching a minimum equal to about
twice that of the LISA noise for a period of about two months around the time
when the Sun-LISA direction is roughly oriented towards the Autumn equinox.
Since the galactic white-dwarfs background will be observed by LISA not as a
stationary but rather as a cyclostationary random process with a period of one
year, we summarize the theory of cyclostationary random processes and present
the corresponding generalized spectral method needed to characterize such
process. We find that, by measuring the generalized spectral components of the
white-dwarf background, LISA will be able to infer properties of the
distribution of the white-dwarfs binary systems present in our Galaxy.Comment: 14 pages and 6 figures. Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity
(Proceedings of GWDAW9
On the genericity of spacetime singularities
We consider here the genericity aspects of spacetime singularities that occur
in cosmology and in gravitational collapse. The singularity theorems (that
predict the occurrence of singularities in general relativity) allow the
singularities of gravitational collapse to be either visible to external
observers or covered by an event horizon of gravity. It is shown that the
visible singularities that develop as final states of spherical collapse are
generic. Some consequences of this fact are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, To be published in the Raychaudhuri Volume, eds. Naresh
Dadhich, Pankaj Joshi and Probir Ro
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