8,363 research outputs found
Action and Energy of the Gravitational Field
We present a detailed examination of the variational principle for metric
general relativity as applied to a ``quasilocal'' spacetime region \M (that
is, a region that is both spatially and temporally bounded). Our analysis
relies on the Hamiltonian formulation of general relativity, and thereby
assumes a foliation of \M into spacelike hypersurfaces . We allow for
near complete generality in the choice of foliation. Using a field--theoretic
generalization of Hamilton--Jacobi theory, we define the quasilocal
stress-energy-momentum of the gravitational field by varying the action with
respect to the metric on the boundary \partial\M. The gravitational
stress-energy-momentum is defined for a two--surface spanned by a spacelike
hypersurface in spacetime. We examine the behavior of the gravitational
stress-energy-momentum under boosts of the spanning hypersurface. The boost
relations are derived from the geometrical and invariance properties of the
gravitational action and Hamiltonian. Finally, we present several new examples
of quasilocal energy--momentum, including a novel discussion of quasilocal
energy--momentum in the large-sphere limit towards spatial infinity.Comment: To be published in Annals of Physics. This final version includes two
new sections, one giving examples of quasilocal energy and the other
containing a discussion of energy at spatial infinity. References have been
added to papers by Bose and Dadhich, Anco and Tun
Canonical Quasilocal Energy and Small Spheres
Consider the definition E of quasilocal energy stemming from the
Hamilton-Jacobi method as applied to the canonical form of the gravitational
action. We examine E in the standard "small-sphere limit," first considered by
Horowitz and Schmidt in their examination of Hawking's quasilocal mass. By the
term "small sphere" we mean a cut S(r), level in an affine radius r, of the
lightcone belonging to a generic spacetime point. As a power series in r, we
compute the energy E of the gravitational and matter fields on a spacelike
hypersurface spanning S(r). Much of our analysis concerns conceptual and
technical issues associated with assigning the zero-point of the energy. For
the small-sphere limit, we argue that the correct zero-point is obtained via a
"lightcone reference," which stems from a certain isometric embedding of S(r)
into a genuine lightcone of Minkowski spacetime. Choosing this zero-point, we
find agreement with Hawking's quasilocal mass expression, up to and including
the first non-trivial order in the affine radius. The vacuum limit relates the
quasilocal energy directly to the Bel-Robinson tensor.Comment: revtex, 22 p, uses amssymb option (can be removed
Positivity of Entropy in the Semi-Classical Theory of Black Holes and Radiation
Quantum stress-energy tensors of fields renormalized on a Schwarzschild
background violate the classical energy conditions near the black hole.
Nevertheless, the associated equilibrium thermodynamical entropy by
which such fields augment the usual black hole entropy is found to be positive.
More precisely, the derivative of with respect to radius, at fixed
black hole mass, is found to vanish at the horizon for {\it all} regular
renormalized stress-energy quantum tensors. For the cases of conformal scalar
fields and U(1) gauge fields, the corresponding second derivative is positive,
indicating that has a local minimum there. Explicit calculation
shows that indeed increases monotonically for increasing radius and
is positive. (The same conclusions hold for a massless spin 1/2 field, but the
accuracy of the stress-energy tensor we employ has not been confirmed, in
contrast to the scalar and vector cases). None of these results would hold if
the back-reaction of the radiation on the spacetime geometry were ignored;
consequently, one must regard as arising from both the radiation
fields and their effects on the gravitational field. The back-reaction, no
matter how "small",Comment: 19 pages, RevTe
Slice Stretching Effects for Maximal Slicing of a Schwarzschild Black Hole
Slice stretching effects such as slice sucking and slice wrapping arise when
foliating the extended Schwarzschild spacetime with maximal slices. For
arbitrary spatial coordinates these effects can be quantified in the context of
boundary conditions where the lapse arises as a linear combination of odd and
even lapse. Favorable boundary conditions are then derived which make the
overall slice stretching occur late in numerical simulations. Allowing the
lapse to become negative, this requirement leads to lapse functions which
approach at late times the odd lapse corresponding to the static Schwarzschild
metric. Demanding in addition that a numerically favorable lapse remains
non-negative, as result the average of odd and even lapse is obtained. At late
times the lapse with zero gradient at the puncture arising for the puncture
evolution is precisely of this form. Finally, analytic arguments are given on
how slice stretching effects can be avoided. Here the excision technique and
the working mechanism of the shift function are studied in detail.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, revised version including a study on how slice
stretching can be avoided by using excision and/or shift
Local and global properties of conformally flat initial data for black hole collisions
We study physical properties of conformal initial value data for single and
binary black hole configurations obtained using conformal-imaging and
conformal-puncture methods. We investigate how the total mass M_tot of a
dataset with two black holes depends on the configuration of linear or angular
momentum and separation of the holes. The asymptotic behavior of M_tot with
increasing separation allows us to make conclusions about an unphysical
``junk'' gravitation field introduced in the solutions by the conformal
approaches. We also calculate the spatial distribution of scalar invariants of
the Riemann tensor which determine the gravitational tidal forces. For single
black hole configurations, these are compared to known analytical solutions.
