18,535 research outputs found
The place of the Sun among the Sun-like stars
Context. Monitoring of the photometric and chromospheric HK emission data
series of stars similar to the Sun in age and average activity level showed
that there is an empirical correlation between the average stellar
chromospheric activity level and the photometric variability. In general, more
active stars show larger photometric variability. Interestingly, the
measurements and reconstructions of the solar irradiance show that the Sun is
significantly less variable than indicated by the empirical relationship. Aims.
We aim to identify possible reasons for the Sun to be currently outside of this
relationship. Methods. We employed different scenarios of solar HK emission and
irradiance variability and compared them with available time series of Sun-like
stars. Results. We show that the position of the Sun on the diagram of
photometric variability versus chromospheric activity changes with time. The
present solar position is different from its temporal mean position as the
satellite era of continuous solar irradiance measurements has accidentally
coincided with a period of unusually high and stable solar activity. Our
analysis suggests that although present solar variability is significantly
smaller than indicated by the stellar data, the temporal mean solar variability
might be in agreement with the stellar data. We propose that the continuation
of the photometric program and its expansion to a larger stellar sample will
ultimately allow us to constrain the historical solar variability.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in
Astronomy&Astrophysic
Critical phenomena at the threshold of black hole formation for collisionless matter in spherical symmetry
We perform a numerical study of the critical regime at the threshold of black
hole formation in the spherically symmetric, general relativistic collapse of
collisionless matter. The coupled Einstein-Vlasov equations are solved using a
particle-mesh method in which the evolution of the phase-space distribution
function is approximated by a set of particles (or, more precisely,
infinitesimally thin shells) moving along geodesics of the spacetime.
Individual particles may have non-zero angular momenta, but spherical symmetry
dictates that the total angular momentum of the matter distribution vanish. In
accord with previous work by Rein et al, our results indicate that the critical
behavior in this model is Type I; that is, the smallest black hole in each
parametrized family has a finite mass. We present evidence that the critical
solutions are characterized by unstable, static spacetimes, with non-trivial
distributions of radial momenta for the particles. As expected for Type I
solutions, we also find power-law scaling relations for the lifetimes of
near-critical configurations as a function of parameter-space distance from
criticality.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figure
Reflective Ghost Imaging through Turbulence
Recent work has indicated that ghost imaging may have applications in
standoff sensing. However, most theoretical work has addressed
transmission-based ghost imaging. To be a viable remote-sensing system, the
ghost imager needs to image rough-surfaced targets in reflection through long,
turbulent optical paths. We develop, within a Gaussian-state framework,
expressions for the spatial resolution, image contrast, and signal-to-noise
ratio of such a system. We consider rough-surfaced targets that create fully
developed speckle in their returns, and Kolmogorov-spectrum turbulence that is
uniformly distributed along all propagation paths. We address both classical
and nonclassical optical sources, as well as a computational ghost imager.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Spin Polarized Asymmetric Nuclear Matter and Neutron Star Matter Within the Lowest Order Constrained Variational Method
In this paper, we calculate properties of the spin polarized asymmetrical
nuclear matter and neutron star matter, using the lowest order constrained
variational (LOCV) method with the , , and
potentials. According to our results, the spontaneous phase transition to a
ferromagnetic state in the asymmetrical nuclear matter as well as neutron star
matter do not occur.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figure
Lowest Order Constrained Variational Calculation of the Polarized Nuclear Matter with the Modern Potential
The lowest order constrained variational method is applied to calculate the
polarized symmetrical nuclear matter properties with the modern
potential performing microscopic calculations. Results based on the
consideration of magnetic properties show no sign of phase transition to a
ferromagnetic phase.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
A Smooth Lattice construction of the Oppenheimer-Snyder spacetime
We present test results for the smooth lattice method using an
Oppenheimer-Snyder spacetime. The results are in excellent agreement with
theory and numerical results from other authors.Comment: 60 pages, 28 figure
Merger of white dwarf-neutron star binaries: Prelude to hydrodynamic simulations in general relativity
White dwarf-neutron star binaries generate detectable gravitational
radiation. We construct Newtonian equilibrium models of corotational white
dwarf-neutron star (WDNS) binaries in circular orbit and find that these models
terminate at the Roche limit. At this point the binary will undergo either
stable mass transfer (SMT) and evolve on a secular time scale, or unstable mass
transfer (UMT), which results in the tidal disruption of the WD. The path a
given binary will follow depends primarily on its mass ratio. We analyze the
fate of known WDNS binaries and use population synthesis results to estimate
the number of LISA-resolved galactic binaries that will undergo either SMT or
UMT. We model the quasistationary SMT epoch by solving a set of simple ordinary
differential equations and compute the corresponding gravitational waveforms.
