2,065 research outputs found
Diskoseismology and QPOs Confront Black Hole Spin
We compare the determinations of the angular momentum of stellar mass black
holes via the continuum and line methods with those from diskoseismology. The
assumption being tested is that one of the QPOs (quasi-periodic oscillations)
in each binary X-ray source is produced by the fundamental g-mode. This should
be the most robust and visible normal mode of oscillation of the accretion
disk, and therefore its absence should rule out diskoseismology as the origin
of QPOs. The comparisons are consistent with the second highest frequency QPO
being produced by this g-mode, but are not consistent with models in which one
QPO frequency is that of the innermost stable circular orbit.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters; 9 pages,
references added and typos correcte
Nucleosynthesis Constraints on Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity
We study the cosmological evolution of massless single-field scalar-tensor
theories of gravitation from the time before the onset of annihilation
and nucleosynthesis up to the present. The cosmological evolution together with
the observational bounds on the abundances of the lightest elements (those
mostly produced in the early universe) place constraints on the coefficients of
the Taylor series expansion of , which specifies the coupling of the
scalar field to matter and is the only free function in the theory. In the case
when has a minimum (i.e., when the theory evolves towards general
relativity) these constraints translate into a stronger limit on the
Post-Newtonian parameters and than any other observational
test. Moreover, our bounds imply that, even at the epoch of annihilation and
nucleosynthesis, the evolution of the universe must be very close to that
predicted by general relativity if we do not want to over- or underproduce
He. Thus the amount of scalar field contribution to gravity is very small
even at such an early epoch.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, ReVTeX 3.1, submitted to Phys. Rev. D1
A Timing Signature of Gravitational Radiation from LMXB Neutron Stars
The coupled evolution of the spin frequency, core temperature, and r-mode
amplitude of an accreting neutron star is calculated. We focus on those
conditions that can produce persistent gravitational radiation from the r-mode.
During X-ray quiescent phases of transient LMXBs, one may be able to identify
the constant contribution of the gravitational wave emission to the spindown
rate. Another signature is the r-mode contribution to the heating.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of X-ray Timing 2003: Rossi and Beyond,
ed. P. Kaaret, F.K. Lamb, & J.H. Swank (Melville, NY: American Institute of
Physics
Nonlinear evolution of r-modes: the role of differential rotation
Recent work has shown that differential rotation, producing large scale
drifts of fluid elements along stellar latitudes, is an unavoidable feature of
r-modes in the nonlinear theory. We investigate the role of this differential
rotation in the evolution of the l=2 r-mode instability of a newly born, hot,
rapidly rotating neutron star. It is shown that the amplitude of the r-mode
saturates a few hundred seconds after the mode instability sets in. The
saturation amplitude depends on the amount of differential rotation at the time
the instability becomes active and can take values much smaller than unity. It
is also shown that, independently of the saturation amplitude of the mode, the
star spins down to rotation rates that are comparable to the inferred initial
rotation rates of the fastest pulsars associated with supernova remnants.
Finally, it is shown that, when the drift of fluid elements at the time the
instability sets in is significant, most of the initial angular momentum of the
star is transferred to the r-mode and, consequently, almost none is carried
away by gravitational radiation.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Global Disk Oscillation Modes in Cataclysmic Variables and Other Newtonian Accretors
Diskoseismology, the theoretical study of small adiabatic hydrodynamical
global perturbations of geometrically thin, optically thick accretion disks
around black holes (and other compact objects), is a potentially powerful probe
of the gravitational field. For instance, the frequencies of the normal mode
oscillations can be used to determine the elusive angular momentum parameter of
the black hole. The general formalism developed by diskoseismologists for
relativistic systems can be readily applied to the Newtonian case of
cataclysmic variables (CVs). Some of these systems (e.g., the dwarf nova SS
Cygni) show rapid oscillations in the UV with periods of tens of seconds and
high coherence. In this paper, we assess the possibility that these dwarf nova
oscillations (DNOs) are diskoseismic modes. Besides its importance in
investigating the physical origin of DNOs, the present work could help us to
answer the following question. To what extent are the similarities in the
oscillation phenomenology of CVs and X-ray binaries (XRBs) indicative of a
common physical mechanism?Comment: 1 figur
On the Perturbations of Viscous Rotating Newtonian Fluids
The perturbations of weakly-viscous, barotropic, non-self-gravitating,
Newtonian rotating fluids are analyzed via a single partial differential
equation. The results are then used to find an expression for the
viscosity-induced normal-mode complex eigenfrequency shift, with respect to the
case of adiabatic perturbations. However, the effects of viscosity are assumed
to have been incorporated in the unperturbed (equilibrium) model. This paper is
an extension of the normal-mode formalism developed by Ipser & Lindblom for
adiabatic pulsations of purely-rotating perfect fluids. The formulas derived
are readily applicable to the perturbations of thin and thick accretion disks.
We provide explicit expressions for thin disks, employing results from previous
relativistic analyses of adiabatic normal modes of oscillation. In this case,
we find that viscosity causes the fundamental p- and g- modes to grow while the
fundamental c-mode could have either sign of the damping rate.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journal. 11 pages, no
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