Spatial distribution of the invariants allows us to make certain conclusions
about the local distribution of the additional field in the numerical datasets
Detecting cold gas at intermediate redshifts: GMRT survey using Mg II systems
Intervening HI 21-cm absorption systems at z > 1.0 are very rare and only 4
confirmed detections have been reported in the literature. Despite their
scarcity, they provide interesting and unique insights into the physical
conditions in the interstellar medium of high-z galaxies. Moreover, they can
provide independent constraints on the variation of fundamental constants. We
report 3 new detections based on our ongoing Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope
(GMRT) survey for 21-cm absorbers at 1.10< z_abs< 1.45 from candidate damped
Lyman_alpha systems. The 21-cm lines are narrow for the z_abs = 1.3710 system
towards SDSS J0108-0037 and z_abs = 1.1726 system toward SDSS J2358-1020. Based
on line full-width at half maximum, the kinetic temperatures are <= 5200 K and
<=800 K, respectively. The 21-cm absorption profile of the third system, z_abs
=1.1908 system towards SDSS J0804+3012, is shallow, broad and complex,
extending up to 100 km/s. The centroids of the 21-cm lines are found to be
shifted with respect to the corresponding centroids of the metal lines derived
from SDSS spectra. This may mean that the 21-cm absorption is not associated
with the strongest metal line component.Comment: 13 pages with 5 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Freire re-viewed
The work of Paulo Freire is associated with themes of oppression and liberation, and his critical pedagogy is visionary in its attempts to bring about social transformation. Freire has created a theory of education that embeds these issues within social relations that center around both ideological and material domination. In this review essay, Sue Jackson explores three books: Freire’s final work Pedagogy of Indignation; Cesar Augusto Rossatto’s Engaging Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Possibility, which attempts to engage Freire’s pedagogy of possibility; and C.A. Bowers and Frederique Apffel-Marglin’s edited collection Re-thinking Freire, which asks readers to reconsider Freire’s work in light of globalization and environmental crises. Jackson questions the extent to which Freire’s pedagogical approaches are useful to educators as well as to “the oppressed,” and whether challenges to re-think Freire can lead to new kinds of critical pedagogies
High-Redshift Superclustering of QSO Absorption Line Systems on 100 Mpc Scales
We have analyzed the clustering of C IV absorption line systems in an
extensive new catalog of heavy element QSO absorbers. The catalog permits
exploration of clustering over a large range in both scale (from about 1 to
over 300 Mpc) and redshift (z from 1.2 to 4.5). We find significant evidence
(5.0 sigma) that C IV absorbers are clustered on comoving scales of 100 Mpc and
less --- similar to the size of voids and walls found in galaxy redshift
surveys of the local universe --- with a mean correlation function over these scales. We find, on these scales, that the mean
correlation function at low (z=1.7), medium (z=2.4), and high redshift (z=3.0)
is , , and , respectively.
Thus, the superclustering is present even at high redshift; furthermore, it
does not appear that the superclustering scale, in comoving coordinates, has
changed significantly since then. We find 7 QSOs with rich groups of absorbers
(potential superclusters) that account for a significant portion of the
clustering signal, with 2 at redshift . We find that the
superclustering is just as evident if we take instead of 0.5;
however, the inferred scale of clustering is then 240 Mpc , which is larger
than the largest scales of clustering known at present. This discrepancy may be
indicative of a larger value of , and hence . The evolution of
the correlation function on 50 Mpc scales is consistent with that expected in
cosmologies with density parameter ranging from 0.1 to 1.
Finally, we find no evidence for clustering on scales greater than 100 Mpc
() or 240 Mpc ().Comment: 16 LaTeX pages with 3 encapsulated Postscript figures included, uses
AASTeX (v. 4.0) available at ftp://ftp.aas.org/pubs/ , to appear in The
Astrophysical Journal Letter
- …