13,930 research outputs found
Massive vector fields on the Schwarzschild spacetime: quasinormal modes and bound states
We study the propagation of a massive vector or Proca field on the
Schwarzschild spacetime. The field equations are reduced to a one-dimensional
wave equation for the odd-parity part of the field and two coupled equations
for the even-parity part of the field. We use numerical techniques based on
solving (scalar or matrix-valued) three-term recurrence relations to compute
the spectra of both quasi-normal modes and quasi-bound states, which have no
massless analogue, complemented in the latter case by a forward-integration
method. We study the radial equations analytically in both the near-horizon and
far-field regions and use a matching procedure to compute the associated
spectra in the small-mass limit. Finally, we comment on extending our results
to the Kerr geometry and its phenomenological relevance for hidden photons
arising e.g. in string theory compactifications.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures; minor corrections, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Star formation in the giant HII regions of M101
The molecular components of three giant HII regions (NGC 5461, NGC 5462, NGC
5471) in the galaxy M101 are investigated with new observations from the James
Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the NRAO 12-meter, and the Owens Valley millimeter
array. Of the three HII regions, only NGC 5461 had previously been detected in
CO emission.
We calculate preliminary values for the molecular mass of the GMCs in NGC
5461 by assuming a CO-to-H_2 factor (X factor) and then compare these values
with the virial masses. We conclude that the data in this paper demonstrate for
the first time that the value of X may decrease in regions with intense star
formation.
The molecular mass for the association of clouds in NGC 5461 is approximately
3x10^7 Mo and is accompanied by 1-2 times as much atomic mass. The observed CO
emission in NGC 5461 is an order of magnitude stronger than in NGC 5462, while
it was not possible to detect molecular gas toward NGC 5471 with the JCMT. An
even larger ratio of atomic to molecular gas in NGC 5471 was observed, which
might be attributed to efficient conversion of molecular to atomic gas.
The masses of the individual clouds in NGC 5461, which are gravitationally
bound, cover a range of (2-8) x 10^5 Mo, comparable with the masses of Galactic
giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Higher star forming efficiencies, and not
massive clouds, appear to be the prerequisite for the formation of the large
number of stars whose radiation is required to produce the giant HII regions in
M101.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Quantum Effects in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker Cosmologies
Electrodynamics for self-interacting scalar fields in spatially flat
Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-times is studied. The corresponding one-loop
field equation for the expectation value of the complex scalar field in the
conformal vacuum is derived. For exponentially expanding universes, the
equations for the Bogoliubov coefficients describing the coupling of the scalar
field to gravity are solved numerically. They yield a non-local correction to
the Coleman-Weinberg effective potential which does not modify the pattern of
minima found in static de Sitter space. Such a correction contains a
dissipative term which, accounting for the decay of the classical configuration
in scalar field quanta, may be relevant for the reheating stage. The physical
meaning of the non-local term in the semiclassical field equation is
investigated by evaluating this contribution for various background field
configurations.Comment: 17 pages, plain TeX + 5 uuencoded figure
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