24,479 research outputs found
Quark-hybrid matter in the cores of massive neutron stars
Using a nonlocal extension of the SU(3) Nambu-Jona Lasinio model, which
reproduces several of the key features of Quantum Chromodynamics, we show that
mixed phases of deconfined quarks and confined hadrons (quark-hybrid matter)
may exist in the cores of neutron stars as massive as around 2.1 M_Sun. The
radii of these objects are found to be in the canonical range of
km. According to our study, the transition to pure quark matter does not occur
in stable neutron stars, but is shifted to neutron stars which are unstable
against radial oscillations. The implications of our study for the recently
discovered, massive neutron star PSR J1614-2230, whose gravitational mass is
, are that this neutron star may contain an extended
region of quark-hybrid matter at it center, but no pure quark matter.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Quark deconfinement in high-mass neutron stars
In this paper, we explore whether or not quark deconfinement may occur in
high-mass neutron stars such as J1614-2230 (1.97 \pm 0.04 M_Sun) and J0348+0432
(2.01 \pm 0.04 M_Sun). Our study is based on a non-local extension of the SU(3)
Nambu Jona-Lasinio (n3NJL) model with repulsive vector interactions among the
quarks. This model goes beyond the frequently used local version of the Nambu
Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model by accounting for several key features of QCD which
are not part of the local model. Confined hadronic matter is treated in the
framework of non-linear relativistic mean field theory. We find that both the
local as well as the non-local NJL model predict the existence of extended
regions of mixed quark-hadron (quark-hybrid) matter in high-mass neutron stars
with masses of 2.1 to 2.4 M_Sun. Pure quark matter in the cores of neutron
stars is obtained for certain parametrizations of the hadronic lagrangian and
choices of the vector repulsion among quarks. The radii of high-mass neutron
stars with quark-hybrid matter and/or pure quark matter cores in their centers
are found to lie in the canonical range of 12 to 13 km.Comment: 31 pages, 17 figures, PRC accepted versio
Accretion of non-minimally coupled generalized Chaplygin gas into black holes
The mass evolution of Schwarzschild black holes by the absorption of scalar
fields is investigated in the scenario of the generalized Chaplygin gas (GCG).
The GCG works as a unification picture of dark matter plus dark energy that
naturally accelerates the expansion of the Universe. Through elements of the
quasi-stationary approach, we consider the mass evolution of Schwarzschild
black holes accreted by non-minimally coupled cosmological scalar fields
reproducing the dynamics of the GCG. As a scalar field non-minimally coupled to
the metrics, such an exotic content has been interconnected with accreting
black holes. The black hole increasing masses by the absorption of the gas
reflects some consistence of the accretion mechanism with the hypothesis of the
primordial origin of supermassive black holes. Our results effectively show
that the non-minimal coupling with the GCG dark sector accelerates the
increasing of black hole masses. Meanwhile some exotic features can also be
depicted for specific ranges of the non-minimal coupling in which the GCG
dynamics is substantially modified.Comment: 13 pages, 03 figure
Photometry and dynamics of the minor mergers AM\,1228-260 and AM\,2058-381
We investigate interaction effects on the dynamics and morphology of the
galaxy pairs AM\,2058-381 and AM\,1228-260. This work is based on images
and long-slit spectra obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph at the
Gemini South Telescope. The luminosity ratio between the main (AM\,2058A) and
secondary (AM\,2058B) components of the first pair is a factor of 5,
while for the other pair, the main (AM\,1228A) component is 20 times more
luminous than the secondary (AM\,1228B). The four galaxies have pseudo-bulges,
with a S\'ersic index . Their observed radial velocities profiles (RVPs)
present several irregularities. The receding side of the RVP of AM\,2058A is
displaced with respect to the velocity field model, while there is a strong
evidence that AM\,2058B is a tumbling body, rotating along its major axis. The
RVPs for AM\,1228A indicate a misalignment between the kinematic and
photometric major axes. The RVP for AM\,1228B is quite perturbed, very likely
due to the interaction with AM\,1228A. NFW halo parameters for AM\,2058A are
similar to those of the Milky Way and M\,31. The halo mass of AM\,1228A is
roughly 10\% that of AM\,2058A. The mass-to-light (M/L) of AM\,2058 agrees with
the mean value derived for late-type spirals, while the low M/L for AM\,1228A
may be due to the intense star formation ongoing in this galaxy.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Interaction effects on galaxy pairs with Gemini/GMOS- II: Oxygen abundance gradients
In this paper we derived oxygen abundance gradients from HII regions located
in eleven galaxies in eight systems of close pairs. Long-slit spectra in the
range 4400-7300A were obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spec- trograph at
Gemini South (GMOS). Spatial profiles of oxygen abundance in the gaseous phase
along galaxy disks were obtained using calibrations based on strong
emission-lines (N2 and O3N2). We found oxygen gradients signifi- cantly flatter
for all the studied galaxies than those in typical isolated spiral galaxies.
Four objects in our sample, AM1219A, AM1256B, AM 2030A and AM2030B, show a
clear break in the oxygen abundance at galactocentric radius R/R25 between 0.2
and 0.5. For AM1219A and AM1256B we found negative slopes for the inner
gradients, and for AM2030B we found a positive one. In all these three cases
they show a flatter behaviour to the outskirts of the galaxies. For AM2030A, we
found a positive-slope outer gradient while the inner one is almost compatible
with a flat behaviour. A decrease of star forma- tion efficiency in the zone
that corresponds to the oxygen abundance gradient break for AM1219A and AM2030B
was found. For the former, a minimum in the estimated metallicities was found
very close to the break zone that could be associated with a corotation radius.
On the other hand, AM1256B and AM2030A, present a SFR maximum but not an
extreme oxygen abundance value. All the four interacting systems that show
oxygen gradient breakes the extreme SFR values are located very close to break
zones. Hii regions lo- cated in close pairs of galaxies follow the same
relation between the ionization parameter and the oxygen abundance as those
regions in isolated galaxies.Comment: 30 pages, 14 figures, accepted MNRAS, (Figs. 1 and 2 are in low
resolution
Aspectos do controlo da qualidade da fluodesoxiglucose num laboratório de produção
Resumo do poster apresentado ao XII Congresso Nacional de Medicina Nuclear, 12-14 Novembro 2009, Mealhad
Vacuum fluctuations of a scalar field near a reflecting boundary and their effects on the motion of a test particle
The contribution from quantum vacuum fluctuations of a real massless scalar
field to the motion of a test particle that interacts with the field in the
presence of a perfectly reflecting flat boundary is here investigated. There is
no quantum induced dispersions on the motion of the particle when it is alone
in the empty space. However, when a reflecting wall is introduced, dispersions
occur with magnitude dependent on how fast the system evolves between the two
scenarios. A possible way of implementing this process would be by means of an
idealized sudden switching, for which the transition occurs instantaneously.
Although the sudden process is a simple and mathematically convenient
idealization it brings some divergences to the results, particularly at a time
corresponding to a round trip of a light signal between the particle and the
wall. It is shown that the use of smooth switching functions, besides
regularizing such divergences, enables us to better understand the behavior of
the quantum dispersions induced on the motion of the particle. Furthermore, the
action of modifying the vacuum state of the system leads to a change in the
particle energy that depends on how fast the transition between these states is
implemented. Possible implications of these results to the similar case of an
electric charge near a perfectly conducting wall are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure
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