Finally, we discuss in general terms the possible fate of binaries that undergo
UMT and construct approximate Newtonian equilibrium configurations of merged
WDNS remnants. We use these configurations to assess plausible outcomes of our
future, fully relativistic simulations of these systems. If sufficient WD
debris lands on the NS, the remnant may collapse, whereby the gravitational
waves from the inspiral, merger, and collapse phases will sweep from LISA
through LIGO frequency bands. If the debris forms a disk about the NS, it may
fragment and form planets.Comment: 28 pages, 25 figures, 6 table
Gravitational Wavetrains in the Quasi-Equilibrium Approximation: A Model Problem in Scalar Gravitation
A quasi-equilibrium (QE) computational scheme was recently developed in
general relativity to calculate the complete gravitational wavetrain emitted
during the inspiral phase of compact binaries. The QE method exploits the fact
that the the gravitational radiation inspiral timescale is much longer than the
orbital period everywhere outside the ISCO. Here we demonstrate the validity
and advantages of the QE scheme by solving a model problem in relativistic
scalar gravitation theory. By adopting scalar gravitation, we are able to
numerically track without approximation the damping of a simple, quasi-periodic
radiating system (an oscillating spherical matter shell) to final equilibrium,
and then use the exact numerical results to calibrate the QE approximation
method. In particular, we calculate the emitted gravitational wavetrain three
different ways: by integrating the exact coupled dynamical field and matter
equations, by using the scalar-wave monopole approximation formula
(corresponding to the quadrupole formula in general relativity), and by
adopting the QE scheme. We find that the monopole formula works well for weak
field cases, but fails when the fields become even moderately strong. By
contrast, the QE scheme remains quite reliable for moderately strong fields,
and begins to breakdown only for ultra-strong fields. The QE scheme thus
provides a promising technique to construct the complete wavetrain from binary
inspiral outside the ISCO, where the gravitational fields are strong, but where
the computational resources required to follow the system for more than a few
orbits by direct numerical integration of the exact equations are prohibitive.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure
Polarized Neutron Matter: A Lowest Order Constrained Variational Approach
In this paper, we calculate some of the polarized neutron matter properties,
using the lowest order constrained variational method with the
potential and employing a microscopic point of view. A comparison is also made
between our results and those of other many-body techniques.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure
Impact hazard protection efficiency by a small kinetic impactor
In this paper the ability of a small kinetic impactor spacecraft to mitigate an Earth-threatening asteroid is assessed by means of a novel measure of efficiency. This measure estimates the probability of a space system to deflect a single randomly-generated Earth-impacting object to a safe distance from the Earth. This represents a measure of efficiency that is not biased by the orbital parameters of a test-case object. A vast number of virtual Earth-impacting scenarios are investigated by homogenously distributing in orbital space a grid of 17,518 Earth impacting trajectories. The relative frequency of each trajectory is estimated by means Opik’s theory and Bottke’s near Earth objects model. A design of the entire mitigation mission is performed and the largest deflected asteroid computed for each impacting trajectory. The minimum detectable asteroid can also be estimated by an asteroid survey model. The results show that current technology would likely suffice against discovered airburst and local damage threats, whereas larger space systems would be necessary to reliably tackle impact hazard from larger threats. For example, it is shown that only 1,000 kg kinetic impactor would suffice to mitigate the impact threat of 27.1% of objects posing similar threat than that posed by Apophis
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