1,309 research outputs found
Covariant Charges in Chern-Simons AdS_3 Gravity
We try to give hereafter an answer to some open questions about the
definition of conserved quantities in Chern-Simons theory, with particular
reference to Chern-Simons AdS_3 Gravity. Our attention is focused on the
problem of global covariance and gauge invariance of the variation of Noether
charges. A theory which satisfies the principle of covariance on each step of
its construction is developed, starting from a gauge invariant Chern-Simons
Lagrangian and using a recipe developed in gr-qc/0110104 and gr-qc/0107074 to
calculate the variation of conserved quantities. The problem to give a
mathematical well-defined expression for the infinitesimal generators of
symmetries is pointed out and it is shown that the generalized Kosmann lift of
spacetime vector fields leads to the expected numerical values for the
conserved quantities when the solution corresponds to the BTZ black hole. The
fist law of black holes mechanics for the BTZ solution is then proved and the
transition between the variation of conserved quantities in Chern-Simons AdS_3
Gravity theory and the variation of conserved quantities in General Relativity
is analysed in detail.Comment: 30 pages, no figures. References adde
Polarization measurements and their perspectives: PVLAS Phase II
We sketch the proposal for a "PVLAS-Phase II" experiment. The main physics
goal is to achieve the first direct observation of non-linear effects in
electromagnetism predicted by QED and the measurement of the photon-photon
scattering cross section at low energies (1-2 eV). Physical processes such as
ALP and MCP production in a magnetic field could also be accessible if
sensitive enough operation is reached. The short term experimental strategy is
to compact as much as possible the dimensions of the apparatus in order to
bring noise sources under control and to attain a sufficient sensitivity. We
will also briefly mention future pespectives, such as a scheme to implement the
resonant regeneration principle for the detection of ALPs.Comment: Paper submitted to the proceedings of the "4th Patras Workshop on
Axions, WIMPs and WISPs", DESY, Hamburg Site /Germany, 18-21 June 200
Optical variability of the BL Lacertae object GC 0109+224. Multiband behaviour and time scales from a 7-years monitoring campaign
We present the most continuous data base of optical
observations ever published on the BL Lacertae object GC 0109+224, collected
mainly by the robotic telescope of the Perugia University Observatory in the
period November 1994-February 2002. These observations have been complemented
by data from the Torino Observatory, collected in the period July 1995-January
1999, and Mt. Maidanak Observatory (December 2000). GC 0109+224 showed rapid
optical variations and six major outbursts were observed at the beginning and
end of 1996, in fall 1998, at the beginning and at the end of 2000, and at the
beginning of 2002. Fast and large-amplitude drops characterized its flux
behaviour. The magnitude ranged from 13.3 (16.16 mJy) to 16.46 (0.8 mJy),
with a mean value of 14.9 (3.38 mJy). In the periods where we collected
multi-filter observations, we analyzed colour and spectral indexes, and the
variability patterns during some flares. The long-term behaviour seems
approximatively achromatic, but during some isolated outbursts we found
evidence of the typical loop-like hysteresis behaviour, suggesting that rapid
optical variability is dominated by non-thermal cooling of a single emitting
particle population. We performed also a statistical analysis of the data,
through the discrete correlation function (DCF), the structure function (SF),
and the Lomb-Scargle periodogram, to identify characteristic times scales, from
days to months, in the light curves, and to quantify the mode of variability.
We also include the reconstruction of the historical light curve and a
photometric calibration of comparison stars, to favour further extensive
optical monitoring of this interesting blazar.Comment: 13 pages, 11 PS figures, 1 EPS figure, 3 tables, accepted by
Astronomy and Astrophysics. Uses A&A documentclass aa.cls, and the package
graphicx.st
Dissipative N - body code for galaxy evolution
The evolving galaxy is considered as a system of baryonic fragments embedded
into the static dark nonbaryonic (DH) and baryonic (BH) halo and subjected to
gravitational and viscous interactions. Although the chemical evolution of each
separate fragment is treated in the frame of one -- zone close box model with
instantaneous recycling, its star formation (SF) activity is a function of mean
local gas density and, therefore, is strongly influenced by other interacting
fragments. In spite of its simplicity this model provides a realistic
description of the process of galaxy formation and evolution over the Hubble
timescale.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 7 figures, using the article.sty, expected in
A&ApTr, 18, 83
Molecular Dynamics of Solids at Constant Pressure and Stress Using Anisotropic Stochastic Cell Rescaling
Molecular dynamics simulations of solids are often performed using anisotropic barostats that allow the shape and volume of the periodic cell to change during the simulation. Most existing schemes are based on a second-order differential equation that might lead to undesired oscillatory behaviors and should not be used in the equilibration phase. We recently introduced stochastic cell rescaling, a first-order stochastic barostat that can be used for both the equilibration and production phases. Only the isotropic and semi-isotropic variants have been formulated and implemented so far. In this paper, we develop and implement the equations of motion of the fully anisotropic variant and test them on Lennard-Jones solids, ice, gypsum, and gold. The algorithm has a single parameter that controls the relaxation time of the volume, results in the exponential decay of correlation functions, and can be effectively applied to a wide range of systems
Non deterministic Repairable Fault Trees for computing optimal repair strategy
In this paper, the Non deterministic Repairable Fault Tree (NdRFT) formalism is proposed: it allows to model failure modes of complex systems as well as their repair processes. The originality of this formalism
with respect to other Fault Tree extensions is that it allows to face repair strategies optimization problems: in an NdRFT model, the decision on whether to start or not a given repair action is non deterministic, so
that all the possibilities are left open. The formalism is rather powerful allowing to specify which failure events are observable, whether local repair or global repair can be applied, and the resources needed to start
a repair action. The optimal repair strategy can then be computed by solving an optimization problem on a Markov Decision Process (MDP) derived from the NdRFT. A software framework is proposed in order to perform in automatic way the derivation of an MDP from a NdRFT model, and to deal with the solution of the MDP
Radio-to-UV monitoring of AO 0235+164 by the WEBT and Swift during the 2006--2007 outburst
The blazar AO 0235+164 was claimed to show a quasi-periodic behaviour in the
radio and optical bands. Moreover, an extra emission component contributing to
the UV and soft X-ray flux was detected, whose nature is not yet clear. A
predicted optical outburst was observed in late 2006/early 2007. We here
present the radio-to-optical WEBT light curves during the outburst, together
with UV data acquired by Swift in the same period. We found the optical
outburst to be as strong as the big outbursts of the past: starting from late
September 2006, a brightness increase of 5 mag led to the outburst peak in
February 19-21, 2007. We also observed an outburst at mm and then at cm
wavelengths, with an increasing time delay going toward lower frequencies
during the rising phase. Cross-correlation analysis indicates that the 1 mm and
37 GHz flux variations lagged behind the R-band ones by about 3 weeks and 2
months, respectively. These short time delays suggest that the corresponding
jet emitting regions are only slightly separated and/or misaligned. In
contrast, during the outburst decreasing phase the flux faded contemporaneously
at all cm wavelengths. This abrupt change in the emission behaviour may suggest
the presence of some shutdown mechanism of intrinsic or geometric nature. The
behaviour of the UV flux closely follows the optical and near-IR one. By
separating the synchrotron and extra component contributions to the UV flux, we
found that they correlate, which suggests that the two emissions have a common
origin.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, in press for Astronomy and Astrophysic
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