4,181 research outputs found
Dissipation in Poynting-flux Dominated Flows: the Sigma-Problem of the Crab Pulsar Wind
Flows in which energy is transported predominantly as Poynting flux are
thought to occur in pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and relativistic jets from
compact objects. The fluctuating component of the magnetic field in such a flow
can in principle be dissipated by magnetic reconnection, and used to accelerate
the flow. We investigate how rapidly this transition can take place, by
implementing into a global MHD model, that uses a thermodynamic description of
the plasma, explicit, physically motivated prescriptions for the dissipation
rate: a lower limit on this rate is given by limiting the maximum drift speed
of the current carriers to that of light, an upper limit follows from demanding
that the dissipation zone expand only subsonically in the comoving frame and a
further prescription is obtained by assuming that the expansion speed is
limited by the growth rate of the relativistic tearing mode. In each case,
solutions are presented which give the Lorentz factor of a spherical wind
containing a transverse, oscillating magnetic field component as a function of
radius. In the case of the Crab pulsar, we find that the Poynting flux can be
dissipated before the wind reaches the inner edge of the Nebula if the pulsar
emits electron positron pairs at a rate >1.E40 per second, thus providing a
possible solution to the sigma-problem.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
Magnetorotational collapse of very massive stars to black holes in full general relativity
We perform axisymmetric simulations of the magnetorotational collapse of very
massive stars in full general relativity. Our simulations are applicable to the
collapse of supermassive stars (M > 10^3M_sun) and to very massive Pop III
stars. We model our initial configurations by n=3 polytropes. The ratio of
magnetic to rotational kinetic energy in these configurations is chosen to be
small (1% and 10%). We find that such magnetic fields do not affect the initial
collapse significantly. The core collapses to a black hole, after which black
hole excision is employed to continue the evolution long enough for the hole to
reach a quasi-stationary state. We find that the black hole mass is M_h = 0.95M
and its spin parameter is J_h/M_h^2 = 0.7, with the remaining matter forming a
torus around the black hole. We freeze the spacetime metric ("Cowling
approximation") and continue to follow the evolution of the torus after the
black hole has relaxed to quasi-stationary equilibrium. In the absence of
magnetic fields, the torus settles down following ejection of a small amount of
matter due to shock heating. When magnetic fields are present, the field lines
gradually collimate along the hole's rotation axis. MHD shocks and the MRI
generate MHD turbulence in the torus and stochastic accretion onto the central
black hole. When the magnetic field is strong, a wind is generated in the
torus, and the torus undergoes radial oscillations that drive episodic
accretion onto the hole. These oscillations produce long-wavelength
gravitational waves potentially detectable by LISA. The final state of the
magnetorotational collapse always consists of a central black hole surrounded
by a collimated magnetic field and a hot, thick accretion torus. This system is
a viable candidate for the central engine of a long-soft gamma-ray burst.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, replaced with the published versio
Asymmetric Supernovae, Pulsars, Magnetars, and Gamma-Ray Bursts
We outline the possible physical processes, associated timescales, and
energetics that could lead to the production of pulsars, jets, asymmetric
supernovae, and weak gamma-ray bursts in routine circumstances and to a
magnetar and perhaps stronger gamma-ray burst in more extreme circumstances in
the collapse of the bare core of a massive star. The production of a
LeBlanc-Wilson MHD jet could provide an asymmetric supernova and result in a
weak gamma-ray burst when the jet accelerates down the stellar density gradient
of a hydrogen-poor photosphere. The matter-dominated jet would be formed
promptly, but requires 5 to 10 s to reach the surface of the progenitor of a
Type Ib/c supernova. During this time, the newly-born neutron star could
contract, spin up, and wind up field lines or turn on an alpha-Omega dynamo. In
addition, the light cylinder will contract from a radius large compared to the
Alfven radius to a size comparable to that of the neutron star. This will
disrupt the structure of any organized dipole field and promote the generation
of ultrarelativistic MHD waves (UMHDW) at high density and Large Amplitude
Electromagnetic Waves (LAEMW) at low density. The generation of the these waves
would be delayed by the cooling time of the neutron star about 5 to 10 seconds,
but the propagation time is short so the UMHDW could arrive at the surface at
about the same time as the matter jet. In the density gradient of the star and
the matter jet, the intense flux of UMHDW and LAEMW could drive shocks,
generate pions by proton-proton collision, or create electron/positron pairs
depending on the circumstances. The UMHDW and LAEMW could influence the
dynamics of the explosion and might also tend to flow out the rotation axis to
produce a collimated gamma-ray burst.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, revised for referee comments, accepted for ApJ, July
10 issu
The Accretion of Lyman Alplha Clouds onto Gas-Rech Protogalaxies; A Scenario for the Formation of Globular Star Clusters
A satisfactory theory for the formation of globular star clusters (GCs) has
long been elusive, perhaps because their true progenitors had not yet been
guessed. In this paper I propose a causal relationship between the strongly
decreasing densities of Lyman alpha (LyA) clouds at high redshift and the
formation of GCs - namely that GCs were created by the accretion of LyA clouds
onto protogalaxies. I describe a scenario which involves an inherently stable
and orderly cycling of compression and cooling in the central cores of clouds
during the extended period of dissipation in the outer regins of gas-rich proto
galaxies, culminating in a burst of efficient star formation. I demonstrate
that the comoving density of GCs is comparable to that of LyA clouds at high
redshift, that the energetic requirements for compression to core GC densities
can be met, and that the time-scale for cooling is within obvious limits
imposed by dynamical stability.
