The envelope of the power spectra of over a thousand \delta Scuti stars. The Tˉeff\bar{T}_{eff}-νmax\nu_{max} scaling relation

CoRoT and Kepler high-precision photometric data allowed the detection and characterization of the oscillation parameters in stars other than the Sun. Moreover, thanks to the scaling relations, it is possible to estimate masses and radii for thousands of solar-type oscillating stars. Recently, a \Delta\nu - \rho relation has been found for \delta Scuti stars. Now, analyzing several hundreds of this kind of stars observed with CoRoT and Kepler, we present an empiric relation between their frequency at maximum power of their oscillation spectra and their effective temperature. Such a relation can be explained with the help of the \kappa-mechanism and the observed dispersion of the residuals is compatible with they being caused by the gravity-darkening effect

Quasi-particle creation by analogue black holes

We discuss the issue of quasi-particle production by ``analogue black holes'' with particular attention to the possibility of reproducing Hawking radiation in a laboratory. By constructing simple geometric acoustic models, we obtain a somewhat unexpected result: We show that in order to obtain a stationary and Planckian emission of quasi-particles, it is not necessary to create an ergoregion in the acoustic spacetime (corresponding to a supersonic regime in the flow). It is sufficient to set up a dynamically changing flow either eventually generating an arbitrarily small sonic region v=c, but without any ergoregion, or even just asymptotically, in laboratory time, approaching a sonic regime with sufficient rapidity.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figure

Modelling gravity on a hyper-cubic lattice

We present an elegant and simple dynamical model of symmetric, non-degenerate (n x n) matrices of fixed signature defined on a n-dimensional hyper-cubic lattice with nearest-neighbor interactions. We show how this model is related to General Relativity, and discuss multiple ways in which it can be useful for studying gravity, both classical and quantum. In particular, we show that the dynamics of the model when all matrices are close to the identity corresponds exactly to a finite-difference discretization of weak-field gravity in harmonic gauge. We also show that the action which defines the full dynamics of the model corresponds to the Einstein-Hilbert action to leading order in the lattice spacing, and use this observation to define a lattice analogue of the Ricci scalar and Einstein tensor. Finally, we perform a mean-field analysis of the statistical mechanics of this model.Comment: 5 page

Evidence of amplitude modulation due to Resonant Mode Coupling in the delta Scuti star KIC5892969

A study of the star KIC5892969 observed by the Kepler satellite is presented. Its three highest amplitude modes present a strong amplitude modulation. The aim of this work is to investigate amplitude variations in this star and their possible cause. Using the 4 years-long observations available, we obtained the frequency content of the full light curve. Then, we studied the amplitude and phase variations with time using shorter time stamps. The results obtained are compared with the predicted ones for resonant mode coupling of an unstable mode with lower frequency stable modes. Our conclusion is that resonant mode coupling is consistent as an amplitude limitation mechanism in several modes of KIC5892969 and we discuss to which extent it might play an important role for other delta Scuti stars

Sensitivity of Hawking radiation to superluminal dispersion relations

We analyze the Hawking radiation process due to collapsing configurations in the presence of superluminal modifications of the dispersion relation. With such superluminal dispersion relations, the horizon effectively becomes a frequency-dependent concept. In particular, at every moment of the collapse, there is a critical frequency above which no horizon is experienced. We show that, as a consequence, the late-time radiation suffers strong modifications, both quantitative and qualitative, compared to the standard Hawking picture. Concretely, we show that the radiation spectrum becomes dependent on the measuring time, on the surface gravities associated with different frequencies, and on the critical frequency. Even if the critical frequency is well above the Planck scale, important modifications still show up.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Extensive paragraph added in conclusions to clarify obtained result

Tele-archaeology

Tele-archaeology, in its basic sense, may be defined as the use of telecommunications to provide archaeological information and services. Two different kinds of technology make up most of the tele-archaeology applications in use today. The first is used for transferring information from one location to another. The other is multi-way interactive knowledge distribution. In this paper we examine the possibilities of tele-archaeology, and offer a general framework to implement this technology. The main positive effect of tele-archaeology is the move towards a real “distributed interactive archaeology”, which means that archaeological knowledge building is a collective and dynamic series of tasks and processes. An individual archaeologist cannot fully explain his/her data because the explanatory process needs knowledge as raw material, and this knowledge does not exist in the individual mind of the scientist but in the research community as a global set