376 research outputs found
A hypothetical effect of the Maxwell-Proca electromagnetic stresses on galaxy rotation curves
The Maxwell-Proca electrodynamics corresponding to a finite photon mass
causes a substantial change of the Maxwell stress tensor and, under certain
circumstances, may cause the electromagnetic stresses to act effectively as
"negative pressure." The paper describes a model where this negative pressure
imitates gravitational pull and may produce forces comparable to gravity and
even become dominant. The effect is associated with the random magnetic fields
in the galactic disk with a scale exceeding the photon Compton wavelength. The
presence of a weaker regular field does not affect the forces under
consideration. The stresses act predominantly on the interstellar gas and cause
an additional force pulling the gas towards the center and towards the galactic
plane. The stars do not experience any significant direct force but get
involved in this process via a "recycling loop" where rapidly evolving massive
stars are formed from the gas undergoing galactic rotation and then lose their
masses back to the gas within a time shorter than roughly 1/6 of the rotation
period. This makes their dynamics inseparable from that of the rotating gas.
The lighter, slowly evolving stars, as soon as they are formed, lose connection
to the gas and are confined within the galaxy only gravitationally. Numerical
examples based on the parameters of our galaxy reveal both opportunities and
challenges of this model and motivate further analysis. The critical issue is
the plausibility of formation of the irregular magnetic field that would be
force free. Another challenge is developing a predictive model of the evolution
of the gaseous and stellar population of the galaxy under the aforementioned
scenario. It may be interesting to also explore possible broader cosmological
implications of the negative-pressure model.Comment: 29 pages, 1 figur
Effect of enhanced thermal dissipation on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability in emulsion-like media
Rayleigh-Taylor instability in a finely structured emulsion-like medium consisting of the two components of different compressibility is considered. Although the term ``emulsion`` is used to describe the structure of the medium, under typical fast Z-pinch conditions both components behave as gases. The two components are chosen in such a way that their densities in the unperturbed state are approximately equal. Specific emphasis has been made on the analysis of perturbations with the scale {lambda} considerably exceeding the size of the grains a. Averaged equations describing such perturbations am derived. The difference in compressibility of the two components leads to the formation of temperature variations at the scale a, and increases the rate of the thermal dissipation by a factor ({lambda}/a){sup 2}. The strongest stabilizing effect of the thermal dissipation takes place when the thermal relaxation time is comparable with the instability growth rate
Problems of the rotating-torsion-balance limit on the photon mass
We discuss the problems (and the promise) of the ingenious method introduced
by Lakes, and recently improved on by Luo, to detect a possible small photon
mass by measuring the ambient magnetic vector potential from large scale
magnetic fields. We also point out how an improved ``indirect'' limit can be
obtained using modern measurements of astrophysical magnetic fields and plasmas
and that a good ``direct'' limit exists using properties of the solar wind.Comment: 4 pages, revised title and content
Slow solitary waves in multi-layered magnetic structures
The propagation of slow sausage surface waves in a multi-layered magnetic configuration is considered. The magnetic configuration consists of a central magnetic slab sandwiched between two identical magnetic slabs (with equilibrium quantities different from those in the central slab) which in turn are embedded between two identical semi-infinite regions. The dispersion equation is obtained in the linear approximation. The nonlinear governing equation describing waves with a characteristic wavelength along the central slab much larger than the slab thickness is derived. Solitary wave solutions to this equation are obtained in the case where these solutions deviate only slightly from the algebraic soliton of the Benjamin-Ono equation
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The LCLS Gas Attenuator Revisited
In the report ''X-ray attenuation cell'' [1] a preliminary analysis of the gas attenuator for the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) was presented. This analysis was carried out for extremely stringent set of specifications. In particular, a very large diameter for the unobstructed beam was set (1 cm) to accommodate the spontaneous radiation; the attenuator was supposed to cover the whole range of energies of the coherent radiation, from 800 eV to 8000 eV; the maximum attenuation was set at the level of 10{sup 4}; the use of solid attenuators was not allowed, as well as the use of rotating shutters. The need to reach a sufficient absorption at the high-energy end of the spectrum predetermined the choice of Xe as the working gas (in order to have a reasonable absorption at a not-too-high pressure). A sophisticated differential pumping system that included a Penning-type ion pump was suggested in order to minimize the gas leak into the undulator/accelerator part of the facility. A high cost of xenon meant also that an efficient (and expensive) gas-recovery system would have to be installed. The main parameter that determined the high cost and the complexity of the system was a large radius of the orifice. The present viewpoint allows for much smaller size of the orifice, r{sub 0} = 1.5 mm. (1) The use of solid attenuators is also allowed (R.M. Bionta, private communication). It is, therefore, worthwhile to reconsider various parameters of the gas attenuator for these much less stringent conditions. This brief study should be considered as a physics input for the engineering design. As a working gas we consider now the argon, which, on the one hand, provides a reasonable absorption lengths and, on the other hand, is inexpensive enough to be exhausted into the atmosphere (no recovery). The absorption properties of argon are illustrated by Fig.1 where the attenuation factor A is shown for various beam energies, based on Ref. [2]. The other relevant parameters for argon are presented in Table 1
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On the Virial Theorem for Interstellar Medium
An attempt has been made to derive a version of the virial integral that would describe average properties of the interstellar medium (ISM). It is suggested to eliminate the (large) contribution of stellar matter by introducing 'exclusion zones' surrounding stars. Such an approach leads to the appearance of several types of additional surface integrals in the general expression. Their contribution depends on the rate of energy and matter exchange between the stars and ISM. If this exchange is weak, one can obtain a desired virial integral for ISM. However, the presence of intermittent large-scale energetic events significantly constrains the applicability of the virial theorem. If valid, the derived virial integral is dominated by cold molecular/atomic clouds, with only minor contribution of the global magnetic field and low-density warm part
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Magnetized Target Fusion With Centimeter-Size Liner
The author concentrates on the version of magnetized target fusion (MTF) that involves 3D implosions of a wall-confined plasma with the density in the compressed state {approx} 10{sup 21}-10{sup 22} cm{sup -3}. Possible plasma configurations suitable for this approach are identified. The main physics issues are outlined (equilibrium, stability, transport, plasma-liner interaction, etc). Specific parameters of the experiment reaching the plasma Q{approx}1 are presented (Q is the ratio of the fusion yield to the energy delivered to the plasma). It is emphasized that there exists a synergy between the physics and technology of MTF and dense Z-pinches (DZP). Specific areas include the particle and heat transport in a high-beta plasma, plasma-liner interaction, liner stability, stand-off problem for the power source, reaching a rep-rate regime in the energy-producing reactor, etc. Possible use of existing pulsed-power facilities for addressing these issues is discussed
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