This dissipative process requires there to be a large column of dissipated
gas about the attractor in order to form GCs. In addition, the energy
requirements for compression requires attractor masses greater than that
capable of sustaining circular velocities of ~40 km/s. If this scenario is
supported by numerical simulations, then by implication, the GCs were formed at
modest redshifts of z~1-3. This knowledge could help to break the degeneracy
between lookback time and redshift. The model is consistent with a picture of
hierarchical galaxy growth over time scales of many billions of years.Comment: 7 pages. Accepted, 10 June 1999 Astrophysical Journa
Dynamical effects of the neutrino gravitational clustering at Planck angular scales
We study the CMB anisotropy induced by the non-linear perturbations in the
massive neutrino density associated to the non-linear gravitational clustering
proceses. Our results show that for the neutrino fraction in agreement with
that indicated by the astroparticle and nuclear physics experiments and a
cosmological accreting mass comparable with the mass of known clusters, the
angular resolution and the sensitivity of the CMB anisotropy measurements from
the Planck surveyor will allow the detection of the dynamical effects of the
neutrino gravitational clustering.Comment: 40 pages and 12 figures, submitted to ApJ (14 March 2002
The Crab Nebula: interpretation of CHANDRA observations
We interpret the observed X-ray morphology of the central part of the Crab
Nebula (torus + jets) in terms of the standard theory by Kennel and Coroniti
(1984). The only new element is the inclusion of anisotropy in the energy flux
from the pulsar in the theory. In the standard theory of relativistic winds,
the Lorentz factor of the particles in front of the shock that terminates the
pulsar relativistic wind depends on the polar angle as
, where and . The plasma flow in the wind is isotropic. After the
passage of the pulsar wind through the shock, the flow becomes subsonic with a
roughly constant (over the plerion volume) pressure ,
where is the plasma particle density and is the mean particle
energy. Since , a low-density region filled with the
most energetic electrons is formed near the equator. A bright torus of
synchrotron radiation develops here. Jet-like regions are formed along the
pulsar rotation axis, where the particle density is almost four orders of
magnitude higher than that in the equatorial plane, because the particle energy
there is four orders of magnitude lower. The energy of these particles is too
low to produce detectable synchrotron radiation. However, these quasi-jets
become comparable in brightness to the torus if additional particle
acceleration takes place in the plerion. We also present the results of our
study of the hydrodynamic interaction between an anisotropic wind and the
interstellar medium. We compare the calculated and observed distributions of
the volume intensity of X-ray radiation.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures. To be published in Astronomy Letters, 2002, N 6,
p.
Intense Electromagnetic Outbursts from Collapsing Hypermassive Neutron Stars
We study the gravitational collapse of a magnetized neutron star using a
novel numerical approach able to capture both the dynamics of the star and the
behavior of the surrounding plasma. In this approach, a fully general
relativistic magnetohydrodynamics implementation models the collapse of the
star and provides appropriate boundary conditions to a force-free model which
describes the stellar exterior. We validate this strategy by comparing with
known results for the rotating monopole and aligned rotator solutions and then
apply it to study both rotating and non-rotating stellar collapse scenarios,
and contrast the behavior with what is obtained when employing the
electrovacuum approximation outside the star. The non-rotating electrovacuum
collapse is shown to agree qualitatively with a Newtonian model of the
electromagnetic field outside a collapsing star. We illustrate and discuss a
fundamental difference between the force-free and electrovacuum solutions,
involving the appearance of large zones of electric-dominated field in the
vacuum case. This provides a clear demonstration of how dissipative
singularities appear generically in the non-linear time-evolution of force-free
fluids. In both the rotating and non-rotating cases, our simulations indicate
that the collapse induces a strong electromagnetic transient. In the case of
sub-millisecond rotation, the magnetic field experiences strong winding and the
transient carries much more energy. This result has important implications for
models of gamma-ray bursts.Comment: 28 pages, 20 figures (quality lowered to reduce sizes). Improved
initial data and matching condition results in a lower, but still important,
energy emission. Added appendix with a discussion on effects of transition
laye
Gedanken Worlds without Higgs: QCD-Induced Electroweak Symmetry Breaking
To illuminate how electroweak symmetry breaking shapes the physical world, we
investigate toy models in which no Higgs fields or other constructs are
introduced to induce spontaneous symmetry breaking. Two models incorporate the
standard SU(3)_c x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y gauge symmetry and fermion content similar
to that of the standard model. The first class--like the standard electroweak
theory--contains no bare mass terms, so the spontaneous breaking of chiral
symmetry within quantum chromodynamics is the only source of electroweak
symmetry breaking. The second class adds bare fermion masses sufficiently small
that QCD remains the dominant source of electroweak symmetry breaking and the
model can serve as a well-behaved low-energy effective field theory to energies
somewhat above the hadronic scale. A third class of models is based on the
left-right--symmetric SU(3)_c x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R x U(1)_{B-L} gauge group. In
a fourth class of models, built on SU(4)_{PS} x SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R gauge
symmetry, lepton number is treated as a fourth color. Many interesting
characteristics of the models stem from the fact that the effective strength of
the weak interactions is much closer to that of the residual strong
interactions than in the real world. The Higgs-free models not only provide
informative contrasts to the real world, but also lead us to consider
intriguing issues in the application of field theory to the real world.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, uses RevTeX; typos correcte
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